The Legacy of Salazar

Dragons Under The Stars

The cool evening air whipped through Merlin's hair as he raced through the Forbidden Forest. He had worried Snape might try to stop him again, and was relieved when Draco agreed to keep watch. Draco hadn't even questioned him. Part of Merlin felt guilty about that—why couldn't he just open his mouth and trust his friends with this?

Well. Wandless magic was one thing. Dragons were something else entirely.

As he neared the clearing, Merlin cleared his throat. He started the dragon call, shouting the language into the darkness—but he was cut short when something crashed into his midriff, sending him flying back into a bush.

"Merlin!"

"Kor!" Merlin laughed, pushing the dragon off his chest.

The dragon had grown over the summer, approaching the size of a large dog. The red scales had deepened in color and melted into charcoal black patches, turning him into a mosaic of volcanic flame. Smoke curled out of his nostrils, and he nuzzled his head against Merlin's hand—which had doubled in size.

"About time," Korrizahar snorted. He kept close to Merlin's side as they walked back into the clearing. "I want to know everything."

The clearing had expanded quite a bit since Merlin said goodbye in June. It cut deeper in the forest, the ground a blend of charcoal, ash, and animal fluff. Aithusa came trotting through the trees, her white scales glowing in the starlight. She grunted and dipped her head in greeting, and behind her, Merlin saw Norberta. The dragon had already reached the size of a grizzly bear, and he was sure she would reach full-grown soon. Her deep brown scales looked almost black in the gloom. She clicked in greeting when she saw him.

"She's gotten... big," Merlin said faintly. How long until someone spotted her?

Korrizahar seemed to know what he was thinking because, "We've started heading deeper into the wilds—and Aithusa and I keep an eye on her so she doesn't head into the populated territory."

"Are you finding enough food?" Merlin asked. He extended his hand to Norberta who, after a pause, touched her muzzle against his palm. Her scales felt hot.

"For the most part. It's harder since we only hunt at night when we can hide in the dark."

Merlin wondered if this forest was even capable of sustaining three fully-grown dragons.

"Anyway," Korrizahar said, and he sat down on the ground, tail wrapping neatly around long talons. "Tell me the news! How was your summer?"

For the next few hours, Merlin talked. He talked about life with Florean Fortescue, how Silas would be coming to school next year—Kor was eager to meet him too—about the evidentiary hearing and the trial, how he couldn't shake this headache since he'd encountered the dementors, and about his first day of school.

When he'd finished, Korrizahar had moved until he was curled around Merlin—the warm scales like a comforting blanket.

"I agree with Florean—if the headache gets worse go to Snape," he said. "Or even Dumbledore, he might know something about memory curses."

Merlin grimaced. "Hopefully it won't come to that."

"Yeah, well, if you did aggravate that curse it'll cause problems. You don't know how you got it, right?"

"Funny about memory curses, they mess with your memory."

Korrizahar snorted, releasing another flume of smoke. "Still. I wish I knew more." The dragon growled. "I feel so useless. All you can do is bounce ideas off me, but I do not know."

Merlin blinked. "That'll come," he said automatically. He would admit that sometimes he wished Korrizahar had the same wealth of knowledge as Kilgharrah, but it was also nice to just have a companion. Someone who knew everything. Who might see something Merlin had missed. He told Kor so, and the dragon hummed, nuzzling him again.

"I just don't want to go to Lockhart's class tomorrow," Merlin groaned, leaning back and staring at the stars. In Diagon Alley it was too bright, the glare of London washed them away. In Camelot, the stars had always ignited the night sky.

"Oh, it'll be fine. You said yourself he's probably not working with Voldemort. He's just a bit—"

"Unbearable?"

"Ostentatious. But hey, you said he's written all these books. Maybe you'll learn something from him," Korrizahar said, poking him with his tail.

The thought made Merlin laugh again—hard. "I guess we'll see tomorrow," he said.

But for tonight, he had the stars.