Skinny Dipping With a Mermaid⟶ Sirius Black

PROLOGUE

She was small as expected, topped with a bit of black hair on the top of her head, quite fussy when it came to latching on during breastfeeding, but in the eyes of her parents, she was absolutely perfect in every way.

They had never anticipated becoming parents so young, both of them naively believing that Meri couldn't get pregnant due to her lineage, but there were no regrets that day. After Nixie had finished feeding, she promptly fell asleep, and the couple could only watch her, taking in every second they could. Of course, Meri didn't last staying awake for too long, exhausted after what felt like forever trying to deliver.

She, too, ended up falling asleep with Nixie resting against her chest, and even Henry couldn't deny that he needed a good nap after cleaning everything up. He allowed the two to sleep peacefully in the bed while he settled in an armchair next to them.

But Meri's peaceful slumber did not last for very long, only an hour later was she alerted to the sensation that her chest was on fire. Immediately, she opened her eyes and peered down to see that Nixie was damp with sweat, her breathing seemed to be laboured as well. The onset of panic washed over Meri and she quickly sat up, ignoring the pain in her lower back as she stood up. There was the urge to wake Henry up to tell him that something was wrong, but as Meri looked down at her daughter once more, the symptoms became familiar to her.

Her own skin started to feel cold and warm at the same time, a clamminess to her skin resembled Nixie's, and her breaths were becoming shorter and shorter. Glancing out the window, Meri could see the waves crashing against the shore and understood what needed to be done. Despite her legs stinging with every step, Meri made her way out of the bedroom, down the stairs, and outside of the home still cradling Nixie in her arms.

Henry awoke with a start as soon as he heard the front door downstairs close with a slam. He scanned the room only to see Meri and Nixie were missing, and as he turned his head to look out the window, he spotted Meri making her way towards the water. He nearly tripped over his own two feet as he hurried after them, racing down the stairs and out of the room. He ran down the small path that led to the water, only to catch up before Meri had entered.

She was staring up at the sky, even though the sun was rising, the full moon was still visible. Looking over her shoulder, Meri spotted Henry and offered a reassuring smile that everything was going to be okay. He hurried over to her side, noting that both she and Nixie were drenched in sweat.

"Water," Meri told him, "she needs to be in the water. I've been out too long myself. It's alright, Henry."

Henry couldn't argue, knowing he didn't come to experience what Meri did and he had hoped that their child would have been the exception to it, however, he shook with nerves at the image of Meri entering the water, holding their baby.

Suddenly, as Meri entered, the skin of her legs began to bind together, and slowly as they morphed together, scales started to form. She looked down at Nixie once more and before Henry could say anything, she dove right into the water, disappearing under the waves. Henry could only enter the water after them, his eyes keeping a lookout to when they would resurface again.

Travelling below the surface of the water where light still ventured, Meri continued to hold onto Nixie, watching as the newborn's eyes opened at the introduction of cold water. She opened her mouth to cry, and Meri could only watch intently to see if Nixie would take to transforming. Fear had a tight grip on Meri, knowing that if Nixie did not transform, she was possibly drowning her child at the time. She would only keep Nixie down for another few seconds before surfacing.