Ancient Help (A Harry Potter and Merlin Crossover)

Chapter Thirty-One: Divided Loyalty

Hermione was positively sure Merlin had crossed the line from being curiously weird to insanely suspicious. The moment he brought what appeared to be a startlingly sharp knife into his room, complete with an off-setting smile that was not him at all, she was starting to grow worried of him already.

"Something's wrong with him, Gaius," she said, worrying her bottom lip. "I can feel it."

Before Gaius could retort something back, Merlin had once again emerged out from his bedroom. Feeling their eyes on him, the young warlock turned to them and brightly grinned. "Does anyone of you own a sharp-ended quill? Funny how mine strangely disappeared," he said, looking from Hermione then to Gaius.

"Sorry, love," Hermione slowly started, curiously looking at him. "Mine is in Guinevere's house."

Merlin shrugged. "Doesn't matter," he said. "But do know I am grateful, anyway." He then turned around and walked inside his bedroom once again.

"Why does he need all of these things?" Gaius asked, frowning at the closed door.

Hermione had inquired the manservant one time and had received the most astonishing answer from him. "I will use them to plot the death of King Arthur Pendragon," he had answered, complete with a twisted smile on his face. "He says he will kill Arthur," she murmured in reply, not surprised with the horror on Gaius' face.

Merlin's door opened once again and out came his head. "Gaius?" the young sorcerer asked. The Court Physician gave his full attention to his strange mentee. "Can I have your spare stack of aconite?"

Gaius blinked, surprised Merlin was asking for a deadly poison. "And what, pray tell, do you plan to do with aconite?" he asked.

The manservant nonchalantly shrugged his shoulder. "You never know when you must kill a king," he readily replied back. Gaius stared at him, dumbfounded, and Merlin took that as a 'yes' to his previous question. Quite happy another stack to his growing pile of what Hermione perceived as deadly weapons, Merlin retreated back to his room and had stayed there for a little longer now.

"Kill a king?" the Court Physician repeated, looking at Hermione with wide eyes. "What in God's name...?"

Hermione determinedly stood up from her seat and looked at Merlin's close door. "I'll talk to him," she offered.

"Good luck," Gaius claimed. "And Hermione, my dear, you must be careful. After all, you are walking into a roomful of deadly weapons."

The brunette nodded before purposefully strolling towards his door. She quietly knocked to announce her arrival before opening the door and walking inside. She almost backpedalled at the curious sight inside his room – Merlin was sprawled on top of his bed, different dangerous knickknacks scattered all over it. He seemed to be building a peculiar device, but Hermione was quite sure of one thing – it was positively dangerous.

"Are you feeling all right, Merlin?" she softly asked, now growing more and more worried of him. "Ever since you were found in the Darkling Woods, you had not been acting like your normal self."

"Hermione," he said, turning around to look at her in amusement. "I feel perfectly fine. In fact, I am inexplicably dandy." He looked back at the device he was building and widely grinned. "I anticipate using this device; will this kill Arthur today? I have this strong feeling I will succeed, so you need not worry."

She blanched at his statement. "I need not worry?" she softly asked, her voice already high-pitched with panic. "You just confessed your plan of kill the king, Merlin. King Arthur!"

The strange manservant turned to her, a small frown on his face. "Yes, I did," he answered back. "Is something the matter?"

"Is something the - ?" Hermione paused and closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths to calm her frazzled nerves. When she opened her eyes, she determinedly meandered through the mess in his bedchamber and grabbed his neckerchief. Hermione bent down and gave him a sound kiss on his lips.