Snakes and Lions (Draco x Reader x Harry)

4.16 Mermaids

The task is two days away and I still haven't figured out this egg. I've been spending a lot of my time with Draco. Hermione, Harry and Ron found out, and they were not pleased. Ron hasn't spoken to me for a long time, and Harry seems distant. Hermione judges, but she at least is courteous when I see her. I walk to the edge of the glass, looking out at the Black Lake with the egg in my hand. Again, mermaids come over to the egg and eye it carefully. I watch their every move as they admire it, so then I do something stupid, I open the egg. I drop it onto the floor from a noise, deserving all of the students' screams in the common room. Before I shut it, I notice the mermaids dancing, curious.

"Your egg again, isn't it?" I hear Draco walk over to me.

"You heard that terrible noise." I laugh.

"Practically woke the whole house." Draco laughs back. I turn my attention to the mermaids and wave at them. They wave back, and look at Draco curiously. Draco puts his arm around me and sighs.

"Draco, do you think mermaid voices can change outside of water?" I ask him.

"I suppose so, but I'm not really sure—"

"Come with me!" I squeal dragging him along with me. We quickly exit the common room, and I run towards the exit closest to the lake. Once we end up at the edge, I place the egg in the water. I open it in the water, and suddenly the sound is muffled. "Come on, let's put our heads under."

"Are you mad?!" Draco asks me.

"Just do it!" I beg as I stick my head under water, and he does his.

"Come seek us where our voices sound.
We cannot sing above the ground.
An hour long you'll have to look, to recover
what we took." A mermaid voice sings. After it's finished, I close the egg and pick it up.

"That's it Draco!" I shout happily.

"Now you just have to find what they took, and how to hold your breath for an hour." He tells me.

"You're right." I begin pacing. "I don't think I've lost anything." I look at him. "The mermaids! They seem to like me, that's how I'll do it!" I smile at him.

"Sounds like a great plan but how will they hear you, how can you send them a message?" Draco furrows his brows. I pace around a bit more, thinking.

"My patronus! I'll practice my patronus in front of them tonight, teach them to recognize it, and that's how they'll know. They'll see the Hippogriff and know it's me." I smile.

"You're brilliant!" Draco leans in and gives me a big kiss on the lips. I blush wildly at him but he just smiles back. I let my arms hang around his neck as he continues to talk to me. "You figured it all out on your own. I'm always trying to tell you that you're the best witch out there."

"Careful, don't want Hermione to hear." I joke with him.

"She's just jealous, Y/n." Draco taps my nose. I then release my arms, getting tired in case someone saw our PDA, it's not fun to watch other people when they do it.

"Shall we go back to the common room? I have some mermaids I need to speak too." I tell him.

"Of course." Draco takes my hand and we walk back together. We admire the forest in silence, in each other's presence. "Have I told you how happy it makes me to be with you?" Draco turns to me and I shake my head. "I love spending time with my girlfriend, and I am happy I can finally see her a lot now."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear the jab..." I laugh. "And I am happy that I get to see my boyfriend this much." We finally make it back into the common room and I pull a chair over to the large glass window to the lake. Draco is about to pull one over and sit next to me but an announcement booms over the school.

"I need the following students. Cho Chang, Gabrielle Delacour, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Ronald Weasley." McGonagall's voice shouts. Draco sighs and gets up.

"Duty calls." He moves a chair back to its desk.

"Do you know what this is about?" I furrow my eyebrows.

"All I can tell you is Mel is safe." Draco looks to me, he seems to have gotten paler.

"Alright, we'll I'll see you later?" I ask him.

"Of course." Draco kisses my cheek. "I'll be back before you know it." Draco smiles at me gently then walks out.

I begin practicing my patronus, gaining the attention of majority of the merpeople. Minutes pass, then hours, then I realize how dark it is, and how no ones in the common room. It must be time for bed. There's just one problem, Draco isn't back yet. I continue to practice and wait into the wee hours of the night before finally letting my exhaustion take me to my bed. "Tomorrow, he's getting a stern talking to." I laugh to myself. 

The next morning I go into the Great Hall for breakfast. I look for Draco, but I just find Crabbe and Goyle looking lost. I do not want to sit with them, I then look for my three best friends, and only find Harry. I skip over and sit down across from him and he doesn't even look up.

"Hello Harry." I smile at him and he still eats his food. "Harry please don't be mad at me anymore. Just because I'm dating Draco doesn't mean I'm not your friend." I reach out and touch his hand, and he finally looks up at me.

"I know, we just need time I guess." Harry gives me a weak smile.

"Speaking if we, where's Ron and Hermione?"

"I dunno, haven't seen them since last night." Harry looks around the Great Hall.

"I haven't seen Draco since McGonagall summoned them all, I wonder what they have to help them with, probably helping set up the task or something. They know us the best and the task is about us." I sigh.

"Speaking of, how are you going to hold your breathe for an hour?" Harry asks me. At least he's talking to me now.

"Oh I'm not, I hate water." I say as I begin eating eggs.

"Then what are you doing?" Harry asks me.

"Something, I can't tell you, and it might not even work, it's a long shot." I tell him and he nods. "Have you figured it out?"

"No, I can't learn a bubble head charm by tomorrow." Harry picks at his food.

"I know you, you'll figure something out." I smile as silence becomes us. "Can we go talk somewhere Harry? Somewhere more private?" I whisper and he looks up confused.

"Wouldn't your boyfriend be upset about that?" Harry sends me some sass.

"No Harry, he wouldn't. Now come on." I pick up his arm and drag him towards the exit.

I lead him outside the grounds, near the Whomping Willow, but not in reach of its clutches.

"Are you nervous Harry?" I turn to him.

"Nervous, I mean of course I am." Harry chuckles.

"After tomorrow we will have one task left, the final task. That's not good." I tell him.

"Why not, then we'll be done." Harry shrugs.

"Harry the final task is the prime opportunity for whoever put our names into the goblet to attack us." I hit his shoulder. "Voldemort maybe." My eyes darken.

"Y-you're right. We'll be together though, he can't hurt us when we're together." Harry tries to give me a reassuring smile.

"Maybe, but we're just kids Harry. I'm not ready to die." I look at the tree.

"Woah die, you won't die. I won't let you die." Harry puts his hand on my shoulder and I lean into it.

"I just have such a bad feeling Harry. Have you got anymore nightmares?" I turn to him.

"No, not recently. I meant to tell you, Sirius says your father is close to figuring out something. I'm not sure what, but he said Canis has figured out more."

"That's good. Great actually, we need to know what's going on." I sigh.