The young hen harrier jumped up on the outer edge of his nest and cautiously looked out the window of the tower he was in. The grey bird with black tipped feathers clucked nervously as he tilted his head at the ground way down below, then glanced up at the sky where his parents were soaring above him. He clucked nervously again before he stretched his wings, testing them out before he took a step closer to the edge of the nest, glancing back and forth between the ground and the sky. He leaned forward and flapped his wings, then jumped off the nest, falling out the window before soaring up for the sky after his parents.

"Yay!" Harry cheered, clapping his hands as he watched the young fledgling fly through the air. "He did it, he did it!"

"Yes, he did," Peadar said, proudly watching the birds above the tower. "As nervous as he was, he knew he had ta at least try or he'd never know."

"That was so brilliant," Harry said, looking out the window to see the birds. "Is anyone else learning to fly today?"

"I don't believe so. He was the last one born this season, so naturally, he's the last one ta leave the nest."

The door to the tower opened, and Harry looked over his shoulder to see his father step into the small space.

"Harry, I thought I told you that you needed to finish packing," Severus said as he walked over to where his son was standing. "We need to leave for the cruise. Trust me, you do not want to be late and miss our departure time."

"Can't we just apparate on board?" Harry asked.

"Not once the anti-apparition wards go up," Severus said, standing behind his son and glancing out the window. "Who did we watch take flight this time?"

"The single baby," Peadar answered. "Last ta hatch this year. He's finally joining the others in the sky. Probably end up being one of the few who leave the estate. Don't think he bonded that much to the property. Nervous little lad, he is."

"Why don't they all just live here?" Harry asked.

"Some do, some don't. It depends on their personality and how connected they end up feeling ta the estate or the people who live in it. They stick around forever if they bond with one of the family members."

"Really?"

"Yep. They become loyal familiars, much like yer rabbit. It's a special privilege to have one bond with ya."

The little fledgling flew back down to his nest, resting his wings from his first flight experience. Harry reached up and stroked the bird, which allowed the pets eagerly, enjoying the massaging feeling on his tired muscles.

"I hope one bonds with me," Harry said. "I would love a fire ghost familiar. I mean I love Miss Trifle, too, but maybe a bird can help me send letters to my friends."

"If one bonded ta ya, he most certainly would."

Harry gave the bird a few more pets, ending with a chin scratch that the bird leaned into. Severus snorted at Harry's loving pets before he gave the hen harrier a pet himself, running a finger down its soft feathers before offering a chin scratch as Harry had done. The bird stared up at Severus for a moment as he accepted the chin scratch, then he tilted his head before biting down on Severus's finger.

"Ah!" Severus shouted in surprise, jumping back and waving his hand around as he tried to alleviate the pain from the small cut the bird's beak had made. He cursed repeatedly under his breath then glared at his stepfather, who was chuckling at him.

"Are you okay, Daddy?" Harry gave his father a concerned look.

"He's fine," Peadar said. "He just earned himself a new familiar, though."

"Ruddy birds," Severus snarled as he stared at the cut on his finger, watching it heal in a shimmer of gold magic. The hen harrier flew from his nest to Severus's shoulder and rubbed his head against Severus's cheek, earning an irritated shrug. "Enough. You bit me, you bloody brat."

"The bonding magic is rather rude," Peadar explained to Harry, "but if any of these birds takes a nip of yer finger, it means they have created a blood bond with ya. That is how ya get a fire ghost as yer familiar."

"I want one," Harry said. He held his hand up to the birds resting in their nests or standing on ledges. He waved his hand around at random birds as he called out, "Here, pretty birds. Come here, birdies. Come bite my finger."

However, none of the birds moved, and Harry pouted and dropped his hand after a few moments. He looked at the bird still sitting on Severus's shoulder content as can be while his father glared at the little fledgling.

"No fair," Harry said.

"Don't worry, laddie," Peadar said, "there will be plenty more birds hatched here in this tower. You'll have plenty of opportunities to find yer match."

"In the meantime," Severus said as he brushed the bird off his shoulder, and the harrier flew back to his nest, "we need to finish packing and head out for our cruise."

The newly bonded familiar clicked his beak at Severus and made a few excited chirps.

"You will stay here," Severus said firmly, pointing a finger at the bird before quickly thinking better of such an action. "You are not needed on a cruise, thank you very much."

"You have to name him, Daddy," Harry said, pulling on his father's sleeve.

"I do not," Severus said.

"Humor him, Severus," Peadar said with a grin. "Naming the bird will seal the bond after all."

"Fine," Severus bit out. He growled under his breath as he racked his brain for a name before saying, "Swoopstikes. We'll call him Swoopstikes."

The bird let out a loud skree cry at the name, and Severus took that to mean the name was accepted and the bond complete.

"What kind of name is that?" Harry asked.

"The name of an old Potions Master from many, many years ago," Severus explained. He took Harry's hand in his own and led his son out of the bird tower, walking down the stairs with his son a step behind him. "Now that I've somehow earned myself a familiar, it's time we finish packing and head out so we don't miss our cruise."

"Where is the cruise taking us?" Harry asked.

"A surprise," Severus said with a smirk.

"Daddy," Harry complained, making a face up at his father, only to laugh when Severus made a face back.

"Go finish packing." Severus said when they made it back to Harry's room. "I will be checking your suitcase before we leave."

"Yes, Daddy," Harry said. He entered his bedroom where Miss Trifle was resting in her cage, though she hopped out and shuffled over to Harry when he came into the room. Harry paused to give Miss Trifle long strokes down her ears, then he checked the suitcase that was sitting open on his bed. All his new clothes and his formal robe were shoved inside, along with his hairbrush and travel-size shampoo, conditioner, and soap. Severus had said they wouldn't need much for just a week on the water. Harry picked up a few of Miss Trifle's things: her bag of food, a small bag of hay, and her water bottle, and he pushed all those things into the suitcase.

Harry remembered his toothbrush, and he ran to his bathroom and grabbed that along with his toothpaste. He did not want to forget his toothpaste. It was strawberry flavored, much better than any of his dad's super minty, tingly kind of toothpaste, which he had to use once when he ran out of his own. He made sure he never ran out of his own kind again.

With his toothbrush and toothpaste secured, all he needed was Miss Trifle's cage. He picked up her cage and brought it over to the suitcase. According to Eileen, all he had to do was set something overly large over these fancy suitcases, and the problem would fix itself.

Harry set the cage down on top of his clothes, then startled when the cage shrunk down to the size of a matchbox car.

"Cool," he said."

He closed the suitcase and zipped it up. He heaved it off his bed, then rolled it out after him.

"Come on, Miss Trifle," Harry called his rabbit, and she followed at his heels eagerly. He had already changed his rabbit into a yellow bow with large pink flowers all over. He thought it made her look more festive for the cruise.

Severus waited downstairs at the door, and he quirked a brow at his son as he struggled to drag the suitcase down the stairs. With a wave of his hand, the suitcase lifted into the air before floating down the rest of the way to Severus.

"You have everything in here that you'll need, correct, son?" Severus asked, and Harry nodded as he scooped up his rabbit and walked down the rest of the stairs. Severus cast a few spells under his breath as he turned the suitcase every which way, and Harry frowned at his father's actions, unsure what exactly he was doing. Whatever it was, the suitcase must have passed as Severus shrunk it and shoved it in his pocket.

"Let's say goodbye to Nana and Papa." Severus said.

Harry ran into Eileen's study as fast as he could, and she removed her glasses and pushed her chair back so Harry could run into her arms.

"Are you leaving already?" Eileen asked. She kissed Harry repeatedly. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"It's just for five nights, Nana," Harry reminded her. "It's not forever."

"It will feel like it," she said. She looked up to where Severus was leaning against the doorframe waiting. "Have fun, Sev. I expect you both to come back tanned and relaxed from your vacation."

"We'll see," Severus said, and he waved his son to follow him once more.

They said goodbye to Peadar in the barn where he was tending to the ponies, and Harry took a minute to kiss Shel goodbye before waving at the dogs running around the barn. Finally, Severus pulled Harry through the gates at the end of the property, where he was able to apparate to the port where the ship would depart in Southampton, England. Harry smiled at a large cruise ship in front of them, where several people were already boarding.

"Is that it, Daddy?" Harry asked excitedly as he pointed at the massive ship.

"It is not," Severus said. "Do you see the mist?"

Harry frowned as he did see a lot of misty fog creeping around the shore, though he simply assumed it was simply foggy around the ocean despite the crystal clear day above them. He looked up at his father for an explanation.

"We have to get into the mist," Severus said. He tightened his hold on Harry's hand. "Do not let go of my hand, okay? I do not want to lose you in this crowd."

"Okay, Dad," Harry said, tightening his own grip in his father's hand. He adjusted Miss Trifle in his other arm, keeping a firm hold of his rabbit while Severus pulled them through the crowd of people waiting their turn to line up and board the ship. Harry noticed that they were moving away from the cruise liner everyone else was walking toward, and what was stranger was that he didn't see any other sips that Severus could be heading for. He trusted his father, though, and did not let go of his hand.

Until they were nearly on the edge of the dock.

"Daddy," Harry questioned, tugging slightly against his father's hand as Severus seemed to be heading straight for the edge of the dock. Surely, his father did not mean to walk off the dock and into the cold water below? Sure, it would get them into the mist, but Harry wasn't really looking to swim in the ocean fully dressed.

"Shh," Severus said softly. "We don't want to attract attention. Just keep a hold of my hand."

Severus paused just at the edge of the dock, and while the mist was very thick, Harry could see the water moving against the shore below, and he felt his nerves return full force. Were they really going to jump off the dock? Where was this ship? Harry yanked his hand free, but before Severus could scold him, he lifted his arm up, and Severus sighed and obliged, lifting his son to his hip.

With a quick sweep of his eyes, Severus checked to see if any muggles were watching them. When it appeared everyone was paying no mind to the father comforting his nervous son, Severus turned and stepped into the mist.

Harry hugged his father's neck with his free arm and closed his eyes, prepared to feel the sensation of free falling any minute. When that did not happen, he opened his eyes and looked down.

They were on the dock still, and Severus was giving him an amused look.

"Are you okay?" Severus asked.

Harry looked back in the direction they had come, but there was no more cruise liner or hundreds of people, only mist hiding the dock they had once been on. He blinked as he looked ahead, and his jaw dropped.

An even larger ship stood before him. It was like a floating city by the size of it, its hull a shimmering iridescent that shifted colors like an opalescent gem. Each time Harry saw a new aspect of the ship, it seemed to be a different size than before, as if it was expanding and contracting with every wave of the ocean. The Sorcerer's Windjammer was written in fancy script along the side of the ship, along with several strange symbols that glowed brightly while mist gently emitted from them. Several wizards and witches moved around them as they hurried to board the massive vessel.

"Woah," Harry said.

"I suppose I should have given you more warning on how we get to the ship," Severus said as he set his son down. "My apologies. I did not mean to scare you. Are you ready to board?"

Harry startled and leaned back against his father as a wizard walked by leading a horse-sized creature with feathered wings. The face and neck were like that of a bird while the rest of the body was a horse, save for the talons at the end of the front legs. The animal let out a screech as it moved by Harry, eyeing the rabbit in his arms, and Harry cuddled Miss Trifle closer. He jumped again when a few wizards and witches zoomed by on brooms, flying around the ship. A hand rested on his shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze.

"Don't worry, there is plenty of space for everyone on board," Severus said. "We may not even encounter some of the passengers we see get on today until we get off at the end of the journey. This will be fun for you. It's a great way to get very immersed in the wizarding world, after all."

"There's just a lot," Harry said honestly as he adjusted the rabbit in his arms. "It's kind of scary."

"Here, hold my hand again." Severus took his son's hand in his firmly. "Let's find our room first, then we'll check out some of the less . . . enchanting aspects of the ship."

Harry nodded in agreement and allowed Severus to pull him toward the vessel, and as they boarded, a check in agent held his wand out and waited for Severus to pull out the two tickets. The agent scanned the tickets with his wand before casting a security check spell on Severus and Harry, and Harry startled at the whoosh he felt rush over him. Miss Trifle shook out her fur from the sensation.

"Welcome aboard and enjoy the journey," the agent said at last.

Severus nodded his head, then stared at the tickets to see what their room number was before he pulled Harry along through the ship. If the outside had been startling, Harry was a bit overwhelmed by the inside. They walked through a grand hall, a vast space with stained glass windows depicting fantastical creatures Harry had only ever seen in boos. A roaring fireplace crackled in the far back wall. Spiral staircases led to all sorts of chambers, dining halls, and ballrooms. Wizards and witches were using spells of all kinds as they bustled about, and Harry recognized house elves in strange uniform moving about with linens and platters of drinks.

Severus led the way up a couple staircases and down a long hallway where the cabins were. He stopped in front of the number A687, and with a wave of one of the tickets, the door opened, revealing a small but cozy room.

A four-poster bed with towels folded in the shape of a rabbit took up the majority of the room, but to the side was a small wardrobe to hang clothes. A small vanity with a single cushioned seat was adjacent to the wardrobe. Velvet curtains hung around an enchanted window that offered ever changing views of the ocean and sky. A small bathroom filled the rest of the space, complete with a shower. It was nothing grand but it would serve as a resting place during their journey.

"What do you think, Harry?" Severus asked.

"I love it, Daddy," Harry answered as he plopped down on the bed, sinking into the mattress. He released Miss Trifle and picked up the towel. "Look at this—it's Miss Trifle."

Severus snorted at that before he pulled out the two suitcases he stuffed in his trousers. He enlarged them, then used his wand to charm the clothes to hang themselves and fold the rest on the shelf at the very top of the wardrobe. Miss Trifle's cage set itself up in a small corner where it would be out of the way, and hay filled the bottom for bedding while her water bottle attached itself to the cage and her food bowl flew inside of it.

Severus picked up the rabbit and set her on the floor for her to check out her cage before he collapsed on the bed next to his son.

"Feeling better?" Severus asked.

Harry nodded with a smile.

"You're going to have a lot of fun, especially at the water park." Severus summoned a pamphlet that talked about the many different activities. "They have all sorts of wizarding games as well as quidditch tournaments over the ocean we could watch. Some beginner flying lessons, though I'm not sure how I feel about you doing something like that over the ocean. There's magical creature encounters, stargazing, all sorts of tours for our destinations . . . ah, they have a potions bar."

"What's a potions bar?"

"Not for your age," Severus answered as he continued to study the other activities on the ship silently. "Hmm. What do you say we watch the ship leave port before we ready ourselves for dinner?"

"Okay."

Harry followed his father to the upper deck, carrying Miss Trifle as he did so. He awed at the sight of Southampton, just visible through the mist surrounding them. A mix of historic and modern buildings along the coast caught Harry's eye, along with the bustling markets and of course, the other large cruise ships around them. The mist only allowed so much to be seen from the deck of the ship, but Harry loved the views, especially of the unobstructed ocean before them. A gentle, salty breeze blew around them, and Harry grinned as he watched the setting sun.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" Severus asked as he stood behind his son.

"It's super brilliant."

"I'll say," another voice agreed, and Harry snapped his head over at the familiar voice.

Another young boy was leaning against the rail, and he inclined his head at Harry.

"Carwyn!" Harry greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you, I suppose." He gestured to two adults standing at his right looking over the ocean. "Mum and Dad needed a vacation."

"Us too," Harry said.

Carwyn's father dropped what looked like a chunk of seaweed, and suddenly a large, scaly teal creature with the front end of a horse and the back end of an elegant fish leaped out of the water and caught the seaweed. It jumped up high enough that Carwyn and his parents were able to stroke its mane before it fell back into the water. Harry could only awe at the sight as he had done with many things he had seen today.

"Hippocampus," Carwyn explained. "Pretty, aren't they?"

"How did you know it would come up for the seaweed?" Harry asked, looking over the rail.

"Perks of having magizoologists as parents." Carwyn pulled out some more seaweed from a bucket and walked over to Harry. "Want to pet one?"

Harry nodded, then set Miss Trifle down and copied Carwyn when the boy jumped up on the rail.

"Careful, Harry," Severus said, stepping closer to hold his son's waist, feeling very nervous of his son leaning over the rail as he was. Carwyn's parents didn't seem fazed that their son was leaning halfway across the rail, though they did keep an eye on what they were doing.

Carwyn dropped the seaweed, and just as quickly, the hippocampus leaped out of the water and snatched the food. Harry and Carwyn reached out a hand to graze the rough feeling scales of its neck but soft, flowing fins on its mane before it fell back into the water. Harry watched as the hippocampus chewed the food in the water, two others of its kind swimming up to him and sniffing what he had.

"Wow," Harry said as he watched the animals.

"Mum and Dad want to get ready for dinner," Carwyn said, hopping off the rail and following his parents who were waving for him. "See you around, Harry."

"Bye." Harry waved goodbye to his friend, then resumed staring down at the water horse creatures.

"You've already found a friend," Severus said as he rested his head against Harry's. "You're going to do just fine on this cruise."

Harry hugged his father, glad when Severus scooped him up to his hip. He leaned his head against his father's shoulder, glancing down to see Miss Trifle sitting between Severus's feet, and he smiled at his rabbit as she twitched her nose at him, then looked out to sea.

The horn blasted before the ship began to move, and father, son, and rabbit watched Southampton grow smaller and smaller as the ship sailed away.