Luna's heart raced in excitement as she maneuvered down the cliff side. She'd been dreaming of coming to Greece since she was young. Greek mythology had been the source of her mother's favorite stories, and Luna had loved hearing about the sirens most of all. Actually seeing them had become a childhood dream that stretched into adulthood.
It was a foolish thing to wish for. She knew how dangerous it was to get close to sirens. Her wand was clutched in her hand in preparation. She'd spent the morning going over the defensive spells and committing them to memory.
As she went, she thought back to the long summer afternoons she'd spent running around at home as a child. She had made her rabbit Flopsie pretend to be all sorts of creatures, but he had been a siren most often.
Flopsie hadn't liked the water, but Luna had enough of an imagination to compensate for that. She'd even written songs for Flopsie to sing. There was no way her childhood creations could compare to a real siren song though. Not even the selkies in the Black Lake could compete with sirens.
Lost in her daydreams, she forgot to watch her step as she ambled down to the sea. Suddenly, her foot slipped, and she was scrambling for purchase. She fell to her hands and knees, wincing as she rocks cut at her skin. In her attempt to catch herself, she'd dropped her wand. Her eyes widened as it rolled towards the cliff's edge.
Scrambling forward on her knees, she grabbed for it, but it was useless. She watched in horror as her wand was swallowed by the sea. For a moment, the sting of her cuts were forgotten as she stared at the water.
As soon as she pulled herself together, she rushed down the cliff as quickly as she could without plummeting into the water herself. Her original plan had been to get close enough to see the sirens but not to approach the water. With her thoughts only on her wand, however, she ran right up to the edge of the sea, eyes scanning the water as if her wand would be visible from the shore.
Suddenly, a figure of a woman rose out of the water. Luna's heart stopped. The woman was every inch what she had imagined sirens to be. Her dark hair was curly but looked tame despite being soaked through with salt water. Her skin was tanned, hinting that she spent a lot of time at the surface.
Most importantly of all, she held Luna's wand in her right hand, inspecting it as if she were going to comment on the craftsmanship.
There was no proper protocol for talking to a siren because you weren't supposed to do it. Luna made no move for her wand despite how desperately she had wanted it moments before.
The siren said something in Greek, and Luna tilted her head to the side.
"Sorry," she said, choking on her words. "I can't speak Greek."
The woman mimicked her head tilt. For a moment, Luna thought she had confused her. There was no reason for this siren to know English after all, but her next words were in Luna's native tongue.
"I believe you'd like this back."
Luna nodded slowly.
"Yes, please."
The woman's smile turned into a smirk as she twirled the wand in her fingers.
"I'll give it to you, but you must listen to my stories first. It's only fair. Your time in exchange for your wand."
The stinging of Luna's hands and knees was impossible to ignore. One simple healing spell, and she'd be good as knew. She had never had skinned knees for such a long time without a healing spell, and she vowed to be far more careful with her wand in the future.
She watched the siren for a moment, debating her options. Her wand was calling to her more than the siren was. She desperately wanted it back, even if her only means to it was dangerous. It wasn't just because she wanted to heal herself either. Her wand had been an extension of herself since she was eleven. And, after all, the siren wouldn't kill her.
"Okay," she agreed, voice trembling.
The siren smiled in satisfaction as she swimmed forward and came to rest her forearms on the rock beside Luna.
At such close proximity, her presence was intoxicating even without her song. Luna could hardly remember to breathe, let alone do anything else. She used every ounce of her willpower to think about her wand and why she had agreed to listen to the siren's song.
The siren began telling her wonderful stories. At first, they were stories similar to those her mother had told her as a child. Tales of ancient Greek heroes and gods. As the siren continued, the stories grew personal. The siren shared stories of Luna's mother, things Luna couldn't believe the siren knew. Whispers in her mind told her that should worry her, but she couldn't figure out why.
The stinging was still there, but she had stopped caring about it. She had stopped caring about anything that wasn't the siren's beautiful voice.
Then, after an unknowable passage of time, Luna realized the stinging her in knees and palms was gone. She looked away from the siren to her own body for the first time since the stories had begun and saw her skin coated in a thin layer of glowing water.
The siren dropped control of the water, letting it drench Luna's lap and legs. Blinking slowly, Luna tried to process what had happened.
"You could have healed me that whole time?" she snapped, suddenly furious with the woman she had found enthralling moments before.
"Of course," the siren said, her voice already trying to draw Luna back in.
Luna scrambled to her feet.
"I listened to your story. I've more than paid your price. Can I have my wand back?"
With an easy smile, the siren handed Luna her wand. Comfort enveloped her. Though she no longer needed to heal herself, she had a defence against the siren, and the siren knew it.
"Are you sure you don't want another story?" the siren asked. "Just one more. There's one about your mother and father falling in love that I know you'd enjoy."
It was tempting. The siren knew which stories Luna most wanted to hear. She backed away, shaking her head frantically.
"No," she said. "I don't want to hear anymore. You've given me enough. Thank you."
She wasn't sure she should have been thanking her, and the knowledge that she had anyway propelled her back up the cliff. She didn't dare look back to the sea no matter how much her heart longed to.
A/N: I know that sirens were actually part bird and part human in Greek myth, but since they've been stated to be a species of merpeople in Fantastic Beasts (the textbook), I went ahead and made them such here.
Prompts:
Hogwarts Challenges and Assignments
Assignment six - Herbology task 2: write about being injured
Fortnightly challenge - Ship in a Bottle: ferry - alt. write about someone with water-based abilities (a water deity, elemental, etc).
Seasonal challenge - Days of the Year: International Rabbit Day - alt. write about a pet rabbit
Word count: 1,133