XXXXX𝔇esislava was struggling to remain focused on the papers that she was grading. The setting sun was still streaming in softly through her window and inviting her outside with a tantalizing pull of its sunbeams. Had she taken the time a few days ago to catch up on grading the project that she had assigned for her upper classes, then perhaps she might have been able to have her afternoon tea out by the lake as she had planned. Instead, she was stuck in her stuffy tower with the window open. Her nose wrinkled for the third time in the few minutes it had been since she had lit this particular incense.
She looked down at the homework piles left to grade on her desk. There were still four stacks, neatly organized into the years. Maybe if she stopped grading the upper levels and focused on one of the lower years it would make her feel better about getting some work done. Feeling confident that it would not take her very long to finish the third years homework pile, she picked up the first assignment and graded it quickly. The next fifteen or so pages of parchment followed and Desi allowed herself to believe that she was going to finally be allowed outside for the day.
And then the homework of Prat Pass was handed to her.
Looking at the homework that this particular student had handed in, Desi knew that she would not make it out to the lake before the moon rose and the temperatures dropped. Mr. Pass was a bright student from what she had heard among the other teachers- he simply possessed no ability for the Sight or respect for her subject at large. She often wondered why he chose to continue taking the subject when it was clear that he made no attempt to better himself through her lessons. This particular lesson that she was grading had been instructing the students to write out the process of making Moon or Sun water, and which crystals they would pick for their assignment.
She couldn't even dignify his assignment with a response as all he had written was "This isn't real."
At this point Desislava was completely fed up and out of frustration (not towards her students) she swiped the remaining stacks of paper off of her desk and collapsed against it. The overwhelming weight that was the end of the semester not only affected the students, but it too affected some teachers. It being her first year, the overwhelming homesickness she felt for the call of the Islands and the feel of home. The air was too dry here, the noises where too full of the city despite the green rolling hills that the castle was nestled in. Everything about Hogwarts was too foreign and too... normal? Too pedestrian?
She scoffed at that idea. Students at Hogwarts always seemed to be in some sort of predicament or otherwise. Pedestrian definitely wasn't the right word for the school.
Tap tap tap!
Desi popped her head up off her desk, confused as to where the noise had come from. The evening sun had set and the enchanted walls of her office now reflected a crescent moon over the waves of a calm beach. The only illumination of the However, the tapping persisted and Desi noticed that the window now housed an entirely too familiar bird.
"Haerero?" She muttered to both herself and the swamp heron as she opened the window and it hopped into her arms looking for the comfort of a long lost friend. The large bird attempted to fold itself into her embrace as though he was a cat before Desi noticed the roll of parchment bound to his leg. Carrying the heavy bird to her office couch, she allowed him to nest in the pillows that she had just arranged as she unbound the scroll and smiled at the block scrawl that was the unrecognizable writing of her boyfriend.
Ezra was Desi's other half. Her better half truly. The half-New Zealander, half Māori man had been one of her peers when she had transferred to the Isle of Divination all those years ago. Of course back then, the two of them had only just been teenagers- herself two years younger than him. Their school life together had been interesting, because of their age gap they'd never been in any classes together. However her Dukun had encouraged her to make friends but it was a welcome surprise when they had stumbled across each other on the Muggle side of Australia during her last few weeks among the country. He had reminded her how much her freedom in Oceania meant to her and from there a loving relationship had blossomed.
Refusing to return to her desk and the homework that was overdue to be graded, she sat on her office couch and read through Ezra's messy message.
Oi there Sea-Sun!
I had a feeling that you were getting a little miffed at the end of the year. But you know we only have a few months- even weeks until you're home again. I miss you too, very much. My little sea-star. I bet you miss the ocean too. I've got a smashing surprise for you when you travel home and if you can keep it up, pull through and ride the last of these waves in, it's yours. Deal? Oh! And I found some deals from an old buddy of mine from the Aquarium. I was thinking we could recreate our first date as your first night back? Robert said he'd let you swim with the Dugongs! You always wanted to do that right?
The letter jostled a memory that filled Desislava's mind with visions that were so sweetly detailed.
She had been in Sydney, exploring the city and taking some time to herself as she decided whether or not she would be returning to Bulgaria to inherit her parents' bookstore. It had been too long since she had set foot on the European continent, and the allure of the southern hemisphere was still urging her to explore and think about everything before she packed up and left for Pomorie once again. As a result, and out of curiosity- Desi had traversed out of the Australian wizarding world and into the throughs of muggle culture. She'd tried her best to remain inconspicuous but a wide-eyed woman looking lost usually attracted attention in some way or other.
The other issue that she was currently running from was the fact that if she couldn't find something to tie her back to Oceania, then she would need to leave. It was only luck that she had something to fall back on. But to live her life obscured from the oceans she had come to know better than anything for books? That just wasn't her.
So she wandered Sydney. Hoping to find somehting that was... attractive and meaning to stay.
When she'd bumped into Ezra for the first time in nearly five years, he'd been almost the same. Except exceptionally different. His arms had caught her before she tumbled to the cobblestone and his still somewhat cheeky voice reminded her of what she had been attracted too when it was just a silly school crush.
'Has he been working out or is this just his Maori side finally exhibiting itself?' She had thought somewhat sneakily. Though the blush across her face had definitely exposed her as Ezra pinched her cheek- just as he'd done when they were in school.
"Aue Desislava- It's been a minute. You look good but... well you look lost. The kiwi had joked. Her flushed demeanor had only egged Ezra on further.
"I'm not lost I'm- I'm looking for this-" She explained, holding out a brochure that she'd been passed by some lady at her hotel. It was for the Sydney Aquarium, and on the front of the page, a dugong swam lazily along the watery tresses. Ezra's eyes widened and his smile curled into a soft-spoken one.
"Well sweet, I can get you there. I'm heading that way myself since I work there." He offered as he shrugged his shoulder in a direction to follow him. Desislava only hesitated for a moment before she jogged to catch up to him.
Ezra's entrance into the Aquarium had been much easier than it would have been if Desi had tried to pay witht he meager amount of muggle money that she had left. But the entrance was still worth it. Ezra had taken her backstage as he called it, and explained to her the inner workings of how Muggles were able to care for and rehabilitate nearly eighty-five percent of the sea creatures who lived there. The water-pump system had been the most confusing to her- how were the muggles able to organize such a complex system. But Ezra walked through as much as he could with her without confusing her pureblood brain. She wasn't stupid, but muggle life still confounded her.
"You still into all the mermaid things? Or surfing?" Ezra asked as they looked over the touch tank. The noise of families, kids, and the goers of everyday life now filled in some of their conversation.
"Yes I am. I still want to study them but I have to find some reason to stay in Oceania or I have to go home." She explained as her hand crossed over the back of a starfish that was investigating her finger with it's feet.
"Stay?" Ezra asked with a confused air. Desislava nodded and explained her situation to him. Ezra's understanding of her predicament grew. She remembered the hesitation in his hands, shaking slightly as the nerves in his brain fought with the motion of what to do. But he'd hugged her.
Even after years apart, it felt as if he'd only given her a hug the day before.
When they had made it to the Dugong exhibit, Desislava had been enamoured by the gentle creatures. Watching them snack on lettuce heads had made her laugh and follow them from side to side as they swam. Before she could walk across the walkway again, Ezra grabbed her arm and pointed at the top of the tank. Her eyes laid sight on a woman who was easing herself into the tank and she-
She had a mermaid tail. But wasn't a mermaid?
"Боже мой... как е възможно това?" She gasped as she held her hand to her chest. The woman in the tank- the were-mermaid? She was swimming as though the water was nothing more than the way she walked across the Earth. Her iridescent pink tail propelled her towards the bottom of the tank where a gaggle of school children had gathered to stare at her in amazement and awe. Ezra chuckled as he ran his hand through his half curls.
"It's a muggle contraption. She straps her feet into the fin where the uh bigger fin is, and then she can swim. There's a hose in the back of the coral for her to breathe. Pretty interesting right?" Ezra asked as Desislava watched the mermaid flip and swim. Then, when the mermaid retreated out of the tank, Ezra continued to surprise her.
Through some fancy magical configuration, perhaps a bit of bribery, and two weeks of muggle-related bootcamp later, Desislava had found herself a job at an Aquarium as a professional mermaid. As temporary as it was, it would mean a reason for staying in Australia. And it was all thanks to Ezra Maanaki.
That rascal. He continued to help her adjust to the muggle-aquarium before they left for greener pastures on the island of Moo'rea Maiao for her research, and Ezra's love of chasing dark water creatures. She looked down at her letter and smiled stupidly to herself before noticing that Ezra had drawn an arrow to the back of the parchment when he had run out of space in his ramblings about their koi-fish and his turtle, Smeagol
But if you really need a quick pick me up Sea-Sponge, I would say that maybe you should find your way to that bar in the Village near your school. At around 8pm? You might find something or someone (he had underlined this word quite ferverously)waiting for you. Just a thought. So you should be there. Please-
Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
See you Sea-Spalsh, I miss you heaps,
Ezra
Desislava laughed as she read the retreiever like deperation at the end of his letter, until the time clicked in her head and she looked towards her clock on the wall. It read 7:15pm. Scrambling off her couch, with a quick snack given to Haerero, she raced towards her bedroom to find her shoes before departing her tower for The Three Broomsticks.
A welcome surprise, from someone an ocean away was waiting for her. The grading of homework needed to wait.
