Jily oneshots

Voice of Reason

by jewishwondergirl

When Severus promised Lily to bring her to a seawitch, Lily had thought that was an exaggeration. She hadn't been expecting...this.

The witch was woman on top, draped in pale pink-stained seaweed, and instead of one tail, she had eight bright pink tentacles. She was stirring some sort of pot that glowed a menacing fuchsia. Lily's red hair would definitely clash with the ambiance.

Severus pushed aside the gauzy curtain in front of the cave and prodded Lily forward. "Come on," he said. "It's rude to keep her waiting, don't you think?"

Still Lily hesitated, her green tail swishing side to side indecisively. "I'm not sure, Sev. I'm a little—"

"Frightened?" The seawitch had spotted them, and now approached with a wide grin that reminded Lily a bit of the sharks that frequented the same sunken ships that she did. "Now, now, dear. There's no need to be scared. Come in, tell me what it is I can do for you."

Lily and Severus swam through the curtain to join her.

"Tell her what you told me," Severus said, nudging her with his tail. "She can help, I promise."

"Well—okay," Lily said dubiously. "I'm a half-mer, er—Madam Seawitch—"

The seawitch's grin widened. "Dolores, dear."

"Dolores. I'm a half-mer, and during my time on land I've become completely enamored with human culture. I'm an aspiring anthropologist, you see. And, well, I was hoping—I was hoping you could help my legs last longer."

Dolores was still smiling. "Well, dear, I'm afraid I haven't met many half-breeds. Am I right in saying that when you emerge from the sea, you only have twenty-four hours before your legs turn back into a tail, correct? And then twenty-four hours until you can go back on land with legs. That's not very conducive for a thorough study."

"It's not," Lily agreed, bristling a little at her half-breed comment. "I was hoping to go undercover. See how humans act around other humans, take notes on their behavior—"

"I understand." The seawitch turned back to her cauldron. "Severus told me you might be coming, so I took the liberty of brewing a little something." She scooped the potion into a vial, then held it out to Lily. When Lily reached out to take it, however, Dolores snatched it back. "One teensy little caveat," she said sweetly. "I require something of you in return."

Lily began fishing around in her bag. "Of course. I have several gold coins recovered from an old human shipwreck—"

"Not your money, dearest. I need something of the humans'." Dolores held the vial up to the light. "The humans only have three sources of power, called the Deathly Hallows. The palace by the sea holds one of them." She set the vial of potion on the lip of the cauldron. "The Cloak of Invisibility. I want it."

"That's all?" Lily asked warily. "You want me to steal from the Royal Treasury?"

"I don't think it'll be quite so easily accomplished." The seawitch pulled a scroll from behind her, unfurling it as she spoke. "These are my terms. You will have your legs for a week, but if you goes back in the sea for any reason, if your legs so much as touch the ocean, they'll turn back into a tail permanently."

Lily read over the terms. Freshwater would not have any effect, so drinking while human would be permissible, but so much as a toe in saltwater would unravel the spell and leave her with a tail forever. No more midnight strolls on the beach, no more visits to her human friends. But avoiding the ocean for a week didn't seem too hard...

"One more thing," Dolores added as Lily reached for the proffered quill. "Should you fail, and not bring me back this cloak by the end of the week, I will steal your voice."