Submitted for The Houses Competition Forum - Round 1
House: Ravenclaw
Subject: Prefect
Category: Standard
Prompt: 2. [Scenario] Onlooker; 4. [Emotion] Anxious
Word count: 1,759
Warnings: Mermaid AU
when it sinks in
"Squilliam! Time for dinner!" George yelled, while he swam towards the middle of the Black Lake.
Living near Hogwarts was something new for the Weasleys, but George was enjoying it very much. According to his dad, one of their ancestors was a wizard and being near other magical people was great.
George didn't know much about wizard folks, only what he gathered from his people watching. Being a merperson meant he didn't need much, only body water where he could live and spend his days.
The giant squid that also lived in the lake was just a bonus.
"Squilliam, come on! I have to tell you something, and if you start being your shy self, I can't tell you," George said, watching the giant squid try to hide itself. "Stop being like this, you'll like this story, I promise."
George watched as the squid stopped hiding, swimming gently toward him and gently caressing George with its tentacles.
Laughing, George patted Squilliam's tentacles. "Yeah yeah, love you too buddy." George moved his tail towards Squilliam, who seemed to giggle. "You're a strange one, but I like you.
"And I have so much to tell you, you can't even understand!" George was getting excited, even if the squid didn't say a word. "So you remember that girl Fred seemed to keep an eye on every time she came near the lake, right?"
Squilliam just blinked at George, who interpreted it as a yes.
"Do you remember how he swam straight into the root of that tree when he saw her walking around the shore? Or the time Fred managed to choke on water—how he managed to do it remains a mystery—just because she smiled at him? She was giving so many hints, especially the time she actually tried to talk to him, but Fred just swam away because he was embarrassed.
"Anyway, I knew he would never managed to get the courage to say anything to her—he would say he doesn't want to mix with witches or wizards, but that is Ron's prerogative not his—but I was smarter than him and managed to flirt with one of those pretty girls who are always around here, and she made me a potion to give a merperson legs for a few hours! Are you following my story?"
Squilliam's tentacles moved around him, and George thought it was an indication his friend was following the story.
"It was a little tricky to convince Fred to take the potion, but when I told him it would make him talk and even dance with the girl of his dreams, it was easy peasy, like a piece of salmon." George was smiling like a lunatic, while Squilliam just watched.
It was easy to remember how everything happened…
"I don't know, Forge, what if something goes wrong?" Fred was holding the potion in his hand. "What if it gives me legs like Squilliam?"
"Tentacles?" George scoffed, pushing his brother's shoulder. "Stop being a shrimp and just take it. I saw the girls in the dorm under the lake putting on dresses and getting pretty. I bet Hermione will do the same."
George knew his twin was more worried about the fact he would finally speak to Hermione—he only knew her name because he heard someone calling her—and not because he was worried about losing his tail.
"If you don't go, she will find someone else to love and you're going to hate yourself for the rest of your life. But since you're such a shrimp, I'll take it off your hands." George reached his hand to grab the vial of the potion, but Fred drank before he came near.
"Alright, alright! I have until midnight, you said?" Fred asked, swimming towards the surface of the lake. George could see the separation of his tail happening, and his heart clenched in his chest, afraid for his twin.
"Yeah, just make sure you come back before, alright?" George swam with him until he saw Fred emerging from the lake, and grabbing something in the margin of the lake.
"Please, be safe," George whispered, until he couldn't see his twin anymore.
.:.
Waiting was boring. George had swam, practised his stunts in the water—he was still the best one doing it—and he thought this is how his night was going to go until Fred returned. What he didn't predict was Ron making an appearance closer to the surface.
"What are you doing here, baby brother?" George asked, looking sideways to Ron.
It was weird to see Ron so agitated; he was biting his lip and wringing his hands together, as if he had too much energy inside his body and didn't know how to express.
"Is Fred really gone to meet the human girl?" Ron asked and something in his voice seemed off, like he was worried about Fred.
"Yeah," George replied before smiling a little. "I think they're mermaid for each other."
It seemed like his amazing pun had swam right through Ron's head, because he was squeezing his hand so hard, they were almost white.
"You shouldn't trust anything these humans say. What if the human-made potion you gave Fred was actually poison and now he's slowly dying?" Ron's eyes were huge in his face and George's mind started to connect the dots. "I don't think humans like merpeople that much."
The anxiety started to spread in his body, making his body seem colder than before. The idea of his twin dying because of something he did to help him made George's heart beat faster, as if it wanted to leave his body.
"You should go check if Fred has already returned," Ron said, seeming to understand George's anxiety. "Go!"
George found it was difficult to breathe. His heart was beating too fast, and his hands were cold—colder than they were supposed to be. He realised the moon was closer to the middle of the sky, signalling midnight was close and he swam towards the surface, ready to wait for his twin.
Thankfully, George could see Fred walking towards the lake, holding Hermione's hand. He was almost relieved to see his twin, but something was weird between them, making George's anxiety spike high.
He was watching them carefully, and out of nowhere, Fred kissed Hermione on the mouth! It was kinda gross watching his twin kissing someone, but kinda adorable too.
But before he could contemplate giving Fred some tips on how to kiss someone, something happened: Hermione seemed to have difficulty breathing, and fell straight into the lake, arms flailing like a hippogriff's wings.
Fred was still, vacantly staring where Hermione had been, before he, too, fell into the water. A few seconds passed and Fred did not move. He was frozen, almost like he was in a trance.
Panic was running high in his body, watching his twin and the girl he liked drowning, and there wasn't much he could do to help. George didn't know what happened to a merperson who drowned, and he didn't want to find out now.
"And then, Hermione was drowning and I never felt more hopeless! It was like I couldn't do anything, she was going to die and Fred would blame me for everything!" George was telling, very enthusiastically. "I suddenly couldn't breathe, as if I was the one drowning and Fred was nowhere to see, and I couldn't swim towards her—"
"Stop spreading these lies, Georgie," a voice said from behind him, interrupting his tale. George turned to see Fred and Hermione, swimming towards him.
It was good to see they were alright after everything that happened; Hermione's tail was a beautiful periwinkle colour, that shines bright in the moonlight and her chest was covered by something that resembled a bra, but it was made of coral shells.
"What?" George put his hand on his chest, as if Fred had wounded him. "I don't know what you're talking about, twin-o'mine."
Hermione scoffed, while Fred chuckled; his twin's hand was firmly holding Hermione's hand, as if he was afraid she would swim far from him. "Sure you don't?"
"I'm telling the things the way they happened," George defended as he looked at Squilliam, who seemed to be fascinated by the new addition. He reached one of his tentacles towards her—maybe to touch her hair?—before Fred batted the tentacle away, trying to glare at Squilliam, but failing miserably.
"How long have you been listening? You know very well that it wasn't what happened," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. Her long curly hair was floating around her, almost like an anemone; because she didn't know how to control it underwater yet, she kept batting it away, irritatedly, and Fred seeing this put her hair behind her ear. "The potion Fred and you managed to get a hold of—I'm still curious how you two did—managed to give him legs, and he finally talked to me, instead of just staring at me like a creep."
"And right before midnight, he kissed me, and well…" Hermione trailed off, starting to blush and George wondered what would have made her blush like that.
He may have not kissed many people, but George knew maybe there was more happening to the kiss that either of them were telling.
"We crashed towards the lake, and since it was a kiss of true love, 'Mione became a merperson, just like us." Fred was beaming, and George couldn't be happier for his twin, since everything turned out great in the end.
"You still didn't explain to me how one kiss turned me into a mermaid, you know?" Hermione was looking at Fred like he held all the starfishes of the world in his hands.
"Merperson find their soulmates with true love's kiss, which is generally the first kiss with the one they love." Fred was blushing a little, and George wanted to throw up at how adorable the scene was. "Since we shared our first kiss right at midnight and it was a true love kiss, voila! You're my soulmate and a mermaid now! Now Georgie, stop telling Squilliam lies, Mum is waiting for us for dinner."
Fred took Hermione's hand and started swimming towards the bottom of the lake, not before he heard her asking, "Squilliam? What a…peculiar name."
George snorted, remembering how they had chosen this name to mess with Bill.
"Come on, Squilliam, let's go to dinner. Perhaps Mum will let you eat with us today, since I was too busy telling you what happened to properly feed you." George started swimming, Squilliam following on his tail.