Draco Malfoy cursed loudly and rearranged the girl he was supporting as he raced across the lawns to the lake. Aurora was getting weaker and weaker. She had collapsed minutes earlier and her health was failing rapidly.

"Drake, hurry," she moaned. "I need water…" Draco gritted his teeth and looked genuinely worried.

"Just hang on, Misia. We're almost at the lake."

He bit his lip in anxiety and ran faster towards the water, carrying her totally now. She was getting paler and paler, and Aurora's eyes were losing their focus. Her eyeballs rolled up into her head and she started muttering incoherently, and her body became slack. They were so close to the water! He prayed that she would hold on.

Then, Aurora jerked suddenly as if she had received an electric shock and seemed to look around madly, even though her eyes were still out of focus. She grinned and Draco was chilled to the bone as she cackled maniacally. She clapped her hands together in excitement as if she was a child who had just got a new toy. She began to speak in that sing-song voice that scared Draco so much – it was the same voice she used when she was delirious, at Malfoy Manor.

"My son, wherefore seek'st thou thy face thus to hide?"

"Look, father, the Erl-King is close by our side!

Dost see not the Erl-King, with crown and with train?"

"My son, 'tis the mist rising over the plain."

Draco swore loudly. If he didn't know any better, that was exactly the same poem she had recited last time! He quickly assumed that must mean she was delirious. He said, "Come on, Misia, we're almost there! Hold on!"

He ran up to the shore of the chilly lake. The water was crystal clear, so he could see down very deep. To his surprise, the giant squid reached out a long tentacle to the shore. He threw Aurora's inert form onto the tentacle, which curled around her and pulled her, clothes and all, deep down into the frigid lake. Draco sighed and sat down wearily, waiting for her to come back out.

Life was tough when your cousin was a water nymph Princess.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harry stood, slack-jawed, in the sprinklers. He looked over to the lake and saw the giant squid, which never really bothered itself with humans, actually reach out a tentacle to grab some girl – Aurora, Harry thought with a jolt – and pull her deep into the freezing cold lake. Now, Harry saw Draco Malfoy, his least favourite person, sit down heavily next to the shore with a tired, worried expression on his face.

Harry turned around slowly to look at his our friends. They were still in the positions they had been in moments ago. Ginny was on the ground, with her mouth hanging open; Lindsey was holding one of her arms as he knelt in next to her, obviously about to tickle her; Hermione and Ron were both standing stock still among the sprinklers. All five were totally shocked by what they saw. They were all looking stunned at the lake.

Harry shook his head. Evidently, Malfoy had did not know that they were there. What was he doing anyway? Harry felt anger rush up inside him. What the hell was Malfoy trying to pull, throwing that poor girl into the water like that? True, the five Gryffindors were in the water too, but they had a warming spell cast upon them! Aurora would get hypothermia for sure. He looked towards his friends.

"What the…?"

Ron shook his head in bewilderment. "I have no idea, mate. I think we should check it out."

Nodding, they all transformed into their animal forms and crossed the line. They quickly hid behind some trees and went back to humans, changing back into school robes. Then, as one, they walked over to where Malfoy was sitting.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Draco Malfoy was sitting on the banks waiting for Aurora to come back up to the surface when he heard a twig snap. He whipped around in alarm and saw five Gryffindors looking at him dangerously. He quickly hid his unease under a mask of superiority.

"What are you doing here, Potter?" he hissed. "Sod off, and take your stupid little friends with you," he said venomously.

Harry glared. "We saw what you did, Malfoy. You threw your cousin into the lake! What the hell did you do that for?" he asked, looking daggers at Malfoy.

Draco's brow furrowed, and he stood up. He couldn't let them find out what she was! No one was allowed to know that Aurora was a water nymph princess, not even Harry Bleeding Superhero Goody-two-shoes Potter. Covering, Draco tried to defend himself.

"What, now you're following me? Sorry, I don't plan on giving any money to Weasley. You might as well just go," he said scathingly.

Ron yelled out, "Shut up!" and started towards him, but was held back by Hermione and Lindsey. Ginny was glowing a bright red from anger and embarrassment.

Harry took a threatening step towards Malfoy. "Tell me what you did to her NOW," he said in an uneven voice.

Draco smirked. "Ooh, I'm so frightened," he said in a mocking voice and laughed. Regaining some composure, he glared vehemently. "Aren't we getting a little too protective, Potter? I mean, saving the public from M-" he stopped, and caught himself just in time, "Muggle-borns and Halfbloods is one thing, saving Slytherins – even my own cousin – is another."

Harry felt himself going red. So what if he felt protective of Aurora? It wasn't as if he – oh, damn. He did. Harry was falling for that girl like jumping off a skyscraper. So what if she was a – shudder – Malfoy? Aurora was sweet and pretty and friendly. He liked her.

Harry swallowed. "Why did you throw her in there anyway?"

Draco was starting to panic now. She was going to emerge from the water soon; and when she did, there would be a lot of explaining. They couldn't find out! He had to get those stupid Gryffindors gone, poste haste.

"Look, it isn't your business," he said hurriedly, getting very upset now, "so just clear off – now! Go away! Sod off!" he yelled.

The five Gryffindors looked at each other in alarm, all thinking 'What the hell is his deal?'

Just then, Hermione tilted her head to one side. "Can you hear that?" she said softly. The two boys stopped arguing and turned towards to lake. There was a small ripple in it, and the ripple was turning. It was turning? Yes! The ripple was swirling slowly in a clockwise direction – faster and faster and faster. The ripple was getting bigger and bigger.

Then, a swell in the normally still water arose. There was a pop and Aurora appeared. Quite oblivious of what was going on around her, she shrieked with delight and started splashing about in the water. She was diving up and down quickly; just moving through the water and enjoying the cool water play over her skin. Aurora giggled and started to tickle the giant squid. She threw her head back and laughed aloud, then rolled over; arched her back and floated on top of the water, feeling the sensation of water and sighing with rapture.

She closed her eyes with a contented smile and she giggled with ecstacy.

"Hey, Drake, you should really come in here – the water's great!" she cried aloud, with a laugh. She waited for a response from him, but it wasn't the one she had expected.

"Damn."

She opened her eyes and rolled onto her stomach, looking at the shore. There, to her horror, she saw another five people staring at her like she was some animal at a zoo. She clapped her hands to her mouth in dismay and groaned. This was not good at all.

Harry stared in shock. What happened to Aurora? The girl who just emerged was Aurora, but…not. Her porcelain skin had gone from its pale creamy colour to – Harry shook his head, there was no other word for it – BLUE. He swallowed hard. Her skin was BLUE. Ok, that was beyond weird. And her blonde hair that was blue at the tips normally had turned completely blue now, not the gentle, pale azure of her skin; a fluoro blue that almost hurt to look at because it was so bright. Her skin was dotted with – could it be? – small rhinestones, in intricate patterns; and her Hogwarts robes had been replaced by strategically placed shells, and nothing more. Well, her top half was covered with strategic shells. Her bottom half was now – A TAIL. Yes, Aurora now had a long, bright jade green mermaid's tail that stopped just at her hips.

Aurora Artemisia Malfoy bit her blue lip. All eyes were on her. In one fluid movement, she slapped herself on the forehead and cried out, "CRAP!" very loudly, and in a splash, she dived deep down into the lake. Draco's eyes widened.

"No, no! Misia, c'mon, come on, come back, please," he pleaded to the space where she was moments before. Then he turned back to the five Gryffindors still standing frozen with shock and glared at them. "Thanks," he drawled sarcastically, his anger evident. "Now, how the hell am I supposed to persuade her to come back out?"

Lindsey's brow furrowed. "What the heck did we do?" he asked defensively, sounding very confused.

"You scared and embarrassed her, and now she's upset that she has to come clean about this," Draco explained with frustration, pulling off his cloak. "I told you to go away!"

With that, he snubbed them totally. Ignoring them, he walked around to the other side of the lake and knelt on a big rock overhanging a deep part of the water. He cast a warming spell on himself leaned over and submerged himself to his waist. Through the clear depths, he could see Misia swimming in circles – her equivalent of pacing. He pulled out of the water, cast another spell on himself (this one for underwater communication) and went back under the waves to try to coax her out.

Meanwhile, the Gryffindor five were still standing in a group on the water bank. After a few moments, Ginny cleared her throat.

"Umm…shouldn't she be back up for air soon?" she said in a small, unsure voice.

Hermione shook her head. "I – I don't think so. Did you see her tail? That would seem to indicate that she has some type of water properties, so maybe she doesn't have to. I don't know what she is. Aurora can't be human, and she certainly isn't one of those ugly Merpeople in the lake."

After several minutes, Draco finally succeeded in getting Aurora to come up to the surface. Her blue cheeks had grown pink patches in them, a sure sign that indeed she was embarrassed. Draco took the spells off himself and dried off. The Giant Squid had lifted her out of the water and plopped her into his waiting arms, seeing as she didn't have legs and couldn't walk out of the shallows. He lifted her down onto the sand at the bank and let her dry off. The Gryffindors came closer, and stood around the two cousins.

Draco sneered at them and leant back against a tree. Aurora's skin was slowly starting to return to its normal creamy colour as she dried off in the sun. Her hair was also returning to blonde. The five sat down and all looked awkward for a few moments, before Ron spoke.

"So. Um. Mind telling us what the hell is happening?" He said, rather bluntly.

Aurora gulped and trembled visibly. She caught Draco's reassuring eye and bit her lip before continuing.

"Okay. I'm…well, I'm a…" she faltered, looking to Draco for support. He finished for her.

"Aurora's half water spirit. Her mother was my aunt – a witch. Her father was the King of the Water sprites and Sea Nymphs. Because of this, she needs water a lot. Normal tap water doesn't work – Aurora needs to be submerged in a sea or river or lake every once in a while."

He glared at them vehemently. "No one is allowed to know. Don't tell anyone: I mean it," he said threateningly.

Lindsey was thinking. "But if her father was the King, that must mean that she - "

"I'm a Princess. Yeah." She sighed heavily as Hermione gasped. "Let me tell you, being a princess isn't all good. At all."

Ron blinked. "Why not?" he laughed. "I though that was every girl's dream."

Aurora frowned and sat next to Draco, taking his hand. "Not mine," she said softly. "Being a princess, all those who dwell in water, like fish and merpeople and giant squids," here she gestured towards the lake, "respect me a lot. They are my subjects, and I have power over them. I also have power over water."

She held out her hand in the direction of the lake, and made the water swirl. "Power that Voldemort wants," she said bitterly, and spat his name out. Draco took over.

"Voldemort was told of her power when she was born. Her mother, Morganna, accidentally let her brother know."

Harry stopped him and gave a wry smile. "Lucius."

Draco laughed contemptuously and shook his head. "Obviously,

he told the Dark Lord. You-Know-Who only got his hands on her in the last few months."

Aurora hissed. "He murdered his own sister to get to me. He killed my mother and tortured me, his niece, for weeks on end in his own house; to persuade me to join the dark side."

Harry's heart was breaking for this poor girl. He turned to Malfoy. "What, and you just let this happen in your house?" he said incredulously, his eyes flashing daggers.

Malfoy snapped. He had been putting up with these sodding Gryffindors for the last twenty minutes, and this was just enough. He stood up abruptly. "What's that supposed to mean?" he asked dangerously.

Aurora rolled her eyes. "Enough with the testosterone. Couldn't you two just get along? Anyway, it was Draco who saved me." With that, she waved her tail in alarm and tugged hard on Draco's robe.

"Can you take me behind that tree there please?" she asked quickly, indicating a large oak tree. His eyes widened and he nodded, picking her up and turning his back.

Harry frowned at the strange request. "Why do you want to go behind that tree?" he asked curiously.

Aurora looked over Draco's shoulder and smiled in an odd sort of way.

"Because I'm almost dry which means that I'm about to lose my tail and get legs again. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not wearing an awful lot." She said with mischief in her eye.

Harry turned bright red, and stuttered, "Oh..right," and looked away, embarrassed.

Draco was almost there when she began glowing blue, and he dumped her unceremoniously behind the tree before springing away in alarm. "Misia! You could have given me some warning," he said, "You didn't say you were transforming that soon."

From behind the tree, Harry saw some blonde hair from behind the tree trunk rise upwards – Aurora must have stood up on her legs.

"Umm…Does anyone have clothes?" she asked.

Draco hung his head. "Damn. I knew I forgot something,"

"WHAT? You forgot my spare clothes? Drake," she yelled.

Hermione stepped forward. "Accio clothes!" she yelled, pointing her wand towards the lake. Moments later, a bundle of wet, soggy robes appeared. Hermione performed a quick drying spell and handed the clothes to Draco. He gulped, and looked at Hermione with a scandalised expression.

"What? I'm not going behind there."

"Why not? She's your cousin."

"Yes! Cousin…nakedness…girl…guy…ugh," he shuddered, turning away with a look of disgust, ignoring the chilly, "excuse me?" that came faintly from behind the tree.

"My father might be a bastard, but he did teach me proper manners."

Hermione shook her head wearily. "Whatever. Here you are, Aurora," she said, handing the clothes behind the tree.

After a few moments, Aurora was dressed again. She came out and spread her arms wide. "Look at me, all human again," she said.

Ginny sighed and stood up, pulling Lindsey with her. "Okey dokey. Can we go back to the castle now? I think it's about dinner time."

As they were all walking up the steps, Draco and Harry steadily ignoring each other, Harry heard a rush inside his head.

Hey, Harry, came Rose's voice.

Are you planning to visit me anytime soon?

Harry smiled. 'Yeah, tomorrow night,' he thought.

Okay. Bring that prophecy, I think we should work on it. Oh, and Harry –

'Yes?' prompted Harry.

Bring Aurora and that obnoxious jerk Draco as well.

Harry laughed. This would be fun.

A/N

Hmm I loved writing this. This is my longest chappie yet. I only got ONE review. Does blackmail mean nothing to you people?????? Oh well.

Thankyou mightily, you kind person who did bother to review. Bless you.

C'mon, please review. I promise never to be mean again. : P

Review!!!!!!!!!