Chapter Text
Merlin spent the next morning in with Arthur. It was the first day since they arrived that Merlin had no duties. Arthur was awake before Merlin (Normal, really) and told him that they were going to stay in and talk.
“You don’t like talking,” Merlin said. He dressed slowly and with owlish blinks at Arthur. “You call me a girl when I want to talk.”
“I said we will talk, and we will talk. This is a more strategical sort of talk anyway. Not you tell me when I’ve offended Guinevere or Mo- people.” Arthur rolled his eyes. He was already dressed, Merlin noticed. Must have been up a while then.
“Strategical?”
“Yes, Merlin. We are out of place here; it’s dangerous. I would like to see what we have going for us, and what we should be careful of.”
Merlin nodded slowly. When he thought about it, he would have expected this earlier. “Makes sense. Do you want to eat first?”
Merlin brought them back platters of sliced fruits and fluffy flat cakes. “Where’s my meat?” Arthur said the moment he saw it. Merlin called him several names mentally and sat down at the little table across from Arthur. He ate the fruit anyway. Merlin smirked. Arthur liked fruit, and the sort here was nicer than in Camelot. They were often much larger, brighter and sweeter. They tasted very good between bites of the cake.
“Right, Merlin.” Arthur paused. (Faltered, Merlin would guess, but he did it with that Arthur-Royal-Ponciness) “We’ll start from the beginning. Was it magic that brought us here?”
“Wouldn’t it have to be?” Merlin said. “It wasn’t me, though. I was unconscious.”
“I had noticed.” Merlin grinned at him around a peach. “You said people knew of us. Both of us.”
Merlin nodded. “Yes. It’s sort of weird, you are-were… are? You are famous with the Muggles. That is, the people without magic. I am, here.” Merlin felt his cheeks warm. “And both in a good way!”
“So everyone here knows who we are.” Arthur said. He bit down on a grape, thinking. Merlin blinked.
“No, I don’t think so. Most people don’t even know you’re here, and I sort of tried to avoid them knowing about me. The wizards think it is sort of presumptuous to have my name. I’ve been saying it’s after the bird.”
“You’re very dim, you know that, right?”
“Why!” He sat up in his chair, fingers on the edge of the table.
“If you were named after him—you, then you can’t be you, I mean—” He waved his hand. “You can’t be the person you are named for, do you get it? If you are pretending, then that would be smarter, now wouldn’t it?” Merlin said nothing. He said nothing rather sullenly.
“However, I’m not yet convinced that we should hide ourselves. There might be some benefit to announcing our presence. What is that look for?”
“’M just not sure that’s a good idea, sire. They wouldn’t expect us, anyway. They’d expect older wiser kings and court warlocks . Not a stranded Prince and his manservant.” They sat silent for a long time. Arthur toyed with the food, pushing pieces of strawberries next to apple slices, with strange soft yellow fruit to make some fruit chimera on his plate.
“That means we return then.” He said abruptly. Merlin, staring at the floor before, glanced up and smiled.
“I think so.” Arthur sat up a little straighter. He looked a little healthier suddenly, to Merlin’s eye, and it occurred to him that Arthur had been looking less than healthy. (He noticed dark circles now, under his eyes, and a greyish sort of pallor to him.)
“Excellent—excellent. That’s really…”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah.” Arthur cleared his throat. “How? How will we get back? Can return to a different place? I would rather not where we were.” Merlin patted his dish for a slice of fruit, but they were gone now.
“I don’t know yet.” He said very carefully. “I think I might be able to magic us back.” He wiggled his fingers on the dish, in the sign he used with Gaius and Lancelot for Magic. (Did time continue to pass at home? Were Gaius and Lancelot and Gwen and Gwaine missing him? Was Camelot in an uproar over their missing Prince and Regent?)
“Yes, Merlin, I figured that would have to be the way.” Merlin smiled nervously and nodded.
“I don’t know how yet, though. I thought I might find something out here.”
“You’ll continue. And tell me whenever you find something.” Marlin gave him a startled Of course , and Arthur continued, “Let’s move on, then! You found out what happened to Camelot, right?”
“Sort of. Blaise, I’d asked him, said that the stories are all probably skewed. Or made up, since it was so long ago. Only the really broad details are known for certain.” Arthur nodded and waved for Merlin to continue. He leaned back in his chair, tipping it against the bed behind him. “Basically, when you became—become King, you unite all the kingdoms nearby to create Albion, which prospered, magic and all, under you.” Arthur stared. He took a deep breath and nodded.
“Right. I can do that. I was brought up to, after all. Where do you fit in?” Merlin snorted.
“I assume I keep you alive until you do. You have no idea how much trouble you throw yourself into, do you, sire?” Arthur reached back and chucked a pillow halfheartedly at Merlin. “Sorry! I mean. Blaise told me I was,” he coughed and muttered.
“Speak up, Merlin!”
“I was the most powerful wizard ever to have lived? Well, warlock, really. Actually, I don’t know the difference between wizard and warlock. Could be synonymous!”
“You’re babbling.” Arthur smirked. Merlin gave him a rather put upon look. “I really think I have come to terms with your… magicness. You are alright.” Merlin broke contact and looked down at the table. He sighed.
“Thank you, of course, my lord.” Arthur frowned. “Anyway, I can’t get us out yet, and I think I will be able to, eventually.”
“…Good enough for now.” Arthur said. “What about this place? You’ve seen a lot of it, right?”
“Actually, not really. It’s a whole castle, and I’m only going to a few rooms. Hermione was talking about a book about the castle. I can bring it to you, if you want?”
“Yes, do that. What do you know?”
“It’s about a thousand years old. It’s always been for magic. Actually, I think it’s always been a school, too. It’s supposed to be the safest place in Britain right now. That’s what this land is called—”
“I know, Merlin.”
Merlin covered a noise with his hand. “Right, of course, sire. Um, there are seven years of schooling here, from eleven to seventeen, then you are deemed and adult and go out into the world.” He stared at the table hard, thinking. “One of the Professors is making a power play. I think it’s against our host. She is creating rules, and slowly oppressing the school.”
“Why does it matter? They are only students; why doesn’t she concentrate her efforts on the government?” Merlin shrugged.
“…Sorry.” Arthur sighed. He would look into that.
“Keep an eye on here. Those sorts of moves are a concern, no matter who she sees fit to use them against.” Merlin nodded quickly. “If you find what she’s after, tell me.” Another nod. “Anyone else you find yourself worried about?” Arthur kept his voice light and unconcerned.
“Nope. Not really. Well, sort of. One of the Professors is a sort of ghost? But I think he’s harmless. He’s sort of like Sir Geoffrey, but see-through.” Merlin waved a hand between them, like the ghost was actually there to demonstrate his non-corporeality. “Very boring for the undead, actually.”
“I’d prefer they all were.” Arthur said. Merlin snorted. “No others? Really?”
“One has a vendetta against a student. Potter, actually. But otherwise, he was just a rather stern Professor. He reminds me of a great big bat.” He flapped his hands.
“What of the other students?” Arthur picked at his nails with his dagger. Merlin thought it was a rather terrifying habit, and would rather dirty nails. He glanced at Arthur’s not quite relaxed shoulders and the table, under which he heard Arthur’s one foot on the floor tapping softly. Merlin smiled softly at him and, after a moment, Arthur gave him a tired smile back.
“People, sire. They are all just people.”
Monday came sluggishly through the curtains with the rising sun. Merlin sighed and pulled the pillow over his face and tried to go back to sleep. Nothing came though, and he slowly stood.
Arthur was asleep, sprawled in his blankets, with one leg sticking out. Merlin crept around for a moment, to his clothes and thinking about cleaning. (Arthur would want it clean; Merlin didn’t care as long as he knew where everything was.) Then it hit him that he could use magic to clean.
Oh, that was a nice thought. It was a thought he thought he might even be able to act on when Arthur was awake. Though he was asleep now and therefore didn’t care a whit.
Merlin grinned and his eyes glowed a warm gold in the soft dawn light. He lifted a hand to the tiny pile of Arthur’s discarded clothes and jerked his wrist. (“Oh, that reminds me,” Arthur said last night as they were getting ready for bed. “I really do require more clothing than this. You have several things.”) They shot into the air and separated. A whispered spell and they were fresh as though they were just washed. (Scentless though: no smell of soap or water or Arthur.) He flicked his fingers and they folded themselves at the foot of Arthur’s bed.
The rest of the room gave way as easily, the floor suddenly swept, then washed. The bed (Merlin’s) made itself. Arthur’s blanket tucked itself around him, though Merlin hadn’t meant to do that. The curtains readjusted themselves and the fire place started a little smolder. It didn’t need to; Merlin accidentally warmed the room up, too.
The sun was higher, streaming over the tops of the dark forest at the edge of the castle grounds and into the room. It was spotless, except for all of Merlin’s school things, which had piled themselves helpfully on his bed. He smiled at them. He sat down and put the ones he needed for the day aside and waited for it to be a little closer to breakfast.
Merlin walked briskly to the dungeons. He started out later than usual, but the seats didn’t change last class, and he didn’t think they would now. He hoped not.
“No, I really think he is,” Merlin froze at the whispered voice just around the corner from him. Without thinking about it, he took a step back and pressed himself against the wall to listen.
“I don’t know. It’s too much of a coincidence.” It was Potter talking, he realize, to Hermione.
“It does seem a little farfetched. I mean, he’s… well, him.” Ron whispered back to them. Hermione made a noise and Merlin could hear her walking. He made to back up again but it sounded like she was pacing.
“You have to look at things, Ron! Everything about him proves my theory.” Hermione said. Someone hummed and Merlin decided it must be Harry when he quietly agreed that there were certain things about ‘him’ that would normally make him feel the same.
“But it’s strange. And Voldemort just came back. Doesn’t the timing seem funny to you?” he said.
“…That actually makes sense, Harry, even if I’m not sure it’s true.”
“Hey!” Ron snorted. Merlin heard footsteps again. They were walking away down into the dungeons. Their whispers didn’t carry like their footsteps in the corridor.
“But either way, I think we should bring him,” Merlin leaned forwards.
“…Alright.”
“I can… that.” All he heard was muttering between the echoes of heels on stone.
He saw them on the Gryffindor side of the class room when he walked in. Hermione smiled at him and suddenly glanced around.
“May I talk to you after class, Merlin?” she whispered. He smiled at her.
“Of course. Good luck with class.”
“Thank you, you too.” She gave him a little pat on the arm and turn back to her desk. Merlin settled down next to Blaise, who smiled crookedly at him.
“Hello, Merlin. It occurs to me that you’re an inside man of sorts.”
“Inside what?”
“Like a spy.” Blaise waved his hand. “So the Weasleys, you know that one right? Do you know his brothers? Fred and George.”
“Ron? Yeah, um. I don’t know them.” Blaise let out a put upon sigh. Merlin gave him a sideways grin. “Should I be worried?”
“Not yet. I don’t suppose you would…?” Merlin snickered, very quietly. Professor Snape stood up from his desk in the front of the room and waved his wand.
“Sorry, my friend.” Merlin whispered as the glowing words of the ingredients and procedures appeared on the board.
“I thought that might be your answer.” He gave Merlin a quick smile and nudged the cauldron. “Your turn,”
“Alright,” He pulled it over and Blaise moved carefully around him to put the twenty something different plants in front on him. Snape started his lecture on the potion, a draught to ‘instill confusion into even the strongest mind’. “Why?”
“I was bored of stirring.” Blaise said. He arranged the dried sprigs by type and carefully picked out the numbers they needed for the potion and set them in a new pile.
“No, I mean, why do you want me to spy?”
“Not spy. Just divulge certain information.”
“That’s spying.”
“Spying is a harsh word. No one wants to spy. People are much more willing to just repeat a little thing or two they heard.”
“Can you just tell me why?” Merlin said. He muffled a snicker as the professor walked slowly passed their table. “Or are you just going to debate words meanings all day.”
“I think I will, thank you.” Merlin covered his mouth and turned his laugh into a cough. “You’ll see, though, Merlin.”
Merlin decided that Gaius had the hardest job in the world during that class. He messed up a total of three times before their potion gave up and deflated into something they were pretty sure was tar. (“Clockwise, Merlin!” Blaise hissed, grabbing for the spoon.
“ What’s a bloody clock !”)
“We should not even hand it in.” Blaise said. He looked at deflated as their potion. Merlin sighed and waved his stick over the cauldron. The sludge vanished and it sparkled. The groups around them were, mostly, steaming happily.
“Should we try again?”
Hermione caught him as he was leaving. “Oh, I’m sorry, I completely forgot.”
“It’s alright. You had a busy class it looks like.” She smiled sweetly at him and he blushed. (Her potion looked perfect when he passed to put away his ingredients, Merlin remembered.) “I just wanted to ask if I can visit you later?”
“Visit me?” She nodded. “Would you like to come to my room?”
“If it wouldn’t be a bother.”
“No! Not at all.”
“I just wanted to ask you something.” Merlin tilted his head and smiled openly. “But I can’t here.”
“You may come over then. Do you know where? It’s on the fourth floor, across from a painting of a little girl in a green gown.”
Hermione smiled at him. “Oh, thank you! I’ll walk with you to Transfiguration.”
Merlin’s days at Hogwarts were becoming habit. The charm of it hadn’t worn off, but they seemed to go quicker, and he had settled in. He was a normal fixture in school now.
Arthur had dined in the kitchens with him for lunch and dinner. Merlin happily regaled him with the spells he learned, the lost potion from class, the idea of clocks and what a match was.
“We should get a clock. I think I need one.”
“We do not need magical artifacts.” Arthur said.
“Even time telling ones?”
He forgot completely about meeting Hermione until he ran into her on the second floor on the way up. “Oh! Hello, Merlin. Arthur.”
Arthur nodded slowly to her. Merlin grinned. “We’re just on our way up. Would you, uh, like to walk with us?”
“Walk with us where ?” Arthur said. Merlin blinked at him.
“To our room, of course, sire.”
“Really. Why?”
“To talk.” Hermione said quickly. Arthur raised an eyebrow and turned to Merlin.
“If you are thinking of doing inappropriate things in there—”
“ No !” Merlin and Hermione both said. Hermione’s face lit up and she looked about to hex Arthur. Merlin was blushing to his wide ears. Arthur cocked his head and raised an eyebrow.
“Well, good.”
“Git.” Hermione told him.
“Excuse me?” But Hermione let out an affronted huff and refused to talk to him for the rest of the evening.
Arthur skulked around behind him, keeping a good distance away. Every time he came to close, Hermione gave him a very obvious, very dirty look. Merlin bit him lip.
“What is this?”
“The DA is a sort of extra study session.” Hermione said. “It’s for Defense against the Dark Arts.”
“Oh. Well, that class is very interesting and everything, but…”
“Ooh, I mean, it’s sort of a secret real Defense against the Dark Arts. We’d really be learning something, not reading that awful drivel.”
“Oh! That sounds good.” Hermione smiled and pulled her satchel onto her lap. She pulled out a long piece of paper that Merlin thought might be from the first night she saw him.
“I have to ask you to put your name on here. It’s an agreement to secrecy.”
“I won’t tell anyone.”
“You’ve got to sign anyway,” Hermione said. She pushed it over, with a jar of ink and a quill.
“I’d rather not…” Merlin said. In his experience, that was a pact. Those, with magic, tended very badly. Hermione looked about to say something, but nodded.
“Alright.” She pulled the paper back. “But I can’t bring you without this. I’m sorry.”
“I won’t tell!” Merlin said.
“I would be unfair to everyone who did sign.” Merlin sighed. He twisted in his seat.
“Alright!” She pushed the paper back immediately. Merlin pursed his lips at her. “I am going to regret signing this.” He said, and carefully wrote out his name under the other couple dozen.
“You really don’t have a last name?” Merlin glanced up and shook his head. Arthur scoffed. Hermione glared at him. “That’s alright,” she said.
“I know.” Merlin smiled at her and pushed the paper back. He felt no strangeness come over him, and sighed.
“The meeting is tomorrow evening. Go to the seventh floor and across from a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy—he’s the wizard with Trolls in,” she coughed and smiled. “Tutus.” Trolls and a mad wizard; got it . Merlin thought. He beamed at Hermione.
“I look forward to it!” She smiled back and stood up from the little table.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, Merlin. Good night.”
“I will go with you.” Arthur said the next evening. Merlin raised an eyebrow as he set down the plates and sat down across from him.
“…oh?” Arthur nodded and speared a steamed carrot.
“I will. To expand my knowledge of magic. And this growing tension the sorcerers have among themselves.”
“Right. You know I had to sign a thing and everything right? You can’t just go.”
“I can and will.”
“No you can’t! I had to sign a thing.”
“Watch me, Merlin.”
“She said it wasn’t fair to everyone who did sign to not sign!”
“I won’t be doing anything. I’m just watching.” Arthur said. Merlin sawed at his roast and chewed petulantly. “The fruit and vegetables here are much brighter than home.” Merlin stabbed a tiny tomato. “Don’t be so sour.”
“You’re going to get me in trouble.”
“I will not.”
“You have no authority here!”
“I ought to, but you want to keep quiet.” Merlin threw his arms up and accidentally tossed his fork aside. It stopped a foot above the ground, across the room, and shot back onto Merlin’s plate. Arthur quirked an eyebrow. Merlin did not under any circumstances blush.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Merlin said, his voice low. Arthur cocked his head. “I heard them talking, Hermione and her friends. They’re worried I was sent by the evil wizard they’re fighting— Arthur it’s not funny!” Arthur waved his hand frantically and choked down his food between loud laughter.
“You—I didn’t even think you were bad when you told me to my face you are a sorcerer!”
“Warlock!” Arthur started laughing harder. “I heard them, though! Our appearance was suspiciously well timed, apparently.”
“By God, Merlin, you are really too much.” Merlin sighed and smiled crookedly.
“I live to serve, sire.” Arthur shook his head.
“If you think it will go better I will sign their agreement too. I will be going, however.” Finally, Merlin nodded. “Right then. Finish your meal before I finish it for you.” Arthur laughed in mild horror as Merlin wolfed down his food.
Merlin glanced again at Arthur as they readied themselves to leave. Arthur remained distasteful at his lack of clothing. “Let me try something of yours, Merlin.”
“You’re too big.”
“Your clothes are unfitted. Give it to me.” Merlin made a face but tossed one of the spare black school robes to Arthur. Actually, if it fit, he would go much more unnoticed. Merlin smiled.
“I might be able to do something if it doesn’t,” he wiggled his fingers at Arthur. Arthur frowned instantly, but smoothed it out and quirked a brow. He carefully pulled the robe around his shoulders, on top of a simple undershirt.
“Is it really a good idea to just… do that all the time?”
“I don’t see why not,” Merlin said and shrugged. “Uh, I’m just going to say again, for no reason, magic doesn’t corrupt any more or less than anything else.”
“Just makes you lazy, I take it?” Merlin laughed and coughed. Arthur smirked. “That explains many things.” Then he looked towards the door, adjusting the robe. It was a tight fit on him. He glanced at Merlin who was doing something with his boot.
“My Lord? You’re staring. It’s unnerving.”
“I need this wider.” Arthur said. Merlin blinked owlishly at him.
“Wider.”
“About the shoulders.” He coughed. “You really are a pole , Merlin, how do you even function?” Merlin blinked again and slowly raised a hand. Arthur watched his eye burn gold and fire and he whispered something in a low voice. Arthur swallowed and stayed very still.
The robe loosened its death grip on his shoulders and he breathed out. Merlin glanced sideways at him and went back to curling over his boot, though there was nothing left to do.
“Thank you, Merlin.” Arthur said. He buttoned the robe and pulled his own boots on. “…I’ll get used to it. Get off the floor.”
They reached the seventh floor without trouble. Arthur stared at every flight of stairs as they passed, but it seemed they were either comfortable or tired this time. He scowled.
“Sire, your face,”
“What?”
“Your, uh, face.” Merlin snickered and Arthur scowled at him instead.
“Where is it, then? We’ve gone up this far.” Merlin ignored him and looked around for a tapestry. Arthur put a heavy hand on his head and turned him to look in a different directing.
Moving threads depicted a short, bony man in a wizard’s robe. He was waving his hands at grey lumpy monstrous creatures which were dressed in pink and stomping. “That, yes?”
“Yes.” He pulled away from Arthur and looked across the hall. A door stood ajar.
The room was crowded when they slipped it. Merlin recognized them from their first night in Hogsmeade, but he didn’t think Arthur did. Harry Potter was at the front of the group, standing and talking awkwardly.
“He faced their mad wizard?” Arthur whispered. They settled in the back, Arthur leaning against the wall, and Merlin fidgeting. Harry glanced at them briefly and concluded his speech.
“Oh, I guess so.”
“He needs practice orating.”
“We’ll begin with the disarming charm,” Harry called over the whispers that had started. There was a scoff from the crowd. Arthur quirked an eyebrow and muttered about the level of respect in this place.
The students paired up with one another until Merlin, Harry, and another boy were the only ones left. Harry gestured for the other (Neville… Longbottom, Merlin thought) to go to Merlin. Arthur put a hand on his shoulder.
“He’ll be with me.” He said. Merlin frowned over at him. Harry nodded slowly and Neville took a step back.
“Fine. Neville, you’ll be with me.”
“Oh.”
“ Arthur .” Merlin hissed. Arthur raised both eyebrows and pulled him to a free corner of the room. There was enough space for all the little groups to practice, which was odd because Merlin didn’t think the room was that big when they first came in. Arthur didn’t flinch at all the spells going by, but Merlin was pretty sure that was because he’d gone into some sort of battle mode.
“Show me the spell he’s having you do.”
“You don’t actually want to practice with me, I mean—”
“No, you’re a terrible practice partner, Merlin.” He flapped his hand at Merlin. “Show me.”
“I’ve never done it before.” Arthur made a very interesting noise and Merlin ignored him in favor of watching the other students. “This whole thing was made because we weren’t being taught the spells.”
“Well isn’t that just clever.” Merlin hummed. Arthur sat against the wall straight backed and semi-crouched. Merlin leaned on the spot next to him and focused on the group closest. He thought they might be Ron’s brothers. They were doing a variety of spells, laughing, and dancing out of each other’s way. Hermione scolded them when their spells kept hitting other groups.
“Sorry, Hermione!”
“Our gravest apologies, Hermione!” She ignored them and they went back to hexing each other.
“Most of them are saying the same thing. Expelliarmus.” Arthur said.
“I’d noticed.”
“Do you just need the name of the spell?”
“Not always. There’s certain intent behind it, too.”
“You won’t get any better without practice.” Merlin hummed. “Are you scared of practicing with me? Well, I would defeat you easily.” Merlin shrugged and Arthur gave him a stony look.
“I thought I might just watch, this time. Isn’t that a nice thing? Watching?”
“It’s boring.”
“You’d rather have me casting magic at you?”
“Yes! God, this whole place is very dull for being the one thing I’ve been raised fearing.” Arthur said in a low voice. Merlin snorted.
“Are you joking?” Arthur looked up at him. “Right. Well, that’s a good thing, isn’t it? I mean, it makes it rather clear that magic isn’t scary.”
“Shut up and practice with me.”
“You’re unarmed.” Arthur let his head thump back against the wall. “Let’s just watch this time.”
“I didn’t take you to be so lily livered.” Merlin frowned down at him. Arthur shrugged a shoulder.
Harry came over to them a while later. “Is anything the matter?” He asked. Merlin shook his head and smiled as Arthur groaned from the floor.
“Nothing the matter. I haven’t done this spell before so I decided to watch.”
“I’ll teach you,” Harry said. Merlin glanced at Arthur. He nodded slowly and walked with Harry. Arthur didn’t stop them, but he watched with sharp eyes. “Here, the wand movement goes like this,” He demonstrated. “And the incantation is expelliarmus .”
“Expelliarmus,” Merlin repeated. He waved his stick separately and did not cast. Harry nodded and stepped back.
“Right, cast it on me.” Merlin waved and incanted and sent out the spell. Harry did nothing and it hit him square in the chest. He stumbled slightly and the wand in his hand went shooting out towards Merlin. “Excellent! See, that isn’t so hard.”
Merlin fumbled with the wand and ran in back to Harry. “No, it’s simple. How do you stop it?”
“Shield charms, a stronger disarming spell, I think there are a few others.”
“How about not just standing there,” Arthur said.
“Actual duels are much more active and harder to hit your opponent.” Arthur nodded.
“How do normal people defend themselves?”
“Oh, there are, um, laws against using magic on Muggles.” Arthur raised an eyebrow. Harry coughed. “They run, I think.” Merlin winced but Arthur did nothing but nod.
Merlin assured Harry that he was alright with no partner. “I’ll practice the movement. Go back to Neville.” Harry finally nodded and left.
“I’ve decided.” Arthur said. Merlin sank down next to him. “Magic is boring.”
“How was that boring? I knocked his wand right out of him hand!”
“He didn’t even move, Mer lin. If he had, I’m sure that would have gone differently. Perhaps even amusingly.” Merlin pouted at him.
“Git.”
“What is that word?” Merlin shrugged and grinned.
“Dunno. Hermione called you it, and it sounded good.”
“Merlin,” Merlin looked over in wide eyed innocence. Arthur cuffed him. “Shut up.”