Notes

Name: Leonore Frauen Weisse
House: Ravenclaw

"Merlin's Beard!"

We've probably heard that phrase at least once in our lives. It's a phrase that we usually exclaim whenever some surprising thing happen. But there's more to Merlin than his exquisite beard— something that modern wizards tend to ignore.

Merlin was a famed wizard who lived during England's medieval Era. He's a part of King Arthur's court, and is said to be one of, if not the most powerful wizard ever lived.

Early in his life, he attended the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, being sorted to Slytherin and possibly taught by Salazar Slytherin himself. Some time during / after his school years, Merlin studied the five secret rooms hidden inside the school. These rooms would be known today as the Cursed Vaults, and Merlin studied not only their purpose, but the magical properties they contain as well. Later in his life as an old wizard, Merlin painted humself and taught the painting about the vaults, so that it could warn future Hogwarts residents about the Vaults and how to break the curses surrounding them. This portrait was hung on one of the walls by the Grand Staircase.

Later in his life, he joined the Court of King Arthur, and is said to be the King's scholarly advisor. He took part of a Muggle-built court because he believed wizards should assist Muggles and live peacefully with them. In fact, he's keen on keeping this peace so much that he founded the Order of Merlin, an organization that promotes Muggle rights towards the Wizarding World. They created and imposed rules towards wizards to not cast magic towards them— a law that still applies to this day.

However, some time after Merlin's demise, the Order of Merlin changed functions. From being a Muggle-supporting organization, it became an award bestowed towards witches and wizards who have done extraordinary deeds at their own risk, or contributed to the betterment of the Wizarding World's society. This change is most likely due to wizards and witches' estrangement from the Muggle community, which eventually enacted the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, officially established in 1692. Still, being named after an award for only the most important wizards in history is a testament to how great Merlin was back then.

That, and also his spectacular beard.