Gonzalo: "I do well believe your highness; and did it to minister occasion to these gentlemen, who are of such sensible and nimble lungs, that they always used to laugh at nothing."

Antonio: 'Twas you we laugh'd at."

Gonzalo: "----Who, in this kind of merry fooling, am nothing to you: so you may continue, and laugh at nothing still."

---- Gonzalo, Act II, Scene I, The Tempest

THE TEMPEST

--- Bowman's Isle ---

Hermione bobbed in the water, her legs kicking under her. Large, warm hands held her little waist comfortingly and pushed her through the water, making her squeal with glee. Every so often, Iris would swim around her and splash water at her with a flick of her tail. But however much fun she was having in the water, it was nothing compared to Pan's delight.

"Fasta, fasta, Pan!" Neenie shrieked, and Pan obliged. He propelled her through the chest-deep water and grinned, listening to her infectious laughter.

The three otters thought this game was very entertaining. They raced along underwater, swimming through Pan Hector's legs and looping Neenie's little body.

At first, the Granger men had argued who would fish and who would keep her entertained. Pan answered that one by stripping his shirt off and expressing his inexorable wish to avoid the 'chance of a lifetime', as Will so generously put it. With just his trousers on, he plunged into the water, Hermione in tow.

On the rocks in the mouth of the cave, David, Grandfather, and Will watched all with mild amusement. Their lines were cast, the bait was set, and all they had now to do was wait and hope that Iris, Juno, and Ceres didn't scare all of the fish away. It was now Neenie's fifth time being pushed around the cove, and still Pan wasn't breaking a sweat.

"More likely to drown himself rather than her if he keeps going on like that," Grandfather remarked, watching them.

"Makes you wish you weren't quite so old and feeble, now, doesn't it?" said Will sourly. Apparently, he was still angry with John and David Granger for taking him to Bowman's Isle without his permission.

"No, it makes me wish I had someone decent for a son, instead of the blockhead sitting next to me!"

"Be fair, Dad, David isn't all that bad."

"You're right. He's just a dentist. It's the inane actors I abhor."

"Ouch. Such strong words for a fragile, little grandpa like you."

"You want to know fragile? Come right over here, wimp, and I'll show you how fragile your wrist is when I break it!"

"Children, children," David interrupted lazily. "Must I come over there and separate you two?"

"But! He started it!" Will complained in a child's high, whiny voice.

Any further protests were cut short when David felt his line give a yank. Not shortly after, Will and Grandfather were also kept busy in the ensuing chaos that followed.

Further out, Neenie let out a shriek of laughter as Iris started nibbling on her toes. Pan felt, rather than heard, the otter chuckle in reply as Iris launched herself at him, climbing up onto his back from the water's surface.

A relaxed null settled in the crooks of the cave. A few gulls were feeding in the distance, shrieking and squawking loudly as they fought over a dead mackerel. In the sky, the sun was waning, delving deeper and deeper in the west.

Will moodily fingered the line of his fishing pole. Next to him, his father was running his usual jokes about dentistry to Hector, who had come ashore for a break, while David --- having been through this process many times before --- just rolled his eyes and sighed. Normally, Will would have loved a chance at making his younger brother uncomfortable, but his mind was on something else.

Why did they do this, the bloody morons? Why did they bring me here? They know I can't face her…not after what I did.

He had asked his father and brother the very same thing after they were unloading the fishing supplies from the yacht.

"Well, we've only known about it for half an hour," David had said. "It was mutual agreement."

"Oh, really? Agreement to what?" Will snapped.

His brother then had come around and looked him in the eye. "Agreement on getting your arse in gear to apologize to her, of course!"

And that was the end of the conversation.

She probably can't stand the sight of me now, he now thought savagely. I wouldn't be surprised if she demanded my head on a platter right on the spot.

He snorted. Forget about demanding it, she'd probably do it herself! I'm not exactly the most-liked man around here anymore.

The conversation beside him shifted, and his ears pricked when he heard a name mentioned.

Sebastian! Damn, how could I forget about him? He's only her brother, for Gehenna's sake! He'll crucify me...!

He moaned and collapsed on the gunnysack behind him.

"What's up your trousers?"

He turned to see all three men looking over at him. "You are!" he snapped.

David made a distasteful noise and wrinkled his nose, "I think I'll pass, thank you."

Hector clapped his hands over Hermione's ears when Will explained in great detail where exactly he thought his brother should go.

"Oh, sod it," David said. "This still isn't about Rebecca, is it?"

"What d'you think, you ponce?" Will said roughly.

"Come off it, Will, and give it a rest! It's been a bloody year, she's bound to have forgotten already," Grandfather added.

"Forgotten? Have you forgot what happened, Dad? I dragged her up on a stage in front of hundreds of people and completely disgraced her! I made a drunken arse of myself and shouted her name to the world! She had reporters hounding her for weeks afterwards; why…we even made the front page of The Daily Press! Now tell me how, in the devil's name, she's supposed to have 'forgotten' that!" he said, glaring at his father and brother.

Hector gaped at Will, faintly aware of Neenie tugging on his arm.

"Be's a fissy, Pan. I wants to be's a fissy some mores!"

"Alright, alright," Hector said, and gladly let her steer him away from the conversation.

"You are right, Will," said David once Hector and Neenie were once more engaged in their game. "Most likely she hasn't forgot, but she's bound to have forgiven you. Don't you remember, this is Rebecca we're talking about! She'd forgive a mad axe-man if he'd only look at her with puppy-eyes!"

"Your point being?" said Will sarcastically.

"My point being that we are going to her house whether you like it or not! You're a man, Will --- er, that is, you're supposed to be --- so act like one!"

Will fumed about this. He knew that no matter how much he ranted or raved, his brother would never give in; however, this didn't stop him from trying.

"So what d'you expect me to do then, eh? Waltz right in there and ask her to forgive a drunken fool, and we'll pretend it never happened? Just like that?" he asked incredulously.

Dad and David looked at each other for a split second before turning back to him.

"Yes!"

"I can't believe you're actually convincing me to waltz right into her house and apologize," Will was still muttering an hour later.

"What are you, ten?" Grandfather asked.

They had wanted to leave the cove earlier so they could still have time to visit Rebecca and Sebastian before leaving for home, but Hermione had other plans. After her seventh marvellous ride around the cove with her Pan, she took it in turns to drag each of the men out into the water with her.

Daddy showed her how to hold her breath underwater.

"Since birth, you see, babies naturally have the talent to swim and breathe underwater," Grandfather explained to Hector as they watched them. "And when Hermione was just a little'un, Cordelia had taken her to the community's water aerobic classes. She's a right little otter in the water, that one. But then, as children grow older, their instincts start dyin' away, and they forget how…"

The world was a very different place underwater, she soon discovered. The world was blue, and she was floating, and her hair was moving around her, and Daddy was holding his breath and looking at her and holding her, smiling. Bubbles were floating everywhere, and otters were darting here and there. They swam about bringing in a flurry of current, looping themselves around her, gambolling, teasing, urging her to come and play with them. They were ecstatic that she was where they were, and they could see her and she could see them.

She clung to her daddy as they zoomed by her, watching them go back and forth, to and fro…

…And then Gampa was there. He grabbed gently around Ceres' middle and with her force, she carried him through the water for a while before slowing down for the weight.

They broke surface for a while and Gampa let the otters do tricks for her. They raced each other to the end of the cove and back; David was certain he even saw Juno shove Iris a little, and Ceres pulling Juno's tail with her mouth so that she could beat her. Gampa threw the rest of the unused bait high into the air, letting the otters race after it. Ceres earned a round of applause when she got there first and kicked off from a rock to leap into the air and catch the airborne fillet in her mouth.

Then, while Juno and Ceres were showing off how they could climb up Grandfather's body in order to get to the small squid he'd perched atop his head, Iris slipped off on a mission of her own.

Unseen by any of the others, she slipped up on the rocks and behind Will, who was standing by the water's edge, torn between wanting to join them and his hatred and fear of the depths of the water.

Iris made his decision for him.

Will only heard a small chitter of triumph before claws dug into his leg and small jaws connected painfully with his buttocks.

"AAARRRRGGGHHH!"

He pitched headfirst into the aquatic depths in front of him, Iris still clamped on.

David and Hector and Dad were laughing uproariously when Will emerged, scowling. He was too busy cursing to hear his father give a chirrup in between his teeth. The next thing he knew, Juno and Ceres had leapt into the water with Iris and began to climb all over him as if he were a theme park, combing their claws through his hair, wrapping their thick tails around his biceps, and chewing on his ears.

Hermione stared at the spectacle for only a moment before ploughing straight through the water, dogpaddling as fast as her chubby legs could carry her, shrieking. "Munkle Will! Munkle Will!"

Finally she reached him and wrapped her arms and legs around him, kissing him all over. "Is it hurts? Is it gotsa booboo?"

"No, Neenie, Munkle Will is just fine. He just has a very sore bottom. But, thank you for noticing!" he said loudly over his shoulder to where his idiotic other three 'friends' were still in a laughing fit.

"You're quite welcome!" David managed to call out. "But you do know that was a long time coming? As Cordelia always says, 'Turnabout is fair play!'"

"Oh, bugger off, you masticated sea monkey!" Will said, annoyed.

His brother snorted. "Well, I'm a sight better than you, barnacle-butt!"

It took quite a while, but after three rounds of pleading, cajoling, arm-twisting, and apologizing, agreement was finally reached. The two teams were organized, the rules laid down, and the game begun.

It was Water Polo at its finest.

"Foul!"

"I wasn't using two hands, you git, I was scratching my elbow!"

"Sure, like I'll believe that one."

"SCORE!"

"Great bullocks, you two! Quit fighting like a pair halfwits and join the game!"

"They're only fighting because they are halfwi --- ooph!"

"Oops."

"Now, that was a foul! So, Hector gets awarded the Neenie-ball --- and he shoots --- and he --- SCORES! So we're playing one-on-one now, the Snarks against the Barnacle-Butts, and everyone's wondering: Who will win?"

Of course, the game did have its setbacks, and the lack of players and resources were one of them. Instead of a ball, for instance, Hermione was the catch prize.

But when Will first suggested her being the 'ball', David was torn. "What will I tell Cordelia? She'd never allow it…I'll be skinned alive."

"Dear, dear little brother," Will said, shaking his head. "She can't if we don't, which we won't! She'll never even know…"

So Hermione shrieked with glee as she was 'tossed' from man to man over the water, back and forth across the cove. Daddy tucked her under his arm and dodged Hector before passing her off to Gampa, who swooped her up and bore her through the water.

Once, Will was called on brutality for kicking Hector on the shins underwater. He, of course, tried to proclaim his innocence by insisting that he'd glimpsed an otter near his foot, but the evidence was against him. As he complained after Hector took the penalty shot, "And why would I attack my own team?"

It was shortly after David threw Hermione to Grandfather and he failed to catch her that the game drew to a close. She emerged from the water a split second after she went under, giggling happily, saved by her remarkable little floozies.

"Now look who's talking, butterfingers!" Will smirked at his father.

"Oi! My fingers are numb! I can't grip properly anymore!"

"So said the angler to the octopus."

"But anglers don't have----"

"Exactly."

But everyone agreed that it was starting to get chilly. Even though Neenie'd been kept out of the water for the better part of the game, David had to wrap her into a blanket cocoon after he finished drying her off for her to be comfortable.

The supplies were put away, the yacht secured in a place not too far from the cove where it would be safe from bashing into the rocks on the fast rising tide. Wet clothes were exchanged for dry ones, and the former were draped over the railings, the mast, the rigging, and every other place imaginable.

They set off.

The path up the cliffs was steep and narrow. It was nearing sunset and Neenie could see her and her daddy's shadow against the rock face. She was riding piggyback, leaving David his hands to hold the side of the cliff so he didn't stumble. Far below them, the waves were crashing against the base, becoming more ferocious by the minute.

Grandfather led them single file as the path finally reached the top and twisted around a knot of trees, a staff in his hand to help his bad back. His oldest son came next, and could be heard muttering, but what he was saying no one could quite catch. Daughter up top, David was third in line, panting slightly at the abrupt climb. Lastly came Hector, with a bag slung over his shoulder that housed their immediate goods, most of them Neenie's belongings.

Their shadows were long, but the trees' shadows were longer. Hector was following the rest when he suddenly felt a chill go down his spine. He swivelled on the spot, his bag banging against his side, but he saw nothing behind him.

I don't like this…he thought, the hairs on his arm starting to prickle. Oh, I really don't like this…

The trees cleared and they continued on. After a while, Grandfather started to sing in a lusty voice an old sea ditty.

"Ho! The master, the swabber, the boatswain, and I,

The gunner and his mate,

Loved Mal, Meg, and Marian, and Margery,

But none of us cared for Kate!"

David chuckled. Dad and his songs! He turned to look back at Hector but was startled out of what he was going to say by the odd expression on the young man's face.

"What, do you not care for the song?" he joked.

Hector looked up at him, an intense look in his eyes, his face taut with worry. "No…it's not that," he said.

David waited, but Hector didn't say anything else. "Well…" David prompted him.

"I…well…I just have a strange feeling, is all. It's probably nothing." Hector said, waving it away.

"For she had a tongue with a tang,

Would cry to a sailor 'Go hang!'

She loved not the savour of tar, nor of pitch,

Yet a tailor might scratch her where'er she did itch:

Then to sea, boys, and let her go hang!"

The path widened and they came to Antonio Street, which had old, Victorian cottages dotted on both sides. Ivy twisted down the roofs and into nice little gardens; the yards were enclosed with hedges and quaint white fences. Neenie squealed as a black cat darted up to David and started entwining itself around his legs.

"Kitty! Kitty, Daddy, kitty! Wants to pet kitty, pwease? Wants to, pwease?" she asked.

Will, meanwhile, had seemed to pick up his old uneasiness. He suggested going back to the boat and waiting with the otters until they came back. He even tried turning around and going back down the path, but David and Grandfather caught him around the shoulders and hauled him back.

"What's the matter, is ickle Willy frightened of the big, mean lady?" David teased.

"No…he's rather frightened of the lady's bigger and meaner older brother!" Will said, but he shut up after that.

After a few moments of listening to the silence around him, David decided to remark on the weather. "My, it's gorgeous out here…there's going to be quite a colourful sunset, too, you can tell by those clouds."

Will peered at them. "Quite close to the ground, wot, wot? Sure you can navigate through them, Dad?"

"Well, I taught you how to speak, didn't I? And let me tell you that that was no easy feat!" Grandfather said.

"Yeah, you taught me how to speak," Will muttered savagely. "And how to lie, and how to cheat, and how to curse…"

"Yes, I am quite a man of many talents, aren't I? Good thing you had me to look up to all these years and not some daft drunkard!" Grandfather said cheerfully.

Will rolled his eyes up to the sky. "Why couldn't you've just given me a normal father?" he asked the heavens.

"Why couldn't I have just had a normal son?" Grandfather retorted.

"And what am I, chopped seaweed?" David said.

"Whatever flies your kite, Dave," Will said.

"Don't you mean, whatever floats your boat?"

"It's called a yacht!"

"Thank you, Dad. But 'whatever floats your yacht' doesn't sound nearly as good as what I said…however wrong it may sound in nautical terms," David explained.

"How about, whatever drives your car?" Will asked.

"Fair enough, but I don't quite like cars myself," Grandfather said.

"But…however do you get around?" Hector asked him.

"My boy, the sea is my driveway, and the stars are my windshield."

Meanwhile, Will was still shouting out phrases.

"How about…whatever makes your bed? Or, whatever kills your cat? Or, whatever lays your egg? Or----"

David interrupted his brother's thinking with a shout to his father. "Hoy! Don't we turn off here?"

He was peering down a lane on the right side of the road. At first glance, he thought it was just a driveway, but then he spotted a sign half-hidden by tree branches, reading GRYFFINDOR LANE.

"Funny name for a road, don't you think?" Grandfather said, looking up at it.

"It sounds so…old," Will added.

"Well, heads to tails, it is," David said. "I don't know how old Bowman's Isle is, but it's been around for quite a while…"

"So…" Will said, peering down the darkening trail, "Who wants to enter the dark and scary forest first?"

"After you, Sir William," David said, with a sweeping gesture.

"Oh, no, I insist, King David."

"Well, then, as King, I must ask you to be the first so that if an enemy chooses to make me as a target…you'll be the first in line of fire!" he said.

"I pray thee, that a king should be so cruel," Will mourned. "And I, but a lonely jester, must be made a fool in his presence."

"Oh, don't make me the exception, Sir William. You're the fool in everyone's presence!"

"I pray thee, mark me, that a brother should be so perfidious!" Will said.

"Oy! Quit arguin' like a pair of ninnies and get a move on! I'll be first, and hang anyone who so much as argues with it!" Grandfather grumbled, and he marched right past them and disappeared down the path.

David stared at his brother in amazement as Hector dodged both of them and trotted off down the trail after John Granger, Neenie holding onto his hand.

"Dost mine ears deceive me? Did I just hear my fool of a brother quote Shakespeare?" he marvelled.

Will stroked his chin, deep in thought. "To punch or not to punch…that is the question."

He set off down the trail, David behind him.

It was considerably darker under the cover of trees, without the sun to show them the way. Thick brambles snagged at their clothes, and Hector had to lag behind trying to untangle Hermione's hair from a particularly thorny twig.

When Hector and Hermione finally caught up with the others, the conversation was back to centering on Will. "And what if she refuses to let me in? Am I just going to stand on their doorstep while you eat?"

"Of course not. If she won't let you in the house, she'll probably want you off the yard, too. So you'll have to stand out in the street while eat." Grandfather argued.

Will rolled his eyes.

"Will, it was more than a year ago, and you were drunk! Rebecca doesn't hold grudges----" David said.

Grandfather interrupted with a grin. "Of course, I'm quite certain that Sebastian does!"

"----And she certainly wouldn't go so far as to kick you out of her house----"

"----Though, again, that might be something Sebastian would do!" Grandfather finished.

Will glared at his father. "You're not helping!"

"I think that the point David is trying to make is that a lot of things have changed since then," Hector said.

"Yes, a lot of things have changed," Will muttered, "She's probably married by now, or seeing someone, or----"

"If she is, which I highly doubt, then there's nothing you can do about it, so you might as well drop it," David warned.

"To hell with 'there's nothing I can do about it'! I can --- I can --- take her fiancé and bash his head in…or --- or --- kidnap her dogs and write her a note to say that if she doesn't marry me, I'll --- I'll----" Will thought furiously, with a glint in his eyes.

"You'll blackmail her into liking you again?" David snorted. "Why, that's a brilliant way to get on her good graces!"

In the front, Grandfather rolled his eyes. He was about to remark as well on Will's grand statement, when he heard something. He stopped abruptly and felt Will slam into him in the darkness.

"Ouch," Will said. "Have you forgotten how to walk, Dad?"

"What's the hold-up?" David asked, peering around Will to look at his father.

"Dad's forgotten how to walk. You see, Dad, it's easy. All you have to do is lift up your foot and----"

"Quiet, you blundering fool! Don't you hear it?" Grandfather snapped.

In the back, Hector perked up his ears. Faintly, he could hear the tinkling of a soft melody winding its way down the path. The tune was very comforting, and he knew that if there could be words, they'd tell of lullabies and a far away place he missed very much…

In his arms, Neenie gasped as she, too, was able to hear it. "Pan! Pan! I hears it! It's purdy…it'sa bery purdy song, Pan!"

Grandfather peered through the growing darkness ahead of him, muttering softly, "And where should this music be? In the air…or in the earth…"

A look of wonder on his face, he surged ahead once again. David and Willglanced at each other before following him. As they walked, they seemed to be getting closer to whatever it was that was making this enchanting melody. The path widened, the trees weren't as dense, more light was shining through the foliage above them. Then----

"Hoy! Boatswain!"

In the very back, Hector grinned at John Granger's shout.

"Here, master! What cheer?" he called back.

"I see a light up ahead!" The joy in the old man's voice was evident.

David grinned. Will groaned. Neenie giggled at the pair of them.

They all turned the corner, and came to a gate. Beyond that gate was an overgrown yard with trees, shrubs, and hedges growing in every corner. A garden of bright, colourful wildflowers lay on the side of the house, where ivy vines were creeping up the walls, peering into shutters, sneaking into the small chimneys on the roof.

The house itself loomed dark and gloomy, but for the bright lights flickering on the ground floors --- Hector thought it was for that very purpose that the two keepers of this house wanted it to be as bright and cheerful as possible. It was quite big for a cottage, with two floors and, quite possibly, a large cellar and attic attached. Its hue was an earthy brown, with the shutters over the windows having a darker tint, and the shingles on the roof as black as the army of crows flying high overhead.

Just above the door on the porch, a large sign hung, almost as weathered as the house itself. Hector peered at it, and when he could make out what was written on it, a chill went down his back. For there, engraved on the front in large, bold lettering:

THE HOUSE OF SHYLOCK

Author's Note: I'm sure there a few lines in there you all could spot that aren't mine, now, can't you? I disclaim Grandfather's song, yet again, and the line often quoted by our dear Anne Walsh. Not to mention the usual Shakepeare quotes.

I hope you all liked this chapter. I can never tell if you do unless you leave me a review, you know! And just a warning: the next few chapters will be coming along at a faster pace than usual...the better to get to the climax, my dearies...and to those things more interesting...unless you don't want me to rush at all? Would you rather I take my time, like I have been doing? (Though it is rather frustrating, isn't it, my patient ones?)

Did you like the name of the street the Shylocks live on? But they aren't the only ones who live there. Soon, you'll find out that a couple by the name of---

Oops. Almost gave it away, didn't I? Must be careful. That's almost as bad as telling you that the name of the street that the village park is on is called---

Oh, dear. Nearly gave it away again. I'll shut up now. However! I can tell you that the next chapter will be called...(drumroll, please, and try to refrain from rolling your eyes)..."The House of Shylock"! And we'll be one step closer into figuring out who the three figures in Neenie's drawing are...

Oh, yes...and thanks goes to both Whydoyouneedtoknow and Madm05 for their takes on the otters' revenge. Did you like?