This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Word Count: 2905
Title: Her Siren Song
Note: AU! merpeople, AU! Underwater. Frank and Alice are twins- mostly coz I don't know her maiden name.
Warnings: Stockholm syndrome, dub con, kidnapping, serial killer
Beta: DarylDixon'sgirl1985
Hogwarts
Assignment 4: Forestry: Famous Forests: Task #3 - Giant Kelp Forests, USA: The giant kelp forests of California's Monterey Bay have an otherworldly beauty. Write a Merperson!AU.
Yearly:
Prompt 376 [Romantic Pairing] Alice/Bellatrix
366: [157] Implication
"Agent Longbottom, despite being a woman, you are one of the best agents in the Atlantic Academy," inspector Mad-Eye Moody said to her.
Her bluish skin bristled at his tone but she was used to being talked down upon, even though she joined the force with higher levels than her own father. To some, she was still just a merwoman.
"You're target is the siren Bellatrix Black, who is being charged for the murder of countless humans, making our species vulnerable to the fallout," he continued.
Alice nodded to show she was listening. "When have we prosecuted a siren for their nature?"
"Agent Longbottom, she has gone mad with power, and although her actions as such are excusable, she is sloppy, and the humans will start launching search parties. They won't distinguish between us and them."
Alice nodded, standing straighter. She took her job seriously, and handling this case on her own was a true honour.
"I'm sure you understand the implications for all of us waterfolk," he added seriously.
Inspector Moody handed her a blue file with information on the fugitive. She swept her long brown hair out of her face and opened it.
Bellatrix Black
She read all about the woman and her numerous murders, too many humans to even begin to name. It really did appear that something went wrong.
Sirens kill, but they were only driven to it once a month, and usually when men were at sea during a storm. This siren, Bellatrix, had taken to going out on a perfectly sunny day and sometimes just drowning female children. Alice frowned. It wasn't as if she cared for humans, they were way to fragile and short living, but killing the young seemed a bit extreme.
Suppressing a shudder, she took off for the first known location of Bellatrix Black. According to her information, the siren frequented a bar in their neighbourhood. It was called The Nereids.
It was set in a sunken ship, that had an odd assortment of decor that Alice supposed appealed to the clientele. She wished for a split second she had considered bringing her brother along, but the thought of her innocent twin Frank among these beings was even worse than thinking what could happen to her.
She gulped before entering through the portal hole, seeing a bulky siren male at the door. "Not lost, are ya, darlin'?" he drawled.
"No, thank you, is ID required?" she asked formally, knowing that even though she was a merwoman she would be able to gain access. Male sirens were indiscriminate in the females they pursued. It often resulted in half-breeds that were generally considered outcasts in both their societies. The man shook his head, and dramatically dropped the chain, allowing her access.
She walked in, looking around for the siren she would recognize from her photographs in the file. She spotted a bunch of drunken men singing by a piano, and readied herself for the effect from the siren song, even mermaids got affected by it, yet humans and wix got it worse. She didn't feel anything, and had a fleeting thought why it didn't appeal to her, but continued her search.
She asked for a drink at the bar, making sure the bartender poured it into a glass, adding an umbrella with a subtle wink. She would clearly be less suspicious if it looked like she was drinking as well, although alcohol didn't appeal to her. She grinned at the woman, noticing the similarity in their skin tones and recognizing her as a mermaid, not a siren. The majority of the bar was filled with sirens, with the purplish skin tone and black eyes, she didn't see a single face she knew. She also didn't see her culprit- so she swayed on the dance floor for a bit, nursing her glass of coke with the small cocktail umbrella.
Her own pale blue eyes sought through each individual, and realised that Bellatrix definitely wasn't there.
"And now, gentlemen," a voice announced, "please welcome our star, Starlight," the crowd went wild. One or two people looked curiously to the stage, but it seemed like all the regulars were aware of her, apparently, even under siren's, some had a more powerful call than others.
Starlight, aka Lily Evans, was a siren Alice recognized. The two of them had been at the Hogwarts Youth Academy together, and she had run into a little bit of trouble making two wizards fall in love with her.
Her call sent a shiver through Alice, and she was captivated by the voice that sounded mournfully beautiful. As soon as Lily finished her song, her eyes met Alice with curiosity. Of course she would, Alice had once been Lily's parole officer. Alice however was realising that her attraction to the siren song explained something else. It explained her childhood dream to kiss another woman, it explained her immunity to the drunken idiots- she wasn't broken, she was simply gay.
"Alice Longbottom, as I live and breathe," Lily said, climbing down from the stage and embracing her like an old friend. Alice stood still, hands awkwardly pinned to her sides.
"It's good to see you," Lily continued, a genuine smile on her face.
"Being good, Evans?" Alice asked, attempting to sound stern. Lily laughed, tossing her long red hair over her shoulder.
"I see you finally noticed it," Lily said. The frown on Alice's face gave her away.
"The song- it showed you, didn't it? I saw your pupils dilating."
Alice blushed furiously. She didn't notice the visible effect on the others, as she was just as captivated by her.
"How did you know I was?" Alice asked, suddenly plopping into a nearby chair. Lily pulled up a chair, and folded her arms, leaning forward on the table comfortably.
"Oh darling," she sighed. "I've known you since high school. I know we didn't always hang out in the same circles, you and Frank preferring to stay to yourselves, but I have always had a stronger call than some others have."
Alice tried not to lean in as Lily spoke, but once Lily leaned back, it seemed the spell had broken, and Alice could think clearly again.
"What's a parole officer doing at The Nereids?"
"Actually, I'm an agent now," Alice said, subconsciously puffing out her chest.
"Congrats, my dear," Lily grinned widely, her sharp teeth visible to Alice's gaze.
"Thank you," she said. "It's been my dream—" she was cut off by Lily saying.
"I've got to go, the crowd wants me," she nodded towards the men who were eagerly looking at her to go back to singing. Alice just nodded instead, closing her mouth at the unsubtle hint. "It really was nice," Lily said again over her shoulder before stepping onto the stage.
"Starlight, Starlight, Starlight," they chanted, and Alice stood up and left, it was clear Bellatrix wasn't there, but she had seen Lily, and it had been quite the eye-opener. She felt the song trying to pull her back in, but she shook herself off, and soon she was out of range of the music.
"Alice, really, going to a place like that," Frank shuddered. "I suppose I'm just happy you got home safely."
"Frank, you know I can take care of myself, like father did," Alice insisted, sitting down and watching her twin act like the protective mother figure in her life. He had always tried to shelter her, although, she saw now she might have figured out who she was a lot sooner if she had attempted to break away from him a bit more. He glared at her, and Alice laughed.
"You look just like Mum when you do that," she said.
Frank went pale; he hadn't processed their mother's death quite as well as she had. Last year he practically became a recluse. Their mother had been caught in a fishing net, and after that, Frank needed to calculate all the risks before he did anything.
"You would make a good risk assessor," Alice commented as he muttered something about a 52.7% chance of sudden death.
He smiled at her. "Okay, you just be careful, carry that Taser with you."
Alice nodded reassuringly. "I will, dear brother," she insisted.
It was a few days before she decided to explore the Deathly Hallows. It was an area so rocky that every storm caused siren's to flock there. They could sense the smell of death for miles, and most of them had claimed a few lives there. The night was rough, and Alice was sure a sailor would be caught in the storm.
She swam along, looking through the hordes of siren's waiting for a leak to spring in the boat, until she saw her- Bellatrix Black. She was even more breath-taking in person, and before she could swim to the surface, Alice caught her by the ankle, distracting her.
Bellatrix hissed at Alice, shocking her, but Alice managed to pull her down. Brute strength wasn't something a siren needed to rely on. Alice had gone through extreme field training with inspector Dumbledore before she was allowed to go out into the field, and she was thankful that although she didn't appear it, she could easily overpower Bellatrix in a physical confrontation.
"What the hell was that?" the siren asked furiously. "Since when does a mer interfere with siren business?"
Alice ignored the racist slur against her, and rolled her eyes at the woman facing her. "They do when you risk exposing our worlds," she said. She watched the expression in the black eyes turn from fury to fear for a split second, and then Bellatrix attempted to make a break for it, without another word she was off like lightning. Swimming at speeds some waterfolk only dream of. Alice had a funny feeling it was her experience that made her so good at making a quick getaway.
Alice kept up the chase for a while before they went through an underwater forest, and Bellatrix disappeared.
"Shit," Alice said, grabbing a small clownfish by the tail and eating it whole. The rest of the clown-fish scattered.
The next time Alice gained Intel regarding Bellatrix's antics; it was after she had killed a mother with her five year old young. Alice sighed as she regarded the wreckage. This siren sure had her on the ropes. She wasn't getting any leads on catching her.
She spotted a note on the ground with spiral handwriting and Alice read it out loud.
Catch me if you can.
Was that a dare? Alice felt a shiver run through her, was this all a game to her? Well then, if Bellatrix wanted to play, she was up for the chase.
The next time Alice managed to stop her killing someone, Bellatrix took a swipe at her with her wicked clawed nails, which Alice dodged.
"Oh fight fair," Bellatrix drawled.
Alice laughed. "Fair?"
"Yes, give me a chance to get away," Bellatrix insisted with a confident smirk.
The pause was tiny, but still too noticeable, and Alice regretted it the instant it happened. "Never."
"No way to persuade you?" Bellatrix purred, her voice suddenly changing.
'Oh shit,' Alice thought. 'Don't sing.'
Alice was lucky then, she managed to take Bellatrix to the Academy, yes, she needed to use the Taser, but she couldn't risk the woman singing. Alice realised that pause had made Bellatrix notice that she did in fact have a weapon against the much stronger, usually faster, mermaid.
After the Academy issued Bellatrix with an official warning, giving her three months' probation, Alice was furious.
"Three months! But sir!" Alice screamed in outrage. She didn't just go through all this to have the woman be let go with a slap on the wrist. Bellatrix had a gag over her mouth to prevent her using her song to charm them into releasing her straight away, but Alice could see her smirking even from behind it. Bellatrix winked at Alice with her black eyes, and Alice felt a stirring of something unusual within her. 'It must simply be the thrill of catching her,' she thought. 'It can't be…'
"Alice," inspector Moody said in his voice that bore no argument, the use of her first name made her feel even more chastised.
"Sorry, sir," she said, her face red from being told off in front of the captive. She could feel Bellatrix's eyes on her, and it made her even more nervous than usual.
"I understand she is a threat, to be monitored, of course," he agreed reluctantly with a look at her, she glared at him, and winked at Alice again, causing her to want to dissolve into childish giggles that she managed to restrain.
"Sir, we let her go two days ago," Alice said logically. She was sitting on the other side of Inspector Moody's desk, and although he was her superior, she felt fed up with his back and forth attitude. She had told him not to let her go, and now she had to clean up another mess of the formidable Bellatrix Black.
Her eyes scanned his desk that was clear of any personal artefacts, no photographs of his family. She knew he had lost all his family members during the battle against a neighbouring Selkie tribe that attempted to steal their territory, resulting in serious losses on both sides of the spectrum. She fleetingly wondered if the siren's had lost anyone during the Selkie war.
"Yes, but she went and killed five people yesterday, Agent," he said, looking at her. "Do you want to keep this assignment or not?" His eyebrows were raised, as if he was daring her to decline. "I can get anyone else on this case in a minute."
"Of course, sir," Alice admitted, keeping his eyes to show she was serious, and although cleaning up a siren's mess wasn't her idea of fun, the thrill of the chase rushed through her.
"Then go," he said, gesturing to the door of his office.
Alice reached the Deathly Hallows; she was expecting it to be empty, as the weather was predicted to be clear all night. She did receive a tip that Bellatrix would be there, not that she put much stock into that, but her superiors had insisted she check it out anyway.
She sighed, suspecting it was a hoax, until the siren revealed herself. She looked even more hauntingly beautiful than ever, and her mouth opened before Alice had a chance to get to her this time. Bellatrix started to sing, and Alice felt her body react without her consent; she dropped her Taser, and swam eagerly into Bellatrix's range, grinning broadly. Internally, her body was screaming warnings, but there was nothing to be done, she couldn't resist the compulsion.
Bellatrix's voice continued to lure her, and she felt herself swimming willingly into a large metal trap.
Alice wasn't sure how long she was stuck in there, but when she snapped out of it, she was no longer in a cage; she was locked in a dungeon with bars.
"Like it?" Bellatrix said. "This place belongs to my sister's husband."
Alice frowned before she realised. The Malfoy's.
She wished she could use that sultry note that Bellatrix was so keen to use on her, but her voice came out more like a strangled squeak.
"Let me go," Alice said.
"Why?"
"Fight fair," Alice said, without realising she was echoing their conversation when they met.
Bellatrix's gaze turned what only could be described as lustful. "What will you give me?"
"I have nothing," Alice said, although deep down, her heart was racing. 'She couldn't mean it in that way,' Alice argued internally.
"Nothing?" Bellatrix repeated, and obviously looked her up and down. "A beauty like you."
"You lock me up, now you flirt with me," Alice stated.
Bellatrix laughed, she stuck a hand through the bars, and moved Alice's loose tendrils of hair behind her ear, making Alice lean into it automatically.
Alice shivered, and pulled back suddenly.
"It's not just compulsion," Bellatrix said wickedly.
"Of course it is," Alice insisted, yet her ears and cheeks were heating up.
Bellatrix shook her head. "You won't run," she stated.
"You don't know that," Alice attempted again. "Why would you assume?"
"Oh it's clear you want me as much as I want you," Bellatrix said boldly. "I usually don't let them choose, but if I let you, you would choose to go through with it."
The word "them" should have sent warning bells through Alice's body, yet the part that stood out was that this woman, this beautiful creature, wanted her.
"This is too fast," she attempted, her voice sounding hollow to even her own ears.
Bellatrix let out a laugh. "No more denial then, we are making progress."
It soon became too much for Alice to deny her Trix, and she was wandering Malfoy Manor during the times they weren't together. She was trapped, but the feeling of this secret being theirs gave her a strange feeling of power. She forgot that the world outside existed; only focused on Bellatrix.
"Trix, you're home," Alice grinned.
"Yes, my dear," she purred, and Alice went to her willingly, melting into her arms. Alice felt herself enchanted by the love of the siren, and the mystery of her song. For now, only they exist, and time itself stood still in the wake of their passion.