Author's Note: Hey there, it's late again, I know, but I've had a load of homework, honestly I tried.
I'd like to thank FalconFate, for both advising and tellling me how to get a beta and for becoming my beta. Thank you xD I was probably in desperate need of getting one.
Please leave a comment about what you thought, how could I improve ect.
Thanks for reading!
Chapter 12: A Blade in the Night
"…Mordred..." The noise cut through his head like a knife, the beginning of a word, which lingered for half a second before its full force hit him. "…Mordred..."
Leo grabbed his forehead, gasping out as he did so.
"Leo! Leo! Are you okay?" Lily gasped, both she and Hugo had concern etched on their faces.
Leo gulped and straightened up. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just, felt a bit dizzy, that's all." He turned to face them, something in the corner of his eye catching his attention. "Guys, I'll catch you up." He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a shaky smile.
They looked him up and down for a moment longer, before shrugging and walking away.
Slowly Leo turned; Professor Pollywood stood, half covered by the corner of the corridor, a smile playing at her lips.
"…Mordred..." Leo shook his head slightly, as if he were a dog trying to bat away a fly.
`Okay, okay, for god's sake I heard you the first time! Will you stop?` Leo thought to himself, frustrated.
"Really? Do you not like it?"
Leo furrowed his brow "You can hear my thoughts?"
"No Mordred, only the ones you let me hear."
"Stop calling me that!"
"Why? It is your name, is it not?"
"Not if I don't want it to be!" Leo shouted.
A passing Ravenclaw raised their eyebrow in confusion before bustling away.
`Oops,` Leo thought, he hadn't realised he was talking so loudly… he hadn't realised he was talking at all.
He looked back at the professor, who wore a smirk that curled at the right side mockingly.
"Meet me in my office." And with that she turned, walking steadily away. Slowly Leo followed, keeping as far a distance as possible, but not far enough for her to move out of sight.
"So then, Leo." There was a certain hostility to her voice as Leo entered the study. Professor Pollywood was already sitting up straight in her chair, fiddling with her finger nails as she spoke. "Take a seat." She gestured to the chair opposite to her.
"What do you want?" Leo mumbled, refusing to meet her eyes.
"What do I want? What I want, Leo, is to know where we stand." She leaned forward tipping her head slightly to the side. "Because you're either with me," she paused smiling slightly to herself. "Or you're against me." She leant back in her chair. "What's it to be, Mordred?"
Leo looked up, holding her gaze for just a second, and then pulled it away, before shrugging. "I need more time"
"We have none!" Her tone was harsh, cold even. "Already I can feel our enemy is near." She looked down, her voice lowering, shrugging a little. "They may even be here already."
"You killed innocent people!" Leo cut in. "And I killed with you!" He bowed his head and shielded his eyes with his hands, a sob welling up in his throat, "I am not sure I would like to do that again."
"Do you wish to know why we are here, Mordred?" She stood up, stabbing her finger onto the desk. "Why we, out of a million, have been chosen to live again? We are here to protect our people from the filth that is my brother. Oh, the people we killed were not innocent, but the many that fell at the hands of the Pendragons were!" She lowered her voice, her lip curling at the side. "You joined with me before, now join with me again," she snarled.
Leo kept his head bowed. "That was not me… I grew up like any other kid, family; friends. Professor, I cried when our owl died." He shook his head. "Whoever you want I am not him,"
The professor sighed, rolling her eyes slightly, "You have his memories do you not? You have his face, his great power. You're only a first year and yet you speak with the intelligence of a man twice, three times your age. "
"I don't want to believe it." Leo muttered.
"Believe what you must, but as I said before you are either with me or against me. You are scared, but know this: if you are against me I can make your life a living hell. If you are with me…"
She reached out her hand in anticipation of agreement.
"Trust me Leo," Suddenly her smile became warm and comforting, and as Leo looked up, he felt the anger and dread that had built up inside him for the last few days slowly ebb away. Her voice was soft as she went on, "Your family never was your own. I am your true kin, and I need your help. Believe me when I say that we are doing the right thing."
Their plan was in no way foolproof, it was barely even a plan at all; keep watch on the sword, and that night, on the 9th of October 2019, Harry and Ron would sneak back into the staff room and steal the sword of Gryffindor—or as Merlin called it, Excalibur.
"Are we really going to do this?"
"Ron, we've been through this," Harry moaned. Harry and Ron sat in two of three arm chairs at the edge of the staff room.
"Fine," Ron sighed, "but if we get caught, we tell them exactly what we're doing okay?"
"What?"
"We tell them! McGonagall, Nevil, Hagrid, Flitwick! If worst comes to worst, we can trust them Harry."
"Okay, okay, we tell them, whatever."
"Good," Ron paused, thinking. "Harry, where are we meant to put it once we've got it?"
"Put what where?" Harry and Ron turned round in their seats. Neville Longbottom was standing before them. "Harry, what are you doing?"
"Neville!" Harry greeted his friend. "Oh, nothing we were just, umm, wondering where we should put a piece of furniture that we bought as a present for Hermione."
Neville sat in a seat in the chair opposite them; he took a long, hard look at them before speaking. "Harry, do you really expect me to believe that?"
Harry shrugged. "Neville, I don't know what you're talking about."
Neville sighed, "Okay, fine, you don't need to tell me, but don't try to lie to me. I've known you long enough and you've been acting weird ever since you got here, and odd things have been happening too; that boy, Leo, I've never seen such a talented student." He got up, his voice dropping to almost a whisper "He's more powerful than any of us, at any rate" Before walking off he turned to Harry and Ron once more. "If there's anything you want, don't hesitate to ask."
And he was gone.
Ron shifted in his seat and titled his head to the side, raising an eyebrow as if to say; 'I knew we should have told him.'
Harry sighed, "Come on, we can't be the last to leave."
The two of them took one last look at the sword, before bidding the remaining staff goodnight and hurrying up to their rooms.
To Leo's relief, no light for the moon or the stars shone through the windows of the castle that night, and with only the match-like spark in the palm of his hand to show him the way, Leo crept along the empty corridors, gruff voices scolding from the portraits: "Hey! Put that light out!" and "Go to sleep!" Some only stared, their eyes following him with a silent fear.
Was he doing the right thing? He was siding with Morgana, after all she had done.
Leo shook his head slightly, clasping the fist of his hand that didn't hold light. He had to do this, Morgana had never been evil, not really, just misunderstood. She was trying to do what was best for wizards, if Arthur came back, who knows what he would do? He was Uthur's son, so therefore hated magic and all it brought with it. If he was allowed to return, what was to stop him destroying what the wizarding world had built?
Leo stopped to get his bearings.
He felt he could trust Morgana, after all, she had been the one to tell him who he truly was. Not the teachers, no, they had kept it a secret, given him a fake wand, hidden things from him, and he doubted the `Emrys` would ever return any trust that Leo would give to him. He had never once trusted Mordred, and Leo doubted over the thousand years of his life following, that the warlock had changed his mind.
No, Morgana, Leo felt, was right. With Morgana he could protect wizardkind, he could protect his friends, his 'family', he could do what was right for them, no matter what they thought of his plans.
Leo quenched the light; the spot he stood in was exactly the same as the one which the professor had waved his wand and in a puff of smoke they had entered the circular walls of the staff room.
He lifted his hand, closing his eyes as he recited the spell that Professor Pollywood had taught him, and as he opened them, reigniting his light, he was standing in the staff room.
Leo gasped slightly; he hadn't expected the spell to work, it had sounded so different to the ones that he had been taught in class, so much so that he had wondered if he was really capable of such a spell.
Leo looked around for his folly. The sword glinted in the pale light above the mantelpiece, and as Leo moved toward it, bringing the glow up to the blade, the strange dust he had noticed before returned, now twirling in the wake of the flames in his hand.
Leo stretched for the sword, but thinking better of it, he dragged the nearest arm chair over so it sat opposite the mantel piece. Then tiptoeing on its arm, as he leaned forward, unhooking the sword from its holder. As he swung the ornate antique down, it disturbed the dust, cutting through it with a graceful swipe; the glinting substance rushing to keep up with the blade as it was cut away.
Leo hopped off the arm chair, and placing the sword carefully on the floor he pushed the chair back in place.
Leo appeared back in the darken corridors of Hogwarts castle, and breathing deeply, he lifted the sword in front of him, feeling its weight, taking in its length. Then, not wasting any more time, he dropped his arm to his side and hastened along the passage.
Moments later he stopped in his tracks, smothering out the light, he held his breath. Voices were making their way towards him. Two; bot hushed and apprehensive, immersed in deep conversation, but Leo didn't care to listen, he was too busy trying to calm his breathing.
He flattened his self against the wall, bracing himself for the explanation when one of them noticed his shaking body, but as they passed neither took any notice of him, both set on whatever it was they were doing.
Curious Leo followed. To his surprise it was the two professors from the ministry; Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and he watched them as they stopped at the 'entrance' to the staff room, and, nodding to one and other, they whispered the words of the spell and disappeared.
Leo wondered what they were doing venturing to the staff room at this hour, but he didn't wait to find out. He rushed up to Professor Pollywood's room, breath still heavy in his chest, confused and bewildered.