WARNING: A LOT OF FLUFF AND SH*T IS WRITTEN A WAY THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN NOWADAYS. I WANTED TO WRITE THIS FICS AS A FAIRYTALE, AND SO THEY ARE DEEPLY IN LOVE EVEN THOUGH THEY NEVER PROPERLY MET (*sigh* I know, that's stupid.) IT'S NOT THAT I WANTED IT TO BE CLICHÉ, IT'S BECAUSE I COPIED/PASTED THE FAIRYTALE FORMAT. THANK YOU.

When your legs don't work like they used to before

And I can't sweep you off of your feet
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand
Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day

Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

Exhausted, Draco climbed off Hermione and fell on the shore. Hermione crawled next to him and sat straight, looking at the sea. She started to play with her hair. Draco noticed that her skin was marked on her arms, something he was sure was not there before. They were back at the castle. They were laying on the shore, close to Draco's midnight path.

''Thank you,'' he said, his voice hoarse from all his time underwater.

''Are you hurt?'' She asked looking up at him. Draco looked deeply into her brown eyes. Everything about her was simply gorgeous. She had dark brown hair, with lock of purple that matched the color of her long tail, which was still half in the water, clapping softly.

She didn't wear any top, but her long hair covered her breasts, and Draco suddenly turned away, his face becoming hotter and hotter, when he noticed her nudity.

''No, I'm okay, thanks to you,'' he said.

She laughed softly at his reaction.

''I know humans are not use to nudity, but that's how I always lived. Would you rather me covering my – ''

''No! I mean, it's fine by me, I'm not complaining,'' he grinned wildly.

She smiled up at him, then her smile fainted.

''Draco, that – ''

''You know my name?'' He asked, thunderstruck.

''Of course, you know mine, don't you?'' She questioned.

''Hermione,'' he whispered taking her hand. ''I've known your name since I first saw you here.''

''That's when I really marked you, mentally.'' She said not daring looking at him. ''We established connection because – because – ''

''We fell in love at first sight,'' he completed for her softly.

She nodded. ''The last mermaid it happened to... she experienced a terrible, terrible faith. Mermaids are craved by witches and wizards. They drink our blood, eat our fins and tails, and become more powerful than what they could ever dream of. But when mermaid fall in love, their hearts become of a rare material which with wizards can concoct an eternality potion, and thus live for ages until the effect of the potion wears off.''

''Did that happen to her?''

Hermione nodded, her throat tight and her eyes watering.

''Lily was my m-mother, b-but I never knew her. S-She had the time to give birth to me, then she was t-t-taken by the w-witch,'' she stuttered with difficulty, silver tears rolling down her cheeks.

''Bellatrix,'' Draco said almost inaudibly, raising up from the grounds are putting his arms around her from behind. Hermione laid herself on his chest, as his legs laid beside her.

''The safest would be for me to go back with my tribe – b-but I can't leave you and I've made a deal with our Queen,'' she continued to cried, and hiccupped from time to time.

Draco's embrace tighten around her.

''Listen to me, Hermione, I will never leave you,'' he said putting a hand on her chin and forcing her to look at him. ''If I have to grow a tail and go under sea with you, I will,'' he said with all his heart.

''We can't'' she said caressing his platinum hair, her face marked with pain, ''if the mermaid tribes were to help me bring you to safety, I was to be banished and live as a human, in the fear of the witch finding me,'' she said her voice still shaking,'' I'm doomed. That what they have marked over my arms. No other tribe can accept us.''

The reality hit Draco in the chest as if he had been run over by Slytherin and all the other horses of the kingdom.

''Then you will come with me, Hermione, and for Merlin's sake, we'll find a way!'' He said with force. ''I'll protect you until I die! I have an entire army who can protect you! Become my Queen, and we will find a way!'' He said not taking his breath. ''Because I love you, and I've never experienced something as strong before.''

She cried some more, holding onto his shirt and repeating ''I love you too, I love you too,'' between her sobs of fear.

Draco held onto her.

XX

After a while, Draco saw Slytherin trotting on the shore, coming in their direction. Draco was glad his horse found a way to escape the tavern and come back to the castle.

''Are you ready?'' He asked to Hermione. She nodded.

''There's something you must know,'' she said shyly. He turned to her, taking off his shirt.

''What?'' He questioned curiously.

''Every time my legs will be soaked in water, it will turn back to a tail,'' she said looking at the sand and caressing her tail mindlessly. Slytherin had reached them and she was looking up at the horse in curiosity.

''Is that all?'' He said with a smile. She nodded again. ''I love you, with or without a tail. And must I add, your tail is pretty impressive, I think it's beautiful.''

''You do?'' She questioned, red under his compliments. He grinned widely, kneeling in front of her.

''I don't want you to feel in a cage in the castle, we will build a pool for you to swim when you want to. Being a mermaid is who you are and I don't want you to lose what makes you special.''

She didn't say anything to answer, she simply crawled far enough on the shore for her tail not to touch the water anymore. It took a good five minutes for it to dry off completely. Then the legs started to show when the scales started to fall off. Hermione grimaced.

''Does it hurt?'' He asked, worried.

''No, no, it's just weird having legs, of my own.''

He chuckled and put her shirt over her shoulders. When she had clean legs, scales less, he picked her up, bridal style, and put her on the horse.

''You hold it like that, exactly,'' he guided mounting behind her.

''Slytherin, to the castle,'' he said in parseltongue.

The horse started to trot in direction of the white castle. It took longer than if Draco had used his usual path because Slytherin couldn't climb the rocks to his room – obviously. But they eventually made it. The doors open to the prince, and his father ran in his direction from the stairs of the castle.

Draco fell on his feet, walking in direction of his father and hugged him tightly. The mermaid knew the man was his father because they looked so much alike, thus the hair gave it away. Hermione's cheeks became redder by the minute, because all the men walking around the court were looking at her as if she was a piece of meat. Well, she was mostly naked.

She couldn't hear what Draco was telling his father, but the latter seemed worried. After a minute or two, he nodded to his son and looked over to the mermaid. He started to walk in her direction. When he reached her, he held out a hand to her.

''Lucius Malfoy, milady. Welcome to our home,'' he talked loudly for everybody to hear him.

She took his hand and shook it awkwardly, though he didn't show it on his face, ''Thank you,'' she whispered.

Draco walked up to her, and held out his arms for her to fall in. ''Hermione, it's okay, you're safe here. Father, I will bring her up to my room and give her some of my clothe for the moment being.''

''Draco, are you sure about what you told me?'' Lucius questioned.

''Yes father,'' Draco nodded vigorously, '' I want to wed her.''

Lucius seemed torn between his duties as a king, for his son to marry another heir, and his duty as a father, for his son to be happy. The second passed by slowly, and Hermione was somewhat waiting to be thrown back into the sea.

''Very well, then,'' said Lucius slowly. ''But on one condition,'' he raised his fingers to stop his son and Hermione's enthusiasm. ''You shall give me an heir in the next year, if not, you will be banished and Draco will be wed to a princess.''

Draco seemed less enthusiastic, but the request of Lucius only made Hermione grin.

''Don't worry, your highness. Mermaids are known to reproduce fast.''

Lucius seemed taken aback by her fast response, while Draco grinned in the back ground.

''Bring her to your room, and borrow you mother's robes we kept in the mean time, we shall call the seamstress to make her robes of her own.''

Hermione fell in Draco's arms, her head laid on his chest as he walked up the stairs to his room.

No, Lucius is not the d*ckhead we know he is in the books. He's sweet and gentle and cares so much about his only son, it almost hurts. That's kinda cute though, ain't it?

Comment, vote, share!