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 20: Chains
As the bartender had warned him, Harry found the alley completely empty and all the shops closed, as it was still very early in the morning.
Harry didn't mind this, as he was just admiring the surroundings and enjoying the ambience.
The concentration of magical particles was much higher in here, and for someone as sensitive as he, this was very pleasant.
Compared to busy streets with tall buildings and mechanical vehicles everywhere, he felt much more comfortable in a place like this.
'This is almost like being back at home in Camelot,' he thought as he went down the long main road.
In the distance, he could see the large goblin bank standing out over the other shops.
'I will need to go there first and get that wizard money the bartender mentioned.' He had much to learn about the current state of the world and wondered where the best place to start might be.
He also wanted to get new clothes and discard those old rags he was wearing.
As the Court Sorcerer at Camelot, Merlin had grown accustomed to being clothed in the highest quality fabrics.
'I will also need some food and a place to sleep,' Harry sighed.
His current situation was certainly not a good one.
In his previous life, he had left his hometown to travel the world by himself, but at that time, he was already an adult and had more than enough supplies to get started on his journey.
Also, as an apprentice sorcerer, Merlin had no issues finding some odd jobs at every town and village he came across. Everyone had need of his skills, after all.
He only considered settling down when he found the Kingdom of Camelot and met with the young Arthur Pendragon.
'And well, that turned out great,' he let out another sigh after getting some flashbacks of his last moments as Merlin.
"Forget it. That is all in the past. Arthur and… huh?" Just then, as he was reminiscing, Harry noted something odd out of the corner of his eye.
It was just for a moment, but he could swear to have seen something that shouldn't be here… a white chain lying across the neat stone floor.
When he scanned the area, he could no longer find it, but this left him with a sense of unease.
"No… that can't be. I must be imagining things." He was just thinking about his past, about Arthur and Morgan, so he first assumed that his mind was playing tricks on him.
"But why not check…" He didn't try to do this before because he considered it a futile effort, but now that he was here and had to wait for the shops to open, there was nothing to lose.
With no expectations, he focused his magic, recalling the spell he had used well over a millennium ago to seal Morgan le Fey and tie her body and soul to this place.
As soon as he began the chant, countless white chains appeared out of nowhere. The long white chains were spread all over the alley, covering the main road as well as extending into the narrow side streets.
"That can't be!" Harry's eyes opened in shock.
These chains should have vanished after Morgan's death.
Seeing them here could only mean one of two possibilities. Either some other sorcerer had used the same sealing spell in the same place, or… that woman was still alive somehow.
"Over 1500 years? No… that's not possible." He was not trying to sound arrogant, but as Merlin, his knowledge of magic was unrivalled across the entire continent.
The idea of Morgan knowing a piece of magic that he could be unaware of was hard to believe.
Harry approached the chains that had manifested and noticed that one of them was thicker and older-looking than the rest.
'I'll have to follow that one to find out the truth.' He saw the white chain moving away from the main road and continuing into a side alley.
Without wasting a second, Harry ventured into this other road. There was a quick change in the atmosphere.
From the brightness and safety of Diagon Alley's main road to a much darker and eerier one.
It was devoid of people, at least at first sight, but Harry was able to perceive a few eyes here and there from behind windows… he was being watched with attention.
However, this was going to do nothing to deter him. Now that he had found these chains, he was determined to follow them to the source, and whoever tried to get in the way would regret doing so.
Across sets of stairs and narrow passages, Harry chased after the main white chain.
There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of other chains spread all over the area.
He knew that this was caused by the repeated movement of the person sealed by the chains that ended up creating new chains.
When he used the spell on Morgan, he didn't want to make it too restrictive and had modified it slightly to allow her a bit of freedom in moving around the city.
He never thought she was going to make so much use of that freedom, as he never intended to leave her trapped for so long.
'Could she really be alive after so long? What would she be like at this point?' He kept wondering about this.
What kind of person could Morgan le Fey have become after being stuck in here for over 1500 years?
But more importantly, he was thinking about what he could possibly say to her if they were to meet again.
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