Author's note:

I'm so sorry I forgot to post, if there's anyone out there actually interested in this story. I had schoolwork which, as I said, might come in the way of posting regularly. Anyway, here you go! I hope you enjoy it. Also, I would love to hear what you have to say about our story. Do leave a comment, please. ;)

/Moonpaw

Chapter 3 - Making friends (A warlock at Hogwarts)

When I think I'm ready to move on

I find another trace of you

A corner of my mind you still can haunt

I'm scared deep down that might be what I want

To keep a little piece of you

Convince myself that you're not really gone

But it hits me then

I don't quite remember

How your skin felt on my skin

I don't quite remember

All the little angles of your smile

It's been awhile

Thought that I'd always remember

But I don't quite remember

I don't quite remember by Beth Crowley

When Emblyn woke up the next morning, she still had the weird feeling in her gut. She didn't know what it meant but figured that she would find the answer eventually. For now, she had lessons to attend and school work to do. She got dressed and followed her friends down to breakfast.

After a lovely breakfast that consisted mostly of eggs, bacon and of course tea, they went to their first lesson. According to their new schedule it was charms with the Hufflepuffs.

Emblyn liked having lessons with the Hufflepuffs. They were nice and did not participate in the ridiculous feud between Gryffindors and Slytherins. It was simply exhausting. Plus, they didn't get any schoolwork done when the other two houses were present. Even if she enjoyed the promised breaks once in a while, she wasn't a Ravenclaw without reason.

Adalyn, Emblyn and Charlie entered the classroom together with the other Ravenclaws and found their usual seats, up front and to the left. Adalyn paired up with Charlie which left Emblyn by herself to Charlie's right.

The Hufflepuffs started filing in and Morgan was the last to enter. The only seat left was the one next to Emblyn so he carefully sat down next to her. Her magic did that strange thing it had done yesterday. She still did not know what it was but she felt safe and warm. Like her magic had been left in a raging storm and Morgan was the only cliff that it could hold on to.

After he sat down Morgan turned to her. He looked at her, studied her with wonder in his eyes. She wondered what she had done to deserve to be looked at like she was the only thing that mattered in the world. Like she was special and very dear to him.

He looked away and when his eyes returned to her face nothing could be seen in his eyes except a polite mild interest in his new partner in charms. Emblyn wondered if she just had imagined things because no one that young was so good at hiding their emotions. You would have had years and years of practice.

He certainly was a mystery. But she would do her best to discover what made her so drawn to him.

"Hi, my name is Morgan. What's yours?"

"I'm Emblyn. Nice to meet you and welcome to Hogwarts."

"Thank you."

Morgan looked like he really meant it.

The door behind them squeaked and Professor McGonagall entered the classroom. She walked quickly up to her desk in front of them before she spoke. "Good morning class!"

She was immediately answered by the class chorusing "Good morning Professor McGonagall!"

"Today we will practice turning a teacup into a rabbit. The incantation and wand movement is as follows: Lapifors!" She waved her wand and 25 tea cups made their way through the classroom, landing on their tables one by one.

Everyone started with the task and Emblyn fell quiet in focus. She was in the top of her year so it didn't take long for her to succeed with the spell. Professor McGonagall walked around the classroom watching the students and she stopped by Emblyns desk giving her one of her rare smiles.

"Well done Miss Ambrosius, 10 points to Ravenclaw. How are you doing Mr Ambrosius?"

Morgan smiled at her "Not too well I'm afraid. I have always found Transfiguration particularly difficult. Especially between animate and inanimate objects." McGonagall nodded "Well I'm sure Miss Ambrosius could give you a helping hand. She is the best in her year."

She continued her way around the classroom and Morgan looked at Emblyn. "You're the best in the year?"

Emblyn nodded with a smile "Yeah, I am. I'm in the top three of every subject. I have the highest grades in school in Transfiguration, Defence against the dark arts and Charms, but Charlie beat me in History of magic and potions, and Adalyn is the best in Muggle studies and Astronomy. You know, I'm the head girl too."

Morgan's eyes widened but he could only utter a quiet "Oh."

Emblyn looked down at her desk, carefully petting the sleeping bunny when she continued speaking "But of course none of this really matters. Yes, I'm proud of my grades but that's not what's important to me. I'm sorry if it sounded like I was bragging, I didn't mean to. The thing is, people usually make fun of me for this. There's this gang of boys that always call me a busybody and an insufferable know-it-all. They have even gone so far as to attack me and I took it to the Headmaster. They have been punished but that doesn't make any difference, they still bully me. You know, I feel lucky to have Charlie and Adalyn, they help me alot actually."

Morgan's eyes went even wider as he looked at her. The Emblyn he knew was a strong young woman that would never let someone pick on her. To hear her like this and feel her letting her walls down was weird.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Emblyn shook her head and smiled bitterly "Don't be, I shouldn't have taken it all out on you anyway. I'm always so stupid."

Morgan carefully reached out and took her shaking hand. "It's okay, you're not stupid. It's tough sometimes and if it makes you feel better to talk about it I will always be there for you. You seem kind and smart and I would be more than happy to be your friend too. If you want me to."

Emblyn looked up again. "You want to be my friend?"

Morgan nodded, a smile spreading on his lips. Emblyn smiled too. "Thank you!"

A tear appeared by her eye and she quickly brushed it away. It was strange how much that nod meant to her considering she only met him a few days ago. She felt like it had been much longer. "So, did you need help with your Transfiguration?"

A few days later Emblyn and her friends entered the Great Hall and went to take their seats by the Ravenclaw table. Emblyn began loading her plate with potatoes and beef when Morgan came over. He sat down beside her, opposite Charlie who was poking around with her fork in the food on her plate deep in thought. Morgan conjured a bright smile that if it had been any wider would have split his face into two.

"Hi" he breathed carefully.

"Hi Morgan. Have you already eaten?" Emblyn looked over to the Hufflepuff-table where two seventh years sat closely huddled together, whispering about something only known to the two of them. The boy had thick auburn hair and a goofy grin on his face while the girl had curly brown hair and a wide, genuine smile. One place was vacant on the opposite side of the table before them. Morgan must just have left it.

"Yeah, I have. I was wondering if you wanted to go to the library with me later?"

"Yeah, that would be great actually." Emblyn decided. "We have a potions essay due Monday that I want to start researching before all the good books have been taken. Perhaps Adalyn and Charlie would like to come with us? We can study together."

Charlie seemed to like the idea. She was also puzzled when it came to Morgan. This gave her a chance to get to know him better and maybe unwrap the mystery that was Merlin Emrys. But Adalyn seemed concerned.

"Sure," she said uncertainly. "But tryouts start at seven and I'd like to make the best team I can for this Quidditch season."

They already knew that because Adalyn had not stopped talking about her new role as captain of Ravenclaws quidditch team since the sorting ceremony. Now they knew about everyone old enough and with a small capacity to play quidditch in Ravenclaw.

In addition they had heard, multiple times, about their strengths and weaknesses. If they would fit as seekers, beaters, keepers or … .

So Emblyn smiled. She really loved her friend's enthusiasm.

"Of course. I mean you are the best seeker Ravenclaw has ever had, it would be a big loss if you didn't get to stay. Not that that would ever happen."

Adalyn smiled right back, sensing the directions her friend's thoughts had traveled.

"No, you're probably right. But it would be nice to meet the remaining members of the team before tryouts start."

"It's no problem," Emblyn answered. "We will come with you down to the pitch like we have always done."

Adalyn fired off another of the blazing smiles that she was well known for.

"Thank you, you're the best."

An hour later Emblyn and her friends sat by a corner table in the library. The table was covered in books and papers and they were all deeply in thought. Morgan turned a page in his book, breaking the silence for a second. Emblyn looked up and smiled. "I was thinking about something." She said uncertainly.

Morgan didn't look up from his book. "Mhm?"

"You know, the morning we left for the Hogwarts express I woke up drenched in cold sweat, shaking from head to toe. I had a really bad dream and it felt so real."

This caught his attention and Morgan's head snapped up. "Do you remember it?"

Emblyn nodded "Yeah, I do." She quickly told him, and her friends who were listening too at this point, about the dream. She could see Morgan's eyes widening with every word as in recognition but she didn't understand what he could possibly recognize. When she fell quiet Morgan just looked at her. "That's… Wow!" He said. Emblyn sighed "Yeah, but do you think it means anything?"

Morgan opened his mouth and closed it, then tried once again to answer.

"I don't know. Maybe…" he finally settled on.

But before he could finish Adalyn practically screamed. "Wow! You had a dream about Camelot? And a dragon named Kilgharrah? I've never heard of that before. Btw, dragons are awesome!"

"Yeah," Emblyn said. She was feeling quite overwhelmed by the whole scenario. "But I don't understand it. And why do I feel like I recognize that boy, Merlin? I mean, I know that I have never met him before. Or is the dream trying to tell me that I have and that he needs me? Am I supposed to know who he is?"

At this point Morgan's face was as white as marble and his eyes hadn't left Emblyn for a second after she had mentioned her dream.

Adalyn did not seem to notice and she happily and cheerfully continued talking.

"Maybe? We should take a look at the legends about Merlin and the Knights of the round table anyway."

In all the excitement about the dream Adalyn had totally forgotten about the tryouts. So Emblyn, like the good friend she was, felt the need to remind her.

"Do we have time for that now? Otherwise it'll have to wait until tomorrow."

The quidditch captain actually shrieked.

"Tempus! Shit, I have to go, tryouts start in ten minutes."

She scooped her books into her bag and looked questioningly back at Emblyn.

"You can go," Emblyn reassured her hysterical friend. "We will put the books back. Did you want to come with us down to the Quidditch pitch Morgan? I know it's not your house team but…"

Morgan shook his head as he put his books in his bag. "It doesn't matter. I can start looking into the legends about Arthur and the Knights of the round table. Besides, Hugo and Sam asked if I wanted to play exploding snap later so I have to go back to our common room anyway."

Adalyn's footsteps echoed through the quiet library as Emblyn took her wand down from where she had stored it behind her right ear.

"Great, thank you. See you tomorrow then." She gave him a wide smile before hurrying after Charlie through the library, down a fleet of stairs and out onto the darkening grounds. They ran down to one of the Ravenclaw stands and up the stairs, both of them out of breath when they took their seats and dropped their bags on the wooden floor.

Emblyn saw that a few other students from both their and the other houses were watching and down on the pitch were twelve figures holding their brooms. Five of them were from the previous team, hoping to keep their spot another year. One of them, Adalyn, stood in front of the others. Her face lit up with a smile as she caught sight of Emblyn from the ground. She waved hastily and Emblyn waved back.

The last rays of sun disappeared behind the trees in the forbidden forest as Adalyn ended the tryouts and sent the students that were unsuccessful to bed. She talked a little to the other members of the team before they too left for bed.

Emblyn and Charlie pulled their cloaks closer to shield themselves from the chill September air as they stood up and walked down to her.

Adalyn smiled brightly at them. "I've got a great feeling this year!" she said happily, picking up the box of practice snitches. They walked together and Emblyn opened her mouth to answer but was interrupted by an unexplainable wave of dizziness.

She stumbled forward and blinked trying to clear her view but to no success. Instead, she found herself sitting on the wooden floor of a small house. Her clothes were different from what she was used to and her hair was no longer freely moving with the wind but set in two thick braids.

Opposite her, on the floor sat a young boy. He could not be older than perhaps nine or ten, his hair was raven black and his eyes were blue as the sea. Those eyes, there was something familiar about them. But just as Emblyn, or at least that's what she thought, opened her mouth to ask him about it, a woman came running in through the door behind the boy. The look on her face was one of pure terror and Emblyn could hear it in her voice as she spoke. "Merlin, take Emblyn with you and run! You have to get out of here, it's not safe. They're coming, run!"

The boy, Merlin, stood up and held out his hand. She felt herself involuntarily take it in her own and looked down. The outstretched hand she now saw was not her own. It was small and pale, quite like the boy's. This confused her, she couldn't possibly have aged backwards seven years. This didn't make sense. Her thoughts were interrupted however by Merlin pulling her along through the door and out of the little house. She felt her feet moving as if by an invisible force and she couldn't do anything about it. It was as if she saw a scene unfolding through someone else's eyes.

They ran through the little village, Ealdor, and into the forest. Merlin showed her the way and didn't stop until they came to the shore of the lake. The hand holding hers was warm and the grass was soft against her feet.

Morgan stood at the exact spot as they left him, his bag and books lay scattered at the table, forgotten. He looked down the corridor where they left a questioning look at his face. Then he gave the empty corridor a half smile, shrugged and picked up his bag to leave.

Emblyn looked out at the glittering lake in front of them. It was beautiful, almost magical and she felt drawn to it for some reason. Then a wave of dizziness came over her again. She stepped forward trying to keep steady but failed. Darkness overtook her as she fell to the ground and lost consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again she was met with Charlie's worried face. "Embyn, are you okay?"

She blinked a little, "Yes." she said warily, "Where am I?"

"In the hospital wing. You passed out when we left the quidditch pitch so Adalyn and I brought you here." She looked away a little before she continued. "You have been unconscious for almost two hours and we were getting worried."

Footsteps approached them and Adalyn came into view. "You're finally awake!" she broke into a wide smile.

"How do you feel?"

Emblyn smiled back "It could have been better but if I just get a night's rest in the dorm, I'll be fine."

Adalyn nodded "I'll talk to Madam Pomfrey."

Fifteen minutes later, the trio made their way back to the Ravenclaw common room. Adalyn and Charlie talked lightly but Emblyn couldn't let go of what just happened. She knew that place and the boy but she couldn't remember from where. She was just about to ask Adalyn about it when Adalyn turned to her.

"Umm, is it okay for you to go back by yourself? Charlie and I have something to do."

Emblyn smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "Of course!"