For You I Will #1- The Philosopher's Stone

Camping Trip: The Ocean

Y/N and Barnaby had been in the Reserve a week. They were both exhausted- there had been so much swimming.

The Ocean Biome had been much more difficult and more time consuming to cover than the Lake one. It was deeper, and just like a real ocean had waves and currents that needed to be contended with.

The Creatures in the whole were much larger and more dangerous as well.

Y/N had managed to befriend a number of the creatures as they worked. He found the Sea Serpents and Hippocampus to be delightful creatures, as was the Flying Seahorse pack. The Ramora was nice enough, but was stubborn as hell. It parked itself right in front of the two wizards and refused to move.

It had taken them two hours to work around him. He thought it was funny as hell.

The Shrakes in the Biome were another matter. They were not friendly, at all. But they agreed to keep their distance after Y/N had whispered to them.

The Horned Serpent kept its distance from the pair as well and didn't respond to Y/N's attempts at whispering, only answering that the pair needed to leave immediately. Y/N had read that Horned Serpents were regal and aloof, in rare texts he purchased from earlier whisperers. He assumed this is what they meant.

The beast had refused to answer any more whispers, other than to reiterate they needed to leave.

Y/N was under the assumption Horned Serpents were freshwater creatures and asked Barnaby about it at dinner one night. He had replied that they had tried him in the lake enclosure but he seemed to prefer salt water.

Apart from being constantly watched by the large serpent, nothing had struck them so far as unusual or out of the ordinary, all the bleeps that returned to them via the Sonarus charm were normal according to Barnaby.

—~—

It was day eight and the two wizards were progressing well. They were on the way back to the pier that they used to enter into the ocean itself. It was located at the front of the enclosure. The pair were halfway through the last 15% of the enclosure. They still had read no anomalous readings with 90% of the ocean warded off.

Barnaby was confused as to why they hadn't located anything yet, whereas Y/N's thoughts dwelled on his return to his dorm bed, his classes, his Hermione. He prayed to Merlin she was ok and that she would talk to him when he returned.

Y/N and Barnaby were about 50ft down in the ocean and approximately 100 yards from the Biome's entrance when they suddenly heard it. Rather than the small quick bleeps that returned to their ears the past six days, even from the massive Horned Serpent, this time they heard a large bloop.

The two looked at each other puzzled as they stopped swimming, before Y/N felt eyes on him. He heard a deep booming whisper-

Death!!!

And saw a look of horror on Barnaby's face. Y/N turned and his eyes widened, he spoke into his bubble:

"No... it can't be"

He reacted instantly, unsheathing his wand and sticking it into Barnaby's chest, the Magizoologist though was still frozen in fear.

Ascendio

Barnaby was shot upwards instantly as the animal charged with its enormous mouth opened. The force of the spell pushed Y/N deeper, allowing him to just avoid the creatures jaws.