Chapter 10: Merlin's Keep
As the school year continued, Archie got used to teaching potions and being the new Head of Slytherin house. One day, he was taking his normal planning period stroll through the halls when he felt a pull on his magic. The pull led Archie to a locked door that had no keyhole only a ring depression. "Put the Emrys ring in the depression." Merlin said in Archie's head.
Archie looked at his Head of House ring, which currently showed the Andrews coat of arms and thought for a minute, which caused the Emrys ring to now become the dominant House ring. He put the ring in the depression on the door and smiled satisfactorily when he heard the locks of the door click. Archie walked into the room and jumped when the torches that lined the corridor lit, revealing a portrait of Merlin.
"Hello, Archie. It's about time you showed up." Merlin said from his portrait. "What is this place?" Archie asked Merlin. Before Merlin replied the portrait opened and an ancient wizard walked out of the portrait hole. It was Merlin. Archie's eyes widened and he pinched himself, thinking he was just asleep in his office. "This can't be real," Archie said as he continued to stare at the ancient wizard.
"This is very real, Archie my boy. I am Myrddin Ambrosius also known as Merlin." Merlin said with a smile as he wrapped an arm around the young Duke's shoulders. "Welcome to my keep," Merlin said as he escorted Archie through the portrait hole. Archie looked around . He noticed people in various areas of the room.
A wizard with red hair and a matching beard, carrying a sword Archie recognized as the Sword of Gryffindor was casting spells at a training dummy. This wizard, was Godric Gryffindor. A witch with raven black hair wearing a diadem, was reading an old book. This witch, was Rowena Ravenclaw. A plump witch with brunette hair pulled into a tight bun, was tending to some of the plants in the room. This witch, was Helga Hufflepuff. And last but not least, a balding wizard with silver hair and beard was making potions in a small but fully stocked potions lab. This wizard, was Salazar Slytherin. And the biggest surprise of all, was his mother, father, and grandparents sitting by the fireplace.
Salazar was the first to notice Archie and smiled. "Ah, Archie! It's about time you showed up," He said as he turned off the burner that was heating the cauldron. "Why am I here?" Archie asked. "You are here, to be given your final inheritance from me and to be let in on a secret," Merlin said. "Which inheritance is that?" Archie asked. "This inheritance, is the ability to return to the corporeal world when you pass away. I know how to do it, and generations of Andrews have learned how to do it. Your father knows how to do it and so does your mother as the previous Lady Andrews." Merlin said.
"Is that how you and the founders are here? You used your ability to return to the corporeal world?" Archie asked. At Merlin's nod, Archie sat down on on of the comfortable couches. "This is a lot to take in," He murmured. "You all died over a thousand years ago, my grandfather died in 1988, my grandmother died in 1989, my father died in 1990, and my mother died in 1991," Archie said.
"Don't be surprised, Archie. We have all come back to help you in your duties as Duke of Gryffinsmore and to act as advisors. You have a tough duty to see the wizarding world through this difficult time. Voldemort isn't dead, he will return. And we will be here to help you when he does," Salazar said.
"Albus and I have been discussing what to do should Voldemort return. Legally, since we're still at war with Voldemort the Noble House Council should be leading the British magical world through the war. I spoke with Lady Carmichael, and she says that as long as there is no body to confirm he is dead we are still in active warfare against Voldemort and his Death Eaters and it's up to me to decide if I want the Noble House Council to rule," Archie said. "What do you think dad?" He asked his father.
"Well, if I were you I'd take control of the British magical world completely and rule as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's proxy until the end of the war. But at the same time I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy," Fred said. "Mom?" Archie asked.
"I'm inclined to agree with your father on this Archie, but it really is up to you. When the war started, your father was the complete ruler of Magical Britain until the Potters were killed, then he let the Noble House Council or the descendant of King Arthur rule in his stead while he went after the Death Eaters," Gemini said.
"You can use the fact that the current Head of the Most Ancient and Noble-Elder House of Pendragon is the Minister for Magic to your advantage," Merlin said to Archie. "As my heir and decendant, you are the Advisor to the Ancient and Most Noble-Elder House of Pendragon. With Lady Pendragon's help, you can guide her hand in making sure Magical Britain survives the war. Without her, the British Wizarding Word will cease to exist," Merlin said.
"Well Archie, you always said you wanted a chance to bring new legislation to the Wizengamot and now is your chance," Godric said as he sat down next to Archie. "What is the secret?" Archie asked Merlin.
Merlin smiled. "The secret is that we did not really die as the books written about us said, we simply disappeared from the world and went into permanent hiding until such time as the darkness threatened to envelope our world, and the rest of the magical world," He said seriously.
Archie took a deep breath and nodded. "What do I need to do?" He asked. "First, what you must do is power up Hogwarts's battle wards," Godric said. "Next, once the battle wards have been powered up you must inform the denizens of Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest that war is imminent," Rowena said. "Once the denizens of Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest have been warned, you'd normally inform the Queen of the declaration of war against the Kingdom of Avalon and Magical Britain, but since we are still actively at war with Voldemort it would be polite to just inform Her Majesty that we are still at war," Helga said. "And finally, no later than 30 days after you've informed the Queen that war has been declared against your reign and the reign of our rightful sovereign by a domestic or foreign enemy, you must convene an emergency Wizengamot and Noble House Council meeting to let them vote to declare war of whomever the enemy is," Salazar said.