Descendent of the Falcon

Chapter 1

Returning to the Long Lost Home

The owl arrived at Salem the evening of Sept 20th 1997. It had come from Britain by way of the north British islands, Greenland, Iceland, Canada, Maine, then Boston and here. A truly epic journey for any bird and it had taken by the date on the letter over two weeks to reach me.

I was at first confused as to why it hadn't been sent by Floo mail, and on why she was using a personal touch key to encrypt the letter, till I read it.

My Dearest Cassian

If you are reading this it means that the ministry has fallen to He that shall not be named and Harry Potter is missing. I know that what I am asking of you is tantamount to asking you to commit suicide, but without your help Magical Britain is all but lost. Please you are the last Heir, it is time that House Emrys once again take its place at the head of the Wizengamot.

You're Friend Amelia

I responded within a week. What Amy was asking was what I knew would soon be asked and I had been workings since my father's death to find a way of hiding my arrival in Britain but had not yet gotten it to work so my response read:

Dear Amelia

I understand the direness of the situation and I am willing to come, but as you stated yourself to come at this point would most likely mean my death and what good am I to you or Britain dead? So I ask you to give me some time to try and find a way to cloak my arrival before I undertake the journey.

The second letter arrived again being carried by the same poor bird, if there had been such a thing as frequent flier miles for owl this little guy would be traveling first class on the return flight. It was now Samhain and fall was turning cold.

Dear Cassian

Things are dangerous here and we still have no real word on Harry, though it appears he and his friends and traveling companions pulled of a raid on the ministry last week and took possession of a locket from undersecretary Umbridge. Please tell me you have found what it was you were looking for and are ready to come.

Again I responded within a week, but this time I had good news and my letter contained the hope Amelia was looking for. I told her that I had indeed found what I had been searching for and was tweaking it as I wrote so that I knew it would be ready for use very shortly. That I was in the process of making arrangements for my trip and needed her to make arrangements for the last leg of the trip from Dublin to London and to make them for the night of Dec 22nd morning of the 23rd that if I had all my calculations right I would be arriving sometime between two and five in the morning, and that I would await her confirmation letter.

Nineteen years earlier I had arrived in London, against my father's wishes, after all I was a Daughter of the house of Emrys one of the last remaining children of the line of Merlin, and outside of two short trips with my Mother when I was a young child no member of our house had lived in Britain since the late fourteenth century. My choosing to move from Salem to London was in my father's mind an abandonment of the family, they though did not need me; at least they hadn't needed me then.

After all I was the third child in the family, a family who normally only had two children per generation. A son to take the title of Merlin when the patriarch chose to pass it on and a second child to become headMaster or Mistress of the Salem Academy. So when I was born my Mother, who had come from England, had claimed me as hers and had taught me that I could do whatever I wished with my life, and what I wished was to live in London and become a great Healer.

So at seventeen I had packed up my things and moved to London with a head full of dreams and a letter to the head Healer at St. Mungo's from my mother asking him to allow me to learn the craft under their skilled Healers. Before I could do that though I met Amelia Bones, young pretty and having just finished her seventh year at Hogwarts School of wizardry and witchcraft. We became like sisters that very first day and have remained close even after I had to return to Salem, with her visiting me in Salem for the first ten years and then letters and chats by Mirror.

It had been nearly 10 years since I had last seen Amelia outside of her mirror calls and such when the call for aid came, leaving the rest of the wizarding world to believe she had died when Voldemort's Death Eaters had attacked her home, I though know better. I had emergency pulled her out when the attack reached a no win point. The House was on fire and she had already made sure Susan had escaped when she opened the Floo line. Burned and bleeding she called to me and I responded by reaching through the Floo and pulling her to me, a feat that others thought could not be done, but I had no choice I had already lost too many people I loved and was not going to lose another.

It would take six months of healing and therapy to get Amelia back to normal so she could return to London to help the resistance in fighting Tommy Boy and working to protect Mundane Britain from the danger heading its way. During that time she had told me of how Sirius Black had died, something she had mentioned in a letter that she had sent a few months earlier, and about the prophecy that claimed that a child born the end of July 1980 would be the one to defeat Tommy Boy. This had lead Dumbledore to believe that it was either Harry, James and Lily Potter's boy or Neville, Alice and Frank Longbottom's son, who was to be the prophesied champion. Both couples had also been my friends while I had lived in London, as had Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius who was a bit more than a friend. So with Sirius's recent death I just couldn't lose Amelia. James and Lily had died while in hiding leaving Harry behind to be raised by her sister, Frank and Alice had been tortured into insanity leaving Neville to be raised by his Grandmother. Then there was Peter who was in hiding having turned traitor, resulting in James and Lily's deaths and Sirius's imprisonment for twelve years, and Remus who had stopped talking to me for many years after Peter's betrayal since he had been of the belief that the betrayal had been at Sirius's hand. This had caused a rift between he and I until Sirius's escape and the proof of Peter's guilt had come to light. Since then we had exchanged a few letters and were slowly rebuilding our friendship.

After Amelia was healed she left to take over as head of the Queen's Royal wizard protector squad, letters had arrived via Floo on a fairly regular basis for over a year, keeping me abreast of how the fight was going. That was till the letter in September. That letter explained what had happened. Things had gone as my father had believed they would and now I had to do what I had been dreading but know I must for months. I had originally planned on coming soon, but on my terms not like this. I had things I needed to do, that I had wanted to do before taking up the title and badge of office, but now it looked as though those plans would be put on a back burner till time and circumstances permitted.

The final confirmation letter arrived the morning of Dec 20th with the instructions to meet her at a small pub in the west of Dublin at or around 5am. I really didn't want to do this, at least not like this. My family had left Britain over 500 years ago when a split in the two sides of the family line became irreconcilable. Since then the branch of the family that had remained in Britain had died out, and the Branch I was descended from had started and continued to run the Salem Academy.

I had been the odd man out being the unheard of third child so the responsibility of the academy or of heir, had not fallen to me and I was very happy I hadn't been the one to be slated for either. My Aunt Viviana my father's younger sister had gladly taken on the mantle of HM when My Great Aunt had died. And my father had inherited the mantle of Head of the Family and the title of Merlin after my Grandfather's death, which marked my oldest brother heir apparent and my second brother designate for the Headmaster spot after Viv.

That changed when I received the letter that told me I had to move back home. There had been an accident and my second brother was dead. My Mother was dying and wished to see me before she did. Without even getting a chance to say my goodbyes I left, still hoping I would get a chance once the grieving was less and I had a chance to come to terms with the loss to return to the life I had to leave.

That though was not to be. My Father made it clear that I had obligations to the family that outweighed my own desires and wants. So I put away the dream that I would have a normal life and swallowed the grieve over losing my Mother and Brother and chose to instead put my energies into my studies, getting and MD in Mundane median as well as my degrees as a healer in the magical world. After all it would be decades till Viv would retire and I needed to prove myself to be more than just a place–sitter, as my father put it.

My Father had made it very clear not long after my return home that he would return to Britain to fight as head of house adding the strength of the Merlin to the battle against Voldemort when word came that Tommy Boy had been destroyed by Baby Harry. His feeling on that matter was that this was only a temporary gap in the Blood purist's battle to take over Magic Britain, but until he really had to reveal his existence he would stay here in the States.

Over ten years would pass before we started to hear rumors that Tommy Boy had returned. Then the attack on Amelia happened and Father felt he could stay out of the Battle no longer. He chose to fly out of Kennedy Airport to Paris and our estates there, and then he and my oldest Brother would use the Floo from the estate to enter directly into the chamber of the Wizengamot. This would let all know that House Emrys still existed and that Magical Britain would not fall while a Merlin lived.

The flight was to leave on July 17th 1996 at 8:45. And arrive early on the morning of the 18 in Paris. News Repost said that witnesses had seen an explosion just after the flight past over Long Island, 212 passenger and 18 crew died that day as the plane came apart over the Atlantic. Speculation was that a missile had hit the plane, but by the reading my Aunt and the Aurors from the US ministry had gotten it had been a magical attack that had taken out the plane. We buried my father and brother in the family plot, and my heart ached, but I had no time for grieving all the family matters that were now before me needed to be dealt with, along with several projects I was working on.

I was now alone with only my Aunt Viv and my distant cousin Gaylord the last of my family. I found myself seeking answers from a source that the rest of my family had long forgotten about. In the family library back behind long forgotten tomes was a portrait of the original Merlin. I remembered talking to him when I was a child finding his company more enjoyable than that of my father and Brothers. He had been my best teacher and had helped me to see hope in what I thought was a hopeless situation.

It had been nearly two decades since I had sought his counsel, but I needed it now and before I headed off to London to answer the call for help I found myself heading to the library. There was something about the portrait I had not seen before or maybe it was that since I had not known Sirius before it was something that would not had been noticed. His eyes were the same silver as Sirius and had that same twinkle or maybe it was just that I wanted it to be there. I asked him to forgive my not visiting with him for so very long. He smiled and told me he understood why I had not been around and he was willing to help me that he knew why I was there and would give me what answers he could.

When I left the library I had new hope and the information that I had prayed he would confirm for me. So I was now ready to head to London and the life I thought was lost was not gone just had to be incorporated in the live that faith had now handed me.

Clearly Tommy Boy had spies here in the States and was aware of our family, even if the rest of Magical Britain wasn't. And just as clearly I was going to have to find a way to get to Britain that would not be able to be discovered by Tommy Boy and his agents. My father's agents had found a good dozen spies and where sure they had them all, I on the other hand wasn't as sure and wasn't going to trust my life on their beliefs. So it was time to visit my cousin Gaylord in Canada.

The Matane Wildlife Preserve was about a day's drive from Salem. All the Mundanes thought it was a preserve for Moose, Elk and other common creatures, what they didn't know was that it also housed Dragons and Firebirds and other Magical creature. Gaylord was the gamekeeper who oversaw the care of the magical creatures and made sure that only those with magic know of them. I had prearranged with him to use a Great Northern Dragon to get me as far as Greenland. From there I had arranged to have a Long boat to take me to Ireland. Where a small but secure force was to meet me and spirit me into London. I had managed to create a cloaking rune that would keep my arrival hidden till I was ready to reveal myself. It was a charm that would work only for me since it was keyed to my magical signature alone. I had started working on it the day after my father's death, and had managed to perfect it about 3 months ago. Now it was being put to the truest of tests, and I prayed to my Great Grandsire that it didn't fail.

The long drive gave me time to think back and remember the last time I was in London and the life I had left behind. It was the summer of 78 when I moved into the row house in London. It was one of the many properties that were family owned and Father was willing to let me have it to use since he felt he could keep an eye on me better if I were in a family house. Not long after I started working at St. Mungo's Amelia moved in with me. She was starting Auror training and the row house was a great central location. Amelia was dating Remus and he was the one who then introduced me to James and Lily. James then introduced me to Peter and Sirius, along with Frank and Alice. Within a month Lily and Alice had also moved into the row house and we all became the best of friends.

That summer was one of the happiest of my life. Our days filled with work and our nights spent mainly at the row house talking and eating and enjoying our freedom away from school starting our lives as adults. The group was made up of couples, some more in love than others, but couples none the less, James and Lily, Frank and Alice, Peter and Katy, Amelia and Remus, and then there was Sirius and I. We had originally started dating because our mutual friends felt we made a good couple, but by the time summer faded into fall there was more there than either he or I was willing to admit to.

Then things got bad it was just after mid-summer, Voldemort and his followers choose late that summer to really start ramping up their campaign of blood purity. Attacks that had been infrequent became commonplace, and young wizards barely out of school began joining the Auror training program. Amelia, James, Sirius, and Frank all joined the Aurors while Lily, Alice and I went to work at St. Mungo's. Remus and Peter had gotten jobs as warders out of one of the small shops in Diagon Alley. Which was where Peter had met Katy a young rather plain girls who seemed to really care about him.

I managed to arrive at the preserve before midday and quickly thanked Gaylord for his help and got on my way to Greenland. The Dragon flight had been a few hours and I was happy I had a yeti fur and Dragonhide long cloak to wrap tightly around me. And that I was in an enclosed rider's cage, which allowed my mind to drift back to the memories of my youth and get a short nap prior to landing in Greenland.

Memories of so many days learning the art of healing and discovering who I was or at least who I thought I was. That young girl with the silver eyes and long black hair, Lily and James had teased Sirius and I about how similar we were in looks and in attitude, and how we had fallen so easily into finishing each other's sentences or just without thinking would take food off each other's plates. With all that though we never did consummate our relationship, choosing to wait till the time felt right, it was almost as if we both knew that this few months was all we would have.

I woke as the Dragon landed and found that I had been crying in my sleep. I had nor grieved over Sirius having told myself that it was fated not to be so why shed a tear. Now though after talking with the portrait there was a spark of hope and the tears I had refused to cry were falling now.

The long boat to take me across to Ireland was already waiting it was early morning on Dec 22ct. The captain saw me to a small cabin where there was food waiting for me. This leg of the trip would take a good day and would have tested my constitution if I hadn't brought with me a bottle of sea sickness draft, which allowed me to sleep most of the trip away.

It was late October when the letter from my father arrived telling me that my brother was dead and my Mother was gravely ill and ordering me to return home. I was crushed but knew that I had no choose, so with a heavy heart I left London and my friends behind, swearing Amelia to silent over the information about my family. I did manage to stay in contact with everyone for about two years. Then Lily and James went into hiding and the letters from Sirius became less and less till they stopped completely. That was when I received the letter from Amelia telling me of Lily and James's deaths and Sirius's imprisonment. I knew in my heart that he was not the one who had betrayed Lily and James, but unless I could get back to Britain I had no way of proving it.

It was about two years later that, that Amelia and her niece Susan came for their first visit. And for three years we spent our summers together, Amy and Susan joining me at the cottage by the bay. She and Remus had broken things off the year after I have returned to Salem, she never did tell me why and when I asked she would just shake her head and say that things were complicated. Then in 85 Amelie was promoted to Deputy Auror and no longer had the luxury of taking the summers off, Her last visit in 90 had been the shortest ever only staying a day. Letters kept me up to date on everything including her promotion to Department head after Bertie's death. Then came the call for help, and now here I was heading to Britain and praying all would goes as planned.

I had finished off the bottle of the draft about 3 hours out of Ireland very early in the morning on the 23rd. and was angry with myself that I hadn't brought more. Then I found out that the shop in Dublin where I was hoping to buy some at was out as well and that I was running tight on time and would not be able to brew more before leaving for London. The schedule Amelia had sent to me said she would meet me by 5am at a specific pub in the west of Dublin.

Amelia along with two Aurors and two MI4 agents meet me the small pub in the west of Dublin. I nodded to her as she sat down across the table from me; the other four all took up strategic positions around the room leaving no entrance unwatched.

"Well Cass it's good to see you made it without settle off any alarms. "

I smiled, "As if, really Amy you forget who you're talking to. My family has managed to keep hidden from the eyes of magical Britain for over five hundred years."

"True but it's not magical Britain that I'm worried about, it's You-Know-Who. And before you tell me that not saying his name only adds to his power I would remind you that we have found that he has somehow found a way of tracking every time his name is said."

"It's not a somehow it's a very old runic ritual that my Grandsire created that links your name to a source of power. That is why I can't enter Britain without this." I opened my shirt to show her the rune that would keep my magical presence from being detected. "Only I can dispel it and it is keyed to me alone, though now that I have figured out how to create it I can create one for anyone once I have read their magical signature."

"Well then we will put faith in your skill then and get underway."

She handed me a new passport and we headed to the harbor to meet a boat that would take us to the heart of London. It wasn't until we were well underway that Amelia dropped the bombshell on me.

"You do understand that there is a price to pay for taking back up the Merlin's seat in the Wizengamot". I gave her a sidelong glare. "You see to take the seat and the title means to take back up ALL the duties that have gone along with it. One of those duties that no wizard has held since your ancestors died out is that of Royal Magi, and the Queen has ordered me to make it very clear that your return to Britain is at her behest and that she expects you to take back up the mantle of Royal Magi. You work for Her as liaison between the mundane world and the magical. It will no longer be a communication between the ministers. All communications will be sent to her through you, and from her through you to the ministry and counsel. She knows that this part of your role will not go into effect till you are ready to reveal yourself to the Wizengamot, but as soon as you do it will go into effect. Till then your main duties to her will be protecting the royal family."

I took a deep breath. "So be it, but I will need to have time to myself if I am to save Britain from Tommy Boy and his followers. Yes, I understand that the prophecy said that only Harry will be able to kill him. By the way I would still like to know someday the whole story of how you found that one out, not just that little bit about there being a fight in the ministry and Harry was involved and you found out while interviewing him afterwards. The whole story Amy since you said it was part of the reason Sirius was in the Arch chamber in the first place. But yes I know the boy will need help and if I am to keep the Magical world from losing a large portion of its citizenry I need to finish the potions and spell work I have been working on."

The Boat to take us from Dublin to London was a small tug with an extremely small cabin that Amelia and I were to share. I wrapped myself in my cloak and tried to relax. After a few miserable hours on the rough sea we made land at a small dock on the Thames, a dock that had not been visible minutes before. It took me a while to get my land legs back and for my stomach to stop screaming at me. I had prayed that there was still enough of the sea sickness draft in my system to hold me over on the trip from Dublin to London. I was woefully wrong. The family curse of extreme seasickness had gotten me, and all I wanted to do was find a bed and sleep the sickness away for the next day. That though was not to be.

Amelia led the way up a long tunnel and into what looked to be a dungeon area. No one needed to tell me where we were. I could feel the magic and read the memories. We ascended a narrow staircase to the main floor. And there they were, the two young Princes' huddled together in the small chamber under the stairs. They had died there after their uncle had locked them in the tower. This should not have happened and my ancestors were as much responsible for their deaths as was their uncle. After all it was the Merlin's duty to protect the Royal family and keep them safe, even if that meant protecting them from themselves. The weight of the failure of my predecessors was clearly present in this place and the weight of the mantle I now was to take on was just a clear. I bowed to the Princes and asked for their forgiveness for my family's failure. The both smiled at me and nodded.

"I hate to interrupt, but the crown awaits." Amelia's impatience and discomfort was clear on her face.

I turned and followed Amelia and the Guards up a second stairway and down a long and clearly unused corridor. Amelia tapped the large door at the end of the corridor three times with her wand and with a begrudging creek the door swung open. The chamber within was not overly large but had clearly been built to impress. In a throne upon a high dais sat the Queen, to her right stood Prince Philip, to her left Prince William. No sign of Charles which clearly made the statement that he would never hold the throne. I took three long strides past the Guards and Amelia then went down on one knee on the first step of the dais. "Your Majesty." I presented my wand across my upturned palms. "I Cassian Emrys, Dame Merlonius offer to you my wand in service to the throne." I could feel my heartbeat in my throat as the silence seemed to drag on.

"We accept your offer of service as Royal Magi and protector of the Crown and ask that you be our representative and voice in Magical Britain." A hand fell softly upon my shoulder. "Rise my Merlin and accept your charge."

As I began to rise the rune on my chest began to burn and the weight of the Queen's hand on my shoulder felt as if it had increased in weight a hundred fold. My mind quickly grasped what was happening and I knew that I had underestimated the power of the oath. Too late now, I had already offered my wand and my loyalty to the crown. I either stood and let the oath take effect or I fall to both knees and beg for the Crown's forgiveness and withdraw my offer, and pray the Queen doesn't declare me traitor. I reached up and laid my hand over the Queen's.

"As your Magi and protector your Highness I am charged with keeping you safety with that being my

Duty I ask you now to indulge me and please find a place of safety behind me. The rune on my chest that was meant to hide me from those who would keep me from taking my position as your magi is about to break and I have no idea what will happen when it does."

Elisabeth lifted her hand from my shoulder and signaled the two Princes to follow her as she passed out of my sight behind me.

"Amelia when you leave with the Royals place a seal on the door and I will then finish rising." The door behind me closed and I felt the seal set in. With all in place I grabbed my wand firmly and rose to my full height. The rune on my chest pulsed then burst in a wave of power and light blinding me for nearly a minute. When my sight cleared before me on the stairs sat a phoenix. He rose into the air and flow over me raining down tears into my eyes and onto my chest healing the burns before he landed on my shoulder.

"Well now that was a bit unexpected and bloody powerful. "

I wheel around to find Amelia standing by the door, the seal she had put up lay in shards at her feet.

"Damn it Amy, are you okay."

"I'm fine, the seal held long enough to take the brunt of the blast". She walked over to where I stood, "Well hello, Fawkes." She stroked the phoenix upon my shoulder. "When we buried Dumbledore last year Fawkes fly off. He had been Dumbledore's familiar for as long as he had been the head of the Wizengamot."

I reached over and scratched Fawkes neck "So Fawkes, you are the judge of the change and are to now be my familiar." He cawed and leaned his head into mine. "Well I guess there is no hiding the fact that the Merlin has returned to Britain."

The door opened behind Amelia. "We are happy to see that Our Merlin still stands"

I inclined my head not wanting to bow with Fawkes still seated upon my shoulder. "Your Majesty."

"Now if you will join us back at the dais we shall conclude the ceremony."

Everyone moved back to where they had been prior to the near disaster and the Queen picked up the ceremony as if nothing had interrupted it.

"As your Monarch and Queen of all Britain's we name thee Merlin, High Magi and Royal Wizard of All Britain. Let it be known from this day hence that when you speak you speak for the Crown and that your actions shall be to protect and serve Britain and its Royal Family in all things." With that she placed around my neck the seal of my station. A medal I had only seen in portrait in the family library.

I did my best to bow without losing Fawkes and kissed the ring upon the Queen's hand, the symbol of the station.

"Now that, that is complete let us see to the safety of my Kingdom."

"As you wish." I turned to Amelia. "What kind of wards and protections are around the royal residences and what kinds of safety measures have been taken?" Amelia pulled out a long list of all the wards and safeties that had been put into place to keep Voldemort and the Death Eaters at bay. I went over everything and nodded. "It looks good for now, but as soon as I get a chance to go through the family library and see what is there I may make some changes or additions. For now Your Highnesses I leave these able protectors to continue with their jobs and beg your leave to go to my family estates. There is much in the private library that has been lost or forgotten that may add us." I reached into my cloak pocket and pulled out a small bag. Inside it were 2 dozen call stones. "These are to be given one each to every member of the royal family that is in the line of sustention, And to the captains of the guard on duty. If I am needed all anyone has to do is grab the stone and think my name. If I am not needed I will return in one month to make any and all changes." I looked up at Amy, "I put my trust in you to be my eyes and ears and to keep the Royal Family safe till I return." I then looked up at the Queen.

She smiled and nodded. "Go and return quickly."

I nodded in return then turned on my heels and headed out the door, Amy close behind me. Once on the other side of the door I handed her a viewing mirror. "I expect a report every evening and if you need to talk just call. I'd say use the phone but I doubt there is one in the old manor."

She kissed me on the cheek, "Before you apparate out, what are you looking for at the manor."

"Good question, but for safety sake I'm not telling. What I will say is that if I am right I will be able to save many lives and possible bring back one or two."

"A resurrection spell You have to be joking."

"Maybe, maybe not. There are many stories in my family as to what may be found in the library. After all the old man was a frigging genius." With that Fawkes did a half step placing a talon on each shoulder and we were gone.