Magical Journey (Merlin | Harry Potter Crossover)

Chapter VII - Back to Camelot

Later that evening, Merlin took Arthur to the dormitory they shared with young wizards. He put him to bed and sat down beside him looking at his face. Soon, Ron, Harry and Hermione joined them.

"I am so sorry for him," Merlin gave the trio an apologetic look. "I've no idea what came over him."

"It's fine. It's Fred and George's fault. They got him drunk," said Ron.

"But he was a total idiot to drink that much. Obviously it was alcohol."

"Normally it's hard to get drunk with Butterbeer. As I said, they had to pour the whole barrel into him," Hermione stated.

"I don't know if we can perform the ritual tomorrow. I wish I had taken a potion that relieves hangover symptoms," Merlin sighed.

"But we have such a potion," Hermione smiled. "Just give me some time and I'll fetch it. But, oh, Harry, I need to borrow the invisibility cloak from you."

The next day they woke Arthur in the early morning. The king was not happy with this turn of events, and in addition, the light streaming through the windows dazzled him horribly. Disregarding his complaints, they were going to give him an Antidote to Butterbeer that Hermione had stolen from Professor Snape's pantry. And they had to get it early enough for it to work until the evening.

"Drink, you'll feel better," said Merlin.

"What is it?" Arthur winced at the strange smell of the potion.

"Believe me, it could be worse. Just pinch your nose and bottoms up."

The king winced once more but agreed and drank the potion which turned out not to be that bad in taste. Minute by minute, hour by hour, the dizziness stopped, Arthur felt well, and his spectacular drunkenness remained only on the Gryffindors' lips, who were still commenting lively on the previous day's events.

The king's well-being made Harry, Ron, Hermione and Merlin start the preparations for the ritual. They all had to memorise incantation, even Arthur who, despite his non magic skills, would be able to strengthen the spell. In the evening they gathered in a clearing in the Forbidden Forest, where Arthur and Merlin ended up when they came from Camelot.

"All right, do you remember everything? Every word, every syllable?" Hermione asked, glancing at them.

"What if someone mispronounces words?"

"The ritual won't work, Arthur," Hermione replied and added when she saw an uncertain look on the king's face. "It's not a spell, nothing more will happen."

"So Arthur and I will stand in this circle, right here," said Merlin, drawing a line on the dry soil with a stick. "You will surround us and hold your hands. It's gonna be a bit tight, but we can do it."

Harry, Ron and Hermione nodded and stood around the circle the warlock had drawn.

"Importantly, we all have to think about the same, our thoughts must be positive, nothing can distract them. We want Merlin and Arthur to return to their time, to Camelot," Hermione explained.

"Same as us, Arthur," Merlin turned to his friend. "We must desire the same, our thoughts must match."

"And what is it exactly that we have to think about?"

"About the time we want to move to, the place that will be the Darkling Woods… Anything else, Hermione?"

"I think that's it."

"Good, we can start," said Merlin and the three young wizards held hands.

"So, we'll never see each other again?" Ron asked.

"It appears not, but… everything might happen, right?" Merlin smiled slightly.

"You can always mix things up again and come visit us," said Harry. Merlin and Arthur chuckled.

"We will miss you," said Hermione.

"We will miss you too, goodbye."

"Goodbye, friends," Harry, Ron and Hermione replied.

They began to recite a spell in the language of the Old Religion at the same time, slowly and clearly so as not to confuse a word. Merlin only whispered to Arthur to grab his hand and after a while they, too, began incantation. Everyone closed their eyes focusing only on one thought. A few seconds passed as the spell took effect. Some strange energy developed around them, and a portal began to appear beneath Merlin and Arthur's feet in place of the drawn circle, similar to the one that had brought them to Hogwarts. They heard Ron's muffled scream as if he was afraid he would fall into the dark portal, and then suddenly Merlin felt something pulling him down. Arthur felt the same and on his face it was evident that a slight panic had seized him, but his friend squeezed his hand giving him a sign that everything was fine.

There was an unpleasant feeling in the stomach again, and then Merlin opened his eyes. For a moment he saw grass, and after a while he and Arthur fell hard on the ground. The king groaned in pain grabbing his arm.

"Why didn't you use some spell to slow us down?" Arthur complained.

"If I knew any, I would."

"What?" The king frowned, massaging his arm. "You're the greatest sorcerer that ever walked the earth and you're telling me that you don't know such spells?"

Merlin shrugged. "Well, even if I am a great sorcerer, I can't know everything, can I? Besides, in that dark, empty whirl it's difficult to think about anything."

"Now every part of my body aches…," Arthur got up slowly, his face twisted in pain.

"Now, now, Artie, don't be such a girl," Merlin laughed. "You're a knight after all."

"Call me Artie again, and I'll…,"

"What?" Merlin cut him off, still laughing. "You didn't protest when Fred spoke to you like that."

"Don't even remind me," Arthur glared at him. "I hardly remember any of it myself and I prefer it to stay that way."

"All right, all right…," Merlin chuckled.

"Better tell me if it worked."

"We'll see."

They walked a few minutes, but they already knew they were home. They came to the edge of the forest and saw the beautiful castle of Camelot they missed so much.

"So," Merlin started with a smile. "Finally home."

"Yeah," Arthur sighed looking at the castle with relief.

"Everything will be different now," the warlock glanced at his friend.

"What do you mean?"

"You have a sorcerer in your court."

"Ah, I know," Arthur looked at him. "But apart from us and Gaius, nobody knows."

"So?" Merlin frowned.

"So… we can tell everyone and give you a higher position, you know, help from someone who knows magic would be… helpful, or…," he hesitated; "we can still keep it a secret and use it to play pranks for a while," he smiled.

Merlin chuckled. "I think you spent too much time with Weasley twins."

"Oh, come on, Merlin," Arthur punched him on the back. "It'll be fun."

"I don't doubt that."

"So? You're in?" the king made a begging look.

"All right, okay," Merlin agreed after a moment. "How could I refuse you, Arthur?"

"You cannot. If you refused, I'd say it's an order."

"Yeah, that's clever," the warlock chuckled and then he and Arthur headed towards the castle.

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Author's note
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So this is the end. Thank you all for being here, reading and commenting, it means a lot to me! Leave a star if you enjoyed this fanfiction 😊 Thanks!