The Leaky Cauldron Irregulars (Harry Potter and Merlin fanfiction): Chapter 5

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5

"Good morning, class!" Emrys said cheerfully. "Today will be our last day of wandless verbal spells, and then we will move on to nonverbal spells. All right?" The students nodded, and Emrys proceeded to teach them more difficult spells to do without their wands. After a good deal of experience (and a number of accidents Emrys barely prevented), the class was over.

As everyone was leaving, a student walked up to Emrys.
"Yes?"
"You said we can ask you anything, right?"
Emrys nodded. "Go ahead."
"I just need some help with my History of Magic homework."
Emrys smiled. "I should be able to help with that. What do you need to know?"
"We're learning about King Arthur," he said. Emrys smiled. "What was the name of Arthur's wife?"
"Gwen," Emrys said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Gwen?" The student looked confused.
"Oh, you'll be wanting the full name. It's Guinevere."
The student wrote the name down. "Thanks!"
"Anything else?"
"Yeah, actually. What was the name of Arthur's court sorcerer?"
Emrys stared at the student in disbelief. "Court... sorcerer? Magic was outlawed in Camelot!"
"That's not what the textbook says," the student replied.
"Tell Professor Binns I'd like to see that textbook he's using," Emrys said, disgruntled. "But if Arthur were to have had a court sorcerer, it would have been Merlin." Emrys sighed.
"Sorry if I'm wasting your time," the student said, standing up.
"No, no, I just doubt the accuracy of your curriculum. Go on."
"Where did King Arthur die?"
Emrys' face paled. His eyes sunk. He took a deep breath and with painful finality said, "Camlann." Emrys did all he could not to cry. Sensing that it was his time to leave, the student walked out of the room. Once everyone was gone, Merlin started sobbing uncontrollably.

His tears were interrupted by a knock at the door. Forcing himself to stop crying, Merlin used a spell to let the door swing open.
Professor Longbottom tentatively stepped in. "I heard you crying, and... I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
Merlin smiled weakly. "Yeah, fine." Longbottom looked skeptical. Merlin sighed. "It's Arthur. I was just reminded that... he died."
Longbottom nodded. "I'll leave you alone to your thoughts."

When the weekend came, Merlin left the grounds and traveled to Avalon. He could have apparated, but he wanted to walk, just to remember. Camelot was gone. The people were dead, the land developed... all that remained was Lake Avalon. Merlin stood at the bank, peering into the water. He cried and screamed and released his grief. He caused the wind to howl and the trees to shake, but he left the lake untouched, for that was where his friends rested, and he did not wish to disturb them.

Merlin stayed at Avalon so long he almost forgot he taught at Hogwarts. When the time came, Merlin said goodbye again to his friends and traveled back to the school. This time he went at a run, as if he could chase all his sorrow away. When he arrived to the classroom ten minutes late and out of breath, hints of tears in his eyes, he gave no explanation. Merlin sincerely hoped that Arthur was the real Arthur, or he didn't know how he'd be able to carry on.