Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Merlin.

A/N: I am so sorry this is so late. Life just happened. I've been traveling among other things. I will try to get the next one on time! And for those of you who are curious. I am planning to have Hermione go to Hogwarts eventually!

Chapter 4

Hermione had learned a lot about the druids over the last few hours. She enjoyed spending time with Keena too. She hadn't realized how little contact she had with anyone outside of Merlin these last couple of weeks and having someone else to talk with was more than enjoyable to say the least. The druids were a peaceful people, slow to anger and careful to attack, but they did not have a history free of violence. When it came to defending their beliefs and the old ways, they could be ruthless if they needed to. But as of now-a-days, they were a calm and peaceful people that did not get involved with modern day affairs. They stayed hidden from the world and protected their traditions from those who wished to use them for harm or desired to destroy their way of life.

She found everything about them incredibly fascinating. The only problem was that Merlin had been acting strangely. He was even more secretive than usual and that worried her. He had been talking to Calatin since they arrived and whenever she or anyone drew close they stopped talking. Something was going on and she couldn't figure out what it was. The only thing she was able to pick up was that it was about the forest. Her mind kept retreating to thoughts of her parents. She had a suspicion that not everything was normal in the Forest of Dean, and she decided then and there that she had a right to know as her parents were most likely victims of this conspiracy. She still had nightmares of their screams. They lingered in the back of her mind even when she was awake. It was like she was being haunted. At times, a feeling that something was incredibly wrong would wash over her.

She shook her head trying to dispel her thoughts and looked over to Keena. It was supper time. She was learning that the druids were very communal and that they did most everything in community or in small groups. This aspect of their society included cooking and eating together. Some of the older women had them running around gathering ingredients and taking them to different work tables or caldrons during meal preparation.

It was nice, knowing that she had been a part of creating something, even if it was just cooking a meal. The stew tasted so much better with that knowledge. She briefly wondered if that was why Merlin always cooked, and decided it was best not to look too much into Merlin's housekeeping habits as he could be a bit strange with them. He always mumbled to himself when he did them. She thought him slightly mad, especially, when he started muttering how he wasn't a prat and not to shout his name. Perhaps he didn't always live by himself and these other people would insult him at times. She wasn't too sure about anything involving Merlin and his strange habits.

"You look like you've got something on your mind." Keena broke through her thoughts. "You keep looking at Emrys with these odd expressions."

Hermione shot a sharp glance at her companion. "I'm just thinking. I'm not looking at anything in particular. You must be mistaken. And anyway who's 'Emrys', I've certainly never heard that name before…"

Keena looked mildly amused. "Did he not tell you what we call him?"

"He who?" Hermione's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Emrys is Merlin's druid name," Keena whispered to her playfully.

She sputtered indignantly. "I certainly was not looking at Merlin! Why would I do such a thing?!" Hermione decided to keep her glance firmly away from Merlin and his infuriating secretive conversation with the druid leader from now on.

Keena gave her a knowing glance. "Merlin is a powerful secretive person. Most tend to be curious about his doings."

"Well, I'm not. He can do what he wants!" Hermione set her empty bowl down the spoon smacking against the side. She crossed her arms and glared sulkily at the wall.

Her new friend gave her a knowing look and shook her head at her stubborn friend. "If you're sure then…"

"I am." Hermione stated with force.

Keena nodded. "I'm finished eating if you want to wander for a bit."

"We haven't gone through the whole cave yet, have we? I guess we could head out and finish." Hermione glanced over to her discarded eating utensils. "Where do we put our dishes?"

Keena and Hermione quickly washed their dishes and put them in the "clean" pile. They were soon roaming the passageways and connecting caves. Hermione asking questions about each part of the cave and anything else that came to her or that she found interesting.

As they returned to the main area after exploring for a few hours, Merlin startled them.

"Don't sneak up on us!" Hermione glared at Merlin. "You really scared me."

Merlin rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry 'bout that. I was in that corner over there waiting to see how you were doing. You seemed to have toured most of the druid camp. That's impressive!"

Hermione sighed. "I suppose we did. What did you do? We saw you talking for a good amount of time with Calatin."

Merlin gave a goofy grin. "Yeah, just talked most of the time…really didn't do a whole lot. I'm sure what you did was a lot more interesting."

Hermione cursed him in her head. Her subtle dig for information failed. Perhaps…no, he couldn't purposefully be avoiding the topic of his conversation with the druid leader, could he? She gave him a careful glance. He still had that goofy grin of his plastered to his face. He had always seemed simple minded, but she had a feeling that there was more to him than what meets the eye. Appearances can be very deceiving. She just nodded absently to his queries about where she had gone.

"Hermione, earth to Hermione," Merlin broke through her musings, and she jumped as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You looked like you were lost inside your head. Figured I should help you out." He gave another cheeky grin, but she could see a trace of worry. "Nothing's happened, right? At least not anything bad?"

"I was thinking. That's all. Nothing to worry about." She replied evenly.

"Ok, then. I'll show you where we'll sleep tonight." Hermione glanced around and noticed Keena had left.

"Where'd Keena go?"

Merlin laughed. "She said that she needed to go check something. You'll see her before bed I expect."

Hermione frowned at him. She didn't remember Keena saying anything. "I didn't hear Keena leave. Are you sure that she said something?"

Merlin blinked a few times and directed her toward a passage on the right. "Yeah, she did. She mind spoke though, so I guess you didn't hear it." He looked thoughtful.

"Mind spoke? I have no idea what that is." Hermione looked frustrated. "It sounds like something you made up." She huffed.

Merlin looked amused and that made her even more irritated. "I see…I did not make it up, but we're going to have to work on that."

"Work on what?"

"You should have the ability to mind speak. It might take a while, but we should be able to draw it out."

"Are you serious?" Hermione thought about the implications of being able to speak to someone without using her voice.

"Completely." Merlin smiled. "We're here by the way."

Hermione looked up. They were in a large cavern. People were rolling out bedding and grabbing bundles from the far wall. A rosy fire danced and crackled to her right. There was singing. People hummed and sang to themselves, but instead of the different melodies clashing, they harmonized and echoed through the room. The humming and singing rose and fell. It felt magical, but of a different sort than the spells she cast. It struck into her mind and heart washing over her.

She remembered Merlin was beside her and looked over to see what his reaction was. Her eyes widened as he hummed along to his own tune watching her with oddly golden eyes as if he was doing magic.

"Druid magic," he murmured, still in tune with the strange music.

That caused more questions to blossom in Hermione's mind than before, but she decided to save them for later.

She did see Keena and was shown where the bedding was and how to set it up. Later that night after the music and slowly faded away, she drifted off to sleep.

The rest of the time with the druids was very productive. She learned more about their culture and joined Keena and some of the other children in lessons about harmony and earth magic. She figured out that the druids enjoyed doing magical rituals through song. It was hard at first trying to open her mind and magic, allowing her to feel the rituals and the earth, but she slowly became attuned to how things worked. The druids blessed many things during different parts of the day. When they prepared the food they sang to the spirits of the animals they had hunted; when they awoke, they sang to the sun; when they walked through the forest, they thanked and blessed the trees and plants that sheltered them from the outside world; it was amazing.

She found herself sad that this was their last day among them, though Merlin did say that they'd be back soon. She hoped they would. She loved it here.

She sat next to Keena and helped prepare some of the vegetables they were going to put in a stew. An older woman sat across from them, keeping a close eye on their work.

Another woman walked over to them. Hermione thought her name might be Lila. "We need more water from the river, any volunteers?"

Hermione jumped up. "I'll do it."

The woman nodded. "Here's the bucket. You can find the river, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good."

Hermione ran towards where she knew the cavern's exit was.

"No running." The woman called after her, and she slowed down.

The bucket swung around as she tried to quickly reach the river. She was soon there. Her bucket now full, she carefully walked back toward the cave when she heard voices. She froze then recognized Merlin and Calatin's voices. She let out a breath and moved toward where she thought they were. As she moved closer, she realized that this conversation sounded serious. She paused to listen.

"Are you sure they're in the forest…they haven't been here in a long while." Calatin was saying.

"Yes, I did some looking after the attack. They're his ex-followers alright. We may need to force them out of the forest before more people die.

Hermione's mouth dropped. Wait…they couldn't be talking about what had happened to her and her parents, could they? She crept closer, trying to stay as quiet as possible.

"I suppose it might be for the best if we push them out. I dislike making our presence known, even for something like this, though if it must be done, it must be done."

"So I can count on your help then, Calatin."

"Of course, Emrys, you know that we will always come to your aid."

"Good."

"May I ask what you will do with the girl? She is welcome to stay here."

Hermione felt a little jolt down her spine. Was Merlin going to leave her? No, he can't do that! He wouldn't, right? Her ears strained for Merlin's response.

"I have grown used to her company. I don't wish to leave her anywhere just yet."

"I see…that is for you a highly unusual sentiment. I hope that everything works out in the end."

"Yes, I hope so too."

"And Emrys…be safe. Don't let them sneak up on you. You know their strength. And be wary of the full moon."

"I shall keep your words in mind. Thank you, Calatin for your hospitality."

Hermione heard rustling, and she tightened her hold on the bucket's wooden handle and sprinted toward the cave, all the while wondering what she had just heard.