See If I Care

~4~

*I would appreciate if I could have access to this potion Master Goblin Faruk, thank you.* Faruk wrote a quick note and put it in a small box on the desk and double tapped the top of the box.

*A message for the potion has been sent. And you may simply call me Faruk, young one.*

*Thank you, Faruk. You may call me Alex then.* Faruk nodded, and they sat in silence until a knock on the door had them both look up and over at the door which had opened on its own after the knock. Another goblin walked in and put a flask of potion on the desk before leaving the office again. Alex looked closely at the potion, examining the unique make up of the potion; it was a mix of pure, startling white, and pitch black, so dark that it seemed to take light out of its surroundings; the two colours seemed to swirl around each other and yet never mixed.

*Do you know where the entrance point is?* Alex nodded slowly.

*I believe so. A curse meant to kill me hit me on my chest and left a large scar in the shape of a lighting bolt. The scar has never healed fully; it still looks fresh. It also has magic that is a mix of black and the red of dried blood covering it, in the exact shape of the scar.*

*That is most likely the entrance point. To block it from the rest of your magical core, you have to coat the entrance point in the black part of the potion and drink the white parts, alternating between covering the entrance point and drinking, as you can see the colours mixed slightly.* Alex nodded their understanding. Faruk put a small brush on the desk before standing.

*I will wait outside the door to give you privacy to do this.* Alex nodded again and Faruk left the office. Alex sighed once the door was closed and took their shirt off.

They uncorked the flask of potion and picked up the brush, dipping it into the potion, which was black on top and started painting the potion onto their scar, ignoring the sharp coldness of the potion on their skin. Once the top black section of the potion was fully painted onto their skin, they slowly drank the potion, taking small sips to make sure they only drank the white part, which was surprisingly warm compared to the coldness of the black section. They continued to alternate between painting the black section of the potion on to their scar that stretched across their chest and taking small sips of the white part of the potion until they had emptied the whole flask.

Once the flask was empty, they waited for the last of the potion on their chest to dry before pulling their shirt on again and moving to the door, opening it to let Faruk know that they were done. They found a man waiting outside in the corridor with Faruk, conversing warmly with the goblin in Gobbledygook. The two stopped their conversation when they heard the door open, both of them turning to face Alex in the doorway.

*You are done?* Faruk asked.

*Yes. Thank you for the potion, Faruk,* Alex replied, inclining their head in thanks before glancing towards the man standing with the goblin.

*This is Merlin, Alex. He just arrived.*

*Hello child. Alex, was it? It is a pleasure to meet you,* Merlin said.

*Hello sir. Yes, I go by Alex. It is nice to meet you too,* Alex replied, blinking. This young man was not exactly who they had pictured Merlin to be, but then again, they had only ever seen pictures of an old Merlin. Merlin looked them up and down, smiling as he did so, before he nodded and clapped his hands twice.

*Yes, you are definitely the one. Thank you for informing me Faruk, I shall take young Alex with me back to the castle. The others will be delighted to meet them.* Faruk nodded, and Merlin held out a hand to Alex.

"Come child, I shall take you back to the castle." Alex shyly grabbed Merlin's hand in their own, desperately wanting the affection that they had been denied by everyone apart from Remus most of their life, but also unsure how to accept it from anyone other than Remus.