Borrowed time; Mattheo Riddle

Chapter 46

Bellas pov

As we headed out of the dock Pansy did surprisingly well maneuvering the boat. Daphne still seemed a bit on edge though and kept looking around on the cliffs probably expecting to see a teacher standing there just waiting to give her detention.

We stayed close to the cliffs as we moved along the still water. I don't really know where Pansy was taking us and I'm not entirely sure she knew either, but the sun was shining and the air warm so I sat back comfortably and enjoyed the adventure.

"Ohhh, look" Pansy rang out exited. There seemed to be an opening in the cliffs ahed. As Pansy took us closer it became clear that it was a cave and without hesitation she navigated us right in to it.

"What are we doing?" Daphne scurried to the back of the boat making it wobble around as we entered the cave.

"Sit still, we're just exploring a little" Pansy responded taking us deeper in to the dark. There was 2 lanterns on the boat, one in the front and one in the back. I had no idea on how to turn them on and neither did the others. I leaned forward trying reach the lantern to see if there was any button or some other indication of how to turn them on, but as I did they suddenly lit up almost fucking blinding me as my face was mere inches from it.

"You good?" Pansy laughed while pulling me back in the boat as I tried to regain my sight. "Yeah, I'm fine" I responded blinking away the last of the circles dancing in front of my eyes.

"How deep is this?" I asked not seeing an end to the tunnel in either direction.

"Don't know but I wouldn't mind turning back" Daphne responded.

"I would and I'm steering so tough luck baby" Pansy blew her a kiss.

"Fine but if I die I'm blaming it on you"

The tunnel became narrower the farther we traveled and even I became a bit unsure if it were a good idea to continue deeper. We had traveled for a good 5 minutes and we were probably somewhere under the castle by now. Just as I was about to ask Pansy if we should turn around I heard a faint noise. The others seemed to notice it to as we all stopped moving sharpening our ears. Somebody was singing... and it was absolutely beautiful.

"You're hearing that right?" Daphne asked looking mesmerized. We both nodded.

"It's coming from there" Pansy gestured to deeper down the tunnel, seeming to wait for ur responds before continuing further. Me and Daphne shared a look before giving her the sign to keep going.

As the tunnel got smaller we eventually had to crouch down in the boat in order to go deeper and just when we were about to turn around, afraid that if we went further we would get stuck, the tunnel ended and we entered in to a big room. The water seemed brighter in here and there were blue glowing mushrooms covering the roof and lighting up the room. We were all so mesmerized by the cave that we almost missed the creature right in front of us.

There on the rocks sat a mermaid. A real life fucking mermaid, singing and combing her hair as she suspiciously looked at us floating around. She was the most stunning creature I had ever seen, her skin was pale and her hair white but her tail was the most vibrant of greens and the shells covering her chest was an exact match to the color of her tail.

We were all paralyzed as we took her in. She stopped singing as her sharp eyes examined every detail of us before flashing a smile and diving down in to the deep blue water. Her head pooped up only a few feet from our boat as she held her finger to her lips gesturing for us to keep this quiet. We were too stunned to speak but she must have gathered that as she let out a little giggle before disappearing down in to the water again, only this time she didn't resurface.

Mattheos pov

After 2 hours of reading I finally found the part that explained the spell we needed. I went to the common room surprised to find the boys all there. "Didn't I tell you to spend some time with the girls?" I asked Blaise as I approached the couches.

"We tried, but they already had plans and we weren't welcome apparently" Draco bitterly replied.

"Yeah they're not happy with us" Blaise finished.

"Well good thing we won't be needing to sneak around anymore then" I calmly expressed.

"You found it?" Blaise's eyes filled with hope as she jumped to his feet.

I just nodded slowly while walking back out the room knowing they would follow.

Ones we were inside the room of requirement I explained mine and Zabini's findings to the rest of them. It took us a few tries to get the spell right but when we eventually did and that fucking bird came back alive it was like the air got ten times lighter.

"We fucking did it" Enzo laughed as he plopped down in the couch.

"And now comes the next part" Draco spoke with dread in his voice knowing what was expected of him next.

"I'll send word to my father tomorrow, tonight we're celebrating" I figured we could all use a distraction from whats to come. Besides, we have worked our buts off for this fucking cabinet, we deserve a night of relaxation.

Bellas pov

The entire trip back was silent, neither of us uttering a single words as we were in completely chock. It wasn't until we had made it back to the dock and was back on firm ground that Daphne spoke up, "What the actual fuck did we just witness?".

"We.. a.., mermaid" was all Pansy managed to get out breathlessly.

"Did you guys know there were mermaids here?" I asked remembering the night of new years when I though I had seen one jumping in the water, Mattheo had told me they lived in the lake but stayed away from the school area and never interacted with wizards.

"No. I mean I've heard stories but I never actually believed them" Pansy finally managed a sentence as we began our walk back up the endless stairs.

"Well you better believe them now" Daphne said already out of breath.

After we eventually made it up the stairs we headed back inside making our way to the library so Daphne could pick up the books Pansy had made her leave before. As we rounded the last corner we found the boys all walking towards us, seeming unusually cheerful.

"Just the girls we were looking for" Enzo cheered. "You busy ladies have any plans for tonight?" he continued.

"Depends, what do you have in mind?" Pansy challenged.

"Drinking, smoking, partying" Enzo seemed excited, as did the others behind him, everybody expect Draco.

Theo spoke up keeping his eyes on Daphne "Won't be any fun without you girls". He said it to us all but we all knew who he really meant.

"Alright, we'll come" Daphne unexpectedly said.

They boys left to set up the party while we continued our walk to get Daphne's books. When the boys were out of earshot Pansy spoke up, "Daphne Greengrass agreeing to a party on a Sunday? I think we're worse influence on her then we thought" she said looking over at me.

"Oh we're not the bad influence here, it's the Nott charm that has got her wild" I responded seeing Daphnes cheeks redden.