Author's note: Okay, first I'd like to say thank you for the feedback, as I haven't said that lately, and, secondly, I would like to remind you that this is in an alternate universe starting at the end of season 4, as season 5 was way too sad for me. Thirdly, if you see any mistakes, please tell me, because my spell check is saying that I spell everything wrong.

Lastly, sorry that I didn't post this earlier. I'm kind of in a rut with my writing, and this is really the only story that I have chapters written for.

Anyway, I'm not going to complain about that here. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Merlin or Harry Potter.

Merlin stood in the clearing, listening to the sound of wingbeats as Aithusa descended from the sky. The dragon stood out against the dark sky, and Merlin hoped that nobody was watching from Hogwarts at the moment.

"Merlin," she greeted as she landed, rubbing her head up against the warlock. Merlin stumbled a bit, but patted the dragon's head and chuckled.

"Aithusa," he said, "Long time."

Aithusa withdrew her head and nodded. "I have not seen you since you went to Hogwarts. Why do you call me now?" she asked. Merlin grinned.

"I need a favor," he said, and Aithusa cocked her head as Merlin continued, "It seems our gamekeeper has gotten a hold of a dragon egg."

Aithusa snorted. "When will these humans learn that we are not pets? I assume you want me to take care of this egg," she said.

"Not quite," Merlin said. AIthusa looked confused. "He's already hatched, so I was wondering if you could look after him for a while. Just until he's able to take care of himself," Merlin continued at Aithusa's indignant look. The dragon sighed.

"It isn't an Old dragon, is it?" she asked, her eyes glistening with annoyance. Merlin shook his head, and she sighed. "You know how we feel about those beasts, Merlin."

Merlin sighed. "I know, but I figured that you're the only dragon I know who would take on the task. Hagrid could get into a lot of trouble for owning a dragon-"

"Rightly so."

"-and it's always been his dream to own one-"

"We are not pets."

"-so I figured that you could stay here and watch over him, and then Hagrid could see him every once and a while and he'd be getting the care that he needs. Plus, I could come and visit you," Merlin finished, knowing that Aithusa wouldn't refuse him. He wasn't going to order her to watch over the baby, but he knew she wouldn't be able to resist the prospect of being able to see Merlin more often. They had grown awfully attached after Kilgharrah's death, and Aithusa seemed to enjoy the bond they had as the last alive from their time. Merlin also had to admit that he liked having somebody to talk about the old days with, even if their rendition involved Morgana.

Aithusa had helped Morgana in her youth, and the two had a bond of sorts, but Kilgharrah had eventually managed to talk the fledgeling out of helping her in the end. Aithusa had felt bitter towards both Kilgharrah and Merlin after that, but after seeing some of the evil that Morgana did, she agreed not to go back to her, and the bitterness disappeared.

Eventually, she took Kilgharrah as a mate, and the dragons came back from near-extinction, though they still took to hiding from human eyes. Then the New dragons came, and Aithusa and her kin only had to keep quiet to remain unnoticed by humans.

Just as Merlin expected, Aithusa sighed and said, "I have no brood now, so I suppose I can take care of the youngling. You owe me for this, Merlin," she said as Merlin sighed in relief. Merlin just nodded and grinned.

Then Aithusa noticed Arthur and started.

"Arthur Pendragon? You have found him?" she asked Merlin, eyeing the figure in front of her. Merlin grinned even more.

"Yeah, but this is just a transfiguration so we can walk around unnoticed. His name's really Draco Malfoy," Merlin explained, and removed the spell, making Arthur stumble and glare at him.

"Merlin, I told you to warn me!" he exclaimed. Merlin shrugged and put the spell back on, causing Arthur to glare even more.

Aithusa chuckled, smiling her big, dragon smile. "I am happy for you, Merlin," she said, "Gods know you were awfully lonely without him." Arthur's glare turned into a stare at these words. Merlin ignored him, although his ears were turning red under the old king's gaze.

"Well, I'll call you when the baby is old enough to travel," Merlin said, and Aithusa nodded.

"I will see you then," she said, and then bowed before taking off, her white bright against the black sky.

Merlin turned to Arthur. "Well, we'd better get back if we're going to get any sleep," he said, then noticed the sun peeking over the horizon.

"Too late," Arthur sighed.

...

Merlin was finding that scrying was awfully hard in pumpkin juice. Especially when one was tired.

That is why Merlin had taken to drinking water for breakfast instead, and he got several weird looks when somebody saw him scrying. It was awfully strange to be staring into your water glass intently and mumbling a spell under your breath. He was just glad he had learned how to scry during his long life. It certainly came in handy, no matter how strange you looked.

Fortunately, Draco scared away all the students that tried to look in his water to see what he was staring at.

Unfortunately, he couldn't scare away teachers.

That was how Professor Trelawney just happened to pass the Slytherin table, see Merlin looking into his glass, peek over his shoulder with no resistance, and say something that everyone in the hall probably heard.

Merlin was just considering sending Hagrid an owl to inform him that the dragon was big enough when she exclaimed, "Ah! A dragon!"

The hall suddenly went silent and Merlin jumped at the sudden noise, breaking the spell and trying to look innocent as he looked at Professor Trelawney. The teacher looked spooked, and turned to Merlin with a sort of reverence.

"Yes?" he asked, thinking that maybe he should have risked the scrying bowl in his dorm. Trelawney looked at him with wide eyes.

"You are scrying!" she exclaimed. Most everybody at the school was looking at the Slytherin table now.

Merlin didn't really see how he could deny it, as he had obviously been muttering a spell, so he nodded. Professor Trelawney's eyes lit up.

"Ah, I see! You have the inner eye, boy, but you are doing it wrong! You are scrying for the present!"

Merlin bit back a 'That was the point,' and said, "What do you mean, Professor?"

Professor Trelawney smiled at his supposed innocence, and Merlin had to try to keep himself from frowning.

"My dear," she started, and it became very hard for Merlin to not look annoyed, "You are scrying for the present when your intent is the future. You must alter the spell," she said.

"How?" Merlin asked, keeping up his curious expression. He just hoped that nobody knew where he was scrying- it wouldn't do for Hagrid to be caught when he intended to give the dragon to Aithusa that very night.

Trelawney opened her mouth, then seemed to have a thought and creased her eyebrows. She looked at Merlin. "Well, I don't know what type of magic you're using, boy. I can't exactly tell you how to fix the spell if I don't know it, can I?"

Merlin just smiled innocently. Trelawney gaped.

"Do you know what you were doing, boy?" she asked. Merlin really was getting tired of being called 'boy.'

"No, I was just reciting something I read out of a book," he said, deciding that he shouldn't clarify. Unfortunately, Trelawney persisted.

"What were you chanting?" she asked. Merlin's lips twitched downwards.

"Fultume me, over and over," he said, though the real spell he used was much more complex. Trelawney looked confused, and Merlin was glad that there was so much lost about the Old Religion.

She eventually patted him on the shoulder, though, and said, "I would expect no less from Merlin's descendant. Do be sure to take divination- it would be a shame to let your powers go untrained."

Merlin bit back another retort and nodded, watching her as she walked away.

He decided that he should probably use the room of requirement to scry from then on, as everybody was trying to look in his water glass when they passed him now.

He could feel the school's gazes on his back, and he turned to Draco to ignore them, saying, "Hey, Draco, could I borrow your owl?"

...

Merlin knocked on the door to Hagrid's hut, sending Arthur a glance as he did so. He didn't know why the prat had insisted on coming, but he knew better than to refuse him. He didn't want to get into another fight with him.

Hagrid opened the door to his hut, and as soon as the door was open, the dragon came barrelling out and knocked Merlin over. Considering the dragon's size, this drew a very loud "Oomph!" from Merlin as he hit the ground, struggling to push the dragon off of him. Arthur, (and Hagrid, for some reason,) watched with amusement.

Merlin finally managed to get the dragon off of him and sat up.

"Um, hi," he said eventually. Hagrid straightened up as he addressed him.

"Marcellus," the giant greeted, then looked around. "Where's this dragon you were talking about?"

Merlin stood up, stumbling as the dragon butted his head against his legs. "I have to call her," he explained after reprimanding the dragon in the dragon tongue. Said dragon was now sitting down, looking guilty. "We have to head to the Forbidden Forest for me to do that," Merlin finished as Hagrid opened his mouth to ask a question. The giant shut his mouth and nodded.

"Alrigh', then," he said, and started walking towards the Forbidden Forest, "Let's go."

Merlin commanded the dragon to follow him, and he nodded. Merlin was glad that baby New dragons were easier to command than the adults, as he didn't have to tell the dragon three times before it listened.

The group headed off to the Forbidden Forest, sticking to the shadows on Merlin's command so that nobody saw the black dragon following them. Occasionally, 'Norbert,' as Hagrid had named him, chased after a butterfly like a dog and Merlin had to call him back before somebody saw him.

They made it to the clearing without being spotted, though, and Aithusa flew down into the clearing when Merlin called her.

"Marcellus," she greeted when she landed, sounding perturbed at having to call Merlin by his chosen name, as his orders said. Hagrid looked at her with almost as much awe as Norbert.

"Aithusa," Merlin greeted back. Norbert walked forward towards the larger dragon, and Aithusa looked at him with a little trepidation.

"This is the youngling?" she asked, and Merlin nodded.

"Yes," he said, and then chuckled as Norbert bounded forward and rubbed his head against Aithusa's leg. Aithusa looked at the baby with surprise.

"I think he thinks you're his mother," Merlin said, and Aithusa scoffed even as she rubbed her head against the baby's.

"As if. I doubt that this dragon will ever be able to speak. What is his name?"

"Norbert," Hagrid managed to croak out, still looking at Aithusa with awe. The dragon turned to him.

"And you are?" she asked.

"Hagrid," the giant managed to say, though he looked shocked to be addressed by the dragon. Aithusa nodded.

"You are the gamekeeper at Hogwarts?" Hagrid didn't manage to speak, but he nodded, and Aithusa continued, "You should know that dragon's aren't pets, Hagrid," as she fussed over the baby.

Merlin chuckled at her show of affection, and Aithusa looked up to glare at him.

"What?" she snapped, scaring the baby a bit. She wrapped her wing around Norbert to calm him, and Merlin chuckled again.

"For a while there I was worried that you wouldn't treat him like another dragon, but it seems I've been proved wrong," Merlin stated, and Aithusa looked indignant.

"No matter how stupid this beast is, he is still a dragon! He reminds me of one of my own kin, though I doubt he is as intelligent," Aithusa said, and Norbert crooned, rubbing against her wings. Aithusa lay down on the ground and rubbed her muzzle against Norbert.

Hagrid's grin almost split his face.