Merlin/Harry Potter: Voldemort's Miss-Understanding (7.2/?)
Title Voldemort's Miss-Understanding
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).
Disclaimer I own nothing.
(Part 1 here)
Chapter 7: In Which Arthur Doubts His Maidservant (But Only For A Moment!)
Now, however, they were done with the summer, and on the train to Hogwarts, although Remus warned them that they’d be taking private lessons with their Head of House.
“So there are four Houses at Hogwarts?” Arthur clarified. They were in a train compartment with Harry, after Ron and Hermione had gone to the prefect’s carriage. Harry had also introduced them all to Neville, a quiet boy who was currently examining a cactus, and Luna, a moony-eyed girl who reminded Gwaine a bit of Merlin.
“Yes,” Harry agreed. “Gryfindor is the house Neville, Ron, Hermione, and I are all in. It’s for the brave. Ravenclaw-”
“That’s my house,” Luna said dreamily.
“Right. Ravenclaw is for the smart. Hufflepuff, the loyal. And Slytherin-- Slytherin is for the cunning.”
“You hesitated. Why?” Gwaine asked.
Harry said slowly, “Slytherin has a bit of a reputation. They aren’t the nicest bunch of folks. And their Head of House, Professor Snape-- you might’ve seen him around Grimmauld Place a few times, and he’s also the Potion’s professor- is a real piece of work.”
“There isn’t a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin,” Neville said quietly. “It was You-Know- Who’s house.”
“That’s hardly fair to the Slytherins,” Luna said. When they looked over at her, though, she still had her head buried in her copy of The Quibbler
“How do students know which House they go to?”
Here, even Neville smiled. He said, “We’d be breaking Hogwarts tradition if we warned you. They’ll call your names, though. And you’ll be in front of the whole school”
Our real ones or our fake ones? Merlin thought bitterly. A few days before Hogwarts, they had been warned that their real names were too distinctive to use at Hogwarts (although Dumbledore hadn’t said why). Arthur and Gwaine were both allowed to keep their first names and were simply given generic last names, but Merlin’s had to be changed. Everybody had thrown a name around, some boring (“Jill!”), some strange (“Apple!”), and some just-- no.
It had been Hermione, surprising who had suggested, “Emma. It’s Germanic for ‘all-containing’ or ‘universal.’”
Merlin just stared at her. Only Hermione would pick a name based on its Germanic meaning. Merlin also wondered if Hermione had chosen that name because of its similarity to ‘Emrys.’ Gwaine didn’t seem to care. He was nodding.
“Emma. It’s a nice name. Suits you, Merlin.” He said, turning to her. “Emma Frey. How’s that?”
Merlin was touched. She had told Gwaine the story of Frey worried how he would take it. He didn’t seem to hold any of it against her at all and didn’t seem jealous in the least
Still, Merlin couldn’t help but do a double-take every time somebody called her a name not her own. She kept quiet for the rest of the train ride, going over everything about Hogwarts she had been told: the Sorting, the Houses, the classes, Quidditch...
Finally, an announcement came on telling everybody to change into their robes. Luna and Merlin found an empty carriage where they could change away from the men before they returned. Merlin wouldn’t lie: she quite liked the robes. Thick and black, they were far more familiar to her than the clothes she had been wearing since they had arrived here. Arthur and Gwaine seemed to agree with her.
Soon, the train stopped, then slowed. Merlin, Gwaine, and Arthur exited the train (following Harry and the others) and found themselves standing a platform. They hesitated unsure of where they were going. They could hear a voice calling, “Firs’ years! Over ‘ere!”
Before Merlin could ask Harry if they went with him or with the first years, the voice called over, “You three! You the exchange students?”
Merlin turned around and was faced with one of the largest men she had ever seen: hairy, slightly dirty, and wearing a large grin. She was speechless.
Harry, who watched the entire thing with a smile on his face, said, “Yes, Hagrid. They are.”
“‘arry!” the man greeted. “Good to see yeh! Sorry I can’t talk. Got to get everybody o’er to the boats. You three included. Dumbledore said he didn’t want you miss out on yer first sight o’ Hogwarts.”
“That was nice of him,” Merlin offered as she waved good bye to Harry and began following the giant man named Hagrid. Hagrid grunted before excusing himself to go wrangle in some first years. Merlin couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable with the fact that she actually towered over all the first years.
Arthur noticed and snickered. “Look, M- Emma! You’re finally taller than somebody.”
“Prat,” Merlin said. Arthur just laughed as Hagrid lead them to a small dock, wooden boats waiting for them.
“Four to a boat only!” he called. When it was Merlin’s, Gwaine’s, and Arthur’s turn, Hagrid said to them. “You three get yer own boat, ‘cos you’re bigger.”
Merlin realized what Hagrid meant when she, Gwaine, and Arthur got in. It dipped perilously low in the water, but thankfully it didn’t sink. At the signal, Gwaine and Arthur began rowing and Merlin once again enjoyed one of the few privileges that came with being small and female.
It was only a few minutes later that Hagrid called out, “Yeh’ll get yer first sight o’ Hogwarts ‘round this turn.”
Merlin and her friends were the first to make the turn, no doubt because of the size and strength of its rowers. All three gasped at the same time. Standing above them from a cliff was a large castle, with tall turrets and lit up brightly. It was beautiful.
It wasn’t Camelot -not home - but magnificent nonetheless.
“This is a school?” Merlin couldn’t but say as the castle grew closer. “Back in Ealdor, the closest thing to a school we had was a small hut where Mr. Weatherly would teach us basic writing and reading and arithmetic. It was dirty and crowded and he tended to spit when he taught us things.”
“Fascinating, Merlin,” Arthur drawled, just as Hagrid yelled out a warning for students to duck as they floated underneath the castle and into a small overhang. There, Merlin noticed a small harbor, and Gwaine and Arthur skillfully steered the boat into port. Gwaine stepped out, then helped Merlin climb out.
Despite his help, she still tripped and landed on top of Arthur, sending them both sprawling on the floor. “MERLIN!”
Arthur, realizing what he had done, hastily corrected himself by adding “-‘S BEARD!”
Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice his mistake.
Merlin scrabbled up, trying to ignore how some of the younger, less fearful, kids were snickering at them. Arthur stood with as much dignity as he could muster. Ignoring Gwaine, who was laughing quite unabashedly, he followed Hagrid to where he was standing by a large, open pair of double doors, ushering students through.
When they approached him, he grinned. “‘ow was it?”
“Wonderful,” Merlin admitted, thinking back to the view. She was glad that Dumbledore had thought to make sure they saw it. Hagrid nodded happily and stepped aside so they could enter Hogwarts for the first time.
Once inside, Merlin was hit with a gust of warm air. That was when she realized how chilly it had been outside, and she welcomed the air in the corridor that had been warmly lit with candles all along the walls.
The students had gathered to stand in front of a stern looking older woman in a deep green cloak.
“‘ere are the firs’ years, Professor McGonagall,” Hagrid announced. Merlin remembered that Professor McGonagall was the Gryffindor Head of House. “And the exchange students.”
Professor McGonagall let her eyes settle on Merlin, Gwaine, and Arthur for a moment. Then she turned away, thanked Hagrid, and dismissed them. She launched into a speech about House loyalties, the expectations of Hogwarts, and the like. Merlin tuned her out. Remus had given them this speech back at Grimmauld Place.
“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school.” Professor McGonagall said when she was finished.
“I will return in a few moments when we are ready for you.”
Professor McGonagall left through another large set of doors. Merlin caught a brief glimpse of a large, room, more candles, and (what she thought was) the night sky. When the door closed behind her, murmuring amongst the students broke out.
Arthur let out a deep breath and turned to Merlin and Gwaine. “Ready?”
“I think so,” Gwaine shrugged. “Can hardly be worse than some of the other things we’ve done.”
“Why?” Merlin asked grinning. “Are you scared?”
Arthur aimed a slap to the back of Merlin’s head, but she ducked at the last minute, so he missed and hit Gwaine instead. Gwaine lunged to retaliate, but a sharp cough stopped him. McGonagall had returned. Gwaine straightened and had the good grace to look abashed
She cleared her throat again and said. “If you would please form a line and follow me, the Sorting will now begin.”
Merlin and her two friends took their places at the back of the line, as they were tallest and didn’t want to block anybody’s view.
(This was actually Merlin’s concern, since, being as small as she was, she had an acute awareness of how annoying it could be being stuck behind somebody taller than you were.)
Merlin, who stood well above the first years in front of her, was thrilled when she got a full view of the Great Hall for the first time. She was gratified to see that she was right: there was a night sky. She had a feeling that it was an enchantment.
Now, in the heart of the school, surrounded by other witches and wizards, Merlin could feel something. There was a tingle in the air, a humming in her veins, something shifting inside her. This was magic of the strongest sort.
Merlin could literally feel the soul of Hogwarts itself, and the love she bore for her students and it was wonderful.
“It is something else, isn’t it?” Gwaine asked from behind her, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. She nodded mutely. Then he said,
“Look! Professor Dumbledore!”
There, seated at a table at the head of the the room was Dumbledore. Harriet also saw Hagrid (he was impossible to miss), Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and Binns (at least, who she guessed were Flitwick, Sprout, and Binns, based on Ron’s descriptions), and Professor Snape.
Merlin had seen Snape around the Order headquarters before, but never had a chance to talk to him. He was a mean looking man and judging by the way the other students talked about him, he was as grumpy as he looked. There were also several professors Merlin didn’t realize, including a fat woman dressed in pink.
Something about her made Merlin feel off.
Merlin glanced around at all the tables, all seated underneath banners indicating their houses. She caught a glimpse of Ron, Hermione, Harry (looking a tad disconcerted, for whatever reason), and Neville at the Gryffindor table. The twins were there, too. Their familiar faces all made Merlin feel much better.
Then, Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a tattered looking hat and the Hall fell silent. Merlin watched curiously, wondering what was about to happen. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on a small stool and stepped back
Then, the hat began to sing!
(Part 3 here)
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).
Disclaimer I own nothing.
(Part 1 here)
Chapter 7: In Which Arthur Doubts His Maidservant (But Only For A Moment!)
Now, however, they were done with the summer, and on the train to Hogwarts, although Remus warned them that they’d be taking private lessons with their Head of House.
“So there are four Houses at Hogwarts?” Arthur clarified. They were in a train compartment with Harry, after Ron and Hermione had gone to the prefect’s carriage. Harry had also introduced them all to Neville, a quiet boy who was currently examining a cactus, and Luna, a moony-eyed girl who reminded Gwaine a bit of Merlin.
“Yes,” Harry agreed. “Gryfindor is the house Neville, Ron, Hermione, and I are all in. It’s for the brave. Ravenclaw-”
“That’s my house,” Luna said dreamily.
“Right. Ravenclaw is for the smart. Hufflepuff, the loyal. And Slytherin-- Slytherin is for the cunning.”
“You hesitated. Why?” Gwaine asked.
Harry said slowly, “Slytherin has a bit of a reputation. They aren’t the nicest bunch of folks. And their Head of House, Professor Snape-- you might’ve seen him around Grimmauld Place a few times, and he’s also the Potion’s professor- is a real piece of work.”
“There isn’t a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin,” Neville said quietly. “It was You-Know- Who’s house.”
“That’s hardly fair to the Slytherins,” Luna said. When they looked over at her, though, she still had her head buried in her copy of The Quibbler
“How do students know which House they go to?”
Here, even Neville smiled. He said, “We’d be breaking Hogwarts tradition if we warned you. They’ll call your names, though. And you’ll be in front of the whole school”
Our real ones or our fake ones? Merlin thought bitterly. A few days before Hogwarts, they had been warned that their real names were too distinctive to use at Hogwarts (although Dumbledore hadn’t said why). Arthur and Gwaine were both allowed to keep their first names and were simply given generic last names, but Merlin’s had to be changed. Everybody had thrown a name around, some boring (“Jill!”), some strange (“Apple!”), and some just-- no.
It had been Hermione, surprising who had suggested, “Emma. It’s Germanic for ‘all-containing’ or ‘universal.’”
Merlin just stared at her. Only Hermione would pick a name based on its Germanic meaning. Merlin also wondered if Hermione had chosen that name because of its similarity to ‘Emrys.’ Gwaine didn’t seem to care. He was nodding.
“Emma. It’s a nice name. Suits you, Merlin.” He said, turning to her. “Emma Frey. How’s that?”
Merlin was touched. She had told Gwaine the story of Frey worried how he would take it. He didn’t seem to hold any of it against her at all and didn’t seem jealous in the least
Still, Merlin couldn’t help but do a double-take every time somebody called her a name not her own. She kept quiet for the rest of the train ride, going over everything about Hogwarts she had been told: the Sorting, the Houses, the classes, Quidditch...
Finally, an announcement came on telling everybody to change into their robes. Luna and Merlin found an empty carriage where they could change away from the men before they returned. Merlin wouldn’t lie: she quite liked the robes. Thick and black, they were far more familiar to her than the clothes she had been wearing since they had arrived here. Arthur and Gwaine seemed to agree with her.
Soon, the train stopped, then slowed. Merlin, Gwaine, and Arthur exited the train (following Harry and the others) and found themselves standing a platform. They hesitated unsure of where they were going. They could hear a voice calling, “Firs’ years! Over ‘ere!”
Before Merlin could ask Harry if they went with him or with the first years, the voice called over, “You three! You the exchange students?”
Merlin turned around and was faced with one of the largest men she had ever seen: hairy, slightly dirty, and wearing a large grin. She was speechless.
Harry, who watched the entire thing with a smile on his face, said, “Yes, Hagrid. They are.”
“‘arry!” the man greeted. “Good to see yeh! Sorry I can’t talk. Got to get everybody o’er to the boats. You three included. Dumbledore said he didn’t want you miss out on yer first sight o’ Hogwarts.”
“That was nice of him,” Merlin offered as she waved good bye to Harry and began following the giant man named Hagrid. Hagrid grunted before excusing himself to go wrangle in some first years. Merlin couldn’t help but feel slightly uncomfortable with the fact that she actually towered over all the first years.
Arthur noticed and snickered. “Look, M- Emma! You’re finally taller than somebody.”
“Prat,” Merlin said. Arthur just laughed as Hagrid lead them to a small dock, wooden boats waiting for them.
“Four to a boat only!” he called. When it was Merlin’s, Gwaine’s, and Arthur’s turn, Hagrid said to them. “You three get yer own boat, ‘cos you’re bigger.”
Merlin realized what Hagrid meant when she, Gwaine, and Arthur got in. It dipped perilously low in the water, but thankfully it didn’t sink. At the signal, Gwaine and Arthur began rowing and Merlin once again enjoyed one of the few privileges that came with being small and female.
It was only a few minutes later that Hagrid called out, “Yeh’ll get yer first sight o’ Hogwarts ‘round this turn.”
Merlin and her friends were the first to make the turn, no doubt because of the size and strength of its rowers. All three gasped at the same time. Standing above them from a cliff was a large castle, with tall turrets and lit up brightly. It was beautiful.
It wasn’t Camelot -not home - but magnificent nonetheless.
“This is a school?” Merlin couldn’t but say as the castle grew closer. “Back in Ealdor, the closest thing to a school we had was a small hut where Mr. Weatherly would teach us basic writing and reading and arithmetic. It was dirty and crowded and he tended to spit when he taught us things.”
“Fascinating, Merlin,” Arthur drawled, just as Hagrid yelled out a warning for students to duck as they floated underneath the castle and into a small overhang. There, Merlin noticed a small harbor, and Gwaine and Arthur skillfully steered the boat into port. Gwaine stepped out, then helped Merlin climb out.
Despite his help, she still tripped and landed on top of Arthur, sending them both sprawling on the floor. “MERLIN!”
Arthur, realizing what he had done, hastily corrected himself by adding “-‘S BEARD!”
Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice his mistake.
Merlin scrabbled up, trying to ignore how some of the younger, less fearful, kids were snickering at them. Arthur stood with as much dignity as he could muster. Ignoring Gwaine, who was laughing quite unabashedly, he followed Hagrid to where he was standing by a large, open pair of double doors, ushering students through.
When they approached him, he grinned. “‘ow was it?”
“Wonderful,” Merlin admitted, thinking back to the view. She was glad that Dumbledore had thought to make sure they saw it. Hagrid nodded happily and stepped aside so they could enter Hogwarts for the first time.
Once inside, Merlin was hit with a gust of warm air. That was when she realized how chilly it had been outside, and she welcomed the air in the corridor that had been warmly lit with candles all along the walls.
The students had gathered to stand in front of a stern looking older woman in a deep green cloak.
“‘ere are the firs’ years, Professor McGonagall,” Hagrid announced. Merlin remembered that Professor McGonagall was the Gryffindor Head of House. “And the exchange students.”
Professor McGonagall let her eyes settle on Merlin, Gwaine, and Arthur for a moment. Then she turned away, thanked Hagrid, and dismissed them. She launched into a speech about House loyalties, the expectations of Hogwarts, and the like. Merlin tuned her out. Remus had given them this speech back at Grimmauld Place.
“The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school.” Professor McGonagall said when she was finished.
“I will return in a few moments when we are ready for you.”
Professor McGonagall left through another large set of doors. Merlin caught a brief glimpse of a large, room, more candles, and (what she thought was) the night sky. When the door closed behind her, murmuring amongst the students broke out.
Arthur let out a deep breath and turned to Merlin and Gwaine. “Ready?”
“I think so,” Gwaine shrugged. “Can hardly be worse than some of the other things we’ve done.”
“Why?” Merlin asked grinning. “Are you scared?”
Arthur aimed a slap to the back of Merlin’s head, but she ducked at the last minute, so he missed and hit Gwaine instead. Gwaine lunged to retaliate, but a sharp cough stopped him. McGonagall had returned. Gwaine straightened and had the good grace to look abashed
She cleared her throat again and said. “If you would please form a line and follow me, the Sorting will now begin.”
Merlin and her two friends took their places at the back of the line, as they were tallest and didn’t want to block anybody’s view.
(This was actually Merlin’s concern, since, being as small as she was, she had an acute awareness of how annoying it could be being stuck behind somebody taller than you were.)
Merlin, who stood well above the first years in front of her, was thrilled when she got a full view of the Great Hall for the first time. She was gratified to see that she was right: there was a night sky. She had a feeling that it was an enchantment.
Now, in the heart of the school, surrounded by other witches and wizards, Merlin could feel something. There was a tingle in the air, a humming in her veins, something shifting inside her. This was magic of the strongest sort.
Merlin could literally feel the soul of Hogwarts itself, and the love she bore for her students and it was wonderful.
“It is something else, isn’t it?” Gwaine asked from behind her, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. She nodded mutely. Then he said,
“Look! Professor Dumbledore!”
There, seated at a table at the head of the the room was Dumbledore. Harriet also saw Hagrid (he was impossible to miss), Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and Binns (at least, who she guessed were Flitwick, Sprout, and Binns, based on Ron’s descriptions), and Professor Snape.
Merlin had seen Snape around the Order headquarters before, but never had a chance to talk to him. He was a mean looking man and judging by the way the other students talked about him, he was as grumpy as he looked. There were also several professors Merlin didn’t realize, including a fat woman dressed in pink.
Something about her made Merlin feel off.
Merlin glanced around at all the tables, all seated underneath banners indicating their houses. She caught a glimpse of Ron, Hermione, Harry (looking a tad disconcerted, for whatever reason), and Neville at the Gryffindor table. The twins were there, too. Their familiar faces all made Merlin feel much better.
Then, Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a tattered looking hat and the Hall fell silent. Merlin watched curiously, wondering what was about to happen. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on a small stool and stepped back
Then, the hat began to sing!
(Part 3 here)