Percy blinked, wondering for a second what had woken him. Then he heard it again. Thump! He twisted around, reaching for the lamp by his bed and letting its light fill the room. He blinked again, his eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness. He then took a look around, trying to find the source of the noise but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Then he glanced out the window next to his bed and nearly jumped out of skin at the sight of the looming head.

"Gah!" he cried out, falling out of the bed in surprise. He got back up and glared at the hippocampus floating out there. "What have I told you about doing that?" he asked, folding his arms over his chest. "You can't just sneak up on me in the middle of the night. That's when I sleep."

Andromeda didn't seem to acknowledge this, just bumping her head urgently against his window again, fish-tail wagging behind her almost nervously.

"No," Percy told it, shaking his finger at it in emphasis. "Not going to happen. Do you know how much trouble I got into last time for going out riding in the middle of the night? Like…a lot, ok. I'm not doing it again. You'll just have to wait til morning."

Andromeda shook her mane anxiously, her rainbow colored scales glittering dimly in the soft light. She then bumped her head against Percy's window again, this time a little more urgently.

"Look, I know it's fun, but…" he trailed off as he got a better look at her. She gazed at him with fearful eyes, continuing to throw her mane around like hippocampi did when they were nervous about something. He didn't know why, but he'd always had a special connection with the creatures of the sea and could sometimes even understand what they were saying to a point. And right now, he could sense that something was wrong with Andromeda. Something was scaring her.

"What is it?" he asked, pressing his hand up against the glass. Andromeda jerked around and seemed to point her head out to the sea. She then twirled around again and bumped her head right next to Percy's hand, gazing at him with her large eyes. That confirmed it. There was definitely something wrong. And even if it did mean he would be grounded for the next few weeks for slipping out again, he had to see what it was.

Percy was currently on vacation with his father in an underwater outpost and research center for the study and care of underwater magical creatures on Long Island beach, New York. Well, he was on vacation. His father was working. But since his work involved diving under the sea to study the creatures up close, it was kind of a vacation for him as well. Percy couldn't be happier for it, glad to be away from London for a while longer. The city was too enclosed for his taste, too packed. He loved being out in the open ocean, where there were no limits to how far you could travel. Plus, he got to ride hippocampi as they swam over the waves. There was literally nothing better in the world than that.

He got his own private room with a window that looked out into sea, literally as it was beneath the surface. He got to swim whenever he wanted and hang out with his dad the entire day. And his stepmom and stepbrother who were pretty cool. Though Triton was a little full of himself for an eight-year-old.

Percy quietly slipped out of his room, tiptoeing down the hall. He was tempted to go to his father with this, but then they would have to do all this paperwork for it. Despite his father's efforts, they still had to make headway in the aid towards magical creatures and right now most of it wasn't allowed without official permission. Well, Percy wasn't going to wait around for that. He was going to go out and see what was happening. Maybe it was nothing and he didn't have anything to worry about. But if it was something, then he had to be there.

He briefly paused outside his father and stepmom's room before peeking in a little, seeing them sleeping together peacefully. He knew his father had placed a lot of trust in him not to pull a stunt like this again. But, then again, Percy also knew that if his father could, he would do the exact same thing. Hopefully.

Percy turned back and continued on his way until he reached the main staircase, avoiding the portraits on the walls as much as he could. He didn't want any to suddenly wake up and witness him leaving. Unfortunately, there was one he wouldn't be able to avoid. Newt Scamander, his father and stepmom's personal idol in magical creatures whose portrait was hung prominently by the main entrance. Percy could only hope that he was still fast asleep. He didn't know why portraits slept in the first place (or how they worked at all, to be honest) but it worked out for him, most of the time.

This was not one of those times.

He climbed up all the stairs. Since the facility was deep beneath the waves, the main entrance was made right atop some rocks near Penfield Reef. Percy would prefer to use the entrance that led directly into the water but only a wand could open it and he didn't have his yet, still waiting on his Hogwarts letter to arrive. Besides, he didn't have his father to create a bubble-head charm for him. He hoped that whatever the hippocampus was bringing him to wasn't too deep underwater. He was a strong swimmer and could hold his breath for several minutes, but even he had limits.

He quietly opened the doors to the main entrance (which was really just a slightly bigger hallway to the doors) and checked carefully around the corner to where Newt Scamander's portrait hung. The elder wizard's eyes were closed and he seemed to be snoring softly. The coast was clear then. Percy carefully closed the door again and stepped out into the hallway, tiptoeing as delicately as possible to the entrance. He could see the lapping waves against the rocks and the slight flashing of scales as Andromeda swam in circles.

He was about halfway there when he heard a slight, "ahem," behind him and froze. He grimaced and turned, seeing Newt Scamander wide awake and staring right at him with an almost amused expression of his face. Percy opened his mouth to offer some sort of explanation but then he saw Scamander give him a clear wink before closing his eyes once more. Percy gaped for a second before grinning. His parents were right. The man was cool.

He then went right out the doors and basked in the feeling of the seaspray hitting him. He loved the smell of the ocean. His mum had said that he loved water in general, diving into the pool when he was only a toddler and swimming around as natural as a fish. Percy couldn't verify that but if true, then nothing had changed as he leapt right off the rocks and into the water, feeling the cold surf wash over him. Instantly, he was in the thrall of the ocean's might and he surrendered to it, diving among the currents and swimming right along the fish and other creatures of the sea. He saw all the anemones and crustaceans staying close to the reef, smaller fish ducking through. He saw the gorgeous different corals and all the different types of sponges and slugs dotting the floors. As always, it took his breath away. Or, it would have if he wasn't underwater.

Within seconds, Andromeda joined him and bucked her mane towards him. Percy instantly grabbed on tight and she jerked forward at top speed, the water parting in their wake. Percy had named her after she kept following him around when he arrived, always wanting to play with him. He had liked the name from the girl in the story of his namesake so had given it to her. Of course, Triton had immediately thought that meant he wanted to marry the hippocampus and started teasing him until Percy had thrown him into the water and had Andromeda splash him with her tail. That had been fun.

Ok, where we going girl? Percy thought. He could make out the edge of Penfield Reef coming up and could see the expanse of the wider sound opening up to him. It seemed they were going into the fisherman's territory and he began to realize what this was about, an anger burning inside him as he did. Even now, he could see disgusting bits of trash floating around, each one doing its part to destroy the wondrous world beneath the waves. It was bad enough that the Muggles, or No-Majes as they were called here, constantly dumped such stuff in the ocean for normal sea creatures to choke on. But it also had a bad effect on the magical sea creatures like hippocampi and sea serpents and the like, even more so as every single one was endangered and close to dying out.

And then, of course, there were the fishermen who regularly trapped such creatures in their nets. That was always a nightmare for everyone involved because the fishermen began parading their catches around and the Magical Congress had to act fast to remove the creatures and erase the memories of everyone who had seen them. But sometimes, when using a large net to catch fish and it got too heavy, the fishermen would just cut the net, leaving the animals caught in it to die. And the nets usually got too heavy as it caught creatures like hippocampi or sea serpents or even sometimes a giant squid. Such creatures were already dying out and Percy hated that more could die so easily.

Within a minute, he was proven right as they came up on a small bay in the sound that seemed like a local fishing spot and saw the cut net at the sea floor with writhing shapes inside. Percy thought it was just one until he saw the much smaller shape next to the big one and realized it was a mother and its foal, both having been caught in the net and now both in incredible danger. He felt his heart harden in anger as well as soften in pain as he saw the mother and child thrash in panic.

He patted Andromeda's flank, letting her know he wanted to go up to grab a breath first. This didn't seem like it would be a quick job and if so, he needed to have some air in the tank. She understood, the two of them having developed a connection in the months here, and rose up fast, breaking the surface. Percy took several deep breaths before holding the last one and patting Andromeda again. She dove down immediately, heading right for the struggling hippocampi. As soon as they saw her, they seemed to struggle less and instead began making neighing sounds. Percy drifted off Andromeda's back as they got close and went right for the net, grimacing as he took it in. It was a heavy one and the hippocampi had only gotten more tangled in their attempts to escape.

He raised his hand and pressed it gently against the mother's snout, patting it gently to let her know it would be ok. Then he eyed the nets and got to work, trying to find the best place to move it around. He worked slowly and carefully, every now and then patting the mother and daughter's snouts to reassure them. After a little while, he had to stop and gestured to Andromeda to take him up as he was running out of air, his lungs beginning to ache. He saw the hippocampi begin to panic as he left and he tried to reassure them but they didn't understand. They only calmed down again when he returned a minute later. He kept it up, working diligently, untangling it section by section, moving fish hooks and lead weights. He removed the nets around the hooves of the creatures, loosening the knots that had formed around them. A couple times he had to return to the surface to take another breath and the hippocampi panicked every time he did, creating more problems as they thrashed around. But bit by bit, he was getting it done until at last he got the last of the net removed around the daughter and she swam free though quickly pressed her flank to her mother's side, refusing to leave her. It was only a minute after that that Percy freed the mother as well and the two swam around in joy. They bumped their heads into Percy, nickering, and licked him a little before swimming off into the sound. Percy smiled as he watched them go. No matter what trouble he might get into when he returned, it was worth it to help that small family.

"Alright, time to go," he said to Andromeda, even though she had no idea what he was saying. She did, however, understand his hand gesture, letting him climb back on and swimming fast back towards the facility. As she did, she also rose to the surface and leapt upwards into the air before crashing back down. Percy grinned as she did, whooping a little as they leapt up again. There really was nothing better than this in the world.

That feeling, however, disappeared quickly as he saw the facility and who was standing on it with their arms crossed over their chest.

"Uh oh," he muttered. It was remarkable how much his stepmom and real mom resembled each other when standing like that.

Andromeda seemed to sense his tension and slowed down a little, coming to halt right at the stone platform at the facility's entrance. Percy slipped off her and climbed up onto the stone, smiling nervously as his stepmom glared down at him. "Good morning, Amphi," he said. "Uh…so how's your day been? Good?"

"Delightful," she replied slowly. "Had to wake up early as we have some MACUSA officials coming round to inspect the facility and check once more if it actually is necessary. Your father's dealing with that so I decided to go check on you and Triton to make sure you weren't up to anything. Imagine my surprise when I saw your bed empty. Again."

"Well…" Percy started and then stopped, not exactly sure how to continue. "Well…" he started again, "I can say that…this time wasn't like last time."

"Really?" Amphitrite's eyebrow went up and she stared dubiously at him. "You're telling me you didn't sneak out to take Andromeda here for a joyride round the sound."

Percy snorted a little at that. Round the sound. But given his stepmom's expression, tried to cover it up with a cough. It didn't work.

"You think this is funny?" she asked then shook her head. "Percy, do you have any idea how reckless that was? What if the officials had seen you? We're struggling to keep this facility and all the others running as it is and you riding the hippocampi for the whole world to see you doesn't help our argument."

Percy sighed. He knew she was right. They had explained it the last time he had done this. Magical governments such as the Ministries of Magic or MACUSA were completely ignorant of the plight of magical creatures or just didn't care. Newt Scamander had tried for years, decades even, to get them to pay attention to the danger threatening the animal kingdom and had only mild success. Percy's father had been trying since before he was born and had had better luck, managing to set up several sanctuaries for cyclopes after detailing the difference between them and giants, showing them as far more intelligent and thus deserved better living conditions. He had also several facilities to watch and monitor sea life set up around the world, trying to help ensure sea creatures' survival as the non-magical world continued to grow and spread. But governments such as MACUSA still questioned the need for such facilities and thus constantly sent officials out on inspections to see how everything was running.

"I'm sorry. But I promise, I wasn't just sneaking out for a joyride."

"Really?" Amphitrite asked. "Then what was it for?"

Percy opened his mouth to answer when he heard a whinnying sound behind him. He turned and smiled as he saw the mother and daughter bobbed their heads at him, swimming in circles. They had apparently followed him back here. "Them," he said. "Andromeda came up to my window and I could tell something was wrong so she led me to where this fisherman's net had trapped those two. I had to help them. They were going to die if I didn't. I mean, isn't that what the facility is for? Helping creatures like them?"

Amphitrite stared at the mother and daughter playing together, Andromeda joining in now, and her expression softened. "Yes," she nodded. "It is." She looked back at Percy. "But why didn't you come to me or your father?"

"Because, I was worried you'd have to go through some official process or wait for official permission to help and I couldn't wait for that. I didn't know how bad it was and needed to make sure. I'm sorry."

"No, you have nothing to apologize for." She sighed. "You're right, we probably would have had to do something that would take up time and maybe then these two wouldn't have made it." She smiled and held out her hand, the baby hippocampus bucking its head into her palm. "You have a good heart, Percy. And you did the right thing."

Percy grinned. "So, I'm not in trouble?"

"Well…" she began and he felt his stomach plummet, "you're only in trouble if you did something wrong. And I don't think coming out here to just pet the hippocampi is wrong, which is what I found you doing." She then winked at him and he smiled and laughed. After a second, so did she.

His stepmom really was cool.

Together they went back inside after she performed a drying spell on his clothes. As they passed the painting of Scamander, Percy could see the old man nod approvingly at him. Percy grinned and nodded back. They traveled down the stairs to the rest of the facility, passing a room where Neptune was talking to the officials.

"So, as you can based on these reports, this facility is making progress in the area, making it safer for the magical creatures and providing them protection from No-Maj interference." He then went on to describe the different effects the facility had from the wards it had in place to keep No-Majes away as well as the community they were helping the merfolk create. It wasn't perfect, as Percy's adventure had proved, but it was coming along.

"Will you tell him?" Percy asked as they kept walking.

Amphitrite tilted her head, thinking about it. "Perhaps," she said. "We'll see. For now, let's get some breakfast."

They went into the dining area, wiped clean during the night by the House-Elves. There were only two but they were hard workers and kept the facility running better than most. Amphitrite snapped her fingers as they sat down and platters of food appeared, eggs and toast, orange juice and pancakes, bacon and fruit salad. Percy instantly dove in, hungry after the morning he'd had while Amphitrite merely nibbled on a piece of toast.

"How's your mom? You talk to her recently?" she asked him.

"Yeah, the other day. She's fine. Work's getting a little tougher and…" he trailed off a little.

"She's still getting harassed by that man, isn't she?" Amphitrite asked.

"Yeah," Percy glowered. Smelly Gabe. Their landlord. God, how he hated that guy. He was the definition of a creep, always trying to make a pass at his mother, telling her she should smile more and trying to help her out by showing her exactly how to do her work with his hands, always making suggestions on what she could do to pay the bills on time.

Amphitrite muttered something unintelligible but Percy didn't think it was a toast to Gabe's health. "I've dealt with creeps like that for a while, a lot in school. Men who thought they knew what was best for me, who thought the only thing I had going was my looks and that that was my only contribution to the world. It was part of the reason why I left your father. Not that he was anything like those men," she told him quickly after he frowned at her, "just that, I needed to find my way in life without a man at my side. Needed to do things my way."

Percy nodded. Sounded a lot like his mom. She had never really asked anyone for help, just did things her way, working at a small sweet store in London to pay the bills. When he had asked her why she did that when Neptune could just help them out she had said she wanted to make her own way in the world. Besides, Neptune actually couldn't do that anymore since all his money was being used to keep these facilities afloat. So, Sally Jackson worked two jobs to pay the bills and sent Percy to school. He had wondered why he needed to go to a Muggle school when he could just wait until Hogwarts but she had insisted he learn as much as he could about both worlds. He knew an ulterior reason was she wanted to prepare him in case he turned out to be a Squib like she was. She didn't want him to be completely unprepared for the Muggle world like she had been after her uncle practically kicked her out. Fortunately, he wasn't a Squib as he had proven the day he accidentally fired an old cannon into the school bus. While his mom was angry he had gotten expelled, his dad had burst out laughing when he heard it. Of course, that was only one of many expulsions, the next one being him accidentally sending his class for an unexpected swim in the aquarium, though that had been more fun. And perhaps slightly less accidental, though he never admitted that.

Despite his troublemaker lifestyle, no matter how accidental it was, his mom still put up with it all. Though he could tell she was secretly relieved he was leaving for Hogwarts. That was something his father would be paying for, allowing her to finally start focusing on her writing career, something she had been working on the sides or just putting aside in general for years. Percy was glad too, hating that he was a burden on her life and hoping she could finally start really living for her now. It also helped that every summer he stayed with his dad, traveling the world and visiting all the different locales of exotic and beautiful sea life, leaving his mom to not have to worry about him for a little while. But now she really could. And maybe they could move out of their apartment and away from Smelly Gabe. Percy grimaced just thinking about the smelly, arrogant toerag.

"Wish I could just transfigure him into the pig he is," Amphitrite muttered. She had met Gabe once and nearly broken his arm when he suggested she wear prettier clothes to 'help her out' in life. "But then the Ministry would be all over me about assaulting a Muggle. Oh well, soon he'll be out of your and, more importantly, Sally's life for good. And hey," she smiled, "you'll be off to Hogwarts soon. How does it feel?"

Percy nodded. "Good. It'll be nice to hang around kids who actually know magic then just Muggle kids all the time."

"Just be careful," she warned him. "There are plenty of good wizarding families out there, but some that are bad and may not look too kindly on your heritage."

"You mean the fact that my mom is a Squib?" he asked, biting into some pancake.

"Yes," she nodded. "Of course, it's not as bad as many Muggle-borns have but it's still not great. Purebloods all think they're so great."

"Like Uncle Grace?" Zeus Grace wasn't his actual uncle, more like first cousin once removed but calling him cousin when he was four times Percy's age felt weird.

"Yes," Amphitrite said. "Though he's not too bad. He may take his ancestry pride a little far in places and look down on Muggles in some aspects but he doesn't think as badly of them as others like him. His many affairs are proof of that," she added wryly.

Percy snorted as well. His second cousin, Thalia, came from one of Zeus's affairs. So did Hazel Levesque, though that came from his Uncle Hades instead. In fact, all three of the main cousins: Zeus, Neptune, and Hades had had children outside their marriages. He and Thalia had laughed about that at the family gathering they'd been forced to attend.

"Still, there are plenty of wizarding families not like that. The Bones. The Weasleys are a big one. The Stolls. The Longbottoms," she shook her head sadly at that last one. "And others as well. I'm sure you'll find some friends there."

"Yeah," Percy nodded. He couldn't wait for his Hogwarts letter. It was the first time he had actually ever felt excited for school. It was weird. But Hogwarts wasn't just school. It was where he would finally learn magic, where he would make his friends, where he'd finally start living his life.

Just then, they heard a yawn and turned to see Triton stumbling in, Percy's half-brother rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning sweetie," Amphitrite said. "Breakfast?"

Triton looked like he was about to say yes when he yawned again, his words getting lost in it and coming out more like a strangled squawk. Amphitrite decided apparently to still take it as a yes and put some food on his plate, handing it over to him as he sat down.

"Where's dad?" he asked, digging into some bacon.

"Appeasing some officials," she replied, pouring him some orange juice. "He should be done soon. Hopefully," she added under her breath, so quiet that only Percy could hear.

Triton looked Percy over curiously. "Why is your hair so wet?" he asked.

"Uh…I just took a shower," he replied.

Triton frowned. "But you're still in your pyjamas."

Percy felt his heart thump a little at that as he tried to think. "Yes, well. I…like my pyjamas so I decided to keep wearing them." He then added a smile but that seemed to make Triton more suspicious.

Just then, Neptune walked in and Percy let out a small sigh of relief. "Morning everyone," Neptune said, grabbing his own plate and heaping food onto it.

"How'd it go?" Amphitrite asked.

"Oh, same old, same old," he sighed. "I'm going to have to do it again tomorrow for these other inspectors. Ugh, these Ministry workers just do not understand how important and valuable these facilities are to-"

Triton suddenly gasped, pointing at Percy accusingly. "You went out again!" he cried. "Without me! You promised to take me with you the next time you went!"

Percy's eyes widened as everyone stared at him. "No I didn't," he said. "And I didn't go out."

"Your hair smells like saltwater!"

"I…what?" Percy frowned. "You can smell saltwater off my hair?"

"No," Triton smirked. "But you just confessed anyway."

Percy froze and then grimaced, not sure what to do now. Neptune looked from Triton's pointing finger to Percy's expression. "You went out again?" he asked, eyebrow raised.

"Uh…uh…uh…" Percy stuttered.

"It's not what you think," Amphitrite assured her husband. Percy sighed with relief but it quickly choked as she turned on him. "You promised Triton you would take him on one of your little escapades?"

"What? No!" Percy protested. But then she gave him the look, the one he had dubbed the 'mom' look as his own mother had it as well, and wilted under it. "Ok, I kind of did but I wasn't actually planning on ever going out again. After you caught me last time and made me swear not to do it again, Triton made me swear to take him when I went out again. And since I wasn't planning on ever going out again, it was an easy promise."

Triton gasped. "You…you…buttface!" he said. "I can't think of a worse word right now, so you just sit there and wait until I do!" He then angrily bit into his bacon.

"Wait, so you did or didn't go out without my permission?" Neptune asked.

"I…did," Percy admitted. "But it's not what you think. I didn't do it just to ride Andromeda around."

"You went out when those inspectors were here?" Neptune practically yelled. "What were you thinking?"

"Honey, I can-" Amphitrite started but Neptune kept going, ignoring her.

"We are hanging on by a thread Percy. No matter how hard I try, the governments refuse to see the danger to the sea world or simply do not care. These facilities are not nearly enough and yet they are all we have and we are in grave danger of losing them. And you going out and riding around on the hippocampi recklessly only put us in more danger. How could you-"

"Enough!" Amphitrite interrupted, stopping Neptune.

"I didn't know, dad," Percy said. "I didn't know the inspectors were here. And I didn't go out riding for fun."

Neptune paused. "Then why did you?"

"There was a baby hippocampus and its mother trapped in a fisherman's net. They couldn't get free. If I hadn't saved them, they would have been easy prey for predators or been spotted by the No-Majes or just stayed there until they died. I…I couldn't let that happen."

Neptune stared for a long moment before sighing. "I see," he nodded. "That was…very brave of you Percy. I'm sorry I yelled. But why didn't you tell me? I could have helped."

"Could you?" Percy asked skeptically. "Wouldn't you have had to gone through all that official, bureaucratic nonsense to do it?"

Neptune nodded. "Probably. But I have ways around that. I could have sent one of the others to help, like Palaemon or Delphin."

"Honey, Delphin left yesterday to go to the Florida facility," Amphitrite reminded him.

"Oh, right. Well, I could have sent someone. I usually do. You should know that just because I have to work with these government morons doesn't mean I work for them. If you had come to me, I would have found a way to help."

Percy smiled. "Alright dad. Next time something like this happens, I will."

"Good. Now, let's eat."

"Shark-chum!" Triton suddenly cried, causing them all to look at him. He pointed at Percy. "You're shark-chum. That's the insult. Ok, I'm good now." He then started eating the rest of his bacon happily.

Percy stared at him for a moment before looking over at Amphitrite questioningly who seemed like she was trying to hold in a laugh. Then they all just started eating.

Welcome back all my previous readers. Sorry it took so long but I did say this story would take a long time to get going. And, sadly, it'll still be a while. It's an ambitious project. But here's a taste of what's to come.