Title: Harry Potter and the Staff of Merlin
Author: Legolas-gurl88
Disclaimer: All J.K.!
Story time!
()o()o()
34. Merlin
Silence overtook the vicinity. Everyone was staring at the old man as he stood there, staff clutched in his bony hand. He was smiling with an unknown kindness as if he did not know about the situation at hand… or that he truly cared. It seemed mirth followed this man and he did nothing to stem it-- it simply flowed from him; oozing happiness in the dank hallway, miles under Hogwarts. His clothes were a royal blue, with shining stars embroidered all over it, imitating the night sky. A constellation was sewn right at the front-- Harry recognized it-- it was the constellation of Pegasus.
"Merlin's beard!" one of the Death Eaters exclaimed. The old man turned to him, fingering the long, gray, tangled beard questioningly.
"Do you like it?" he asked, his wrinkled features creasing in a pensive way. "I find it much too long for my liking… but I haven't had a trim in years, it seems."
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. An old man stood before him, in the pits of despair, the Chamber of Secrets, in front of a band of Death Eaters, servants to the most terrible wizard alive… and he was worried about his beard?
"S-sir?" Hermione squeaked quietly and the man turned to her, smiling pleasantly. "A-are you really… Merlin?"
"Well, it would seem that way, Mistress," he said, his jolly voice booming with happiness, "in view of the fact that it's branded right here, on my arm, do you see?" He pulled his left sleeve up and where there would have been a Dark Mark on the Death Eater's arms, a single word was branded in curly letters-- Merlin-- appropriately along side it, a Merlin hawk was flying, it's short beak opened in a shrill screech.
"You can't be Merlin!" said Lucius, his gray eyes lighting up with anger. "Merlin died thousands of years ago!"
"So the story books say, young man," said Merlin, shaking his head. "However, my foolish ways had me trapped behind a dreadful boulder for years, in which time I took to learning the art of potion-making. I found an early form of Animagi and was able to turn into a lovely Hippogriff… such amazing creatures, Hippogriffs… lovely-- lovely, lovely, lovely…"
"Merlin?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, my dear girl?" Merlin said, rounding on her, taking a few short steps her way before stopping.
"If you're an Animagi… why didn't you tell us who you were when--"
"Ah, you're Hermione!" he said, realization crossing his face for the first time.
"Erm-- yes--" said Hermione uncomfortably as she was addressed by the greatest wizard of time. "But when me and Harry were rescuing--"
"Sirius Black!" said Merlin. "Such a wonderful man… shame what happened to him… shame, shame, shame…"
"Yes," said Hermione as she was interrupted from asking her question for second time. "But why didn't you tell us who you were?"
"That is a wonderful question, dear Hermione!" said Merlin. "You see, when I turned into the Hippogriff… well… there wasn't a way to turn back. I quite hadn't thought of what might happen once I achieved my shape-shifting. So I waited for someone would find my staff so I could change back."
"How'd you know someone would find--"
"Harry Potter!" said Merlin, rushing forward, setting his staff under his arm to shake Harry's hand with both of his ancient ones. "So wonderful to finally speak with you, you little troublemaker!"
"Er--" said Harry, unsure of what to say as the old man shook his hand.
"And Ginerva," said Merlin, possibly not expecting a response. He turned to Ginny and gave her a huge hug as if they were best friends that had been separated for a long time. "Wonderful game of throwing those rats-- crispy, yet tasty!"
"A-alright," said Ginny, shocked at this old man's greeting.
The Death Eaters remained where they were, apparently totally forgetting the fight they were waging with the teenagers. However, once Merlin had shaken Mark's hands, some of the Death Eaters began realizing what they'd come for.
"This is all very nice," sneered Lucius, "but, you see, we've come for the staff and we demand you hand it over."
Merlin frowned, yet never lost the jovialness in his black eyes.
"Oh," he said simply. "I am quite afraid I cannot do that for you. You see, I have a certain bond with my staff, and no one can use it. Except me, of course and those that the lovely stone Hippogriffs let past."
He winked at Harry who felt himself go red in the face.
"Nevertheless," said Lucius, "the Dark Lord wants it, and we cannot return empty-handed."
"I am afraid that you must. You see, anyone who goes by the name 'Dark Lord' is clearly not going to use my staff for the right reasons."
"I tire of your refusals, old man." said Lucius, taking out his wand. "Hand it over or we will have to resort to wands."
"Such a shame." sang Merlin. He looked down at the ground, "I know, my friend! It is such a shame!" Harry looked to where Merlin was speaking to, wondering if the old wizard had lost it, but received a shock as he saw Merlin's shadow move of it's own accord. Merlin laughed as the shadow signed something to him. "Shame, shame, shame!"
"You're mad," said another Death Eater.
"Yes, and you're filthy!" retaliated Merlin in the manner that a five-year-old would do. "Such a shame to be filthy."
There was a sudden blast from Lucius's wand that sent a jet of yellow light in Merlin's direction. Merlin laughed loudly as if he thought it was a game and with his staff, whacked the light back at Malfoy, who ducked just in time, allowing the Death Eater behind him to be thrown up to the ceiling and crash back down, unconscious.
"Give us the staff, old man!" a woman yelled.
"Yes, but first, let's wait for owl droppings to sprout wings and fly… or perhaps Hippogriffs! Ho, ho!"
"This is no laughing matter," said Lucius. "Give us the staff or we'll kill you!"
"But I'm already dead according to the history books!" said Merlin, his laugh lines showing their use.
Unable to come up with a quick-witted answer, Lucius bellowed like a boar and ran strait at Merlin. Just as he lunged and was only a foot away from Merlin, the old man gave another booming laugh and vanished. Lucius, with no way to stop, crashed into the ground, strait on top of an unconscious Neville. He clambered up and spun around, his gray eyes searching for Merlin, completely ignoring Harry and the others.
"Show yourself!" he yelled, staring around.
"No!" came a provoking voice from nowhere. Without warning, Lucius ran forward and grabbed Harry around the neck.
"No!" Hermione shouted advancing on Malfoy, but he pushed her away and spun Harry around so he was in a headlock. Harry tried to fight, but in his position, it was difficult to pull free. Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry's head.
"Show yourself, or Potter will die right here, right now."
"Oh, you're not only filthy, but you play dirty as well. That's not fair." said Merlin from his hiding place.
"I mean it! I'll kill him!" said Lucius.
"Very well. But first, release dear Harry."
Lucius let Harry out of the headlock and Harry backed away from him, massaging his neck.
"I let him go. Now show yourself!"
There was a loud crack and Merlin appeared behind Malfoy, a smile playing across his face. Before Malfoy was able to turn around, Merlin grabbed him and threw him with the rest of the Death Eaters. Then he pointed his staff at the lot of them. Icicles shot from the knot in his staff, strait at the Death Eaters and surrounded them, freezing them all on the spot. Then, Merlin gave a wave of his staff and they disappeared completely.
"Where'd they go? Where'd you send them?" Harry asked, walking up to Merlin.
"A place where it will take them months to figure out how to get back!" said Merlin happily. "Come, let's get out of here, younglings." he pointed his staff at them. "I'll send you back to your Common Room."
"Wait." said Harry. He sighed and stared strait into the friendly black eyes. "Can you first send us to the entrance to the tunnels? My friend Ron…"
"Of course, of course." said Merlin sadly, understanding what Harry was telling him without words. "But let me wake up this young fellow, shall I?"
He gestured to Neville, who still lay on the ground, no one bothering to revive him. Merlin swirled his staff above Neville's head a few times and the Gryffindor jerked awake.
"Harry!" he said, scrambling to his feet with the aid of Harry. "What happened?"
"It's alright," said Harry. "The Death Eaters are gone. Merlin sent them away."
"Merlin?" Neville asked. "The Merlin?"
"Yes, and it's so nice to meet you, young man!" said Merlin, advancing on Neville and extending his hand. Neville took it and they shook for a fraction of a second before Merlin pulled away. "Right. The entrance to the tunnels."
He lifted his staff off the ground and brought it down on the hard brick ground with a snap. There was a blinding light and Harry blinked to block it out. As soon as he opened his eyes, they were standing at the entrance to the tunnels. Ron still lay on the ground, his eyes wide and staring and his face pale.
"Ron!" Neville exclaimed, but he remained where he was. Harry walked forward sadly and picked up one of Ron's arms, pulling it around his neck to support his friend's body. Ginny rushed forward and took Ron's other arm, helping Harry with the burden of Ron's weight.
"Hold now, younglings," said Merlin, stepping forward, his royal blue robes swishing as he went. "Set him down."
Harry and Ginny exchanged confused glances before letting Ron down, so he lay on his back once more. Merlin stepped forward and kneeled beside Ron. He place a bony hand on top of Ron's freckled face, over Ron's long nose, closing his eyes. Closing his own eyes, Merlin began to hum a few words under his breath, whispering. Everyone watched him as he continued to speak. His shadow detached itself from Merlin's body and ran around Ron's body in a ceremonial way. Merlin took his staff and tapped Ron's chest with the tip, then began moving it up and down, slowly and repetitively, lifting it off of Ron's chest and stopping a foot away from it before he let it fall slowly back down. Harry noticed that every time he slowly brought it up, Ron's chest would rise as if it were on an invisible string attached to the knot on Merlin's staff.
Suddenly, Merlin rapped the staff on Ron's rib cage and sent a jolt through Ron's body. His nerves would start, causing Ron to jerk sharply before resting again. A white mist began to cloud the area around them. Merlin whispered to it and opened Ron's mouth. Slowly, the mist began to enter Ron's mouth and inflate his chest again. It took a while for all the mist to enter Ron's system, but as soon as the last of it disappeared, Merlin took his staff and cracked it over Ron's rib cage one more time and Ron gave a huge jerk and his eyes opened. Taking a gasping breath, he sat up and took even more.
"Ron!" Everyone shouted collectively and ran at him. Ginny was first to make it to him, and she gave him an extremely tight hug. Ron didn't seem to notice much. His wide, searching eyes were looking around him as if trying to remember what happened. Ginny pulled back, allowing everyone else to hug him. Neville came next, but he let go quickly. Finally, Ron seemed to remember where he was.
"Wha--" he croaked.
"Oh, Ron!" Hermione squeaked, lunging at Ron.
"Gerrof, Hermione!" Ron said, trying to push her off. "I can't breathe!"
"Oh, Ron! I was so afraid… so afraid…" She let go of Ron and wiped a tear away from her eyes before Harry kneeled down and looked at Ron seriously.
"What?" Ron asked.
"Why'd'you do it?"
"What?" asked Ron again.
"That spell was meant for me."
"Harry," said Ron, finally understanding, "you're my best friend. I wasn't about to let you die."
"So you let me watch you die? How nice."
"It's what you would've done for me." Ron retaliated. Harry stared at him again before cracking a smile.
"How nice," they heard a voice and they spun around to see Frost pointing her wand strait at Harry. "I missed once, Potter. I don't intend on missing again."
Ginny screamed and dove on top of Ron, shielding him as if she thought Frost would kill him again. Neville and Mark both made strange voices and reached for their wands. Harry stood up at the same time that Merlin did and the two of them watched Frost warily. Pulling out his wand, Harry looked over at Merlin to see the ancient wizards' aged fingers grip his staff tighter.
"Who are you?" Frost snapped, pointing her wand from Harry to Merlin.
"My name is Emrys, but you may call me 'Merlin'." said Merlin. "Now-- I think you'll be wanting my staff then, hm?"
"That's right, old man," said Frost.
"I do apologize, but I don't much feel like giving it to anyone at the moment."
"This isn't a joke, old man." said Frost. "Hand it over, or my master will be very angry."
"You mean this 'Dark Lord'?" asked Merlin. "Now I will have to ask you to turn yourself in to Azkaban. If you do not, I will be forced to take action."
"Never. Hand it over." said Frost.
"No," said Merlin in his singsong voice. With that, he pointed his staff at her and she gave a shocked scream and ran, but not before a jet of blue light shot from the end of Merlin's staff and chased her down. From the giant ball of light, they all could hear her screaming in pain as the luminosity ate her away until there was nothing left. The light vanished and Frost was no more. Merlin shook his head and looked at the students. "Sadly, younglings, that was simple."
"Sadly?" Harry asked. "She killed twenty-three people! She deserved it."
Merlin smiled sadly.
"Ah, young Harry, you are wise beyond your years, yet you still have much to learn. Whatever she did in her lifetime does not matter to those who must do harm to her. What matters is that I took a life. Perhaps one that threatened to kill my newest friends, yes, and may have killed others, but we are all continuously alike in our own lives, no matter how we use them. You, Harry, can spend your entire life fighting evil and your 'Dark Lord' can use his by creating evil, yet you two are equal for you both will die someday. We will all die someday."
Harry remembered his own tombstone, waiting for him to enter it eternally. However, he did not see where Merlin was coming from.
"Now, shall we get out of this dreary chamber?" said Merlin, taking a few steps toward the chamber they were in. The others stood up. Harry pulled Ron to his feet and as they began walking side-by-side, Ron leaned over and whispered to Harry.
"Is that really Merlin?" he asked.
"Yeah," said Harry. "He was actually an Animagus for all these years-- Buckbeak."
"Hagrid'll get a kick out of that one," said Ron, grinning. Harry grinned back and looked down at the ground as they followed Merlin up the stairs to the graveyard.
"If I know Vivien," said Merlin, more to himself than anyone else, "she would have locked everything so we can easily get past all those traps and chambers."
The six students and old man weaved their ways around a series of gravestones and tombs, trying not to hit any corners. As he walked, Harry read some more of the names of the tombstones to see who else had their fate sealed. Several more gravestones were open and no one was in them as if waiting for their own occupants to pass away.
However, right by the door, there was one tombstone that caught Harry's eye. It had a large statue planted right on top of the regular headstone that read Tom Marvolo Riddle. It was open and Harry knew why-- Voldemort wasn't dead.
Great? How could Voldemort be great? He was a murderer. But Harry realized that what Merlin said was true. Some people in this graveyard may have used their powers for the wrong reasons, but they were still great. This, Harry decided, was how they were equal. Though they used their powers differently, everyone was the same. He looked up into the eyes of the statue. It was a perfectly carved statue, looking just like Voldemort had when Harry saw him last year. The cat-slit eyes even glinted red like Voldemort's, sending Goosebumps up and down Harry's body. The statue was so real.
Just as he thought this, the eyes blinked and the mouth curved upwards into a smile that showed Harry, through his numbing disbelief, they had just walked into trap. No one else seemed to notice Voldemort standing there. The spidery fingers curled tighter around the wand at his side and pointed at the students. Harry's mind immediately snapped into action.
"DUCK!" he yelled, grabbing the back of Ron and Hermione's robes with both hands and yanked them to the ground. At the same time, he heard a screech from Voldemort.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The flash of green light went strait over their heads, missing Neville by only a few inches and hit the tombstone of Elfrida Clagg , that cracked into two. There were immediate screams from both the girls as Harry reached for his wand and sprang to his feet. Voldemort jumped from his own tombstone, pointing his wand at Harry.
"So you did see me, Potter… I wondered." he said. Merlin, completely unawares of what just happened, spun around, blue robes swishing and watched as Voldemort advanced on Harry, who backed away, his wand pointed at Voldemort in panic.
"Fine. Kill me, then." said Harry, frantically thinking of a way out of the situation at hand. "Just leave my friends alone."
"What power will you have over that? Once I kill you, there is nothing you can do." said Voldemort, pointing his wand strait at Harry's heart.
"What is going on? Who is this?" Merlin asked, walking between Voldemort and Harry, completely oblivious to what was going on. He took one giant look at Voldemort, who looked shocked that such an ancient man would do such a foolish thing. Merlin studied Voldemort, his eyes focusing on Voldemort's red ones. Then he clapped his hands together and let out a huge laugh. "Ah! You must be the 'Dark Lord'!"
"And you have my staff. Hand it over." said Voldemort, holding out his left hand for the staff. Merlin clutched it defensively.
"Your staff?" he said, his black eyes glinting as if he were excited. "Oho!"
"Who are you to deny me of my prize?" hissed Voldemort like a snake.
"Merlin, apparently." said Merlin, putting his hand on his hip and holding his staff tighter in his hand. Voldemort's eyes widened.
"Merlin?" he said, shocked.
"That's right. Now please let us past." With that, Merlin sidestepped Voldemort and began walking towards the door.
"Stop, old man!" Voldemort said. "Give me the staff."
"I don't feel quite like doing that today. Perhaps tomorrow." said Merlin ebulliently.
"Stupefy!" shouted Voldemort, pointing his wand at Merlin. At the last minute, Merlin pivoted on his foot and held the staff out in front of him. The spell merely bounced off a place in midair where Merlin must have made an invisible shield. He then shot a purple electric-looking jet at Voldemort, who dodged it easily.
The students watched this battle. Harry stood watching, his wand out and ready to help Merlin. However, when one of the spells went astray and nearly hit him, he thought it best to get his friends out of the way. Turning around, he looked at them as they were all still on the ground.
"C'mon," he said, holding out his free hand to help Hermione up. After pulling her to her feet, Harry took her arm and pulled her behind one of the headstones, hoping the others would have enough wit to follow him. Once they bent down behind the tombstone, Harry looked all his friends in the eyes. They looked even more scared than they did when the Death Eaters had cornered them. "I'm going to see if I can help Merlin."
"Oh, Harry, don't." said Hermione, tears forming in her eyes. "You'll be killed for sure if you don't."
"We'll all be killed for sure if Voldemort has his way. I'm going. Don't follow." he looked at Ron. "No matter what. If you see your chance, run out of here and alert Dumbledore, okay?"
"Okay," they all murmered. Harry watched them for another split second, which was a second too long. He heard a loud shout that did not sound like Voldemort. Whirling around, he saw Merlin on the ground, under the Cruciatus Curse. Harry did nothing but stare at the old wizard as he jerked and twitched under the influence the spell had over him. Voldemort lifted the spell quickly and ran for the staff.
"No--" said Harry and he pointed his wand at the staff. "Accio!" The staff flew from it's spot on the ground next to a shaking Merlin. Voldemort let out a screech of anger, reaching for the staff as it flew over his head and into Harry's hand. Voldemort watched Harry maliciously.
"So," he whispered, "this is how it will end for you, Potter?"
Harry was lacking a comeback, but was too scared to even worry about it. Instead, he pointed both the staff and his wand at Voldemort, who didn't looked worried in the least.
"Give it to me, like a good little boy, and let it be done with."
"Forget-- it--" seethed Harry, finally finding his voice.
"Very well… if that is the way you want it-- Avada-- AAAAAARG!" Voldemort let out another shriek and spun around. Merlin was on the ground. His hand had morphed into that of Buckbeaks dangerous talons and ripped a gash into the back of Voldemort's leg. Voldemort merely pointed his wand at Merlin. "Avada Kedavra!" he yelled. Merlin's hand changed back to his wizened digits and held both of them up to shield himself from the oncoming spell. The green light hit Merlin head on and he shoved it off of him. However, it did not engulf him as it had Ron. Instead, the wizard used all his efforts to push the spell away from him. Finally, the spell gave a dramatic shove and Merlin flew back a hundred yards, crashing into the opposite wall and sliding down it, leaving a trail of blood where he'd been.
"No!" Harry shouted. He turned back to Voldemort, who laughed. Harry could hear Hermione shout his name from behind the headstone. "Stay where you are, Hermione!" he shouted, reminding her off her promise to stay hidden.
"So sweet." soothed Voldemort. "You continue to protect your friends even when their fates are sealed."
Completely forgetting he was a wizard… forgetting all about magic, Harry's heart burst with anger and he pulled the staff back behind him. Then, he swung it strait at Voldemort's head. The knot cracked right at Voldemort's temple and he shouted in pain, falling to the ground. Landing in a heap of black robes, Voldemort groaned in pain before standing back up, pointing it strait at Harry, forehead bleeding immensely.
"You have irritated me for the last time, Potter." said Voldemort, flicking his wand gently as if swatting a fly. Harry felt his feet lift off the ground and he flew to the closest wall and crashed into it, just as Merlin had done. Sliding down the wall, he landed on his stomach, feeling extremely dizzy and disoriented. Pulling himself up, he shook his head to clear it and saw Voldemort grasp the staff that Harry had dropped in his shock. He pointed it at Harry and sent a giant shock run through his body. Harry screamed and fell back down to his knees as his forehead gave a nasty throb and began painfully feeling like it was ripping his head in two.
Voldemort laughed softly.
"Did you really think you'd defeat me? It was only a matter of time before I dominated you, Potter." said Voldemort. "Say goodbye…"
But at that moment, Mark jumped out from behind the headstone and landed on Voldemort's back, chocking the wizard from behind. Harry took this chance to rush to Voldemort and take the staff. Voldemort did not let go of it easily. He held on with a death grip and let his power surge into the staff, stinging Harry's hands, but Harry refused to let go as well.
Finally, he ripped it from Voldemort's hands and pointed the staff strait at the Dark Lord without thinking any further about what he had to do.
"Get out of the way, Mark!" Harry shouted and Mark jumped off from Voldemort's back. For a split second, Voldemort stared ominously into Harry's eyes before Harry willfully sent a spell at him with the staff. Voldemort cried out as the same blue light that hit Frost's hand engulfed his entire body, deteriorating his flesh into nothing. Finally, his body, nearly to nothing, collapsed on the ground. All was silent as Harry stared at Voldemort. The cat-slit eyes were the most human thing on him since the spell hit him. Growling angrily, he reached for his wand and slowly disappeared.
Harry stood there, staff in hand as his friends came round from the headstone.
"You did it, Harry!" Hermione said, lunging at him and squeezing him so tightly that it was hard to breathe. "You killed Voldemort!"
"No." said Harry. "I didn't kill him. He was still alive. Voldemort only left out of fear for his life."
Hermione looked afraid as Ginny, Neville, Ron, Neville and Mark came to congradulate Harry for ridding them of Voldemort.
"So he's coming back?" Mark asked Harry, his eyes wide.
"Probably not today," said Harry, gripping the staff tighter in his hand, "he needs to heal himself first."
There was a loud groan from across the room and the students suddenly remembered Merlin. Turning, they ran to where there was blood on the wall and found Merlin lying face-up, eyes open and shocked. He was gripping his chest with an old hand as if his heart were paining him. His breathing was slow.
"Merlin!" yelled Harry, crashing to his knees next to the wizard. "Are you alright?"
"No, I'm afraid not, youngling." he gasped, clutching his chest harder. "Though that spell did not… kill me, I feel… that I will not-- not… survive."
"No!" said Harry, leaning closer as his friends all kneeled down. "There's got to be a way to save you. There's got to be."
"I'm afraid not, young Harry."
"But--"
"Harry, you have a lot to learn about life and death."
"There's got to be a spell that could save you."
"No."
"Your staff."
"My staff is merely a magic tool and cannot aid me now."
"You brought Ron back to life! Why can't you help yourself?" asked Harry angrily.
"Brining Ron back to life drained most of my powers, for it takes quite a lot of them to do so. I have not enough power for that."
"A potion, then."
There was a silent moment in which Merlin's ragged breathing became harsher.
"There once was a leaf that could heal all ailments. But it was destroyed long ago."
"But--"
"However," continued Merlin, the happy glint back in his eyes, which began to cloud, "whilst living with Hagrid, he took me out to that forest and I saw, to my disbelief, a single plant that bore the same resemblance to the leaf."
"We'll find it, then," said Harry. "I'll make the potion. You'll be saved."
"Remember, youngling," said Merlin, "that the plant might not be the same one."
"It will be, you'll see. Hermione," said Harry, turning to his friend. "Could you conjure a stretcher? We need to get Merlin to the Forbidden Forest."
"A-alright." said Hermione and she pulled out her wand. Pointing it at the ground next to Merlin, she jabbed her wand and a stretcher appeared. Carefully, Harry slid his hands under Merlin's shoulders and Ron grabbed Merlin around the kneecaps and the pair of them lifted Merlin onto the stretcher.
"I'll take the lead. Neville and Ron, carry Merlin. Hermione, carry Merlin's staff. Ginny and Mark, take up the rear. If you see something, yell for help."
"Okay," they all said and took their positions.
The way back was not an easy one. Going across the glass bridge on the stepping tiles proved difficult, for they had to go in single file and keep their eyes on where the end of the glass was. The rest of the way through was pretty simple. When they got to the Grindylow tank, Neville found a hidden door in the wall that lead up some stairs to the mouth of Slytherin.
"Too bad we didn't know about those on the way here." said Ron as he adjusted his grip on Merlin's stretcher. They walked down the long hallway in the Chamber of Secrets, pulling up their robes to their faces to avoid the Basilisk smell. Ron, Neville and Merlin all made faces as they were unable to cover their noses. Once the snake door closed behind them, the smell vanished and they were able to continue their way down the antechamber.
"Harry," said Ron, "how're we supposed to get back up to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom? Last time, we used Dumbledore's bird."
"I may not be able to cure myself, but I think I could provide that much magic," croaked Merlin from his place on the stretcher. He clapped his hands together and a white light appeared. Harry shielded his eyes from it and as soon as he opened them, they found themselves on the Hogwarts grounds, completely void of having to run through Hogwarts with the most famous wizard of all time on a stretcher.
"Why didn't you do that when we were down in the graveyard?" Mark asked incredulously. Merlin grinned through his pain as he clutched his heart again.
"You never asked."
The sky above them was a dark blue, almost black and the night stars twinkled in their places, looking like a bigger version of Merlin's robes.
"C'mon," said Harry, taking a few steps towards Hagrid's cabin.
"Oh, can we visit Hagrid?" Merlin asked. "It's been so long since I've seen him."
"There'll be plenty of time for that later." whispered Harry, looking at his watch. "Right now, let's just focus on keeping you alive. Now come on, before someone looks out the window and sees us."
He began sprinting across the lawn that was parched, without rain for a long time. He could hear Ron and Neville trying to keep up with him. Neville wheezed out of tiredness. Finally, they were on the outskirts of the forest.
"Yes, go strait in and keep walking. They were deep in there." said Merlin, pointing strait into the dark forest.
"Let's hope the Centaurs don't hear us." said Harry, fully remembering their last encounter with the four-legged creatures.
"Maybe having Merlin with us, they'll give us an exception," said Hermione hopefully, holding up the staff as if prepared to guard herself with it.
They began walking again, careful not to step on any twigs or knock any bushes over.
"We're getting close." said Merlin after several minutes of walking quietly. "Yes… just in that clearing."
Relieved, Harry rushed right into the clearing and looked around as everyone else caught up with him. However, what caught his attention first was about the hundredth thing to go wrong that night. Standing right in the middle of the clearing was a woman with black hair, green eyes and an ancient-looking dress. In one hand, she held the Druid coin and in the other hand, she held a bushel of leaves. When Merlin saw her, fear crossed his eyes for a fraction of a second. The woman's red lips stood out immensely in front of her deathly pale skin. Holding out the leaves more so everyone looked at them, she spoke in a tantalizing manner.
"Looking for these, Merlin?" she asked, her eyebrows arching in an evil manner. Merlin did not answer her question. Instead, slightly shocked, his mouth open, he whispered a name under his breath that only Harry could hear.
"Vivien."
L--
Dang, that was a long chapter! Let's see… it was… fourteen pages and one line! Whew! Though that wasn't as long as my last chapter, it was extremely hard to write, so I hope you all enjoyed it! Right… next chapter is due to be up on… Saturday, July 2nd! Until then, have a wonderful time! Just two more chapters, guys! cries
For those of you who were sad about Ron (who wasn't? I got lot's of reviews about that! Tee hee!) I hope this made you happier. However, it was my plan to bring him back. I didn't do it to make anyone happy (now that sounds just plain mean slaps self) so don't expect me to be lenient on the next character to go! Ooh… I gave away too much! YAY!
Review time!
Ophidia-black- I was wondering where you'd gone! You didn't review for a while and I was all… maybe she's on vacation. Sad! Poor Ron! Are you happier, now?
Missy mee- Sorry about the incorrect stuff about Fudge… as you are probably well aware of, I'm American and don't know much about British or Magical government. Sorry for the bit of unrealistic stuff, but I'm glad you able to overlook it! Thanks for reviewing!
Thee-Unknown-Factor- MERLIN! YAY!
Magicgirl45842- Sorry about the whole killing-Ron thing! Evil me! I'll have to find T.A. Barron's book. I absolutely LOVE his stories, but I've gotten a bit cold towards him in general, 'cause on his website, he said something like 'My Merlin Series has been on bestseller for some time now' and then he put some nasty comment like 'Take that, Harry!' and I love Harry Potter so much more, 'cause it's what got me into reading. However, I will always love his books (but Harry more!)
SiriusLeeBlack09- What? Oh! Oh, yes! I knew you were joking! Yeah! wipes forehead That was close. Just joking… I knew what you meant!
Old-crow- I'm really glad you like the story!
Gogglehead Lover- YES! HE'S ALIVE! Quoting Frankenstein spoofs there… okay, my mind is back now!
Jeanne2- I hope this answered most of your questions!
Wytil- Who?
Starsmiles- I thought it was nice that Ron would put himself in the line of fire for Harry. True friendship. Harry's so lucky in that way!
Wind Whisperer- Glad you liked the chappie!
JeanieBeanie33- Yup! Starts with and M and ends with an N! You guessed right! Or were you thinking of Marilyn? Marilyn Monroe? Lol!
Ohjuotaku- Poor Ron! I hope you liked this chapter! It's finally coming together!
Charming-Lynn- I love that word… Wicked!
Almost alive- Thanks for the review!
Jorgeiscool- Poor Ron! Yay! He's alive!
Drgn prncss- SPAM? How… odd… LOL! My dad actually tricked me into eating spam once when I was little… it tasted… salty. EW!
Mistopurr- Did you enjoy the chappie? Talk to you next e-mail!
Yendenikhil- It's a little late to increase the speed of the rest of the story, for I'm almost done with the whole thing! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Padfoot's Godchild- Glad you enjoyed the chappie!
Sorry all my reviews were kinda short, but I'm typing like mad. I've got to go to drivers ed in about twenty minutes and I still haven't had dinner! Hugs! Talk to you later!
May broomsticks be in your dreams!
Luv,
Legolas-gurl88
Next time: They fight Vivien… gotta go!