CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE


Summary: Finding herself one thousand years back in the past and in the legendary Kingdom of Camelot was something Hermione had never seen coming. But with no possible way back to the future and being stuck in the past, Hermione had no option but to form a new life for herself, and hopefully without changing the timeline. Unfortunately, matters of the heart cannot be controlled and she finds herself entwined in the lives of Prince Arthur and the great and powerful sorcerer, Merlin. Hermione x Arthur pairing.

Disclaimer: I do not own canon events and characters, they belong to J.K Rowling and the creators of Merlin, and the BBC. I am not making a profit from writing and posting this fanfic. I'm also making some big changes to the Merlin plotline so don't be surprised that nothing matches with canon. If I'm being honest, it's been years since I last saw the series, so I'm mostly going off what I remember and episode reviews and notes. And I've decided Arthur won't be dying.

AN

You guys have been fabulous with your support and kind words. I'm fine, I wasn't injured in the crash, I just couldn't stop shaking until I burst into tears, and once I pulled myself together, I was back on the road and continuing with my shift, until I got home and promptly burst into tears again.

So, I handed in my resignation at work and they said I don't have to work my notice, so as of today, I no longer work for them and I am free! Freedom! Until I find another job that is, lol.

Starting after this chapter, we will start to see some time gaps as we move further into the plot. They won't be massive jumps, some may be a few days, others a week or two, or even a few months but nothing major. And many of you will start to see answers to your questions or theories very soon and we'll see Merlin in the next chapter, too

Will the Founders find out about Hermione? Will the riders ever return? Will Hermione ever admit her feelings to Arthur? Will she ever allow herself to entertain the idea of being with him? What does the future hold for their relationship? For Camelot?

There's only one way to find out.

Happy reading!


Page count: 6


"Akela, I can't sneak you out with me, you'll have to stay here," Hermione said, looking down at her wolf with her hands on her hips. He let out a bark of disagreement. "No, whilst the people of the castle know that you may wander or hunt alone, they may still be suspicious as it isn't often you are seen not by my side. I must leave the castle and I can't sneak you out beneath the cloak. I shan't be gone long and I promise to return to the castle within the next two hours."

It was obvious he disagreed with her plans for the night but she wasn't backing down. She had to leave the castle without anyone seeing her and without being escorted by her newly appointed personal guards – something that had completely surprised Emerick and Michel, as not only did they now only take orders from her -unless overridden by the King and Arthur- but they'd just been promoted in their position at the castle.

Akela released a rumbling growl of annoyance before laying down in front of the fire and turning his head, refusing to look at her. She barely stopped herself from laughing at him. Shaking her head, Hermione reached for her beaded bag and slipped it into her hidden pocket of the pale blue dress she wore, having changed clothing before sitting with the King, Lady Morgana and Arthur for dinner.

She'd had a busy day and was exhausted. That morning she'd had two attempts on her life, freed a servant from an abusive master and made deals with nearly half of the market place. The early afternoon she'd taken on the role of provider and caregiver to four young boys, gained herself an apprentice and set up her practice. The late afternoon through to early evening she'd returned to the castle and spent hours with Prince Arthur and King Uther, discussing the happenings of the morning and Thorley Harte, of which the King had not been forgiving and ordered Thorley's execution which was to be officially announced the following morning and carried out in the evening.

Now, she'd not long since returned from dinner, Arthur having escorted her to her room despite her new personal guard, and she was preparing to head out into the lower city, wishing to return the newly altered clothing to the boys and take them some food. Earlier in the evening, she'd managed to find her way to the kitchens and surprisingly, it had taken her a while to convince the cooks to allow her to use their kitchen to cook up a quick stew. She'd been aware of their suspicious but curious gazes and had ignored them diligently, before leaving the kitchens with a pot of stew in hand. Once she'd returned to her rooms, she'd cast a Stasis Charm over it so it would stay warm until she had time to take it to the four orphans.

So, having everything she required, she slipped on her newly made cloak for warmth and then covered herself with the Invisibility Cloak before leaving out of her room and quietly navigating the castle, leaving the grounds and making her way through the city as quickly as possible.

Given how late it was, she wasn't surprised to see the streets were empty except for the occasional person wandering. As she approached the hut, she had every intention of casting wards around it once she knew it was safe to do so. Despite it being quite warm during the day, it was most certainly the opposite during the night and even beneath the two cloaks she wore, she felt herself shiver as the wind picked up. It would be freezing inside the hut despite the blankets and walls to keep the children dry and out of the path of the wind, and Hermione planned to cast a warding around the hut that would be activated by the change in temperature. If it was a warm night, it would remain ineffective but if the temperature dropped too low, a heat barrier would encase the hut, keeping the young boys inside warm and comfortable. But to ensure their safety, she also planned to use anti-theft and break-in wards, that would only be effective if the hut was empty or if it were between the hours of late evening and early morning.

As she approached, she did a quick sweep of her surroundings before pulling off the Invisibility Cloak and then she removed her beaded bag from her pocket, stuffed it inside and continued on her way to the hut. As she drew near, a slight frown pulled at her face as she saw shadows being cast on the wall through the window. The only source of light capable of doing such a thing was fire, but not only was there not enough room in the hut to build a fire, but the smoke would also be incredibly bad for their health. The shadows were too large to be caused by a simple candlelight and as she realised that, panic filled her and she rushed forward, the door slamming open and against the stone wall as she ploughed into the room.

Upon her entrance, the four boys that were crowded onto two cots let out startled sounds, visibly jumped and turned to look at her with horrified, terrified expressions, and Hermione's eyes widened at the sight of the flickering, dancing flames hovering above Harrow's palm.

"Godric," she breathed out in a whisper, her eyes darting between the flames and Harrow's panicked expression.

He had magic!

Hermione most certainly hadn't been expecting that. God, her head hurt.

"You can do magic," she spoke softly.

Charles suddenly jumped to his feet, his hand reaching as though to pull the dagger she knew he had hidden on his person, a fiercely protective look crossing his face and he looked about ready to either charge at her or throw a dagger straight at her heart. She was not in the mood for a third attempt on her life that day.

"I mean you know harm," she said, before she looked over her shoulder, her eyes landing on the large examination table and with a muttered, Wingardium Leviosa, the large table slowly levitated off the ground, hovering barely half a foot in the air.

She turned her eyes back to the boys, all of them looking equally as surprised as she had upon her entrance. Charles' hand fell back down his side, Harrow looked slightly awed, Farley surprised and Kenelm was sleeping as he clutched the blanket against him; if he hadn't woken yet she didn't think he would until the morning. She raised her hand and made a show of lowering it back to her side, the three boys seeing the way the table lowered to the ground at the same speed, a definite sign she'd been the one to control the movement.

"You have magic, too," Harrow spoke, the flames disappearing from his palm in his surprise and the room was plunged into darkness, until Hermione muttered a spell to light the torches in the room, bathing them in the soft glow of the firelight.

"I do, yes," she said, slowly approaching and summoning a chair from the other side of the room, hearing their noises of surprise as she took a seat in front of them. "That is why your secret is safe with me. Am I to assume to you were born with your magic?"

He was far too young to be practising the magic of the Old Religion, what she'd witnessed was the magic she practised, the magic she'd been taught. It was likely instinctual; it was cold in the hut and to keep his brothers and himself warm, his magic had acted to protect them.

"I think so," he replied, his eyes darting between his brothers and her.

"I was, too," she smiled softly. "When did you discover your magic?"

"After my parents died," he answered.

Why was the world so cruel to the innocent?

That may have been the trigger, Hermione thought. More often than not, children showed signs of magic after the age of four and as they aged, the magical acts tapered off until they received their wands at the age of eleven, and then it stopped, though it had been known for accidental magic to occur after. However, some children required something to trigger their magic, something to spark it to life.

With Neville, it had been his Uncle dropping him out of the window and almost drowning after being thrown off Blackpool Pier. With Ron, it had been Fred and George locking him in a cupboard with spiders. With Seamus, it had been a small kitchen fire, which she found ironic given how much of a pyromaniac he'd been.

Harrow's trigger had been the death of his parents.

"Did your parents have magic, too?"

"No," he shook his head. "Why?"

"Magic can be inherited, if both your parents had magic, all four of you would've likely inherited it. If only one of your parents had it, the chances of you all having it are half."

"Why do I have magic, but the others don't?" He frowned, glancing to his brothers and then back to her.

"I believe that you either had a magic user in your ancestry or someone who had magical parents but did not possess magic themselves. The magic would be in your bloodline but not strong enough to present itself yet, until, you were born. You are what is known as a Muggleborn."

He frowned. "Did your parents have magic?"

What a question to ask, Hermione thought and she bit her lip indecisively. Should she tell the truth or lie? She had to make sure she covered all of her bases should anything ever happen or come back to bit her in the arse.

"My father did, my mother did not. I inherited my magic from him, who inherited it from his father."

"The King," Charles said, eyeing her curiously.

"Yes, the Kingdom of Hogwarts is not like Camelot. Magic is celebrated and welcomed. Magic is considered to be a gift. We have a school in which magic is taught to young children. They have mentors in all areas of magic and they are taught to use their magic for good and never evil. I know as I attended Hogwarts when I was a child." Their eyes widened at the news and she smiled softly.

"Is that how you..." Harrow gestured to the table.

"Yes, I learned to do that at school. I'm going to assume you have no reading material or any knowledge of casting magic, therefore anything that you are able to do is instinctual. It is your magic acting to protect you and your brothers but if you are not taught to control your magic, it can be dangerous."

Hermione smoothed out her cloak before folding her hands in her lap delicately, as she bit her lip thoughtfully. Harrow could benefit massively if he were to attend Hogwarts and with his age, she was sure he'd be accepted. She didn't think Slytherin was yet causing a problem so he would be safe. But that meant he'd had to leave his brothers and she wasn't certain Charles would allow it or that Harrow would even wish to go.

She had no way of contacting Hogwarts and only had a general idea of where it was hidden in the 20th century, not the late 5th century. From what she'd estimated, it was a three month's journey, maybe a little longer and she couldn't leave Camelot for half a year nor could she expect a young child to travel alone either. For the same reason, she couldn't write a letter as a rider wouldn't be able to find Hogwarts due to the magical barriers, and she couldn't use an owl either.

Despite owls being sensitive to magic and drawn to magical folk, she honestly hadn't seen many since her arrival, and before they could send letters they had to be trained to do so. Hermione had no idea how to do such a thing and she wasn't certain where she would be able to purchase one. She wouldn't be surprised if a large population of owls surrounded Hogwarts as it was filled with magical folk.

She couldn't risk using a Patronus either. It was unknown when the Patronus Charm had been invented or who had been the one to cast it successfully first, it was just estimated to having been done in ancient times. If it hadn't yet been invented and Hermione cast such magic and sent it off, it could change the timeline and land her in a bit of bother. Besides, Hermione wasn't even certain she could still cast a Patronus. She'd tried during the first couple of weeks of her arriving in the past and she'd been unsuccessful. She hadn't been sure if that was because she was so emotionally exhausted or that all of her good memories and belief had been tainted, and she'd been too afraid to attempt the charm ever since.

With no way of attempting communication and Harrow needing at least some training, there was only one option available to her.

"Due to the circumstances, we must ensure your magic is kept hidden," she said. "And we cannot allow your magic to act out. If you refrain from using magic for too long a time, it results in a magic build up and that is something we wish to avoid, as I have learned firsthand. You need training and as such, I shall help you. I am already quite busy with my other duties but I will ensure to put some time aside to train you in the ways of magic the best I can."

"You will?" Harrow all but whispered.

"You have my word. I will help you and do my best to keep you safe. In return, I need you to stay out of trouble, to not draw attention to yourself and to work hard. Never question my methods. As Charles will soon learn, I have my own way of doing things and though they might seem odd or unconventional, they work. Can you promise me that you will do as I ask?"

Harrow shared a look with Charles who nodded slowly.

"Yes," he said.

"Excellent, now, I can't stay much longer, I had to sneak out of the castle without the guards seeing me," she said and Charles' mouth twitched at the annoyance in her tone. "I came to give you these," she said, pulling her beaded bag from her pocket and summoning the altered clothing, crockery and cutlery and a pot of stew, the items settling on the examination table and at the sight of her magic, they all stared. "Your clothing has been altered, magically of course, and should now fit perfectly. I made the stew myself; it is still warm as I used magic to keep it so. I know it is cold this evening and I will be placing a series of magical barriers around the hut that will ensure you are kept warm and they will prevent anyone who wishes to steal or harm you from entering. And now that I've checked on you and I'm happy you're safe, I shall take my leave," she said, standing from the chair and smoothing out her cloak.

"I will bring food with me tomorrow morning but I may be a little later than I'd intended. The King requests my presence for an announcement. Once I am done and you have had your breakfast, we will make a start on helping those that need it. So, until tomorrow, I hope you get plenty of rest as you're going to need it. Goodnight, boys," she spoke, placing her beaded bag into her pocket, returning the chair to the table and then stepping out of the hut.

After doing a quick scan of her surroundings, she spent almost half an hour casting the wards around the hut before covering herself with the Invisibility Cloak and sneaking back into the castle.

It was as if she'd never left.