--Incendio--

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Don't sue, I'm poor. EXCEPTION: I own the Witches of Trane, the Crystal Orb, the flying carpet idea for the story (kinda), the idea that the forests of Albania are next to the Dead Sea, the Door of Serenity, Fabrisia, home of the nymphs and Amethyst Cove.

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CHAPTER 21: Amethyst Cove (Chapter rated a strong PG-13)

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Hermione, Draco, and Ron settled into the small hut in Fabrisia, shortly after Karissa left them to their thoughts. Hermione's still body was laying on one of the small beds, and Ron was on the one opposite to it. There were also 2 wooden chairs and Draco and Hermione settled into them. Hermione sighed in her ghost form, and looked at the ceiling that was carefully woven out of wood. The room was amazing.

There was a long silence, and Hermione loved it. It was all she wanted to do, just sit and... be. Not have to run around and be worried about someone or something that she had to do. It felt good, for a few moments, and during those moments she was thinking about settling down in Fabrisia for a couple days, a week even. They could get help from here, the Nymphs would help them, and they could save the Weasleys and whoever was involved in this war now. Then she realized, they couldn't stay here. They had to go somewhere so Hermione could be brought back to life. And it made her very sad. She sighed out loud, and looked over to Draco. He was sitting in the chair, with his arms crossed over his chest, head lolled back and eyes closed. She watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, then looked over at her own body that was as still as... 'A dead body.' she thought. But then she corrected herself, she wasn't dead! It was just temporary, then she would be able to inhabit her body again.

Proof of that was that her skin wasn't pale and white like it turns after someone dies, it was still rosy and blotchy like it has always been. And she was glad for it.

Hermione looked over to Ron, who was laying on the bad, obviously fast asleep. She smiled, and turned to Draco, taking his arm, and shaking him. He started and sat up quickly, looking around and blinking. "What? Oh, it's only you." he sighed and sat back again, closing his eyes but keeping his head up this time.

"Come on." whispered Hermione mischievously.

He opened one eye cautiously. "Come on where?"

"Lets go explore the city." she said.

He groaned and sat up slowly. "Okay, but when we're done, I'm coming back and going to sleep. I'm exhausted."

Hermione smiled and nodded, for once happy she was a ghost, because ghosts don't sleep.

They exited the hut into the dimming daylight, still partly covered by clouds, and went left. They passed by many different shops and stands, some selling food, other magical items, or clothing and jewelry. Hermione stopped at many of them and admired their finery and craft with awe. She sighted a turquoise gem necklace that she especially liked, and Draco bought it for her, with the few Galleons he had. Hermione hugged him, and slipped it over her transparent neck. It looked quite elegant, almost as if it were floating in air.

After a while, the shops and stands dissolved into city, with rows and rows of homes. They passed those for a few minutes, watching children play in the front of their houses, enchanting bugs and flowers, and mothers sitting under the overhang to the front door, watching approvingly. They all made a point to smile and acknowledge Hermione and Draco.

Then, after they passed more houses, the city came to a stop at a big iron-rod gate, on which hung a sign that read: "Those that pass, will not last." Hermione noticed they had happened upon the poor part of the city, where people were scarce and homes were filthy. She got the chills, and wrapped her ghost arms around herself in a effort to stay warm. Draco read the sign with mild amusement and mischief.

"Lets go, Draco. It's getting late." said Hermione quickly and suspiciously.

He nodded slightly, and turned around, walking back to their temporary home. They were almost there, when Karissa and another nymph walked in front of them. Karissa stopped, and waved. "Hi you too!" she said enthusiastically.

They greeted Karrisa, and her friend who she introduced as Jamelyn. "Hey!" said Karrisa, "We're just about to go to the swimming hole, do you want to come? The mermaids come out at night, and they're all very nice. Have you ever seen mermaids before?" she asked.

Hermione gasped. Real Mermaids! "No!" said Hermione. "I mean- yes! We'd love to come, right Draco?"

Draco sighed. "Sure, I only wanted to take a nap." he said sarcastically.

Karissa frowned. "You'll probably never get another chance to see a mermaid, human. Come on." she tugged on Hermione's ghostly arm, and Draco followed them to the swimming hole. It was beautiful. There was a small pond of water, and Hermione guessed it was about 10 feet deep or so. It was surrounded by high rocks, and Hermione could also see mountains in the distance. The moon cast a amazing eerie purple shadow on the glistening water.

Hermione gasped when she noticed small sparkling stones in the rocks. 'Amethysts.' she thought in amazement.

As if reading her thoughts, Karissa smiled and looked at Hermione. "Welcome to Amethyst Cove." she said.

Hermione was amazed when suddenly many fish-like creatures swam to the river. Only then did Hermione recognize them as mermaids. They were beautiful, with long purple hair, and purple scaled tails. Their hair was waist-length, and they had a few necklaces that partially covered their nipples, Hermione could still see them, though, and blushed. She looked over at Draco, who also seemed to notice their showing nipples, and was suddenly wide-awake. Hermione sighed.

"Hi ladies!" shouted Karissa, oblivious to the fact that the mermaids were half-naked. They waved hi back, splashing around and laughing.

"Who are they?" asked one of the mermaids.

"Oh, this is Hermione, and this is Draco. They're staying in the Beauchamp Hut for the night." replied Karissa. The mermaids nodded knowingly, and said hi to Hermione and Draco. Hermione noticed Draco seemed to be unable to take his eyes off the mermaids chest, so she waved her hand in front of his face, trying to bring him back into reality.

Then she remembered- her hand was see-through. Hermione giggled and stood infront of him, kissing his quickly. He started and blinked. "Oh... sorry." he said, looking at his feet.

"Come on," said Hermione, "lets talk to them."

She floated over to one of the rocks and sat down comfortably, Draco and Karissa following suit.

Karissa waved one of the mermaids over, and Hermione noticed her for the first time. She was the only mermaid that wasn't purple, but stood out with red hair and a red tail that shimmered in the moonlight. Hermione's breath was taken away, she was beautiful. Her hair fell right below her bosom, making her one of the few mermaids who was censored enough for Draco to look her in the eye.

Karissa introduced her to Hermione and Draco. "Hermione, Draco, this is my best friend, Laurel! Laurel, this is Hermione and Draco, they're-"

"Staying in the Beauchamp Hut, I heard." she said, and smiled.

"Hi." Laurel did a back flip into the water, and splashed the three with her fin, getting Draco and Karissa wet. Hermione giggled, happy she couldn't get wet.

Laurel looked at her oddly after she surfaced. "Why are you see-through?" she asked suddenly.

Hermione smiled awkwardly. "I'm temporarily dead." she said matter-of-fact. Laurel looked shocked. "What? How'd you die?"

"Oh, I killed myself." Then, seeing Laurel's shocked face, she corrected herself. "It's a spell- I'm a witch- I'll only be a ghost for 24 hours. Then, if someone says the counter-spell, I'll be put back to normal."

"And if you're not?" asked Laurel, telepathically.

Hermione looked at the rock.

Laurel nodded. "I know someone that can help you." she said after a minute.

Hermione looked up, her eyes sparkling. "You do?"

"Yeah." said Laurel. "But to get there in time, we'll have to swim."

Hermione nodded her approval. "I can stay underwater. Dead, remember?"

Laurel smiled. Hermione began to feel much better. Until Laurel told her she'd need to bring her body, too.

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This is my favorite, and best, chapter yet. I really love it. I also finally got around to mentioning my best friend, Laurel the mermaid. The description of Amethyst Cove was from a painting she made me fo Christmas. Review and be true!

Lisa - Thanks... I think. I spell check all my stuff, but sometimes my computer doesn't pick up on that stuff. And about the moving too fast, what can I say? I hate when stories and books take forever to get to a point, and thankfully, I'm no hypocrite.

Lestatlover1784 - Thanks so much. :-) I actually tried to convince Laurel to be a unicorn, but she wouldn't have anything to do with it. Too bad!

Scarz - Thank you so much! I won't kill her, I promise. The whole story would fly out the window if i did that. ;-) Review again sometime! I like reading your comments.