Authors note:

I will be posting here every friday if possible, I will let you know if things get late.
If there are anyone here reading, I hope you like it. Don't hesitate to leave a comment.

/Moonpaw

Chapter 2 - Merlin Emrys Ambrosius (Said warlock)

Now the day bleeds

Into nightfall

And you're not here

To get me through it all

I let my guard down

And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved

-Someone you loved by Lewis Capaldi

Merlin hadn't had that nightmare in almost a thousand years but he could still remember it like it was yesterday. How he had found her alone and lost by the gates of Camelot. How he knew who she was and the pain when he realized that she didn't. How he had tried to help her but it ended with him losing her.

The worst part of the nightmare was that her scream still echoed in his mind.

He couldn't understand what had happened or where she had gone. During his long years after Arthurs passing he had searched through the world for an answer. He had gone to the druids, read sacred books in libraries all over the world, talked to shamans, warriors, mages and physicians. No one seems to have seen her since that horrible day. No one knew what could have happened. Still he searched, still he wandered the world alone with no trace of Emblyn.

Why after all these years did he start dreaming of her again? Could this mean that she was out there somewhere and needed his help? He shook his head. Merlin had learnt many years ago, centuries ago, that it was better not to hope because the world always disappointed him. It was almost impossible to count all the times when he had thought that he found them. A glimpse of messy blonde hair in a crowd, the voice of a woman long lost or the laugh of someone he had loved. Only for his hope to fall short when they turned out to be someone else. No, it was best not to hope. Why would this time be any different?

Emblyn sat with her friends in a comfortable compartment on the Hogwarts express. Adalyn talked happily and loudly to Charlie while Charlie leaned against the window, a hand in her long, black and curly hair. Emblyn watched the landscape pass outside the window to the rhythmic thumping of the train.

Suddenly Adalyn's head snapped up and she exclaimed "Have you heard?"

Charlie and Emblyn shook their heads. Adalyn practically vibrated with excitement.

"There's a new student coming to Hogwarts. Not a first year, he's starting in our year. He's got to be an exchange student, right? I think his name was Morgan."

Emblyn remembered distantly that she had heard someone talk about him at the station.

"Yeah, probably. He's gonna get sorted with the other first-years right? I hope he's in our house."

Charlie looked at Emblyn with her heavy gaze. Not a hair lay wrong on her head and her clothes were, as always, perfectly ironed. "Yeah, so do I. That would be awesome."

Three hours later the group sat, dressed in their Hogwarts robes, at the far end of the Ravenclaw table. Closest to the soon to be over sorting ceremony. It was just a few trembling first years left and the boy named Morgan. He stood at the back half in the shadows and they had not been able to get a good look at him, even when they had tried to stretch their necks to the brink of their length.

They waited in silence until McGonagall had called all the names of the soon to be first years.

"Morgan Ambrosius!" The name echoed through the now almost silent great hall.

Merlin sat on the edge of the bed and buried his face in his hands. He closed his eyes and rubbed them until they were full of colorful dots. The energy had run out hundreds of years ago but there was nothing he could do then so what could he do now?

He went out into the kitchen and made a cup of tea. Then he went out on the terrace. There he sat on the edge and looked out over the lake. The lake of Avalon, the only thing that was still the same in the world. Fog veils played over its surface and the first rays of the sun sought their way over the treetops. It looked like it was going to be a nice day.

He thought about the dream again. It was exactly what had happened except one thing. He remembered it vividly, him and Gwaine leaving the dungeons to try and persuade Arthur to let Emblyn go. When they came close to Arthur's chambers, voices could be heard from inside. Gwen was already there.

Through the gap in the door, they could see her walking over to Arthur who was sitting behind his desk. "You can't let Emblyn die." She said "She hasn't done anything wrong." Arthur looked down at his papers. "I had no choice. It was either her or Merlin and I couldn't." Gwen shook her head, "But why not let both of them… Oh!"

From their position, none of them saw the look that passed between the king and the queen nor the colour that spread on Arthur's cheeks. Gwen smiled kindly, "It's okay." She leaned forward and kissed him and Merlin and Gwaine left their spot by the door knowing these words were not for them to hear, "Your secret is safe with me."

When he had drunk his tea, he put down his cup and went down to the edge of the lake. He touched the water with his fingers and whispered gently, "W¯ægholm, onýwan me Myne, trymman me Tîfrung toward ofer dæghwîl." A small bubble broke the surface, and then another and another.

Soon the water looked like it was boiling but Merlin did not move his hand and as suddenly as they came the bubbles disappeared. But instead of showing his reflection, Merlin saw a young girl in the water. She lay in her bed asleep, a smile playing over her lips. A lock of her strawberry blonde hair was twisted around her left index finger as she always did when she had difficulty sleeping. Merlin smiled to himself as he remembered how he had found Emblyns hair such a mystery. As a child he hadn't understood how her hair could be almost golden when his and their mother's were raven black.

Suddenly he felt something stir inside him. He couldn't put his finger on what it was until a thread of magic jerked through his arm and sent a golden glow into the water. He watched in amazement as the golden thread created a circle and the water began to sparkle.

The picture of the little girl was long gone and in its place was a picture of a modern room. Merlin could see someone sitting on the bed, someone with strawberry blonde hair, someone he thought he would never see again. He hesitated as the person stood up and walked away. The picture changed and he could now see a wardrobe and on the floor was a wooden trunk. He caught a glimpse of the Hogwarts crest before the person in the room turned his way, smiled and waved. The blue eyes sparkled with hope and happiness and it felt to Merlin like he could finally breathe again.

The knot in his chest loosened considerably as he stumbled away from the lake, but when his hand left the surface of the water, the picture vanished. For Merlin, however, this did not matter at all. Emblyn was alive and he knew where she was. He just needed a way to get there.

After a month full of anxiety, waiting, writing letters, shopping in the diagon alley and worrying he was finally ready for the train that left in a couple of hours. He was going to attend Hogwarts as an exchange student to be able to get to know Emblyn again.

Deep inside the only thing he wanted to do was take Emblyn when she arrived at the train station but it had been over a thousand years. He didn't know, couldn't know, if she was still the same person. Or if she remembered him or not. A million thoughts hadn't stopped swirling around his head since that day at the shore of the lake. Would she recognize him? Why would she come back now after all these years? What did this mean for his destiny and Arthur?

The last one he hadn't really dared to think about. Because if he did, there was no going back. Merlin did not think that he could go through losing him again. At least that was what it felt like to have hope again after all this time just to be forced to give it up later. But maybe it was already too late. Something had shifted inside of him. Something that had been asleep for a long, long time and Merlin felt like he was alive for the first time since the death of his king and his sister.

Yes, something was about to happen but, for once in his life, he did not want to miss a single second of it.

When Emblyn first heard the name that McGonagall shouted she went completely still. It was another piece to the puzzle that had started with the dream. She could feel it in her bones, and somehow in her magic. The name felt wrong. But how a name felt wrong on a person she had never seen before was more than she could understand. Adalyn leaned over the table.

"He has got the same last name as you, Emblyn." she said with a low voice. At that statement Emblyns magic reared up in tumult. Weird, it had never done that before.

She tried to calm herself as she whispered back.

"It's probably a coincidence."

In some way her magic was not convinced.

The boy strode through the silent hall and to the stool in front of McGonagall. He had ravenblack, messy hair on top of a large ears and sharp cheekbones. While he walked Emblyn could see a pair of stormy turquoise eyes that seemed to hungrily take everything in as if it was his first deep breath after almost drowning.

He sat down on the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on head. Everything was quiet, too quiet. Minutes passed but nothing happened. Emblyn didn't really care because it gave her time to really look at the strange boy.

All of him was remarkable but the most remarkable thing about him was his eyes. It was the first thing she had noticed and now she couldn't tear her gaze away. She felt like she had seen them before but she could not figure out where. But if she had seen them before she definitely would remember. His eyes were not the kind you forget. The boy, or almost man she supposed, seemed somehow out of place among the other students. Like he did not belong on this earth, in this time. But he also felt like the most natural presence in the world. He had a calming effect on her magic.

After what seemed like an eternity but was most likely a couple of minutes the hat spoke again and effectively cut off her spiraling thoughts.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Morgan took off the hat and walked down to the Hufflepuff table. Then the noise returned, like someone holding their breath and then suddenly letting the air out.

Merlin entered the Great hall together with the firstyears. He felt his heart beat harder and harder in his chest. What if he was wrong? What if Emblyn wasn't there? His worries subsided however when they stopped in front of the teacher's table. He looked at the students surrounding them and there, in the middle of the sea of black and blue robes, he saw the strawberry blonde hair. It could not be mistaken who it was and he breathed a sigh of relief. But said relief didn't last long when Merlin realized that he was going to be sorted and he wasn't necessarily going to be in the same house as her.

He waited patiently as the other students were sorted and applauded politely when they descended to their tables.

Then Professor McGonagall called his name and the room fell silent. He could hear the students whispering as he ascended the steps to the little stool. He sat down and McGonagall placed the Sorting hat on his head.

The hat seemed stunned and didn't say anything for a while. Then it cleared its invisible throat and spoke. "Welcome to Hogwarts Merlin. It's an honour to sort such a powerful wizard that I have heard so many great things about." It chuckled dryly. "Hogwarts Merlin? Aren't you the wisest wizard in history? Is there really anything Hogwarts can teach you that you don't already know?"

Merlin's eyes swept over the great hall. The floating candles illuminated the four tables full of excited pupils. They sat merrily under the enchanted roof and the ceiling that showed a sky full of stars. The moon hovered among them too. It was one of the most beautiful things Merlin had seen and he had seen many things. He had seen empires rise and fall. Mountains that rose high above the clouds surrounded by the most stunning of sunsets. Stars that reflected in a shallow lake. Gardens full of colourful and exotic flowers.

But during his life he had seen many horrible things too. Towns all wiped out by the black death. Bloody wars with no winners, only relatives mourning. The chaos in Pompeii after the eruption. People being hunted for being born the way they were. He had tried to help, but it had never been enough.

Yes, he had seen the best and the worst in mankind. The beautiful and the horrid.

Now he had a second chance after all this time. So he told the hat:

"I am exactly where I am supposed to be."

The hat seemed to consider that. He continued.

"And maybe I can learn some things, maybe not. But that is not why I am here."

Merlin searched for the strawberry blonde hair and he sighted when he saw her.

The hat followed his line of sight and suddenly it talked again.

"Oh, I see. History repeats itself. The line becomes full circle. This is certainly going to be a special and exciting year."

He couldn't do anything but agree.

"Okay, let's get the year started. I was ordered to sort you into a house so that's what I am going to do. You possess qualities from all the houses. You are wise, cunning, brave and kind. You always try to help. But the most remarkable thing about you is that you continued through all these years and never gave up. That you never knew when or if they were going to come back. And still you waited. Still you hoped. This shows great loyalty and friendship. Qualities both Godric and Helga valued very highly. You have helped many but it has always been from the shadows. Never in the light. Well, you are very wise but that developed by doing it wrong first and learning from your mistakes during the centuries. It is not a quality you were born with."

Merlin chuckled lightly at that. No, he supposed not if all the times he had been almost caught and executed was something to consider.

"So there is only one place you truly belong."

He thought he knew the answer before the hat announced it.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The hall erupted in cheers and he stood up and walked over to the Hufflepuff table. The hat was right about one thing, this year was certainly going to be something out of the ordinary.

Merlin found his way along the Hufflepuff table and stopped by the far end. The seventh years looked nervously at him but didn't make an effort to give him some space on the bench. He waited a few more seconds before moving to the other side, quickly finding an open spot between a tawny haired boy and a girl that looked suspiciously like Gwen. The girl smiled at him and he met her doe brown eyes. It was like a jab to his heart seeing that face again. It was framed by the same soft curls as Gwen's and pulled out a painful memory from deep inside him.

He remembered it vividly, her lying in bed, old and weak, dying. She held his hand and he stroked a pale brown lock of hair from her face, putting it behind her ear. She wasn't scared that night, but then again she had always been an unusually brave woman.

She smiled at him and spoke, her voice no more than a whisper. "You are the bravest man I ever met and am lucky to have had you as my friend. Arthur was lucky to have you too. I know that you loved him and I want you to know that he loved you too. He would never have made it as far as he did without you, in more ways than you know. Take care of yourself now Merlin and take care of Camelot for me, take care of the Knights and the kings and queens to come."

He kissed her forehead and she squeezed his hand carefully. It wasn't long before she took her last breath and tears streamed down his cheeks as he closed her eyes leaving her seemingly asleep to go and inform the court of her passing.

Merlin felt a tear escape his eye as the girl in front of him spoke and brought him back to reality. "Are you alright? You have been staring at me for a while now."

He brushed away the tears and nodded, "Sorry, you just reminded me of someone." She smiled again "I'm Sam and that…" she pointed to the boy on the other side of him "is Hugo. We've been friends since first year. Welcome to Hufflepuff!"

Merlin smiled too, the first genuine smile in a long time. "I'm Mer- Morgan. Morgan Ambrosius, but I guess you already knew that since Professor McGonagall said it before."

She nodded "It doesn't matter, it's always nice to be properly introduced."

Merlin nodded and smiled too. His eyes wandered over to the Ravenclaw table and landed on Emblyn. She was speaking and laughing with her friends and Merlin knew that whether or not she remembered him, he would do his best to get her back.