Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. Not sure if such obvious disclaimers are necessary, but it's a nice tradition.

Rating: T for future violence and possible bad language

Author's Note: Be warned! I make no promises about updating regularly or even completing this fic. I just write when inspiration strikes. Also, this is the first fanfiction - or in fact, first long story in general - that I have ever written. I'm also not a native English speaker so British English goes way over my head. So yeah, I'll just put one of those signs here that says 'I have no idea what I'm doing', lol.

The plot bunny for this story was born when I contemplated what it would be like to have multiple animagus forms, and realized that there is a semi-legitimate way of accomplishing that. Having read and enjoyed a bunch of magical animagus fics, I noticed that nobody had written about kelpies yet. Naturally I had to do something about it.

Chapter 1

Accidental magic

The deck was probably Harry's favorite part of the ship. The open sea was nice to look at, and the early June wind was uplifting and pleasant. Harry was enjoying this trip very much indeed. He could still hardly believe his luck for being allowed to come in the first place. It had been a tight compromise even after all the neighbors had let the Dursleys know that they would be unable to babysit him (poor Mrs Figg was still recovering from her broken hip). In the end, though, taking Harry along and letting him eat the free meals that came with the cruise tickets had been a better option than actually hiring a nanny for him.

The young boy had promised to stay out of the way and remain as unnoticeable as possible, but he didn't really mind that much.

It was nice and peaceful here, he didn't have to do any chores, and he really liked exploring the big ship and watching all the different people. Today he had found a seagull on the deck, which meant that they must be getting closer to England again.

The seagull had surprised Harry by walking closer to him and squawking hesitantly. It was only a few paces away from him now, and Harry couldn't help but smile. It was so tame!

'Here, birdie birdie! What are you doing? Are you hungry?'

'Squawk!'

'Sorry, but I don't have any food for you. Everything's inside the ship, and I couldn't bring any.' Harry had actually tried to pocket some sweet rolls that were served at the lavish buffet, so that he would have a small stash of food when he returned to his cupboard, but Petunia's sharp glares had quickly made him discard that notion.

Remembering the incident, Harry decided to check his pockets for any leftover crumbs, just in case.

'Wait, I think I might have something after all, if those rolls crumbled a bit when I tried to hide them…'

Harry never had a chance to find out though, because at that moment he felt a rough shove connect with his shoulder. The next thing he knew, he was sprawled on the metal floor with a satisfied Dudley looming over him.

'Were you actually talking to a bird this time, you freak?'

'What do you care Dudley?' Harry grumbled, climbing back on his feet. He knew that tone well – Dudley was here to cause trouble. 'Shouldn't you be with Aunt and Uncle?' Harry tried to change the topic.

'What do I care? You know that you were not supposed to any freaky stuff here.' Dudley's pudgy face stretched into a wicked grin. 'I wonder what dad would say if he knew about this.'

Harry shifted his feet uncomfortably. If Uncle Vernon thought that he had done something freaky again, like that time his hair grew back in one night after being cut short by Aunt Petunia, he would be severely punished.

'C'mon Dudley! It was just a seagull and I was talking to it to make it come closer, see? It was really tame! And it's not like there is much else to do here anyway.'

'You know what? You're actually right for once, there isn't much to do.' His cousin stepped closer menacingly. 'How about we fix that with a little game of tag?' With that Dudley lunged at Harry, fist aiming for his battered glasses, but Harry wasn't taken by surprise and quickly sidestepped.

As Harry spun around to escape, Dudley grabbed his sleeve and pulled him into a full nelson.

'Gerroff me!'

'I don't think so! This game is only getting – Aaargh!'

Suddenly Harry was released, and he didn't waste time in putting some distance between himself and Dudley. Confused, he glanced over his shoulder to see what had happened, and stopped running in disbelief.

The seagull, which had been scared off by Dudley's attack, had returned with a vengeance and was now swooping around Dudley's head and squawking fiercely. Dudley was screaming bloody murder and waving his chubby arms around in a vain attempt to stop the attack. The sight was so ridiculous that Harry couldn't help but chuckle – he had never seen his bully of a cousin overpowered before. Serves him right!

Dudley, on the other hand, was scared out of his wits. The stupid animal was trying to reach his face with its sharp beak and he was desperate to get it off himself. With a last loud squawk the bird fluttered up and – finally – flew away from him.

Tears were stinging at the corners of Dudley's eyes as he looked at the sky to make sure that the menace had truly left. He would have started crying right then and there if it was not for the tinkling laughter.

His head snapped back to Harry, who had dared to stand there the whole time and laugh at his predicament. The laughter stopped immediately and the scrawny boy gulped. The wimp was looking at him almost guiltily, and Dudley's fury kept growing when he realized that the freak must have somehow set the bird on him!

'You are going to pay for this', Dudley growled, cracking his small knuckles impressively. Harry paled – he had never seen his cousin so angry before and was not up to finding out how bad the thrashing would be if Dudley got hold of him now. He turned tail and fled.

Vernon and Petunia shook hands with their newest friends, promising to invite them for dinner once everyone had settled back from their trip.

As the men and women parted ways, Vernon leaned in to whisper to Petunia: 'It was a good thing you won the cruise tickets, dear. I believe that Mr. Rodley will soon be placing a very large order at Grunnings.'

Petunia smiled mischievously and kissed her husband on the cheek. 'It was a good thing then that I didn't listen to you when you said that taking part in lotteries was a waste of time. It has been such a lovely trip!' She turned around to look for her son. 'And Dudley has been so well-behaved all this time; I believe he deserves a special treat! Dudley? Dudders, where are you?'

Now concerned, the two parents quickly searched the area but found no trace of their son.

'Oh Vernon, we must find Dudley quickly! What if he has gotten lost on the ship and injured himself or – or if he's been kidnapped and – '

Petunia could not finish that thought out of fear, and the Dursleys quickly ran to find their precious son.

Harry tripped and fell on the deck for the second time that day. He winced from the new bruise at his elbow. At this rate he would not get away from Dudley! Where were all the other passengers? Should he yell for help and risk getting punished later?

The decision was taken out of his hands when Dudley tackled him with his full, considerable weight and the air was expelled from Harry's lungs.

Dudley rose again and with his splotchy red face set in grim determination, kicked Harry in the side, hard.

The blow sent a flash of pain through Harry's small body and he instinctively curled into a ball. The next moment a kick to the head made him see stars. He desperately wanted to get help now and opened his eyes to see if there were any adults nearby to stop Dudley's onslaught, but instead he saw a foot coming straight at his face. For a split second he froze in terror and then felt his whole body squeeze painfully until everything went black.

Dudley lost his balance as his foot missed its target. Furiously he stood up again, wiping his now tear-streaked face and catching his breath, but his target had disappeared from where he had been lying only a moment ago.

Dudley blinked. Where had the freak gone? And how had he gotten away so fast?

He looked confusedly around but Harry was nowhere to be seen. He could hear a splash of something hitting the water nearby, but Dudley was too distracted to pay any attention to it.

'DUDLEY!' A familiar shriek sounded.

Soon Dudley was wrapped in loving arms. 'Oh Dudley, we were so worried! Don't ever run off like that again, do you hear me?'

Vernon patted his son on the head. 'You should not be walking on the deck alone, son. Who knows how flimsy those railings are. Listen to your mother and stay with us from now on.'

Dudley, who was used to all the coddling, was about to ask if his parents had seen where Harry ran off to, but he was interrupted by Petunia.

'Now that we're all together again, why don't we go have supper? The menu promised that there would be a special feast on the last day.'

The promise of a feast wiped all thoughts of his cousin away, and together with his parents Dudley waddled down to the dining area.

It was not until much later that the Durleys took notice of Harry's absence. Vernon and Petunia were starting to curse the boy for wandering off when the ship had already docked, when Dudley remembered the strange events that had taken place earlier and decided to tell his parents.

'Disappeared?' Petunia repeated. 'You say that he vanished from where he was lying?'

She exchanged a long, meaningful look with her husband and pulled him aside for a discussion.

When they emerged again, Vernon cleared his throat and grabbed hold of their luggage. 'Come on then Dudley. It seems that the Potter boy has decided to stay here. There's no reason for us to spend time looking for him – let's go back home.'

Petunia was slightly pale as she wondered about the fate of her nephew, but she soon forgot about his mysterious disappearance after returning home to Privet Drive. Finally she could be free from the ghosts of the past and all the unnatural people that her dead sister had brought into her life. The Dursley family settled back into peaceful normalcy and the cupboard under the stairs was eventually filled with Dudley's old toys.

But what happened to Harry that day? Just as Dudley's foot was about to land in his face, the young wizard's magic awakened to take him out of harm's way. Unfortunately, the uncontrolled burst of magic did not take into account that the ship was moving and Harry reappeared several feet away from Dudley – on the wrong side of the railing.

When the squeezing stopped, Harry had the strangest sensation of falling until he once again smashed against something and was suddenly surrounded by a freezing, all-encompassing cold. He almost yelped in surprise, but the pressure of water against his skin made him pinch his mouth shut.

He knew that he must somehow have fallen into the sea, but the confusion and panic left no room for coherent thoughts. The shower of bubbles disoriented him, water was pushing inside his ears and nose, he could not see, and, worst of all, he did not know which way was up.

And even if he knew, would he be able to swim?

Harry flailed his small limbs helplessly, adrenaline and desperation egging him on. Suddenly he felt something large push against his body, and the next moment he broke the surface and took deep lungfuls of air. He was still freezing to death from his plunge, but at least he had been spared from drowning.

The boy looked down to see what had saved him. It was large and grey.

A whale?

Unbelievable! It actually was a whale! And it had come to save him!

Harry thanked his stars for this welcome turn of events, and tried to hold on tighter to the animal's back. His teeth were chattering, but the small boy hardly noticed from his shock.

The whale moved swiftly in fluid motions to an unknown destination, keeping to the water's surface. Every now and then a wave splashed across its back and Harry found himself newly soaked in cold seawater, but thankfully he was never thrown off from the animal.

He was so focused on trying to stay alive that he never paid attention to the ship that was steadily moving further and further away in the horizon until it disappeared completely.

After a ride that felt like an eternity, but in actuality took only a few minutes, poor Harry had another fright when the whale disappeared from beneath him and he was thrown back in water. But the moment didn't last long, as Harry was suddenly picked up by gentle arms and carried to shore.

Harry blinked and shivered as he was laid between smooth, sun-warmed rocks. He could not see well – his glasses must have fallen off – but he could tell that before him stood a… woman?

'T-thank you for saving me. Please help me,' Harry begged. He was so relieved that someone had found him!

The woman tilted her head, long blonde hair falling in waves across her white dress. She brought a pale hand against Harry's wet locks and carefully stroked his head.

Harry gasped. No-one had ever touched him like that. The gentle fingers stirred something at the edge of his consciousness – memories of another woman who had once held him – and Harry could not help himself. He nearly tackled the woman with his desperate embrace and clung to her like a lifeline. He heaved and sobbed as the shock finally began to wear off and the stress of the day overtook him.

The woman's blue eyes flitted over Harry's small form and she carefully brought one arm around him. With an unpracticed voice that held a strange accent she murmured one word: 'Baby.'