Following Fred and George's epic departure, the school year slid into May, and with it, the pressures of their O.W.L.s mounted. They'd be taking their exams in about a month's time. Hermione was panicking, to say the least, and with the craziness of everything, she never got a chance to go into the Black Lake. After the Dumbledore's Army debacle, she especially didn't want to get caught and be stuck in detention for the rest of the year. Knowing Umbridge, it was quite possible that she would be expelled if caught.
That wasn't going to stop her now though. There was a Quidditch match and Hagrid had just pulled Harry away to do something for him — it was the perfect time to sneak away since everyone was distracted.
As soon as the crowd was turned the opposite way as Gryffindor held the Quaffle, she snuck down to the Black Lake under the guise that she wasn't interested in Quidditch, bringing a notebook in case she was caught. Really, it wasn't a lie, but with Gryffindor playing she normally would have at least watched. But since Harry wasn't flying, she didn't care all that much.
Before she stepped into the lake, she threw off her robes. Underneath she was wearing just her underclothes. She didn't bother taking them off because they wouldn't last the transformation anyway and she wasn't willing to take them off. She would have to be quick at throwing her robes back on, in case anyone was near once she re-emerged.
Wading into the water was cold, even though the May air outside was warm. Taking one last breath above water, she went under, her body transforming into a mermaid quicker than she ever had before. Perhaps she was learning to transform like an Animagus rather than waiting for the water to turn her. Research was in her future on the matter. Refocusing her attention on the task at hand, she gulped in the water like a breath of fresh air, and it was like this was where she was meant to be.
Not having been conscious last time she was in the lake, she listened to see if she could hear them singing. Hearing nothing, she swam toward what she thought was the middle of the lake—the deepest part of the lake—and began her descent.
As she got closer, she heard the music. She couldn't make it out exactly, but it was different than the Sirens in Greece.
She approached a very similar-looking area, two mermen guarding the entrance.
"Merchieftainess," one greeted her. The other said, "Welcome, Daughter of the Sea."
She tilted her head forward in greeting. "Could you take me to Merchieftainess Murcus?"
They nodded. "Follow us." Hermione swam after them, leading her to a small cove, similar to the one in Greece, but not as elaborate. They stopped outside and gestured for her to go in.
Hermione swam through the opening and there, sitting around a large table with several other mermen, was a woman that looked strong and powerful. The merwoman still had hair but it was long and frayed on the ends, colored grey from old age. It was clear that she was the one in charge—Merchieftainess Murcus.
"Merchieftainess Hermione," she said in greeting. "Please have a seat."
Hermione frowned and looked around at the other merpeople before looking back to the Merchief in front of her. "I was wanting to speak with you privately."
The Merchieftainess looked at her, her gaze unblinking and never leaving Hermione's. Finally, she spoke. "Anything you need to say, you can say it in front of my most trusted."
Hermione sighed in annoyance. She had expected there to be some pushback, as she was young and had just taken over not even half a year earlier. But alas, she would pick her battles, and if Murcus didn't mind being called out in front of everyone, she wasn't going to hold back.
"I have accepted my place as Daughter of the Sea as you know, but you should not have bitten me that day in the lake against my will."
"I was doing what was best for the colonies. You wouldn't have done it if you had a choice. It was necessary—I won't apologize."
"From now on, everything needs to be run by me and mine first. There will be no doing things that you think are necessary without running them by me or Marsious. Is that understood?"
Hermione knew she was being a bit harsh, but she needed them to take her seriously as Daughter of the Sea and their leader.
The Selkie nodded her head as did the men around her. "I look forward to working with you."
Hermione smiled. "Now that that is taken care of, I need to speak to Marsious. It is urgent and I know he mentioned something of a transportation portal that I can use to travel."
Murcus gestured the large stones not too far away. "The guards will guide you."
"Thank you." The two guards that had led Hermione to Murcus showed her to the transportation portal. "How does this work?"
"It's always working," one of the guards told her. "You just swim through as you're thinking about the colony you want to travel to and it will transport you right there."
Hermione closed her eyes and thought hard about Marsious and the Greek colony. When she opened her eyes, she had it clearly in her mind and without hesitation, she swam through the barrier.
It made her stomach turn. She was whirled through the water like she was caught in large crashing waves unable to escape. It was worse than a Portkey.
When it finally stopped, she opened her eyes and tried to adjust. She lost her balance in the water and fell to the side a bit. A pair of arms caught her, and she recognized that was one of the guards she'd met on her trip to the colony before. She recalled that he stood guard at the transportation portal, along with a few others, making sure no unwanted guests could sneak through undetected.
"Thank you Lachlan, that took me off guard. I wasn't expecting it to be so…"
"Rough? Yeah, it's wild. I've traveled to a few of the other colonies before and it takes some getting used to."
"I'll take your word for it. I think I'll only use it when I need to."
The merman laughed. "I am assuming you are here to talk to Marsious?"
Hermione nodded her head. "Where can I find him?"
"He's in his quarters right now." He pointed toward a small home on the other side. "I think he is expecting you."
Hermione said goodbye to the guard and made her way to Marsious's house. She knocked on the door several times and waited patiently. It was only a few moments before he opened the door and stepped out to greet her. "Hermione, welcome back."
"Thank you Marsious. Should we head to the military base to chat?"
"Let's go."
They made small talk about their lives as they made their way to the military base, and Hermione found out some tidbits of information about the merman on her way. When they reached the base, they settled into two chairs across from each other.
"Marious, what happened?" Hermione asked immediately. "The colony looks okay but…" She paused. "Is everyone okay?"
"We are fine down here, but they hurt the ones who protect us above the water."
Hermione nodded. "R.J. and Geoff. They wrote me a letter telling me of the events, and believe it was Lord Voldemort trying to take control and potentially destroy so he can rule above the mermaids, especially those closest to Britain and the United Kingdom."
Marsious looked at her curiously. "You say his name as if you are unafraid." He sounded impressed at her boldness.
"I am not afraid, but I feel threatened." She paused. "Are there any more precautions we can take to protect ourselves?"
He shook his head.
"Damn. It's going to be worse once he finds out it's me who is in charge. I am afraid for you all."
Marsious reached out and placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder. "Don't be afraid for us, Hermione. I will protect the colony while you are gone and protecting us above the waters. Atargatis is with us."
Hermione's hand went to her neck where she always kept the beads that Atargatis had bestowed upon her when she became Daughter of the Sea. "You're right. She is always with us."
Marsious floated out of his chair and Hermione followed. She hesitated but decided to hug him. He was becoming a sort of fatherly figure to her. "Thank you for everything. I couldn't do this without you."
If he was uncomfortable by her showing affection, he didn't let on. He just patted her back before she pulled away. "Is there anything you want to do for Geoff and R.J? I believe that they are recovering just fine, but I am not sure if there are protections you can give them being both a mermaid and a witch."
"I will look into doing that. I just wanted to stop in and make sure you all were okay."
"We're fine. Now I know you're in school, so you better get back before you're missed."
Hermione nodded and Marsious led her back to the transportation portal that would take her back to the Black Lake. She wasn't looking forward to it and said so.
"You'll get used to it," he said to her, repeating what the guard's words from earlier.
She looked at the arch skeptically and made a sound of disgust. "So I've been told. That remains to be seen."
Hermione closed her eyes as Marsious laughed. She thought back to the Black Lake colony, remembering the small details she took in during her short time there. When she opened her eyes, she bid Marsious farewell and stepped back through.
The journey back to the Black Lake wasn't any better than before. It even felt a bit worse if she was honest.
When she finally came to a stop, she counted it as a win that she kept her balance rather than fall over.
"Welcome back, Daughter of the Sea."
"Thank you." Hermione shook her head. She could feel a headache coming on due to her travels. Getting back to the surface as quickly as possible was crucial, especially since she didn't know how long she had been gone. "Let them know I have returned to the surface. I will come back if something happens or I have information to hand out."
"I will tell them immediately. Do you need an escort to the surface?"
"No, it will draw too much attention. I will be okay."
"Very well. Farewell, Daughter of the Sea."
The guard waved goodbye as Hermione swam quickly through the murky water. When she broke the surface, she quickly looked around and was relieved to see the Quidditch match still in progress. There was lots of cheering and shouting, indicating it was in full force.
Hermione quickly pulled herself out of the water onto the bank, grabbed her wand that was sitting on top of her robes, and cast a drying charm. As the water was whisked away, her human body reappeared. Looking around, she quickly jumped into her robes, covering her naked body.
As Hermione was slipping on her shoes, Harry came out of the Forbidden Forest covered in dirt, his hair messy as ever and his glasses a bit askew on his face. He saw her and walked closer.
"What happened to you?" she asked as he approached.
"It's a long story." She reached up and picked a leaf out of his hair. He blinked, took in the sight of her and asked, "What happened to you?"
"It's a long story," she smirked, echoing his words back at him.
"Touché. How about we walk back up to the pitch together and fill each other in." He looked up toward the sky where the Quidditch players were zooming around. "I think we have some time before the match is over."
Hermione filled Harry in quickly about what had happened while she was in the Black Lake, but the information he gave her was far more interesting.
"He has a full-grown giant living in the forest?" Hermione whispered loudly. "Is he completely out of his mind?"
"Shh," Harry told her, looking around. They were standing next to the Quidditch pitch and other students were starting to trickle out as the match finished. Then he shrugged. "He probably is, but when does he ever listen to reason from one of us? Need I remind you about Fluffy and Norbert?"
"You don't need to remind me," Hermione said, chuckling. "I remember."
They melded into the group as the rest of the Gryffindors filed out of the stadium, cheering about their win, Ron on their shoulders for his spectacular Keeping job. Both Harry and Hermione cheered along with their friends, happy about their win, but with more pressing matters on their minds.
A/N: Thank you all so much for your continued patience on this story. A big shout out to HeartofApsen for her alpha/beta work and sticking with me for so long xx