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Dumbledore stood in the Great Hall, giving the usual speech at the end of the Welcoming Feast. It was Harry’s 6th year, and he wasn’t very excited. Little did he know…that wasn’t about to change. But something ridiculous was going to happen anyway.
“And so, as we enter this new year…” Dumbledore spoke, but something interrupted him.
A large, bright white light was forming in the middle of the Great Hall. Slowly, it lowered to right in between the House tables and the Head table, before glowing even brighter. Soon, everyone had to look away.
Then, Harry felt a pull. “Whoa!” he shouted, feeling himself being dragged away from the table and onto the floor. He stood, but it continued pulling him towards the light. Looking around, he could see the same thing happening to Hermione, Draco, and Susan Bones.
“Help!” Susan called. Some people attempted to grab her, but it was too much.
“Wait till my fathe-” Draco shouted, being cut off as he flew into the light.
The four of them disappeared into the light. It grew brighter one last time, almost as bright as the sun, before imploded with a massive flash.
Everyone shielded their eyes, before looking back at where they had disappeared. All of them were in a heap on the floor.
Draco groaned, before shouting, “Melin!”
Surprisingly, it was Harry that responded. “What?”
“This is all your fault,” Draco held him. Harry scoffed.
“How is this my fault?” Harry asked. Draco sat up stiffly.
“Because it was your spell,” Draco told him.
“Firstly, it was a potion. And you’re the one that screwed it up!”
“You were in a broom cupboard!”
“Because Audrey kicked me out of the kitchens after last time.”
“That’s no excuse to be doing potions in a broom cupboard!”
“The real question is, what were you doing looking in a broom cupboard?”
“Looking for my servant!”
“I am not your servant!”
“Of course you are!”
“Dead people don’t get servants!”
“The point is, it was your spe-potion, so it’s your fault.”
“You’re the one that interrupted me! A grape fell in the cauldron Arthur, a grape! Who knows what happened!”
“Still your fault!”
“And you’re still the one that interrupted me! Ghosts don’t get to open broom cupboards, either!”
Hermione groaned and looked at Susan. “Are they always like this?”
Susan nodded. “I think they’ve actually gotten worse since the last time you saw them.”
Susan got between the two of them. “Boys, boys, settle down. It doesn’t matter who’s fault it was, we still have to figure out what happened.”
“You’re my wife. Aren’t you supposed to take my side?” Draco whined. Susan rolled her eyes.
“Not when you drop a grape in a magic potion,” she told him.
The four of them stood up and looked around. Harry was the first to see all the kids, and he froze. He started elbowing Draco in the side.
“Ow. Ouch! What?” Draco asked, annoyed. Harry gestured to all the kids.
“I don’t think we’re in Camelot anymore,” Harry told him. Draco rolled his eyes.
“Of course we aren’t, Merlin. Why would there be a bunch of robed children in Camelot?” Draco asked. Harry shrugged. Hermione sighed.
“You’re both idiots,” Hermione said. “It’s a miracle you can function properly, let alone cast a spell like this. Speaking of, aren’t I dead?”
Susan looked at her appraisingly. “Right. That’s weird. Merlin said he killed you. Are you still…?”
“Evil?” Hermione finished. Susan winced. “I don’t think so. I mean, Morgause was pretty convincing. But being dead gives a person some time to think, so we’re all good now.”
Susan nodded, and patted Hermione on the shoulder. Harry looked over at Draco.
“Wait, aren’t you dead too?” Harry asked. Draco rolled his eyes.
“No, Merlin. I was a ghost just for fun,” Draco said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “Yes, I’m dead. Or, I was? I’m pretty sure I’m alive now. Understanding magic is your job, not mine.”
“And yet you just had to take the plate of grapes and open the broom cupboard,” Harry muttered. “Wait, how did you do that? You are - were - dead. Dead people can’t open broom cupboards, or hold plates of grapes. Can they?”
“Something to figure out later,” Susan interrupted. “We need to figure out a way back to Camelot. And aren’t the two dead people here ‘upsetting the natural order’ or something like that? Because last I checked, dead people shouldn’t be alive.”
Harry waved his hand. “Something to figure out later. Right now, we need to find a way to brew another potion, preferably one that puts us back where we were.”
Draco groaned. “So I’m going to be dead again? Great. Fantastic. Wonderful. I’m jumping with excitement.”
“Calm down,” Harry told him. “Yes, you’re going to be dead again. But with a little luck, maybe you can be a ghost again?”
“Joy.”
“At least you get to do something while being dead,” Hermione told him. “I’m just…there. It’s so boring. My soul is just stuck in between planes, so I can’t do anything except be present.”
“That sounds terrible,” Susan told her. She sighed. “And I have to go back to running everything. At least I get a break while we figure this out.”
“Um, excuse me?” a first year said. She shrank back a little bit when everyone looked her way. “Who exactly are you, and, uh, why are you in other people’s bodies?”
“We aren’t quite sure yet why we’re here in other peoples bodies,” Susan told her kindly. “As for who we are…”
She slapped Draco in the arm. “Introduce yourself.”
“Alright, alright,” Draco said placatingly. He straightened himself up as regally as possible. “My name is Arthur Pendragon, former King of Camelot.”
“Whoa,” the first year whispered. “That’s so cool.”
Susan smiled warmly. “My name is Queen Guinevere Pendragon, the lady next to me was - is - Lady Morgana Le Fay, and the man behind me is Sir Merlin Wyllt.”
Everyone gaped. The first year, emboldened by her already answered questions, decided to ask what they were all thinking.
“Merlin? As in…THE Merlin?” she asked. Harry just nodded. “Wicked! You’re a legend!”
“I am?” Harry blinked, before straightening up. “I mean, of course I am.”
Draco rolled his eyes. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Why should I take advice from a man with an ego the size of a dragon?” Harry asked.
“Because you’re supposed to respect the dead,” Draco responded. Harry scoffed.
“Well, you’re hardly dead now, are you? And that only applies when the dead don’t talk back.”
“You’re a wizard,” Draco pointed out. “Don’t you talk to the dead all the time?”
Harry scoffed again. “Hardly. The risks always outweigh the rewards. Wouldn’t you know from the amount of times we’ve had to fight things that are undead?”
“Fair point,” Draco conceded. “But my father killed those easily enough.”
“Yeah, cause I asked a dragon to make a sword that was able to kill them,” Harry explained in a ‘Duh’ voice. “Where do you think Excalibur came from?”
Draco blinked. Harry sighed.
“Did you think that the sword was always in the stone?” Harry asked in a disappointed voice. Draco didn’t answer, and Harry turned to Susan.
“It’s a good thing you became queen, because outside of battle, he’s an idiot,” Harry said matter-of-factly.
“Hey!” Draco protested. “I am not!”
“Exactly how long did it take you to figure out that I could do magic?” Harry asked. “Don’t answer that, you never figured it out. I had to explain it to you and demonstrate it, despite the fact that it was blatantly obvious for years.”
“It was not!” Draco protested. He turned to Susan. “It wasn’t, right?”
She didn’t answer, so he turned back to Harry. “It was not blatantly obvious for years!”
“Why would a dragon have come to fight Camelot’s attackers if the only known Dragonlord was dead and was my father?” Harry asked. Draco gaped.
“He was your father?!” Draco exclaimed. Harry frowned.
“I thought I already told you that,” Harry muttered. “It’s of no importance.”
“As enlightening as this is,” Professor McGonagall said. “It would be prudent to find a way to get you out of the bodies of our students.”
“Ah, yes,” Harry said. “Would you happen to have an apothecary with the proper potions ingredients that we could use?”
“You may use my classroom to brew the antidote,” Slughorn offered. “It’s quite well stocked. Is there anything specific you will need?”
“Off the top of my head…kneazle spit, bowtruckle excrement, at least 3 month old talon of a dragon - preferably a particularly fiery breed -, lavender, water from a river running over a ley line, and a single strand of demiguise hair,” Harry recited.
Draco looked at him, shocked. “What were you trying to achieve?”
Harry rolled his eyes. “I was trying to improve the castle’s natural warding against unnatural beings, like the undead.”
“Trying to kick me out, were you Merlin?” Draco asked sarcastically. “And here I thought we were finally getting along.”
Harry gave a cheeky grin. “Well, you’re still a royal prat.”
“And you’re still a-”
“Will you two please just shut up!” Hermione exclaimed.
“Yes, Morgana,” they muttered.
“To clarify, this is both of your faults,” Hermione told them. She held up her hand to stop their denials. “Merlin, you should know better than to brew potions in a broom cupboard where anyone could walk in. Arthur, you should be more careful now that you’re a ghost, this is uncharted territory, and we don’t want something like this happening again.”
Draco and Harry gave Susan a pleading look, but she just crossed her arms.
“I will not help you,” she said. “You dug your grave, and now you have to lie in it. Being chewed out by Morgana is the least you deserve. It is both your faults that we are stuck like this for now.”
Draco and Harry threw their arms in the air. “It was an accident!”
~~~~~
Harry, Draco, Susan, and Hermione stumbled as the four souls left their bodies. Hermione grabbed a table to stop her legs from wobbling, and Susan nearly fell into Harry. Harry put a hand to his forehead.
“Bloody hell, was that trippy!” Harry exclaimed. “I’m probably going to have this migraine for a week!”
“Merlin, that was weird,” Draco said.
“It was rather strange to watch your body be controlled by someone else,” Susan agreed.
Hermione was muttering under her breath, brain moving a thousand kilometers per hour.
“What are you thinking about, Hermione?” Harry asked. Hermione threw her hands in the air.
“How did they do it?” she asked. “I need to do some research, I won’t be able to rest until I figure out how it happened.”
“Haven’t you heard?” Susan laughed. “It was an accident!”