Under the Stars

| Chapter 12 |

The water was warm and the sun sparkled off it like a giant aquamarine crystal. In the distance, Hermione could see a flat rock pushing itself out of the water. It was completely bare and had this sinister look to it that Hermione had no doubt was the cause of mermaid magic to keep unwanted people away. Theocydes maneuvered the boat toward the island, smoothly placing it beside the rock. Minthe smile back at her husband in the boat house, absolute joy radiating from it. Theocydes mirrored her as he turned the boat engine off and Hermione and Minthe threw ropes onto the island to tie them off. They got off, Hermione carrying her mother's satchel of small picks and tools. Her parents came behind her carrying several large, metal boxes which they placed on the beach before joining Hermione. Minthe took the satchel from her daughter's hands and threw it over her shoulder.

Theocydes took the lead, heading toward the center of the rock. Hermione raised her eyebrow in confusion; she thought that the ancient city they were looking for was in the water behind them and not in the rock they were standing on. Minthe began to speak to her daughter as they made their way behind Hermione's father, "Your father and I stumbled upon this place accidentally. We were... looking," Minthe smiled and tried to hide the small blush crawling up her cheeks, "For a place to stop for lunch after a day of being underwater. We found this place and we noticed that there were strange markings on the ground," Just as she said that, Minthe and Theocydes came to a stop. Hermione looked down at her feet, her parents kneeling down on the ground before her. She followed them, her hands tracing the ruins carved into the stone.

"It's a pictograph," Hermione noted and Minthe nodded. Hermione only took a second more to figure out what the picture was, "It's the seal of Et Aquam in Urbem."

"Yes," Minthe nodded, "That's what we figured it out, too, but we have a problem."

"What?" Hermione looked up at her mother, her father standing behind them.

"We have no idea where the town is," Minthe said, "Clearly, this is not it, but simply a riddle."

Hermione nodded and she stood up so she looked down upon the seal which simply looked like an odd bunch of rocks to a mortal. Her brown eyes zoomed across it as she calculated it, "It's coordinates," she looked up at her father, who was the navigator and muscle and mortal intelligence when it came to these sort of excursions her family took, "See the stones here and here," Hermione pointed to a set of rocks at the top of the seal and at the bottom of the seal, "They aren't part of the seal at all," in Hermione's mind, she could see the flash of a picture of the seal she had seen in a book, "They are Ancient Ruins," Hermione smiled proudly up at her parents.

Minthe looked down at her daughter's observation and her smile broadened, "You are right, they are coordinates. It has been some time since I studied your book, Hermione, but what are the numbers?" Minthe asked. Ever since Hermione came home with her books from Diagon Alley her first year, her mother would practically crawl into Hermione's school chest and live there for weeks. Having grown up in the Muggle world, Minthe never knew the Wizarding one. To further her mother's heart break, Minthe couldn't go to Diagon Alley after Hermione's second year. She and her husband had to keep up their Muggle identities as Jean and Jason Granger while they were in England and Minthe suffered from it whenever they returned to their home as dentist.

"37 ̊ N and 23 ̊ E," Hermione said without even looking down at the seal, "And if my mermaid senses are right," Hermione smirked- a smile that Minthe and Theocydes had never seen on their daughter before, "Which they always are," Hermione joked and Theocydes chuckled at his daughter. She turned to look in the area of the water next to their boat, "That should be about there," she pointed to the spot.

"Alright, so how do we get there?" Theocydes asked as he turned toward the spot.

"We swim, of course."

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The gardens were beautiful as his mother had told him in her letter and he smiled slightly as he walked amongst his grandmothers rose arboretum, honey bees buzzing around him. He shouldered his painting bag and made his way further into the gardens. He finally came across the medium sized lake, golden koi floating amongst the large lily pads. Magic rested upon the gardens, an ancient spell placed on the grounds a couple hundred years ago, and it made the gardens always in bloom. He was glad of it; he loved the color the gardens gave off. He, especially, loved this spot and he placed his bag down on the cobblestone pathway.

He sighed as his grey eyes took in the scenery before him. The lake was reflective of the semi-cloudy blue sky above and the rose-covered pagoda in the middle of the lake was glowing white. The hedges lining the pathway around the lake were dark green and the old oak, hawthorn, and scot pines were tall and hanged over the lake. He pulled from his bag, his easel and his paint brushes. A couple minutes later, he was ready to paint. Picking one of the long paintbrushes, he dipped the hairs into the red paint and began to outline the blue lake, later he would paint over the red with blue to make the colors pop more.

His washed away all the color of the world and his mind fell into the past as he thought about Thetis. Her beautiful, brown hair filled with blue orchids and the smell of salt water on her lightly tanned skin. He could see her blue-brown eyes wide with wisdom and kindness and her lips open as she laughed with him. Oh, he was definitely in love with her and that was dangerous. He sighed, his paintbrush moving across the canvas quickly. Why did he have to go and fall in love with her, a mermaid for Merlin's sake! He should have been in the common room conversing with the witches there in search of a new wife and not communing with a mermaid. He wouldn't have changed it for the world though, Thetis was everything to him. Suddenly, his mind found Hermione Granger's and he froze in his spot on the canvas. They looked so similar, how could he have ever noticed before. Maybe they were siblings or shared some common ancestor. He would find out when he went back to Hogwarts, but... even better, he thought, he could be there tomorrow if he begged his parents. He knew what was needed of him so there was no need for him to be here in this haunted mansion. Yes, he thought, he would ask his parents and go and see Thetis tomorrow.

Finishing up his painting, he packed his things up and marched off through the gardens and into the house in search of his mother and father. Thetis had some unwanted questions coming toward her.