The sunlight glimmered upon an alcove hidden somewhere within the North Sea, near Scotland. Nineteen-year-old Lily Evans and her friend Marlene were lounging on the smooth, rounded boulders that adorned the floor of the alcove. Marlene was listening to Lily complain about her sister for what seemed to be the tenth time this week. Lily was rambling on and on, combing through her vibrant auburn hair with a peculiarly shaped piece of coral.
”I just don’t understand what I ever did to deserve this!” Lily exclaimed. Her eyes held a certain intensity, as if talking about this subject hadn’t relieved her of her anger. “I try to get along with her, I try to bond with her, and she refuses! It’s like she doesn’t even consider me her sister!”
“I’m sure-” Marlene started, but quickly shut her mouth. She was about to say she was sure that wasn’t true, but knowing how Petunia was, Lily was probably right. Suddenly, a loud crash followed by heated yelling snapped the girls out of their conversation. Sometimes having a heightened sense of hearing was a blessing, other times, it was a pain. They looked up towards the opening of the alcove, startled.
“Humans!” Lily gasped, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. Lily had always been fond of humans, often venturing towards the coastline and interacting with them. The locals had known of the existence of merpeople for centuries, believing them to be beautiful and often treating them with kindness. Still, the unique inhabitants of the ocean knew to be cautious, for not every human had good intentions. Lily, however, was far too trusting, maybe even a little naïve.
“Lily, you know you aren’t supposed to!” Marlene warned, but Lily shook her head, giggling.
“And since when do you care about the rules, may I ask?” Marlene glared at her. Sure, she had never been one to follow the rules, but this was different, and Lily knew it.
“They could be dangerous! Can’t you go one day without letting your curiosity get the best of you?” Marlene knew the answer before Lily could even respond. She sighed as she watched the redhead exit the alcove, knowing she was headed towards the surface.
Lily’s heart raced as she swam towards the surface of the shimmering waters, adrenaline surging through her body as she spotted what was undeniably the bottom of a ship. The scales on her maroon tail glistened as she got further and further from the darkness of the ocean floor, her cheeks flushing with excitement. Lily’s excitement was short-lived, quickly turning into concern as soon as she peeked her head out of the water.
James Potter was a lonesome pirate. He had relied on only himself for as long as he could remember. He was born in Great Britain to a family of pirates and grew up helping his mother and father loot other ships. They often spent weeks at sea, sailing different areas until they opted to remain near the Scottish coast. One night, during a particularly difficult heist, his parents were killed right before his eyes. He was only eight years old when he watched the inhabitants of the ship throw his father overboard, where he quickly succumbed to the rough waters. His mother went next, tied up and helpless as the captain of the ship held his sharp blade up to her neck and assassinated her. James, being young and agile, was able to get away, but the trauma he had witnessed was ingrained in his memory forever. From that day forward, James worked to survive on his own. He sailed towards different towns on his family’s run-down ship, pleading for food or money. Though some people were kind, it didn’t get him very far. He resorted to training day after day, committing petty crimes until he became good enough to loot even the most dangerous of ships. Twelve years later, his name and face were known to every pirate who sailed the North Sea.
One morning in particular, James decided to take on a challenge. The Death Eaters were known as one of the most ruthless gangs of pirates to ever sail the North Sea, and rumors of their presence began to spread in the nearby villages. The second James caught wind of the gossip, he began planning his ambush. In the early hours of the morning, James sailed out into the sea and anchored his boat near a couple of large rocks. He had for waited hours before he finally heard the loud commotion of excited pirates.
“Look’ee here, buccaneers! I reckon I spot a cog!” James frowned. A cog? His ship wasn’t that small. Was it?
“No time to ponder on that.” James whispered to himself, laying low as he snuck around the deck of his own ship. As soon as the other ship was close enough, James popped out from his hiding spot.
“Potter!” Exclaimed a scruffy looking man in a large tricorn hat, presumably the captain. “Here to pillage, are ye? Ye best prepare for a floggin’ then!” James smirked at the threat, then looked around. There seemed to only be three men on the opposing ship, perhaps the others were ravaging the nearby village.
“You won’t be so confident when I feed you to the fish!” James taunted. With a surge of adrenaline, James ventured off his boat like he had done multiple times before, though he did not jump overboard. Instead, he climbed onto one of the large nearby rocks that surrounded his ship. From there, he lurched forward, landing on deck of the other ship.
James staggered a bit, but straightened up, pulling out his cutlass. The sharp edge of the sword glimmered in the sunlight as he stared at the three other pirates in front of him. One of them, who seemed to be a cabin boy by the looks of his age, was already dropping the anchor of the ship. The captain lunged at him, snarling, but James was quick and ducked out of the way. He was breathing hard, his heart racing. The captain, on the other hand, toppled to the ground. The captain’s second in command rushed over to assist him while James headed towards the cabin boy. They fought hard, but James was much more experienced. The cabin boy stumbled as he tried to keep up with James, whose next move was always unknown. Eventually, James got the upper hand, knocking the cabin boy’s hand.
James grabbed the boy by the collar, dragging him over to the plank of the ship. The captain and his second in command looked over, eyes widening. They were about to step forward when James shook his sword at them.
“One more step and he’s going overboard.” James threatened, a small smirk on his face. The cabin boy howled, shaking under James’s grip. Suddenly, the pirates heard what sounded like a splash nearby.
At first, James thought he had accidentally dropped the boy, until he looked down and realized there was a woman in the water. His face contorted into one of confusion, while the other men looked in awe.
“What are you doing? Stop that! Let go of him!” She shrieked. James studied the girl, looking her up and down. She had long auburn hair, warm ivory skin, and green eyes that radiated a kind of fiery passion. He leaned over the ship a little, the cabin boy stumbling under his grasp. He saw that she was wearing a golden brassiere made out of seashells. As he inspected further, he realized that she had a beautiful maroon tail, rather than legs. She was a mermaid. His breath hitched. He’d seen plenty of deep-sea creatures in the past, but she seemed different. She was radiant.
“Let me down!” The cabin boy shrieked, snapping James out of his trance. He chuckled.
“Not a chance.”
“Oh, must you be so mean? just let him go already!” This time, it was the mermaid who spoke. James felt compelled under her gaze, like he’d do anything she asked. He shook his head, trying to get himself together.
“Not until I get every single piece of gold on this ship!” James commanded.
“In yer dreams!” The captain growled, but James didn’t spare him a glance. He was still looking at the mermaid. She was glowering at him intently. He couldn’t take it. He ripped the pouch from the cabin boy’s belt. It wasn’t much, but it would do.
“HEY!” Yelled the cabin boy, but James just grinned. With a final wink towards the mermaid, James let the cabin boy go. The cabin boy scurried below deck, scared out of his wits, while the other two pirates raised their swords. James raised a brow.
“I’d take the loss and flee if I were you, but I’ll give you a fight if that’s what you want.” James offers. The captain ponders for a second, before sighing.
“Get off me ship.” James rolls his eyes, climbing back onto the rocks and settling down on his own ship. James watches as the other ship sails away, not knowing why he hadn’t just robbed them of all their possessions. He was so close, why did he just let them get away? When he looked down into the water, he was quickly reminded why.
“You! What’d you do that for? I could’ve been rich!” James groaned, looking the mermaid in the eyes. She swam closer to him, settling herself on one of the rocks. Her crimson tail glistened as she ran her hands through her hair, seemingly unbothered at James’s complaints.
“You were hurting them! Must you pirates be so violent all the time?”
“Uh, yeah, that’s part of the job!” James retorted. The mermaid rolled her eyes. “What’s your name anyway, moral compass?” She raised an eyebrow, seemingly not appreciating his comments.
“Lily. Lily Evans. And you?” She now seemed curious, rather than annoyed. It seemed as though she went through emotions rather quickly.
“James Potter.” He responded. “What are you doing up here anyway, isn’t it dangerous for you to be out here?” Once more, Lily rolled her eyes.
“What is it with everyone and telling me where I can and can’t go, god that gets annoying. Nothing’s ever happened to me before!” She rambled. James laughed at the exasperated look on her face, it seemed he had pushed a couple of her buttons.
James suddenly remembered the little pouch he had nicked from the cabin boy. He opened it curiously, rustling through the treasure inside. Gold, pearls, more gold… a pendant? James pulled the necklace out of the pouch. It was sparkly and made of gold, an emerald jewel in the middle surrounded by golden details. He looked at the mermaid, who had apparently been examining him the entire time. He hesitated for a second, before handing her the pendant.
“It matches your eyes.” He mumbles, feeling somewhat stupid. Lily looked down at the pendant in awe. She looked up at him with sparkling eyes and flashed him a bright smile. James felt his cheeks heat up, certain he was as red as the hair of the mermaid in front of him.
“Thank you, but why? We’ve only just met.” Lily cocks her head to the side, a playful smile on her lips. James looks away from her gaze, embarrassed.
“It’s girly.” He states. “I can’t wear it, so why keep it?”
“You could have sold it.”
“Yeah, well…” He can’t come up with an excuse. He had just wanted to give it to her. He wanted to see her smile, and god was it worth it.
The days came and went, and each day James found any excuse he could to sail out to sea or hang around the shoreside. On the same wavelength, Lily found herself swimming up to the surface every afternoon, much to the protest of her friends and family. Consequently, Lily and James found themselves running into each other quite often.
The first couple of times, Lily had caught him committing petty crimes. James would run around stealing valuables or hassling those who he had problems with. Lily was determined to put a stop to it. He had potential and Lily knew it in her heart. Deep down, he was good, and she would prove it.
Each time she caught him stealing, she would pop her head out of the surface, scolding him and telling him to return the things he took. At first, he would just laugh in her face, winking at her before running off with the possessions. Eventually though, he began to listen. He started to steal less and less as the days went by, opting to trade possessions with those around him instead.
Each time she caught him hassling people, whether he was attempting to throw someone overboard or threatening to harm them with his cutlass, Lily would pop out of the water once more and shriek at him to stop. James didn’t have it in him to harm someone in front of her. Each time, he would allow his opponent to flee, silently scolding himself for being so weak around the mermaid. He couldn’t bring himself to be upset with her though, he knew she had a pure heart.
James didn’t know what Lily saw in someone like him, but he’d never had a sense of stability like this before, so he wasn’t about to complain, even if she did always manage to interfere with his plans. It got to the point where he would stir up trouble just to lure her out of the water. After their little routine, James would usually anchor his boat near the rocks and spend the rest of the day chatting with the mermaid.
Eventually, James even began to join her on the rocks. He was in awe of how beautiful she truly was up close, like no girl he’d ever seen before. The emerald jewel on the pendant he had given her brought out the green in her eyes. He had never given much thought to picking a favorite color before, but in that moment he was sure that no other hue could surpass that vivid shade of green. But James wasn’t the only one who had fallen hard. Each morning, Lily swam up to the shore in hopes of running into the trouble-making pirate. At night, when she would be forced to return to the depths of the ocean floor, she found that she couldn’t get those deep brown eyes and that messy raven-colored hair out of her head. Everything about him enchanted her. By that point they had formed a close bond, a kind of bond that neither of them had ever shared with another person before in their life. Being apart from each other made their hearts ache.
One stormy afternoon, Lily hadn’t shown up. It had taken her all day to shake her parents off. They didn’t like the fact that she had been spending so much time up on the surface, but their daughter was stubborn and hard-headed, so there wasn’t much they could do about it.
After a long argument, Lily rushed to the surface, hoping that James hadn’t given up on waiting for her. As she got closer and closer to the top, she realized that it wasn’t getting any brighter. She looked up and was met with cloudy skies, flashes of lightning illuminating the dark clouds every now and then. She swam a little faster, hoping that James wasn’t out sailing. She knew that he would sometimes stay the night at an inn in the village, perhaps he had left as soon as the weather got bad. Her heart was thumping against her chest as she finally broke through the surface of the water.
Lily looked around frantically, struggling to stay afloat as the water surrounding her thrashed violently. She nearly sighed in relief until she looked deeper into the sea. In the distance, she could see a small ship bobbing in the water, or rather, what remained of the small ship. There were pieces of wood scattered everywhere, surrounding the body of the ship that was flipped on its side and now seemed to be sinking. Lily’s stomach dropped, and it wasn’t long before she dove back into the water and swam towards the wreck. Her entire body was shaking, she felt like she couldn’t breathe, but she kept swimming, she couldn’t stop, she wouldn’t stop.
She hadn’t even made it to the surface when she found him. He was unconscious, his body sinking to the bottom of the ocean at a pace that was far too rapid. Lily ignored her aching body, not stopping until she reached him. He hadn’t even reached the bottom yet when she wrapped her arms around his torso, pulling him up towards the shore. He was cold to the touch and he wasn’t breathing, she knew he was dead, but she refused to stand there and do nothing about it. With as much speed as she could muster, Lily swam towards the shore, holding onto James for dear life. She didn’t stop until she reached land.
Exhausted, Lily crawled onto the sand, dragging James as far away from the water as she could manage. Lily didn’t know how to deal with human bodies, she didn’t know what she could do to save him, she didn’t even know if it was possible to save him at this point. She brought her hand up to his heart, praying that she could feel even the faintest heartbeat. Nothing.
A storm of emotions hit Lily at once, and it felt like a blow to the stomach. Grief stricken, she reached behind her neck with shaky hands and removed her precious emerald pendant. She placed the pendant on his heart. Tears streamed down Lily’s face as she looked down at the man she loved. She hung her head and sobbed in anguish. Unbeknownst to Lily, her tears were landing directly atop her alluring green pendant.
The pendant began to glow, for it was not a normal pendant. After all, there was a reason it was in the possession of the most notorious gang of pirates in all of Scotland. The pendant was magical, previously belonging to an ancient witch. This pendant was said to grant the possessor’s greatest wish. The gang of pirates had successfully stolen it, but to their surprise, it didn’t seem to work. What they didn’t know was that the pendant would only grant the wish to someone whose intentions were pure and genuine.
A warm, golden light engulfed the pendant, causing Lily to look up. The light was so bright it was nearly blinding, and Lily had to look away from it. She watched as the skies above her cleared and the waves of ocean calmed. Hoping that some kind of miracle was happening, she turned back to the pendant. It was now floating gently above James, enveloping him in the warm light. Eventually, the pendant slowly descended back to it’s original position atop James’s heart. Lily didn’t dare to breathe. And then...
James coughed. He sat up, nearly choking on air as he struggled to breathe. He was alive. Lily couldn’t believe it, he was alive! She didn’t wait a single second before wrapping her arms around him, nearly tackling him back down to the ground. James held her in his arms, puzzled.
“What happened?” He blinked, confused. Lily suddenly remembered everything that had happened in the span of the last hour.
“What happened? You died, you idiot! What the hell were you thinking? Sailing out there in that weather!” Memories filled James’s head as he recalled everything that had happened that day. He turned to her sheepishly, before looking down. He noticed the pendant he gave her lying in the sand. He picked it up.
“Why’d you take it off?” He asked, looking hurt. Lily took the pendant, not wanting him to get the wrong idea, and fastened it around her neck again.
“I don’t know. Everything felt like it was too much. I was grieving. I took it off and placed it on you and then…” Lily paused, not even sure she fully understood what had happened, “it revived you.” James raised an eyebrow.
“It revived me?” He asked, baffled. Lily nodded, suddenly feeling very relieved as she realized that he was truly alive.
James seemed to have had a similar revelation. He had just died. He had been so reckless all his life, putting his life at risk with the knowledge that nobody would care that his life didn’t matter. It was only now that he realized that he did matter, at least to someone. He mattered to her.
James looked up to find Lily already staring at him. She had saved his life. She was so dazzling inside and out. She was stunning, standing before him with her tear-stained cheeks and shining green eyes, her auburn hair draping messily over her shoulders. He could stare at her like this forever, and at that moment he was sure he was the luckiest man in the universe.
James cupped her cheek, pressing a tender kiss to her lips. It was deep and passionate, a feeling unlike either of them had ever felt before. Both their cheeks blazed a bright red as they pulled apart, Lily smiling shyly, James grinning like a madman. At that moment, both of them felt it. No matter what, they would be together. They knew that not even death could tear them apart.