Hidden Depths, Part 1
Day Eleven
When Harry woke the following morning, the bed was empty. He groaned as he pushed his legs over the edge, rubbing his eyes furiously. He reached over and silenced the ringing sound coming out of his wand. Could he sleep another hour? Or maybe four? No, he was trying to win Hermione over, not piss her off, and going against her plan for the day would certainly accomplish the latter. He sighed and pulled himself out of bed.
Harry stumbled over to his trunk, rummaged around until he found the pouch of Potions Hermione had packed back at their flat in London, and downed a Stamina Potion. He'd crash later, but if he didn't take something, he wouldn't be able to make it through the day. He felt like he'd slept a total of twelve minutes last night, and that was after an exhausting day of chasing erumpents, flying, climbing trees, and swimming.
Harry forced himself to pack as the Potion made its way through his body, slowly stimulating each of his muscles. By the time he was dressed and had his belongings shoved into the trunk, he felt like a human again. Now, there was nothing left to do but go downstairs and see what sort of welcome awaited him.
Harry's fears about his parents treating him differently once they learned about his upbringing ended up being unfounded. There was no real difference in their interactions over breakfast, besides a brief moment after James handed Harry his tea, when he gave Harry a knowing look and squeezed his shoulder.
Harry's interactions with Hermione, however, were a whole other story. She was cold. Not overly so, she didn't seem angry or anything, but she was definitely keeping her distance. For instance, while they were eating at the table, Harry saw her glance at the jam and contemplate whether it was worth reaching for it (which would require her to brush up against Harry's side) or ask for it (which would require her to initiate a conversation with Harry). Ultimately, she decided to eat her toast plain.
"Would you like some jam, Hermione?" Harry asked in the kindest tone he could muster.
"No thank you," she said with a forced smile and a nod. She was being overly polite now. He knew this tactic, as she'd used it on Ron a lot back at school, though very rarely on Harry.
Well, she ended up engaged to Ron, so maybe this is a good sign.
You're delusional!
Harry watched his parents exchange glances. They'd noticed something was off with him and Hermione. Of course they had, they were smart. Luckily, they were also nice and didn't bring it up. Harry kept glancing over at Hermione, expecting her to bring up the topic of Ron and Ginny, but she passed the breakfast in silence.
When it was clear Harry was going to get nowhere with Hermione, he turned to his mum and asked her how she'd found out she was a witch and how her transition into the magical world had gone. Lily's eyes brightened as she told the story of her initial bursts of accidental magic and how McGonagall had been the one to come by her house and tell her family about Hogwarts.
At this point she turned to Hermione. "McGonagall was the Professor they sent for you too. Right?"
Hermione replied with a simple, "Yes."
When Hermione didn't say anything else, Lily nodded awkwardly and continued with her story. After telling Harry about her first year at Hogwarts, she commended him for being such a good listener, saying that her son rarely listened to her as intently as Harry was now. And he certainly didn't ask questions along the way, like Harry had done.
Harry silently commended her back for managing to tell that entire story without once mentioning Petunia or Snape. He remembered what Hermione had said the night before about talking to his mum about Snape. He made a mental note to ask her about that later, then wondered if she'd answer, or if they were going to be distant for the remainder of the trip. The thought made him sick.
At the end of breakfast, Hermione told Lily she needed her help reviewing some formulas they'd need to get to the next Wonder. They set up a make-shift desk on one of the rocks outside and told James and Harry to pack up the tent. Harry was worried the "formula review" was just an excuse for Hermione to get Lily alone so she could tell her Harry and Hermione weren't engaged. Or worse, more details about Harry's time with the Dursleys.
Harry volunteered to work downstairs as James went to secure the items on the top floor. When James was upstairs, Harry rolled open the flap on one of the windows. He spotted the witches several feet away, huddled around a flat rock. Harry cast Disillusionment and Supersensory Charms on himself and when he leaned close to the open window, he could barely make out their quiet conversation.
Once he heard their voices, he immediately felt guilty (though not guilty enough to drop the spells). After a minute of listening to Hermione rattle off numbers and his mum mention something about "lunar cycles," he decided that Hermione had been telling the truth. He was about to remove the spells when he heard his name.
"I didn't mean to cause a rift between you and Harry by asking about his upbringing yesterday," his mum was saying.
"We're fine," Hermione said with a wave of her hand. "It wasn't about that. We - uh - had a row about something back at home. But we'll be fine. We've had plenty of rows before."
Hearing her say that they'd be fine, so casually, released a weight in Harry's chest. She was right, they'd been through much worse.
"Did you tell him what you saw in the mist?" Lily asked next.
Harry perked up. Shit, the mist. He'd been meaning to ask Hermione about that and then… well… his parents had learned the truth about him. But Hermione had confided in his mum? All she'd told Harry was that the mist had made her experience losing everything. Everything that made her life make sense, over and over again. Was Harry one of the things she'd lost? Why else would his mum bring up the mist right as they'd been talking about him?
"Uh, no," Hermione said awkwardly.
"You promised," Lily pressed.
"I know."
At the sound of footsteps on the stairs, Harry dropped the spells and hastily closed the tent flap. He busied himself with cleaning up the dishes from breakfast.
"Is that all you've done?" James asked as he walked into the room. "Put some plates in the sink?"
"Er - yeah?"
James laughed. "I know this tactic. Stalling until help arrives. It's why it can take me up to thirty minutes to 'prepare the kitchen' for cooking if I know your mum's on her way to help. I hate cooking. Have I mentioned that?"
"A few times. I kind of hate it too."
"Well we don't need to cook now," James said, waving his wand to start the dishes cleaning in the sink. "I find cleaning much easier."
"I don't really like either," Harry admitted.
"Just like my Harry then," James said with a grin.
Harry had always assumed he didn't like cooking and cleaning because of his time with the Dursleys. It was nice to know it was just a part of him. This was an unexpected outcome of the trip. He wasn't just learning about his parents, but himself. His mind flashed to Hermione and that moment last night when he'd been about to kiss her, just before she'd pushed him away. Talk about learning new things about himself...
"Hey," his dad said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "How are you and Hermione?"
"Oh." If Harry didn't already have first-hand experience with how awful his dad was at Legilimency, he would have guessed he was reading his mind.
"We had a stupid fight last night. But we'll be fine," he said, hoping if he and Hermione said the words out loud enough, they'd become true.
After the tent was packed and Hermione declared her formulas ready, the group huddled around the Portkey and reappeared on a rocky shore a few seconds later. Harry looked around. There was a thick forest behind them and in front of them, a choppy, dark blue ocean that stretched as far as he could see in every direction. There was a light mist falling from the sky, but not bad enough to warrant the use of Water Repellent Charms.
"Where are we?" he asked, realizing then that Hermione hadn't told him anything about this next Wonder.
"Graham Island," Hermione said quickly, already reaching into her backpack to pull out her notebook. "Off the western coast of Canada."
"That makes this the Pacific Ocean," Lily said to herself as she walked toward the water, using her wand to clear a dry path for herself. She crouched down and ran her hand through the wall of water she'd created. "Cold," she said over her shoulder.
Hermione nodded absently.
"Well, I guess that's what Warming Charms are for," Lily said as she made her way back to the group.
"Wait, we're swimming in that?" Harry asked.
"I heard we were swimming but not where we're going," James said, looking at Hermione, who had her wand out now and was checking a few Navigation Spells. Harry frowned. Even his dad knew more than Harry did.
"Yes, we're swimming," Hermione said, finally looking up from her wand. She pointed to her left. "We're swimming for a mile in that direction."
"A mile?" Harry asked, alarmed. He wasn't a good swimmer. Hermione knew this.
For the first time that morning, Hermione truly acknowledged Harry. She placed a hand on his forearm and said in a low voice, "You'll be fine. We're using Gillyweed."
His parents caught the interaction, exchanged sad glances when they realized what it meant (that Harry had never learned to swim as a child), then, mercifully, they dropped it. Harry gulped and made his face impassive.
They changed into their bathing suits, cast strong Warming Charms on their bodies, then Hermione passed out small handfuls of Gillyweed as Harry tried to keep his eyes from roving over her figure. Why did she have to wear that black swimsuit again?
"Just a half-dose for this swim," Hermione explained, oblivious to Harry's inappropriate thoughts, "since we only need it to work for about 30 minutes."
"This swim?" Harry asked, pulling his eyes back to her face. "How many swims will there be today?"
"Two," she said simply. "But the second one will be a lot longer."
Lily snorted.
"Okay," Hermione said, addressing the whole group. "We shouldn't encounter anything dangerous in this first swim, as these are Muggle waters. But keep your wands out just the same. And don't forget to cast any spells non-verbally, since the incantations will become garbled in the water."
She turned back to the ocean and cast a spell that created a line of white light in the ocean, stretching to the horizon. "Now we just eat this," Hermione paused to sneer at the Gillyweed in her hand, which resembled a pile of rat tails, "and follow the light."
"How will we know when we're there?" James asked.
"We'll reach a small island with a cave. It's shielded from Muggles, but we'll be able to see it once we pass through the wards."
"And where are we going again?" James asked.
"I'll tell you in the cave," Hermione said with a grin.
"Of course you will," James sighed, then shoved the Gillyweed into his mouth. A moment later, when gills appeared on the side of his neck, he ran his fingers along them, then burst into a grin. "Wicked." He turned to Harry. "Hurry up and eat yours, then we'll race to this cave."
Harry started eating his portion of Gillyweed as Lily said to Hermione, "There they go. Turning something else into a competition."
"You're welcome to join in, Lil," James said. "You too, Hermione. We can all race."
"No thank you. We'll have a nice, leisurely swim." Lily frowned at the Gillyweed in her hand before taking a large bite as Hermione did the same.
The guys, who both had gills and webbed hands and feet by now, approached the edge of the water. "See you at the cave," James said over his shoulder. Harry gave Hermione and Lily a small wave and the next moment, they were underwater, swimming along the line Hermione had created. Lily and Hermione shared a smile before jumping in after them.
James beat Harry to the cave. By a lot. But as soon as Harry swam through the entrance, he nearly forgot he'd just lost a race, overcome by the sight before him. The cave was dark blue inside and as Harry pulled himself up onto the ledge, where his dad was sitting with his legs hanging in the water, he saw that the water was glowing a bright blue and lighting up the whole area.
"What's causing it to glow?" Harry asked.
"As far as I can tell…" James said, pausing to tap the water with his wand. Several gold runes appeared on the surface of the water, then promptly disappeared. Harry recognized it as a spell to check for the presence of magic. "It's not magic," James concluded. "There must be some natural explanation that I'm sure Hermione will cover once she arrives."
Harry leaned back on his hands and enjoyed the quiet of the cave; the only sound was the soft splashing of water near the entrance. The girls arrived a few moments later, just as the gills were disappearing from the side of Harry's neck. Harry helped them up onto the ledge and James passed around towels, which he'd removed from his pack and enlarged while he'd been waiting for the rest of the group.
"This is beautiful," Lily said, looking around in awe. "What's making it glow?"
"It's just the way the sun reflects on the white floor of the cave at this time of day," Hermione explained. "Another one of those remarkable things that's just nature, not magic."
Hermione was wearing a soft smile, her eyes were sparking in the blue light, and a few wet curls were framing her face. She looked breathtaking and Harry had to resist the urge to lean forward and kiss her. He took a deep breath and shifted away from her. Hermione's eyes met his and for a brief moment, it felt like her thoughts were with his. The moment passed quickly and she blushed, then shifted to put even more distance between them.
"Okay, Hermione," James said. "Tell us about this Wonder."
Hermione gave Harry a final glance before focusing on James. "It's called The Hidden Depths. That's the official name of the Wonder. But you'd probably know the place better as Pacifica."
"Pacifica?!" James asked, sounding delighted. "Is that really where we're going?"
"What's Pacifica?" Lily asked. She turned to Harry, but he just shook his head.
James nudged her side. "You know...the merpeople's fortress," he said in an ominous tone. "Legend has it they swim along the shores and snatch kids who've wandered off, transform them into fish, and raise them in their houses as pets."
"That's not true," Hermione said. "It's just one of those tales Wizarding parents tell their kids to keep them from wandering away at the beach."
"I never understood that," Lily said. "Why do Wizarding parents create stories to scare their children when the truth is scary enough? When we went to the beach, I just told Harry if he wandered off, he could get caught up in the water and drown. Then he'd be dead and would never see his parents, friends, or toys again."
"The stories are more fun, Lily," James said, exasperated. It was clear they'd had this argument several times.
Harry simply shrugged while Hermione said, "I agree with Lily. My parents were the same way, very matter-of-fact. They just told me like it was, even when I was young."
"I always liked them," Lily said. "How are they doing in your world?"
"Oh, uh, good," Hermione replied, caught off guard by the question. "They - um - moved to Australia for the war and just recently moved back to England so we're, uh, still getting used to living close again."
Harry placed his hand on hers, gave it a quick squeeze, then quickly removed it. It was clear from Lily's searching gaze that she knew Hermione was leaving something out. "Maybe you can tell me the rest of the story later," she said gently.
Hermione nodded. "Uh, anyway, Pacifica. I'm not surprised Lily and Harry haven't heard of it, since it's most commonly known to Wizards in the way James mentioned, through bedtime stories. But-"
"Quick question," Harry cut in. He turned to Lily. "Did you not read bedtime stories to your Harry?"
"Oh. I did. I read him Muggle stories and James read him the Wizarding ones. I wanted him to have a thorough understanding of both cultures and I think, in the end, we did a pretty good job of that." She turned to James, who nodded at her.
Harry was glad they were looking away so they didn't catch the flash of sorrow he was sure had crossed his features. This time, Hermione placed her hand on his, but it was gone before he could draw much comfort from the gesture.
"Anyway, Pacifica," Hermione continued. "It's a real place and it's the largest underwater city in the world. Contrary to the legends, though, it is not the original habitat of the merpeople. They originated in the Mediterranean Sea and were commonly referred to by Muggles as Sirens. Now something you might find interesting - yes, James, I see the obnoxious yawn and I don't care, tune out if you need to."
She rolled her eyes and shifted her focus on Harry and Lily, who were listening intently (Lily, because she was actually interested and Harry, because he was trying to get back into Hermione's good graces). "I'm sure you two have heard of Atlantis," she continued.
"Yes," Lily said. "It was an ancient city on an island that fell out of favor with the gods. They submerged it somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean as punishment. That's just a Muggle myth, though." She looked at Harry, who just shrugged. All he knew of Atlantis was the name and that it was meant to be under water somewhere.
"Right. Well, Wizarding legend has it that Plato, the man who first floated around the story of Atlantis, was actually a wizard and was basing the tale off a recent visit he'd made to Pacifica. But he switched the oceans, to try to hide the original city better."
"How do we get there?" James asked, clearly eager to move past the history lesson part of Hermione's explanation.
"At the back of the cave, there-" she pointed toward a dark pool several feet away, "-we'll dive to access the currents. We'll need to make our way through the overlapping currents in a very specific order to reach the entrance to the city. If we get it wrong, we'll never find it. That's where the formulas Lily and I were working on come in. It's not a clear path. It changes depending on the season and time of day."
James sighed. "It's never easy, is it?"
Hermione shook her head. She began taking two lengths of rope from her backpack and handed one bundle to James and the other to Harry. "We'll want to swim in pairs, tied together, so if one of us gets pulled into the wrong current, or just falls out into the wider ocean, they won't be alone. We'll tie these around our middle."
"What happens if someone falls into the wrong current or the wide ocean?" Harry asked, already hating this plan.
Hermione gave him a dismissive wave. "It'll be fine. Cast Confringo in the water, with your wand pointing down, to propel yourself up to the surface. The pair that is separated will then make their way back to this cave and start again. Both Lily and I have copies of the formulas, just in case."
"How do we make our way back to the cave?" James asked.
"Create a block of ice with a Freezing Spell, pull yourself onto it, then Apparate."
"You're brilliant," James replied.
"Thanks," Hermione said, blushing slightly.
"Okay," Harry said slowly. "What about magical creatures? Will we need to battle anything?"
"Nothing more than a Grindylow, and we all know how to do that." She looked to Lily and James for confirmation and they gave her a quick nod.
"And will the merpeople be - erm - welcoming?" Harry asked, doubtfully.
"Yes, Harry. They're very peaceful. They were only pretending to be vicious for the task."
"Oh, right! I nearly forgot," James exclaimed. "You've done this before, in the Triwizard Tournament."
Harry nodded. "It was...eerie. How long are we going to stay there?"
"Two nights," Hermione replied.
"What?" Harry assumed it would be more like two hours.
"We have accommodations booked and everything. Don't worry, Harry, I think you'll like it."
"When has Hermione ever steered us wrong?" Lily added.
"Thank you, Lily. But I'd like to point out that we have the other Hermione to thank for all this. I'm simply executing her diligent plans." Hermione got to her feet and motioned for the others to follow her to the back of the cave. "Let's go. If we don't leave in the next ten minutes the path I currently have planned will no longer be valid."
"Did you win that task?" James asked Harry as he pulled himself to his feet.
"Oh, uh, no," Harry replied. "I arrived at the bottom of the lake first, but didn't leave until all the hostages were saved. I had to bring two up to the top and it slowed me down a bit."
"He was awarded extra points from Dumbledore for having strong moral fiber, though, and came in second," Hermione added.
"You waited to save all the hostages?" James asked. "Why? Surely you didn't believe they were in real danger?"
"It felt real!" Harry said defensively.
Lily clapped him on the back. "I agree with Dumbledore. Good for you, staying behind to make sure everyone was okay. I wish I could have seen it."
"I wish I could have seen you steal an egg from a dragon," James said wistfully.
"I can show you that memory later, James," Hermione cut in. James beamed widely. "Unfortunately, I don't have anything from the Second Task, since I was unconscious, but Harry was brilliant with the dragon."
"I can't believe Neville didn't have to get past a dragon," Harry grumbled.
"That's the part you're bitter about? Not the fact that he got to avoid the graveyard?" James quipped. Harry smiled. He liked how his dad didn't shy away from dark jokes. His mum, however, looked horrified.
"I'm more bitter about the dragon," Harry replied. "Only a few people know about the graveyard but everyone knows about the dragon. I bet Neville doesn't have people asking to see his dragon tattoo all the time."
"You have a dragon tattoo?" Lily asked.
"Yes," Hermione said, frustrated no one was paying attention to the task at hand. "A giant Hungarian Horntail emblazoned across his chest. Now, can we focus?"
"She's lying," Harry murmured.
"Sure," his dad whispered back, grinning widely.
Hermione went on to explain the hand gestures she was going to use in the water so they'd know when a turn was coming up ahead and in which direction. Then she passed out the Gillyweed, substantially more this time, showed them an additional hand gesture she'd use when it was time to eat more Gillyweed, then informed Harry she would need him to fight any Grindlylow off on her behalf, since she'd be using her wand to navigate.
It was a lot of information to take in and Harry wished they hadn't wasted so much time joking about dragon tattoos so she could repeat it again. Hermione announced they had two minutes. They all started tying the ropes around their waist and ate their Gillyweed.
"Alright," Hermione said, lowering herself into the water. "We'll talk again when we reach Pacifica!" She nodded at Harry, then disappeared into the depths of the pool.
"Okay. Um, good luck," Harry said to his parents. He felt the tug on the rope around his waist, then dove in after Hermione.
They spent the next two hours swimming through a series of currents that swerved and crossed over each other, creating a confusing maze. Harry marveled again at Hermione's brilliance and the limitless capacity of her brain. When she said she'd memorized the path, he hadn't expected it to be so complicated.
They encountered other creatures who were also using the currents to travel through the ocean (sea turtles, dolphins, countless fish, several merpeople, and even some grindylows) but no one tried to attack them, so Harry left them alone. Halfway through, Hermione guided them out of the current so they could each eat another mouthful of Gillyweed, then they were back to swimming.
Even though it was longer than the swim to the cave, it was much easier, since the current pulled them along. The only time Harry really had to swim hard was when they were turning onto an offshoot. But even though the swimming was relatively easy, and seeing the different types of fish was interesting, Harry could feel his eyes drooping as the Stamina Potion he'd taken back at the Grand Canyon began to catch up with him.
Unfortunately, Hermione didn't cover a hand signal for, 'How much longer? I'm about to pass out.' Harry was trying to figure out how to get a message to her and considering using the coin, when he felt something pulling him off course. His eyes widened when he spotted a large whirlpool on their left. He instinctively began swimming away from it.
A hand grabbed his ankle. He turned back and saw Hermione making the hand signal for 'stop.' His parents were swimming up behind them, both looking scared as they noticed the whirlpool, and Hermione motioned for them to stop too.
Hermione wrapped her hands around Harry's wrists and cocked her head toward the whirlpool. Harry shook his head. Surely she didn't mean for them to go in there? He studied the vortex and saw several flashes of light in the water but couldn't decide if that was a good or bad sign. There were fish caught up in the swirl and they looked calm. Well, didn't fish always look calm?
Hermione moved her hands to his face and it felt weird with the webbing between her fingers. "Trust me," she mouthed.
She looked beautiful. Even with the gills on her neck. Even with the eerie way the ocean made her look, with blue-green skin and large, dark eyes. Even with her hair floating around her in a wild mess. That's when he knew (without a doubt) that he had it bad. And that no matter what she was asking him to do, whether it was give up his magic or swim into an ominous-looking vortex, he'd do it.
Harry nodded. Hermione swam into the vortex and Harry followed after her. Luckily, he didn't have to wait long to find out if he was going to die. They were almost immediately deposited into completely smooth water at the base of a giant city. It took Harry a moment to adjust to the lack of movement. Then, he took in the sight around him.
It was...unlike anything he'd ever encountered. He'd been expecting a larger scale of the merpeople village he'd seen at the bottom of the lake, with stone dwellings and small gardens. This was...not that.
The city was composed of floating bulbs of all shapes and sizes, stretching out as far as he could see. They were made of what looked like glass and were lit at the top with floating lights. There were elaborate designs in bronze on the bottoms and sides of each bulb - setting them apart from each other - but they were mostly made of glass. It reminded Harry of the ornaments his Aunt Petunia would put on her Christmas tree.
Connecting the floating circles were paths made by lines of bubbles. Harry watched in awe as people walked through the bubble paths to get to other bulbs (or, rooms, was probably more accurate). The merpeople didn't use the bubble paths and simply swam between the different areas of the city.
When he focused on one of the closer rooms of glass, he saw two kids running around a coffee table, chasing a cat. How did they get a cat down here? An orb next to that one contained two merpeople, swimming around what looked like a kitchen. Harry began to notice that about half the rooms were filled with air and half were filled with water.
A hand appeared under his chin and gently closed his mouth, which had been hanging agape. He turned and saw Hermione beaming at him. On his other side, his parents were studying the city, wearing expressions of awe.
Hermione motioned for them to follow her and led them to one of the largest orbs in the city, to the right of what appeared to be the main entrance. Hermione swam to the bottom of the glass circle and Harry saw what looked like a lobby, with a mix of merpeople and humans inside.
Harry was wondering how they were supposed to get through the glass when Hermione pointed at a smaller half-sphere jutting off the side of the larger circle. She swam inside and once they'd all joined her, the space was cramped. She tapped her wand to a metal circle on the wall and suddenly, the half of the sphere that was opened, closed up. Then, the water drained from the room.
The group collapsed into an inelegant heap on the ground.
"Bloody hell," James, who had ended up on the bottom of the pile, swore.
"Sorry," Hermione said, pulling herself to her feet. "I didn't know exactly what that would do. I thought we'd be transported in or something."
"Nope." James groaned as Harry lost his balance on his way up and accidentally shoved an elbow into James's side.
"Sorry, dad."
When they were all standing, they couldn't help but share giddy smiles. "This place is incredible," Lily exclaimed, peering into the lobby through the glass wall. Now that Harry could see it more clearly, he noticed it was elegantly decorated with floating bulbs of light on the ceiling, more bronze embellishments along the glass walls, and a dark green floor that appeared to be marble that was fashioned to look like seaweed.
"Isn't this beautiful?" Hermione said, looking out the far window at the city. "I've read descriptions, but it's not the same as seeing it."
"I thought it would look something like the village at the bottom of the lake," Harry admitted. "This is nothing like that."
"I could have told you that much," Hermione said with a laugh.
If we were talking, Harry thought to himself.
"Okay, we should probably put a few more clothes on before walking in there," Hermione declared, pulling her backpack off.
They all agreed and grabbed pants and shirts out of their packs. They dried themselves off as best they could with their wands, pulled their clothes on over their swimsuits, then turned to Hermione for further instruction.
Hermione tapped her wand to a second metal plate, this one with an arrow pointing toward the larger room, and the glass wall between the smaller sphere and the large lobby dissolved. "Wow," Lily said as they walked into the elegant space. "So, this is where we're staying for the next two nights?"
Hermione nodded as she led the way toward a desk at the end of the room under a sign that read, "Registration," which flashed every few seconds to show the word in a new language.
"Yes. There are a number of places to stay in this city, but this is the largest and most popular hotel," Hermione explained as they crossed the lobby. "They get a lot of tourists here, like us, but also diplomats and people here on business, since this is the primary trading post between the Eastern and Western parts of the globe."
Hermione stopped just shy of the desk and turned to ask if someone could cast a Translation Spell on the merwoman behind the desk for her. Harry nodded and pulled his wand out of his pocket, confused about why she couldn't cast it herself.
The merwoman looked to be around Harry's parents' age, but Harry couldn't be entirely sure. She had deep blue eyes and dark green hair that was pulled back, out of her face. She was wearing pearl stud earrings and a necklace with a deep blue crystal. Compared to the merpeople Harry had seen at Hogwarts, she was incredibly well-kempt.
As they approached the desk, Harry saw there was a pool of water underneath, where the merwoman was floating. He looked around and noticed, then, that the room was lined with a floating rectangle of water, which he assumed the merpeople used to get around the area.
Hermione nudged Harry in his side and he focused back on the merwoman behind the desk. He cast the Translation Spell and when the merwoman spoke in a high, shrieky voice, the word, "Hello," appeared in front of her in floating grey scrawl.
The merwoman used her large, webbed hands to grab a flat, black oval rock from the desk and something that looked like a quill. She handed them to Hermione and Harry, then shrieked again. The words from Harry's spell said, "Write the name your reservation is under and method of payment there."
Hermione, to Harry's surprise, pushed the rock and quill to the side. She held her wand to her throat and began speaking in what sounded like Mermish. Harry's eyes widened in surprise. The merwoman behind the desk, who had previously looked bored and slightly annoyed, beamed and began clapping her hands.
Harry watched as they talked animatedly, forgetting to read the translation under the merwoman since he was so focused on Hermione. How was she doing this?
"Does she know Mermish?" James asked from behind him.
Harry shook his head. "It's a spell. See how she has her wand to her throat?"
James leaned across Harry to see the glowing tip of Hermione's wand pressed against her throat. He let out a whistle. "This witch knows everything, doesn't she?"
Harry just shrugged. As he watched, he saw that Hermione still needed to read the words in the air to understand the merwoman. Then when she went to respond, the words came out of her mouth in Mermish. She must have needed Harry to cast the Translation Spell because she couldn't keep both spells going at once.
"We got an upgrade!" Hermione announced in her own voice once she was finished talking to the merwoman. She held out a large, green key. "Jumana was so happy to speak to someone in her language, that she offered us a suite at no additional charge."
Hermione turned around and gave the merwoman a final wave before moving aside for a pair of goblins who'd appeared behind them. Jumana's face went back to looking bored as she greeted the goblins.
On their way up an elegant, twisting staircase that seemed to be made from a mixture of glass, seaweed, and bronze, James quizzed Hermione about the spell she'd used. Harry listened intently, since a spell like that would be very useful when speaking to international informants. Hermione explained the spell was experimental and tricky to use. She also explained that the primary limitation was the inability to cast any other spells, which was why it only worked when you had someone else with you to cast the traditional Translation Spell.
"I still want to learn it. Will you show me?" Harry asked.
"You know I can't show you experimental spells until they've been properly tested and released to the public."
"Oh, right. If you do that, you might get fired," he said in a low voice only she could hear.
She gave him a small smile.
Their "suite" was contained in one large, glass bulb. On the bottom level was a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a sitting room. In the center was a skinny staircase that led to two, lofted bedrooms. Everything was very open and the few walls that existed were made of glass.
"How, uh, open," Lily said, waving through the wall to an elderly woman one room over.
"There has to be a way to - ah, here we go." Hermione pressed something near the door and the portion of the glass wall surrounding the sitting room clouded over and they could no longer see the sea outside. "I assume there's something like this in all the rooms," she said.
Lily just nodded, busy taking in their beautiful, yet strange surroundings. After a quick inspection of their living quarters for the next two nights, the group agreed to take a break to get cleaned up before dinner. Lily and James went into the bedroom at the right of the stairs, pleased to find that there was a way to obscure the glass walls surrounding that room too.
Hermione disappeared into the other room while Harry went to take a quick shower, hoping it would help him wake up.
When Harry was finished with his shower and wearing clean, dry clothes, he warily made his way up the stairs. Things were still awkward between him and Hermione after their fight from the night before, but he didn't have anywhere else to go. When he opened the door to their room, he found her in a strange position.
Hermione was bent over a deep blue dresser at the side of the room, gripping the edge with her hands. There was a pillow propped between her stomach and the edge of the dresser and the notebook she and Harry had been writing in was laying open on the surface. Every so often, she released one of her hands from the back of the dresser, picked up a pen, and wrote a few things in the notebook, then returned her hand to the back of the dresser.
"Uh, Hermione?" Harry asked, placing his backpack down as he walked into the room. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, um, yeah," she said, her voice strained. "I'm just - uh - stretching."
"No, you're not. You're in pain, aren't you? You're supposed to tell me when it gets bad," Harry scolded. He was at her side now. He peeled her off the dresser and led her to the bed, wincing as he saw her brow furrow in pain.
"I'm fine," she forced out.
"Stop lying." Harry helped her lay back on the bed, propped a pillow under her head, and pressed on her side, the same way he'd done in China. Damn, that seemed so long ago. But it was just a week ago, wasn't it? Touching her now felt worlds different than it had then.
"Is that - er - better?" he asked, looking off to the side in an effort to alleviate some of the awkwardness.
"Um, yeah," she replied. Harry felt her relax under his touch. He chanced a look up at her and saw her focusing hard on the ceiling.
Harry laid his head down on the back of his hands and let his eyes close shut. Sometime later, the length of which Harry couldn't gauge in his current state of exhaustion, he jolted awake. Hermione shifted under his hands. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, er, yeah. I'm trying to keep from passing out. I had a Stamina Potion this morning and it's finally catching up to me."
"Harry! You took a Stamina Potion?! Why didn't you tell me? What if you'd crashed while we were swimming?"
Harry just shrugged.
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. She looked at her wand, which was lying on the dresser, out of reach. Then she turned her head and spotted Harry's wand on the bedside table. She grabbed it and pointed the wand tip at Harry's temple. "Close your eyes."
"Are you going to cast that spell on me that delays the crash from the Potion?"
"No. I'm going to kill you. Now close your eyes and keep still."
Harry snorted, then closed his eyes. She muttered a foreign incantation and Harry was hit with an unexpected shock. "Keep still," she said sternly.
"I wasn't expecting to be electrocuted."
"Nice use of a Muggle term there, now really, stay still, or else this won't work."
She shocked him a few more times, then declared she was finished. When Harry opened his eyes, everything seemed sharper, or maybe that was just in his head. He moved his head side to side. No, it wasn't just in his mind. He felt decidedly better. The fog that had been clouding his thoughts was gone. "How long did you delay it for?" he asked.
"Three hours. That should get you through dinner with a little time after to get cleaned up and into your pajamas."
"Thanks. I can't wait until this spell is available to the public."
She just nodded and looked over at the clock on the wall.
"Um, what time did we agree on for dinner?" Harry asked. He already knew, but was trying to keep an awkward silence from settling between them.
"On the hour. So we have 40 minutes."
Just when Harry was trying to figure out how they were supposed to fill in the next 40 minutes, she placed her hands on his and began pulling them away. "I'm okay now," she said. "The worst of it has passed."
"Are you sure?" Harry slowly pulled his hands off of her, studying her face for any signs of discomfort. But she seemed okay.
Once he'd released her, she rolled onto her stomach, pushing one of the pillows under her side, where the wound was. "There we go," she sighed once she'd settled into her new position. "This feels good."
"O-kay," Harry said, pulling himself up out of the bed. "I guess I'll leave you alone then. Do you - um - need anything?" He glanced at the notebook she'd left on the dresser.
"Yeah. Um, my notebook, pen, and wand, please."
Harry handed her the items and grabbed his wand from the bedside table. He was in the doorway when she said, "You can stay."
"Oh, erm, yeah?"
Hermione nodded and shifted over on a bed to make room for him. "I was just looking at the final scoring for all those jobs you listed out for me and I've got it narrowed down to three. I'd sort of like to run them by you, um, if you don't mind."
"I'm really busy," Harry said as he laid on the bed next to her, "but I can clear my schedule for you."
Hermione smiled as she opened the notebook. Harry turned onto his side, propping his head on his hand, and listened to her talk at length about the pros and cons of each of the jobs she'd picked: something with books (an editor, more specifically), lobbyist, and pursuing a Mastery (inspired by Hermione's career choice in this world).
"What do you think?" she asked when she was finished describing her thoughts on each job.
"Lobbyist is all about saving the world, editor is all about doing something you enjoy for a living (namely, reading), and pursuing a Mastery appeals to your desire to learn. Honestly, I don't think you're going to be satisfied unless you're doing a combination of all three."
"I can't have three jobs."
"Hear me out. If you go the Mastery route, you should try to find a way to do activist work on the side. And also put plenty of time aside in your schedule to read. Alternatively, you can be an editor who works for a non-profit and does special projects with some of the Professors at Hogwarts on occasion. I know you'll be busy, but - I don't know, you like that, don't you?"
Hermione didn't respond. She was staring at him oddly and Harry was worried he'd said something to upset her. "I'm sorry. It's just an idea. I didn't mean to discount-"
"I love it," she cut in.
"You do?"
She nodded and began scribbling feverishly in the notebook. Harry laid on his back and listened to the sound of her pen moving against the paper. They were already back to normal: talking easily and giving each other advice. Thank Merlin. And he'd only had three inappropriate thoughts during the entire conversation. That was definitely an improvement.
The sound of writing stopped a few minutes later and she asked, "What about you? Have you considered quitting, again?"
"Not really," he admitted, moving back to his side. "I've had a lot on my mind the past few days."
"Oh, yeah. With your parents finding out and everything."
"Yeah. That and...other things."
Hermione blushed and dropped her eyes.
Harry reached for her hand, then changed his mind at the last moment and gripped the blankets tightly. "Um, Hermione?"
"Yeah?"
He waited for her to look back up at him before continuing. "I know there's this really awkward, er, thing between us. Or, um, you know what I mean."
"The 'will they / won't they' situation?" she provided.
Harry couldn't help but smile. "That makes it sound like 'will they' is a possibility."
His suggestive tone and half smile reminded Hermione of James in that moment and she felt a pang in her heart and dropped her eyes again.
"Sorry," he said quickly, "I didn't mean to press."
And now he's Lily, Hermione thought. She took a deep breath and shook her head as she met his gaze again. "You're fine. What were you going to say?"
"I wanted to propose we make a pact. That no matter what happens between us, we'll always be like this. Friends, above all else. I can't lose this. I can't lose you."
"Absolutely. I don't want to lose you either." Hermione held out a hand for him to shake. "Friends always, above all else."
Harry gave her hand a firm shake.
Hermione looked at the clock and announced it was time for dinner. Harry helped her out of the bed, fussed over her injury for a minute, then turned to leave the room.
"Harry?" she said when he was almost in the hall.
"Yeah?"
"I meant what I said last night. I'm going to tell your parents we're not engaged. Then I'm going to tell them about Ron."
A cold pit settled in Harry's stomach. "Okay. Er - now? Over dinner?"
Hermione nodded. "I'll leave it up to you if you want to tell them about Ginny."
Harry just sighed. He hadn't thought any more about Ginny and whether he could really go through with breaking things off with her. "I guess I should tell them, since I am engaged to her."
"Yeah? So you...um...changed your mind about...ending things?"
Did she care? Harry wished he could cast a Translation Spell on her to show the thoughts flashing across her mind. Knowing Hermione and how big her brain was, the words would probably go by too fast for him to read.
She was watching him expectantly and he focused his thoughts back on her. "I think I can tell them all of it. How I'm engaged and how I have doubts, too, though I'll probably save that last bit for later. That's the sort of thing you do with your parents, talk about real stuff, right? And they - they're really good at that, aren't they?"
Hermione gave him a sad smile. "Yes. Yes, they are."
"Okay," he said, stepping into the hall and holding the glass door open for her. "I guess after this, the last secret will be out."
She made a point to avoid his eyes as she nodded.
A/N: Can you believe we're already at the sixth Wonder?! But before we explore the city further, we need to see how James and Lily are going to react to this news.
Inspiration for the blue cave was the Blue Grotto in Hvar, Croatia. Inspiration for Pacifica was Otoh Gunga from Star Wars. I liked the name Pacifica because it's in the Pacific Ocean and also, it's a minivan - something I'm a big fan of at this stage of life.
Continued thanks to my beta, Lancashire Witch, who loyally reads all my stories, regardless of pairing, plot, length, etc. She's the best. And thanks to all of you for reading! The next chapter will be posted Tues, Nov-23.