A/N: Written for Round 8 for the Quidditch League. All prompts and challenges are listed at the bottom, so as not to give anything away.
Word Count: 1,874
Ripples of Blue
The marks on Daphne's skin continuously changed colour. They were the deep blue of the ocean, shifting to the dark grey of a stormy sea. She had been fascinated by them as a child, and then she grew to hate them. They would swirl on her skin, ebbing and flowing up and down her arms. Of all her friends, hers moved the most and yet she couldn't seem to narrow down who her match was. The only time the marks seemed to still was when she went home.
It drove Daphne mad. Clearly, her soulmate was in the school, she understood that, but the frustration of not knowing who it was somehow made it worse. By third year, over half of her yearmates had found their respective partners. Frustrated and envious, Daphne watched as Theo and Blaise held hands. Their marks were the same shade of vanilla which swirled across Blaise's dark skin and rippled over Theo's freckles.
She tried not to let herself get too upset. A Greengrass controlled her emotions, but that the only reason. Everyone knew that Millicent Bulstrode had it worse. She had no marks at all — something that Daphne had thought was impossible. Millicent had shrugged when the girls had been shocked by her revelation. That had been back in first year when all of them had eagerly shown off the marks which adorned their skin.
Over time, they'd stopped asking her about it. Pansy used to say that she didn't have a soulmate because she was too stupid and ugly to deserve anyone. That was until Daphne had drawn her wand and told the other girl to stop. They might have both been Slytherins but she couldn't stand bullying, particularly when Millicent never stood up for herself.
One evening, when most of the Common Room was empty, Daphne read over her Charms essay for the umpteenth time. She was bored, which seemed to be something of a constant recently. Normally she didn't spend much time in the Common Room, preferring the comfort of her bed, but Pansy's new perfume seemed to linger in the air. Twirling her quill between her fingers, she tried to add the final few inches her essay needed. The subject had never been her favourite, but Daphne had happily chosen to do homework over joining the other Slytherins who had eagerly gone out to Patrol. She had so far managed to remain neutral in regards to the Inquisitorial Squad. Keeping her head down and out of trouble was something she'd always been quite good at.
A sound made her lift her head, and Millicent walked through the door. There was mud all over her legs and knees, and Daphne stared in horror, her quill falling from her slack fingers. Whatever had happened was surely more interesting than her homework. Millicent was not prim and proper like she was, but Daphne couldn't even imagine what the girl had done to become as dirty as she was. What surprised her more was how Millicent simply half-waved when Daphne called over to her and then didn't stop to talk. Daphne wanted to die of second-hand embarrassment for the girl as she ducked her head and headed towards the Slytherin girl dorms.
When she asked at breakfast the next morning what had happened, Millicent just stammered that she'd fallen outside after going for a late night walk. Daphne would have believed her, except the following night she watched from a seat by the fireplace as Millicent came in, mud on her knees again, at the exact same time.
Daphne started to notice a pattern developing after that. She began to spend more time in the Common Room after curfew, desperate for something exciting to happen to break up the monotony of classes and homework. She wanted to know what Millicent's secret was. No one seemed to pay attention to Millicent, and when Daphne took the time to think about it, the other girl had always been in the background. Daphne did not even know her birthday. Millicent was polite but painfully shy. It was easy for Daphne to see why she was ignored, and she came to realise that that was how Millicent preferred it.
Millicent would come through the Common Room, normally after curfew, with wet hair and stains streaked over her tights, rushing past Daphne with a brief hello.
There was always mud on her knees too, that's what struck Daphne as most odd.
It was curious and she was bored. She decided to find out what her housemate, who was known for being quiet and meticulous, was up too.
Her soulmarks trailed down her hands, wrapping her fingers in the green of shallow water mixed with sky blue. Daphne could barely see them as she walked further into the darkness of the grounds, but she could feel them reaching out. It had taken her some time and a lot of dead ends trying to sneak after Millicent. Daphne had nearly given up, after twice being caught by Prefects and then she hadn't been able to master the Invisibility Charm.
Then the spell had worked. Daphne had whooped so loudly she had gotten stares — not that anyone could see her in the library at the time. It was one of her proudest accomplishments, and she was determined to put it to good use. The mystery of why Millicent was going on nightly walks was going to be solved. Daphne felt convinced about that.
She hurried along a path that wound around the Great Lake. Up ahead, Millicent slipped past a row of trees and Daphne temporarily lost sight of her. She paused to cast a silencing charm on her feet and forced herself not to run, she might be curious but she wasn't about to let herself go. In fact, she was sure that any second now, she would stumble across Millicent smoking away from prying eyes, or something equally generic and disappointing. Still, she had to see.
There was no one there.
In stunned silence, Daphne looked around, but Millicent was nowhere to be seen.
She waited for a few minutes, skin crawling. She had never been into the Forbidden Forest before and was just about to head back to the castle when a splash echoed through the eerie silence. Swallowing hard, furious at her own curiosity, Daphne hesitated. It was a little terrifying since she knew there were mermaids in the lake, as well as Merlin knew what. Her mind told her that she would be captured, eaten, or worse. Daphne was not a strong swimmer in the slightest and out here, there would be no one to come and help her. No one, except Millicent. She could wait until it was daylight. She should just walk away.
"I've waited this long and suddenly I'm impatient," she murmured to herself, but the chiding didn't work. Instead, Daphne removed the Invisibility Charm and silencing spells, deciding to at least own what she was doing and stand up for herself. The thought of dying cowering in the dark was more shameful than the alternative. She refused to be a coward.
"Lumos."
The spellight fell on a neatly folded pile of clothes. They were Millicent's, and Daphne realised that the girl must have been kneeling at the shore of the lake, hidden from the treeline. She could even see indentations in the damp mud and she knelt in the same spot. That was where Millicent had been when Daphne had looked and thought she'd disappeared, merely kneeling down. Except now Millicent truly was nowhere to be found.
Another splash made her head snap up in fear, the light from the tip of her wand illuminating the lake in front of her. What she saw made her gasp in shock. There was a smooth grey head bobbing in the water. Frozen in shock, she watched as it came closer. A seal shuffled out of the water, moving slowly towards her. Its eyes were large and brown, looking at her with a strange kind of tenderness, but what surprised Daphne the most were the marks. There were twisting blue lines all over the seal's body. They mimicked the ones on her own skin.
Still on her knees, the mud squelching under her, she tentatively reached a handout. It felt more like the pull of an instinct making her move. Daphne didn't understand, couldn't understand what it meant, or why the marks were there. The seal's body was wet but surprisingly warm, and at her touch, the marks combined together in a swirl of colour where their skin connected.
She jerked her hand away and waited to feel horrified. Instead, she felt excited, an unfamiliar rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins. She remembered Millicent's robes and how Millicent seemed to come to the Lake every single night without fail. Clearly, Millicent had got changed here, knelt every night by the edge of the lake as Daphne did now. Feeling silly, she whispered to the seal in front of her.
"Millicent? Is that you?"
The seal was still, then it moved away. Daphne watched in disbelief as the body of the seal shifted, the skin elongating, warping and then it was gathered at Millicent's feet. Daphne swallowed, silently summoning the girl's robes and held them out to her.
"What are you?" she asked, aware that the question was rude but she didn't know what to think.
"A selkie. The seal is my true form." Millicent was looking at Daphne with wide dark eyes that vividly reminded Daphne of the seal. "My family are all selkies. I normally don't transform; I didn't ever want anyone to know. This year especially, what with Professor Umbridge being here as well; you know she regularly campaigns against beings like me. But Daphne, I knew you were following me and I've waited for so long to tell you."
"Our markings," Daphne said. She expected to feel nerves, but instead, all she felt was a deep sense of excitement and joy. She had finally found her soulmate. Then it dawned on her that Millicent had been living with her, had known that Daphne was her own soulmate for years and had not been able to say anything. Of course, Millicent's body had no markings, it was her seal skin which was covered in soulmate ink.
"Daphne." Millicent's voice was hoarse with worry.
"No! Ignore my silence, I was just thinking," Daphne said quickly. "You don't scare me. I won't run from anyone. And I'll do anything I can to protect you."
It was surprising in a lot of ways, how deep the connection she felt to Millicent was. Perhaps it was because of the soulmate bond. Now they had an instant connection.
Millicent smiled shyly, picking up the seal skin at her feet and putting it into a smooth green bag. Daphne had questions, so many questions, but she just helped Millicent get dressed and then offered her hand as they walked through the forest back to the castle.
Her blue markings rippled over her skin and then bled into Millicent's hands, staining up her arm.
"Oh wow. That's beautiful," Millicent said.
Daphne clasped her hand tighter and nodded in agreement. Everything seemed more beautiful now.
A/N: Prompts and challenges -
Quidditch League Round 8: Chaser 2 - Theme - finding out someone was not the same species as you. Optional Prompts: (emotion) frustration / (dialogue) I've waited this long, yet suddenly now I'm impatient." / (phrase) on her knees.
Hogwarts Assignment #4: Muggle History - Task #4 The Blitz: Write about something that happened every night.
Romance Awareness: Day 30 - Ink marks (similar to tattoos) are on your body. When your soulmate is in the vicinity, it will slowly move in their direction. When you touch, they connect.
Back to School: 23. (scenario) Getting into a romantic situation/relationship while at school
Sewing 101: Step One - Fabrics: 10. Quill / Patterns: 5. Pull / Colors: 9. Sky Blue
Character Appreciation: 4. [action] Studying
Disney Challenge: S1. Write a fic set on water.
Dark Lady's Diabolical Lair: 8. Secret
Book Club: The Faun - (plot point) following someone, (emotion) worried, (setting) Forbidden Forest
Showtime: 3. The Mirror - (word) triumph
Amber's Attic: 8. "I bet if we dusted her heart for fingerprints, we'd only find yours."
Count Your Buttons: AU - 1. Soulmate!AU
Lyric Alley: 20. First you get close, then you get worried.
Ami's Audio Admirations: 7. The Biggest Room - Write about a character doing or experiencing something unbelievable.
Sophie's Shelf: Rare Pairs - 18. Daphne/Millicent
Emy's Emporium: 3. Flitwick - write about someone who defies stereotypes.
Angel's Arcade: 11. Vector the Crocodile - (colour) green, (house) Slytherin, (trait) confident.
Lo's Lowdown: 4. Toph - Write about someone who is underestimated.
Bex's Basement: 10. Danny, The Champion of the World - Write about being scared of something, but doing it anyway.
Film Festival: 17. Plot - A misunderstanding.
Pinata Club: Femslash [hard]