The Legacy of Salazar

Raindrops and Scales

Merlin disappeared into the undergrowth of the forbidden forest, his footfalls fast and light as he traversed the rugged terrain with practised ease. He could feel rain misting against his face. He breathed in the sweet crispness, and for a moment he could forget everything; where he was, all the concerns plaguing his mind. He existed in a world outside of time and space, with nothing but the earth beneath his feet and the droplets of water against his skin for company.

Then he saw the clearing up ahead.

At the far end of the clearing, among the blackened trees, he could just see the shimmer of wet scales. Korrizahar turned his head toward Merlin and cocked it to the side, the young dragon reading the expression on his face.

"Merlin," he said, and he stretched his wings, hopping into the air and crossing the length of the clearing in a single weightless bound. "What's wrong?"

Merlin took a deep breath and told him about the voice he had heard, and how Draco and Hermione had discovered he was a Parselmouth. When he'd finished, he could feel water dripping from his hair to his face and his cloak felt heavy and damp. He brushed his sodden bangs out of his aching eyes.

"So, you're still not convinced that it was just a Boomslang, then?" Kor asked after a long moment. The dragon had curled up in front of him, the heat of his scales evaporating the water in soft plumes of steam.

Merlin shook his head, "I don't—I mean," and he ran his hands through his soaking hair, "You should have heard it. That voice—I've never heard something so malevolent. I was convinced it was going to hurt someone."

"Was?" Kor prompted and Merlin sighed, plopping down onto the wet ground next to him.

"I don't know. No one has been hurt as far as I know, and as we didn't find anything—do you think I imagined it?"

A curl of smoke rose from Kor's nostrils. "I doubt it," the dragon replied. "Unless you're prone to such things?"

Merlin frowned. His instincts were usually pretty good. Maybe that's why he was so confused by the entire situation—nothing had happened. "I didn't think so," he said softly, and Kor cocked his head to the side again.

"Do you think you imagined it?"

Merlin wanted to say no but the word didn't quite make it past his lips. "I've been having a lot of headaches recently," he admitted, and he glanced up towards the darkened sky. "And it was late—maybe I wasn't thinking clearly."

Kor didn't reply immediately. He surveyed him for a long moment, and when Merlin looked back at him, the dragon scoffed. "Somehow I don't think you'd imagine something even if you were delirious with the flu."

Merlin wanted to smile, but it came out as a weak grimace. "How do you explain not finding anything, then?" he asked.

"Simple, the snake wasn't in the castle anymore." Kor got to his feet, stretching in a catlike manner before sitting up, wrapping his tail over his talons.

"So that's it?" Merlin said, "Don't worry about it?"

"Well, I mean, keep a weather eye," Kor said, doing a great impression of a shrug, "but I think your friend Hermione might have been right. There's no point worrying about it needlessly, Merlin. You did what you could with the information you had."

"Yeah." Merlin ran his hands through his hair again, this time more to brush away the build-up of water. He felt like a weight had been removed from the pit of his stomach. Kor watched him for a moment before giving a large toothy smile.

"Allow me," and before Merlin could stop him, he blew a gust of fire-hot air in his direction. It felt like he been slammed in the face with a furnace, and Merlin staggered back, blinking his burning eyes.

"Whoops!"

"Whoops?" Merlin repeated, coughing. His face had gone numb. "Are you trying to set me on fire?"

"I just wanted to help dry you off!" Kor said though he looked amused. Merlin felt his hair—sure it was dry now, but it felt like his ends had been singed.

"I think you need some practice," Merlin grumbled and another plume of smoke rose from Kor's nostrils.

"Oh really?"

"Wait—not on me!" Merlin said jumping out of the way from another blast of hot breath, laughing now. He caught the scent of charred wood and burnt meat.

Kor sat back on his haunches, triumphant. "Feel better?" he asked, and Merlin smiled. He walked back around to rub the dragon's head.

"Yeah, thanks."

And he disappeared back into the undergrowth of the forbidden forest, finally able to push the memory of the voice out his mind.