Written For:

- Day 19 of 366 Days of Writing Challenge: Dare

- February Event: Teamwork Exercise: (plot/action) Meeting a spouse/loved one for the first time, (title) My Fair Lady

- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Sex and the City: (first line) Once upon a time..., (word) Luminous, (object) Sleeping mask

- Gringotts Prompt Bank/All Colours: Denim Blue, Powder Blue, Grey, Blue-Green, Cerulean, Ultramarine

- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Feelings & Emotions: Resentful, Suspicious

- Gringotts Prompt Bank/A-Z of AUs: Mermaid/Merman!AU

- Gringotts Prompt Bank/Said Synonyms: quipped, huffed, cackled, exclaimed, called, stammered

- Word Prompt Express: Dare

Pairings/Characters: Bellatrix, Lucius/Narcissa

Word Count: 1,602


My Fair Lady

I brace myself, 'cause I know it's going to hurt, but I like to think at least things can't get any worse.

Once upon a time, a young lady named Narcissa awoke to the sun streaming brightly through her eyelids. When they fluttered open, her sister's face was looming in front of hers, a sleeping mask still propped up on her forehead. "Wake up, Cissy. We're playing dares." As Narcissa's eyes adjusted to the daylight, she noticed the mischievous look in her older sister's eyes.

"Aren't you a little old for games, Bella?" Narcissa quipped, sitting up in bed. Bellatrix was seventeen and this was her first summer that she wasn't spending at home from Hogwarts. She had joined Narcissa, Andromeda and the family in Devon at their holiday home, confessing that she had a love for the scenery.

"This is a good one."

"Can I at least have breakfast first?"

"No. Get dressed and meet me by the lake." At this moment, Narcissa noticed that Bellatrix was already dressed, her unruly black hair tied back in a messy bun. She pinged the sleeping mask in Narcissa's direction, and then left the bedroom.

Narcissa resisted the age to groan as she dressed in denim blue shorts and a long sleeved, powder blue shirt. As soon as she had thrown her hair back into a ponytail, she headed outside, hurrying through the gardens, down the grassy banking, and met with Bellatrix, who was standing by the lake.

"Okay, lets get this over and done with," Narcissa grumbled, wrapping her arms around herself. It was sunny, but the early morning air had a sharpness to it that made Narcissa break out in goosebumps. However, she knew better than to challenge Bellatrix's outrageous ideas, especially when she seemed so set on them. "Can I give you a dare first?"

"No," Bellatrix snapped. "I'm first. I dare you to swim out into the lake," she grinned wickedly.

Bellatrix spoke so fast that Narcissa had the slight impression that she had already been thinking of this dare, but she couldn't even begin to imagine why. Bellatrix knew that Narcissa wasn't the greatest of swimmers, and large bodies of water had always scared her a little. However, she wasn't about to turn down a challenge from Bellatrix—her older sister would tell everyone and everyone that she was a chicken for the rest of her life.

"Fine," Narcissa huffed, pursing her lips. Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, and her smile faltered. Clearly, she hadn't been expecting Narcissa to accept the dare.

The younger girl kicked off her shoes and pulled down her shorts, throwing them at Bellatrix, and then headed into the water, clad only in her underwear and shirt. As soon as her feet sunk into the mossy, sludgy ground beneath the lake she cringed, hating the sensation of the mud between her toes, but she soldiered on. Before long, she was waist deep in the water. She turned around to glare at Bellatrix. "I'm going to get you back for this," she exclaimed resentfully. The cogs were already whirring in her brain, trying to think of an adequate dare she could challenge Bellatrix with.

"You'll have to finish your dare first," Bellatrix cackled. "Swim all the way across to the other side of the lake and back."

Narcissa rolled her eyes and looked over to the other side. It wasn't too far. So long as she didn't think of how deep the lake became in the centre of the lake, she would be fine. With a deep breath, she plunged herself forwards into the water, starting a smooth, steady breaststroke.

It had been a while since she had been swimming, and as she gracefully moved through the water, she realised how refreshing and soothing it was. The water lapped coolly against her limbs, and the sun shone warmly on her back. Now that she had become used to the cold harshness of the lake, she was beginning to enjoy her swim.

She was about halfway across the lake when she became distracted by Bellatrix's voice. She stopped swimming abruptly and turned around, treading water to keep her head above the surface. She could see Bellatrix stood at the edge of the lake, waving her arms wildly.

"What?" Narcissa called, spluttering as lake water seeped into her mouth. "I can't hear you!"

"There's something in the water!"

Before Narcissa could reply, something grabbed her by the ankles, and she was yanked under the glassy surface of the water ruthlessly.

oOo

When she finally came back into conciousness, Narcissa realised immediately that she was no longer in the summery air of her holiday home back garden. She could tell by the way that her breathing echoed around her, as though she was in some kind of narrow, low-ceilinged room.

She took in her surroundings once her eyes were open, noticing stony grey walls, lined with moss and seaweed. She was laid upon a slightly elevated rock in the cave, and there was a small stretch of water below her, of which light was streaming through. In her mind, she put two and two together—she must have travelled to this cave through her lake. There must have been an opening under the water.

Peering into the water, she tried to work out how far underwater she would have to swim, should she try and make her way out. Being in the water was one thing, but swimming under water—the idea made Narcissa shiver.

Plus, there was the added addition of whatever it was that had dragged her under the water. She reared away from the edge of the water as she remembered the sensation of slimy, strong hands around her ankles, and how they had pulled her so swiftly below breathing point. Shivering, Narcissa pulled her legs to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, wondering if Bellatrix was going to have gone for help.

It didn't seem likely. Bellatrix was more likely to have run away from the scene of the crime immediately. If and when the inevitable questions arose from their parents later on in the day, Bellatrix would deny having anything to do with Narcissa for the entire day.

A splash in the water broke Narcissa's train of thought, and she became mildly aware that she was no longer alone in the cave. The glassy surface of the water was rippling, and a pale, luminous shape was glowing beneath it. A wave of suspicion spread through her, and Narcissa tried to back up further onto the rock. "Sh-show yourself!" she stammered, trying to keep her voice clear and threatening.

She watched carefully as the surface of the water broke, and the creature emerged, and her suspicion morphed into utter, undiluted shock.

The body of a man rose from the water first; a long, slender body, sickly pale yet tinged with an eerie blue-green glow. It was a male body, slim yet well defined, though he had long, silvery blonde hair that hung down his back, slick with water. He had a sharp jawline and narrow, cerulean eyes.

But most shocking of all wasn't his upper half, but what followed after him. Instead of a pair of legs, a long, scaly fishtail flicked in the water behind him. The scales blended from the skin around his pelvis, starting with a pale, blue-green shade, and slowly melting into a more pigmented, ultramarine colour.

He was the most beautiful thing that Narcissa had ever laid eyes on.

Momentarily stunned by his beauty, she couldn't quite find the words to say to him - in fact, she didn't really know what to say. Luckily, however, the merman was much more forward. "My fair lady," he greeted, in an oddly perfect, clear English accent. "I apologise for how rudely I snatched you out of the water."

Narcissa opened and closed her mouth a few times, feeling like a goldfish. "W-well you should be!" she finally snapped, straightening her back so she could feel a little taller, though it was completely pointless. There was no way her petite frame would match up to the long, at least seven-foot physique of the merman. "What did you think you were doing, dragging me underneath like that? I could've drowned."

"Oh, there's no way that could have happened," the merman replied with a haughty laugh. He spread out the long fingers on each of his hands, showing her the thin webs between his fingers. "While ever I was touching you, you were safe to breathe under the water. That's one of the many talents of the merfolk."

Narcissa felt her cheeks growing hot as she imagined those strange, webbed hands touching her. "That's besides the point," she retorted. "It was quite a rude thing to do."

"I reinforce my apologies," continued the merman, bending in a slight bow. Narcissa felt a little confused—she had never met a merperson before, but she had always been taught to believe that they were very proud creatures. She never imagined that one would be so polite to her, a human. "You shouldn't have been swimming in the lake, however. Didn't you know about the nest of Grindylows? I saw them heading towards you, so I pulled you to safety."

Narcissa was slightly stunned. The merman hadn't kidnapped her, he was merely trying to rescue her from a watery fate with the Grindylows.

"Well, I suppose I should thank you," she told him quietly, feeling quite embarrassed. "May I ask your name?"

The merman smiled, and stuck out his hand, which Narcissa gently shook. "Lucius, fair one. Lucius."