Padfoot and The Mermaid

Chapter Eight ~ Down at The Hogwarts Lake

Fall was the most beautiful season at Hogwarts, the leaves dried out to a lovely arrangement of colors, often leaving piles to jump into (if you're brave enough to deal with the insects in the piles). The month was now October, and it was strangely a very hot month, it was a nice break from the cold nights and chilling winds of the previous months.

One of the greatest things about October was the lake. Dumbledore had allotted certain times where (y/n) could swim there, thanks to the weather. (y/n) always took advantage of this since she hardly ever touched a body of water besides the tub during the school year.

In all her years of doing this, (y/n) had never once spotted a mermaid in the lake, she never quite understood that. Maybe the others feared her because she was a different kind of mermaid, or maybe they didn't remain in the shallows, but really much deeper.

Nevertheless, today (y/n) would return to the lake, once she'd gotten a certain black haired boy off of her trail.

"No, you can't follow me." (y/n) sighed, she rolled her eyes and began heading in one direction.

"I'm just curious, c'mon, i've got nothing to do." 

"Go make out with a girl or something." (y/n) muttered, she immediately regretted the words the second they escaped from her lips, though it was far too late to take them back.

"You think that's all I'm good for, don't you." Sirius replied, his tone was unlike any she'd heard before, he sounded so hurt. Sirius stormed off in one direction, and (y/n) in another. She felt guilty, but also relieved, he wouldn't be following her to the lake any time soon.

(y/n) began to slip her clothes off as she reached pebbly edge of the river bank. If she left her clothes on then they'd get wet, making drying off very difficult (she can't use magic in her other form).

The water was so luring, it was only natural for (y/n) to rush quickly to the crystal like substance. (y/n) was neck deep now,  she closed her eyes and floated up on the surface, she'd grown so used to the tingling in her legs that it was second nature to her. She felt relieved whenever the change happened, it was like a weight being lifted off of her chest

(y/n) sat up and scanned for any bystanders, she'd been feeling watched recently, though maybe her and Sirius' fight had something to do with it. Once the premises had been thoroughly scanned, (y/n) was free to dive below the surface. She'd forgotten that she could breathe underwater, but she took a deep breath in, and it was just as if she were on land.

(y/n) swam down to a ledge beneath the surface, there plenty of items and flora resting there, as well as a few creatures scattered through the patchy sand. The most wonderful thing about the Hogwarts lake was the amount of human items that had sunken beneath the surface, whether it be muggle or wizardly. 

There was something that had flashed (y/n)'s eyes in the distance, similar to a mirror shining in the light. That's when she spotted it, there was a longish tail, it was silver in color and very long, much longer than (y/n)'s tail, which was the length of her legs.

The girl swam in the direction of the supposed mermaid, that's what she assumed it was since she hardly believed there would be any fish of that size in the lake. To (y/n)'s surprise, the other mermaid didn't run away from her, she stared at (y/n) with curiosity.

This mermaid was a selkie, they are considered the less beautiful of mermaids, though highly intelligent. (y/n) had heard of them, and her father had spoken of them often, he could even speak their language.

(y/n) introduced herself and stated that she only spoke a little mermish, which was the language of the selkie. The mermaid also introduced herself and said that she'd never seen a mermaid like her before. This selkie seemed young, near (y/n)'s age, she hadn't gained the hostility that other selkie seemed to develop.

(y/n) stated that it was nice meeting the selkie, she waved goodbye and headed back to where her belongings were on land. The whole ordeal had been very gratifying for (y/n), it was refreshing to know that she wasn't alone at Hogwarts. She was thankful to have met the selkie since (y/n) had only ever met other warm water mermaids, whom were very rude and stuck up people. The selkie were different, much kinder and intelligent, though classified as beasts, they surely didn't live up to the title.

The hardest part about swimming in the lake was drying off, (y/n) couldn't use magic in her mermaid form, she was forced to use a towel, which took longer than one would think.            (y/n) first started with her hair, which was still dripping down her back, then her upper body, and now the tail, which got its own towel. (y/n) scrubbed all over several times, and for once the process had taken much shorter than usual. The girl packed up her things and began heading back for school.

...

(y/n) caught Lily and Remus at a table in the common rooms, she'd been dying to tell them about her adventures at the lake. The girl pulled them aside and told them of her findings.

"I thought those were just rumors." Remus marveled, he was greatly interested in magical creatures at the moment, he'd had his nose tucked away in 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'. 

"I just wish I could go back more, Saturday mornings aren't enough anymore." (y/n) pouted, she folded her arms and rested against the wall.

"Didn't Dumbledore allow you to swim anytime at night?" Lily inquired, she was as invested in this ordeal as Remus was.

"Yes, but, the water's terrifying at night." (y/n) mumbled, she felt sheepish.

"You're a mermaid aren't you." Remus stated, he nearly guilt tripped the girl.

"Yeah, it's just something happened when I was a kid, so i've been scared of it ever since." (y/n) sighed, she knew that Remus couldn't be talking right now, he was terrified of the moon just like she was terrified of water a night.

"What're you three up to." Sirius stated, he had once again appeared out of thin air. He'd popped up behind (y/n), though this time she'd been ready for one of his sneak attacks.

"I thought you were mad at me." (y/n) teased, she noticed the boys smile, had he completely forgotten about their little fight? Or had he finally realized that she was right?

"Don't get me wrong, I was hurt by that, but a little thing like that won't get in the way of our relationship." Sirius said with a smile, his hand slowly reached for (y/n)'s, which was clutching something tightly.

"Relationship? You mean friendship-."

"What's this." Sirius interrupted, he held up the item that (y/n) had been clutching in her fist, it was a white moonstone that she'd found in the lake.

"It's mine, I found it." (y/n) said sternly, she yanked the item out of Sirius' hands and placed it neatly in her robe pocket.

"Can I get one of those, it would be a nice addition to my collection." Sirius teased, him and (y/n) headed off towards another one of the tables in the common rooms, the boy just happened to be following her.

"Maybe." 

...

 "Don't freak out." Lily began, in all her years of knowing the girl (y/n) had never heard Lily utter  a statement like that before.

"It's a little difficult not to when you phrase something like that." (y/n) pleaded, she could feel a knot forming in her stomach again, she'd been able to tone it down for a while, though recently it had begun to tighten. (hot girls have stomach issues)

"Alright fine, then I'll just tell you." Lily began. "There's a rumor going around about a mermaid being spotted at Hogwarts lake. Some have gone as far as saying it's a fellow student. Before you go freaking out, just know that there is no possible way that it can be traced back to you." Lily stated, (y/n) as in such shock that she couldn't even muster a response. At first she seemed totally normal, and then it all hit her.

"I-, what, I'm not-, what am I going to do." (y/n) blurted, she covered her face with her hands, nearly ripping her hair out in the process. (y/n) thought she was safe at Hogwarts, now she could never return to the lake.

"You're going to be fine, I doubt itll last for more than a week, plus they don't have any proof." Lily said reassuringly.

"You're probably right, I've got nothing to worry about."