There were not many students who would be seen in the middle of the day by the lake. True, there was a significant portion of time for fourth years between their morning classes and lunch, but it was a study break. That usually indicated various degrees of studiousness from the melting pot that was Hogwarts, 2009. The library was filled and common rooms were piled with people milling around.

Not Ella.

The Salem Freshman appreared to be the epitome of studiousness as she stood on the edge of the lake looking over the glassy surface. By her side, she was holding her finally finished surfboard.  It had taken her most of August and the beginning of the school year to make it from scratch. If any of her friends had been wondering where the practically ADD Brazilian had been, it was building her second fish. Luckily she had built one before, but it didn't make it any easier without her father or friends there to help her. Unfortunatley, no one else at any of the schools looked like they even knew how to stand on a board, nevertheless actually build one.

Ella swept her hair out of her eyes and looked at the far too calm water. She hated surfing on lakes without speedboats present and thanks to Hogwarts magical signal nothing electronic worked. No cell phone. No Ipod. No Laptop. No boats. Seriously lame. Pulling out her wand, she pointed it at the water and cast a spell to make the water ripple. She cast it again, aiming further out with more strength. In moments, a far-too-large wave crashed onto the shore soaking the Freshman. She shrieked slightly since the water was cold.

As the small exclamation left her mouth, she heard another, far more surprised reation behind her. She spun around.

Thursdays had a double Potions finish up the morning before an open time of no class and study break before lunch. Heliotrope had been writing her notes as Sasha instructed. With her assignments written in the common room because that was the place to do it. So her notes took the form of a map from the potions dungeon to the Hufflepuff common room with her assignments written the circle for the common room set into the corner of the page.

As she did when time was free, Heliotrope approached the lake with all purpose to swim. If the fishing was good she may even continue through lunch, then dry off in the heat of the greenhouses. Excluding the rainforest damp. Herbology was the only other class of the day.

When Heliotrope approached an edge of the lake there was the back of a girl she did not recognize holding a long board. Heliotrope had seen vacationers on the surface of Loch Lomond on similar boards, towed behind their boats.

She cast her bag aside, shrugging off her uniform top by pulling it over her head inside out. She was left with her one strapped black swimsuit, her skirt, and increasingly tight shoes. Her kelp whip was in her bag. Heliotrope would have paused to get it but when she pulled off her shirt there was a wall of water collapsing on her. The half mermish Hufflepuff never minded getting wet but seeing a sudden flux of water without a clear origin was surprising. She had no time to blink the protective underwater film of her eyelids. The wave could be the sign of a new predator. Another kelpie? Or the squid approaching the shore.

Heliotrope gave a sharp intake of breath when her gills flopped uselessly, a hiss approaching the shriek of a teakettle.

Ella's waist length hair, now dripping wet from the icy water, whipped around casting water droplets in all directions. The gasp turned into the strangest sound she had ever heard. It sounded like a... teakettle? What type of human made a sound like-

Oh. As the Brazilian's eyes landed on the small girl, she realized that whoever the girl was, she was certainly not fully human.

Gills, greenish hair, webbed hands, pale skin. Screams like a damn tea kettle. Ella couldn't help but cock her head sideways as she looked at the other girl. Slowly a large grin spread onto her tanned face.

Disney Mermaid, meet real-life Mermaid. It was too funny.

Chuckling out loud, the bright eyed California girl said, "I was going to apologize like nuts, but it looks like I may have found the one other person, other than me, in this castle that may not mind." Picking up her board and tucking it under one of her arms, she saluted the mermish girl. "Ella Alvares. Salem Froshie. I'm still sorry, though."

"Is there a problem?" 

The kettle-like shriek of the mermaidl had drawn Heinrich like a moth would draw a flame or, more specifically, like the cry of a damsel in distress would draw a hero.  He wasn't entirely sure whether or not that the noise represented anything that required his attention but he thought it best to respond anyway.

He was clearly, given his impeccable uniform, from Durmstrang.  He held his wand in his right hand in a ready but not threatening position.  From his left hand dangled a pair of two foot lengths of  fine chain.  They both ended in cubes of some odd beige material, which was still smoking faintly.  At his feet danced a small black dog that seemed determined to wriggle out of its skin. 

After a moment the black Pomeranian, realizing there was no danger, bounded forward to be admired.  It ran back and forth between Heliotrope and Ella, jumping up and pawing at their legs for a moment before running back to Heinrich, only to repeat the circle again.  He sighed.  "Holly!  Nicht auf sie springen!"* He bent down to scoop the tiny dog up in his right arm, sliding his wand into his  sleeve.  "Sorry about that.  She loves meeting new people."


Don't jump on them!

Is there a problem?

All of a sudden, there was another voice. Wow! There certainly a lot of people out and about at lunch time. The still soaked Freshman turned her head. Her face broke into a huge grin at the sight of the little dog and its owner. The dog was absolutely darling and its owner? Undoubtedly handsome, especially in the deep red of Durmstrang. Probably another Russian. There seemed to be a hundred of those.

Of course the attractive ones always got to see her when she looked like a wet dog. At least her clothes were charmed to be water proof, but there was nothing she could do for her waist length curls.

She cooed at the little dog as it ran up to her and she dropped to her knees to pet it.

"Problem? Nope. Unless you mean me, then you're spot on." She said, winking up at the Durmstranger. When he spoke in German to the little dog, Holly, her face brightened. A German! A language she could understand and speak, at least marginally. Of course, ever since her Grandfather died, she hadn't spoken regularly.

"Oh nein, dein Hund ist ...spitze! Und so nett[1]."   

1.	Oh no, your dog is wonderful. And so nice.

A grin spread across Heinrich's face.  "Danke, Fraulein,"[1] he said with a slight bow.  His eyes turned to Heliotrope.  He'd seen her in the Great Hall and once or twice on a staircase or in a hallway; she was difficult to miss.  "Do you speak German as well, meine kleine meerjungfrau?[2] That would just be too good to be true."

He set the Pomeranian back on the ground, where it immediately began once again dancing between the two girls, trying to get attention from both of them at the same time.

1 Thank you, Miss.

2 My little mermaid

When Ella Alvares introduced herself, Heliotrope was about to reply when a black little dog ran up to her shins. She stared at it, curious, and with delayed reaction bent to pet it just before it ran off again, her fingers brushing the end of its tail.

Then she was asked if she spoke German. "I do not but I speak mermish." Heliotrope turned from Faust to Ella. "You can summon waves on a still surface?"

The problem was that the splash of a magically induced tidal wave was a shock to Heliotrope's system so she actually was saying these things in mermish! On dry land this was nothing but screeches of the same pitch as her teakettle gasps. Heliotrope blinked,  realizing the change in her vocal cords. She placed either hand on the sides of her neck to close her flapping gills.

After she responded to the Durmstrang boy, the small girl began to speak. But it was just as if her grandmother's teapot collection had just gone off. Yup, she was deff a Mermaid, or at least partially. She couldn't help but chuckle. "It sounded like a question, but I have no way to be sure."

Another little yap at her heels had her reaching for the fluffball. Just as her hands were about to close around Holly, the little dog jumped back and yapped at her. So she settled for scratching it behind the ears.  "Sorry, to disappoint, but I know very little German. I just know the basics. My grandfather was from Rio Grande do Sul in Brasil and spoke German very well. He taught me both languages." She stood up, and as an afterthought, drew her wand. Whipping it around her head, she was dry in a moment, her hair springing back into its super-curly state.

"I'm Ella Alvares from Salem. Although I'm technically from So Cal." She motioned to the board at her side. "Which should explain that hunk of wood." 

Heinrich extended a hand, kissing Ella's knuckles rather than shaking her hand.  "I am Heinrich Faust, from Durmstrang and obviously from Germany.  If you like, I can teach you a little German, in exchange for you teaching me a little Portuguese.   Planning on doing a little surfing?  Maybe this charming your mermaid can suggest a spot where you can stir up a few good waves."  He smiled again and dropped to one knee, placing himself much closer to Heliotrope's height.

"That was mermish, right?  I've heard that it is enchanting under water and terrifying above but I'm afraid I can't speak a single word of it in either condition."

Ella couldn't help it. When Heinrich introduced himself by kissing her knuckles, she blushed. She was pretty sure her cheeks were the color of ketchup. She was used to a double cheek kiss, but a kiss on the hand was so... absolutely chivalrous and dreamy. She laughed off her flustered look and kicked her board upright.

"I would love to learn more German if you're open to it!" She said, her smile bright. "And extra brownie points for knowing what language Brasilians speak. You've already surpassed most Americans right there." She gave a lopsided grin. When his attention turned to the Little Mermaid- puns always intended- she looked at her curiously. "Mermish? I had no idea what language Mer people speak. The only ones on the West Coast tend to steer clear of LA, especially Malibu. Way too many muggles. Saw a migrating one once, but was underwater."

Ella moved back to the lake edge. Well, this was frustrating. Out on lazy days in Salem, she could always get the ocean to give her good waves, but not here. Maybe the lake was naturally too still?   

Heinrich's smile broadened.  "I wonder if the one you saw remembers the meeting the way you do.   I take it then that you dive, as well as surf?  I've done a little snorkeling but nothing more in depth than that, pun intended."  He chuckled.  "I guess that makes me the worst swimmer of the three of us."

He followed Ella to the edge of the water, keeping an eye on Holly.  "I'm not exactly dressed for it right now but if you're willing to meet me back here after dinner, maybe you can try to teach me how to ride that monster.  I've done some snowboarding, so if it's anything like that, I will have a leg up.  In return, I'll help you get some waves going.  Two wands are better than one."

Momentarily, Heliotrope had forgotten of the presence of the older students, even as one got to her eye level as she massaged parts of her neck. What a blind spot. Her Altered Voice had never acted up this way before. Heliotrope thought she would continue to screech when she tried to talk.

Finally her gills calmed. She replied very delayed. "That was mermish. I do not know why the land dwellers do not understand."

She was enthralled by Ella's board, moving to palm its sleekness. "You have a vacationer's board. A long one. Where is your tow?" During the summers on Loch Lomond there were many people on wakeboards pulled behind boats. "Maybe the lesser kraken would help," she added, referring to the Giant Squid in the lake.

Ella winked at Heinrich. "I'm an expert diver." She chuckled slightly, a large smile on her face. Gosh, her face hurt. Why on earth did she smile so much? People at Salem were not this diverting. Especially the others in her year. "Snowboarding? Cool. I don't really get to snowboard much out in Cali, but I do a little at Salem in the Winter. Not even half as fun. I spent the majority of my trip on my butt... much less comfortable than water."

She let a little water trail over her bare feet. "Although I certainly can't teach you anything in one evening. No matter how good a snowboarder you are, your first day is spent wiping out." Her hand swept across the lake, "especially with conditions like this. I can't get a wave out of this thing."

When the mermaid spoke Ella's eyebrows knit. Did most England people use shorter boards? Or was it just impossible to get decent waves from a lake so they had to adapt. And a... oh... a tow... But her fish would so not work with a tow. "Oh God. Total facepalm." She groaned. "I spent most of my time this summer making a fish when I should have made a wakeboard. And now summer's almost over. Great."

Heinrich refrained from commenting on Ella's butt.  "It takes a while to pick it up, just like anything else,"  he said.  "I suspect I'd be sucking water for at least a week before I was able to stay on me feet from beginning to end.  I make no promises about the degree of grace involved."

He looked at her board, then back at the lake.  "What about water skiing?  If the kraken is fast enough and is willing to cooperate, you might be able to get some watersports in.  If you just wanted a temporary set of skis, you could likely conjure a pair and vanish them when you're done."  He chuckled.  "Or you could just cast a motion spell on them.  Might make for an interesting ride."

The waxy sheen on the board was almost enough to get Heliotrope's hand stuck when combined with the grime of her hand. There was a certain stickiness of her skin depending on the moisture. Her hand was removed as Ella complained about the size of a board. Though she did not understand the term used for the metaphor.

"You made a fish?" Heliotrope asked. "Did you catch the spawn or tend it? A big fish? Who was the spawn chieftain?"

There had been no shame with the discussion of how Heliotrope had come to be though she did not know how strange the logistics were. Needless to say Heliotrope had been birthed from her mother instead of hatched like other spawnlings.