Chapter 7 — Down to the Docks

It was almost a week later when Professor Snape's letter arrived back in Mykonos. Much to their surprise, he had written them both a letter of recommendation. As soon as they brushed off Hermione's parents, Harry and Hermione rushed to the Magical Municipal Library of Mykonos once again. This time, Hermione happily bounced to the front desk and handed them over to the witch. She looked less than pleased to see them again.

Taking a moment to look over the docs, she stamped an approval on them before making copies and handing the originals back to Hermione.

"Hermione Granger you are approved, here you are." The witch handed her a lanyard with a laminated piece of paper that read Magical Municipal Library of Mykonos - Guest. Hermione slipped it over her neck.

"Harry Potter." The witch paused and did a double take. "You are approved as well." Harry slipped on an exact replica of the pass she had given Hermione over his head.

"The rules are listed on the wall around the corner. Please take a look at them. If you are found to be breaking these rules, you will be removed and not allowed re-entrance, even with a recommendation from a member. Is that understood?"

They nodded.

"Very well, then. It is my pleasure to officially welcome you to the Magical Municipal Library of Mykonos."

"Thank you," Harry and Hermione replied simultaneously. They stopped around the corner as instructed to take a brief look at the rules — libraries could be finicky, even so much as wandering off into a restricted part of the library by accident could get them removed from the library indefinitely. When they finished, they consulted a map nearby before hurrying off to the section on Magical Creatures.

"You know, you probably just could have told her you were Harry Potter, and she would have let us in," Hermione said breathily, as they climbed the last step bringing them into Tier 7 - Magical Creatures.

Harry laughed, but it came out more like a cough as they had just climbed hundreds of steps to the topmost tier. "You're probably right, but you know how much I despise being The Boy Who Lived and all that. I'm just Harry."

"I know but did you see her double take? I thought her eyes might fall right out of her head."

"Yeah well—" Harry shrugged. Hermione knew he wasn't a fan of the star-struck type. And in typical Harry fashion, quickly changed the subject. "So," he said, looking around. "Where should we start?"

"Well, I'll go to the M's and look for any books on merpeople, and you go to the S's and pull any books on Sirens. Deal?"

"Deal."

Minutes later, they both dumped their finds on a desk that was smack dab in the middle of the Tier, approximately the exact distance from the M's and the S's. There was much more than what they had found at the Hogwarts Library — a variety of old tomes with the gold lettering peeling away and some with no title at all, the only identifying factor a picture of a Siren on the front.

Hermione sat down and pulled the largest tome toward her. Harry stood there staring at her, looking very much as though he did not know where to begin. "Well, let's dive in. Let me know if you find anything interesting, Harry." He nodded and pulled out the chair across from her, and Hermione noticed he selected the smallest novel of them all, while warily eyeing a few of the larger ones. It was obvious he was not looking forward to research — Hermione knew it was not his favorite thing — but her heart swelled with fondness as she saw him take a deep breath and flip to the first page, despite that. She was lucky to have his help.

Hours later, Hermione hadn't really found anything of interest. She had found the journal of Mirabella Plunkett again. Copies of it must be floating around all around the world — it was a popular tale despite the discrepancies of the fairytale. But as Hermione had already read it, it wasn't of much use.

"Oi!" Harry shouted. Hermione shushed him immediately, not wanting to be kicked out of the library.

"Sorry," he whispered. "I found something!" He was pointing frantically at the book.

Hermione perked up. "What is it?

"Well, it's about merpeople in general not specifically Sirens or the Selkies in the Black Lake. It says—"

Hermione cut him off by ripping the book out of his hand. "Sorry," she said, shrugging. "I would just rather read it for myself." Her eyes flew across the page at an almost inhuman pace and widened with each word she read.

"Do you think this is true?" She whispered frantically, her eyes leaving the page to meet Harry's.

"I don't know Hermione, but I think you're right. I think that there is only one way were are going to figure this out."

"How?"

"Going to the source."

"You mean going to talk to the Sirens?"

He pointed at her and made a clicking noise with his tongue. "That is exactly what I mean."

"But I thought you said—"

"—I know what I said, and I am still wary about going, but if we prepare and prepare well, I think we will be okay."

Hermione nodded and grinned. She started to pack up the books before Harry stopped her.

"Wait, how are we going to figure out where this mermaid colony is? Do any of these books say?" Harry asked.

"I didn't find anything." Hermione thought for a moment, tapping her fingers on the table, rhythmically. She snapped her fingers once a trail of thought flitted through her mind. "Do you think the men down at the dock might know? I saw them down there when we arrived."

Harry frowned for a moment before responding. "But when we arrived, we came through on the muggle side. All those men would think we were crazy if we started asking them about mermaids. It's only a myth to them."

"You're right. How about we take a stroll around the magical part of Mykonos, down by the docks, and scope it all out. Someone has to know something. Even the merpeople in the Black Lake are known, it can't be a secret here, can it?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. They could be protected, things are different here."

"Well, we will never figure it out if we don't try. What do you think?" Hermione asked, turning back to stacking the books up to place on the shelf where she found them hours earlier.

Harry rubbed the back of his head, messing the hair there up even further. Hermione grinned to herself and bit her lip. He had a roguish look about him, one that she hadn't noticed before. When had he morphed into the man before her when she swore he was just a boy she was crushing on weeks earlier? She felt a blush creep up her cheeks and she shook her head, expelling the thoughts of him from her mind before they drifted into inappropriate territory.

Hermione looked up once again after she finished stacking the books. Harry was staring at her curiously, one of his eyebrows raised. She looked all around her and swiped at her mouth hoping there was nothing on her face.

"What is it?" she asked curiously, as he continued to stare.

"Hermione Granger distracted... who thought we would ever see the day."

"Wha-What?"

"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?" Harry said, shaking his head.

Hermione felt her cheeks heat up again and knew she was bordering on becoming beet red. She shook her head and opened her mouth to apologise when Harry stopped her.

"You don't need to explain yourself, Hermione. I know this is all a lot to take in; I don't expect you to constantly be listening."

"But you're always—" Harry interrupted her again and refused to accept an apology stating none was needed. How did she deserve someone like him? She didn't know.

With a flick of her wand, she sent the library books back to their homes on the shelves, zooming through the air at lightning speed.

"I thought we couldn't use magic outside of Hogwarts," Harry said, frowning. "Unless you found a way to release the trace on yours. Did you?"

Hermione laughed. "Don't be ridiculous, Harry. Of course, I didn't. I simply knew this was an International Magical Establishment. The rules for underage children of the United Kingdom don't necessarily apply within these walls."

"Bu—but why didn't we just summon the books to begin with?"

Hermione sighed. "You can't just summon books off the shelves; there are spells and enchantments. The Hogwarts library doesn't let you either; we have to use that god-awful ladder to reach some shelves."

They took one last look around, at Hermione's request of course, in the likely event that they were not going to return any time soon. On their way out, they passed the witch at the desk next to the entrance once more. She nodded to them as they left and Harry swore he could feel her trying to stare at his scar through the back of his head. Hermione just laughed as they walked out onto the sunlit steps of the library.

—

"Where to?" Harry asked, slipping his sunglasses out of his pocket and onto his face. Hermione did the same.

"Well, let's go down to the docks on the magical side of Mykonos like I said earlier. We could eat dinner over there and try to catch some of the gossip from the locals."

Harry gestured to the steps. "After you, milady." Hermione giggled. She gripped his hand and tore off down the stairs, running as fast as her legs would carry her. Not even ten minutes later they were walking on the cobbled street next to the docks. They were empty right now, but the boats could be seen in the distance headed back in before the sunset.

"How about we eat dinner over there?" Hermione pointed toward a large building with an accompanied outdoor patio. Laughter, music, and the smell of good food wafted from the building, and Hermione dragged Harry toward the restaurant to keep from drooling on the spot.

"Sounds great." They rushed over and put their names in to be seated outside. The hostess lead them to a two-person table outside promising their server would be by shortly.

They glanced at the menus, not really reading them, but using them to hide that they were scoping the establishment out. Maybe they would be able to eavesdrop on another patron or at least find someone that was willing to give them some information.

Their server approached them, her smile never wavering while taking their drink and appetiser order. She bounced off, returning only moments later with their drink of choice — water.

"Is there anything else I can help you two with?" she asked sweetly looking first at Hermione, then Harry.

Hermione shook her head, and Harry replied, "No thank you." The waitress walked away once more, leaving the two to themselves.

"Well, what do you think?" Hermione asked, setting the menu down on the table. Harry followed, clasping his hands together in thought.

"I don't know. I don't see anyone here that would be able to help us, do you?" Harry said, glancing behind him. "Or at least no one that I would feel comfortable going up to and asking."

Hermione frowned. "What about the waitress? She talks like a local, maybe she knows something and can help us?"

Harry nodded in agreement. "Good idea. Let's ask when she comes around next with our apps. We can ask and order our entrees."

Pushing their motive for eating at the seaside restaurant to begin with, they chattered about travelling the world, making plans for the future as if there wasn't a war looming over their head. It wasn't long before the waitress arrived once more with their appetisers and took their orders for their entrees.

"Is there anything else I can get you right now?" she asked again.

Harry looked at Hermione, and she nodded, urging him on. "Yes, actually. We were wondering if you knew anything of the Sirens."

The waitress looked at him curiously and Hermione panicking jumped into the conversation. "You see, we are students at Hogwarts, and we see the Selkies in the Black Lake quite often. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Sirens here since they're different. Could you help us?"

She looked at them with an odd expression on her face that Hermione could only interpret as confusion and maybe curiosity. "I can't help you, but I know someone that can." She gestured for them to lean in and she stepped closer to the table.

"When the sun sinks below the horizon, find R.J. Barrett. If you walk all the way to the end," she said pointing in the direction she wanted them to go. "You will find him at the third dock from the end. It's a white boat, run down looking. He has a scraggly beard, and his eyes are each a different colour."

Hermione memorised the description the waitress gave and tucked it away for safekeeping. They thanked her, and she smiled as she collected their menus. Dinner seemed to pass relatively slow after that, the two teenagers swapping theories on who this mystery man could be and why only he had the information they sought. By the time they thanked their waitress, paid the bill, and left more than a generous tip, the sun was dangerously close to disappearing under the horizon. They didn't know what would happen if they arrived too late, but they weren't willing to find out. Breaking off into a run, Harry sprinted ahead, his long legs able to carry him quicker to their destination. Hermione, with a shorter stature, didn't have the advantage of long legs, but kept up as best she could, arriving only moments after Harry.

Harry was staring at the boat with an emotion Hermione couldn't determine. Fear? Uncertainty? She grabbed his arm in comfort, but it was just as much for her as it was him. They were walking into unknown territory at dusk, to meet a man who wasn't prepared for their presence. But they've faced worse things, right?

"Harry," Hermione whispered, pulling on his arm to get his attention. "I think someone is on the boat. Say something. Say something to get his attention."

Harry nodded and stepped forward a bit. "Hello? Is anyone there?" he called out, his voice loud and clear across the silence. "We need to talk to you. It's—It's important."

Hermione moved her hand from Harry's arm into his hand as she saw something move in the shadows of the boat. Something reached the rail and stood there, staring at them. Well, she couldn't be sure if they were staring directly at them because she couldn't see their face, it just seemed like a logical deduction that—

Her thoughts were cut off when a raspy voice cut through the air like a knife, breaking the palpable tension that had bubbled up in the moment of uncertainty.

"Who's asking?"

"My name is Harry, and this is Hermione. We were told to come here, and you'd be able to assist us in our search."

"Ahh," the voice said, almost laughing. "So you are on the search for the Sirens."

Hermione glanced at Harry fear etched upon her moonlit face. "Ho-How did you know that?" she sputtered out.

The man laughed making the hairs on Hermione's arm stand up. "Let's just say it's an ability of mine."

"He's a legilimens," Hermione whispered frantically to Harry. "He can extract feelings and memories from our minds without us realising it."

"Very good," the man said, laughing again.

"Who are you?" Hermione asked, squinting in the darkness, trying to see the man. She relaxed her eyes when she realised it was a useless endeavour, the darkness prevented close inspection of anything.

"You ask too many questions. Besides, I know Connie told you who I am. She's the only one who has ever sent strangers down here."

"She has sent others down here before?"

"Many have come down here sticking their noses where they don't belong, trying to find the Sirens for the wrong reasons. I've never told a single one where they're at. Don't reckon I want the blood of a mermaid on my hands even I didn't kill them directly."

The man paused. "You're not here to kill them though, are you?" Harry and Hermione both shook their heads. "Well, come on board then. Best come talk privately lest we have any...prying ears." The man then disappeared from the dock of the boat.

Hermione bit her lip, nervous. "Do you really think we should climb aboard this man's ship? We just met him, and well, he doesn't seem very trustworthy."

"We've gotten this far, haven't we? We can't turn back now." Harry walked toward the boat and turned back to where Hermione continued to stand, holding his hand out. "Come on, we don't want him to change his mind. We don't have any other options if we want answers. And if we get into trouble, well, we will just fight ourselves out of it like we always do. Okay?"

"Okay," Hermione said and walked forward to grab Harry's offered hand. "But I swear to Merlin if this is a trap, I am smacking you upside the head."

A/N: I have no excuses for how long this chapter took me, but good news — I have now written several chapters ahead and will be posting bi-weekly! Huge kudos to my friend, HeartOfAspen for her work on this story!

Thanks to all those who voted in Beyond the Book Fanfiction Nook's Summer Awards. I walked away with Favorite Fluff Winner for my Ao3 exclusive story, A Fine Line Between Desire and Ruin AND Runner-up for Favorite New Author. Thank you! xx