This story was inspired by the German Legend: Faust
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
"Are you ok, Harry? You seem a little lost."
Harry awoke from his thoughts to see Luna staring at him with those bulging silver eyes. "I guess you could say that."
In truth, Harry had never felt so lost in his life. He had lost so much already, so much heartbreak. Now he had lost his Godfather as well.
The ride home from Hogwarts was usually a bleak affair, leaving the Castle that had become his home to return to his interment at the Dursleys. Now even the weather reflected his mood. Rain pelted the train, and black storm clouds filled the sky. A storm was coming. It was being reported throughout England, while witches and wizards on the Hogwarts express spoke in hushed voices and whispers that it was a dark omen.
Once Hogwarts had been an escape from the misery that had been his life, but there was no escaping fate. He had just learned about the prophecy, which was not open to interpretation. He had to be the one to kill Voldemort. If he failed, the Dark Lord would destroy everyone he loved.
Harry had yet to tell his friends about this. He was still trying to process the news himself. They nearly died because of him, and he wasn't planning on tempting fate twice.
There was also the ever-present grief of his parent's death, the years of abuse at the hands of the Dursleys, and experiencing enough horrors to make PTS syndrome a certainty for him. The nightmares had only gotten worse, and sleep was becoming increasingly difficult. It was simply too much for a 15-year-old boy to handle.
"Well, you're almost sixteen, so it's not so bad." Luna corrected again, snapping Harry away from his thoughts.
"Yes, but still...wait? Was I thinking out loud?" Harry stuttered.
"I'm not sure. I assumed it was Wrackspurts." Luna hummed as she looked off into the unseen distance only Luna seemed to see.
"Well, since you now know...What do you think, Luna?" Harry asked, feeling somewhat relieved he had someone to talk to.
Luna lowered the Quibbler and looked at him thoughtfully. "You're going to die."
Luna tried to keep reading but, upon seeing the stunned look on Harry's face, decided she should explain better. "It doesn't matter who wins your fight. Everyone dies, Harry. Even Voldemort will die. The only question is who will die first."
"Thanks, Luna, I feel loads better," Harry grumbled sarcastically.
"No problem Harry." Luna smiled as she kept reading the Quibbler.
"Any ideas on how to die later than sooner?" Harry asked.
Luna put the Quibbler down and gazed at Harry. For over a minute, Luna said nothing. And Harry was left to squirm. Then she spoke. "You are very strong of the heart and head, but they don't seem to work together well. Instead, you are reckless and careless. You never look before you leap. You are loyal to a fault and are too noble for your own good. Your love is your greatest strength but also your biggest weakness. It can be manipulated, especially if he discovers those closest to you. He may have already, with the connection you both share. But, your greatest weakness is how easy it is to manipulate you. From what I have gathered, Mr. Dumbledore has been manipulating you all year, if not longer."
Harry sat there floored. Luna had always been honest to a fault, being incredibly blunt with the truth. Unfortunately, she had taken that trait and used it to tear Harry apart completely. Luna took all his most outstanding qualities and turned them against him. The worst part was she was right.
"Now You-Know-Who has flaws. He thinks he is invincible, which is impossible. He fears death which is pointless since it is inevitable. He is a sociopath with no redeeming qualities other than his abilities. He is cunning, smart, ruthless, remorseless, and brilliant. He has more power than any other Wizard in over a thousand years. If you think Dumbledore is more powerful, then you're sadly mistaken. Dumbledore is capable of becoming much stronger than the Dark Lord but will never align himself with black magic. This leaves him at a disadvantage. Voldemort's greatest strength is his thirst for knowledge and power. He won't let anything come in-between him and his lust for power. Nothing is sacred, and no price is too high to fulfill his darkest desires."
Luna picked up the Quibbler. "The way I see it, you are trying to go up shit's creek without a paddle."
Harry couldn't help but laugh at Luna's use of cursing and how ridiculous it all was. How could he stand a chance against the darkest Wizard of the last 100 years?"
Luna didn't take her eyes off her magazine when she spoke. "Of course, it's not completely hopeless. All you need is a paddle."
Harry shook his head, grinning. It sounded like something Sirius would say. That thought immediately wiped the smile off his face. God, he missed him already. His Godfather had offered him the closest thing he would ever have to a family. Now Sirius was dead, and Harry would likely be joining him sooner than later.
"It's going to be ok, Harry," Luna whispered, taking his hand. This forced a small smile onto Harry's face. He was glad to have made a new friend this year, let alone one as kind and loyal as Luna. At least something good came out of this year.
After the Department of Mysteries fiasco and the death of Sirius, Luna had been there for Harry when others could not breach his walls. Her comfort helped warm Harry's, cold heart. Even now, she was the only one there for him. Ron and Hermione were patrolling the Hogwarts Express as prefects. This left Harry and Luna alone to their musings while the train took Harry back for his annual visit to Durzkaban.
"Harry, if there is anything I can do, just let me know. You're not alone in this. I will always be there for you." Luna whispered seriously before leaning in and giving him a long chaste kiss before returning to the Quibbler.
Harry was still recovering from the shock of Luna kissing him when the trolley Witch arrived. Harry bought some Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and two Chocolate Frogs to share with the beaming Luna. "It's the least I can do for all your help."
"You're a good person Harry. I just hope that doesn't get you killed," Luna said with worry.
They shared their sweets (Bean flavors ended up including worm, tree bark, pizza, tartar sauce, maple syrup, and, worst of all, sauerkraut) in comfortable silence before looking at their chocolate frog cards.
"Merlin, I got Merlin again," Harry sighed. Not that he cared. He had more pressing concerns than rubbish cards.
"Merlin, I always wanted him. They say he is the greatest Wizard of all time." Luna said. "He was revolutionary in discovering magic. He also avoided the darker side of magic, which made him weak."
"I thought you said he was the most powerful Wizard of all time?" Harry asked, happy to talk about something other than his preordained date with Voldemort.
"He is the most powerful Wizard of all time. His rival, however, was far more powerful. The Legendary Witch of Darkness: Morgan le Fay!"
Luna handed her card over, and Harry saw the Witch in question. He didn't know why but he sensed dark power through the card.
"Has anyone told you the Legend of Lord Morgana the Black?" Luna uttered, and Harry felt a chill through his bones.
"No, I don't suppose I have," Harry muttered as the hairs on his neck stood tall.
"It is not a tale most Muggle-raised would know." Luna hummed darkly. "Sure, they know the legends of King Arthur and Morgana plays a part in his tale, but they don't know the half of it."
"Morgana was the half-sister of the Muggle King Arthur. Her Father was a Muggle. Her mother was a Witch. They begot Morgana out of wedlock, damning her to the fate of a bastard. Despite this, her Father took her in and raised her with love. He made sure his daughter was never left wanting.
"Yet it was never enough, for all her Father did to make her feel loved, when he died, it was her half-brother Arthur who became King of Camelot. Morgana was denied that which, in her mind, was rightfully hers. All because she was a woman, a witch, and a bastard. Morgana did not like that. Not, One, Bit.
"When you think about it, who could blame her? I would never say one was superior for having magic, but we are talking about a more primitive time when magic was the key to humanity's progress. Morgana could have helped lead the people of Camelot to a new age of peace and enlightenment, but not even her Father could hide her from the hatred and scorn of her people. They reviled the Witch. The children would even sing songs in the streets. "Morgana, Morgana, don't turn your back, Morgana, Morgana, her heart is black, Morgana Morgana, belongs on the rack. Morgana, Morgana, the Lady in black."
Luna sighed and shook her head. "King Author encouraged the rabble, as he felt threatened by Morgana's power and blood, for she was second in line to the throne. Maybe if he had treated her like a brother, the following horrors would have never come to pass. But, alas, Arthur aligned himself with the Legendary Merlin, while Morgana's pain turned to anger, into hate, twisting her mind and blackening her heart. Funny how prophecies are always self-fulfilling, causing the very thing they predict.
The writing on the wall came when Merlin announced his intentions. With King Arthur's help, Merlin believed he could form an alliance between the Muggles and Wizards. Morgana had learned to hate the Muggles, who treated her with scorn and swore to shatter any chance of peace between the two people. So the Green-Eyed Witch plotted to overthrow the King by any means necessary. However, Morgana knew that as great as her power was, she was hopeless against such a wizard as Merlin. So she began to study the dark arts and learned Black Magic.
As the years passed, Morgan le Fay became more powerful than any Witch or Wizard. The Dark Lady used her mind to create unnatural spells that would make you feint just by describing them. She would bathe in the blood of the virgins she slaughtered and drink the bones of any man she seduced. Every dark deed one could imagine, Morgana did at least thrice. There was nothing she could not do, yet the crown continued to allude her. She initially refused to take the life of the King who shared her blood, but as the years went by, Morgana continued to rid herself of her humanity. The Lady in Black's envy turned to jealousy, which turned to spite and malice until she was consumed by pure hatred.
So it was that the Blood Countess plotted her ultimate revenge. She knew the bride of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, shared a requited love with Sir Lancelot. However, they were too loyal to dare act on their feelings and betray the King. So Morgana gave them a push toward destruction. The first love potion ever brewed started the infamous affair that begot civil war.
In the middle of the chaos, the Duchess of Death turned Arthur's own son, Mordred, against him. With Arthur at war with Sir Lancelot, the Bastard of Camelot, born out of wedlock, claimed the Castle and throne for himself by forcing his Father's wife into marriage. It was short-lived as Guinevere's last drink tasted of murder most foul.
Driven to the brink by betrayal and attacks on all sides, Arthur desperately fought to reclaim his throne. It was during the Battle of Camlann that Father and Son were reunited in a vicious fight to the death. After many hours, Arthur killed his only son, but not before Mordred mortally wounded him. At the King's deathbed, Morgana le Fay came to his bedside to heal him with her powers. Instead, she poisoned and killed her legendary half-brother...and lover.
Yes, Harry, lover. Mordred was their child, bred with the single purpose of killing his Father. Black magic is disturbing, is it not? I warned you there was nothing Morgana did not do in her quest for power and quench her thirst for vengeance. With all the blood on her hands, incest was a merely trifle.
After years of planning, The Dark Lady finally had her vengeance and claimed the throne she so desperately desired. So began the Dark Ages, the years when Le Fay's shadow painted the land black. With Arthur's death, Morgana irrevocably shattered the alliance of Wizards and Muggles beyond repair. Her reign was vicious and terrible. When the people threatened to revolt, she bathed in the blood of one hundred infants to release a terrible curse known by Muggles as the Black Plague. Her evil knew no bounds or limits.
However, where there is light, there is hope. After watching his dreams turn to ashes, Merlin formed the original Order of the Phoenix, the last alliance between the greatest Wizards and Muggles of the age, united to fight the abomination.
After years of conflict, Merlin and Morgana finally faced each over in the most extraordinary duel ever known. They battled long into the night. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and months became years. Nothing could stop these two beings, not even each over. Finally, they realized this and decided to avoid an open battle in their warfare.
Merlin being a Slytherin, was a master of manipulation and cunning. After all, he was Salazar's prodigy, and though they had many disagreements, they maintained a relationship like Father and Son. Even if one was the Muggles' strongest advocate and the other their greatest oppressor, they saw each over as family, and you never turn your back on your family.
Merlin had cunning, but he did not have the cruelty of The Black Queen. Morgana, the definition of Slytherin, used this to her advantage and made Salazar an offer he couldn't refuse. She offered her legendary powers to Slytherin. Morgana offered to be his servant, to be his lover, and to father a son to unite the Slytherin and Morgana dynasty line. In return from Salazar, she demanded only one thing. His soul.
Slytherin accepted, and together their unholy alliance was used to destroy what little resistance was left. The divine Mage gifted him an egg that birthed a creature unlike any the world had ever seen. A basilisk bigger and more powerful than any before it. A Basilisk he could control as she gifted him parseltongue. Morgana even gave birth to a child whose bloodline would always hold the honour of the heir of Slytherin. She twisted Salazar from a morally ambiguous Wizard and perverted him into a monster who would forsake all others.
Morgana's blow struck Merlin deep. She had taken away the closest thing he ever had to a father, first Arthur and now Salazar. Merlin confronted his former mentor and showed the Lord of the Serpents why Merlin's name would be remembered a thousand years later by Muggles. When Merlin was about to strike him down, Morgana intervened and struck her final blow. She claimed her prize and sucked out Salazar's soul in front of Merlin, and spawned the first Dementor.
The enraged Merlin hastily attacked Morgan le Fay. The two true masters of sorcery battled again, but this time hatred weakened Merlin's judgment. He soon fell under her power. The Great Witch conjured a portal that would hold Merlin outside of space and time. The Emperess of darkness prepared to lock him away in a magical prison no being could ever escape. Morgan le Fay was mere moments away from achieving absolute power. But in her moment of triumph, Merlin sacrificed himself and tackled Morgana, sending them both into her prison for all eternity!
That is where they remain to this day.
Following the instructions in Merlin's will, the Wizarding community founded the Order of Merlin to stand for Muggle's rights. Sadly this would be perverted over the years by Pure-bloods, turning his order into an award for Wizards who achieve greatness.
Sadly the suffering would not end there. With Morgana gone, the Muggles had an uprising, burning Witches and Wizards at the stake. Deciding that Muggles and Wizards were incompatible, the Wizarding community invoked the Statues of Secrecy, which remains today.
Now tell me, Harry, who do you think has had a more significant impact on the world? Who is the more powerful Mage, Merlin or Morgana?"
Harry stared into Luna's silver eyes and shook his head. "I don't know..."
"Yes, you do. You just don't want to admit it." Luna whispered. "Black magic is stronger, but it always comes with a terrible price. The question remains, are you willing to pay that price? Voldemort damaged his soul beyond repair, and Morgana lives in her own purgatory, a fate worse than death."
"Lives? She's dead, though, isn't she?" Harry sweated. The idea that she lived was too terrible to think about.
Luna shook her head solemnly. "The Blood Countess and Merlin live together in the very hell she created."
"How can she still be alive? That was over a thousand years ago." Harry asked, feeling a chill down his spine.
"Morgana is more than a Dark Witch. She is evil incarnate, and evil cannot be killed. So beware, Harry Potter, for the Dark Lady is always watching us, her cold dead eyes roaming the earth for knowledge, power, and blood. Waiting for the time when she can return to the world and claim what she feels is rightfully hers...."
Harry gulped. "And what is that?"
Luna whispered with a grin. "The world Harry, and everything in it."
Harry gulped at Luna's words. Suddenly Voldemort didn't seem like much of a problem compared to the nightmare that was Morgana. A part of him wondered how a sad, lonely girl became the evilest being in history, but the more he thought about it, even Voldemort wasn't born evil, he grew up never knowing love, and it made him a cold and heartless bastard.
Still, Harry couldn't help but wonder what would happen if Morgana escaped her prison. He imagined the chaos she would unleash, the pain in suffering she would leave in her wake. The horrors of Voldemort would be but a sliver compared to the reckoning Morgana would wreak. It almost felt like Morgana was here, feeding off his fear, listening to his very thoughts.
"BOO!" Luna yelled, sending Harry three feet off his seat and the eccentric Ravenclaw into fits of laughter. Harry couldn't help but join in as Luna fell off her seat with mirth.
"How much of that tale was true?" Harry asked as he regained control of his laughter.
"Just about all of it. She was a bad person." Luna understated, "But her own power became her undoing. She is quite literally trapped in a prison of her own making. It's been a thousand years. I highly doubt she will ever escape. Merlin's there too, on eternal guard duty. Of course, they both could have killed each other years ago. Still, you have to admit, after hearing about Morgana, You-Know-Who's not so bad, is he."
Harry chuckled as he hugged Luna. "Thanks, Luna, you always know how to make me feel better."
"Harry, I meant it. If you ever need me, I'll be there." Luna said with an intensity that belied her usual whimsy.
Harry went to hand back the Morgana card when Luna refused. "Keep my card. I have enough of them. Besides, knowledge is power."
"Wit beyond measure...." Harry whispered.
"...is man's greatest treasure." Luna finished smile
Harry stared at his card of Morgana. He stared right into her picture's eyes. They seemed to be staring back into his. Despite being an animated picture, Morgana never moved or took her eyes off Harry. He found himself feeling rather grateful that the real Morgana was gone...
"Another successful hunt, I presume." The old Wizard spoke as his companion opened her eyes.
"They are weak, too weak. People no longer value their souls. It is sad to see how pathetic they have become. Humanity has become so wretched even I cannot suffer them more. I almost pity the wretches."
"If they are weak, it was you who made them so. Together they were strong but divided; they fell. You brought about the cataclysm that separated our people, and now you lament their weakness?" The Wizard scolded bitterly. "For shame, for shame."
"I made them subservient to my will, but now I rule nothing. I just feast on carrion. I need to hunt. I yearn to taste human flesh. I long to bathe in their blood. I crave the souls of the few who remain pure of heart, but no good man would ever part with their soul. They value it too much. They know what it's worth."
"I believe only a truly good man can sell their soul. I know what you desire. I suggest you follow through with your ambition."
"What do you know of ambition?" The Witch sneered before pausing, slowly turning to face her companion. "You wish of me to pursue the..."
The Wizard slowly nodded his head with a twinkle in his eyes. The Witch's eyes darkened as she hissed like a snake. "Why?"
"I must confess my curiosity. l know not what will come to pass." The Wizard replied with a nonchalant air to him. Seeing the Witch was not convinced, he continued. "It has almost been a millennium since you trapped us here. As great as you are, even you cannot break Helga's law, 'no spell can last over one thousand years. Without powering wards, Wards that you never had the chance to set. On the thousandth anniversary of our captivity, the portal shall open."
The women looked shocked. "Has it been so long? I'll finally be free?"
"Yes, and then what? Shall we rage war for another five thousand years until none remain to save or conquer? Neither can die while the other survives, nor can we live in harmony in the waking world. We are at an impasse."
"What do you suggest?"
"I propose that only one of us shall leave this prison and sustain its wards while the other remains until the end."
The Witch laughed her wretched laugh that still sent a chill up the Wizard's spine. "I shall not volunteer to remain in this hell for a moment longer than I have to!"
The Wizard shook his head. "I suggest a wager. Follow through with your plan. I shall remain if you succeed in claiming the soul you so desperately desire. If you fail, you must stay in this prison for all time."
"I confess myself, intrigued. What are the terms."
"Thou shall keep thy word. Thou shall not promise what is beyond thy power nor deceive the Champion. Influence him how thou will, but the Champion shall not part from his soul unless on his own accord. Lastly, the Champion's soul shall not be thine until the price has been paid."
The Witch sat silently for days as she pondered these commandments until she finally questioned the Wizard. "How do we ensure that the loser follows through with the accord."
The Wizard grabbed the Witches hand and raised his wand. "I, Myrddin Wyllt Merlin, swear on thy life and magic to obey the terms of our wager. If I betray thy vow, may thy life, body, and soul be forfeit."
The Witch grinned as she whispered with lust. "I, Morgan le Fay, swear on thy life and magic to follow the terms of our wager. If I betray thy vow, may thy life, body, and soul be forfeit."
"So mote it be."
"So mote it be."