Harry felt a surge of pain and grief as he looked upon the lifeless body in his arms. He couldn't believe that she was gone, his faithful friend and companion for so many years. He remembered how she had comforted him in his loneliness, how she had delivered his letters and parcels, how she had shown him loyalty and affection. He felt tears sting his eyes as he stroked her soft white feathers.

"Thank you," Harry whispered to Merlin, who had handed him the bundle of cloth. "Thank you for bringing Hedwig back to me."

Merlin nodded, his expression solemn and sympathetic. He knew how much Hedwig meant to Harry, and he felt sorry for his loss.

"You're welcome," Merlin replied softly. "I'm sorry for your loss. She was a beautiful owl. I once had a great friend, his name was Kilgarrah and he was a dragon, he's not with us anymore, but he was very wise."

"How could a dragon be wise? Most importantly, how could you be friends with one?" Ron interjected, surprise colouring his voice, "It's lucky you didn't get eaten or burnt to a crisp."

Merlin smiled sadly, remembering his old friend. He had met Kilgarrah a very long time ago, and they had formed a bond that had lasted for centuries. Kilgarrah had taught him many things about magic, history, and destiny. He had also helped him in his quest to protect Arthur and Camelot.

"Kilgarrah was not an ordinary dragon," Merlin explained to Ron. "He was the last of the Great Dragons, a race of ancient and powerful beings who were the guardians of magic. He was wise because he had lived for a very long time, and he had seen many things. He was also a friend because he shared a connection with me, a connection that only a few people in the world used to have."

"I work with dragons, it's what I do for a living," Charlie spoke up, he had a look of fascination, confusion, intrigue and scepticism on his face. "And I've never heard of wizards having connections to dragons in the way that you say you have."

"Excuse me, Merlin?" Hermione, the brown bushy haired teen suddenly inquired, her forehead was developing lines as she thought. "It almost sounds like you can speak to the dragons, is that how you connect with them?"

"I'll answer both of you with this," Merlin paused, wondering if he should share such sensitive information with everyone, perhaps it had been such a long time since the time of the Dragonlords that they wouldn't understand what that meant.

"I am the last Dragonlord," Merlin whispered, as he spoke his truth to these people he had only just met, but somehow felt he could trust. "It means I can understand them when they speak, all dragons must obey if I command it, but I thought that they must have died out since none ever answered my calls."

"That's fascinating," Charlie commented as he lifted a hand up to his face to scratch at his chin, "It's a shame you're the last one, if there were more of your kind it would make working with dragons a lot easier and safer, as for them being extinct, well their far from it I can tell you, magic just keeps them hidden from the muggle world."

"Dragonlord?" Hermione repeated, her voice full of awe and disbelief. "You're a Dragonlord? It sounds a lot like Parceltongue to me."

"Yes, I am," Merlin confirmed, his voice calm and confident. "The last of my kind, the last one before me was my father, Balinor, what's Parceltongue?"

"So, you aren't a muggleborn then?" Molly queried as she looked at Merlin, rapidly changing the subject, she had an uneasy smile on her face.

"I heard Charlie use that term earlier," Merlin replied curiously, cocking his head to the side as he looked back at Molly, "What does it mean?"

The others looked at Merlin with surprise and disbelief. They couldn't believe that he didn't know what a muggle-born was, or what blood status meant. They wondered how he had survived in the modern world, and how he had avoided the attention of the Ministry of Magic.

"A muggle-born," Hermione explained to Merlin, her voice patient and informative, "Is a term used to describe a wizard or witch born of two non-magical parents. Their magical abilities are not affected by their muggle parentage. On the contrary, many muggle-borns are among the most talented witches and wizards of their age, such as myself and Lily Evans Potter, who was Harry's mum."

"I'm a Half-blood," Harry spoke up, he was still holding tightly onto Hedwig, "My father, James was a pureblood."

"So, from what I understand," Merlin paused, frowning as he thought, "So if 'Muggleborn' means you have two non-magical parents, a half-blood means you have one parent that is not magical or of non-magical descent and one that is magical, that means purebloods would have to have both magical parents, is that right?"

"That about sums it up," Ron commented, scrunching his eyebrows together.

"Well I guess that answers the question then," Merlin turned his attention back to Molly, "I must be a half-blood then, my mother Hunith was non-magical and my father Balinor was a dragonlord, he had magic."

"To be honest though," Hermione cut in, she had to make sure that Merlin understood one thing, "Blood status is not a reliable indicator of magical ability or character."

"Of course," Merlin smiled up at Hermione, "I would know, I'm the most powerful wizard to ever live."

"You can't be!" Ron exclaimed, his face suddenly changed to outrage as many of the teen's faces also showed the same reaction, "Albus Dumbledore was the greatest, he was the Headmaster at Hogwarts, the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, and the only one Voldemort ever feared."

Merlin looked at Ron, his expression calm and patient. He knew that Ron was a loyal and brave young man, who admired and respected whoever this Albus Dumbledore character was. He felt no need to argue with him, or to prove his superiority.

"Ron, I'm not trying to compete with whoever this Dumbledore is," Merlin said gently, his voice soothing and friendly. "I'm not trying to diminish his achievements or his legacy if he had one. I'm sure he was a great wizard, and a great man. I'm sure he did many wonderful things."

Merlin paused for a moment as he looked around at everybody in the kitchen, the only people not giving him death glares were Arthur, Charlie and Molly.

"But he was not the only one, of that I am sure," Merlin continued as he looked at Ron, "There were others before him most likely, and there will be others after him. There were others who faced great evils, and who fought for great causes. There were others who had great destinies, and who changed the course of history."

"I think we can discuss this more later," Harry spoke up from his position standing next to Merlin, he looked down at the still form of Hedwig, gave a sniffle and continued, "It's time to say goodbye."

"Oh of course dear!" Molly hopped up from her seat, gesturing for everybody to follow her, "Let's take her outside, why don't we all go with Harry to find a nice spot for her."

After taking a wander around the property of the Burrow, Harry had decided on a nice little spot next to the pond, under an old oak tree. The pond was small and clear, with a few water lilies and frogs, it reflected the old oak tree and glittered with the golden dapples of light streaming down through the leaves of the great tree.

As the sun shone brightly overhead, casting a halo of light upon those who were gathered at the water's edge, a small hole had been dug and the little bundle of cloth containing Hedwig had been gently placed inside. Everyone paid their respects, thinking not only of the snowy owl and her bravery to protect her master, but of others who had also fallen to the vicious darkness and war.

Harry stood at the front of the small gathering, Ginny was holding tight onto his left hand and resting her head on his shoulder, trying to give him some comfort. Ron and Hermione stood next to him in solidarity, giving Harry a strength, he felt he never had. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were standing with Charlie, their heads slightly bowed, many thoughts racing away in their minds. Fred and George both sported solemn expressions, they both hand their hands tucked into the pockets of their robes and Merlin stood off to the side, giving everyone their space.

"Thank you," Harry whispered, his voice saturated with sadness, as he cast his eyes briefly up to the sky and trying blink away the tears, looking back down at the small bundle, he continued, "Thank you for being my friend."

Pulling his wand from his jeans pocket, Harry lifted it up and muttered a quiet spell, "Thank you for being brave. Thank you for being loyal." The dirt that had been dug out began to fill in the hole covering Hedwig until she was completely buried. "I love you, Hedwig, and I'll miss you."

Merlin watched as despairing tears finally down from Harry's eyes, and he felt his own grief at the losses that he had suffered threaten to overwhelm him, there had been so many. He had to let Harry know he wasn't alone, it mattered not that he was currently surrounded by those who loved and supported him. For one could feel utterly alone and separated in a crowded room.

"I know it's hard to lose someone you love, especially in times of war and darkness. But you are not alone, Harry." Merlin spoke up and Harry gasped sadly through the tears and turned to face Merlin. "You have your friends and family, who care about you and support you, remember that."

"I know, and thank you." Harry nodded gratefully for the words he needed to hear, to ground himself again.