Aloha

January 31st

It was with 100 percent certainty that Harry declared that the goblins were still mad at him. Why? Because while he did land in Canada… he did not land in London. How did he know this? Because when he landed, it was on top of a very snowy, very cold- mountain.

It was only after he had been rescued –someone had seen him fumbling and falling down the side of that mountain- did he learn he was in the Rocky mountains- the wrong side of Canada that he aimed for.

It took some quick thinking to explain to the authorities as to why he was found on top of a closed hill without gear, but he managed to convince them that he was passing through the area with some friends and they must have played a bad prank of him. The police wanted to contact his 'friends' but Harry insisted that they let it go and if there was a fine for being in the restricted area, he would gladly pay it so that his friends wouldn't get in trouble.

He was let go after that.

He had checked in to an inn, and learned that even though he went through very thorough preparations… Canada was still very very cold. He spent the rest of the da camped out at the fireplace in the lobby, wrapped in a wool blanket he found in his room, and had paid the Inn staff to constantly bring him steaming cups of hot chocolate.

When night fell, he decided that visiting Canada would be great in the warmer months. Standing up, Harry had approached another tourist and asked him that if he didn't come to the snoy town to ski, where would he have gone on vacation?

Hawaii.

A nice hot, sunny, snow-free island.

He checked out and booked a plane ticket to the island.

February 1st

First he took a shuttle bus to the Edmonton airport. Checking in wasn't too hard, he was asked a few questions about his trip, but he played it off well. According to security he was the son of a British Lord out to spend his father's money traveling the world. Fairly accurate.

The plane was crowded, he once again lacked foresight when he booked economy class, but it wasn't too long of a flight to San Francisco. The flight took three hours, and the flight attendants were nice enough. The only thing he really disliked was the woman beside him who spent the entire three hours going on and on about her darling little baby boy. The kid was the second coming of Jesus in the woman's eyes.

But they landed, and Harry was quick to flee. He went straight to the ticket counter and asked if he could upgrade his ticket to first class. They were happy to accommodate him.

His next flight was five hours and a bit, but in the comfort of first class it was a dream.

He arrived in the early evening, grabbed a taxi and checked into a resort.

Hawaii was much better, and in his opinion, a much better way to start a long holiday.

February 8th

A week… a nice long week of relaxing by the beach, tanning, and relaxation.

He had a cabana boy bring him cold drinks, the hotel store provided sunscreen, and the ocean helped soothe his mind.

He had a lot of worries back in England. But being by spending his days on the sandy beach he could feel each one slowly dripping away. He could see why Sirius wanted to run away to sandy shores when he was on the run. No matter the dangers and problems back home, the gently crashing of the waves, and the warm breeze that caressed your skin as it blew by, made all that seem so far away and insignificant.

Who cares if his friends were probably livid with him? He had ice cold iced tea.

Who cares if the reporters probably found out he was missing by now? The sun browned his skin.

Who cares if a new batch of rumours were flying around about him? Here, in Hawaii, as long he didn't get sunburnt nothing could irritate him.

Hearing the faint ding of new message, Harry smiled.

The resort offered free wireless internet and Harry had taken to bringing his laptop with him. He had sent John a few emails, the first apologizing for skipping out on Canada after a day, and then talked about Hawaii.

John was enjoying France. The boy had a hidden sweet tooth, and was going around to famous patisseries. They exchanged emails a few times, and in each email, John would wax poetic about the brilliant pastries he put in his mouth. Today's was no different.

Hey Harry!

I know I've been talking about food a lot lately, but today I finally found the courage to go to Ladurée, a very famous patisserie. I know it's stupid to be scared to go to a pastry shop, but this is Ladurée, they have been around since the 1800's!

Well anyways, I got there early, but there was already along line. But I didn't care, because they are said to make the best macarons ever! In the whole world. So I waited, and when it finally came my turn to order I froze. The cashier was looking at me, and I was looking at all the macarons and I thought I would just buy one or two, something simple like vanilla to try, but then I couldn't. They all looked so amazing! Plus I only know very little real French and they were all talking so fast… Well the next thing I know I'm handing over my money and walking out with a box.

I ordered the Bonaparte box, it has 18 macarons in it! 18!

Anyways, so I clutched the box close to my chest the entire way back to my hotel, because this stuff is like baked gold or something. So I get back and I tried one… and well… I think I want to be a pâtissier.

The whole nine yards; school, apprenticeship… all if it. After this email, I'm going to call my parents and tell them my decision. I'm going to Italy in a few days, and well… I'm going to look at the pastry stores there as well.

I'm really loving this whole trip, it's like one big self-discovery sabbatical.

You said you were enjoying the beach and just relaxing but Harry, I think you should give it a go too. You looked very lost and unsure of yourself when we met, so maybe you needed a trip too to discover who you are. Don't waste all your time and money running away from problems, but use it to help find out what you want to do in life. I think it will make your holiday just that much better.

Anyways, I need to call my parents, and finish this box. I have 10 left and they were all delicious. Talk to you soon Harry!

-John

Harry sighed and closed his laptop.

His friend was clearly very happy and enjoying himself, but he had mentioned some interesting things. Self-discovery… could he do that. He had spent so many years just following what others expected of him… years of doing what he thought he had to do, and now… he didn't really know who he was. He ignored his self for so long, was it possible to find something you hid away so well?

Self-discovery… it was a curious thought…

February 11th

It took him a few days to think on John's words, but when he woke up he decided to do something.

Sitting around all the time was great, but he was starting to feel restless. Making up his mind, Harry showered, dressed, and went to the front desk to ask about local attractions.

The receptionist was a nice local woman, somewhere in her mid-30's with a kind smile, dark skin, and soulful eyes. As soon as Harry asked, she had brochures out and answered all his questions, no matter how silly they may have sounded.

"The helicopter tours… do they go very high?" he asked.

"They go high enough for you to take in the whole view, but not too high that you can't make out certain landmarks."

"For the shark adventure… has the shark ever followed someone back?"

"No to my knowledge sir."

"And the shark has never gotten into the cage right?" He didn't really feel like fighting a shark. Probably less frightening then a Dark Lord emerging from a cauldron in the middle of a graveyard, but still- he would be going to the shark's home turf and he knew magic acted different underwater.

"Hawaiian sharks have yet to learn to pick locks, sir."

Harry nodded his head… that was good to know.

Finally he decided to do something less life-threatening and just swim with the dolphins. They seemed like nice enough creatures… no razor sharp teeth or plotting look in their eyes.

Getting the details and arranging for transport, Harry went back to his room to prepare… he was finally going to do something.

An hour later, Harry was picked up and taken to the dolphin habitat. As soon as he stepped out of the van, a tall and burly man approached him with a big grin and slapped him on the back.

"You must be Harry! You're the one who booked the royal package correct?" He asked.

Harry laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah… figured in for a penny in for a pound."

The man nodded and looked him over. "Well you look in good shape, 'course we'll test to make sure you can get in and out of the pool by yourself. Did you bring swim trunks?"

Harry nodded back and gestured to his bag. "I even brought a towel."

"Good good, let's get going then. I'll teach you some basics about dolphins, their anatomy, physiology, training and conservation. Then you'll get about 30 mins in the water with two of our female dolphins. Both are very gentle creatures, and highly affectionate. We advertise one kiss but if they really like you, you may get five or more."

Harry smiled lightly at that. Dolphins sounded a lot better than sharks… he was pretty sure he didn't want to get a kiss from a shark. While he thought the next girl he would kiss after Ginny would be human, he wasn't too sad that it was going to be an aquatic animal.

"Let's get going then," Harry prompted.

"Right, in we go!

After a short class, where he learned things like how often a dolphin shed a layer of skin to stay streamlined, Harry was jumping into the pool. His trainer, Louis, was behind him, and just keeping him calm.

Harry, slowly swam away from the edge, watching as two fins rose out of the water followed by two curious creatures. They were beautiful creatures. Pictures didn't do the justice. Slowly, Harry reached out a hand, and one of the dolphins swam underneath it, it's soft rubbery skin gliding under the palm of his hand.

It as surreal in a sense, and he didn't know if he could properly find the words to describe it all. It was truly amazing, seeing these creatures he had only glimpsed at before in his primary textbook. To be in the water with them as they swam around him… to actually feel one. It all just brought a large smile to his face, and he didn't know when the last time he had sincerely smiled like this.

"You know, some people believe that dolphins can cure depression," Louis spoke up.

"How so?" Harry responded absently. He was much too fascinated with the swimming mammals around him to pay attention to the one that could talk.

"I'm not sure, but there was a study done once. They took 15 depressed people and had them swim with dolphins, and 15 other depressed people and had them swim without. The ones who swam with the dolphins recovered faster and were off their meds in a few weeks."

"Really?"

"I heard about the study, never actually read it. But the one thing I know is that no matter who comes here: male/female, happy/depressed, black/white/yellow, gay/straight… no matter their background, education, or morals… everyone walks away happier after swimming with our dolphins."

Harry could believe that. They were magnificent, just petting one, getting a single kiss; just being in their presence was simply breath-taking. Who would walk away feeling negative after this? Unless of course the dolphins attacked you, then you would probably walk away upset, but they hadn't attacked Harry, and something inside him told him they wouldn't. Harry threw away that line of thinking, and just focused on being here, in the present, with the dolphins and Louis.

"Now how 'bout we get one of our lovely ladies to kiss you?" Louis asked.

With a smile, Harry happily nodded in along.

Hermione said that depression went hand in hand with PTSD, but since Harry firmly believed he didn't have that, he didn't think he had depression either. But maybe, just maybe… if it were at all possible that he was just teeny tiny bit depressed… deep in his heart, he would think that today would be a great start at curing it.

But of course he wasn't depressed, and didn't have PTSD, so all that healing nonsense was just that, nonsense.

Today he was swimming with dolphins, and just because he felt lighter, happier, didn't mean he was depressed. It just meant that dolphins were lovely creatures, and he was happy because of that.

Yep, that was it.