The call of the sea was something that many people felt in their times. The sound of the waves and how it swiftly soothed your thoughts and heart when you were in its presence. That was true for all, land or sea creatures.
The water had a pull that no one could explain but that everyone could feel.
The sea always had a plan, but it wasn't easy to read or guess until you were already in it for the ride.
Lily could feel the pull upwards, she guessed she always could, maybe because she wasn't fully a siren, like her peers: she was a mermaid.
Mermaids were a breed on their own, they were half human and half siren, they looked half human from the waist up and like a fish from the waist down. Mermaids could speak to humans if wished to, and could be outside of the water for a longer period without perishing, which made sirens a bit jealous, as their shapes were less human and more scales, and they felt exiled and rejected by the human world.
Lily had known this since birth, her parents explained this to her sister and her when they were younger, they were being raised to be human, as their mother, but the sea had a great power and just one drop of salt water would change their legs to fins. That was until it would be time they needed to choose: if to remain out with the humans, or back into the water and be with the sirens; a decision only they could make.
Petunia become so obsessed to not be spotted out as a anything other than the perfect woman, someone that the society at Gryffindor's kingdom could look up to, maybe someone with a good stable job could take her as a wife, move into the mountain to not be tempted by the sea, to not even turned into those despicable creatures she saw in the books.
But Lily was curious by nature, she loved the sea breeze that was carried to their home from the beach, and loved to go and see the waves, when they were calmed, or raged on. The changing colours of the sea when at dusk or dawn. How the water seemed more alive than anything she ever saw before.
She never thought of leaving her parents, her sister, her whole life, but until it was time to decide she would enjoy every last bit of her ability to be in both worlds.
Next to the shore is where she met Severus, a pale kid that always seemed to be around the water. He collected small things and trinkets that washed ashore, same as Lily did, curious of their meaning and stories.
Their friendship built slowly, as some of the local kids picked on him, just as his father mentioned the sirens picked on him. Made Lily be more defensive of her friend.
It was not long until Severus discovered Lily's secret. Her green fin came by accident while they were playing, and Severus' eyes grew bigger than she ever saw them.
"I can explain," started Lily, hoping that he wouldn't be freaked out, losing the only person that loved the sea as much as her.
"You're a mermaid!" the enthusiasm in his voice was palpable.
"I… you know what I am? Aren't you scared?" Lily asked, a bit worried, hoping that she would be dried soon enough to get back to being human.
"No! You are special, like me!" The boy moved to the water, and an eel shaped tale, matching his dark hair.
After that the days spent with Severus became more and more, asking about their parent's stories and the choices they would make once the time came to see if the sea was stronger than the land. Severus talked to her about how they could travel the world without anyone eavesdropping or teasing them. How they could try to learn things from the sirens, ancient magic that would help them to protect themselves, to cast away any danger.
Lily spoke about the wonders of the world and the places she would love to visit, how she wished she didn't have to choose, because in spite of not loving some of the locals, she adored her family and could never leave her parents, who adored her so.
Each one of them kept talking about their dreams and Lily understood that Severus wanted to reconnect with his mother's side. His father didn't take it well that his mother wasn't honest about her past, so the redhead understood his friend's wish to know more about Eileen, and her side of the family.
And Severus understood that Lily wouldn't come with, at least not willingly.
Lily already had the talents of a great mermaid, she would fit greatly in the sea, her curiosity would know no bounds if she came with, but she was too afraid of leaving it all behind. Even her terrible sister and the dull people at their local school.
She was meant for more, she was meant to be at his side, and he certainly wasn't staying with the village idiots.
So he made a plan.
There was one of the wealthy kids that always despised him, it was mutual, Severus thought he was entitled, him and all his friends. Thinking they could do anything and not face the consequences, he thought it was time they would.
Severus would kill two birds with one stone.
On a full moon night, when the tide was at its highest; the mermaid boy cursed the local kids.
He transformed them into the animals on their family's crest: a stag, a dog, a werewolf and a rat.
In their rage they decided to pursue the young boy, and Snape, knowing where Lily would be waiting for him, ran towards the shore, the animals at his talons.
"Lily, run! They won't stop!" he said, grabbing her hand and moving towards the water.
"Who won't stop? Why are these animals following you?!" she asked, running with him.
"They came after me, as they always do at school, and I panicked!" he lied, "I used my magic and turned them into animals, now they won't stop following me!" he still ran towards the water, "We need to jump, they won't be able to swim like you and I!"
"You used magic?" it was something that a fully human couldn't do, Lily could barely make some fishes and flowers, but this was another level. She heard the explanation and nodded, he was right, they could outswim the lot and figure how to reverse things later.
Once her body hit the water she felt the change, her lungs stopped asking for air and her legs became a vibrant green fin that matched the colour of her eyes, her sight adjusted to the darkness and she could feel her body lowering her core to match the coldness of the sea.
She had done it so many times before that it felt like second nature, but something was wrong, something was different that night.
Severus grabbed her hand again and began to swim, before she could notice what was different about transformation, and they kept swimming until they were on the other side of the island.
There they went out of the water and Lily saw the full moon shining above them.
"Oh no, no, no…" Lily desperately moved towards the shore, it couldn't be true, she couldn't have forgotten something that important, could she?
"What's wrong?" Severus played dumb, his plan worked perfectly Lily never doubted him.
Lily tried to shake the water from her body, feeling the sand stick to her skin and scales with every movement, feeling it really hard to get on to the dried part of shore, the words of her parents resonating in her head: You can be part of both worlds until the full moon that lands on your birth month on your 15th year. On that day you shall decide if you will remain in land or sea and be forever part of one or the other.
"It's a full moon, Sev!" she cried, trying to think quickly, Severus had already turned 15th at the beginning of the month, they had a whole day planned before he would turn to the sea the next day, just a day out doing the things he wouldn't do under water, before they wouldn't be able to. It was supposed to be tomorrow, she had it marked, she remembered, she wanted to make it special.
"Is it?" he looked up, "Oh, I would have missed it." He added, as if trying to take her mind off what was happening, he knew it would take some adjustment, but there was nothing she could do, this was permanent, and Severus' plan had worked.
"But I didn't want this!"
"Oh, I'm sorry Lily, I didn't know. Maybe since you haven't turned 15th yet it won't be permanent?" he tried to console her, even if he knew that was not how it worked.
They waited until morning for her legs to come back to her, Lily cried on Severus' shoulder when she knew it was irreversible.
The sea was her new home now.
Severus managed to console Lily saying they were in that together, that they could face the sea, and pointing out how choosing the water might lead her parents to believe she abandoned them.
"But maybe there's a way," Severus explained, "We could search for magic, the sea is full of it, maybe there's a way for you to get back to them we can search for it."
And that was where Lily's world became so much bigger, and smaller at the same time.
It had been 4 years since that night.
And every full moon the heir of Gryffindor and his friends transformed into animals, they moved around the forest of the island, trying to avoid being seen, to let the village know their secret. They had learned to communicate in animal form, and managed to explore the far ends of the island without being bothered by anyone. No one paid attention to a deer in the middle of the forest, even if the dog and the wolf had to hide at times.
They have tried with the local healers and witches to find a cure for the curse, they tried different remedies, studied similar cases, and they came up with nothing. No one had seen that particular kind of curse, they didn't know how to reverse it.
Yet James didn't lose hope. He wanted to find a cure, if not for him, for his friends.
He heard about a cure in a faraway land, something that might help them.
They sailed with a small trusted crew, people that knew about their curse, that could mind the ship when full moon came, and parted to the lands of Hogsmead in hope to find something, even a small lead.
The people at the docks were eager to help, but when asked about the magicians and scholars they seemed a bit guarded.
"Do you believe we'll find something here, Prongs?" asked a handsome black haired man, with a black dog at his side.
"I'm not sure, Padfoot." The heir ruffled his hair, irritated by the situation, it wasn't exactly a short trip. "They are hiding something, I can feel it, but I can't force them to tell me."
"You can bribe them to." The shortest of the group spoke, taking a bite of the apple in his hand.
"Not everything can be bought with money, Wormtail." The last man spoke, looking at their surroundings, trying to find a way to get the information or at least someone willing to talk more than the people at the docks.
"Money usually helps loosen people's tongues, Moony." the man named Wormtail replied.
"So does alcohol," Moony said, pointing to a tavern.
"Now you are speaking my language." Padfoot grinned and walked towards the pub, the black dog staying put next to Prongs as if waiting for proper instructions.
"We should divide and conquer," Prongs added, "I need to stretch my legs, I might be able to find something more information elsewhere. I'll meet you back here later to discuss."
"Whatever you say, Lord Potter." Moony teased.
"Sod off," Prongs chuckled, walking in another direction, the black dog following him instead of the group, like guarding him while his owner was elsewhere. "I'm sure you are tired of wooden walls too, huh?" He talked to the dog who just wagged its tail and followed the path to the market.
The heir spoke to the townspeople, asking if there was a library, or maybe a school where he could find some information about 'family history'. He was lying, of course, but it seemed that it would get him more information than magic and curses.
He got a few details, some information about scholars and masters, a few apples, and a bone for the dog; who was happy for a new toy.
They found themselves near the water again. Prongs didn't like to be cooped up in the ship, but he loved the sea and the breeze on his hair, he loved it when the wind made them travel faster, with no bounds to be seen around.
He descended some rocks, where he knew the dog could follow, just to hide from any unwanted company, just wanting to relax and go back to his pursuit, his mind needed a rest before trying a new approach to the situation, when Astro barked.
Nothing was to be seen there, Prongs assumed it was a crab or something, so he decided to ignore it. "You just got a bone, lad, why don't you just finish that before going for seafood?" He teased the dog and scratched his ear.
What Prongs didn't know is that he wasn't exactly alone, as near there was a familiar redhead that really hoped she hadn't been seen.
"Do you think this time around we'll find something?" Prongs knew the dog didn't understand him, he did this when he was alone, talked to the freaking dog like a madman, but he felt guilty that they were curse, he started things with Snape, he didn't like the man, but he never intended for his friends to get involved in his mess, and he couldn't exactly talk to his friends about it. "It would be nice to get rid of this thing, wouldn't it? I'm sure the lot want to go to Lady Evans' wedding and not have to excuse himself mid feast." he continued.
Lily's heart raced.
What thing James wanted to get rid of?
Petunia was getting married?
"I'm sure there are lots of things that they would want to do without the fucking curse." James sighed, and ruffled his hair once more, sighing in frustration.
He sat there, with Lily trying to see what else he would say about her sister, was she in danger? Was she cursed? What had happened all those years? She needed to know
"I think we should get going, don't want to worry the lads, we might be able to find something on the way back." She heard the sound of the fabric moving and the claws of the dog climbing off the rocks as they left.
Lily needed to find Severus at once.
Severus was with the Sirens, as always, lately he looked even darked and more scaled than before, like he was turning more Siren than before. He spent so much time in the deep sea that Lily started to worry, even when he told her that there was nothing to worry about, he was just learning new magic spells and more of their people. He thought they were fascinating.
Lily felt the particular kind of Sirens Snape frequented were the non kind ones, but she needed a favour and the discussion could wait.
"Sev, I need your help." she offered as she approached her friend, he was mixing something that didn't look particularly helpful, it looked dark and murky, like the waste water from the islands.
"Of course Lily, what happened?" His voice seemed sweet, but lately she felt it laced with something else, something she didn't like.
"I want you to do the leg spell, the one you learned from the Sirens. I need to go see my sister." The urgency in her voice made Snape frown.
Until now Snape had managed to get Lily's desire for legs under control, she went up to the surface, saw the towns near the shore and came back to help with some of the spells, none of the curses, and she was distracted from her previous life.
Or that is what he thought.
"Why now? It's not perfect, I've told you." He kept working on the murky liquid, as if it was more important than her and her issues.
"I know, I don't care, I think she might be cursed." she blurted, trying to get Severus' attention somehow.
That was the first time Snape fully turned to her, forgetting the concoction.
"Why do you believe that?"
"I…" James was a sore topic for Severus, but if her sister needed help Lily needed to try. "The Potter heir is in the island, he was talking about Lady Evans' wedding and a curse. Tuney is getting married, and I need to make sure it is not because she is cursed, but because she is happy, I don't care if the spell is not ready."
Snape knew that he couldn't out himself, he couldn't tell Lily that the curse was on the Potter's heir and not her sister, that would make her turn away from him, she already doubted him so much.
" I'll go to the Sirens myself if I have to." Lily was determined to help her sister, this was one thing she wouldn't back away.
"No!" he was rushed and harsh, and it made Lily flinch, "They don't trust you, you go too much to the surface, they might trick you." He corrected himself quickly, if he wanted Lily to come back to him he needed to do the spell himself. "The spell will give you legs, but it will be limited and painful." he explained, " as everything with sea magic, it is tied to the moon, so I can give you legs, until the next full moon, then you must return to the sea."
Severus explained, he was clear, and dry with his words, he had offered the spell before, he said it was unfinished, Lily supposed because it was not permanent, and it will cause her harm. If the roles were reversed she would be against it as well.
"I understand, I'll endure, I just need to make sure she's safe."
And with that Snape gave Lily her legs.
