Chapter Text
Merlin honestly couldn’t believe it had been 15 years. To be fair when you have lived almost 1500 years 15 feels like nothing at all. Still, he wondered how everyone back home was doing.
He was apparently lost in his thoughts a bit too long. Mary wacked him over the head with the mornings paper. “You know I’ve never met someone who can be lost in their own head so much.” Merlin smirked back at her.
Mary was a bright witch with a heavy southern accent. She was an apprentice alongside Merlin at an apothecary run by a genius healer in America. Merlin had come here straight after his most recent stay at Hogwarts 15 years ago to learn from the man. Merlin loved when he was able to find more information he hadn’t yet learned in his long life.
“Sorry Mar, just thinking about how long I’ve been gone.” She smiled at this. She knew Merlin missed his friends in London terribly even if he didn’t want to admit it. “Tell me about them. You always talk about this group of friends you made at Hogwarts but never elaborate.” Their boss had scarcely left them any time for chatting about their personal lives over the years and Merlin had naturally becoming a private person, so Mary had never really learned much about the man.
Merlin thought about it for a minute deciding where to start. “Okay well let’s see. I’ve obviously told you I had a close group of friends when I was in Hogwarts,” she nodded and motioned for him to continue, “well we called ourselves the marauders. Silly name I know. There were 5 of us, me, James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus. We liked to play pranks and got into quite a bit of trouble.” Mary looked surprised at this. “You, really? I didn’t know you had a sneaky side.” She said good naturedly. Merlin smiled at this as it always worked to his advantage in school that people didn’t see him as the sneaky type.
“Anyways we were extremely close. In fact, Sirius even began to live with James after some family trouble at home. We always had each other’s backs. In 7th year after I heard about this apprenticeship, I had promised to write to them so we could stay in touch until I got back. I didn’t realize we weren’t allowed to send owls until I got here.” He looked troubled at this.
He was used to randomly dropping out of people’s lives, but it was somehow different this time. He hadn’t meant to fall off the face of the earth but hoped his friends would be understanding. He hadn’t let himself think about it for fear of feeling too guilty, but it was starting to weigh on his conscience. It must have read on his face because Mary was quick to reassure him. “Hey, you didn’t know it would be this strict, if you are even half as close as you say you were then they will understand.” “Thanks Mar.”
“You’re leaving straight from work today, right?” He appreciated she was trying to change the topic. “Yep! I leave in…” He checked his watch. “Shit now! Sorry Mar I got to go I want to get the as soon as possible!” He gave her a quick hug and ran out the door in a hurry.
Mary smiled at him before dumping the newspaper on the boss’s desk. Neither had bothered to check it but they would’ve been in for a huge shock.
On the front-page bold letters read, “Escape from Azkaban” with a picture of Sirius Black screaming.
Merlin hurried to his apartment to collect his things. Despite living here for 15 years he didn’t really have much stuff. He knew he wouldn’t be here for too long, so he made sure to keep his possessions here to a minimum. He had a few books on medical potions and spells and some clothing, but he was leaving most behind.
He picked up his bags and teleported to Lake Avalon’s bank. He had a small house just a few meters away. It was a homey place with just one floor. It had 2 bedrooms but only one was in use. He always kept the other completely clean for when Arthur returned. He had resided himself to the fact that it would still be quite a while before he saw Arthur again.
He dropped his bag off in his room. It was the smaller of the two bedrooms and was packed with items for all over the world and from many different time periods. He spelled his clothes to put themselves away and decided to unpack his books by hand. He brought them over to the living room where he had bookshelves stocked completely full. On top of the bookcases were even more books all starting to yellow with age.
He placed the medical books on a shelf near the bookcases and began to try and find space for them.
A little while later he sat down to make himself some dinner and decided to read something before turning in for the night. He decided he would go visit Lily and James first tomorrow before grabbing his copy of The Great Gatsby and sitting down with some tea so he could read.
He read until about one in the morning before deciding he should get some rest. He put the book away and turned off the lights. Before he turned in for the night he went out to the lake and sat on the bank.
“Hey clot pole. I know I’ve been gone a little longer than I normally would, but I went to go study medicine. My teacher reminded me of Gaius, a lot stricter and somehow even more paranoid perhaps, but he had the same passion for helping people. He also had the same terrifying eyebrows.” Merlin was quiet for a moment as he thought about his old teacher and friend who was like a father to him.
“I really miss you; you know. I know it’s not your time yet, but I really miss you so much. I guess I should be grateful you haven’t come back yet, whatever causes you to come back must be horrendous given all the war that has happened with no sign of you rising. I really thought one of the world wars would do it.”
Merlin had to stop to compose himself when thinking about all the loved ones he lost in the two wars. He had been a medic on the front lines many times over the years, but it never really got easier.
He took a breath before continuing. “I’m going to see James and Lily tomorrow. You would love James, he’s brilliant if a bit of a troublemaker. He was a bit of a prat like you when he was younger, but he’s become a great man. And Lily is fierce. She reminds me of Gwen, always looking out for others and protecting her friends till the end. You would find Sirius hilarious; he reminds me so much of Gwaine. I sometimes wonder if it is their similarities to everyone from home that drove me to them.”
“Anyways there’s also Remus and Peter. Remus is like Percival I think, he’s quiet but also quite smart and brave. He’s been through so much it’s amazing he’s still able to move past it all and be happy. To be honest I’m not quite sure who Peter reminds me of. He is a smart kid but frightened of everything. He has a kind heart though. I left them without a word for so long. What if they hate me? What if they want nothing to do with me after I practically abandoned them?”
Merlin couldn’t help the tears that ran down his face as his breathing picked up. He began to do a breathing exercise to help calm his nerves. He would just have to find out tomorrow if his friends still wanted him in their lives.
With a final shuddering breath Merlin picked himself up off the ground. “Goodnight dollophead. Can’t wait to see you again.”
He sighed and walked back up to the house. He poured himself some water and changed into his pajamas before laying down in bed. He started up at the ceiling for a bit worrying about what the next day would bring but eventually drifted off into nothingness.