CHAPTER II

"Wait wait wait. Let me get this straight" said Harry. "You're Merlin." The old man sitting in the armchair across from him nodded. "And you brought me here" he continued "because you've all of a sudden decided that Voldemort's a bigger threat than you thought he was going to be, and you want to make me all powerful, otherwise I won't be able to defeat him."

Harry glared at the old man.

"Well if you wish to put it that shortly, then I guess your right." Replied the old man "Although I always knew Voldemort would be a terrible threat, he has managed to become so powerful than many of the other realms in this universe could be threatened by him if he discovers them." He gazed back calmly at Harry.

"This is ridiculous" Harry burst out, "do you have any idea how much commotion it will cause once it gets out that I'm missing?"

He got up and began to pace.

" Ron and Hermione will be frantic. No letter, no warning, no nothing! Nothing to give anyone a hint." He stopped and glared at the Old man again. "You could have at least written something on that letter before you drugged and kidnapped me!"

Merlin, if that was indeed who he was, had the grace to look slightly apologetic.

"I hope you will forgive me for that Mr. Potter, I've been living in solitude so long I'm afraid I've forgotten how to interact properly with people."

He looked up with a slight twinkle in his eye. It reminded Harry of Professor Dumbledore when he knew something that would surprise you.

"I haven't finished all of my explanation you know." Said Merlin. "You see Harry, I am what you call a Arch-Mage. My Father was a wizard and my mother was an elf. The race of elves and mages has long since disappeared, for although we do not die of old age, we do, after a time, return to this realm, to live in peace." Merlin paused, and glanced at Harry. "You may be wondering why I chose to bring you here. I suppose it is because you are the Boy Who Lived. And you are the Boy Who Lived because your mother died to protect you. Such power however, does not come easily. She, and therefore you as well, is a direct descendent of me." He stopped at looked at Harry, who had been listening intently.

"You are my kin Harry, and you have incredible hidden power, but you may not fully realize that power until it is too late. That is why I propose we just speed the process along a little bit."

Harry opened his mouth to argue that he wasn't as special as everyone wanted to believe but Merlin cut him off.

"Young man, you have the potential to be the greatest Arch-mage ever known in history but it would take years to even build the foundations of what you need to learn if you were to do it by yourself. In most cases there is nothing wrong with that, but Voldemort won't wait until you're properly trained. All I am suggesting is that you let me lay down those foundations for you. "

Harry sighed heavily, and rubbed his hand over his eyes. He slumped back down into his chair and gazed into the fire. It crackled merrily, and threw big shadows on the walls of the large sitting room.

"I never asked for any of this you know," Harry put his head in his hands, "I never asked for all the fame and glory. Or all the publicity. It doesn't seem fair" he said dejectedly.

Merlin smiled kindly.

"Your right. Many times it isn't fair, and it certainly isn't fair that you were chosen before you could open you eyes to fight a battle that the fate of the world depends on. But somebody has to do it. And your friends will be there with you when it happens."

Harry looked up from his hands, and met Merlin's eyes, and in them saw a deep wisdom that comes from centuries of life. He blew out a breath and looked at the soft carpet under his socks.

" Alright. What do you want me to do?"

***

Albus Dumbledore put down his quill and ran his hands through his thinning hair. Harry had been missing for four full weeks. No hints, no evidence, no note. The Weasley's were getting frantic. He had visited them after receiving the note from Petunia Dursley. Hermione had cried, Ginny had left and gone upstairs, Ron had gone outside to scream bloody murder and chuck stones at things. The twins had lost their smiles and Molly had sent them all to bed. She and Arthur had promptly bombarded him with questions to which he regretfully didn't have any answers. KNOCK KNOCK. Albus looked up from his papers.

"Come in" he said tiredly.

Professor McGonagall walked in. She met his eyes hopefully.

"Any new Albus?" She asked.

Dumbledore shook his head.

"I promise you Minerva, if there is any news, you will be one of the firsts to know about it." He exhaled sharply and glared at his desk.

Professor McGonagall looked at him with a sort of gruff sympathy. She wasn't accustomed to showing emotion.

"I'll make you some tea." She said, because it was the only thing that came to mind.

***

"No! Exhale! Relax your mindNO!" Merlin huffed in exasperation as Harry lost concentration and toppled off the bench for the fifth time that day.

"Damn!" Harry shouted in frustration.

Merlin breathed in slowly and schooled his features so they looked less annoyed.

"You have been making immense progress lately, perhaps today is not a good day" he said in what he hoped was a patient voice. "Why don't we finish up for today and go in for dinner."

Harry looked up gratefully from where he had been angrily ripping out the grass. His eyes were filled with self-anger. Merlin saw it and much of his exasperation disappeared. The boy missed his friends, and his world. He had shown remarkable patience.

"

Yes," said Merlin, " come inside, and we'll start again tomorrow when you're fresh."

Harry sighed and pulled himself up from the grass. We're almost done Harry told himself, almost done. The young man made his way up the hill to the manor, his hands in his pockets, his head bent, full of thoughts of the Burrow and his friends.

The next morning found them in the same spot as the afternoon before.

"Excellent Harry," said Merlin quietly, "now exhale slowly and let go of all your thoughts, think only of the moment."

Harry did so, trying to let go of every feeling. They had been practicing the meditation for a very long time. For every week that went by in his home world, a month went by in this realm. This was lucky; otherwise he would never be able to learn all he needed before September First. They were meditating so that Harry could strengthen his control over his body and mind. Without that control, Harry would not be able to handle his rapid mental growth. Over the past month, Merlin had slowly been transferring all his knowledge of magical and physical combat into Harry's brain, along with his extensive education. Harry's body had also been adjusting to accommodate for the knowledge. For every combat technique absorbed from Merlin, his muscles would adapt. It was tiring on the body, his senses were constantly confused, his body did not understand how it could all of a sudden "know" how to do something without actually learning it. A sharp voice penetrated his thoughts,

"Concentrate Harry, you slipping!"

Harry grimaced, and inhaled slowly, letting all his thoughts slide away until all he knew was his immediate surroundings. He sighed peacefully. He felt the cool touch of Merlin's withered hands on his temples and experience the familiar rush through his system of all the wisdom, knowledge and images. This time however, he felt a new sensation. It was that of wholeness. He felt calm and complete. He knew everything. He knew he was finished. Harry felt Merlin's hands leave his head. He opened his eyes and smiled. Merlin gazed back and smiled as well, straightening his back and slowly unfolding his crossed legs. Harry got up quickly and helped the old man to his feet.

"I want you to know Harry, that you have shown more progress over the past four months, than all of my past students combined." Merlin motioned for them to walk inside,"it is very impressive. In any case, I have given you all the knowledge I possess, I think it's time we set you loose in the world. That is your world, not mine."

Harry whooped for joy. Despite his body's protests he cartwheeled, followed by a backhand spring, which launched him ten feet into the air with the help of a little wandless magic. In the air, he tucked, and rolled as he hit the ground, coming up in a classic ready-for-combat stance. He had to admit these new powers were fun at times.

Merlin looked unimpressed. He stared nonchalantly at Harry from where he was stooped over a walking stick, but there was a distinct twinkle in his eye as he said

"If my body wasn't so old I'd show a thing or two about acrobatics." With that he headed up the hill to the manor.

***

Ron swooped down low on his second-hand Nimbus 2000, his toes skimming the grass as he zoomed back to the Burrow. Ron had been spending a lot more time on his broom lately. It was better than being in the house. The atmosphere was disastrous in there. Hermione had thrown herself into her books even more so than usual, Ginny walked around like a zombie all day and didn't speak to anyone. Dad was almost always at work, and Mum wasn't even yelling at anyone anymore. Not that there was anything to yell about because the twins had stopped fooling around. They acted almost normal now. Ron halted his broom and leaned it against the wall next to the door. He kicked off his shoes and stepped inside. Walking through the kitchen, he grabbed a slice of bread on his way to the living room.

"I'm home if anyone's interested" he called with his mouth half full.

He stepped into the living room and saw that no one had moved since he went out that morning. Ginny was sitting in one of the armchairs, staring blankly at the wall and Hermione was lying on her stomach on the floor surrounded by a mountain of books, with her nose buried in the one nearest to her. Ron sighed,

"Hey what d'you say we go for a walk, you've been studying non-stop ever since Harry went missing."

Hermione let out a small squeak at the mention of Harry's name. Behind him, Ron heard Ginny jump out of her chair and stomp upstairs. Ron rolled his eyes.

"C'mon Hermione you think I'm not just as worried as everyone else is? At least I'm keeping myself active!" He glared at the book in her hands, "Its not going to kill you, to put that thing down and come outside to get some fresh air."

Hermione looked up. Her hair was fluffier that normal and her eyes had glazed over, slightly red look of someone who has been staring at the same thing for a long period of time. Her throat worked, and she sighed.

"Ron I really can't, I'm nowhere near ready to start school, I still have 3 more books to read through." She said, running a hand over her eyes.

Ron glared at her, he stomped over and grabbed the book out of her hands and read the title. He frowned.

"Hermione, you've read this book about a million times, I'm not stupid you know. And since when are adolescents supposed to spend the entire damn summer studying! That's the reason you go to school! So you don't have to teach yourself everything!" he stopped.

She was beginning to look a little distressed. Hermione looked down,

"Don't swear Ron" she said quietly.

Ron smiled and his temper lessened slightly. He bent down and grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

"C'mon," he said as he dragged her to the door, "you'll feel so much better once you get your legs out of the position they've been in all month."

They stepped outside and Hermione inhaled. Already a little color had come back to her cheeks.

"It's so nice out today!" she exclaimed.

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Uh huh. The way you've been, one would think you'd forgotten what outside looks like." He tugged at her hand again and nodded towards the pond, "C'mon, there's an apple tree that sprouted a few summers ago and I think it has apples on it" and he set off at a run.

"Hey!' shouted Hermione as she sprinted after him "no fair! You got a head start!"

***

Harry groaned as he opened his eyes. He'd stayed up until very early in the morning, discussing things with Merlin. They'd talked about proper use of his powers and continuing his exercises, but they'd also spent a lot of the time sharing stories and histories. He sat up slowly,

"Ugh." He mumbled incoherently.

A bright shaft of morning light had burst through a gap in the curtains and was shining straight in his eyes. Turning slowly, he carefully lowered his feet to the floor and pushed himself off the four-poster bead. He straightened, and stared at himself in the mirror. His hair was ruffled more that usual. He was wearing a gray T-shirt and soft flannel pajama bottoms. He'd conjured them himself using his newly learned skills. The T-shirt he'd first conjured had turned out to be too small for his new build, so he'd transfigured it to be larger. Although Harry had already been tall when he went missing from the Dursley's, about (6' 1"), he'd also been very skinny. He examined himself in the mirror. He really didn't know what was attractive in a guy, but he supposed that a little more muscle wasn't a bad thing. He wasn't huge, he still looked slim and a little lanky, but with much more muscle definition on his arms, back and stomach and legs. His shoulders looked broader, which made his waist look smaller. Harry lifted a hand and riffled through his hair. It lay on his head in disarray, but now that it wasn't so short, it almost looked intentional. He glanced at his image one more time and then went to the dresser and changed into a red T-shirt and well fitted jeans. He yawned, stretched his still aching muscles, and then went downstairs to breakfast.

As he entered the kitchen he grabbed some warm fresh bread off the side table and sat down. Merlin was already there, reading an ancient looking book, drinking from a steaming mug, and smoking his pipe of raspberry leaves in a big armchair. Merlin looked up when Harry came in, and set down his book.

"Well Harry, it has certainly been a pleasure teaching you, but I won't keep you any longer. Eat some breakfast and I'll send you home."

Harry grinned at him and went into the kitchen to serve himself some porridge. He came back into the dining room and sat down with his breakfast. Merlin looked up again and pointed to a small necklace lying on the table. Harry picked it up. It was a small, simple, polished oval stone that was a very deep navy blue. It had little bits of mineral in it that shone an glinted every now and then in the light. I hung from a slim strip of leather.

"That'll activate when hold it in one hand and state your destination. It's an elfish talisman, it'll get you out of sticky situations when you least expect it. Keep it around your neck and don't lose it. Only use it to travel if you have to, you can apparate anywhere else." He smiled.

Harry tied it around his neck and examined it. It was really very pretty when you looked at it. He tucked it in his shirt. Merlin got up when Harry did. There was a bit of an awkward silence.

"Listen," Harry said, " I can't tell you what aa great experience this has been." He smiled, "Hell, not many people get to learn enough information to last a lifetime in four months." He crossed the distance between them and hesitated.

Merlin put out his hand, Harry grabbed it and pulled the old man into an embrace. "It's been a pleasure working with you" he said.

Merlin, who looked slightly surprised, patted Harry's shoulder.

"Go on," he said quietly, "you don't want to keep your friends waiting."

Harry felt a great bubble of excitement swell in his chest. He gripped the talisman and said clearly,

"The Dursley's." The world dissolved.