I've been really productive in my writing so you guys get another chapter. Keep those prank ideas coming.

Chapter 5: Protection

By the end of the week, Merlin had his classes all sorted out. Most of them would be enjoyable; although he hadn't chosen Ravenclaw's house, he did love to learn new things. But History of Magic? He wanted to skip that class. He didn't know all of it, but he knew that before long they would start to talk about Camelot, and the great Merlin himself. In terms of history, it

hadn't been that long since Gwen's repeal of the laws against magic and Camelot's Silver Age. And although Merlin often complained to Gaius that he didn't get any credit for the saving he was always doing, he did prefer to stay in the shadows. Sometimes a job well done meant no one knew what the job was or that it had been done. So being lectured on his own achievements and adventures with Arthur? Both would be grossly over exaggerated and highly embarrassing. And he didn't have a good cover story for why it would be embarrassing. All in all, he thought it best if he tried to sleep through that class. He could do the readings later.

The only other major difficulty was getting used to using the staff to channel his powers. Being born of magic, he needed no such enabler, but it seemed that magic folk here in the north were not as connected to magic so performing magic without an enabler, whether a staff or the more popular wand, was practically unheard of.

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At the beginning of the third week of classes, he walked into Salazar's classroom and felt a familiar presence knocking at the walls of his mind. He let him in.

"Merlin?"

"You did it!" Merlin grinned at him as the other students filed in. "Excellent work."

"I think I finally understand what you meant about reaching out for your mind."

"Good. That's what it had always felt like for me but I wasn't sure if it was the same for others. Now you should probably start class rather than staring at me." Merlin raised his eyebrows and Salazar noticed that the classroom had filled up and a few people were starting to look at him curiously.

"Right. Thanks." He cleared his throat and addressed the class. "Today we will have a quiz on identifying different plants by their leaves." He waved his wand and the stack of papers on his desk floated to each student. They pulled out their quills. "I want you to write down the plant name and where you would find it. Bonus points for identifying the plants that are edible. You have the entire period and there should not be any talking."

The class groaned and got to work. So far they hadn't had any quizzes in this class and they were hoping it would stay that way. But naturally their first quiz had to be a pop quiz. Salazar smiled at their groans and sat at his desk and picked up a book.

Merlin?

What did you want to tell me? Merlin had noticed he hadn't severed the connection so he had been expecting this.

The others wanted me to tell you that there were attacks on our wards yesterday. They are still holding but we were wondering if you could add some extra protection?

Only if you tell me where the twinflower is found.

That's cheating.

I am a snake, I had to try.

True. Moist areas like temperate forests.

Ah, but how do I know you aren't lying.

You don't. Merlin looked up from his quiz and they grinned at each other.

Good thing I knew the answer anyways. He scribbled down the answers while they continued to talk.

So you will add some extra protection? Salazar asked as he turned his attention back to his book after taking a look around to make sure no one else was trying to cheat.

Yea. Did you have anything specific in mind?

Not really. Something maybe to strengthen the charms we have and maybe some extra protection of the students.

Okay. I'll think on it. Merlin wrote down his last answer and brought the test up to Salazar's desk. Thanks for the help. Before Salazar could figure out that Merlin had found the answers he didn't know in Salazar's mind while they were talking, he cut the connection and walked out of the classroom. There was still time left in the class period so he had the hallways to himself. Aimlessly he wandered the halls while he brainstormed ways to protect the castle. Back in Camelot he had some basic spells that he had put around the walls that he could install here. But those alone would not be enough.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he sat on the steps. At Camelot there were others to protect the city. Arthur and his knights did most of the day to day protecting really. Although they seemed useless most of the time, Merlin knew that they dealt with many threats that didn't require magic. His eyes fell on a statue of armour in the hallway and he grinned. Maybe they wouldn't necessarily need people inside the suits of armour for them to provide protection. If he could somehow enchant the suits of armor to protect the students within the castle when there was a threat.

Merlin jumped to his feet and dashed to the forest. As soon as he was under the cover of the trees, he lost his disguise so that he could run faster. He jumped down into his little room and grabbed one of his books of magic. He used his powers to scan the book for useful spells. Not seeing any he moved on to the next book until he found a spell that might work. It was a spell for sword making. The sword would have almost a life of its own, devoted to protecting its master. With a little modification, it just might be able to be applied to the hollow knights of Hogwarts.

In the distance, he could hear the bells signalling the end of class. Although it was the last class of the day, he knew he would have to get back before his friends noticed his absence. Grabbing a spare piece of parchment, he cast a spell to make a copy of the page in the book. Satisfied, he rolled up the copy and hid it up his sleeve. He would have time to look at it tonight after the rest of the dorm had gone to sleep.

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Merlin snuck down to Salazar's office and gently tapped on the door. He heard footsteps and the door opened to a very tired looking professor. His face said he was not happy about being disturbed.

"Sorry, sir," Merlin backtracked. "I can come back in the morning if you wish."

"Merlin?" Salazar blinked the sleep out of his eyes. "Have you thought of something?"

"Yes, well, maybe. Can I come in?"

"Of course." Salazar opened the door wider to allow him inside. "You do remember how students aren't suppose to be out of their dorms this late? You could've been caught."

"Really?" Merlin snorted. "I'd like to see them try." Salazar smiled back and gestured for him to take a seat. "Reinforcing the wards you already have in place won't be a problem. I have already taken a look at them and I can do that tonight after we finish talking. They are good. I can add a few others too."

"What did we miss?"

"It's uncommon, but I've know some followers of the old religion to be able to transport themselves instantly to another place. I think you know how troublesome it would be if they suddenly could appear anywhere in the castle."

"But why won't they have done that already?" he asked. "Surely that would be a much better strategy."

"I've only seen a handful who had that skill. They are all dead." The coldness in his eyes momentarily took Salazar by surprise. It looked out of place on the young face. "But there may be others who know or are trying to learn. I can create a ward around the castle so that no one can transport themselves within the grounds."

"That would be a relief."

"I'll have to do some more research, but I may also be able to make the school unplottable. However, that would provide some complications at the beginning of term so that might not be what you want."

"I'll discuss that with the others and let you know. What others?"

"There is one more I have been thinking of but I'm not sure if I can make it work so I'd rather not mention it." He looked down at his hands in his lap.

"Nonsense. This is you we are talking about." He patted Merlin's shoulder. "Of course you can do it."

"Thank you for your faith in me. I only hope it works. But I also would prefer that it never gets tested." Salazar nodded and they sat together in companionable silence for a while longer. Merlin thinking on how he can change the spell to enchant the entire suit of armor, Salazar wondering how someone as powerful as Merlin could have doubts in his ability. Sitting in front of his was a man only a few years younger than him, though he effortly appeared as a child.

This was the man who helped King Arthur to unite the five kingdoms and created safe passage between the lands. Then, even after the King died, Queen Guinevere lifted the ban on magic. She openly celebrated all that Merlin had done to bring this day about. It should've been his great day of triumph, but Merlin was nowhere to be found. And even though no one knew where he disappeared too, certain laws were passed that Salazar knew he had advised on. He had always worked in the background for the King, and Salazar wasn't too surprised that he would want to stay that way. After all, he was hiding here at Hogwarts.

"Why don't you ever want credit for all the great things you have done?" Salazar asked softly. Merlin looked up in surprise.

"What?"

"You were sorted into my house which means you are ambitious, yet you take no credit for the things you have done."

"Arthur deserved most of the credit. All I did was nudge him in the right direction."

"But even after he died, I know you were still helping in Camelot. And the ban on magic was lifted; you didn't have to hide who you were any longer."

"I don't know what you are talking about," he said sternly. "I didn't return to Camelot after the battle. That was all Gwen's doing."

"No, some of those decrees could have only been written by someone who had magic and knew what it was like to keep that part of them hidden and live in constant danger." Merlin stood.

"I really must go work on reinforcing those charms. I will see you in class." He strode to the door and shut it behind him with a low thud.

Merlin! Salazar tried to call out in his head but Merlin refused to acknowledge him.

On one hand, he couldn't blame Salazar for asking. He wasn't the first to ask. But this was an unpleasant reminder of the past. But on the other hand, maybe he needed the past. Gaius would know something to enchant the armour with. He hadn't heard from Gaius in a while. Maybe he should send him a letter. Let him know things were going well.

But right now he needed to focus on these wards. He needed somewhere no one would bother him. He was pacing back and forth, going over a mental map of the castle for a place that would be secret he noticed a door out of the corner of his eye. As he looked, the door grew to fill the wall. They were elegantly decorated so Merlin was positive they weren't there before; he would've noticed the abundance of druid symbols. He walked up and stroked the wood.

"What are you?" he muttered. A scroll appeared before the door, floating at his eye level.

I am whatever you require me to be, Emrys. The paper burst into flames as soon as he read it. Curious, Merlin pushed open the door and gasped in surprise.

The room was enormous. And filled with books. It put Camelot's library to shame. There were scattered tables around the edges of the room and a few shelves with medicinal herbs like Gaius had. A fireplace was in the center and Merlin lit it without a second's thought. Sitting on a pedestal near the center was a book. "Advanced Spells of Protection" by Alexander Pudgenson. With an excited smile, Merlin extended a hand to lock the doors and let his disguise slip away. He flipped through the book and found a spell to enchant a knight's armour. Grabbing the slip of parchment still up his sleeve he set them side by side on the floor and crouched in front of them. It would be a long night, but he was confident he wouldn't be disturbed.

Morning found Merlin laying on the floor, papers scattered all around him with various notes and possible spells. It was only his habit of getting up at dawn that woke him with a yawn. He had reinforced the existing wards like he told Salazar he would and made it impossible to appear on the grounds. But the question of the hollow knights continued to plague him. He had left the room once last night to steal a suit of armour to practice his spell on. It hadn't seemed to work yet although he did succeed in making the sword stay sharp and unbreakable. It wasn't Excalibur, but it would be a fine blade. He would have to continue to work on it for a few more nights. But first, he had class to attend. He hurried back to the dungeons, smiling as the doors melted back into the wall to remain undetected.