Chapter One
Suspicious Sightings
The slick, ebony waves of the Black Lake lapped gently around the rock that Narcissa was sitting on, their cool ripples licking her pale green scales delicately.
Scales. It often caused Narcissa to shiver when she remembered that she no longer had legs past her waist, but instead a long, serpentine fishtail. It had been that way since she was ten, when an odd, grey-skinned merman had approached her in the lake behind their family home...
Her eyes were focused on the lights that glimmered dully in the Great Hall of Hogwarts—the school that she should have attended, if she hadn't gone missing all those years ago. She knew that both of her sisters had attended the school, and her two cousins would likely be sitting there now. She wrapped her arms tightly around her bare chest, wishing that she could join them in the warmth.
The waters stirred around her, and she sighed. She knew she was going to have to find a quiet part of the lake to sleep. The merfolk in the village deep below wouldn't accept her—they were a different race of merpeople, very much unlike the more humanlike ones that Narcissa had lived with back in the middle of England. She had heard stories of the Scottish and Irish merfolk, and how they were much less accepting of foreign mermaids.
Fighting back the urge to spill tears at the way her life had turned out, Narcissa sadly threw herself forward into the lake, leaving nothing but a flicker of her fins behind her.
James Potter sat on the ground by the waterfront. His gaze was drawn to his two friends that had decided to go skinny dipping—Remus only having the confidence when it was dark out. He rolled his eyes as the pair began play-fighting in the water.
He couldn't understand how the both of them were completely obvious to the way the other felt. No matter how many hints he dropped, they still didn't get it.
He hoped the pair would realise soon as the suggestive comments from Sirius and the longing looks from Remus were doing his head in. He had tried to push them together - a few gentle comments, but they were both so infuriating, thinking that they had no chance with the other.
James had to keep fighting the urge to just knock their heads together.
Bored, his gaze moved around the lake, not wanting to watch his friends find any reason to grope each other, and his eyes fell on a figure out in the water. James squinted in the direction, but wasn't able to make anything more than the shadow out.
He sprung to his feet. He was the head boy after all, and if someone was in trouble, it was his duty to help them out.
It took only a minute for him to strip down and cast a warming charm on himself, so the cold water didn't affect him. He dived in and began swimming earnestly towards the rocks. But by the time he reached them, the rocks were empty.
James frowned. He was certain he saw something out by the rocks, but after swimming back and telling his friends, he felt stupid for swimming out because of a shadow.
He dried himself with one of the towels, his eyes moving back to the rock time and time long after he had dressed and sat back down.
He tried thinking about Lily Evans, something that could get him through the long hours of History of Magic, but he found that even Lily had lost her appeal. After all, he had tried to give her flowers that day and she had basically thrown them back in his face—where any other girl would have at least said thank you.
Maybe his friends were right—maybe Lily really was a lost cause? Maybe it was time to move on—why be with someone that clearly hated him?
It wasn't long before his friends returned to him, and the three of them headed back to the castle. James threw one last glance out across the lake before heading back into the castle.
A.N: This is the start of a multichap, co-written by Neon Domino & Screaming Faeries. Please leave your thoughts and opinions on this story :) Reviews are much appreciated!