Only A Boy

Long Way Down

Every time Merlin turned a corner, he expected to see Anhora standing there like some white-robed Grim Reaper. The guardian of the unicorns. Maybe he wanted to see him, wanted Quirrell to be punished for the death of the unicorn but he never saw him. Was it because he had not been involved in the unicorn's death? With Arthur, he had accompanied the hunt and had felt partly responsible for it. But how was Quirrell being punished by his abominable deed?

Hermione had referenced a textbook, telling him that unicorn blood would keep someone alive even if they were an inch from death – but that their life would be cursed. Was Quirrell cursed? Merlin had watched the professor from the corner of his eye and nothing seemed to be different, although he was sure Quirrell would hide such differences.

Hermione had taken the incident especially hard. Instead of meeting up with them at the library during breaks, she would run down to the Care of Magical Creatures paddock and ask Professor Kettleburn how the unicorn was doing. Much to their relief, the unicorn was recovering quickly, although Merlin feared that if it were released back into the forest Quirrell would finish the job.

Merlin found himself in the forbidden forest the very next night; running through the brush toward what he had started calling the dragon clearing. The night sky was beautifully clear and the warm breeze of summer ruffled his hair.

"Kor?" he called and he slowed to a walk. The clearing had expanded some since he'd last been there, more trees knocked down and some portions of the ground burned charcoal black.

"Merlin!" Korrizahar flew down from one of the trees on the edge of the glade. He had grown a few inches in height, and Merlin was sure his wingspan was double his body length. The red and black dragon landed on his shoulders, now needing to wrap his body around Merlin's neck in order to fit.

"Hey," Merlin said with a smile and he ran his finger gently under the base of Kor's throat. "Where are Norberta and Aithusa?"

"Hunting," the dragon replied. "Berta's twice my size already, I'm a little jealous of her growth speed, to be honest."

"Yeah, well, you'll live longer," Merlin said with a laugh that died out too quickly. Kor fixed his golden eyes on Merlin, surveying him for several moments before pressing his head against Merlin's cheek.

"What's happened?" he asked, the smoky aspect of his voice seeming to intensify as he whispered.

Merlin took a seat on his stump – now slightly charred – and told him everything that had transpired the night before. As he spoke about the dead unicorn, his tone grew hard. He was furious. He hoped now that Hagrid was keeping an eye out, Quirrell would be forced to stop drinking unicorn blood but he couldn't be certain.

"The other unicorn will be fine," Merlin said. "Hermione says Kettleburn fixed her right up." He shook his head, frustrated. "The sooner Quirrell is discovered, the better. But, how has Norberta been settling in?"

Kor gave him a stern look, a silent reprimand for avoiding the issue that was clearly bothering him. Merlin just wanted to distract himself for one moment. The death of that majestic creature filled him with frustration and anxiety. He wanted to do something but there was nothing to do. He couldn't just walk into Quirrell's office and attack, and he couldn't just tell Snape because what proof did he have?

"She's fine, likes to sleep in ash as I'm sure you've noticed," Kor said and he nodded toward the patches of scorched earth. He was silent for a moment, watching Merlin. "You'll get Quirrell, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I know," Merlin said and he put his face in his hands. "I'd just—I'd rather it was sooner than later."

"It'll happen when it's supposed to."