𝓛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇 (𝒞𝑒𝒹𝓇𝒾𝒸 𝒟𝒾𝑔𝑔𝑜𝓇𝓎)

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝟣𝟫

ᖇEᐯEᒪᗩTIOᑎ

"You've been expecting me?" Ariana asked, quickly overcoming her stunned silence.

"I've been guiding you towards me," Morgana le Fay leaned back and sat down on a comfortable throne like seat, something that was clearly not present in the portrait frame before she appeared.

"You're Morgan le Fay," Ariana walked closer to the portrait, stopping directly in front of it. "Lumos."

The tip of her wand illuminated the darker part of the room, bright white light melting into shades of lilac and violet as it touched the hue cast by the candles. Ariana willed her wand to stay afloat in the air next to the portrait so that she didn't have to suffer a tired arm.

"And you're Arianalisea Pendragona Sagewood," Morgana responded.

"I - you're supposed to be..." Ariana wasn't sure how to continue. All her years in the Wizarding World and one thing had always been clear:
The greatest wizard to have ever walked the earth was Merlin, and his most powerful and villainous enemy was the infamous dark witch, half sister of King Arthur, Morgan le Fay. 
Also known as Morgana Pendragon.

The only place Ariana had read something that did not describe Morgana as  merely a dark witch was in the edition of Arthurian legends she found in the Hogwarts Library. Even the Chocolate Frog card that was dedicated to Morgana didn't mention anything good about her. Ariana didn't exactly remember it, but she was certain it said 'Medieval Dark Witch'.

"Evil? Heartless? Insane?" The portrait herself added.

"Well, yeah." Ariana finished lamely.

"You read it, the book from the library," Morgana stated. "I made sure you'd find it. It's the real story of Arthur Pendragon."

"The legendary King Arthur is my..." Ariana looked back at the wall, counting the generations after him until they came down to her name. "Twenty-seventh great grandfather? This is unbelievable."

"Indeed," Morgana confirmed. "And I am your twenty-seventh great grandmother, as well as Winterfell. Merlin was my consort, and your other twenty-seventh great grandfather. He's still alive, so I'm unsure whether to say is or was..."

"He's still alive?!"

"He doesn't go out into your streets very often, but he's there," Morgana nodded. "Awaiting the day when Albion is in its greatest need and Arthur rises again, Winterfell reclaiming her dragon-ice throne. He lives as a Muggle, hidden from the magical world. You must never reveal that information to anyone, not even the friends that are aware of your abilities. It is a secret to be concealed by you, the only person alive who can know he lives."

"So that isn't just a myth," Ariana gasped. "But...what happened, what actually happened back then?"

The witch in the portrait sighed heavily. "As you 'modern' people would put it: shit happened."

Ariana merely raised an eyebrow. "I need a better explanation than that," she said. "Why me, what is the purpose of my gifts?"

"Long, long ago, there was an ancient kingdom called Oreithyia," Morgana narrated. "There was another kingdom, almost as ancient, called Camelot. And there were also four other big kingdoms and many little ones too. But Oreithyia was the only-"

"Please," Ariana interrupted. "I don't need to know this, I've already read about it in that book. Oreithyia was the only one with a magical royal family, the only kingdom whose law stated it was permitted were it used for good."