#would it be illegal for marlene and the mermaid to have a relationship when mermaids aren't considered beings but beasts?

[elliemarchetti]

Possibilities

Inspired by this comic and @microficmay’s prompt 29. You can picture this as part of Comfort in Times of Pain’s universe if you felt sorry for Marlene but are into Wolfstar (and sapphic monster romance, if you squint) OR as the prologue of a Sirius x Marlene x Remus story (I’m starting to get into throuples and I see the potential here, so if you’re interested DM me with ideas and I will write them!)

Prompt: Thrall

Words: 708

Marlene was walking on the shores of the Great Lake with a cigarette between her lips, one of her usual walks to clear her mind after an argument with Sirius, when she felt the water behind her move unnaturally, as if something big was shifting underneath the surface. A hissing voice called out to her, and as she turned, she met a pair of yellow eyes set like precious stones in a semi-human face with greyish skin, framed by long green hair similar to algae hanging from the reef. The mermaid had a long silver tail and sharp teeth, exactly like the Care of Magical Creatures book pictured them, but her interest didn’t seem to be direct on the fresh human flesh that made up Marlene’s body, but rather on the fag from which a thin line of smoke emerged and quickly mixed with the fog extending from the water to the land.

“Does it work with your gills?” she asked, waving the cig.

“Not exactly good for your lungs either,” the mermaid replied, making her laugh. Even though her accent was a little creepy, and the Headmaster has told them to stay away from mermaids and centaurs alike, Marlene saw no harm in bagging one with a favour that cost her nothing, so she gave her a cigarette and lit it for her.

“I thought the agreements prohibited you from coming to the shores,” Marlene commented, to fill the silence, as she sat down on the stony shore.

“They heavily suggest it,” responded the mermaid, pushing most of her torso out of the water, her elbow almost touching Marlene’s exposed knee. “But I like it around here: the people are nice and there’s some kids who give me some of their scampi on Friday night if I show them my tits.”

Marlene laughed again. That’s where Peter and Carter disappeared with all that food every Friday night, then. She wondered if they realized the mermaid had no real boobs. They should’ve asked her to blow the smoke out of her gills, like she was doing now. The show was definitely more interesting than whatever they thought they were getting.

“You don’t seem to be bothered by me,” stated the creature, the corners of her thin lips slightly raised, as if the fact amused her, or made her someway happy.

“I’m used to non-humans,” she retorted, thinking of Remus and his condition, how the moon affected his mood and his energies. Even though they thought they had kept the secret perfectly, the Marauders weren’t exactly the most cautious people in the world and it took Marlene very little to connect her classmate’s absences to the lunar cycle. The fact that Lupin was a werewolf in no way changed the respect and affection she had for him: he was her friend, regardless of what had happened to him when he was a child and which was probably also the cause of the long scars that crossed his face. She heard many girls call him disfigured and lament the uneven, white tissue as a waste of beauty, but Marlene still found him handsome, one of the few things she actually agreed on with Sirius.

“Would it be rude to ask if we could be… regular?” inquired the mermaid, hopeful. “I don’t get to see many girls often and I enjoy to chat.”

“Sure,” Marlene rejoined, surprised but flattered. “Just, don’t siren me.”

“I wouldn’t,” countered the mermaid. “Thralls make terrible conversation. Furthermore, it would be a pleasure to have a human friend I could borrow magazines from. I love to look at all your pretty clothes.”

“And I’d love to hear some underwater gossips,” added Marlene. “I bet some interesting shit happens in this lake all the time and us students are blissfully unaware.”

“This time tomorrow?” asked the mermaid, and it was the first time Marlene saw one of their kind so enthusiastic. “If I bring you some pearls, would you get us some food to share?”

“You don’t have to, it’s be my treat,” replied Marlene. “And I’ll leave some cigs and my lighter for you.”

“I can’t wait!” exclaimed the mermaid before diving back into the water, waving with one of her webbed hands. “See you tomorrow!”