Maybe it was the inner child in me that missed this when growing up, but the zoo was fantastic!
I mean how often do you get to see monkeys and tigers and giraffes and birds of prey and sea lions? The best part, hands down (as Percy liked to say), was that none of them tried to attack me. Dragons could never.
I may have been of age in the wizarding world, but that didn't stop me from bouncing from exhibit to exhibit like a first-year eying the castle halls. The only consolation was that Percy skipped right along with me. Sometimes literally skipping.
Of course, we visited the snake exhibit. Had great conversations with them. It was nice using my parseltongue without scaring people away.
Except for the janitor. We didn't see them at first.
'Ok wait', Percy exclaimed as we walked towards the penguins. 'If I can speak to fish and you can speak to snakes, can they speak to each other? I mean we can speak to each other.'
'Percy, that's because we speak English. Parseltongue is a different language and fish just somehow understand you. I don't think they're connected.'
'But wouldn't that be so cool!'
'I honestly don't understand what's "cool" about that.'
Percy scoffed. He pretended he was a mature adult and supposedly moved on, deciding to admire the enclosure rather than continue the conversation. But I swore he mumbled, 'would've been cool', under his breath.
We took our time visiting each section. The trip was one of the best presents because of the memories alone. However, I wasn't so daft not to realise when my American relatives were not-so-subtly spoiling me. I wasn't about to complain, but the excuses were funny every time.
Aunt Sally bought me an ice cream cone:
'You deserve some ice cream, Harry. Besides, I get tired of buying "blue" every time Percy wants some.'
Uncle Paul purchased a Bronx Zoo t-shirt for me:
'I just loved the koala bear! You'll need new shirts for the summer anyway.'
And Percy got me a fake snake from the gift shop:
'To keep you company when I'm at work. But the little guy needs a name. What do you say?'
I named it Tom.
Percy didn't think it was very funny after I told him who Tom was.
'If it weren't made of polyester, I would've fed it to the sharks', he grumbled.
Ignoring his protests, I took Tom home and placed him on my dresser. Percy eyed it with such distaste I wouldn't be surprised to see a murdered stuffed animal in the morning.
But the next day came and Tom was not gutted, stuffing still inside its plush exterior.
***
'Yo, Harry', Percy called out from his room. I was seated at the kitchen table when he walked in wearing swim trunks. 'Annabeth is coming over today. I thought we could go to the beach. I've got to work tomorrow, so I can't spend the night, but I think it'll be fun.'
'Oh', I said with surprise. It was a bit unexpected, but I did miss Annabeth. I was sure she'd be part of the family someday, so it was good we got along. 'Yeah, sounds great. Should I get ready?'
'Huh?' Percy scrunched his eyebrows in that thinking face he usually does before looking down. That was when he noticed his attire. 'Oh! No, no need! She won't be here for another three hours. But if I didn't get ready now, I would've forgotten by the time she arrived.'
That tracked. Percy remembered nearly everything he had to do. He just did so at the most unfortunate times. Like a doctor's appointment three days after he already went. Or the paper due the next morning. Or to renew his passport in two years. So he tended to do things as they came.
Thus, for three hours until Annabeth arrived, Percy did his Sunday morning routine in swim trunks. I think sunscreen was applied twice at random times. The beach bag was packed, lost, found, tossed in the car, lost again, found again, and then repacked. Meanwhile, I enjoyed a nice breakfast, finished the second summer reading assignment, and readied my own beach supplies.
It wasn't long before the three of us were ocean-bound. Annabeth and I filled the ride with talk about the past year and a half because we both vetoed Percy's singi-, er, music selection. We all tossed around a frisbee in the ocean (because you can't lose it if fish bring it back to Percy), played football on the sand, and sunbathed on our towels. Annabeth had, of course, brought along a large selection of reading. She and Hermione would be best of friends. Percy chose to stay in the water and I agreed to stay with him. No need to worry about currents or tides when you've got the son the Poseidon with you. Unless said demigod sends a tidal wave at you and wasn't affected by salt water in his mouth as he laughed.
Afterwards, we all ended up playing board games at a nearby picnic table. Nico and his boyfriend, Will, popped in — stepping out of the umbrella's shadow — to join in on a game of Risk. Will told me about being a healer and it was nice to know not everyone used crying, baby mandrake plants or a disgusting solution of skele gro to heal.
Nico complained (often) about getting burned even with the copious amount of sunscreen he applied sitting under an umbrella.
'Who wouldn't want to have fun in the sun?' said Will, an equally generous amount of sunscreen on his face.
'Did you just admit you wanted to have fun under your father's supervision?' Nico asked dryly.
The son of Apollo gave a look reserved for, as Annabeth informed me, 'uncooperative patients and Nico di Angelo'. Percy subconsciously averted his gaze, letting me know he was one of the uncooperative patients.
It was late into the evening when Percy stopped the fun. 'Sorry, guys. Beaches aren't going to clean themselves. Gotta get out there early tomorrow.'
'Fine by me', Annabeth added. 'I have to check on the construction for the Muses' new amphitheatre in the morning anyway.'
Nico looked indifferent, but Will seemed disappointed to end so soon. 'We should do this more often. I'm back in Texas for the rest of this summer. But next summer definitely.'
The other three immediately agreed while I shifted awkwardly in my seat. There was a high probability I wouldn't be able to join next summer, but now was not the time to mention it. Thankfully, no one called me out for staying silent.
Even so, the ride home was tense for me. I kept imagining conversations in my head about how I'd break the news to them. Every scenario I conjured up ended with Aunt Sally and Uncle Paul and Percy hating me.
Was it probably an irrational fear? Yes. But what if it wasn't? What if they felt betrayed or something? How do I tell them this would be my last summer in America. How do I break the news that I'm moving to England permanently?
YOU ARE READING
Home.
Fanfic[Completed] Harry Potter's world turned upside down. He no longer had to spend lonely summers at the Dursley's. In fact, he would never again spend his summers at the Dursley's. But was that a good thing? It meant leaving his friends, people he cons...
