Ancient Help (A Harry Potter and Merlin Crossover)

Chapter Ten: Saving Camelot

Camelot was alit with fire.

Hermione watched in fear outside Morgana's bedroom, the distinctive screams of the village people reaching her ears. She could see some of the knights quickly ushering the civilians inside; some where already injured and burnt by the fire from the Dragon.

As soon as Merlin released the Dragon, it wreaked havoc in Camelot. Everywhere he went, he would breathe flames. Hermione quickly walked inside the castle after seeing Merlin's panic. Thankfully, she was able to hide from him before he could spot her.

From what she had last understood, the Dragon was the last of his kind, kept here underneath the castle. Uther had ordered him to be imprisoned instead of killed, seeing that he was a creature of magic. Ever since the Great Purge, he had been imprisoned in the cave, waiting for the time when he would be free again and apparently, get his revenge.

The people of Camelot were terrified by his wrath, and the leaders of Camelot were helpless. Neither sword nor flaming arrows could injure him. He was too powerful and magical to be defeated by mere swords wielded to destroy human and beasts, not dragons.

The brunette trembled upon hearing a piercing scream outside. She softly gasped, remembering the horrors she had witnessed back in the Wizarding World. The flames brought back memories of the one during the Burrow, where the Death Eaters conjured a ring of fire around the house. No one was hurt, but she could remember Bellatrix' inhumane laugh and the blinding lights flashed to and fro between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix.

She also remembered the dragon that almost scorched her and her best friend in Bellatrix Lestrange's vault. They broke in to get Helga Hufflepuff's cup and she remembered how they almost died inside. She remembered the shrill screams, and terrified shouts of those victims during the surprised and sudden attacks of the Death Eaters. She remembered their maniacal screams, their loud taunting voices.

Lost in her thoughts, she was not able to hear Gwen's arrival. It was only when her friend rushed towards her, a horrified look in her eyes, when she discovered that she had come. Her mouth was opening and closing, but Hermione could not seemingly understand whatever she was saying.

Gwen was shaking her now, a hand placed on her cheek. Through Gwen's eyes, she could see her face, ashen and horrified.

Guinevere seemed to be saying her name. She could only read her lips, but her voice was lost in the sea of screams and shouts of spells inside her memory. Gwen tightly held her hand and she discovered that her tremors had attacked once again.

She was having a nervous breakdown.

The last time she had one was when she discovered from Dumbledore that her parents had died during Voldemort and his Death Eater's attack. They were actually searching for her but it was fortunate (or quite unfortunate), that she was away from home.

She remembered the faces of her parents, the menacing Dark Mark conjured above her house, and how loud, guttural sobs escaped from her lips when she realized she was orphaned just because of her role in the war.

Gwen was pulling her arm now, and she seemed to mindlessly follow. Her vision was starting to get blurry because of the tears that fell down from her face. She could hear terrified gasps and she looked widely around, searching for the source of the voice. Gwen was silent, although worried tears were also running down from her face. And then, that was when Hermione realized it was her who was gasping in fear.

Hermione tightly closed her eyes, willing her memories to go away. This had caused her to trip on the ground and topple over, her cheek painfully connecting with the cold, stone floor.