Nature is such an unpredictable thing. As is fate. While it is possible to know the potential of a man it is hardly possible for us mortals with such finite understanding to know exactly what a man will become before he becomes that person.

However, for one Vernon Dursley it was all too easy to see what he would do when he was obligated to bring his nephew Harry Potter on a cruise through the Caribbean. Normally the "Boy," as he was often called, would not be permitted to accompany the Dursley family on such a trip. However, Mrs. Figg was unable to watch after his wife's nephew, and none of the other neighbors were able to have the boy stay with them. So, through some act of providence, the resident of the cupboard under the stairs was dragged along on the cruise through the tropical sea.

First chance that he had though, Vernon dragged the skinny, messy haired boy into one of the restricted areas of the ship and stuffed him into a cargo crate. The walrus of a man forbade Harry James Potter from leaving that crate for the entire trip. Little could anyone predict Mother Nature would be in a foul mood the first night of the cruise.

A sudden mighty storm appeared during the night, and tossed the ship back and forth. It was at this time that Fate decided to play one of her cards, normally saved to bring misfortune but on this night it would become a boon for the small boy. You see, years ago when the ship was being constructed there was a small error made during construction. That error was believed to be fixed by a simple weld. However, Fate decided to make the weld fail.

The harsh waves buffeted the oceanic liner until the weld broke. The simple failure of one weld caused more damage than it should as water rushed through with tremendous amounts of pressure and was filling the cargo hold. The damage to the hull forced the evacuation of the entire ship and its crew. Unfortunately, the Dursley family forgot about their ward in the cargo hold.

Young Harry was so scared when he felt his confines shifting around him. The sudden jerking and rolling tossed Harry around in his crate. His fears were intensified when water started leaking in to where he was. He remembered when Uncle Vernon held him under the water once, it hurt a lot. This time though he knew that there would be very little chance that he would be able to get out of this situation. So being a four year old in duress he did the only thing that he could think of, he started to cry. His tears poured freely down his face as he sobbed out a wish,

"Someone, please help." At this point the water had reached the base of his neck and was creeping up his face. Then the little boy's mind was lost to Oblivion.

Burning in the lungs greeted the boy as the world came slowly back to him. His lungs were expelling a great amount of water from his body. A gentle but firm hand was patting his back encouraging the body's reaction to having liquid in the lungs.

"Come on, just a bit more." Came a kind voice. Harry's sight came back into focus and his young eyes took hold upon a woman with very wet brown sea green hair. Her face wore an expression of worry. This confused Harry, no one was ever concerned for him. When she saw that he was conscious she let out a long sigh and pulled him in close,

"Oh thank the tides you're awake. He's awake every one!" A clamor of female voices and splashing water echoed around him. It was then that Harry realized that he was in a cave lined with glowing moss. To one side of the cave there was a beach and a tunnel that led off into the darkness while the other side sloped down into the glowing translucent waters below. Along the sides of the cave there were ledges where people could sit Looking around his eyes wide when he looked at the other occupants of the cave. Every woman present wore a shirt made of a lightweight material that reflected an oceanic color scheme, that was not the shocking thing however; each woman was only half human and half fish. From the waist down each woman present had a fish tail of a different color, which generally matched the color of their hair. The woman looked to one of her fellows,

"Telia, could you be a dear and tell Mark about what is going on? He will need to know, especially in this case."

A woman, now named Telia, nodded and crossed the distance to the beach. With some degree of effort she crawled up onto the sand. Once she was completely beached Harry watched as the colored fin became a set of colored legs. It really looked like her fin had transitioned into a pair of scaly colored pants. Telia then hoisted herself up onto her newly formed feet and ran off into the cave. Once the strange woman was out of the lady that was holding Harry turned her attention back to him,

"Are you feeling alright little one?" She asked him, pushing some of his wet hair away from his face, "Can you tell me your name?"

Harry's little body started to shiver when it realized that it was wet and exposed to the cool air of the cavern. The woman realized this and did her best to completely envelop his tiny frame,

"Sorry, but we don't really keep towels or blankets. A little help here everyone." Before Harry could think he was surrounded by other women who did their best to help warm his tiny, underfed frame. Little Harry's emotions couldn't take it any more. He didn't know how to react to people helping him, or even caring for him. So his eyes started to leak tears which turned into a steady stream of tears. Seeing this the one who held wiped the tears away,

"Dear, what's the matter?"

"No one… ever cared… about me." Harry sobbed out. All those who were doing their best to warm him suddenly leaned in and tightened their hold on him. The little boy eventually cried himself out and settled into the lead's body where he slipped into slumber. It was a short while later that the silence that fell on the cave was broken. A sharp crack filled the air and two people appeared from the aether. One was Telia and she had her arm wrapped around a man that looked to be in his thirties. He had light brown hair and well tanned skin, his eyes were dark brown and stood a head above Telia. Around his waist he wore a leather belt with a holster that held a long stick made of polished redwood.

"Melia, what is going on?" He asked the one who held the sleeping boy. The woman now identified as Melia had the present mermaids disperse and showed Mark the sleeping boy in her arms.

"He just appeared in the middle of the submerged caves and I rushed him up here to the cavern."

Mark took out the stick and waved it in the air muttering something under his breath. The lad lifted into the air as if he was held by an invisible hook and drifted to Mark, who with another motion of his wand set the boy gently onto the sand of the beach. With a swish of the implement of magic the water on the boy evaporated into a cloud of steam and with another motion a blanket appeared out of thin air and covered the boy.

"You say he just appeared in your caverns?" Mark asked Melia.

"Yes, it must have been apparition. He didn't have any identification on him but he does have an odd scar on his forehead."

Curious Mark brushed the lad's hair to the side. The distinctive jagged lightning shaped scar caused him to make a sharp intake of air,

"How in the name of Merlin is this possible?"

"What? What is it?" Melia asked.

"This is Harry Potter! That boy that Britain hails as the Boy-Who-Lived. But how in the world did he get out here? Dumbledore told me he was living with his aunt and uncle back in England." Mark placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and looked back at Melia,

"I'm going to move him to the Jungle House. Would you meet me there?" With a nod from Melia Mark disapperated with the boy.

Melia slid from where she sat on the rock and dove into the water. Under the surface the water dropped sharply into a series of stone tunnels that ran in seemingly all directions like an ant colony. With deft skill she navigated the aquatic tunnels until she broke the surface of a pool of water in the middle of a dense jungle. Near by there was a clearing with a sizable house built in it. As she crawled out of the pool into the storming night her concern was focused on the little boy inside the house that she didn't notice a pair of glowing yellow eyes watching her in the night.

A/N So I have had this idea of an AU Harry Potter story floating around and thought I would give it a stab. Depending on reactions I may scrap, continue, or put this story up for adoption. Updates may be slow coming until I get a Word Processor on this lap top of mine that I am comfortable with.

So please: Read, Review, Redistribute and I will see you in the next chapter

Noxraa Torgan