Ancient Help (A Harry Potter and Merlin Crossover)

Chapter Three: A Day in Camelot

Merlin was so sure now; Hermione of Hogwarts was a one, strange girl.

A while ago, Merlin had met Guinevere on her way to the castle. The said maidservant was now in the kitchens, preparing for Lady Morgana's breakfast. Hermione was nowhere to be found, according to Gwen, who then said that when she woke up, the brunette had already left her house.

"She had been silent the whole night," Gwen said when she woke up Hermione for their dinner. "She had not said a single thing and I thought she was lost in her own little world."

The young warlock knew she was still adjusting to this new Kingdom. He then wondered what Hogwarts looked like, with her awfully feeling distressed when she had to run away from her and save herself from the wrath of Lord Voldemort.

Gwen had also told him about her other strange habits. Hermione had strangely called a "privy" a "loo" or something akin to that. And when she told the strange girl where it was located, she grew pale and decided against going to it.

"I could sense she was horrified," Gwen said, a look of confusing crossing her face as she retold the story. "I don't even know why."

There was also this strange incident when the maidservant lent Hermione her nightclothes. Gwen had gone for a while, just to barter some of the rice with fur with Urien, their neighbour. And then, when she came back, she was surprised to see that Hermione was gone. Upon frantic worrying, the brunette soon came back. Gwen was horrified to discover that she had gone out merely wearing her nightclothes without a cloak on.

"And she was thoroughly surprised when she discovered she had to," Gwen said, her eyes widening in disbelief as her story progressed.

Guinevere also claimed of the strange way Hermione sometimes looked at her when she thought she was not looking. There was always this deep contemplation, drawing her eyebrows together and pulling a frown on her face. There was wonder, of sudden disbelief, as if Hermione knew something they did not. Her eyes would also constantly fill with something akin to fear and panic and when Gwen always inquired, the brunette would just brush her off.

Despite all of these eccentricities, the maidservant still believed she was a kind girl. Hermione had been offering her services and had been trying her very best not to be a bother to Gwen. By this time, a smile was already gracing Gwen's features, before taking off to the kitchens and leaving Merlin lost in his thought.

What struck Merlin among all of the things that Gwen recounted was with the fact of how Hermione looked at Guinevere. The strange brunette also looked at him oddly, as if hiding something she did not wish to reveal.

Merlin remembered the first time she had heard his name, of how her eyes widened and her face paled. She was deeply in shock, that much he knew, but of what? Why?

Questions ran wildly in his head, deeply lost in thought, that he bumped against a pillar. The potion that Gaius had asked him to give to Morgana slipped off his hands and fell onto the ground. "Ampelle oþstille [1]," he muttered. Immediately, the flask stopped mid-air. Looking around, he was relieved to see that no one was around.

Grinning, his fingers encircled around the potion again. He straightened up and continued walking. Using magic for convenience had always been his guilty pleasure. He knew Gaius would reprimand him for using his magic, outside his bedroom no less, but what could he do? It was extremely handy for him and readily available.

Merlin then inspected the flask, checking to see if there were any damages, but breathed a sigh of relief when he spotted none. It was a Calming Potion for Lady Morgana, who wished to take some due to her frequent nightmares. Gaius had been brewing her this potion for quite a while now, even before Merlin arrived in Camelot. But lately, Morgana had been rejecting these potions, politely telling Merlin that her nightmares had stopped. Gaius had claimed one time that the nightmares she had been dreaming about were probable prophecies. Merlin had been a witness as to how some of her dreams gradually came true, with most of them concerning Arthur.