Author Note/Warning: Thank you so much for taking the time to bother with this story. I wasn't going to publish it at first, but my wife persuaded me I should, so here we are. I do have some warnings though before you read it.
This story is not a fast paced and action packed one. It is a slow burn slice of life that takes a lot of inspiration from the original Harry Potter books and movies. So, if you want an overpowered antihero that turns the world on top of its head while gather a bunch of devote witches worshiping his every step, this is not the story for you. If you like poorly planned plot lines, mediocre writing, and things of that nature that take place in the world of Harry Potter, then you may just like this story.
That's all though. I appreciate your time and hope I don't waste it.
Some families proudly declare their normalcy and are content with their lives. Others work hard at making sure no one would mistake them as normal. Most landed somewhere in between, like the Smith family. Jon first met Mildred while studying abroad in the UK. She was an animal researcher specializing in the rehabilitation and rescue of sea turtles while Jon was an ocean science analyst, so they had quite a few classes together. Like so many beautiful and cliché love stories, they instantly had a connection and got along as if they had known each other for years. They dated all throughout college and got married as soon as they graduated. Such special people got amazing jobs, which they loved, and even allowed them to work with one another.
During school, the two did a joint graduate project on the effects of water temperature and density on ocean currents along the migratory pathways of loggerhead sea turtles which was revolutionary in their field. This combined with some highly success rehabilitation projects granted them huge renown, in their field, and soon organizations across the world were pleading for their services.
Even with their successful careers, Jon and Mildred had always dreamed of having a large family with lots of kids. Unfortunately, not everything in life can go one's way as they struggled with infertility for years. Even when they tried adopting, some strange problem always stopped the process right before it could be completed. They had resigned themselves to their fate, but then their little miracle was born. On May 4th, 1976, they had a beautiful baby boy whom they decided to call JP since Jon's family had a tradition of naming the first-born son with the initials JP. They most definitely didn't choose JP because Jon thought the doctor asked for his initials on a paper instead of his son's name. With the birth of their son, the two stopped traveling and settled down and got jobs at the Brighton Aquarium. A blissful year went by as the two lovingly raised their son.
When they found out Mildred was miraculously pregnant again, the two celebrated their growing family. Everything seemed great, but an unexpected and overlooked health complication led to the baby passing away after only a couple hours of life. Depression soon started overtaking their lives at the sudden death. The once vibrant home filled with laughter and cheer was covered in an all-encompassing gloom. Mildred's family, especially her older sister, helped as best they could to get them out of depression, but nothing worked.
Things turned around when Mildred and Jon received a letter from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A former colleague of theirs had received a large grant for investigating and studying Raine Island, an island on the northern Great Barrier Reef and the largest rookery in the world for the green sea turtle. He needed some help with the project and reached out to them hoping they would do him a favor. Jumping at the chance to get away from the bad memories, the family packed up and left without a second thought.
Years passed, and wounds healed, but the scars remained. Mildred and Jon threw themselves into their work to forget the pain of losing their child. It wasn't the healthiest of behaviors, which both recognized, but they could not help themselves. When they noticed how badly their behavior was affecting JP, they finally started pulling themselves out of their depression and doing their best to shower him with all the love they could despite their hectic schedules.
Years went by as they continued traveling the world and saving animals of all kinds. While his childhood was far from conventional, JP turned out surprisingly tame. He was a quite boy who mostly stayed to himself. The constant moving and traveling made socializing with other kids his age difficult, but books combined with an avid imagination kept him entertained on the days his parents were gone for a long period of time. It was the summer of 1989 during one of those days where his parents were away that changed the course of JP's life.
He was a wise 13 years old and knew how to take care of himself, he was a teenager after all now. His parents had gone off to investigate some illegal fishing rumors and left him to his own devices. It didn't make much sense to JP why they did stuff like that. They didn't have to do it, and they always told him he should call the police if he saw people doing something bad or illegal. Why could parents break the rules without getting in trouble while he couldn't? Such double standards seemed commonplace with adults in general, or at least that is what his books told him.
Waves crashed against the sand as JP strolled along the beaches of the Cayman Islands. He had always much preferred the Islands of the Caribbean to most of the other locations they traveled. Maybe it was the beautiful water and friendly people, or maybe it was the fact he could swim in the waters without freezing, or it could be the fact they were heavily influenced by America, and he could easily watch the best movie trilogy of all time, Star Wars, in its original English.
A really nice resort was not too far from the Cayman Turtle Centre, where they were staying this month, which would play movies for their guests on a massive outdoor screen so their guests could lounge in the pool while watching. Sneaking in was never a problem for JP as he could be very sneaky when wanted. People would simply look over him like he wasn't even there when he really didn't want anyone to notice him. His parents would be gone for at least 4 hours, so he had plenty of time to make the showing of The Empire Strikes Back. It wasn't his favorite of the trilogy, but the battle of Hoth was really awesome.
After sneaking into the resort without a problem, JP got comfortable on a lounge chair as he flagged down a waiter for some snacks. Only guests could order whatever they wanted, and since only guests were allowed here, JP could get whatever he wanted without questions. Sipping on a virgin Pina Colada while watching Star Wars was his definition of a great time. Being able to observe the wide variety of other people at the resort was just a nice bonus. All too soon though, the movie ended. Despite wanting to stay and watch the next one, JP knew he needed to get back. Thanking the waiter as they cleared away the four empty pina colada glasses and a half-eaten plate of fries, not his fault since they were soggy and cold, JP quickly left the resort with no one the wiser for his little intrusion.
As he was walking down the deserted beach, a strangely blue looking eagle was flapping its wings furiously and splashing around a small wading pool while attacking something in the water. Something about the bird seemed a little off, but he couldn't get a good look at it since it was moving a bit too much. His curiosity got the better of him and he silently moved towards the commotion. Once he got close, his jaw dropped in shock once he saw the fish the eagle was attacking.
It had to be the biggest sea horse he had ever seen. Well, it wasn't really a normal sea horse, but that was the best way to describe a creature with the tail of a fish combined with the front half of a horse. The poor creature was getting brutalized by the bird as it was stuck in the shallow pool unable to get to the water under the relentless attack. Seeing the look of terror in the mystical creature's eyes spurred JP to action.
"SHOO! GET AWAY YOU STUPID BIRD!"
Waving his arms furiously, JP tried scaring away the bird. Instead of running like he expected, it started batting its wings at him while stabbing him with its beak. Hissing in pain as each stab sent electrical shocks through his body, JP tried scooping up the cowering sea horse. It wasn't the easiest thing but spending years working near and with aquatic creatures had given him plenty of experience wrangling slippery creatures.
JP lugged the heavy sea horse towards the open ocean while the eagle relentlessly attacked him and his companion. After what felt like a lifetime, JP felt the waves lap against his legs as he sagged in relief. It was at that moment the eagle finally used its talons on JP. He flailed around trying to stop the bird from mauling him. When it tried diving towards hs head, he actually hit it with a downward swing of his arms. Unfortunately, the bird had too much built up momentum to stop. It missed his head but slammed into his throat.
Immediately, JP started gasping for breath from the hard hit. He immediately fell to his knees while trying to take in a breath. Nothing important was punctured or cut, but there were two large scrapes on the side of his neck where the bird pushed off with its talons. Seeing the blood on his hands, JP started feeling a little faint. Panicking and hyperventilating only made his vision darken further. He had gotten injured plenty of times before, but there was something terrifying about struggling to breathe, while holding your throat and feeling the blood seep through your fingers. Any adult would be terrified in such a situation, much less a young boy.
So focused on his own injuries, JP didn't notice the giant tail swatting away the offending bird. A gentle and warm lick on his cheek momentarily broke him from his panic as he focused on the rough horse tongue on his cheek. Reaching out, JP pet the smooth scales of the baby sea horse as he felt the water flow around him. 'Heh…maybe since it is a baby horse it would be better called a puddle foal instead of a sea horse...'
Suddenly, JP found himself lying on his back watching the water rush around him like he was on a strangely warm speedboat. His vision was rapidly fading to black, but he swore he saw a couple shadows of a much larger version of his little puddle foal, but it was probably just a trick of the light. Thankfully, unconsciousness took him before he could start worrying about any pesky thoughts, like dying or trying to explain to his parents why he had been out of the house.
"He will be alright. No permanent damage. The cuts remind me of a wound an old fisherman I saw yesterday had. He claimed an eagle covered in lightning attacked him during a storm the other day. He is a drunk though, so I don't believe his story, but maybe he really did get attacked by something."
JP just sat in his bed quietly as Doctor Goodman smiled at him while talking to his parents.
"As I said before, your boy probably just passed out after seeing the blood on his throat. Perfectly reasonable. A bloody throat is scary no matter who you are. Thankfully, no permanent harm will come from it. His throat may feel a little sore for a couple days, so try not to talk too much. Give him some ibuprofen and change out those bandages, and he will be fine."
The doctor patted JP's shoulder comfortingly.
"Get some rest and you will be up and about in no time."
JP laid back down on the bed as his parents walked the doctor out. He could hear them thanking him while his mom made sure to double check with the doctor there would be no permanent damage. A small smile graced his lips at her worrying over him. Moms are just like that sometimes. It is like they can't help worrying about things. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, JP tried relaxing. He had somehow gotten all the way from the beach and back home where his parents had quickly found him and immediately got a doctor. Well, the doctor was really a vet who helped some of the fishermen and other poorer people around town, but he was knowledgeable enough and his parents trusted him.
Not wanting to answer any more questions or anything, JP pretended to be asleep when his parents came back to check on him. He had plenty of practice from all the nights he had stayed up reading way past his normal bedtime. His parents both gave him a quick kiss on the head as his mother fixed his covers. It wasn't long before JP heard them talking in the other room.
"Something must change Jon. I know we have been talking about it a while now, but I think it is time."
His father mumbled something under his breath before letting out a sigh.
"You are probably right. Like always."
"It's okay love. I know it may seem a little strange since it was so different for you, but I did the same thing, and you think I turned out pretty great, or have you changed your mind?"
Jon chuckled at her question as he gave in.
"Ha okay okay. I get it. I just can't help worrying about him, that's all. We will most likely be gone so often. He won't have any one there to look after him."
"Don't worry. JP is a smart independent young man. I am sure he will do great. Besides, big sis lives near there, and she has already assured me she would keep an eye on him for us. You yanks worry too much. Everything will turn out just fine."
"Well, if she is there that would at least give him someone familiar. Also, I ain't no yank. I was born in Georgia for Pete's sake. I've told you that how many times now?"
Mildred laughed and JP couldn't help rolling his eyes at the familiar argument. He tuned out the rest of their talk as his mind started whirling from the implications of what he overheard. They didn't flat out say it, but he was smart enough to piece together what they were talking about based on some other overheard conversations. His thoughts and dreams were consumed with the idea of boarding schools. All thoughts of sea horses falling out his mind.