When Grindylows Attack

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Special Thanks to ancientgirl, who was a big help in the pearl scene! And a huge heartfelt, thanks as always, to my wonderful Beta June. I apologize for the delay in updates, but the good news is that the cancer biopsy came out negative! Next chapter will be much sooner - and we'll see what's happening back on land.

Chapter 6 - When Grindylows Attack

Surrounded by grindylows, Severus moved fast, but not fast enough. As he shouted for Hermione to wake up and held Coral tightly in one arm, with his other arm, he lowered his trident-wand and prepared to battle. He shot forth several disarming spells, but there were too many grindylows. He felt several of them scratching at his body, clawing at his arms, trying to steal Coral from him.

Hermione frantically struggled to free herself from her plant. She stopped only to give out a strangled cry when a grindylow wrapped his arms around her neck and squeezed hard.

Monito cackled manically as he squeezed the mermaid's neck. From what Khai had said, she was a witch, and if there was one thing Monito didn't like, it was witches.

Severus – an excellent duelist on land and in water – easily finished off several of his attackers before turning to face a new one.

"Give us the child," growled Boris, the largest grindylow in front of him.

Severus, who was within inches from his face, head-butted Boris and sent him flying.

"Break their fingers, Miss Granger!" roared Severus angrily. "Did Lupin teach you nothing in that DADA class of his?"

Hermione quickly recovered from her shock and snapped back the fingers compressing her windpipe. The audible crack and cry of her capturer made her feel good, as the grindylow swam off screaming in pain. Clutching her throat and freeing herself from her plant, she moved forward to help Severus and Coral.

He quickly tossed her the baby and began swimming in a protective circle surrounding them, firing off spells as he moved. The grindylows were slowly realizing this was no average merman they were up against, and the injured ones quickly swam off. Severus continued battling with the few left surrounding them.

Hermione gave out a cry as one grindylow went for her neck again, and she nearly dropped Coral.

Severus swooped the end of his trident-wand around and caught the bottle bag with it. Then he quickly dispatched the water demon around Hermione's neck.

"Put her in here!" shouted Severus, handing her the bag. "She'll be safer."

Hermione quickly obeyed and settled Coral in, pulling the strap of the bag shut tight. Hermione turned her attentions to the remaining grindylows attacking Severus, and she fought with as much strength as she could muster, while the bottle bag with Coral in it bounced on her shoulder.

She and Severus were doing a good job pushing back the grindylows, when Khai attacked them. Taking advantage of Hermione's grapple with one of the water demons, he snatched the bag off her shoulder. Hermione shrieked.

Severus swung from battle and swam after them. He lowered his trident-wand and leveled a disabling blast at the grindylow.

Khai gave out a sickening grunt before unconsciousness overtook him. The bottle bag with Coral fell from his slack grip and floated towards the lake floor.

As Severus dove for Coral, a streak of blue flashed by him and went straight towards Hermione, who was still fighting off the remaining grindylows. A huge roaring sound rippled through the waters toward the grindylows. Hermione covered her ears and ducked as the blue fish chased on after the others.

Severus made sure there was no more imminent danger of attack, then grabbed the bag and pulled out a now sobbing Coral into his arms. Hermione recovered from her shock and turned back towards Severus and the baby.

"Coral," she cried out. "Severus... Coral, is she okay?"

Severus quickly examined the merbaby carefully for any harm. "She appears to be well," he said, handing the shrieking child over to her. "Just in need of you, I suspect."

Hermione took the crying child and did her best to soothe her. "Oh, Coral, oh, Coral, my poor little baby," she cried. "It's okay, it's okay. You're safe," she said, partially to Coral and partially to reassure herself.

Coral cried almost inconsolably. The same scary things that had taken her away from her parents had come after her again. They had tried to snatch her right out from "Daddy Big Nose's" arms, and had made "Mummy 'Mione" cry. It had frightened her beyond her capacity of coping.

"Where did the blue fish go?" Severus asked as he swam about in an agitated way. He seemed ready for attack again at any moment.

"It went that way," Hermione said, nodding to a point just beyond them.

Severus looked warily in the direction the fish had gone.

"What was it?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure," said Severus. "But it seems to have worked in our favor. That thrum sound he made seemed to have driven off the water demons."

"Shhh, shhh, Coral" Hermione tried to soothe the frightened child still sobbing in her arms. "Your Aunty Hermione and Uncle Severus will keep you safe. We won't let those bad grindylows hurt you." She snatched a bottle from the nearby bag and popped it into Coral's mouth.

Coral looked nervously from "Mummy 'Mione" to "Daddy Big Nose." He was scowling in the direction the loud fish had gone in. She wasn't sure if she was safe or not.

"Severus. Say something to her," Hermione hissed, nodding in Coral's direction.

Severus looked in her direction and raised an eyebrow. "Aunty Hermione and Uncle Severus?" he said questioningly.

"Yes, well, we have to call ourselves something to her... and... it doesn't matter. Just say something to her Severus. She's scared. I can feel her trembling in my arms," Hermione pleaded.

Severus moved over closer to the baby and peered into her frightened eyes. He felt truly sorry for the babe. She'd been through so much; the grindylow attack would have frightened adults, and she was only a helpless baby. As he gazed deeply into her eyes, he saw the pain and fear within.

"It's alright, Coral," he spoke calmly but with authority. "You are safe now."

Coral stared back into the dark inky black eyes of "Daddy Big Nose." She almost felt as if he could see and feel her pain and fear. His deep strong voice was oddly calming, and his words seemed more a command than a request, which made her feel safe once more. She closed her fingers tightly around one of his and began suckling once more on the bottle. It too was giving her some comfort.

Hermione looked at Severus in surprise and amazement. It was hard for her to believe this once hardened man, who so strictly taught her while at Hogwarts, could be so caring and kind to the young little merbabe.

He removed his finger gently from the nursing girl and turned to look Hermione in the eye. He seemed to be seeking something from her, and he almost looked as if he thought she were about to tease him for his behavior.

Instead she smiled broadly and kindly at him. "Thank you, Severus. That was really very kind."

Severus cleared his throat. "I am not without kindness in my heart. Especially when it concerns an innocent young merbaby."

Coral watched the two of them from her vantage point in Hermione's arms. "Daddy Big Nose" and "Mummy 'Mione" were moving closer to one another. They were gazing into each other's eyes the way her own parents used to. She was certain something was about to happen when she saw the loud fish again.

Severus was just lowering his lips to Hermione's when he saw the blue fish streaking back towards them. He swung swiftly to his left and blocked the fish's way, standing protectively before Hermione and the baby. Nothing was going to get to his mate and baby, he thought to himself.

Philippe took one look at Severus's defensive stance and pointy trident and knew he'd better keep his distance.

"Do not hurt me, great merwizard from above," Philippe said, doing his best to bow before Severus. "I serve the same one as you, and have only come to help."

"And who is that?" asked Severus curiously.

"Why, I serve the great Dumbledore," said Philippe. "It is on his orders that I am here. He has sent me to protect you, your mate and your baby."

Severus frowned and stared at him more intently, doing his best to see if the blue fish was telling the truth. Would Legilimency work on a fish?

Philippe squirmed a bit under the stare of the dark merwizard before him. Had Dumbledore not prepared him for just such a thing, he probably would have swam away as fast as his fins could take him. He felt his brain being probed and searched.

At last, Severus broke his gaze away from him. "He speaks the truth," he said to himself and Hermione. "The fish is friends with Dumbledore, who sent him here to protect us."

"Yes, yes, to your mate you will listen," Philippe said to Hermione eagerly.

Hermione frowned. "What's all this 'mate' talk?"

"You are his mate, are you not?" asked Philippe innocently.

Hermione felt herself blush all over. "Well..." she started to say, but Severus quickly interrupted

"You came here to help or ask questions?" he asked, glaring dangerously at the fish.

"I'm here to help," said Philippe, nervous once again. He'd seen the dark merwizard in action now and was fearful of his anger. "I've taken care of the remaining grindylows. They won't be back. And we are not that far from the mervillage; it's only an hour or so away."

"Be that as it may, we have a rather upset merbaby here and are in need of some sustenance ourselves before we can travel again," said Severus. "You are certain the grindylows will not return?"

"Of that I can assure you," said Philippe.

"Very well then. You stay here with Hermione and the baby, and I shall get us something to eat," Severus said.

"Do you need some help?" Philippe said, swimming up closer to Severus. "What exactly are you looking for?"

Severus arched his brow and smirked at Philippe. "I was hoping to find some more fish."

And with that and a great swish of his tail, Severus swam off, leaving a quaking fish in his wake.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Severus had meant to find some more of the tasty fish he had eaten last night, but was not as fortunate as he had been before. He had not found a single one as of yet. He didn't want to take too long in his search for sustenance. Although the noisy blue fish was guarding Hermione and the baby, he still didn't like being away from them. Still, he knew Hermione must be particularly hungry. An hour's swim was an hour's swim, and they would both need some nourishment.

He had searched this area once before and was just about to go back when he saw something on the lake floor. A grin came over his face as he swooped down to gather their breakfast.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Thank you so much again," Hermione said to Philippe. "It was very brave of you to come to our aid like that."

"Oh, you are quite welcome, Miss," Philippe said, blushing and smiling at her. He was just about to move in closer to her when Severus returned. Philippe quickly swam out of Severus's reach.

"What did you find?" Hermione asked curiously.

Severus turned over both of his hands, revealing their meal.

"Oysters." Hermione gasped.

"I thought it might be more agreeable to you than fish," Severus said.

"Oh, Severus... Thank you," she said excitedly and took one quickly from his hand.

Severus was mildly amused. "I hadn't actually thought how we would open them yet," he started to say, but soon stopped.

Hermione was banging the oyster she had taken from him on the side of a nearby rock. It was soon broken open, and she swallowed the contents down quickly.

The sexual innuendo was not lost upon Severus. He remained frozen in place as he imagined other things that she might devour not quite so quickly. An odd squeak was the only sound he made when she turned to him and asked if he had anymore. It was a gentle nudge from Philippe that brought him back to his senses.

"Of course I have more," Severus said as he handed her the remaining oysters. He stared after her wistfully, happy to have finally provided a food that his mate found satisfying.

It seemed all too soon to Hermione that the oysters Severus had given her were gone. She'd never tasted anything quite so good. She'd had oysters a few times with her parents when they went on seaside holidays, but never had they tasted quite so delicious. She began to wonder with regret if Severus's fish from the other evening had tasted even half as good.

Severus managed to drag his eyes away from his feasting mermaid for a moment to check on Coral. He saw that she was sleeping peacefully, snuggled in the cocoon of the bottle bag and anchored to a nearby plant.

He decided more oysters were needed and turned to hunt for more. 'And maybe I should eat some myself, since she has eaten everything I'd brought back for the two of us,' he thought. He returned rather quickly only to find Hermione devouring her last one.

"Have you brought more?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes," he said, handing them over to her, but he kept one hand mysteriously hidden – not easy to do, when a merman has no robes to hide under, not even a pocket.

"What have you got in your other hand?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Nothing," he said nonchalantly.

Hermione raised her eyebrow at him. "Nothing?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said again, this time with a bit of a roguish smile.

Hermione smiled. "Let me see," she begged as she began swimming around him.

But Severus was too quick, and he turned around each time she came near him.

"Hold still, will you," said Hermione, now clearly agitated. He was hiding something from her. Perhaps it was something more to eat.

"How curious you are, Miss Granger," he said as he whipped his tail up and now around her, holding her slightly away from him.

Hermione froze. His tail wrapped itself around her waist delicately, yet she felt its strength.

"Do you want to see what I have?" asked Severus. His voice had a melodic quality to it now, as though he were hypnotizing her.

Hermione's own tail swayed beneath her, and her hair framed her upper body and curled itself around her lovely breasts.

"Please, Severus, show me."

He pulled her towards him and brought his hands from behind his back, revealing a large partly opened oyster.

Hermione looked at it curiously; then she looked at him.

"Take it," he said, offering her the oyster.

Hermione took the oyster in one hand and opened the top to reveal one single perfect black pearl. She felt her hands shaking.

"For me?" she asked in wonder.

"If you wish, yes," he said simply.

"It's lovely, thank you." She moved towards him and gently kissed him on the cheek.

Severus felt the heat of her kiss on his cheek and raised his wand, pointing it at Hermione. A few whispered words and the pearl soon had a gold chain to go along with it. He moved behind her and fastened it about her neck, and then moved away to admire the sight. The chain rested easily right along the curve of her neck, the pearl dipping into her bosom. Severus drew in a deep breath through his gills.

"Oh, it's beautiful," Philippe said, breaking the moment. He swam quickly over to Hermione, admiring her new gift.

Severus sighed, but took this opportunity to check on Coral. He moved to where she was sleeping in the bottle bag. A heaviness came over his heart. He knew they were near the mervillage and would soon be returning her to her family. Never before had he felt the love that he did for this child. She had given him a taste of what fatherhood could be – something he had suspected he would never have. He quietly pulled another pearl from the shell he was still holding. This one was a match to the one Hermione was wearing, only much smaller. With the same whispered incantation, a small gold chain appeared and he fastened it around Coral's neck.

"So you will remember me," he whispered to her.

"Are we ready to go Severus?" Hermione asked as he moved away from the child.

"Yes," he said.

"I feel so much better now that I've eaten," she said, and smiled at him. "Thank you so much for the oysters."

"You are very welcome, Hermione," he said, squeezing her shoulder as he moved by her.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It wasn't long before they were on their way again. Severus and Philippe took the lead with Hermione and the baby following along.

"So tell me, Philippe, how did you come to be this way?" asked Severus. "I have never before heard of a talking fish."

Philippe gave a sigh. "It's a bit hard to believe," he said. "And it happened so many years ago. You see, I was once a student at Hogwarts."

"Certainly not while I was there," said Severus.

"Oh, no," said Philippe. "It was a long time before that. I was in my fifth year, and I had a strong desire to be an Anigamus. I cannot describe the feelings I had. I just felt I was supposed to be so much more than an average wizard. Anyhow, I was wandering the corridors one night after dinner and was thinking just that. Imagine my surprise when I found a doorway to a room that had a book with all I could want to know about becoming an Anigamus. I was so excited! After that, I practiced every night, although I did not succeed. At first, I tried to in my dorm room, but eventually, there were too many questions, too many interruptions. So I began to practice down by the lake."

"I find it hard to believe that nobody knew of this," Severus interjected. "Was not your Head of House in the least bit suspicious?"

"Well, I doubt my Head of House even knew," said Philippe. "However, I did catch the attentions of my Transfiguration teacher, Professor Dumbledore. I think he suspected something. And thank heavens he did. Just as I was beginning to believe I'd never get that spell right... I did."

Severus noticed the fish seemed slightly wistful.

"I can tell you no one was more surprised than myself when I turned into a fish. I was very glad I was so near the lake. I was able to flip myself into the water with little trouble. But once there, I wasn't sure what to do. I swam for a bit, but kept near the shore. And although I tried, I could not for the life of me turn back to my human form. Perhaps I should have read that particular spell before I attempted the other," he said somewhat humorously to Severus.

Severus raised his eyebrows at him and said quietly, "Perhaps that would have been the wise thing to do, Philippe."

"Well, I swam for most of the night and the next day," Philippe continued. "I was hopeful that someone would notice I was missing, or perhaps find the book by the lake and realize what I had done. I didn't have to wait too long before Dumbledore came looking for me. As I expected, he knew what I was up to."

The Slytherin could relate to that; the Headmaster knew about almost everything at Hogwarts.

"Oh, what a talking to I got then," Philippe said with a faraway look in his eyes. "And although he did his best to help me, there was just no turning me back. It wasn't the normal Transfiguration spell."

"Dumbledore was unable to make use of the book?" asked Severus, somewhat surprised.

"Oh, the book! That disappeared," said Philippe.

"Disappeared?" asked Severus, as they continued swimming.

"Yes", said Philippe. "Although he searched and searched the shore for it, Dumbledore was never able to find it."

"And so you've been a fish ever since?" asked Severus, horrified. Dumbledore had last been a teacher more than forty years ago; no wonder Philippe was more fish-like than human.

"Yes," said Philippe, but upon seeing the look on Severus's face, he quickly added, "It's not as bad as you think. Really! Once you get here in the lake, you realize just how nice life in the water is."

Severus looked at him doubtfully.

"Honestly, it is," said Philippe earnestly. "Your food is free and plentiful; there is no stress like on land. You needn't worry about money or the troubles of the world above. When I first got here, I was barely sixteen years old, and I felt very frightened and alone. Then I realized it was a chance to be the one thing I'd always wanted: to be an animal and live in peace with nature. It was a chance to reinvent myself. You see, on land, as a human, I was always quite timid and shy. Once here, I realized that I had a gift. That loud thrumming noise you heard me make before – it is my defense, something not many fish in this lake have. I've used that thrum before, more than once. It has helped save myself and those I love down here – and yes, I've found love as a fish. In time, I began to make friends with the other fish here. There were very few I could talk to, but eventually, I found my way and we became friends."

"But don't you miss your family?" asked Severus.

Philippe looked rather sad for the first time. "It was such a long time ago, I'm sure they have forgotten about me now. I try not to think of them. When I realized I could never go back to human form, I asked Professor Dumbledore to tell my family that I had met with an accident. I did not want them to see me like this; I was afraid they would take me home with them and put me in a glass bowl."

Severus swam for a bit in the uncomfortable silence. He felt badly for Philippe. The fish really did look sad.

Philippe suddenly brightened up. "But I still hear from Dumbledore, who arranged a way for us to talk. And..." He seemed hesitant. "I have my own mate down here. She's a wonderful fish. We have spawned many times." He blushed a fishy pink color.

Severus's eyebrows disappeared up into his forehead. "You have?" he said in great surprise.

"Yes," said Philippe. "See those fish over there?"

Severus looked at a small school of fish going by. "Yes."

"Those are mine," Philippe said rather proudly.

Severus looked surprised. There must have been twenty rather grown fish in the group. "They are all yours?"

"Yes, watch this," said Philippe. He called to the group, "Hey, you lot over there. Who's your father?"

The school of fish stopped for a moment, and all eyes turned upon them.

"FATHER!" cried the fish, and they all swarmed about them.

Severus stopped short as they were surrounded by a mini-whirlwind of fish.

Hermione and the baby swam up next to him. Coral squealed in delight as she watched the fish swim about. She reached out to them, trying to grab them, but they each swam just out of her reach playfully.

Philippe greeted each fish individually and with much joy.

"What is the word in the lake?" he asked the largest and apparently oldest fish in the bunch.

"The grindylows have been captured, Father. They are being held captive in the mervillage until they are able to have a trial. It is rumored that they will be banished from the lake forever, to dry land." He added, "We were just patrolling the lake as you had asked. So far there has been no more trouble."

"Well, that is good... good news," said Philippe. "Keep up the good work, my son," he said, patting him on the side with his fin. "Now, on your way!" he shouted to all of them. "Mind your brother, and remember what I always told you about safety in numbers."

With a rousing chorus of love and goodbyes, the school of fish continued on their way.

Philippe was beaming with pride from head to tail.

"You see," he said to Severus as they began to swim again. "It's not so bad here. Who knows, you may just decide to stay yourself." The blue fish turned a knowing eye from Severus to Hermione and Coral behind him.

Severus followed his glance and was momentarily speechless.. Then, just as he was about to say something to Philippe, Hermione gave a startled cry.

"Oh, look!" she said, pointing in front of them. "It's the mervillage!"

~*~*~*~*~*

Philippe's story was greatly inspired by the wonderful movie, "The Incredible Mr. Limpet", starring Don Knotts. I saw this movie when I was very young and it's been a favorite of mine ever since. It was probably one of the first movies to combine cartoons and live action. You can read more about the movie here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058230/ Enjoy!