Disclaimer:
Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 10: Betrayed
When Merlin reappeared on the battlefield, he felt a sudden loss of balance and was forced to use his staff to prevent his fall.
"Urggg…" The mental and physical exhaustion was finally hitting him.
The spell that he had used to seal Morgan had taken a heavy toll on him, as well as their drawn-out duel.
After taking a few seconds to recover slightly, Merlin glanced around the battlefield, and by the looks of it, this battle was already coming to an end.
He could only spot a few small groups still fighting in the distance.
However, what worried him was that he could not locate King Arthur or his knights.
With a lot of difficulty, Merlin began to make his way into the massive grass clearing, looking around the piles of bodies as he walked.
Just as he was about to give up, he finally spotted the figure of the King, kneeling on the ground, not moving.
"King Arthur!" Merlin called, but the man did not move from his position.
He approached further and gasped in shock when he saw the bodies piled up all around him.
These were the Knights of the Round Table, and they all appeared to be dead.
"Sir Gawain…" He saw the large, armor-clad man lying cold on the ground, still holding his massive warhammer in his right hand.
"Sir Percival…" Merlin muttered as he spotted the blond-haired knight covered in blood. His pure, beautiful face was no longer recognizable, and his pristine white armor had been torn to pieces.
"Sir Bors, Gareth, Galahad." Merlin continued naming all the knights. They had fallen in a neat circle around Arthur.
"Sir Lancelot…" Even the most valiant of them all had also fallen. The knight was still clutching his signature shield and spear and lay right next to the King with what appeared to be a deep wound on his neck.
The bodies of Mordred's black knights were also lying there, next to them.
By the looks of it, the battle had been extremely intense, as even the scenery had been changed beyond repair.
Finally, in front of King Arthur himself, was the massive body of Mordred.
The cause of death became clear very quickly, as the giant no longer had his head attached to the rest of his body.
"Arthur… are you still alive?" Merlin asked with a sliver of hope, and a moment later, he saw the King move.
"King Arthur!" he exclaimed. "Hold on, I believe I was carrying some healing potions."
When Arthur stood up, Merlin could finally see the state he was in.
The King's armor was almost completely covered in blood, making the silver metal appear tinted in a deep red color.
There was a deep cut that traveled diagonally across Arthur's face, no doubt caused by Mordred's sharp axe.
But what shocked Merlin the most was seeing that Excalibur had been shattered into pieces.
"Excalibur?! How?…" This was the most powerful magical artifact that Merlin had ever seen. Its mystical origins were still an enigma to him.
He never thought that one day he would see that sword being broken.
King Arthur was still clutching the sword handle. There were a few inches of sharp metal still attached to it, forming something akin to a knife.
"Arthur, can you hear me?" Merlin got closer and was now holding a red-colored potion in his right hand. "Hurry, you need to drink this."
"Death…" the King spoke in a soft voice.
"Death? What are you sayi—" Merlin's voice cut off as the King turned to face him, and Merlin felt his blood run cold when he saw the man's eyes.
King Arthur's previously blue eyes were now completely black and devoid of life or warmth.
"What happened to you?" Merlin asked, having been taken aback by this whole bizarre situation.
This moment of confusion was all that Arthur needed. In a single instant, the man closed the short gap between them, and before Merlin could react, he drove the broken blade he was holding into the sorcerer's chest, piercing his heart.
Merlin's eyes opened wide with shock, and he let out a gurgling sound as his lungs filled with blood. He could not scream.
"Death is what you deserve," Arthur repeated in a cold tone. "Just like the rest of them..."
He looked down in disbelief and saw the remnants of Excalibur embedded in his chest.
The little strength he had left was now gone. His magical staff fell from his hand and hit the ground.
"Rot in Hell, sorcerer," King Arthur said to him before twisting the blade.
"Arrgh!" Merlin could feel a stream of blood leaving his mouth.
His pupils were too heavy to remain open any longer. As darkness filled his field of vision, the last thing he saw was the face of his King and his black, hatred-filled eyes.
Merlin died in despair and confusion because of this betrayal, but his last thoughts were not about himself, but about his beloved Morgan, who would now remain sealed in Londinium, never knowing of the fate he had suffered.
He wished that he could see her one last time. Had he known this was going to happen so soon, he would have told her before leaving.
'I still love you…'
Then… there was nothing.
"Ahhh!" Harry woke up shrieking.
His head did not hit the stairs, because he was no longer in the cupboard, but he still managed to fall from his bed and land face-first against the floor.
"Ouch!"
Harry gasped and struggled to get himself off the ground.
'Calm down… calm down. It was just a dream,' he said to himself as tears fell from his eyes.
'It was just a dream…' He repeated in his mind.
But just then, a foreign voice spoke to him.
'Remember.'
Harry screamed.
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