(A/N: The much awaited chapter is finally here. HELL, BLOODY HELL! this chapter took entire of my energy, and so much of my time to complete. This entire story is very heavily based on BBC's Merlin. Stay happy Merlin lovers! A good news for the Game of Thrones lovers. A surprise is awaiting for you all in this and the upcoming chapters. If you were smart enough, then you might have easily understood about what EXACTLY is the surprise. Well, those who have had understood from reading the previous chapter, well...Enjoy! Oh! And I WANT REVIEWS! Took such a long time to write for you dear readers, so I would like to know how you all are feeling. I also want to know whether you all are liking this story or not. It will help me to write better greatly.)
Legend:
'Arthur' = Arthur Pendragon the First
'Arthur'= Arthur Pendragon the Seventh
'Arthur' =Asther Pendragon (twin brother of Arthur Pendragon the First)
'Artemis' = Artemis Olympia the First
'Artemis'= Artemis Olympia the Seventh
Chapter 7: The Royal and Arcane House of Pendragon (Part 1)
November 8, 1994
Friday
Time: 8:20 a.m.
*In the last chapter*
The auburn-haired boy said the next few words with loudness and vigour,
"I am, Lord Arthur Pendragon the Seventh, Head of the Royal and Arcane House of Pendragon of the Ten Master Clans and the Head of the Grand Family of Pendragon and the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Avalon."
Arthur Pendragon looked at the entire hall with his now radiating amber-blue eyes that dared anyone to refute his claim.
"Let the game begin..." Arthur Pendragon silently whispered to himself.
The entire population of the Hogwarts (excluding the sixteen individuals) had different thoughts going in their heads, but one thing was pretty much clear to everyone...
All of them were now in very deep shit...
Everyone was stunned at amber-blue eyed boy's proclamation.
Well...the word 'stunned'...is a gross understatement. The ones, who actually understood (the purebloods and the teachers) the magnitude of problem they were in, were shaking with fear.
Pendragon.
THE Pendragons.
The name of the Family was literally echoing in their heads.
But some, did not understood the magnitude of the mess they were in, were filled with excitement.
They were mostly the muggleborns and some half-bloods.
The muggleborns were at first stunned when they heard the name of Pendragon. The first thing that came in their mind hearing the name Pendragon was the Legend of King Arthur Pendragon, The Once and Future King and the myth about Sword Excalibur. Well…no one could blame them for thinking such thing…
Unfortunately, Harry himself was in the latter category, but instead of excitement, he was just stunned.
Pendragon.
THE Pendragon Family from the fabled myths of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
'I am related to them? Weren't they supposed to be only in myths and Arthurian Legends?' Harry thought with a frown on his face 'Is this some kind of a joke?'
Harry, not understanding much what actually was going on anymore, turned towards Susan, for clarification, only to find her eyes to be as big tennis balls and her hand covering her open-mouth. One emotion was evident on her extremely pale face: fear.
Tremendous fear.
Harry had never seen Susan having such an expression beforehand. Even during exams, although she freaked out sometimes, but never like that.
Catching her eyes, Harry mouthed silently, "Sue, what-"
Susan immediately jerked her head sideways and hissed, "No…not n-now…"
Her voice was cracked. Harry frowned a bit 'What's the matter? Even if they are THE Pendragons and a Grand Family…err…Grand House…what's there to be scared about? And how come I am related to them?'
Then Harry looked around himself and his gaze stuck in the direction of Slytherin table, and this time a healthy amount of fear crept in himself as well. Susan's expression was relatively much better than those of the other the residents of Hogwarts, especially the purebloods from the Noble families. The occupants of the Slytherin table were literally shaking out of fear.
Harry dared to look at the face of Draco Malfoy, and what he saw would have made him roll on the floor with laughter if the situation had enabled him.
Draco Malfoy, the self-proclaimed, Prince of Slytherin (because of his "My Father's" fame and money) looked like had a bad case of constipation and his pale skin was far paler than usual. The Prince of Slytherin, who always spouted "Purebloods are afraid of no one" was himself looking like as if he had already wet his own pants out of fear.
This made Harry think 'No, the situation is far graver than what I've had thought. If these people are making Malfoy, of all the people, visibly scared...well situation is very serious...'
While turning his gaze, Harry's green eyes met that of Viktor Krum's black eyes. What he saw in his well-structured face, made him gulp once more.
Earlier, when he had entered the Hall, Krum had given him a look filled with fury and ferocity, but now he was giving him a look full of unadulterated fear, anxiety and apprehension.
The other Durmstrang students were also in similar dilemma.
Harry thought, 'Are the Pendragons really that powerful enough to scare the wits out of him?'
Harry turned his gaze to look at the French Champion of the Beauxbatons. What he saw in her, intrigued him more.
The French Veela was literally shaking out of fear. She had her eyes closed and was in a prayer-like stance and murmuring. The moment she opened her eyes and looked in the direction of Harry and saw that he was gazing at her direction she blanched. The other Beauxbaton students were in no better condition.
'Just how much power do they hold, that they are making the purebloods tremble with fear? And by the way, just who are the other members of this group?' Harry was thinking this when he again heard the voice of Arthur Pendragon once more.
The silence continued for another minute before Arthur Pendragon said in amused tone, "Understood now, Albus too-many-names Dumbledore, who exactly am I?" All residents of Hogwarts internally gasped at the sudden insult directed towards their beloved Leader of Light!
Everyone turned to look at figure of Albus Dumbledore. Seeing him, people were shocked, would be the understatement of the century.
THE Albus Dumbledore, Defeater of Grindelwald, Nightmare of the Dark Lord, the Leader of Light, himself was trembling. Trembling not out of anger, but out of fear!
He had always emitted an aura of youthfulness and power around him, but then he looked as if he was far older than he usually looked like and his mouth was opening and closing continuously spluttering idiot.
Harry considered it quite funny.
Suddenly, thousands of questions at once went through his head…
Why are they here now and not early? Did he write that letter to me? Did they come here to help me? Just who are the other members of this group? Part of the Grand Family? How can they help me? How am I related to them? …and so on…
Silence reigned once again.
Arthur once again swarmed the entire Hall with his piercing amber-blue eyes before continuing in an amused tone, "Why the silence? Where has all of your voices gone?"
The entire occupants of the Great Hall flinched hearing his tone. The ones who understood the length of the mess they were in, flinched. This caused many to stare in their direction.
A First Year Gryffindor was brave enough to ask with a nervous tone, "Aren't the Pendragons...just a myth...from the...Arthurian legends?"
Everyone looked at the First Year Gryffindor as if he had suddenly grown a second head.
The purebloods thought 'Does this foolish boy even understand the extent of the situation we all are in?'
Arthur turned his amber-blue eyes in the direction of the First Year Gryffindor and asked with a small smile, "Are you a muggleborn Mr-?"
The boy understood Arthur's question and replied, "Collins, Sir. Jamie Collins. Yes Sir."
Arthur continued with the same smile, "Well Mr. Collins, I guess, before coming to Hogwarts, you also would have thought magic to be present just in myths and stories?"
Jamie Collins blushed at this and stammered to form an answer, "Umm…ah.."
Arthur just chuckled.
At that time Harry suddenly recovered from his trance and remembered where he was and what actually was happening around him.
He couldn't help himself and blurted out, "You wrote me that letter, didn't you?"
The gaze of all the occupants of the Hall turned in Harry's direction. Suddenly he felt a bit uncomfortable at being the centre of attention.
Arthur turned his gaze towards him and said, "Yes Mr. Potter. I wrote you that letter, and just as I had promised you, we have come to help you in this ordeal."
Harry was filled with some unknown mixture of emotions, that he was unaware about.
Relief, calmness, clarity, joy…and last but not the least…Hope…
Relief, from the fact that someone, in spite of being practically a stranger, cared enough about him to come all the way just to help him, just to save him…
Calmness, because not the entire burden of the world was on his shoulder anymore.
Joy, because he had a family, a proper family which can be the key to put an end to all his misery.
Hope, to have a proper life for once at least.
Harry could no more control his emotions. Shattering all his mental barriers, he finally broke down and started crying in the middle of the Hall.
He could no more care about all the stares that were directed towards him. He could no more care about the fact that he was in the Great Hall, and was crying. Showing clearly his unmanly attitude.
Suddenly a pair of hands wrapped around him. He never got to know how Arthur came up to him so fast and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a hug.
With a calm and soft voice that only Harry could hear, Arthur said, "Its okay brother, we are here...I am here...we all are here...nothing will cause harm to you anymore...its okay...its okay..."
While saying, he kept patting Harry's back. Harry also unknowingly had hugged Arthur in return.
The members of the Grand Family of Pendragon looked at the interaction of two fondly. Those who knew Arthur Pendragon very well, knew that he always had stoic and a plain expression in the exterior while having a very sensitive heart in the interior.
After some moments, Harry was able to take control of his emotions. Arthur released Harry from the hug. The green eyes met the amber-blue eyes. In such a short span of time, the exchange of amount of trust that occurred between the two of them, was indeed remarkable.
Arthur put an arm around Harry's shoulder and tried to scoot him in the direction of the members of the Grand Family. But Harry did not budge from his point.
Arthur gave him a questioning look, "Harry?"
Harry did not say anything just turned to his left. Susan Bones was standing there all the time, with a set of tears of her own. Harry smiled and simply extended his right hand in her direction with open palm, inviting her to join him.
Realization dawned upon Arthur Pendragon and smiled at him in turn.
Susan was momentarily stunned.
'Harry is inviting me to be there with them?!' Susan internally screamed. She turned her eyes which held a bit of uncertainty and looked at the Patriarch of the Grand Family of Pendragon.
Lord Arthur Pendragon the Seventh just nodded and gave an encouraging smile.
Feeling a bit certain, Susan slowly extended her own right hand and placed it on his palm.
All three of them joined the remaining members of the group .
Arthur again assumed back to his former position, with Susan and Harry behind him, as if guarding them.
Lord Arthur Pendragon the Seventh, scrutinized all the occupants of the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for one final time, then rubbed the palms of his two hands and said in a cheerful tone, "I guess, its time for some Question and Answer or QnA Session, what do you all think?" He threw the question to all the members of the of the Great Hall.
At that time Albus Dumbledore thought would be the best (or perhaps the worst) time to impart some fair share of his thoughts.
"Mr. Pendragon, I think it would best to take this matter into my office." Albus bloody-too-many-names Dumbledore in his overly grandfather tone suggested, momentarily forgetting to whom Exactly he was speaking to. He realized that he had told something very wrong the moment the temperature of the Hall dropped by at least Five degrees.
Arthur Pendragon narrowed his glowing amber-blue eyes and asked in a cold, bone-chilling voice, "Who are you?"
The Headmaster of Hogwarts, thinking it would be best to answer his questions, replied in a shaky voice "Albus Dumbledore...Sir..."
Every Hogwarts student was stunned that Albus Dumbledore, the invincible Leader of Light, was cowered by a simple question of a mere fifteen-year old boy.
"And who am I?" Arthur Pendragon asked in the same bone-chilling voice.
Dumbledore understood where his mistake laid.
"I am sorry, Mi Lord, Please-" before Albus Dumbledore could complete Arthur once again repeated his question, "Who am I?"
Albus Dumbledore replied in a meek voice, "L-lord Arthur Pendragon...sir..."
Arthur gave a stiff nod before replying, "Better remember that before addressing me."
Once again Arthur reverted back to his old cheerful tone, "Well, many of you are muggleborns and half-bloods who have not much idea how exactly the Magical world works, what its structure is, the system of nobility as your highly reputable teachers of your school have somehow forgotten you all to teach..." the sarcasm did not go unnoticed by anyone and the teachers of Hogwarts suddenly looked very uncomfortable. He continued, "...how the wizarding politics works, wizarding traditions and customs..." the purebloods were unanimously were nodding at this "...and most importantly they have forgotten to teach how the international community of the magical world work...I guess, you all need some answers..."
Suddenly a blonde-haired girl from the Slytherin House raised her hand. Arthur nodded, "Yes, Miss-?"
The blonde-Slytherin girl rose from her seat and bowed. This surprised most of the muggleborns because 'purebloods do not bow to anyone'.
"Daphne Greengrass, milord. Heiress to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Greengrass."
Arthur smiled, impressed by her etiquettes, and nodded, "Please continue Heiress Greengrass."
The Fourth Year Slytherin continued, "Thank you milord. I guess its just not me, but most of the students would like to know how come House Potter was even a part of a Grand Family, much that less of the Grand Family of Pendragon..."
Arthur nodded, "Thank you Miss Greengrass." Then he turned his attention towards the rest of the Hall, "Surely, I am going to answer that...but before that... a quick view of the history of Ancient Britannia and the magical world is in order for those who don't know..."
Arthur begun, "But first tell me...I guess you all are familiar with the Arthurian legends?" The students nodded. "Well...to be blunt...most parts of it are nothing but fake..."
Arthur braced himself for uproar that rose instantly.
The muggleborns and half-bloods were most vocal. Their voices were filled with wonder, astonishment and most notably anguish.
With a snap of his fingers Arthur magically silenced all the occupants of the Hall. Then a bushy-haired girl from Gryffindor table rose and spoke, "But...but how is that even possible...King Arthur, the one who wielded the legendary sword Excalibur with the help of the great wizard Merlin united entire Britain against the evil witch Morgana, his half-sister and defeated his own son Morgan and died in the Battle of Camlann. Under his his reign was the Golden Age of the Great Britain! How can History be fake!" She said all these in a single breadth.
Arthur internally smirked. 'So this is the Hermione Granger, from the intel we got from the Yotsubas'...well...lets check if all the intel is correct then...'
Arthur broke away from his musings and replied with a small smile, "Why Miss Granger?" Hermione Granger blanched, hearing her name, as Arthur Pendragon seemed to know about her! "Isn't it always the case, as Napoleon Bonaparte has rightly said 'What is History, but a fable agreed upon?' Doesn't the winners always write the History? According to their wants, according to their needs, always glorifying themselves and humiliating the losers?"
Hermione Granger, who always had an answer ready for almost every question, could not find any answer to that question.
"So, I guess, its time to introduce you all to the exact history of your culture and ancestors..." '...which the Hogwarts teachers had conveniently forgotten to inform...' With a deep breadth Arthur Pendragon the Seventh continued...
"During the Dark Ages in the lands of Great Britain, or Albion, as it was called at that time Magic was not as developed as that of today, so witch hunting and witch burning was rampant. The magicals could not apparated at that time as it was not invented the, so chances of escape was almost bleak..." All of the residents of the Hogwarts seemed interested by the narrative. Even the purebloods and students of other schools, who knew the story, seemed also in a trance.
"The mundane Kings and rulers could not tolerate Witchcraft and Sorcery. Any person, if was under suspicion of ever performing Sorcery or showing any signs of magic, were publicly executed. After a series of war, King Uther Pendragon, of the Royal House of Pendragon, united entire Albion under his leadership. He crowned and declared himself as the King of Camelot. Uther was known for many things. But most notably for his infamous policies regarding Witch Hunting" Arthur spat the word 'hunting' with disgust.
"King Uther had zero-tolerance policy towards the wizards, the witches and the sorcerers. He called them 'unworthy of living'. If a person was ever caught performing magic, the said person was to be publicly executed by being beheaded in the downtown. He started the world's biggest Witch Hunting movement, The Great Purge." Many nodded at this.
"Year 674 C.E. The Year of The Great Purge, also known as 'The Darkest Era in the History of the Magic.' No magician or sorcerer was spared. Anyone under the suspicion of performing magic was to immediately executed. No trials, no right to defend oneself, absolutely nothing. Uther ordered many people to be beheaded, burned at stake and drowned, including children who had inherited magic from their parents. Such was the life of wizards and witches during the reign of Great King Uther Pendragon." Arthur finished with a slight expression of disgust.
Most of the Hogwarts, Beauxbaton and Durmstrang students as well as staffs also had the same look of disgust on their faces.
Arthur continued with a wistful smile, "At that time there was no such concept of pureblood, half-blood, or muggleborn wizards or witches. Either you were magical or you were mundane. Nothing else." Many purebloods nodded, and some who believed in extremist pureblood ideologies, looked a bit uncertain.
"Even the Druids were not spared. The Druids were a group of peaceful and secretive people who possessed powerful magic. They lived throughout Albion in seemingly small settlements and they were very powerful healers. They have been long sought and hunted down by King Uther. They worshipped nature, practiced magic for good means and were generally a peaceful race. However, it was a misconception held by Uther Pendragon that they were secretly plotting to destroy him and take over Camelot and Albion."
"At that time in the Northern Mountains, which in today's day is known as Scottish Highlands, used to live the only Dragon of entire Albion, known as Kilgharrah with the only Dragonlord of Albion at that time, Balinor."
Arthur glanced towards Harry and Susan, and looked that they were also entranced by the tale. He inwardly smiled.
"Then, one day, when Uther Pendragon was nearing the concluding part of his purge against magic, Balinor was asked by Uther to summon Kilgharrah, who at the time was the last dragon in existence, to Camelot so that he could make peace with him. But both Kilgharrah and Balinor were betrayed. Uther had never intended to make peace with the dragon. Uther tried to have his knights kill Balinor, but he fled. Instead of killing the dragon, Uther had imprisoned Kilgharrah beneath the castle in a cave, where he was to stand as an example to all magical beings what would happen to them. Kilgharrah was imprisoned by being chained in the cave underneath Camelot and had little contact with others for next 20 years."
"Then in the year of 675 C.E. King Uther married Ygraine of Bios. After some months Queen Ygraine Pendragon became pregnant." Till this point all the muggleborns and half-bloods were nodding their heads in acceptance. The next part would shock them to the core.
"After eight months she gave birth to a set of twins." Gasps went throughout the Hall and murmurs began. Everyone thought or rather seemed to think that Uther pendragon just had one child. After few seconds silence descended once more.
Arthur continued, "Both were male, their names were Arthur and Asther."
"Arthur was the elder child, and Asther was the younger one. Arthur Pendragon, the First of His Name, was the Crown Prince of Camelot, and First in Line to the Throne of Camelot. Or rather, he was supposed to be the Crown Prince of Camelot. But something happened that simply changed the course of history. Something happened that made Uther furious to no end. Something happened that made Uther declare the execution of his own one-day born child. Can you all guess what could be the reason?"
Everyone understood Arthur's implication. Arthur paused to let the other people recollect themselves. Then he softly answered, "Arthur was born with magic."
Not a pin-drop, but a feather-drop silence reigned throughout the Great Hall of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Arthur Pendragon the First, Crown Prince of Camelot, the Heir to the Throne of Camelot, eldest son of magic-hater tyrannical King Uther Pendragon, was a magical. How ironic!" he gave a dry laugh.
"So, what could Uther do other than ordering his most trusted court physician, Gaius, to drown the child?" The audience had a look of horror etched on their faces.
"But Gaius did not do so..." Arthur softly spoke. At that moment, entire audience sighed a breadth that they were holding unknowingly.
"Gaius himself was a former Sorcerer." This did not shock most of the occupants of The Great Hall, as it was a pretty common knowledge. "He gave the just one-day old Prince Arthur to a couple who were Sorcerers themselves and lived undercover in the city of Camelot. Their names were Alies and Liana Blackwood. The couple fled Camelot as soon as possible."
At that time a First Year Gryffindor, Dennis Creevey, raised his voice, "But how come King Uther came to know that Arthur was capable of magic?" Many of the students nodded at the logical question.
The Head of Pendragons turned his attention towards Dennis and with a smile said, "Excellent question! But before answering that, you all should know a bit of history..."
Arthur turned his attention towards the other members of the Hall. He touched his auburn-hair, "Pendragons, before the birth of Arthur Pendragon the First, always had a distinguishable blonde hair, can anyone tell what caused to change that?" He asked the question to all.
Hermione exclaimed, "King Arthur had performed accidental magic!"
A wide grin came across Arthur Pendragon the Seventh's face. 'So all the data about her is correct after all...'
"Excellent Miss Granger, five points to Gryffindor!" Arthur exclaimed, with a fake tone of excitement, which no one other than the sixteen member of the group understood.
Hermione blushed. No one noticed, five rubies were indeed added to the Gryffindor House-points hour glass.
Arthur continued, "After few hours after the birth of the twins, Prince Arthur indeed performed accidental magic and turned his hair from blonde to red or rather auburn-red. But that was not all, he also glowed a bit and things around him levitated in the air! What other reason and confirmation did King Uther require to order his own flesh and blood be drowned?"
At that time Daphne Greengrass, from Slytherin table, gasped loudly. Everyone, including Arthur turned his attention towards her direction.
Daphne exclaimed, "Not even a one-day old infant was performing accidental magic?! Normal witch and wizard child cannot do so until they are at least four year old!"
The Lord of House Pendragon gave a knowing smile and said, "Then just wonder, how magically powerful he was, if he could perform accidental magic just moments after he was born."
At that time a blonde pompous git, the self-proclaimed Prince of Slytherin, decided to open his mouth, "Ha! Powerful or not, he was a mudblood!"
Arthur turned his now cold glowing amber-blue eyes towards the blonde git which Harry noticed. Harry thought 'Ohh oh...seems like it's going to be his end now...'
Arthur calmly asked him, "What's your name?"
The Prince of Slytherin, puffed his chest a bit, with air of high self-importance, announced quiet arrogantly, "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
Suddenly the coldness in his was replaced with a strange gleam filled with excitement, which greatly confused Harry. Arthur asked, "'Malfoy', was that the name you said?"
Draco Malfoy replied haughtily, "Yes."
(Arthur thought at this point, 'As per the report of the Yotsubas, Draco Malfoy, Age:14, Slytherin House, a staunch blood purist and a great supporter of Pureblood Supremacy ideology. Does he secretly watch James Bond or what? Being a blood purist and watching muggle films, well it can be quiet a scandal...Well...time will tell, but now...the drama that's going to take place...')
Arthur Pendragon and rest of the other members of the group looked in the direction of another member of their group. Harry and Susan followed their line of sight and changed their vision. A man, who looked to be in his early thirties, who had black jet hair and a Raven Crest on his black robes, was fidgeting with excitement (?). He had a dangerous gleam in his eyes which did not go unnoticed by both Harry and Susan.
All the other members of the Grand Family of Pendragon had same expression that that of Arthur. Excitement, exhilaration and anticipation. Some were even twitching their lips up a bit, barely controlling their laughter. Harry and Susan were both confused. 'What is going on?'
The man with black jet hair, strolled towards Malfoy, and then bowed deeply. Everyone understood that it was simply out of mockery even students like Crabbe and Goyle, but Malfoy, being a dunderhead thought it to be a sign of respect out of all.
"Oh! A Great pleasure to meet you Heir Malfoy!" the man grasped Draco Malfoy's hand and shook it quiet enthusiastically. Malfoy himself was a bit stunned, then his arrogant attitude once again took control of his mind. He had a smug expression and smirked in the direction of Harry and Susan, before replying, "Pleasure."
"Pleasure indeed! Both of our Houses share a long, common history and in past, together, we had many business ventures in the continent as well!"
The blonde ponce, with that same arrogant smirk replied, "Indeed, the influence Malfoy name has, is not restricted only to the continent, but also through out the world. Wish we can maintain the same cordial relationship in future as well."
Harry saw Arthur talking to a girl similar to his own age. Harry did a double take. The girl looked like an explicit female version of Arthur himself. Same facial expression, same auburn-red hair, same amber-blue eyes. No doubt his twin sister.
The girl whispered something in Arthur's ear and both of them snickered. Harry's attention again reverted back to the interaction between Malfoy and the black jet haired man.
The black-jet haired man spoke, "Indeed, Good Sir. I was hoping whether Lord Malfoy will be free anytime soon, so that we can discuss something regarding an old family matter." Harry saw Arthur's lips were twitching heavily.
Malfoy thought for some moments. "I will owl my father and will inform you later."
The man again bowed deeply, "Thank you Good Sir, have good day." With that the man turned to leave. At that moment Malfoy asked, "Anything else should I tell my father?"
The man turned his head and looked towards Malfoy with a feral grin, "Oh yes! Please tell Lord Malfoy, that today you met, Lord Morrighan Le Fay..."
The entire audience of the Great Hall gasped.
Harry believed that he was more or less both ready and mentally prepared to believe and accept anything, including landing of an alien spacecraft on the Hogwarts ground, but happened next was something beyond his expectations.
Draco Malfoy, hearing the name 'Le Fay' turned ghostly white. Blood drained completely from his face and looked like he would wet himself. His legs were trembling, and looked like would soon lose their balance and he will fall. Then an odd smell reached Harry's nostrils. He sniffed a bit then crunched his nose. He turned his vision towards Malfoy and found that their were stains on his pants. Malfoy actually wet his pants!
Harry turned to Susan only to find her barely restraining her laughter by covering her mouth with her hands. Mirth was evident in her eyes. Harry decided to ask, "Umm...Sue...what is going on? I am kinda lost..."
Susan clarified, "Harry, i guess you do know that Malfoy are originally from France?" harry nodded in affirmation. Susan continued, "But have you ever wondered what made them leave their ancestral land and come all the way to England?" Harry pondered for a while and thought 'Why did I never think so?'
Susan, understanding Harry's predicament, replied, "But first you need to know, something about France." Harry nodded. "France, Switzerland, Austria and some parts of Germany, is governed by the Royal and Imperial House of Le Fay, another House of the Grand Family of Pendragon."
The boy-who-lived eyes' widened with disbelief. Then he thought, 'Royal and Imperial House of Le Fay?! Well, it seems entire Arthurian legends seems to be fabricated. Well, if there are Pendragons then why not Le Fays...Sure why not?'
Susan nodded, "Yes, now...Malfoy family had immense wealth and fame, but they wanted more. Their greed for wealth, made them do so many atrocities with the other noble families of France, that made them very much angry, and they wanted the repayment in blood. But in one of their business dealings, they did an heinous act, that caused their permanent exile from France in the Seventeenth century."
"Lord Septimius Malfoy, then Head of House Malfoy, in a business dealing with House Le Fay, caused immense damage to the Le Fay family fortune that made the then Head of the Le Fay Family, Lord Ether Ley Fay the Third, see red. Immediately they declared Blood Feud against House Malfoy, which made them flee France and settle in England. When the Le Fays demanded the British Ministry of Magic, to deport the Malfoys back to France to face justice, they denied, as they had given them political asylum because 'they invested a large sum in the economy of Great Britain' The British Minister of Magic then had said. The Le Fays, finding no other way, ceased all the remaining lands and wealth of the Malfoys in France, Switzerland and Germany, then known as Bavaria. That was one of the main causes of the infamous Anglo-French animosity." Susan finished.
Harry was amazed. Then Lord Morrighan Le Fay's voice reverted his attention to the current scene that was taking place in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.
"My, my...Heir Malfoy..." Morrighan continued, "...such an unbecoming behaviour of an Heir to an Ancient and Noble House...what would your father say...tch..tch...wetting your own pants in front of your House's bane...please...let me help..." With a wave of his hands, Morrighan removed all the smell and the sticky part, only let the stain remain.
Gross sign of disrespect.
Malfoy gave a very girly shriek, absolutely an unbecoming behaviour of an Heir to an Ancient and Noble House...
Arthur could not hold anymore and broke into fits of laughter. Other members of the Grand Family soon followed Arthur's lead and started howling with laughter. Like a chain reaction, the entire Great Hall was filled with laughter to Draco Malfoy's shame. Arthur said calming down a bit, "Enough Morrighan, I guess you have proved your point."
"Hey!" Morrighan Le Fay shrugged and with a playful smile said, "I was just trying to be helpful!" Another round of laughter went throughout the Hall.
Arthur said with a low commanding tone, "Enough." Slowly, the Great hall once again became silent. "Now...where were we in the story earlier?...yes...not even a one-day old and was performing accidental magic..." Arthur continued with his story.
"Yes...now the Blackwood couple flees from Camelot as soon as possible and reaches their native place in the woods near Yorkshire. Later they fled in the continent, to the ungoverned, Lands of Frankia, which is none but modern day France. There the couple raised the child as if he was their own with care and comfort. They provided him as much comfort as was possible. They did not hide anything from Arthur, about his true heritage, condition of the magicals in Albion, and his true birthright: The Throne of Camelot."
"Near their house lived a settlement of Mages, who taught the young Prince how to control his magic from a very young age in offensive, defensive, healing and other minor fields, because the things young Arthur used to do with his accidental magic...was really hilarious as well as jaw dropping..." Arthur chuckled a bit. "Perhaps, that is a story for another day..."
"Now in Camelot, Gaius lied to Uther that the deed was done. He gave Gaius hundred gold coins to buy his silence. It was the greatest secret of Camelot. The killing of Prince Arthur or rather presumed killing of the Prince was known only to Uther, Gaius and other core Knights of Uther, who were strictly loyal to King Uther."
"As the incident took place within a few hours since the birth of the two princes, nobody other than Uther, the Knights and Gaius, who conducted the delivery, knew that the Queen gave birth to a pair of twins, not even the Queen herself as she was passed out from the strain."
Everyone was in a trance hearing such a wonderous tale.
Arthur said, "Then comes a significant part. But first you all need to know something regarding the laws that was in effect during the Dark Ages, not only in Albion, but throughout Europe. One could not change their child's name no matter what. If the child was a male, and was named 'Philip' initially, then after few days the parents decide to rename their child into something else, they cannot do so. It was a binding law."
"But Uther did the opposite. He told that the Crown Prince Asther's name was Arthur. Then it was declared Prince Asther known as Arthur, was the Crown Prince of Camelot. So in this in this way, the greatest secret of King Uther and the Royal House of Pendragon got buried...and before you all ask..." Arthur raised his hand to stop the impending question he knew was coming, "...no I don't know why Uther did so...no one knows what got into Uther's head and decided to rename Asther as Arthur... no written accounts were ever found why he did so..."
Arthur took a deep breadth, "Then comes the second part of the story...a few months before his marriage to Ygraine of Bios, King Uther had an affair with a woman. A woman, who had incomparable beauty throughout Albion. she had received numerous marriage proposals from numerous Lords and other nobilities. She was none other than Lady Vivienne, wife of Sir Gorlois of the Court of King Uther. One night, when Sir Gorlois went to visit a friend of his' in another town, Uther went to Vivienne's resident and slept with her."
"Nine months later, she gave birth to a girl, who was believed to be the daughter of Sir Gorlois. But in reality, she was the illegitimate daughter of King Uther Pendragon. Can anyone tell what was the name of the girl?" Lord Pendragon asked to nobody in particular, looking at the ceiling.
The muggleborns unanimously whispered, "Morgause."
Arthur, still looking at the ceiling, smiled, "Wrong. Her name was Morgana."
The muggleborns gasped. Hermione Granger exclaimed, "What! But her name was Morgause! Morgana was the second child of Vivienne and Uther!"
Lord Arthur Pendragon the Seventh turned his vision towards her and gave a wistful smile, "No such person was ever there with the name 'Morgause' at that time. One of the greatest lies in the Arthurian legend, that we had framed."
Hermione could not find any words to refute his claims.
"Morgana lived with Vivienne and Gorlois throughout most of her childhood. But everything comes to an end..."
Arthur continued, "In a fateful journey, Lady Vivienne and Sir Gorlois were struck by lightning, while they were travelling from Camelot to another place. After their death, it was later found out in one of Lady Vivienne's journals, that Morgana was actually the child of Uther Pendragon. Later Uther took Morgana as her ward, and she lived like a cage bird in the Pendragon Castle, bound by rules and protocols. She was just sixteen at that time."
Arthur then took a deep breadth, and then a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Twenty years pass away, since the presumed killing of the Prince Arthur Pendragon the First, twenty years, since the imprisonment the Last Dragon Kilgharrah, a new character comes in the story. His actual name was Myrddin Emrys. But after years of further grinding and polishing of an already fabricated history..." he gave a chuckle, "...he is now known as something else, literally a God in this Wizarding Britain. Can anyone about whom am I am talking about?"
Suddenly someone gave a gasp. A second year, Ravenclaw student had covered her mouth. Arthur gave her a knowing smile and nodded. Weakly she said, "M-Merlin?!"
"Yes, Merlin..." Everyone gasped altogether at the same time. Then a man with silver-blonde hair stepped forward who had a Thunderbird Crest on his robes, said, "Arthur, I guess, from this point, I should continue..." Arthur nodded, "Indeed, continue Styller..."
The platinum-blonde haired man, Styller, in a deep baritone voice continued, "Merlin was born to Hunith and Balinor in Ealdor, a small outlying village in the kingdom of Essetir. Yes...the same Dragonlord Balinor, I am talking about. Near the end of the Great Purge, Gaius had helped Balinor escape the slaughter of his people and arranged for him to stay with Hunith. The two fell in love, but Uther eventually discovered Balinor's whereabouts and sent men to arrest him. Balinor was forced to flee Ealdor and leave Hunith behind, unaware that she was pregnant with his child."
"Unlike most sorcerers, Merlin was born with the ability to use magic. He..." At that time a Third year Ravenclaw raised her hand. Styller nodded, the girl begun, "You all are saying saying 'Sorcerer' and 'Wizards', as if they are different kinds of people, why so? Aren't they the same?" Harry could hear Arthur mutter at that time, "Why I did not explain it in the beginning?"
Styller nodded understanding her question, "You see, there are two kinds of people who use magic. Sorcerers and Wizards in case of male or Witch in case of female. Wizards and Wizards are those who are born with magic, and can channel their magic through their internal magical core. But Sorcerers are different. They are born without magic, they channel magic the ambient energy of the universe present around him or her."
Many gasped, including the purebloods, at the ground-shaking knowledge.
"By people who are not 'born with magic' are you referring to Squibs?" someone asked among the Hogwarts students. At this Styller smirked, "Not just squibs, but muggles as well..."
Everyone loudly gasped at the thought 'Muggles can use magic?!' Arthur, soon realizing where the direction of the discussion would go if he would do nothing, interrupted quickly, "Calm down!" The Hall gradually got silenced. He continued, "Let him..." pointing towards Styller with his thumb "...continue the story, we are not leaving Britain any time soon, so we will answer many of your questions that you all have a later date. At that time we will explain many theories regarding the working of magic and various other topics, in depth..."
Harry had turned his eyes to look at Dumbledore, who for some unknown reason looked very, very uncomfortable.
Styller continued, "As I was saying, unlike sorcerers, Merlin was born with the ability to use magic. He was a a wizard, just like Prince Arthur, but his magic did not manifest as soon as he was born, unlike Arthur. He first showed his magical aptitude during he was four, playing with his childhood friend William. Later when Hunith found about it, she grew worried about his growing magical powers. So, when he was seventeen, Hunith sent him to Camelot, to Gaius, with the hope that the old physician and the retired sorcerer, would be able to help Merlin, with his growing power."
"Gaius himself, was shocked seeing, as he had never seen someone like Merlin ever. He took Merlin as his ward. Merlin spent his first few days in Camelot helping Gaius while the physician tried to find some paid work for him. He soon found a new friend in the Lady Morgana's maidservant, Guinevere. By some way or the other, Merlin got himself into some problems of the the internal affairs of the Royal Family, and got himself arrested. In order to escape his punishment he agreed to become the manservant of Prince Asther..." This simple fact almost caused a mutiny among the Hogwarts students.
The fact that British wizard's beloved Merlin was a manservant, some purebloods could not easily digest that fact.
Theodore Nott, must have had a bit of amnesia, because he pulled his wand, and fired a semi-dark curse at Styller, momentarily forgetting who was actually present in the Hall. Arthur simply with a wave of his hand made the incomming jet of purple light...disappear? People were stunned a the sheer display of magic, the cancellation(?) of magic, shocked at the British wizards to the core. Not even a second had passed since Arthur pulled that astounding feat, when Styller raised his arm, and with a flick of wandless magic disarmed the Fourth Year Slytherin.
Styller began in a bored and casual tone, "You know...just because you are legally a minor, and also because of sheer negligence and ignorance, I will not press charge against you for attacking a member of one of the 18 Assistant Houses, much less the Head of that the same House..." Theodore Nott's eyes widened astronomically, so did the eyes of other Heirs of Noble Houses of Great Britain.
Styller smirked, "Yes, I am Lord Styller Emrys, Head of the Royal and Imperial House of Emrys of the Eighteen Assistant Houses."
Theodore Nott's legs gave away finally and he fainted. Lord Styller Emrys shook his head with fake sense of disappointment, "Oh dear...someone please rennervate him..." A Seventh Year Slytherin took pity on the Nott Heir, and did as he was directed. Then he was made to lie down in a corner of the Slytherin bench.
"So.." Lord Styller began, "Let's continue with the story..." He behaved as if no one had distracted him just a few seconds earlier, "...so Merlin became the manservant for Prince Asther, known as Prince Arthur. "
"Now..." Lord Emrys took a deep breadth and continued, "...Prince Asther was a real git, just like his father Uther. Magic hater, war monger, obnoxious, and last but not the least, womanizer. In spite of all these, Asther was no doubt a kind hearted person. He had a good deal of respect for all the servants of the castle, and quickly Asther and Merlin became inseparable best pals."
"Well, in this way, few months had passed when one night, in his sleep, Merlin got a dream, where a voice had asked him to go to the cave beneath the city of Camelot. So Merlin went and was greeted with a half-angry and half-surprised Great Dragon, Kilgharrah. There Kilgharrah narrated him how he was captured and was imprisoned beneath the city of Camelot, for almost twenty years. Then Kilgharrah told Merlin of an prophecy about him, how he would help Prince Arthur (the original) to bring back magic to Albion. Merlin, thinking that he was destined to help Prince Asther of all the people to bring back magic, scoffed at the idea and denied to help him at first, but finally agreed to help."
"Merlin tried to make Asther realize that not all magicals were bad, some were good. But Asther never bulged. King Uther had personally looked into the the education of Prince Asther, and made sure to have Asther educate in extremist anti-magic ideology. As a result, Asther was a staunch supporter of Anti-magic Movement. Over the years, Merlin went to Kilgharrah many times to seek advice how to change Asther's viewpoint, but the Great Dragon simply advised to keep on had also informed Gaius of his meeting with the Great Dragon Like this way four years passed way since merlin came to Camelot...Merlin turned 21, Asther, Arthur (still living in Frankia), and Morgana have all turned 20. Merlin was older to all of them just by one year, while Morgana was older than her step brothers just by a span of five months..."
"After, four years of service in Uther's Palace, Merlin started having feelings towards a resident in the Palace, none other than our very own Morgana Pendragon..." Lord Styller Emrys declared.
"!"
The muggleborns gasped ('how many times will they gasp? Don't do they get tired of it?' thought Arthur Pendragon the Seventh) Lord Emrys understanding the reason of their exclamation, "What? Don't be surprised, Arthur told you all that whatever you all have read earlier in 'The Once and Future King by T.H. White' is already fabricated...so..."
At the time Hermione Granger decided it was the best moment to voice the doubts of most of the muggleborns, "But...how do we know that you all are actually not lying? How can you prove that these all are true?"
The jaws of the purebloods dropped and their eyes became as wide as saucers. 'The audacity of the mudblood?!' Most purebloods thought. Then they looked at the Grand Family of Pendragon, who were giving wide feral grins. They thought 'Apologize fast bloody mudblood, or else we are doomed!'
Pansy Parkinson with a high pitched voiced the opinion of most purebloods, "Granger, you bloody mudblood! Apologize fast or else we are doomed!" The purebloods and some half-bloods were nodding frantically. Hermione got scared for a moment and wanted to ask why, when Arthur raised his voice, "Silence!" The Hall grew silent. He scrutinized all the students of Hogwarts at once, then turned his attention towards Hermione and with a small smile said, "Indeed why will you believe us? Just because we are a Royalty in Magical World? Just because our word is the proof? Oh please! We are not naïve! Of course we will give you enough proof, to satisfy your thirst...but for the time being let the story continue..." Arthur nodded at Styller.
Styller also thanked in return, "yes...where was I?...yes...Merlin falls for Morgana, pretty hard I should say..." he and Morrighan Le Fay chuckled, "...but he was afraid of confessing to her, in case she did not reciprocate his feelings, but the funny thing was that Morgana also held similar feelings for him. The way both interacted, the way both blushed when looked at each other, it clear to everyone they were in love with each other, except themselves as they were blissfully unaware..." (Harry heard Arthur mutter at this time "Doesn't this happen in each and every love story? It has become so cliché, for God's sake!")
"But something happened next that completely changed both of their lives..." Styller continued, "One night, a few days after Samhain, Merlin was strolling aimlessly around the castle, as he couldn't sleep, when he heard the sounds of sobbing. After investigating a bit, he found that it was coming from the room of Lady Morgana. So he, knocked and entered. There he found Morgana crying, amidst broken and shattered vases and other ornaments. He tried to calm her down and asked her what was the matter. Then she told him her story..."
"For past few months, she had been experiencing terrible things. Wherever she went, something bad would always happen, things would catch fire, vases would shatter, things would levitate and so on. She told him that she had earlier informed Gaius about this and he told her that it was a rare disease he knew nothing about."
"But Merlin understood what it was. What was happening to Morgana was magic. So he told Morgana about it. At first Morgana was terrified, but when Merlin later confessed that he himself had Magic, and showed his skills to her, various kinds of emotions passed through her head, shock, fear, wonder, awe, and a tiny bit of hope. That was also the night when both of them confessed their loves to each other and had their first kiss. But unknown to them, someone had spied throughout their entire conversation, as Merlin had forgotten to lock the room properly when he had entered."
"The next day, both Merlin and Morgana, confronted Gaius, and told them that Morgana's having magic. Then Gaius confessed that he knew that Morgana possessed magic, but he wanted also to protect her. For the next few weeks everything went, well, Merlin, with carrying out his duties as the manservant of Prince Asther, and helping Gaius in teaching Morgana how to control her magic. But as Arthur has told you all earlier, every good things come to an end..."
"One evening, when Merlin was freed from his duties, was strolling through the city of Camelot, when Gaius met, who was frantically breathing. He told that Merlin was in danger and then dragged him to his quarters. There Gaius told him that a had informed King Uther that Merlin and Morgana could perform Sorcery. King Uther had hired assassins to kill Merlin and Morgana that very night as public execution of two members of Royal Household won't look good. Even Asther had agreed to his father's plan as he coined the fact 'magicals do not have right to live'. This was the greatest betrayal for Merlin. The person, whom Merlin had thought to be his best friend, agreed to his death just because he had magic, just because it was something he had since his birth. Merlin was really heartbroken."
"Although, he was deeply affected, he did not lose his mind. He knew survival was most important thing right at that moment. So, he and Gaius went to Morgana and explained her the entire situation. To say that Morgana Pendragon was a naïve and witless young princess would be a mistake of astronomical level. She was calm and unsurprised. She informed them that she knew how magic hating his father, Uther Pendragon was for which, he could go to any any length to obliterate magic from this world, including "killing one own's family member." These were the exact words that Morgana had told Gaius. At this point Gaius's eyes became as wide as the moon. But he quickly changed that expression into a stoic one, but Merlin noticed it nevertheless."
"So, Morgana knew what Uther would do if he ever comes to know that For that very reason she had formed a contingency plan. She had her essential belongings packed in a travel bag: clothes, food, important herbs and potions, water, and fifty gold and silver coins. Merlin, amazed by her wit. So with the help of Gaius and Morgana, Merlin also packed his belongings: clothes, food, herbs, medicines, potions, some money, and most importantly his books on magic and sorcery, given to him by Gaius. Gaius also arranged two horses for their journey and gave them two swords for self defense. Although Morgana was a Princess, but she regularly practiced with the other Knights of the Kingdom. Before it was dinner time, the two fled Camelot on horseback. Gaius had escorted them up to the city gates. Before the duo left, Gaius gave Merlin an old leather diary, and told him to read it as 'it would make him understand what was his destiny truly' and also gave him a piece of advice in a cryptic message..." Styller Emrys did a sign of air-quotes and said, "'Look for the true Heir of Camelot in the unknown Lands of Frankia, every answer will be cleared...' Then they fled in the direction of south, towards Southampton."
"That very night, when Merlin and Morgana could no more be found, Uther understood that the duo must have got the news of their impending death somehow and fled the city. He ordered a team consisting forty best knights of the city, including Percival, Gawain and Gareth, in search of the 'traitors'. But they did not know in which direction the two went so they split in four teams each consisting ten members, and went in four different cardinal directions."
From this point Lord Morrighan Le fay continued, "But both were intelligent enough not to avail the main road, because they were sure King Uther would have sent his Knights in pursuit of them. So they took detours after detours. In this way two months had passed. In this two months, they both lived like nomads. Slept on the trees, hunted wild animals, once their supply of food from Camelot was finally over. In this two months they studied the entire journal of Gaius and after reading it, they were shocked would be an understatement of the century. No words could express their feelings then. Anger, hurt, contempt, and many more emotions were swirling in their heads at that time. The entire truth about, real Princes Arthur and Asther, Arthur's escapade, the Blackwoods and all other hidden scandals of the Royal Family of Pendragon. Then Merlin understood the meaning behind the Gaius's words. So they took a solemn vow, to find the original Prince Arthur and help him return his true birthright."
"So after an extensive travel, almost banging the Doors of Death twice or thrice, the duo reached, the Lands of Frankia in a rough and shattered condition. Tired, malnourished, in tattered clothes and with lack of proper sleep they were loitering around a forest region, when they were welcomed by a group of bandits. They were too tired to even defend themselves, so they simply left everything to Fate's hand. Fortunately at that very time rescue came for them, a certain hooded figure emerged from forest and, well...long story short...defeated them with the help of high level of magic both Merlin and had ever seen/performed themselves. When the hooded figure dropped his hood, they were shocked to see an exact duplicate of the Arthur Pendragon or rather Asther Pendragon from Camelot. But with one sparkling difference, this one had auburn-red hair. Before they could process anything more, exhaustion took over them and they fainted."
(Harry heard Arthur mutter again, "Doesn't this happen in every other fantasy other tale? Saved in the last moment? Sounds so cliché!")
Then Arthur took the reigns of the story, "Then Arthur Pendragon the First, took the both of them to his house near a small little stream, across which there lived the small settlement of Mages. The Mages and various healers among them and they helped in the treatment of Merlin and Morgana. Alies and Liana, Prince Arthur's adoptive parents let them be in their large cottage. They woke up after two days, hungry and the first thing that they asked Arthur was whether he was the true one Arthur Pendragon. the First son of Uther Pendragon or not." The other members of the Grand Family chuckled. "So, while having meal, Arthur answered all their queries, and in return they narrated the situation in Albion and Camelot. The most shocking thing that they heard from Arthur that he had no interest in reclaiming the throne of Camelot."
Many gasped, including the purebloods, as it was a new information for them. Arthur continued, "Arthur told them he was more interested to travel the world and see different types of magic, their functions, meet different people and other magical communities before setting foot on the lands of Albion. Both Merlin and Morgana understood his implications. Arthur wanted to create an army before marching into Camelot. So Arthur asked if they wanted to tag along with him in his journey, which they readily accepted, since they had nothing else to do. After two months of preparations, they set their foot on their journey..."
Arthur glanced at everyone present in the Hall, "The story's interesting isn't it?" Everyone nodded. Even the purebloods who knew everything about since their childhood were having a enchanting experience. It was one thing, reading about their history while growing, while hearing the same history from the descendants of the very protectors of the magical world was another thing. Arthur smiled before continuing.
"So, they travelled various parts in Europe. Spain, Germany, Italy, Greece, Constantinople. Even some parts in Egypt. Wherever they went they tried to learn every possible magic. They explored almost each and every sphere of magic available at that time."
"While travelling in Germany, then known as Rhine, the three met another fellow wizard and a witch. Both around the age of fifteen with copper blonde hair and amber-brown eyes. Siblings no doubt. Both were hungry and tired. So they took them in their group. The brother and sister duo, told them about their their history. Both lived along with their parents in a small village. They all were wizards. They had a small paddy field where they used to cultivate wheat as a way of earning, and practiced magic within the secrecy of their of their small cottage. One day while training in their magic, a villager caught them. He informed the entire village of their use of magic. So, they burned their entire cottage down and with weapons declared a hunt for the 'vile creatures'. Their parents managed to buy them enough time so that they could flee, but they in turn got sacrificed." Arthur smiled a wistful smile.
Every occupant of the Great Hall looked downcast.
"So Arthur readily accepted the orphans in their group. Can anyone tell who who these two siblings were?"
A silence greeted him, before Susan Bones (I know after such a long time) softly spoke, "Godric and Sarah Gryffindors."
The eyes of the members of the Gryffindor House became as wide as saucers.
"So the two Gryffindors joined the journey along with Arthur, Merlin and Morgana. After some months, while they were travelling in the some parts of Austria, the five noticed that a group of people were a chasing a girl with swords, axes and other farming instruments, who was around same age that of Morgana: 21. All five of them understood what the matter was, as all of them had a fair share of it: Witch Hunting. They quickly rescued the girl, by knocking the other villagers down with their magic. The girl was amazed by the sheer display of magic. She had blond hair and ocean-blue eyes. Upon further inspection, they found that she had a deep gash, probably from the onslaught of the villagers. Arthur with his brilliant healing magic, immediately sealed the girl's wound. The girl was awestruck. Then she narrated her tale, which was quite similar to that of the Gryffindor siblings. So she also decided to travel with them, as she had no one else in her life. any guesses about her name?" Arthur asked the silent Hall.
Then a Third Year blonde Ravenclaw girl, with an airy expression, raised her voice. Luna Lovegood spoke, "Helga Hufflepuff."
Now it was the time for the Hufflepuff students to have a gobsmacked expression.
Lord Pendragon continued, "Yes, so Helga Hufflepuff also joins the journey of Arthur pendragon the First. Then after a couple of months, Arthur and his Company..." Many chuckled at this, "...arrived at the City of Kiev, today the capital of modern-day Ukraine, after the dissolution of the U.S.S.R" Many purebloods had a look of confusion written on their faces, but the muggleborns were nodding in acceptance, "There, while buying some essential supplies, Merlin found a crowd was gathered in the centre of the city. Many people were hurling stones at a young man, who looked not less than less than 21. Of course, they were doing so because he was accused of sorcery. Merlin wanted to help him."
"During their journeys, all six of them learnt various aspects of magic, defensive, offensive, healing, dueling, illusion magic and mind arts, charms, transfiguration, runes and many more. Although they learned magic, they also kept their training with muggle weaponry going on. Arthur was more equipped with a sword and was comfortable with every kind of magic, which was highly unusual. Godric Gryffindor was also equipped with a sword and was skilled in Battle Magicks. Sarah Gryffindor was adept with a spear and was skilled with Offensive Magicks. Merlin was fine with a sword but preferred a crossbow and had an affinity for Illusion Magicks. Morgana like a rapier and also had an affinity for Mind Arts. Helga did not like much violence, but still learnt sword wielding and arrow shooting from Merlin in case she ever needed to defend herself or each other. And she was highly gifted in Healing Arts.'
"So Merlin with his illusion tricks, distracted the crowd long enough to rescue the boy discreetly. The other members were in the other parts of the City, but all of them had established a telepathic connection with one another earlier, which they had learnt from the ethnic Gothic tribes of Bavaria. Quickly he sent a telepathic message to the others who quickly met him near the city gates."
"The boy whom Merlin had earlier rescued was had sandy blonde eyes and an unnerving shade of deep green eyes. His, fragile, lifeless body, from days or perhaps weeks of starving made him look almost like a skeleton. Helga seeing the lad, immediately started healing all the gashes and wounds that were made from the rocks that were thrown at him. After the boy recovered his senses, they give him the food they had to him and then started asking him questions about his life. The boy, while devouring his food, told them the story of his life. He was the eldest son of the King of Crania, and was next in line to the succession. Through out his life he had led a lavish lifestyle, lived in a huge mansion, treated with riches, and was adorned with royalty. But after a few months since his twentieth birthday, he started showing signs of magic and found that he could speak to snakes." Many gasped at this and their eyebrows crossed their hairline with astonishment. "His father, the King of Crania, being a staunch supporter of Anti-magic ideology, kicked him out of the palace and and his kingdom. Since then he had been living on the streets feeding on the leftovers and with frequent hurling of the stones from the commoners."
Some of the occupants of the occupants of the Great Hall even had tears in their eyes.
Arthur continued, "No sooner did the sandy haired young man finished his tale, Arthur had wrapped him in a big hug. All of them did not even bat their eyes a bit while declaring that he deserved a place among them. The man was eternally grateful. I guess you all can understand about whom am I talking about?" Arthur threw the question to all the students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Salazar Slytherin." Everyone unanimously answered.
But another fact, greatly unnerved the Hogwarts students, Salazar Slytherin was a muggleborn!
Arthur nodded, "So in this way a year passed away. Then they all decided to return back to the Lands of Frankia. On their way back, decided to take a trip via Greece, on their way in Greece, they were headed towards Athenopolis, magical counterpart of the City of Athens and the Capital of the Magical Kingdom of Greece. Earlier also they had visited the city and liked it the most. It was the most advanced city of magic of the age. While taking a detour through the dense Forest of Steni, they were exposed to a sudden unknown magical energy that got them separated. Arthur Pendragon, found himself falling from the sky and would have almost broken his spine, had he cast the Arresto Momentum charm just five seconds late. And then begins the another chapter in our the Once and the Future King's life: the eternal love story of Arthur Pendragon and Artemis Olympia the Firsts."
All of the members of the Pendragon Grand Family clapped and wolf-whistled, to confusion of other members of the Great Hall, while giving knowing smiles to Arthur and another girl who also had auburn-red hair, but electric blue eyes. But neither looked like close to be even siblings. They both blushed. Harry raised his eyebrows and an amused smile was playing on his face. 'Interesting...' he thought.
Arthur regained his composure and began the tale, "After finding that all his belongings were safe, he observed his surroundings and found that wherever he was, two things were very clear:
1. He was anywhere other than the Forest of Steni,
2. He was all alone, neither of friends, or his sister (he considered Morgana as his own sister, not as half-sister) was anywhere near him.
He knew a way to contact them: telepathy. So he tried to contact them with his telepathy, but he achieved no success. After trying for five continuous minutes, he finally gave up."
"Then he felt something, a weird sensation, that one usually feels when someone is stalking behind them. Arthur Pendragon the First had an ability. He could send a weak magical pulse around him, that could tell him if someone was near to him. Very similar to that muggle radar or SONAR systems. He found that around 30 metres away from him, a person was hiding on top of a tree, behind the leaves. Arthur decided to see who the person was. So he picked a pebble from the ground, in an casual manner, and within a fraction of a second threw in that person's direction. It hit and the person and he fell from the tree with a womanly shriek, and then felt unconscious. Upon closer inspection, Arthur found that the person was a woman. She had a long bow and a quiver full of arrows. Then something happened like this..."
Conversation between Arthur Pendragon the First, and the Unknown Woman:
Arthur I Pendragon POV:
First I get lost, then I get a woman stalker. Well...technically not a stalker, because I landed from sky(?)…but whatever...better wake her up. So I...
"Rennervate!" She woke up with a gasp. She had deep auburn-red hair, looked around to be 22 or 23 by age, with beautiful locks and electric-blue eyes...wait what is electric?...no idea, so anyway, in one word she was indeed very pretty and gorgeous and beautiful...and...angry?
An expression of deep anguish, and hatred morphed into her face, that made her no more pretty or beautiful or... In the blink of an eye, she pulled an arrow from the quiver and launched at me...guess I should have removed those deadly toys away from her long ago. But since I didn't do, so lets...
I caught the arrow that came in my direction when it was just five centimetres away from me. A misty olive green liquid was dripping from its trip. Wait is this...Essence of Aconite? Then a loud shriek once again turned by attention towards the auburn-haired woman.
The woman, in attempt to harm while I was distracted, had pulled a hunting knife from the belt of her chiton, and handled it carelessly...as a result, a light gash split the vein of her left hand. The same misty Essence of Aconite was present on the blade of the knife, which was also now present in her blood stream.
Blood was oozing out without any restriction. So understood that I had to do something. I hurriedly pulled a vial containing Essence of Aconitum Ditanum (counter agent for Aconite poisoning). I poured it into her wound, and extracted the poison from her blood stream and sealed the wound. Although there is no more poison in her blood stream, why is she not breathing...?
Holy shit! Her heartbeats are getting lower! I should do the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)… err... whatever that is... so that her breathing can become normal. So I tried chest compression. I earnestly tried myself not to get distracted by the feeling from the softness of her assets. After trying several times, no progress. Only one way was left. So I opened her mouth, took a large quantity of air into my mouth and plunged my mouth into hers. I repeated the process, several times, until her breathing slowly, but steadily went back to normal. I never noticed the glow that was surrounding our body then.
"Phew!" Exhausted, I sat down on the ground downcast.
Never EVER did I imagine that my first kiss will get spent giving someone kiss of life. I always had dreamt of giving my first kiss to someone I would love. I always imagined, during the time of sunset, in a forest clearing, with my lover I would share my first kiss. At least the person was a woman...
I turned my head to see the position of the sun. It was hanging lowly in the west. Then a weird suspicion crept into my mind. I looked into my surroundings, and saw that we were in a... forest clearing. The word revolved around my head: During the sunset, in a forest clearing, with my lov- I forcefully stopped my mind from having indecent thoughts. I guess I should look for a night shelter...
I carried the woman on my back, and walked about three miles. I once again tried not to get distracted, by soft feeling on my back. Some time later, I found a cave where I decided to take shelter for the night. I warded the entrance of the cave so that no wild animal could disturb during the night's sleep. Damn the Egyptian Priests do know their Craft!
After lighting a fire, I decided to wake the girl up. I slowly patted her shoulder. Then I saw a bruise on it, most probably from the stone I threw. So with a wave of my magic, I quickly healed it.
"Hey woman..." She jerked open her eyes and immediately tried to sit up. I was leaning towards, so her and my foreheads crashed.
""Ow Ow""
Then she glared at me then understanding in what kind of position we were in, immediately went for her dagger/knife that used to be on the belt of her chiton. But luckily this time, I removed every possible artefacts that could be dangerous for my well being. Not finding it, a healthy amount of fear crept into her face. She stuttered, "Wh-what di-did yo-you do to ME?"
I rapidly told, "Hey CALM DOWN Woman! I did nothing!" She then gave a harsh glare and screamed, "You filthy MAN! You must have raped me!" Huh! I raped? Is she nuts?
"Hey calm down and listen to me!" I slowly narrated her what had happened, avoiding the kissing part. But she understood that I was hiding something. She asked with suspicion evident in her voice, "You really did not do anything to me?"
"Eh...you see..." noticing the hesitance in my voice, she grabbed by my throat. Damn! Shouldn't have let my guard down! I wonder what would Godric say...
"Hey..he..wom-woman, lis-listen me out first!" I managed somehow speaking. She released me from her grip. "Explain!" She spat with venom filled voice. I gulped and explained why I kissed her for medical purposes. After hearing my tale, we both remained in an uncomfortable silence. Then she began whining, "YOU took my First Kiss! You defiled me!"
Anger crept a bit into my reply as well. "What the Hell! For you I also gave away, my first kiss. Something I was saving for someone I would find precious enough to give away my life in exchange for her!" She blanched, "It was your first one as well?" I grunted a yes. We again sat in an uncomfortable silence till she opened her mouth to say, "So you are not like those men, who simply toy with women. Rape them the moment they get a chance?" uncertainty was evident in her voice.
"Are you crazy?! I was not educated with such ideologies! I am an honourable man and live with dignity. I believe raping women does not increase one's own status in the society, but rather shows how low can one's own dignity can fall, if he resorts to such means. Hell, I am a virgin for God's sake!"
The woman's eyes grew wide for some moments, then she hung her head down for some moments. Then I heard a soft voice from her tender throat, "Thank you for saving my life." I grunted, "No problem" Although I tried not to show any emotion outside, but I was really surprised. I did not expect a 'thank you' from. What she told next surprised me even more that let my emotionless mask slip completely, "Sorry for saying all those stuffs, and earlier attempting to harm you." Her voice was filled with honesty and tenderness. She gave a small smile. I could no longer remain angry with her. I replied, "Its...Its okay, no problem." I also gave a smile in return.
She asked me, "What's your name?"
I replied, "Arthur Pendragon. Yours?"
She gave a grin and said, "Artemis Olympia."
"So this is how Arthur and Artemis met." Arthur Pendragon the Seventh ended. He scrutinized the hall. Many people had smiles on their faces. 'Lets add some more portion of humour...' Arthur decided.
"I don't know what, in the Dark Ages, Artemis Olympia the First's behaviour would have been called, but certainly now, in the end of the Twentieth century, and almost the beginning of Twenty-First Century, she would definitely be called a tsundere." Many muggleborns laughed at this, including Hermione. Harry thought 'What the hell 'tsundere' means?'
At that time, the female replica of Arthur Pendragon the Seventh, swatted his twin brother's head and spoke threateningly, "Oni-Chan, just how many times will Mother and I have to tell you, not to watch too many anime and read a dozen manga everyday?" Arthur sweated a bit, "What do you mean Ariana? You know, I don't watch that many anime anymore...surely you know..." Ariana Pendragon with a suspicious voice asked, "You don't watch anime, so what do-" Then she gave a loud gasp, "Oh! So that's why always go to sleep late almost every night! You watch Hentai?!" Many muggleborns were already rolling on the floor with their laughter. And Arthur? Well, he was sweating pretty heavily. Perhaps there is some ounce of truth in Ariana's words after all...
"What! That's absolutely wrong! Want me to make a magical vow?" Arthur exclaimed. Ariana developed a thoughtful look, "No not required..." Arthur released a breadth that he was unknowingly holding, "...but..." Ariana was not finished, "...we will have a talk regarding this sometime later today, okay?" Arthur nodded hurriedly.
At that moment an innocent First Year Hufflepuff, voiced his question, "What is hentai?" Another round of laughter went among the muggleborns. Arthur deciding to wrap up that particular discussion for once and for all, snapped his two fingers and the Hall became magically silent once more. He looked at the Hufflepuff boy and said, "Kid, someday you will learn it by your own."
The Hall would have broken into another set of laughter, had Arthur not prevented it using his magic.
Hello readers! Knight of Britannia here! I hope you all are liking the story till this part! I wanted to post this chapter as a single part, but unfortunately, I am unable to do so. It will get quite lengthy. So this chapter will come in two more parts. This was part one. Please tell me how you all are feeling with this story in the reviews. If you want you can PM me. I cordially invite all your reviews. Till then, Sayōnara. :)