Author's Note: Since Insurgence of Obscurity is finished, I decided to start another WIP. I'm not ditching GD, but I've had this idea stuck in my head for quite awhile and finally decided to put it down on paper.

Thanks ozzymandius for beta'ing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the characters. Everything belongs to JK Rowling.

Deep Blue Sea

Prologue

They had managed to raid the entire village. It was satisfying, seeing the buildings go up in flames. Tom Riddle leaned against his ship, his eyes greedily soaking up the sight. His crew had ransacked the village and taken everything of value. The villagers had been taken as prisoners, chained in the lower levels of the ship. He would exhaust them, use them for labour, and then dispose of them when they were no longer of any value. It was free slaves, after all, and he wasn't about to turn it down.

"Cap." Abraxas Malfoy walked up next to him. He was, Tom supposed, the second-in-command of the ship. However, Tom made it clear that he was the sole ruler of the ship, and that he had the most power by far. Abraxas could give himself whatever titles he wanted to delude himself, as long as he knew who was really in control.

"Everyone's on the ship," he continued when Tom didn't speak. "I tried to stop Eileen, but she volunteered to go down to check on the prisoners. I was wondering if you wanted me to go with her, or if you would prefer to go by yourself."

Eileen, knowing her, was probably befriending the prisoners as they were speaking. Tom glared darkly into the distance; why he put up with some of his crew members, he didn't really know. He glanced at Abraxas. "Is Phineas on the ship?"

"Finny is always on the ship," Abraxas said, falling into step easily next to him. Bellatrix had been the one to come up with the nickname for her brother. Phineas, of course, hadn't liked such a childish name, but nevertheless, it soon stuck. Now everyone, except Tom, called him that. "He's probably wandering around the deck."

Tom didn't say anything else. Abraxas must have thought the silence was eerie, as he started to chatter. "We got a lot from this village, Captain," he said. "Our food stocks have been replenished, and we made quite a profit as well. Who would have guessed that a village which didn't look like it had a plumbing system was hiding so much money?"

Tom made a noncommittal sound as he opened the door leading to the cell. Sure enough, Eileen was scampering around, offering little chunks of bread to the chained prisoners.

"Eileen," Abraxas said, a warning tone in his voice. Tom took awhile to let his gaze drift around the room. Surprisingly, the little village contained quite a lot of people. His crew would have a field day; they wouldn't have to work for a very long time.

"Hey Abraxas," Eileen greeted, still shamelessly giving out food. She caught the glare that Abraxas was shooting at her, and she leveled one of her own. "What? You're going to make them work for you. Might as well make sure they don't die of hunger first."

"We've had this conversation before."

"And we come to the same conclusion every time!" Eileen placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. The prisoners, Tom noted with amusement, were looking rather bewildered. "Come on, Abraxas. Have some compassion."

"We're pirates," Abraxas reminded her. "Ruthless? Dangerous? Savage? Ring any bells?" Eileen opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. "Right. Get your bread and let's go. We can continue this upstairs."

Eileen looked like she wanted to protest, but one swift look from Abraxas cut her off and she trudged upstairs. Tom let the door swing shut before turning back to the room of prisoners. He needed to establish the rules before he allowed them to work.

Before he could speak, however, a voice piped up from the corner. "I advise you to let us go. We don't have anything you want and this does not have to get any messier."

Tom allowed his lips to tug up slightly. The girl was nothing impressive; she looked just like a scrawny rat caught in a trap. She, however, was glaring at him despite her dignity in shreds.

"On the contrary, there are many things you could offer me," Tom drawled lazily, leaning against the door. He allowed his eyes to wander crudely over the girl's scrawny body, but to his surprise, she simply jutted out her chin and glared back at him.

"You don't know what you're getting into," the girl warned, and Tom smirked at her. It seemed to aggravate her even more. "People know we're here. If a ransom is what you're looking for, I have some money here, so we can just settle this right now—"

"You have some money, do you?" Tom's eyes glinted. Her fellow villagers shifted nervously, recognising the change in character, but if the girl was frightened, she did a very good job at hiding it. He stalked toward her, taking his time.

He was a predator, after all. He was born to hunt.

She was quite short, he realised, when he stood in front of her. Such a small body, yet so much defiance in her…he would have fun beating it out of her. Slowly, he trailed his hand down her face, avoiding her teeth as she moved her head to bite him. He simply smirked at her, and he saw—to his delight—the first flash of fear in her eyes.

Before his hand could get to her pocket, however, someone called loudly from above. "Tommy!" Tom gritted his teeth angrily. Bellatrix never seemed to know when to give him proper respect. The girl in front of him noticed his frustration, and gave him a smirk that matched his own. "Tommy, I burned the food!"

There was a reason why Eileen was in charge of the cooking.

"This isn't over," he hissed quietly at the girl. He expected a sharp retort, but what he got was a faceful of spit. He wiped it off slowly, registering the giggles from the small children behind him. The girl was looking much too smug for his liking.

He moved fast, reaching up and grabbing her neck. Instantly, all the laughter stopped and the room was dead silent. He marveled at how small and delicate her neck was. So fragile. So easy to break.

"Careful," he chided, his voice light. Everyone knew, however, that there was a dark threat underlying his words. Slowly, he released his iron hold on her neck, and she gulped down as much air as she could. He tilted his head slightly, his lips curling up, before turning around and heading back up the stairs.

He had still seen the fight in her eyes. He would deal with her later. He would have a lot of fun breaking her.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

The room was quiet.

How they had managed to fall asleep in such a situation, Hermione did not know. But as she glanced around the room, she saw it was true. Her friends, all chained up in a smelly room, had managed to sleep in the awkward positions they were in.

Hermione slowly maneuvered her hand toward the wand holster strapped around her leg. They had only searched her pockets, but somehow overlooked the fact that she could carry her wand somewhere else. In her opinion, pockets had always been very awkward spots to place her wand, and she would never think about sticking it in there.

Hermione whispered an incantation under her breath, and the chains faded away. She thought about freeing the others as well, but tonight was not the time to do so. She did not have a plan for them to get out, and it would only blow their cover if they all ran out like deer in headlights. She would explore for a bit, plan out the ship and possible escape routes, before she freed her friends.

She heard voices upstairs. It sounded like two girls squabbling with each other. Unfortunately, the only way out was up the stairs. Hermione held her wand in front of her as a precaution, and slowly tiptoed up the stairs. It was no easy feat; the stairs were loud and creaked whenever she stepped on them at the wrong angle, but miraculously, she managed to make it up without anyone catching her.

She had no idea where she was going. She just took turn after turn, and somehow ended up on the deck. The sea breeze was cool, stinging her cheeks, but the room below had been too hot for her liking anyway. She walked around, feeling free. If she could transfigure something into a boat, it would be too easy for them to slip away. The biggest challenge would be to get so many people into a transfigured boat without anyone noticing.

Just as Hermione began to formulate her plan, she noticed a boy leaning against the railing. He wasn't looking at her, and Hermione didn't know if he even knew she was there. He had black hair, much like the boy she had spit on earlier, but he held himself differently. Maybe it was the way he slouched that made Hermione think he was the prey instead of the predator, which the other boy had been.

Hermione began to slowly walk backwards. She didn't want him to notice her; who knew what they would do to people they caught slipping out. She was just about to get back inside—something she was reluctant to do; it was so nice out on the deck—when the boy just tossed himself over the side of the ship.

Hermione screamed. She hadn't meant to, of course, but she did so anyway. She ran to the side of the ship and looked over, but there were no signs of boy's dark head. Behind her, she could hear the door opening and multiple people spilling out onto the deck.

"What is the meaning of this?" The blonde boy—Abraxas—demanded from behind her. "Why is she on the deck? Who was supposed to be on duty tonight? Eileen, this is what happens when you feed them. They get healthy enough to escape."

"Please," Eileen scoffed, but Hermione didn't stay to hear any more. Before she could properly think and consider her actions, she swung herself over the railing and dived towards the sea. Not long after she had left the safety of the deck, she began to regret her decision.

What did she think she was doing, risking her life to save someone she had never met? Her friends were depending on her to save them, and she suddenly thought it was a great idea to play hero?

However, she was already halfway down, so there really wasn't anything she could do about it. Behind her, she could hear yelling, not for her safety, but because they thought she was escaping. A slightly hysterical laugh built up inside of her; did they really think she was so selfish and had escaped herself when her friends were still locked up?

All thoughts were forgotten as she hit the ice cold water with a gasp. The water stung at her skin, soaking her clothes quickly. She felt numbness wash over her body, and thankfully remembered to cast a warming spell on herself before it was too late to do so.

She searched around, but when she did not see the boy's head bobbing along the surface, she thought she was too late. The ship behind her had been stopped—by magic, no doubt—and she could feel the glares of the people on the deck. Slightly comforted by the fact that it wouldn't leave without her, she took a deep breath and dove under water.

She saw the boy all right. He was just floating along, staring sadly at the device in his hands. She didn't know what he was doing, but clearly he would be running out of air soon. Feeling quite angry at herself for risking her life to save such a stupid creature, she reached down and grabbed his arm. He offered no resistance, and just floated back up with her.

"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed at him when they broke the surface. To her frustration, he just looked at her, and then turned away, like she wasn't worth his time to answer.

Hermione let out an aggravated sigh; why did she ever get the brilliant idea of saving him? He clearly was none of her business, and she had just risked the lives of not only her, but the rest of her friends as well. Who knew what the captain of the ship would do to them now.

Amplifying her voice slightly, she called up, "Drop something down." When there was no movement, she added irritably, "I have one of your crew members over here. You might want to get him back on the ship."

It only occurred to Hermione that the person in her arms might not even be a crew member. Maybe he was just another prisoner, like herself, and he had been trying to escape until Hermione found him. However, if that was his plan, he had been doing a terrible job at it.

There seemed to be some hesitation onboard, but they soon got over their disagreements and dropped her a piece of rope. Hermione stared at it irritably; this was going to be harder than she thought.

The boy she had saved was still looking dazed, not minding the fact that he had caused everyone so much discomfort. Gritting her teeth, she prodded him with a finger until he looked at her.

"Can you try to cooperate?" she asked him, eyes blazing. "I can't hold you while holding onto the rope. I'm going to climb the rope, and if you don't come on behind me, that's your own fault. I'm not saving you again. Are we clear?"

The boy said nothing, but Hermione didn't wait to get a signal from him. She let go of him and scampered up the rope a decent amount, clutching the rough surface tightly. The texture bit into her skin, but she ignored it.

Hermione glanced down to see that the boy was still floating along. At least he hadn't gotten some genius idea to go back underwater again. "Are you coming or what?" she asked, well aware that she had begun to sound snappy.

She wondered why she was so insistent on getting the boy to safety.

To Hermione's immense relief, he finally decided to listen to her and grabbed the rope with his hands. It looked like he would fall off, but amazingly, he managed to hold on. The ship crew began pulling the rope back up. Hermione winced as she smacked against the side of the ship numerous times, but the boy below her didn't seem to care at all.

When she reached the top, she hurriedly scampered off the rope and sat down on the deck, breathing heavily. Her clothes dripped, and she stank of seawater. No one, however, paid her any attention. Abraxas was busy getting the boy back on the deck, fussing over him.

The ship's captain was on the opposite side of the ship, watching the event through narrowed eyes. Hermione caught his gaze and was irritated that she couldn't deduce what he was thinking. Was he angry with her? She couldn't even tell if he was. His face was completely emotionless.

"Finny, oh Finny," Abraxas was crooning softly. "When will you finally learn not to do that? We're all here for you. You don't need to do this by yourself." Abraxas patted his head fondly, the way a sibling would.

The girl behind him, however, was not so forgiving. "Grow up," she snapped at him. "He's gone. Why are you the only one who can't move on?" She sniffed irritably. "You think you're so cool, don't you? You think this will make us notice you?"

"Bellatrix, he's in shock. Be a dear and close your mouth." Bellatrix glared, but Eileen didn't say anything else to her and instead reached over to help the boy up. "Come on, Finny, let's get you back in the ship. You must be awfully cold."

Hermione was amazed that they could still tolerate this Finny guy. They were obviously worried about him; he should at least respond. But no, he just stood there like a helpless puppy, staring into the distance. It irked Hermione immensely. When they finally led him away, she felt a sense of relief.

Hermione slowly stood up, casting a drying spell over herself. Her warming spell had begun to wear off, however, and even without the water she felt cold. Wrapping her arms around herself, she slowly trudged back into the ship, aware that the ship captain was watching her every move.

She had been hoping to avoid confrontation, but unfortunately, he had other plans. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked smoothly, still leaning against the railing. Hermione hoped he would accidentally slip and fall off, but he maintained perfect balance.

"Back to my cell," she informed him, remembering to glare at him for extra effect. He was the reason she and the rest of her friends were here. If not for him, they would still be back in their houses, living their normal lives.

"I wasn't aware that I gave you permission to do so."

Hermione mimicked his position. She knew it wouldn't be the best idea to taunt him, but she did so anyway. "I wasn't aware that I had to listen to you," she informed him sweetly.

Instead of looking angry, however, he just simply smirked. "Where did you get the wand?"

"What wand?" Hermione responded automatically, plastering an innocent look on her face. She was well aware that he had seen her cast numerous spells, but he would have to work for it. From now on, if he wanted anything from her, he would have to put in the effort.

However, he didn't seem all that concerned that she had a wand. She couldn't get a decent read on him. His personality seemed to be pointing in all different angles, changing so quickly that she wasn't quite sure which was real. "Go get your…friends," he sneered out the last word, like it was poison. "Bring them to the lower deck."

"What for?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself. Stupid curiosity. She never seemed to understand when not to ask questions. Her parents called it a gift, but she thought of it rather as a curse. She never knew when to shut up.

"There are rules on this ship," the captain said. "You need to make sure you don't break them." He tilted his head to one side, as if assessing her. "You'll see that we aren't lenient to rule breakers."

He brushed past her without another word, letting the door slam behind him. Hermione stared out into the open sea, a place that seemed endless and free now. This was probably the last time she would get fresh air. Based on the captain's words, they would either kill her or make her scrub the floors all day long.

She debated about not going downstairs, but her friends were all down there. As much as she loved her life, she wasn't going to leave them by themselves.

The sun was starting to rise up, hitting the ocean water in a way that made it sparkle. It was much too pretty to be sailed on, in her opinion. She took the moment to marvel at its beauty before willing herself to turn away.

She didn't know what was harder: going back in, or not swimming away.