The Gathering: The New Order of Merlin Book 1

12. Enchanting

   After the feast, the Prefects led the first-years towards the Gryffindor common room. Merlin followed with unease. The whole point of him attending this school was to protect Harry Potter, but Harry was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't on the train. Merlin checked every single compartment. He wasn't at the feast. Merlin scanned every face at the Gryffindor table. Would trouble find Harry before he even made it to school?

He thought to ask Dumbledore if he knew anything about Harry's late arrival but was afraid that he would draw too much attention if he did it in front of everyone, so he stuck to the plan of blending in and pretending to be an eleven-year-old boy.

He looked around at the other first-years, and a white head easily caught his eye. While he had no luck with Harry, he achieved his other goal by finding the magical twins that visited Olivanders' shop.

When he first saw the boy and his sister, he was stunned. He had never met anyone who so obviously looked magical. Not only, their snow-white hair was something unheard of even among wizards, but they radiated magic. He supposed others might try to explain it as a natural charm, but he knew what drew everyone to the twins like nails to a magnet. Their power was innate and instinctive like his own, but they hadn't learned how to conceal it yet, unknowingly affecting everyone around them.

Merlin had thought that he was the last living practitioner of Old Religion, but he would love to be proven wrong. Getting to know the boy should be easy since they were going to share a dorm. In fact, it was going to be easier than keeping an eye on Harry.

They walked through the painting of the Fat Lady, which took them to the cozy Gryffindor common room. Merlin found himself looking forward to spending time by the fireplace, chatting away with friends on the comfy couches.

His train of thought halted abruptly. Where did those thoughts come from? He wasn't here to make friends. Well, maybe with Harry if he could find him. Ugh. Being a child was messing with his mind.

In his dormitory, Merlin's trunk was already waiting in front of his bed. Jack's bed was on his left, and a small mousy-haired boy's was on his right. Before they could even exchange names, the small boy asked a Prefect to take a picture of the three of them. Merlin was pretty sure his eyes were closed.

"I'm Colin Creevey," the boy said and tested the bed by jumping on it to the rhythm of his speech. "Can you believe it? We're actually here—in a magic school and it's a castle. A magic castle! Did you see the ceiling in the Great Hall? It was bewitched to look like the sky! Even the supper was magical and food just appeared by magic. It's like a dream but I couldn't possibly dream up all of this. There's so much amazing magic here and I can't wait to learn it all in magic classes and I didn't even know magic was real until I got that letter that said I'm a wizard. An owl delivered it. Can you believe it? Well, you're here too so you must have gotten your letters. The whole castle is full of wizards and witches, and I saw ghosts today, and the people in the portraits are moving. I saw so much magic today!"

"Oh, you're Muggle-born?" Merlin asked, hoping a change of direction would stop the rambling.

"Yeah, and you?"

"My father was a wizard, my mom was a Muggle," Merlin answered truthfully.

They both looked at Jack, who was in the process of taking off his shoes.

"Uh..." he scratched the back of his neck. "No, no Muggles in my family."

He proceeded to dig inside his trunk, without actually pulling anything out. Pure-blooded wizards were usually proud of their status, so why did he act like he had something to hide?

"Did you visit Diagon Alley?" Jack asked. "It's cool, isn't it?"

Colin went back to jumping on his bed and recounted every single wonder he had discovered during his visit to the hidden magical community. Merlin used the distraction to sneak out to the common room. Groups of students gathered in chat circles, exchanging summer stories and plans for the school year. Merlin travelled between them, listening for any mention of Harry. He didn't have to wait long.

"I'm telling you. It's the truth," said one of the older students. "Harry Potter and Ron Weasley flew in a car instead of taking the Hogwarts Express!"

"I bet they're getting expelled right now," an older girl said.

"Or getting a medal for taking out that mean tree," joked one of the Weasley twins.

"Whomping Willow had it coming," his twin agreed, and the two high-fived each other with identical grins.

The longer the talks went on, the more outrageous the theories about Harry's adventure were becoming. Finally, the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked in and were immediately greeted with applause and congratulations. Merlin wanted to get closer, but it was difficult to fight the crowd. By the time he got through, Harry disappeared to his dorm, the door slamming shut behind him.

Merlin stood in front of the staircase leading up to Harry's dorm, considering if this was the right time for an introduction. The closed door was sending a very clear message though. He groaned and went to bed instead. The timing never seemed to be right, but at least Harry made it safely to school.

The mission was still on.

》《

Ginny ran up to her dorm as soon as she saw Harry enter the common room. She was still all jittery with excitement from arriving at Hogwarts. She didn't want to add Harry to the mix of her nerves. She rummaged in her trunk to get her sleeping gown out, and her eye caught a leather book cover.

She had found the blank journal among the books her mum bought her in Diagon Alley. At first, she was thankful for the surprise gift, but then found a name faintly inscribed on the worn cover, T. M. Riddle. It was one thing to get secondhand robes and textbooks but a diary? That was a new low for her pride. But even though it was used, she wanted it.

She had never had a diary before. What would she write in it? Well, she certainly had a lot of thoughts battling each other in her head. Maybe writing them down would help her figure it all out, so she could get back to being herself and enjoy the year she had been looking forward to so much.

She clutched the book close to her chest. Yes. She would have a lot of fun with this diary.