Merlin/Harry Potter: Voldemort's Miss-Understanding (5.2/?)
Title: Voldemort’s Miss-Understanding
Author: tinyrose65
Summary: In which Voldemort’s plan goes a bit wrong (again.) and Merlin, along with Gwaine and Arthur, finds herself in a world where everybody is convinced that she has a beard. Huh? (Gwaine/fem!Merlin; Arthur/Gwen).
Note: This was a request from crazyredhead to write a sequel to “The Miss-Adventures of Gwaine,” but set in Harry Potter. I had hoped to finish the story before I began posting, but that didn't happen and this story is late enough as it is. So here ya' go!
(Chapter 5 Part 1 here)
Chapter 5: In Which the King Arthur, Sir Gwaine, and Maid Merlin Start Training (Part 2)
Surprised to hear the sharp tone of the usually mellow-mannered man, they hurried upstairs as Remus and Mr. Weasley disappeared into the kitchen. Instead of heading to their rooms, however, they were blocked by Hermione and Ron, and Ron’s brothers and sister. The twins had one of their inventions in (which, to Merlin, looked like an ear attached to some string), ready to try and overhear the conversation downstairs.
In the short time that she’d been here, Merlin had noticed a few strange things about everyone. The first was the lack of a willingness to share information. The adults kept to themselves and so did the children (calling them “children” was another strange thing, since Merlin was now not much older than they were). There were also quite a few conversations (on both sides) about somebody named Harry. Merlin had heard the name so many times now that she thought she might be sick of it soon, but nobody had ever bothered explaining who he was.
Considering that Merlin tended to hear his name through closed doors and behind walls, this wasn’t too surprising.
Right now, though, the eight of them stood at the top of the staircase, not saying anything. It seemed that Hermione and Ron and the others seemed slightly abashed at being caught trying to eavesdrop again. Arthur, still soaking wet from his earlier meeting with a glass of water, was trying to maintain some of his dignity. Gwaine and Merlin were just watching the whole thing, trying desperately not to laugh.
Merlin shuffled closer to Gwaine and turned her head to the side, hiding her smile behind his arm and burying her face in the sleeve of
Gwaine’s red jumper, as Molly had called it.
The Weasley matriarch had given Merlin and her two friends a new set of clothes the day after they had arrived in the strange city of London. Merlin wasn’t too sure what to make of them. She liked the the material (denim) of the new trousers she had been given- they were comfortable and sturdy- but the t-shirt felt a bit too thin and a bit too tight for her. She had slipped her red scarf on top and felt slightly better about it.
The fact that the new clothes were a bit more form fitting did have it’s advantages, though, particularly in respects to Gwaine. It seemed she wasn’t the only one who had noticed. She wasn’t the only girl in the house slipping him (and Arthur, but that thought made her sick) glances, and not the they’ve-traveled-in-time glances that had become normal around Grimmauld Place, either; and Gwaine seemed more than happy to slip her glances in return.
Like right now.
Gwaine looked down fondly at her, making no attempt to hide his smile, and winked.
“You can put that away,” Gwaine informed the younger teens, smirking at them. He had found the group’s attempts to listen on the adults’ conversations highly amusing. “There’s no Order meeting today.”
“Oh,” Ron said, disappointed. “What’s all the fuss about then? Is my dad here?”
“He’s here to see Dumbledore,” Merlin offered. “Something about Harry being attacked by- what was it? Dementors, I think.”
Merlin wasn’t really sure what she’d said, but her words had a surprising effect on the others. Particularly Ginny, who gasped loudly and looked as though she were ready to faint. One of the twins steadied her and Ron, who’s freckles stood out in stark contrast to his pale skin, demanded, “Is he alright?”
“Your father said that he was able to defend himself,” Arthur said firmly, in the same sort of voice he used to calm worried villagers after an attack. It was an authoritative voice, a calming voice, and it seemed to have its intended affect.
“Dementors seem to make you lot worried,” Gwaine noted, remembering a similar reaction from Remus downstairs. “What are they, exactly?”
“They’re these big black things,” began one of the twins. The other nodded eagerly and finished, “Yea, yea. They feed on your happiness, leaving nothing but bad feelings and memories behind.”
“Dementors, then,” Gwaine repeated. “They sound like the Dorocha,” Gwaine said thoughtfully.
“Pardon?” Hermione asked confusedly. It didn’t seem as though confusion was an emotion she was familiar with.
“They’re as you said,” Merlin cut in. “These large, dark shapes that leave you feeling cold and empty inside.”
“I suppose they could be the same thing,” Hermione muttered, already itching to go look it up in some books. “The terminology might’ve shifted with the disappearance of Old English and the like-”
“We’ll take your word for it,” Arthur interrupted, not in the mood for a History of Magic lecture at the moment.
“Do they kiss you when they get too close?” Ginny asked quietly.
Merlin frowned. “Ah- The Dorocha, you mean?”
“A dementor’s kiss sucks out your soul,” Ron said darkly. “It’s supposed to be almost unbearable to watch. You’re basically left as a hollow shell. Nobody lives that way for long. They usually die soon enough.”
“It’s likewise for the Dorocha,” Arthur said firmly. “Nobody’s survived an attack. Well- save for Merlin.”
Merlin suddenly found all eyes on her. She blushed and laughed, scratching awkwardly at the back of her neck. “Yea, well, you said so yourself, Arthur. I can’t do anything properly. Why should dying be any different?”
“Thank the gods for that,” Arthur said, in a rare moment of honesty. Merlin smiled brightly at him. She knew that they were friends (and that he knew it, too), but it wasn’t often that they showed open affection for each other. At least, not normal open affection. Their version of affection was throwing things at each other and insulting each other.
“I bet it didn’t work on you because of your ma- Ow! Hermione!” Ron’s eager exclamation was interrupted by Hermione stepping violently on his toes, silencing him. Merlin’s eyes widened as one of her suspicions was finally confirmed: they knew about her magic, and that she had had it before this whole mess started.
It had, of course, been a source of concern for her for a while. If these strange wizards did no about her magic, it was only a matter of time before word got around to Arthur. At least, that had been what she thought. So far, though, nobody seemed too inclined to reveal anything to him. Merlin wondered if it was because of Arthur’s little speech on the first day of their arrival, or if it was something else. Regardless, she was grateful.
Ginny, looking much more calm before, sighed. “Right. That’s- well, that’s good then. So, that’s why our dad is here, then.”
“He wanted to talk to Dumbledore,” Merlin added as an afterthought, distracted from her thoughts about her magic. “Something about expulsion and breaking his wand-”
“What?” was the general outcry.
Arthur glared at Merlin. His look clearly said, “You honestly know nothing about keeping people calm.”
Once again speaking firmly, Arthur said, “Your father said that Dumbledore will take care of it Mr. Weasley has also already sent Harry a letter, informing him that the matter is being resolved as quickly as possible.”
Admittedly, that wasn’t quite what Mr. Weasley had said, but Merlin decided to keep her mouth shut on this one.
“I wish we could write to Harry,” Ron scowled. “Just to see that he’s alright, you know?”
“Who exactly is Harry?” Merlin said, finally taking the opportunity to ask. The thought that Merlin, Gwaine, and Arthur wouldn’t know who
Harry was seemed shocking to everyone else. They exchanged glances.
“Why- why,” Hermione began, only to pause, not really sure where to start. “He’s Sirius’s godson.”
“And our best mate,” Ron added fiercely.
“But he’s stuck with his rotten aunt and uncle for the summer-”
“-and his fat cousin,” the twins threw in.
“Well that sounds terrible,” Merlin said, wrinkling her nose in sympathetic disgust. “Why don’t you just bring him here, then?”
“Because it’s safer for some reason,” Hermione said exasperatedly. “But I don’t understand how! Especially not what happened last year-- Harry should be here,” Hermione said abruptly, changing the subject as though she had said too much. “But Dumbledore doesn’t want to listen to reason!”
“I assure you, Ms. Granger,” said Dumbledore softly from behind them, making them all jump, “That I do have my reasons.”
Merlin wondered how long he had been standing there for. He was looking at them all quite seriously and nobody seemed to know what to say, standing guiltily under his gaze.
Dumbledore finally said, “Mr. Potter is quite unharmed. He will be arriving at Grimmauld Place later tomorrow.”
With that he descended back down the stairs, leaving everybody else dumbstruck.