New chapter hooray! Thanks to everyone for sticking around through the slow updates, I appreciate your support. The chapter one and a half chapters ahead of this one was making me hate it so it took a long time to finish.
Additionally the Merlin spell in this chapter, (you'll know it when you see it) is semi-nicked from the Merlin wiki. If it's wrong and someone knows the absolutely correct term please let me know and I'll change it.
Chapter 15: Fifth Year- Dumbledore's Army
Merlin stretched as he stood the click and pop of his spine oddly satisfying. He'd snuck some food from the kitchen that morning and eaten stretched out on the lawn overlooking the lake. It was fast approaching seven o'clock and Merlin was giving some serious thought to Harry's venture.
In theory it was a great idea and as someone who essentially learnt magic in secrecy Merlin was all for it, but he wasn't sure if he should get involved himself. It wasn't as though he could teach any of the students anything. After wizards had discovered modern wandcraft the ability to use magic properly slowly dwindled. Nowadays one wizard in a million had any talent with the real magic of the Old Religion.
In addition Merlin wasn't sure he wanted so many students to think of him as someone special. After all if Harry let something slip about Merlin's identity there would be a world of problems, particularly if word somehow got back to Umbridge.
Tugging on his hair in frustration Merlin wriggled his feet under him and stood up.
The Giant Squid was floating along the surface of the lake, waving it's tentacles happily around in the air, Merlin stood and watched for a moment. It would be nice, he thought, to not have to worry about the complexities of society.
Rubbing the side of his face Merlin turned to head inside. He had promised that he would help Harry in any way that he could and there was no way, doubts included, that Merlin was going to let Harry run an illegal and potentially dangerous club on his own. At least with a member of staff, the students stood the slightest of a fighting chance. With a wry grin Merlin pushed open the door into the castle, facing facts Merlin knew that some of his best work was done with only the slimmest of chances.
By the time Merlin arrived on the seventh floor Harry, Ron and Hermione had already conjured the room they were looking for and were inside the well sealed door exclaiming with delight about the collection of defensive objects within the room. Merlin looked around appreciatively.
He hadn't tried for something as complex as a good practice room when he'd come up here before. Mostly because he wasn't entirely sure what his three friends had wanted. The castle, it seemed had no such confusion and had outdone itself.
The room was easily large enough for twenty or so people to practice duelling in. There were two bookshelves against one wall, stacked with books on defensive magic. Hermione was already selecting one and burying herself in it with delight. Next to the bookshelves was a large pile of red and yellow cushions stacked neatly according to size. At the back of the room, where Harry and Ron were, a long row of sturdy tables were set laden with all sorts of bits and pieces which Merlin vaguely recognised as dark detectors. As Merlin continued to gaze about the room Harry finally turned around and noticed he was there. "Hey Emrys! I'm glad you made it."
Merlin smiled warmly, his friends were getting much better at using his druid name and he appreciated it. It was also nice to be welcomed so keenly. "I told you I would didn't I? So do you think this will do?" he looked around the room with satisfaction.
Harry's smile was so wide Merlin was astonished the top of his head didn't slide off. "It's perfect, thanks."
"Thank Dobby when you see him again, he was the one who recommended it." Merlin reminded him.
"So are you going to teach us magic?" Ron asked eagerly, setting down a mirror and following Harry across the room.
Rolling his eyes in exasperation Merlin shook his head. "Look I've already told you, I don't use magic like you. You can't learn the sort of magic I use."
"Surely Hermione can." Ron pointed out eagerly. "She can do any spell ever made." This effusive exclamation made Hermione turn a startling shade of pink behind her book.
With a resigned sigh Merlin glanced back at the door. Hopefully no one came in. "Alright, I'll show you one spell, but if none of you can do it then that's the end of the bothering, deal?" Not that he minded the bothering. It was so comforting to be able to discuss magic, real magic, with someone that Merlin couldn't bring himself to be angry.
"Deal." All three students chimed. Hermione joined them in the middle of the room.
Casting around for something to aim at Merlin settled on some of the cushions, in the unlikely case that any of the managed magic like this at least they wouldn't hurt anyone. "Fluge." Merlin said clearly. He hadn't ever needed to actually need the incantation for something as simple as this, but he figured that was a little unfair on the others. One of the cushions immediately shot across the room and landed, skidding slightly onto the table at the back.
There was a moment of silence, then Ron gave a bark of laughter. "That was awesome. Let me try."
The red head looked at the cushion and pulled out his wand. "Wand away, if you can do this then you don't need a wand." Merlin reminded him. He would be very impressed if any of them could do even this simple spell which, in the druids and old sorcerers was almost an innate ability. Ron sheepishly returned his wand to his pocket and fixed the cushion with such a fierce stare that Merlin was slightly surprised it didn't move out of sheer terror. "Fluge" Unsurprisingly nothing happened.
Merlin grinned. "You're not pronouncing it right." He pointed out.
While Ron continued to try Hermione and Harry both joined in. Though Hermione's pronunciation was impeccable not a spark of magic was noted. All three looked very dejected, so much so that Merlin had to speak up. "I did warn you. This magic is something you have to be born with, it's not something you can learn."
"We have magic." Ron pointed out moodily, walking over to kick one of the cushions.
"Not this sort of magic." Merlin chuckled. Their impromptu lesson came to a rapid close at that point because the doors opened and the other members of their little illegal group charged into the room. Despite the room's size it seemed slightly crowded within the stone walls. It was almost like trying to get Arthur ready for a tournament with the rest of the knights. There were people everywhere being generally over excited and silly, though at least they weren't dressed in heavy armour and armed with sharp objects and more muscle than brain cells.
All of the newcomers were so excited that they didn't even spare Merlin a glance. With an amused smirk Merlin strolled over to the pile of cushions and flopped down onto it, shifting about until he was draped comfortably. By that stage most people had finished ogling the room and some had noticed him and were muttering to their friends. Merlin met their eyes openly and with a friendly smile. He didn't want to freak any of them out.
Harry and Ron were greeting people as they came in. There was a consensus that he room was perfect, particularly as, due to the room's unusual nature, the door could be made to disappear once they were inside.
Once everyone had arrived Harry nervously made his way to the front of the group. However before Harry could do more than open his mouth, one of the Hufflepuff boys spoke up, loudly and rather rudely. "What is he doing here?" A scathing looked was sent Merlin's way and several of the other students looked nervous.
Harry glanced at Merlin. "Everyone knows Emrys right?" a glance around the room confirmed that everyone was nodding. "He's kind of helping out. Don't worry he won't tell anyone right?" this last was directed at Merlin.
Merlin propped himself up on his elbows. "Don't worry I'm on your side. I don't like Umbridge any more than any of you do. To tell you the truth none of the teachers do either. Even Severus thinks she's a waste of space, which is saying something." Merlin licked his lips, he was certain that there was more to Severus Snape than meets the eye. He seemed sly and nasty, but Merlin could see something in his eyes that reminded him of Lancelot. A sort of lonely, lost look overlaid with the determination to batter down anything that lay in his path. "Harry asked me to come, so I came." Merlin shrugged and looked over at Harry. That was the truth, he was all for this club, but he wasn't sure what he could do to help them other than general support.
"I thought Harry was going to teach us?" Cho asked quietly with a hint of hope in her voice.
There was a chorus of agreements, Hermione glanced up from her book and snorted. "Of course Harry is teaching us. Emrys is just here to give us a few pointers, if we need them." she levelled Merlin with a look which would have made Arthur proud before turning back to the assembled students and snapping her book shut. "Well I think we need to elect a leader."
"Harry's the leader." Cho replied immediately. Several other people nodded, however Merlin could see some dissention growing in some of the older and more arrogant students.
Hermione looked at Cho and then glanced at Harry who was simply looking uncomfortable with the whole situation. "I just thought we should make it official. Everyone who thinks Harry should be the leader raise your hands."
Despite some obvious misgivings everyone in the room raised their hand so Hermione, looking very pleased nodded. "Alright and we should come up with a name."
Everyone looked about at the others. Fred chuckled and spoke up. "What about the Anti-Umbridge League."
"Or the Ministry are Morons group." Some else called out to general laughter.
"How about the Defence Association, or we could call it the DA for short so no one knows what we're talking about." Cho suggested, throwing an over eager glance at Harry who smiled.
Ginny Weasley, however, snorted. "If we're going to call it the DA, then lets at least make it stand for Dumbledore's Army. Isn't that what the Ministry is afraid of most?" She threw a challenging look around the room. Merlin grinned. The youngest of the Weasley clan had some spunk. As he glanced around the room Merlin could see that her suggestion had caught people's attention and he had to admit that he didn't mind it himself.
With the club name scribed carefully on top of the signup sheet, Harry stepped up again and shuffled his feet nervously. "Right, I suppose we should start then. I thought we could start with Expelliarmus then go onto a few other spells, just so I can see where everyone is." Harry threw a slightly more eager look around the room.
It seemed however that a few people were less than keen on Harry's idea. "What do we want to learn a crappy spell like that?" One of the boys sneered.
Harry looked up, his eyes darkening, but he didn't seem sure of how to respond to that. Merlin figured it was about time for him to speak up. "You shouldn't underestimate the use and power of little spells like that. After all remember, if your opponent doesn't have a wand then they can't curse you, can they? They day you consider yourself too good for 'weaker' spells is the day that you've just become too powerful for your own and the rest of societies good." There was a wall of silence and the boy who had spoken up went red and hunched his shoulders, looking everywhere, but at Merlin.
"Right, er...so shall we get started, if everyone wants to pair up and practice." Harry called out. There was an explosion of movement as everyone started grabbing their partners and started waving their wands about.
It was an interesting display of organised chaos. Once people started to get the hang of the disarming spell there were wands flying left, right and centre. Merlin got to his feet and wandered around the room watching, he was forced to either duck or send wands spinning away from him when someone cast their spells with a little more enthusiasm than was necessary.
Harry seemed to be enjoying himself as he instructed Cho on her spellwork. Merlin smiled faintly at the pair, they obviously liked each other and were both trying to hide it. Rolling his eyes Merlin continued his stroll around the room.
Eventually he came to Neville, who was trying desperately to disarm Dean Thomas without much success. "Expelliamus. Expelliamus. Expelliamus." Neville's wand was nearly bending with the force he was putting into waving it about. Merlin took pity. "Relax Neville. Magic doesn't work so well if you're stressed."
Not entirely sure how he was supposed to prove his point without revealing himself Merlin grabbed Neville's wrist and lowered his wand. "Just take a moment to relax and centre yourself. You can do this." Merlin stepped back and allowed Neville a moment of peace to concentrate. He could see that the young wizard was still tense, but his determination shone through his face.
Finally with a deep breath Neville raised his arm and said firmly. "Expelliamus." Dean's wand was nearly pulled from his grip; however he managed to maintain a hold of it. Several nearby Gryffindors gave a disappointed Neville a cheer. Harry had appeared near them. "Well done Neville, you're really getting the hang of it. Maybe try a bit more of a flick."
Neville nodded and looked over at Dean who gave his friend a supportive grin. Merlin winked at Neville. "Keep at it, just relax and you'll manage."
An hour passed where magic was thrown all over the room. By the time Harry called for a stop everyone was eager for more. Organising a good night for meetings turned out to be something of an issue. There were Quidditch practices to work around and many of the students were involved in other clubs which they didn't want to miss. After a lot of shouting and Hermione scribbling frantically in a little book everyone agreed to meet on the following Wednesday, with further meeting dates decided later.
"I'll try and come up with some way to let everyone know when the next meeting is." Hermione explained as people left in twos and threes to avoid drawing suspicion. "It will be strange if there are too many people meeting and asking Harry, Ron or I when the next meeting is and we don't want to draw Umbridge's attention." This last part was yelled to ensure that people would hear.
Eventually only Hermione, Ron and Harry remained in the Room. Merlin grinned at them, they all looked completely satisfied with the work they had done tonight. "Well I suppose I had better head to bed as well." Merlin sighed, running his fingers though his hair.
"You will come on Wednesday won't you?" Harry asked keenly.
Merlin paused and looked over the three eager faces which were presented to him. "I don't know, I'm not going to be much help."
"You helped Neville." Harry pointed out as he folded up the Marauders Map.
Reluctantly Merlin nodded. It had felt good that, actually teaching someone magic, he hadn't ever really done that. "We'll see. Goodnight then." He called, leaving the room to his three young friends.
Walking the dark and silent corridors with only a fist full of light to guide him Merlin considered what he was doing. He was encouraging a new generation of magic folk to break through the laws binding them. With an ironic smile Merlin headed for bed, history did like to repeat itself.
This chapter was written while I was on a placement in a little country town. As such I apologise if Merlin sounds a little odd. He was channelling my supervisor who has the most amazingly Australian sense of teaching and as such involved a multitude of phrases such as 'she'll be right' and 'oh it's a cocky one'. After working with him for two weeks, I started talking and apparently writing like him. My sister thought it was hilarious; my rather conservative mother wasn't too keen on all the swearing I did when I got home.