"Bloody...Wizards?"

-Elizabeth Turner

A story of when Pirates meet Wizards

A/N R & R please!

Chapter Fourteen: Ghost Ship (Harry Potter)

"Holy Cricket!" exclaimed Hermione to the mound of gold before them.

"Oh my," was all Harry could say.

"Bloody hell," said Ron with a grin on his face, his eyes taking in all the jewels and pearls.

"No!" whispered someone from across the room. Harry looked over and saw a young woman, couldn't have been much older than the three of them, staring wide-eyed at them.

"What in the…" said a man…he looked kind of prissy, like the kind that was a wannabie hero.

"Uh…" said an odd-looking man who looked much older than the other two and didn't look very friendly either. In fact, he contrasted greatly with them.

"How'd they…are they…?" said the wannabie.

"I don't think they're part of Barbosa's…" said the girl quietly.

"Hi," said Harry, "I'm sorry to have frightened you," he said, not sure of what to say next.

"Who're they?" asked the odd-looking man in a slurred-voice. The way he swayed just to turn to the woman, Harry guessed he was drunk. His only conclusion was that he must be a pirate. He quickly turned back to the trio, stuck his arm out straight in front of him and quickly walked toward them as if some invisible force was pulling him.

Harry quickly backed away and his arms went out to guard the other two.

"Did you just…appear…out of thin air?" he asked, getting unnecessarily close to Harry.

Harry looked at Hermione for help.

"Yes, actually, to you it would appear so," she said with more confidence than Harry felt.

His upper body suddenly jumped back from them, startling Harry, and he brought a finger up to his chin, studying them intently.

"People don't just appear out of thin air!" he said so suddenly that all three of them stumbled backwards. As he said it, both of his arms became horizontal to the ground and he walked a little ways toward the other two so he was standing almost directly between the two groups.

His actions were so sudden, sloppy and yet…graceful at the same time. This man was really beginning to scare Harry.

"We…we're just looking for an artifact…a gold medallion that's rather large and has a skull on one side…" said Hermione, venturing bravely past Harry's hand. He tried silently to grab her but, whether by accident or purpose, she stepped out of his grasp.

The man in the red scarf held a finger up to his lips as if shushing them, then, quicker than Harry could have guessed he could walk, headed up the mound of gold to the stone chest at the top, pushed the top off of it with his foot and grabbed something gold out of it.

Hermione gasped and her eyes widened, "Oh yes, I think that's it," she said, her eyes on the gold as she approached it.

"Now which one are you looking for?" he asked, throwing it back into the chest. Hermione followed it's path, then looked horrified.

"Oh my, there's got to be hundreds in here," she said, sounding as if she were about to cry.

"Eight-hundred some," said the pirate, his pointer finger touching his lips, "It'll be a bit difficult to find which one you're looking for anyhow because you can't take those out of the chest. You'll be cursed with immortality…"

"Well that wouldn't be too bad, would it?" asked Ron as he walked up behind Hermione. Harry cautiously followed.

The man studied him for a moment, "Maybe except the fact that you can't eat, drink, feel or die. We lost the last medallion again…it might be the same one you're looking for…why are you looking for it?" he suspiciously asked.

Hermione looked at the two boys before answering, "It's a rather long story…very complicated…"

Harry and Ron nodded in agreement.

"Give us your names, then," he said, slipping on some of the gold coins.

"I'm Hermione, this is Ron…and this is Harry," she said, pointing to each boy as she said their names. Harry noticed she grabbed Ron's hand as she said his name, but didn't let go.

"I'm J…Captain Jack Sparrow of the Black Pearl…"

Hermione gasped slightly and Jack must've heard, because he hesitated, but otherwise didn't acknowledge that he'd heard.

"This beautiful young lady is Elizabeth, and he's Will…Elizabeth's fiancée…"

Hermione looked at them with a judging eye, "You both look so young to be married."

"Actually, I'm nineteen...almost twenty and an old maid because I wasn't married by the time I was fourteen," she explained with a hesitant smile.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "Oh," she quietly said.

"Will is twenty," she continued.

"And you?" Hermione asked Jack.

He looked as though he might answer her, then looked at Elizabeth, studied her for a moment, then turned back to Hermione, "I'm fifteen," he answered, then swaggered down the pile of gold before she could reply, "Do you know, or have any relations with Barbosa and his crew?" he loudly asked over his shoulder.

"Who?" Hermione asked, following him.

Jack looked at Will who shrugged, "I don't see why not," he said as if he could read Jack's mind.

Jack studied the trio for a moment before saying, "Join us at our ship for a cup o tea…and talk," he said, then continued through a passage way.

Hermione look up at the boys as Will and Elizabeth followed Jack. Harry and Ron looked at each other, then at Hermione, "I suppose it couldn't hurt. If they're after the same thing we are…maybe we can help each other," said Harry.

Hermione was silent, then followed in the other group's wake and the boys followed in hers.

The passage way went right between two stalactites…or stalagmites…Harry couldn't ever remember which was which, and led right to the bank of a lake…or water, rather. Harry didn't know where they were.

After Will, Elizabeth and Jack had climbed into the boat, Hermione, Ron and Harry had also climbed in. Hermione sat with Elizabeth in the middle, Harry and Will sat together in the back, and Ron, who looked a bit queasy, sat with Jack in the front.

"Where exactly are we going?" Hermione asked Jack.

He looked behind his shoulder and grinned at her with, Harry hadn't noticed before, a few gold teeth, "Shouldn't you know? You seemed to recognize the name…"

She looked a bit confused and she hesitated, "Yes, but the Black Pearl was supposed to be captained by the most notorious and evil pirate alive…I don't understand…I mean, I've read about a Captain Jack Sparrow (Jack grinned again), but I've only heard it was captained by…well…the book wouldn't give the name…but he was supposed to be really evil…"

She was talking to herself now, trying to sort it all out while Elizabeth and Will sat in confusion as she talked about them in the past tense.

Harry gazed down at the water below them as they slowly made their way through the cavern. He was surprised to see shiny gold at the bottom of the calm pool…an occasional skull, gold teeth…or other parts, but it wasn't really anything to worry about. None of it looked too fresh.

The sunlight suddenly hit them and Harry had to squint in order to see.

Hermione gasped again, "I've heard about it…but I never thought it looked like that," she whispered to no one in particular, "It looks like a ghost ship…how does it sail with all those holes in the sails? I wonder if it's magic…"

Harry tugged on her hair and she stiffened, realizing what she'd said, "Of course, not real, magic…just being…well, you know," she said with a nervous laugh.

"That, lass, is the Black Pearl.