Chapter 4 - Questions

"Keep true to the dreams of thy youth." - Friedrich von Schiller

...its Merlin

"Who...Wah...Umm?" Harry stared dumbfounded at the old man.

Merlin just smiled and turned to Dumbledore, "I need to talk with Harry a bit more, why don't you and Gawain just go inside, the rest of the Order are waiting for you."

Dumbledore nodded, looked at Harry and smiled, "Still confused?"

After Dumbledore and Gawain walked away, Merlin started walking toward where Harry and Dumbledore came from. They walked for quite a while, taking twists and turns in the dark forest.

"I suppose that all this information must have startled you, am I right?" Merlin asked, breaking Harry from watching two birds fight.

"Uh? Oh, yeah, but I always seem calm enough to walk through it like it was normal. Why?" Harry asked the old wizard.

Merlin turned to Harry and looked at her with his shining black eyes, "Did Dumbledore talk to you about anything called pure magic?"

"No, not that I can remember." Harry looked at Merlin confused.

"Pure magic is a type of magic that exists in its purest form. With pure magic, you don't need an item to perform your magic, you just do it on your own. You, Harry, hold such tremendous amounts of pure magic, that it even amazes me." Merlin said while looking around himself as if looking for something.

"That still doesn't explain why I am so calm." Harry asked.

"Be patient, Harry, you will find that it will help you greatly in your life if you are. You see, magic exists everywhere, in us humans, other lower life forms, trees, leaves, even in thin air. Magic is what controls and runs this world, and you may see that it also runs other worlds, too." Merlin said gesturing around himself.

"Other worlds?" Harry couldn't follow the old man.

"You will see soon. Magic doesn't just simply exist within ones self, it comes form the soul. Magic is very powerful, it contains the energy not only to destroy life, but to also make life." Merlin looked at Harry with a serious expression on his face.

"But if magic comes form a persons soul, why can't muggles do magic?" Harry asked, completely ignoring the seriousness of the situation.

"You must believe. You must love. You must live. Muggles didn't believe that magic exist. Muggles didn't live life, they questioned it, thinking it of a mere scientific existence. I won't say that muggles didn't love, few did, and those that did, found magic. You must also understand, magic may be a form of energy, but it is not only energy. Magic is the expressions, the feelings, the need, magic is everything. You are magic, yet magic is you. Magic exists because of you, and you exist because of magic. We created magic by existing, and magic created us by existing. Magic is everything, absolutely everything." Merlin started walking further into the forest.

Harry pondered over the short teaching of magic, then asked, "The way you say it, means that we control magic, and magic controls us?"

Merlin stopped and looked at the sky, "You are starting to understand it Harry, good job. After living as long as I have, you will see magic not as a type of energy, but as a life form. You will find out that magic doesn't make the decisions for us, it forms us and leaves us to be, to live life on our own decisions."

Harry looked at the sky, the clouds forming and separating, the wind pushing the clouds, and then she understood. Magic is like a author writing a story. The author starts a new character, and lets him or her build themselves up. They start to create a mind of their own, making their own decisions, personality, and making their own shape.

We are simply characters in the book of time, we develop as time moves on, page after page, chapter after chapter. We create our own personalities, our own decisions, our own life. Magic just writes what we do down in the large book called Time.

Harry looked back down and saw the whole world in a whole new vision. The trees, the air, the birds, sky, ground, hell even Merlin and herself, seemed to be pulsating with a new born light. Harry walked around the spot on the forest as if a new born baby seeing the world for the first time. Her emerald eyes seemed to shine as she took in the seemingly new world around her. And for the first time laughed.

Laughed.

Not just the laugh of seeing joy, the laugh of experiencing joy. She felt happy, truly happy, for the first time in her life. It felt that her past had been fake, abnormal, untrue. She felt so real. So, absolutely, real. She felt as if she was reborn into the world. She now not only saw magic, she felt it. She felt the magic surrounding her, she felt the magic in the tree, in the air, in herself. She closed her eyes and sank to her knees, feeling the warmth that magic gave her, the comfort. Tears started to prickle in her eyes, not tears of sadness, rather tears of joy, comfort, happiness. It felt like bliss to her. Eternal bliss.

Harry opened her eyes to see that Merlin was smiling down at her. Harry smiled back. She wiped off the tears with the end of the sleeve of the sweatshirt she wore, and stood up.

"I understand now. I understand why I live, understand why it is only me that can fulfill the prophecy. I can see now. Truly see."

Merlin merely smiled at her and started walking back to the castle.

How do I know that he is walking back to the castle, Harry asked herself.

Because you do, something answered the question.

Because I do, Harry echoed.

Harry and Merlin walked in silence through the forest, before Merlin finally spoke, "After getting back to the castle, Dumbledore and I will talk to you about your recent transformation. Also, at that time, you may ask anything you would like about the matter."

"Hmm..." Harry replied in a soft voice.

They approached the clearing again, and Harry saw the most beautiful thing in her life. The whole meadow seemed to glow with magic, and blue dome covered the flowers of multiple colors. It all looked like a dream, a vision, but it was not. It was magic.

Harry shifted her gaze to the blue dome that seemed to encircle the meadow, and asked Merlin, "What's the blue dome?"

"It is the wards that are placed around the castle." Merlin said without looking at her, and Harry grasped a final fact, she could see magic even in its most impure form.

They continued to walk towards the castle. They entered the front gates and walked into what seemed to be the foyer. Harry looked around the large two storey room, fascinated by the markings around the wall. They walked up the stairs and turned to what seemed to be a large room with a desk, large bookshelves, couches and a large fireplace that stood half the length of the room. The occupants stopped their chatting and turned to the newcomers of the room.

Merlin smiled and moved to the couches, sitting down. Harry looked confused, not knowing what to do. One of the women rolled her eyes and came up to Harry.

"Hi, my name is Hope." Harry noticed that she had a thick London accent with a hint of American. Hope seemed to have green eyes almost the same as Harry's and red hair that fell down in curls to her back. Hope took her hand and brought Harry to the couch and set her down, then sitting down beside her.

"Seriously, Merlin, you confused the poor girl back there. That was not a way to treat a guest," the one with straight raven black hair and purple eyes glared at Merlin.

"Guest? I think Harry should consider herself family now that she is here." Merlin smiled and looked at the man with long brown hair.

"Guinevere does have a point, Merlin." the one with short black hair and black eyes sat up straighter in his seat.

"Alright with all of you stop it, you are confusing Harry even more." Hope called out the room in general.

"Oh fine, it seems that I will be the one that should do the presentations tonight." Dumbledore stood up, walked to where Harry was seated and took the last seat on the couch.

"Let's start with Lancelot, the one with short brown hair and black robes. He is known for being King Arthur's best friend, and one of the best warriors in Camelot." Dumbledore said pointing to the couch that he had just vacated a seat form.

"You should know Merlin, I hope. Then there is Gawain, King Arthur's second cousin, and also one of the best warriors in Camelot." Dumbledore pointed to the man with brown hair.

"Then there is Guinevere, wife of King Arthur, now a widow. She is very talented in healing and charms." Dumbledore pointed to the beautiful raven haired woman.

"Finally there is Hope, niece of Gawain. She is very talented in all areas of magic and battle." Dumbledore pointed to the red haired girl.

"You all still seem so young, why?" Harry asked.

"We took an oath to protect the universe form any darkness forever. This is why I still look as if I am thirty two, Lancelot looks as if he is thirty six and Gawain still looks as if he is thirty four." Guinevere answered.

"I took the oath when I was seventeen, so it looks as if I have not aged at all." Hope said from beside Harry.

"As for me, I took the oath with Hope, so I look as if I am still ninety three." Merlin said from across the room.

"Enough of introductions, now did you have some questions Harry?" Dumbledore asked, relaxing back into the sofa.