In The Water

Antipodean opaleye

"She looks good." Draco said as he joined me on the beach.

"Where have you been? It's been months. She was scared." I ask and he looks out at the ocean.

"Looking for her mother. They didn't come back." He looked so tired and sick.

"What do you mean they didn't come back?" I ask and he sighs sitting down in the sand.

"Ione was always taking off with Meri. Usually to here. When they didn't come back I came here and there was no sign of them. I haven't been able to find Hermione. I should have known she'd come back. Is she at the house? Please I need to see her." He craned his neck looking behind me.

"Hermione isn't here." He dropped his head. "A few month ago I thought I heard her, instead I found Meri on the beach. Alone and scared."

"She wouldn't have left her.She loves her to much." I sat down next to him in the sand.

"Meri said mama had bite.There was blood on the shore and sharks off the coast. I'm starting to think she was attacked and was able to get Meri to the shore but not herself." I've been denying that's what happened since the first day. Hermione being alive but with Draco was better then her being dead.

"Sounds like her. I don't think she's dead. We would have feel it if she was." He said in a tired voice looking out at the ocean.

"Then where is she?" My patience was wearing thin and I wanted to get back to Meri.

"I don't know, I was hoping she had come back to you. She said she wouldn't do that to you but I'm out of ideas." He sounded defeated but his statement made me curious.

"She's not here." I repeated and he nodded.

"Everything alright Cedric?" Rolf asked from the path interrupting us. Draco looked at him in anger. I lifted my hand to him.

"Yeah, mate. He's been looking for Hermione. Said she's been missing." I answered, I didn't want Draco opening his mouth and bewitching my friend.

"Missing but not dead?" Rolf joined us and offered his hand. Draco begrudgingly shook it.

"He doesn't think so." Draco started to look angry that I was answering for him.

"Maybe someone found her. He would have found her if she was in the water.From what I read mates can always find each other." Rolf said and I heard Draco give out a bitter scoff. I flinched at the word and Rolf gave me an apologetic look.

"Where does that leave Meri. What do we tell her?" I ask and Draco stands up looking into the water.

"What have you been telling her?" He asks me quietly.

"I've told I don't know. She's young she accepts that answer." We stand there awkwardly watching the sun go down.

"Does she ask about me?" He finally said and I felt a little bad.

"No she hasn't.I'm sorry." Looking back it was odd she never asked for her father.

"Yeah. It's fine. She loves her mother. Can I talk to her?" He asked instead of demanding. Maybe all that time with Hermione made him more reasonable.

"I would prefer if you did so at the house" I answer and he nods. He follows me up to the house.

Meri was at the kitchen table coloring with Lily making her a sandwich.

"Rolf dear, Luna is at the guest house, nap time." She said and he gave me hesitant look.

"It's alright, we're just going to talk." Rolf left us as Lily put the sandwich next to Meri.

"Hey Angelfish." Draco said as he crouched down by her.

"Look Draco." Lily showed him the scribbles she had made.

"It's lovely." He murmured as he tucked her curls behind her ear. She smiled at him. Meri put the page down and continued coloring. I sat in the chair by her and motion for Draco to take the other. We all sat and watched her quietly.

"Da?" She looked at me and pushed the pass the sandwich towards me.

"What is it little one?" I asked and she clambered out of her chair and climbed into my lap.

"Eat." She gave me half of the sandwich and I took it. She smiled big and took a bite of her half. I expected a growl or glare from Draco but he just sat there with a tired face.

"Little one, You think Draco would like a sandwich too?" She looked over at him and nodded.

"Draco hungry?" He gave her a small nod and she climbed out of my lap to find Lily.

"She's talking well. Ione worked with her, Angelfish has trouble communicating." He meant the going though each other's mind.

"Yeah, she's quiet but she's getting better." I watched as she followed Lily around the kitchen making another sandwich. Lily gave her the plate and she walked it slowly towards Draco.

"Thank you Angelfish." He said gently and she shrug. She came back to me and laid her head on my shoulder. Draco looked at us and sighed.

"She would do the same thing with Ione. How are you doing?" He asked her and she yawned a big yawn.

" 'm tired." She said and Lily appeared at my side.

"Come on Meri, lets go read a story." She said and Meri went into her arms. We learned not to tell her to take a nap. That word brought out her inner banshee.

"She's moving on land a lot better too. But you've kept her out of the ocean haven't you." He asked and I looked at the table moving clenching my jaw.

"We have a salt water pool, we've been making sure she takes a swim everyday." I know I'm not the best father but I've been taking good care of her.

"Good,I just mean I haven't felt her in the water. Same with her mother." He sounded like he was trying to keep a sob down. I know how he felt, to be completely alone.

"Yeah. Do you think Rolf is right? That Hermione is still alive?" I ask and he nodded.

"We would have felt it if she wasn't." He said and I gave him a questioning look.

"Meri would have felt if?" I asked and he shook his head.

"She may have but she's to young to understand what that means." He said, we were both skirting around the elephant in the room. "She kept coming back here. She'd bring Meri. I hated it so much. We had no secrets. You can't with our kind."

"You said she wouldn't come back, what did you mean?" I asked him and he sighed a heavy sigh.

"That day, when we left. She saw you with that blond girl, the one with the Rolf man. I think she knew instantly that she was just a friend but seeing you with her did something to her. She said you could never have a normal happy life if she was with you. Ione heart is so big, she refused to leave me so I wouldn't suffer. She left you so you wouldn't suffer. She stayed in the water for almost two years to let you all live a normal life."

"I didn't want normal." I said and he nodded. The silence between us grew louder as we tried not to think of the girl we lost.