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A/N: Here is the next chapter! A big thank you to those who favorited or followed my story. I hope you guys are liking it! I should have the next chapter up by next Thursday. If you have any questions or suggestions, review and I'll do my best to answer and consider.

Chapter 8

Merlin shivered as Hermione watched him. Something was going on in her head, and he had no idea what it was. He was tempted to break the silence, but doing so might not release the tension building up…and he wasn't even sure he wanted to know what she was thinking with that look on her face.

"What are you?" Hermione asked cautiously. Merlin went rigid. What exactly was she asking? He gave her a blank look.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He glanced away and fidgeted slightly under her glare. He wondered why she was affecting him this much. He was Merlin, one of the most powerful Warlocks of his time! So why was he so nervous in front of a little girl? Arthur would have knocked him on his ass for this. Probably would have called him a pansy too. So old that he couldn't even remember his own age, but scared by a little girl? He really had fallen from grace…but Hermione's stare was scary.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about? You must be joking! You are obviously not what you seem. You speak and act much older than you look, and if even half of what you say about your past is true, then you've also done too much for your what? Eight years?" Hermione shook her head in frustration. "You may be like family to me, but I can't stand having this secret of yours come between us. Tell me what you are." Her eyes blazed, and she crossed her arms. She glared at him, silently insinuating that she was not going to back down. Well, at least he now knew what she wanted to know. He could have been a little more careful with his secrets, but who was he kidding, he really didn't try to hide anything from her. He didn't even think of it as a secret. It was more like something he just never talked about with her. He really didn't like talking about his past very much. He often referred to it if he needed to get a point across, but he hated remembering it. Though, he could never forget it either.

"I understand now. You want to know my age and why I look like I'm eight or nine. I'm warning you now that I don't enjoy explaining my…circumstances, but I will do my best. I will leave some parts out as I don't think I could explain everything and would rather not anyway. Also, it's not a secret, and I wasn't trying to purposefully keep it from you. I just tend to avoid the topic and wouldn't voluntarily start a conversation about my past and my condition." He took a deep breath. "Does that all make sense?"

Hermione nodded her head. He face had relaxed, and she looked calmer and happier. She took a sip of the watered down ale, and turned her full attention onto him. Her eyes were eager as she waited for him to explain himself.

Merlin took a deep breath and began. "I was born sometime late in the 11th century. My mother and I were poor…very, very poor. We owned nothing and had little food to eat. She sent me away to Camelot when I was on the threshold of becoming a man to stay with a friend of hers. His name was Gaius. He was like a father figure. I didn't know my father, you see. I met him later, but he died right after…I wish I knew him better. But I suppose I'm getting off track. You wanted to know what I am, right? I'm human, though I do have a lot of quirks that regular humans don't have. I'm a priest of old magicks and have abilities that at times seem to surpass even my own knowledge. I can see that you think I'm telling you lies. Don't deny it. I can see it on your face. I am Merlin, the great and powerful ancient sorcerer. I know that I look like a child, but that night…the night when we first met is when a ritual was performed, one that takes place every five hundred years or so at the end of spring and beginning of summer. The first time I invoked regeneration ritual was in 1387. That night was the second time I had practiced the ritual. My body changes into that of a child of about eight years and drains a considerable amount of my magic. I won't go into the details about the ritual now or the reasons why I must perform it, but eventually I will tell you everything." He gave her a tired smile.

Hermione seemed to be weighing this new information and considering his words. "So…you're how old? Eight hundred and something? That would explain why your odd talk and manner. And magic is real, so I bet this can be real too, but I'm going to need more details, and I want to know more about your life." His words slowly sunk into her mind. Her eyes widened in shock, and her mouth dropped. Merlin fidgeted…again. She was openly staring at him in astonishment. Her voice was the first to come back. "You're the Merlin. The one in the legends about King Arthur and the knights of the round table…this is beyond words…beyond me." Her eyes wandered over to a window, and Merlin knew that her mind was a gone, floating around in her jumble of thoughts.

"This shouldn't change anything." Merlin murmured. Hermione jerked slightly and turned towards him with a questioning look. Merlin cleared his throat and spoke louder. "I don't want anything to change between us. We can still be friends. Who I am shouldn't matter in the great scheme of things, right?" He suddenly looked uncertainly at Hermione, hoping that she'd confirm what he'd said.

She didn't say anything immediately, but just gazed thoughtfully at Merlin. He fidgeted. It appeared as if the fates didn't want him to have a close companion, a friend. His expression became sad, and his face fell. He turned away from Hermione. It was over.

"I agree." Merlin felt his hope renew as he faced his friend again. Hermione smiled and reached out to grab his hands. "Who you are shouldn't change our friendship. You're my first friend and more like family in my eyes. I could never walk away from you." She nodded and leaned in planting a small kiss on his cheek. "You'll always have a friend in me."

Merlin couldn't help the large grin that grew on his face. He felt a burden lift from his shoulders. It was nice having a friend he could count on to always be there for him. He hadn't had someone like that in hundreds of years. "Thank you." He stated, knowing that those words couldn't convey all the emotions passing through him, but deciding that not saying anything at all would be much worse.

Hermione nodded. "I don't think I can eat another bite of food." Merlin glanced at her plate. The food was gone…and so was the watered down ale.

"I can tell that you're still tired. Why don't you rest for a few hours? I'll wake you up for your next meal and see how you're doing. Maybe we can work on your magical training afterwards." Merlin started directing her towards the bed. She was already nodding off, even though she was standing. She gave a sleepy agreement as he tucked her into bed. She fell asleep within seconds. He brushed a few of the stray curls out of her face. She was going to have a rough time with the next stage of magical training, but he had a feeling that she would enjoy the work and never give up on it. He left her side after a moment in order to clean up the dishes. He would wake her up soon, but for now, he was going to let her have a good rest.

Hermione woke abruptly to the sound of Merlin yelling that food was ready. She felt so much better and after they had eaten. He took her outside and started explaining some of the spells she was about to learn.

"Hilderand(1) is the incantation to use when you want to shield yourself from other spells or even physical attacks if it's strong enough." He demonstrated the spell. A large golden orb covered him, and he showed her what it looked like to pour his magic into it making it brighter and stronger and then weakening the shield so she could barely see it. "For this spell to work, you'll need all your concentration. It will also help with controlling the flow of your magic."

Hermione nodded in understanding and waited for him to let her try the spell. He explained the theory and the emotions behind the spell as well as the history before she was able to try it, but she had to admit that she loved learning everything about something before she tried it, so she was happy to wait. It took the rest of the day to get the shield to work and even then it only barely glowed before flickering out. She was exhausted by the end, but happy that she was able to perform it, though the spell was far from perfect yet. She promised herself that she would practice it every day until she could execute it flawlessly.

Merlin also gave her a few other spells to practice after she got the shield right, and she couldn't wait to start working on them. She might be new to this and not very good, but she was sure that she'd be doing really well soon enough. She had to admit though, that she was really excited that it was Merlin teaching her. How many could say that they were taught magic by the Merlin? She couldn't wait to learn more about magic and about her friend. He had centuries of experience and knowledge after all.

The next few weeks passed by in a blur. She learned more spells and refined the way magic flowed through her. She could do more powerful spells and even hold her own in a duel (when Merlin went easier on her). Merlin gave her books on magical theory, ancient languages, magical cultures, and a multitude of other resources. She was in heaven with so many books and resources. He had promised that in another month or two they would start travelling the world. She knew that something was up, but she figured that he would tell her soon, when everything was ready…or when he was ready. He kept a tight lid on his past, but he promised that she would eventually know more. He wasn't ready yet.

She shook her thoughts away. Right now, she had to focus. She crawled over to the river to refill her pouch with water. This survival exercise was taking its toll on her. She'd been out in the forest for two days. Merlin hunted her, while she hid and ran. Her magic was running low. If she could last for one more day, she would pass his test. If anything, she was determined to pass and go on to the next level…the next lesson. She sighed. Her birthday was in three days. Merlin probably didn't realize she was turning eight soon. She crawled back to her spot amidst the bushes. Good cover could be hard to find. A twig snapped towards her right. Her whole body grew rigid. It looked like she would be running again very soon.

Spell fire came from that direction, so she pulled her magic and threw up a shield. She returned fire as she ran through the trees. One of her spells caused a tree to fall, while another had the water from the river turn into very sharp icicles. She quickly chanted through a disorientation curse and found cover again. This time, she hoped that it would take him longer to find her. She couldn't keep this up for much longer. "Twenty three hours and fifteen minutes until this is all over," she chanted under her breath. "It's almost over." She shivered in the dark.

(1) Shield in Old English