Aquatic Nursery

Deep under Hogwarts through various paths of the Chamber of Secrets is a dimly lit underground loch. A muscled, bare-chested olive-skinned young man toils in the loch. His damp blond-greenish hair is draped over his nape drawing attention to the identical horizontal scar-like marks on the side of his neck.

With care, Professor Ondine Ponce pushes a large floating tray that is tied to a rock as an anchor. At the edge of the lake, he bends down as the dark trousers that are rolled to his knees soak up more water. Without the use of a tool, with ease, his long, dark talon-like nails easily dig through the mud. A useful trait inherited from his dad.

With care, Ondine carefully begins to plant several types of aquatic plants that grow on the edge of lochs. The first is Water Awl-wort. It is a small herb with awl-like leaves with a network of white roots that twist in the air. With care, he settles the plant as the moving white roots eagerly plunge into the mud. The plant settles safely as small white flowers bloom as if in relief.

Ondine plants several more such plants, before planting grasses. The Least Bur-reed is a delicate grass-type plant. The plant largely resembles grass with a burst of small white flowers. Strangely though, the upper portion of the flowers are all male with only the bottom flowers being female.

The Grass of Parnassus is not as strange as the Least Bur-reed. It is grass that likes to grow in wet dark areas and blooms white flowers with an even white center. It likes standing in shallow water much like the rest of the shallow aquatic plants.

 Finished setting up the grasses, Ondine ensures the try of plants if firmly arched, before carefully removing plants and placing them inside a sturdy satchel made from the skin of a selkie. The satchel had been passed down for generations from mother to daughter until his father's generation. His father had been an only child, and his mother (Odine's grandmother) had given it to her son with the promise of one day gift to his daughter. Yet he was born to his parents and the promise made by his father to his mother could not be kept.

Closing the bulging satchel, Ondine dives into the depths of the pitch-dark murky waters. The waters would be impossible to see through except Ondine could see as clearly as day in the murky waters. The scars on the side of his lake open and he begins to breathe easily through the gills on his neck.

Ondine does not struggle to swing down to the bottom of the loch as his webbed feet made it easy for him to swim with every powerful kick. The loch is a shelf that goes deeper on the edges and eventually connects to the lake of Hogwarts. He did not need to enter the lake, rather he swam to a deeper part of the shelf.

Finding the right depth, Ondine floats in front of the shelf, before opening only a slit of the satchel open. He firmly holds onto a bundle of slimy gray-green plants that resemble rat tails. With care, he tucks the Gillyweed into the rock crevice to grow. Soon a small portion of the rock shelf is covered in Gillyweeds.

Kicking upward, Ondine swims to the upper part of the shelf. He stops at the correct depth and proceeds to plant Neptune Grass. The plant is a Mediterranean tap weed that grows and forms underwater meadows. It will provide good cover for other plants and places for small fishes and other creatures to reside in.

Ondine was familiar with Hadrian Whittle's works, especially those of Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean and of the Atlantic Ocean. However, he had to reread the Magical Water Plants of the Highland Lochs to refamiliarize himself with the context. He didn't want to introduce too many invasive species into the water system and preferred to utilize as many aquatic plants naturally to the area as possible.

Finished, Ondine surfaces gasping loudly as his gills seal shut, and he returns to breathing through his nose. He blinks in surprise at finding a slender woman with her arms folded across her nearly non-existent chest. Professor Eponine Mortimer's angelic face is ruined by her fierce scowl Her straight blond hair is cut neatly gently brushing the top of her shoulders. Her skin doesn't look nearly as shallow or stark as before, thanks to the efforts of her cousins residing in Hogsmeade.

"I was asked to help," Eponine Mortimer curled her lips in annoyance. She would have refused Professor Sprout's request, but she had every intention of utilizing the aquatic plants to be planted and collected from the underwater nursery.

That and the delegation of the International Confederation of Wizardry was to arrive in a day or two. There wouldn't be much time to prepare an Aquatic Nursery upon the delegations' arrival. All the Hogwarts staff members were to help with the emergency conference and help the delegation settle in before the emergency conference to be held first thing in the morning.

"Well, you are not exactly dressed to help," Ondine warily responded as he paddled toward the shore until he could stand. "Though," he glanced at the contents of the floating tray, "I suppose, you could levitate the White and Yellow water lily pads onto the surface of the lake."

 With care, Ondine gently pushed the floating tray nearer to the shallow end, so Professor Eponine Mortimer could see the floating water lily pads floating inside the tray. "Fine," she grumbled and proceeded to delicately lift each lily pad out of the tray before setting them gently down onto the lake.

 Taking a break, Ondine sits on the edge of the lake to catch his breath. Eponine Mortimer's lips press together as she tries to avoid gazing at the muscular bare-chested body before her. There is a large painful scar running down the side of his spine and disappearing below his trousers that extends to the front side of his ribs and darts down to his groin.

Rather curious, she watched to her own vast chagrin, Eponine couldn't help being drawn back to the new Mermish Professor. "I suppose it wouldn't be too much to ask you to wear a shirt, Professor Ponce," she impatiently snapped.

"It would be hard to swim in," Ondine turned his head to answer causing beads of water to drip down his muscular chest.

Trying not to flush, Eponine snorts and proudly tilts her head at him. "Is that what your father said to your mother?"

A chortle of laughter escapes from Ondine's mouth. "More like it was the other way around." He wiped a tear of laughter from the corner of his eyes. "Mother was the passionate one in their relationship. She was the one who pursued father first." He said with wistful nostalgia upon recalling the romantic tale of his parent's meeting.

 Uncertain of what to respond to that Eponine glances away feeling something akin to guilt. Unused to feeling guilty, but equally curious she asks, "So, how is that a witch and a merman fell in love?"

"I presume it is much like a Veela fell in love with a wizard," Ondine calmly retorted.

"Touche," Eponine muttered as a touch of understanding flashed through her eyes. Gazing away from him, she briefly recounted the tale. "My great-grandmother is a Veela, who fell in love with a wizard, my grandfather, who visited her homeland. Great-grandmother was willing to leave her mother and her clan and all that she knew behind to come to the isles out of love for my grandfather."

"She must have loved him greatly," Ondine gently said causing Eponine to blink in surprise at the response and felt an almost unfamiliar warmth spread in her chest. It was as though her heart that had been frozen for so long had unexpectedly melted and began to beat again.