Chapter Text
“Lumos.”
The tip of Merlin’s wand glowed a dull yellow, lighting up the sharp, looping script on the parchment he was holding. His eyes scanned the page, taking in the information and silently mouthing the words as he read.
What played an important part in the formation of the International Confederation of Wizards?
Merlin frowned in concentration, a headache slowly surfacing.
“You’re going to ruin your eyesight if you keep doing that.”
Merlin glanced up from his stacks of parchment to see his best friend, smiling at him in the dimly lit library. He sighed, rubbing his eyes with long, pale fingers and half-smiling back.
“I’m so behind, Gwen. I can’t afford to slack off now, I've got Charms and Transfiguration homework, a Herbology project to start, I have to go over the Quidditch strategies for tomorrow, and I need to be ready for my exams, and-“
“Merlin.”
Guinevere cut him off, and sat down in the chair opposite. “You do know it’s only September, right? Exams are a long way off. You’re starting to sound like a Ravenclaw.” She teased, her kind smile showing, even in the dim light.
“Well, now you're just being rude.” Merlin stuck out his tongue, teasing back lightly. Sighing, because he was exhausted, and because he knew Gwen was right, he shuffled the stack of notes and books into a slightly neater pile. He stood up and grabbed his pile of work from the wooden table, blinking the impending sleep from his eyes. Gwen smirked, victorious, and led Merlin out of the back of the library, past the scowling librarian, and into the torchlit corridor.
They walked in silence for a few minutes, no sound except the echoing footsteps in the nearly empty hall, and breathing in the musty smell of parchment that hung in the air, even in the early semester. That was one of the little things Merlin really enjoyed about Hogwarts, it always smelled like parchment and magic and books. Maybe Gwen was right, maybe that was “Ravenclaw” of him, but Merlin didn’t mind. He had long since accepted who he was, clever and confident, sarcastic, and unapologetic for the things he enjoyed and desired. Slytherin, through and through.
As they got closer to the basements, they made a bit of light conversation, although Gwen could tell Merlin wasn't in the mood. They descended the staircase leading to the Hufflepuff common rooms, and the castle kitchens. They stopped at the stack of barrels that mark the entrance to the common room. Gwen nodded towards the painting of fruit on the opposite wall of the corridor.
“Are you hungry at all? They elves don’t mind a few of us coming in for a late night snack.” She smiled. Merlin contemplated for a brief moment before shaking his head.
“No, really Gwen, I’m tired. I’ll just be off. See ya.” He waved at his best friend, and continued down the basement corridor, towards the Slytherin dungeons. One of the upsides of having a best friend in Hufflepuff, was that the two common rooms were extremely close, and Merlin had someone to walk to classes with whenever he needed. Although he didn't always like to admit it, Merlin got quite lonely, and having a friend who was close meant a lot to him.
A minute later he was in the common room, his eyes already heavy with sleep. He passed the few fourth-years who were chatting on the dull green sofas in front of the dying hearth. A fellow sixth year nodded approvingly at Merlin as he passed, “Hey Emrys, good luck on the game tomorrow. Knock Pendragon right off his pompous ass!” Merlin half-smiled, covering up the slight intake of air that always accompanied the dreaded name. Pendragon.
A red headed first-year spoke quietly to his friend, eyeing Merlin as he started down the steps to the boys dormitories.
“That’s ‘im. Our best Chaser. Best in the whole school I’d say, but it’s always a tough game between us and Gryffindor. Bloody Pendragon. I heard from my older brother ‘im and Emrys used to be friends. Can’t say I believe it, the way the run up against each other on the Quidditch pitch. ‘Sides, who would be friends with that arrogant prat?”
Merlin continued the path to his dormitory, the books and supplies in his hand getting heavier by the moment. Finally, he made it to his dormitory, and flopped down ungallantly on his four-poster bed. Sleep.
As he slipped from consciousness, the first-years words rang through his head.
“Who would be friends with that arrogant prat?”
Who, indeed?
*6 Years Ago*
Merlin walked through the forest, enjoying the calm of the nature around him. Every few minutes he turned to look behind him, making sure he wasn’t followed. Once he was confident he was alone, he cupped his hands together and looked hard at them. Concentrating hard, he conjured the image he wanted in his mind. A small red spark appeared, dancing in his palms, then fizzled out after a few seconds.
Merlin smiled. It was true, his magic was finally showing itself. His father had told him he would start to see bigger signs of it soon.
Almost giddy with the light and powerful feeling, he tried conjuring the sparks again. This time they came back in full force, and he slowly lifted his hands. The red sparks danced higher and higher, until they floated above his head. He stared up at them and laughed, excited by the magic.
“That was amazing.”
Merlin spun around, shocked to see two other children behind him. He froze, and felt a rise of panic.
Muggles.
“Oh, um. Th-that wasn’t me, uh…”
The girl smiled. “Yes, it was. That was magic!”
Merlin stood stunned, unsure of what to say. The boy next to the girl seemed to sense his hesitation and fear, and he gave a gentle smile.
“Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘We aren’t Muggles, we’re wizards. Like you.”
Merlin breathed a sigh of relief. The boy stepped forward. He looked to be around Merlin’s age, if not a year or two older.
“My name is Arthur Pendragon. Who are you?”
“I’m Merlin.”
Arthur nodded, “This is my sister, Morgana.” He gestured to the girl beside him.
If Arthur hadn’t mentioned it, Merlin never would’ve guessed the two were related. Arthur had straight blond hair, warm tanned skin, and a fairly defined jawline, considering his age. Morgana was pale, her face a soft white, with long, wavy raven-black hair. The only similarity that the siblings shared was the small half-smile, and the same look of authority in their bright eyes, Arthur’s a bright blue, his sisters green.
“I’m the older one though,” Morgana said, crossing her arms and smiling with the confidence of someone who knew she was in charge. Arthur rolled his eyes.
“Only by a couple of months, Morgana. Anyway, it doesn’t matter, we’re both going to Hogwarts in September.”
“I’m going next year!” Merlin smiled. “I don’t know much about it, but my uncle is a professor there. It will be nice knowing some other students.” The Pendragon children smiled back at him.
“Do you want to come back to the house with us?” Morgana offered excitedly, “We’ll tell you everything we know about Hogwarts.”
Merlin hesitated. His mother would be worried if he didn’t come back home soon. But, since his mother was a Muggle herself, she didn’t have much knowledge of the Wizarding world. And Balinor, his father, didn’t see Merlin often, which made it hard for Merlin to ask any questions he had.
“Come on,’ Morgana insisted. “I won’t take no for an answer.”
The temptation to find out more about his father’s world was too great. He had never even met other wizard children. Merlin made his choice, and nodded shyly. Morgana turned around and started back the way her and Arthur had come. Merlin looked beside him to catch Arthur staring at him.
“She seems determined.” Merlin laughed, awkwardly, watching Morgana far ahead of them, who was turning back and gesturing for them to hurry up. Arthur smiled, and the bright blue of his eyes shone as him and Merlin made eye contact.
Merlin gave a shy smile back. “What?”
Arthur shook his head, a puzzled look on his face.
“There’s something about you Merlin…’ He paused, trying to find words for what he was thinking. He seemed to find it, and put his hand on Merlin’s shoulder.
“I think you and I are going to be great friends.”
Merlin smiled to himself. He truly hoped so.