I can't live like this anymore. I have to do this.
These words resounded in her head.
No matter how much I'd loved him, he'd done the unthinkable. There was no going back now. Why did he have to! I'm his only daughter. This isn't fair.
Maybe, if I just talked to him, made him see reason...But would he agree? He's so set in his ways, I don't know why they follow his commands.
She walked quickly and quietly to the edge of the Black Lake. It was Hogsmeade weekend, so nearly the whole school was gone. It was the perfect opportunity for her to talk some sense into that man who called himself her father.
She dived into the lake, not bothering to hold her breath. She could breathe underwater, she had been doing it her entire life.
She paddled and kicked furiously down to the bottom, where her father's kingdom lay. Her father, the king of the merpeople. Her mother, a witch, had married this man. The man who had taken her life away. Forever.
The memory of her late mother, and thoughts of confronting the man who brought about her death, the man whom she loved- it was all too much for Gold.
The name Gold had been given to her by her father, when she was born. Her father never left the depths of the lake if he could help it. The last time he came above the surface was at Gold's birth. The man had regretted leaving his kingdom ever since. A trivial matter, he had considered it. Not worthy of his attention.
Neither was the daughter he had never wanted. The daughter who had inherited both her mother's magical abilities as well as his own powers that were common to the merpeople. The daughter who had just reached the entryway into his throne room.
Gold reached the throne room quite easily, having made many journeys to this exact place throughout her years at Hogwarts.
The underwater castle's guards halted her, one of the two swimming inside the palace of her father. He returned, and Gold assumed that he had told the king that his daughter was waiting to speak with him. The guard let her in.
The palace didn't have good security. No one realized what had happened. Gold left the throne room, with her head held high, her wand back in her pocket. No one suspected anything.
It was later that night. Having just finished dinner, Gold left the Great Hall, heading for her dormitory in the dungeons. She had made it barely five steps when she stopped dead in her tracks. A few people behind her jostled about, bumping into her, thanks to her sudden halt. She then took off, running towards him. She needed to see him.
"Teddy!" she shouted across the Entrance Hall. Professor McGonagall shot her a dirty look, but Gold took no notice. "Teddy! Wait up!"
She saw Teddy stop, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Follow me," she whispered in his ear, once she was directly behind him. She took off for the dungeons, with Teddy in her wake. She stopped outside an empty classroom. The door was locked, but swung open with a tap and a murmur of "Alohomora."
"What's going on," said Teddy, taking a seat upon the deserted teacher's desk at the front of the room.
Gold sighed, and took a seat next to him on the desk, putting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her. This was one of the many things she liked about Teddy- he would comfort you no matter what.
"Why weren't you in Hogsmeade?" he asked. She had told him early that morning that she wasn't going into the village today. He offered to stay back with her, and she refused. It was unlike her to refuse spending time with Teddy, but she had had to do this on her own.
She shrugged, saying "I had other things I needed to do." She knew she couldn't keep her secret much longer. "I-" she started, looking up into his beautiful, understanding, brown eyes. "My father," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. A strong feeling was welling up inside her. Regret? Remorse?
"He's...dead." She looked into his eyes, hoping to see a sign of what he was thinking. Teddy's brow furrowed.
Silence. Then he said, "I'm really sorry. Wha- how did it happen?" Teddy knew Gold didn't get on well with her father, but she didn't really seem upset at all that he had died.
Gold merely looked at him, and Teddy read her expression perfectly. He held back a gasp, then hugged her. They had been together for a couple months, and he really trusted Gold. She had never lied to him, and was always genuinely pleased to see him.
Teddy's response had confirmed it. She knew that she could trust him, fully and completely.
"So, I suppose that makes you queen, now." That was Teddy, all right. Always trying to lighten the situation. She chuckled and nodded softly.
"I know what I did wasn't right, but I had no other option." Teddy looked into her eyes, those beautiful eyes that shone like stars.
"I know." He said it with all the understanding and caring he could muster. She needed this support, and she had come to him, knowing he could provide it for her. And he would not fail her. He would stand by her until the very end.
AN: This was written for The Mermaid Challenge on the HPFC forum. The scenario was one that took place during a roleplay that I took part in on Pottermore. I was Teddy, and a friend was Gold. This is a bit different than how it played out there. TeddyxGold