A Word a Day

Day Seventeen: Swim

Mixing two of my favorite things here! Harry Potter and Disney! cx

:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:++:+:+:+:+:+:+:+:

        A red haired maiden stepped down toward the Great Lake in the light of the full moon. Crickets chirped merrily, and she smiled, hoisting her robes slightly to place her bare feet in the chill water. Little guppies flocked to her feet, and she laughed, discarding her outer robe before treading into deeper water. The farther she went, the more aquatic animals flocked to her, and the more she smiled.

        "Whatever are you doing out here, Miss Triton?"

        Ariel swung around quickly, eyes widening at the sight of the burly woman before her. Long, wiry hair hung from her lopsided head, her face coated with endless sheets of makeup. Ariel flinched, turning to offer the teacher a shaky smile.

        "Professor Divine," Ariel laughed nervously, backing sheepishly into the lake. "I... ah... I was--"

        Divine cocked a trimmed and painted eyebrow at the nervous Gryffindor. "No excuses, Miss Triton. Why are you out of bed and by the lake this late at night? All students are to retire to their dormitories by eleven on school nights."

        Ariel swallowed a lump in her throat, looking down at her feel as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I know, but..."

        "But what? Do you think that  because your daddy is a famous magizoologist that you are somehow exempt from the rules? Because I will be the first to tell you, Miss Triton, that you are most certainly not. What ever was so important that you broke curfew?"

        The girl felt her face reddened as she looked down at her feet, answering the teacher softly. "I was just visiting my friends."

        At this, the Care for Magic Creatures professor laughed out loud, a truly nasty sound, Ariel decided. "Your friends? Do you mean the fish? The giant squid? Are they your friends, Miss Triton?"

        "Well," Ariel started slowly. "There's them... And then there's the merpeople."

        Divine stopped laughing abruptly. She looked at Ariel suspiciously. "The merpeople? Those unfeeling beasts?"

        "Well... Yeah... But they're not unfeeling," Ariel defended them. "I've learned to speak with them, and I think they're highly intelligent. Like centaurs, but in the lake. They tell me they have cities and libraries and schools and families." She stared down into the depths of the lake dreamily. "It's really quite beautiful to think about."

        Divine rolled her eyes. "Miss Triton, I have studied merpeople many times in my years here. They act on instinct, nothing more."

        Ariel just shook her head. "I don't believe that, Professor."

        "Is that right?" Divine said with a small chuckle. "Then I suppose I'll just have to prove it to you, won't I?" The ugly witch took out her wand and pointed it at Ariel, who stumbled back a step.

        "Professor Divine?" she said quickly, fear etched upon her face.

        "Be brave, little Gryffindor," the Slytherin teacher snarled. "I'm allowing you to live among your friends forever."

        Ariel felt herself begin to change. Her nose shrunk and her teeth sharpened. Her hair grew thick, legs coming together in a silver-scaled tail. She fell in shock, letting out a small scream. Her ears grew into points and gills appeared on the side of her neck. That was when she began panicking. She couldn't breath! Divine stood there laughing hysterically. Frightened and sick, Ariel threw herself into the depths, leaving Ursula Divine to her wicked humor.