Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to JK Rowling. Please don't sue me I'm not making a profit J
THE SEVENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
"Finished!" Ginny exclaimed, brushing the snow off her cloak. She examined the ordinary looking snowman that stood proudly in front of her. It looked exactly like a traditional muggle snow man. Carrot nose, black top hat and everything. She had added one of her old Gryffindor scarves for good measure.
"Now for the fun part." Ginny said to herself, cheeks flushed from both cold and pleasure.
She took out her wand and began muttering enchantments. Nothing seemed to be happening…that was until she got hit square in the face with a snowball.
"It works!" She cried with glee, grinning at her creation, snow dripping from her hair unnoticed. When the snowman went for another snowball, Ginny scurried out of the way, back towards the lake. The snowball grazed the ground at her feet, and her snowman was shaking his twig fist at her threateningly.
Ginny laughed, thanking her judgment and not giving it legs. Now, whenever anyone got too close, they would be ambushed by a, sort of living snowman. Fred and George would be proud. She thought happily, gazing over the frozen lake.
Ginny sat unceremoniously in the snow, gazing contentedly over the lake. She didn't mind the cold snow seeping through her shabby cloak, it was actually rather refreshing. With nothing to distract her, Ginny's thoughts went inevitably back to her mysterious bearer of gifts. She groaned at the weight of the sudden rush of emotions that hit her like a bludger in the stomach. No one had ever done something so…she couldn't even think up the right words to describe it.
Kind…romantic…thoughtful…these commonly used phrases just didn't seem to fit. All in all, no one had ever paid so much attention to her, or gone through so much trouble to please her. She was always overlooked. She had never received a rose at Valentines Day, or a kiss under the mistletoe at Christmas. This type of thing was supposed to happen to beautiful people like Cho Chang, or Parvati Patil.
That it was finally happening to her filled the holes in her heart with much needed feelings. She felt giddy, a feeling she had never thought possible of herself.
That's when she looked up and noticed a portion of the lake that was no longer frozen.
"What…" She started out loud, being positive that that hole in the ice hadn't been there before. But before she could finish her thought, a mermaid's head broke the calm surface of the water, looking at her with piercing yellow eyes.
Of course it was no use for Ginny to ask it any questions, knowing full well she wouldn't understand it above water. Instead she settled on staring at in wonder and fear. Ever since her third year Ginny had been fascinated by the creatures. She had put up with the stabs of jealousy when the Triwizard champions got to go down into the lake and see their homes. While watching the tournament she had wanted nothing more than to dive into the lake and join them.
Her awed stupor was broken by a high pitched wail from the Mermaid, Ginny looked at it questioningly, wondering what it could possible be doing above the water. It made a motion with its head, as if beckoning Ginny forward. Ginny hesitated, not knowing how thick the ice covering the lake was, and if it would hold her (seeing as the Mermaid's ice hole was near the middle of the lake). That's when she saw the flash of green.
The mermaid is holding one of my gifts! She thought amazed, and totally confused at the same time.
With no further thoughts of safety, Ginny began her walk, or rather slide across the frozen portion of the lake. When she reached the mermaid, she (or at least Ginny assumed she was a she based on the pebble bra) held out the familiar green envelope to Ginny's awaiting hands.
On the seventh day of Christmas
Your true love gave to you,
A swim with seven mermaids
Ginny gasped the implication of the words quite clear. Does he actually expect me to jump in the lake with a bunch of magical creatures? She thought incredulously, uneasiness creeping through her body. She didn't notice the mermaid holding out a green wrapped package until it was right in front of her face.
"Oh!" Ginny gasped in surprise, taking the package and despite her worries, unwrapping it with eagerness shining in her eyes.
The mermaid smiled, she liked this girl. It was very unusual for her kind to associate with humans, let alone give them favors. However she had seen this particular girl many times, sitting by the lake, reading, sighing out loud. Sometimes she would even shed tears. Her heart went out to the lonely red haired witch, and when the boy had informed her of his plan, she couldn't turn it down. She knew how happy it would make this little human she had become so fond of watching from a distance. Ariala (for that was what she was called) smiled amused at Ginny's look of disgust when she opened the package. Gillyweed was quite unappealing to humans, Ariala reminded herself.
Disguisting Ginny's mind shouted, when she saw, and smelt, the slimy plant like mush sitting in the confines of the gift box. She would have chucked the whole box into the lake if she hadn't caught sight of the small parchment sticking out from the side.
Please don't be hasty and rid yourself of this plant. Though it looks unappealing, and I won't deceive, tastes just the same, it is important that you keep it for this day's gift.
Ginny's heart started to pound, her Secret Santa had never written anything but the notes contained in the envelope for her. This extra note sent shivers of delight through her.
This is Gillyweed, and will allow you to swim under water for one hour's time. Ariala will take care of you while you are in the lake, so fear not the creatures rumored to swim within its depths.
Please don't be frightened, I would never let anything happen to you.
Once again, there was no signature, Ginny had stopped expecting one, but was never the less disappointed. These feelings were pushed away, when her fear kicked in. She looked at the mermaid in front of her, now assuming her to be Ariala, but her presence only comforted her little. She wanted desperately to just eat the Gillyweed and dive into the depths of the cool mysterious lake. The other part of her wanted to steady her trembling legs and get the hell out of here before she got herself killed, or eaten by the Giant Squid.
Ginny re-read the last part of the letter, and against her better judgment, felt reassured by the words.
I would never let anything happen to you.
Something inside her stirred, and she felt warmth flood her body.
The next thing she knew she was shoving the awful substance into her mouth and chewing it with determination.
Ginny grabbed at her throat, and shrieked when she felt gills. Oh my…she thought worried. That's when she noticed the hands she had grabbed at her throat with were webbed. Ginny threw off her cloak and shoes and did the only thing that felt right at the time.
Jumped head first into the dark depths of the lake.
Ariala followed her down, smiling appreciatively. For a few moments she had been worried the human wouldn't accept the offer and retreat back to the castle.
Ginny had been expecting a shock of cold water to smother her, but the shock of the water being comfortable was almost as disarming. She held her breath, thinking surely she was about to drown, but to her surprise the water instead flowed smoothly through her gills. She opened her eyes, and was shocked to see how clear everything was. Ariala was trailing behind her, and for that Ginny was glad.
She narrowed her eyes fearfully when she saw some dark figures approaching. She let out a stream of relieved bubbles when she saw that it was six other mermaids. They greeted her warmly, and Ginny was soon reminded she could understand them underwater.
"Hello-"She tried to say, but found out she was unable to speak underwater. She made a strangled gurgling noise. They smiled at her in understanding, before beckoning her to follow them.
The seven mermaids, all with gray tinged blue skin led Ginny through the depths and passages of the lake. They showed her their village, and their pet grindelows. They showed her the beautiful scenery you could see if you went to the right places.
Ginny was in a state of bliss and wonder. The end of her hour came to soon for her liking, and the seven mermaids brought her back towards the surface. They presented her with a locket before she could break the surface of the water.
"It will always remind you of the time you have spent here." Ariala explained. "Just listen to it while under water, and you will here our songs."
Ginny smiled brightly, looking at the locket in wonder. She tried to thank them profusely, but all that came out was bubbles. They seemed to understand however and looked at her smiling.
"You need not thank us, little one, for all of this is not truly our doing." Ariala said mysteriously, and Ginny immediately knew what she spoke of. Before she could enquire any more, she felt her gills contract, and her lungs fill with water. Ariala quickly pushed her upwards so she could breathe the oxygen above the water. When Ginny looked below her, the mermaids were gone.
She climbed out of the lake, clutching her locket tightly, her clothes clinging tightly to her body. The cool air hit her like thousands of tiny knives and she quickly took out her wand and muttered a drying spell. Ginny sighed in immediate relief, and put on her shoes and cloak that were exactly where she left them on the ice in the middle of the lake. She slowly made her way back to the castle. Her mind buzzing with the wonder of the gift just bestowed upon her.
She smiled brightly when the words of the letter came back to her, I would never let anything happen to you. It was so simply stated, but had the effect of bringing tears to her eyes yet again. I've been a ball of walking emotions all week. Ginny thought amused, making her way back to the Gryffindor Common room, again puzzling over the mystery of the whole situation.
Unknown to Ginny, her 'Secret Santa' had watched her enter the lake, and waited fidgeting nervously until she had resurfaced. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the radiant happy look on her face.
"Beautiful." He had murmured to himself, wanting desperately to jump out from behind the trees and warm her up by holding her close against him.
Only when she had entered the castle did he emerge from his hiding place and start to make his way back to the warmth of the castle. He was so distracted that he didn't notice until to late the snowball hurling towards his face.
"Bloody hell!" He cursed when the snow collided with his already partially frozen face. Wiping the snow from his face and hair he was able to see a snowman ducking to collect more ammo.
Staring in wonder at the living snowman with the Gryffindor scarf, he was barely able to dodge the next attack. The snowball flew over his head, and he sprinted back up to the castle, thanking the gods the thing hadn't been enchanted with legs.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Truly sorry about the wait, I haven't had ANY time to write L but it's out now, and I hope it was worth the wait. I still have more chapters to come, but I can't give you any promises about when they will be up.
The Christmas season can be so hectic…I'm actually supposed to be getting some of my Christmas presents ready and homework done now…but I felt that the completion of this chapter was more important than such things! J
Thanks for R&Ring
Cheers
Imp