The Green Siren

Chapter 15

Draco and Harry were on an atoll of sorts, standing on the sand. The atoll was a narrow beach of fine, white sand in the middle of the ocean. Standing there, Draco felt nervous. The water was a deep, beautiful blue and got clearer as it neared the sand. Harry had rowed them there from the Siren, which had dropped the anchor further out. Draco could see it against the horizon. The atoll was on the way to Asylo and despite Draco's reluctance, Harry and Luna had insisted that they practice shifting again.

"This honestly isn't necessary," Draco said, for the third time.

Harry shot him an unamused look. "You're the one who demanded I bring you along on this mission. I guarantee the fact that you're a siren has something to do with this, so if you truly want to be of help, you'll learn to control it."

Ever since the meeting with the Order, Harry had been different. Not quite sulky, but he was moodier than before. Draco found himself wondering about Harry often. About his past, about what had happened between he and James, about who his mother was and why they would find her on some island.

It had been a while since Draco had thought Harry to be despicable, but it had always been a truth in the back of his head: Harry wasn't one of the good guys. He was a pirate. He did whatever he wanted, damn the consequences, and he was perhaps the best and most feared pirate out there. It was difficult for Draco to reconcile the fearsome Captain Potter the rest of the world knew with the determined Harry who was now going on a voyage to try and stop Voldemort from doing harm.

"You're going to actually swim today," Harry informed him.

Draco shot him a bemused look. "Is that wise?"

"You know how to shift now without much pain, which means your body is getting used to it. Now you must control the part of your mind that contains your siren instincts." Harry's thin white shirt and messy hair were blowing in the wind. His kohl-lined green eyes glimmered against the ocean. "I'll talk and just try to hang on to my voice so you don't let yourself slip away, all right?"

"This idea is insane."

"My best ones usually are."

Half of Draco was terrified to touch the water and the other half was desperate to. He felt at war with himself and took a deep breath, realizing he just needed to trust Harry. Grey eyes met green.

"What if I lose control?" Draco asked quietly. "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"Don't think about that," Harry said firmly. "Just focus on my voice and you'll be fine."

Draco exhaled slowly as he walked into the water. The waves swept up onto the sand, then receded, a calming pattern. It washed over his legs and made his skin tingle. Once he got up to his waist, he turned to look at Harry.

"Start talking," he advised. "I'm about to dive under."

Instantly, a dark and alluring song fell from Harry's lips. It was low and seemed to echo off the sea, off each one of his pores. It sounded like the wind and the waves and the water and the blood pumping through his veins and he never wanted to hear another sound in his entire life. Draco closed his eyes and let himself truly listen to what Harry was saying.

"Focus on my voice, you can do this."

Taking one last deep breath, Draco dove beneath the next wave. Unlike the first couple of times he had shifted, it felt like a shiver. As he had grown accustomed to shifting, the excruciating pain had subsided almost completely. In the water, as the waves rolled over him and he swam deeper to accommodate for his tail, he felt that deadly calm slowly start to roll over him. Desperately, he swam higher up toward the surface to listen for Harry's voice.