Rough Waters |Sirius Black

Chapter One Hundred

With the plan in motion to move Harry from the Dursleys and even get the Dursleys to safety, Nixie and Sirius had agreed to remain behind like the others that were selected for the mission, although Sirius was not happy about it. However, to make matters worse, Nixie had other things to tend to when her mother called to her from the waters. Apparently, the merfolk wanted to reconsider their decision not to form an alliance with the Order and they wanted to speak to Nixie again. Sirius did not like the sound of it at all, he was reluctant to let Nixie go but Meri reassured him that she was going to be there and there was no way she was going to allow Nixie to get her. Even Nixie's grandmother would be there, which was a giant leap since the mermaid had had little involvement in Nixie's life due to the prejudices in the water. Which left Sirius to hang around Eleanor, Molly, Marnie, Cedric, and a pissed off Ginny.

"Fleur gets to go.." Ginny huffed. "Fleur gets to go and I stay behind."

'Ginny you're far too young," Molly scolded her. "It's best you stay here."

Eleanor smiled at her from where she sat on the floor, before looking Sirius who shared Ginny's same irritation.

"Where's Nixie?" she asked him, obviously trying to distract the man.

"Seems as though the merfolk wanted to discuss an alliance now that they realize how serious the war is becoming," Sirius told her. Many in the room were surprised that he didn't take the opportunity at the pun of his own name, but he didn't seem to be in the mood at all as he bit his nails down to the skin. 

"But wouldn't they be safe in the water?" Eleanor questioned.

"One would think but it seems they are getting rather nervous."

"They hurt Nixie last time though, didn't they?" Ginny said. The girls were not helping to settle the man's nerves at all.

"That they did, but this time they requested her to speak with them, so it's probably on better terms. Meri is with her and so is her grandmother, so she has some support. At least, she won't be in the water, she'll be on land this time."

"What can the mermaids even do to offer an alliance?" Cedric asked curiously. "No offense but if you aren't near a body of water what damage are they capable of doing?"

"Mermaids can come out of the water on a full moon," Sirius explained, " if they remain out of the water until the moon's reflection is off the water, they will remain on land until the next full moon. It's how the mating process works. But they can easily fight...have you ever seen an angry mermaid?"

Cedric shook his head. "Not Nixie's kind at least."

"I have. Many times." Sirius said. "Trust me, you don't want to be on the opposing side."

Eventually, Sirius grew fed up with just sitting around in the living room and left to the kitchen where Molly was. Normally, Molly would have scolded the man for spewing out obscenities in her home, however, she could see the fear clear on the man's face. He was worried about his godson, his wife, and members of the Order. 

"Have faith in them, Sirius," Molly told him as she set a cup of tea in front of him. "You know how strong they all are. Have some faith that they can do this, even without your help. You may not be there physically but your support might be all they need right now."

He went to argue but he realized that her family was just at as much risk as his, her sons were out on the mission and she was doing best to hide her own nerves. He grabbed the woman by the sleeve and got her to sit with him as they had to patiently play the waiting game.

***

Nixie found herself standing on the shore with her mother half out of the water, keeping her company.

"I don't know about this, Mum. Last time, we tried this, I damn near got dragged to the bottom," Nixie whispered, keeping her eyes focused on the water. "I don't want to spend the night arguing either. I have to be there for Harry...and Sirius. I hope the night goes smoothly, but we can't guarantee it and I want to be there for the two of them."

"Nixie, relax," Meri said, "I am not going to let anything happen to you, trust me, I've already relayed my threats to them before this meeting took place."

"Really?"

"Remember what I told you what happens when you mess with a mermaid's baby?" Meri smiled at her. "I even threatened my mother. You never realize how sharp a seashell is until it's pressed up against your throat, you know?"

The young woman's eyes widened before she turned her head and looked at her mother. Meri seemed indifferent that she had basically held her own mother at shell point. She opened her mouth to say something but definitely thought against it. Moments later, bubbles erupted and heads emerged from the water, leaving Nixie's body to become tense. However, she did seem to become a bit more relaxed when she spotted Conch, who offered a small wave in her direction. 

It was odd to see her grandmother, the only interaction she really shared with the older mermaid was when she offered up a hair as Nixie's wand core. The group seemed to be debating about who would be the first to speak until Meri cleared her throat loudly.

"Isn't there something you would like to say, Mother?" Meri asked before nodding her head in Nixie's direction. Nixie met her grandmother's gaze for a moment before the mermaid spoke.

"I apologize, Nixie..."

"For?" Meri prompted her.

"For not treating you as our own. Especially during times when we need to unite the most."

***

Harry and Hagrid were the first to arrive back at the Burrow much to everyone's relief to see that he was safe.

"Harry!" Eleanor greeted him with a comforting hug, but the boy looked pale in the face and distraught. "Harry, what's wrong?" she asked him.

"They got Hedwig," Harry informed her solemnly.

"Oh Harry..." she frowned before pulling him back into a hug. "I'm so sorry. She really was a lovely owl."

"Yeah, she was."

She guided him over to Sirius where he was sat down to be comforted by his godfather.

"Harry," Sirius settled down in front of the boy. "Look at me."

Harry's eyes were red from the tears that he was desperately trying to hold back, Sirius could see it. The same guilt that haunted many members of the Order when things went wrong. Harry shook his head in refusal, leaving Sirius to just pull him into a hug.

"It's going to be alright," Sirius said. "Hard to believe now, I know, but they are. We're gong to be here for you in any way that you need-"

"Where's Nixie?" Harry asked him quietly. He hadn't seen her on the trip and she wasn't at the Burrow, leaving him to suddenly worry. "Is she-"

"She's fine. She's with her mother right now, working out negotiations with the merfolk. She wanted to be here but she will be soon enough."

"I'm glad you're here," Harry told him.

"Me too, Harry. Me too."

It was shortly after that Remus and George arrived back.

Immediately, Remus went to interrogate Harry checking to see if he was the "Real Harry," as he believed they had been betrayed somehow.

But Sirius quickly intervened nearly knocking Remus over as he stood in between the two. 

"If we go ahead distrusting our own, it's going to be the first war all over again," Sirius said to Remus.

"Dad, what happened?" she said grabbing onto her father's arm as Molly had George lay down immediately to heal him, as blood covered the young man's face from a wound on the side of his head.

"They were practically waiting for us!" Remus told her, anger lacing his voice. "Luckily the plan worked, Harry's made it here safely."

"Yeah at what cost?" Harry asked looking around to everyone. "I didn't want this to happen. I didn't want people getting hurt for me."

Sirius pulled Harry off to the side. "Harry, you have to understand that people are not getting hurt for you, they are fighting for what they know is right. "