Gwen: The Beginning

Chapter Three

Gwen opened her eyes and couldn't believe what had happened in the past couple of days. Nancy, Alfred and Maggie had now become her friends, her family and her teachers. Yes, at the beginning she'd be sceptical about what they'd been saying, but after seeing what she'd seen, how could you not believe them?

She'd seen Alfred call for things and then have them zoom into the kitchen and land into his lap, Nancy knit, without even touching the needles and Maggie disappear and then reappear out of thin air. But, the most convincing piece of evidence was their wands; the long, thin pieces of wood which were completely unique to every person. Yes, that had been the thing to really convince her that these people were telling her the truth.

Gwen had also noticed that although the three of them, looked quite weak and fragile; well, maybe apart from Alfred, they were actually quite good with magic. The ease in which they did things, the way they knew absolutely everything, seemed fascinating to Gwen and she secretly hoped that one day she could be as good as them.

Nancy taught her about Charms and Divination, which she said was very important for a Merlin. The power to see into the future was a Merlin's special gift and that she should treasure it. Gwen liked divination but she didn't think she was that good at it. Nancy told her not to worry, her full powers wouldn't appear until her 16^th birthday and after that day, everything would fall into place.

Maggie taught her Transfiguration and Potions and it was fun, except Maggie always diverted into cooking. One day, they were supposed to be making a freeze flame potion and they ended making some nice fair-weather cakes, which were Alfred's favourite, so, he didn't complain. Though, how she made them, Gwen was never quite sure.

Alfred taught her everything else, the History of Magic, Arithmacy, Ancient runes, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Magical Creature Studies and Spells. She loved her lessons but the one thing about them was that you needed a wand, and Gwen still hadn't got hers. Alfred said she would get one but not yet, first, she had to learn all the spells and then she could put them into practice.

* * *

Harry hurried into the great hall and settled down into his seat at the Gryffindor table with Ron and Hermione on either side of him. They watched the new first years come in and stand nervously around, waiting to be sorted into their houses. Harry thought back to his first day at Hogwarts and how he'd felt that he was finally accepted somewhere; he smiled at the old feeling.

" Slytherin," he heard the hat call and he watched a small boy walk over to the Slytherin table. It made his flesh crawl, watching another unsuspecting victim enter that house. He caught sight of Draco Malfoy; they stared at each other and you could feel the hatred between the two.

" Ravenclaw," the hat shouted again, and Harry watched a tall blonde girl walk over to their table. She sat herself right next to another familiar face, Cho Chang.

Harry felt himself breathing more quickly, as he watched her talk and smile at her other house members.

After the sorting was over, Dumbledore stood up.

" Welcome new and old students, to a new school year. I have one announcement... due to the unfortunate dismissal of Winston Wickerham; I have had to appoint yet, another Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. It is with great pleasure that I announce that Arabella Figg will be taking over."

He motioned to an old woman at his side. Harry smiled. He had seen Mrs. Figg a number of times before this, but only up to last year, he hadn't understood her role in his life. She had been his Fairy Godmother, watching him at a distance, keeping guard and helping him, without him ever knowing. He clapped loudly, as did Ron and Hermione; they'd met Mrs. Figg too, last year.

" Now, let the feast begin," Dumbledore said, and a mountain of food appeared, everyone dug in hungrily.

* * *

" So, how were lessons today?" Maggie asked, settling down to eat.

" Umm...great. I had Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms," Gwen replied, taking another roasted potato.

" I've never liked that Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Maggie said, giggling while she said it. Alfred frowned and poured some more gravy onto his beef.

" Really? I like him," Gwen said, winking at Maggie, putting her into further giggles.

Alfred looked up and stared at Maggie, then turned to Gwen and smiled warmly.

" Thank you Gwen."

"Umm..." Gwen started, taking on a more serious tone, " when can I get my wand?"

" We've been through this," Alfred said firmly.

" I know. But I'm tired of using that wooden stick," she said, pointing at the cane in the corner, " I mean, how do I know I'm doing it right, if nothing happens?" Gwen pleaded.

" Maybe, she should have it," Nancy said suddenly.

" Nancy, you know that she's not meant to have it before her 16^th birthday," Alfred said, stabbing his fork into his meat.

" Why not?" Gwen asked, " do other witches get their wands at 16 too?"

" No, they get them, just before they go to Hogwarts," Alfred replied.

" Hogwarts?" Gwen asked, intrigued by the new subject.

" Hogwarts is a wizarding school. Where wizards and witches go to learn about magic."

" Why don't I go there?"

" Because, you're special and they start when they're 11."

" So, I could have started when I was 11," Gwen muttered, she wasn't trying to be difficult, but she desperately wanted a wand.

" Well, you see, we didn't actually know about you, 'till about a year ago," Alfred said, a little embarrassed.

" I don't understand. How did you find out about me then?"

" Well, there's a book called the book of Esse. It is said to be Merlin's book, where he wrote all his predictions for the future down. Anyway, whenever anyone tried to read it, they couldn't. The pages are completely blank and it is said only a descendent of the great man himself, can read it. Well, a year or so ago, the book opened by itself and words started to appear, "The new Merlin will be born soon. Gwen Aldan." And then when the words had been read, they vanished and the book closed again. So, when we found out, that you were the Merlin, we volunteered to be your guardians," Alfred said, leaning back in his chair.

" Is about to be born?" Gwen queried.

" It means that you're going to come into your powers soon. Then you will be a true Merlin," Nancy answered.

" How do you know so much about Merlins, if we're so rare?" Gwen asked, stuffing the last potato in her mouth.

" Before you, there has only been one other Merlin, apart from Merlin himself. His name was Henry Cadwellon. When he was discovered, people decided to study this phenomenon," Alfred said, getting up and taking his paper, before settling back down again.

" Where is he now?" Gwen asked.

" He is long gone, way before your time and mine. I think, my grandfather was just a boy, when he disappeared," Alfred said, opening the paper.

" Disappeared?" Maggie said, joining in the conversation, " I didn't know that."

" Yes, he vanished. Never saw him again. His disappearance is still one of the great unsolved mysteries of the wizarding world," Alfred said, turning another page.

" All that talk, has made me hungry for some desert," Maggie said, getting up and taking a giant jelly off the kitchen counter and placing it on the table. The jelly wobbled slightly, then started to change colours, first red, then purple, green...Gwen was amazed.

" It's all different flavours, depending on when you scoop the jelly. I want raspberry," Maggie said enthusiastically, waiting for the jelly to turn a dark pink colour, before taking a massive scoop of it. Alfred and Nancy drew nearer to the jelly, waiting for their flavour. Alfred settled on tangerine and Nancy went for cherry. Gwen watched the scene and ended taking some traditional strawberry flavour.

" You know this was your mother's favourite desert," Maggie said absentmindedly, but as soon as she said those words, her face fell and she knew she shouldn't have said it.

Alfred turned and glared at his sister.

" It's alright, really. You can talk about her," Gwen said, trying to break the tension. " Actually, there is something I wanted to ask you," she said, her voice wavered slightly, " umm...I've been thinking about my mother a lot lately and I was wondering...umm... how did she die and why did she give me..."

Nancy suddenly got up and said loudly,

"Bedtime," before grabbing Gwen and taking her up to her room.

As Nancy tucked the covers in and around Gwen, she saw the confused look on the child's face.

" Something wrong?" Nancy asked, knowing the answer and questions that would follow.

" No. But I just wanted to know, why my mother gave me up and how she died. Is that wrong?" Gwen felt suddenly better, now that the questions had finally been asked.

Nancy looked down at the girl and kissed her gently on the forehead, before whispering in her ear,

" Sleep now."

With that, she left and Gwen dived under the covers, wondering why they wouldn't give her any answers.

It was about midnight when Gwen woke up; her recurring nightmare had reared up again. Then, she heard the slight murmur of voices from downstairs, curiosity and the fact that she didn't want to sleep, took over. She quietly walked down the steps and saw that the kitchen door was slightly open and that light was streaming out from it, she could hear the voices of Nancy and Maggie from inside.

" We have to tell her something," Maggie said, " she's going to keep asking."

" We can't tell her, it would break her heart," Nancy disagreed.

" We have to say something," Maggie said sharply. Gwen had never heard her talk like that.

" I wouldn't know where to start," Alfred said, up 'till then, he'd been quiet.

" Tell her the truth," Maggie said.

" We can't," Alfred repeated.

" We have to," Maggie muttered her voice raised slightly.

" No," Alfred said, he was beginning to shout.

" She has a right to know," Maggie shouted.

" What are we supposed to say?!" Alfred yelled and Gwen heard him slam his fist on the table and the noise echoed into the night.

Alfred continued, " Shall we tell her, that her mother went mad because her father was a servant of Lord Voldemort, hmm?"

"Alfred...," Nancy shouted, but was cut off.

"That she hated the fact that her child was a muggle!" Alfred yelled even louder.

"I will not lie to her, Alfred!" Maggie retorted loudly back.

"I don't want to either, but we can't tell her the truth. It would destroy her," Nancy said, trying to ease the tension.

"She may be stronger than we give her credit for," Maggie answered.

"She may be strong but she is not strong enough, to hear that her mother gave her up because she thought her father wanted to kill her," Alfred muttered.

"I think, we'd better calm down," Nancy said, looking at her husband and sister-in-law. They were both fuming and had their eyes fixed on the other one.

"William would have told her," Maggie mumbled.

Alfred's eyes grew, "Don't you dare say that name,"

"Why?! We need to face it sometime, not just for us, but for Gwen. She needs to know, how her mother died!" Maggie screamed.

" How she died?" Alfred bellowed, "She was murdered! Along with...," Alfred fell silent, breathing heavily.

Gwen had never heard him, sound so angry, it scared her.

" That's quite enough from the both of you," Nancy said quickly, "you'll wake her up," her voice had taken on a harder edge.

Gwen couldn't take any more and ran upstairs to her room, where she cried herself to sleep.

Chapter Four

The next morning, Gwen tried to smile, to make sure that the others didn't realize that she knew the truth about her parents. Her mother was a Muggle-hater and her father was a follower of the Dark Lord.

Alfred had told her all about, what the Dark Lord had done to the magic and non-magic world, the way he wanted to rid the world of Muggle-born wizards, that he only wanted pure bloods. She hated him, but now knowing what she knew about her family tree, could she end up like that?

She now wished that they'd left her at home with Carrie and Annabelle, the magic powers weren't enough to balance out the pain and shame.

* * *

" So, how is the Merlin getting on?" Voldemort asked, sitting in his chair, staring into the roaring flames of his fire.

" Good. She will be a good witch, although she doesn't have a wand," Wormtail said, trembling slightly.

Voldemort laughed, "a great Merlin doesn't have a wand."

Wormtail laughed nervously with his master.

" Soon, I will have to meet this girl," Voldemort sneered.

" Meet her?" Wormtail asked, " aren't you scared she might..."

Voldemort cast an eye at the snivelling bag of flesh. "What? Scared that she might defeat me?" He laughed again, "I'm not scared of anyone."

" Not even Harry..." the former rat began, but seeing his mistake, shut up and threw himself onto the floor, weeping his apologies.

" Get up," the Dark Lord ordered, Wormtail jumped to attention.

" No, I'm not scared and it's a little known fact that Merlins can be evil. Merlin himself wrestled with the idea, as did the other one. Why do you think he disappeared? He was scared of what he would do. But this one, this one will not escape, she will be mine. Her powers of divination will become very useful in the future. Then we will see what the great Harry Potter can do against me," he cackled, and fell back into his chair, grinning at his nightmarish vision for the world.

* * *

" You know, it's nearly Halloween," Maggie said cheerily, shovelling some eggs onto Gwen's plate.

" Already?" Gwen said, trying to sound happy but really her insides were in knots.

" Yes. It's already been 2 months, since we... well, you know," Maggie said, she didn't like to say that they'd kidnapped Gwen.

" Hmm...," Gwen replied, she couldn't bear to talk.

" And we've got a treat for you," Maggie continued, " we're going to teach you how to ride a broomstick."

" Really?" Gwen said, forgetting for a moment about her family.

" Yes, let's get started," Nancy said, jumping up and walking out into the garden. Maggie took off her apron and followed her.

Gwen got up and turned to Alfred who was fiddling with his fishing rod.

" You coming?" she asked him.

" No, dear. You go, I can't stand flying. I'm going to do some fishing instead," he replied, grabbing his fishing hat.

" You fish?" Gwen said, a little surprised.

" Why wouldn't I?" Alfred replied.

" Well... it's just that fishing is a Muggle activity," Gwen answered sheepishly.

" Yes, well, it's always nice to do something that doesn't involve magic, every once in a while and I've always found it relaxing. Anyway, I'm a little afraid of heights."

Gwen laughed at the thought that this huge man could be scared of anything.

" Come on, Gwen," she heard Maggie and Nancy call from the garden.

Gwen rushed into the garden, excited about her first lesson.

" Ok. Here we are," Maggie said, pointing to a tatty broomstick on the floor.

" Now, place your hand over it and say "up"."

As Gwen said the words, the broom rolled onto it's side.

"Try again," Maggie beamed.

Gwen was about to when she suddenly noticed that Nancy had disappeared.

" Where's Nancy?"

Maggie looked up at the sky and Gwen followed and she could hardly believe what she saw. Nancy was flying and not gracefully or slowly, but like she was a little child riding her broomstick for the first time She was doing loop de loops and diving, giggling all the way. Gwen looked on in awe, then from out of nowhere; Nancy zoomed past them, ruffling Maggie's hair as she went by.

" Catch me, if you can," Nancy squealed, soaring through the clouds.

" You know, Nancy was a seeker," Maggie said.

Gwen knew all about Quidditch. Alfred had been an avid supporter in his day, though had never played and since the revelation about his fear, she knew why. But it now seemed that Nancy had also had an interest in the sport.

She was about to ask Maggie something when she grabbed the broom out of Gwen's hands and took off, chasing Nancy, the last thing she heard was Maggie yelling back,

" So, was I."

Gwen wondered if they'd ever come back down, but their energy seemed endless. She lay down on the grass and watched them, while they tried to outrun each other. Gwen couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Alfred walked quickly towards the entrance of Diagon Alley. He hadn't been here for so long, he walked in the Leaky Cauldron and nodded his head at the customers, who recognised him instantly and smiled back. As he stepped onto the pavement, memories flooded back to him and he knew he'd missed this. For so many years, he had given up on magic, but now with Gwen, he'd finally come back to life, been given new hope. Alfred thought it would probably be the same for Nancy and Maggie too, ever since that day 13 years ago. He remembered it so clearly, their faces were burned into his memory.

" Come on, dad," William Arthur called, holding the door.

" Ok, son,." Alfred said, walking quickly out of the house.

" Mum! Aunt Maggie! Uncle Simon!" William called again.

The figures of Nancy, Maggie and Simon appeared and they were shooed out of the door by William.

" What would you do, without me?" William said, putting an arm around his mother.

" I don't know, son. I don't know," Nancy said, smiling.

Then from out of nowhere, there was a beating of wings and a large dark brown owl appeared it perched on a nearby branch and screeched at the party. Alfred turned around and recognised it instantly.

It was Vicky Aldan's owl, Ebony.

" It's Vicky!"

He shouted and the others stopped and quickly ran indoors to the fireplace, "Floo Powder!" Alfred yelled.

They arrived at the small apartment of Vicky Aldan and found her huddled on the floor, babbling quietly to herself.

" Vicky!" Maggie shouted, rushing forward to the woman.

" I knew, we shouldn't have left her, in this state," Nancy said, joining Maggie and Vicky on the floor.

" It was safer this way. I thought being in the Muggle world, he wouldn't find them, that it was safer..." Alfred started, but as his gaze fell onto Vicky, he knew he'd made a mistake.

" Where's Gwen?" Nancy said loudly, everyone scanned the room but found nothing.

" What have you done with Gwen, Vicky?" Alfred said, grabbing the woman's shoulders, so that her face was facing his.

" Muggle, she's a Muggle. Can't survive, Muggles can't survive. Had to go. He'll hurt her," Vicky Aldan muttered, rocking gently.

" What do you think she did with Gwen?" William said, hoping for the best.

" I think we should go look for her," Simon Lark offered, " I mean, she probably just left her somewhere. Maybe a Muggle orphanage?"

" Yes, maybe you're right," Alfred said, walking towards the door, " You and Maggie stay here and watch her.

" Come on," he said, gesturing Simon and William towards the door.

The three men walked onto the street. " You two search up there and I'll search down here," Alfred said, pointing it out for both of them.

" Ok, meet back here at dusk," Simon said, before rushing off with William.

" Bye dad," Those words were the last that Alfred Arthur heard from his son.

* * *

" Calm down, Vicky. They're looking for her now," Nancy said, rubbing the young woman's back. Maggie was pacing the room.

" I hope the child's alright," She kept repeating.

" Please sit down," Nancy said quietly.

" Gwen is a Muggle, can't survive, had to go. Kill, he would kill her," Vicky kept saying.

" Who?" Nancy asked, looking into the woman's eyes.

" Can't say, safer for Gwen. Safe, safe. Otherwise..." Vicky muttered.

" Otherwise what?" Nancy said, leaning in closer to the woman.

" No, no, no. Can't say," The woman said, shaking her head furiously, trying to reassure her

" No, you can say," Nancy said, lifting Vicky's head and staring deeply into her eyes.

Vicky stared back at the old woman and finally agreeing it was ok, said in a low whisper,

" His Master will come and...safer this way, safer."

Vicky threw her hands on the side of her head and started to hit her head, Nancy grabbed her hands and held them tightly.

" Who is his Master? Who?" She almost screamed the sentence. Vicky looked down and mumbled, the name, the name Voldemort.

Nancy threw the woman's hands down in shock.

" What's that man done to her?" Maggie said loudly, "He's ruined her life and now his child's as well."

" Ssshh...That isn't helping, Maggie," Nancy said, getting up to face her.

Then without any warning, Vicky Aldan got up and ran out of the door, screaming,

" Must protect Gwen, must protect her from...." But they never heard the end of the sentence.

The two women rushed after her, but it was too late, she'd disappeared.

Four hours later, the bodies of Simon Lark, William Arthur and Victoria Aldan were found. They'd been killed by the Avada Kedavra curse. That day, Alfred lost his faith in magic, the day he lost his son to it.

* * *

Maggie and Nancy gracefully landed next to Gwen lying on the grass.

" About time," Gwen said, putting a mock-angry voice on.

" Sorry, just got caught up," Nancy said, breathing deeply. Her hair was a complete mess but she'd never looked younger.

Maggie leaned on the broom, trying to catch her breath.

" Now...it's...your...turn," she said, taking a breath between each word.

" Now?" Gwen asked.

" No time like the present," Nancy said, handing her the broom. " Now, just sit on the broom, one leg on either side and then push off the ground. Ok?"

" Ok," Gwen said, grabbing the broom and doing what Nancy had said. She pushed off the ground and nothing; she tried again but still nothing.

" Umm...this broom's a little old; you'll need to try harder," Maggie said, giving her a reassuring smile.

This time, Gwen dug her heels in and pushed with all she had, and up she went. She was flying, the air rushing through her hair. It was a nice distraction, flying, the air all around you, nothing being able to touch you. But as she looked down on the countryside below, she decided that she preferred her feet on the ground, where life was. Gwen was totally caught up in her own thoughts when she realized that she was flying away from Scarlett Wood. She thought she should turn around, but she didn't know how.

At first, Gwen felt scared but then an instinct from within took over and she swung the broom around. First, she swung too hard and she spun around for a few seconds, but she eventually got the hang of it and flew quickly back to Scarlett Wood.

She saw Nancy and Maggie on the ground, with their heads looking up at the sky, looking for her. Maggie spotted her first and nudged Nancy, they both started to wave and call to her, to come down. Gwen pretended not to be able to hear at first, so she could have a few more minutes to herself, but eventually she planted her feet firmly back on the ground, where they belong, Gwen thought.

* * *

Alfred walked quickly up the alley, looking for his destination and then there it was " Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since. 382."

He entered the shop and more memories rushed back.

" Now I have my wand. I'm going to be the best, aren't I, dad?" William called out.

" Yes, yes you are, William," he'd replied.

" Alfred Arthur? Is it you?" Mr. Ollivander called, walking towards the man.

" How are you?" Alfred said, snapping back to the present. He held his hand out.

" I'm fine," Ollivander gazed at his old friend and gripped his hand a little tighter. " I was sorry to hear about your son and...well..."

Alfred pulled his hand away.

" That's in the past; I'm here for the future."

" Really?" Ollivander said, straightening some boxes on a side bench.

Alfred stepped closer to the other man and said in a hushed voice. " We've found the new Merlin."

Ollivander took a step back.

" I'd heard... but I thought it was just idle gossip."

" Well, it's not. She's real and now..."

" You want the wand," Ollivander said, walking to the back room.

" Wait here," he called out.

Minutes later, he'd returned, carrying a large bronze box.

" We had so much trouble, getting this back from the other one. But, they found it, never found him, but they found this," Ollivander placed the box on a table and opened it gently. Inside was the wand, Merlin's wand, soon to be Gwen's wand.

" It's..." Alfred began but he didn't have the words.

He could feel the magic coming off the wand, it was intoxicating.

" Eleven inches, hawthorn and of course dragon heartstring," Ollivander whispered. " You know, this isn't the original. That one got stolen by...Vivienne. They say, the wood used was from the actual hawthorn tree that trapped the great Wizard himself. Apparently, he made while he was trapped and then used it to escape,"

Alfred was motionless, looking in at awe at the wand.

" So, I'll be taking this," Alfred said, reaching for the wand.

" You can't," Ollivander said abruptly, shutting the box quickly, " you know the rules. Only the Merlin can take it."

" But...," Alfred said, placing a hand on the box.

" No, my friend," Ollivander stated again.

Alfred without a moment's thought, grabbed the box and ran for the entrance, Ollivander stood and watched, waiting.

As Alfred reached the door, he was suddenly pushed back by a force, that caused him to throw the box into the air.

The box fell and landed gently into the arms of Ollivander.

" I told you, you couldn't. Only the Merlin can take it, out of the shop. Now, just bring the girl next time,"

Alfred got up and brushed the dust off his cloak.

" I can't."

" Why not?"

" Because she's not 16, yet."

" Oh, when is the child's birthday?"

" 3^rd February," Alfred replied glumly.

" Well, I shall see you then. Good day," Ollivander then turned and walked away, disappearing behind a mountain of boxes.

Alfred made his way out of the shop, a little disheartened, but then he passed "Eeylops Owl Emporium."

"Hmm..." Alfred said, walking into the shop.