A Boys Tail by RiddikuLiss

Although it was nearing the end of September, and winter was fast approaching, the cold autumn air had yet to tamper with the Black Lake. It still remained untouched by the considerably cooler weather taking place on the surface, with plenty of undersea plantation giving off warmth- enough to heat the waters well into the mid winters.

On land, the infamous Black Lake of Hogwarts appeared just as any other lake did. A vast bowl of dark, deep water. But far below the waters of the Black Lake- another world lived and breathed. A world only few surface-dwellers had the opportunity of seeing with their own eyes.

If they knew where to look, that is.

The morning was quiet, as too was the water.

The perfect time for a swim.

All at once, The Lake moved. The Water swashed- tall tendrils of seaweed scattering in the wake of the large body that moved through the Lake bed with ease. Smaller fish scarpered out the way to accommodate the much larger creature, who plunged through the hoards of freshwater plants, propelling themselves through the water at a speed no man could possibly accomplish with two feet.

Lucky for them; they had fins.

Dark blue scales-almost black if you weren’t looking close enough- glistened in the cracks of light that cascaded down from the land above, as the unknown tailed-creature slithered to-and-fro between the stalks of seaweed: searching.

It was a Merman, one of the half-man half-fish species that were domestic to the Lake. He swam about the deep foliage, digging through the grainy lake floor and picking at the plants with feverish energy.

Severus Snape, though not at all appearing as his usual self, was spending his morning searching the lake beds for fresh ingredients for his lab. After all, The Lake was full of all sorts of tropical wildlife- and many of the jars in his stores held ingredients foraged from these very waters. It was far cheaper than ordering from Diagon Alley- All it cost was a swim.

Large eyes, entirely black in colour, scanned the area as the potions master swam. His Gills quivered behind his ears as they drew in oxygen, desperately trying to keep up with the pace that the Merman was currently swimming.

Finally, he stopped, pausing at a particular large, waxy looking plant that stood raised and sharp- snakeweed.

With deft precision, Severus tugged on several of the plants leaves- from the root of course, as one never pulled snakeweed from the tips of their leaves. Then, with one of the five sharp black claws that emerged from his bony, webbed fingertips- he sliced at the plant. The snake grass leaves fell loose at once, and the entire plant gave a soundless shudder.

Carefully, he surfaced, delicately putting his finds on a flat boulder that protruded from the edge of the castle. He was ready to dive once more, when from the corner of his eye he spotted it. Or rather him.

The Potter boy was back.

Razor-sharp teeth gritted in annoyance, and the Mer-creature watched as the Boy made himself comfortable under the old beech tree once again- the very spot that Severus was to exit the water.

‘Damn it’ He though bitterly, ducking below ever so slightly, so that only his eyes remained above water. Had scaring the boy away the other day not been enough? Was he really this keen to visit a silly old Beech tree?

Not once had he had this issue- and now, in the space of a few days, it had happened ‘twice’. No other person visited this opening to the lake anymore, at least not since his time at Hogwarts. These days the students rather opted to visit the banks closer to the castle- it was more open and had far more space for social gatherings.

This particular opening however, was a little more secluded- the perfect place for him to go back and forth from the Lake unseen. For years it had been his place.

And now, the Potter boy had decided it was his place too.

Too high a risk of being seen, Severus had no choice but to wait it out until the brat left.

So, hidden behind the large rock, tail swishing methodically in the water below him to keep him afloat;

He waited.

—————————————————————————————————

Harry, having not long finished his first meeting with Oliver wood, Captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team- decided he’d sit by the Lake for an hour or so, before students were required to make their way to the great hall for breakfast.

So, he made himself comfortable in his new favourite spot, back rested up against the large tree trunk- only praying that his peace wouldn’t be interrupted by his formidable Potions teacher again.

It wasn’t long after sitting down that Harry started to feel...off. A funny feeling grew in the pit of his stomach as the minutes pressed on, making him squirm uncomfortably on the spot. He became further unsettled when that same feeling climbed up into his throat, making it very hard to swallow past the lump forming there.

The muscles in his neck stiffened, and the hairs on his arms stood upright:

He was being watched.

A sound from behind him made him start. He spun round to stare at the beaten down pathway through the small clearing of trees. The very same path from which he had walked down only moments before. The sound of snapping twigs could be heard- footsteps, and they were drawing nearer.

Harry was on his feet in a flash. He whipped out his wand, holding it aloft, ready to defend himself. Of course, any effort would be fruitless on his behalf; the boy had only learned a handful of spells so far and none of them were considered very effective in self defense. Unless, turning his attacker into a matchbox counted for anything.

Drawing in a shaky breath, he watched as a figure popped out from behind the trees- Harry recognised the familiar head of blonde hair in an instant.

Malfoy.

Harry let out all the air he’d been holding in with a short huff, and lowered his wand, but didn’t put it away just yet. He glared as the boy sauntered forward, Crabbe and Goyle hot at his heels. Draco laughed, and taunted his classmate,

“Not scared are we there, Potter?”

Harry frowned. He looked the boy up and down, before doing the same to the other two boys. Three against one.

“What are you doing here, Malfoy?”

The Slytherin boy shrugged nonchalantly, kicking a small rock with his foot, all the whilst walking closer to Harry, who now had his back to the Lake- (and the hidden creature now watching them with peaked interest)

“Same as you, I guess. A nice morning walk by the lake- isn’t that right boys?”

Crabbe and Goyle nodded, smirking. Their eyes never left Harry.

Harry didn’t believe him for a second, “Did you follow me here?”

The blonde didn’t answer, and leant against the beech tree, picking at the leaves from lower branches, feigning interest. Crabbe and Goyle stopped to stand a few paces behind their friend.

Instead, Malfoy asked (non too politely), “What were you doing with Wood?”

‘So you were following me’ Harry thought, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from blurting the words out loud.

“Why is it any of your business?” Harry bit out instead, watching as Malfoy’s smirk fell, his face morphing into a deep scowl instead. Crabbe and Goyle made a move for him, and Harry-noting their movement out the corner of his eye-took a step back. Malfoy held a hand up. They paused.

‘Wow, you’ve sure got them trained’ Harry thought, snorting in disbelief at the boy. ‘Do they play fetch too?’

With his wand still drawn, Harry felt a little bit braver- He continued, answering the blondes question, “Professor McGonagall made me the new Gryffindor seeker” He couldn’t help the proud little smile that pulled at his lips as he spoke. ‘Take that, Malfoy’

Draco blinked in disbelief, “You’re mad, Potter” he said between laughs, folding his arms across his chest and shaking his head, “everyone knows they don’t allow first years to play”

The two lumps behind him sniggered. Harry watched as they copied Draco move by move, folding their beefy arms across their pot-bellied fronts.

“-Besides” Draco continued, drawing Harry’s attention back to him. “what makes you think they’d even want ‘you’ on their team? I saw your flying the other day. A blind wizard with no arms would’ve flown better than you”

This was a lie of course, as Harry had flown magnificently. Knowing this, Harry only smirked. “Jealousy doesn’t look good on you Malfoy” He replied.

The boy spluttered, taken aback. “You think I’m jealous of you?” He asked incredulously, his voice raising to match his eyebrows, that shot up into his hairline at the boy’s words. He pushed away from the tree, standing upright- and moving closer into Harry’s personal space. “Little Harry Potter the orphan boy, with holes in his shoes and twigs for legs” he faked a kick to Harry’s knees, grinning when the boy flinched- his skinny little legs instinctively springing out the way of the attacking limb. His legs gave way beneath him, and Harry toppled to the ground- hitting the grassy floor with a soft “oof”.

Draco towered over him, “Don’t make me laugh, Potter”

And with that said, the Slytherin first years turned, heading back to the pathway that lead up to the castle. They were finished with him. Harry watched them go, nursing a grazed elbow he’d managed to receive from his fall.

“-Anyway, it won’t be long before Professor Snape inquires that ‘I’ join the Slytherin quidditch team” Malfoy called over his shoulder, boastfully, “and then I can show you what ‘real’ flying is supposed to look like”

“Right” Harry muttered in mock belief, watching the three boys closely as they walked away from him. He gritted his teeth, ferociously shoving his wand deep into his robe pocket. Feeling daring, Harry cupped his hands over his mouth, and called out to their retreating figures.

“The only way you’d get on the quidditch team, Malfoy-” he was feeling ‘very’ daring indeed “-was if your father and his big pocket had something to do with it”

Draco stopped dead in his tracks.

He spun back round to face Harry, cheeks flushed red in anger. He glowered at the Gryffindor boy, “How DARE you speak of my father that way- how ‘dare’ you even mention him in such a way, you sad excuse for a wizard!” He bellowed, words tumbling out of his mouth as if they’d been well rehearsed. Clearly Draco had a knack for parroting his sentences- and Harry had no problem guessing who from. “You’re going to pay for that, Potter”

Looking to the two other Slytherin’s, Draco wordlessly jutted his chin in Harry’s direction. They obliged immediately, and sprang into action.

Harry had merely moments before two rough pairs of hands grabbed him, hauling him off the ground- Crabbe taking hold of his arms, whilst Goyle seized his legs.

“Hey!” Harry cried out, struggling in their grip. He wriggled and kicked, trying to wrestle his way out of their hold. The boys’ were relentless, refusing to let him go much to Harry’s distressing demands.

“Put me down!”

Malfoy only laughed as Gryffindor continued to shout- a dark, humourless chuckle that sent shivers down Harry’s spine. “Enough Malfoy, you win! Tell them to let me go”, Harry wailed, continuing to squirm in the slytherins’ iron grip- they were beginning to hurt him.

Malfoy grinned, white teeth glinting, “why would I do that?”

Harry’s eyes widened, and he let loose a yell when the two slytherins began swinging him back and forth by his arms and legs.

“Stop! Let me go!”

“Alright, Potter” The Boy replied, “We’ll let you go”

Before Harry could object, Crabbe and Goyle had swung him high into the air- releasing his arms and legs;

And Harry could do nothing but scream as he was propelled head first into the Lake.