Home.

(4.2) Percy

I told Harry we were going somewhere special today. He had a curious glint in his eyes but didn't react much other than that.

We didn't have to pack anything, so I grabbed the keys, took us out to the car, and blasted Green Day the entire time. Harry was amused at my awful singing, I could tell, but he couldn't manage himself a small smile. If Mom or Paul were here, he probably would have. But he didn't care enough to pretend around me knowing I could see right through it anyway. Oddly, I felt glad he didn't feel the need to be anything but himself with me. It was a form of trust I held to dearly.

As soon as the water came into sight, Harry recognized where we were. Montauk. We'd gone several times as a family, so he knew it well. The same cabin we rented and everything.

"Percy, if we were going to the beach, you could've just said so. I know it's special, but we didn't even pack swim trunks," Harry complained.

"Oh, Harry. You're not thinking big enough," I playfully mocked.

Only an arched eyebrow was sent my way. He didn't say anything more as I led him by the shoulders towards the water. He eyed it suspiciously as we drew nearer, likely thinking I was going to throw him in or something.

Not going to lie, I had thought of that. But quickly let it go in favor of the reaction to come. Sometimes I forget I'm 20 going on 21.

Gently, yet firmly, I forced him to step into the water with me. We stopped just as our feet were submerged. It took Harry a second to figure out his feet weren't wet. Not even his shoes got damp when he pulled one foot out to inspect it.

When I gently guided him further out to sea, he got the idea.

"Wait, we're not going underwater, are we?" Harry questioned with glimmering eyes that showed he didn't even believe his own disbelief.

"I thought you might like to see it. Unless..."

"No! I'd love to! But why now?"

I merely answered with a vague, "You'll see," (pun intended) before pulling us both under the water and into an air bubble.

Harry's reaction was immediate. It was far better than an aquarium or even scuba diving. I could've stepped out and been fine while maintaining the bubble, but I wanted to enjoy this alongside him. The bubble was magically made, so it had the same oxygen regeneration properties as the magic placed on Frank, Hazel, and Leo at the merpeople camp (dubbed Camp Fish-Blood by Valdez).

Large sharks swam right up to us, some wanting to play. Schools of fish swam by saying hello. Their cacophony of "Lord! Lord! Lord!" was very annoying. I took him further out but not too deep because he couldn't handle ocean pressure like I could. Maybe the bubble could protect him, but I didn't risk it. We settled at the sunlit seafloor near some corals and shells.

"Are those hermit crabs?" Harry asked pouting towards an array of colorful spirals in the sand.

"Yeah. Beautiful, aren't they?"

"I've never seen so many. Not like this anyway."

I picked up a couple in my hands to show Harry. One shell had a sea-green hue with a darker blue swirled around it and bits of white poking through. The other had a red-brown coloring that spiraled to a point. Harry gingerly took the one that matched my eyes and gently examined it with childish curiosity.

"Their shells are from past sea snails. Not many think about how the ocean mixes its history with the new life it breathes. Old shells, ancient caverns, even the seafloor is made of the remains of sea life and eroded rocks and stuff."

Harry eyed me before returning his focus on the hermit crab.

"Is this some sort of personal lesson?" he questioned rhetorically. "Like we'll always remember the past and it's not completely gone? Are you trying to tell me I'll always have a piece of Sirius in my mind or heart or something?"

I blinked a couple of times. Sometimes people put too much faith in my hidden intelligence.

"Uh, no," I shrugged. "I just thought it was cool. Maybe you'd like it. Take your mind off of things for a while."

Harry didn't look like he totally believed me but let it go in favor of admiring another hermit crab he lightly grabbed. The two in his hands started pushing each other. They weren't fighting, just getting to know one another. It was nice to sit and watch as if they were normal cousins hanging out.

If, that is, normal cousins could sit at the bottom of the ocean and play with a bunch of sea animals as a way to ignore the responsibility of saving the world and the inevitable grief that came with it.

We did nothing else that day. Upon returning home, Harry and I lazed around and ate cookies. Despite everything that had happened, it was a good day and a nice reminder that just because bad things happen doesn't mean good things can't come to us too.