Merlin had the pleasure of meeting many new faces the day they arrived at Sirius's family home. Now, he and Ron have become much more comfortable sleeping in a slightly more spacious living quarters than before. He also had the chance to meet Hermione, the second third of the trio, and the two have gotten along splendidly. Their love of books both muggle and magical have led to a variety of discussions on the matter. She too will be staying for the remainder of the summer and will be rooming with Ginny, Ron's youngest sibling. Sirius himself was certainly a great guy. Even after everything that happened to him, he graciously allowed 'The Order' to take residency in his home. Molly Weasley has become much more accustomed to his presence. Apparently once Harry arrives, they will be sharing the room with him as well. He has known since the beginning about her frequent updates to Dumbledore regarding him but doesn't mind at all. To be honest, he would probably be a little mad if they hadn't treated him as such. This way her knows they are being wary of possible threats. The only members who have not been so courteous towards him were Remus and Mad-Eye. Both refused to believe that he was merely here by coincidence but did not display their thoughts out loud. Instead they just watched him like a hawk.
Regardless of the Order trying their best to keep Merlin in the dark, he already knew far too much for that to happen. Instead, he did what he always did, both watching and listening from a distance. From what he has picked up, Harry Potter has had an unfortunate run-in with dementors and in an effort to further discredit him, the Ministry of Magic has charged him with underage magic in the presence of muggles upon expulsion from the school. He has a preliminary hearing coming up and should be arriving any moment.
The steps the Ministry has taken to ensure ignorance in the public is just the denial it holds on the matter. Cornelius Fudge, The Minister, has been there to undermine every and all utterance of the 'Dark Lord's' return to power. The devastation caused the first time around has become to them, the darkest time in Wizarding history. Merlin can't help but scoff a bit at the notion. The Great Purge taking place during King Uther Pendragon's ruling had been far worse than anything Voldemort has done. Morgana even, his greatest enemy, was far more of a threat than Voldemort could even fathom on becoming. The limited magic he contains is powerful in his eyes because he has never managed to witness anything stronger. He is naïve.
Everyone is waiting casually around the table downstairs. The sound of a door shutting and voices in the hallway send everyone scurrying out of the room, Hermione Granger leading the way.
Harry's arrival was a bit overwhelming, Merlin could tell, so rather than becoming another face in the many introductions he decided to head upstairs to his shared room and continue his book a recently published Philosophy book titles, "Ways of Knowing." He had perhaps made it three more chapters in before Ron entered through the door with Harry trailing behind. The two seemed to be discussing the bogus accusations Harry has been charged with.
"Ah, their just pissy because they're still reeling from last time," Ron states indignantly. "They've even been attacking Dumbledore on the matter."
"Well what do you think will hap…" Harry begins but ceases talking immediately when he spots Merlin on the other side of the room quietly reading and is quick to grab Ron's arm. Spinning around with a questioning look, Harry points to Merlin who then looks up and stares at Harry who begins to look at him suspiciously. Looking between the two, realization dawns on Ron.
"Right," he says, "You two haven't met yet. Martin this is Harry Potter, my best friend. Harry, this is Martin Ambrosias, a new transfer student at Hogwarts this year. With nowhere to go this summer, mom told Dumbledore he could stay with us. Been with us what… six weeks now?" Ron asks Merlin.
Merlin shrugs "Give or take."
"How come you weren't with everybody else downstairs?" Harry asks. He's trying to act normal but Merlin can sight right through the façade. He doesn't trust Merlin; it is as simple as that.
Peering over his book to look at the boy he says, "It looked crowded with welcomes downstairs. I figured one less new face on the spot would be slightly less overwhelming." He gives a slight smile at Harry after he says this. "Also, it seemed a little personal and I didn't want to intrude."
"Well, now we got that sorted, we should probably hit the hay. Gonna be a big day tomorrow Harry." Ron chimes in before any more tension could be added between Harry and 'Martin.'