Selkies and Sparrows
Summary: When Jack Sparrow sailed into Port Royal that sunny day, it was his intention to commandeer one of those ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer his weaselly black guts out. What he ended up with was a young Selkie who used to go by the name of Harry Potter, but is currently in hiding from his friends, his enemies, and, most importantly, his destiny.
Parings: Jack Sparrow/Harry Potter (in other words, Slash. Non-slash people, ye be warned.)
Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine and neither, sad to say, is Pirates of the Caribbean, in any shape, form or manner except the one with JSHP monogrammed in black thread.
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"The moon on the mountains,
The whisper through the trees,
The waves on the water;
Let nothing come between this and me."
Bryan Adams (Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron), 'Somewhere I Belong'
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Smithy
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When he surfaced again next to the boat and regarded his Alpha with warm, liquid eyes, Jack paused for a moment, watching him. Finally the pirate Captain seemed to come to a decision, and nodded solemnly. For once, he didn't even spoil the moment with any of his natural oddness.
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When Jack's boat glided towards the docks at long last, it became unique; first ever boat to sail underwater, with the billowing sail filled with currents of water as opposed to the flighty wind. To Jack, this was perfectly normal – stranger things had happened, for certain. Wolf found nothing wrong with it either, having noticed the problems the young Surface Seal was having and merely asking the Sea to help it along.
So when Jack stepped off his post atop the mast he was able to stride confidently forwards along the wooden planks without the slightest shame at the staring eyes, and having no idea that the old lady spitting on the ground did so to ward off any evil spirits he may have brought with him.
Despite her efforts, Wolf remained undeterred by this ancient form of protection and swam underneath Jack, looking up at him through the slats in the wood. He whistled periodically as if to make sure that, even though his Alpha couldn't see him that clearly, he wouldn't be forgotten.
"What?" the Harbourmaster said in confusion as Jack walked past him with no respect for his open ledger. "Hey! Hold up there, you," he called. Jack turned around with an eyebrow raised. Below him, Wolf chirped questioningly, but was ignored as the Harbourmaster continued; "It's a shilling to tie up your boat at the dock."
Both of them turned to look at the sunken boat. Wolf took the opportunity to surface outside the shadows under the docks again and wave a flipper frantically at Jack, chattering all the while. The Captain in question turned back to the Harbourmaster, ostensibly ignoring his companion while at the same time clearing his throat to distract the bemused man from Wolf's uncharacteristic display. When he had his attention again, he waved his hand in a frantic signal for Wolf to interpret as he pleased, but preferably quietly and without drawing too much attention to himself. He almost sighed with relief as the seal's chatter died away.
The Harbourmaster pulled himself together, retreating to the safety of his official post. "And I shall need to know your name," he informed Jack pompously.
Jack paused a moment as if in thought, then reached a hand into one of his many pockets, inwardly praying that it was the right one. He retrieved three shiny silver coins and placed them on the official's open register.
"What d'ye say to three shillings," he asked, using up his hands to emphasize the offer, "and we forget the name?"
Wolf took that opportunity to haul himself out of the water and land with a wet splunk sound next to Jack. His lips were curled in warning as he glared at the unnerved Harbourmaster, and his whiskers almost quivered in the anticipation of protecting his Pack. Jack used one foot to unceremoniously shove him back into the water, smiling disarmingly the whole time.
"Hm?" he prompted.
Shaking his head to clear it, the Harbourmaster answered. "Welcome to Port Royal, Mr Smith." He snapped the ledger shut with a snap, the three shillings trapped between the pages.
With a half smile, Jack bowed his thanks. From another man, it might have looked mocking or out of place; on the unique pirate, the gesture seemed perfectly natural. As did the happy clinking of coins when he, out of the goodness of his heart, decided to give a home to the abandoned purse on the Harbourmaster's lectern.
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Wolf ducked his head under the water as yet another Landling pointed and stared at him. A vague uneasiness rose in him with the gesture, of a time when people – Landlings – pointed at him, and whispered behind his back. But then the Sea returned, washing through his mind and pushing the memories away again. He watched through the rippling, distorting film of ocean water until his observer finally turned and walked on, bored of waiting to see if he would resurface.
With a strong beat of his flippers and tail, Wolf caught up with his Alpha. He swam just on the surface, head half out of the water so that he could watch his Pack member stroll casually along beside him. Pausing slightly to lift his head fully out of the water, he whistled questioningly.
"Almost there, Wolf," his Alpha responded with a glance down at him. He gestured with a Landling flipper towards a large Surface Seal napping in the shallows. "That's our ship, up ahead."
Wolf chirped in acceptance, diving under the water to swim on ahead and make sure the Surface Seal wouldn't mind swimming with them. Not that it would of course, but it never hurt to check. A temperamental Surface Seal sometimes dove beneath the waves and sulked for years at the bottom of the Ocean.
As he swam, Wolf reflected on the problem of being stared at, and decided he didn't like it. Neither did his Alpha, if the way he had tried to protect him from the Landling's stares earlier was any indication. Before his agitation could rise any further however, he felt the calming influence of the Sea wash over him again, and blinked in gratitude.
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Jack strode confidently onto the dock. Look like you belong, that's the trick. Besides, he did belong – he was Captain Jack Sparrow. QED.
But apparently, some people hadn't received the message in a bottle. He'd have to make sure to send another one round soon.
"This dock is off limits to civilians," said one of Followers of the Enemy, shuffling forwards to stand in front of Jack and block his way. Follower of the Enemy number two stood beside him with a supposedly stern and intimidating glare.
Very nice of them to inform him of that detail, but, as stated previously, he was Captain Jack Sparrow. However, their politeness in sharing information deserved to be rewarded, and so he replied, "I'm terribly sorry, I didn't know. If I see one, I shall inform you immediately." Pleasantries dealt with, he attempted to walk past them towards his ship again. The Followers of the Enemy blocked him. Maybe they wanted some conversation?
"Apparently there's some sort of high toned and fancy to do up at the fort, eh?" he tried hopefully. Followers of the Enemy always seemed to be interested in what other Followers of the Enemy were doing. "How could it be that two upstanding gentlemen such as yourselves did not merit an invitation?" Upstanding gentlemen. That was a good one. Followers of the Enemy liked being told they were upstanding gentlemen. It reminded Jack slightly of a dog that wagged its tail when he told it it looked small and pathetic.
"Someone has to make sure this dock stays off limits to civilians," said Follower of the Enemy number one, breaking Jack out of his reverie. He sounded slightly less sure of himself though, so Jack, being that kind hearted soul that he was (said soul being sold to Davy Jones an entirely moot point here) hastened to reassure the poor thing.
"It's a fine goal, to be sure." A splashing sound to his left told Jack that Wolf had decided to reappear. "But it seems to me that a," he began, taking a step sideways, and being thwarted as the Followers of the Enemy shuffled to follow him, "a ship like that makes this one here a bit superfluous, really." So no one would mind, would they, if he borrowed 'this one here'. Honestly, they had so much, it was a Pirate's duty to liberate them of the responsibility of looking after it all. Think of the maintenance!
Follower of the Enemy number one answered him, once again crashing through Jack's thoughts without even a by-your-leave. Really, and people called Pirates discourteous.
"Oh, the Dauntless is the power in these waters, true enough," Follower of the Enemy number one conceded, "but there's no ship as can match the Interceptor for speed."
Really now, Jack though, and resisted the urge to twirl his moustache. Wouldn't do to upset the Followers of the Enemy; poor things wouldn't know how to cope. Instead, he settled for adopting an expression of deep concentration, and stated, "I've heard of one, supposed to be very fast – nigh un-catcheable." And wasn't that annoying, when he was trying to retake it. Ships should know only to be un-catcheable for him, not for mutinous first mates. He realised suddenly that the Followers of the Enemy (and really, that was getting to be a bit of a mouthful. Couldn't they have been more considerate and chosen a shorter title?) were still waiting for a name. Luckily, they seemed to take his pause as a dramatic one, heightening suspense and all that. "The Black Pearl."
Unfortunately, the heavy and foreboding atmosphere was shattered when Follower of the Enemy number two snorted and said, "Well, there's no real ship as can match the Interceptor." No respect, no respect at all. Cretin. From here on, Follower of the Enemy number two shall be named Cretin. Hear ye.
Luckily Follower of the Enemy number one answered him, saving Jack the task of correcting Cretin's misconceptions. "The Black Pearl is a real ship."
Cretin turned to his partner with a disbelieving expression. "No," he said, as if talking to a small child, "No it's not."
"Yes it is. I've seen it."
"You've seen it?"
Follower of the Enemy number one seemed to think for a bit, then with a decisive nod and a satisfied smile, "Yes."
"You haven't seen it."
"Yes, I have."
Jack rolled his eyes, his gaze going past the two to search out his Ship, which they had been so kindly guarding for him. He almost blinked when he saw the sleek seal sitting (or maybe lying?) on the dock behind the Followers of the Enemy, head turning to each one as they spoke.
"You've seen a ship with black sails," Cretin continued in the background, "that's crewed by the damned and captained by a man se evil that Hell itself spat him back out?" Ah yes, Jack could testify to that.
The Captain blinked again when he realised that his eyes and attention had slid neatly away from Wolf again, almost without him realising it. And, as far as he knew, he hadn't had any rum since that fateful bottle that had started this whole mess with the seal in the first place. And anyway, neither of the Followers of the Enemy had noticed Wolf in the slightest, and they were unlikely to have had any rum either.
"No," Follower of the Enemy number one said, and Jack absently nodded a thank you at him for answering his question. The Follower of the Enemy didn't notice, paying attention to his conversation with Cretin as he was.
"No," Cretin repeated, with an ever-so slightly mocking tone that his partner completely failed to grasp. Jack looked up at him, away from his scrutiny of the oblivious Wolf, and noticed that both of their attentions were locked squarely on their debate. Oh, how convenient.
"But I have seen a ship with black sails," Follower of the Enemy number one said happily as Jack slipped past them on silent feet, calling for Wolf with a hand motion as he went. The seal looked at the two Followers of the Enemy for a last time, before turning and moving after Jack. The pirate stopped to stare at the way he moved, seeming to bounce his body along with a loud whuffling sound. He glanced back, but neither of the debaters seemed to hear the strange noise.
Jack shrugged, and sauntered beside Wolf up to the ship. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the seal disappear, blurred and hidden by a patch of sea-mist and the sound similarly dampened, but when he turned to look at Wolf head on again he simply saw the seal as he had always been. Shrugging again, Jack continued up the gang plank to the Interceptor. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, and anything was possible for him. Wolf was the companion of Captain Jack Sparrow, and thus anything was possible for him by proxy.
"Oh, and no ship that's not crewed by the damned and captained by a man so evil that Hell itself spat him back out could possibly have black sails, and therefore couldn't possibly be any other ship than the Black Pearl," Cretin said, the sarcasm practically dripping off his words and yet still managing to slip past his partner's attention. "Is that what you're saying?"
Follower of the Enemy number one nodded decisively, and said, "No."
"Like I said," Cretin said in a satisfied tone, "There's no real ship as can match the Interceptor –" he stopped, looking round suddenly and realising that the strangely (and down-right suspiciously) dressed interloper had vanished.
By the time he had noticed the figure at the wheel of the Interceptor (standing there as if he owned the place!), his companion was already ahead of him, leaping dramatically over the rail with weapons drawn threateningly, and shouting out, "Hey! You!" Cretin rolled his eyes at the undignified words, and hurried to catch up before his friend got carried away again. "Get away from there!"
"You don't have permission to be aboard there, mate," Cretin added.
The stranger lifted his hands off the wheel with a disarmingly innocent expression that might perhaps have fooled a frog. Cretin blinked as a patch of mist near the stranger seemed to rear up threateningly, the uneasy thought of witchcraft and voodoo running through his mind. The man certainly looked strange enough for it.
"What's your name?" the question brought him back to reality, and Cretin stifled his foolish thoughts.
"Smith," the stranger replied brightly. "Or Smithy, if you like."
"What's your purpose in Port Royal, Mr Smith?" Cretin asked, placing just the right emphasis on his words to let the man-who-he-would-bet-his-right-leg-was-not-called-Smith know that he wasn't fooled.
"Yeah," his partner jumped in, "and no lies."
"Well then, I confess," 'Smithy' said in a tone of voice that immediately put Cretin on the alert. "It is my intention to commandeer one of these ships, pick up a crew in Tortuga, raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfer my weaselly black guts out."
Silence followed his proclamation, as the two marines tried to absorb the fact that the man was breaking protocol and not doing what he was supposed to do.
"I said no lies!" Follower of the Enemy number one said finally.
Cretin leaned over and said in an aside, "I think he's telling the truth."
"If he were telling the truth," was the reply in a tone of voice that Cretin would have called patronising, if he thought his friend knew what that was, "he wouldn't have told us."
"Unless, of course," 'Smithy' broke in, "he knew you wouldn't believe the truth even if he told it to you."
Cretin scowled at him, and could have sworn that the strange mist beside the stranger chuckled at him.
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A/N: Stares. Wow. Blinks, rubs eyes. Over 100 reviews. Thanks!
Here, as promised, the next chapter – even within the fortnight limit I set myself! Aren't you proud of me? And it's a decent length this time, to make for a slightly shorter chapter before.
As for Cretin and Follower of the Enemy number one – they do have real names in the script (Cretin is Mullroy and Follower of the Enemy number one is Murtogg) but I'm not sure if they're ever mentioned in the film, so I left them out.
Also, if anyone has any suggestions for the quotes at the beginning of the chapters, I'd love to hear them.
Thank you to Ore no Naruto (hope this is long enough!), Serpent91, Wolven Spirits, darknessmolded, Dadaiiro (In the interests of slash, Harry won't be a seal forever), iluvchocs, lemmesee, Ie-maru, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, Firehedgehog, yllom21, kirallie (Jack's the Alpha – although the boat one is an interesting idea…), AbeoUmbra (Thankyou for those reviews! I'm glad you enjoy it! And I don't mind at all if you call me Darling. If I do use the dialogue, I'll be sure to credit you for it), MagicallyInclined, I-Y-T-Y, Touch of the Wind, Shivera, artemyl, Hima, Kin Pandun, Murphyangel, Kinlin Child of Youma, lady sakura cosmos, Laughing Cat, Fisi Mtima (Honestly, I have no idea how long. Maybe… 20?), Capricia, Kiseki no Tenshi, Magpie quill (probably a couple of months or so – not a huge amount of time), Fire of the lioness, keske, Fate, lady firefox (maybe… but then again, maybe not…) and DaughterofDeath.
Clearing up confusion on the Surface Seal – there are just boats, or ships. Selkies see them as a strange type of seal which grows from small boats to big boats (they don't realise they're actually different boats instead of older or younger ones) and eventually returns 'home' to the sea and beneath the waves when they sink.
Hope that helps!
