(1) Patrimony (H. Potter)

Chapter Eighteen

Viktor's eyes watch Rhiannon where she stands amongst her books, a few items of clothing, a towel, and the golden egg. Attila sat, his eyes on her too. The two of them have no idea what she is doing out here.

"Why are we awake so early?" Viktor asks as he leans against a tree, ready to fall asleep again. Rhiannon throws her shirt at him, covering his face, he reaches up and pulls it off.

"You didn't have to come with me" She counters as she shuffles her trousers down her legs. Underneath, she wears a red and brown Durmstrang swimsuit. He shrugs a little against the tree. 

"What are we doing here?" He counters. She picks up the golden egg.

"This" She answers. "I think it's something to do with the merfolk," She tells him. "Who live underwater, so...if I open the egg in the water...."

"You will be able to understand it?" He asks her, she shrugs.

"That's what I am going to find out" She moves to the edge of the lake and takes a deep breath before she picks up the golden egg. Viktor leans up from the tree and moves closer when she dives into the dark water.

.............

Rhiannon floats in the murky water, her fingers coming up to unlatch the egg. It falls open and instead of the wail she heard on land, now, she hears beautiful siren music. She smiles. Knowing she got it right.

"Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground. An hour-long you'll have to look, to recover what we took." The egg sings to her. She closes it and then swims upwards.

.............

Viktor wraps her towel around Rhiannon when she climbs out of the lake. She shakes out her hair a little and sets the egg back on the ground

"Well?" He asks her when she takes over holding the towel.

"Come seek us where our voices sound. We cannot sing above the ground. An hour-long you'll have to look, to recover what we took." She repeats for him.

"So you just need to find a spell that allows you..." He starts.

"To hold my breath underwater for an hour, yeah" She finishes for him.

"What about runes?" He counters. "Is there one for water breathing?"

"No" She whispers. "I've not come across one anyway, and there aren't many books, I doubt Hogwarts have any......" She pulls her knees up to her chest as she thinks. "But there has to be something else...Oo" She turns to him. "Transfiguration" She offers, her mind already going a million miles an hour. "Maybe there is one that I can use to turn me into a mermaid? Or a...dolphin....or some form of water animal...like a kelpie?" She hums a little.

"That's NEWT level spells, Rhian" Viktor points out.

"So?" She asks. "I can do it with enough practice and planning......I'm going to dry off and then head to the library"

"Can I come with you?" He asks, she smirks a little.

"Because Hermione spends most of her time in there? Or because you actually want to help me?" She teases, he gives her a look and she just smirks back at him.

......................

Rhiannon takes a book from the shelf and smiles seeing the cover. A very beautiful sketch of a hippocampus is there, pride of place and the title of the book; A Comprehensive Guide to Water Human-Transfigurations. She vibrates slightly with excitement. Transfiguration is one of her favourite classes. Always has been. Maybe she liked the idea of being someone or something else. To escape who she is. But she's good at it. As she is with most, if not all, of her other classes. She glances over to find Viktor watching Hermione study, but she doesn't exactly seem all that happy about it. Rhiannon smiles though watching them. It's sweet. She takes a breath and looks down at the book. She hopes this works.

..................

Days later: Rhiannon paces the Durmstrang's view tower, her eyes locked on the transfiguration book in her hand, she is getting in some last-minute preparing. She knows what happens when transfiguration spells go wrong. Attila happens. Maybe. They still don't know exactly what he is. But still. She has to get this right, or she is going to be stuck. She sees Harry join the Gryffindor platform, she then disappears in a burst of Mist before reappearing at his side, scaring some of those gathered, Harry looks at her.

"You haven't passed Viktor on your way down here, have you?" She asks him.

"No, sorry, Rhiannon" Harry answers. She groans and throws her head back.

"He's said he'd be here" She sighs and looks around.

"I'm sure he will be," Harry tells her. "Come on, he wouldn't miss this..." She lets out a breath and looks at him.

"Yeah" She whispers.

"Grindelwald" Karkaroff snaps and nods to where she is supposed to be standing, she rolls her eyes and looks at Harry.

"Good luck," She tells him.

"You too" He offers, she nods and then disappears again. Harry waves his hand through the smokey Mist that lingers. Can see Rhiannon appearing on the other platform and Karkaroff scolding her. Rhiannon closes her eyes as she takes a few deep breaths. She clutches to her wand, nervous, reciting the spell over and over in her head. Just to make sure she gets it right. She's only successfully done this spell once. Once. She was hoping for more before now but it is what it is.

"Your attention please" Dumbledore states, Rhiannon jerks a little surprised, she turns though to listen. "Welcome to the second task. Last night something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the black lake. In order to win each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough. Except for this, they will have one hour to do so and one hour only. After that, they'll be on their own" Moody leans closer to Harry and motions to the gilliweed in his hand.

"Put that in your mouth." He orders. Harry puts the gilliweed in his mouth and starts choking.

"You may begin at the start of the cannon." Dumbledore motions with his hand. The cannon fires and the champions enter the water, three of them dive in while Harry is pushed. Underwater the effects of gilliweed take hold, Harry's hands and feet become webbed. Harry then flies into the air like a dolphin and the crowd cheer. He dives back down and glances around for the others. He glances to his left. Several yards away, Rhiannon's body shimmers in the water. She glances at him as her body shifts and swells. Suddenly, a hippocampus floats in her place. A strange combination of horse and fish with glistening scales and rainbow coloured tail-fins. She turns, body agile and graceful, cutting through the water with ease and swims straight past him. Harry watches her go, a look of complete awe in his eyes.