Chapter 9
It had been a few years since Merlin had taught, and as people say, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’. He loved teaching and he loved all of his students yet he forgot how great it felt to finish his last class before the Christmas holiday break. He happily closed the door to his classroom and practically ran to his room to pack the last of his things. Draco was going to meet him in his room then they would go and get his mother.
“Merlin!!” Remus shouted as he walked into his room, Remus and Minerva sat with their bags by his fireplace. “We’re spending the holiday with you!”
“Remus.” Minerva knocked her elbow into him
“Er, right.” Remus tried again. “Can we spend the holiday with you? At least part of it?”
Merlin smiled widely at his friends. “Of course guys. I have a few other people to get before we head to my place. You can stay as long as you want.”
“Told you he’d say yes.”
“Doesn’t mean you can’t ask permission first.”
Merlin laughed at their bickering as he put the rest of his folded clothes in his side bag. He grabbed a few books from his shelves to take back with him. He took off his cloak and tied on a neckerchief.
“Professor?” Draco stepped into the room he froze when he saw Remus and Minerva. “Sorry, there was no response to my knocking.” He too had a bag with him, a chest that was shrunken and clipped to his breeches.
“Come in Draco. You’ve perfect timing, I just finished packing.” Merlin shot a look at Remus and Minerva who were kind of just staring at Draco. “A light change of plans. Professor Lupin and McGonagall are joining us for the holidays. Is that alright with you?”
“Yes Professor.” He looked pale.
Remus and Minerva quickly stood from the floor and shrunk their own bags, both putting them in the pockets of their robes.
“Ready Merlin.” Remus said to break the silence, “Should we head to the train?”
“Who said anything about a train?” Merlin grinned as Draco looked confused and the other professors groaned.
“Why do you do this to us Merlin? A portkey would work but you can’t make one. You can’t apparate out of Hogwarts, and I don’t feel like walking to the border.”
Draco looked at Minerva with shock and Merlin supposed he had never seen her as anything but collected and decisive, much less whiny.
“Nerva. First off, I don’t know what a portkey or apparition is. We’re leaving my way as I truly hate trains.”
“No one can hate trains, Merlin, they’re lovely and relaxing.” Remus declared proudly.
Merlin grew a shade lighter and Minerva elbowed Remus.
“Maurienne derailment, December 12, 1917. I get to be afraid of trains, Remus.”
Everyone paled at that and Draco looked confused. Minerva quickly changed the topic.
“Let's go then.” She placed a hand on his shoulder.
Remus grinned, “Beam me up Scotty.”
“I swear Remus, I’m going to kill you.” Merlin glared at him, “You’re such a nerd.”
“You understood the reference, you’re a nerd too.”
Instead of answering that he simply vanished, taking Draco, Remus, and Minerva with him.
This was nothing like apparition or using a floo, Draco realized as they simply disappeared and the living room to his home became his new view.
“That was weird.” Remus said as he released Merlin’s arm.
“That was pleasant.” Minerva countered, “Not disorienting in the slightest. She looked around the room and smiled confused, “Thought your house would be more bookish Merlin.”
“It’s my house.” Draco added in as his mother entered the room, all her and his bags shrunk and clipped to her pant’s belt loops. “Hello mother.”
“Hello honey,” She looked around before settling her gaze on the two gaping professors and the pleasantly smiling man. “Professors. Mr. Pendragon, thank you for your gracious offer. We should leave quickly though, I don’t know when my husband plans to return.”
“Madam.” Merlin bent at the waist and kissed the top of her hand. “It is lovely to meet you and it’s my pleasure to help you out. We can leave right now if you have everything you and Draco will need?” he phrased it as a question and she nodded. “Alrightly, we’ll leave. Hold onto me or someone touching me.”
She grabbed Draco’s hand and Merlin held onto the rest of them before focusing on his home. Imagining the warmth of the fire and the soft rug they’d land on. The dark wood walls and books lining every shelf. The world blurred and cleared in said room. He let them all go and shook his head minutely to clear the remaining fuzz in his sight.
“Welcome to Pendragon Estates, make yourself at home.” He motioned around them, pointing out the different halls and rooms. “That hall has bedrooms, all of them on the right are open so take your pick. That’s the kitchen and dining room, grab food whenever you want. I went to the store yesterday so it’s all stalked. If you want something that’s not here, write it on the list on the front of the fridge. If you don’t know how to use an appliance let me know and I’ll teach you. The grounds are open to you whenever you want. It’s really cold right now so bundle up if you do go out. I have chickens and horses, feel free to pet or play with either but don’t let them all out if you don’t want to hunt them all down.” he smiled and they grinned
He turned towards Draco and his mother, “For you too the rooms farther down the hall are set up for more permanent stays. Stay on the right side still but you can have any pick, there should be everything you need in the bathrooms, hangers in closets, and a couple of changes of linens in the dressers.” He paused, “I think that’s everything.”
He shrugged, “Have fun I guess? If you can’t find me just say my first and last name after taping a wall three times and I’ll be alerted and come to you. If I don’t come then I’m in my room, first door on the left down the hall. I have a few other people coming over for Yule celebrations but other than that it should be just us. There is a game room on the other side of the house and a pool out back. Feel free to explore and go anywhere. I just ask that if anything is locked, leave it be.”
“Thank you Merlin.” Remus said as he looked around in awe. “I was so right by the way, it’s bookish in here.”
“No.” Minerva argued back, “I said it was bookish, you said it’d be like a history museum.”
“I said bookish.” Remus said as he wandered out the backdoors.
“I did. Clearly remember it.” Minerva followed
“Nope, I’m right Minnie.”
“You’re insufferable.”
They’re arguing voices faded as they went farther to explore the grounds. The other three stood awkwardly for a minute.
“Thank you Professor for letting us stay here.”
“Absolutely, happy to help Madam…” Merlin trailed off not knowing what her first name was and not sure if she wanted to be called her last.
“Narcissa. Don’t call me madam please.”
“Alright then Narcissa. Welcome, I’m glad you’re here. It’s just Merlin as well.”
Her eyebrows lifted slightly but she didn’t comment.
“Merlin.” Draco asked quietly, “Can you get rid of her mark like you did mine?”
Narcissa rolled up her sleeve and looked at Merlin questionanally. He only placed a hand over the mark, eyes flashing gold. Her arm warmed but was clear when he moved his hand.
“I…thank you Merlin.” Narcissa looked at him with a smile pulling at her face. “Thank you so much Merlin.
“You’re welcome, now how about you too go find your rooms and settle in. You can stay as long as you want, truly unpack all the way if you want and move whatever too.”
He jerked back as a body wrapped around his torso and it took just a moment before he wrapped his arms around the sobbing boy hugging him. Narcissa stepped forward and wrapped the two of them in a hug as well, Draco in the middle muttering out a string of repeating ‘thank you's that slurred to a point of incomprehension.
“You’re welcome. Now go settle in while I cook up some dinner.”
Narcissa and Draco let go to follow his instructions. As they walked away Merlin couldn’t help but note the new lightness that was around Draco, around both of them. No longer burdened by the choices of their father and husband.
“Merlin Pendragon.” Narcissa said as she put her glass of water back onto the dining table. “Peculiar name, wouldn’t you think? In one of Draco’s letters he said that you had to get a wand made specifically for you? With dragon scale core, I’ve never heard of that.”
Everyone paused eating, Draco and Remus with a fork halfway to their mouth and Minerva choking on her sip of water. Merlin sighed deeply.
“I was named after a falcon. I’m Welsh, Pendragon means head dragon, I’m probably related to some old Welsh chief or something." He was honestly surprised it took this long for her to bring it up. She’d been giving him odd looks all evening.
She hummed as she took another bite. “This is not my business so tell me to shut it if you want.” She paused for a moment, waiting to see if he would, he didn’t. “There’s an old story, a very old story that everyone takes as rumor and myth. It goes along the lines that the four founders of Hogwarts aren’t the actual founders.”
Minerva and Remus put down their silverware and Draco looked at his mother confused. Merlin kept eating.
“An old picture found in the journal of Helga Hufflepuffs journal. A man in his early 20’s with messy hair and a lopsided smile. A neckerchief and a satchel. Some rumor that he was just her love interest, some say brother, some mentor. There’s said to be mention of a man in Salazar’s books as well, of an ‘MP’ who helped them all and taught them all. Between the two of those accounts some say that he told them to build Hogwarts. Some say he was a 5th founder but his house was removed after a fall out, some don’t even believe in him.”
“Merlin, you have a nice neckerchief around your neck, a satchel, no wand, gold eyed magic. I’d say you're a warlock Merlin, but there hasn’t been one of those for many many years, maybe as long as the Merlin from the time of Arthur Pendragon. Merlin Pendragon.”
“You have beautiful paintings around your house Merlin, sketches done well too. Of people and places through the centuries. Some of the older ones look a lot like some descriptions of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.”
Draco was staring at Merlin in a mix of shock and confusion. “Did you help make Hogwarts? Are you Arthur Pendragon’s brother?”
Narcissa looked at Merlin questionably and he sighed deeply.
“Leon was the first knight, Leon the Nobel. Lancelot the Great. Gwaine the Brave. Galahad the Pure. The legends remember them the most but mostly for the wrong things. Lancelot was great, and he wasn’t unloyal. He was brave and kind, the noblest commoner I’ve ever met. He died to protect us all, then Morgana brought him back as a shade, his body but not his soul.”
Narcissa and Draco looked at him sharply, things were starting to make sense in their minds.
“Gwaine was brave, and stupid. He died too soon, tortured by Morgana to get information. He was fun, stole from the kitchens and had so many stories. I still don’t know which ones were true.”
“Galahad wasn’t part of the round table, he was a really good guard though. I think history swapped him with Elyan. Elyan was the brother of Guinevere and had just as much fire in his blood as she did. They were the children of Tom the blacksmith. Gwen worked for Morgana as a maid servant and Elyan left after their mother died. Returned only to be brought straight into battle and knighted the next day.”
“Percival was a beast of a man, I swear he was like 6 '5” and built of pure muscle. Kindest of them all. He never wore sleeves.” Merlin grinned as he recounted his friends, “He knew Lancelot, I wrote for help and he came as well. The reason we survived that fight actually. I always told Arthur to stay out of the Valley of the Fallen Kings but he never listened. Became a knight at the same time as the rest of them. They were all knighted at the same time except for Leon.”
“Mordred came later.” His tone became less joyful. “He was just a boy when he and a druid were caught in the citadel. The older druid was caught and burned the next day but I heard his screaming. He yelled and yelled till I got to him. Morgana, Arthur, and I smuggled him out of the city. He became a knight years later and eventually killed Arthur.”
Narcissa and Draco inhaled sharply. Minerva just put her hand on his.
“Arthur was a prat. First time I met him I tried to punch him and got thrown in prison for the effort. Second time I met him he threw a mace at me and chased me through the market. I got put in the stalk for that. Third time I met him I saved his life and was made his manservant by Uther. We hated each other. He threw goblets at me and I brought him cold food everyday for weeks.”
“It was the early 500th century and magic was punishable by death. Uther had gone to Nimueh to help him and Ygraine have a child. Arthur was born but Ygraine died, a life for a life is the way of the old religion. Balance in everything. Uther declared war on magic and banned it, killed all the dragons but one and all the dragon lords. He burned all known sorcerers and sorceresses. Balinor was the last dragon lord and fled Camelot, he went to a small village in Cendred's kingdom. Ealdor, there he met my mother. He stayed with her till Camelot knights were seen too close to the border and he had to leave, leaving my mother with child.”
“When magic was taken away from Camelot it had to go somewhere, it simply can’t cease to exist for nothing can truly be destroyed. It had to into something and it went into me, I’m a warlock. The reincarnation of magic, I need it like anyone else needs air to breath and water to drink. After Arthur died and Camelot fell I couldn’t be there anymore so I left and made Hogwarts. Each house after a different person, after a few years I left again and made it so everyone thought a student from each was the founder.”
Silence fell at the table both reverent and awkward.
“This is a great soup, Merlin.” Remus tried to break the silence and got an elbow in his side for the effort. “Ow. What was that for Minnie?”
“So why are you Merlin Pendragon if you’re not related?” Draco asked and his mother huffed at his obliviousness. Merlin only grinned.
“Cause I married the prat.”
Draco’s eyebrows went up, “Oh. That would do it.”
“Yeah.”
“So you became a king?”
“Yeah, weird transition from secret sorcerer and servant to king and court sorcerer.”
“Figure so.”
Merlin grinned. “Who wants to go with me tomorrow to get my wand?”