Far out in the sea where the water is very deep, the Sea Queen ruled the undersea world, Walburga Black.
In the deepest spot of the sea was her castle. The walls were made of blue coral. On the roof were shells that opened and closed when the water passed by. And that is where the Sea Queen lived with her husband, Orion Black, two sons, born a year apart, and her two nieces.
The youngest of the family was Regulus. He spent much of his time swimming to ships that had fallen to the bottom of the sea. The ships held treasures from the world above! He would fill his arms and set up his collection here and there. All the while he would sing. As he did, fish circled around to hear him. For Regulus Black’s voice was the most beautiful one under the sea.
The boys and girls knew that when they turned 15, they could swim up to the surface for the first time. It would be a long time that Regulus had to wait, as he was the youngest! So, he made his Uncle Alphard tell him all about life up on land. Tales about ships and towns, and every bit of stories about humans that he knew.
Soon the eldest niece, Andromeda, turned 15. She was the first to be allowed to rise to the surface. When she came back, she had many wonders to tell her family about! She told about resting on soft white sand. High above was a deep blue sky with puffy white clouds. Later the sunset, she said, and the whole sky turned gold and red. She had watched the birds fly high above her, dipping and making turns in the red and gold sky.
When the other niece, Narcissa, turned 15, it was winter.
Shee told of icebergs floating in the sea and shining bright. All the ships stayed far away from the icebergs, she said, as if in fear. But the icebergs did not seem lonely. They were like friends, floating close to each other.
When it was the eldest brother, Sirius’s, turn, he told him about moving as close as he could to the gate of a town. He heard people call out, horses that went clip, clopping down the street. And even music that he had never heard before.
All this Regulus heard with wonder. It wasn’t fair that he had to wait the longest! At last, the day came when he turned 15, too. Now he could rise over the surface and see for himself.
When he came up over the water, Regulus was next to a large ship. On the ship, beautiful music was playing. Sailors were dancing on the deck. They were laughing and having a fine time. It must be a party! Now and then as the waves lifted Regulus, he could see better. A handsome young man stepped out on the deck. When he did, a hundred rockets rose in the air. The party was for him. Was it his birthday? He swam closer.
The men all seemed to like that young man. When he spoke, the sailors would laugh. Sometimes they patted him on his back in joy. Once that made his crown fall off. The men laughed and picked it up. “A crown,” said Regulus. “He must be a prince.”
Suddenly, it became very dark, and the wind picked up. The sailors started to run about on deck. They pulled down the sail. The ship dipped and swooped. It rolled side to side, and up and down on the high waves.
Then lightning. Thunder. A strong rainstorm hit. The poor ship started to tip on the rough waves! It was so dark that Regulus could see nothing. Then lightning lit up the sky, and he could see the young prince on deck. He seemed to be the only one still there! He was working hard to keep the ship afloat. He was throwing ropes out to his men who had jumped. But then, all at once, the waves got very high, and the ship started to tip over. The Prince was flung to the side of the ship and thrown overboard! Down into the sea, he fell.
He dropped very fast. What was Regulus to do? He knew that human beings cannot live underwater. He dove deep and fast. He reached out and was able to grab the prince’s shirt. Then he swam up to the surface as fast as he could. At last, he could pull his head above the water. There the two of them floated as the waves rose and fell. By morning, the storm had passed. Yet the prince was as still as he had been all night. From far off Regulus saw the tops of hills. “Land!” he said.
He swam to the shore, pulling the prince behind him. It was not easy to pull the young man up onto dry sand, but he did it. Was he dead? She sang a sad song. Suddenly, the prince started to move. “Oh! Are you all right?” Regulus asked and touched the prince’s forehead.
Just then, he heard a group of girls come over. At once, he dove into the sea and hid behind a rock. They must not see him - a merman! The girls found the prince, who was now awake. They called for help and soon he was led off. The prince would never know that Regulus had saved him. Regulus sank into deep gloom. When he went back home, his brother and cousins wanted to know all about his trip. But he was too sad to say anything.
Days went by. Then weeks. Sirius went to his Uncle Alphard for help. The man went to his nephew. “Child, what is the matter?” he said.
Regulus cried out, “Uncle, I will never be happy again!” He talked about meeting the prince and saving him. Then having to leave him behind. “Unless I can somehow walk on land and be with that young man, I will be sad for the rest of my days!”
“My dear,” said Uncle Alphard, “you know as well as I do that it is not possible for a mermaid to walk on two legs! Why, the only one who can do anything like that is the Sea Wizard, Dumbledore. But of course, it is much too dangerous to go to him.”
The Sea Wizard! Before he knew it, Regulus was headed to the far corner of the sea, where the Sea Wizard lived.
“This is no problem,” said the Sea Wizard when Regulus told him what he needed. “I fix problems much harder than this. Why, to have legs all you need to do is drink my potion.” Then he turned to face the boy. “But I don’t just give it away, you understand.”
“Oh!” said Regulus. “What then is your price?” In his heart, he felt a lift. So, there was a way he could have two legs and be with the prince after all!
“Oh, not too much,” said the Sea Wizard. “For one, you must give up your voice.”
“My voice?” said Regulus. He knew his voice was what everyone loved about him the best.
“You don’t need it,” said the Sea Wizard. “Chitter, chatter, what a waste of time! But know this, little boy. If the prince marries someone else, the next day you must die. And your voice will stay with me forever. But then again, who knows? He might choose YOU....”
The Regulus’s heart leaped.
The Sea Wizard held out a glass with the green potion. “So!” he said. “What are you going to do? Make up your mind! I don’t have all day.”
Regulus took the potion and drank it. At once he felt dizzy and in pain, as if a sword was being passed through his body. He spun and jerked about, then fell. When he awoke, he was on the same dry land as when he had rescued the prince. Lifting his head, he could see that his dream had come true. Where his tail had been, he had two human legs!
“Say, Miss, are you in trouble?” It was none other than the prince! He tried to say something, but no words came out of his mouth. “Can you not speak?” said he. Regulus shook his head “no.” “Oh! Well then, let me take you to the castle. You can clean up there and get some dry clothes to wear. I’m James, by the way. The prince.”
You can be sure Regulus was very happy to join James at the castle! At first, walking on his two legs was shaky. But soon he got the hang of it. That night, James showed him around the castle rooms. He would point to a portrait and tell Regulus all about the person. When he said something funny, they laughed together. When the story was sad, his kind eyes told James that he knew why, and he felt sad, too.
The next day was a royal party. James had not been looking forward to going to it. Hours of standing with finely dressed people who talk and talk and have nothing to say! He asked Regulus if he might come with him. He nodded a big “yes”! That day, with Regulus by his side, James felt glad. Sometimes he would make a comment in a low voice to him. And by his eyes and face, he knew that he understood.
After that, James wanted Regulus by his side every day. He thought he could even fall in love with him. But he still held out hope of marrying the one with the lovely voice he remembered from when he had been rescued. Of course, it could not be his wonderful new friend who was not able to talk, let alone sing.
The King called for his son one day. “Son,” he said, “your mother and I have decided. It is time that you got a husband. Lucky for you that we already picked one out for you.”
“What!?” said James. He only wanted to marry the man with the beautiful voice that he remembered. “Who is he?”
“A prince from a nearby land, Severus. Tonight, he is coming with his parents. We will make the wedding plans.”
James was crushed. And Regulus felt fear. He knew what would happen to him the day after James married someone else!
That night his troubles got even worse. What Regulus did not know was that the Sea Wizard had put his voice into this prince. He was a stuck-up prince who thought only of himself. Yet when he spoke, it was Regulus’s voice that came out! James was stunned. He asked Severus to sing. It was Regulus’s voice that filled the room. James could not believe his luck! At last, he could marry the man he had longed for all this time! When he shared his joy with Regulus, he tried to show that he was happy for James. But gloom filled his heart.
The next morning at dawn, Regulus went to the sea. His brother and cousins, worried since they had not heard from him, rose above the water to see how he was. Regulus let them know the trouble he was in. James’s wedding was going to take place the very next day! And the day after that he must die. The cousins and Sirius said not to worry, that they had an idea! They told him to come back to the shore later that night. Then they dove back into the sea.
That night, Regulus came back to the shore as he was told to do. Sirius and his cousins rose again. Gone was the girls' beautiful long hair. For they had cut it all off to give to the Sea Wizard in exchange for a knife. With the knife, Regulus must kill the prince that very night. Then the wedding could not take place and he could return to the sea and be with his family. He took the knife because he knew how much they had done for him in love. But in his heart, he knew he was not going to kill the prince.
The wedding day had arrived. Regulus stepped up to the wedding ship with the other guests. The wedding would take place at sunset.
In the meantime, Sirius, Andromeda, and Narcissa had returned home. They met with an angry Walburga. “Where is Regulus?” the Sea Queen shouted. “Where have you all been?”
They told Walburga about the trouble their youngest sister was in. Uncle Alphard found out and swam up to the wedding ship. He saw James and Severus getting ready to marry. He knew that his nephew had not used the knife the night before.
At once, Alphard rushed to see the Sea Wizard. He laughed. He said there was only one way to save his youngest nephew from his fate. If he would just hand over his scepter to him, Regulus could be saved. With the scepter in his hand, that he had taken from his sister, the Sea Wizard would rule the underworld kingdom! Alphard took a deep breath. What else could he do? So, he agreed.
The Sea Wizard grabbed the scepter and laughed in glee. He rushed to the wedding ship to see his victory. Regulus saw the Sea Wizard rise out of the sea. He saw that with the scepter, the Sea Wizard had become a huge sea monster. Tentacles were twisting out from all over his body like an octopus. Regulus knew he must protect James and even his new husband. So, he took out the knife. Just then, one of the Sea Wizard’s tentacles reached out and lifted Regulus right off the ship! “This is the end for you!” crowed the Sea Wizard.
Before Regulus knew it, he was wrapped up by the tentacle. He was spun to the very chest of the Sea Wizard. And the knife he was holding – the Sea Wizard’s very own knife – he used it and dove it deep into the chest of the monster.
The Sea Wizard reeled back in pain and Regulus was freed. On the ship, the guests ran around in fear. James shot arrow after arrow at the monster. Finally, the Sea Wizard dropped down under the water. As he fell, Regulus’s voice was let go, and it returned to him.
Severus then shouted in a gruff harsh voice, “What a lousy kingdom this is! You can’t even have a proper wedding!” James heard the prince and knew that he was not who he thought he was. Then Regulus started to sing. James knew that the voice he remembered belonged to the very one he had grown to love.
The angry prince stormed off the wedding ship with his greasy hair. And his family followed close behind.
When Alphard arrived, the scepter was floating in the sea, as if it were waiting for him. With a sweep of his arm, it was ready to return to Walburga, who hadn’t done a thing about the situation that had just happened.
“Well!” said the Alphard. “I see my nephew is in good hands.” and, with a wave of his scepter, he lifted Regulus back onto the ship.
James put his arms around Regulus. “Now I know it was you all along!” said James. “Will you marry me?” Regulus had his voice back now. But with all the happiness in his heart, he could not manage to speak. So, he nodded “yes” with a warm smile. And a wedding on board the ship took place after all.
The End.