THE BOY CAUTIOUSLY DIPPED HIS TOE into the Black Lake, wanting to feel that feeling that he hadn't experienced for ten years wanting to go back, wishing it was the time wasn't ephemeral.

Nothing happened.

He remembered the royal purple tail that every boy made fun of him for it, but his mother would always smile, and say, "Purple is the colour of royalty, Xander."

He remembered the sea, the smell of salt, and the sea creatures that urged him to learn about them, unlike the others of the pod, who wanted to eat them.

The Black Lake led to his sea, and he wanted to go there, wanting his purple tail back, no matter how much he hated it, wanting to swim the dolphins, feeling their gray, rubbery skin against his scarred arms, scarred from the stings of the jellyfish he loved to examine, happily exploring the wonders of the sea, sticking his tongue at his best friend, Estelle Petrova, who was a complete priss, and refused to hang out with animals, even though she lived around them. Not in harmony, but they were together.

He always wondered what happened to Estelle Petrova, with her dull green tail, and her bright smile, and her way of going to library, reading every book that she could get hands on, her copper hair that was never in place, and the way she hated using crushed seaweed as her ink, instead of the rich black ink that the ones above had used. The girl was a reader, and the two bonded over not fitting in.

He sighed, and looked out into the dark waters, with tumbling waves, and he hoped another shipwreck would not happen.

He lost everything.

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THE WAVES CRASHED, AND HE SAW HIS MOTHER in a net, and the six-year-old didn't know what to do, he was an excellent swimmer, but the waves were overpowering the boy, and he couldn't help it. Trepidation was coming into the sea, and he was sure that the merpeople were trembling in fright. The sea had overpowered them, and the humans have subjugated the merpeople.

He saw the glimpse of his wonderful, beautiful mother. She had inhumane beauty, she had the beauty of a mermaid, with her brown hair, and her brown eyes. Screaming at him, "Xander! GO!" she lost some of her beauty, and Xander did not like that. 

The young boy didn't know what to do, he was aware that he could not defeat the angry waves, and he does not know where the shore is.

The boy tried not to cry, he didn't know his future, and I wanted to hug the small boy, to swallow him inside my arms, trying to make him feel better.

But, that would just cause problems, apparently.

Xander Solasta was swallowed by the raging waters instead.

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HE WOKE UP TO THE BLAZING SUN, FEELING THE GRAINY SAND ON HIS HANDS AND HIS NEW BODY PART, LEGS, startled that he did not have his tail anymore. He looked around, delighted, but also trepidatious about his pod. What had happened to Venus Solasta, his mother? Estelle was also captured by the humans, wizards or not; they took the pod hostage. And his tail, the purple tail that glimmered, was gone and replaced by something he had not seen, but the humans had them. He did not like them, he thought tails were much better.

Xander tried to understand what happened to him, but he could not figure out. He didn't want to cry, but how long can someone keep that in for so long? He had lost his trenchant wit and stopped thinking logically. He wanted to sob and forget everything and only hope that it was a dream.

A boy with a suit (which Xander thought has obviously too big for him) and an odd expression on his face looked at Xander, examining him head to toe. "Um...do you want clothes?" said the boy, turning into a dark shade of red. The naked boy in front of the young Tott seemed imperceptible, and he was sure that helping him would be a tenebrous affair, but for some reason, Dorian wanted to help Xander. No matter what the premonitions.

Xander blushed as well, making the Tott laugh. "Um...what are clothes?"

Dorian Tott and Xander Solasta became best friends after that occurrence.

Xander had resided in the Tott house for years, but it took a lot of convincing for Mr. Tott to finally agree with Mrs. Tott and Dorian, even though they were a pure-blooded family, Mrs. Tott never agreed with their beliefs. Xander was welcomed into the family, and soon enough, everyone in the family warmed up to the merman.

He glanced at the dark waters, and got up to his feet and went to Hogwarts in grievance.

He was quite fortuitous that he was at Hogwarts, what would the boy have done if he wasn't?

HOGWARTS WAS EVERY LOST BOYS

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