Author's Note: The original version of this story has been taken down. This is a rewrite and soon to be completion of my first attempt at this story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor Merlin.

Merlin winced at the sight before him. Times may have changed, yet violence due to magic continued. Even when he was back in Camelot, all those countless centuries ago, there were wars revolving around magic. Back then, it was those without magic against those with. Now, it was between magic users themselves over the crazy idea of blood purity.

It was ludicrous that magic users, who now called themselves witches and wizards, believed in this concept so deeply that they were willing to kill for the pure-blood cause. Whole families were slaughtered. Those followers even had no qualms about murdering children as they currently were attacking Hogwarts and all of its occupants. Spells flew all around him. Incantations were shouted out, and screams of pain and horror followed suit. In essence, chaos littered the area.

The world was different now. Merlin, however, hadn't changed much, not even aging a minute since that fateful moment.

At least I'm not alone, Merlin told himself as he glanced at the man beside him.

After Arthur had been stabbed by Mordred, Merlin took him to the Lake of Avalon, crying out to the Old Religion to save Arthur. Then, Morgana showed up. Merlin slew her with Arthur's sword, and the Old Religion granted him his wish, but there was a cost. Everyone had the think both Arthur and Merlin were dead, and they were forbidden to get involved with the Earth's events. Their time was up for the moment, and it wasn't their place to interfere until the right time presented itself.

Over time, Arthur began to accept Merlin as a warlock, but he absolutely hated not being allowed to help Camelot or Gwen, who now ruled alone. They were both proud of her as she got rid of the anti-magic laws and welcomed all into the Kingdom. Arthur, though unhappy, stayed in the shadows with Merlin.

After Gwen died of old age, and Camelot subsequently fell, Arthur went over the edge, drowning in grief. Blaming Merlin and his magic for everything, he left. For years, Merlin searched for him before deciding to stop and wait for Arthur to come to him when he was ready.

A hundred years passed, and Merlin silently watched as magic changed. With the Old Religion declining, a new form of magic emerged where wizards channeled their magic through a stick that contained a magical core. This new magic was far weaker than that of the Old Religion, but Merlin grew to accept these stick-wielding wizards. The only thing that he didn't like was having to get a wand himself in order to not appear suspicious to others.

He quickly found out that his wand had to be that of the Old Religion like himself. All other wands couldn't cope with his strong magic and simply blew up. In the end, Merlin made his own wand himself. He used wood belonging to one of the trees on the Isle of the Blessed and a dragon scale provided by Kilgharrah as the magical core. He hated using it because it made his magic feel constricted, but it worked and helped him fit in.

It wasn't until Merlin met four friends with a wild ambition that the Old Religion permitted him to act. He befriended and helped the four, Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin, build the first-ever school for magic users, Hogwarts. Merlin became the fifth Founder, the Founder that no one would know about as he made the four to keep him a secret. Merlin wanted no credit for any of the work that he did at Hogwarts. He was just a ghost.

There was still no sign of Arthur until Hogwarts was about to make its grand opening for the first school year. During the years that Arthur was away, he had come to terms with Gwen's death and the fall of Camelot. He also realized that he was wrong in blaming Merlin. He wanted to make it up to his friend and that was when he found out he had magic too. He then spent years teaching himself Old Religion magic with every scrap of information that he could get his hands on in hopes that when he reconciled with Merlin, the man would accept his apology.

Merlin did forgive Arthur, and together they delved into learning about the new magic that was now prevalent. Merlin found that Arthur also could only wield a wand that was of the Old Religion and made Arthur a wand similar to his own.

Five years flew by as Merlin and Arthur taught students at Hogwarts and learned as much as they could about magic from Rowena's massive book collection. But all too soon, they had to leave. The Old Religion forced them to pull back into the shadows. They could only watch again, even as Salazar became at odds with the others and was ordered to leave.

Centuries passed, and all Merlin and Arthur had were each other. They continuously looked for ways to keep themselves from boredom. Together, they attended Hogwarts many times by de-aging themselves and only going back when there were no staff members around that would remember them from before. They also taught at Hogwarts a few times and ran a store in Diagon Alley every now and then.

The two of them sat by and watched as Tom Riddle rose to power only to act one night when he tried to kill Harry Potter. Using the power of Lily Potter's sacrifice, Merlin was able to put a protection charm on Harry which saved the child's life and temporarily stopped the rising Dark Lord. After Voldemort's disappearance, it was back to doing nothing, they tried their best to indirectly help Harry by magically unlocking his cupboard door so that he could sneak to get some food, helping Vernon forget about something magical that Harry had done, and giving Harry a bit of added luck when encountering something dangerous at school — which happened way too often in Merlin's opinion.

Once Riddle gained his body back, things changed. The Old Religion gave them some opportunities to directly help, and they took full advantage of them. Both Merlin and Arthur single-handedly fought off many dementors to prevent them from getting to Harry the following summer, saving him from all but two of them. Arthur convinced a herd of centaurs to save Harry and Hermione from Umbridge. Merlin pulled Sirius out of the Veil in the Ministry of Magic. Also, they fought off many Death Eaters that were attacking innocents. Despite all this, they still wished that they could help more.

Then after all those years bound to inactivity with the occasional room for some direct interference, Merlin knew it was time. He felt it strongly and deep within himself as if the Old Religion had hit him with a shock wave that reverberated through his entire being. Your destiny is now, Emrys and Pendragon. Help Harry Potter. Stop Tom Riddle.

"We will." Merlin's words kicked Arthur into action.

"We need to split up. I'll go find Harry, while you find Voldemort. I know it's Harry's destiny to kill him, but we can at least do something to get him to stop the attack."

"Something is wrong," Merlin said, looking at the battle around them, sensing that something was off.

So far, they both had spent the battle crouching in a hiding place. They could see most of what was going on around them, but they were obscured from everyone else's view. They stayed there shooting off spells at any Death Eater that strayed close enough to them, waiting for this moment when the Old Religion would give them the green light to really participate in the fighting.

During all that time, Merlin was able to get a good feel for the battle. Something about it was bugging him, and he couldn't figure out what it was exactly.

"What do you mean?"

Merlin saw Arthur look around desperately trying to find what it is that he missed. It only took seconds before he, who was trained in battle tactics since birth, caught it. "Not all the Death Eaters are fighting."

Arthur was right. Although most of the Death Eaters were immersed in casting spells at those who decided to defend Hogwarts, a few ran past the fighting with determined looks.

"They're looking for something."

Arthur nodded his head in agreement.

"But what are they looking for?"

Merlin too was at a loss for what it was that they were trying to find.

Arthur turned back to Merlin.

"Alright. New plan. I'll still go and try to find Harry. You go figure out what it is that they are looking for. Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it."

It was Merlin's turn to nod his head in agreement.

"Same here."

Arthur gave Merlin a firm pat on the shoulder as a silent 'good luck' before he was off sprinting through the halls in search of Harry while randomly throwing spells at any Death Eater he passed by.

Merlin took a deep breath. After all these years, the time had finally come. His destiny was upon him.

This time, he decided, I will not fail.

With a look of grim determination on his face, Merlin raced off.

Merlin was out of breath. Even with all the training that Arthur forced him to do, he was still human. Not only was Merlin running in an effort to keep up with the large form of the Death Eater in front of him, he was also firing off multiple spells at the Death Eaters that were attacking students, some of which looked way too young to even be participating in the fighting.

After a while, Merlin seriously began to doubt the person's ability to navigate the castle. He had no clue where the end destination was supposed to be because the path that he was being led through was completely nonsensical. Merlin figured that if Voldemort was going to send his followers on an important mission, he would send someone that was familiar with the terrain or at least give them a map.

Merlin skidded to a halt as he came around a corner and saw Remus Lupin and Sirius Black surrounded by Death Eaters, desperately trying to fight them off. The odds didn't look to be in favor of the former. Merlin really liked both of them. Hell, he brought Sirius back from the other side of the Veil — definitely not an easy task — and often found himself looking after Remus during the full moon — the man reminded Merlin of Freya in that Remus couldn't help the monster that he would sometimes be forced to transform into.

Giving one last look at the fleeing figure he had desperately been following in hopes of finding answers, Merlin set his mind to helping the duo. With lightning-fast speed, Merlin took down three of the Death Eaters, allowing Remus and Sirius to finish off the last two. Once all the attackers were down, the two turned to Merlin, gawking at the sight of him.

Merlin inwardly cursed himself. He shouldn't have displayed so much power and speed. He had been so focused on helping that he forgot something vitally important — maintaining his cover. No average wizard could have done what he just did, much less one who was as young as he appeared.

"How did you manage to take so many of them down that fast?" Sirius asked. One glimpse at Remus' face told Merlin that he too was thinking the same thing.

Shit.

As always, Merlin needed to get better at hiding what he could do. You'd think he'd be a master at it after so many centuries, but sadly, that wasn't the case.

Merlin, still trying to catch his breath from all the running, attempted to downplay what he just did.

"All of them were too busy attacking you two that they didn't notice me. It wasn't really that impressive."

"I'm not so sure about that," Sirius muttered.

"I would love to stay and chat some more, but I'm sure you've noticed that there is a battle going on. I have to run." Merlin didn't want to stick around in case they decided to ask any more questions, besides, he needed to figure out what those Death Eaters were looking for.

Merlin took off in the direction he last saw the Death Eater he had previously been following. He ran down random corridors, hoping that he would have a bit of luck and actually find the person. Luck was not on his side, however. He couldn't find the person anywhere, but he did find two redheads at odds with a group of Death Eaters. Merlin recognized them as two of the Weasleys and the lead Death Eater as the current Minister of Magic.

"Hello, Minister! Did I mention I'm resigning?" The eldest of the two Weasleys was the one who spoke. Merlin was unsure of which one he was. Percy maybe?

His thoughts were cut off as the other Weasley, the one he recognized as one of the twins, spoke.

"You're joking Perce! You are actually joking! I don't think I've heard you joke since you were..."

Merlin saw the attack before the spell was finished being cast. The warlock quickly raised his left hand, his right holding his forgotten wand. "Sclidan!" Merlin's voice was lost in the sound of the explosion, but his spell worked. While the hall around them was severely damaged, the two Weasleys were unharmed. Shocked but unharmed.

Both looked at him in awe before more spells were cast at them, forcing them to counteract. Merlin, now remembering to use his wand, joined in. Minutes later, when all the Death Eaters had been taken care of, the younger of the two turned to him.

"Thank you!"

"It was nothing really." Merlin once again tried to downplay his magical abilities.

Percy disagreed, though. "Nothing really?! You probably just saved mine and Fred's lives! And that shield spell you used, I've seen nothing like it!"

"You were amazing!" Fred practically shouted, looking impressed.

Merlin shrugged, uncomfortable with the praise and attention he was receiving. "I was just trying to help."

"Thanks for that! I'd hate to imagine what would have happened if you weren't here," Percy said with Fred nodding in agreement.

"Well, I'm glad I was here to help. I... There they are!" Relief and excitement rushed into Merlin as he spotted the Death Eater he was looking for. Said person, having just turned into the hall, was quickly making their way in the opposite direction, oblivious to the three of them standing there.

"Sorry! I have to go," Merlin shouted over his shoulder as he ran to catch up to the Death Eater, who now turned into a different hallway. Merlin ran as fast as his body would allow and didn't turn to look back when he heard Fred's diminishing voice saying something about how weird that was.

Merlin was extremely thankful that neither noticed that he didn't use a wand for the shield spell. He also reminded himself that he needed to make sure to always use his wand. He wasn't ready for everyone to know his true identity yet. That could seriously complicate matters, and using wandless magic definitely wouldn't help keep his secret.

It wasn't long until the Death Eater ahead finally reached their destination. Merlin slowed to a stop and watched as the Death Eater joined two others and walked up the stairs towards the headmaster's office.

Arthur ran through the halls of Hogwarts, dodging spells and people alike. He knew he had to find Harry, but he had no idea where to begin looking for him, so he just ran through the castle, searching everywhere. He was running through one hall when he heard a voice that made him have an idea. Arthur did a scan of the area and quickly found the owner of the voice he had heard, Peeves. The poltergeist was having the time of his life — or afterlife — attacking the Death Eaters by dropping what appeared to be Snargaluff pods on them.

"Peeves," Arthurs whispered harshly, trying to get the poltergeist's attention. Peeves rapidly turned around, getting ready to throw at whoever called his name but instantly lowered his arm when he saw that it was Arthur.

"You haven't seen Potter anywhere, have you, Peeves? Harry Potter."

"Peeves has just saw wee Potter. He was with the other two that he does trouble with. They were talking about the Shrieking Shack."

"Ha! Thanks, Peeves! And, uh, keep up the good work here."

Peeves straightened up to give Arthur a soldier's salute before continuing his work on wreaking havoc upon the Death Eaters. Arthur rushed away, thanking the stars for Peeves.

He had known the poltergeist since the opening of Hogwarts. Although they didn't get off on the right foot — Peeves releasing a multitude of bugs in Arthur's sleeping chambers — over time, they grew to have a friendship of sorts. It helped that Peeves respected, and somewhat feared, Merlin with his immense magical power, and knew that Arthur and Merlin were close enough to be brothers which resulted in some of that respect drifting over to Arthur. Both Arthur and Merlin had often participated in a prank or game with Peeves to alleviate boredom during their many attendances at Hogwarts, and Peeves took to helping them sneak around at night every now and then. It had always helped to have Peeves on their side, especially now.

Arthur burst into a room that had a window facing the direction of the Shrieking Shack and looked out, hoping to spot Potter. Sure enough, he saw three figures running to the Whomping Willow and disappear into the secret passageway that Arthur knew would lead them into the old house.

Not wanting to waste time by running all the way to the Shack, Arthur took a deep breath and close his eyes before he said, "Bedyrne ús! Astýre ús þanonweard!"

When Arthur opened his eyes, he smiled to himself. He now stood in a room on the top floor of the Shrieking Shack. Hearing muffled voices below. Arthur silently made his way to the lower floor so that he could make out what was being said. The first words he could coherently hear was Voldemort's order for Nagini to kill.

Thinking the worst, Arthur quickened his pace, halting when he found a door to the room he heard the voices come from. Silently, he cracked open the door, peering in to see Voldemort and his snake leave. Glancing over, he saw the fallen form of Severus Snape slumped against the wall and bleeding profusely. Relief washed over Arthur before he felt a stab of guilt. He was relieved that it was Snape and not Harry that was attacked, but he felt guilty for the relief because he knew that Snape, despite his many flaws, was trying to do the right thing.

Arthur was about to open the door to go help Snape, who was still alive but was beaten to it when Harry emerged from under his invisibility cloak. Arthur remained where he was, watching as Snape told Harry to take the silvery substance pouring out of him. It wasn't until the three teens left after Snape had stilled that Arthur went into the room. Figuring that he could find Harry again but this was his only chance to save the man, Arthur set to work.

Arthur dropped to his knees beside the potions master and felt for a pulse. Snape was unresponsive, but Arthur could swear that he felt a pulse. It was extremely weak, but it was there nevertheless and quickly fading. Placing his hand on Snape's chest, he summoned as much magic as he could. Merlin said that he once did this to Arthur after he was poisoned by a brainwashed Gwen. He hoped that the spell would work on Snape and that he had enough magic to do the spell properly.

Taking a breath, he spoke. "Ic þe þurhhæle þin licsare mid þam sundorcræftas þære ealdaþ æ!"

Arthur collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted. He had never attempted to even try spells nearly as powerful as the one he just did, and it took just about every ounce of energy that he had to do it. On all fours with his head pressed to the ground, Arthur struggled to remain conscious. Despair crept into his heart, though. He hadn't heard any movement from Snape, nothing to show that Arthur had succeeded.

Suddenly, all of this despair vanished from existence when he heard a confused voice.

"Who are you?" it asked.

Snape opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. Why aren't I dead?

His eyes drifted across the battered room and landed on someone beside him. A young man was down on his knees and elbows and looked to be on the verge of passing out with his forehead pressed firmly on the ground. It occurred to Snape that this young man was the reason that he was alive right now, which only served to confuse him even further. Snape had no idea who his young man was. He had thick blond hair, a strongly built body, and looked around twenty. He had probably just finished school a couple of years ago, but Snape didn't recognize him from any of the past years that he taught. He had muggle clothing on, so the possibility of the mystery man being a Death Eater was tossed out the window. But, if he was against Voldemort, then Snape didn't know why the guy would save him. Everyone believed Snape to be on the dark side.

Also, Snape knew that he had to have either been already dead or on the brink of death when this young man intervened, meaning that some seriously powerful magic must have been involved. How this boy accomplished such a feat was beyond the potions master. The more he thought the more questions arose until he finally decided to get some answers.

"Who are you?"

At first, the stranger gave no indication of hearing his question, then Snape could see a smile slowly begin to stretch across his face.

"Actually, I have a question for you," the young man said hoarsely, remaining in his bent down position with his eyes closed. "You're a double agent, spying on an actual Dark Lord, who has a monstrous pet snake and could kill you at any time he wants with no remorse, and you don't think to carry around any anti-venom?"

Snape was stunned silent, his mind reeling from all the stranger had said. Somehow, he knew what Snape was truly doing. He knew which side Snape was actually working for. The only man who should have known that was Dumbledore, but the late headmaster swore that the secret would remain between them.

The young man's eyes remained closed as he slowly sat up. "You're even a potions master!"

Snape, who was still utterly surprised at the knowledge this man had on him, kept his voice steady and face blank. "You seem to know quite a bit about me, and yet, I know nothing of you."

When the young man opened his eyes and turned toward him, Snape was taken aback even further. The young man's eyes contradicted his youthful body. His eyes, though currently filled with undeniable relief and fatigue, looked as if they belong to an old man.

"I'm Alden. I know you don't know me, but I knew Dumbledore."

"If you were so close with Dumbledore, then why did he never mention you?" Snape's suspicion was high. He knew the Dumbledore was a very secretive person and never told Snape everything, but something felt off.

"Look. I know you have a lot of questions and don't have any reason to trust me, but there is a battle going on. The interrogation can wait at the moment. We need to move."

Alden shakily stood up and pulled a brown wand out of his pocket. He then held out his arm for Snape, who also stood, to take hold of. Snape gave a doubtful look at Alden's swaying body.

"Perhaps it would be wisest if I were to be the one to perform the side along apparition. I have no desire to be splinched.

Alden gritted his teeth. "I am perfectly fine. I can apparate."

"Don't be foolish. You can barely stand up."

Alden looked as though he wanted to argue some more, but he painfully swallowed his pride and begrudgingly took Snape's outstretched arm.

"Where to exactly?"

"Your office will probably be best."

Alden fell back to the floor soon after Snape apparated them to the middle of the Headmaster's office. The place was ransacked but appeared empty. Objects and papers littered the floor, but with a flick of Snape's wand, they righted themselves into their proper place.

"Alden?"

Snape whipped his head around to see yet another unknown young man, who he swore wasn't there a moment ago. He was tall and lanky with messy raven black hair and deep blue eyes that were similar to Alden's in the fact that they too appeared old.

Snape looked down at Alden, who was still on the floor. "You know him?"

"Yes, that's my cousin," he answered, giving the other young man an odd look. "What are you doing in here, Michael?"

"I followed some Death Eaters up here."

Snape instantly was on guard with his wand pointed out as he scanned the room for any Death Eaters. If he missed seeing Michael, Snape wondered if he missed anyone else. He had no idea if all of the Death Eaters knew about Voldemort turning on him, but he didn't want to take that chance.

"Don't worry," Michael said. "They aren't here anymore. They, um, just left, and I doubt they'll return."

Snape was given little time to contemplate how suspicious that sounded before Michael spoke again, this time to Alden. "I did find out what they are looking for, though."

Snape's curiosity perked up, and it appeared the same could be said for Alden. Snape wasn't aware the Voldemort sent out some of his followers to search for something. How did these two know?

"What is it?" Alden asked.

"It's a crystal from the Crystal Caves."

"Like the Crystal of Neahtid?" Alden asked.

"Exactly."

Snape thought back. He remembered Voldemort was looking for some crystal a few years back, but he was never told what the crystal did or why he wanted it. He also hadn't heard any news about the search for the crystal recently, so never thought of it. He figured that they couldn't find it and abandoned the search. Voldemort somehow found significant evidence that the crystal was somewhere in Hogwarts, though.

The Crystal of Neahtid sounded familiar, but Snape couldn't recall where he had heard of it before. Since he was never privy to Voldemort's search for the crystal, he must have learned about it from some other place. Although, he reasoned, if Voldemort wants it this badly, it can't be good.

A chime rang out, tearing Snape away from his thoughts. He knew what it meant. "Someone is coming up the stairs."

It didn't take long for Michael to help Alden up, so they could all hide. Snape concealed himself in the shadows along with the two and prepared himself to attack if need be. The door opened slowly, and Snape silently cursed himself for forgetting.

Harry Potter walked in, holding the vial containing Snape's memories.

Merlin stood absolutely still as he watched Harry make is way into the room while he silently congratulated himself for remembering to call Arthur by his fake name when he saw both him and Snape apparate into the room. But, right now, so many questions raced through his head. What is Harry doing in here? Why is Arthur with Snape? What is wrong with Arthur? He can barely stand up. Why is Voldemort after the crystal?

The first of Merlin's questions was answered when Harry walked over to the pensive. The boy came here to look at some memories. But, why?

Merlin looked over at Snape. He knew Snape was very skilled in keeping his emotions and thoughts to himself, a trait that served him well as a double spy. Snape's face rarely displayed anything. But, Merlin, too, was skilled in keeping things hidden. It was a skill he quickly learned when he first went to Camelot, and he honed it down to a fine art over the centuries. So with that, Merlin was able to pick up on the minute details that others would never see. What Merlin saw on Snape's face told him that he knew what Harry was looking at. The most likely explanation then was that it was Snape's memories. That conclusion served to raise more questions, though.

Time passed painfully slow before Harry finally left. Since Voldemort's announcement, Merlin knew Harry well enough to know that he was going to go face Voldemort, but he figured he had enough time to get some answers before he followed.

Merlin walked out of his hiding place and turned around to face Snape. "Why was Harry looking at your memories?"

Snape's eyes widened just a hair, telling Merlin that he was shocked. Snape was probably wondering how Merlin knew.

"Why should I tell you?"

"Fine. Don't. Just answer me this — Harry is going to sacrifice himself to Voldemort, right?"

Snape's face hardened. "That's the way it has to be," he said slowly as if he was still trying to convince himself of that.

Merlin nodded and now focused his attention on Arthur. "What did you do?"

"I'm fine," he said dismissively.

"Sure you are," Merlin said sarcastically. "You're not having trouble staying awake or standing at all."

"Shut up, Michael!"

Snape intervened before Merlin could say the insult that was forming on his lips. It appeared that the spy figured he could use the situation to gain some information for himself. "He saved me. I was attacked by the Dark Lord's snake, and Alden here healed me. What spell did you use again? It must have been something extremely powerful if it depleted your magical core to such an extent."

Merlin turned back to Arthur and raised an eyebrow, not unlike how Gaius frequently did to him back in Camelot. Arthur cringed a little, bringing Merlin some satisfaction.

"Remember way back when Gwen wasn't in her right mind and gave me that goblet?"

Merlin understood exactly what spell Arthur was referring to. That spell was a really powerful one, and for Arthur to complete it, it drained him. No wonder he was having trouble. Since Snape was here, Merlin couldn't rip Arthur a new one for being such an idiot, so he just nodded but not before giving Arthur a look, telling him that they were going to finish discussing it later.

Merlin quickly put on his usual cheery face and clapped his hands together. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to go help stop Voldemort. You two are going to stay here and rest."

Both opened their mouths to argue Merlin's decision, but the warlock quickly raised his hand to silence them. "You," he said pointing to Snape," may have just been magically healed, but you need some rest for you to fully heal."

"And you," Merlin said, pointing to Arthur, "don't even look like you could make it down the stairs let alone take on a Dark Lord. So, you both should go lie down somewhere."

Neither made a move. Merlin made an exasperated noise before lowering his eyes so that Snape couldn't see them flash gold as he whispered, "Swefe nu."

Both Snape and Arthur instantly fell asleep. With another flash of gold, they landed softly on two mats. First, making sure that they were out of view, so that no one could simply walk in and find them, Merlin set off to go find Harry.

He jogged quickly through the castle and out onto the grounds, not slowing when he entered the Forbidden Forest. He knew exactly where Harry was going. He just hoped that he would get there in time to ensure Harry's safety. Merlin quickly made his way to the edge of the clearing and spotted Harry. Keeping out of sight, Merlin watched silently as Voldemort raised his wand and pointed it at Harry.

Merlin did nothing as Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry. He knew all about the Horcrux inside the boy and knew that it had to be destroyed. Merlin also knew that if Voldemort himself were to kill him, that the Horcrux would die, but Harry would survive. So no, Merlin did not come here to stop Voldemort from using the killing curse on Harry. He came to ensure his safety afterward in case Voldemort realized that he didn't actually kill him.

Even still, Merlin flinched as the green light flew out of Voldemort's wand and struck Harry, causing both Harry and Voldemort to collapse to the ground at the same time. Merlin allowed a small smile to stretch across his have. There was now only one Horcrux left. After that one was destroyed, then Voldemort would be mortal once again.

Also, with quick thinking, Merlin did something else. Just like he did the night of Lily Potter's death, he used the power of Harry's sacrifice and used it to protect those fighting to defend Hogwarts. Merlin's eyes flashed gold, and his smile grew bigger. The spell was tricky and would only provide protection in certain situations, but it should be enough to make sure that no one else protecting Hogwarts would die in that battle.

Now, Merlin just had to make sure that Harry remained safe until the opportune time for Harry to complete his destiny and kill Voldemort. He braced himself as Narcissa Malfoy walked over to Harry to check for signs of life. Merlin waited with baited breath as she bent down close to Harry. He was immensely relieved and slightly confused when she confirmed Harry's death. Merlin knew he was alive. He even reached out with his magic just to be sure. So, why did she lie?

For good measure, Voldemort sent out several Cruciatus Curses. Merlin congratulated himself when he saw that they had no effect on Harry. His protection spell worked, even on Harry himself.

Merlin followed, at a good distance to the side, as Hagrid carried Harry back to Hogwarts. He felt sorry for the grief Hagrid felt and wished that he could tell him that Harry wasn't really dead. But, to do that would be to also alert Voldemort and the Death Eaters of the same thing. So, Merlin did nothing but knew that the half-giant would find out soon enough.

Merlin stopped following when the centaurs came into view and Hagrid remarked on their cowardliness. The centaurs may respect him and Arthur, but they despised almost all other humans. Merlin wondered if he could convince them to fight, so he stayed back and approached the centaurs when Voldemort's group disappeared from sight.

Merlin looked up at Bane, who said, "they are humans, yet I feel ashamed, Emrys."

"So, what are you going to do to fix that?" Merlin inquired.

Bane stayed silent, but Ronan spoke up, raising his fist in the air. "We fight! Show them that the centaurs are still mighty!"

Ronan's words were met with agreement and weapons thrust up into the air. "We are not cowards!"

And with that, they raced off towards Hogwarts. Merlin ran too but quickly fell behind for he was not as fast as the four-legged creatures. When he finally arrived at the castle, it was in chaos again. The battle was on and stronger than ever. But, Merlin noticed with a gleam in his eye that the Hogwarts defenders were not being greatly affected by the Death Eater's spells. The protection spell Merlin cast with Harry sacrifice was truly working.

Merlin made his way into the Great Hall, firing off random spells with his wand at many Death Eaters while also looking for Harry. He didn't see the boy anywhere. Did anyone even know that Harry was still alive?

His thoughts were cut off when he heard someone yell, "not my daughter, you bitch!"

Merlin turned to see Molly Weasley duel Bellatrix Lestrange and kill her. The victory was short lived when Voldemort cried out in deep fury and aimed his wand at Molly. Merlin quickly knocked Voldemort back as someone else cast a strong shield charm to protect her. Spinning around, Merlin saw Harry emerge out from under an invisibility cloak. No wonder I couldn't find him anywhere, Merlin thought to himself.

Voldemort looked incredibly shocked at the sight of Harry, but an evil smile began to take form as Voldemort glanced away from Harry, looking at a Death Eater, standing in the entrance way to the Great Hall. The Death Eater held up a large crystal before quickly apparating away. A string of curses slipped out of Merlin's mouth as he turned back to Voldemort, who now looked triumphant.

Voldemort stared at Harry, a cold glint in his eyes. "You may be still alive, Harry Potter, but you haven't won. The future belongs to me now, and I can assure you that you won't be in it much longer."

Before anyone, let alone Merlin, could react, Voldemort, along with the rest of his followers, apparated away at the same time. The entire hall took on a state of shock, except Harry, who screamed out in rage. Merlin understood and felt the same. He too was hoping that it would all be over now. But when is a destiny every easy?

Merlin turned around and headed back to the Headmaster's office, hoping to wake up Arthur, so they could plan their next move.

Thank you for reading the new version of Potter, Emrys, and Pendragon. Please leave a review. Constructive criticism is welcome.

More chapters will come soon.

SuperSherlockedGallifreyan

Scildan - to shield/protect/guard/defend

Bedyrne ús! Astýre ús þanonweard! - teleportation spell

Ic þe þurhhæle þin licsare mid þam sundorcræftas þære ealdaþ æ! - healing spell (combats poison and restarts the heart)

*All Old Religion spells that will be in this fanfic have been used in Merlin.

**The Merlin wikia website is my source for the definition and spelling of all Old Religion spells in this chapter as well as future chapters.