Chapter 159: Arc 5: Chapter 3: Doctor Merlin

Albus Dumbledore, principal of Hogwarts School, as well as a renowned grand wizard in the wizarding world.

His presence in the British wizarding world was akin to a symbol.

Merlin had met the elderly wizard before, even shared an important conversation, yet he never imagined that the short meeting would become his last goodbye.

On the way to Merlin's house, Merlin drives the car while Bill sits on the passenger seat with his wife in the back. None of them talked, and the atmosphere was somewhat frozen.

"Tell me about it, Bill, about Dumbledore's death."

Merlin turns the steering wheel and says softly:

"I've not much interaction with that grand wizard, but I believe that even death would not be of obscurity for someone like him, right?"

"He...died last summer."

Bill answered in a coarse tone.

There were 3 ferocious scars on the young man's face, his vocal cord seemed to be injured with signs left from a serious injury. Depression and pain flashed through his eyes as he said:

"He died in Hogwarts, in his favorite home. A traitor betrayed us, struck him down from the astronomy tower in a despicable manner, killing him so."

"Until death, he was protecting his students, his death is a loss for the entire wizarding world."

"Mmm."

Merlin nods, he didn't know what to say.

That was a wizarding war happening in England, Voldemort has permanently taken the upper hand in this war due to the British Ministry of Magic's undoing. He and his mad followers have begun persecuting wizards, causing them to exile themselves.

They didn't even dare to use the Floo Network for fear of being tracked by the ever-savage Death-Eaters. They even had to disguise themselves as the muggles they were disdainful of, and flee their own country in a muggle's way.

This was an absolute disgrace to those proud wizards.

And Dumbledore's death was but a footnote of an ever-fiercer wizarding war.

"What about you?"

Merlin glances at Bill, he notices that Bill seems to dislike the shine of the sunlight, he sits in the car and occasionally blocks the sunlight with his hand.

Merlin then asks:

"I received Mr. Athur's magic letter, he told me that there has been an accident before your wedding. You're here in America this time to seek aid?"

"There's nothing wrong with me."

Bill seemed to be agitated as he tells Merlin:

"Compared to coming here, I'm more willing to stay in England and fight Voldemort! I want to protect my family!"

"Bill's been bitten by a werewolf."

The beautiful lady in the back, who was Bill's newlywed wife, lets out a worried expression and says in a mixed french accent:

"Voldemort and his followers invaded the Ministry of Magic, there's no safe place in England anymore, father is worried of Bill's condition so he asked him to come to America to seek aid and treatment from the doctors of the Magical Congress."

"Fleur! I'm alright!"

Bill shouts angrily:

"Don't treat me like a patient."

"You should calm down!"

Compared to Bill's angry roaring, his wife Fleur was much calmer, she says:

"It's up to the doctor to decide whether or not you're a patient. This war won't end soon, so you'll have time to join the fight once you've fully recovered!"

"I..."

Bill becomes agitated from his wife's retort, his eyes begin to redden, and before he could speak again, the driving Merlin takes out his wand and casts Stupefy on Bill.

The latter tilts his head and begins napping against his seat.

"He's been bitten by a werewolf?"

Merlin asks in a serious tone:

"Was he bitten by a fully transformed or pre-transformed werewolf?"

"It's by a pre-transformed werewolf."

Fleur did not blame Merlin, she looked at her husband with worry and concern, saying:

"We know Bill hasn't become a werewolf yet, but he's easily agitated, and he likes eating lightly cooked steak, this is concerning both me and his father."

"Mmm, I'll deliver you to the Magical Congress."

Merlin says:

"He could be stressed out...I hear you say that Voldemort has invaded the Ministry of Magic? Does that mean that the British wizarding world has fallen into complete chaos now?"

"It's worse than you can imagine."

Fleur says:

"The Death-Eaters have begun searching for Mudbloods openly, and they do not hide their hostility against muggles; from when the Ministry of Magic was invaded until now, over 200 people have been murdered by the Death-Eaters; many more wizards have gone missing, everyone suspects that they've been dealt with my those bastards. The Order of the Phoenix is still resisting, but the Death-Eaters have the absolute advantage now."

"What about Harry? Ron and Hermione?"

Merlin asks:

"It's been several weeks since those kids last wrote letters to me, I'm concerned about their current condition."

"Harry and the others are searching for some important things useful against Voldemort according to the message left by Dumbledore."

Fleur says ambiguously:

"They're safe for now, the Order of the Phoenix is protecting them."

"Oh? I don't feel like they're safe, you need help, this much is clear."

Merlin's expression becomes serious, he says:

"With the current situation, you can't fight alone following Dumbledore's demise. If you need, SHIELD's branch in Europe is glad to provide assistance, that is only if you share with us what information you hold thus far."

"Let muggles intervene in wizards' war?"

Fleur came from a pure-blood wizarding family, she widens her eyes in surprise as she hears Merlin's suggestion, saying:

"That's impossible. You're sending your colleagues to their deaths."

"My colleagues may not be able to deal with dark wizards like Voldemort, but they can hold their own against those Death-Eaters. You should spend some time around the Magical Congress in New York, our cooperation with the Magical Congress is beginning to show progress."

Merlin says softly:

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"Your time of isolation has to end, miss, it's very inappropriate to give up final reinforcements like so."

He glances at Fleur through the rearview mirror and says:

"But no worries, you and your husband will be treated in New York, I'll directly contact your father Arthur regarding this."

Merlin was only 6 years older than Fleur, but the cold temperament he exuded caused Fleur to recall the majestic professors she met in Beauxbatons Academy; as Merlin stopped speaking, Fleur lost interest in talking.

They place their luggage in Merlin's home and are delivered to the Magical Congress; there, Bill will receive treatment from the doctors until his permanent recovery.

And Merlin uses this opportunity to talk to President Samuel about the British wizarding war.

President Samuel is saddened by the fall of the British wizarding world, but the cooperation between SDOLD and the Magical Congress has reached a crucial moment, seeing as the new order of the North American wizarding world finally taking form in New York, if they deployed all their magic forces to reinforce England, then that would mean that the efforts of the past 3 years would've been in vain.

The senators of the Magical Congress will not allow it, nor will Nick Fury allow them to step out halfway.

"Under the situation that Voldemort has taken the upper hand, sending a few Aurors to England is pointless, the water there has been completely stirred up."

President Samuel tells Merlin:

"Either the organization of the British wizarding world reforms or the wizarding war spreads out, the German and French Ministries of Magic will not sit by idly. In total, the current situation has yet to reach the point that they require overseas reinforcements."

"You must know, the wizards of Europe don't like people telling them what to do."

"Foolish prejudice."

Merlin comments so and tells President Samuel:

"Then we'll standby, I'll report this to Director Fury. If he thinks that we should intervene, then our agents in Europe will join the war...I don't care how Voldemort tortures wizards, but he's starting to lay his hands on normal citizens. You must understand, Mr. Samuel, that protecting the innocent is SHIELD's top priority."

"I can understand."

The elderly wizard escorts Merlin to the fireplace entrance to the Floo Network, he holds his cane and says to Merlin:

"If Director Fury has made an ultimate decision, I will dispatch some Aurors to go along with you."

"Mmm, thank you."

Merlin smiles at the elderly wizard, he takes out green powder from his pocket and sprinkles it at the burning fireplace; as the green flames flashed, Merlin waves at the elderly wizard and enters the flames.

Then, after a familiar spinning, he appears before the fireplace in his house.

After cooperating with the Magical Congress, Merlin connected his fireplace to the Floo Network to receive assistance requests and intel from the Aurors of the Magical Congress in the shortest time possible.

But before he could take a breather, an odd magic wave appears in the living room.

Merlin takes out his wand and sees a stack of people appear in his living room through Apparation.

The weight of several people added together crushed the table in the living room, causing the poor table to let out clear breaking noises.

"Harry? Hermione?"

Merlin looks at the messy people and sees some familiar children, he even discovers a familiar face:

"Master Ollivander? What's going on?"

"Merlin!"

Tears flowed out of Hermione's eyes as the weak Hermione saw Merlin, she pounces into Merlin's arms and tightly hugs him.

All the pain and wrong, the despair unbearable to a child, have all begun to gush out as she approached someone she could rely on.

"It's alright, it's alright. Child, I'm here, it's alright."

Merlin knew not what had happened, but from the messiness of the kids and Master Ollivander, they had certainly experienced something terrible.

Merlin strokes Hermione's hair and comforts the suffering maiden.

He twitches his nose and smells blood, he grabs Hermione's wrist and sees that someone had carved a mortifying wound on the girl's arm.

It was a word.

"Mudblood."

Merlin's expression turns cold like a winter storm that had just blacked out the sun.

"Who did it?"

He squats down and takes a handkerchief from his pocket to help Hermione stop the bleeding. He looks at Hermione and asked in a ghastly calm tone:

"Is it Voldemort? Is he hurting you?"

"No, it was a lunatic."

Hermione wants to stop crying, but she couldn't hold back her tears as she saw Merlin's eyes, she cried to Merlin:

"I...used Obliviate on my parents, I let them forget about me...its, it's the only way to protect them...I..."

"Dobby!"

As Hermione spoke, Harry lets out a scream behind Merlin.

Merlin looks back and sees Harry holding an odd-looking elf, the elf was wearing a shabby robe and worn-out boots, it had a dagger stabbed in its chest.

Harry hugs it and tries to take out the dagger in a panic.

"Don't touch it!"

Merlin stops him sternly:

"That house-elf will die the moment you pull it out!"

"What do I do then?"

Harry with a stained face looks at Merlin with despair, he pleaded as he cried:

"Please, Mr. Merlin, save Dobby, it saved us from despair."

"Alright, step aside."

Merlin stands up, takes off his coat, and hands it to Hermione, he then unbuckled the button on his sleeve and says to the stunned Ron and the other girl:

"Ron, move a table over! Hermione, bring me the healing agents and sutures from the basement, let's hope that this poor elf can live a few minutes more. Master Ollivander, can you please go to the kitchen and disinfect the operation knife in the second drawer! Harry, lay the elf on the table, lightly, his life signs are as weak as a fire in the wind."

Merlin unbuckled the first button on his collar and moves his fingers, telling Harry:

"I'm going to perform a surgery on it...but don't get your hopes too high, Harry."

"I may be experienced in theory, but this is my first surgery, and on a elf which I'm unfamiliar with."

"To live or to die will be up to its luck now."

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