The door closed with a soft click and the group was left in the room. Merlin sighed heavily and fell onto the soft bed. "And just what are you sighing at Merlin?" Arthur asked.
"Well, this has been quite a lot to take in Arthur, I'm just glad we have a bit of a break." Merlin replied.
"Oh no, you are not relaxing, you still need to explain some things to us." Arthur said.
"Oh, yeah" Merlin sat up with a huff. "Where do you want me to start?"
"The beginning is always a safe way to go." Arthur said. They all made themselves comfortable around the room. Merlin, Gaius, Lancelot on one, Uther and Arthur on another bed, Gwaine, Percival, and Leon on the third, while Gwen and Elyan took the chairs.
"Well, I was born with magic-"
"Impossible, you can't be born with magic!" Uther exclaimed.
"That's not true because I was. Please, if we are ever to get through this I must ask for no interruptions."
The group nodded, Uther a little hesitantly.
"I've been able to move things around before I could even talk. Ealdor is a small village and as I got older, my mother was afraid someone would find out about my gifts. She sent me to Camelot." Merlin continued to tell him of the times he saved Arthur's life, Lady Helen, Valiant, the poisoned chalice. At this, Merlin created a ball of swirling blue and silver, Arthur stared at in wonder.
"That was you. You were the one who helped me in the cave, but you were on your death bed. How could you have sent that to me?"
"I honestly don't know." Merlin replied.
Merlin continued with his story, with a few interjections and opinions from those involved.
When they got to the dragon, Merlin winced. "WHAT!" Arthur shouted, "You released the dragon?"
Uther unsheathed his sword as did Lancelot, but instead of pointing it at Merlin, he was pointing it at Uther.
"Lower your weapon sire, you should let him explain." Lancelot reasoned.
"Please Arthur, I had to. I was bound by my word that I had to set him free. I didn't realize that he would attack the innocent." Merlin pleaded. When Arthur didn't answer, Merlin continued. "I tried to make him stop, but my magic wasn't strong enough. I finally got him to leave, promising that if he ever attacked Camelot again, that I would kill him."
"How can you make such a threat?" Gwaine asked.
"I am a Dragonlord; Kilgharrah is forced to obey my command." Merlin explained.
"That's impossible; the last Dragonlord was killed on his way to Camelot. Both you and Arthur saw it happen." Uther said.
"It is said that the Dragonlord gift is passed from Father to son."
Everyone, save Gaius, gasped, "What? That's not true. You told me you never met your father. Or was that a lie too?" Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"When I told you I had never met my father it was the truth. While I was packing to go search for Balinor, Gaius told me he was my father. That is why I was acting weird, I was anxious to meet him." Merlin said.
"Oh, Merlin, when you finally find your father, you get him taken from you. It must have been hard." Gwen said.
Merlin finished his story and looked directly at Arthur, "Please Arthur, believe that I would never betray you. It is your destiny to become the greatest king in history, and it is mine to make sure you get there. I have only used my magic to protect you and my home."
Arthur looked directly at him, "Swear to me that you only use your magic for good." He demanded.
"I swear" Merlin said.
Arthur sighed and nodded, "I believe you Merlin"
"What, how can you believe him? This sorcerer has been lying to you for years; his kind are not to be trusted." Uther exclaimed.
"Please father, I know that you don't trust sorcery, but Merlin has been saving not only my life, but Camelot's and yours as well. If he wanted to take over Camelot he would have done it by now." Arthur said.
"So Merlin, why haven't you brought Camelot to its knees? I am sure that it would be easy enough for you?"
"My first day at Camelot I met the dragon. Kilgharrah told me of a prophecy where the Once and Future King will unite the lands of Albion. He will face dangerous obstacles so a warlock was created to help the king reach his goal."
"And you think Arthur is this 'Once and Future King'?" Elyan asked.
"Yes, I am positive, Kilgharrah said so. The first time I heard it, I didn't believe him. You were an ass and I wasn't going to help you at all."
Arthur snorted and Uther scowled. "He is your prince, you should show more respect." Uther said.
Merlin ignored him. "The first time I saved you from Lady Helen, I didn't regret it, but I didn't want to become your servant either. However, after the more time I spent with you, I saw you change. I saw you become the King you were supposed to become." Merlin said. "So now, you are no longer an ass, but, you are still a prat." Merlin snickered.
"You are but a servant; I'll have you in the stalks for this." Uther exclaimed.
"Father, it's okay. This is normal, I'm used to it." Arthur said.
"Yes, they fight all the time, calling each other names. They fight like an old married couple." Gwaine said.
"Yes, it's quite amusing to listen to sometimes." Leon chuckled.
"So Merlin how is your magic different than others?" Gwen asked.
"His magic is more instinctual. He doesn't need spells to do magic." Gaius picked up a cup and quickly threw it at Merlin. Merlin jumped, looked at it and through his hands up to catch it, but his eyes turned gold and stopped the cup in mid air. The group gasped as the cup dropped into Merlin's outstretched hand. "I found out on the first day he arrived." Gaius said.
"I found out when he killed the Griffin." Lancelot said.
"Is that why you two are so close, because Lancelot knows your secret?" Leon asked.
Merlin nodded, "I'm sorry for not telling everyone. My life was at stake and I couldn't handle anyone else getting in trouble."
Gwen got up and hugged him, "Thank you Merlin, you have saved both me and my family. Thank you."
"No problem Gwen, all in a day's work." Merlin laughed.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
They spent the next five minutes coming up with a name for Merlin.
Soon, there was a knock on the door and Dumbledore came in. "Here are your clothes; I have a few sets each for you." He handed them each a sack. "Now go try them on, make sure everything fits."
Gwen went into another room while all the guys stayed where they were.
"Why are these pants so hard to fasten?" Leon asked, finally zipping his fly.
"I'm sure you will get used to it." Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes twinkled in amusement. He finished helping the group with a few last touches before he stepped back to look at the group of time travelers. Uther was wearing a long black coat with a brown button down shirt and black pants underneath. His jewelry had been taken off and he had his normal boots on.
Gwaine was wearing a dark purple button down shirt with a black vest and a black blazer over it. He had black pants and sleek black shoes.
Gaius wore a long midnight blue robe, not unlike what he usually wears, but this robe was of finer cloth and had an elegant design stitched in.
Merlin wore a white collared shirt under a dark blue sweater. He wore a brown coat along with brown slacks and shoes, his red neckerchief securely around his neck.
Gwen was in a dazzling purple robe with gold stitches and a plainer purple dress beneath. A gold jeweled flower clipped her curls behind her.
Lancelot wore a sage green button down shirt with a dark grey vest, underneath a knee length dark grey coat. His pants were a slightly lighter shade of grey and black shoes. Around his neck was a black puff tie. (yes they do exist ^-^)
Leon wore a grey button down shirt with a black cutaway coat. Black pants and shoes along with a teal scarf around his neck.
Percival wore a pale purple button down shirt (he can so pull off that color) covered by a grey and black vest with black slacks and shoes. He looked slightly uncomfortable at his clothed arms, causing his friends to snicker. (^-^)
Arthur wore a white button down shirt with a scarlet vest and a brown robe. He had dark brown trousers and brown shoes.
Elyan had on a light blue button down shirt underneath a black vest and tailcoat. On his lower half was a pair of black slacks and black shoes.
"You all look magnificent." Dumbledore clapped happily.
"These clothes are strange, I thought only women wore things with this many buttons." Arthur said as he fingered his shirt. Everyone else was also examining their strange attire.
"I assure you Arthur; these clothes are clothes that are normal for our time." Dumbledore said. "Have you found Merlin a name yet?"
Arthur nodded, "Merlin is now Balinor, and we decided to shorten Lancelot to Lance."
"Balinor? Such a strange name. Whatever made you choose that?" Dumbledore asked.
Merlin looked down and blushed a little, "It was my father's name"
"Ah, well, that changes everything." Dumbledore gave a kind smile, Merlin brightened.
"Since you will be known as administrators here to evaluate the school, you have full run of the school, with a few exceptions which you will hear at the welcoming feast. I expect you to be at breakfast, lunch and dinner. You are allowed to oversee any classroom as long as you aren't interrupting the professors and should refrain from drawing attention to yourselves." Dumbledore smiled.
"So we can watch any class?" Merlin asked excitedly.
"Of course, I will have Remus explain them all to you when he returns. The term will start in a few days. There will be a large feast where I will introduce you to the students."
"Alright, thank you for all you have done for us Dumbledore, we greatly appreciate it." Arthur said.
"You are quite welcome Arthur, it is a pleasure." Dumbledore nodded to the group and left the room.