Thoughts Hidden From View

The Weasley twins were popular.

Merlin hadn't expected that, though in retrospect he should have known their warm playfulness had a wide appeal. Students from every house smiled and greeted them as they walked down the corridor. Of course, some were suspicious. A few students shot them apprehensive expressions as they passed by as if they expected a dung bomb to go off at any moment. They were invited to join several compartments, but though the twins poked their heads inside to say hello, they continued on their way up the train.

"Where are we going?" Merlin asked as they finally managed to get out of a compartment filled with giggling Hufflepuff girls.

"Lee Jordan."

"He's our partner in crime," George elaborated. "He's brought a giant tarantula with him – he was showing everyone at the station." Then he grinned and exchanged a look with his brother. "Merlin only knows how much fun we'll have with that."

"What? I don't—"

Fred choked on a laugh, his pace slowing a he turned around to glance at him. "Right! Um… well Merlin – historical Merlin, I mean – has sort of become…" he trailed off and glanced at George, wondering how best to phrase it.

"A cuss word." George grinned. "Or a god, I suppose."

"A god?" Merlin repeated, staring dumbfounded at him. "You're kidding right?"

"Okay, not a god. More like a wizard saying?" He frowned, as though he didn't like that explanation. "Kind of like how muggles say, 'Oh my god,' wizards say, 'Merlin's beard.' Does that make sense?"

"I think so." Merlin felt a little lightheaded, his ego soaring to new heights.

"Well, you best get used to it. You're going to hear it all the time."

"Just remember they're not actually talking about you."

Actually, they are.

"Right," merlin said slowly, disbelieving. Arthur had often made his name sound like an expletive. He could only imagine what his reaction would be if he found out it was still in use centuries later. Actually, he knew exactly what his reaction would be. He wouldn't believe him. A small smile of nostalgia touched his features.

"By the way, you're not squeamish about spiders are you?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow.

Merlin mimicked him. "You even have to ask?"

Fred grinned and stopped before a compartment with a single boy inside, a box beside him. With a flourish, Fred pushed opened the door and went inside, George nodding for Merlin to follow him.

"Lee! So splendid to see you!" Fred said, and he gave a mock bow.

Lee Jordan was dark-skinned boy with thick black dreadlocks. He grinned broadly when he saw them. "So, very glad you could make it," he said with the same air of mockery. His eyes flickered over to Merlin, and then to George.

"Who's this?"

"The name's Merlin." He stretched out his hand. "And yes, I am named after a thousand year old powerful warlock, thank you for noticing."

On either side of him, the twins snorted with laughter. Lee chuckled, looking from Fred to George as he shook Merlin's hand. "Where did you find this guy?" he asked, his words intertwined with laughter.

"On the platform?" Merlin suggested, raising his eyebrow.

George patted Merlin's shoulder. "Found Ol' Snape dropping him off," he said brightly. "Was a bit eerie, to tell the truth."

"Snape?" Lee repeated blinking, and then he gasped. "Are you—?"

"No—I'm—" Merlin tried to say, but Fred spoke over him.

"You can't tell anyone, all right? It's a secret." He glanced at Merlin and winked, as though he was now part of some secret organization. Merlin on the other hand, frowned. They knew he wasn't, so why were they trying to play this up?

George seemed to know what he was thinking because he muttered in an undertone, "Go with it."

"But—"

"It'll pay off later. Trust us."

Merlin wasn't sure what he meant by that, but he didn't argue further. Instead he looked up and met Lee Jordan's gaze. "And if you tell anyone," he said slowly, "they'll never find your bones."

He smiled.

Lee chuckled in reply, although Merlin could see that he was at least considering his threat. Maybe Snape's reputation was one of greater cruelty than he had suspected. "Don't worry, they're not finding out from me."

Merlin wasn't sure whether or not he could trust him. So, he merely nodded and finally, took a seat. The twins followed suit.

"So, where is it?" Fred asked eagerly, though he fixed his gaze on the cardboard box lying on the seat beside Lee. The boy beamed and put the box on his lap but before he took off the lid, he glanced warily toward Merlin.

"You sure he's…" he trailed off awkwardly.

"Oh, he's definitely safe. Wouldn't have brought him otherwise." George glanced toward Merlin. "Right?"

"Trust me," Merlin said, grinning in spite of himself. "Shenanigans are what I live for." When there aren't more important things, anyway.

Lee nodded, seemingly satisfied and opened it. "Everyone, meet Esmeralda." Inside, sitting on a piece of cloth was a spider larger than Merlin's hand. Its entire body was covered with long black and orange hair. She looked up at them with glittering black eyes, and all of the boys leaned closer.

"Whoa," George said with a kind of reverence in his tone. "She's huge!"

"She's gorgeous!" Merlin added, his eyes wide. He had never seen such a brightly colored spider before. He'd never thought a spider could look smug but somehow she did, as though she could understand their flattery.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Fred asked, glancing toward his brother with one of his mischievous smirks.

"Most definitely."

Only A Boy

Neville Longbottom was a bundle of uncertainties. Of that, Hermione Granger was certain. At first, she had thought the poor boy was younger than her with his babyish face and immaturity. But then she realized that what Neville really suffered from was low self-esteem and she knew that he would become a target for bullies. She'd seen it happen several times during her stay at public school. She knew what it felt like to be singled out, too.

Maybe that's why she had withdrawn into books and academics the way that she had.

So, when she had seen the poor blubbering boy tearing up his compartment with water in his eyes, she had been unable to walk on by. She could even understand why the toad was so important to him. She was willing to bet that Trevor had been his only friend for a while.

"He might have gotten out into the hallway," she suggested after they searched every corner of the compartment. "We should expand our search to the other compartments."

"Oh no." Neville started wringing his hands. "What if someone—"

"Neville," Hermione interrupted firmly. "He'll turn up. This isn't the first time you've lost him, is it?"

Neville shook his head, whipping his cheeks.

"Then we'll find him." She opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, looking up and down. "We'll cover more ground if we split up. I'll go this way, okay? Let's reconvene in ten minutes."

"Let's what?"

Hermione often forgot that not everyone had her level of vocabulary. "Meet here again in ten minutes," she quickly amended, waving her hand. Neville bit his lip before nodding and scuffling down the hallway. Hermione watched him go for a second before stopping by the next compartment.

"Hello, you haven't seen a toad by any chance?" she asked.

The occupants of most compartments just glanced at her before continuing their conversation. Sometimes they were polite enough to look around but there was no luck. She realized that if she badgered them a little, she got a better reaction – probably more out of a desire to get rid of her, but she would take what she could get.

"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy called Neville's lost one!" she said as she opened another compartment door. The only occupant, a red-haired boy staring out the window, glanced over at her.

"No." He looked back out the window. The rat beside him was lying on its back in a patch of sunshine, looking more dead than alive.

Hermione frowned. "Well, why don't you come help me look? It's not like you're doing anything else."

The boy's head snapped back to her, his eyes narrowing. She could see a smudge of dirt on his nose. "Yeah?" he asked, a little aggressive. "Maybe I just don't want to go looking for a frog."

"Toad," Hermione automatically corrected.

"Whatever."

Hermione frowned. She knew she wasn't going to get anything out from this boy. "Fine, then sit here alone. I'm sure you're having loads of fun staring out the window."

She turned to leave but paused when she saw the boy glance back at her one more time with a strange expression on his face. She knew that expression. The proud, I'm fine being alone except I'm secretly not. "I'm sorry," she said turning back to him. "You sure you don't want to come? I could really use the help."

The boy gave her a long hard look before standing up and sticking the rat into his pocket. "Sure, I guess I can come."

Hermione gave him a small smile and she led the way out of the compartment. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way," she said once they were in the hallway.

"Ron Weasley."

"Pleasure." She glanced at her watch. "Let's go this way. I told Neville to meet back at his compartment to check our progress."

"Wait, so he might have already found his toad?"

"I doubt it," Hermione sighed. "I really doubt it."

Ron gave her an appraising look before shrugging and following her down the corridor. After a few minutes they found the compartment, except there was no one there. Hermione frowned and glanced at her watch again. "He should be here by now."

"C'mon, then," Ron said and he started walking up the train, Hermione following. After several minutes, they found him inside a compartment, and it took all of two seconds to realize he needed assistance.

"Neville!" Hermione called out, bursting through the door.

"Oh, so you do have friends. My mistake."

The boy sneered at her, his gray eyes narrowed in black humor. Neville cowered beneath the gaze of two other boys, both burly and mean looking. Hermione had half a mind to step back when they turned their gaze to her, and she swallowed, lifting her chin as high as she dared.

"Yes. He does." She turned her gaze on the pale boy, refusing to be intimidated by him. "And we would like him back, thank you very much."

"Oh, I'm not sure. We were having so much fun together, weren't we? Longbottom?"

Neville whimpered. "I-I—"

"Hey, you should pick on someone your own size!" Ron snapped, his ears turning pink.

"Oh? Is that an invitation?"

"Neville, come here," Hermione muttered, grabbing the boy's sleeve and pulling him toward the compartment door. But the pale boy grabbed her wrist.

"Just who do you think you are?" he spat.

"Hey! Let go of her—!"

"Oi! What's going on here?"

All eyes swiveled around to look at a pair of taller boys that boor an uncanny resemblance to Ron. Hermione blinked, before wrenching her arm out of the grip of the pale boy, her brown eyes flashing. The pale boy smirked and glanced over at them.

"Let me guess, Weasleys? Did you know you lot are popping up like gophers, or is that your intention?"

"Oh, I don't know Malfoy. There could be worse things. At least they aren't prats, like you."

It was a new voice that spoke. Hermione tried to glance around the twins to catch sight of him but the next moment the two boys had moved aside to allow the speaker to come forward. He was rather tall though clearly a first year, and thin with defined cheekbones and brilliant blue eyes that twinkled. Thorns of black hair contrasted sharply with his pale skin, making her wonder whether or not he might be something more than just human.

But of course that was absurd.

"Sorry, I mean, Lord Prat."

The pale boy, Malfoy, stiffened. "Evans."

And Evans smiled in return.

Only A Boy

Merlin and the twins had heard the commotion while they had been attempting to plant the spider in a compartment filled with Ravenclaw girls. Lee was distracting the girls in the hallway with exploding snaps and Quidditch stories. Merlin was still holding the cardboard box in his hands, leaning it casually against his side as he met Malfoy's eyes evenly.

"You know him?" Ron asked, looking from Merlin to Malfoy with a mixture of shock and anger.

"We go way back, don't we, Evans?" Malfoy said with a smirk. Merlin caught the nervous glances in his direction, as even the Weasley twins seemed uncomfortable.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, definitely. All the way back to Madam Malkin's, what was it? Last month? Has your ego been sufficiently soothed since then?"

Fred unsuccessfully tried to cover his snort of laughter. Merlin smiled all the more broadly, and turned his attention to the other people in the compartment. There was another boy he didn't know – other than the two masses of flesh flanking Malfoy – who was nearly on the floor, his cheeks red and wet. Trying to help him get to his feet was a girl with very bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. She stared at him with a mixture of admiration and suspicion.

"C'mon Neville," she murmured, and she finally managed to pull the boy to the compartment door. She glanced at him, and Merlin stepped aside, nodding, before turning back to Malfoy. She disappeared through the door, dragging Neville behind her.

"I hope you know what you're doing," Ron muttered as he followed Hermione out.

"Didn't think you were one to stand up for cry-babies," Malfoy said, folding his arms.

"And you know me so well, right?" Merlin quipped back. Malfoy sneered at him, and seemed about to reply when he was interrupted.

"You know, Fred," George began thoughtfully, "I still have not forgotten the fact that he insulted us."

"You know, neither have I." A mischievous smile graced Fred's face.

"I don't think we should just let that slide, should we?"

"No, I don't think you should," Merlin added and he mimicked Fred's grin. "After all, they made someone cry. And upset a lady."

"A lady? You call that—"

Before Malfoy could finish, Fred lobbed several exploding snaps at his and his cronies' feet. Merlin was sure the screams and shouts could be heard out in the corridor, but he didn't care. He was flush with excitement, high from the adrenaline. George threw a stink bomb and amid the confusion and smoke, Merlin opened the box and let the spider out. He and the twins retreated back into the hallway and shut the door tightly behind them, listening as the boys inside caught sight of the spider and panicked.

"Crack the door open, I'll toss another one inside and let Esmeralda out. Lee will be upset if one of those blundering idiots crushes her."

Merlin nodded to George, and opened the door. The stench of rotten eggs was so strong that he nearly blanched. As George pushed another bomb into the room, the spider scuttled out and past them, trotting down the hallway.

"After her!" George shouted, and Fred slammed shut the compartment door. He pulled out his wand as George dashed after the spider.

"What are you doing?" Merlin asked, preparing to run after George. "You can't use magic outside of school!"

"You can on the train." He tapped the door and muttered something. "Learned that over the summer."

"What did you do?"

"Locked them in." He grinned darkly and then sped down the hallway after his brother. Merlin was about to follow when something made him stop and he glanced back at the locked door. The smell was so putrid and strong that it was leaking into the hallway. Within he could hear coughing and gagging. Merlin groaned, running a hand through his hair.

Malfoy was a jerk, but he didn't deserve suffocation.

He bent by the door and muttered a spell, his eyes flashing gold. The door unlocked and Malfoy burst though, his face ashen. However Merlin was right there, and the boy collided with him, sending them both tumbling into the corridor. After several loud coughs and gulps of air, Malfoy wiped his forehead and looked up at him.

"Why did you do that?" he croaked. Behind him, his two bodyguards stumbled into the hallway after them and shut the door. The shorter one seemed to be trying very hard not to throw up.

"Because you're a prat who was bullying—"

Malfoy shook his head, cutting him off. "That, I am fairly aware of," he ground out. "I mean…" and he paused, looking both confused and angry. He coughed again. "I mean, why did you let us out?"

Merlin stared at him. "Would you leave someone to suffocate in rotten eggs?"

"You're friends didn't seem to mind."

Merlin gave him a long hard look before getting to his feet. "Yeah, well. I didn't fancy turning into a hypocrite." He glanced up the hallway where Fred and George had disappeared.

"Those two…" Malfoy said, following his gaze, "should have been in Slytherin."

"Tell me about it."

They didn't really say goodbye. It was more of an awkward, thanks for not letting me asphyxiate now get out of here before someone finds out I had to be rescued by someone I don't like. In any case, Merlin left feeling a bit weird – as though he and Malfoy had bonded slightly. It made him feel good, in a way. As though maybe it was possible to change Malfoy from his snobbish and cruel mannerisms.

"Where were you?" George asked when he finally managed to catch up. The twins had cornered the spider against the wall and were trying to coax her back into the box.

"Sorry, got held up," Merlin said.

Fred looked at him. "You let them out." It wasn't a question.

Merlin met his gaze. "I did."

The spider finally climbed back into the box and George clamped the lid shut over her. Fred was silent for a moment, and then he shook his head and turned away, walking back down the hallway.

"Fred!" Merlin called after him, but George grabbed his arm.

"What did he do?"

"After you ran after the spider, he locked Malfoy and his friends in the compartment with the stink bombs. I stayed behind to let them out." Merlin folded his arms, as though daring George to get upset with him as well. But, to his surprise, the twin merely sighed and he glanced at his brother's retreating back.

"Sometimes, Freddie goes a little too far."

"You think?"

George glared at him before sobering up and nodding. "He'll get better." And then he grinned. "He's got me for a conscious, after all!"

Merlin raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I try."

"C'mon, let's give Lee his spider back," Merlin said and he lead the way down the hallway after Fred.

Only A Boy

If Fred was upset that Merlin had unlocked Malfoy's compartment, he didn't show it. They caught up to him at Lee's compartment, where he was telling Lee all about their adventure. He did edit out the part about him locking the door, however. Merlin decided not to bring it up either. He figured that if Fred really had a problem with what he'd done then he'd bring it up himself.

It did seem, however, that Fred had lost interest in pranking for the rest of the trip. Instead, they played exploding snap and entertained Merlin with Quidditch stories. Both Fred and George were on the Gryffindor team as beaters, and apparently, Lee was the commentator for the matches. He happened to be a very good storyteller.

"I think we're almost there. We ought to change into our robes," George said glancing out the window and cutting across Lee's rather biased recount of a Slytherin verses Gryffindor match that had lasted over three hours.

Merlin looked outside too, noting how the world had darkened. The compartment grew silent as all the boys dug in their trunks for their black wizarding robes.

As Merlin pulled his shirt over his head there was a jingle as his metal necklace rattled. "What's that?" George asked putting his robe on already. He nodded toward the ring that Merlin had tied around his neck, now clearly visible on his bare pale chest.

"Uh…" Merlin hurriedly snuggled into his school robes, hiding it once more from view. "A family heirloom," he answered in an offhand way, hoping that the boy would leave it at that.

"Speaking of!" Lee suddenly said making everyone look at him. "Did you hear? Someone tried to rob Gringotts!"

"What!?"

Fred was still only halfway dressed, giving him a rather comic appearance. "Did they take anything?" he asked, finishing and grabbing a gold and maroon tie from his trunk.

"Not sure yet." Lee looked both worried and excited. "The goblins say that nothing was, but you know…" he trailed off meaningfully.

"The goblins are all right!" Merlin said, his eyes narrowing minutely.

Lee raised an eyebrow. "I know more than one wizard who would beg to differ."

Merlin frowned but decided not to say anything more. He didn't want to get into a fight, or reveal why he felt so strongly on the matter. So, he just shrugged and turned away to tie his shoes.

"Um… Lee?" George sniggered. "Your robe is backwards."

"Oh, bloody hell."

It wasn't long after that when the train slowed to stop. Merlin's heart beat wildly in his chest, excitement pulsing through his veins. He closed his eyes for a moment, stretching out his magic. He could sense the power that resided so nearby, the tingling of the earth.

It felt oddly familiar.

"Right, so we're going to have to split up."

"What?" Merlin looked sharply back at George.

"First years have this tradition thing. You guys are going over the lake in boats. And then you have to be sorted into your house." He smiled.

"How exactly are we sorted?" Merlin asked, following them as they lead the way out of the compartment and out the train.

"It's the most terrifying thing you've ever—" Merlin interrupted him with a skeptical brow. "You put on this hat, okay?" George sighed. "It whispers in your ear and decides where you ought to go."

"Okay." Merlin couldn't be entirely sure that George wasn't attempting to pull his leg for a second time, but from the look on Lee and Fred's face he was getting the truth.

"Firs' years this way! Firs' years over 'ere!"

"Time to go," Fred said and he gave Merlin a small smile. "See you in the Great Hall." The next minute, the three of them had disappeared into the crowd of students, leaving Merlin alone. He took a deep breath and turned around, following the booming voice that called the first years over.

It wasn't hard to find.

The man calling out was enormous. Instantly, Merlin knew he was a giant – or some subspecies. He was more than twice the size of a normal man, and five times as wide. But he could see the gentle expression in his beetle black eyes, the kindness in a smile half-hidden by bushy black hair.

"Everyone 'ere? Right." The giant looked around at the crowd of young students around him. "My name is Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He paused a moment, smiling at them. "Follow me and mind yer step."

No one talked much as they followed the giant Hagrid through the darkness. Merlin felt uncomfortable. He longed to break the silence with a witty remark, but he had no idea what to say. He tried to look on either side of them, but a thick grove of trees blocked his view.

"You'll be getting' yer first look at Hogwarts in a minute. Jus' round this bend."

Merlin sped up. He wanted to see it. As they came through the trees, an enormous castle came into view. A resounding awe went through the first years, eyes fixed on the lights and tall spires poking holes in the cloudless sky. Its majestic beauty was reflected in the black lake before them, several little boats in front of them.

"No more then four to a boat!" Hagrid called out, already down by the shore.

Everyone stumbled over to him, slipping and sliding on the rocks, still gazing at the castle. Everyone except Merlin. He stood, rooted the spot. He was staring, his heart thundering in his chest with something more than just excitement. He could taste the magic in the air, the swell of power that rolled off the building and over to them. His magic rose into the air to meet it, to intertwine as though greeting a long lost friend.

Time had changed it, had made the lake grown larger, the forest thicker. Everything was different, but at the same time there was so much the same. The same magic ingrained into the earth beneath his feet. He released a bellow of laughter, casting his eyes to the sky.

The founders had built Hogwarts on the Isle of the Blessed.

The nostalgia that swept over him made his knees weak. He could have fallen to the ground and cried, tears of happiness just to be able to see something he knew. Something that was a relic of home. But he couldn't. No one would understand. Already, other kids were staring at him.

Shaking himself, Merlin quickly stumbled over to the boats. Most were already full. He bit his lip, trying to decide which one to hop in when someone spoke.

"Evans. Could you take any longer?"

Merlin turned, catching sight of Malfoy. He only had three in his boat, and even as he watched he seemed to move to make room for him. Knowing that he was the last one, Merlin didn't waste any time being shocked and stumbled into the boat.

"Sorry I can't appreciate this spectacular view for longer than five seconds," he replied.

Malfoy rolled his eyes, looking somewhat like he already regretted this decision. The boats set off on their own, gliding across the lake with Hagrid in the lead. Merlin was silent for a few moments.

"Thanks," he murmured in an undertone, still gazing up at the castle in wonder.

"Don't thank me," Malfoy snapped back. "We're even now."

"What? You think public humiliation is equivalent to suffocation?"

"I could always have Crabbe push you out of the boat."

"No, I think this covers your debt to me," Merlin said quickly. He did not doubt that Malfoy would carry out his threat and the water, beautiful as it was, looked cold. "You know, you still kind of stink."

Malfoy hit the back of his head, causing the boat to rock.

Luckily, the trip was short. Before long they had reached the shore and Merlin quickly put distance between himself and Malfoy. He could feel Ron's eyes on the back of his head, boring into his skull. He was no idiot, he knew the Malfoys and the Weasleys bore some sort of familial animosity toward each other. If he wanted this to work, he would need to walk a careful line.

"Oi, is this your toad?"

"Trevor!"

Up the marble steps and through large front door, the other students stared around as though they had never been in a castle before. Merlin felt like he had come home. The large entrance halls, elegant tapestries, and stonewalls. Even though all the magic in the air was making his own dance around him, the familiarity calmed him. It relaxed him and stopped his magic from lashing out.

Oh, a house was nowhere near to the home of a castle.

Hagrid left then, handing them over to a very stern looking witch. Her gray hair was pulled back into a tight bun beneath a pointed emeralds green hat. She wore matching robes and square spectacles. She gazed at them all for a moment and then spoke in a strong Scottish accent, "I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. Now in just a moment you will go through these doors and join your classmates, but before you can do that you must be sorted into your houses." Some of the students fidgeted nervously, unsure of what this might entail. Merlin was not one of them, meeting the witch's eyes and waiting for her explanation.

"They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Triumphs will earn you points, whilst any rule breaking will lose them. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. I trust you all will put forth your effort to help whichever house you are sorted into."

There was a general murmur of agreement through the students. Professor McGonagall nodded and then disappeared through the doors, leaving them alone for a moment. Whispers broke out at once.

"How do you think we'll be sorted?"

"I don't remember being told about this!"

"I was told it hurts a lot, but I reckon that's not actually true…"

Merlin resisted the urged to turn around and join the conversation. He wasn't sure of what would happen either. All he had was George's word and he knew the cloth that boy was cut from all too well.

"I never got to thank you, for what you did on the train."

It was the bushy haired girl that had been in Malfoy's compartment rescuing the tearful boy. Merlin shrugged, smiling at her.

"Uh, no problem. It wasn't just me, you know."

"I know that. But I was ever so pleased that someone came to help out. I can't help but think that something really bad could have happened otherwise."

Something sort of did.

"Yeah, well." Merlin fidgeted, glancing down at his feet. "It goes both ways."

She frowned, growing confused but before she could ask about what he meant – and much to his relief – the stern witch came back. "Follow me," Professor McGonagall called out to them and she lead them though the front doors.

Merlin felt Hermione fall into line behind him, but he didn't try to make conversation with her as they walked into an enormous hall. Four long tables stood before them, a fifth one against the far back wall. Above, hundreds of candles hung in the air, while a clear cloudless sky sparkled with millions of stars.

"It's not really the sky," Hermione said behind him, though to no one in particular. "It's just bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about it Hogwarts, A History."

Merlin turned around. "There's a book on the history of Hogwarts?" he asked her. He would love to get his hands on that book that was for sure. She looked a little startled by his interest.

"Of—of course there is! It's really fantastic too. A bit dry at some points, but I really—"

Someone behind her shushed them and she trailed off. They were nearly at the front now. Merlin wanted to ask her whether or not she owned the book and if he could borrow it. But, he supposed that the library also ought to have it. He looked up at the high table and caught sight of Dumbledore.

The aged wizard caught his eye and smiled warmly. Merlin grinned back, no trace of apprehension on his face. He didn't understand why some students – like Ron and Neville – were so nervous. What did it matter what house you were sorted into?

Professor McGonagall walked ahead of them, placing a three-legged stool in front of them. And, on top, she placed a hat. It was very old, patched, frayed, and dirty. Merlin recognized it at once. Godric's hat! So that was how they had done it. Merlin beamed at the aged cloth. Though, he was curious about how the hat was going to do anything before a rip opened wide and the hat burst into song.

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall.
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can top them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindor's apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff
Where they are just and loyal
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw
If you've a steady mind
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands [though I have none]
For I'm a thinking cap

Everyone burst into applause when the hat had finished its song. Merlin followed suit, although worry had started to creep into his heart. What exactly did that hat mean, that it could see everything inside his head? Would it know that he was the actual Merlin? Could it tell anyone?

Merlin bit his lip, watching as McGonagall started calling names. At least it looked like whatever dialogue that went on between the hat and the student was private, only the house name shouted aloud. It didn't stop Merlin from wringing his hands. Great, now he was just another apprehensive face in the crowd. He knew he had relaxed too soon.

And Evans was right at the top of the list too.

"Evans, Merlin."

A few laughs and whispers broke out when they heard his name. Merlin knew they were comparing him to the old sorcerer, but he didn't care. He walked forward, holding his head high and sat down on the stool. The hat was placed over his head and everything went black.

Why, if it isn't the great and powerful Merlin. I never thought I'd have the chance to sort you, much less in this time period.

Merlin swallowed, gripping the stool tightly with his hands. You can't tell anyone, he thought desperately. No one must know about me.

Of course not, the hat replied. Now, where should I put you? You possess qualities from all houses. Brave and loyal, intelligent and cunning.

Merlin rolled his eyes. Fantastic, we'll be here all night.

Preferably not. Merlin could actually feel the hat poking through his mind, now the he actually focused. You are the greatest wizard to ever live; it would make sense if you possessed the best of all houses. You helped create them, after all.

Merlin shifted on the seat. He felt awkward receiving such high praise. He was still a servant back in Camelot.

You do not remember helping Godric to enchant me? The hat actually sounded surprised.

No…that hasn't happened yet, for me, anyway.

But it has.The memory is here.

Merlin felt numb, as though someone had just doused him in icy water. What!? He started to breathe a little faster, a swirl of confusion and shock clogging his brain. His magic vibrated, threatening to expand and explode. I don't remember—

There is a block on your memories, the hat whispered into his year, and he could hear the tone grow dark and angry. A black curse has eaten them away, it is preventing you from accessing them. Even I cannot see past a certain point.

Can you fix it? Merlin asked.

I am merely a hat. I cannot. I am not sure anyone can.

Merlin had thought that he had gotten all of his missing memories back. What do you mean, a black curse? What do I—

I cannot help you, Merlin, the hat interrupted. I can only see into your mind and sort you into your house, nothing more.

Merlin gritted his teeth.

I am sorry, Emrys. I hope you find the answers you seek.

Merlin mentally nodded.

Now, while you are exceedingly loyal and hard working, I believe you are more cunning. You kept your secret of magic for years, sneaking around and helping Arthur without his knowledge. You were driven with ambition, not for yourself but for a world of peace – for the creation of Albion.

Merlin felt the hat smile. "SLYTHERIN!" And the word was shouted out to the entire hall. And just before Professor McGonagall could take the hat off, it whispered one final thing into his ear.

Good luck, Emrys.