Merlin's Apprentices

Chapter 9

The next morning, Harry showed up an hour late to Merlin’s with a broken arm and quite a few bruises, as well as his new glasses being broken again.

Since Colin was out with Quilo for the day, Merlin called for Morgana to bring him his kit as he sat him down on the couch. “What was it this time?” he asked quietly, pushing down his anger so as to not scare the boy.

Harry winced as Merlin pressed on a sensitive bruise. “I forgot they were having a guest over last night and I was supposed to stay away. Some creature showed up and tried to tell me not to go to school this year. He ruined the cake I had made for Petunia last night and I got blamed. Turned out, he’s been stopping letters from reaching me all summer!

“Anyway, Vernon found out I’m not actually supposed to use magic in front of them and has turned my room into a kind of prison. Luckily, he doesn’t want to have the authorities on him, so he still lets me come here. I’m not so sure about school though.”

Merlin gritted his teeth and focused on not letting his magic lash out. Instead, he muttered a spell to fix Harry’s arm.

Morgana had returned, in human form (which she had decided she would be taking more often in order to mother Harry), with the potions in time to hear Harry’s story. “That’s it,” she growled. “You are staying with us for the rest of the summer.”

“Morgana,” Merlin tried to say, but he stopped as he realized that there was nothing that Albus could really do to take Harry from him now that he was a registered apprentice. He shrugged. “Actually, yeah. Harry, you’ll stay here.”

Harry looked nervous but nodded. He didn’t really want to go back to the Dursleys anytime soon.

After patching Harry up, Merlin declared that he would be better by the next day. Then, he handed Harry an envelope. “Your friend responded.”

Harry grinned and ripped open the envelope. He read through the letter and smiled. “He’s invited me to stay for the summer,” he said.

“If you would like, you may,” Merlin said, though he would rather Harry stay with him. He still had much to teach him. “When and where are we meeting your friends?”

“At the Burrow at noon tomorrow.” Harry glanced up shyly. “Would it be alright if I stayed with you?” he asked. “I’m just starting to get the hang of things, and I would love to learn more.” What Harry didn’t say was that he was starting to think of them as his family. Merlin was like an uncle to him, Morgana like a mother, and Colin like a younger brother.

Merlin and Morgana lit up and nodded happily. “Of course, you may, Harry. Now, why don’t you write out a response and I will take it,” Morgana said.
Harry nodded and wrote out a response.

Ron,

I'll be there! Hedwig is okay, but Vernon won’t let her out. I won’t be staying the summer; I’ll explain why in person. Same with why I haven’t been responding. Actually, I'll just fill you in on everything in person. See you soon!

Harry

Harry knew that the response would leave Ron with even more questions than answers, but he was more concerned about secrecy at the moment. After Merlin read through it, Morgana changed into an owl and took off.

Harry looked back at Merlin. “Today is quiz day, right?” he asked.

Merlin nodded and began to quiz Harry on wizarding culture.

Harry got every single question correct, which made him immensely proud of himself. He had thought the subject would be boring at first, but then he got really into it. He found the differences from muggle culture fascinating. He saw the beauty behind the traditions and regretted his attitude towards the subject at first.