Chapter 7: Art

(Long ago)

Clang!

Steel encountered steel as King Arthur fought with enemy knights, one after the other as they circled him.

Arthur felt the heat from the fire's burning surrounding the area but he kept fighting even though all of his friends lay dead around him. 

(Long ago)

Clang!

Steel encountered steel as King Arthur fought with enemy knights, one after the other as they circled him.

Arthur felt the heat from the fire's burning surrounding the area but he kept fighting even though all of his friends lay dead around him. 

"Give it up King Arthur, you have been beaten, you are no longer our king..." A knight said, taking off his helmet and looking at King Arthur with pleading eyes. 

"You are a traitor... All of you, just bring Mordred, I'm tired of spilling blood..." He answered, his bloodied face stricken with grief.

"Looking for me, Daddy dearest?" a mocking voice called out from the shadows. Emerging into the dim light, Mordred, Arthur's own son and the source of so much strife, stood with a malevolent grin. His armor gleamed darkly, matching the darkness that had consumed his heart.

Arthur's heart sank at the sight of his son standing among his enemies. He had hoped to spare Mordred from this fate, but it seemed that destiny had other plans.

Mordred's eyes were filled with a twisted sense of satisfaction as he stepped forward, his sword held casually at his side. "It's a shame, really. All this bloodshed, all this suffering, and for what? A kingdom that's torn itself apart. But you, dear father, you clung to this crumbling dream."

Arthur's grip on Excalibur tightened, his knuckles turning white. "Mordred, you were always like a shadow at my side, a reminder of my past mistakes. But I won't let you destroy everything we've built."

The battlefield seemed to hold its breath as father and son faced each other, the weight of history and destiny bearing down on them. The flames continued to dance and the clash of swords echoed, but in that moment, it was as if time itself had paused to witness the final confrontation.

Mordred lunged first, his blade flashing with deadly intent. Arthur met the attack head-on, their swords clashing with a thunderous sound. The battle raged on around them, but for the king and his son, there was only the clash of steel, the dance of blades, and the undeniable truth that their destinies were intertwined.

As they fought, memories of happier times flashed before Arthur's eyes. He remembered teaching Mordred to ride a horse, the joy of their shared laughter, and the hope that one day his son would grow to be a wise and just ruler. But those dreams had been shattered by betrayal and ambition.

With a swift and calculated move, Arthur disarmed Mordred, sending his son's sword flying from his grasp. Mordred fell to his knees, defeated but unrepentant.

"You were always a fool, Father," Mordred spat, his eyes filled with a mixture of hatred and defiance.

Arthur lowered Excalibur, his once mighty sword now a symbol of the heavy burdens he had carried. "Perhaps," he whispered, his voice filled with a profound sadness. "But I will always fight for what I believe in, for the ideals of honor and justice."

Arthur turned, looking at the shocked knights. "Leave this pl-"

Shink

Arthur's words were cut off as Mordred's sword, Caliburn, drove its way through his body.

"This was always the plan, I never intended for Mordred to live my king..." A voice whispered in his ear as Arthur dropped.

The knight stepped away from him, and through Arthur's blurry vision he could see the proud face of his killer.

"Malagant."

...

Nathaniel yawned as he walked into the potions classroom. All day he'd felt tired, but as the initial shock and excitement from his talk with Morgana wore off, he felt exhausted.

He'd gotten back to the commons room just in time to be caught by a random Slytherin 4th year, luckily she didn't say much and let him go get ready for the day. 

As for Filch, he was going on a rant all around the entrance to the Slytherin's commons, yelling about how he was going to "Get the dirty criminal thrown into Azkaban!"

"What's with you Bullstrode?" Draco asked as he sat down, looking at the tired boy before glancing behind him. "Nevermind that, guess we have potions with the Gryffindorks." 

Nathaniel smiled a bit, lifting his head from the cold wooden desk. "Gryffindorks? You couldn't have made that up."

Draco scoffed, but ultimately admitted Pansy had made up the name.

"Quiet down," A chilling voice said from the front. Nathaniel looked at Professor Snape through his half-closed eye-lids.

"He's pretty strict no?" Nathaniel whispered before Draco smirked and shook his head. "Don't worry, he won't get us in trouble."

"There will be no silly wand waving, or incantations in this class, so I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle art of potion making... However, for those select few that do..." Snape looked right at Draco as he said this. "I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and snare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death..."

The atmosphere changed as Professor Snape looked behind him. The class followed his eye, causing everyone to look directly at Harry Potter.

"Perhaps..." Professor Snape said in a bone-chilling tone. "Some of you have come to Hogwarts with an ability so formidable that you feel confident not paying attention!"

He yelled the last three words, causing Harry Potter to look up from his note-taking and look between Professor Snape and the brown-haired girl sitting next to him.

"Eh?"

Snape seemed to get even angrier as he stepped forward. "Mr. Potter everyone, our new celebrity..."

Nathaniel frowned, something about the way Snape talked about Harry Potter, combined with what Draco had said the day before, simply made the boy who lived not quite as spectacular in his eyes.

"Tell me," Professor Snape continued, "What would I get if I added powdered root of Asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Nathaniel, and everyone else in the class, watched as the brown-haired girl's hand shot up next to Harry, but it was clear Professor Snape was only looking for one person to answer.

"Don't know? Let's try this again. Where Mister Potter, would you look if I asked you to find me a Bezoar?"

"I don't know," Harry said shakily.

Nathaniel's frown deepened. 'Why does he look like... Me?'

"And what is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfbane?"

Harry Potter shook his head. "I think Hermione knows sir maybe you should ask her," Harry said cheekily as a few people began to laugh.

Draco, Nathaniel, Crabbe, and Goyle all glared at Harry.

"Quiet... Clearly, fame isn't everything... Adding powdered root of Asphodel would get you the draught of living death, a sleep potion so powerful you might as well be dead. A bezoar is a stone found in the pit of a goat's stomach and Monkshood and Wolfbane are the same..."

The room was quiet as Harry put his head down. Nathaniel began writing it all down. He didn't know either, but he thought someone with the resources and fame as Harry Potter would be way above him.

"What are you all doing? Write it down," Professor Snape said and continued the class.

After class, they had a free period, and Nathaniel used it to finally get some sleep.

"This is perfect my king, now I can simply talk to you in your dreams," Morgana said as she smiled up at Nathaniel.

"Tell me again Morgana, about Arthur," Nathaniel asked eagerly.

The night before she had warned he was destined, no, cursed she had used the word cursed, to once again reign as king.

"You love those stories of Arthur huh? Well, I guess another doesn't hurt." 

...

A week later Harry and Draco sat in the library, neither one of them actually doing their homework.

"A 5000 word written essay? Professor Flitwick is ridiculous," Nathaniel said, smiling as Draco agreed.

He had to admit he was starting to settle in nicely to normal life, without his father or mother breathing down his neck, he definitely felt much more confident.

"Hey nerd you studying?" He heard, and his confidence crumbled. 

"Millicent..." He sighed, looking behind him at his twin(Though much bigger) sister.

"Hi Malfoy~" His sister said with a crooked smile, grabbing onto Nathaniel's sleeve and making sweet eyes that made Draco frown and want to look away. "If you don't mind I need to talk to my brother dearest."

Nathaniel allowed himself to be led to the other side of the library, past the bookshelves and into the corners.

'Why can't I just say no?' He thought as she stood in front of him, towering over him like a mountain.

"What are you doing?" She hissed. "If you wait any longer they'll be too hard to cut through."

Nathaniel slowly moved the top of his robes down his shoulder, words of self-hatred for not being able to refuse raced into his mind.

"Good," She said, holding her wand out as the robes slipped down his torso, revealing dozens of cuts and engravings from when they were young. But there was a much fresher wound that had scabbed over.

It was meant to spell out "Bullstrode's Tumor," in blocky cartoon writing, but so far Millicent had only made it to the second L.

Nathaniel barely flinched as her wand felt as if it was cutting into his skin. 

"Pretty neat spell am I right?" Millicent said with a kiddish smile, as if they were playing some make-believe game or finger painting. 

"Right..." He repeated. 'I... Deserve this.'

'Avada Kedavra...' Morgana's voice filled his head.

'Hm? What's that?' He asked.

'Use it, my king. Raise your wand and say. 'Avada Kedavra' '

Nathaniel's heart began to race, he slowly and robotically pulled out his wand. 11 inches, dragon and Thestral heartstring mix.

"Almost done..." Millicent muttered, focusing on her artwork and not the wand pointing right down on her.

"Avad-"

"What are you doing?" Someone screamed, and both Nathniel and Millicent looked back shocked. 

It was the brown haired girl from his potions class. Hermione. Hermione Granger.

She looked horrified as Millicent jumped up, looking between Nathaniel and Hermione before rushing past the much smaller girl and running away.

Nathaniel dropped his wand. His entire body felt hot, and he soon realized there were tears streaming down his face. 

He bent down embarrassedly, hiding his body as Hermione came up to him.

"Hey hey it's okay, let's go find a professor, no let's go straight to the headmaster-"

Nathaniel widened his eyes as she said this.

"N-No we can't," He said desperately.

If Millicent was caught, all that would happen was their parents would be called. It was a family matter. This meant.

'Father.'

Hermione acted as if she didn't hear him, turning around and walking back toward the bookshelves. "Don't worry, I'll go fetch someone to help-"

Nathaniel grabbed the brown-haired girl by her arm tightly, it was the first act of violence he had ever shown in his entire life. 

In one swift motion, the girl was underneath him and his wand was an inch from her face. 

"Listen here," He said coldly, his face red and puffy but his eyes looking down at the struggling girl with hate. 

Her eyes went wide as his legs sat on top of her arms, his left hand covering her mouth and his right holding the wand.

"If you tell anyone what you saw here, I will kill you."