ENCHANTRESS | Harry Potter

FIFTEEN

Nothing made sense. Even with the knowledge that one of the killers was definitely Hae, it made no difference to Bada's team. They had no way of knowing where Hae was and the only person she knew in this new country was her grandparents, Bada could swear by it. Yet they could find nothing that would lead them back to her.

They had exhausted the clues, again and again looking for something they had missed but coming up short each time. Sabrina Vance was pushing them to find what they needed to, not all that pleased with how stagnant the case had become. The knowledge the murderers were working in pairs didn't satisfy her much when it was clear they couldn't find either of them. To add up on all that stress, Anthia's figure was still very much present in the floor and once or twice, Bada and her had met. No words were exchanged in those meetings, and even though Bada was feeling more confident in herself after telling her four colleagues about her nature and knowing they accepted who she was, Anthia knowing was alarming her still. One day, she would have to have a talk with her. Today was not that day.

Because Bada wasn't in the office to begin with.

The night sky was in spots starting to gain colour, morning a few hours away from making a proper appearance. In this spot, the only light Bada had to show her around was the light of the stars, the moon on its faintest phase. She had been standing on top of the hill overlooking the sea from the moment she had apparated there, a while ago. She hadn't moved since. She remained standing among the tall, dried grass, watching the waves, hearing them but not venturing any closer yet. She was dressed in her pyjamas, knowing she would have to get back to her apartment first to take a bath before she left for work. She had a lot of time until then. Not as much, of course, if she kept on just staring at the waves.

There was no one around to witness the strange sight, or to see the way she slowly got down the hill, her bare feet sliding down the ground and then the sand, getting closer to the waves. Bada barely remembered to take off her clothes and hide them along with her wand before she faced the water once more and stalked closer. 

The first caress of the waves against her feet made her sigh, relieved and disappointed at the same time as the siren side of her longed to have her tail dipping in the shallows. She moved deeper, didn't stop until the water reached her collarbones and then she swam some more, got so deep she couldn't reach the bottom anymore. And then, finally, she shifted.

Her feet seemed to get stuck to each other and from her waist first started to appear dark green scales, steadily starting to cover more area of her legs and then growing even more, getting bigger until her tail was twice as big as her body and then finally ended, green scales glittering in the night. Bada let out a sigh, relieved and finally content with the sea covering every inch of her. She stayed still for a moment longer. Then she rushed deeper, under the surface and reaching the bottom, following the dip of the ocean, the only evidence she had been there once the small ripple still visible on the surface of the water.

When Bada returned home the sky was just starting to gain colours. She apparated directly into her apartment, the sound of her apparition ecophantic so early in the day without another noise heard in the apartment. She ignored it, though, headed right for her bedroom to pick her work clothes. Jakda and Geomeun were in her bed, still asleep, although in her absense they had moved in her side of the bed, snuggling close to her pillow. She smiled slightly at the sight before she went on with her search of clothes, trying to make as less noise as possible all the while. When she left the bathroom a while later, ready to make herself some coffee and leave for work, it was to find Jakda up and around, specifically, waiting for her by the bowls of food.

"Of course," she murmured to herself as she sent the cat a fond look. Jakda was always up a lot earlier than Geomeun, always there to greet Bada when she were to leave for work. As she passed by him to get to his food, Bada reached down to scratch his head. He snuggled up to her hand, reached up with a foot when she attempted to pull back. She chuckled. "Good morning to you too."