Author's Note: I hope you liked the first chapter of My Jolly Sailor Bold. Remember review! JK Rowling and Warner Brothers own the rights to Harry Potter respectively. I own nothing expect the storyline. And if you haven't guessed by now this takes place in the 1800s.

Chapter 2: Promises Made

Draco Malfoy had been at sea for a few months. He had been in the Americas carrying out an important business trip for his father. And now he had been heading back home to England. They'd dock in Harwich and then travel from Harwich to London. Then which he'd travel from London back home to his family's estate in Whiltshire. That was the plan anyway. But two days from port they'd hit a sudden storm and the ship went down. The last thing he remembered was thrashing in the water trying to keep afloat while the waves crashed onto him trying to drown him.

That had been days ago. And somehow he'd manage to find himself in Dovercourt on its beach severely dehydrated due to his salt intake because of the water pouring into his mouth. And he had also been injuried as well. A large gash in his leg from hitting a rock. But other than that he was alright aside from being hungry as well. He still didn't know how he got there. He didn't remember swimming or clinging to a piece of drift wood. But somehow he had made it to land.

Once his dehydration had been taken care of and his leg treated and bandaged Draco took to walking around the little town. He had nothing on him in terms of money at the time, everything had been lost at sea because of that weird storm. But he had his name. And even in a little town like this one the name Malfoy carried a lot of weight to it. And he had telagraphed his parents to let them know where he was at. And besides he had food waiting for him when he returned to his lodgings. He walked around Dovercourt looking at how picturesque it all was. He liked it. It was quaint. Small but quaint.

A few days later when Draco was a little more healthier than when he first awoke he walked towards the beach where men were all whispering about something.

"Excuse me," he called out when he saw their faces. They seemed to be fearful of something. Or someone.

"Excuse me. But what's going on here?" he asked.

"You haven't heard the news lad?" asked a gruff older man.

Draco shook his head. "No. I haven't. I haven't been down this way before." He had always been in the town itself. He hadn't been near the beach at all until now.

"A woman's been seen lad. A right pretty one at that. Asking about a pale, blond boy she saved from drowning." he told him. The man looked at the boy. He was pale and blonde alright.

"A woman?" Draco asked eyebrows shooting up.

"Aye. She's been coming for days now. Always asking about the pretty pale boy. Day in and day out she comes and goes."

"Then why are you frightened if it's just a woman?"

"Ain't just any woman, boy. 'Tis a mermaid. And thems dangerous. They'll lure ya into the water and kill you before they eat your flesh. They enjoy it too."

Mermaids? Really?! Mermaids?! Draco laughed. The older man glowered at him. "Sorry, sir. But there are no such things." Draco told him going to the beach himself.

"What are ya doing lad?!" the man cried out.

"To prove you wrong!" Draco hollered over his shoulder. Mermaids. Ha what a laugh.

Draco made his way to the beach. It was still early and so the sun was high enough in the sky where he had to put his hand on his forehead to see where he was going. He stopped dead in his stopped in his tracks as he saw a woman sitting on a rock near the water. He could only see half of her well enough to know that the woman looked like an ordinary woman. Her hair was wet from the water and it was starting to dry and get frizzy at the ends. Probably because of the salt in her hair. Her skin was pale but not pale enough to look ill. She wasn't wearing a bra at all. So he could clearly see her breasts in all of their naked glory. Especially since the wind was blowing. They were pretty and a good size as well. He'd probably wouldn't be able to cup them in his hand as well as he did with some women's breasts. He had to shake himself of those thoughts and took his sight to her face. He couldn't tell what her eyes were since he was still too far away to tell. Her slightly larger than normal front teeth were showing as she bit down on her full bottom lip turning it a darker shade of pink. She seemed to be lost in thought. He decided to go up to her as best he could.

Hermione wasn't really looking. She was seeing but not. She was lost inside her own thoughts. She had been coming day in and day out trying to check up on the boy she had saved. Gods only knew why she did it. It was a one time thing. She was sure that other mermaids did it too when they saw something about a human they liked. She couldn't have been the only one to save what should have been her meal.

She heard someone clear their throat. She jumped and hid behind the rock the best she could. Not that it would do her any good.

"Oh!" she cried out in surprise. She looked around for the sound of that noise and found the pale, blonde boy she had rescued from the ocean's watery grasp. She just looked at him wide eyed. Unable to form a sentence. He had piercing blue-ish grey eyes. His chin was rather pointed but he seemed to be in good health and condition. His hair wasn't the type blond she had thought it was. In fact it looked almost white it was so blond.

"Er, hello," she managed after a moment.

"Hello. Are you... by chance did you save me?" the boy asked.

"Yes I did."

"Thank you. I don't have anything to repay you—"

"I don't need any repayment. But thank you."

At least he was okay. That was all the repayment she needed. She turned to leap back into the water. Her goal was done. She had seen him herself. He was okay and she could go back to being who and what she was.

Draco's eyes widened as he saw her getting ready to leap off the rock into the ocean. He didn't think. He just did. He ran into the water and grabbed her from around her waist to stop her from jumping. The woman screamed in surprise.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!"

That was when Draco looked down to see reddish-gold scales going from her waist all the way down to wait should have been her legs. Instead there were fins. Two of them. So this was a mermaid after all. The old man was right. Draco ignored the mermaid's screams and dragged her from the rock as she flailed about in his arms. He took her to the beach where it all sand; the water couldn't get to them and she'd have to crawl to get back into the water itself.

Then Draco dropped her on her behind before taking off his shirt and drying her tail. As he dried it the tail began to separate into legs. Once he was done and his shirt sopping wet he was now staring at a human looking mermaid. Her brown eyes had flecks of gold in them and they were angry. She was pissed. He couldn't blame her. He would be too if he had been in her position.

"I'm not sorry at all." he told her.

"You should be. I'll kill you for this!" she hissed.

"You saved me, it would be pointless if you killed me." he pointed out.

"You dragged me off the rock!" she argued.

"I need to talk to you! I wasn't finished yet!" he roared back.

"Oh really?! What's so important that you need to keep talking to me?!"

"First off, I'd like your name."

"My name? Really?! Why would you want my name?"

"Because it is yours."

"Fine. Hermione. Satisfied?"

"Yes. I'm Draco."

Draco... like a dragon. Well since it was Latin for dragon it was rather fitting for this snake.

"Okay Draco. Can I go now?"

"No. I want you to stay with me." Was she hearing him correctly? Stay? With him?! She was a sea creature. She couldn't be away from the sea for too long.

"Stay as in..."

"Stay with me as in be my companion."

Hermione opened her mouth to object but Draco cut her to the quick.

"If you don't I'll kill you now that you're out of the water."

Hermione glared at him. She was immortal. She couldn't die like a normal human. But if he killed her by putting something through her heart or by slowly dehydrating her he'd accomplish this task easily since there was no way she could defend herself now that she was out of the water.

"Fine. Where do you live?"

"Whiltshire. But I sent a telagraph to my parents a few days ago and they've provided me with enough money to stay here for a while since it seems that this place is good for my health and wellbeing and traveling right now would be disastrous."

"Why would it be disastrous?"

"Plague's back."

"Plague? I don't understand what you're refering to."

"A fast spreading disease of epidemic porprotions. They've told me to stay put until it passes."

"Oh."

"So will you stay with me and be my companion?" he pressed needing to make sure she meant it.

"Yes. Bloody hell, I already told you I would."

"I know. Just making sure."

"On one condition."

Draco groaned. What could this woman want now?

"Don't try and kill me."

"Promise I won't."

"Good."

Draco smiled and led her back to his lodging he had been living in and what he would be living in for a good while now. With a companion this time. He wouldn't be so alone now. Though, he mused as he looked over at her as they walked together, he would have to have something to cover her up in. A naked woman, regardless if she was human or not, wasn't something that should be seen in public. He'd get her a towel or something from one of the shops.