#merlin is in distress

[justaz]

need arthur repealing the magic ban bc its the Right Thing To Do and merlin is ecstatic bc finally finally he can be himself and tell arthur the truth. he can stop lying and hiding!! and the the ban is repealed and magic is free and theres a feast held in celebration and merlin lugs arthur to his chambers since the king had a bit too much wine and the night is warm and golden and steeped with happiness. merlin lays arthur down in bed and arthur looks up at him with half-lidded eyes, glazed over and warm and filled with love, and he says some sappy shit about merlin being a good friend and how loyal he is.

merlin isnt sure why his words make a stone settle in his stomach but he brushes it off and goes to bed, telling himself that he’ll tell arthur everything in the morning. then morning comes around and merlin sits at the table while arthur is eating breakfast and opens his mouth to tell him when his throat closes up and no words escape him. arthur is confused but merlin distracts him by insulting him and postpones the conversation. he’s been hiding for years, maybe he just needs to take it slow, take baby steps, let his mind and body get used to the idea of being free first.

merlin waits another week and a half before trying again. same result. the words wont come out and he’s choking on this secret he thought he could fess up to now and it takes him so long to realize he’s terrified. he isn’t sure why bc helloooo the ban is lifted!! he won’t be put to death!! what’s the problem?? he had an easier time confessing to sorcery to uther when such a thing was still punishable by death. why is it so hard to tell his best friend the truth when he won’t be punished for it??

answer: telling arthur the truth would mean telling him how merlin has lied for years and how arthur has never truly known the man he calls his friend. arthur will be hurt and angry and he’ll feel betrayed and that is something merlin has seen time and time again and he has fought so hard to prevent yet here he is about to put the same expression on his face. he’s about to break arthur’s heart once more. he can’t do it. he has to. he’ll hurt him. it gets worse the longer merlin takes. arthur will hate him. oh gods arthur will hate him.

[ollyrewind]

jedi knight merlin on a diplomatic mission?

[onceandfutureheartache]

hans/henry are so merthur coded i cant breathe

[hopelessromantic5]

I’ve gotten a very insistent request to continue my earlier story of Merlin on the pyre in Ealdor.

This was in my drafts for the longest, unfinished. But they asked for it.

So, here’s part two.

Thank you for reading.

Merlin felt homesick, even as he was riding away from his mother, all his possessions packed in one sack.

Somehow, simultaneously, he felt immense relief, riding away from that simple place. Away from small people and their simple minds.

That didn’t make it any less terrifying.

The King of Camelot was riding two feet away from him, for gods sake.

Merlin was riding at the front, with the King of Camelot, when he expected to be riding in the back, following his band of knights.

Now that he thought about it, it may have been a precautionary measure. They hardly knew anything about him, other than he had magic and he was sure, until their arrival, that he was going to die today. His position left him close to the King and still in view of all six knights.

Smart.

“So, Merlin,” that was going to be a thing, wasn’t it? The way he said Merlin’s name like that. “What can you do with this gift of yours, exactly?”

Merlin observed him as he rode, nearly flawless and perfect, even in his imperfections. Crooked smile made him all the more charming, all the more disarming.

“Why don’t you tell me what it is you need me to do, and I’ll tell you if I can do it.” He shot back.

The King had a baffled smile, obviously not expecting such a response.

“Well, most of your assistance would be appreciated in helping me comb through the laws. I need to make sure that those who practice harmless magic are safe but that dangerous magic is still somehow punishable by something other than death.”

“Not a fan of executions, sire?” Merlin was merely curious. About his kingdom, about its people, about him.

“Not especially.” The King didn’t laugh or joke at that. “I figured you wouldn’t be either considering how we became acquainted.”

Merlin had nearly forgotten, momentarily.

“Thank you, for that.” He fiddled with the reigns of his own horse, one that had previously been carrying supplies.

“You’re right. Not big on pyres, myself.”

“You don’t need to thank me. You were innocent.” The blonde man kept his eyes on the path ahead.

“No one is innocent, sire.” Merlin said before he thought about it.

For some odd reason, Merlin was finding it hard to think before he spoke.

He was speaking to a King, for the first time in his life, that was probably it.

A long, tired sigh came in response as Merlin was panicking.

“I suppose you’re right, Merlin.”

They rode in silence for a long time. Merlin didn’t look back at the knights but he knew they were keeping an eye on him.

The birds were chirping and the sun was cutting through the treetops above them, and it was easy to forget his life for a little while.

Until it was hard to ignore.

He leaned over towards Arthur’s own horse and spoke as quietly as he could.

“Do your knights think I’m going to attack you or something?”

The King didn’t even spare them a glance, but a fond smile seemed to play on his face.

“You’ll forgive them for being a tad protective. They are not used to new comers, is all.”

“Is that I’m a stranger? Or a stranger with magic?” Merlin asked.

The King shrugged. Which didn’t seem like a very kingly thing to be doing.

“Let’s say both, to be safe. They’ve seen magic, of course. Most of it was simple; mixing a poultice or healing a boy’s scraped knee.” That’s when the King turned those alarming blue eyes on him, eyes furrowed, as if Merlin were something to be figured out.

“However, we’ve never seen what the people in your village spoke of. Healing crops, bringing another back from the brink of death. How do you do it?”

It was Merlin’s turn to shrug while fighting the blush on his cheeks. His magic did backflips under his skin.

“I wish I could tell you, sire. Understanding might help me control it a little more easily.”

“Who taught you?” Arthur asked, simply curious.

“No one. I was born this way.”

Suddenly the King’s horse stopped in its tracks, causing Merlin to halt his own steed.

“Something wrong, sire?” He asked warily as the rest of his men also stopped in confusion.

The King was still staring at him. It was almost disconcerting. If it weren’t so bothersome.

Arthur caught up to him and kept the same steady pace as before.

“You’re telling me, you were born with the power you have now?”

Merlin was confused. Didn’t he know this already?

“Yes? My mother said I was floating objects around the hut before I could speak.”

Arthur huffed, but Merlin saw a small smile.

“That’s incredible.” He said quietly, almost under his breath.

“Are you really the King they say you are? Just and fair in all things?” If they were asking questions, surely Merlin could pose a few of his own.

Arthur’s smile didn’t go anywhere.

“I suppose you’d have to ask others when we arrive. I’m hardly an impartial opinion. But I will say that I try my best to do right by my people,” another shrug. “It’s what any king should do.”

“Maybe they should. But most do not.”

“Ha!” Merlin heard from behind him. A knight with long shiny hair had his head thrown back in a cackle. “I like him, Arthur. I think we should keep him.”

“Pipe down, Gwaine. Or you’ll be first practice dummy in the morning.” The King shot back.

Merlin cleared his throat. Willing the feeling to go away. The giddiness, the pride in being chosen by the Golden King.

Hopefully, Camelot would welcome this newcomer for as long as it took him to finish his task.

Just as the white peaks of the castle came into view over the trees, Merlin wondered how long this new place would be his home.

[elpidi]

the way nimueh plays all these men *chef's kiss*

[thesorcerersshadow]

“if i can’t use magic, i might as well die”

“i’m not a monster am i?”

INSANE that i first watched this when i was like. 13-14 and just starting to experience depression and scary intrusive thoughts for the first time. formative!

[robynrileyart]

you can always tell when i'm between hyperfixations bc my art posting goes from 60 every day to 0 for WEEKS

[sirtaliesin]

The Demon (1972) - Issue #5

[venator-arts]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Merlin (TV) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Morgana & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin & Morgana (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin & Morgana & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin) Characters: Morgana (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin (Merlin) Additional Tags: Siblings Morgana & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Good Morgana (Merlin), Merlin & Morgana Friendship (Merlin), Morgana Knows about Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Arthur Pendragon Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Everyone Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), morgana and arthur actually act like siblings, Bickering, Bickering Morgana and Arthur Pendragon, that should be a tag cause these two are siblings that constantly fight, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Crack Summary:

The princess has been captured! Who is going to rescue her but the dashing prince? Except the prince is her idiot brother.

aka Morgana gets kidnapped, Arthur has to rescue her and an ungodly amount of bickering is involved. Oh, and Merlin's here too.

[elijones94]

👩🏾‍🦱🐸 Three years ago, I had done a drawing of Princess Tiana in the coils of a snake. I had come across a rough pencil test on animator John Pomeroy’s Instagram page. It was a rough animation test for the Disney World interactive attraction “Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom”. The game revolves around Merlin from “The Sword in the Stone” recruiting park guests as apprentices to battle Hades from “Hercules” and other Disney villains. In the game, Tiana gets kidnapped by Dr. Facilier and is wrapped in the coils of a menacing snake. In the end, she is freed by any park guest participating in the game. 🐍✨

[adhd-merlin]

#least fave is 4x09 arthur physically threatening gwen #just horrendously ooc

sorry @freylins I just!! have feelings about this scene in particular. and, unfortunately, thoughts. in my tag for episode 4x09 (I rarely use episode tags btw) you can see me going "I love this scene. what a great scene. why are there no gifs of this scene" multiple times lol. I might reformulate some of my previous tags into a more coherent (?) post.

I can see why many people wouldn't love this moment; chances are you're either someone who doesn't care about arthur/gwen that much, in which case you'd be sitting there thinking "can we go back to arthur & merlin please", or you DO care about arthur and gwen, and it's an uncomfortable scene to watch if you do.

but! I love drama and angst and emotional suffering (IN FICTION)

personally I don't find it ooc for arthur (or if it is, it's justified — I'll get into this later). it's true, in normal circumstances he would never. but these are hardly normal circumstances, and him shaking gwen like that really underlines how besides himself he was feeling.

it's true that arthur often loses his patience with merlin (shouting, throwing objects) but it's usually over petty stuff. he's actually remarkably calm under pressure when the situation calls for it.

so it's not often that we seem him COMPLETELY lose his cool in such a way — the only comparable scene, in my opinion, is the one in which he challenges uther to a duel in ep 2x08, after learning from morgause that his mother died because of uther, and uther has been lying to him about it all his life.

and both that moment and gwen's cheating are betrayals of MASSIVE proportions. literally world-shaking revelations, and it's about two people arthur loves more than anything.

I don't think it's strange for him not to be thinking straight when he confronts uther (2x08) and gwen (4x09) — he's only human.

in gwen's case — he found her kissing lancelot, her former love and his former most loyal knight, literally the night before they were to be married. this is the woman of which arthur famously* said "if I lose her, I lose everything" (!!)

which of course would make him question everything. up to that point he had been so sure of gwen's love for him, but what if he was just deluding himself.

and he had to fight to make gwen queen, remember — against the opinion of the court, and probably his own prejudice. I find it interesting how he remarks "do you know what they're saying?" when facing gwen, pointing at the door, because arthur has grown up under the eyes of the court, and he's not stupid.

here he's telling gwen that in his father's day she'd be put to death, but one can imagine that is not all the councilmen have been saying. agravaine was lecturing him about the appropriateness of his love match only a few episodes prior; surely someone told arthur (or heavily implied it) that gwen might not love him after all. that she might just be in it for the wealth and the power, and not because she holds any real affection for him.

which adds another layer of hurt — it's not just about having his heart broken, he's also been made to look like a fool in front of everyone. and although it might not be arthur's most pressing concern here, he is sensitive about losing face (in front of his father, when uther was still alive; in front of agravaine and his councilmen now). he has to be, in his position, how could he not?

arthur has been defending his choice of gwen as a consort the whole time based on the fact that they loved one another, and now he's just witnessed her kiss lancelot. his whole world is crumbling.

you can see how hard he's trying to keep himself together when he faces gwen again. he's had a night to think things over and he's still so badly shaken.

and even so, I think (I'm sure plenty will disagree, given he does banish gwen in the end, but anyway) I think you can still tell how much arthur loves gwen, even now, even underneath his fury. because the first thing he asks her — when he can find in himself the strength to actually look at her — is "what happened, guinevere?"

and in that moment there is no anger in his tone — he's sad, defeated, confused, but he's genuinely just trying to understand what happened to them. what he might have done wrong, what he might have missed. and to me that's such an arthur thing to do.

and yes, it's true that he loses his temper and ends up shaking gwen and shouting in her face, which is unlike him. but characters acting uncharacteristically for a reason isn't bad writing. real people do it too. a character behaving in a way he normally wouldn't can be significant, and I think it is here.

because arthur has just lost everything. he's trying to understand why and the only person who could answer him has no answer to give :(

(he also apologises immediately and tries to get himself under control again. even banishing gwen is more about needing her as far away from him as possible than about making her suffer. it's not done out of viciousness. I mean, yes, it's also a punishment, but only because one was required. but he tells gwen he's sorry about it and he seems to mean it.)

sorry, I just think it's a very well written emotional scene (even counting that "I don't want to see you dead... but I don't want to see you", a line so predictable I literally finished it with bradley the first time I watched the episode), and it's so well acted, and it deserves more love. but I understand why it doesn't get much.

(btw I'm not trying to convince anyone to like this scene nor I expect everyone to agree with all I wrote here, I'm just saying why I personally like it.)

______________

*to me

Question for everyone: what is your favourite and least favourite moment in Merlin?

[maddybthorne]

No thoughts. Just the idea of Leon finding out about Merlin’s magic post canon and not giving a single fuck, but absolutely crashing out when he realizes that: No, Merlin and Arthur weren’t fucking, they were just being complete and utter idiots that were oblivious to their EXTREMELY OBVIOUS FEELINGS for one another.

Leon: “Screw your Magic. Because the fuck you mean “No Arthur is just my King” YOU SAID HE WAS UR DESTINY??? THE FUCKING DRAGON (BECAUSE APPARENTLY THAT’S A THING NOW) SAID HE’S LITERALLY YOUR OTHER HALF? HOW ELSE ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO TAKE THAT AS OTHER THAN HES UR SOULMATE??? “

Merlin: *thoughtful* “… huh”

Leon *in tears* : “FUCKING P O E T R Y! DO YOU COMPREHEND THE KIND OF MENTAL DISTRESS YOU TWO CAUSED ME? AND IT WASN’T FUCKING CANON???”

Merlin: “… tbf the Dragon was really cryptic”

Leon: *incoherent screaming*

(Leon is tired. Leon is also unfortunately immortal. Leon wants a vacation. Spoiler: he will not get one. #LetLeonSleep2025)

[dollopole]

Let’s take into consideration:

Arthur would rather waste precious time before an important council meeting to run around the entire castle and search for Merlin, who, in his very honest opinion is the worst servant of the entire kingdom or that he had ever known, than to call literally anyone else to help him dress (as if there wouldn’t be anyone ready to assist Arthur, their king, with clothes);

Arthur, and therefore Agravaine (which makes it all the more hilarious) knows every single place where Merlin could be, at that precise moment, or during that day in general; (EDIT: As someone pointed out in the comments, everyone and Agravaine included knows who is the “dollophead”)

The guards nod to Agravaine without asking anything, which only means that it is canon that everyone in Camelot knows Merlin by name; EDIT: It also means that the guards deal with this on a daily basis. They must be tired.

The aforementioned point implies that everyone knows how Merlin looks like, that also means Merlin is known to never leave Arthur’s side, even during council meetings;

Arthur is running around the castle in what today we would call a pyjama, just because Merlin didn’t wake him up with, “Rise and Shine”. And he’s barefoot. That’s right. The king of Camelot, everyone, has just walked barefoot in Merlin’s chambers, in the armoury, where other knights probably are, and in the bloody stables (yes, the ones where the horses and their dungs both are), without boots on, just to look for Merlin;

Arthur is more distressed in this scene than in the one where Morgana declares war in season five. He’s fretting like a mother hen. Not only he is without breath, which means he was just coming back from his checking around, but he is red in the face and almost yelling in desperation. “Does he expect me to dress myself?!” Because apparently, Arthur literally cannot do anything without Merlin by his side. The way he says, “No sign of him” to Agravaine is so endearing, and he shouldn’t be this adorable. Unfair, Arthur. Really unfair.

Arthur just yells, (and distressingly looks around) in hope that Merlin will come back to him, because he always does. *sounds of my heart breaking into millions of pieces*

And last but not least, Arthur shouts, “Last night!”, which means the actual reason he’s going around searching for Merlin, it’s because he’s worried his world will end without his quirky and clumsy servant by his side (and the love of his life). Merlin is currently out on a quest with Gwaine to look for Gaius, since he has been kidnapped, but the problem is that Arthur doesn’t know this. What he knows is that he has fought with Merlin the day before about Gaius in the council chambers, and believes Merlin is gone for good, this time, and solely for the fight they had. Arthur feels more than guilty that he can’t make it up to his best friend, the love of his life (Agravaine helped Morgana kidnap Gaius, and it explains the ending of the scene, where he understands where Merlin is.) Now Arthur is worried that his last words to Merlin were harsh. He had last seen him when he was done with his duties the night before, and then Merlin disappeared.

No wonder they deleted this scene.

[poisonedfate]

"Don't you dare look him in the eye" is SO merwaine

hello!!! is it just me or are these getting longer and longer (the answers, i mean). either way! so very fun to write, not as much action as i had essentially wanted, but there's gwaine wooing merlin so. hope that balances out.

send me prompts

It was unusually quiet around him, even with the annoying ringing in his ears. He remembers most of the men being held up by the rest of the knights as Gwaine pulled him in the opposite direction. He remembers two of the men noticing, chasing after them. He remembers seeing the crystal in their hands. He remembers losing them. He remembers suddenly feeling the cold dirt under his cheek.  The men were mere soldiers of the sorceress whose name he couldn't place as he lay on the ground. She had given them a crystal that, if what they said was true, should help them figure out who Emrys was. He could feel the crystal, the pulse of it, when they were close, so he was inclined to believe it worked in its intended way. They talked of glowing eyes guiding them, so Merlin had averted his from their gaze. Maybe that's how they figured it out, maybe that's what tipped them off, maybe that's why they were chasing them.

Suddenly, there were two hands grabbing at the front of him, pulling him upwards, pushing his back against the tree. Merlin kept his eyes closed, both because he couldn't quite manage to open them yet and because it just seemed like the better option, all things considered. Gwaine was yelling his name, somewhere, in the distance.  He must've fallen unconscious because next thing he knew there was a splash of cold water on his face. It knocked a gasp out of him, eyes flying open. So much for better options.  "Come on, you've had enough rest, get up," the man growled, pulling at him again, this time upwards. He stumbled just so before finally finding his footing.  They must be waiting for the other man, he thought since this one hadn't reached for the crystal already. Merlin was right, as the other soldier soon approached: "Is it him?"  "I don't know, you had the crystal." "No, I- wait, yeah, there it is," the man laughed roughly. Were they playing some sort of game, or were they just plain stupid? Stupid, Merlin quickly decided. He's seen enough of those to know by now.  Merlin didn't think that the crystal had any other effects on his magic, though, in a perfect world, he wouldn't have to use his powers - he didn't know what had happened to the rest of their group, and though he trusted the knights, though he was quite sure he could deal with them as well if needed, he preferred not to risk it.  Before he could even think any further, he heard more footsteps coming in their direction. The first man was holding his head slightly upwards, the second was only about three steps away from him now. His odds weren't great, but as soon as he recognised Gwaine, he knew those odds were about to change.  The men barely had time to react before the knight was already right next to them, calm, sword drawn, eyes steady and dark: "Merlin," he said, almost like a greeting, more like a question. He could only muster up a small smile in response. Gwaine had come from the right, closer to Merlin and the man holding his face, clearly marking him as the first target. As the two fought, the second man took his chance to approach Merlin, committed.  "Don't you dare look him in the eye," Gwaine spat, as serious as ever, sword to the man's throat.  Merlin's head was still spinning slightly, everything moving both a little too slow and a little too fast, so he hadn't noticed how quickly Gwaine had taken care of the first soldier. Though if he was to judge by his second battle, the knight certainly wasn't wasting any time.  Merlin exhaled heavily, shoulders finally relaxing, as Gwaine came to hold him up, arm around his waist.  "Where did you even come from?" he questioned, trying to put the pieces back together.  "Can't get rid of me that easily, Merls," Gwaine laughed in response.  "You know, I could've taken care of them too," he continued, holding on to Gwaine for dear life, which did not help his case at all.  "Oh, I know, but saving you is such a rewarding quest, pretty one."

[my-castles-crumbling]

makeup - march 26 - black brothers - jegulus - @black-brothers-microfic - word count: 391

“I’ve decided to take advantage of this whole ‘you snogging my best friend’ thing,” Sirius announced, walking into Regulus’s room at the Potters without so much as a knock.

Regulus, who had been reading, jumped and scowled. “What the fuck, Sirius?”

“Did you hear me? I forgive you for stealing my best friend,” Sirius said, spreading his arms like he was a generous monarch.

“Thank Merlin. I was so distressed. Will you leave now?” Regulus asked sarcastically.

“No. I need your help messing with Prongs,” the Gryffindor said, sitting on his bed with a little bounce. 

Trying not to show that he was a bit curious, Regulus sat up. “What’s in it for me?”

“This plan involves you turning James into a flustered mess, which could only be enjoyable for you,” Sirius shrugged. “And I get to see him act like an idiot in front of you. Win-win?”

He narrowed his eyes. “How?”

Sirius pulled something from his pocket. “Makeup.”

Instantly, Regulus scooted backwards, nearly falling off the bed. “No. Absolutely not.”

But Sirius was already begging. “Please? C’mon, Reg! I promise you’ll look amazing and if you don’t, I’ll–I’ll do your homework for the first month of school!”

Regulus tilted his head. “My Transfiguration homework?” he clarified. He hated Transfiguration and Sirius was pretty good at it.

“Yes!”

“Alright,” Regulus sighed, already regretting agreeing.

—

“Hey, Prongs? I have a surprise for you!”

The brothers walked into James’s room, finding him flipping through a Quidditch magazine and ripping out pictures.

“What? I-”

But as soon as he caught sight of Regulus, who was now wearing liberal amounts of eyeliner, a bit of mascara, and the slightest bit of lip gloss (this had been the biggest fight, but Sirius had insisted), he froze, mouth agape, eyes wide as saucers.

Regulus’s heart skipped a few beats, but he couldn’t help but grin. “Hi, James,” he said softly, smiling.

“I…I…”

Sirius burst out laughing. “I think we broke him! He’s never been so quiet! Holy shit! He’s lost for words! Like a silencing charm! James, this is pathetic, mate!”

James was turning red, his eyes flitting over Regulus’s face, and it took several long moments before he swallowed and said, “Fuck. Reggie, you look…”

Regulus just chucked. He would never admit it, but Sirius had been right. Maybe he should wear eyeliner more often.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

Do you think Harry would swear or has sworn? Such a niche question, but trying to realistic write him swearing is such a mixed basket. On the one hand, I don't really picture him doing it, even under extreme distress. But I can also imagine him letting out a light swear if he's having a bad day and has a minor inconvenience

I 100% believe Harry swears. This post ended up being a little longer since I kinda went off and detailed how a bunch of characters in HP swear, not just Harry.

Sometimes, characters are shown to "swear" on page:

“Blimey,” said Ron weakly. (CoS)

“Blimey, it is!” said Ron quietly (OotP)

“What in the name of Merlin are you doing?” said Ron (OotP)

“Why the hell,” panted Ron (DH)

“I’ll join you when hell freezes over,” said Neville. (DH)

“Merlin’s beard,” Moody [Barty] whispered (GoF)

“Merlin’s beard,” said Mr. Weasley wonderingly (OotP)

“Harry, what the hell’s going on?” asked Bill (DH)

“Blasted thing,” Snape was saying. (PS)

("Blimey" and "blasted" are here since they were considered mild swear words when they became part of the language like "gosh" and "darn". "Merlin's beard" is kinda like saying "Jesus Christ" which was also considered a mild swear, even if no one really considers most of the above swears by today's standards).

The above is done when the swears are (very) light and something that you could print in a children's book. But sometimes, characters swearing is censored in the books:

Dean swore loudly. (CoS)

Thankfully, Snape sneezed at almost exactly the moment Ron swore. (CoS)

Ron dropped several boxes, swore, and made a rude hand gesture at Fred that was unfortunately spotted by Mrs. Weasley, who had chosen that moment to appear. (HBP)

and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him (PoA)

The lift clattered into view and they hurried inside. Every time it stopped Mr. Weasley cursed furiously and pummelled the number nine button. (OotP)

When that happens, I assume the swears are ones JKR couldn't get away with in a children's/YA book series. Like: "fuck" or "shit".

(Molly calling Bellatrix "bitch" is the only harsher swear word not censored in the books)

When Harry swears, it's sometimes not censored:

“She doesn’t love me,” said Harry at once. “She doesn’t give a damn — ” (OotP)

“And he didn’t think my mother was worth a damn either,” said Harry (HBP)

“Why not?” asked Harry. “Let’s get rid of the damn thing, it’s been months — ” (DH)

“Where the hell have you been?” Harry shouted. (DH)

But often enough, Harry's cursing is censored:

Harry swore under his breath (OotP)

Harry swore and turned away. (OotP)

Harry swore at the top of his voice, spinning on the spot to see where Mundungus had gone. (HBP)

Harry swore. Someone screamed. (HBP)

So, to me, this suggests Harry says "fuck" or British stuff like "sod off". He 100% does use harsher swears, and it's in character for him to do so. He swears under his breath when shit goes badly or he finds himself in a situation he really doesn't want to be in. He swears loudly when Mandungus escapes him, so when he's really angry, he can go and shout a proper F-bomb. Let Harry say "fuck", his life sucks and he deserves it.

Ron also swears sometimes harsher swears than "hell" or "bloody hell" but he does so more rarely than Harry and when things are really bad. Usually, he goes for lighter stuff like: "Merlin", "hell", or "blimey".

Hermione doesn't swear except for the "Merlin's pants" comment in DH which was clearly meant to be "Merlin's balls" but JKR got censored by her editors and one time she says "damn" in DH. Hermione doesn't even use light swears like "Merlin", "damn" or "hell". She, just, doesn't swear until DH, and even then only twice. Like, her most extreme for the majority of the books is going: "oh my", "oh my god", or "oh my goodness". Hermione is the only member in the Golden Trio that doesn't swear:

“Oh, my — ” Hermione grabbed Harry’s arm. (PoA)

“Oh my goodness,” said Hermione suddenly (PoA)

“Oh gosh, I forgot!” said Hermione (OotP)

“Oh my ...” Harry heard Hermione squeal, terrified, beside him. (OotP)

“Today?” shrieked Hermione. “Today? But why didn’t you — oh my God — you should have said — ” (HBP)

“Oh my — !” shrieked Hermione, as she and Ron caught up with Harry (DH)

I went a bit off track, but theses are some characters and how they swear that I found while searching this:

Harry, Dean & Lee: swear in profanities that need to be censored ("fuck", "shit", "sodding hell") often and sprinkle lighter swears ("hell", "damn") in there. Harry uses "damn" relatively often.

Ron, the twins, Bill & Arthur: use mostly light swears ("hell", "bloody", "blasted") but use some harsher swears ("fuck", "shit") when needed (and Molly isn't looking).

(I assume Ginny is in this above category too, but I only found her saying "damn" once)

Neville, Dumbledore, Hagrid & Snape (at least, when we see him): use only light swears such as "hell", "blasted" or "Merlin" and its derivatives.

Molly: Doesn't really swear except that one time (calling Bellatrix a bitch).

Hermione & Luna: never use profanities unless really at their limit. Don't even use light swears or "Merlin" and its derivatives. Hermione says: "oh my god" or "oh my goodness", Luna says: "oh, no".

Lupin doesn't swear anywhere on-page either.

Surprisingly I couldn't find any mention of Sirius swearing, not even light stuff (like "Merlin's beard"). I guess he really was raised to have proper manners. Or maybe he's actively censoring himself in front of Harry to be a good role model.