Well then! I have just now realized that tattoos may not have existed back then...oops. Well, they do now!

Anywho, ENJOY!

"Italics are sign language."

"Bold Italics are Parseltongue."

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Merlin! Just wanted to make that clear incase you were confused…...I'm guessing you weren't.

Chapter 9

After Hermione had made her 'startling' recovery, some had begun to look at her strangely. Arthur, for one, always gave her calculating looks and she felt a bit off by them. The gossip mill was always working and moving in the castle, so naturally, everyone knew of her sending a snake on Knight Valiant, killing the guy. They also knew of her getting bit by the snake and supposedly dying, but there she was! Healthy and walking around the castle. She was formally thanked by the King and before Ewan left, he told her that he would be forever in her debt, Knights honor. That was something pretty big. Hermione had also been getting accustomed to having a snake on her arm.

The tattoo wasn't bothersome and her magic would tell her whenever Karma wanted to go and hunt. She would always let him off her arm when she was at the Cave of Dreams though. Crookshanks had something of a violent reaction to Karma, but they sorted it out. Which was good because she really did like both of them. When she went to sleep, Karma would slither around some part of her body and Crookshanks would cuddle up by her stomach. She prayed to anyone that would listen that she did not want anymore animals.

It had been a while since the tournament and it seemed like things just kept happening. Today was the day when another kingdom was coming to sign a treaty. Well, she was glad that Uther was doing some things right. She, however, wasn't part of any of it. Her boredom had been getting worse and she was contemplating walking around as her Animagus to make people think they were going to die. It sounded harsh, but the looks on their faces would be hysterical! That may not work though. She was pretty sure that no one had heard of the Black Shuck. They couldn't kill her either, which was good. Yes, she could be injured, but never die. Which, she wondered if she actually ever would die. What if she just stopped aging? That would be horrible. She didn't want to live forever. It sounded like torture to stand and watch everyone around her die.

Well, the banquet was that night and Hermione had been wandering through the halls after the initial meeting of the two kingdoms. She enjoyed seeing the different servants and Knights. None of them greeted her, or even seemed to acknowledge her presence. She did, however, help one of their servants carry a heavy basket of something. She got a strange look for that one.

Hermione was going to find Merlin and came across him flirting with a serving girl from the other kingdom. She needed to stop though. She blindly leaned on a wall and took a breath. That woman had such strong magic coming from her. It was such angry magic though. It held the thirst for revenge and so much pain and suffering. It was dizzying! She heard Merlin shout her name and then felt a hand on her shoulder. It snapped her out of the headache she got from experiencing angry magic like that. Her eyes flashed red and she looked up to the worried eyes of her brother. Her eyes slid to the vibrant blue ones of the servant and made her eyes go red. The servant seemed to step back and Hermione felt a growl ripped through her throat. She felt where her revenge was pointed at. It was threatening Merlin. Merlin gripped her shoulder and she stopped. Her eyes went back to brown and the servant was already running off. Hermione just stood up and looked at Merlin. She said seriously and with no emotion, "she's not your type." Then, Hermione stalked off.

Merlin was confused. Hermione had never had such a threatening reaction to someone. Except maybe Valiant and anyone who was threatening him. That was it though. She was usually calm and easygoing. Merlin shook his head and sighed. He needed to get to Arthur's chambers to help him prepare for the banquet.

Hermione had stormed off. She must have been wrong. It was just a servant girl and she did absolutely nothing wrong. Hermione needed to get out of the castle. She would just have to miss the banquet. That was alright with her though. Watching two people sign a piece of paper wasn't that interesting. Sure, it was great history, but she needed to get out.

Hermione headed back to Gaius's chambers and slammed the door. She could swear she heard the wood crack. She hesitantly looked back and saw that there was a crack in the door. Gaius would surely kill her for that. Hermione didn't know what was wrong with her! She just felt so on edge. It's like she could feel that girls vengeful magic still. The magic just felt out of place, but deep rooted. It was all so confusing and gave her a headache.

Hermione threw off her shoes and both of her gloves. She just felt so constricted in everything. She felt so claustrophobic all of a sudden. Like the hateful magic was closing in on her. She was half tempted to tear off her scarf, but that would be some scars she wasn't ready to show. She did take off her jacket though. That left her with her black long sleeve shirt, trousers, and scarf. She held out her hands and frowned at the words carved into them. Stupid Harry and his loud mouth.

Hermione stormed out of the room, passing Gaius on the way out. She was there only enough time to hear him shout at her for breaking the door…...again. She just snickered and left. She quietly headed through the halls. Passing a walkway, she lurched forward and stopped. There was that magic again. Lo and behold, it was the servant girl again. Hermione growled and she couldn't control her anger. There was just something about her magic that made Hermione so viscous. She reached out her magic and whipped the girl to the other side of the hall. There was the resounding smack of a body hitting the stone wall and it made Hermione oddly satisfied.

Hermione caught what she was doing and froze. She looked upon the unconscious servant girl and her eyes widened. What was she doing?! Just because she was on edge didn't give her the right to go attacking people. She sent a blast of healing magic to the woman and then took off back to the front doors. She wanted out. That wasn't possible at the moment because she was stopped by the Lady Morgana. Hermione stopped and tried to walk around the King's ward, but the girl said to her cheerily, "Hermione! What has you in a hurry?" Hermione stopped and could feel her annoyance growing. She just wanted to run! Despite that fact though, she put on a smile and turned to Morgana. She hated talking, but she was getting better at it. It was a lot less painful, which was good and bad. She would have to talk to people more. Ugh.

"Just, for a walk," she croaked out. Morgana smiled and stepped towards her. "How about some company?" Hermione didn't want to be rude. She just wanted to be away. Hermione shook her head and tried to say as clear as possible, "I am going, in the fo-orest. My Lady." Hermione winced at her butchering of words. Morgana just looked on a bit sadly. She saw Morgana look down to her scarred hands and gasp. Hermione put her hands behind her back swiftly, but Morgana was fast. She grabbed Hermione's hands and looked at the scarred lettering. Hermione swallowed and looked at the King's ward hesitantly. Morgana raised her head to Hermione, tears in her eyes. Hermione winced and the woman asked her sadly, "who did this to you?" Hermione swallowed and said her only answer, "lost people."

Morgana sniffed and Hermione did the only thing she could think of and hugged the King's ward. She did it with Merlin whenever he cried about seeing one of her worse scars. It was odd, but Morgana hugged her back. They just stood there in an embrace. Hermione whispered to Morgana, "don't cry for me." Morgana sniffled once and held Hermione at arms length. She whispered, "you are a strong girl, Hermione." Hermione smiled bashfully and whispered, "thank you, My Lady." Morgana shook her head and told her, "you may call me Morgana." Hermione smiled and nodded. She still felt claustrophobic, but a little bit less.

Soon, Hermione got away from the kind King's ward and ran back off on her original coarse. She rushed through town and ignored the greetings she got. She ran and ran until she finally reached the forest. As soon as she stepped into the woods, she could feel the panic of being crushed by magic decreasing. Hermione took a deep breath and smiled. She walked farther in and lifted her sleeve. Hermione rushed her magic to the snake and it rose from her skin and slithered off her arm. Big red eyes stared at her curiously and Hermione smiled. She hissed in Parseltongue, "Go and have fun. Just be back here in the morning and if I'm not here, then sneak into Merlin's room unseen." The snake seemed to be beaming with joy and slithered off to do whatever snake's did.

After that was taken care of, she let her red eyes shine and put her scarf on a tree branch and put a protection spell on it. Then, she broke into a sprint. The wind whipped her hair as she moved swiftly. Halfway into a leap, she transformed. Her large paws hit the ground with a thud and she howled loudly. It shook the ground and terrified all who were near. Hermione then ran and ran. She bounced through the forest. In and out of shadows. She didn't stop and she could feel the tension being released from her shoulder's. A good run was always what the doctor ordered.

Night was falling and that was when her good evening turned into a sickening one. She felt it. It wasn't just a little pang of heartbreak. It was a random shatter of her heart. She felt like her whole entire being had broken and she stopped. Only one thing went through her mind and that was: Merlin. She howled into the night and took off faster than she ever had. She used shadows and every shortcut imaginable. She didn't even care if anyone saw her. She jumped out of the woods and sped towards the castle. Hermione never even reached the town though. The demon dog watched in anger as the servant girl strutted across the land.

Hermione's howl ripped through the air as she ran and eventually slashed the woman's arm. Hermione heard a satisfying scream and shifted back to her human form. There was a sickeningly crazy smile on her face as she menacingly approached the the woman that was clutching her scratched arm. Hermione didn't notice the sting in her voice as she growled out, "you!" The woman looked to Hermione and smirked, but Hermione could see the flash of fear. "Oh! And you are?" Hermione growled and shot off a fire spell. The woman dodged it, just barely. "Someone you should not cross." The woman shouted an incantation and Hermione felt the land rumble beneath her. Joke's on the servant. Hermione was skilled. She reached her magic through the air and stopped the ground from cracking open. Everything around her was becoming just an angry mix of rage. She wanted to cause this girl pain. Hermione cackled and made a grab for the woman that dare hurt her Merlin. She wanted to feel the woman's blood run down her hands. She wanted to hear her pleas for death. Most of all….she wanted the woman to die.

It was all too fast. The woman dodged her and shouted, "no one is more powerful than me! I am Nimueh! High Priestess of the Old Religion!" Hermione cackled and smiled ferally. She didn't know where the words came from, but they were just ripped from her throat from deep within her subconscious. "I am Nyx! Ruler of the night! Master of the shadows! Mother of serpents! Protector of magic and all who practice it! I am the punisher of those who disrespect the ways of mystic arts and fear to all my enemies and you have become an enemy!"

Hermione saw the trembling fear in Nimueh's eyes and Hermione's hearing stopped. She heard a faint click on her brain and she gasped. The shadows joined her side and to Nimueh, Hermione looked like the face of death itself. Dark shadows rose from her back like wings and her red eyes blazed. The smile on her face promised death and of course there was the name. Nyx.

Every magical being had heard of Nyx. Her legend was intertwined with that of Emrys. Nyx was the balance between life and death, bottled into one being. She was the mother of serpents. The creatures meant to be the face of evil. She could control the shadows and was a hound of hell. She could bring fear to the hearts of the bravest men just from one look of her glowing red eyes. Her voice, when sparsely used could make the earth tremble. She had balance though. Her heart was protective and loving. She could make light of joy that could make even death itself smile. She had a fair judgment and was to never be tested. She was the balance of light and dark. Good and evil. Sin and good will. Life and Death. She was meant to be a legend and every magical child was told of her powers.

Emrys was a legend all magic people had heard of as well. He was to aid Prince Arthur and bring peace to the sides of magic and non-magic. In the deeper stories though, there was Nyx. Nyx, the fearsome creature, would protect Emrys and aid him in his journey. It was foretold by all the Druids that she and Emrys would be the ultimate bringers of Albion. Side by side. Their powers were those of legend and to be feared. Nimueh was out of her element. She was surprised and severely outmatched. As the High Priestess though, she would only come close to them in power, but she was not prepared. To say the least, Nimueh was frightened for her life.

Nimueh disappeared from sight and Hermione screamed. Her magic blast through the air and she fell to the ground in a sobbing heap. She could feel her broken heart. She could sense Merlin's life on hold. She knew he was alive and would be that way for a small amount of time, but he was weak.

Hermione felt a small tickle on her cheek. She slowly opened her red eyes to see the dimmer red eyes of Karma. Karma had her scarf in his mouth and had set it down in front of her. She slid it on, feeling the comfort of her old mentor surround her. The snake flicked out his forked tongue in a gesture to her tears and she broke down once more. Karma slithered back around her arm and inserted himself into it. She felt the snake's closely comforting presence and she tried to calm down.

Hermione's tears stopped as she opened her eyes up to the sky. The stars shined above her and she just stared at them. The twinkling lights made different constellations and if she focused, she could have pointed out where planets were supposed to be. Hermione took a deep breath and just gazed at the stars. She always felt better at night. The darkness always surrounded her like a blanket and the stars were just the perfect thing to calm her. A shooting star passed and even though she knew it was just a big space rock moving super fast through the sky….she made a wish. As the shooting star passed she whispered painfully, "let my Merlin be well." The star went out of sight and she just lay there. Staring. There was no use in seeing Merlin. She knew he would look like a sickly mess. She knew the remainder of her heart would break. She knew she could do nothing. Despite her big speech, old magic was powerful. She was already too late to stop the course of the poison and she maybe couldn't have anyways. Hermione had read of Nimueh in the future. The witch was a force of nature. The Old Religion was deeply rooted magic and a complete form of raw power.

She was deeply disturbed by what she had said though. It was like she was speaking from a whole different brain! Could it be true though? She had never heard of Nyx in any history book, but maybe that was because she hadn't existed in the original era. When she switched timelines, she was told that she was originally supposed to be in this time. Maybe it was time resetting, but with her in it this time.

Hermione laid there for an hour or two. She just didn't have the heart to move. It was strange though. She knew that Merlin would not die, but it would not be her to save him. It was just like a gut feeling and she didn't trust gut feelings too often. She just hoped this one was right.

Hermione just stayed still until she heard the sound of a horse, running towards her. It got louder and louder. So, she slowly stood up and was just in time to jump out of the way of a speeding horse. The rider of the horse immediately stopped and rushed towards her. She was helped up and then was shocked to notice that she was looking into the face of none Arthur Pendragon. Both of their eyes widened and he released his hold on her arm. "Hermione?" She nodded hesitantly and he spluttered out, "what are you doing out here?" She pointed towards the forest and hoped he would get the right idea. Arthur just nodded and looked back to his horse. He then eyed her hesitantly and said sadly, "Merlin is not well. You should be by his side." Hermione just said with pain filled eyes, "I know." Arthur stared at her for a moment and then took her hand. He whispered to her with complete confidence, "I will find the cure and save him." Hermione looked at his hand exhaled a breath. "Thank you." He nodded and went off once more. Hermione knew he would find it. It was another one of her gut feelings, but she wanted to trust it. Hermione watched as he left and then she headed back to the castle to care for her beloved brother.

Meanwhile, Gwen and Gaius were doing everything they could to make Merlin comfortable. His fever was raging and he was struggling to breath. His face would scrunch up in pain. Gwen was rolling up his sleeves to make him more comfortable when she noticed the rash. "Gaius!" The old Physician hurried over to her and saw the rash. He gasped and hurried over to his books. Gwen asked fearfully, "what is it Gaius?" The man looked at her panickingly and said, "the rash isn't supposed to appear until the final stage!" Gwen's eyes widened. Gaius kept searching and he found that the potency of the flower could be enhanced by enchantments. Gwen pointed out confusedly, "but Bayard is no sorcerer." Gaius looked at Merlin thoughtfully. "No, he is not."

Gwen went back to rolling up Merlin's sleeves as Gaius was concentrating. When she got to his left sleeve, she saw something strange. It was a tattoo. It was a very elegant one at that. The image was placed Just below the crook of his elbow. It was a tattoo of two swirling black lines that that hooked around each other. That was odd. Merlin didn't strike her as the tattoo type. Why did he have it? Gwen called Gaius from his thoughts and he came over. She pointed to the tattoo and asked him, "did you know of this?" Gwen saw Gaius pause. He then told her quietly, "Yes, but it is not my place to tell anything." Gwen touched the tattoo and was frightened when Merlin's eyes snapped open. He grabbed Gwen's wrist and she gasped. He hoarsely called out, "Hermione." Gwen shook her head and whispered, "she's not here." Merlin shook his head desperately and said once before going back to his unconscious state, "she's always here." Merlin let go of her wrist and she jumped back. Gaius was just as shocked as she was. "Gaius." Gaius nodded and she said, "I don't think that's normal." Gaius shook his head and after a minute of tense silence, they went back to caring for Merlin.

It was maybe ten minutes later when the two came to the conclusion that it was the serving girl that poisoned the chalice. Bayard wasn't a sorcerer and Gaius suspected it was a very powerful sorceress that poisoned Merlin. Gaius sent Gwen to look for the girl and off she went. He then took over caring for Merlin and that was when Hermione rushed in the door. Gaius moved away from Merlin and Hermione sat at his side. She shakily took hold of his hand and whispered what Gaius guessed to be a spell. Merlin began to glow gold and Hermione stood up. She followed a pattern of a golden strand with her fingers and it lead to his heart. She breathed a sigh of relief and canceled the spell. Gaius didn't know what she did, but it seemed to make her relax. "What did you do?"

Hermione looked to Gaius and answered as best she could, "his magic is ho-olding off th-the po-oisin." Gaius nodded and also breathed a sigh of relief. Merlin had strong magic. He would hold on for his life. The sky was bleeding morning light by the time Gwen came back. She reported to Gaius that the girl was gone and only after did she notice Hermione sitting by Merlin's side. She was muttering under her breath, clutching Merlin's hand. The bucket of water by Merlin's bed looked to have been untouched! Merlin's fever must be extreme high by now. "He's probably burning up! Why has no one tended to his fever?" Gwen went to touch Merlin's brow and felt his skin. It was only a little warm, not like the fever she expected. Gwen looked to Hermione who was still muttering with her eyes closed.

Merlin had stopped muttering and looking closer at Hermione, Gwen could see the girl sweating and shivering. A fever? Gwen went to touch Hermione's forehead, but Gaius grabbed her hand. She looked to Gaius questionably and he simply answered, "it is not our place." Gwen didn't know what he was talking about, but she decided not to question.

They didn't know though. Hermione had connected to Merlin through their bond and had taken some of the pain from him. They were connected, which meant so were their minds. She heard in her head the frightened voice, "Hermione." She answered comfortingly, "Merlin. I'm here." She could feel his relief. Something happened though. Something was pulling at Merlin and that meant that she went with him. Flashes of images that didn't stay for long appeared. They were all of Arthur. Merlin whispered, "Arthur."

No doubt he actually said that out loud. The two linked minds watched as Arthur walked up to a crying girl. Merlin said to Hermione desperately, "that's the girl who told me of the poisoned chalice!" He could feel Hermione's rage towards the girl. The two watched as Arthur battled a fearsome beast. It looked like a lizard with two spines on its back. Hermione believed it was called a cockatrice. The lizard could stand on its two hind legs and was getting ready to pounce on Arthur. Hermione and Merlin both shouted, "Arthur!"

He wouldn't duck in time. Hermione instantly hissed in serpent's language, "stop beast!" Her call threw him off and the lizard jumped passed Arthur. The Prince impaled the cockatrice and eventually was stupid enough to lead Nimueh into the cave with him. Merlin was frustrated. He said painfully, "It's a trap Arthur! It's a trap!" Hermione just shook her head at Arthur's idiocy. He was just weak for a pretty face in distress.

They watched in horror as Arthur hung from a ledge in the cave and they felt so helpless. Merlin muttered, "it's too dark. Too dark." Hermione watched in awe as a blue ball of light appeared beside Arthur. It swirled mystically and Arthur seemed to think it was going to kill him. Another flash of image and the spiders were chasing Arthur.

Merlin groaned, "no. Leave the flower Arthur! Save yourself." Arthur didn't seem to hear him though, because the Prince reached and got the flower. Hermione decided to brighten the ball of light, it gave the Prince a lot more seeing ability. Merlin whispered, "follow the light Arthur. Follow the light." Once Arthur was out of the cave, the images stopped and blacked out. It was like a snap of a rubber band and she was forced from Merlin. Their connection snapped and Hermione was physically pushed away from Merlin. She fell to the ground and groaned. She was happy though. She took most of the poison with her. Merlin was still deathly ill, but he was no longer on the edge of death. He needed just a few more hours and Hermione gave it to him.

Gaius rushed over to Hermione and she rolled in a fetal position. She croaked painfully, "I...took...his...pain." Gaius didn't know what she was saying. What did she mean she took Merlin's pain? It didn't matter at the moment. Now, he had two sick patients on his hands and he was in way over his head. Gwen had come back to deliver the wolfbane when the morning light began to shine. She was just in time to see Hermione curled in pain on the floor. Gwen didn't have a clue as to what was going on. She was just coming back and heard that Arthur had returned and was thrown in the dungeons.

Gaius left Hermione on the floor for the moment. He didn't have any other beds, she would be fine there for now. Gaius went over to Gwen and she told him, "Arthur has returned." Gaius breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "does he have the flower?"

"I don't know. He's been locked in the dungeons and isn't allowed visitors."

"We need that flower. Merlin is getting sicker and now Hermione is poisoned as well."

"Hermione?"

"Yes. It seems that the enchantment is more complicated than we thought. It may have undiscovered properties."

"Well, if they are both sick, then...I will just have to sneak into the dungeon and see if Arthur has the flower."

"That is very dangerous Gwen."

"I know, but we don't have any other choice."

Gwen turned away and went off to invade the dungeons. Gaius turned back to his potions and began to prepare the base of the potion to heal his two poisoned patients. Gwen came back a little bit later with the Mortaeus Flower in hand. Gaius quickly placed the flower in the base and grinded it up. Then a thought came to him. "The poison was made with magic." Gwen turned to him confusedly and he continued, "the potion may have to be made with magic." Gwen instantly got a worried look and said, "but we can't! It is forbidden. Even if we could, we would be in trouble." Gaius nodded and said, "I'll try and do without." He knew the potion needed magic though. So, he sent Gwen out for water and looked at the unfinished potion. He hadn't practiced magic in years. He knew the spell and could feel his magic begging him to use it. He closed his eyes and held the potion in front of him. He said the spell and nothing happend. Well, he wasn't really trying though. He needed to focus. Gaius inhaled deeply and said the spell. Feeling his magic respond, he opened his eyes. The potion was fizzing and was soon completed. Gaius had done it! He had used magic and it felt amazing. Refreshing even!

Gwen came back with the water and Gaius poured it into the potion. He found two cups and filled them both. Merlin would go first. "Gwen, hold his nose." She did so and Gaius forced Merlin to swallow the potion. Hermione was next. She swallowed the potion by herself and everything stilled. Merlin had stopped breathing. Gaius felt for his pulse and whispered, "his heart has stopped." Gwen brought her hand up to her mouth and Gaius embraced her in a hug. She cried. They didn't notice Hermione dragging herself to Merlin's side and reaching her fingers up to touch Merlin's. As soon as their fingers met, it was like an electric jolt. Merlin's heart started and he opened his eyes to see Gwen and Gaius hugging. The first thing that came to his mind was, "that's disgusting! You're old enough to be her grandfather."

Gwen and Gaius turned to him in surprise and they couldn't keep the smiles from their faces. "You're alive!" Merlin chuckled weakly and said, "no. I'm his ghost coming to haunt you." Gwen couldn't contain her happiness and hugged Merlin. She quickly scrambled off of him and blushed. Merlin realized that he hadn't seen Hermione and was a bit put out. "Where's Hermione?"

That was when they heard a ground out, "down h-here Dollophead." Merlin quickly looked beside his bed to see Hermione laying on the ground, looking absolutely dreadful. "You look like death itself Hermione!" She snorted and shakily signed to him, "then you must look pretty bad if I look like death." He laughed and she smiled at him. "You will kill me someday. You know that? Stop getting into trouble." Merlin nodded and it was all just a happy moment. Gaius went off to tell the king to not start a war and Gwen went to tend to Morgana.

Hermione had raised herself to sit on Merlin's cot and they just sat and stared at each other. Merlin sighed and said, "I felt you in my head. I could feel you taking the poison from me." Hermione looked into his blue eyes and sighed, "I couldn't let you die."

"Then you could have died Hermione!"

"Then I would have gladly died for you."

"Why did she poison the chalice instead of just killing Arthur outright?"

"Because she was not trying to kill Arthur. She was trying to kill you. She knew you would drink from the chalice for Arthur."

"Why me?"

"Remember the plague you helped stop a while ago? When you killed the Avank?"

"Yes. You were visiting mum and didn't know of what happened until you got back."

"She was the one to start the sickness and you ruined her plans. She wanted you out of the way so she could destroy Camelot."

"How do you know all of this?"

"It's common sense."

The two sat in silence and the night went on. Both were just glad that the other was alive and well while Nimueh was plotting her next plan for revenge.