HP/Merlin Crossover: Intrigue (2/?)
Title: Intrigue [Merlin/Harry Potter crossover] (2/?)
Author: dk323
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Merlin/Arthur, Harry, Hermione
Spoilers: Harry Potter ~ takes place about three years after the final battle
Merlin ~ A week after “Le Morte D'Arthur” (Series 1 finale)
Disclaimer: The show “Merlin” is property of the BBC. Harry Potter is the property of Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling. No money being made.
Summary: Arthur and Merlin, unwittingly, go forward in time and they find themselves in the wizarding world. In the wizarding world, Merlin is god. But, what he doesn't know is that there's a secret hiding in plain sight. And it's about to be unraveled.
Beta: la_esmeralda_ - whose help made this chapter ten times better. :-)
A/N: Just decided I should post the rest of what I've written so far. I'll definitely come back to this fic, just not now. I have a plan for how it'll continue and how Chapter 3 will go.
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3
But before either Merlin or Arthur could say a word, Hermione appeared to be losing her battle with standing on her own two feet.
“I think I’m--” she started before she collapsed.
~ * ~
Arthur quickly caught her before her head hit the unforgiving hard floor. He held her in his arms in a practiced manner, as if it was something he did all the time. It could have been in the Prince’s Code of Conduct, maybe, if such a thing existed.
Merlin tried not to think about finding out that Arthur had carried him to Gaius’ chambers after he had drunk the poison that one time. Gwen had told him, and even now, Merlin had this funny feeling every time he thought about it. That Arthur would do that --
Merlin was the only one who noticed an odd emotion flicker across Harry’s face before it vanished as if it had never been there in the first place. Was it annoyance, maybe? Merlin wasn’t sure.
“Where should I take her?” Arthur asked.
“Up the stairs, second door on the right,” Harry gritted out.
He turned around sharply and went up the stairs ahead of them.
Merlin followed Arthur up the stairs. “Where are we? And I’m guessing we’re in a different time as well…”
“This is my home,” replied Harry, “Emrys Manor. The year is 2001 A.D. You two can sleep in the guest rooms. There is no point in kicking you out especially when you two have nowhere else to stay.”
“We just went through this…opening.” Merlin made a rather vague gesture with his hands. “We weren’t expecting to end up in the future. I have no idea how to get back or how we ended up here in the first place.”
“I’ve travelled through time. Only by a few hours. But what you’ve managed, unintentional, though it may be, that’s almost inconceivable. Hermione said that--” Harry stopped when they reached the room. He opened the door. “Here it is.”
Harry directed Arthur into Hermione’s room. Once Arthur had laid her on the bed, he walked out of the room and announced that he wanted to rest.
Harry gave him a stiff look and then, appearing as if he were being put-upon to undertake an undesired task, he led Arthur to one of the guest rooms that were on the third floor. Merlin followed after them. He wondered why Harry seemed so antagonistic toward Arthur when he’d only just met him.
“Merlin, you can have the room next to his on the right,” Harry said, showing him the room. He made to leave, and Merlin turned quickly to Arthur.
“I’m going to talk to Harry, Arthur. I’ll be back soon. You’ll be all right?”
“Yes, go on. I’m not a child, Merlin. I expect to see you in the morning though. And be careful.” He added the last bit with a glance at Harry.
Merlin nodded, understanding his concern. Arthur didn’t know yet what Merlin was capable of - and Merlin feared that he wouldn’t be able to keep his secret from him for long. It was supremely tempting to tell him here - in this different time without the threat of Uther hanging over him.
He started walking with Harry, who was playing with his wand absentmindedly.
“What is that thing you’re holding? What’s it called?” Merlin asked, interested.
“Oh, this is a wand. Sort of like a conduit for the magic to flow through from inside of us into the outside world.”
“Why would you need that - when you can just do magic without an extra tool?”
“It’s safer that way. There’s less chance of using too much magic at once and becoming weaker as a result.” After Merlin nodded, understanding, Harry continued, “So what time period are you from then? Medieval times?”
“The year 482, actually.”
Harry nodded. “So the two of you are from Camelot?”
Merlin nodded, perking up at the mention of Camelot. He wondered if even in this distant future, the place was still remembered. “Do you know about it? Is Camelot in the history books?”
“Well, the muggle -- people who have no magic in their blood -- world views the whole thing - Camelot, King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table -- as a legend, a myth, an epic tale to tell. It’s fiction to them. But not in this world - the wizarding world.”
“The wizarding world?” Merlin asked, curious.
“Yes, the world of magic. Anyone who has magic in their blood is called a wizard - or a witch if they’re a woman - and they’re a part of the wizarding world. We wizards live hidden amongst the muggles. Hiding in plain sight, I suppose you can call it. We mask our institutions - our schools, governments, homes from muggle eyes, so they can’t tell the difference. They don’t suspect that magical beings may be living right next to them. It’s safest this way. Keeps them from bothering us.”
Merlin couldn’t believe it. He’d just found himself in a place where he’d be welcomed and easily accepted by all others. After all, if everyone in the wizarding world had magic in their blood, then Merlin would just be another ‘wizard’ in the fray. He could use his magic without fear of execution like in Camelot under Uther’s reign.
“Things being the way they are, in the wizarding world, Camelot is mentioned largely in connection to the greatest wizard of all time, Merlin. What are you doing here?”
“What - what do you mean?” Merlin squirmed uncomfortably. “Merlin’s a popular name in the year 482, you know. There are loads of boys named Merlin. I’m friends with at least three, in fact! Anyway, Camelot’s full of wizards and sorcery, it’s becoming a bit of a problem, if you must know…” he trailed off when he saw Harry’s disbelieving look.
“I’m not an idiot. You’re from the medieval times, you’re connected to Arthur and your eyes light up when I start talking about magic. Also, Merlin is a rare name here. Merlin is like a god to us - though many wizards would like to name their children such a name - it’s almost blasphemous to give a child that name.” He seemed to reconsider his words, and looked doubtfully at Merlin.
Merlin stared in shock at him. He could hardly believe his ears. He knew that he had a destiny, but to come face-to-face with it and to know that in this world - this almost fantastical world where magic was accepted and fully embraced - that he, Merlin, would be so highly regarded; he was at a loss as how to react. He felt dazed and flattered all at once. “Really? You think I’m that Merlin?”
“Yes, of course you are. Usually the history focuses on an older Merlin advising King Arthur, but I don’t doubt that you’re that person. Or at least will become him. I’m surprised that you’re Arthur’s servant. It would seem beneath you…”
“It was the best way to get close to him. To protect him.”
Harry wasn’t hearing him though. “I don’t like him. Make sure he stays away from Hermione.”
“What do you have against Arthur?”
Harry shifted his feet, appearing as if this was the last conversation he would want to be having. “Well, Hermione can take care of herself, of course. She’s brilliant. But still, she’s a girl and he’s a prince. I’m - well - I’m just concerned that she’ll get too taken in by everything. Him being a prince, the fairy tale thing…knight in shining armour on a white horse saving a damsel in distress from the wicked dragon, you know --”
Harry glared at Merlin when he let out a laugh. He couldn’t help it - the idea of Arthur in a fairy tale was too ridiculous to not find funny. Merlin planned to mock the prince later on for that - he looked forward to it.
“You’ve put a lot of thought into that fairy tale,” Merlin commented, trying but failing to sound polite about it and not as if he was laughing at him.
“Oh, shut up,” Harry muttered.
He started walking away from Merlin - a clear sign that their talk was over.
Merlin suddenly felt a panic seize him. This was a world of magic and Harry knew about him and Arthur didn’t know. He didn’t have a clue. He tried to regain Harry’s attention. “Arthur - he doesn’t know who I am. He doesn’t know about my magic! Magic is banned in Camelot and he has been raised to believe magic is bad,” Merlin urgently informed him.
Harry turned around to address Merlin. “Well, if it slips out and he doesn’t take it well, I could kill him for you.” His tone sounded a little too serious for Merlin’s liking. “Good night, Merlin.”
He turned his back on Merlin and walked away - Merlin’s attempt at getting the other’s attention was ignored.
Merlin stared after him, feeling worried about what would happen. He desperately hoped Harry wasn’t being serious, but he was a wizard after all - who knew what type of spells he had knowledge of. Then again, Merlin was, well, Merlin, if what Harry had said was true, so he was sure that he could handle whatever situation came at him. Surely he could manage an average wizard, right?
Now he just had to make sure that Arthur would stay away from the girl. That shouldn’t be too hard.
He shook his head, feeling exasperated. Trust Arthur to land in a completely unknown place in the far future and immediately start acting “the knight in shining armor” role, as Harry had put it, to a girl he didn’t even know. Not to mention the girl was, from his vantage point, already accounted for.
Merlin went to his room, questions preoccupying his mind. The one thing he was sure of was that in this unfamiliar territory, he would have to be even more vigilant in protecting Arthur.