Entry for "Myths and Legends" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"

Task: Write a Mermaid!AU for any canon character. However, instead of writing them as benevolent creatures, write them as the Myth writes them: as being dangerous to man above water. Min 700 Words.

Extra Prompts: Use at least two. Use all of them for a bonus 20 points!

(dialogue) "Do you know what that means? I always win."

(dialogue) All my life you've been there. You never left me. I can't leave you."

(dialogue) "I'm a damsel; I'm in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day."

(plot line) Someone having an imaginary friend

(word) Danger

(word) Worship

Entry for the "Ultimate Hermione Granger Pairings Challenge" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"

Pairing: Hermione/Dennis Creevy

Entry for the "February Event: Teamwork Exercise" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"

Prompts:

(title) Beauty and the Beast

(dialogue) "Just because you're beautiful doesn't mean you can treat people like they don't matter."

Entry for the "Word Prompt Express" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"

Prompt: 999. young

Entry for the "Chocolate Frog Card Club" at "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry (Challenges and Assignments)"

(Gold) Common Welsh Green;Challenge: Set your story in the country of Wales.

Entry for the "Gringotts Prompt Bank"

Character Pairing: Hermione/Dennis Creevy

Alliterating Phrases: 'Crystal Clear'; 'Dare-Devil'; 'Give up the Ghost'; Jump for Joy; 'Have a Heart'; 'Mere Mortals'; 'Slowly but Surely'; 'Through Thick and Thin'; 'Tough Times'; 'Wonders of the World'

Verbs: argue; blow; splash; wade; sink; slosh; roll; float; whirl

Charmed Prompts: (word) Memory; (word) Surprise

Words Instead of Said: panted; jibe

(1110 Words)

Beauty and the Beast

"All my life you've been there. You never left me. I can't leave you," Dennis exclaimed as he walked along the Walisian shore, the cold, salty wind blowing in his face. To everyone watching him, he was merely speaking to the raging waves, but in his mind, he was not alone. No, Dennis never felt alone, because Colin would always be with him, wherever he went. His parents had not been concerned about their son's imaginery friend, who he claimed was his dead twin, when he was younger, but now, he was nearly an adult, and they had told him to finally give up this ghost, and grow up, something that had greatly disturbed him.

Colin had told him that they were right, that he couldn't be with him forever... but Dennis did not yet feel ready to let go.

And so, he was here at the shore now, fleeing from everybody because he wanted to be able to talk to Colin without everybody looking at him as if he was a freak.

"Dennis, it is okay. I know, we've been through thick and thin together, and I was there for you when you had tough times, but I cannot be with you forever, and you know that," Colin answered, his voice soft against the raging wind. Tears filled Dennis' eyes and he searched for Colin's face, which was a mirror of his', and sniffed:"But I feel so much safer when you're with me..."

"I know... but I am just holding you back in the end!" Colin argued with an urgent tone in his voice, while the tears started to run down Dennis' cheeks. "It is time to give up this safety, because only then, you will be able to explore all the wonders of the world. Don't hold on to me too much, Dennis. It is okay, really, I am not mad. I know that I will always be a happy memory to you, and that is all I want. And Dennis, you're not such a dare devil that you would need me to save you."

Taking deep breaths to calm himself down, Dennis nodded sadly, and with every step he took, he could feel the distance between Colin and himself increasing. It did hurt, and it was as if a heavy weight was settling down on his shoulders, but still he knew that this was the right thing to do, even though it seemed so difficult, and he was already missing his best friend.

His emotions where whirling around inside of him, and he kept walking, hoping that he would be able to calm down eventually.

As his eyes were wandering over the ocean, he suddenly saw something that pushed everything that had happened earlier into the background – there was something in the water.

Never had he seen a creature like this before, but of course he immediately recognised that it was a mermaid around whose body the ocean was washing.

Colin stared at her in immediate worship, as he had never seen something so beautiful before. Her long, brown hair was flowing over her shoulders, covering her bare upper body. She had flawless, smooth skin that seemed to shimmer greenish; her slender body ended in a long, green fishtail, of which the end seemed to be stuck between two large rocks.

The way her face was contorted in a mixture of pain, anger and panic did not spoil her beauty at all, and even the curses she spat out could not destroy the image of pure beauty and grace.

Dennis walked towards her slowly but surely, barely feeling it as the cold water started to splash around his ankles.

"Hello," he exclaimed as he waded through the waves, and she looked up in surprise, her brown eyes widening. "You look a lot like a damsel in distress."

"I'm a damsel; I'm in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day," she responded rather harshly, her hands pulling at the lower end of her tail while she watched him coming closer.

"But it doesn't look much like you can handle this! It is crystal clear that you won't be getting out of this situation without help."

A sigh like a faint breeze escaped her rosy lips as Dennis finally reached her and was able to free her tail rather quickly, with one sharp pull. Though she had been so reluctant to let him help her earlier, she nonetheless smiled gratefully at him – something that caused his heart to jump in joy, and he immediately blushed, feeling extremely honoured that she was having a heart and showed gratitude towards a mere mortal like him.

"Thank you," she panted, sending jolts of electricty through his body as she took his hand, their fingers intertwining as she sank a little bit deeper into the waves and gently pulled him with her. The water was already sloshing against his chest when he woke from his trance and realised that she was heading for the open water and that his feet were only barely touching the sandy ground underneath him. Only now did he sense the danger and he tried to free his hand from hers in alert, but her formerly so smooth grip had become iron, and her smile was not that friendly anymore as well.

"What... wait... I can't walk here anymore...," he panicked, and a rather big wave rolled over him, causing him to cough out some water. The salty water was burning in his eyes, causing them to tear.

"Do you know what that means? I always win," she jibed, her soft voice suddenly hard and unforgiving, just as her grip. "Human beings, never have I seen one of you that was not fooled by my beauty... And now you are going to join them."

"Just because you're beautiful doesn't mean you can treat people like they don't matter," Dennis screamed with the last air that he had left in his lungs, but she just shook her head, her hair floating on the surface of the water, sinking and rising with the tide.

"But it is my nature," she whispered with a wide smile. "I am the beauty that has to show you humans that the beast can be hidden behind it. And I am damned to do so until on one day, a soul will be able to see the danger behind the beauty."

With one strong pull, she forced Dennis underneath the surface, and no matter how much he struggled against her, he was not able to break free.