Author's Notes: Thank you, dear reviewers. You're the best. Almost done with the story.

Chapter IX

Monday morning.

The only good thing about Monday morning was Mark Goldstein's scared face as Hugo walked into Greenhouse number three. He just had to narrow his eyes at him and Mark nodded shakily back at Hugo, before turning to talk to his fellow Ravenclaws.

Throughout the lesson, Hugo could hear bits of conversation as Mark finally admitted to have never kissed Lily – even though now that was not true anymore – and snapped heatedly at one of his friends when he called Lily a slut.

Hugo smiled satisfied at the Devil's Snare he had to pot. Yes, he had to admit that for a moment he had thought that Lily was really about to give Mark head, and for another moment he had believed that she was going to drown him, but instead she had just simply been awesome and he had just been an idiot for even doubting that.

He sighed and thought about her. He wondered how she had spent the night. He wondered if, by the time he was going to see her, her feet had finally divided and if her gills had disappeared. He closed his eyes for a moment. Probably not, probably the spell hadn't worn off completely yet, because he could still feel something at the pit of his stomach as he thought about her. He didn't dream about beaches and mermaids and water and fish, he didn't hear her voice in his mind, saying his name as if calling him from another world, he didn't feel the urge to be mated and to knock Lily up. But he did feel a really strong attraction towards her, he did feel girly butterflies in his stomach when he approached the Prefects' Bathroom. And he couldn't think about anybody but her. All the time.

"Enough! Enough, Hugo!" grunted Neville as he grasped his wrist and saved the Devil's Snare from being covered by a surprisingly tall mountain of soil.

Hugo looked down at the plant and then up at Neville, a sheepish smile upon his face. "Sorry," he said.

Neville shook his head, muttering under his breath about teenagers in love and brushing away some soil from the plant as if it was a rare archaeological treasure he had just found rather than… well, a plant.

"How's Lily?" he asked him as he placed the pot on a shelf, far away from Hugo. "She looked almost back to normal when I visited her yesterday."

Hugo nodded. "She should be back to being human by tonight, tomorrow at the latest. That's what Madam Pomfrey said," he explained.

Neville eyed him suspiciously. "And that's when you're going to be back to being normal too?" he asked him.

Hugo furrowed his brow. "What do you mean?"

Neville sighed. "Maybe with Lily here, your head will stop being somewhere else," he told him. "Up in the clouds or under the water for example."

Hugo shrugged a shoulder. "Yeah, well… it's not my fault, it's the Mating Magic, you know… that thing that mermaids have…"

"Madam Pomfrey said the Mating Magic should have extinguished when she regained her human mind," he told him. "Are you sure you're still under the influence?"

Hugo nodded curtly. "Yes, I can't stop thinking about her," he muttered, looking around himself to see if anybody was listening to them, "I just want to be with her all the time, I hurt when I'm not with her." He blushed violently at his own admission.

Neville sighed. "Yeah, well that's not very different from—"

"Listen Neville," said Hugo, suddenly heating up. "I promise you that when Lily changes back completely, I'll be more than fine. Hell, we'll both be, okay? Honestly!"

To his surprise, Neville smiled at him. "Merlin, you're just like your father," he told him unexpectedly, "exactly like him. Blimey! I don't even know how he managed to marry your mother!" And without a further word, he walked away to survey the other students' jobs, leaving Hugo there to blink into space and try to make sense of his words.

oOoOo

Monday afternoon.

Lily was sitting cross-legged on the tub edge. Her wand in her hand, she seemed to be trying hard to Transfigure a towel into a toucan. Her flowery dress was half wet, as if she had splashed around with her feet, which Hugo could see were now finally separated.

She raised her eyes when Hugo walked into the bathroom, a wide smile tugging her lips. "I'm almost human again!" she announced, uncrossing her legs and dangling them in the air for him to see.

He walked to her and pretended to examine them closely. "Hmm," he said as he grabbed an ankle and raised it until she had to grasp the edge not to fall back. "No scales, no fins, no webbed toes…" He grinned at her. "I'd say you are human again!"

She shrugged a shoulder as he let her foot go. "I still have gills," she replied, but Madam Pomfrey said they'll be gone by tonight for sure! I might even sleep in my bed." She sighed. "My soft, dry bed…"

He smiled as he sat next to her. "I'm going to miss coming in here to visit you," he told her, looking at her beautiful, pale feet. "I'm really going to miss you. Really, really…"

"I'm not going anywhere," she replied, placing a hand on his arm. "Why are you saying these things? We can still come in here for a swim… we're both allowed in here anyway."

He placed his hand on hers, toying with her fingers. "Yeah, but it won't be the same."

She wormed her hand away from his and raised it to his face, making him turn to look at her. "Why not?" she asked softly. "I don't understand."

"You know what I mean," he sighed, "without the Mating Magic, it… it just won't be the same… I bet all boys will be around you by tomorrow morning, wanting to know everything about you… Michael even asked me if you'd be at the trainings this week."

"No! How dares he?" she quipped.

He glanced at her, unimpressed with her sarcasm in a moment of such despair for him, but she was giggling and when he tried to glare at her, she just cupped his cheek and kissed him.

He capitulated. Completely.

"I thought you wanted the Mating Magic to finish," she murmured against his lips.

"Did I? I'm not so sure anymore," he admitted in a whisper. He slid his arms around her and pulled her to him, helping her to slide a leg over his lap, until she was sitting with her chest pressed to his own and her hands in his hair.

She pressed down against him and he groaned against her lips, as he pushed back up against her. He could feel her warmth through his trousers and he was sure that she was wet, which was just what he had hoped because Merlin knew he was already getting hard!

He slid his hand down her side and gathered her dress over the curve of her hip, feeling only naked skin when he managed to bob it around her waist. "You're naked," he breathed, looking into her eyes.

She tilted her head back and brushed her fingers over his chest, down, down, until she was toying with the buttons of his trousers. "And you aren't," she replied, staring back at him.

He swallowed. "Shall we do something about that?" he murmured throatily.

"Do you want me to?" she whispered, slipping the first button through the hole and leaning her forehead against his jaw.

"Oh God yes," he breathed.

She kissed his jaw and slipped the second and third buttons through their holes with maddening slowness. Then she raised her eyes on his, her tongue darted out to lick her lips, and her hand slipped inside.

His eyelids drooped, his fingers tightened around her dress, his heartbeat increased. Lily's hand was bloody amazing, and Hugo felt like he was finally going to drown in bliss.

He unfolded his hand and pressed his fingers to the small of her back, pulling her towards him. "I want you so freaking much," he breathed over her temple.

She smiled, but didn't reply. She rose a bit on her knees, her hand still wrapped around him, and when she sank down, Hugo closed his eyes and listened to her moaning so prettily.

Words failed him, and apparently, they failed her as well. She pushed herself against him, until she was flat against his chest, then wrapped her arms around his neck and leant her cheek against his. He moved his hands on the small of her back and let her set a slow and erratic pace, as if she wasn't exactly sure of how to do it.

It didn't matter. She could have done anything and the outcome wouldn't have changed. Hugo's breathing increased, his pelvis moved upwards to meet her movements without him even noticing, his hands clawed at her back.

It took a fistful of minutes for his lust to tip over the edge.

It took Lily a moment longer, his thumb between her legs and his lips against hers.

Afterwards, they lay on the tub edge, Lily on top of Hugo.

He stared at her as she stared at the water.

oOoOo

The night between Monday and Tuesday.

There was a dip on the mattress, a rustling of fabric, and a soft breath near his face.

When Hugo opened his eyes, it wasn't day. His dorm was still immersed into darkness and, around him, his fellow Seventh Years were snoring loudly.

He smiled as he opened his eyes and met Lily's. "Hey," he told her sleepily. "Are you a girl or a mermaid?"

"A girl," she replied, stretching a hand to his face and cupping his cheek.

He placed his palm over it to keep her there.

"No more gills?"

"No."

He smiled and closed his eyes again. "Good."

"Hugo," she whispered.

He opened his eyes again and stared at her. She was wearing pyjamas covered in little sleepy cats that were yawning and purring. "Yes?"

She tormented her bottom lip. "Do you want to kiss me?" she asked him.

His sleepy smile widened as he slid closer to her. He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her one, two, three, four times. Little pecks that made him feel indescribably happy. "Always," he replied, tilting his head back.

She didn't reply. She didn't even smile. "Do you want to sleep with me?" she asked in a murmur.

It took him a bunch of seconds to understand her. "Lily, you can sleep here whenever you want," he told her gently, "on my warm, dry bed…"

She shook her head. "No, I mean… do you want to… to sleep with me… to… like yesterday, you know?" she murmured, her cheeks colouring even in the darkness.

He smiled at her. "Every moment of every day," he assured her, worming closer until his nose touched hers, "or until the Mating Magic disappears."

"Do you love me?" she breathed anxiously.

"So, so, so much…" He brushed his nose against hers at every word, and she finally smiled at him.

He stretched a hand to place it on her waist, but she moved away.

For a moment, he fretted that she was leaving, that he had said something wrong, that he hadn't answered her questions properly. Instead, she just rolled over and pushed herself against him.

He smiled as she fitted her back against his chest, his hand closing possessively over her stomach.

"By the way," she murmured sleepily, "Madam Pomfrey had me tested before she let me go."

He pushed his nose in her hair. "What for?" he asked her in a whisper.

"Residual mermaid magic."

Hugo's sleepy eyes opened wide all of a sudden. "And?" he murmured, feeling his stomach clench at the thought that everything was going to be over in a matter of seconds.

Lily pushed herself against him. "And she assured me that the Mating Magic disappeared three days ago." She paused before adding, "Whatever we feel for each other, it's not that."

He blinked in the darkness, trying to make sense of her words.

"Goodnight my handsome sailor…" she murmured, yawning.

He lowered his head to hers, feeling rather breathless. "Goodnight my pretty Siren," he replied.