Hi there! Thanks for coming back!
Kaori: And you better keep coming back.
Please don't threaten our readers. It's bad for our ratings.
Kaori: We don't have ratings. Anyway, we don't own Harry Potter. Or Draco. Or Ginny, sadly.
However, we do own our handful of original cameo characters. Here's Chapter 1!
The cutter Nereid sliced through the warm blue Caribbean waters. She moved quickly, gracefully, to the casual observer nothing more than an ordinary ship, albeit a particularly beautiful one. But the well-trained eye might note with bewilderment that the Nereid moved slightly faster than the wind. She was a patrol ship, commissioned by the newly formed International Magical Cooperation League to help curb the incidents of magical piracy that had sprung up recently in the Caribbean. She was a small craft, but she still managed to comfortably house her crew of four, and her enchanted sails were always full, regardless of the weather. Well, almost. Even the strongest spell couldn't stand against Nature, especially when she unleashed a violent sea storm.
But today the skies were clear, and the ocean glittered with the silvery-golden light of early morning. A young woman with red hair and freckles emerged from below deck, holding up her hand to shield her eyes from the bright sun. She yawned, pulling her hair into a ponytail with a plain elastic band.
"You're up early," said a broad voice. Ginny looked up. A man's figure dropped from the rigging.
"Marina was talking in her sleep," the redhead explained. "Good morning, Dominick."
Dominick put an arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the forehead. "Sleep all right?"
"All right," Ginny shrugged. "Until Marina started going off."
"The human alarm clock, eh?"
Ginny smiled.
Dominick Riverston was a strong, tanned Australian wizard with thick brown hair and blue eyes. He and Ginny had been doing an awkward sort of mating dance for the past several months, which for her had been more frustrating than it was rewarding, though she wouldn't have let him know it. He was charming and friendly and had muscles of iron, but when it came to physical intimacy he was strangely shy.
The sound of small feet on wood heralded the arrival of a third. It was Marina Jones, barefoot and beautiful, with her wand in one hand and a half-eaten banana in the other. "Morning," she said. "I'm here to take over the watch." Her voice was boisterous and held traces of her Louisiana roots.
"Thanks," said Dominick, who looked quite tired. He'd had the dogwatch and had been up for most of the night.
"Go on down and get some sleep, sugar," Marina said, giving him a jovial punch in the arm.
Ginny had always thought that Marina looked like the epitome of a sea witch – bright, untamed hair and wild blue eyes. If she traded in her grey T-shirt and cut-off jeans for a long, flowing dress she'd definitely look the part. "Go on," the American encouraged, her mouth full of banana. "Ash is making breakfast."
Marina climbed up the rigging with her wand in her teeth as Dominick and Ginny climbed down into a cabin that was much larger than physics said it ought to have been. They passed four large, comfortable beds, a coffee table, and an overstuffed blue furniture set before they reached the door to the galley.
A tall Iranian woman looked up as the door swung open. "Good morning," she said. "Dominick, Ginevra."
Ginny smiled, sitting down at the table. "Morning, Ash."
Asherah Najafi was the fourth member of the crew, and had been the unofficial ship's cook since her first voyage two years ago. Technically, they were supposed to trade off galley duty, but Asherah had taken on the job full-time in exchange for half of her watch duty, which was fine because none of the other three could manage anything more elaborate than a grilled cheese sandwich.
"Did Marina wake you up again?" Asherah asked, not turning from the stove. Ginny didn't know what she was cooking, but it smelled heavenly.
"Yeah," Ginny laughed, pouring herself a cup of coffee. "Little bitch," she added affectionately.
"I vote we Spell-O-Tape her mouth shut," Ash suggested. A stream of what looked like a peach sauce flowed from her wand.
"Kinky," Ginny said dryly, sipping her coffee. She noticed Dominick shift uncomfortably. What are you, twelve? she thought. She was going to make a witty comment about Dom's shyness, but Ash had turned and placed a plate of something syrupy and delicious-looking in front of her.
Ginny watched Dominick eat out of the corner of her eye. His face now showed his exhaustion in full, but he was still beautiful. His tanned biceps bulged. Ginny felt her nipples go hard as she studied him.
She'd get him tonight, she decided. Tonight, for sure.
Ginny lay in bed, feeling the gentle rocking of the ship. She could hear Dominick's breathing over the sound of the waves. She was increasingly infuriated with him. No matter what, he always found some excuse not to fuck her. It had been several months now since she had last had sex. She had even found herself staring at Asherah and wondering what it would be like to make love to another woman. Wild-eyed Marina Jones would probably be game for some experimenting.
Marina Jones, who fingered herself openly in broad daylight. Marina Jones, who claimed to have her pussy tattooed. Ginny didn't doubt it. She had already seen two tattoos on the blonde witch's body: One on her lower back said "Never Knows Best" and another below her left buttock read "Fuck Face 2 the eX-Treme."
But tonight Ginny would have her man. Ash was on the dogwatch. Marina was sleeping on deck. This was her chance. Slowly, she sat up in bed and slipped out from under her blankets. Wearing only her blue cotton panties and a matching camisole, she was clothed by the darkness. Silently she crept to Dominick's bed, climbing carefully in beside him.
Dom woke with a start, spinning around to face her. "Gin- Ginevra?" he whispered.
"Shh." She put a finger to his lips, then drew it slowly down his neck to his chest. She kissed him, her other hand twining in his hair. He seemed frozen in shock for a moment, but suddenly he was kissing her back, his hands were on her, everywhere, until one rested at the small of her back and the other was pushing its way up her shirt.
Ginny's tongue caressed Dominick's lips and he opened them for her, allowing Ginny to twirl the tip of her tongue around his. He pulled her firmly to him and rolled onto his back so that she was straddling him. The hand that was under her tight camisole slid further up to cup her breast. Ginny grinned to herself and reached down to stroke him through the thin fabric of his boxers. He moaned and broke the kiss, gasping. "Gin – are you sure?" he whispered. "I mean, do you really want to-"
"Yes!" Ginny said impatiently.
Dominick rolled them over again so that he was on top of her. Ginny knew this wasn't going to be very romantic, but she'd take what she could get. His large, rope-callused hand rubbed her nipple and she shivered. He must have enjoyed her reaction, because he smiled into the kiss as his other hand slipped below the waistband of her underwear. She slid her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her, hoping he would get the hint.
But then came the sound that the crew of the Nereid dreaded most.
"Ambush!"
Ginny and Dominick froze.
"Ambush!" Asherah's voice screamed again. Her shouting tripped the alarm and a high screech pierced through the blanket of darkness. Dominick threw off the sheets and they both scrambled out of bed. Ginny snatched her wand out from under her pillow and dragged on jeans and a pair of shoes as quickly as she could. She heard the pop of Dom Apparating topside and followed suit, deciding to forgo a T-shirt.
With a loud crack she appeared on deck, brandishing her wand. She could see the pirate ship looming not too far off, flying not a Jolly Roger but a black flag glittering with the Dark Mark. Ginny crossed her fingers and hoped that at least Nature would be on their side tonight.
But Nature wasn't on anybody's side. She did precisely what she pleased and tonight, she had apparently decided, there would be a storm. Ginny felt the first fat raindrops on her head just as a series of cracks signaled that they had been boarded.
Six pirates, all in their long black robes. That meant they hadn't been at sea long enough to learn the extreme disadvantages of wizard's robes on a ship. The IMCL patrol crews all wore Muggle clothes. Ginny counted one, two, three forearms emblazoned with the Dark Mark. These were not simply Dark enthusiasts, then, but rogue Death Eaters.
"Shit," Ginny muttered.
Goosebumps rose on her skin as the six pirates raised their wands.
"STUPEFY!" she yelled, as the air exploded with spells. Her Stunner struck one of the pirates in the chest and knocked him over. She saw another fall stiffly to the deck under a Body-Bind cast by Marina. Asherah had managed to hold off two of the Death Eaters with an Impediment Jinx, giving her enough time to Apparate to the fore deck and set off a distress signal. Dominick she couldn't see, but she didn't have time to look. Another round of cracks announced the arrival of several more pirates. Ginny lost track of how many there were. It was mass confusion as the sea air hissed with magic and rain. Ginny suddenly found herself face to face with one of the Death Eaters – a small woman with dark hair and a scar across her face.
"Expelliarmus!" The woman shouted. Ginny's wand flew from her hand. The Death Eater caught it and raised both their wands with a sadistic grin. "Cruci-" she began, but Ginny had punched her hard in the jaw. The woman floundered backwards, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. She moved with a strange gravity and Ginny realized that she was greatly bogged down by the weight of her wet robes. Ginny took back her wand.
"Petrificus Totalis!"
The Death Eater went rigid and fell to the deck. Ginny whirled as a stray spell flew past her ear. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw another Death Eater topple overboard. From behind her, she heard someone cast a Stunning Spell. Luckily, this too whizzed past her, barely grazing her shoulder. She saw the pirate who had cast it, and she noticed that his forearms were bare of any brands. She saw his lips move, though she could not hear the incantation.
"Protego!" she shouted. The pirate's spell slammed into her shield. It did not touch her, but the impact forced her back against the gunwale. In her efforts to hold on to her wand, her hand slipped on the wet, lacquered wood. She was off balance for a moment, trying to regain her grip, when one of the pirates – it might have been the same one or another, Ginny didn't care – grabbed her around the neck and slammed her forcefully down onto the gunwale. Dull pain shot up her spine. She thought she heard someone calling her name – Dominick? But she didn't have time to stop and listen. The man's strong fingers were closing on her throat. Her mind was blank and she couldn't think of a spell to cast, so instead she just kicked up as hard as she could.
The pirate's eyes crossed and he doubled over, releasing her neck. She gasped for air, still sprawled weakly against the gunwale, coughing. Her skin was slick with rain. She pointed her wand at the crippled pirate to hex him, but he lunged for her angrily and she found herself thrown backwards, barreling over the gunwale.
Ginny only had a few seconds to scream before she plunged into the frothing black sea.
And there's Chapter 1! We hope you liked it.
Kaori: Even if it is on the short side for us. Wince.
From now on the chapters will be longer! Come back for Chapter 2!
Kaori: Read and review!
Thank you!