DZ2's Den of Delights
Hi to all my loyal readers and those who enjoy my stories: The Den of Delights is open once more and for this next one, I'm posting a response to a new challenge by my good friend Belgrath; hopefully, it's something along the lines of what he had in mind, but let's see.
The Challenge is called 'harry potter son of the ocean' and has a few unusual, if not interesting points, but here goes…
Deep Sea Darkness
Harry was dying;
He could feel the darkness of the ocean closing in around him, even though said 'ocean' was in fact the depths of the Black Lake. As he felt the lake's waters close in around his five senses, Harry cursed whatever fate had been cruel enough to give him this accursed saving-people-thing for an instinct.
If he hadn't had it, then maybe he wouldn't be drowning right now, the sight of the lake's surface closing in quicker and quicker with each passing second. No, he'd be safe, back at the top with his friends, supporters and allies, all of whom would be cheering him as the new ranked number one in the Tournament.
On another dark note, however, his actions could have cost Hermione her life and Fleur her sister, the very thought of his best friend losing herself to the depths making Harry feel worse. He could feel the cold gripping his heart, the darkness flooding his senses – puns fully intended – and the endless sleep that was death finally coming to…to…
'Actually,' thought Harry suddenly, his thought pushing through the darkness that threatened to consume him, 'I hate to repeat myself like a broken record, but…if this is dying, then it doesn't feel so bad.'
As the thought, which seemed to almost exactly mirror the thoughts he'd had back in the Chamber of Secrets, ran through his mind, Harry felt his mind becoming strangely clear while his eyes seemed to burn with a mix of watery strain and magical fury. At the same time, an unusual, almost mystifying song like the song of a phoenix coupled with a thousand different whales echoed in his mind.
With the song making his nerves buzz with a mix of excitement and disbelief, Harry managed to somehow open his eyes to their fullest, revealing the world around him in new, crystal-clear clarity that seemed to beat anything and everything he'd ever felt before. As his glasses fell from his face and seemed to drift to the bottom of the lake, Harry looked around warily, seeing only the merfolk that had stopped him from rescuing his friends as well as returning to the surface.
{Don't come any closer!} Harry snarled, rage in his voice as he thought about what these creatures had nearly cost him. However, as the words flew from his lips, Harry let out a gasp as what sounded like ethereal, but magical shrieking tore from his lips: in a way, crazy as it sounded, Harry could have sworn that he sounded like the merpeople around him.
Looking to the merfolk, Harry's eyes then widened as what looked like a silver-skinned female being swam closer to him and, as her eyes, which were like the colour of coral reefs, inspected him, the female let out a cry before she and the rest of her warriors bowed low to Harry.
{Your Grace,} the mer-woman told him, her voice low and filled with honour as she added, {On behalf of my reef, I beg the forgiveness of the Marine Child for our actions: we were unaware of your station.}
{The…the Marine Child?} asked Harry, but before he could ask any more questions, a loud cry from above had Harry and the merfolk moving towards the surface where, as Harry clambered out of the water, a part of him startled to find that he was as dry as a bone, he heard Dumbledore speaking to the noble female in the same shrieking language, but now above the waters, it sounded more like the muffled song-like tones that had been in the golden egg.
While people fussed about Harry's late return, Harry himself felt a modicum of shock and curiosity rise up in him as he realised that, without actually intending to do so, he had spoken in the language of the merpeople.
The only question was…how?
'Actually,' he thought to himself as Hermione helped him into a thick warm towel while Fleur actually kissed him in thanks for saving Gabrielle, 'The other question would be…what is this Marine Child they called me?'
Deep Sea Darkness
Beneath the waters of the Black Lake, the merwoman that had spoken to Harry drifted away from the old human that had thought he could convince her and her brood to harm the Marine Child, her eyes blazing with fury as she swam to the deepest depths of the lake.
Reaching the deepest point, the mer-queen looked around before, with a low bow, she asked, {Is it time, Master?}
{Yes,} replied a powerful male voice, {I had thought I could wait for my son to turn sixteen, but time and tide wait for no man, not even the Prince of the Oceans. Let him compete in their games for a little longer, Murcus, but now that his life has been endangered by their whims, he is ready to know his powers.}
{As you command, Lord Ocean,} replied the chieftess of the merfolk, taking off back towards her village while considering how close she and her children had come to endangering the fates of all aqua-sapiens everywhere.
And all because one thick-minded human desired the death of the Prince of Tides…
Okay, so this one may seem a bit weird, but I think the basic idea is there; if you want to know more, then I suggest going to check out the forum and seeing the challenge for yourselves.
Also, the 'Lord Ocean' for those who'll undoubtedly guess it is, is not Poseidon, but another lord of the seas;
Anyway, next instalment to the Den coming soon…
Also, after a query made by a reviewer of my work, I've now got myself TWO possible outcomes for the Dark Challenge poll that's been on my profile; since one of those is a part of the Den that people liked the sound of, I've put it there. So, cast your vote and find out the winner before the week is out...
