Chapter 135: Arc 4: Chapter 23: Merlin, King of Children

Merlin holds two canned drinks back into the cabin, he sees the thin and young Harry Potter sitting on the sofa with uneasiness while contemplating his surroundings.

This child doesn't seem like he's used to riding on a plane, any slight vibration would make him uneasy.

Merlin walks over and places a canned drink in front of him, he then sits on the sofa next to Harry and tells Harry:

"Mr. Potter, I just talked to the pilot, we'll stop at Canada for a dozen minutes before heading directly to New York. This trip is about 9 hours, so if you're tired, you can go to your room for a rest, or take a hot shower to relax."

"Muggle...err, I mean, are the planes normal people ride all like this?"

Harry picks up the drink in front of him and takes a sip, an odd expression appears on his face; he looks at the furnishing inside the cabin and asks curiously:

"This seems to be quite different from the cabin Dudley described. Shouldn't there be a lot of seats and passengers here?"

"Oh, that's the commercial flight."

Merlin explains:

"This is SHIELD's business jet, only open for use to agents on the field. I dared not to bring you back to New York on a commercial flight while the Ministry of Magic is watching you, that's too eye-catching."

"Speaking of which, Mr. Potter, is this your first time on a plane?"

"Mmm."

Harry nods, he presses his black-framed round glasses and tells Merlin:

"Since I was young, the furthest I've been was from London to Hogwarts, but I went by train. I heard from Hagrid that wizards dislike muggle technology, even the train to Hogwarts was built after the Ministry of Magic's dozens of discussions."

"Is that so?"

Merlin nods understandingly.

Although he was half a wizard, he had seen very few wizards.

The wizards he knows deeply are Hermione and Mr. Arthur, young Hermione is interested in all things new, while Mr. Arthur is curious about the technology of the muggle civilization.

But from Harry's answer, it would seem that the wizarding world is still rather sealed-off.

"So, how does it feel? Mr. Potter."

Merlin leans against the sofa and converses with Harry, using this method to soothe the young man's nervous emotions. He smiles and looks at Harry, saying:

"Which feels better? Sitting on dozens of tonnes of steel into the sky or riding your broomstick?"

"Err...broomstick."

Harry scratches his head, he looks around and tells Merlin:

"To be honest, Mr. Merlin, I'm sitting here while worrying every minute about whether or not this steel giant would suddenly fall...especially during take-off, the vibrations scared me."

"Hahahaha"

Merlin lets out a kind laugh, he sips on his drink and tells Harry:

"I was also like this during my first plane ride, let me think; that should be 3 years ago, I sat on a business jet like this from New York to Europe, then I leaped into the open sea from about 3000 meters in the sky."

Merlin makes a leaping gesture and says:

"That was a secret mission, me and my companions had to jump into the ocean from a flying plane, where a cargo ship would be waiting for us there. That was my first time on a long-distance flight and my first parachute jumping, so I was nervous. My companions accurately landed on the deck of the cargo ship, while...I landed in the ocean."

Merlin shrugs:

"I'll never forget that terrible feeling."

"It does feel terrible falling into the water, that suffocating feeling always makes someone extremely fearful."

Harry begins sharing his own story.

The young man slowly exits his uneasy status, a 15-year old child wouldn't have much vigilance anyways; under the gentle Merlin's inducing, Harry begins to talk about his story at Hogwarts.

"That was last year, during the Triwizard Tournament, I represented Hogwarts to participate for the Goblet of Fire."

Harry sips on his drink while telling Merlin:

"The first task was to take the golden egg from a dragon's watch, the second task was to save my friends at the bottom of the black lake while being surrounded by Merpeople."

The young man waves his hand and says exaggeratingly:

"I've no idea how to swim, yet I was forced to jump into the cold water, which almost made me suffocate. But thankfully, my friend Neville gave me a Gillyweed beforehand, allowing me to grow fish gills and webs; this allowed me to freely breathe underwater like a real fish. But even so, it was difficult."

"I only managed to save Ron and another girl at the last second. I thought I failed, only to find out I landed second."

Harry recollects what happened last year and tells Merlin:

"I'll probably never forget that competition and the events that had transpired for the rest of my life."

As he spoke, Harry seems to remember something bad, his originally excited emotions drooped.

"What is it? Mr. Potter, are you feeling unwell?"

Merlin notices Harry's slightly pale complexion and asks with concern.

Harry shakes his head, he stays silent for a brief moment before saying:

"I'm sorry, Mr. Merlin, but I want to take a rest; I just...remembered something bad. Someone died for me, and I'm guilty...I feel like I did them wrong."

As he finishes, the young man takes off his glasses and rubs his slightly reddish eyes, he lets out a smile at Merlin with difficulty and says:

"Also, call me Harry, Mr. Merlin."

"It's alright, it's alright, child."

Merlin senses the seemingly true sorrow from Harry, he pats on Harry's shoulder and says:

"It's normal to be sad, this world isn't filled with happiness, this world allows us to be sad. I believe that as a chosen one, you must've beared and experienced a lot more than your peers of the same age."

"I'm not the chosen one, Mr. Merlin."

Harry lifts his head and says to Merlin seriously:

"Nor do I want to become one, they say that my parents were heroes. But I don't want them to be heroes, because, for me, it means that I lost them when I was very little...I'd rather my parents stay by my side."

"Yeah."

Merlin was influenced by Harry's words, he raises his head and looks at the ceiling of the plane, he takes a sip of his drink and says softly:

"Which orphan wishes not for their parents to be alive?"

He lowers his head and smiles at Harry:

"I too am an orphan..."

"My parents died in a disaster 1 month after I was born. Trust me, Harry, I understand how you feel; but what's luckier for me is that my foster parents were kinder than the Dursleys. It must've been hard for you to live with such horrible people for a dozen years, right?"

"It's okay."

Harry shrugs and tells Merlin:

"My uncle and aunt are okay to me, they even gave me Dudley's small bedroom, and fed me.

"I understand their thoughts, magic is always mysterious yet fear-inducing for normal people. And, from what I heard, my mother didn't have a good relationship with my aunt when she was alive, her taking me in after my parents' death shows that she's a kind person."

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"Alright, quite the angel you are."

Merlin frowns and looks at the worn-out and tattered clothes Harry was wearing, he then says:

"I'll have to get you a new set of clothes after we arrive."

"No, this is quite fine, Mr. Merlin."

Harry stops him:

"I can't let you spend money."

"Don't be silly, child."

Merlin stands up and pats harry's head, saying:

"You'll be disguising yourself as a muggle for the next 7 days, you're too eye-catching with these clothes. This is for yours and my safety. Now, go sleep, it's late. When you wake up, we'll almost arrive in New York."

Merlin glances at his watch and points Harry to his room, the latter stands up, gives his thanks to Merlin, then enters his room.

Merlin walks to the edge of the cabin, on the table, there was a birdcage with a white owl in it.

It was Hedwig, Harry's pet.

Merlin takes out a pack of pet food from his pocket and feeds it to the smart and human-like bird, he then picks up his phone and dials a number.

"Garrett, we've already exited European airspace. Is the situation over at your place still safe?"

"Merlin, who exactly did you take?"

The level-5 agent Garrett on the other side of the phone says with a headache:

"Just now, our branch in London was invaded by a group of unidentified assailants! DOzens of our agents were attacked, I'm dealing with this mess right now. What's terrible is that they seem to have forgotten about what just happened, like their memories were wiped. An unlucky guy even forgot his name...this is not normal!"

"They didn't harm anyone, right?"

Merlin asked.

"No one was hurt, but our archive room was invaded."

Confusion was in agent Garrett's tone as he says:

"To be frank, I don't get it, they went for the archive room instead of just turning on a computer...your itinerary is recorded in the computers, but there's no sign of them being turned on, bloody hell."

"We have to thank tradition for that."

Merlin says something unexpectedly, he then tells Garrett:

"Anyways, no need to worry, Garrett. This affair ends here, I'll tell you the truth if I can in the future. This affair is related to a powerful supernatural force."

"Mmm, alright, then I won't ask."

Garrett says through the phone:

"And I've thrown the three plane tickets from London to New York you asked me to get for you in the designated email."

"Thanks, Garrett; I'll surely treat you the next time I come to Europe."

After conversing for a short while, Merlin hangs the call.

He looks at the gloomy weather outside the cabin and lets out a breath.

The Ministry of Magic reacted quickly, but they were misled by the information Merlin left behind on purpose. They missed their best chance to capture Merlin and Harry by spending their efforts invading the London branch.

By the time they find some truly useful information, Merlin and Harry would've already arrived in North America.

"Thankfully those old geezers don't use computers..."

Merlin snorted, he reaches out and strokes the white owl in the cage before turning and entering his room.

 5 hours later, in the duty-free shop in Kennedy International Airport.

Harry Potter was dazzled by the clothes displayed in the display window, a child that's been mistreated by his uncle and aunt was somewhat helpless in the face of the dazzling array of goods.

Merlin could not stand seeing him stand in the store while holding the owl, he walks over to the counter and says to the pretty female staff:

"This, that, and that, then take a watch, and lastly a casual suit."

He glances at Harry's figure and asks the young miss:

"Can we try clothes here?"

"We do, sir."

The young miss introduces so with dedication.

Merlin nods, he then waves his hand at Harry, takes the birdcage in his hand, and points at the fitting room:

"Go, I'll wait for you here."

A dozen minutes later, a brand new Mr. Potter walks out of the fitting room.

He wore a blue casual suit, probably the same style as the gray suit Merlin was wearing; he even tidied up his messy hair, looking to be full of spirit.

It was then that Merlin notices a black lightning-shaped scar on the left side of Harry's forehead. It wasn't scary, it gave the young man a mysterious feeling.

Merlin folds his shoulders and contemplates the brand new Harry, he then nods in satisfaction:

"Not bad, this is good."

He takes out his wallet and pays, he then points at the shopping bags on the counter and tells Harry:

"Take these, let's go welcome your friends."

"Huh?"

Surprise appears on Harry's face as he asks:

"You're saying, Ron and Hermione, are also here?"

"Of course."

Merlin presses his glasses and says to the young man in front of him:

"How could I let you travel alone?"

"Come on, let's not miss their flight."

Merlin carries the birdcage out from the duty-free shop with Harry following behind him; moments later, at the arrival hall, Harry waves excitedly at the three young people dragging their luggage up ahead:

"Hey, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, I'm here! Come quick!"

Merlin stands further behind, he looks at the 4 talking young people then remembers Erik in his house, he frowns and mumbles to himself:

"5 young people, oh god, I didn't pay attention and now I've become a king of children."

 

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