Author's Notes: Not much to say here. Nope, not at all..

Chapter IV

Wednesday morning.

"Not three. Two, Hugo!" hissed Mary as she grabbed his wrist.

He looked at her and smiled dumbly. "What?" he said.

She rolled her eyes. "The eyes of newt, you're putting too many," she repeated. She let his wrist go and started to turn the pages of their Potions book, finally finding what she was looking for. "Here," she said, pushing the book under his nose, "if you put too many the potion will turn yellow and then explode." She looked sharply at him. "Just like our grades!"

He hummed in reply, not really caring that much about grades at that moment. He handed her the eyes of newt and started to stir the potion instead. How could he care about a stupid potion when in a few hours he would see Lily again? Honestly, did Mary not know what it meant to be in love? Not that Hugo was in love, of course, but he felt like he was in love. Naturally, it was all the Mating Magic making him feel like that, but he found himself liking that feeling more and more. He wasn't going to fight it – not that he had tried that much anyway…

The day before, they had spent the whole afternoon playing, he had even forgotten to write his Potions essay. When the time came for him to submit said essay, he had just nodded and smiled dumbly as Slughorn told him how disappointed he was with his behaviour, not actually listening to a word the professor was saying.

Lily had even shown him one of the tricks that Hagrid had talked about. She had jumped out of the water and done a pirouette in mid-air, delighting when Hugo clapped his hands and laughed. She did it another ten times afterwards, just to see Hugo's excitement, probably. They had spent a nice afternoon together, and when he had to leave her to go to dinner, she had kissed him again, this time winding her hands in his hair and pulling him a bit towards the water.

"Stop stirring, for Merlin's sake!" snapped Mary. "It's getting all lumpy! Are you even paying attention?"

He looked at her and smiled again. "Not in the slightest," he replied cheerfully. "Sorry!"

Mary grabbed the spoon from his hand. "What is wrong with you?" she asked sharply, pushing him away. "I thought you were good in Potions!"

"I am," he replied with a grin, "usually. Not today, I guess."

Mary rolled her eyes. "If we screw this potion up, I'll tell Slughorn that it's all your fault!" she hissed.

Hugo smiled languidly at her, somehow he couldn't really understand what all the fuss was about. Potions, grades, N.E.W.T.s. How could he care about these things when he had a beautiful naked girl waiting for him in a bathtub? And Merlin, Lily was beautiful… and naked… and beautifully naked… Surely that was not just her magic, she had always been beautiful. Hugo grinned dumbly at the wall in front of him, how lucky was he that the girl who had chosen him as her mate was actually beautiful? Damn, he felt well lucky.

"Hugo! Hugo!"

"What?" he slurred, feeling slightly drunk. Drunk with Mating Magic.

Mary's eyes widened and she cocked her head sharply towards Slughorn, only she wasn't pointing at Slughorn, but at Madam Pomfrey, who was standing next to their professor and was looking at him rather unimpressed. Slughorn looked legitimately impatient, and the other students were doing their fair share of murmuring at the scene.

"Yes?" he asked, looking at the Healer.

"Mr Weasley, if you're done daydreaming, pick up your things and follow Madam Pomfrey, please," said Professor Slughorn.

Hugo's head suddenly cleared a little. He nodded hastily and stuffed his books and notes into his bag. "I'm sorry, Sir," he said, as he walked up to where they were standing, "I promise you our potion is perfect, you'll be able to turn anything into gold. I swear."

Professor Slughorn darkened. "We're making a sleeping draught, today, Mr Weasley," he growled.

Hugo chuckled awkwardly, but hurried out of the class when there was an explosion and Mary's shrieks filled the room. "Let's go, Madam Pomfrey," he said, closing the door at his back. "What's… what's happening?" He stopped in his tracks as something dawned on him. "Is Lily okay?" he gasped out, stopping in front of her. "Did something happen to her?"

Madam Pomfrey cocked an eyebrow at him, before circling him and keeping on walking. "How are you feeling, Mr Weasley?" she asked, instead of replying to his question.

Hugo furrowed his brow, before following the nurse down the corridor. "Well, right now a bit annoyed that you wouldn't reply to me," he hissed under his breath.

She nodded. "Is important for you to know how Miss Potter is doing?" she asked seriously.

Hugo gritted his teeth. "Very important, thank you very much, she's my cousin," he growled. "I do care about her."

"I see," she replied calmly. "How are your classes going on? Are you having difficulties focusing on any of them?"

"Nope, not in the slightest, I'm sailing through them," he lied nonchalantly.

She sighed as if she had expected him to lie so blatantly. "I've just been to see Miss Potter, Mr Weasley," she finally told him.

"And is she not well?" asked Hugo anxiously. "Did something happen to her?"

"She seemed perfectly fine, apart from still being a mermaid," she replied calmly. She looked pointedly at Hugo. "Have you noticed any improvements on her part? Any changes in her behaviour?"

Hugo's eyes widened as he nodded. "Tons, Madam Pomfrey, tons!" he assured her cheerfully. "She can say her name, I taught her that by the way, and… and she hugged me and didn't even seem to want to drown me in the slightest. I was angry and she comforted me! I mean, if that's not human behaviour, I don't know what is!" He didn't feel the urge to share with Madam Pomfrey the fact that he had kissed her, that was private after all.

The Healer seemed to listen carefully to his words. She smiled briefly, before turning serious. "Have you dreamt a lot lately, Mr Weasley?" she asked calmly.

Hugo shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, a bit more than usual…"

"What about? Do you remember?"

He took a deep breath. "Oh you know… what all teenagers dream about…"

"Your N.E.W.T.s?" she asked calmly. "Sitting through your exams and not knowing any answers."

He shook his head. "The sea, fish, mermaids… water…" He smiled weakly at her, knowing perfectly well that that was not what all teenagers dreamt about. Especially not boys…

"I see," replied Madam Pomfrey. They reached one of the stone stairs that led to the Ground Floor and she looked at him. "Miss Potter's Mating Magic is still quite strong," she told him, "but I expect it to be diminished by the end of the week. In case it doesn't, I'd like for you to come and tell me, Mr Weasley, am I understood?"

Hugo couldn't see anything bad with Lily's Mating Magic, or the fact that it might persist for a few days longer, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Good," said Madam Pomfrey. "Now, off you go to lunch and then to see Miss Potter. In case there's any other improvement on her condition, I'd like to be informed, Mr Weasley."

"Of course, Madam Pomfrey," he replied promptly, a smile tugging at his lips.

She smiled back and started to climb up the stairs in silence, Hugo was right beside her, even though his mind was already a few feet away.

oOoOo

Wednesday afternoon.

When he pushed the door of the Prefects' Bathroom open, Hugo was panting and gasping for air. He had stuffed his face with meat loaf and potatoes, and swigged down two glasses of pumpkin juice, before running all the way to the Fifth Floor. He felt a bit nauseous now, as if something – probably the meat loaf – was fighting its way back to his mouth, but he didn't quite care.

And he cared even less when he opened the door and heard Lily's excited scream. She rose from the water the moment he kicked the door shut, and placed her hands on the tub edge, she looked at him with bright eyes and cried, "Lily! Lily! Lily!" before puckering her lips and closing her eyes to wait for a kiss.

He chuckled, but threw his bag to the floor and strode towards her. In that position her breasts were pushed together and they seemed fleshier and even more smooth than the day before, he wondered what she would do if he touched them. Maybe she would purr again, maybe she would touch him back, right there.

He lowered his head and planted a soft kiss on her lips.

She shivered in delight and jumped back into the water with an elegant pirouette, before emerging once again and asking for another kiss. "Lily! Lily!" she said, as she got into the same position.

Hugo chuckled, but complied. He had never seen a girl react that enthusiastically to his kisses. He had had a couple of girlfriends, and yes, he had snogged them profusely, but none of them seemed to be dying for more every time he just pecked their lips.

She jumped again and then got into position once more. "Lily! Lily!" she cried.

He laughed now, before lowering his head again. "You know," he murmured, as he got closer to her, "I can do better, actually."

She seemed to frown a little as he placed his hands on her cheeks, but she didn't open her eyes. He closed his own and brought his lips to hers for the third time, this time opening them a little. To his surprise she opened hers straight away, and when he pushed his tongue into her mouth, she slid her own against his, copying his every movement.

She was warm and her mouth was a bit salty, but he didn't mind it. She made all sorts of little moans that sounded very human to him, and he just delighted in how keen she was for his touch and kisses.

When he withdrew to take a gulp of air, she followed him and pressed her lips to his before he could even fill his lungs. She kissed him more and more thoroughly, as if her life depended on it, until he had to push her back a little to really gasp in some air.

"Lily!" he panted, tilting his head back.

She brushed her little nose against his own. "Lily," she whispered. "Lily." She smiled up at him and then descended slowly into the water until she was lying on the surface, her head propped on her arms as she looked up at him with shiny eyes. She moved her tail left and right and sighed happily.

He grinned idiotically at her and sat on the edge near her. She rubbed her face against his trousers and then looked up at him again.

"Oh Merlin!" screeched a voice. "Isn't this absolutely revolting?"

Hugo started and jumped up, wand in his hand.

Nobody was allowed in there except for him and the staff, and that annoying voice was definitely not one of the teachers.

"Whoever you are, get out!" he snapped. "You're not allowed in here!"

There was a giggle that ended in a snort, and then a ghostly figure wearing a Hogwarts uniform floated slowly towards the tub.

Lily snarled her teeth as she tried to jump out of the water and grab Moaning Myrtle, but the ghost just rolled her eyes and chortled. "You can't touch me, you silly fish," she told her from the ceiling, "haven't you understood that yet?"

Hugo narrowed his eyes. "First of all," he snapped, "don't call her silly fish! Second, you're not allowed to be in here, and third, have you been coming here to upset her?"

Myrtle looked at him and rolled her eyes. "First, she's a fish," she replied with her high-pitched voice, "second, students are not allowed in here, it doesn't say anything about ghosts, and third, I might have come in here at night, on occasion, to see how she was doing…" She giggled at that and pretended to swim in mid-air.

Hugo growled at that. "I'm going to tell that to Professor McGonagall," he snapped, "she's going to send you to haunt the sewers under the castle!"

"Oh please," she sighed. "Fish don't sleep through the night, I didn't disturb her, I merely kept her company."

"Don't call her that!" snarled Hugo. He threw a spell at her, but she flew away with a flutter of her ghost skirt.

Lily opened her mouth and a loud, glass-shattering scream erupted from somewhere within her little body. Hugo had to bring his hands to his ears, because he felt as if his eardrums were going to explode, while Lily stretched her hands over her head, in another vain attempt to attack Myrtle.

"Ouch!" snapped Myrtle, apparently affected by the sound as much as he was. "Put your head underwater if you want to say something, stupid fish!"

Lily looked abashedly at Hugo as he lowered his hands from his ears, he blinked and felt as if his head was spinning. He tried to shake it, but somehow the movement only made it worse.

"Worst sound ever," growled Myrtle, somewhere above him.

He definitely had to agree with that.

"Lily?" said Lily miserably. "Lily?"

"It's alright," he replied, trying to smile when he still felt a bit confused. "I'm fine."

"Except he's not," snapped Myrtle. She rolled her eyes and said, "Here," before diving into the tub.

"No!" cried Hugo, but Lily had already thrown herself after her and disappeared into the water. Hugo grabbed the edge and peered inside, but before he could even understand what was happening, Myrtle emerged once more and pretended to be spluttering out water.

"She says she's sorry," she told him, rolling her eyes as if her apologies wouldn't have been enough, "she didn't want to deafen us."

Lily emerged next to her and looked at Hugo with apprehension, nodding at every word Myrtle was saying.

"Oh," was all Hugo could say, before understanding what Myrtle was talking about. "Excuse me? You can understand her?" he asked with a gasp.

She looked at him as if he was stupid, and then told him that straight to his face. "You're just as stupid as your Uncle Harry," she sighed, rolling her eyes again, "even you can understand her if you put your head into the water. Hello? She's a mermaid."

He blinked at her. Oh, bloody hell! Of course! He should have known that! The Triwizard Tournament! He had heard stories about it ever since he was a little boy. Especially about the second task, which his father loved in particular because he had been Uncle Harry's most precious thing, and he loved to tease Aunt Ginny about it. And he had heard about the egg; and the fact that he could only understand the Merpeople's voices underwater.

He looked at Lily, she was staring back at him with eyes wide, still worried for having deafened him apparently. He smiled at her, jumping up from the edge. "I'll get in there," he said excitedly, "oh yes, I'll get in there and we'll be able to talk, Lily!"

She cocked her head. "Lily?"

"Yes!" He grabbed his grey jumper and tugged it up over his head, before throwing it to the floor.

Lily seemed to understand what he was doing because her worried expression changed into an excited one, and she rose up from the water and clapped her hands together. "Lily! Lily!"

He grinned at her and started to undo the buttons of his shirt, but he stopped after the first three. He looked at her again, she was still smiling brightly. "Ehm… if I do get in there," he started in a murmur, involuntarily shaking his head a little, "you're not going to drown me, are you?"

She blinked, and shook her head as well.

He wasn't sure if she was replying to him or just copying his movements.

He narrowed his eyes. "Or, are you going to drown me?" he asked again, nodding slightly.

She smiled even more brightly than before and nodded forcefully.

Myrtle chortled with laughter next to her.

Hugo glared at the ghost, before taking a deep breath and starting to pace for the bathroom. "Well, let's try to analyse the situation," he said, "the very first time you saw me, you wanted to bite me, then you tried to grab me, to mate me and drown me—that's what my mum says, I'm sorry if you've never wanted to drown me at all—and then you kind of tried to grab me again, but now you're just happy with me kissing you, right?"

She blinked and cocked her head.

"Right," he continued, "so you're not going to drown me." He took a deep breath. "And I'll have my wand with me, I can always… Stun you or something if you try to drown me." He glanced at her, he didn't want to Stun her, and he was probably not going to do it even if she kept his head pushed against the bottom of the tub. "And I'll cast a Bubble-Head Charm on myself, I mean, you couldn't drown me even if you wanted to… which you don't… right?"

She clapped her hands and cried, "Lily!" before diving a little and using her forefinger to gesture to him to get inside, her eyes crinkling up in a smile that was hidden by the water.

Hugo smiled. "Alright," he agreed. He slipped the last few buttons out of their holes and threw the shirt carelessly to the floor. When he started to unbutton his trousers, Lily's tail seemed to splash around more insistently in the water.

"I'm keeping my underwear, though," he told her sternly.

She just smiled and looked at him from the water.

He kicked off his shoes and tugged down his trousers and socks, discarding them as carelessly as his other items of clothing.

He walked to the tub and sat on the edge, swinging his legs around as he dunked his feet in the water. The liquid was warm and pleasant around his ankles, and he moved them around a little to feel it properly.

Lily swam silently up to him and slid her chest against his legs, coming up to lean her head in his lap. She purred as he smiled down at her and caressed her hair.

"Disgusting," snorted Myrtle, "I'm leaving."

"Hold your horses," said Hugo, glaring at her. "You stay right here and in case something happens, you go and call Madam Pomfrey or Professor McGonagall, understood?"

Myrtle giggled. "Something like what?" she said, sitting next to him and rubbing her cold shoulder all over Hugo's. "I've always wanted someone with whom I could haunt the girl's bathroom…" She looked him up and down. "And I'm sure you'd be the perfect companion to scare those girls silly while they're sitting there crying about boys…"

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, deciding that she didn't deserve an answer. Then he pointed his wand to his face and muttered the Bubble Charm. When he was finally ready he tapped Lily on her shoulder.

She raised her head and looked at him, badly contained excitement lighting up her face as she swam a bit back to give him some room to dive in.

He smiled from behind the bubble and finally, swallowing and crossing his fingers that she didn't just want to mate him and drown him, he jumped in.

A curtain of little bubbles rose all around him, and he had to blink to put his surroundings into focus. The water was clear and he could see perfectly well all around him. There were sharp rocks covered in colourful anemones and seaweeds, little fish swam around them and quickly disappeared when something much bigger and faster than them made its way to Hugo.

"Oh!" sighed Lily as she jolted into him, wrapped her arms around his torso and leant her head against his chest. "I thought you'd never jumped in!" Her voice was different, it was soft and almost melodic, as if she was singing those words in his ear rather than actually saying it.

She swam forcefully against him until he was bumping into the rocks at his back, but he barely felt the sting. All he could feel was a pleasant buzzing in his ears, and excitement pooling in his stomach, as she pressed her breasts against his naked chest.

She looked up at him and smiled. "I'm so happy you're here," she told him gently. "Do you want to see my house?"

Hugo nodded. "Yes," he croaked out, his voice deep and distorted under the water.

She brightened up even more and let him go, before grasping his hand and starting to swim towards the bottom. He let her drag him down, past more rocks and more fish which looked at him curiously, until they reached the sandy bottom of the tub, there she turned right and slid into a thin crack in the rocks. He had to hold his breath to pass through it, but he got scratches on both arms anyway as he swam inside behind her.

In there, there was a small cave-like alcove. It didn't have much, only a higher mountain of sand where she probably slept at night – when Moaning Myrtle wasn't upsetting her –, a few shells and starfishes piled in a corner, and his Chudley Cannons tee-shirt placed carefully on a rock. She smiled cutely and went to float near the tee-shirt. "It smells like you," she told him brightly.

He nodded. "It's mine," he told her matter-of-factly.

She seemed unable to contain her joy at the news, she pirouetted in the water, the sloshing she caused pushing him back against more rocks.

She went to him and grabbed his hands. "I always sleep with it!" she told him eagerly. "Always!"

He smiled dumbly at her. He loved just how excited she was about him. Honestly, they had always been good friends, and very close cousins, but to see her that excited to learn that she had been sleeping with his tee-shirt and to be a witness of her bright smile at the discovery, made his heart melt.

He shook his head a little. Now that he was that close to her, he felt the Mating Magic even more strongly than up there. All he wanted to do was to touch her and hug her tightly and kiss her and…

"Lily," he said, trying hard to push those thoughts from his mind and focus. "Do you know who I am?"

She nodded fervently, eyes wide as she brought his hands to her face and rubbed her nose all over them. "You're the love of my life," she replied forcefully, "my love, all mine…"

He smiled again, probably looking supremely dumb. "No, no," he said suddenly, "do you know my name?"

"Lily," she replied gently.

"What? No, that's your name."

She looked at him a bit taken aback. "Oh," she replied, "my name."

"Yes," he said. He was surprised that she didn't know her name, and a bit disappointed, if he had to be honest. It meant that the spell wasn't wearing off as quickly as he had thought. "My name's Hugo," he explained, "I'm your cousin."

She looked at him without understanding.

"Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron's son?"

She blinked.

"Rose's brother?"

She cocked her head, as if he was using words that were not in her mermish vocabulary.

"Nothing?"

She shook her head, sighing a bit disconsolately.

He smiled as he caressed her face with his fingers. "Oh, never mind," he told her sweetly, "I'm sure that in a few days you'll remember everything, don't you worry, okay?"

She smiled brightly again. "I don't worry, I never worry when you are here," she told him gently.

Hugo blushed at her words. Bloody hell, it felt good to be adored! He smiled at her and turned around to find a rock where he could sit more comfortably and talk to her. He found one, but it was a bit sharp on the edges and instead decided to sit on the sand. Once he did, Lily settled in his lap, her long tail wrapping around him as she looked up at him adoringly.

Her scales were smooth and slightly slimy, but it was not an unpleasant feeling against his skin. He settled his hands on her hip, where her human skin changed into her fish scales, and looked down at her.

"So," he started seriously, "my mum said that you think that I'm your… your mate or something."

She nodded solemnly. "Oh yes," she replied, "I can feel it."

"Yeah… what is exactly that you feel?" he asked her, his fingers caressing where the scales started. It was an enjoyable feeling under his digits, weird, like nothing he had ever touched, but quite nice indeed.

"Oh," she replied, "it's like a shiver that starts in my head and goes down to my fins. And when I see you, I feel something here." She grabbed one of his hands and placed them on her chest, right above her left breast and on her pulse point. "And here." She moved the hand down to her stomach, covering her navel with his palm. "It feels exciting and scary and beautiful," she told him. "I like it."

He smiled again. He just didn't seem able to do much but smile. All the time. His facial muscles were almost hurting him for the amount of smiling he had been doing while in her presence. "That's sweet," he told her. "Alright, Lily, now comes the big question. Will you—"

She gasped out loud, her hands going to her mouth. "Yes!" she almost cried. "Yes, I will marry you!" She threw her arms around his neck, pushing him back and pinning him to the sand and started kissing him through the bubble as if she couldn't get enough of him.

Hugo just blinked, shocked and confused as she pecked all over his face. He hadn't wanted to ask her to marry him, he had intended to question if she wanted to drown him at all. He was a bit surprised that mermaids had no idea what cousins, uncles, and aunts were but apparently they knew perfectly well the concept of marriage.

It was definitely slightly inconvenient for him, really.

"No, Lily, no," he tried to say, but when she let him go, it wasn't because she had heard his feeble protestations. No, she swam quickly towards the highest rocks and picked a flower-like plant, before grabbing a starfish from the pile of shells. When she swam back to him, she had the flower in her hair, and the starfish in her hands.

"I'm ready," she said brightly, coming to a stop in front of him, her hair swaying around her head.

He pushed himself into a sitting position and furrowed his brow. "Ready?" he asked. "Ready for what?"

"Marry you, of course!" she replied eagerly. She squeezed the starfish in her hands and brought it to her chest as if it was used for some sort of mermaid wedding ritual.

Hugo would have laughed at her, if it wasn't for the fact that she looked dead serious. "I… now?"

She nodded forcefully.

He smiled awkwardly. "I don't think… now? I mean… now's not good for me… like… I don't think I can marry you, Lily, to be honest… especially not right now… And we need to be engaged first, don't we? I mean Victoire and Teddy were engaged for years before they got married… And shouldn't we wait? Just like… wait…"

Her face fell and she looked at him as if he was the source of all her unhappiness. "But why?" she whined. "You love me and I love you. And I want to marry you, and then you can free me, and we can live together in the sea…" She started her dolphin-like sobs and Hugo's heart clenched.

"Oh no, Lily, don't cry," he told her, stretching a hand to pull her into a hug.

She turned away from him and hid her face in her palms, sobbing even more loudly than before as she curled on the bottom of the tub.

Hugo sighed. Somehow, it made him suffer to see her hurt, and he discovered that it was even worse when he had been the one to make her suffer in the first place. He swam to where she was curled up and lay down next to her, covering her little body with an arm and pushing his nose in her flaming hair.

"Hey," he whispered, "how about I'll marry you in… a couple of months' time? I need to finish school first—and you do too—and then we can get married and move to the sea…" He moved her hands from her face and smiled warmly at her. Her mating instinct would disappear in a week or two – they had assured him about that – so he was sure that he could tell her whatever she needed to hear to be happy and then she would just either forget about it or deem it as ridiculous as it actually was.

She looked up at him, her blue eyes filled with tears. "Promise?" she said, pouting like a child.

He raised two fingers near his face. "Solemnly swear."

She jumped up unexpectedly and tackled him back to the sandy bottom. She kissed him a couple more times before lying on top of him, her tail swishing right and left as she drew circles on his chest with her fingers and poked him in his ribs with a carelessly placed elbow. "Two months," she told him seriously, "I'll count the moons."

He nodded and smiled. "But Lily," he said softly, one of his hands going to the small of her back to play with her smooth scales, "why did you say that I should free you? You're… you're not a prisoner."

She became sad all of a sudden. "But I am!" she replied. "I'm like a fish in a tank! I can't go anywhere, and this place is too small for me! Look at my tail!"

She curved it until it was right in front of his face and he could see the little cuts and scars on it. He stretched a hand and ran his fingers over it, it was so smooth and a delight to touch.

"And here too," she complained, moving her tail away and pushing her hair over one shoulder to show him the other one.

There was a nasty bruise near her shoulder blade and it seemed quite recent for some blood seemed to seep out from a little cut. He sat up and looked closely at it.

"Does it hurt?" he asked worriedly.

She nodded disconsolately. "They say I'm careless and don't know how to swim properly," she replied, "but this place is so small, I can't even go from here to there without bumping into something."

He nodded back at her seriously. "Here," he said, "this will help." He drew out his wand and pointed it at her shoulder. "Episkey," he said, and watched her as she stared at her cut healing.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Thank you!" She kissed him again. "Thank you, Hugo! Thank you!" She punctuated every word with a kiss and a giggle. "You're such a wonderful sailor; all the other mermaids will turn green with envy."

He refrained from telling her that he was not a sailor – his mouth was kind of busy anyway – and just smiled at her through the bubble as she proceeded to show him her gratitude for the rest of the afternoon.