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FAITH'S MOUSTACHE TOOK ITS TIME TO go away completely. It meant that the girls spent their afternoon in the dormitory, Faith muttering curses while Albany resumed her work with extra motivation.

She scrapped ideas, brainstormed new ones, and by the time the bushy red hairs had finished falling out of Faith's face, she was quite proud of her completed plan.

She just needed materials.

"I'm heading to Hogsmeade tomorrow," she spoke up.

Faith returned from the bathroom, face visibly shining after numerous layers of moisturiser had been applied. "What?"

"Hogsmeade," Albany repeated, glancing at her friend. "It's a bit too late to go today, but I need a few things."

"Oh?" Faith said, intrigued. "This prank better be good. You've been at it all day."

"You wouldn't let me leave you alone all day."

"I need emotional support right now!"

Albany chuckled. "You wanna come with?"

Faith was rubbing circular motions on her face in an attempt to spread out the moisturiser. "I would, but if you're going to be there all day I better not. I've got Arithmancy first thing Monday and a crazy amount of homework that I haven't started."

Albany made a face. She found her own classes difficult enough as it was, but Arithmancy sounded horrible. Magic and numbers did not mix well with her.

"That's alright," she assured the girl. "I should be able to manage by myself. I know what I'm looking for."

Faith raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I'm excited."

"You should be."

Albany herself was nearly buzzing in anticipation of the revenge prank, delighted with what she'd come up with. She spent the rest of the evening envisioning the Weasley twins' annoying faces when they realised they'd been outsmarted, and had a dreamy smirk permanently engraved on her face all the way through dinner and until bed. It felt very unlike herself to be so adventurous by doing something like this, but she hadn't had so much fun in years. Her usual school life consisted of struggling through class, groaning through study, listening to Faith's gossip and lots and lots of coffee. This was new... and it was exciting.

As she tucked herself under the weighted covers of her four-poster bed that night, she fell asleep still wrapped in thoughts of what was to come. Her smile never left as she drifted off, nearly hoping for the twins to appear in her dreams.

Surprisingly, they didn't feature at all. Her dreams were, however, extremely vivid, and unlike any she'd had before.

Albany was in a magnificent white stone castle, donning a cream and purple cotton dress that looked like something from the medieval ages. She walked the hallways of the castle with grace and elegance she couldn't begin to hope for in the waking world, her hair neater than it had ever been as it fell in waves down her back. Torchlight was the only reason she was able to see her way around; the narrow windows of the castle gave her brief views of a pitch black sky as she strolled past them.

She paused outside a pair of tall, grand wooden doors, listening curiously as she heard voices within. Voices that sounded all too familiar.

"Merlin, you've been at this for ages. Why can't you reach her?"

Footsteps echoed against the walls of the open room behind the doors. Someone was pacing.

"I don't know! It's like there's a blockade in her mind. Last time was so much easier...."

A pause. The first voice lowered.

"And last time went horribly wrong. Maybe this is a good sign that things will be different."

Another pause.

"I really hope so. We don't have much choice."

Impatient, Albany reached for the handles of the doors and pushed them open, straining from the effort. They felt heavier than they looked, she thought.

Two young men were standing inside, and spun around to look at her with wide eyes. One had dark hair, like her, and sharp cheekbones - he was dressed very casually, with a red bandana around his neck and a brown jacket over his shirt. He seemed anxious, and she guessed that he was the one who had been pacing.

His companion was a little taller, and had broader shoulders. He seemed to carry more muscle under his red blouse, and had a rounder face and dirty blonde hair. His hands were on his hips and his mouth slightly agape; in her dream world, Albany instantly recognised him as an authority figure.

"Hello," she greeted them casually, blinking back their stares.

The blond one glanced from her to his friend and back several times, apparently in shock.

"Is that-"

"Yes," his dark-haired companion answered him quickly, still staring. "Albany?"

"Hello," she said again. She wasn't sure why she felt comfortable with them. Like they were friends.

The blond one smiled at her, and his posture relaxed. "Do you know where you are?" he asked, and looked hopefully expectant of a specific answer.

Albany glanced around the wide, open room. It reminded her of the Great Hall, with its arched ceiling, though there was only one large table behind the two men, and it was perfectly round.

"Camelot," she answered, though hadn't the slightest clue where she had conjured such a name from.

He grinned from ear to ear. "Impressive, right?"

Albany shrugged. "It's like Hogwarts, but cleaner." She found herself looking down at her own clothes again, and then at the two men's. "And older."

The dark-haired one elbowed the blond in the ribs, causing his chest to deflate as he clutched at his side, glaring.

"Nevermind him," the dark-haired one said, amusement evident in his deep blue eyes. "He's just trying to boast. I'm Merlin."

He walked over to Albany as he spoke, and held out his hand. She shook it with a smile, noting how warm it was. The contact sent pleasant tingles down her spine.

"Merlin," she repeated, and then the name clicked. She blinked at him, eyes widening as realisation hit her. "Aren't you supposed to have a beard?"

The blond snorted from behind him. Merlin's lips twitched, though he kept his expression neutral. "I prefer to go without it," he said. "The airhead behind me is Arthur."

Albany squinted at him. "Arthur Weasley?" She vaguely recalled reading an article in the Daily Prophet about the man.... Something to do with Mad-Eye Moody and scandalous dustbins. But the man before her was not a redhead, and the way his face fell at her guess suggested he most certainly was not a Weasley.

This time it was Merlin who had a laugh.

"Arthur Pendragon, actually," the blond corrected her drily as he walked over to the two. "I'm kind of the King of Camelot."

Merlin turned to his companion with an eyebrow raised. "You were," he said.

"Whatever."

Merlin turned his attention back to Albany, smiling in amusement. He had kind eyes, she decided.

"I've been trying to reach you for a while," he explained. "You might have heard us at some point-"

"You're the reason I got detention with Flitwick!" Albany interrupted, jaw dropping. She narrowed her eyes at him. "That was not cool. Nobody gets detention with Flitwick. And on the first day back!"

Merlin looked sheepish as he rubbed at the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry about that," he said, and sounded genuinely apologetic. "You've been quite difficult to connect with."

Albany huffed. "You wouldn't be the first to say that."

"No wait, I don't mean it like that!" Merlin said hastily, waving his hands at her. "Sorry. I meant that I was having trouble bridging our magical connection."

Albany raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you Merlin? As in Merlin, the greatest sorcerer of all time?"

His cheeks reddened slightly. "Look, I'm not the one who gave myself the title-"

"Someone did," Albany pointed out. "Don't tell me all that stuff is just a rumour."

"No, it's not - I mean, not to sound like an ass, but I - I mean, I'm not the greatest, but I'd say I'm decent...." He trailed off, flustered, while Arthur snickered. "That's not the point. If you're here now, then the connection is strengthening considerably."

"Took you long enough," Arthur snorted.

Merlin shot him a glare, and turned back to Albany. "You're probably wondering-"

"Why me?"

Merlin's gaze softened. "This might sound a little crazy-"

"I have Faith Moran as a best friend, I've probably heard worse."

"You're my direct descendant."

Albany stared at him.

Merlin exchanged glances with Arthur, slightly concerned as the girl seemed to be completely frozen.

"I'm not joking," he said.

Albany's eye twitched. She appeared to regain control over her body, blinking at him in complete disbelief. "I'm sorry, but there's no way. You've got the wrong person."

"We wouldn't be having this conversation right now if that was the case," Merlin explained gently. "It's only because you're directly descended from me that I could bridge our connection at all."

Albany wrinkled her nose. "You had kids?"

Merlin sighed, as Arthur was trying desperately to stifle his laughter as he observed the interaction.

"Yes, look, that's not what I'm getting at-"

"Listen, I don't know if you've been watching me or something, which I'm presuming you have, given the little comments I've been hearing," Albany said, shooting an accusatory glance Arthur's way, "but you should know enough about me by know to realise that I'm... definitely not who you're looking for."

Merlin's smile softened. "Albany-"

"No, really," she interrupted him again, and her head was beginning to hurt, her heart rate increasing as she attempted to process the concept. "I'm shit with my magic, like useless, you saw me in Charms and that was a good day - there's nothing remotely impressive about me, I've only got one friend and my life is kind of miserable when you look at literally anyone else's-"

The girl seemed to be entering a hysterical state as her gaze slowly fell to the floor. Her hands rose to grip her head as it spun, panicked eyes glancing between Merlin and Arthur as they watched her spiral.

"I'm just me, and I can be some bitch to people even when I don't mean to be, and I'm always in a bad mood, and I'm really out of shape physically - I can't be, it's just - I'm not-"

The room was spinning around her, picking up speed as it did, and her heading was pounding with increasing pain, and her breath was caught in her throat as she tried to get out more words. It wasn't possible, it simply couldn't be....

"Albany," Arthur was saying, and maybe he had stepped closer to her in the blur that her dancing vision had become.

"She's waking up," Merlin said quietly, and his voice sounded distant as the castle faded to black.

Albany woke up in the Slytherin dormitories with a gasp, sitting upright so rapidly she nearly fell forward, dizzy. She took a moment to regain her breath as she realised that she was struggling for it, mind slowly calming as she took in her surroundings.

Just a dream. She inhaled slowly, and exhaled. The lights were on in the circular room, silver lamps that hung from the stone walls illuminating the five beds. The other girls were all up already and gone, which Albany was quite glad for, as she didn't fancy anyone seeing her in such a state. She rubbed at her eyes, hoping it would ease the dull ache behind them. Just a dream.

The longer she was awake, the fuzzier the details became. She was already struggling to remember what exactly had woken her with such a start, and reached over to the pin board to rip off a piece of parchment and write down what she did recall. It felt important, somehow.

"Oh, there's no need for that," said a voice. A voice she knew.

A dark-haired young man was sitting at the end of her bed, smiling cheerfully at her. His smile was quickly wiped from his features as he had to rapidly duck to avoid an incoming pillow, and then another one.

"Merlin's ghost!" Albany screeched, and in her haste to scramble out of her bed, got her legs tangled in the sheets and fell flat on her face.

Merlin chuckled at her, though remained where he was. "I mean, you're not wrong," he said.

Albany stumbled to her feet hurriedly, glaring at him. Her heart was racing again as adrenaline surged; had she really woken up or was there some sort of inception going on? As she stared down the young - old? - wizard, details began to come rushing back to her. Merlin's descendant.

"I'm not-" she started, but this time, he interrupted her.

"Hey, I hate to spring this on you as well, but I'm perfectly certain of it," he said, smiling gently. "There's a few other things-"

"Am I still dreaming?" Albany asked suddenly, not quite trusting the sting she'd felt after pinching her arm.

"Do you ever let me talk?"

Albany glared at him. "Answer the question."

"You trust me to?" Merlin asked her, a playful twinkle in his eye as he glanced at where she had pinched herself. Met with silence, he sighed. "No, you're awake. The dream allowed me to as good as seal our connection, so here I am."

"Oh, joy."

"Look, Merlin, she's got your sass," said another voice, and Arthur was standing behind his companion. Albany wasn't sure how long he'd been there. "You two are definitely related."

Albany rolled her eyes. "Now it's really a party."

Merlin sighed, though was smiling nonetheless. "We have a lot to discuss, now that we can talk face-to-face. I hate to overwhelm you with all this new information, but-"

"Oh no, you can stop right there," Albany informed him, brushing herself off. She grabbed her bag and her clothes from a pile on the floor, and made her way towards the bathroom as if daring them to follow her. "I've got plans today. Yours can wait."

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❃ a/n:

thought i'd leave a little author's note here just to thank you all for reading! i know i've only got about three readers at the moment, but you three mean a lot, so thank you <3

i'm going to keep updating as often as i can, considering i'm stuck at home for the forseeable future with this social distancing stuff and the country in lockdown.

but honestly, this is the farthest i've ever gotten with any of my books and i have so much inspiration and motivation to write at the moment, it's crazy! it sounds kinda dumb but i always seem to lose interest after the first or second chapter so i am beyond hyped to see where this takes me :)

if you have anything you like or dislike in particular, let me know!

i hope everyone is enjoying, and consider leaving a vote or a comment if you do ;) y'all make my day and i love you, that is all <3

- A x