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Summary
Someone else is brought to the throne room instead of Gaius, as Agravaine tries to aid his nephew in finding the traitor hidden in his closest midst.
"The King’s belief is and always has been that magic is evil; where does your belief lie?”
Merlin had wanted to laugh. Before Uther’s death, his answer would have been the same, yet it could have had him hanged.
“With Arthur.”
The next day, Merlin is nowhere to be found.
OR
A rewrite of the episode S4E7: The Secret Sharer.
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can't change the way i feel (but you could put your arms around me) by Anonymous
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
12 Jul 2026
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Summary
Merlin was never granted much luck. In anything.
It was for this reason that he already had a route out of the castle planned, a horse saddled and ready to go in the stables. If this backfired, it would be fine. He could do this alone, had always done these things alone. And yet, just this once—
When Merlin stopped to catch his breath, Gwaine gave a curt nod, and simply said, “Okay.”
Merlin’s leg paused in its nervous jumping under the table. “…Okay?”
“Okay. Let’s go after the bastard.”
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or: merlin says "ew agravaine's a creep" and gwaine believes him
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- Words:
- 324,211
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 58
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
01 Jul 2026
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Harry Potter is being ignored by everyone who’s supposed to care, takes a fall off a ladder and wakes up in a hospital. With nowhere left to go and a deep mistrust of adult intervention, he escapes to London for a night where things, naturally, get worse. He’s got no plan, a bruised skull, and a wand he’s not allowed to use. What he does get is Severus Snape, pressed into reluctant babysitter duty by Dumbledore himself.
Series
- Part 1 of Timshel (Thou Mayest)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 309,855
- Chapters:
- 52/52
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 1,509
- Kudos:
- 2,799
- Bookmarks:
- 517
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- 99,857
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
30 Jun 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
Harry snorted. “Right, because that would go brilliantly. ‘Hello, Doctor, yes, the woman who just left is my aunt, she sent me up the roof and her son tried to kill me as a laugh. Please, by all means, call social services so I can get a new family.’ No thanks. And accidents happen, plenty of people fall. It’s not like I’m the only idiot who’s ever slipped on a roof.”
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but if we fall / I only pray / don't fall away from me by Katiebabyangel
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
13 Jun 2026
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Summary
After revealing his magic, Merlin promised his king that he would tell him if he was hurt or needed help. The aftermath of an assassination attempt sent him, injured, stumbling into Arthur's chambers to fulfill his promise. Once he did that, he figured he could finish getting ready for the visiting delegation and wrap up his chores. He wasn't sure why Arthur was being so weird about it. He was only lightly shot.
Based on the prompt:
"I have to tell you something."
"Can it wait? I'm busy."
"It's urgent."
"Okay, fine. What's so important that you had to interrupt me?"
"I've been shot."
"Why didn't you lead with that?"Series
- Part 3 of Merlin One-Shots
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
29 Jun 2026
Bookmarker's Tags:
Bookmarker's Notes
“Can it wait?” Arthur asked, still not looking up. “I’m busy.”
Merlin carefully shifted so his front faced Arthur more fully. The arrow hadn’t gone all the way through, so Arthur couldn’t see the head or the shaft where he sat. It would be simple for Merlin to shake his head, deny the issue, and back out of the room. He could do it — it happened often enough before he revealed his magic.
But he promised, after that yelling match, to come to Arthur if he needed help or got hurt. And the arrow currently taking up residence in his shoulder counted as being hurt. And needing help, because Merlin couldn’t reach it to tear it out. After he vanished part of his kidney last year, Gaius made him promise not to use magic on things like this again. And Merlin was trying very hard to keep his promises lately.
“It’s urgent,” Merlin decided.
…
Not to mention the tear in Arthur’s favorite blue shirt he needed to mend and the boots that needed polishing and the cloak he needed to pick up from the lower town.
Even just thinking the list made him tired.
But he pried his eyes open anyway. His shoulder hurt and his lungs hurt and his head hurt and his eyes hurt. He groaned when the sunlight, which wasn’t actually that bright, burned against his retinas.
“Merlin?” Fingers slid through his hair.
Merlin jerked upright, panic flashing through him. He scrambled backward and hissed in pain when his arm collapsed under him with sharp pain. He only stopped when he almost tipped off the soft surface he’d been sleeping on. His hand met empty air; and he quickly balanced himself on the edge.
“Shit, stop it!” The order froze him where he was.
Breathing quickly, Merlin curled his bad arm into his chest and stared blankly at Arthur. He was knelt on the bed, his hands up in a gesture of surrender, pale blue eyes wide and exhausted. The dark circles around them hadn’t been there last time Merlin had seen him. Neither was the sharp desperation.
“It’s me, Merlin. You remember me, right?” Arthur said slowly. He was highlighted all around by the golden dawn, the window fully open behind him. He looked heaven-sent, even exhausted.
“Duh,” Merlin shot back, shaking his head slightly. How could he ever forget Arthur?
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Summary
Merlin protects Arthur from an attack at a feast with the help of a few observant knights. Because, if Merlin's got a funny feeling, the Knights of the Round Table are ready to aid The Plan. The problem? Merlin never has a plan. And, when it's over, Arthur wants to know why he wasn't a part of this nonexistent plan — and has some apologies to give.
Based on the prompt:
“Well, that didn’t end the way I expected, but at least nobody important died.”Series
- Part 2 of Merlin One-Shots
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
29 Jun 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
There were too many memories vying for first place in his mind. He remembered Arthur believing him — and then sacking him — within his first week in Camelot. He remembered how often Arthur shrugged off his warnings of danger, how he told him magical creatures wouldn’t die by manmade metals but still went out to fight them anyway. He remembered the dozens of times they’d been on patrol; and Merlin told him not to go that way or to stop early for the night or to go around the Valley of the Fallen Kings for fuck’s sake, and none of it worked.
The only time Arthur believed him was when there was hard proof right in front of his eyes, and only if he’d personally seen it. Too often, Merlin’s magic warned him abstractly. He had no proof. And it wasn’t enough to be taken seriously in Camelot.
Or maybe it just wasn’t enough to be taken seriously by Arthur.
A warm palm settled on the back of his neck. The touch was gentle and reassuring but never enough. Merlin curled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He didn’t want to be close to Arthur right now. He just wanted this night to end.
“That’s my fault,” Arthur said in a quiet voice.
Merlin’s gaze snapped to him.
The self recriminating smile that tilted his lips made Merlin frown. But Arthur didn’t let it go. “I should have believed you, and not just about Agravaine. You’re freakishly perceptive, did you know that?”
Merlin just stared because, duh.
Sighing, Arthur leaned into his side, letting his arm drape over Merlin’s back. His warmth snuck in through the thin tunic Merlin wore and helped him relax just a touch.
“I would appreciate if you tried one more time,” Arthur said slowly, like he was picking each individual word as he said them. When Merlin raised his eyebrows, he squeezed the back of his neck again. “To trust me with things like this. To warn me, if something is wrong. I swear to you on my honor as a Knight of Camelot that I will take any warning you give seriously.”
…
Arthur kept a firm hold on him, though, and shook his head seriously. The usual good humor on his face was nowhere to be found. Instead, he gazed at Merlin with intense resolve. “You’ve earned my regard. Besides that, you may be a servant but you’re also my best friend and the person I trust the most in this castle.”The disbelieving face Merlin made was instinct alone. It made Arthur flinch, a flash of hurt there and gone on his face.
“I deserve that, okay? I do,” Arthur argued when Merlin started to shake his head, intent on apologizing. “You’re right, I haven’t listened to you. Not when it matters. But, if you’ll let me, I’ll do better.”
“Why is it such a big deal?” Merlin asked, because it never mattered before; and he couldn’t figure out why Arthur was harping on it now, of all times. He’d stopped other lords from killing the king without ever talking to anyone. Why did it matter that Arthur knew?
Arthur seemed to lose his temper just a bit. Just enough to snap, “Because you could get hurt!”
That… wasn’t what Merlin expected.
Arthur groaned and leaned forward so his forehead pressed against the back of Merlin’s shoulder. He spoke into his tunic, “Because you got between me and danger — again — and did something to get the imposter to change back to himself and didn’t even really step out of the way when that was done. He could have attacked you.”
Merlin leaned his chin on his knee. “Yes… but he didn’t.”
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Summary
All Arthur really wanted was to get away from the citadel for a while. But humor can be taken too far, and there are limits to the abuse a man-- yes, even a servant-- should be forced to accept. When a joke gone sour threatened to destroy a friendship he hadn't realized he'd grown to depend on, Arthur knew it was up to him to make amends, and maybe grow up a little in the process.
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
25 Jun 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
8!!!
“Clearly not,” Arthur said. “I really am sorry. I’ll make it up to you, I swear I will.”
“Oh, well, then everything’s just fine and dandy, isn’t it? Arthur, I don’t care that they think I’m some kind of half-trained animal. I care that you aren’t lifting a finger to do anything about it. Why is that? Is it because deep down, you still think that servants are chew toys and commoners fair game for anything a noble wants to do to them?”
“That’s not fair,” Arthur said. “I’ve knighted commoners. I’ve married one of them. What more am I supposed to do to prove that I care about your kind?”
“Right, right; I’d forgotten. A peasant who can swing a sword can be forgiven his humble origins. The rest of ‘my kind’ ought to be grateful for the crumbs of decency that fall from your round tables. Actions speak louder than words, Arthur. And this patrol has said a hell of a lot.”
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Oh, go ahead and laugh at me. Just like your new friends do; I’d hate to deprive you of the pleasure. But mark my words—these three have all the makings of piss-poor knights, no matter how much gold they’re sitting on, and they’ll only let you down when you need them.”And that was when Arthur’s anger—more at the three young knights than anyone else—ran away with his tongue. “Well, I should be used to that, now shouldn’t I, Merlin?”
Merlin’s eyes went wide and his jaw sagged, for all the world as though Arthur had hit him. And perhaps it would have been kinder if he had.
“I… have to go make dinner,” Merlin said, and all but ran back to camp.
…
He turned to look at the three men at the campsite, and Arthur saw the exact moment that Merlin gave up on him.Merlin’s mouth stretched into a wide, polite smile. “Oh, very good, Sire,” he said, and chuckled. “Most amusing. You really got me.” He paused, then stood, gathering his bedroll in his arms. “May I be excused to wash up? Hardly fair to make you sleep in a place that smells like the stables.”
All Arthur could think was the single phrase I didn’t want this.
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The place almost looked deserted already. I’ve lost him, he thought, drearily. He’s finally going to realize that I’m not the man he always insisted I was, and he’ll leave. And I deserve it. I don’t deserve him. -
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Summary
A formidable creature of mythology destined to kill Arthur, or die trying.
So why's it chasing its tail in the middle of Gaius' storeroom?
“Cath palug.”
Merlin looks up from the stale scraps of bread he’s trying to convince himself he wants to eat, staring blankly back at Gaius.
“You what?”
Series
- Part 2 of Merlin
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Summary
On her deathbed, Queen Guinevere closes her eyes for the final time while hearing the confession of her dear friend Merlin- who it turns out, she didn't know that well.
Already filled with regrets for many things in her life (as, said, the fate of a dark-haired woman), she's now deeply convinced that everything could have gone better.
But what if she's suddenly given this second chance she longs for?
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Summary
Remember when Morgana hired a 14-year-old (Daegal was his name) to lure Merlin into a ditch for her to poison him? And then the kid has a change of heart and helps Merlin and dies at the end of the episode? All this while the guy who held Morgana and Aithusa captive is chilling at a feast with Arthur?
What if Daegal decided to help Merlin by finding Arthur? What if that evil dignitary died instead?Or: Percival has one (1) thought, Morgana and Gwen are complicated, Gaius has a help wanted sign in the window, and Arthur is so glad he knows about at least two plants.
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Summary
Merlin is magic, and iron hurts magical creatures.
How did Arthur not catch that before!A study in the lengths Arthur will go to confess in every way but with words.
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
02 May 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
That’s exactly what Arthur is worried about. It took the better part of a decade for Merlin to talk about the magic! His tongue has loosened considerably since Arthur repealed the magic ban the next day, instead of exiling or executing him (which had apparently been what Merlin expected him to do, because that arsehole refuses to give Arthur the benefit of the doubt), but that doesn’t mean he’s by any means an open book.
…
Sparring helps him get his thoughts in order. The rhythmic flow of blows, blocks, parries, and dodges. It’s not that Merlin isn’t an open book, it’s that Arthur has no idea how to read him, not nearly as well as he thought he could anyway. There’s betrayal in that, of course, but it’s impossible to hold it against him when his reasoning is so sound. It’s still a very careful practice to interpret Merlin’s goofy, offhanded comments about how often he’s feared for his life under Arthur’s stewardship seriously.
And isn’t it just terrible to know that the man you love has never once felt safe around you?
…“My ankles aren’t ‘delicate’— how’d you even know I fell?” Merlin is panting, breaths puffing into the evening air and face red with exertion. He had to have seen Arthur fall and come running, but he wasn’t anywhere nearby before Arthur fell.
Percival takes an opening to back away slowly until he can reasonably walk away without looking rude. He starts sparring with Leon.
“It’s so cute that you haven’t realized why I scratched up the inside of your armor yet.”
“Those are spells?”
“Sigils, but yeah. There’s one on your back that makes my palm bleed whenever your fat body hits it with too much force.”
“Sorry, it does what?” Arthur yanks off his gauntlets so he can grab each of Merlin’s hands in turn and inspect them. The left one has a faint scab across the center of the palm. “Fix it.” Merlin blinks at him, smile frozen on his face. “Fix the sigil. Make it do something else to alert you.”
“It doesn’t hurt,” Merlin insists. “It’s like when a bucket handle digs into your skin—“
…
Arthur stares at the ceiling for most of the night wondering how much of yourself you have to deny to design a spell that alerts you by cutting your hand open.
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Tags
Summary
Five years after the battle of Camlann, King Arthur devises a challenge: whoever can enchant him to hand over his mother’s sigil is to become Court Sorcerer of Camelot. To most sorcerers, it is an impossible, undecipherable task.
But to one sorcerer, it is a clear message: come home.
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
25 Apr 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
stood by him all the way home anyway.
That night, Merlin looked at him with that puzzling expression of his—hurt all around the edges, bitter in the eyes and lips pulled into a thin line, taut with both resentment and fear—but straight on, as if daring Arthur to say more. He left Arthur as soon as someone was there to receive him—he can’t remember now who it was, perhaps a knight, or one of the maids—and Arthur was brought to his chambers to be examined by Gaius.
…
I want to do something,” Merlin tells him, wringing his hands together. If Arthur didn’t know him any better, he’d say Merlin was nervous—though who was he to speak, really, when Merlin often acted like a different person these days. They had never really gone back to the way they were before Camlann. “But I need to make sure you trust me before I do.”
“I suppose it depends on what it is then,” Arthur says.
“I’m going to do magic,” Merlin warns him. Arthur tries not to act surprised—ever since Arthur had learned the truth, he could probably count on one hand the number of times Merlin had actually used magic in front of him. He always seemed so skittish about it, and Arthur couldn’t blame him—a decade
of hiding his magic from Arthur probably kept him wary and fearful out of habit.
“It’s a protection spell,” Merlin continues. “I’ve read about it, but it requires you to trust me.”
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Tags
Summary
When Merlin discovers that his father was an estranged prince and he himself is now the only heir to the throne of a magical kingdom, he is forced to leave Camelot for the perils of a royal court. Will Merlin be able to win Arthur's favor again before Morgana launches an attack on a defenseless Camelot? Will he be able to defend his own kingdom at the same time or will all be lost?
Series
- Part 1 of Merlin Ambrosius, King of Carthis
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 127,431
- Chapters:
- 27/27
- Comments:
- 1,610
- Kudos:
- 5,192
- Bookmarks:
- 1,353
- Hits:
- 127,273
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
23 Apr 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
“Yes,” Merlin breathed out, feeling tears prick the backs of his eyes when Arthur kept his gaze firmly over Merlin’s shoulder, refusing to look at him.
Arthur nodded slightly then dropped his eyes to the ground for a second. When he looked back up, his composure was strained, like he was trying to hold something back and not succeeding very well.
“Forgive me if I am mistaken, Merlin,” he began, and Merlin thought he could detect the barest hint of a tremor in his master’s voice, though he still would not look Merlin in the eye, “but is it not the practice of magical kingdoms to have a magician on the throne?”
…
Merlin almost opened the door to call for a servant to empty the tub, as Arthur would have done, but he stopped. He turned back and stared at the tub for a moment, a sort of panicky excitement rising up in his chest. Before he could let years and years of ingrained caution get the better of him, Merlin waved his hand and said, “Àþwìne meresteall.”
The water vanished and left the tub as dry as if it had never been there at all. Merlin let out a bark of laughter, the knowledge that, even if someone had seen him, it wouldn’t have mattered because it was okay making him dizzy with the kind of euphoria he had only ever experienced in flight when he was high above the ground on Kilgharrah’s back, watching the earth disappear beneath him.
Freedom, he thought. This is what freedom feels like.
The heady rush made him want to run and shout, but he was far too tired for that at the moment.
…
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Tags
Summary
After Gaius dies at the hands of Agravaine in the events of The Secret Sharer, Merlin reveals his magic to Arthur as a last ditch effort to see if Destiny was truly on his side.
What follows is a terrible series of revelations, dubious rituals, offensive job offers, and lots of not-quite secrets still to be revealed.
A season 4 & 5 rewrite where everything is worse.
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Tags
Summary
Merlin doesn't like fire.
Arthur eventually figures out why.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 18,920
- Chapters:
- 11/11
- Comments:
- 97
- Kudos:
- 1,105
- Bookmarks:
- 185
- Hits:
- 9,792
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
03 Apr 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
10!!!
Hmm. Arthur realized with a vague sort of understanding that he was officially the worst person in the world. It was an interesting thing to learn about oneself, all things considered.
Merlin sobbed, and Arthur held the man he loved, watching the horrid flames that he wanted to blame for every second of pain they’d brought to Merlin’s soul. But it wasn’t the flames, was it, that had done that. It was the men who had commanded the pyres be lit with them.
It was Uther, it was Camelot, it was Arthur.
He wanted to say sorry, but the word was so inadequate that even speaking it aloud seemed dishonest. How do you apologize for burning people who didn’t – didn’t, didn’t, didn’t, Merlin didn’t – deserve it? How do you apologize for a campaign of horror so great entire communities had been devastated from it? the very land sickened from it?
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Tags
Summary
Merlin confesses his magic, upending the trust between him and Arthur; when he goes missing from Camelot, a conflicted Arthur must reckon with his fears and prejudices as Merlin’s life is put at stake.
“You were never going to renounce magic, really, were you?”
“I was going to try,” Merlin said.
“Were you? Or are you lying again?”Series
- Part 1 of The Weavings of Destiny
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 40,475
- Chapters:
- 8/8
- Comments:
- 354
- Kudos:
- 1,230
- Bookmarks:
- 225
- Hits:
- 24,322
Bookmarked by AnachronisticVerbage
30 Mar 2026
Bookmarker's Notes
Merlin imagined the words coming out of his mouth:
Arthur, I’m a sorcerer, before fleeing from the room without having to stop and observe the consequences, remaining invisible all the while.
And Merlin was thinking—so hard—about the words he’d imagined time and time again—
Arthur, I’m a sorcerer
—that when he finished wiping the table, he stood upright and crossed through the arches, and by some sort of slip or split-second stride off the coming cliff,
“Arthur, I’m a sorcerer.”
He was surprised to hear it in his own voice.
The high ceilings of Arthur’s chambers tossed it around the room, echoing, and it somehow didn’t sound at all the way Merlin had heard it in his head.
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Tags
Summary
In which Lancelot doesn't die and that changes... well, not that much, actually. Up until it does.
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How Fatherhood Changes a Man (and Certain Policies of State) by mayoInYourWalls
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
23 Apr 2026
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Summary
Most everyone Merlin knew warned him that nothing good would ever come of his little (though astonishingly requited) crush on the Lady Morgana. Merlin was, as of now, finding himself in agreement, as she made her dramatic return to Camelot one year after Merlin had attempted to kill her with hemlock. But when Merlin discovers the child, his child, he can say at least one very good thing, as well many more exceedingly ridiculous and complicated things, certainly had come of it.
Featuring pervasive passive aggression and a general sense of melancholy, an extended and distinctly non peaceful political process to legalising magic, a not entirely willing family trip to Ealdor, and some foreign diplomatic negotiations somewhat lacking in diplomacy.
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I'm on the run (with you, my sweet love) by Lady_on_paper
Fandoms: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
23 Dec 2025
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Summary
Harry Potter was tired. After surviving the graveyard and going back to the Dursleys, it seems all his friends and godfather can say to him is "We'll talk when we meet, I can't say anything". He genuinely doesn't know if he can last another month like this. And if he doesn't get news, he'll find some for himself. So he decided to leave, just for a month. The only thing he wants is to breathe. Maybe for the last time.
Of course, nothing was ever easy for Harry - it really shouldn’t surprise him that he turns out to be a wanted criminal, acquires unholy ancient magic and becomes the third side of the war himself, not to mention the pretty blonde whom he picks up while he's on the run.
___
Or: a runaway (or vacationing) Harry Potter AU, that no one asked for. -
Tags
Summary
Harry embarks on a self-appointed quest across the Scottish Highlands. Maybe it’s dangerous to not tell anyone about his plans (especially with an escaped convict on the loose and the giant spiders and the graphorn...) but Harry needs to do this!
Kick-started by a sudden love of fiction, it’s become clear that if he wants a chance of defeating Voldemort, Harry had better get a head start on this character development business that all adventure novel protagonists go through.
Sure, he can’t use magic over the holidays, but he’ll loot all sorts of helpful treasures (like a sword!), finally get the hang of potions via crafting bombs, pick up some hobbies, and make new friends and animal companions to help him along his journey.
(first draft completed, will update regularly)