What Happened Underwater

~Seeing~

I do not own the Harry Potter series, or any of the charcters, concepts, or franchises you may recognise. Thanks for reading!

So I looked at everyone's face, Gabrielle's wonder-filled eyes, Cho's delicate disgust, Ron's blatant curiosity, and I said with a half-smile "So be it."

Because sometimes, that's really all you can do.

The creature's lips curled up in a half-smile that showed pointed teeth, and his hand- if you can call it a hand- shot out and grabbed Hermione's, sending a shock through her. Ron instantly took her other hand and they looked at each other for a second, fear in their eyes, then Ron grabbed Gabrielle's hand, and Gabrielle held her hand out to Cho, her eyes squeezed tightly shut, her small face pale. Cho took her hand, clenching her empty one into a fist, wishing foolishly, foolishly for someone to hold it.

Then, without a second glance, the merman dove into the water, and not a single person let go, so in they all went, like a chain of human dominos, with only time for a quick gasp of air before they went under. Imbued with some superhuman strength, they managed to hold on as they were yanked every which way, falling and floating, colliding with one another and who knew what else, flesh on flesh, bone on bone, the pressure behind their eyes building, the pressure in their chests building, the pressure, building, and they fought to open their eyes. But when they did, all they saw was green and shadows, and they began to lose hope.

Suddenly all motion stopped, and the vise-like grip of the merman's hand on Hermione's was gone, and so was Ron's hand, she was all alone, and that though brought a feeling of terror so intense it left her unable to move. Then, out of the murky green came a shadow and she screamed, the sound warped by the water, until the shadow- the hand, she recognized it as a hand- gently touched her forehead.

Her vision cleared, the pressure in her chest leaving in a great whoosh, the throbbing behind her eyelids receding and leaving her mind clear and peaceful, and she began to tread water, taking in her surroundings.

They were at the bottom of the lake, and Ron was screaming at the merman who was reaching out to touch him- she knew he was screaming only because she could see it, screams didn't seem to carry underwater. She saw him relax, and his eyes lose their primitive terror, and she raised her hand in a wave, feeling oddly weightless. He waved back, dazed, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Gabrielle curled into a ball, then as the merman touched her forehead she relaxed and looked around, her eyes full of terror and wonder. He waved at her and she waved back, excited and nervous. Gabrielle looked to her left at Cho, who was rigid in the water as the merman touched her forehead, and the tension in her body seemed to dissolve, though she shrank away. They all waved at her and she tentatively waved back. They looked at one another and took a deep breath.

Took a deep breath.

Took a deep bre-What?

The realization that logically they should all have drowned by now hit Cho like a tidal wave (no pun intended). If she'd been standing her knees would have given out but as it was all that happened was a few bubbles and a strange garble escaped her lips, and she looked at the others frantically. Hermione seemed to be thinking furiously, Ron's mouth was hanging open and he was clenching and unclenching his fists, but Gabrielle- Gabrielle was just floating there, looking around her with such wonder that it made Cho's heart soften, and she looked around for the first time. They were near bottom of the lake, around ten feet from the silty bottom, and to one side of them was a forest of aquatic plants like she had never seen, and to the other… The water seemed to stretch on forever, and in the distance, she saw what looked like- like a castle, like Hogwarts from the forest on a misty night, blurred and not to scale but there all the same.

She turned to see if the others saw it too, and almost screamed again- the merman was two inches from her face, staring at her with eyes that could strip away all disguises, and she felt very, very small. But he nodded, and gestured towards the other three, who had again joined hands. They were gesturing at her- must have been trying to get her attention while she stared stupidly off into the distance.

She awkwardly paddled over to them and took Gabrielle's hand again. The girl squeezed her hand, looking up at Cho, scared and excited. Cho squeezed back and tuned her gaze forward to where the merman had once more taken Hermione's hand. He began to swim, slowly this time, and after a few seconds Cho felt a tug and she, too, began gliding through the water, gradually picking up speed.

They were headed towards the castle, or village, or whatever that distant collection of lights was. Now that her head was clearer, it didn't look so much like Hogwarts, and she laughed at herself a little for immediately trying to fit this new thing into an old box and not see it for what it was.

For it was beautiful, that she could see clearly even from a distance. The lights and structures glowed as things do when your eyes are half-closed and your mind is sleepy and you're on your way home in the car as the radio plays softly and the countryside slides by. The memory of her hometown and her da threatened to engulf her completely, and she beat it back with difficulty, reminding herself that now was not the time for sentiment. God, she couldn't conjure up a single shred of affection for the place while she was trapped there over the summer, so why was it coming on now?

She shook her head and began to kick her feet to keep at least some of her weight off of her arm, which was beginning to ache. They had covered what seemed like a great distance in a… short time? Long time? She didn't know anymore. And the strange thing is, she didn't mind it.

Her gaze slid up the line, past Gabrielle's wide eyes and Ron's clenched jaw to Hermione who, oddly enough, had her eyes closed. That in itself was slightly perturbing- normally, she seemed to not want to blink for fear of missing something. The odd little half-smile on her face that made Cho's stomach churn, and she looked at Ron to see if he'd noticed. Of course he had, and was looking at the bushy-haired girl with such concern that Cho felt her chest constricted. She saw him squeeze her hand, soft at first, then harder, his eyes growing slightly panicked as she still didn't react. He flailed his arm, hers limply dragged along- not pulled forward any longer; they'd stopped without their noticing. The city- and it was a city; village wasn't grand enough for it- had seemingly materialized around them, tugging the metaphorical rug out from under them for the millionth time that day. Wonder in his eyes, Ron looked over to share it with Hermione, but her eyes were still closed, her face slack. He begged her silently 'Wake up. Open your eyes, 'Mione. You have to see this."

Her eyes opened, and Ron exhaled, bubbles escaping his mouth as she squeezed his hand, blinking, and her eyes widened and her mouth opened into an O at the sight before her.

They were standing in what could be called a courtyard, surrounded by structures of curved and spindling ivory stone, the color and texture of bone, on all varying levels of the rocky hills surrounding them- no need for level ground, as feet or fins never touched the ground. The spires of the structures stretched up towards the distant glimmer of sunshine, with no roofs, the houses like sunflowers; small at base level, then widening suddenly, pointed towards the sun. And they were all interconnected, with webs spanning the distance between houses like ladders, up and down, sideways, and sea grasses growing on the sides like ivy on a trellis. Through the holes in the houses shone a light, at once warm and cold, and what was fuzzy from a distance was crystalline up close, and it robbed them of their breath.

They had hardly any time to wonder, as dozens; no, hundreds of merpeople swam towards them from all around. It was dizzying and terrifying, and they all got a sense of the heavens collapsing in upon them, only the angels didn't look much like they did in muggle picture shows, and their song was haunting, but glorious all the same. They drew together, a tight little circle on a rock tableau, feet on the smooth, silty bottom, trembling awe rising in their chests, and the two races stared at one another for an endless moment, appraising, wondering, questioning. The merpeople's gaze shifted to the side, where one was parting the crowd. They immediately sensed a change in their demeanor; they were less wild, more familiar, and it became clear that there were families and young and old, and the slim, regal figure gliding now towards them was respected, revered even. A crown of bone rested on a head heavy with hair matted with every manner of plant and decoration above a face with no lines, yet an eternal feel to it, a wild wisdom in the eyes which both put them at ease and made them stand tall against its scrutiny. The leader beckoned to them, and they all looked at one another, and joined hands, and pushed off the bottom, remembering for a disorienting moment of the lack of gravity. They struggled, waving their arms and kicking wildly, and a strange sound reached their ears. Confused, they looked around, and after a while they saw bubbles escaping the merpeople's mouths- they were laughing! Ron's ears went red, and Cho began to pout, while Hermione's mouth fell open, but Gabrielle laughed in return, the clear sound causing murmurs like soft waves to sound, and there was no more spite in their laughter, and after a few gestures, a dozen or so merpeople sprung forward and took their hands, pulling them along with ease, and point teeth glinted in smiles that were full of simple, wild glee, as they swarmed into their city beneath the lake with their human captives, who were no longer afraid, and in that moment, there was an understanding, an understanding which is at the heart of acceptance and tolerance, an all-too-rare understanding that can mend age-old tears, and on they went.

*Edited to take out my weird existential crisis, sorry about that. New chapter soon? I'm going to try this again, and not make any promises this time, because we all know how well promises worked out last time.*

I am back, and will do my best to continue updating regularly. I tried a new thing with this chapter, in a sort of introspective third-person that zeroes in on one person at a time. How do you guys feel about it? Be honest, if it's confusing or choppy or just plain a bad tactic I would like to know. In fact, I'd like to know any of your thoughts on the story so far, and the kind of direction you want to see it take in the future.

Thanks to the amazing NightlySnow for editing this chapter, beta-reader extraordinare and an amazing friend, person, and writer. If you like Hetalia (and good writing), make sure you check her out!

A thousand thanks and all my good wishes, dearest readers.

Love,

Leviosa