"What's a Kappa anyway?" Ron asked, peering down at his textbook. Hermione sighed.
"It's a scaled creature resembling an aquatic monkey. They live in bodies of water and like to eat cucumbers." Harry, Ron and Hermione were some of the last students in the common room.
"Like you, Ron." Harry quipped.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Ron said. "Just what I don't get is why he is called 'Pickles'."
"It says right here that he mistakenly threw a Kappa a pickle instead of a cucumber, and that's why it attacked." Harry said, reading off of page three hundred and twenty two.
"Geez, sounds like something Hagrid would want." Ron said with a grin.
"Yeah, wouldn't that make an interesting class…"
"Don't even go there…" Hermione threatened, rolling her eyes at the ceiling. "We do not want him getting one of those…"
"Well, at least it wouldn't be another Gilderoy Lockhart pixie incident…"
"This Morcant guy though, do you think they will be able to defeat him?" Harry said, turning the pages in the textbook thoughtfully. "How powerful of a dark wizard is he?" Hermione frowned.
"Here it says that he was actually a very powerful wizard," Hermione said. "Oh, look! His wand was made of Gopher Wood with a blackdragon whisker core!"
"What in the name of Merlin's pants does that mean?" Ron scoffed.
"Oh, come on, Ronald!" Hermione said, sounding mildly irritated. "Do you ever read? Gopher Wood is a notoriously powerful wand wood, but it tends to backfire when the wizard is frustrated. That means that Morcant was very powerful and all together dangerous."
"Do they win?" Ron said, trying to pry the book from her hands.
"I'm not telling you!" She said, snapping the book shut.
"She's right, Ron," Harry laughed. "We will have to wait for class tomorrow."
"If I stay awake long enough to hear the end of it…"
…
"So, what can I do for you?" Alfred asked, passing out tankards of his fine ale.
"We were wondering if you know what section of the seas Morcant Bowes is haunting currently," Rosalie said grimly. Alfred nearly choked on his drink.
"Whatcha doing looking for 'im?" He asked, wiping his grey beard. Rosalie sighed.
"Well, you remember what happened to Jimmy," she said sadly. "And we recently got two new crew members whose friends were captured. We are looking to rescue them, if they are still alive, and give Morcant some well deserved justice."
"Drop the hammer, you might say." Ozzy added.
"I always said you were going to get into big trouble one day, Rose," Alfred said, rubbing his temples. "Didn't I? And all this time I thought it would come knocking on your door, but here you are chasing it down like a corsair. I thought you had more sense than that, lassie."
"Come on, Al!" Rosalie cried. "You did equally crazy things back in the day!"
"Aye," he said solemnly. "An' that's how you lose limbs like me, or worse. Don't throw your life away, lassie."
"I am a lot more advanced in magic than you think," Rosalie said. "And we are going to hunt him down one way or another. Will you help us?" Alfred sighed.
"Alright, alright," He said, holding up his hands in a defeated sort of way. "I suppose it's the best way to ensure that you lot don't end up as crab bait."
"That's the spirit!" Adam chuckled.
"So where is he?" Rosalie asked. Accordion Girl turned her empty tankard upside down and shook it, but no one paid any attention. She slowly slid her hand towards Ozzy's tankard and snatched it without notice.
"He's actually not too far from here," Alfred said grimly. "His ship, the Day Hawk, was spotted fortytwo nautical miles down at a series of kays called Wizard Point." Accordion Girl set aside Ozzy's tankard and cautiously reached for Killian's.
"Wonderful," Rosalie said, sliding her drink out of the way so that she could cross her arms on the table. "Should be no more than a day or so travels from here." As she spoke, Accordion girl finished Killian's ale and snatched up Adam's. She giggled under her breath in a loopy sort of way. Ozzy gripped the edge of the table hard.
"Do you think there will be any hope for my friends?" He asked, seriously, staring intently at the gnarled old pirate. Accordion Girl slowly edged her way closer to Rosalie's mug.
"They'll be on his ship if they're alive," Alfred said. "Hope is all you've got now."
Gypsy gave a tuneful whistle from Rosalie's shoulder. "Hope is where the heart is. Raaaack!"
Alfred burst into laughter. "That's one smart bird that you've got there, Rose!" He chortled.
"I did not teach her that!" Rosalie said in surprise. "That sounds like some ridiculous thing Accordion Girl would say." There was a drunken hiccup and everyone turned to her at last.
"Hey, I wanna meet witches!" Accordion Girl warbled, swaying back and forth. "To Hogwarts we'll go…" She hiccuped again. "Wizards of the Sea!"
"What the…" Rosalie's voice trailed off. "What's gotten into her?"
"Oh, bloody hell!" Killian swore. "She's gone and drank my ale!"
"And mine…" Ozzy added, glancing at his tankard, which had somehow moved closer to Accordion Girl and been emptied without his notice.
"For the love of Gryffindor!" Adam grumbled, wrestling what had been Rosalie's tankard away from her. "Who was supposed to be watching her?"
"Not me!" Ozzy said, spreading his hands. Rosalie sighed.
"Sorry Al, but we should be getting her back to the ship." Rosalie said. "One last thing, are you with us?"
"Ach!" Alfred sighed regretfully. "I am sorry, lassie. I've had enough struggle with Morcant to last me a lifetime. I'm too old for this. You're on your own, Rose. Good luck."
"Thanks anyway, Al," Rosalie said, shaking his hand. "It was nice to see you again. Alright, Adam, Ozzy, you two can get Accordion Girl."
"Oh, joy." Ozzy sighed.
"I can do it for you!" Killian said eagerly.
"NO!" Rosalie snapped.
"It was just an idea…"
"Still no."
Ozzy and Adam each threw one of Accordion Girl's arms around their necks and hauled her to her feet. She made cooing sounds and her head lolled gently.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggitty Wortty Hogwarts…" She trilled drunkenly.
"Alright, I suppose this is farewell then," Alfred said, escorting them out the door of The Eighth Child. "Good luck ter you all."
"Thank you for everything, Al." Rosalie said as they turned to leave.
"Ach, don't mention it, lassie," Alfred said with a faint smile. "Stay safe, will ya?" Rosalie waved and followed her companions back out into the dark street. Accordion Girl continued to mumble as she was carried.
"Why yes, I'd like a squid sandwich…"
Adam and Ozzy exchanged a confused and mildly disturbed glance. Adam mouthed "Squid sandwich?" to his friend, who shrugged as best he could.
"Right," Rosalie said tersely. "Note to self, never let Accordion Girl alone and unsupervised when Al's ale is near at hand."
"Hey…" Killian said. "I don't mind her like this…" Rosalie shot him a glare.
"Just because we are not on the Night Swan, it doesn't mean I still won't ditch you here."
"Right. I'll shut up now."
"Good choice," Rosalie said as Adam and Ozzy hauled Accordion Girl up the gangplank. After depositing her on a hammock in the hold, the group reconvened on the main deck. "So," Rosalie started, waving her wand and conjuring a lamp as she spoke. "What do you think will be the best way to sneak up on Morcant?"
"Cannons…" Accordion Girl's slurred voice floated up through the deck planks.
"No cannons," Rosalie answered automatically. Ozzy smirked. "That's how everyone dies when approaching Morcant. This has to be stealthy if we want to make it out with our skins intact."
"Disillusionment charm?" Adam suggested. "That way he wouldn't see the the Night Swan coming."
"Huh," Rosalie said thoughtfully. "That should do it."
"When do we set out?" Killian asked.
"In the morning," Rosalie said. "But when we find Morcant, this must be handled with tact. If we use cannons, we risk killing Ozzy's friends."
"We'll have to brief Accordion Girl on that… multiple times…" Adam said. "Maybe stun her to be safe…" Rosalie snorted.
"Anyway, I'll volunteer to challenge Morcant to a one on one duel with the winner taking Ozzy's friends. Then we can duke it out with the cannons."
"Do you think you can take on Morcant?" Ozzy asked incredulously. "What if you're killed?"
"I fought with him and escaped once before," Rosalie answered darkly. "And I'll do it again, even if I die trying."
"Alright," Ozzy said. "Just don't die, that could be problematic for my friends."
"I will try not to," Rosalie said grimly. "If anything goes wrong, Adam is in charge, and high tail it out of there, you hear?"
"Aye, aye, Captain." Came the grim reply. Long into the night they discussed their strategy, working out the kinks and smoothing down the back up plans. The moon was high in the dark sky ere the pirates went below for the night, agreeing that what they had come up with would be the most likely plan to succeed.
They woke with the dawn the next morning and the crew quickly came flocking back to the ship. Accordion Girl woke with a throbbing headache and had to be fed breakfast in bed, but she quickly perked up. They set sail from the harbor, looking back at pleasant Octavia, wondering if they would ever see its sandy shores again. A grim mood overtook the crew, and there was no cheerful music.
The day seemed to drag on as the Night Swan crossed miles of ocean. Even Accordion Girl was quieter than normal, though she still pestered Rosalie, Adam and Ozzy. Too soon it seemed, Wizard Point loomed ahead, the cays dark and tangled, nothing like the inviting paradise of Octavia.
"Right crew," Rosalie said grimly. "This is it. Morcant is in there somewhere. Now remember, it is essential to remain quiet until I give the signal. To your positions everyone." The crew marched off to their positions, except for Accordion Girl who had already been instructed to stay below and guard the galley, so she was out of the way. All around, the wizards gave their wands a flick and the Night Swan and everything aboard slowly faded into the background like one giant chameleon. Soundlessly, they slipped into Wizard Point.