The Gathering: The New Order of Merlin Book 1

45. Cursed karma

       Jack woke up with a start. The remnants of the dream lingered on his mind. It was a memory of the day when they decided that they had to escape from their mother. He often wondered if Elsa really wanted to run away or if she only did it for him. She didn't have as much of a problem with Mother as he did. Would she have been happy to stay? Well, maybe 'happy' wasn't the right word. Mother wasn't a loving person, but at least, she treated Elsa well, rewarded her, and praised her. Maybe Elsa would have found some form of happiness eventually.

No. He shouldn't question their decision to escape together. Elsa was definitely happier now than she ever was there. She had friends and access to more books than she could read in her lifetime. This school and this life were perfect for her.

It was time to get ready for another school day. Merlin was already up. Colin covered his head with a comforter. Jack had never realized how much he wanted to have friends before he met them, and now, the thought of losing them hurt his chest. How long did he have left with them?

Yesterday's argument with McGonagall hung over his head along with the question: What now? What could he do to prevent getting kicked out of Hogwarts? The whole reason why he ran away from Mother and dragged his sister along was to avoid being forced to do what he believed was wrong. But history was repeating itself. There were practices at this school he didn't agree with, that were plain wrong. He didn't escape Mother's wrong teachings just to fall into wrong teachings elsewhere. But this time, he didn't want to run. He had many reasons to stay. Two of them were right here in the room with him.

"Rise and shine, you two," Merlin ordered. "It's a brand new day, and I have a feeling it will be a good one. We're going to the Great Hall right now."

"I had such a strange dream," Colin said, yawning. "I lost my cat and was looking for him in the woods. I couldn't remember his name, so I called him by my dog's name. How do you forget your pet's name? But you know what's weird? I don't have a cat."

Jack wished he had dreams like that, but all of his usually centered on Mother, either memories or cruel products of his imagination. Would there ever come a day when he was no longer scared of her? Or maybe it wasn't her he was scared of. Though he tried to not think of it, he still feared that no matter how far he ran, he couldn't escape his fate and would turn into a monster just like she wanted.

"I just remembered," Colin mumbled and clutched his covers tightly, "I need to finish up homework. I'll catch you guys later."

"No," Merlin said firmly and threw the covers off of Colin. "You are getting up. Bring the homework with you. I'll help you finish it. We need to get there immediately."

"Why?"

"Well... I'm really hungry, and I need you there with me."

"Why?"

"Just come with me. Are you my friends or not?"

They made their way to the Great Hall, but instead of sitting in their usual spot in the middle, Merlin steered them closer to the staff table. He seemed to look for a specific spot with a specific view but wouldn't explain why. Instead, he grinned wide and rubbed his hands together as if he was anticipating something. He was usually a pretty serious guy so this behavior was odd. Jack had never seen him so eager before.

"What are you so excited about?" Jack asked.

"Me? Nothing specific. I guess, I woke up excited. I can't wait to see what the house-elves prepared for us this morning. Maybe there's porridge today. I love a good porridge."

Jack asked incredulously, "You're excited about porridge?"

"Yeah. You're not?"

Jack shook his head and decided to ignore the strange behavior. He had more important things to worry about than Merlin's giddiness.