Padfoot and The Mermaid

Chapter Seventeen ~ Bad Moon Rising

(y/n) had been feeling uncertain about how she'd treated Sirius, it wasn't just the mermaid thing, even if she wasn't one, she still felt scared of being in a relationship. His personality could be over bearing, she believed she wasn't enough. Though that was hardly true, she still thought it, she thought of the harsh things that would be said about her, and there was Jolene as well. 

To clear her head, the girl opted to relax in her own hiding place, hers was different than the others, it wasn't some confined space in the castle, it was wonderful and beautiful. The lake had always felt like a second home to the girl, the water would welcome her as if she were one of its own. 

The pebbly bank of the river was where (y/n) sat, her feet beneath the sands, and her hands placed behind her. She glanced up at the sky, the sun had begun to set in the distance. It was a beautiful array of blues and pinks, giving the appearance of cotton candy. (y/n) wished for something as the sun began to disappear beneath the horizon, though this time she'd changed her wish. Instead of wishing to be normal or human, she instead wished that Jolene would accept her being with Sirius, though she believed it to be unlikely.

When the moon began to rise, and the last remnants of the sky had finally disappeared, (y/n) decided that it was time to go for a swim, the water had been practically calling her name, she could feel it pulling her. It had been a month since she'd been at the lake, her body had already begun regressing, she needed this, she needed to swim. 

(y/n) gave in and dove beneath the waves, she felt rejuvenated in the water, and she watched as her arms and legs began to glow beneath the dark surface. She'd never seen anything like it, often at night she only had her night vision to go off of, though now her scales were glowing?

It couldn't be the moon, because it wasn't full, could it be a new power? Perhaps her father could explain the next time she'd see him, or Sirius' silly book. (y/n) resurfaced, only letting her eyes out of the water, she scanned back and forth for any lingerer that may have followed her. There seemed to be no sign of life in the woods surrounding the lake.

That is until the smaller trees began to sway back and forth, (y/n) didn't dare stay to look at the thing, she dove back down as quickly as possible. She'd missed the chance to see the creature responsible.

(y/n) noticed how different the water was at night, there wasn't any familiarity, she'd been transported to a foreign land, one filled with shadows and darkness. The kelp looked like giants swaying back and forth, they were less friendly looking in the night, which caused (y/n) to shiver.

Below her was an ominous pit, a never ending trench, it was pitch black below, no one knew what lurked down there. (y/n) returned to her familiar ledge, she was amazed at the creatures that scurried about, they were the same, but they too had a glow (for different reasons). (y/n) wondered if it had something to do with the lake, was it magical? Not quite.

(y/n) scanned for any new items that had somehow washed up, she was hoping to find an apology gift for Sirius, he liked the shell she'd given him, though the ocean possessed wonders as beautiful as that. She knew she'd find something of value in the lake, but would it be Sirius worthy? She was just going to have to trust her gut on it.

Something shiny had caught (y/n)'s attention, had she already found a suitable gift for the boy? (y/n) swam to the source of the shine, she'd gotten there much quicker than usual, she felt far more powerful now, at night. This was because her kind were originally nocturnal, that's why their tails were white, they look beautiful in the moonlight.

The mysterious shiny object just happened to be a dagger, she couldn't gift Sirius that. The search continued though (y/n) was finding herself worse off than she started, (y/n) began to swim deeper, the shallows wouldn't have much anyway, it was the dark depths that contained the valuables. That's where she went, (y/n) dove deeper and deeper, hoping to find another object that would be suitable for Sirius. It became a hunt of sorts, and a more primal instinct began to take over the girl.

She searched every crack, ledge, and smooth surface she could find, and she began to give up hope. That is until she spotted it, it was treasure. 

The brassy wooden box had caught the girls attention, (y/n) swam as quickly as she could, and when she opened the thing she frowned. There was no gold inside, no treasure, not even any jewelry. Just a bunch of junk that had nearly gone to mush. 

(y/n) ripped out the contents in rage, though a sharp edge had pricked her, there was a hidden compartment in the box, which (y/n) pried apart quickly, she was surprised by her newfound strength. In the compartment was a shell, which made the girl laugh, all that trouble to hide a shell? Perhaps it was magical or something. No, the shell hadn't been charmed or hexed, or any of the sorts. It belonged to the owner of the chest, he was a man at sea, the shell had been given to him by the love of his life. You can all guess how that went for him.

There was a strange beauty in the shell, it was different than ones she'd seen, it was smaller and white in color. The white matched her tail actually. The shell was known as a wentletrap, the name sounded strange, but it was beautiful. This was the perfect gift for Sirius.

(y/n) had lost track of time, she'd been searching for so long that she'd nearly forgotten about the surface world. The girl swam as quickly as possible, reaching the surface within minutes, she was astounded by her strength, and she understood why the night was so addicting. She'd have to come back again, maybe on a full moon.

(y/n) poked her head above the waters, she noticed a creature sleeping in the distance. It looked like a shadow at first, though it began to stir and awaken. It's green eyes peered at (y/n), it felt as if it were staring into her soul. Perhaps this animal was the one from earlier, who had been moving the trees.

The animal didn't move from its position, he watched as (y/n) climbed out of the water, and watched as she rested on her beach towel. (y/n) spun around to look at the creature, she could see him much better now, it was a large animal, almost abnormal in size. She could make out the head and body, but her night vision had disappeared when she left the water. It looked like a black dog, with mangy fur and a slim body.

The girl didn't pay the thing any mind, though she enjoyed the company. 

"Come here." (y/n) said, she used a higher pitched tone, as if she were speaking to a toddler. (y/n) tried whistling as well, though that was highly unsuccessful. The dog hadn't budged, though it's eyes seemed to remain wide open.

The girl sighed, she wondered if the dog was frightened of her, she didn't look scary, at least she hoped she didn't. (y/n) began humming a tune, she'd had several songs stuck in her head on loop, though only in five second intervals, she hoped that humming it would somehow resolve the issue. (y/n) began singing now, as if it were a concert, she looked back to see if the dog was still there, she felt slightly uncomfortable with him now. The black dog remained, and he watched her with great patience, he almost seemed mesmerized by the sound of her voice. 

(y/n) never sang for real because of her fathers warnings, despair and terror may have been passed along to her, or maybe not. Nevertheless, the girl had a lovey singing voice, and the dog was simply enjoying it.

Eventually (y/n)'s tail dried off, and she was able to slip her clothes back on, as she did so the dog turned its head away, almost like a human would. (y/n) walked closer to the dog, hoping that it would run away, it did no such thing. The dog was much larger than she'd anticipated, still  she pat him on the head and walked in the direction of the castle.

The dog followed her through the woods, he walked very close to her, so close that (y/n) could nearly smell it. This creature felt oddly familiar, from his scent, to the color of his fur, she'd seen that shade of black before..

"Sirius?" (y/n) asked, the dog kept walking, she'd expected him to look up at her, as if it were it's name. The girl had to be imagining things, Sirius wasn't a dog, and he wasn't spying on her, this creature just happened to resemble him somehow.

"Who am I kidding." (y/n) sighed, she wrapped her damp towel around herself to keep warm. She didn't quite now how right she'd been, that dog wasn't a dog at all, it was Sirius Black.