Chapter 153: Arc 4: Chapter 40: Merlin’s Patronus

Later that night, Merlin returns to his home.

His conversation with Dumbledore's mirage was not a happy one, the elderly wizard, as their wizarding traditions, used riddles and vague words to speak about something that could be said in a few sentences.

Merlin feels like he's onto something, yet he feels like he doesn't.

He knows that there is a powerful force aiding him in this world, yet until Dumbledore's mirage had vanished, he had no idea where to find this force.

The elderly wizard had said to him in a mysterious tone before he left:

"You'll know when it's time."

"Hell! When's that?"

Merlin takes off his coat and hangs it on the hanger, he turns on the lights of the living room and begins to tidy up his house.

Erik had returned to St Agnes Orphanage, he has to deal with his exams lately so he won't be coming by any time soon. The kid's got good grades, and Merlin hopes that he can further his studies in a better school, like Midtown High School in Queens.

If Erik could study there, he would live at his cousin's house, which means he'll probably not come by for a long time.

But this was good.

Merlin was essentially not a crowd person, since a relatively quiet environment is needed whether it be for an agent's secrets or for him to continue his magic research.

"Meow!"

As Merlin finishes up with the living room, the orange cat Goose suddenly leaps down from the second floor and lands on Merlin's shoulder.

The cat gently stuck its head next to Merlin's hair and meowed at Merlin's ear, seemingly telling him something.

Merlin understood.

He sits on the sofa and places Goose on the table, he looks at Goose's eyes and says:

"You're saying that you'll be leaving for some time?"

"Meow!"

Goose lifts its head and nods, it extends its tongue and licks Merlin's hand with nostalgia, and meows again.

"It's gonna be a few years?"

Merlin widens his eyes, he strokes Goose's smooth fur, looks at Goose, and says:

"So what is it?"

Facing Merlin's question, the orange cat Goose flips its body on the table and reveals its slightly fat belly Merlin then notices that Goose has been gaining a bit too much weight.

It even felt bloated.

He reaches out and strokes Goose's belly, in his dark senses, Merlin could faintly feel some other life forms being nurtured in Goose's belly.

"Ah!"

Merlin exclaims:

"You're having kittens? When did you have babies? How do I not know? Aren't you still juvenile?"

"Meow!"

Goose flips around and squats on the table, lazily meowing at Merlin.

"Alright."

Merlin strokes his forehead as he could somewhat understand what Goose was implying.

Goose was already having babies when it was adopted by the Kree Mar-Vell.

But Flerkens have a different physiological structure than other lifeforms, it has a long nurturing period, and after a few years, Goose has a feeling that the first batch of its kittens was about to be born, so it needs to find a place to give birth.

For now, it would seem that Goose has found a suitable spot.

And for some reason, Merlin thinks that it has something to do with Professor McGonagall who could transform into a kitten.

"I have a question, Goose, answer me honestly."

Merlin looks at Goose and asks seriously:

"Flerkens can eat, right? Will your babies devour the Earth after their birth?"

"Meow!"

Goose lifts its head and meows at Merlin, it then looks at the sky and meows again; this time, Merlin understood what Goose was saying.

"You're saying that you'll throw them into space after their birth?"

Merlin says in a low tone:

"Isn't that too cruel?"

"Meow!"

Goose glares at Merlin with slight dissatisfaction, it then storms up the stairs and into its nest.

This law of nurturing may be cruel, but it is the tradition of Flerkens, one of the rules that make this universe tick; this was not something Merlin should judge about.

"Alright."

Merlin leans against the sofa with slight exhaustion, he closes his eyes and says in a low tone:

"Now Goose is leaving too, I'm really becoming a loner now."

A somewhat cowardly sense of goodbye floods Merlin like the tide, causing him to become dispirited; this situation continued on until the early morning of the second day.

Merlin carries Goose while standing at the door.

He strokes Goose's head and tells the orange cat:

"Take good care of yourself while you're out there, don't eat random things, and run if you're in trouble. You're just a juvenile, and as mighty as you are, the world is a deep pond of water, so don't put yourself in danger, alright?"

"Meow"

Goose lifts its head and looks at the rambling Merlin, it softly meows and extends a paw, patting on Merlin's palm as if saying goodbye.

Then, the fat orange cat Goose leaps into the air from Merlin's arms, a small energy tunnel appears mid-air, and Goose disappears into it without a trace.

Merlin widens his eyes.

After taking care of Goose for so long, this was his first time knowing that the lazy cat had a high-class skill like teleportation aside from being a glutton.

As expected of a mysterious Flerken.

So now it seems that Merlin doesn't need to worry much about Goose, as very few in the world can catch it with its skills. 

 

Merlin in his sleepwear stood at the door stunned for a brief moment, he then shakes his head and returns to his empty room.

He makes himself a simple breakfast, and after finishing it, he heads to the basement which he had reconstructed into a miniature magic chamber.

There were jars used for making potions in the corner, on the other table were some quill pens and specially made ink, they were for learning enchantments.

Lastly was a red cushion lying at the center of the basement.

It was where Merlin meditated.

He stretches his body and sits on the cushion, he takes out his crimson red wand Lola and places it in front of him; Merlin lightly curls his finger, Lola then lets out a humming sound and levitates before Merlin.

He lets out a breath, taps his finger on the wand, and while recollecting the spell Harry had given him last night, he conjures his mana and softly chants:

"Expecto Patronum!"

This was the chant for Expecto Patronum, it's simple and doesn't require a fixed mana model to conjure.

But after chanting the spell, there was no response from the mana he had injected into his wand like he was using a spell he could not use.

"So it doesn't work."

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Merlin sighs, this much was within his expectations since high-tier spells are never so easily used.

Or to say, the simpler it looks, the more complex it is to use.

"Happy things representing will and emotion?"

Merlin recalls what Harry had exhorted him, he even asked Dumbledore this question just last night; the latter told him that Expecto Patronum could hardly be called true magic, its forming is similar to that of a Dementor, it's more like an energy creature formed by positive emotional energy.

The chanting of Expecto Patronum is just to smoothen the process of the formation of the positive energy, it wasn't the most important factor.

"The mysteries of magic, how mystical."

Merlin stands up, he holds his wand, closes his eyes, and tries to clear his mind.

"Happy things."

He muttered these words silently and began rummaging through his memories.

Trigon's contract, Chicago's explosion, Central City's disaster, Maine Harbor's storm, Oakland's attack.

No! Not these, they're too dark.

Merlin frowns, he suddenly realizes that although he had been through so much, he had very few happy memories.

Further, even further!

Merlin's memories go back to when he was 18, back when he was living on the Coulsons' farm.

James, Anna, Phil.

They were not true family, nor were they bound by blood, yet they were no different from true family, the days and nights spent together were Merlin's most treasured memory.

Since his childhood, James and Anna have treated him as their son.

They loved and cherished him.

Since rumors about Merlin's misfortune began to spread in Buffalo County, James and Anna brought Merlin away from their hometown to Madison, where they lived on a farm far from the city; all to protect him.

Merlin's heart was filled with the care and love from James and Anna, the long-lost hope and miss were like the sunlight shining onto him.

He lowers his head, and on the tip of Lola, a thread of crimson was quickly distorting and shapeshifting like something was being nurtured. 

"It's working."

Merlin was relieved.

But Merlin could not summon his Patronus with such few positive emotions.

He closes his eyes and continues recollection.

Truthfully, there were some happy times amongst those dark pastures.

During the disaster in Central City, he met Stan, it was he who told Merlin to do good, that faint ray of sunlight that shined onto him when he opened the tunnel and saved 200 people.

The Henry couple he met in Central City; they saved him, helped him, and blessed him. They were truly kind people, they taught Merlin kindness once again in his dark journey.

That time at the seas, during his short meeting with Bruce, he had not only helped Bruce through his weakness and regret, but Bruce's perseverance also gave him hope for his future life.

And in Maine Harbor, young Arthur's search for his mother, Tom's protection toward his son, and Atlantean Vulko's promise to a friend.

In Texas, the unnamed young man who, like him, sold his soul to the devil to save his father's life.

In New York, the Stark couple's concern and worry towards their son in their dying moment.

Betsy's surprising aid in the dire situation in Oakland.

His reunion with his cousin May.

His perseverance to rebuild SHIELD alongside Fury.

His brightened-up life after meeting Hermione in London.

Mr. Arthur's help.

And...

And Carol.

The name buried deep within Merlin's heart, they fought against a powerful enemy in space and forged a new life together. Carol was like another him, she had begun to walk her path.

Just in some unknown corner amongst the stars, Merlin knows that someone was walking the same path as he is.

Disaster had not just brought him pain, but also hope mixed within.

It was that hope that allowed him to reach this point.

He lowers his head, without him driving the mana, the crimson red glow on the tip of his wand Lola had expanded into a ball of light, it's like it was nurturing a new life.

Merlin could feel, that this energy being that was about to be born, would be the symbol of the positive energy in his life.

It's so close to appearing!

Just a bit more!

"Not just happiness."

Merlin says in a low tone:

"Happiness is but a concept, it is the gathering of all positive emotion, the gathering of all positive energy, and that is pure happiness."

He lets out a breath, closes his eyes, and begins to remember once more.

This time, not just happiness.

At the moment he injected himself with the Super Soldier Serum in Oakland, the resistance against fate, the perseverance to end the disaster and prevent any more innocent lives from dying because of him. 

The anger that filled his heart as he faced the half-demon Morris, the unyielding resistance against the darkness brought by Trigon.

The first time he yearned to become a hero after absorbing the shard of power when facing the Kree.

And Harry, along with the other young wizards.

He led them against the Dementors, fought against the Death-Eaters, and brought Harry onto a path against fate; he guided Harry to actively save people.

He treads the path of darkness.

But that means not that he cannot become a savior.

This was Merlin's faith.

This was his perseverance, this was his war, the neverending war that would continue as long as his blood continued flowing.

"Woong"

The crimson red glow on the tip of Merlin's wand begins to shine brighter, he waves his wand up into the air like he was raising a crimson red miniature sun, the glow that had positive energy flowing through it illuminates every corner of the underground basement.

On the tip of the wand, tiny threads of crimson red lightning begin to flash in the air, and as the positive energy echoing in his heart reaches its peak, Merlin shouts with all of his might:

"Expecto Patronum!"

This time, the disordered mana responded to him.

The mana in his body is quickly absorbed, and on the tip of his wand, the crimson red ball of light quickly changes form, the scattered crimson lightning begins to flicker more violently in the air, the vibration of mana becomes chaotic and disordered, shattering all the nearby jars.

In the sound of the shattered glass, in Merlin's hopeful gaze, a pair of broad wings abruptly appear from within the crimson red glow.

"Caw"

The Patronus that was born from Merlin's will lets out its first sound after its birth in the shining light.

It was a power that was sharp yet full of hope...

Alright.

It's quite ugly to hear.

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