Chapter Eleven:
Magic
Author's Note: To avoid confusion, all 'Dear diary' entries are written by the person who was born as Harry Potter. All 'Dear journal' entries are written by the one who was born as Daphne Greengrass.
A thank you to WolfgangNH, who has acted as beta-reader for this chapter – and who has also written several good Harry Potter stories for Fanfiction, including 'By The Moon Light'! Feel free to check out his author's page.
Written 17 November 1998:
Dear journal,
It was just after the first Quidditch match of the academic year – in mid-November - that things kicked off. The new Daphne decided not to stay on the team, though Tracey and Luna did. Luna-as-Astoria was replaced as Beater by Luna as herself. Whilst Tracey was now Captain, as well as being one of the Chasers.
I hadn't wanted to apply, but Tracey nagged me with her infectious joy into volunteering at the try-outs for the Seeker position. I had to admit that I had now mostly conquered my fear of heights. More than that, I actually enjoyed the broom ride chases I had shared with my girlfriend over the summer – and so the new Daphne urged me to apply.
"The doubters in our house need to see that Harry Potter isn't just Head Boy, he is now loyal to Slytherin – and that he will win them points in a manner that the whole school will see," the new Daphne argued with the cool logic that she was developing since acquiring my thought patterns. She then smirked at me. "Besides, Harry, I dare say that you're more competitive, now that you've decided to fully embrace being a boy!"
"I can't really deny that…," I muttered. I looked at her, a suspicion arising within me. "Is this also because I look good in green Quidditch robes?"
The new Daphne blushed, but then cheekily grinned, revealing a flash of the old Harry. "You do look…dashing in green Quidditch robes, Harry. Green is my favourite colour now. It's been that way ever since I started turning native as Daphne, really."
I smiled back. "Just as well it's still my favourite colour too, then."
Turned out that I was the best candidate at the Seeker try-outs. Daphne, Tracey, Luna, Ana, and Ernie all cheered when I was formally named as the Slytherin Seeker for this year's team. By this time I had pushed myself to be the best flyer and Seeker that I could be, still developing my own skills – and not rely entirely on the old Harry's memories and knowledge.
When the match against Gryffindor came round, I felt a bit awkward playing against the team that I was on, earlier this year. Some of the lions looked at me darkly – especially Ginny, who was now the Gryffindor Seeker. But I refused to be intimidated. I was now, after all, the Man-Who-Won against Voldemort. And I was now playing for my original house. Anyway, Tracey had dived into her role as the new Captain with her typical gusto, and she drilled us to perfection at our practices. At the same time, she made it clear to the team that NO cheating or illegal moves by us would be tolerated. "Legal cunning tactics are allowed, though!" she added, changing her scowl to the team into a cheery grin in an instant.
We won the match – thanks to the skill and co-ordination of our team. Tracey was proving herself to be an asset with her leadership, as well as her flying and scoring. Luna was gaining in confidence and precision in her skills as Beater – whilst I was able to catch the Golden Snitch, thanks to Luna whacking a Bludger into Ginny's broom, making her spin round in mid-air, wailing and deflected, before she could grab the Snitch whilst she was racing to seize it before I could.
The roaring of the crowd around us was defining. Sure, there were still plenty of pupils who weren't in a hurry to forget how several of the Slytherin pupils had willingly embraced the Dark Arts against them, during the reign of the Carrows. And there were times when Luna and I had to help to protect the innocent Fiona Carrow from bullies outside of Slytherin house – bullies who were ignorant of the fact that she and her now-dead sister had turned against her Death Eater aunt and uncle. But about half of the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and the Ravenclaws were that day cheering at my win. Our Slytherin team win.
Bit by bit. However long it would take, I – along with my cheering friends, regardless of whether they wore green robes or not – was determined to redeem Slytherin house.
Laughing with joy, as I held the captured Golden Snitch aloft in one hand, I flew around the Quidditch pitch in a lap of honour, before allowing myself to be hugged by Tracey, who was yelling with joy.
When I landed on the ground, the boys on the team came over to slap me on the shoulders. However, there was still a team player I wanted to congratulate in turn – someone who hadn't yet been able to get to me…
At last, at the entrance to the changing rooms, out of sight from anyone else, I found her – and she found me. Luna smiled at me, as she got off her broom. She looked radiant in her green Quidditch robes. The grey clouds that had threatened showers during the match parted, and an emerging ray of sunlight caught her hair, turning my former-Ravenclaw friend into a blonde-haloed angel…
"Harry!" she called out, dropping her bat.
We both sprinted towards each other, both of us on a high from our impressive performances, as well as our team victory. I wanted to kiss her on the cheek.
Only somehow, as we met, I found myself spinning her around in the air and then kissing her on the lips. She squeezed me back passionately, and kissed me back - hard…
Both Luna and I froze in mid-hug.
We broke apart. Her silver-grey eyes were wider than usual. My eyes must have been wide too, as I realised what I had done. What we had done.
The memory of our conversation when we had been in that wood, near Castleton, at Christmas, returned to me.
I gulped as I realised two things. One, my malehood was pressing against the groin of an all-too-aware Luna. Two, I could now see the new Daphne standing a few feet away from us. She had stopped in mid-stride in her rush to congratulate us.
"Er… Sorry. I got carried away," I tried to explain to both girls. My face was burning with embarrassment.
A choking noise came from Daphne's throat. Suddenly, she spun round and stormed off.
"Oh dear…," Luna hummed sadly as I lowered her back to the ground. "I really don't want to hurt anyone… Please Harry, go after her!"
Still stunned, I nodded and bolted after the new Daphne. I lost sight of her, but luckily I was able to follow her for the most part – and I found her on the balcony of the Astronomy Tower, crying.
Eventually, I was able to calm her down from her pang of jealously, as I explained the circumstances to her. How I had been carried away whilst wanting to congratulate Luna on her performance. I confessed that since becoming Harry, Luna had become one of my best friends in helping me to cope with being the new Boy-Who-Lived, just as she had supported the old Harry when things had become difficult for him/her.
"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings, Daphne. That wasn't intended," I announced to her, my fingers stroking her hair, as she lay against me, her sobs now petering out.
"I-I forgive you, Harry." She gave me a searching look. "But, please, be totally honest with me. After all, I once knew what it's like to have male hormones… Do you have feelings for Luna? There was… There was that time, as Harry, when I invited her to Slughorn's Christmas Party. I enjoyed her company. And I remembered how she helped to bring me back from the brink, after I lost Sirius… I wondered at the party, if I could've been better off with Luna, instead of wanting Ginny to break up with Dean. Not that I'm attracted to girls, now, of course…"
"I…I like her, Daphne. Her eccentric side – and all the other sides to her. Luna's grown on me," I confessed. "She really understands me – just like you and I really understand each other. But you are my girlfriend. I love you for who you are, in your heart!" I declared, squeezing her gently.
The new Daphne smiled and wiped away her tears. We kissed. The argument was over.
But this was just the foretaste of what was to come.
The next Saturday after our glorious win over Gryffindor, I was having a talk between boys with Ron when Luna's unicorn Patronus raced up to us and asked me to go to the prefects bathroom to see her. So, leaving Ron to see to something else, I headed over the bathroom to see what Luna wanted.
I knew that Harry had been here before, when he had been Harry – but this was my first visit. Being the Head Boy, I knew the password, in case I ever needed to call the prefects out from the bath, in an emergency.
The room was lit by several candles, all set within a chandelier that hung close to the only entrance. There were a few toilet stalls on one side. The bath itself was large – more like a miniature swimming pool or a Roman bath than an ordinary one, with angled sides. About a hundred golden taps ran around the circumference – and I could see trays on the floor close to the edge of the enormous tub, to one side. Trays containing soaps, oils, powders, bath salts, shampoos and conditioners. The water level must have been something like three feet deep in the centre. The animated portrait of the amorous blonde-haired mermaid turned to face me within her frame. She giggled and pointed to the sole user of the bath.
What I saw waiting for me there took my breath away.
Luna's smiling face emerged from the foam bubbles on her side of the bath. Her wet hair was still blonde.
"Hullo Harry. Thank you for coming to see me," she called out in her usual airy voice.
"Hello Luna… How did you get into here? You're not a prefect."
"Oh. I'm friendly with the sixth-year prefect witch in our house. She gave me the password, when I told her that I needed the room to work on a special project in secret. I've been consulting with Thelxiepia about how to do it. She's been very helpful to me over the past week, in teaching me the various aspects of what I needed to do, to help her project her magic into me."
"Thelxiepia?"
"My friend there in the portrait, Harry. She thinks you're handsome by the way. I agree with her, of course," Luna told me. She smiled at me calmly. But there was something about her presence. I could sense magic on her…
Is that…a strapped seashell bra you are wearing?" I replied, wondering what Luna wanted me for.
"Oh yes, it is. Do you like it? Thelxiepia suggested it to me, once I had finally managed to complete the complex magical ritual I'd been working on this morning. So, I used my wand to change my normal bra into something more appropriate…for the occasion."
"You weren't at lunch, Luna… Have you been in here since this morning? Exactly what magic ritual…have you been casting?" I asked her.
"Yes. I have been busy, since mid-morning. But I finally got the ritual to work on me, about… Oh, maybe half-an-hour ago. And since then, the water has felt even better than it did before! As for what Thelxiepia and I finally managed to get to work, it was a project I came up with after you kissed me, when we won over Gryffindor."
"Well, yes. I apologise about that Luna… I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings…"
"There's no need to be sorry, Harry. You love the new Daphne – and she loves you. I care for her. She cares for me. But you clearly have budding feelings for me, as well – and I love you not just for being the new Harry, but for being the good caring soul you are. It just took you becoming Harry to drop the mask of indifference that you used to shield yourself when growing up in Slytherin as Daphne Greengrass. Plus…," Luna paused as she gave a flutter of her eyelids. "…you've become a wonderful young man, Harry. And I want to share my new-found magic with both you and the new Daphne. I want us all to see that our love dilemma can be resolved, after all!"
I swallowed hard. "You…love me? But…I'm not the original Harry who helped you to gain your confidence in the DA! Who you fought alongside at the Ministry of Magic!"
"No. But I'm a wizard's witch, Harry. The original Harry and I were sisters for a time – and I would like her to see me as a sister again. As for you, Harry, you have proved your bravery by living in the old Harry's shoes for so long, taking on his problems as the Boy-who-lived – and yet you chose to continue to live as Harry when the chance finally came to return to your original life. Furthermore, you and I, despite our different upbringings and different houses, have become good friends. You are now a better version of the old Harry. And now that I'm a Slytherin in my own right, I want to see my own ambition fulfilled…" With that, Luna twisted her body forward and she dived into the centre of the pool with an almighty splash that managed to soak my face and glasses.
I gaped at her. Taking my spectacles off, Luna's somewhat blurred image was clear enough for me to see that…
"You've got yourself turned into a mermaid!?" I spluttered.
Luna's form swam effortlessly around the pool in a swift circuit. She then stopped, making small circles with her sleek green fish tail to keep herself vertically upright and still. Apart from her seashell bikini, she was naked. Luna giggled like a happy little girl.
"Won't you come into the water with me, Harry? It really is wonderful in here. But it would be even better with you and Daphne to share it with…"
I remembered to close my gaping jaw, and I swallowed. "Why have you…? How…?" I fumbled with my words, sounding just like the original Harry when he struggled to speak.
"Why did I get turned into a mermaid?" Luna tilted her head slightly to one side. "It's been a fantasy of mine for some time. It must have started when I was very young. Seeing the fishes in the stream near my home and wondering what it would be like to be like them for a brief time. Then, being here at Hogwarts, soaking up the peace whilst sitting next to the Black Lake and seeing the merfolk occasionally surface. We couldn't understand each other, but they seemed grateful for any raw fish I left for them. Fish that I managed to get from the house elves in the kitchen. And I dreamt what it would be like to have my own fish tail and visit the merfolk. Even make friends with the grindelows and the giant squid. To be free of the pettiness of landfolk." Luna's dreamy expression vanished, and she looked at me seriously. "Besides, I was afraid – despite you kissing me after the Quidditch match – that you wouldn't find me as attractive enough, for long enough, compared to the new Daphne. So, thinking, I came here and confided in Thelxiepia. She can only talk to those in need of her advice, I've learnt – such as me. Anyway, Thelxiepia taught me the magical ritual I needed to transform myself in the water. And so here I am!"
From the old Harry's memories of Luna, the ones that she had conveyed to me, I knew just how bizarre Luna's ideas could be at times. This surely had to be one of the most outlandish…
"How long does the magic last?" I asked, frowning.
"I'm not sure, actually… Won't you have a swim with me, Harry? I feel wonderful, having been bathed in this magic. Let me share it with you…" Luna began humming – her voice developing a melodic quality that pulled at me, even as she continued to make little circular motions with her attractive, powerful-looking fishtail to keep herself upright and in place.
I could not tear my eyes away from the beguiling, beautiful sight before me. I found myself starting to take off my clothes, as Luna kept humming. I wanted to feel her with my hands, from her wet hair to her human flesh - and along the length of her emerald-green scaled tail, right up to the membranes of her caudal fin…
When I had completely disrobed and placed my glasses next to the pile of my discarded clothing, I smiled and jumped into the pool, splashing Luna. She stopped humming as she laughed with joy. At first, she evaded my attempts to touch her, whilst she easily slipped around me. But eventually I managed to corner her – I suspect that she allowed me to. And after stroking her smooth tail and finding out that she was ticklish when I stroked her caudal fin, my shaking hands moved upwards. I stopped as Luna leaned back against the side of the bath and twisted her tail into a circle. Frowning, I tried to feel her bones below her pelvis.
"Your legs…," I trailed off.
"I felt the changes in my bones during my transformation." Luna smiled serenely. "After the skin and flesh of my legs merged, and my labia shifted outwards, my leg bones shrank until they became short nubs attached to my pelvis. My spine expanded to fill my tail. I am a being shaped by magic now, Harry! The water is like life itself to me."
"Your spine grew? But, then where's your a…" I trailed off, turning red.
Luna still understood what I meant. She smiled serenely. "Oh! Both of my exit holes are on the front of my tail. I really am like a fish, below my waist – in that sense!" Grabbing my hand in hers, Luna guided me to stroke her waist, her small but firm cleavage, the gills at her neck, her damp hair and her soft face. Then I paused.
"It's alright, Harry. Go ahead," she whispered softly to me. I felt the purity of her heart, her love, in that moment – as I bathed in the aura of magic that she was emitting.
I leaned in, pressing my human frame against her mermaid body and kissed her on the lips. My manhood was already erect and pressing at her forward-facing scales, roughly in the region of her hips. From where I was in the pool, I could now see over Luna's shoulder. Thelxiepia was wiggling within her portal and giggling with joy. I could not hear her – but her body language seemed to be screaming at us to go for it…
Luna moaned with delight as she pressed herself against me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders, deepening our passionate kiss – even as I pushed her back against the side of the bath and stroked the part of her hips where her human skin gradually gave way to her smooth green scales, lower down. Her tail snaked around my legs, holding me in place...
Before I knew it, a part of me - below my hips - had managed to find the hidden entrance to her altered genitals.
"Oh!" Luna's lovely silver-grey eyes widened at the same moment as my own eyes must have. I hesitated, but Luna squeezed me tighter. "Don't stop, Harry!" she urged me.
So, aligning myself, I pressed myself in deeper – but cautiously. Luna gasped as I penetrated her, breaking her hymen - and I rubbed her back and kissed her nose and hair to reassure my mermaid lover. I was so pleased that I was her first partner. And after her nod for her to continue, we locked lips and hips once more. Before long, we were rolling around in the water and foam. There was a flare of light, of magic, around Luna. It seemed to engulf me…
During our passionate lovemaking, I dimly became aware of sensations - firstly on my neck, and then all along my legs. Bizarrely, I could also sense that something was happening to my member as well. It seemed to be elongating within Luna's intimate chamber, bending and reshaping itself in order to become a perfect fit for her mermaidhood…
I don't know how long we rested in the pool after we both reached our blissful highs. What I do know is that when Luna uncoiled her tail from around me, her caudal fin brushed something sensitive on me, and I yelped.
"Harry?" Luna looked worried as she held her arms around my chest and back.
"I'm okay, Luna," I blurted even as I carefully pulled myself out of her. "You must have just touched a ticklish spot…" I trailed off, as I looked down and saw my penis, just under the surface. It was now thinner, longer, curved upwards, and coloured green…
Slowly it was shrinking – back towards a gap, set between two protective folds of scales. Green scales that matched Luna's.
"Harry! You have gills on your neck!" Luna alerted me.
My hand shot up to feel them. They were pulsating.
Jolting upright, we both quickly checked the bottom half of me over, as I used the handgrips at the corner of the pool to lift myself out of the water, resting myself on a wide step. There was no doubt about it. The magical ritual that had transformed Luna into a mermaid had somehow extended its field of effect via our lovemaking. I gasped and eased myself back into the water, taking in the full extent of my own fishtail. The fishtail that had replaced my legs…
Trembling, I flexed it sideways, then into a coil, then – calming myself down – I bent it upwards into a loop, so that I was able to touch the membrane on the underside of my new caudal fin with my nose. It took several goes, but now I knew where the ticklish part was that Luna had accidentally brushed.
I now also felt as though I was bathed in magic, like Luna. This wasn't just a sense of knowing I could perform magic and use a wand to channel it. This was a case of realising that we were now both creatures that had been reshaped, and were sustained, by magic…
I reached out with my hand to feel my emerald-green scales. They felt smooth and slightly warm. I gave a low moan of pleasure as Luna came over and stroked the scales around my groin, in her wonder.
"Harry… I didn't mean for this to happen! I wasn't expecting us to actually…make love! I'm sorry!" Luna looked worried.
"Don't be sorry…" I smiled at her. "This…feels wonderful. I'm now a merman! Your merman, Luna."
Luna's expression gradually turned into a smile as she brought up her hand to cup my face. "You do make a gorgeous merman, Harry. You're quite the fishy catch, in fact!"
"So are you, Luna," I told her with a grin. I kissed her.
And so, before long, we were both laughing with joy – chasing each other around the pool as we played tag with each other's fins. The transformation had not just changed us physically, it was a mental change as well. Neither of us had any intention at that stage of wanting our legs back. No wish to become landfolk again.
Later on, with our minds now pondering to how we could reach the ocean, several miles away, Thelxiepia's telepathic voice spoke to both of us. I was in need of the advice of my new sister now – and so my mind was now linked to hers, as Luna's was still.
She gave me a look of longing and blew kisses at me.
"Such a shame that I am not alive and with you, young wizard! I am actually jealous of Luna for being so lucky to have you as her mate!" her voice sounded in our heads. "You can feel the call of the sea pulling at you both, can you not?"
The pair of us nodded. Already, there had been this subtle, but growing longing to swim and dive in the wide ocean. To see, hear, and feel everything that the sea provided. "Unfortunately, we cannot Disapparate from the school," I told her.
"If you can get help to take you as far as the Black Lake, you will eventually find an underwater tunnel that will take you to the loch and the sea beyond," she replied. "Then you can live your lives freely, and help to repopulate our race… But I sense that you two are not complete without a certain second witch. This is good. She can help us in more ways than one…"
Smiling, I nodded, and I cast my husky Patronus to send a message to Daphne. We both wanted her to share in this wondrous gift we had been granted…
*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*
Written 17 November 1998:
Dear diary,
After consulting with the new Susan and the new Theodore, who now both had a greater expertise at charms than I still did, the three of us managed to turn one of my necklaces into a portkey that would transport someone to the edge of the Black Lake. Working between us, the job itself had only taken about half an hour, thanks to the strong magic cores of us three Switched. Then, I dispatched my stag Patronus to let Harry and Luna know that I had succeeded, and that I was on my way to them – alone, as requested.
I did wonder what the two of them were doing there. Harry's husky Patronus had just indicated that Luna needed help with a project that she was working on. I didn't suspect at the time that Luna had done anything suspect with my wizard. After all, despite her becoming Luna again, and me remaining as Daphne Greengrass, she was still my friend. I had already put the kiss between her and the new Harry out of my mind.
Until I arrived at the Prefect's bathroom, and I saw them both with fish tails, that was…
"Ha-Harry!? Luna…?" I collapsed on my knees next to the pool, stunned by what I was seeing. They soon explained what had happened, to me.
"You had sex with my boyfri-!?" I spluttered.
"I apologise, Daphne. It really was an accident," Luna calmly replied, looking abashed. Then she smiled. "But I don't want to take the new Harry from you. I want you and I to share him between us - with your permission, of course!"
"Share…?" I croaked.
"Like Ernie shares Hannah with the new Theodore. They are a ménage a trois. We can be also," Harry explained, his smile as dreamy looking as Luna's. His composure just as languid and at ease as hers, despite my discovery of them as they had tickled and kissed each other. "You have something set up to portkey us to the Black Lake?"
I nodded and took out a sweet paper bag from an inside pocket of my school robes. "One of my necklaces. Once it is held and activated by a trigger word, the portkey should work… So, you want to swim…in the lake…"
"We want to travel further than that, actually. Though, exploring the lake as we are now, would be wonderful! But we wouldn't leave without you, Daphne!" Luna gave me a puppy-eyed look. "Please be my sister again…"
"What? How…?" I tried to process what I had been told. What magic had Luna been playing with? She looked radiant as a mermaid – and I was feeling jealous of her for not only having made love to the new Harry, but also for how beautiful she was. At the same time, I had to admit that she seemed to have transformed Harry into a gorgeous-looking merman. I managed to glance over at the portrait of the blonde-haired mermaid who had flirted with me when I had first visited this room – as Harry, in my fourth year. She was preening for her audience – and she seemed to be excited to see me…
"Come into the water and join us, Daphne. I will share this gorgeous gift with you – and you will be as beautiful as Luna is now." Harry grinned at me, his green eyes – practically the same shade of green as his beguiling tail – looked at me with the promise of love.
Maybe it was his enhanced magical aura, but from just staring at him, Harry was already beginning to make me feel wet – and I don't mean from the spray he playfully sent in my direction as his tailfin flicked the surface of the pool. Carefully putting the paper bag next to the edge of the pool, I began to disrobe, feeling as though I was half in a dream. Harry and Luna smiled and nodded at me as they held hands.
Before long, I was using the metal grips at my side of the pool in order to swing my naked body into the warm water. As I carefully stepped forward, Harry kicked his powerful-looking tail and he met me partway. I stroked his smooth scales in growing wonder – and with a mischievous smile from him, Harry began to stroke one hand around the curves of my floating breasts, before he leaned forward and used his lips to tease my stiffening nipples. I gasped and moaned. Not for the first time, I was glad that I had decided to remain as a young lady. Putting up with periods and having to fuss more over clothes and my appearance were problems I had learned to get used to, just like most other girls in the world – but having more erogenous zones was a plus that sometimes really paid off. Such as now…
The next few minutes were pure, exotic delight. I lost myself in the sensations as Harry and I engaged in our foreplay. As I recovered my breath, my eyes widened at the sight of his mermanhood, as it emerged from its protective piscine shields of overlapping scales – and the thought struck me that it must have held that curved shape, and be so long, so to fit inside a mermaid's tail. But my human vagina would be too short for it.
Even so, Harry's member felt good inside of me – even as he wrapped his flexible, wondrous tail around my bare legs, binding them together, whilst I gripped the side of the bath for support with one hand, and my other teased the gills on his neck. Our hips locked onto each other, and we found our rhythm. In the meantime, Luna had glided through the water towards us. She untied the ribbon that was holding my hair in a knot at the back of my head – then she was making sure I didn't slip underneath the surface. She stroked my now-flowing hair as it floated in the water. She kissed my shoulder and whispered to me that I would soon be her beautiful equal. Her mermaid sister. All three of us would be happy together.
I moaned in pleasure, as I basked in their love for me. And suddenly it struck me. I now fully understood why us three had survived Voldemort's Killing Curse…
The pool now seemed to be more…steamy.
There was a flare of magic from Harry's body which engulfed me, making my body tingle with delight.
I was only vague aware of my transformation as it unfolded, at first. My bound legs began to merge – a sensation of flesh coming together like a zipper being drawn downwards. The bridge of tissue filling out as my muscles and blood vessels shifted underneath. Then my leg bones turning softer and shrinking, even as my spine grew outwards – the tip soon reaching where the fleshy parts of my feet were twisting sideways as they started to form a caudal fin. My skin changing as a cascade of scales slowly spread outwards from that fin, to cover my transforming body as far as my waist. Gills gradually formed on either side of my neck – and when they were complete, Harry and I slipped below the surface of the water, our questing lips still locked on each other's. I started to panic – but then realised that I could breathe the water. Also, it did not sting my eyes…
My body arched and quivered with delight as I climaxed at the same time as Harry.
Luna and Harry helped me back upright, so that my chest was above the surface. Breaking lip contact with Harry, I gasped as my heart hammered – my body and senses still reeling with the amazing sensations that had overwhelmed me. I was now aware that Harry was still inside of me, but I could feel that the entire front of my lower body was firmly pressed against my lover's tail. Given how long his member had been, how could that be…?
The answer soon became obvious. Harry unwrapped his tail from around my body below my waist – to reveal that I no longer had legs. Instead, I too had a fish tail. A beautiful, emerald-green fish tail that matched both of my friends. Along with the shift in my genitals, my vagina had evidently lengthened to become a perfect fit for my merman…
Slowly, Harry pulled out of me – and his member eventually disappeared behind its protective shields as it retreated into its groove on his tail.
I sensed that only short nubs remained of my legs. Harry and Luna held me upright as I shakingly reached down to stroke my scales. They were wonderfully smooth feeling my way down, and only a little rough going up. Then, as my friends released me and I twisted and experimented with the flexibility and strength of my new appendage, my wonder and excitement burst into joy and laughter.
The wild magic that I soon learnt that Luna had invoked to change herself was now shared between the three of us. Along with the physical transformation, the magic affected my mind also. Soon, after I had enjoyed the bath enough, all three of us would activate the portkey to teleport us to the Black Lake. Once we had finished our explorations there, we would find the underwater tunnel for us three to swim to the loch that connected to the sea. The Atlantic Ocean, which would be our vast new home, for us to help repopulate our more human breed of the merfolk race. I was already looking forward to the prospect of my future matings with Harry, even as I shared him with Luna. It all made sense to my mermaid mind. Harry loved us both – and my sister and I both loved him. He would make an excellent father to our shared offspring.
"Thank you… Both of you. This is amazing!" I gasped.
"You are welcome, Daphne." The new Harry smiled at me. "Also, this is most appropriate for us three Slytherins…"
"We have matching green tails…," I began, grinning.
"And the element linked to Slytherin house is water. We are now magical beings of the element of water," Harry pointed out. "The alternative perfect creature for us to become would have been Naga. Half-human, half-snake people."
"That's true," Luna hummed. "Personally, I think we can roam more freely as merfolk – once we reached the Black Lake, that is…"
Luna used her wand to first fetch my discarded bra, and then transfigured it into a strapped seashell bra to match hers. Only, whilst hers was an aqua blue-green to reflect her house colours as an ex-Ravenclaw and present Slytherin, mine was a red-green to secretly represent my Gryffindor-to-Slytherin journey in Hogwarts. I smiled and hugged my fellow blonde mermaid, thanking her for her actions. I smiled too at the spirit of Thelxiepia in her portrait. She was delirious with joy and waving her tail with glee, as she urged us on in our quest to aide in the survival of our species…
*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*
All three of us conjured cords to wrap around our waists, to have a means of tying our wands to us. We had no desire to carry anything else with us from our lives as wizard and witches.
What stopped us from abandoning our human lives were our friends. To be more exact, at first it was our attachments to them. Harry, Luna, and I had an amazing experience in the Black Lake after we had used my charmed necklace-turned-portkey to take us to the lakeshore. The three of us went swimming alongside the fish and the great squid. Though the less-human merfolk, who I had encountered during the Second Task, four years ago – when I had been Harry – were too territorial for our liking. We couldn't speak their version of Mermish, either.
We had been ready to swim into the underwater tunnel that would take us to the loch and the sea beyond – but Luna hesitated. With a flip of her powerful tail, she broke the surface – and Harry and I did so too. We all looked back at the school, enjoying the view from the lake – a similar angle to when I had first glimpsed Hogwarts by night, upon my arrival as a new pupil. The sight made me waver. Was I really about to see this for the last time? Was I really about to leave our other friends behind without even saying goodbye?
I saw Harry frown. He bit his lip, clearly thinking the same thing – even as we reached out and held each other's hand.
"Our friends… Remus and Dora. My godson…," I muttered. I was feeling less giddy on my new status as a mermaid, now that I had had some time to burn off my energy in the lake.
"But… The call of the sea…" Harry moaned.
Luna spoke up. "I still feel it. But… My daddy… Our friends…"
"My sister, too," Harry added.
"Tori… We can't leave her. We can't leave any of them," I croaked.
"We shouldn't…" Luna turned to face us. Tears started to fall from her eyes, and together Harry and I shot forward to hold her. "What have I done? We were about to desert everyone else we know and love!"
And so Luna managed to wake up from the fog-like influence that the ritual had caused. An influence that Thelxiepia had hoped for, in order to use Luna, and - by extension – us, in order to repopulate the human breed of the merfolk race.
Her outburst helped Harry and myself to free our re-awakening minds. As Harry and I helped to carry Luna over to the lakeside, Luna activated her unicorn Patronus in order to seek the help of the senior staff. As the three of us lay on the bank, panting and shivering besides the fire I conjured up, our tails twitched as we waited. Now and then, we still needed to dip our lower bodies into the water to keep our scales moist.
We had been in deep water for long enough. Now we needed help to reclaim our clothes and humanity, after our close call with fate…
*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*
After our friends came to our assistance, and Remus and Professor McGonagall were able to reverse our transformations, Harry was carried back to his Head Boy's quarters by Ernie and Ron – whilst Hermione, Tracey, and Astoria took me first to my bedroom. Then, dressed again in a fresh set of casual clothes, I tried to take slow steps over to the lounge that Harry and I shared, in order to have a private conversation with Luna. My fellow witches held my hands to start with, as I got used to putting pressure on my feet again. Then I managed to walk on my own and sat in the chair next to the sofa, where Luna lay. I rubbed my hair. Tracey's quick-dry charm had worked a treat for both me and Luna.
The other blonde-haired girl was still weeping, and she was holding her blanket to her like the skin of a cocoon, despite Hermione and Tracey trying to calm the restored witch.
"Gentle, Daffy," Tracey advised me, as she came over. "I know you're going to be mad at her – but Luna's really sorry about what happened. She didn't intend for things to go…as far as they did."
I thought of everything that had happened since Luna invoked that crazy ritual of Thelxiepia's – which had caused Luna to be transformed physically and mentally into an affectionately-hungry mermaid. I reflected on everything that I had learnt.
And so, once the other girls had gone, I took a deep breath and began.
"Luna… Please look at me."
She stopped sniffling and raised her red, weepy eyes to return my gaze.
"I'm sorry, Ha– I mean, Daphne," she whimpered. "It was clear that Harry had feelings for me, as well as you – and I wanted to find a way where both he and you would be comfortable agreeing to a…" She trailed off.
"…a three-way relationship, such as how Ernie and the new Theodore are at ease with sharing Hannah between them. They both love her – and she loves them both," I completed her line of thought. "As Daphne, I should term it as a menage a trois."
"Yes. Only we would balance their threesome, by having the new Harry as our shared wizard between us girls," Luna pointed out. She gave a wail. "I don't deserve to be forgiven…,"
"That's enough, Luna!" I snapped. Then, in a softer voice I added: "What you did…wasn't wise. But perhaps what happened was just as well. Thinking about it, I believe… I believe that I understand it now. When all three of us were prepared to die as we faced Voldemort. It wasn't just the love that Harry and I shared, despite the pair of us being stuck in each other's forms at the time. It also just wasn't down to your love for me as your adopted sister at the time… It was also due to the fact that you love the new Harry for who he is, and the standards that he strives for – the standards I set for him when he became me. You loved me when I was Harry – but you were too shy to tell me. Weren't you?" I put to her, sure of my logic and feminine intuition. "When did your feelings develop, Luna?"
"During our DA lessons. You, Hermione, and Ron helped me to gain my confidence. And as I once told you, being in the DA was like having friends. I felt so sorry for you, Harry. The Ministry of Magic, and that horrible Umbridge witch was trying to turn you into a pariah. An outcast. I understood your frustration and anger, but I wished you had been more like me in remaining calmer."
I gave a sharp laugh. "It would've helped me at the time to have your serenity, Luna. Unfortunately, I was born with…"
"…too much fire in your birth chart. And you had that horrid Horcrux in your head. And you unfortunately had to put up with being the boy who lived, with all the negative effects that entailed." Luna nodded. "But I wasn't able at first to identify my feelings for you as what they exactly were. Daddy hadn't taught me enough about what I could feel develop as I became a teenage witch. I was too young when mummy died – and…"
I rubbed a hand across my forehead, groaning in realisation. "…and you didn't have female friends in your year to discuss what your feelings for me meant. What about Ginny? Did you…?" I groaned again. "Ginny was no help, was she? She had me in her sights by then."
Luna nodded. "I tried to talk about you with Ginny, just after our friendship date at Professor Slughorn's Christmas party. She listened – but she advised me that I was just experiencing a crush on you. She wasn't honest enough with me to say that she wanted you herself, but I could tell. So, I kept my feelings hidden from then on. And, not long after that, you and the original Daphne became Switched. I wanted to help you to keep your emotions in check whilst you were in Slytherin – so I agreed to Astoria's and Hermione's plan when they approached me. I am a wizard's witch, Daphne – but I thought that if I couldn't be your girlfriend, the next best way I could support you was to become your sister. And I managed to do so."
My throat turned dry. Slowly, using my arms to push myself up, I carefully walked over to the sofa, still feeling a few pins and needles in my feet. Then I sat down next to Luna as she straightened herself up. I pulled her into an embrace.
"Thank you….," I whispered to her. "You were a great sister to me, Luna. But…you became Luna again," I pointed out. "Why?"
"When it was time to decide what lives we had to settle on, with that transference machine's limited remaining power, it was clear to me that the new Harry cared for me as he cared for you. But he couldn't face the reality of it, when we were on the run, because I was wearing the face of Astoria Greengrass – his birth sibling," Luna told me earnestly. "Therefore, the new Harry denied his feelings for me, to himself. So, I had to become Luna Lovegood again. And please don't think that I am just in love with Harry because he wears your original face. The new Harry is now a slightly improved version of the old Harry. Just as you are a slightly improved version of the old Daphne. I love him for his kindness, his loyalty to friends, his cunning, and for his good soul."
"…as do I," I whispered. "And today, we were like sisters again. I loved it. And I loved that we were going to share our Harry."
"So what happens now? I don't want to lose your friendship, Daphne. Or Harry's."
"I… I forgive you, Luna. For what happened today. Including the fact that you and Harry… Oh! Come here." And with that I pulled the younger, weepy witch to me into a hug, which Luna returned.
After a while, we pulled apart. "So… Where does leave us and Harry? I love him – and you love him too," I pointed out, feeling calmer.
"I don't want to come between you and him, Daphne." Then Luna smiled, wiping the last of her tears aside. "But maybe we can still share…?" She looked into my face, with a hopeful, puppy-eyed look.
I sighed at her daring, but I kissed her forehead.
"You're a sneaky, sly, ambitious Slytherin, Luna…" I muttered.
"Thank you." Luna beamed with pride. "Do I get House points from the Head Girl?"
"No!" I declared firmly.
"Spoilsport! But…do we have a deal?"
"All right… Yes, we do! But only if Harry agrees…"
"Of course. Th-thank you!" And Luna promptly squeezed me tight again, as the two of us started to make our peace with each other.
*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*o*
Written Saturday 17 November 1998:
Dear journal,
After Hermione had her talk with me – when I confessed to her that I couldn't decide if I loved Daphne or Luna more – Hermione left me, so that I could have my evening meal in my bedroom in peace, courtesy of Winky delivering it to me. Then, having got the strength back into my legs again, I did my Head Boy rounds – checking on the Slytherin common room, before walking around the school. I saw some of the interhouse study groups in action. I smiled. That part of our plans for bringing the houses together was working well, according to all the reports I had heard.
I paused for reflection at the site where that ghastly Umbridge woman had been trapped by Devil's Snare and had accidently killed herself in her efforts to break free. Then, outside – near the boat house, I found Tracey and the new Susan kissing each other, before they asked me where the rest of the Silver Trio was. Despite having never heard the term before, I soon worked out that by the Silver Trio, the girls meant me, Daphne, and Luna.
I was pleased that Tracey and the former Theodore were truly happy with their lot together. They soon shot off, racing towards the boat house. Tracey teased me with a wink – and a cryptic comment about Daphne and Luna having reached a decision between them that she approved of…
Next, I encountered Remus – or Uncle Remus as I thought of him, as he was now the nearest to a father figure that I had, as Harry. He and Dora tried to cheer me up from the guilt that I was feeling after having had intercourse with Luna, even if the two of us had been drunk with the wild magic we had both been infused with.
"Don't worry so. I think the answer is there in your heart – you just need to accept it. Now get some rest, Harry," Remus advised me.
And so, I returned to my quarters and got changed for bed. I was just on the centre of my wide bed, about to turn off the light, when the knock came. I felt the lump in my throat, still afraid that either of the two girls I now knew I both loved would be coming to say that it was over. Possibly even both of them would leave me…
Instead, I gaped as Daphne and Luna both walked in, clad in their dressing gowns, which made them look alluring, even as they smiled shyly.
"Er… I take it you pair are no longer fighting?" I asked.
Daphne nodded. "I wanted to hex Luna after what she inadvertently set into motion today… After she'd lost her virginity to you, Harry… But we've talked things through – like the adults we like to think we now are…"
"…and we've decided that the best option for all of us…," Luna continued.
"…is for us two girls to share you between us. If you would like that," Daphne concluded.
"For as long as you want us both in your life, Harry," Luna added, her eyebrows bobbing with hope.
For a moment, I was reminded – through the original Harry's memories that I had gained - of how Fred and George often spoke to him in the same manner. Then Daphne's and Luna's words sunk in. I let out a breath.
"If I would like that…? Morgana! I thought… I feared that one – or both – of you were going to leave me…" I shuddered – and then smiled with relief as I held out both of my hands. "Today has made me realise something above all else… I truly love both of you. Equally so. And I want… I want to be with you both for as long as I can… Oh, come here, you pair!"
"YES!" Daphne and Luna simultaneously exclaimed. Then they looked at each other in surprise, before breaking out into giggles. In the next instant, the girls rushed over– and they snuggled themselves into bed with me. They turned onto their sides, both facing me – with me as the meat in their sandwich. It was good to feel their warmth, their hair and soft skin touching me. My two blonde-haired ladies reached out their spare hands towards each other, and they formed a clasp over me.
We were a team of three. And three is a powerful magical number in our world. We would be a force to reckon with.
With Daphne providing a pardon for Luna not being back in the Slytherin dormitories that night, my pair of witches cuddled against me, with nothing more than hugs and kisses being exchanged between us. All three of us fell asleep, relieved, and blissfully happy. But now it was official. We were the Silver Trio – silver for Slytherin. And we had become a ménage a trois, in parallel with Hannah with both Ernie and the new Theodore. Or as Luna gleefully insisted on calling us – we were now 'a thrupple!'.
Apart from the night Voldemort died, I can't remember ever feeling so happy in either of my lives…