New-Threats-On-Horizon (III) [Chapter 207]

“Looks like we won’t need to visit Kamar Taj” Merlin mumbled unhappily as he stared at the new arrival with some wariness as she took a seat instead of greeting them or saying anything. Merlin glanced toward Alan and Agatha from the corner of his eyes, only to find that they were also on guard.

“Now… Now… There is no need to feel on guard. Weren’t you planning to pay me a visit?” The Ancient One asked in a polite tone, but Merlin, Agatha, and Alan didn’t seem to lower their guard. Not that The Ancient One cared about that… To be honest, she didn’t consider any of them to be a threat to her on their own or combined.

Merlin realized that it would be a waste of time to argue with her and they were planning to pay her a visit, so it was probably alright… So, after giving Alan and Agatha a meaningful look, he returned to his seat. “Is there anything I can offer you?” Merlin asked the Ancient One, trying to play the host even though it wasn’t his house.

“A cup of tea and a packet of chips would be nice” The Ancient One admitted with a nod of her head.

“Uh… Agatha is very poor at hosting anyone, so she only keeps beer” Merlin revealed with a frown as he opened the fridge with a wave of his hand.

“I am not a freak of nature, so like any other normal person I don’t keep tea or coffee in the fridge” Agatha snapped at Merlin before she turned toward the Ancient One and gave her an apologetic look. “I am sorry, I don’t have any tea as I am a coffee person” Agatha apologized.

“A pity” The Ancient One mumbled looking saddened before she produced a cup of tea and a packet of chips with a snap of her fingers. She grabbed the cup and took a small sip from it. “So, what do you guys wanted to ask me?” The Ancient One asked with a small smile on her face.

“Don’t you already know?” Alan asked with a frown before turning toward his friends, only to find them frowning too. It was obvious that the Ancient One was playing with them for whatever reason.

“Humor me” The Ancient One answered without giving away anything.

Alan once again glanced toward his friends before Merlin decided to take the lead. “What can you tell us about Harry Potter?” Merlin asked without beating around the bush.

“What do you want to know?” The Ancient One asked as she took another sip from her tea cup, looking completely unbothered by their line of questioning. Thanks to the Eye of Agamotto, she already knew what they were up to, but she still decided to make them work for it.

“He knows Sorcery” Merlin stated. It wasn’t a question as he knew that the Ancient One kept track of everyone who knew Sorcery.

“Yes, I taught him… He is the best student I ever had, have…” The Ancient One answered with a subtle frown before she tore her chips packet and started to munch on a couple of potato chips. Merlin gave Agatha and Alan a look before he decided to ask the next question. It was pretty obvious that the Ancient One was going to make them work for all the information.

“Then you must be aware of his recent actions?” Merlin asked with a hint of outrage in his voice.

“Yes, but before you say anything, I don’t care about the hundred people he killed” The Ancient One answered coolly. “A hundred people don’t matter in the grand scheme and they didn’t need to die… My student did give them a choice to surrender and he spared every single one who surrendered even though some of them were Death Eaters” The Ancient One finished and thanks to her words, all three of them looked outraged.

“How can you say something like that? Aren’t you a protector of humanity or something!!?” Alan asked, looking outraged, unable to stop himself from snapping at the bald woman seated in front of him.

“Yes, but let me make something clear for you. There are nearly 6 billion humans on this planet and I am not a world cop, I am not beholden to protect them all and it is not my duty. My duty is to protect humanity as a whole, so as long as there isn’t going to be worldwide nuclear warfare, I am not going to step in” The Ancient One explained in a cold tone.

Merlin, Alan, and Agatha were left completely speechless at those words… Now, Agatha would admit that she wasn’t always a nice woman and she had some really horrible stuff in the past, but she never dismissed her own actions so casually. Even when she instigated the Salem Witch Hunt in her misguided attempt to toughen the Magicians, she never shrugged off the wrong things she did.

“So, you are going to protect your wayward student?” Agatha asked as she wanted to know if the Ancient One was going to get involved or not. If she jumped in to protect her student, then it would be a waste to go after him.

“No, if he faces any form of retaliation from the people all over the world for his actions, then I would say that he simply brought it on himself. He might be my student, but his actions are his own. For that, if he faces dire consequences then he has earned them” The Ancient One admitted coldly before taking another sip from her tea cup.

“Though, I hope nobody comes back running to me if they realize that they bit more than they could chew” The Ancient One added, looking somewhat amused.

“So… Is there an easy way we can beat him?” Merlin asked curiously. He didn’t expect the Ancient One to give him an answer, but he still had to try.

“I am not going to protect him, but that doesn’t mean I am going to help you three…” The Ancient One started with a smile on her face. “Though, a piece of advice, leave him be” The Ancient One advised as she took a couple of chips and started to munch on them.

Merlin frowned and gave her a narrowed look. “Sorry, that is not going to happen. His actions are already causing waves around the world and if he left to his devices then he would kill more. If we don’t do anything, then he will soon break the balance” Merlin pointed with a scowl.

Instead of answering, the Ancient One simply hummed noncommittally. “That might be, but you mistake me for someone who cares…” The Ancient One scoffed. “Well, I gave you my advice. Following it is up to you and while I do care for him to a certain extent, I wouldn’t be peeved if you do kill him” The Ancient One said before she stood up and her snacks disappeared from the table.

Moments later, a portal opened behind her and she entered the portal while waving at the trio… “She wasn’t being serious, was she?” Alan asked. Yes, Harry Potter might be bad news, but that didn’t mean he wanted to kill a child.

“I think she was, but we didn’t get to learn anything from her. We already knew that he knew Sorcery” Agatha griped unhappily, only for Merlin to shake his head.

“No… That isn’t true. We got to learn that he learned Sorcery from the Ancient One, not some random Master of Mystic Arts. That isn’t much but we can be certain that his Sorcery is going to be top-notch on top of all the Spell he knows” Merlin explained with a sigh.

“That wasn’t all though… I think she doesn’t believe we can beat him and she made it clear that she isn’t going to protect him, which means, she either doesn’t care about him or he is strong enough to take care of himself” Alan pointed out with a thoughtful look on his face and after some time, Merlin nodded his head.

“From what I know she can see the future, right?” Agatha asked in an unsure tone. “Then how can she not be sure?” She asked with a frown. From what she had seen, the Ancient One could clearly see the future.

“Future sight is fickle as future is ever-changing” Merlin nodded thoughtfully. “So, she may not be sure about the victor or there might be a number of possible futures and she doesn’t know which one is going to come true?” Merlin suggested.

“...What you said is quite possible…” Alan nodded his head in agreement after thinking for a bit.

“Alright. So, let work with that assumption for the time being” Agatha agreed before nodding her head. “So, what do we do now?” She asked. It was true that she loved her current lifestyle, but that didn’t mean she was going to let a murderer of that scale walk around only for him to escalate.

“First of all, we don’t know much about him. So, I say we collect information before we finally make our move” Merlin explained as it was the only option they had. Unlike the Ancient One, Merlin didn’t have future sight, he only had clairvoyance which allowed him to see a single location at a time anywhere around the world, but it wasn’t all-powerful as his clairvoyance couldn’t see through the Fidelius Charm…