Change in plans

To say that he was shocked by this was an understatement as he gapped at the sight. It was only after paying an extra ring that he learned that this was actually a bloodline ability supposedly inherited from Oceanus. Literally every member of the merfolk was capable of it and in fact it was considered a tradition to master the power to the greatest extent each individual was capable. Nick burst into uproarious laughter when he heard this as if the pureblooded wizards had done the same then they wouldn't be the near worthless wizards they are.-

Bloodline abilities aren't a joke in the advantage they give a wizard regardless of talent. The biggest example of this is how easy it is for even Luna who had a watered down version of Nick's magical senses to learn new magic. Being able to literally see what the correct form of a spell was after a demonstration was a massive advantage. Then there was Snape who had what was known as the hags gift which let him easily master any potion recipe he learned as well as improve it. This made him nearly unrivaled in the field with what he may see as little effort.-

An entire race that mastered their bloodline ability like the merfolk should be nearly unstoppable in Nicks opinion so he wondered why they were so easily suppressed. It was only after watching the craftsman at work that he figured out a startling thing. 'Their magical abilities have been partially sealed.' he thought in horror. He came to this conclusion after watching several of the merfolk activate their bloodline ability and sensing their magical energies. He had felt that each of these adult merfolk had nearly twice the amount of mana as an adult wizard but when they tapped into it a sort of blockage appeared to limit the amount they could actually use.-

It was so subtle that he almost didn't even notice it until he really started to pay attention. To his senses it felt like something foreign that had been grown around like when a person gets shot and the bullet isn't removed. The difference was that it was clear that it had been there from birth as none of the merfolk seemed to realize it wasn't normal. 'I don't know what this is but I have a really bad feeling about it.' Nick thought with a frown.-

Unfortunately he knew that he didn't have a chance to figure out whatever it was as it was nearly imperceptible to his senses. Unfortunately he couldn't learn the crafting method of the merfolk since he lacked their bloodline gift and could only spend the rest of the day learning about ever facet of their culture. When he was done he had a fairly large stack of paper with no organization at all for the information held within it. Putting the stack away into Greed Nick bid farewell to the merfolk and swam out of the city to explore the rest of the lake.-

This was made easy when a huge horse-like creature with greenish coloration and long kelp like fins and mane approached him curiously. "A Kelpie huh? I knew there was a couple of you in here but you are usually quite shy." he said with a smile as the creature smelled and examined him curiously. Eventually it was satisfied with it's examination and pushed it's head against his chest seeking affection. Nick was more than happy to rub it's neck and scratch it under the chin.-

Happy at the attention the kelpie flipped Nick over it's neck and onto it's back forcing him to hold on tightly as it took off through the water. It was an exhilarating feeling to feel the water flow over the skin and watch as the surroundings zip by. 'Clearly this kelpie has done this before.' he thought as the beast surfaced and swam rapidly in full view of the students outside with Nick on it's back. Nick was slightly surprised to see that his friends were at the boathouse with Hagrid who was whistling. It didn't take long for the kelpie he was on to start making a beeline for the half giant across the waters surface.-

Hagrid and all of his friends also saw him on the beasts back and were stunned as the kelpie slowed down before swimming into the boat house. "Afternoon everyone." Nick said with a grin. "I'm so jealous!" Tracy exclaimed angrily as Nick slid off the side of the kelpie and onto the dock. ""Agreed!"" Luna , Daphne and surprisingly Ron said at the same time. Nick laughed "It came to me and offered a ride , what was I supposed to say , no?" he said with a shrug.