Strength of the Dragon

By RaistlinofMetallica

February 27, AC205

John was leading the football team in another one of his practices today. In other words, the gym was taken and I wouldn't be able to spend any quality time with Merllun until practice ended. I have no idea what possessed him to join the team when he first got here last month, though I suspect the headmaster had something to do with it. Thinking about it, though, I suppose it somehow reminds Merllun of the knighthood he was in. I mean, I really don't know anything about the knights he belonged to, but I suppose the whole football thing is kind of similar in some ways.

Ceci made me go to practice with her, as apparently, it was 'fun' to watch guys get all sweaty and gross. Call me weird, but I think I like my boyfriend clean. Less than ten minutes into the practice, Ceci remembered that she had work today and ran out of the gym in a panic. Honestly, she's off the wall, that girl. She forgets things, she's always bouncing around, and she's almost always perky. But, Ceci is always there for me when I'm in a bind.

Consequently, I was now sitting there, all by myself, and I was bored out of my skull. I found my mind wandering back to the odd dreams again. The man in the platinum armor puzzled me, as did the dream that I had a brother and a son. It was kind of weird and made me wonder about my past life a bit. Maybe I had a brother and a son back then. How weird would that be?

I just had a creepy thought. What if I really did have a son and what if my son from my past life was still alive? He'd be a god, right? So, he would be still alive. And what would happen if I ran into him? I can see it now: "Hi, I'm Gabby! I used to be your mother!" I don't know what he'd think of me... Hell, I don't even know what he thought of the old me! Come to think of it, how would I know if I ran into him? I mean, it's not like I know his name or anything. Thinking about it too much makes my head hurt.

Anyway, back to the point. There I was, sitting alone, watching the football team practice, when I thought I sensed the man in platinum armor nearby. A hand tapped my shoulder and I looked up. It was John's cousin, Louis.

"'lo, Gabby," he said, smiling. "Care for some company?"

I nodded and stretched a little as he sat down. "Waiting for your cousin to finish up with practice, right?"

"Indeed," Louis replied, looking down at the basketball court. "You know my cousin well, Gabby?"

Shaking my head, I sighed, "Not really. John's a local boy and he's dating my best friend; that's all I really know about him. Why do you ask?"

"John and I... we aren't close," the albino told me. "I don't know him well at all. The last time I saw him face-to-face was when I was six. It's really awkward, most of the time."

I understood it, somewhat. "It must be hard for you."

"It's not so bad," he countered, grinning. "I'm getting to know my aunt better. She's really a wonderful lady."

Curious, I asked, "So, why are you here, Louis?"

"I've got a research paper to do," he told me as he began rummaging through his bag and, then, pulled out a slightly battered sketchbook. "It's on my family. My school gave me a month off to research and, since my aunt has all the old records, here I am."

I watched as he flipped through the book to a blank page. I wasn't that good at drawing. "Are you any good?" I asked, pointing.

"I'd like to think so," the albino smiled and picked out a pencil. "And you?"

I smiled, shaking my head. "No, not at all! Wish I was, though. Say, what's your school like, anyway?"

"It's," he paused a moment, considering. "It's a private school, up in Scotland."

I suppose he didn't really know how to describe his school to me. But, then again, if I was asked to describe St. Anastasia's in a few words, I probably wouldn't be able to either. "You like it up there?"

"Yes," he chuckled and tapped his pencil against his chin. "There's a lake and mountains... It's wonderful."

Smiling, I nodded. "That's good then."

"Umm, Gabby, you wouldn't happen to have an idea that I could borrow?" Louis asked, chewing on the end of his pencil. "I forgot what I was going to draw."

My mind wandered back to Harry for a moment. "I've got something," I told him. "I saw this guy a few weeks ago. He just kind of stood out, you know? He was kind of tall, really mysterious guy, and wore this long black cloak."

Louis was really good at drawing.

"The cloak went to the ground and had a coat of arms on the left lapel."

"Like this?" he asked.

He drew a very plain cloak with a shield divided into four sections, just like the one on Harry's cloak. "Yes, exactly," I said, amazed. "And he had this yellow and maroon scarf, too."

"Let's see," Louis said, and ran the eraser over the shoulders a little. He then drew a long scarf draped over the figure's shoulders, shading in large stripes on it. "What did his face look like? Did he have glasses or earrings?"

I considered a moment. "No glasses, but he had an earring in his left ear. His face was kind of like Father Maxwell's, only paler and he had black hair that fell in his eyes. And he had a mark on his forehead, too."

"Is this about right?" he asked, sketching the face. He then held it up for me.

I shook my head and grabbed the pencil. Erasing the jagged line on Harry's forehead, I put the crescent there - just as I had seen it. "There," I said. "That's the guy I ran into. Kind of creepy, isn't he?"

Louis appeared to be thinking about the drawing for a moment. I got the funniest feeling that he had seen Harry somewhere before, but I didn't ask. And he had drawn Harry almost exactly as I had seen him, too.

"He is a creepy blighter," the albino said finally.

I smiled at him. "You're really good at drawing, Louis. I wish I had even half your talent. All my drawings come out awful."

"It takes practice," he sighed, putting down the sketchbook. He stood, then. "I'm going to go get some water. Do you want some?"

I shook my head. "I'm fine."

With a nod, Louis went off to find the water fountain.

Curious, I took his sketchbook and began to flip through it. He had drawn a castle on a cliff above a lake, mountains in the background. If I looked closely, there were people moving in the windows and on the battlements. At first, I thought it was an optical illusion, but then I turned the page. It was a drawing of a girl sitting by a window. Her head turned to stare out at me and then looked back out the window.

If I hadn't been used to seeing pictures in books move, I would have found this very freaky. I thought it was rather neat and kept turning the pages. He had some really cool drawings. He had drawn dragons and children, fairies and phoenixes. But then, the drawings changed, most half-finished. There was a half-finished drawing of a woman and her three sons, the twins grinning impishly as their mother and little brother seemed to sigh. And there was also an odd sketch that looked a lot like Harry, but with glasses and a jagged scar where the crescent was supposed to be. There was also a sketch of Tiamat and one of me as well. Raphael's portrait grinned impishly and stuck out his tongue in a most un-princely manner.

I replaced the sketchbook as it was and gave it no more thought. But, now that I think about it, it was kind of freaky. Louis could draw things that moved and he had probably run into Harry before, in another guise. That's what keeps me awake right now, while Merllun dozes in my arms. I have realized that avatars can change their form and if they can change form, then their apparent age can also change.

And it makes me wonder: When I met Harry, was I speaking to my former son?

AN: I fixed some errors throughout, mostly spelling and grammer. Added a few lines here and there. There will be an update... mwahahaha...