CHAPTER EIGHT
the inevitable return

𖦹 ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ ⋆｡˚⋆ฺ˚⋆˚ 𖦹

SEA FOAM BUBBLES IN HER peripheral vision, hazy pearls of saltwater bubbling around her head as she huffs outwards from her big black nose. Her flippers wade against the intensifying currents, casting ripples through the gunmetal grey ocean that envelops her tight. The dappled light cast down from the surface grows dimmer as she wriggles deeper and deeper into the depths, losing herself in a world separate to the other one she loves so dearly, the melodic sounds of the sea quelling whatever battles she's fighting in her own mind. Problems on land seem faraway and insignificant when Cove finds herself lost within the water.

  She can make out the faraway cries of her colony as they carry through the waves, discerning her grandmother's commanding barks against the chatter of all the others. They had just concluded a larger hunt led by her grandfather, though Cove had broken away from the crowd at the last minute when she realised that she's supposed to be on a tight schedule. Her goodbyes had been rushed, much to the chagrin of her grandparents, and she fled in the opposite direction with her tail between her legs. It doesn't help that she still hasn't told them about Remus, trying to fight off that awkward conversation for as long as she possibly can. If Cordelia was disapproving, she doesn't even want to think about how her grandfather would react.

  She pushes it to the back of her mind. That can be a problem for future Cove. Comforted in the presence of the almost normality she's gliding through, her body swerves to roll so that she's swimming through the tides on her back, her belly facing upwards as she closes her eyes and hones into the conversations transpiring around her.

Her peace is short lived. Propelled by her own hunger, Cove feels a primal pull towards the blurry school of fish that go whizzing past her, whiskers twitching in delight at the thought of catching one for the last time before her inevitable return to Hogwarts. Though, just as she's poising her flippers to shoot off after them, she stops short.

  A shift in the water grabs her attention. Her head snaps up to the blip on her radar, tilting to the side in interest. Cove snaps her head back and forth indecisively, uttering a low whine. Swivelling onto her back for the last time, she hums a disgruntled growl at the back of her throat as the fish swim further out reach. It takes a few more minutes of difficult decision making before Cove finally decides to abandon her morning snack and wade closer to the surface.

The thing that had attracted her attention turns out to a smooth stone, polished and eroded after being tumbled around in the sea for ages. She nudges it with her nose to turn it over and latches onto a familiar scent of pine, lukewarm coffee ( black as the night sky, of course ) and... cigarettes? Has he been smoking again? The claws on her foreflippers graze over it thoughtfully, teeth clicking together as the message begins to sink in.

Remus. Reaching out to her from land.

  She wishes her dad hadn't taught him the rock skimming trick.

  Grumbling under her breath the whole way up, she shoots off in the direction of sunlight. It's not long before Cove breaks the murky surface with a slight gasp and shudders under the sensation of being human again. She slips her sealskin down off of her head entirely, pushing her soaked curls away from her face as the choppy waves slash against her cheeks. Now bobbing about on two legs instead of a single tail, she kicks strongly until the beach is within a more reasonable range. The waves lift her out onto the sand and place her before the scarred boy twiddling his thumbs on the shore, her hands anchoring on her hips as she shoots him a look of undiluted disapproval.

   Cove tuts. "You shouldn't abuse the rock skimming. You're supposed to use it for emergencies only."

   "Well, it's time to go," he says apologetically. "I had to get through to you before your dad decided to drown me in the sea. I think that counts as an emergency, no?"

   "Mm, aye. We'll see," she says dryly, walking over to whisk her clothes up into a bundle in her arms. Cove ducks into the cover of a rock to slip out of her sealskin, tugging her flares up over her legs and pushing her head through the high collar of a stripy polo neck.

  "Y'know, you smell like fags," she calls over her shoulder as she ties her shoelaces into double knots. "Have you been smoking again?"

  He sighs, fingers twitching habitually at his sides as if he's searching for another. "Sorry. I know you don't like it. I, um, needed one to calm down."

  She frowns, shrugging on a corduroy jacket. "You alright?"

  "Yeah, don't worry. Just thinking about how I'm gonna have to see the boys later on today."

   Cove swallows thickly. "Ah. Right."

   He knew that he wouldn't be able to avoid Sirius forever — he shares a dorm with him, for crying out loud! It's only... the holidays had flown in so quickly and in the blink of an eye, he's about to face an extremely difficult conversation with his best friends. It was only a matter of time and yet his gut is aflame with excruciating nerves. He loves them like his brothers, but what Sirius did had hit too close to home for Remus' comfort. His blood boils at the thought, mind beginning to wander as his speculations broaden. The damage it had done to his girlfriend aside, he couldn't help but wonder: what if the same had been done it to him? What if his secrets had been laid bare to the world without a thought?

He's frustrated. He's confused. But most of all, he's angry that Sirius would do something like that when, after years of being friends with the resident werewolf of Hogwarts, he should just know better.

And there's that horrible thought again, eating away at his brain; if Sirius could give away Cove at the drop of a hat, who's to say that Remus isn't next in line? That causes goosebumps to erupt on his forearms.

   It kept him up most of the night. His New Years resolution had been to smoke less for Cove's sake but he couldn't help lighting one earlier, shrouded in the dark of the morning. Hiding his worries and smothering any doubts that might dare to show on the surface. He hates how vulnerable he is without them and how he can't seem to make the right decision, not to mention how he felt afraid of what the morning light would illuminate for him.

  He supposes it's not the first time he's felt that heavy feeling, clawing at his chest until he finds it hard to breathe properly. His thoughts are growing too much. Overwhelming. He blinks rapidly to wash away the hot tears that press behind his lids, focusing on the nearby seagulls for a distraction.

   Remus waits patiently for Cove and tries his hardest not to scream at the world for everything wrong in his life, eyes drifting to the clouds above his head until a fleeting touch on his elbow alerts him that the coast is clear. He opens his mouth to say something to her when another voice slices through the middle of his words, scratchy from lack of use and adorned in a thick Hebridean accent. The interruption makes his brows furrow in annoyance.

   "Are you actually tryin' to leave without saying goodbye?"

   As the initial irritation subsides, Remus' breath hitches in surprise. It seems that the feeling is mutual for at lightning speed, Cove spins around with a puff of laughter escaping her, eyes crinkling at the long lost sound of her best friend's glacial voice.

The pale girl glows under the grey skies, hickory eyes barbed in accusation. Icy blonde waves crinkle over her stiff shoulders, cascading down her back like the tumble of a rushing waterfall. Her sealskin is shrugged just beneath her collarbones and comes down to rest around her mid calf, stark white with flecks of grey dotted across the fur. The seashell necklace around her neck shimmers slightly when she draws closer to Cove, the runes engraved across her own lighting up to match. Her brows are drawn together in a firm frown that only worsens at the sight of Remus. It makes him feel a bit guilty for upsetting her, even if he couldn't understand what he'd done.

Cordelia ambles forward with a casual air about her but she drops the act quickly enough, lunging forward to tackle Cove in a hug, her stern expression relaxing to a softer one of solace. She squeezes her tight, sharp nails digging into the fabric of her jacket as the pressure of the bear hug squeezes all the air from her lungs.

"Stay safe," she mutters. Cove can feel the glare that she's shooting at Remus and it makes her own lips curve up into a smile. "Tha gaol agam ort."

   "Tha gaol agam ort," Cove choruses. She smiles bashfully as Cordelia peppers little kisses on both her cheeks. "I'll try to tide message as much as I can. It's only a few months and then I'll be home for good."

  She nuzzles into her shoulder, reluctant to let her go. "I'm gonna miss you anyway."

  Cove hums in understanding. They stand for a moment, backed by the swirling sea foam, lost in the goodbye as bittersweetness taints the cold air around them. Her thumb rubs over a white scar on her friend's shoulder blade, her cheek pressing into the crown of her head hard enough to leave a faint mark. They part at last, the comforting smile on Cove's lips left unreciprocated.

  "Should I be worried?" Remus jokes in Cove's ear, his voice barely above a whisper.

  He nearly jumps out of his skin when Cordelia's eyes flash. "You should always be worried when I'm around, human."

   He blinks. "Right. Noted."

Before he can completely crumble under her glare, she unfocuses her harsh eyes and begins to stare at something past his shoulder. Cordelia bristles, taking an unstable step back towards the ocean.

   She bears two rows of pointy teeth and someone clears his throat noisily from behind them. Remus follows her glare to find Aaron folding his arms across his chest, something dark igniting in his narrowed eyes at the sight of her. It only adds an uncomfortable tension to the already strained moment. Cordelia's now up to her ankles in the water, making a slow getaway as if moving too quickly would invite hostility.

  "Let's go, Cove," he says coldly. The bitter tone blanketing his voice raises the hairs along their napes. "Can't be late, now."

Remus doesn't exactly know the gory details of what happened between Aaron and Cordelia, but he can tell that it was severe. Across the span of several early mornings when he was pretending to sleep, he could hear Cove arguing with her father over something in violent whispers, catching her friend's name in the mix enough to raise his concern. He'd never heard her sound so genuinely distressed before. Whatever Aaron had done to wrong her in the past, he knows that it ruptured an artery full of bad blood with both his daughter and Cordelia.

  Cove turns to glance at her, only to realise that she's dipped back into the rolling waves and lost herself amongst the tides. Her shoulders sink in disappointment, feet dragging reluctantly her across the sand dunes with Remus in tow to reach her dad, digging her sharp nails into the side of her leg to try and stifle her building frustration. Remus quickly intertwines their fingers, a weak attempt to offer some comfort, trying not to wince when crescents dig into the taut skin of his knuckle.

Cove reaches out to Aaron's arm, a glare piercing into his side profile as he ignores her. They seem too busy giving each other the silent treatment to give him any warning. His eyes widening in realisation, Remus grasps onto the trunk at his feet and is lurched headfirst into side-along apparition, his body twisting as they begin to spiral from one place to another.

°•.•°•.•°•.•°

HIS LANDING IS ANYTHING BUT SOFT.

Remus falls onto his knees, scuffing the fabric of his jeans and grazing the skin beneath to the point that it flames in agony. His trunk clatters down next to him and he stifles a wince at the thought of all the fragile things inside he's probably gone and fractured, accepting Cove's hand up with his ego slightly bruised.

He takes in his new surroundings while dusting himself off. He had never really seen Arisaig station properly, only ever through the train windows. It's tiny, with about two benches and a few lampposts to brighten the atmosphere when it grows darker. The fences are ensnared in overgrown heather and bracken, the trees sprouting from behind the small ticket building stretching their spindly branches skywards. A handful of other students stand about on the platform next to them, practically watching the grass grow as the train takes forever to appear.

When Remus turns back to Aaron and Cove, he realises that neither of them have said a word to each other yet. Their glaring doesn't falter and he quickly decides that he wants the ground to swallow him whole.

"Thanks for the lift, dad," Cove mutters finally. "See you in a few months."

Aaron looks at a loss for words. She doesn't wait for a response before making a beeline for the opposite end of the platform. Remus sheepishly turns to him, recoiling under the fury in his sea green eyes.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mr Henderson," he says, willing his voice not to wobble. "I'll, er, see you later. Take care."

Aaron grunts, promptly turning and disappearing without another word. Remus takes that as his cue to chase after his girlfriend. He mulls his options over in his head and decides to go for a slightly blunter approach.

"Is everything alright with you and your dad?" Remus asks as gently as he can muster, wincing at the way she tenses up and leans away from him like she's been burned.

Cove clears her throat, blinking away her nerves. "I— Look, Remus, you have to understand that me 'n my da have a... complicated relationship. It's not always easy for us to get along, especially with my mum and her whole situation. I'm sorry you were caught in between one of our falling outs but I, um, I dunno. It's just one of these things."

Her eyes are darting around wildly. It couldn't be more obvious that she doesn't want to talk about this. Not now, probably not ever.

Remus frowns at the mention of her mum. He had only seen Mairi around a few times over the holidays and he hates to say that those sightings had given him chills. She's truly a shell of a person, her eyes vacant and her actions holding no real purpose behind them. Her movements around the cottage felt more reminiscent of a spectre than a selkie, her expression maintaining a dull look and her ebony hair hanging lifeless around her face. Luckily, Cove had explained the whole concept of skin stealing to him a while ago. He thinks that it's easier to understand why her relationship with Aaron is so strained considering how he'd— well, how he'd blatantly ruined her mother.

He places a hand on her shoulder to try and slow down her panic. "You're fine. I get it."

She sighs in relief at the thought of not having to explain it any more, shoulders visibly relaxing. Her focus is trained back on the tracks as time ticks forward.

They're not left waiting long. The Hogwarts Express chugs down the tracks until grinding to a halt before the gaggle of students collected on the platform, everyone rushing to climb aboard before they can be gawked at any longer through the windows like zoo animals. It couldn't have come at a better time — Remus was on the verge of launching himself onto the tracks if he had to wait a second longer. Who knew that a magically powered steam train could delay as much as any regular muggle trains.

   "You ready?" she asks, squeezing his hand in her own.

   "Well, no." Remus sucks in a deep breath, rubbing his temples. "But I suppose I need to have this conversation sooner or later."

   "I'll see you after the feast, yeah?" she asks. He nods curtly and Cove leans up to press a peck on his cheek, pulling away in pursuit of her friends.  "Good luck."

   He breaks away to gaze out the window as the steam train chugs down the tracks, the fir trees reflected in the distant glaze over his starry eyes. A breathy laugh escapes him, void of all humour.

   "I think I'm going to need it."

author's note!

i'm back from the dead (holiday)

god this chapter was MID and isn't edited but i'm knackered 😭 i can barely keep one eye open pls ignore any mistakes love you all lots

writers block has been hitting me like a brick wall but rewatching the hp movies w my friend helped me get inspo again 😭 sorry that this update took so long, i'm gonna try to focus more on my writing for a bit since i'll actually have time this summer!

and also we're finally going back to hogwarts !!!! i have a few interesting things planned for the upcoming chapters and some cheeky plot holes to patch up 🫡

( editing this made me realise that i was actually at arisaig station a year ago today lol )