The Legacy of Salazar

The Circle of Oak

Though Merlin had begun the tale, Salazar finished it and they all remained in contemplative silence for several moments afterwards. Merlin did not know all of the details of his life after Hogwarts; those memories were still dark to him in the wake of the curse but they had begun to filter back like shells swept ashore after a storm. He added what he could, details and conversations that drifted out of his subconscious as Salazar told the story of them.

As far as earth-shattering revelations went, they seemed to be handling it well. Of course, Fred and George had already known his identity. They had hung onto every word, and after the silence began to drag, Fred gave a long low whistle.

"Blimey, I knew you were this great Warlock and all that but I had no idea."

Draco rose to his feet so abruptly that he startled Hermione. He took a deep shaking breath, took one step forward and dropped to one knee. "I—" he began but Merlin started to laugh and he trailed off.

"You don't need to swear fealty to me," he said, and he extended his hand to Draco. "I am your friend."

"You're Merlin," Draco said hoarsely. "You're probably the most famous wizard who's ever lived," but he still accepted the hand to pull him to his feet.

Merlin rolled his eyes, a tease in his voice. "Really? I had no idea."

"I'm serious! All this time," he shook his head. Then he paused. "My father doesn't know, right?"

"Oh no," Merlin said shaking his head. "And don't tell him either. I reserve the sole authority to pass on this secret," he said meeting everyone's eyes.

"You should probably enchant us then," Ginny said after a moment. When everyone looked at her she shrugged. "You know, in case one of us gets questioned or something. I know I don't want to be the person that spills the beans."

Merlin smiled. "I was just getting to that. I enchanted a rune on the back of the final door into the chamber, and on your chairs," he explained. "It activated the moment you all took a seat at the table. Any new information you learn here cannot be discussed with anyone other than present members—if you attempt, you will find your mind blank."

"Oh." Hermione frowned. "I would've liked to know that earlier."

Merlin gave her a look. "I could hardly tell you before you sat down. I did say this would be dangerous, that we were forming our group to fight against the Dark Lord." He paused, and added, "I had every intention of informing you before we concluded this meeting."

"That means we're the only ones who know then, doesn't it?" Ginny continued, her eyes widening.

"Your foster brother is going to have a field day when he finds out," George said with a snort of laughter.

"We'll see. I plan on bringing him into the fold next year when he comes to Hogwarts."

"Is that... wise?" Hermione said. "No disrespect," she added quickly. "I know you care about him and everything, but this is a lot and—"

"I trust him," Merlin interrupted gently. "He was the first person who discovered I had magic here, and he's held onto many secrets—without any kind of enchantment."

"Does that mean we can like... submit a person we think should be allowed to join?" Ginny asked.

Merlin turned to her. "Yes. Though I may have a few tests for them."

"Makes sense."

"So—" Hermione asked, getting to her feet with a stretch. "Are you going to go back? After you've stopped He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"