Disclaimers: JKR still owns it all. I write AU/OOC...if you want canon you picked the wrong story.
THE SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON...maybe that's why you're such a strange and special one... (Sheena Easton song)
The cosmic knowledge fish are first introduced in Muppets: From outer space.
Chapter 5: History repeating itself.
The group soon decided that they would stay in the vault for awhile and hopefully the dragon whom they had angered would calm down and go away. At any rate it was a good theory and Lucius and Severus were all for not going out any time soon. They decided that they would go ahead and start reading the books that were piled up.
While Lucius and Severus were idly thumbing through some of Merlin's personal journals, Narcissa sat down and reached for the feminine looking diary. She squealed excitedly and began reading: "A rose by any other name should still smell as sweetly."
Lucius turned and looked at her. "What are you reading, Dearest? That sounds like Shakespeare."
Narcissa smiled up at him and answered. "This journal appears to be a gift from Merlin to his lady-wife. That was the first line of dedication to her."
The forward of Gwendoloena's diary: The first page, written in Merlin's own handwriting, was a dissertation of her name and all the diminutives that he, Merlin, had been able to tie to her.
His dedication began with: "There are those who call you The Lady of the Lake. Your proper name is whispered to be Nimue, or Vivienne, by those who know us not. Our wedding parchment states that your name is Gwendoloena, but all I ever see is perfect love. Nimue is thought to be related to Mneme, the shortened form of Mnemosyne, one of the nine water-nymph Muses of Roman and Greek Mythology who gave weapons. Maybe you are related to those goddesses; you are beauty personified, and have borne a gift, a weapon of war, to my liege. The Celts whom we come in contact with call you Vivienne; probably derived from "Co-Vianna", a variant of their water-goddess, Coventina. (footnote 1)
Lucius leaned over and snatched the diary and began to read. He made funny faces for a few seconds then spoke, "Severus, do you remember your Latin? I think Merlin wrote a formula here where he points to the fact that they were married."
Severus stepped up beside him and quickly checked. "Yes, it appears that he did the translation correctly. Do you remember in History of Magic where there are some poems that refer to Gwendoloena as his wife? Look, when it is broken down: Gw-end(-ol)-oena Cov-ent-ina."
Harry and Draco just smiled softly at each other. When they had bonded at the metaphysical level they had gained most of the knowledge that their respective parents were just now reading. They 'knew' without worrying about the 'why' that they were the first reincarnation of Merlin and his love. They would eventually figure out why it had taken so long for all the conditions to be met for their rebirth instead of their resurrection.
The two boys transfigured a rock into a loveseat and cuddled together to sleep and dream each others dreams as they waited for their fathers to stop playing 'Cosmic Knowledge Fish' and get ready to travel to their next destination. It would be wasted effort on their parts to interrupt the reading of the diary with their story since it would just take twice as long to tell the tale than to let the older men read the diary regardless of the length of time it took…
As the boys settled down in slumber the fire dragon crawled down the side of the mirror and made her way over to the sleeping boys. She twined herself around their necks and settled in as a life-like jeweled collar. Eventually her purring caught the attention of Narcissa Malfoy.
Narcissa smiled in joyful recognition of the little dragon as she stared at her. She rushed to her beloved pet, Merlina, and touched her gently with shaking hands.
It sighed in happiness as it was once again petted and pampered by the Lady of Shallot. It sent mental pictures to her of being an obedient pet and guarding the mirror that caused so much trouble for her in her last life.
Narcissa just kept petting her and began whispering softly that all was well with her now. She was no longer bound to the mirror and was living a real life. The dragon had done well to transport the mirror down here where humans would no longer be ensnared to it. (Footnote 2)
The dragon replied in hushed tones that she had used the mirror as a view to the outside world while she waited for the rebirth of Merlin. The old man they all knew as Albus Dumbledore was serving in the role of King Arthur and the evil prat Voldemort could be equated to Mordred. She spoke of the evil that had befallen the world every time the two of them had been born in the same lifespan. It had taken much of Merlina's power to call upon Merlin to once more come forth and be named The King's Champion. As they spoke and the boys dreamed, Lucius and Severus practically devoured the journal.
Lucius idly cast a charm to transfigure a chair for him and Severus also. They sat down and began reading the tale from Gwendoloena's point of view.
Dear Diary,
Merlin gave you to me just yesterday. He must have had a vision and you are to play the part as my solace and my honor.
How it pains me that I must hold you and not my beloved Merlin. Already I can hear the dissonance from those here in my home. I dare not speak of what has befallen my dearest one since there are those who would kill him outright if they found him in such weakened condition…
The writing was difficult to read and the tear stains had almost ruined the ink in many places. Gwendoloena had obviously cried buckets to make such a mess of everything the way she had. There were several pages of ranting against the fates that seemed to be covering a span of approximately five years before she settled in to make a documented account of what she was doing.
Dear Diary,
Today is the third Waning Moon of Harvest Season. I shall attempt one more time to call an Ice Phoenix. All my research in the last five years indicates that only an ice shard given willingly then plunged through Merlin's heart can draw the poison from his body that threatens to kill him if I remove the stasis spell from him.
You ask why I have spelled him to sleep? I was there when he was bitten by a baby fire dragon that he was attempting to help from its egg. It was an accident, but the devastation was irreversible even though the little dragon cried tears of remorse over the wound and then swore fealty to my family until the wrong should be righted.
I fear all shall be lost and long for the time I may rejoin my Lord and Master. If it were not for the fact that I am still needed by our son, I would join Merlin in death as I fear that is the only way we will be reunited…
Lucius heaved a sigh and looked at Severus. "A comedy of errors it sounds like. I still don't understand why all these papers are in a vault everyone knows belonged to Merlin and it has the Malfoy family seal on it."
Severus gave him a peculiar smile before speaking. "Actually, Lucius, I think you do know. Obviously the Malfoy family is a descendent of Merlin. I don't think there is a coincidence that the males in your family all have the height and coloring of Merlin and every few generations produces a boy child with the mark of the dragon on him that tradition in your family dictates he be named Draco."
Footnote 1: www britannia com history biographies merlin html (to retrieve the entire story please put ( .) in the first two blanks and a (/) in the rest of the blanks.
2: Lady of Shalott by Lord Alford Tennyson written in 1888