"In here, please." Merlin gestured to a room off to the side that held a bookcase and a few velvety blue armchairs. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down, still puzzled, and Merlin walked in front of them, eyeing them all down. Merlin had silvery gray eyes, and when he looked at Harry, it made him feel like he could see all of his secrets.
Ron and Hermione were looking very uncomfortable, because when Merlin had looked at them, he had chuckled softly, and they had absolutely no idea why.
"As Arthur told you, I am Merlin," Merlin said solemnly.
"How do you know who we are?" Ron blurted out. Merlin turned his gray eyes to Ron.
"Yes, I'm getting to that. Now, I do believe that in your time there is a very dark wizard, who goes by the name of Lord Voldemort," Merlin said. Ron and Hermione cringed slightly at the name, "and you, boy, you were the one that made him lose his powers, were you not?" Harry nodded. "And you two, you helped him defeat this Voldemort once, am I correct?" Ron and Hermione nodded. Merlin's face fell a little bit but he smiled all the same. "Well then, you are the ones I sent for. I was hoping for someone a little bit…"
"Older?" Harry interrupted. He felt a tiny stab of annoyance at this.
Merlin gave him a cheery smile. "Exactly. I believe you are Harry Potter?"
"Yes." Once again Harry noticed that Merlin had not even glanced at his scar.
Merlin turned to Ron. "And you are Ronald…Wesley?" he asked, uncertain.
Ron looked a bit irritated. "Ronald Weasley. Not Wesley. And everybody calls me Ron."
"Certainly." Merlin nodded, and turned to Hermione. "And, Hermione Granger, I presume?"
Hermione blushed and nodded.
"How do you know our names?" Ron asked again, still annoyed at the fact that Merlin had gotten his name wrong.
Merlin suddenly dropped his smile and became very serious.
"I brought you here through that mirror. I knew for a fact that you were at some point going to enter that room, and that you would find the mirror. I have my ways of seeing the future…The reason I brought you here is because…well…I suppose that Voldemort fellow is very…mean, is he not?" Merlin asked. Harry, Ron, and Hermione nodded vigorously.
"Then I think you will understand what I am about to say… King Arthur has decided to go on a quest for the Holy Grail. I have told him it is only a myth, and if God wanted it to go into the hands of a man with a pure heart, He would hand it over to them Himself. But that is beside the point. In this time, there is a very powerful and evil witch, by the name of Jeniva. She prefers to torture, rather then kill, like your Voldemort. She has always had what is left of her heart set on ruling Camelot. She despises us, and she has done so since Arthur banished her. She ~"
Hermione spoke up timidly. "Er…why did he banish her?"
Merlin sighed. "That, Hermione Granger, is another story, for another time."
Hermione nodded, feebly.
He continued, "With Arthur away from the throne, who knows what she may do? I, the one who is remembered in your history books as one of the most powerful wizards in the world, cannot stop her. I am too old, and I cannot stop her madness. She has the power of youth; I do not. That is why I have brought you here. That is why I know your names. You would not believe what the fates have told me about what is in store for you. But I know you shall succeed in whatever it is you must accomplish," Merlin stopped to look at all of them with a furious pride. Ron was still very confused.
"But…but…how could you know? And what are these 'fates'?" Ron asked.
Merlin chuckled slightly.
"The fates are the controllers of the past, present, and future. You could say that they are angels, generally. These…angels and I have formed a friendship of sorts. They tell me certain things that may help the people in my time. They are the ones who asked me to summon you. They told me your names. Your past. Your future. Your location. And that's how I knew that you were the ones to defeat Jeniva…"
"What?" Harry asked.
"I know it may come as a shock, but it can be done," Merlin said plainly.
"But…how…?"
"Listen," Merlin said soothingly, "I am sure you will be able to do it when the time comes, but for now, I suggest that you enjoy yourself here in Camelot. I will persuade Arthur to let you stay in the castle, which will not take much effort, and you can train, study, or do whatever your heart pleases until…" Merlin trailed off, shaking his head sadly.
"Until what?" Harry asked.
"You will find out."
Ron fidgeted. "…why us?"
"Because, dear boy. Because."
There was a very awkward silence in the room, until Hermione blurted something that she had apparently been very anxious about.
"Um, will we miss any school-work while we're here?" she asked nervously.
"No, no…you will be returned to the exact time you left," Merlin smiled.
"So," Ron said. "You're telling us that we have to defeat an evil witch ~ a powerful evil witch ~ and we can't even miss a bit of homework?"
Merlin laughed merrily. "Believe me, boy, the rewards you'll get from staying here are all you'll ever need."
Ron crossed his arms and said sarcastically, "Yeah. I'm sure they will be."
"Yes. I'm glad you feel that way," Merlin nodded at the door. "Well, I suppose you are dreadfully famished, so why don't we head back to the feast, hmm?"
So they all headed back to the banquet hall, with Harry, Ron, and Hermione feeling somewhat dazed.
Merlin gestured for them to take seats near King Arthur. The king had no objections to this, despite how strange Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked in their black Hogwarts robes.
Harry cast a curious look around the table, observing every single person. A rather fat woman in a pink silk dress who was talking to Sir Michael looked vaguely familiar…
"Harry," Ron hissed in his ear. "Look! It's the fat lady! She must be getting her portrait done today!"
"By who?" Harry asked.
Ron shrugged.
"Dunno."
Ron suddenly drew his attention from the fat lady over to Hermione, who was talking (a better observation would be that she was listening while blushing and staring down at her feet) to a handsome boy who looked to be around sixteen years old. The boy had brown hair and bright green eyes, like emeralds, and he was wearing a very good-natured grin.
Ron's eyes glinted maliciously like they had done on the night of the Yule Ball in fourth year. He dug his fingernails into his palms.
"Ron," Harry asked. "What's the matter?"
Ron didn't take his eyes off Hermione and the boy.
"Nothing…I just have a stomach ache…" he muttered.
Or maybe you're just a little jealous… Harry thought to himself.
Hermione and the boy walked over, Hermione looking flushed.
"Harry, Ron," she said excitedly. "I would like you to meet Godric Gryffindor."
Godric nodded at them and smiled.
Ron gaped.
A/N: Well, the plot's changed a BIT…but now we're beginning to get to the good part.
toodles,
Ron Weasley's Cutie
