The answer was seemingly simple. GET SOME HELP! He can't live out the rest of his life as some sort of weird serpentine dragon residing within the oceans forever! He had a job to get back to, and a romantic partner he'll find (eventually... Maybe...). While he had bad luck before on romance and dating, it'll become impossible to find a (human) partner if he's some sort of weird fish dragon!
With these thoughts in mind, James tried to swim his way to the shore; the onlookers continuing to act terrified as they saw him make his way towards the beach; however none of this led him astray as he strode on awkwardly with his recently changed appendages. The salty breeze wafting around the dragon's new scaled form as he fought against the waves that seemed to try dragging him down into the strange, alien depths of a harsh and cold sea. The cold water tried to push him back, seemingly increasing in strength as it beat on his scaled form ever so harder and harder; eventually though, he reached the beach.
The cold grains of sand scratched on the new dragon as he fell down on it, and with limbs not made for such endeavors, pulled himself up it, further and further up until he rolled over- exhausted, at the experience. Just basking alone in the now discomforting sunlight as it continued to glow endlessly until the rotation is right.
Eventually he found himself hungry, and the feeling of dehydration only got worse and worse as the day went on. How long has it been? Minutes? Hours? James didn't know as he slowly began to drift off, sleep; or death? He didn't know...
When he began to fully drift away into the realms of dreams (death? Dreams+Death = Dreath?) he felt himself be soon be lathered in some spots with a sort of lotion? Sunscreen? And his tail and head began to feel heavy with some sort of weird weighted soft object? Clothes? And even some spots felt like they were being cooled off by an ice-pack. These visions did correlate with sights of the librarians and even some uniformed lifeguards... Was that it?
Why?
James would not find out at this time as he was rolled over to be upright and soon after what felt like a few minutes and black outs, he was carried back into the sea by a crane. And this time, with himself fully off into slumber, he unconsciously swam himself into his new home. The deep blue of the dreamlike and eternal oceans.