The Mourning Man

Chapter 3: Finally Free

Fred Weasley woke to the sound of heavy rain battering the windows, and shuffling. He groggily opened his eyes. It was still pitch black outside, and the rain was pouring from the sky. He turned towards the shuffling to see Arthur, his good friend, rushing to put on his shoes and cloak.

"What's going on?" Arthur turned to look at Fred,

"Don't worry about it Fred," Arthur told him, "go back to sleep." Fred, of course, wouldn't leave it alone.

"Mate, seriously." he insisted, "what are you doing?" and Arthur didn't respond, just finished fastening his cloak,

"Arthur." and it was then that their dorm mates began waking.

"Fred, seriously, everything's fine. I just need to do something."

"Do what mate?" George asked, as Arthur began making his way to the door,

"Find and save the man in the woods." and with that Arthur left.

"WHAT?!!!" Fred exclaimed, why on earth would he want to find the thing in the woods? The thing had attacked them.

"We need to stop him." George said, "he's gonna get himself killed." and that was it. Their prefect, Jones, instructed them to inform McGonagall while he went after Arthur, but naturally only Fred went to the teacher.

Banging on her door Fred called for her.

"Professor!" He exclaimed, "Professor! PROFESSOR!!" the door swung open to reveal a very annoyed McGonagall.

"Mr. Weasley! Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Arthur's gone to the Forbidden Forest!" the woman paled, "he's looking for the Mourning Man!" McGonagall took action. She hurried to her floo and sent a message to the rest of the staff.

"Thank you for informing me, Mr. Weasley, we'll find him."

"But you don't know where he is! We can find him. The rest of the dorm is already trying to stop him." Fred explained. There was no further argument. Fred led her through the castle, the rest of the staff was already waiting for them at the entrance to the school.

Fred had noticed Arthur acting strange. He'd noticed how he seemed to suddenly begin to mature, how he'd more frequently get between bullies and act as a sort of knight in shining armor. But he never expected this to happen. He never expected his new hero complex to cause him to want to save the Mourning Man. The rain poured down on them all. Fred could vaguely make out his dorm mates running into the tree line. He and the professors followed.

Arthur was fast. He ran through the woods with ease, and no hesitation. The other students hadn't been told to return to their dorm, everyone frantic to get Arthur to stop. He was going to get himself killed. Finally, everyone soaked from head to toe, they caught up to the 16 year old.

"Mr. Pendragon!" McGonagall exclaimed, "what on earth has gotten into you." Arthur had stopped at the edge of the clearing. And there he was. The Mourning man. Hunched over right at the edge of the shore.

"Arthur." Fred began, "come on, let's go back." but Arthur ignored him.

"Arthur, wait!" but the boy had already taken his first steps towards the man.

"Just trust me! Please." the blond pleaded, Fred looked towards his classmates and professors. The absolute desperation in his voice gave them all pause. Before they knew it he was only two feet from the cloaked figure.

Pain. Cold. Grief. This was all that the man on the beach could feel. He had no conscious thoughts, no words, only feelings. He was aware of his surroundings, always had been. He just never cared. He was aware of the boy approaching him. He had been aware of the boy all that time ago, the last time he's seen him. He had seen the boy and suddenly he ached to hold him. To be held by him. But the boy had run away, and left him. He felt the now young man approach him. He felt the man kneel next to him.

"I don't know if you can hear me," the young man said, though the figure had forgotten what these sounds meant. "I don't even know if you can remember. If you can remember anything from before." he heard the sounds continue. The cloaked figure felt something stir in him.

"But I remember you. I know who you are, I know your name." The figure continued to stare at the lake. He felt the rain that had already soaked him to the bone.

The young man reached out and touched the figure. Turned his face to look at him. The figure found, looking into familiar blue eyes, seeing that blonde hair and those cheekbones, suddenly it was hard to breathe. The young man pulled the figure into himself, and Merlin was given what he had craved the last time he'd seen the man. He felt something within himself go into the blonde that was holding him.

"I remember you Merlin," the blonde whispered into his ear, Merlin, that was his name right? "I remember how the druids called you Emrys." emrys, yes that sounds right. "I remember when we first met, you called me an ass. Even when you knew I was the prince, you still insulted me, challenged me." flashes of images found their way into Merlin's mind. Yes... I think I remember.

Arthur continued to whisper into Merlin's ear, rocking him in his lap. He closed his eyes, and as he recounted his memories, he willed Merlin to come back to him.

Merlin now sort of knew what Arthur was saying. He understood some words, but he wasn't truly listening. He relished the new sensation. Something he hadn't felt in a long time. Peace. He wrapped himself around Arthur, burying his face in the crook of Arthur's neck.

"I love you so much, come back to me." he heard his golden king plead. And for the first time in 500 years:

"Arthur!" Merlin croaked, and Arthur's heart leapt.

"I'm here Merlin." He spoke at normal volume. "I'm right here. You'll never lose me again." he said to the warlock in his arms, tears falling down his own cheeks. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned, and saw a woman standing there. She had dark curls, and dark eyes. She was beautiful.

"Welcome back Arthur Pendragon, Once and Future King of Camelot." she greeted him,

"Thank you." Arthur responded, she knelt down beside the two.

"Your quest is not complete, your majesty. You must restore the peace. The one known as Lord Voldemort has overthrown the balance between life and death. You must both right these wrongs." She instructed him, and she looked at Merlin. "Losing you took a toll on Merlin, one the Goddess had not foreseen. It will be you who must teach him about the world, and it's new magic."

"Alright," the woman smiled, she reached down to the ground next to her.

"You'll need this Great King." It was Arthur's sword. The one Merlin had forged for him. He gladly took it back. It felt good to hold it once more. "And you'll probably want this back as well. It was sitting in what's left of Merlin's cabin, but I figured it'd be easier if I just gave it to you." And she deposited a silk pouch in Arthur's hand. He'd look at it later. The woman gestured towards Merlin, 

"He's already begun to come back to himself. But he'll need food and rest. Look after him." and with that she stood and began walking into the lake. Arthur quickly got himself situated. He attached the sword to his belt and put the pouch in his pocket. He looked back down at Merlin, who it seemed had fallen asleep, arms still wrapped around Arthur's neck. Arthur wrapped one arm under his lover's shoulders and the other in the joint beneath his knee. He picked the sleeping warlock up.

He turned to see the crowd of very confused onlookers.

Sorry this chapter was so short but I really wanted the whole reunion thing to be it's own chapter. Hope you enjoyed! 

As always, please vote and comment; I love hearing from y'all.