Diagon Alley - Harry Potter One Shots

Unrequited | Nixie Dover

From the time that they were young spanning across to the point where they were adults, it seemed their paths were destined to cross but it was never meant to intertwine beyond anything other than several encounters. The first time he had seen her, she was sitting out on the grass with a couple of other students from the school that the Black Lake resided next to. He knew there was something different about her, many times he had caught her sitting by the lake just dipping her feet in and looking relieved upon doing so. She was beautiful, long black hair and bright blue eyes that caught his attention immediately. Her skin was fair and she just seemed perfect in his eyes, many times it caused him to just look down at himself. 

His skin was grey, his hair green, and like all the other merfolks in the water, his eyes were yellow. Judging by the others on land, he never expected her to ever even look in his direction. He didn't stand a chance from the beginning. 

He could recall the first time he saw her tail, the beautiful pale orange that flickered in the moonlight, it was dazzling, and he often wished that he could trade in his silver one for such colour. She seemed to enjoy her transformation and he thought it was fascinating to watch her sprout a tail during the nights of the full moon, only to return to land and walk on two feet only minutes later. He envied her in that sense, he wished he could walk on two legs, so he could walk next to her and talk to her. 

Her name was Nixie as he learned early on, Nixie Dover. It was a pretty name and often he would find himself trying to say it but it never sounded as pretty as when others said it. So he frequently enjoyed listening to other people say it, except for one. The boy that often called her "Nini." Nixie was such a beautiful name that it irritated him that the boy called her such a nickname even after it seemed to annoy her. 

But he would learn later on, that the boy would become so much more to her than the boy who just annoyed her with a nickname. He would become her everything and she would become his everything.

There was a night where he thought he stood a chance to be her hero when a werewolf went to attack and they seemed to be in trouble. He didn't know what he was thinking, he didn't stand a chance against the werewolf but he wasn't about to just float there and watch as she was hurt or worse. The only thing he could think of doing was splashing as much water as possible with the use of his tail and to his surprise, it actually worked. The werewolf ran off and he was able to help her to land as she was in shock. He wished that he could stay with her and be the one that offered her company, but it was early on that he learned that it wasn't in his place. 

From the lake water, he witnessed Nixie share her first kiss even though the boy had been the one to make her cry moments prior by the lake's edge. She slipped through his fingers, any bit of chance was gone as he heard them make plans about moving in with each other and telling each other for the first time that they loved one another. It was soul-crushing. 

But if that didn't bring the merman enough pain, he also watched her leave Hogwarts as she crossed the Black Lake on the boat she had crossed over during her first year and then for the longest time...she was gone. Time went on and she didn't return, he had to imagine that she was just out there living her life. She was probably happily married with her own children and she probably never thought twice about the merman in the lake.

That was alright, as long as she was happy. That's what he wanted for her, although he did wish he could see her again.

Then his wish was granted, one evening as he was swimming around, just skimming the surface, he turned his head as he caught sight of movement and swam over to investigate.

 There she was.

Surely, he had to be dreaming but it wasn't a dream, she was actually there and she seemed happy to see him. He didn't know what possessed him to think that she was solely there to visit him, so he was disappointed when he learned that she was only trying to figure out information for her godson. It was about the upcoming task in the Triwizard Tournament that his people were taking part in. 

She seemed thankful but she didn't stay for long. 

The way she went in and out of his life, he felt like he was going to end up going mad from it all. She disappeared but she always had a way of showing up when he least expected it. Like when she arrived for Dumbledore's funeral. Her arm was linked with her husband's and he recognised him as the boy that called her "Nini." On that day, she cried, but her husband was there to wipe away her tears even though he wished it was him that could offer her comfort. 

When she was gone again, he told himself that he couldn't keep torturing himself in such ways. Eventually, she was going to go and she wasn't going to come back. He couldn't spend his entire life just waiting for her to show again, right?

When the final battle took place at Hogwarts, he among other merfolk were ready and able to join in, dragging in the dark followers and attacking from the water. Yet his eyes were drawn to a battle taking place by the lake water and Nixie was there again. She was fighting for her life but she also seemed to be fighting for an underlying reason. Then he heard it all, the way the blonde woman had killed Nixie's father, he fully understood the rage behind Nixie's attack when she tackled the woman into the lake. 

She seemed fully prepared to kill the woman by drowning her, but she stopped herself and looked up. For a moment in time, they looked at each other and he saw that she was silently asking for permission. After all, the waters were not just for dumping bodies, it was home to many. But he nodded his head and watched as Nixie dragged the woman below the waves. 

She didn't seem to resurface for quite some time and it left him nervous that things had gone wrong. When he dove under the water, he saw that exhaustion had taken over her and it looked like she wouldn't be able to make it to the surface on her own. He wasn't about to allow that to happen. 

Grabbing her hand, he saw her smile in his direction and it left him with a warm sensation despite being in cold water. She didn't stay with him long, her mother was waiting for her, waist deep in the water to help Nixie out. He saw her open her mouth, probably ready to say thank you, but she was distracted by her mother calling out to her and they had to part ways once more. 

With the war over, he thought he was never going to see her again, after all, now she could return to her normal life. But every time he was preparing to let go, she would just pop up. There was McGonagall, walking with Nixie offering her a job at Hogwarts. His heart fluttered wondering if she was going to take it and when she said yes, he couldn't deny how happy it made him. Of course, it didn't go entirely in his favour because her husband was right there beside her. But he was there to see her. 

He saw her interact with her students, her caring and loving side, as well as the mermaid side, take over from time to time when no one listened to her. Then came the day when he noticed her swollen stomach and how happy she was as she spoke to the other professors announcing her pregnancy. Perhaps he should have been saddened in some respects, but he was so happy for her because he saw how truly happy she was. 

Nixie didn't need looking after anymore, she had accomplished so much in her life. From Professor to Mother to Headmistress, he was there to witness it all. He saw the way she interacted with her son and how much she loved him. There were times, he wished he could have shared in those moments but he knew it wouldn't be the same. He couldn't make her happy like her husband or her son did. No one could. 

There was just one thing he just wanted Nixie to know but he never had the chance. He just wanted her to know his name. It wasn't as special as hers or even her husband's, but he just wanted to hear her say it once in his lifetime.

Erwyn.

It meant friend of the sea and he would always be the friend that Nixie could count on.