Hogwarts Assignment #11
Health & Fitness: Yoga Task #6 Write a fic set on a boat (or any type of water vessel)
AN sadfic with implied themes of terminal illness and possible suicide
"You're certain, Ms Lovegood, that this is what you want from our... organization?" Silas Rosier practically yelled to be heard over the chaos of a Muggle-run ship. Only a well-placed Muffliato kept his words from being overheard by the unsuspecting Muggles.
"Very certain, Mr Rosier. Ever since I was a small girl, I've wished to explore the natural habitat of those lifeforms who thrive beyond our magic's ability to visit." The blonde said airily from her chair. Years of experiments had made her well aware of magic's limitations in deep-sea exploration. Neither the Bubblehead nor Gillyweed could withstand the pressures found in the open ocean. And even now in the twenty-first century, MACUSA scientists were only beginning the first phases of exploring possible magical means to accomplish her goals. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to wait for magic to catch up to her aspirations, no matter how much friends and family wished otherwise.
Thankfully, Silas Rosier lacked anything remotely resembling a stake in her well-being. The man's job was simply to ensure she had one perfect day, a day paid for with 30% of the monies in her estate. It was a fair deal, as far as these things went, and having such offered to her on the eve of what history would likely consider the worst day of her life, had practically guaranteed her acceptance of the terms.
Mr Rosier, on confirming that his client would not have a change in opinion on what would constitute the most perfect day, elected to seek out the captain of the vessel. Said captain had been giving them funny looks for the last thirty minutes or so, and another memory charm wouldn't go amiss. Maybe a…
"Do try not to Imperio the man responsible for making my dream a reality, Mr Rosier. It wouldn't do for him to forget some terribly important step because you're mucking about with his priorities." Luna said, seemingly reading his mind.
"Your wish is my command, ma'am," he responded with a bow.
After Silas walked off, Luna let her mind wander into the depths of the waves surrounding her. They weren't terribly far, by ocean reckoning, to the beach where she'd gone as a girl with her mum and dad. All sorts of wildlife, magical and mundane, had visited her on that beach. Crabs with the strangest of shells. Sea Stars, brightly hued in a rainbow of colours. And the most magical of all… the Reineid octopus.
Every summer, the horizon would be awash with hundreds of recently-hatched Reineids seeking their first meals. Unlike non-magical varieties, the Reineid octopus was a social creature that quickly learned the value of teamwork when taking down their prey. Luna had dozens of carefully protected memories of those days: swimming with her mum to observe an alien race so unlike her own, that time she and her mum 'saved' a young Reineid who appeared to be missing one of its limbs, curious Reineids exploring everything that made her different from them….
Most people believed that her unconventional view of the world came from her dad, but truly, those days on the beach watching octopi with arms that moved like they had a mind of their own and skin that did such a marvelous job of blending in was what had truly started her on the journey.
By summer's end, the young octopi would travel to deeper waters, and she and her family would return to their little home in Catchpole.
After Mum's accident, trips to the beach came to a sudden halt, and inland creatures were of utmost importance.
The splash of an anchor being dropped brought Luna back to the present. It was almost time.
Wearily, she rose to her feet. For just a moment, Luna held onto the back of her chair. Sea legs, it seemed, were not something she was meant to experience in this life. Such a strange word that… sea legs. It's not as though someone with sea legs had limbs made out of water. Why imply such with so strange a name?
Shaking her head, Luna began to walk towards the vessel that would make her greatest dream a reality. Mr Rosier offered an arm to the weakened woman.
"Ready?" he asked.
"With every ounce of my being," Luna affirmed, before the two climbed into the strange, spherical object. Memory charms would keep the Muggle crew members from thinking anything of the two stowaways. A crane lifted the submarine into the air before… down, down, down they went. Sunlight lit their way as dozens of mundane creatures swam past the machine.
They went further until automatic lights powered by the Muggle equivalent of Lumos came on. Fewer creatures could be seen at these depths, and those that were, disappeared quickly away from the bright beams of the sub.
Nonetheless, Luna was in love, in love with the world around her and more determined than ever to see the creatures who had given her such joy in childhood.
Due to Rosier's interventions, the entire purpose of the journey was to investigate the area for evidence of cephalopods like octopi and squid, and every time one was found, Luna's smile got that little bit brighter. Soon, soon they would find what she was looking for, and she could find the home of her little friends. She could practically feel the magic in the air.
"Well boys, time to turn this sub around! Great job t'day," the captain's voice suddenly announced.
No! They were so close, she just knew it!
"Mightn't we go but a little further?" she asked the captain.
"Ach, sorry lass. You're the new intern I take it? I'm afraid we don't go into the gorge. Too dangerous, ye know."
"Yes, I understand." Luna understood that some sort of magical protection was keeping her from finding her friends on this, the most important of days.
Outwardly, Luna remained completely calm.
"Per our contract, Mr Rosier, you are to do whatever is necessary to ensure my day goes perfectly, are you not?" she quietly asked her companion.
"I am, Ms Lovegood," he confirmed.
"Very well then. It seems your good organization may get their payday somewhat sooner than expected. I have but one more requirement that I must ask of you, and my day will be complete. I need you to apparate our fine captain and his crew out of this fine piece of equipment."
"And yourself, ma'am? Ought I return for you after I've returned the Muggles?"
"No need to concern yourself, Mr Rosier. All is well. You may show your superiors this memory of my saying so."
After five minutes during which they got further and further away from what Luna was sure was the home of the Reineid octopi colony, she managed to convince her helper. Soon enough, she found herself alone in the submersible. Slowly, she went down… down…
Through her weakened body, Luna felt herself pass through a form of wards utterly unlike any that man could make. Light shone where darkness once stood: a great change in circumstance as the submarine's lights seemingly were unable to deal with the large amount of magical output surrounding them. Hundreds of creatures all seemed to be in this hidden section of the ocean: Reineids, yes, but others as well, painted in every color of the rainbow. Luna's heart sung as some of the Reineids, now almost as large as the very vessel holding her, seemed to call out to her, pulling insistently at a rudder that no longer spun. Eagerly, she pressed against glass to see all that she could see. A true giant of a beast seemed to peer into the sub, staring at her. There was something familiar…
Under ordinary circumstances, an alert would have called to Luna's attention the tiny, insignificant crack on the outer edge of the glass. As it was, the magic of the place had turned off any such warnings. Why should she care anyway?
The octopus on the other end, giant though he was, was missing a limb rather like one of the young ones she remembered from decades ago. His large beak opened and closed in a parody of when he'd beg for food when she'd helped him long ago. The beak drew closer and closer as water began to rain down… For once, the extreme depths did not seem to weigh her down. Luna was free.
