Surprising Incarnations

Nargles and Tim Riddle

A/N: I did not plan to continue this oneshot, and honestly, structure-wise I probably should have left this alone. I like how it ended, and I got done what I set out to do. So how does one build off of that? But then the reviews and favorites kept coming so I kept coming back to this fic. Eventually, slowly, I came up with this. Most of this has actually been sitting on my laptop for months but I just didn't know if I wanted to post it. I finally edited it up some, added a bit more humor, and here you go. I hope that you enjoy!

Getting back to normality was a little hard for the residents of Hogwarts, formerly of Camelot. It was overall decided that the personalities of this time matter more than that of a thousand years ago but it was still a rather complicated mess.

Oh, if you were some random guard or peasant that had never gone through anything interesting then it was easy to level out. Living as a witch or wizard was much more important than getting constantly distracted or drugged while watching the sadly all too escapable dungeons or worrying about food all the time. Sure, owing allegiance to a Weasley was a bit odd, but these people adjusted quickly to the new order of things. Homework was enough to worry about.

Neville was having a particularly rough time. Not only did everyone like to swear by him, Ron especially funnily enough, but he had um… killed a lot of people throughout his tenure of protecting Arthur. Or Merlin had. Neville himself hadn't done much to anyone.

Herbology was very awkward now. Professor Sprout didn't seem to hold any grudges but then the Merlin in Neville would catch a look in the teacher's eye and they'd both shudder. They hadn't ever talked about it; Neville couldn't truthfully say that he was sorry about killing his favorite teacher after all. Merlin stuck by his convictions strongly when it was to protect his prat.

He really hoped that Professor Sprout had remained human. He thought so, but her pixie incarnation of Grunhilda was not exactly the warm motherly Hufflepuff everyone knew.

The first class had been very interesting, not only because everyone was still staring at him. Neville had made it out to the greenhouses, a smile on his face, ready for his favorite subject. His remembrance of being Merlin had come with all sorts of herb-lore that he was happy to learn. He had even started whistling a tune Merlin was fond of when he entered the class.

Sprout had beamed at her favorite student. Then Grunhilda remembered who he was.

Merlin also recognized her and flinched.

Neville still took his normal spot and tried to act normally and Sprout took her normal spot and tried to act normally, but it was a little obvious when Neville didn't answer any questions and when Sprout didn't comment on his superb planting of a dingledali that things weren't going to be normal for a while.

…

Ron was having… complications in his life. He and Arthur, while being the same person, were two very different people. This made things a little weird since in another life Harry had killed him, he had made Hermione his queen, and Neville had been his servant. Heck, not only had Harry killed him, he had killed Harry! Ron had killed the Boy-Who-Lived!

Neither incarnation was very good at handling problems like this. Ron had a habit of avoidance or name-calling while Arthur usually banished the complication if he didn't kill it first. None of these very detailed and well thought-out strategies was going to work in this situation.

It also didn't help that his (possibly) evil sister had started skulking around the castle gathering up her old minions. Ginny hadn't found Morgause, thank Merlin- except not because he was Neville (as well as Merlin)- but she had gotten quite a few followers at her command. She claimed that she was only going to bring down Voldemort but Arthur was used to Morgana. What if Ginny decided that she needed to take over Britain to free magic-users? What if she decided the world was ripe for the taking? What if his little sister became the new Dark Lady of Mass Doom and Evil?!

Ron couldn't even talk it over with Hermione since they'd technically been married and now things were a little awkward. Oh, usually they'd be fine, everyone would try to pretend that nothing had changed, but then one of them would blush. And that blush would make the other blush. And then Harry would grow kind of concerned wondering what memories had exactly been brought to the surface and he'd blush too. Anymore, they weren't so much of the Golden Trio as the Cherry Red Trio.

There was also the fact that almost everyone in the castle had either been his subject or tried to kill him. He didn't always know who was which either.

As a whole, everyone had tried to rebury their past lives. Most people wanted to return to normal after all. However, most the time it just felt like you had two people in one head rather than the current incarnation or some sort of merge individual. Whenever Ron was around Neville then Arthur would start talking with Merlin. Whenever Arthur was in class then he'd grow bored and let Ron suffer through it. Thinking of father was just a strange occurrence that should not happen if it could be avoided.

People would bow to him, declare their undying incarnation-hopping loyalty to him, and joke about him lifting the magic ban now. They always watched him, almost unnervingly. Instead of being Harry Potter's Weasley Friend™ he was now the Once and Future King. A part of him loved the spotlight while a lot of him thought the experience was really surreal.

Weasley is Our King, indeed.

On the other hand he'd made a royal proclamation banning homework so there were some advantages.

…

Morgana laughed as yet another signed up to her cause. It really wasn't hard, not with all but the Death Eaters wanting to get rid of Voldemort. Even Emrys wouldn't oppose her now and she reveled in her command. Tom Riddle was going down.

Ginny was equally gleeful as her past self but reminded Morgana that cackling was not the way to inspire confidence. Her recent popularity was also helping recruitment and for every person who signed up because they liked her rather than previous ties to her former incarnation had really boosted her confidence.

"Uh, Ginny… Are you really handing out minion badges?" Harry's toad green eyes widened as she saw her basket. He was probably reminded of the Triwizard Tournament by the way his eyebrows furled.

"Yeah, you want one?" She smiled, picked one up to show it off, "It can go between three settings, 'Minion', 'Avadaka-bye bye Tim Riddle', and 'Ginny's Army'. I won't even make you sign the membership list."

"…Tim Riddle?" Harry started laughing uncontrollably, "I'm sorry but-" it took him a while to finish, "Do people even know that Voldemort's name is Tom Riddle? Do you explain it or-"

"I just tell them that his name is Tim." Ginny shrugged, "That gets rid of the annoying moniker and mocks him at the same time. Even I, or well Morgana, didn't have people scared to say my name. I take great offense that this silly little man has caused so much fear with such little following. I'm not going to let him get away with that."

"Are you sure that this is the best option? We already have the DA."

"Oh, but Harry, this assures my loyal followers that I'm still wanting to go conquer stuff."

"Well, I guess you can't let all those people down."

"Nope." Ginny smirked, "I can't. That would just be heartless."

"And I'm guessing that it also stops the knights of Camelot from thinking that you're on Voldemort's side." Harry nodded approvingly,

"There is that." Ginny handed him the button, currently set on 'Avadaka-bye bye Tim Riddle', and Harry pinned it on his robe.

"Well, I suppose we're allies once again."

"Just let me see Ron's face when he finds out. I can't wait." Ginny rubbed her hands together evilly, but stopped when she saw Harry's face fall, "Hey, don't worry about it. What our past lives have done… we can't change. I know I can't condone most of what Morgana's done."

Harry sighed, and it may have been Ginny's imagination but his hair seemed to be even more unruly than it was five seconds ago, "Mordred's just different. I just can't get past- he killed his friend! I killed Ron!"

"Morgana did so much worse." Ginny reached up and put a hand on Harry's shoulder, "I can't even say everything she did. I had reasons; twisted, mad reasons. It's hard sorting through my brain because even though I want to condemn her, I can see every mad excuse she had. I am Morgana and yet, at the same time, I won't let myself be just Morgana."

"Mordred usually just thinks," Harry admitted, "He doesn't really want to mess things up for me. I just can't stop feeling so ashamed though, I just hate what he did so much."

Ginny gave him a hug before putting on a smile, "Looks like we'll just have to be decidedly not evil together. We can't change who we've been but we can use who we are."

Harry shrugged but she knew that he'd be thinking it over because he did try to smile back.

"Now can you help me come up with a good uniform? I want something that looks cool, but is practical. Morgana seems to think that floor length red cloaks would solve everything."

"Um."

…

Gwaine had set up an unapproved tavern in an out of the way, unused classroom. He was one of the few previous incarnations that dominated the reincarnation, because really how could Seamus compete? Or rather the more Seamus part really liked Gwaine. He'd even started growing out his hair.

A lot of the students were having the problem of having the consciousness of an adult and having a tavern, or a place to just let loose, was making Gwaine quite a bit of coin. He didn't serve anything stronger than butterbeer but the makeshift tavern still had that carefree aura that was the reason he had liked to visit those establishments.

A few actual tavernkeepers who knew Gwaine had asked if they could help and honestly Gwaine didn't mind if they completely took over. Running the place was a little time consuming and several of the teachers with long memories now watched him much closer than they ever did with Seamus.

With an easy smile and a jaunty wave, Gwaine left the repurposed classroom and took off down the corridor. It wasn't quite curfew yet- even though that was even less enforced now as Filch had turned out to be George and had since been more interested in brass than mischief makers- and Gwaine decided to try to find Merlin. He wasn't quite sure where his old friend would be hiding but he was up for the challenge.

He wasn't out in the greenhouses, or in the common room, but Gwaine eventually located him in the library.

Merlin was a little startled when Gwaine bit into an apple but he grinned when he actually turned around. "Hello, Gwaine."

"Merlin," Gwaine nodded with a smile, "So how come you're holed up in here? Is-" he took a look at the book, "Prophecies and Legends really that important?"

"I'm trying to find out why we came back actually," Merlin turned back a few pages, obviously locating a specific passage, "Everything I've ever heard is like this, that Arthur will return in the time of Albion's greatest need. Nothing says anything about the all of Albion being reincarnated as Britain's sorcerers- er, witches and wizards. No one has any idea why this has happened."

"And you think it's a bad thing." Gwaine could see the tension in his friend's shoulders.

"Not… exactly. It's just when does anything happen just… because?"

"You're just used to everyone trying to kill the princess." Gwaine was more perceptive than most people assumed he was and could easily connect the dots. Merlin's life had been dedicated to protecting Arthur. Everything in Camelot regularly tried to kill Arthur. It wasn't paranoia.

Merlin sighed and turned back to the page he was previously looking at, "I'll admit the thought has crossed my mind that someone could be trying to mess with Arthur's destiny but the power it would take… I think this is his destiny. Albion's greatest need."

"Don't worry so much, if it's just Tim Riddle than there's nothing to hard about it. We even have Morgana on our side now, let alone you can use your magic freely."

Merlin chuckled, "That reminds me, you know how my- or Neville's- magic has always had trouble? Turns out that was my- as in Merlin's- fault."

Gwaine laughed as how Merlin started relating what exactly being the incarnation of magic with that part sealed off had caused poor Neville's magic- not to mention the differences between Old and New magic. Gwaine steered the conversation to light topics and was glad when Merlin stopped looking so stressed.

"I just wonder why we're all magical now," Merlin mused after they had laughed over Uther's predicament. Luckily, Arthur Weasley had mostly suppressed the tyrant but it was still just such a strange thought of Uther waking up as a wizard.

"I have a theory on that," Gwaine said thoughtfully, "It's because in the old days anyone could learn magic. Anyone could become a sorcerer if they learned how to do it. Some people, like you and Morgana, were born with more than most of us so it couldn't not be used, but most had a choice. With this new magic you either have it or you don't. Therefore, I think all us from Camelot were magical and had to be in magical bodies."

Merlin raised his eyebrow in a good imitation of Gaius, "I don't think you're drunk..."

"Ah, come on Merlin. I can make sense every once in a while."

"Hmm…" Merlin frowned in concentration, "I wonder. It was my destiny to keep Arthur alive and bring back magic. Now, instead of being outright banned, we choose to be hidden in the shadows. Does this mean that we will bring back magic to all the muggles out there?"

"I dunno mate, we'll have to wait and see." Then, because Gwaine knew his friend needed to get some sleep tonight he said, "Well, c'mon Neville, let's get back to the common room. Madam Pince is starting to look irritated."

His friend's posture shifted to someone much younger, more carefree and not bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders. Gwaine grinned and let his friend not worry quite so much about destiny for a while as he started talking about their charms class.

…

Luna and Hermione had met several times. They had an odd dynamic but they mostly got along. Luna didn't let Hermione's constant skepticism offend, and Hermione was getting used to the easygoing Ravenclaw's unproven beliefs.

Freya and Guinevere had never met. They hadn't even been aware of each other's existence. Gwen still didn't have the whole story on just why she was so important to her best friend.

"Hello Guinevere," Luna somehow had noticed that she was less of Hermione at the moment, which honestly didn't surprise her. Even at her Hermionest, she knew that Luna was surprisingly observant despite her dreamlike calmness. "Is there something you want to talk about."

"Yes actually," Gwen smiled, "I was just curious about who you used to be."

"Freya, you mean." Luna's face gave away nothing, "The Lady of the Lake."

Hermione's memories gave Gwen a lot of information to work with as to what exactly a Lady of the Lake could be but it didn't make much sense. Her father had made Arthur's sword, and he'd pulled it out of a stone not a lake. She didn't fit in anywhere, and Gwen still didn't know why Merlin was so close to her. She knew from her own place in the strange legends that they were mostly fiction, but she really had no way to classify this girl and that was driving Hermione crazy.

"Did you ever come to Camelot?" Gwen briefly wondered if Freya could have come from Ealdor,

"I died in Camelot," she said, "But while I wasn't being hunted or imprisoned it wasn't bad. Merlin made those last few days special."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you have magic?" This was apparently going to be a really cheery conversation,

She shook her head, "Not really. I was a druid though. I had been cursed to turn into a bastet at night and a bounty hunter caught me to bring to Uther."

The bastet. Gwen was talking to the bastet, the bastet that Arthur had killed and Merlin apparently had something going on with. Well that was just depressing. It was hard to think back that far but Freya couldn't have even known Merlin for very long, but that would explain why he had been upset for a while after that.

Gwen chose to keep the conversation away from depressing things. "I'm happy that you've been spending time with Merlin. He's my best friend and you seem to make him happy."

"I've noticed that you haven't been spending time with Arthur." Gwen couldn't help but blushing, "So perhaps you have time to help me with something?"

"Anything, what do you need?"

"I'm going nargle hunting."

At that moment the Hermione part just snapped into incredulous control, "Nargles?"

"Why yes," Freya or Luna, Hermione couldn't tell, beamed, "Creatures of old magic might help us figure out why we've all been brought back."

Hermione blinked.

…

"You really don't have to bow to me Professor!"

"But you are the great Emrys, the-"

"Yeah, gotta go, bye!"

…

A sorcerer formerly known as Pellinor gritted him teeth as he looked the Dark Lord in the eye. It was disconcerting to meet those red, bloodshot eyes but it was better than letting his vision stray down to the lack of nose.

"I am resigning sir."

"What do you mean resigning Goyle? You cannot resign from the Death Eaters! Do you wish to die?"

Pellinor shivered as he watched his former master. He could do this.

"Well… I pledged my never ending servitude to Alvarr. Neither of you is Alvarr."

"YOU WOULD BETRAY ME?! YOU WOULD-"

"Hey, look it's Emrys!" Pellinor pointed behind the serpentlike man.

"Where?" He turned around and Pellinor made a run for it.

Sigan turned back around, no Emrys in sight, and sighed. Next deserter he needed to crucio first.

Maybe he could hunt down all the traitors and use them to make more horcruxes. After all, it's not like one could be too immortal. Though he would have to be careful, Voldemort had obviously torn his soul to shreds with his hack job and barely counted in their joined megalomania. Although if there had been any more of Voldemort then Sigan probably would have destroyed him himself.

There was just too much ego.

With a flash of his eyes and some ancient words, Sigan summoned a gargoyle to replace the useless traitor. Much more stylish.

…

Even Ginny had to pause in her smirking when Luna and Hermione brought something furry into the Great Hall.

"What is that?" Harry got up to take a closer look. Ron wasn't far behind. Neville stayed where he was.

"It's a nargle." Luna smiled,

"It's something." Hermione clarified.

"Why did you bring it in here?" Ron poked it. The creature looked annoyed.

"It started talking about destiny so-"

Neville's eyes widened and he whispered something unintelligible. Then he full on cackled and wouldn't stop laughing, starting up again whenever the nargle said something.

Ginny was actually rather surprised that it could speak English. She got up to investigate the cute, almost bunny-like creature and got called a witch for her trouble. "You're so adorable!"

"Stop petting me, witch! You are the darkness to-"

"Who's a little cuuuutie?"

"You are the hate to-"

"Can I have it as a pet?" Ginny asked Luna, "I think he'd get along with my pygmy puff."

"YOUNG WARLOCK, HAVE THEM RELEASE ME!"

Neville finally stopped chuckling and took a deep breath. He held a straight face for a full second. Then he just gave up entirely and was back to chortling.

"He does seem to like you," Luna said serenely,

"Ha, ha! And so I have a new minion!" Ginny picked the squirming fuzzball up and held it out like she'd seen with a lion in a muggle movie.

The nargle was not amused.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed that extra stuff! I'm afraid it's not as good at the original oneshot, but hey. Hopefully it got a laugh!

Anyways, I am so happy that it Surprising Incarnations was so well received! It was a lot of fun to write, so I'm glad you guys enjoyed it :D

Thank you everyone who reviewed! All of you people are awesome and this odd continuation wouldn't exist without you!