My sincerest apologies that this chapter is two weeks late! I've decided to start updating my three WIPs in a rotation, keeping two weeks between posting new chapters. I will also start putting the projected publishing date of the next chapter at the end of each update.
I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, the wording feels clumsy to me. I can't figure out why, though, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far, every review I get makes my day.
A big thank you to Corvus_of_the_Night_Skies for looking over this chapter for me!
Saturday, August 10, 1996
8:00 a.m.
The rising sun cast its gentle rays into the hotel room, golden light washing up the walls. Rian was lying in bed, watching rainbow spots dance on the ceiling. Iulia's snores sounded from the other side of the room, almost obscenely loud in the peace of the morning.
Rian had not slept well, too full of nerves to settle down. Marius, on the other hand, had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. His ease with falling asleep was a byproduct of his Guard training, he had explained.
Ten days to prepare was not enough. Rian was keenly aware of the time slipping through his fingers, painfully conscious of the vast amount of information he did not know. Iulia and Marius had both proved to be wells of knowledge, but there were only so many questions they could take.
Rian knew little about the culture and hierarchy of Lyonesse - things he should have learned at his father's knee - and he soaked up the impromptu lessons from Iulia like a sponge. To his surprise, the organization of society was not so different from Wizarding Britain. There were still Lords and Ladies and complex political machinations, but corruption was much less common in Lyonesse than in Britain. Rian had to admit he was relieved to find out that a Mer version of Lucius Malfoy did not exist.
Politics aside, the rest of his time was taken up by conversations about his family. Iulia had even given him her locket to hold while they were still Above. Rian often stared at the pictures inside to remind himself of what he was doing this for. He was running from Dumbledore and the Order, from his memories of Sirius, from everything he'd ever known on the word of two strangers. He did not know if he would return to Hogwarts or see his friends any time soon. Despite the uncertainty, the lure of becoming part of a family was too strong for him to give in to his doubts.
"Happy birthday, Rian!"
Iulia's sudden shout got her a pillow to the face for her efforts, courtesy of a drowsy Marius.
"Kindly shut up, Princess," he mumbled.
Iulia calmly removed the pillow from her face, revealing her rather severe case of bed head. Rian found himself having to suppress a chuckle as she rose from her bed and stalked across the room.
"Excuse me for wanting to celebrate the Lost Prince's birthday, you insensitive wart," she hissed.
"Iulia, it's—" Marius craned his neck in order to see the clock on the nightstand, "Eight in the bloody morning, let a man sleep!"
"Sleep is for the weak."
"I'd like to see you say that to Trajan."
Iulia hesitated at that. Rian had gathered that Trajan was well known for his lie-ins from Marius' grouching. Trajan reportedly took it upon himself to arrive fashionably late to every single one of his training sessions. The image Iulia painted of him reminded Rian strongly of Fred and George, and the burnished red tail he sported in Iulia's pictures only strengthened the comparison.
"You win this one, Mercator," Iulia sniffed.
With the traditional morning argument out of the way, Rian gave up on getting any more sleep. Leaving the two Mers to their own devices, he started gathering up all of his belongings that had been scattered about the hotel room over the last week.
Marius had asked to see everything Rian was planning on bringing with him to Lyonesse a few days ago. Since Alder was used to holding onto things the sentries and occasional visitors left with him, Rian was going to give Alder his trunk, along with all of his school materials. The only things making the trip with him would be his cloak and wand, even his clothing would be left behind. Evidently, male Mers usually forewent clothing in the warmer months.
Rian's cloak and wand would need to be made truly waterproof, Marius told him. He then proceeded to show Rian a rune that would accomplish this and attempted to draw it on the cloak using his own ink and a quill he had liberated from Rian's trunk. No matter what Marius did, he could not make a mark in the cloth. Tugging his hair in frustration, Marius had resorted to using a simple incantation - less widely used than the rune simply because the accompanying motions were so intricate. For whatever reason, it worked where the rune had not.
Another charm was also applied to Rian's belongings, its purpose to make objects denser than water. Rian had a brief moment of hilarity in which he imagined random items bobbing upward, fleeing from the underwater city.
"All packed up, Rian?" asked Iulia.
Rian eyed his trunk. A haphazard mess of clothes, books, and random quills was stuffed into the first compartment, nearly making it impossible to shut the lid. "Define packed," he said dryly.
Iulia looked between Rian and Marius, who was still asleep, "Better than the Guardsman extraordinaire over there," she shrugged.
"We don't have to be out of here until twelve, I'm enjoying every second of time I get away from Captain Marcellus and his rules," Marius mumbled into his pillow.
Rian privately thought that Captain Marcellus, the leader of the Guard, would get on very well with Mad-Eye Moody. Marius liked to complain about Marcellus' reputedly harsh training tactics while praising the man in the same breath.
"You realize that we both have to report to him once we get home, right?"
"Yes, and I'm hoping that my brilliant best friend will keep her mouth shut about my comments during debriefing," said Marius hopefully, finally turning over to look at Iulia.
"It'll cost you," Iulia said, narrowing her eyes.
Marius sighed, "You can have the Galleon back." He had won it back off Iulia during a bet Rian still did not know the details of.
"Pleasure doing business with you. Now please pack up, so I can keep what's left of my sanity."
"Alright, I'm up, I'm up."
9:45 p.m.
Dusk was falling rapidly. Faint streaks of orange adorned the horizon and vainly tried to ward off the encroaching night.
The beach that Marius had ported the trio to was secluded, located in the middle of nowhere. The numerous pebbles scattered throughout the sand dug into the soles of Rian's ratty trainers as he slogged through the dunes.
A single figure waited by the shore, tall and imposing. The man was facing the fading light, long robes brushing the sand at his feet as he paced. As Rian drew closer, he could make out the salt-and-pepper hair drawn into a ponytail at the nape of the stranger's neck.
"Alder!" Marius called out, increasing his pace.
The man turned around and his face lit up in a grin as he took in the approaching group.
"Marius, Iulia, a pleasure to see you both again — and Mr. Potter, I presume," Alder greeted, inclining his head to each of them in turn. .
"It's just Rian, sir," Rian said uncomfortably. He was still trying to get used to his new name. He did not want any part of the fake life his kidnappers had created for him, nor did he wish to make his family uncomfortable by forcing them to call him by an unfamiliar name. The fact that it was also a convenient way to avoid explaining that Above, he was known as Harry Potter was just a bonus.
Alder's eyes widened, "Of course, Rian, I meant no offense."
"None taken."
An awkward silence fell upon the gathering, none appearing willing to break it.
"Well," Alder said, clapping his hands together and turning to Rian's guides, "I've got the things you both left with me when you arrived. I'm also prepared to take and hide anything Rian wishes to leave Above."
"Did Arden get into our stuff again?" Marius asked wryly, clapping Alder on the back.
Alder snorted self-deprecatingly and shook his head, "I made sure he didn't, that boy is too curious for his own good."
Startled, Rian spoke up, "Arden Fawcett is your son?" Somehow, he had failed to make that connection while discussing Alder with Marius and Iulia.
"Indeed, a true Ravenclaw if there ever was one," Alder said proudly.
Rian could not say that he knew Arden well, Gryffindors were rarely paired with Ravenclaws for classes. They had a passing acquaintance, but nothing more.
"Ah," he said lamely.
"Anyhow, he stayed out of your things this time around," Alder directed to Marius.
"I look forward to meeting him when it comes time for him to take over your duties," said Marius, a mischievous smile playing about his lips.
Alder chuckled, "I've got a few decades left in me, don't go getting rid of me just yet."
"I reckon Dad wouldn't be too pleased if you were to leave now, too," Iulia interjected.
"Oh?" Alder seemed inordinately pleased by that. A coughing fit suddenly overtook Marius and Iulia sidled closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder even as a smile threatened to break out. Rian was close to laughing himself. He could see what Marius had meant by the not-so-secret torch he claimed Alder held.
"Speaking of your father, you can tell him to drag his own tail up here the next time he wants a word with me," Alder muttered once Marius had composed himself.
"I'll pass along the message," Iulia assured Alder.
"Can we have our things back, then?" asked Marius.
"Nearly forgot about that," said Alder. He reached into his pocket and withdrew two shrunken objects. With a tap of his wand, the objects expanded into lumpy bags. Alder gave the larger one to Marius and the smaller to Iulia.
Clearly pleased, Iulia peeked into her bag before emptying the contents onto the sand. "Wonderful, thank you so much for keeping these safe for me."
"Not a problem at all, happy to do it," Alder said, smiling at Iulia's enthusiasm.
"Here, put your trunk in this, Rian," said Iulia, holding out her now empty bag to Rian.
Rian retrieved his shrunken trunk from his own pocket, hesitating for a second before placing it into the proffered bag. Giving up the majority of his possessions was a true farewell to his life as Harry Potter.
Closing the bag with a sickening sense of finality, Iulia gave Rian a sympathetic smile before giving the bag back to Alder.
"It's ten o'clock," Alder said quietly, staring at the pocket watch in his hand, "Seventeen minutes left. I'd recommend getting in the water now, we don't know what'll happen once we get closer."
The air instantly thickened with tension. The moment of truth was inching ever closer. Rian's throat went dry and he swallowed thickly. There was quite literally no going back.
As both Marius and Iulia started stripping down to their birthday suits, Rian felt his cheeks heating up. Marius didn't seem to have any modesty to speak of, and neither did Iulia.
Quickly looking away from his sister, Rian watched Marius' preparations. All of Marius' clothes had been shoved into Alder's bag. Marius popped his focus stone into a small drawstring bag, then tied it to his waist using the length of rope attached to the top.
When Marius reached up to tie his hair back, Rian saw the bold, black lines of the tattoo he had only seen once a few days prior. The tattoo depicted the symbol of the Royal Guard and was — rather stereotypically in Rian's opinion — a three pronged trident with a vine twined around the shaft.
"You can look now," Iulia said from behind Rian, amusement coloring her words.
Cautiously, Rian turned to look at her. She, too, had a drawstring bag tied around her waist. A strip of cloth had been tied around her breasts and Rian could see the handle of a dagger peeking out from beneath her arms. Unlike Marius, she did not sport any tattoos. Her hair was in a braid now, instead of simply tied back in a ponytail.
Iulia gathered up the pile of clothes at her feet and shoved them in the same bag that Marius' had gone into.
"Are you ready?" asked Iulia, moving closer to Rian.
"I don't know," he answered honestly.
Iulia exhaled sharply. "Me too. I hope we're right about what's going to happen, but magic — especially unknown magic — is unpredictable."
"How reassuring."
Iulia gave a wry laugh, then pulled Rian into a tight hug.
"I love you," she whispered fiercely, "No matter what happens, remember that."
Rian hugged her back, trying desperately not to think about the fact that this was the first hug from a family member that he could remember receiving.
"I love you too. I trust you," Rian told her. He meant every word.
Pulling back, Iulia discretely wiped her eyes. "We won't be able to talk to you once we transform. When you get out there, the sand stays pretty level up until ten feet out, there's a sharp drop-off after that. Be careful."
Rian nodded. He would try, but trouble usually found him and not the other way around.
He walked with Iulia to the edge of the water, where Marius was waiting for them.
"Hopefully we'll see you down there soon. Good luck, Rian," Marius said. Marius offered Rian his hand, which Rian shook.
"Thank you for everything," he said. It felt like an inadequate thanks for what Marius had done for him, but they were all the words he had.
"Don't thank me yet," Marius said grimly.
With a final bracing smile in his direction, Marius and Iulia turned as one and waded out into the ocean. A few seconds later, they dove headfirst into the water and disappeared from sight.
Rian did not know what he had been expecting. A flash of light, a loud crack, something to indicate that they had shifted into their true forms, but all he got was a pale arm waving to him from the water. He knew that Iulia and Marius were probably hovering just below the surface, but the murky water made it impossible to see them. Rian did not know what their Mer forms looked like since they had both refused to change while at the hotel, citing the need for secrecy, which he could not argue with.
He could only hope he would be joining them underwater soon enough.
10:15 p.m.
Alder's voice broke the tense silence. "There's three minutes left."
Rian took the hint for what it was and placed his cloak and wand on the sand. He removed his oversized shirt — rather glad to see the back of it — and gave it to Alder. His pants soon followed.
Rian hesitated, asking, "Can I leave my underwear on?" He did not get starkers in front of a man he had met not an hour before.
"I wouldn't," Alder winced, "Unless you want to be in for a world of pain."
"That sounds disturbingly like the voice of experience."
"That's a mistake Marius only made once," Alder explained, jabbing his thumb at the ocean.
While that made for a hilarious mental image, Rian did not want to experience the same thing and quickly divested himself of the offending article of clothing. Alder produced a third drawstring bag from his pocket and handed it to Rian in exchange.
Rian shoved his cloak and wand into the bag, which felt much larger on the inside than the outside suggested, and securely tied it to his waist.
"I'll stay here until I get the all clear signal. I really do hope the binding breaks, your family will be excited to see you again," Alder said.
Rian nodded in acknowledgement, unable to speak around the lump in his throat.
10:16 p.m.
Rian waded into the water, looking for any sign of Iulia or Marius. Disappointingly, the water did a very thorough job of preventing him from seeing anything below the surface. He felt ahead with his feet until he met the drop-off Iulia had mentioned. The water was up to his knees and he suddenly felt very silly, standing naked in the ocean in the middle of the night.
What would win out? The binding or his coming of age?
There was nothing left to do but wait.
10:17 p.m.
"It's time!" Alder shouted.
As it turned out, his warning was unnecessary. Rian had started glowing — literally. A soft green light radiated out from the center of his chest, pulsing and growing stronger with every second that ticked by. A band of pressure wrapped itself around his chest, tightening with every pulse of the light. Rian fought to breathe, nearly bent double from the force of the pain.
Then, a great many things happened at once.
A loud crack abruptly rent the air, accompanied by the green light blinking out. A wave of pain crashed over Rian, lines of fire racing up and down his legs. He cried out in agony, harsh screams tearing up his throat. Still, he did not fall. This pain did not hold a candle to Voldemort's Crucio.
More pain was visited upon him, the waves increasing in intensity until he felt like his legs were being melted by Fiendfyre. Rian's legs suddenly stuck together, nearly making him lose his balance.
Rian gasped, and found that he could not breathe. While panicking and trying to gulp in air, his legs melded into one and he toppled forward into the ocean.
Freedom.
The pain immediately ceased and Rian gulped down lungfuls of blessed, blessed water. Arms wrapped around him and stopped his descent into the depths of the sea.
"Alright there?" Marius' face swam into focus in front of Rian.
"I've been better," he replied, taking a second to marvel at the world around him.
His glasses had been knocked off, but he could see perfectly. The water looked perfectly clear to him and the ocean teemed with life all around them, small fish darting in and out around the seaweed in the shoals.
Steeling himself, he looked down. His legs had been replaced by a powerful tail, the skin around his waist melding seamlessly into light purple scales. The scales darkened in color as they went down his tail, ending just before his tail split into two fins.
Experimentally flexing his new tail, Rian was astounded at the range of motion he had. He could bring his fins right up to his face and he'd be willing to bet he could curl his tail all the way behind his back.
Looking back up at Marius, he took in the Mer's changed appearance. Three horizontal slits had appeared on either side of his neck, rippling with every breath Marius took. His tail was a silvery shade and strangely, a tattoo was on his right hand. Rian was positive that that tattoo had not been there before.
"Ready to try swimming?" Iulia asked, sounding a little choked up.
"Hell yes." All of his apprehension had disappeared and he was eager to try swimming without the aid of Gillyweed.
Iulia removed her arms from his torso and just as Rian had taken to the sky on a broom, he took to the water like he was born to it.
Laughing gleefully, Rian propelled himself through the water faster than he thought possible. He dove down to the bottom of the shallows, examining the friendly fish who came to greet him. He ran his hand along the rock face that led up to the shore and revelled in the freedom of movement. His legged form was positively unwieldy in comparison.
Rian returned to Iulia and Marius, both of whom were still lurking just below the surface. He got his first real look at Iulia's Mer form then. She had a purple tail like him, although her scales were lighter in color. She, like Marius, now had a tattoo on her right hand.
"This is brilliant!" he said, adrenaline still pumping through his veins.
"Still a daredevil, I see," Iulia replied, although her voice had no heat behind it.
"We can talk about his stunts later, we've got to get going," Marius interrupted, visibly eager to leave the area as soon as possible. He was lazily fluttering his tail in order to stay upright, but tension was visible in his jaw and clenched fists.
"I've already told Alder that he can clear out, we're good to go."
"Excellent. We're heading for Aren's station, then," said Marius, already striking out for the great expanse of ocean that stretched as far as Rian could see.
"We should make it there by eleven, if we're lucky," Iulia told Rian, falling in line with him as they followed Marius.
"And then we port to Lyonesse?"
"And then we port home."
11:05 p.m.
They had made good time according to Marius, even with slowing their frantic pace due to Rian's exhaustion. He was not used to swimming for long periods of time.
"Aren better be awake, the cheeky bastard," Marius muttered. He was swimming straight for a large sheet of rock that made up one side of a colossal hill.
"His partner will answer if he's not," Iulia reminded him.
"Hopefully."
Their bickering quieted as they drew closer to the hill. Rian watched in confusion as Marius approached a large fissure in the rock face, no different from any of the other cracks webbed throughout the stone.
Marius placed his right hand flat on the fissure and whispered, "Marius Marcellus Mercator, Iulia Corin Aurelius, and Hadrian Valens Aurelius request Sanctuary from Aren Faran Byron."
Nothing happened, and as the seconds passed by, Rian wondered if Aren was asleep after all.
"He's letting us in!" Marius whooped. He dove straight for the fissure and disappeared into the hill.
Rian was strongly reminded of his first visit to platform nine and three-quarters as Iulia quickly followed Marius. He took the plunge and swam straight through the rock. Passing through the barrier felt like a bucket of freezing water had been dumped on his head. The feeling was short-lived, though, and Rian entered the sentry station with relief flooding every sense.
"Welcome to Sentry Station number fourteen!" a vaguely familiar voice greeted him.
Rian looked around for the speaker, eyes falling on a Mer sporting a deep green tail lounging against the opposite wall. Ice formed in the pit of his stomach as he realized just who was there to meet him.
"Justin? "
"Oh, fuck."
The next chapter will be published on 9/5/21.
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