AN: Thank you dear Tan for the British history lesson and for your forgiveness for my ahem.. poetic license. All you British readers out there please don't kill me. I mean well. ;D

THE TIES THAT BIND

Chapter 23

MERLIN'S JOURNALS

"It's called a stethoscope!"

Hermione looked up from the pile of folders on her newly installed desk in the corner office of her clinic. It had been two weeks since Aberforth's surprise gift and with the help of friends and family, it was shaping up quite nicely.

The sagging roof had been repaired with some nice spellwork by Bill Weasley. He'd become quite adept at home repair spells since taking over Shell Cottage. Whenever Fleur thought up a new project, he got right on it.

Now, he'd repaired the sagging roof and patched up all the leaking spots. He'd also helped his father Arthur in finding a carpentry wizard to replace all the windows and to repair and seal the frames. Minerva hadn't batted an eyelash when he'd asked for the galleons to pay the work wizard at the job's finish. The older witch had tried to add a bit more for Bill's time but the stalwart eldest Weasley son had adamantly refused.

Hermione sighed at her wife's generosity. They'd had a bit of a tiff over how much money Minerva was putting out to get her young wife started. The older witch had dismissed the argument saying that the McGonagall vaults were over flowing with galleons just sitting there. She might as well do something with them and besides, Hermione was a McGonagall now too. She was just as entitled to the money as any other McGonagall.

Never mind that there were only two McGonagalls. She and Minerva.

The older witch had raised an eyebrow at Hermione's protests and simply forked over the galleons anyway.

Now the young witch sat and fumed for a moment thinking that a certain tabby was going to be spending some time on the sofa. She didn't want hand outs or charity. She wanted to be able to set up her practice on her own. Reverting back to her old self reliant ways from school. It still rubbed her the wrong way when she thought about Minerva covering her debts. She'd find a way to make it up to her.

"No Poppy, you put it here." Jean Granger's voice drifted into her office.

Hermione frowned wondering what the heck her mother and Poppy were doing.

"No Molly, you look in the ear with that."

Shaking her head, the young healer rose and went in search of the answers to the puzzling statements she was hearing. Leaving the office, she walked up a short hall to the reception area. There was a tall counter with a desk below. An appointment book laid out in the center. A small waiting room was decorated with eight comfortable chairs, tables and a magazine rack. Hermione had also installed a muggle television as well.

Arthur had set up a magical generator in a small utility room at the back of the clinic so Hermione could have power for some of the muggle healing devices that she was currently having installed. It was a self-renewing spell that kept the power supply up and was mercifully quiet.

Turning a corner, she headed down another short hall to the first examining room. There she found her mother, Molly Weasley and Poppy Pomfrey sorting through the box of medical instruments that had been delivered that morning. There were three examining rooms so the young witch had ordered three rooms worth of items.

Seeing her mother placing the stethoscope around Poppy's neck, the young witch grinned watching the elder mediwitch react as Jean Granger placed the ear pieces in her ears. Her chocolate eyes crinkled with mirth as she observed Jean grab Molly and place the cold metal disc against the Weasley matriarch's chest.

"Ohhh that's cold!" Molly gasped trying to squirm away.

"Stand still!" Jean commanded, then looked at Poppy and asked, "What do you hear?"

The mediwitch grinned as she listened to Molly's heart, "I hear her heart beat!"

Hermione stepped into the room, "Pretty nifty eh?"

The other women turned to her as she stepped over to Poppy and indicated that she'd like to listen to Molly's heartbeat. Poppy pulled the earpieces out and handed the listening device to the young doctor. Hermione waved her wand over the ear pieces and whispered a sterilizing spell. Then she placed them in her own ear, and listened intently.

The other women fell silent.

Frowning, Hermione paused. Molly Weasley had an irregular heartbeat. She filed that away for now until she had a chance to set up a physical for the older woman. Smiling, she asked, "What do you think?"

Poppy had been watching Hermione very closely. She'd heard it too. She understood what the young witch was doing though, and she respected that. Nodding, she said, "I'd like you to show me how these devices work at some point."

Grinning, Hermione nodded, "Anytime." She pulled open the drawers of the oak cabinets Arthur, Harry and Ron had installed checking the placement of her inventory. She's been very specific about what went where.

Jean rolled her eyes, "I put it where you said."

Hermione nodded absently, "Just checking."

When everything appeared to be in order, the young woman moved to the other examining rooms to see if they were ready.

Jean shook her head, "Good God, you'd think I'd never set up a practice before!" She was bitching because she and John had set up their dental practice long before Hermione had been born.

"That was a dental practice." Her daughter's voice echoed from down the hall.

Poppy raised an eyebrow, "Dental practice?" Molly looked interested as well.

Jean grinned pointing to her perfect teeth, "I work on teeth."

Molly shook her head, "I've always just used a tooth wanding spell."

Jean frowned, "Why then do you only chew on the left side of your mouth?"

Hermione poked her head back into the examination room, a curious expression on her lovely face.

Blushing, Molly looked down and muttered, "Cause it hurts."

The look of triumph on Jean Granger's face spoke volumes.

"That's why I'm setting up a dental practice here too." Hermione commented staring at her mother intently, "I'd like you to work here with me mum."

A look a surprise washed over Jean's face as she stared at her daughter.

The "Cheshire Cat" grin made an appearance as Hermione crooked her finger, "Come. Let me show you."

She turned on her heel and strode down the hall, turning at another and entering a large room filled with dental care equipment.

It was a dentist's dream. Jean turned round looking at all the equipment stowed neatly awaiting use. The chair in the center of the room was of the latest design and the lighting in the room was spectacular. Hermione's mother began opening drawers along one wall. Everything she could ever want or think of was tucked away in neat rows.

"How did you know what to get?"

She watched as her daughter blushed, "I stole dad's dental catalog and snooped in the office."

Molly and Poppy, who'd followed curiously, broke into gales of laughter. Leave it to Hermione to be an efficient thief as well.

"Mum? Would you join my practice?" Hermione asked stepping directly in front of her mother.

Jean Granger's mocha eyes filled as she replied, "I would be honored." Her eyes gleaming at the prospect of a whole town with bad teeth. Turning to Molly she said, "I want to see you as soon as possible. There shouldn't be a reason for you to chew just on the left side of your mouth."

The red haired witch blushed and nodded meekly.

Grinning, Hermione headed back to her office. There were tons of forms, documents and medical records to go through as she organized. Dr. Pennyworth's Hogsmede practice had been woefully lacking in even the basics. It was a wonder no medical emergencies had swept through the town.

With a deep sigh, she sat herself at her desk once more and began rifling through another pile of documents. At the bottom of the pile was a familiar satchel. Gently lifting the faded leather case, Hermione smiled softly, "How did you get bundled up in this mess?" She was holding Merlin's Journals. Somehow they'd been transferred to the practice when the young healer was moving her paperwork from the manor.

Carefully opening the ancient binding, the young witch's chocolate eyes lit up with delight at seeing penmanship from before the founders. She whispered a translation spell, her lips barely moving, and opened the journal and began to read...


...And it came to pass that there were three siblings. Oran the eldest, Moradu the white and the youngest Ygraine. Destined for the greatness each in their own way.

Oran and I, Merlin, followed the same star.

We were boyhood friends and studied under the same masters for a time. A bit of a meddler Oran proved to be on more than one occasion. He was tall for the wizards of the age. Long auburn hair and a great beard that fell to his feet. He was more than ten years older than the middle child, Moradu and twenty years older than Ygraine. Their father having three wives.

It was Oran who introduced me to my patron.

Uther Pendragon.

A fierce warlord determined to unite the Britannic lands under one king.

Himself.

But I digress.. Oran was very protective of his sisters, Moradu and Ygraine.

Moradu was powerful and possessed an innate knowledge of the white arts that rivaled my own. She was a quiet woman of staggering intelligence and great wit and yet never married. Instead she focused on her craft.

It was the youngest child, Ygraine that begins the tale of the great persecution and my part in it's creation.

I had just earned the right to be called Master of my trade when Ygraine was wed to Gloris. He being a warlord aligned with the flag of Pendragon. The young bride was of stunning beauty with hair the color of corn silk and eyes as blue as the sky in summer. The young woman seemed to have the ability to soothe even the darkest of souls with her lovely charms. More than a few foolhardy young men met the sticky end of Gloris' jealous blade for paying too much attention to young Ygraine.

It was in the spring that the lovely Ygraine presented her husband with a daughter.

Morgana.

Lovely like her mother. With a beauty that rivaled Venus herself. A wit and strength of character like her Aunt Moradu. And power. Staggering power. Even at her birth I knew Morgana was destined for greatness.

Gloris and Ygraine led a quiet life for six years until that fateful day when she was presented to the court of Uther Pendragon.

By that time I had come to be in his service. He, my patron, supported my studies with a greedy eye. Encouraging me to create spells and potions that would lead him to victory over all those who opposed him. With my support, he was the most powerful warlord in lower Britain.

When his black eyes fell upon the lovely Ygraine, I knew only pain and sorrow would follow. When Uther came to my cauldron asking for a potion that would make him look like Gloris. I knew only chaos would ensue. I had to obey. He was my patron after all. So after a fortnight of brewing I presented him with my reflection potion. A substance that would make him look like whomever he wished. All that was needed was a single hair from the person you wanted to impersonate...

Hermione gasped as she recognized the origins of the modern Polyjuice Potion. Eagerly, she read on...

...Using my potion, Uther snuck into the stronghold of Gloris and made his way to the bed of Ygraine. I am quite certain dear Ygraine knew the difference between her husband and the man who came to her that night. In the morning however a new confusion came to light as the body of Gloris was presented to his wife while another Gloris stood at her side. Her real husband had been killed in battle the previous day. I'm quite certain that was arranged as well.

As the potion wore off and Uther's true identity was revealed, he claimed Ygraine as his queen. Six year old Morgana was sent to study with her powerful aunt, thus taking the young queen's attention and focusing it solely on Uther.

Moradu took her responsibility for her niece seriously and schooled the young girl in every white art imaginable including the healing arts. Young Morgana blossomed under her aunt's careful tutelage. At the age of fifteen, Morgana came to apprentice with me.

She was a marvel to behold. An angel sent from heaven to distract an old wizard it seemed. She had matured into a captivating work of art. Just like her mother. Her womanhood was ripe for the picking as well.

During this time Uther had tried without success to sire an heir on his wife. I suspected his seed was weak but did not say. So it did not surprise me when he once again showed up at my cauldron asking for a potion. This time to make Ygraine conceive his heir. I agreed, but with a caveat.

I wanted the hand of Morgana in marriage. I had nearly forty years on the girl but she did not care and neither did I.

Uther had leered rather maliciously and agreed to my terms. Morgana and I were wed immediately. I did not wish to give him the opportunity to change his mind. My sweet daughter Talia was conceived on our wedding night.

The potion Uther requested was not an easy one to create. It was required to cause instant fertility in whomever drank it. I laboured vigorously with Morgana at my side suggesting ingredients. Finally we managed to create a rather powerful fertility potion. It was presented to Uther who in turn forced it upon Ygraine.

They were with child within days.

I feared that due to Ygraine's age her pregnancy would be fraught with difficulties and I was correct. Every day was an ordeal for the lovely queen who struggled valiantly through her hardship. Deep inside I knew the inevitable. I knew dear Ygraine was going to die. Yet I did not say so to Uther. To anyone.

Sure enough, upon the birth of her son, sweet Ygraine succumbed to the harsh reality of such a difficult pregnancy and was dead within days. Uther named his son Arthur.

Arthur Pendragon.

Uther went mad with grief blaming her demise on anything and everything other than where the true blame lay, with himself. He came to my cauldron wildly ranting about how my potion had killed his wife. I calmly informed him that my potion caused her to become pregnant. It was his issue that killed her.

Looking back I realized that perhaps that was the wrong thing to say. Had it not been for Moradu and Morgana I fear my life would have been over. My wife and her aunt hit Uther with a spell that left him completely unable to move. Frozen like a statue...

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the mention of this, "That sounds like Petrificus Totalis." She found herself totally absorbed by Merlin's narrative....

....We vacated Uther's castle in haste. I had managed to hide from him a great deal of magical spells and thus was able to move my household rather quickly. Moradu joined me and together we met up with Oran who had found patronage in Scotland.

Uther vowed revenge not only for Ygraine's death but for the attack upon his person. His anger was great. He focused his rage on any person practicing or studying magical arts. No one was safe. A multitude of deaths followed his rampages. Uther Pendragon unleashed the great persecution against the magical world. Instilling a deep hatred and mistrust in all things magical into his son Arthur.

It was during my family's flight to safety that my second child, Alliana was born. We found a safe haven in the highlands of Scotland. The people were fierce warriors and hearty friends. Especially the High Warrior Chieftain of the Northern Clans.

Rehgan McGonagall...

Hermione grinned mightily at the name...

...The McGonagall Clan welcomed me and my magic with great enthusiasm. It seemed that Rehgan himself was a wizard of sorts. He practiced a form of "earth magic" that caught my eye. My daughter Talia had apparently caught his.

During the years that followed the flight of my family to Scotland, Uther was killed. No one knew by whom. It was assumed that it had been the work of wizards seeking vengeance for the great persecution. I believe it was Arthur himself.

The young king had grown up more ruthless and cunning than his father. Mercilessly grinding his enemies into dust and crushing all forms of magic beneath his boot.

And despite all that, he took a witch for his bride.

Guineviere Malfoy.

A strangely compelling witch who practiced the grey magic that lies between white and black. The same type practiced by me. Neither good nor evil. Useful magic. Magic that could be manipulated by the users. Dangerous magic in the wrong hands.

The beautiful, grey eyed Malfoy presented Arthur with a son whom they named Mordred.

Meanwhile my daughters had taken husbands. Talia wed the handsome, green eyed Rehgan McGonagall and my sweet Alliana had taken the chief warlord of the east. His name was Gryffindor. She later presented him with my grandson. Godric...


At the end of the day, Hermione gathered the Journals back into their satchel and floo'd back to Hogwarts. She made her way to she and her wife's quarters and settled herself on the sofa as she waited for Minerva. With a smile, she opened the journals once more and picked up where she'd left off...

...Arthur's crusade against the magical world became a full scale war. A rebellion had formed and was fighting back with surprising success. I suspect Oran had a great deal to do with such stunning victories. He had become quite enamored with Rehgan's brother Ardwin and wanted the "Warriors of the Light" to win.

Meanwhile I continued to study and develop my magic. An accidental spell I created involved keeping my grandchildren out of mischief. It impelled them to obey my commands. I didn't tell Morgana of this. She would've been quite vexed with me.

The battles raged on. Each side taking losses. I began to notice a kind of sentience forming in the very fabric of magic itself. As if it had become a living thing. In many ways it had. It was struggling for survival. I came to know of stories of witches and wizards becoming mates through a strangely powerful form of bond magic. When two people who carried the same type of magic within them came together, a powerful mating attraction would occur. I found this concept fascinating in the extreme. Especially when my granddaughter Rayna McGonagall fell in love with Rachael Ravenclaw. Their connection was deep and although they were witches, their love endured. So much so that with my fertility potion and a single charm, they were able to conceive a son.

It was during this time that Guineviere Pendragon caught the eye of a handsome young knight who fought for Arthur. His name was Lancelot. I suspect that the queen had grown resentful of her husband's single minded attempt to eliminate the people of magic. In essence, her people.

She courted the young knight's attention and before long a passionate love affair was heating up the corridors of Arthur's drafty castle.

Arthur's son Mordred had become a student of the dark arts creating more than a few spells to assist his father. He had grown into a powerful and handsome man and had been wed to Anya Noir, daughter of a French nobleman. They had conceived two children. A son they called Brut and a daughter named Tasha. Tasha later wed a powerful wizard named Salazar Slytherin. Arthur was not magical himself, yet his wife and son were. He conveniently overlooked their "dysfunction" in the name of his sacred quest to cleanse the earth of "evil magic"...

Hermione snorted as she realized that "Noir" was the French word for Black. It was an amazing historical revelation to learn that the Malfoys and the Blacks were tied to the great persecutions. It somehow made Hermione understand their near fanatical desire to keep the blood "pure". She sighed and turned the page to read on...

...It was Mordred who discovered his mother's dalliance with Lancelot. He'd been developing a spell that simulated the effects of crucifixion and fired it at Guineviere's handsome paramour. As the knight writhed in agony on the floor, Mordred cast another spell. A death spell. The green light of this spell enveloped the queen as she jumped in front of her lover.

Mordred had killed his mother.

A great madness consumed the dark wizard and he fled. Arthur's forces always just behind. The king had vowed to bring his son to justice, blaming his debilitating magic as the cause of his son's madness. Mordred knew better. His father would kill him at the first chance as he had become a threat to the throne.

It was because of the internal struggles of Arthur's forces that the Warriors of the Light, led by Rehgan McGonagall were able to overcome the majority of Arthur's armies and retake much of the territory claimed by the evil king.

It was during that decisive battle that Mordred and Arthur eventually met on the field of combat. Gryffindor and McGonagall watched in morbid fascination as the two leaders of the enemy forces crossed swords killing each other.

The remaining Pendragon forces were eventually driven out of Britain and a new king was crowned.

I was at Camlaan the day Arthur died. Our eyes met briefly across the field and he pointed his sword, Excalibur, at me. At the top of his lungs he screamed a curse, "Your line shall be hunted by the issue of Pendragon for all time! I will have the revenge of my father!" I could not believe what my ears had heard. After all that time, I was still blamed for Uther Pendragon's selfish deeds. Unfortunately the curse seemed to ring true for some of my line.

Shortly after the Pendragon's were forced out, my grandson Godric formed an uneasy alliance with Salazar Slytherin. He did not realize that the wizard had been wed to a Pendragon and Slytherin never mentioned it. That unfortunate oversight would come back to torment the wizarding world in years to come.

Together the two wizards joined forces with two powerful witches. Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw, sister of Rachael. The four powerful sorcerers founded a school where magical people of all types could learn their craft in peace, safety and avoiding the mistakes of the past.

It was thus named Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry...

Hermione shook her head in amazement. She was astounded that Minerva's family had been so intertwined in the history of not only the founding of Hogwarts, but the Arthur legends and the great persecution. She couldn't wait to hear what her wife had to say.


Later that evening, the two witches lay snuggled together on the sofa. Hermione had just finished regaling Minerva with Merlin's tale and wanted to know if the older witch knew more.

Minerva tightened her embrace on her wife. The softness of her body and the quiet crackle of the fire soothing her spirit. The day had been one of unruly students, mountains of marking and the idiocy of the ministry. Minerva was a bit frazzled. Sipping her tea, she did listen with rapt interest to her wife.

"I remember hearing that Rehgan McGonagall was an animagus. I think that's what Merlin meant by "earth magic".

Hermione nodded, "Ah.. I thought it might be something like that." She frowned as she thought of something else, "Arthur's daughter married Salazar Slytherin. That means that in some twisted way Merlin was ultimately responsible for the rise of Tom Riddle."

There was a long pause as the older witch digested this. Then with a tired sigh, she replied, "Merlin carried the burden of guilt for the rest of his life as well he should have." She frowned as she continued, "I personally believe his true fault was in creating potions and spells that were as dangerous as they were and not being more responsible in their distribution and use."

Hermione snorted, "Minerva, he had a family to feed."

The older witch shook her head, "Even so... to be that enamored with gold pieces paid for his services."

Hermione shrugged, "It was a different time Tabby. You needed money to practice your craft. Maybe that's why he was with Uther Pendragon."

Minerva gave a disgusted grunt, "Bought and sold to the highest bidder. Prostituting his magic for gold." She stared into the flames of the fire, a deep frown upon her face.

The young witch sighed in resignation, "It was a different time. It seems he did change a bit after the birth of his daughters. Perhaps the McGonagall influence affected him?"

Minerva smiled and let out a bark of laughter, "What is this "McGonagall" influence?"

Grinning, Hermione ran a single gentle finger down her wife's cheek, "Oh you know... the ability to turn even the bravest person to total mush with a single glance?"

"Mush eh?"

"Yup."

"I'll show you mush young lady!"

A naughty giggle echoed down the circular stairway of the venerable castle founded so many years ago with the ideals of those who'd learned that sometimes even the best magic wasn't for sale.


-to be continued

AN: Thank you to my lovely Brit for her input and infinite patience regarding my woeful lack of British historical knowledge and legend. Y'all! ;D