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Merlin thought he was a lousy wizard.
He knew it.
What with, Merlin being perhaps the most talented wizard of their year—no, of the entire school… Well, he lived up to his name, that was for sure. And Arthur knew he only let people see a fraction of his real power.
Arthur would go as far to say Merlin was a reincarnation of the great himself. Or at least a relative.
The point was, he was incredibly powerful and incredibly hot, and Arthur was absolutely mad about him.
So, that was why, despite his own natural skill for magic, Merlin thought Arthur was a lousy wizard.
Arthur had no idea how to get his attention—no idea how to get the other boy to look his way with something other than contempt in his gaze (they didn’t have the best start). So, he pretended to be shit at magic. Pretended to struggle and not get lessons. Purposefully screwed up his perfect potions…
He did whatever he could to look like an incompetent fool, and it worked. Dumbledore, the crazy old coot, finally called the two to his office and assigned Merlin to tutor him!
It had been the perfect plan! And it had been working incredibly. They had grown to be such close friends, and he thought he may be close to working up the courage to asking Merlin out!
Arthur had no idea where he went wrong…
“It’s not what it looks like,” Arthur swore, his eyes wide. His hands flew up in a surrendering gesture, his wand dropping to the floor of the Astronomy Tower with a clatter. He winced at the noise as it echoed.
Merlin stared at him, horrifyingly silent. Any other time, Arthur would have laughed at the fact he was still in his uniform so late past curfew, but now… Now, all Arthur could think about was how careless he’d been.
And…how bloody ethereal Merlin looked in the moonlight. Oh, gods, he was unfairly attractive.
“You…” Merlin’s stunned voice brought Arthur back to reality. He shifted his weight from one foot to another. “Why the hell have I been tutoring you!?”
Arthur let out a slightly hysterical laugh. He ran his hands through his hair, looking up. “You weren’t supposed to find out—”
“What? That you’re bloody incredible at magic? Arthur, that was wordless!” Merlin exclaimed, “I know professors who still struggle with that!”
“I—well, in my defense, I can only do like five wordless spells,” Arthur retorted, unsure what else to say.
A strangled noise echoed through the tower. Arthur cringed slightly. Oh, gods, he really wasn’t helping himself. He was not helping himself at all. Merlin stared at him with wide, incredulous eyes.
“Only five, yes, of course, gods, gods, Arthur!” Merlin threw his hands up, before dropping them back to his sides with a loud clap. “What were you thinking? You are barely passing, and everyone thinks you’re barely a wizard! You’re talented, Arthur—gods smite me on the spot for admitting it—but you are.”
Arthur hesitated, then his shoulders drooped, and he let out a loud sigh. “I know… I know! I’m—dammit, I’m good at magic.”
“Then why are you doing so horribly in lessons?” Merlin pushed, stepping closer. He placed his hands on Arthur’s shoulders gently. “Why am I tutoring you when you could likely easily be rivaling me for top of class?”
Arthur looked away and cleared his throat.
“Well…”
“Well?” Merlin repeated.
“Maybe I really do need a tutor,” Arthur tried, despite knowing it was a weak argument. He looked back to Merlin with a cocked eyebrow. “I mean, you’re more powerful than you let on too, Merlin. I’m not the only one pretending to be worse than I am.”
Merlin scoffed and rolled his eyes. “That’s different.”
“How is that different?” Arthur asked.
“I have to hide my power from everyone, Arthur,” Merlin lowered his voice, using that soft tone Arthur so rarely heard. He usually was graced with it when he was having a ‘particularly hard time’ with a spell… “You know that. I don’t… It’s not a choice for me. I have to wear a constant glamour because my eyes glow when I do magic, I’m eighteen and still do instinctual wandless, wordless magic—I know spells no one has even heard of before and I don’t know how I know them. I could raze Hogwarts to the ground with a single word…what would they do to me if people knew I had this kind of power?”
“I know,” Arthur whispered. “I know, I’m sorry, that was unfair. I shouldn’t have…gods, Merlin, I know how tough it is for you, I’m sorry. I was just—deflecting.”
“I know what you were doing.” Merlin moved a hand from Arthur’s shoulder and cupped his cheek gently. The action sent Arthur’s heart racing faster than a snitch. “And I want to know why… Why are you letting everyone think you’re an idiot when you’re so much more?”
“I…” Arthur trailed off, swallowing hard. Merlin’s eyes stared into his, and gods, he felt so bare… So naked, and open—vulnerable. He let out a sigh and averted his gaze as he mumbled, “I wanted your attention…”
“You…what?” Merlin breathed, audibly startled by the answer.
“You hated me!” Arthur told him, silently cursing the whine in his voice, “I didn’t know how else to get your attention because I, well…I really like you…might even love you.” Merlin inhaled sharply. “But I didn’t know how to get your attention in a way that wouldn’t result in you glaring at me and insulting me, so I…dumbed myself down so Albus would be forced to assign you to tutor me.”
“Now that I say it out loud it sounds so stupid and, gods, Merlin, I’m sorry for lying to you, I just—” Arthur didn’t even get to finish his sentence before lips were pressed hard to his own, and arms were winding around his neck.
Arthur let out a startled noise, his eyes widening. His heart pounded in his chest, and he held his breath. Then, slowly—his eyes falling shut—he relaxed. Moved his lips back against Merlin’s, wrapped his arms around Merlin’s waist. Merlin buried his hands in Arthur’s hair, and Arthur gripped the back of Merlin’s black and green robes like a lifeline—his heart singing with joy, and his lips struggling not to pull into a grin.
When they parted, Merlin pressed his forehead to Arthur’s gently, a stupid smile on his face.
“You dense fool,” Merlin muttered, huffing out a laugh, “I never hated you…”
“You haven’t?”
“No!” Merlin grinned. “I just…liked seeing you all riled up. It was fun, you know.”
“Oh, my gods, you are such a Slytherin!” Arthur gasped. He tried desperately to fight back the grin spreading across his lips, but it was to no avail.
Merlin snorted slightly. “Yeah, that’s usually what the green tie around my neck means, Arthur.”
“So, you…want to go with me to Hogsmeade this weekend?” Arthur asked, chewing his bottom lip nervously.
Merlin pulled Arthur closer, humming softly. A grin was stretched across his lips, and he leaned in. Arthur laughed softly when Merlin pressed a light kiss to his nose. Affection warmed his chest, and happiness filled him from head to toe when Merlin nodded slowly, whispering softly in the quiet of the night,
“I would love to.”