Sea and Serpent (PJO/HP)

Chapter 18. Giant squid and a troll

September had seemed to fly by— and not in the ‘off the ground’ feeling either—by the time late October came. Halloween had seemed not exist in the wizarding world, but Amaryllis hadn’t fancied the holiday before either. The dressing up, masks, and creatures that kids and older people dressed up as was eerie and similar to the things she had seen, that she had begun to dislike the holiday and the only time she cared to not leave the house while Dudley and her aunt and uncle went out.

While the weather had grown chiller, and seemed to be more cloudy than not, it hadn’t stormed since that day. It was the only good thing she had found during that month.

Much to Amaryllis delight.

And no matter how little Hermione and Susan found, they hadn’t given up, as the former requested some books from her parents. Amaryllis wasn’t sure how much regular books would help when there was a whole witch side to her.

On the other hand, she had to worry about Harry’s new adventurous side that took a deep dive into what Hagrid seemed to have brought to the school. For a big burly giant, he didn’t have a filter when one distracted him on a topic that he enjoyed, and brought it full circle back to what you wanted to know. It was astounding, yet concerning since Professor Dumbledore entrusted him with a task that was kept under wraps—tightly. And it only took at minimum, one first-year with wits and determinations to get the one who knew just enough, to spill enough that kept Harry intrigued and further onto his theory. And Amaryllis didn’t think he was wrong, per se, but she didn’t think Professor Snape was as suspicious as they thought. Weird, rude, and confusing, yes, but not suspicious.

So when they wanted to frolic the corridors of the school on whatever scenario they had thought up, Amaryllis had gotten Fred and George to tell her how to get into the kitchen—with a deal that involved putting a dung bomb in the corridor at a certain time—and made her way to the lake. She had a debate for a while as to verbally thanking the giant squid or not, and the guilt she felt at not acknowledging the giant squid won. It was also the other weird phenomenon that she couldn’t solve. Liking sea creatures was different than them actually seeming to do the same. It was rare to be saved by a sea creature in the midst of danger, but she hadn’t been in the sea at that time, but off the ground. Hermione and Amelia chalked it down to the giant squid being a magical creature, protecting Hogwarts students from what it thought danger was.

Amaryllis wasn’t sure if she believed that fully. It felt more than that to her and with nothing else to go off, it was the only thing she could lead with. It was why she walked down to the lake by herself, needing some time to herself—and not seem crazy, with wrapped fish in her hand to feed to the squid.

Stopping a foot from the edge of the lake, Amaryllis sat down on the ground that had become cooler with the weather. The surface of the water rippled with the wind that blew across, making her auburn hair blow in her face. She tucked the thin strands that brushed against her face, tickling her skin.

The lake was deeper than she thought as the edge was shallow, and light, grower darker the further down it went until she couldn’t see anything beyond the dark murky water. She knew it would have been deep, to hold a giant squid, but until it had saved her, she hadn’t given it thought to just how huge it was. Her gaze flickered to the field further up where the flying class had taken place, picturing a tentacle reach from the depths of the lake and toward the field. She—Amaryllis paused, unsure why calling the squid a she felt right, but it did—wasn’t just giant, but enormous. Either magic made certain creatures larger, or the depth of the lake was unknown to many who had written the history books.

“You are something magnificent,” Amaryllis mumbled, turning her gaze back to stare over the lake.

A ripple came from the middle, spreading out in steady waves.