His Mermaid Her Unicorn

10

     Rage.

     It crept up her spine like a thief in the night.

     Her pupils dilated. Her irises darkened, going from molten silver to taking on a color blacker than the night sky. She remembered everything from her past up until this point. The veil that once clouded her memory was gone, as if her mind was scrubbed clean from any hindrances. Everything was as clear as day.

     "I remember my ssseventh year at Hogwarts," she said. "It was difficult, but with Harry's help, in the beginning, it got easier."

     She looked directly into Draco's eyes. "As I found out more about my real parents, I began to research more about the Dark Arts. I wanted to know why it was so appealing, so seductive and provocative. Needless to say, I was consumed by it and I could no longer support the light or Harry, my besst friend. I slowly retreated into myself. I stopped assisting Harry in his search for Horcruxes and when Ron questioned my continuous absence, Harry let my secret slip from his loose lips."

     She looked up into the heavens. "I'll never forget that night. Harry came to warn me that Ron knew my secret and he planned on telling Dumbledore how I was sssecretly working for the dark. It wasn't true, of course, I had just stopped helping. To Ron, that meant I was a full blown traitor who should be punished. That bigoted prick! He didn't even consider how I felt in the matter, how my life was changed because the parents in my heart aren't even my blood!" Her fury continued to rise as the water bubbled around her and the air crackled with untapped energy.

     "I ran out of the common room and continued running until I was off school grounds. Harry was right behind me trying to get me to stop and stay to convince Dumbledore that I was still on the right side. But that wasn't completely true now. I liked the dark arts, I still like it, nothing could've changed that fact then and it won't change now. Nothing was going to stop me from studying and practicing it either."

     She grabbed Draco's head and brought it close to hers so their foreheads were touching. "Why don't I just show you the rest," she whispered.

FLASHBACK

"You know what?! Thank you, Harry," I said. "I took your advice from the beginning of the year. I learned more about who I really am and where I actually come from. Power is for those who can handle it with responsibility and not let it get out of control. Voldemort and his followers are all fools, my biological parents included. They let all that power go to their heads and look where it's gotten them. They're all scrambling around trying to fight you, a little boy. You can't even do proper research without asking me for help. I can't do it anymore. I don't support this light versus dark hogwash anymore. Light magic, dark magic, it can all get out of hand. It's all magic!" I yelled.

"What are you saying?" Harry asked me.

"I'm saying--

"I believe what Miss Dolohov is trying to say, is that she has started practicing dark magic and is no longer loyal to the light," a voice behind Harry stated interrupting me. He turned around but I already knew who it was.

"I wouldn't say all that," I began, this old man has another thing coming if he doesn't watch what he says. "I just realized that putting my energy into other subjects that interest me more than this ridiculous feud would suit me better."

"Would suit you better?! Hermione, what's gotten into you? This war could alter the course of wizard history forever. Not to mention my own life, I lost my parents to the dark and I'll never get them back. How could you be so insensitive?" Harry argued. 

I breathed out slowly, trying not to let my temper get the better of me.

"First of all, my name is Mya, so you should get used to calling me that now. Second, not everything is about you and yourparents, Harry. You don't think this decision was difficult to make? This situation has been stressing me out all year and you know this! How could I be insensitive? How dare you! My fate as a witch was in a dangerous position all year as I tried to figure out what was best for me based on everyone else. I didn't even think about what I wanted first because I was so worried about what you and Ron would think of me if I made the 'wrong' decision," I said.

"See Headmaster, I told you she was no good. You should have gone to Dumbledore straight away after she told you her little secret, Harry." Ron declared.

"Sod off Ron! No one asked you for your opinion. You've been working my nerves ever since I met you. Anyways, yes Harry, it would suit me better because instead of wasting my talents on trying to stop the usage of 'dark' magic, I'm going to cherish it. Like I mentioned before, it's all magic. You just have to know how to use it responsibly."

I held my hands in the air in exasperation.

"There. I said it."

Before I could say anything else, Ron threw a hex at me. It didn't hurt one bit, but the fact that he had the audacity to even hex me threw me for a loop.

"What the hell, Ron!!" Harry exclaimed, "You shouldn't have done that."

"He's right," I said with resolve in my voice. "You really shouldn't have... CRUCIO!"

Ron dropped to the ground and I ducked behind some trees. A full on duel broke out but the odds were hardly in their favor. Just because they had Dumbledore on their side meant nothing to me. I threw only curses as I made my way through the forest to the Black Lake. Maybe I could hide out in the water if all else fails.

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Ron yelled but missed me by a yard. Merlin that boy's aim will never improve. But I'm done with this...

"Avada Kedavra!" I yelled aiming at Ron's big head and jumped in the water. Gods it was freezing. Swimming back up to the surface for air, I saw Harry bent over Ron's body but I didn't see the headmaster.

All of a sudden I was being lifted into the air. Dumbledore walked slowly out from the coverage of the trees with his wand pointed at me. "You've gone too far," he said.

"What did you expect? He started this when he threw that sectumsempra curse at me. It was self-defense," I half-heartedly pleaded.

"Its such a shame you've fallen so far Miss Dolohov, you truly could have been an asset to us," Dumbledore said, all the while still holding me in the air. "I didn't want it to come to this but I've no other choice."

"What? What are you doing!" I demanded. I felt my body spasm out of control. My eyes, my neck, my legs. Pain. It was everywhere.

"Mya Braylee Dolohov, I curse you to forever live in the very waters you sought refuge in. Never again will you cause any more havoc on the students at my school." Dumbledore proclaimed.

He dropped me into the water and I sank to the bottom of the lake. I looked around and thank Merlin my wand was on the waterbed. I looked at my legs and where they should have been, a tail replaced them. Did he turn me into a mermaid? The fool! I tried to swim up to the surface but it took a couple of tries before I fully got it down. Once I reached the surface, Harry and Dumbledore were no longer there. They'd taken Ron's body back to the school, no doubt.

I let out a piercing scream and with it, energy left my body. I didn't know it yet, but I had left my mark on the lake ever since.

Turning back to the water, I dived. Deeper and deeper. I went as far as I could go to a cave I now called home.

PRESENT

     Hermione let go of Draco's head and he staggered back a little bit. "I had no idea who you really were, Hermione. Granted, we didn't do much talking whenever we saw each other," Draco said.

     She chuckled, "You're absolutely right. If you don't mind though, I'd like to go by my real name now. It's passed time I embrace my full potential as Mya Braylee Dolohov."

     Draco smiled at her. "But, of course. Only if you promise to never call me by my last name." She returned his smile with a smirk that could've put any Slytherin to shame.

     "To be honest, I've been calling you Draco for a long time now. I just didn't realize it," she said. "But I'm curious, how did you become a unicorn? You're definitely not an animagus..."

     "That is a story for another night," Draco said, "What will you do now that you've got your memories back? You can clearly walk and talk on land now, so what's next?"

     Hermione looked towards the castle and thought about its inhabitants. There was only one person she was sure would still be there, Dumbledore. She turned back to Draco and uttered one word.

     "Revenge."