The mist the settled over the sea on the morning of Gellert's return to school was normal for the summer island, but it didn't make it any less spooky as Hermione's wandless magic propelled the ship soundlessly through the water. Above them rigging creaked and water rippled against the hull; otherwise unnoticeable sounds that were amplified by the dead stillness of the fog.
'Left ten.' Berg called from the front. Gellert turned the wheel until the line on the compass hovered ten numbers higher. 'Good. Hold steady.'
A dark mass loomed out of the fog beside them, along with the steady whoosh of little waves hitting something solid. His heart pounded nervously as he followed Berg's next set of orders. The ship seemed to shift slightly beneath his feet and he wasn't sure whether he imagined the visible shift of the bow against the grey backdrop that time.
'I think we're clear.' Berg called. Hermione hummed and above them canvas unfurled with a heavy rustle. An enchanted breeze stirred, filling sails like a ladies' billowing skirts. Ropes creaked and strained and the ship leaned over slightly, picking up speed. The water whooshed against their sides and the cool, damp air sliced through his thin shirt, plastering it to his skin.
He loved it. It was like flying a broomstick but more powerful. With every twitch of the wheel beneath his fingers, the massive ship swung with all the inexorability of a titan. He could see how muggles could travel like this across oceans, with just the wind and the weather and the sea.
As if the sun shared his glee, it finally burst above the horizon and lit the ship with crimson and gold fire. The ship seemed to hum with pleasure (if Hermione's magic had given it actual sentience, he was going to kill her).
But the island was small and the trip was only short. Far too soon Berg was readying the anchor to drop again and Hermione was stilling the conjured wind. The ship slowed, drifted, then the anchor rattled out with a sound like the muggle wands in his visions. Silence fell.
He could just see the muggles on the beach - the waves a white lace and the men dark shadows with waving limbs.
'Ready?' Berg asked as he jogged back along the deck. Hermione was a pale shape at the front of the ship, her hair and robes drifting around her in the morning breeze that had settled in whilst they were travelling as ropes and canvas furled and coiled around her like a nest of snakes.
'Yes.' Gellert lied. He was still uncomfortable with the blatant magic but he had seen the finished warding that Hermione worked on with her brother and he had to concede that to the inexperience eye it did just look like decoration.
'Good.' Berg said, flicking his wand at the little boat that was strapped to the roof of the little central house. It lifted and flipped over in a smooth line, settling with barely a gentle splash in the water. Gellert heaved the rolled ladder over the side and it clattered into position, allowing Berg to clamber down into the little boat a moment later.
Several minutes later, Hermione joined them.
'Your turn.' She said bluntly. Gellert could feel her magical exhaustion, even without melding their power. Her usual inferno had dimmed to a wavering candle flame, and she doesn't even cast anything to stop the little splashes of water from wetting her skirts. Berg does it for her.
Gellert does his best to throw out his magic and copy exactly how Hermione had managed to move the ship earlier.
He could see why she was exhausted. It was hard! The water didn't move like air and he at least had an affinity for it, unlike her.
He was relieved when the bow grated gently against the sandy beach, and the boat rocked as Berg scrambled to help Hermione step regally off onto the shore.
'Lady Hermione... is that...' the captain stuttered. The ship was a ghostly form but with every moment the mist swirled away and it became clearer.
'Your ship. My brothers and I have retrieved it from Poseidon's chest.' Hermione answered benevolently, smiling. The muggle captain bowed hastily.
'We will be forever grateful, My Lady.'
'You remember your promise?' She looked across the crew, all of whom dipped their heads in hasty respect at her gaze.
'We shall tell nobody of your existence. The official record shall state that we were holed, but managed to beach the ship and perform repairs somewhere on an island near Stockholm.' Captain Granger looked meaningfully at his crew and they mumbled agreement, adding in details to suggest that they had definitely been fixing the boat and couldn't comprehend how one could think otherwise.
'You have my gratitude. There will be fair winds until this afternoon; I suggest you take advantage of them.'
'We shall be forever in your debt.' Captain Granger bowed deeply, then turned to his crew and scattered them with a few quick words. The little camp became a bustle of activity as they gathered their belongings.
Gellert tensed as one of the muggles crept over to them - grubby and shifty looking with a thick, unkempt beard and several tattoos.
'Let him speak.' Hermione commanded softly.
'Er... Lady 'ermione.' The man bowed deeply and respectfully. He was very pale and his eyes kept darting between the trio as if terrified, despite being significantly taller and larger. 'I er... made you a gift, to show me gratitude for savin' me life. It's not much, fer a Lady such as yerself but all I got is me hands.'
He had gone scarlet during his bow, although Gellert couldn't tell whether it was nerves or just headrush. He held out one of the little tins that they had had with them on the beach - it had once contained some kind of biscuits if the image on the top were to be believed. Hermione took it and popped it open with both hands and her eyes widened as she saw what was inside. Gellert shifted sideways so that he could see inside too.
He never would have guessed the grubby muggle facing him to be capable of such beauty - but he should have learned not to judge muggles by their appearance after the embroidered saddle the family in the desert had gifted him for Star.
Hermione lifted the necklace by the delicate string cord. Glossy disks of mother of pearl clinked against one another; wafer thin and luminescent in the morning sun.
'It's beautiful.' Hermione informed the muggle kindly. 'Gellert, help me.'
Gellert obeyed, carefully slipping the necklace over her head and tightening it with the two clever sliding knots at the back. When he stepped away, the little disks framed her neck like a collar and the natural, organic forms were more beautiful that even the best cut diamonds.
'Thank you, I love it.' Hermione repeated and the muggle was definitely blushing as he bowed again, shuffling back several steps before scurrying away to a huddle of his crew mates.
'They've got more gifts for you.' Berg decided after a moment of critical inspection. 'And he was the bravest, so now they're asking how you took it.'
'I like it. It's unique.' Hermione said, fiddling with one of the disks.
'Look out. Someone's plucked up the courage.' Berg jerked his chin towards the huddle where a tall man with skin as dark as Berg's hair was making his way over. His massive hands cradled something pale.
'Lady 'ermione.' The man bowed deeply, but even bent over he was still taller than them. As if deciding that wasn't acceptable, he dropped heavily to his knees in the sand. 'A gift.'
He had made a whole herd of carved Granians, grazing peacefully on a plank of driftwood. Some had their wings spread, others lounged casually on the grass and there was even a tiny foal, complete with miniature wings
Another man was already shuffling up behind him, ready to proffer his gift so Hermione thanked the man sincerely and complimented the detail in the wing feathers. Practically glowing with pride, the muggle stood up again and hurried to join his fellows.
By the time all of the muggles were on the boat and ready to depart, Hermione had been gifted a delicate fish leather purse, a painted mural of a ship under siege by sea monsters on a sheet of canvas and a set of curved bone hairpins decorated with pearly seashells.
'I don't understand how you make people love you just by accepting things they've made for you.' Berg said in awe as the muggles hollered their goodbyes and well wishes across the distance and creaking of oars.
'Love and you shall be loved, hate and you shall be hated.' She said vaguely. For some reason, her eyes seemed to settle on Gellert with unnerving intensity and he got the unsettling feeling that she expected him to react to that statement in some way.
He didn't.