Good Intentions but Strange Situations

~ Chapter 2 ~

The Problem with Time

Harry obediently followed the man who called himself Merlin deeper into the woods, keeping Ginny in his peripheral vision. He did not trust the man but could see no other option than to follow him, for the time being. Unfortunately, Harry had let Hedwig fly on to Hogwarts on her own so that she wouldn't have to spend eight hours cooped up on the train and had Tonks shrink her cage and place it in his trunk when she picked him up. Ginny didn't own an owl, so they had no chance of sending a note off that way. Neither knew how to Apparate or create a portkey. There were only two other options: to make a break for it on foot and chancing expulsion for using magic on their possessions or flying on brooms, again using magic. Yet they did not know where in the world they were.

However, Harry didn't want to leave just yet. He was likely leading the both of them into a trap, but if that was so then why did they still have their wands and belongings? They were moving of their own free will with no ropes or chains binding them. The man must know they could run at any moment yet he still trusted them to follow.

Like it or not, this chap was reminding Harry of Dumbledore. It was his entire demeanour; he had the calm appearance, evasion to questions, jolly old man approach and even a twinkle in his hazel eyes. He was compelling and Harry felt the need to find out more about him.

All the questions that had come from the old man's pronouncement had been skirted but he promised more substantial answers when they were in a more secure location. His exact wording for this reasoning was 'scoundrels be abound, searching for those demons who practice sinful magics.' This in turn had brought up more questions. Harry and Ginny were confused more than scared now and were having trouble following Merlin's old tongue. It couldn't be that they had travelled through time, could it?

Ginny, for her part, was following Harry's lead with no questions. It seemed to him that she was just a curious as him and wanted to know more about what was happening. This 'Merlin' seemed kind enough and not at all malevolent but his opening remark of 'I have been waiting for you' sounded awfully foreboding. It was obvious that he had intentionally brought them there.

The incline of the ground was gradually increasing, so Harry assumed they had landed in a valley of somewhere. This did not help him get his bearings and he was hesitant in using magic to perform the Four Point spell. Not that that would tell him where they were.

Merlin suddenly stopped and beckoned them forward. Glancing nervously at each other, they shuffled to where he was standing. The patch of ground they were on was rockier than the rest of the woodland. Looking towards where the old man was pointing they saw that the gradient was larger and there was an opening some way up, guarded by two stout trees. Realising that this was where they were heading, they looked in dismay at their luggage.

"You can create magics to lift your chests, can you not?" Merlin peered at them. "Or do you delight in the work?"

Ginny furrowed her brow. "We're underage," she said. "Not allowed to do magic."

It was Merlin's turn to frown. "There is no limit to the age of able warlocks. Cast your magics."

"But we will get in trouble with the Ministry. I was on trial last year. I almost got expelled for underage wizardry!" Harry was amazed that the man wanted them to break the law willingly.

Merlin turned on his heel and muttered something that suspiciously sounded like 'times have changed' before setting off up the slope. "Follow however you wish. I shall await you in the cave," he called back over his shoulder. Harry and Ginny watched his receding back.

"He's a nutter!" Ginny exclaimed. "We'll be in so much trouble."

Harry sat on top of his trunk, rested his elbows on his knees and placed his chin in his hands. "Something is definitely not right," he assessed.

"You think?" Ginny gaped at him. "Of course something's wrong! We should be on the train to Hogwarts by now! Mum'll be so worried." She sat down and leaned back against a tree. "So what do we do now?"

Harry looked at her. "Do you have any idea of where we are?"

Ginny examined his face, searching to see if there was a point to the question before answering "no."

Harry continued. "Do you know any spells that could help us find out?"

She looked down; her eyes were moving as she internally examined her knowledge of spells. She was visibly trying to help as much as she could. "No."

"Any ideas on how to send a message?" The answer this time was the affirmative. She grinned at her success.

"The DA coin!" Her eyes lit up. "You could put a message around the edge instead of the date."

"And use magic... shall we chance it?" Harry considered. "Is this situation an emergency?"

"Yes!" Ginny was shocked. "We have been transported away from the station to Merlin knows where! There could be Death Eaters swarming all over the place. Of course it's an emergency!"

"Merlin knows where..." Harry trailed off. "He does know where. If we could get him to tell us where we are, we could direct people here so much easier."

"We are going to have to use magic either way," Ginny sighed. "So we're off to question Merlin are we?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes. "I'm worried," said Harry breaking the quiet. "This doesn't seem like a trap by Voldemort or his followers. This guy is being shifty but not in a bad way."

"Like Dumbledore," Ginny concurred.

"What do you want to do?" Harry asked. "I don't want to drag you into anything..." He stumbled over the last few words as he caught the look on Ginny's face.

"Oh, no," she said. "If you're going to do something dangerous -" Harry cut her off.

"I'm going up there to question him," he told her.

"Then I'm going with you," she replied, frowning. "I'm not staying on my own in any case."

Harry glanced at his trunk. "Right," he said, coming to a decision. "Let's break a few of the country's laws and get Dumbledore to clean up after us."

Ginny grinned and performed the swish and flick that accompanied the Levitation charm. "Now you're talking."

The cave was quite large. The two rowan trees at the entrance made the opening seem smaller than it really was. The floor was covered in soil in some parts and boulders clustered to one side. The old man was sat on one of the rocks and was smoking an old-fashioned pipe. He smiled jovially at their floating trunks and gestured for them to enter and sit.

"Now, you have me at a disadvantage, I'm afraid. You have not told me your names," Merlin stated.

Harry dropped his trunk unceremoniously and once again sat on it. Ginny followed shortly after. She looked towards Harry in confusion.

"You've captured us yet you don't know who we are?" she queried in disbelief. "You must know who he is at least." She jerked her head at Harry. Harry frowned. She thought it was his fault that they were here. She was probably right, of course, but the accusation still hurt.

"The spell I cast was not specific towards a certain person," Merlin explained. "May I please enquire as to your identity?"

The teens shared a look. Harry answered, "I'm Harry and this is Ginny."

"You have peculiar names, young ones." Merlin's mouth quirked in a grin. "Although judging by your reaction to my own name, I am not the only one to think things odd."

Harry was growing slightly wary. "Why have you brought us here? And where is here?"

"Ah, the impatience of the young. The latter is the easiest to answer, so that shall be first. We are on the boundary of England and Wales; it is a magical place where the lands meet." The man's eyes twinkled. "Perhaps a more pertinent question though would be when are we?"

Harry and Ginny gaped at him. "You have got to be joking!" He couldn't mean, no, they hadn't... had they? It was a fleeting thought; he wasn't being serious when he thought it...

"You've brought us back in time?" Ginny summed up his jumbled thoughts with a look of utter incredulity. "You really are the Merlin? The legend?"

"Merlin Emrys," he said with a small bow. "Or Merlin Ambrosius if you prefer. I know nothing about being a legend though."

Stunned in disbelief, the anachronistic duo had to take a few minutes to collect themselves. The Great Merlin himself, for who knows what reason, had brought them back through time. That thought seemed to snap Harry out of his daze.

"You haven't told us why we are here," he accused. It didn't matter who he was, this fellow had no right to do this without their consent. Moreover, Harry wasn't feeling all too generous at the moment.

"I must admit, young Harry, I did not know whether my spell would work, or indeed whether it would need to. Are you aware of the concept of divining the future?" After receiving a doubtful affirmative from the pair, Merlin continued. "I myself have some prophetic powers. Whilst somewhat unreliable, I have predicted that Mars will shine bright in the distant future and war shall be waged upon the world, creating such devastation it would destroy all we hold dear." If Merlin saw Harry's growing distress after the mention of prophecies, he didn't mention it. "Understanding this may come to pass, I vowed I would do all that I could to prevent such an outcome. If such a war is to wage, the forces of Light will need a champion. So I constructed a complex spell that I cast on the world in general. Perchance this distressing situation would come to pass the best person to lead the war would be selected and called to me upon the beginning of it. It astounds me that two champions were chosen."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other in amazement. Suddenly, Ginny started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Harry asked, still slightly annoyed at her earlier betrayal.

"If I've been 'chosen' along with you, you can't blame yourself for my being here." She grinned. "I really wasn't looking forward to getting you out of your moods once you convinced yourself it was your fault."

Harry gave her a sheepish smile.

"I set the magics to trigger on a few conditions," continued Merlin, as he glanced up to the roof in deep thought. "First, the circumstance in question should be that the resulting bloodshed would be great in quantity. This spell shouldn't have worked on a petty feud, say." He looked to see if his companions were paying attention. "The second stipulation was that the bearer, or bearers," he amended, "would have the sufficient magical prowess to be able to handle such dangerous situations. You will be learning powerful magics from me, young ones, so you must be able to cope with their difficulty." He furrowed his brow. "Granted, you are a lot younger than I would have assumed for my apprentices to be. However, the scoundrels of your time must be terrible for people as young as yourselves to be caught in the conflict."

Upon seeing their nods of assent, Merlin continued. "Of course, your journey couldn't begin by you falling asleep, or some such nonsense. For this to start, you must have made some sort of transition into a magical place, preferably through a portal of some kind."

"We ran through a wall onto the magical train platform," Ginny assessed, more for Harry's and her own benefit than for Merlin's. After giving a brief explanation of what she meant, Merlin again continued with his account.

"The fates were being kind to you on that day. I do not know what would have happened if you had gone through your barrier at separate times."

The pair shuddered. What if only one of them was stuck here, alone? It wouldn't bear thinking about.

"The question now is where to begin," started Merlin before Harry interrupted.

"How do you know we will agree to this? You haven't asked for our opinions or whether we would want to go through with it." Choices were once again being made for him without consent, and it was rubbing Harry the wrong way. Ginny also seemed more curious to this answer.

"You will agree to this because you must. In your hearts, you know that you can do something about the fate of this wonderful world. Whom else would you trust to keep the peace that we all desire? You have been chosen for a reason, and I think you will see it through to completion."

Harry bowed his head in thought before looking at Ginny. "You up for it?" he asked her.

"What can it hurt?" she replied. "Getting training from Merlin himself! Once in a lifetime opportunity, don't you think?"

Harry chuckled.

"How long will we be here?" he asked Merlin. "Will we end up going back to the same moment in time, or will the time that passes there be the same as time spent here?"

Merlin drew in a breath and looked rather apprehensive at the question.

"There is a small difficulty that must be addressed," he started slowly, deliberately trying to put off this topic for as long as possible. "The problem with time, you see, is that we cannot change the future, however much we try. One can go back through time, but the only way to return is to let time run its course." He waited with baited breath at the explosion that would undoubtedly come from the pronouncement.

Silence greeted him.

"The future is unpredictable. The smallest action could result in the world changing so what could be is not predetermined. We cannot move forward through time if that event hasn't occurred yet."

"You realise that we are from over a thousand years into the future?" Harry queried, doing his hardest to keep calm and not to let his voice shake so much. "We are going to die of old age before we have a chance to rid the world of Voldemort." Ginny remained silent.

Merlin tittered slightly. "There are ways in which you can survive as long as needed. They can be archaic, and many have already been lost, but I shall begin the preparations immediately."

Harry sighed and gripped the bridge of his nose. "Nothing we can do about it now..." he mused. "What about our appearances? Won't people start to notice if we don't age?"

"One of the lessons to be taught is the art of shifting shapes," Merlin said. "I usually like to be seen as younger than this. However, with your impending arrival, I thought a kindly old man would be best for the scene."

Harry had to agree.

"Now, you both must be hungry. I shall go and gather some food stuffs, unless you have some already on your possession?" he queried. When receiving a negative answer, he said, "The fair over yonder takes quite a time to walk to so I shall be gone a while. It would be best for you to stay here though. You are in uncommon garb and are not accustomed to the behaviours of this time. I admit that I am not used to yours." Harry noticed for the first time that Merlin's clothing was not at all what he was used to. He was wearing a cream tunic that stopped at about mid-calf. His feet were encased in sturdy brown boots and a likewise brown sash was corded around his waist. There was a pale green trim around the neck, cuffs and hem of the garments with a lightly embroidered swirling pattern on it. Harry supposed that being in such a bizarre and unexpected situation, he had not had time to remark upon the trivialities of the outfit the fellow was wearing.

"I shall also bring the appropriate attire for you to wear in these times. I have never seen anyone wear such colours as you are doing now." He jovially winked at Harry as he stood. "Times to come must be interesting, no?"

Harry gave a small grin in return. "I shouldn't really tell you, should I? It could change the world as we know it."

"Indeed, young Harry. Indeed." Merlin strode towards the entrance and years seemed to come off his life. "You shall be safe within the confines of this cave. Fear not, this is not a permanent abode and you shall be free once you are used to a different lifestyle. The rowan trees here," he placed a hand on each, "are known for their protection and healing attributes. You shall be safe." The wood appeared to glow with a white light for a moment before returning to normal.

"Farewell for now, young ones. I shall return as soon as I am able." And with that, Merlin walked down the slope, his steps with a notable spring in them.

After Merlin's departure, there was a silence within the cave. All that was to be heard was the faint rustling of the tree's leaves beside the opening. Harry looked in concern at Ginny, who had remained quiet after the large pronouncement that they were stranded in a foreign time. He debated with himself whether to challenge her on it or leave her to it, as was in his nature. He realised, however, that it would be a good idea for her to get used to the idea that there was no way out of the situation while Merlin was gone. Gathering his Gryffindor courage, he cleared his throat.

"So, are you going to tell me what you're worried about?" The anxiety was clear in his voice. After receiving no answer, he spoke again. "Or am I going to have to guess?"

Again, there was no response.

"Ok." Harry settled down on the floor of the cave leaning against the rocky wall and stared at the roof as if in deep thought. Ginny snuck a glance from the side of he eyes to see what he was going to do. "You are worried about..." he stretched the last word out and paused for dramatic effect.

"Not being able to do your OWLs for a thousand years yet?" he questioned. No answer was given, but Harry thought he saw a ghost of a smile flash across her face.

"You've realised you are not going to see Snape, oh! And Filch, for a thousand years?" he continued. "So you can't continue your love interest with them?" he smiled as Ginny was visibly trying to repress a grin.

"I'm sure old Argus knows all the best broom closets for the perfect midnight meeting," Harry mused. "After all, everyone has to polish their broomstick handle once in a while." Ginny groaned.

"I suppose that was payback from the Ron and Hermione comment before," she asked. "Bad imagery." Muttering under her breath, she gave a sad grin at Harry.

"You realise that we aren't going to see either of them for years," she stressed. "And my parents, my brothers... this was turning out to be a great idea, until I realised that we are stranded here with no communication to anyone until we return." She stood and started to pace. "Didn't ask for this... ridiculous..." were some of what Harry heard of her angry mumblings as she walked the length of the cave.

"Welcome to my life," Harry muttered just loud enough for her to hear. She stopped in her tracks.

"Sorry," she obliged looking appropriately chastised. "How are you taking this so calmly?"

Harry gave a wry grin. "I've not heard anything today that I haven't heard before. Ok, so we are stuck here. We just have to make the best of it and learn as much as we can so that I can take down Voldemort when the time comes." He glanced at Ginny, once again having an internal debate.

"Come and sit down," he offered. "I have something to tell you."

Once Ginny was sat next to him, he gathered up a bit more of his courage. "Alright, you know the prophecy that Voldemort was after, that night."

"The one Neville smashed?"

"Mm, that one. It had my name on it, and Voldemort's, and it was relative to his defeat, possibly." He sighed. "I don't remember all of its wording..."

"But if it smashed, how did you hear it? Neville said there was a lot of noise and confusion when he dropped it."

"Yes, there was," Harry continued. "But do you remember the other set of initials on the label?"

After a moment of thought, she slowly shuck her head negatively. "I remember a long set beginning with A.P or A. something at any rate, and the other began with S. That's all though." She grimaced. "Go on. Put me out of my misery."

"A.P.W.B.D. Albus a-load-of-middle-names Dumbledore heard the prophecy from Trelawney." He held up a hand to still the derisive snort he knew was coming. "The old fruit bat has made a couple of real predictions. I was there for her second." He shuddered. "It did come true; although we had no idea what she was talking about before it happened."

"You realise you are going to have to tell me about that now, don't you?" said Ginny with a smirk.

"Of course, I have a thousand years to get around to it though," came the retort. He was glad Ginny was turning back into her cheerful self, even if he knew it must be hard for her. "Anyway, it had some criteria for the 'One with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord.' Born at the end of July, parents defied Voldemort three times, be marked as an equal. Basically, either me or Neville fit until he marked me." Harry pointed to his forehead. "Isn't that thrilling?"

"So what comes next?" she asked of him, ignoring the sarcasm.

"I apparently have a 'Power the Dark Lord knows not.' Can't think what though." He paused. "Ah, and there's a cracker of a stipulation," he said. "'Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives.' It's him or me in the end. Let's throw a party."

"We should, actually," Ginny said, with a sly smirk in Harry's direction. "If we are here now, learning from Merlin himself how to beat him, and through time we'll get to meet a young Dumbledore to learn off, and get loads of experience. Frankly, if we manage to survive each other, Tom's got no chance, especially with your mysterious power."

Harry smiled. He hadn't thought about seeing Dumbledore as a young man, in his prime and defeating Grindelwald. "This really is the opportunity of a lifetime, isn't it?"

"Yep, it is," Ginny happily agreed. "Now, where is the old man? I'm starving!"