The Audit
Title: The Audit
Author:
broms_lullaby
Beta: imnotjkr
Fandom: BBC Merlin/Harry Potter
Pairing(s): None yet, though if I continue it will be Arthur/Merlin eventually.
Genre/Rating: Preslash/PG
Word Count: 3268
Warnings: There are some pretty cryptic parts. Possible harm to an animal, though without a pretty heavy philosophic debate I’m not sure.
Summary: And so the great audit of Hogwarts begins.
Author’s Note: It should be pointed out that Morgana and Morgause are not sisters in this ‘verse. Not that that really matters right now, but it will later. I promise that this will make sense eventually. Also, I am looking for someone to do some art. If anyone is interested, let me know.
Series: The Fifth House
Disclaimer: The original ideas are mine, but the unoriginal ones belong to their respective owners.
The Audit
”Name?”
“Teg, Morgause.”
“Year and House?”
“Five, Ravenclaw”
“Do you ever experience problems with your wand?”
“Sometimes it...”
“Do you ever feel your wand getting warm or even hot, Mr. DeGrance?”
“Um... Yes, sometimes it gets warm, especially when I am practicing for Defense against the Dark Arts...”
“I notice that your instructors often note that your magic seems weaker than your peers, Miss LeFay, despite the consensus that you seem to perform rather powerful acts of magic involuntarily when flustered or stressed...
“... And what do you make of these dreams, Miss LeFay?”
“I don’t know. Gaius has always told me not to worry about them.”
“How was your meeting, Morgana?” Arthur asked his ‘adopted’ sister during a study session in an empty classroom on the third day of the Audit. He had told Merlin that he was pretty sure she shared at least one parent with him, one night in the dark.
“It was dreadful,” she answered, looking up from her book. “I mean, Miss Ollivander is really nice, but her questions were pretty personal. She asked a lot about my dreams, and it made me uncomfortable.”
Arthur’s eye widened. “Why would she ask about that?”
“Apparently Professor Nimueh told her about them.”
Merlin, looking from one sibling to the other in confusion, asked, “What dreams?”
Morgana shook her head. “I don’t really want to talk about them, Merlin.”
“Okay, then...”
Arthur gave him a look that said he would be told later. “What was her final verdict?”
“She thinks that I am a seer. I’m going to have to talk to Professor Trelawney tonight. Like that’s going to solve anything.” She shook her head in exasperation, before gathering herself again. “Apparently it won’t change anything beyond maybe relaxing the standards on my practical exams.”
Arthur nodded and turned back to his essay on Why One Shouldn’t Make Up New Spells on the Spot which Flitwick had assigned him after he had broken his wand. Merlin still found it hilarious.
Merlin turned back to his Hogwarts: A History reading for Professor Binns when Morgana said in a low voice, “They don’t know what Morgause is.” When both of the boys had turned to look at her she continued, “She said they know she definitely isn’t a witch, but they couldn’t figure out if she was a sorceress or a battlemagess. They decided to treat her as both, so she has to start focusing on wandless magic until the end of term, and then she will start learning how to use an athame.”
“Leon said they think he’s a battlemage, and told him pretty much the same thing,” Merlin added. Merlin didn’t have his meeting until next week, though he was pretty sure he knew what the results would be. Speaking of which, “Arthur, you should probably go.”
Arthur looked at his watch and sighed. He packed up his things before heading off to his own meeting.
“Name?”
“Pendragon, Arthur.”
“Year and House?”
“Look, you know all of this already-”
“Please, Mr. Pendragon. I need to do this a certain way, please just answer the questions.”
Sigh. “Fine. One, Gryffindor.”
“Thank you. Now, I already have a lot of information about what has been going on, but could you please tell me about the incident four days ago in your Charms class?”
“My... I guess my wand, it didn’t work. Gwen said that it probably wasn’t channeling my magic like it should. Instead of focusing and directing the flow, it absorbed it. So it got warmer and warmer every time I tried the spell. Finally I gave up and commanded the feather to fly, and my wand got so hot it burned me and it cracked.”
Laughter. “Yes, I heard about that. I imagine you were assigned extra homework?”
Sigh. “Yeah, three feet on why it is a bad idea to create new spells before you are ready.”
“Professor Flitwick said you were shouting in Latin...”
“Yes, Father insisted that I be fluent several languages as soon as possible. Latin was one of them.”
“I see. Well, as we told you when you bought your wand, there is no wand for you. Professor Nimueh has agreed to lend me this sword and I have some things that I want you to try...”
Merlin was thoroughly engrossed in Emrys: The Man, The Legend, trying to find more information on the Fifth House that the Sorting Hat had mentioned. He was sitting on his bed when Arthur came into the dormitory wearing a tired smile. “Arthur!” Merlin said, marking his page and putting the book on his nightstand. “Where have you been? You took hours!”
“I was in my meeting with Miss Ollivander,” he replied before taking his robes off and loosening his tie. “We talked for a bit and then she had me try doing magic with a sword. I got to use the Sword of Gryffindor! You know, the one that destroyed the horcruxes? Oh, it was so much easier than using a wand! We got so into it that we lost track of time.” He was smiling brightly, and he seemed excited. Merlin was happy for him. Over the last two months they had grown pretty close despite what Merlin had originally thought about him.
“It turns out that I am most definitely a battlemage. Gaius is taking me to a place called Camelot tomorrow to buy an athame, since I can’t use a wand and therefore can’t wait until next term to get one.”
Merlin smiled. Arthur had been so upset when his wand had broken, and even before that he had been frustrated when his magic hadn’t worked properly. Hopefully this meant that he would finally be able to do things the right way.
Merlin took a deep breath after they landed outside Smith’s Forge in Camelot. After a surprisingly small amount of begging, Gaius had agreed to bring Merlin along to buy Arthur his athame. He never enjoyed apparating, but it would be worth it to see this.
Arthur, who had never experienced apparition before, collapsed as soon as they were there and looked like he might be sick. Gaius told him to shake it off while helping him up by the arm and over the shop threshold before he had a chance to steady himself. Tom was there, as expected, with a big smile and welcoming attitude.
“Welcome! I take it you are Arthur? Miss Ollivander sent me an owl telling me to expect you.”
Arthur nodded, still trying to catch his breath. Gaius dug around in his robes before producing a an envelope. “Clara said that he would need an athame with these specifications.”
Tom took the envelope and quickly read the note inside. He hummed a bit then nodded. “I don’t have exactly what he needs, but I can make it. She apparently guessed that, so she gave me a specification for an alternative that I do have. Let’s see what we can do, yeah?”
He led them back to the room where Merlin had first tried out his wand. This time there was a table near the back wall that held a large number of daggers, or, Merlin figured, athames. “May I see your wand, Arthur? It may help me narrow down a suitable athame for you.” Arthur brought it out and gave it to him, and his expression grew surprised when he saw it. “You have the Prince’s Wand...” His eyebrows shot up and he reread the note. “I see. Well, then, this isn’t going to help me out much... Let’s see... Here try this one.” He picked one, seemingly at random, and gave it to Arthur.
“Should I just wave it like a wand, or try a spell?”
“Why don’t you try a simple spell?”
Arthur nodded, then pointed the tip of the athame at the space in front of him and said “Orchideous.” Merlin was surprised that he had chosen such a difficult spell, or that he even knew it, but was even more surprised when a bouquet of red roses appeared out of thin air and then fell to the ground. “It was definitely easier than using my wand, but it still got warm. You said that you don’t have exactly what I need, so I guess nothing will be perfect, but what kinds of drawbacks are acceptable?”
Tom looked up from the roses. “None. I should have one that works correctly, you shouldn’t notice anything wrong. What I don’t have is an athame that will focus and enhance your power.” He picked up another one and gave it to him, this one a little bigger.
After trading athames with Tom, Arthur picked up the bouquet and handed it to Merlin, who tried not to read anything into the action, before picking one out. He pointed the athame at it and said “Multicorfors,” and it changed from red to a purpleish colour before going back to red. He tried again with the same result. “No.”
Tom gave him another, this one had a wavy blade. He pointed it at the rose and said “Lapifors.” The rose changed into a rabbit. Well, it changed mostly into a rabbit. The rabbit, after struggling out of Arthur’s grasp to the floor and starting to run around, appeared to still have the blossom on its head. “Closer, but still not right...”
“Arthur’s mother was a Daughter of Avalon,” Gaius interjected. “I have read that athames generally have familial loyalty, and in Avalon they tend to use athames. I see here that you have some that appear used, is it possible that you have one that may have belonged to one of his ancestors?”
Tom looked thoughtful. “What was your mother’s name, Arthur?”
“Ygraine DuBois.”
Tom nodded, smiling. “Oh, a Daughter of the Line. Yes, I might have just the thing!” He went back to the table and picked up a very old looking athame. It had a straight blade that was about seven inches long made of tarnished silver. The handle was a black wood. It was very pretty, though it seemed quite feminine. “This is the athame of Ygraine, Queen of Camelot, who was your mother’s namesake. You are descended from her, and since it has been used by many of your maternal ancestors it should work for you...”
Arthur traded him once again, then pointed it at the rose-rabbit thing, which Merlin was now holding. “Duro,” he said, and it turned to stone. He smiled. “Yes, this feels right.” Tom nodded and led them out of the room.
“Okay, well that’s the one that you should have then. Granted it won’t do forever. It has a history of being a feminine blade, and eventually it will object to you being a boy, but by that time I will have completed yours, so no worries. As for cost, well. How about I give it to you in return for your wand and that statue that you made?”
Arthur looked at him, surprised at the offer. “Why do you want my wand?”
Tom chuckled. “Well, first off, you aren’t going to need it anymore, it has served its purpose. It is an important wand, especially to a wandmaker. Also, the core will be incorporated into the athame that I’m making for you. It has given you allegiance, and it will transfer that to your athame. The note that Miss Ollivander wrote to me said that it was important. Here, look.” He retrieved the note from a pocket and handed it to Arthur, who read it before sighing and nodding. He brought his wand out again and put it on the counter.
Tom smiled. “Now then, Merlin, I am glad you came along, it turns out that I have something that belongs to you as well.” He rummaged around under the counter before bringing out another athame, this one with a bright silver sheath. It was highly stylized; the guard looked like a set of dragon wings. In fact, the hilt looked like the neck and head of a dragon with sapphire eyes. He picked it up and unsheathed it. with the exception of the eyes it was completely black. “Your father dropped that off for me to replace the sheath shortly before he died. I forgot to give it to you when you came in for your wand.”
Merlin nodded, not really paying attention. He was carefully examining the blade. “What is it made out of?”
“I have no idea. I do know it is old, very old. I has been used by all of your male ancestors, it is the blade of a Dragonlord. Even Emrys must have used that.”
“How much is it?”
Tom shook his head. “You don’t have to pay for it. Your father paid for the sheath already, and it technically belongs to you.”
“Name?”
“Collins, Mary.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Slytherin.”
“Did you accidentally do any magic when you were young? If so, please explain.”
“I love to sing, but it tends to make people fall asleep...”
“Name?”
“Collins, Helen.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Ravenclaw”
“Do people fall asleep when you sing, like your sister?”
“No.”
“Name?”
“Fey, Sophia.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Slytherin.”
“Sophia, forgive me if this is rude, but you are a halfblood, correct?”
“It is okay, yes. My father is a Sidhe...”
Merlin realized quickly that he probably shouldn’t use his athame yet. It worked wonderfully, but did nothing at all to help him focus and limit his magic. In fact it enhanced it. Eventually it would be perfect, but, for now, he didn’t have the control to use it.
Arthur, on the other hand, was very good with his. He met with Professor Nimueh after they returned to the school to learn the basics, and began to simply excel in his classes. Where he had constantly struggled before, he now was able to make his magic do exactly what he wanted.
As the week progressed more meetings took place and it turned out that there were a significant amount of students that had unique requirements. Sophia Fey was what they were calling a Feywitch, and Mary Collins was an enchantress. Elyan Smith, Gwen’s brother, said he was not only a battlemage but a magesmith as well.
“Name?”
“Trickler, Loki.”
“Year and House?”
“Seven, Slytherin.”
“You are nearly finished, so this probably won’t change much, but have you ever experienced anything odd with your magic?”
“No...”
“Name?”
“Smith, Guinevere.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Gryffindor.”
“Gwen, I can call you Gwen, right? Before you is a broken clock that is powered by magic. Can you tell me what is wrong with it?”
“Um... I don’t know, but I think one of the crystals might have cracked...”
“Name?”
“Knight, William.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Hufflepuff.”
“Do you ever feel that there is something draining your magic when you try to cast a spell?”
“Not really...”
After Gwen had also been declared a magesmith, the school decided to hire a professor that would teach students how to do magesmithery. Apparently it was an attribute that could be learned, and many students showed an interest in it. “It will probably be my dad,” she was telling them while they studied in the common room and Merlin waited for his own meeting. “Apparently there’s a forge in one of the outbuildings where they used to teach, but the students lost interest so eventually they closed it down. My dad used it a few times when he was a student, and he said it was really nice.”
“How about your friend Will, Merlin?” Arthur asked. Will had gone in right after Gwen.
“He’s just a plain old wizard. I guess they thought he was a battlemage before he went in, so they asked him a bunch of questions about his wand, and then, just to make sure, had him use a magic axe to try to split some wood from across the room. I guess he totally failed at that, so he isn’t a battlemage afterall.”
“I bet he was crushed.”
“Yeah, until he found out that Elena was just a plain old witch as well...”
“Name?”
“Emrys.”
“Very funny Mr. Wyllt.”
“I thought so.”
“Okay, I guess since you’re the last we can skip the boring questions, can’t we?”
“Yes, please.”
“Alright then. Let’s just talk for a bit. What do you know about your ancestor, Merlin?”
“He was the most powerful mage to ever live.”
“What gave him that distinction?”
“Um... he did a lot of great things? He founded the school that would eventually become Hogwarts.”
“True, but can you think of a specific thing that he did that made us remember him as powerful?”
“Um... it is said that he shattered the world. He created the pockets in space, like around Ealdor and Camelot, where only mages lived.”
“Yes, that is what I am talking about. Did you know that he wasn’t trying to do that? It was an accidental side effect of a spell that he cast. Are you aware of what his intent was?”
“Officially? No, but my dad told me once that he was trying to save his wife?”
Chuckle. “No, not his wife, though I guess that could be close. He was trying to save the High King, whom he allegedly loved very much.”
“So... his lover? He was gay?”
“No, from what we can tell their relationship was purely platonic, though I have heard rumors that may have wanted more, but it was a different time back then. Later, after the High King died, he ended up marrying a woman and had a son, and apparently he also loved them very much, but given that he didn’t cast a similar spell when they died, I don’t think his love for them was as great.”
“But the spell didn’t work. The High King died, right?”
“That is a complicated question, Mr. Wyllt. Yes, the High King did die, but the spell wasn’t intended to save him. That would have been simple, it didn’t need a spell that was so powerful it shattered the Earth. No, the spell was meant to bring him back at a later time, and not just him.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I am here to point you in the right direction. That is my destiny, Mr. Wyllt. Destiny is an important thing, and you must learn to understand it before you can come to understand what I am trying to tell you.”
“Why don’t you just tell me?”
Laughter. “Because, Mr. Wyllt, part of fulfilling your destiny is figuring it out on your own. Neither I, nor anyone else, can tell you the answers, merely tell you how to find them. I know that you have been searching for something.”
“I... The Sorting Hat talked about a Fifth House, but I can’t find anything about it.”
“Yes, that is it. Now you can’t, as you are not ready and it is not ready for you to find it. Talk to the Great Dragon. He can help you more.”
“I take it that is all you are going to tell me?”
“Very good, Mr. Wyllt. Now, I am going to tell everyone what we both know, that you are a sorcerer and a Dragonlord. This entire meeting, we only talked about that. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Miss Ollivander.”
“Good.”
Author:
broms_lullaby
Beta: imnotjkr
Fandom: BBC Merlin/Harry Potter
Pairing(s): None yet, though if I continue it will be Arthur/Merlin eventually.
Genre/Rating: Preslash/PG
Word Count: 3268
Warnings: There are some pretty cryptic parts. Possible harm to an animal, though without a pretty heavy philosophic debate I’m not sure.
Summary: And so the great audit of Hogwarts begins.
Author’s Note: It should be pointed out that Morgana and Morgause are not sisters in this ‘verse. Not that that really matters right now, but it will later. I promise that this will make sense eventually. Also, I am looking for someone to do some art. If anyone is interested, let me know.
Series: The Fifth House
Disclaimer: The original ideas are mine, but the unoriginal ones belong to their respective owners.
The Audit
”Name?”
“Teg, Morgause.”
“Year and House?”
“Five, Ravenclaw”
“Do you ever experience problems with your wand?”
“Sometimes it...”
“Do you ever feel your wand getting warm or even hot, Mr. DeGrance?”
“Um... Yes, sometimes it gets warm, especially when I am practicing for Defense against the Dark Arts...”
“I notice that your instructors often note that your magic seems weaker than your peers, Miss LeFay, despite the consensus that you seem to perform rather powerful acts of magic involuntarily when flustered or stressed...
“... And what do you make of these dreams, Miss LeFay?”
“I don’t know. Gaius has always told me not to worry about them.”
“How was your meeting, Morgana?” Arthur asked his ‘adopted’ sister during a study session in an empty classroom on the third day of the Audit. He had told Merlin that he was pretty sure she shared at least one parent with him, one night in the dark.
“It was dreadful,” she answered, looking up from her book. “I mean, Miss Ollivander is really nice, but her questions were pretty personal. She asked a lot about my dreams, and it made me uncomfortable.”
Arthur’s eye widened. “Why would she ask about that?”
“Apparently Professor Nimueh told her about them.”
Merlin, looking from one sibling to the other in confusion, asked, “What dreams?”
Morgana shook her head. “I don’t really want to talk about them, Merlin.”
“Okay, then...”
Arthur gave him a look that said he would be told later. “What was her final verdict?”
“She thinks that I am a seer. I’m going to have to talk to Professor Trelawney tonight. Like that’s going to solve anything.” She shook her head in exasperation, before gathering herself again. “Apparently it won’t change anything beyond maybe relaxing the standards on my practical exams.”
Arthur nodded and turned back to his essay on Why One Shouldn’t Make Up New Spells on the Spot which Flitwick had assigned him after he had broken his wand. Merlin still found it hilarious.
Merlin turned back to his Hogwarts: A History reading for Professor Binns when Morgana said in a low voice, “They don’t know what Morgause is.” When both of the boys had turned to look at her she continued, “She said they know she definitely isn’t a witch, but they couldn’t figure out if she was a sorceress or a battlemagess. They decided to treat her as both, so she has to start focusing on wandless magic until the end of term, and then she will start learning how to use an athame.”
“Leon said they think he’s a battlemage, and told him pretty much the same thing,” Merlin added. Merlin didn’t have his meeting until next week, though he was pretty sure he knew what the results would be. Speaking of which, “Arthur, you should probably go.”
Arthur looked at his watch and sighed. He packed up his things before heading off to his own meeting.
“Name?”
“Pendragon, Arthur.”
“Year and House?”
“Look, you know all of this already-”
“Please, Mr. Pendragon. I need to do this a certain way, please just answer the questions.”
Sigh. “Fine. One, Gryffindor.”
“Thank you. Now, I already have a lot of information about what has been going on, but could you please tell me about the incident four days ago in your Charms class?”
“My... I guess my wand, it didn’t work. Gwen said that it probably wasn’t channeling my magic like it should. Instead of focusing and directing the flow, it absorbed it. So it got warmer and warmer every time I tried the spell. Finally I gave up and commanded the feather to fly, and my wand got so hot it burned me and it cracked.”
Laughter. “Yes, I heard about that. I imagine you were assigned extra homework?”
Sigh. “Yeah, three feet on why it is a bad idea to create new spells before you are ready.”
“Professor Flitwick said you were shouting in Latin...”
“Yes, Father insisted that I be fluent several languages as soon as possible. Latin was one of them.”
“I see. Well, as we told you when you bought your wand, there is no wand for you. Professor Nimueh has agreed to lend me this sword and I have some things that I want you to try...”
Merlin was thoroughly engrossed in Emrys: The Man, The Legend, trying to find more information on the Fifth House that the Sorting Hat had mentioned. He was sitting on his bed when Arthur came into the dormitory wearing a tired smile. “Arthur!” Merlin said, marking his page and putting the book on his nightstand. “Where have you been? You took hours!”
“I was in my meeting with Miss Ollivander,” he replied before taking his robes off and loosening his tie. “We talked for a bit and then she had me try doing magic with a sword. I got to use the Sword of Gryffindor! You know, the one that destroyed the horcruxes? Oh, it was so much easier than using a wand! We got so into it that we lost track of time.” He was smiling brightly, and he seemed excited. Merlin was happy for him. Over the last two months they had grown pretty close despite what Merlin had originally thought about him.
“It turns out that I am most definitely a battlemage. Gaius is taking me to a place called Camelot tomorrow to buy an athame, since I can’t use a wand and therefore can’t wait until next term to get one.”
Merlin smiled. Arthur had been so upset when his wand had broken, and even before that he had been frustrated when his magic hadn’t worked properly. Hopefully this meant that he would finally be able to do things the right way.
Merlin took a deep breath after they landed outside Smith’s Forge in Camelot. After a surprisingly small amount of begging, Gaius had agreed to bring Merlin along to buy Arthur his athame. He never enjoyed apparating, but it would be worth it to see this.
Arthur, who had never experienced apparition before, collapsed as soon as they were there and looked like he might be sick. Gaius told him to shake it off while helping him up by the arm and over the shop threshold before he had a chance to steady himself. Tom was there, as expected, with a big smile and welcoming attitude.
“Welcome! I take it you are Arthur? Miss Ollivander sent me an owl telling me to expect you.”
Arthur nodded, still trying to catch his breath. Gaius dug around in his robes before producing a an envelope. “Clara said that he would need an athame with these specifications.”
Tom took the envelope and quickly read the note inside. He hummed a bit then nodded. “I don’t have exactly what he needs, but I can make it. She apparently guessed that, so she gave me a specification for an alternative that I do have. Let’s see what we can do, yeah?”
He led them back to the room where Merlin had first tried out his wand. This time there was a table near the back wall that held a large number of daggers, or, Merlin figured, athames. “May I see your wand, Arthur? It may help me narrow down a suitable athame for you.” Arthur brought it out and gave it to him, and his expression grew surprised when he saw it. “You have the Prince’s Wand...” His eyebrows shot up and he reread the note. “I see. Well, then, this isn’t going to help me out much... Let’s see... Here try this one.” He picked one, seemingly at random, and gave it to Arthur.
“Should I just wave it like a wand, or try a spell?”
“Why don’t you try a simple spell?”
Arthur nodded, then pointed the tip of the athame at the space in front of him and said “Orchideous.” Merlin was surprised that he had chosen such a difficult spell, or that he even knew it, but was even more surprised when a bouquet of red roses appeared out of thin air and then fell to the ground. “It was definitely easier than using my wand, but it still got warm. You said that you don’t have exactly what I need, so I guess nothing will be perfect, but what kinds of drawbacks are acceptable?”
Tom looked up from the roses. “None. I should have one that works correctly, you shouldn’t notice anything wrong. What I don’t have is an athame that will focus and enhance your power.” He picked up another one and gave it to him, this one a little bigger.
After trading athames with Tom, Arthur picked up the bouquet and handed it to Merlin, who tried not to read anything into the action, before picking one out. He pointed the athame at it and said “Multicorfors,” and it changed from red to a purpleish colour before going back to red. He tried again with the same result. “No.”
Tom gave him another, this one had a wavy blade. He pointed it at the rose and said “Lapifors.” The rose changed into a rabbit. Well, it changed mostly into a rabbit. The rabbit, after struggling out of Arthur’s grasp to the floor and starting to run around, appeared to still have the blossom on its head. “Closer, but still not right...”
“Arthur’s mother was a Daughter of Avalon,” Gaius interjected. “I have read that athames generally have familial loyalty, and in Avalon they tend to use athames. I see here that you have some that appear used, is it possible that you have one that may have belonged to one of his ancestors?”
Tom looked thoughtful. “What was your mother’s name, Arthur?”
“Ygraine DuBois.”
Tom nodded, smiling. “Oh, a Daughter of the Line. Yes, I might have just the thing!” He went back to the table and picked up a very old looking athame. It had a straight blade that was about seven inches long made of tarnished silver. The handle was a black wood. It was very pretty, though it seemed quite feminine. “This is the athame of Ygraine, Queen of Camelot, who was your mother’s namesake. You are descended from her, and since it has been used by many of your maternal ancestors it should work for you...”
Arthur traded him once again, then pointed it at the rose-rabbit thing, which Merlin was now holding. “Duro,” he said, and it turned to stone. He smiled. “Yes, this feels right.” Tom nodded and led them out of the room.
“Okay, well that’s the one that you should have then. Granted it won’t do forever. It has a history of being a feminine blade, and eventually it will object to you being a boy, but by that time I will have completed yours, so no worries. As for cost, well. How about I give it to you in return for your wand and that statue that you made?”
Arthur looked at him, surprised at the offer. “Why do you want my wand?”
Tom chuckled. “Well, first off, you aren’t going to need it anymore, it has served its purpose. It is an important wand, especially to a wandmaker. Also, the core will be incorporated into the athame that I’m making for you. It has given you allegiance, and it will transfer that to your athame. The note that Miss Ollivander wrote to me said that it was important. Here, look.” He retrieved the note from a pocket and handed it to Arthur, who read it before sighing and nodding. He brought his wand out again and put it on the counter.
Tom smiled. “Now then, Merlin, I am glad you came along, it turns out that I have something that belongs to you as well.” He rummaged around under the counter before bringing out another athame, this one with a bright silver sheath. It was highly stylized; the guard looked like a set of dragon wings. In fact, the hilt looked like the neck and head of a dragon with sapphire eyes. He picked it up and unsheathed it. with the exception of the eyes it was completely black. “Your father dropped that off for me to replace the sheath shortly before he died. I forgot to give it to you when you came in for your wand.”
Merlin nodded, not really paying attention. He was carefully examining the blade. “What is it made out of?”
“I have no idea. I do know it is old, very old. I has been used by all of your male ancestors, it is the blade of a Dragonlord. Even Emrys must have used that.”
“How much is it?”
Tom shook his head. “You don’t have to pay for it. Your father paid for the sheath already, and it technically belongs to you.”
“Name?”
“Collins, Mary.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Slytherin.”
“Did you accidentally do any magic when you were young? If so, please explain.”
“I love to sing, but it tends to make people fall asleep...”
“Name?”
“Collins, Helen.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Ravenclaw”
“Do people fall asleep when you sing, like your sister?”
“No.”
“Name?”
“Fey, Sophia.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Slytherin.”
“Sophia, forgive me if this is rude, but you are a halfblood, correct?”
“It is okay, yes. My father is a Sidhe...”
Merlin realized quickly that he probably shouldn’t use his athame yet. It worked wonderfully, but did nothing at all to help him focus and limit his magic. In fact it enhanced it. Eventually it would be perfect, but, for now, he didn’t have the control to use it.
Arthur, on the other hand, was very good with his. He met with Professor Nimueh after they returned to the school to learn the basics, and began to simply excel in his classes. Where he had constantly struggled before, he now was able to make his magic do exactly what he wanted.
As the week progressed more meetings took place and it turned out that there were a significant amount of students that had unique requirements. Sophia Fey was what they were calling a Feywitch, and Mary Collins was an enchantress. Elyan Smith, Gwen’s brother, said he was not only a battlemage but a magesmith as well.
“Name?”
“Trickler, Loki.”
“Year and House?”
“Seven, Slytherin.”
“You are nearly finished, so this probably won’t change much, but have you ever experienced anything odd with your magic?”
“No...”
“Name?”
“Smith, Guinevere.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Gryffindor.”
“Gwen, I can call you Gwen, right? Before you is a broken clock that is powered by magic. Can you tell me what is wrong with it?”
“Um... I don’t know, but I think one of the crystals might have cracked...”
“Name?”
“Knight, William.”
“Year and House?”
“One, Hufflepuff.”
“Do you ever feel that there is something draining your magic when you try to cast a spell?”
“Not really...”
After Gwen had also been declared a magesmith, the school decided to hire a professor that would teach students how to do magesmithery. Apparently it was an attribute that could be learned, and many students showed an interest in it. “It will probably be my dad,” she was telling them while they studied in the common room and Merlin waited for his own meeting. “Apparently there’s a forge in one of the outbuildings where they used to teach, but the students lost interest so eventually they closed it down. My dad used it a few times when he was a student, and he said it was really nice.”
“How about your friend Will, Merlin?” Arthur asked. Will had gone in right after Gwen.
“He’s just a plain old wizard. I guess they thought he was a battlemage before he went in, so they asked him a bunch of questions about his wand, and then, just to make sure, had him use a magic axe to try to split some wood from across the room. I guess he totally failed at that, so he isn’t a battlemage afterall.”
“I bet he was crushed.”
“Yeah, until he found out that Elena was just a plain old witch as well...”
“Name?”
“Emrys.”
“Very funny Mr. Wyllt.”
“I thought so.”
“Okay, I guess since you’re the last we can skip the boring questions, can’t we?”
“Yes, please.”
“Alright then. Let’s just talk for a bit. What do you know about your ancestor, Merlin?”
“He was the most powerful mage to ever live.”
“What gave him that distinction?”
“Um... he did a lot of great things? He founded the school that would eventually become Hogwarts.”
“True, but can you think of a specific thing that he did that made us remember him as powerful?”
“Um... it is said that he shattered the world. He created the pockets in space, like around Ealdor and Camelot, where only mages lived.”
“Yes, that is what I am talking about. Did you know that he wasn’t trying to do that? It was an accidental side effect of a spell that he cast. Are you aware of what his intent was?”
“Officially? No, but my dad told me once that he was trying to save his wife?”
Chuckle. “No, not his wife, though I guess that could be close. He was trying to save the High King, whom he allegedly loved very much.”
“So... his lover? He was gay?”
“No, from what we can tell their relationship was purely platonic, though I have heard rumors that may have wanted more, but it was a different time back then. Later, after the High King died, he ended up marrying a woman and had a son, and apparently he also loved them very much, but given that he didn’t cast a similar spell when they died, I don’t think his love for them was as great.”
“But the spell didn’t work. The High King died, right?”
“That is a complicated question, Mr. Wyllt. Yes, the High King did die, but the spell wasn’t intended to save him. That would have been simple, it didn’t need a spell that was so powerful it shattered the Earth. No, the spell was meant to bring him back at a later time, and not just him.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I am here to point you in the right direction. That is my destiny, Mr. Wyllt. Destiny is an important thing, and you must learn to understand it before you can come to understand what I am trying to tell you.”
“Why don’t you just tell me?”
Laughter. “Because, Mr. Wyllt, part of fulfilling your destiny is figuring it out on your own. Neither I, nor anyone else, can tell you the answers, merely tell you how to find them. I know that you have been searching for something.”
“I... The Sorting Hat talked about a Fifth House, but I can’t find anything about it.”
“Yes, that is it. Now you can’t, as you are not ready and it is not ready for you to find it. Talk to the Great Dragon. He can help you more.”
“I take it that is all you are going to tell me?”
“Very good, Mr. Wyllt. Now, I am going to tell everyone what we both know, that you are a sorcerer and a Dragonlord. This entire meeting, we only talked about that. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Miss Ollivander.”
“Good.”