By the Sea

Adelaine sat at the edge of a cliff, feet dangling over the water. The sun was shining, gulls were soaring, and Seamus was by her side. He'd used up the last of his supply of Floo Powder to visit her in Scarborough.

"Oi, I could sure get used ta this," he sighed, kicking back. "Why don' ye like it here?"

"I love it here," she assured him. "I'm just not fond of the company.."

"Righ', yer cousin," he nodded, squinting in the light. "Guessin' I won' be meetin' her, eh?"

"Definitely not," Adele shook her head, leaning back. "You don't want to. You're comfortable at the inn, though, aren't you?"

"Aye, it beats me home in Ireland," he smiled.

They laid back on the cool grass and stared up at the sky. Adele was back at the Armand fortress for the rest of the summer, it seemed. The thought didn't excite her in the least; Em had been driving her insane. The only bit of happiness she'd had was the owl from Seamus. His father was back home and, needless to say, he needed a break.

"So are you sure you can't come back next year?" she asked, nudging him.

"Unless me da' leaves, looks like it," he said sadly. "Oi, did you here tat? Sounded like footsteps.."

Adelaine couldn't have been more excited to see Marigold; the only thing that could make her day even brighter was if the rest of their group was there.

"You have no idea how awful it's been since Hogsmeade," she explained, leaning back against a boulder. "I've been so lonely."

"Oi, so 'ave I," Seamus decreed. "Reckon most of us 'ave."

"Marigold, you know my cousin, Emmanuelle," she reminded her friend. "I told you about her....the one from France? The she-devil?"

"Righ', ta one who makes yer life mis'rable, yeah?" Seamus assumed, scratching his head.

"That's the one," Adele grumbled. "So, what sort of mischief do the two of you want to get into while you're here? I'm pretty sure I know this land like the back of my hand, but adventures may await around ever corner."

"Count us in!" a familiar voice said. Adele jumped at the sound of it, then grinned as Peyton and Gavin stepped out from the shadows of the trees.

Adelaine grinned as everyone appeared. Nearly the whole group was there! Her breath caught in her throat, though, as she looked at Symon, then back at Seamus. I can’t believe I’m in this situation again, she thought grimly. Liking two boys at once...and one being her betrothed. She had an Arya-like thought and wanted to kick something.

“How long have you been in Scarborough, Adele?” Symon asked, catching up to her as they walked. “I was actually here a couple weeks ago, I met your cousin.”

“I’m sure that was pleasant,” she said, almost laughing.

“It was interesting, to say the least,” he shrugged, and she wondered what the story was.

“I have an idea for an adventure,” Finn shouted from the back of the group, raising his hand.

“Let’s have it, then,” Gavin prompted.

“Is it a tour o’ Rockfort?” Seamus asked, half-sarcastically.

“No. I’ve been perfecting my Bubble Head charm,” the Hufflepuff explained. “Maybe we could go for a swim?”

“Yes!” Peyton shouted, surprising them all. He blushed. “What? I’ve always wanted to pet a dolphin..”

The group stopped by the well in the town center as they reached the inn, and waited for Marigold to do her business.

Adelaine walked ahead of Jacob and Marigold and couldn't help but overhear their conversation. What the bloody hell had happened in Germany? Marigold hadn't been the same since she'd been back, and she wouldn't talk about the trip at all. Perhaps if Adele could get her alone somehow...

"Scarborough is lovely," Gavin said, a bit surprised.

"It is," Adele nodded, gazing at the sea. "Peyton, I think I see some dolphins in the distance!"

"Where?!" he exclaimed, squinting and shading his eyes from the sun.

Seamus took his arm and pulled him out a bit further, pointing to the pod of dolphins a few yards out. Finn waded over to them and motioned for everyone to come together. He performed the Bubble Head Charm on each of them. They all looked so funny that none of them could stop giggling and pointing.

"Alright, let's do this!" Peyton shouted, though the sound was muffled.

Adele let herself sink to the sea floor, and she gasped. Thanks to the bubble of air, she could see everything the way mermaids must see it. It was incredible! An entire world just under the surface. Colors seemed brighter, and everything looked like it was moving in slow motion. Just beside her a school of tiny fish swam lazily with current.

Adelaine was absolutely loving this. Who knew a whole new world awaited them just under the surface? While the lads tried to wrangle in a dolphin, she looked around. Noticing something glinting on the sea floor, she swam down and approached it cautiously. It could be buried treasure, the locket of some old queen...

"EEK!" she screamed as the glittering object popped up out of the sand and swam away. Once her heart rate calmed, she realized what it was. "A flounder. Settle down, Adele."

"Oy, Adele!" Seamus called her over, his voice muffled. "We need ye ta make a decision."

"What is it?" she kicked and shot over to the group.

"That over there's a mermaid village," Gavin explained, pointing to a cluster of rocky hills covered in colorful plants and algae.

"Do we risk a painful demise and go exploring?" Symon asked, only half sarcastic.

Everyone looked at her, and she sighed. She hated these situations. With a shrug, she headed over to the mountains, and the boys whooped happily. As they reached the village, the group lined up behind a wall and peered over. Adele expected to see mermaids everywhere, swimming amongst the fish and dolphins, but...

"It's like a ghost town," she muttered. The place was totally abandoned.

"I feel like we say this a lot, but..something isn't right," Gavin said quietly.

"Let's go back," Symon said suddenly. "This is too dangerous."

"What if there are others here?" Gavin asked, looking around. "We just leave them to their fate?"

"Symon's right," Jacob agreed. "Whatever took out this village...we're no match for it."

Disheartened, the group resurfaced and paddled back to shore. Adele wrung out her hair and sat on a flat boulder.

"You know," she begain, the Ravenclaw in her coming out.
"We technically should have been using the term merpeople or merfolk. Mermaid just refers to the females."

The lads booed her and shook their heads, and she laughed apologetically. As the group sunbathed for a bit, Adele noticed something in the distance. A horse grazing by a tide pool. It was beautiful in an eerie way. Gray as a storm cloud, with the oddest mane. It almost looked to be made of bullrush. In a daze, Adelaine stood and walked toward it, a smile on her face. It was harmless. The horse met her eye as she approached and she ran her hand along his nose.

"Adele, get back here," Seamus said behind her, deathly serious. He'd followed her. "Now."

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" she said snidely, shooing him away.

If she'd been in her right mind, and not so entranced, she would have noted the tone in his voice and the fear-stricken yet determined look on his face, and the wand in his hand. But she wasn't. So Adele quickly jumped on the horse's back and realized far too late what she'd done.

"No!" Seamus yelled, running to stop her.

The horse began to grow. Not only did it get larger, it got longer. She snapped out of her trance and tried desperately to dismount, but she was stuck to the beast!

"Help!" Seamus was calling to the others. "Kelpie!!"

Her lovely horse was now a giant serpent with a horse's head and legs. The coat changed into mud-colored scales. The horse turned to look at her, and it smiled. Sneered. Its teeth were razor sharp and its eyes glowed red. Adele just barely had time to think 'This is how my life is going to end,' when it slithered into the water.

((OOC: If we were being realistic, Adele would be a goner by the time the brooms arrived lol. Also, I'm gonna pretend that little flap of kelpie skin you left on her nether-region is no longer there.))

Adele was barely conscious, but she was well aware of everything going on around her. Marigold was trying her best to revive her, and she heard loud splashing, which must have been the sea serpent leaping out of the water. She heard Seamus and Peyton next to her shouting hexes. The rest of the boys seemed to be over the ocean somehow, but she couldn't think of a way unless they called on their brooms. Finally, the kelpie's scream in the distance woke her.

"Bloody hell," she gasped, sitting up and coughing. "Get away from it!"

"They gotta kill it, Addie," Seamus said, out of breath. "Glad yer up, by ta way!"

"Crucio!" she heard Finn shout, and the kelpie writhed in pain.

The sound made Adele grimace. She fumbled around for her wand and stood, a bit wobbly.

"Langlock!" she yelled, and the serpent's tongue was glued to the roof of its mouth, stopping it from baring its teeth.

"Immobulus!" Jacob bellowed, just barely missing.

The kelpie swung its tail up out of the water and smacked Jacob to the shore, and he hit the sand with a hard thud.

Adele noticed the tear falling down Marigold's cheek and actually felt a small surge of anger. That thing was pure evil. It nearly killed all of them, nearly ripped the flesh off her bones, and Marigold was crying for it?

"Should we...inform the authorities?" Gavin asked. "In case there are more?"

The lads chatted about that for a bit, while Finn and Symon flew in. They were sopping wet, bruised, and scratched up. Symon immediately came over to Adelaine and hugged her tight, while Seamus looked on, a bit heartsick at the sight. No one else seemed to notice them hugging, but she was flustered anyway at such a public display.

"Of all the things we've been through," Peyton started to say.

"This was definitely the worst," Finn finished.

"Kinda prepares ye for ta real world, though, don't it?" Seamus shrugged. "Not everythin' is a supervised school lesson."

"Got that right," Symon said, not seeing the glare Seamus shot him.

"Look at the water," Adele grimaced, staring out at the sea.

"Blood," Finn frowned, looking away.

They all glanced at one another, not quite sure what to say. Of course, they were all extremely exhausted. Without a word, they began to walk along the coast, toward Rockfort.

"At least we saw dolphins," Peyton muttered.

Adelaine sighed as the sun showed the first signs of setting. They'd only been out for a short time, but so much had happened. Even after a whole year with this crew, she wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to being in peril.

"So, where we off ta now?" Seamus asked, though his face didn't match the excitement in his voice.

"The inn," Gavin said firmly.

"Home," Finn added.

"A bath," Peyton suggested, blushing when everyone turned to look at him.

The group carried on, and Adele figured she'd see them as far as the town center. It wasn't exactly on the way to the castle from the coast, but she was dreading going back to Emmy. (Little did she know that Marigold would be visiting a week from today).

"Well, here you are," she said as they arrived at the inn.

"I guess this is goodbye again," Finn mused sadly.

"Only until the tourney," Symon reminded him.

"Right, only two weeks away," Gavin grinned.

"Lady Adelaine?"

Adele turned her head so quickly it hurt. Mary was standing by the well, a basket hanging on her arm. Oh, bloody hell, she thought, trying to come up with some clever excuse.

"Mary, yes, hi, um," she stuttered, thinking fast. "I was just, uh.."

"It's my fault, dear Mary," Symon spoke up, putting on his most noble air. "I asked Lady Adelaine to meet me here, I seem to have forgotten my way to the castle. We were just getting fresh horses."

"Oh, of course, m'lord," Mary nodded, bowing slightly. She stood there, not knowing what to do.

"Um, we'll come with you, Mary," Adele said.

Symon gestured to Finn, and he ran to the nearest stables for four horses. When they came back, Adele whispered goodbye to her friends and waved, and the foursome took off toward Rockfort.