The Girl Who Saw Tomorrow II » Harry Potter

2.14 | Isle of Avalon

Merlin was young.

Younger than Margaret had seen him in portraits, younger than she could have ever imagined him. And yet, there he stood. As human as she had imagined him, more alive than any memories or ghosts of her past.

A few short steps were all it took for her to reach him. She threw her arms around his neck, not caring about how abrupt her actions may seem. All that mattered was that he was the only family who seemed to care about her, and she would be damned if she didn't hug him.

The stones fell from Merlin's hands and he let out a small laugh. He wrapped his arms around her without qualms, patting her back.

"I didn't think I'd find you," she mumbles, voice muffled in his shoulder.

"You remembered what you sought," Merlin replies, a smile in his tone. "You never lost faith."

"I almost did... I wouldn't be here if you didn't want me to find you," she says knowingly. He had guided her all the way, his magic still present in the world.

"Give yourself a little more credit," says he kindly.

Swallowing the knot forming in her throat, she inhaled shakily. She did not want to pull back, not yet. If she looked in those kind blue eyes, ones that were so similar to Dumbledore's, she would never be able to get the words out.

"I'm sorry..." she says quietly.

"For what?"

"For what my family did-"

"Our family, you mean?"

"Er... Yeah. For what they did. Giving up their magic and killing your family with them, trapping them in Death's reality... I'm sorry that my father betrayed... what was left of your family. I'm so sorry. I never wanted any of this."

Merlin pulled back, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking at her sincerely.

"You should not apologise for whatever anyone ever did, Margaret. It wasn't your fault and it never will be."

She averted her eyes, looking at the glinting lake on the side. She felt guilty regardless. Her very existence was proof of a betrayal.

"You are responsible for no one's choices," Merlin tells her as if reading her mind. "Power can make even the kindest of those greediest of all. Our family did some terrible things, I won't deny that. Losing their magic and their lives in search of always pure was not their punishment but their saving grace. Their misunderstanding of things they considered simple could've caused unimaginable damage in a world void of proper knowledge of magic itself."

As Margaret gave herself time to ponder over the words, she finally turned to look at the scene spread out in front of them.

The mist was still present even if barely. It was scattered over the sapphire surface of the lake, giving it an ethereal impression. The banks on either side were luscious green plains reflecting in the water, the image blurred by the mist. Margaret realised that she could not see much past the treeline far on the opposite bank, as if what was beyond was hidden by a veil of fog.

However, what stood out in the entire scene was the small island in the centre of the lake on which was a tall grey tower with a triangular top. The shadows around it appeared to shift and it certainly was not due to the fog. Margaret felt oddly drawn to it, as though that was where the next great adventure would begin.

"Why me?" she mutters.

"Hmm?"

"Why bring me here? Why allow me to see you – out of all those who've looked for you, all those who were probably more powerful than I am, why me?"