DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter and it's associated characters etc. All belongs to J.K Rowling and Warner Bros.

A/N: A/N: Huge thanks to my betas Josephine andwho edited this entire fic! This was written for the hp_drizzle fest 2017 on LJ. It was a prompt. Really hope you guys enjoy this one! :)

All remaining mistakes are mine.

Harry Potter lay in his tank contemplating his life.

His life as a merman.

It had only been a month but to him, it felt like an eternity. It still hadn't sunk in, and he wasn't sure it ever would. One minute, he was a normal-ish, two-legged, twenty-four-year-old Auror; the next he was a merman with a blue green tail, living in a huge tank in his living room.

It had happened so fast. He and Ron were in the middle of apprehending four men for an illegal potion ring when one of them decided at the last minute to douse him with a couple of them.

First there was excruciating pain, then darkness. It had taken them a while to calm him down when he had woken up in St. Mungo's. No one likes waking up surrounded by water after all. After passing out multiple times from shock, he had finally been able to listen to what the healers had to say.

It was permanent.

They had no idea what potions were used and so, they couldn't reverse it. Since it wasn't a normal creature transformation, they had no idea if he would regain his legs. They waited during the two weeks he was at the hospital, but there were no signs, no tingling or anything. Two weeks of intense physical therapy to get used to his new appendages. It was hard at first.

The other changes to his body were easier to handle. The gills on either side of his neck were sort of cool, as were his webbed hands. He now had pointed ears. His face was softer; his eyes bigger, rounder, and greener. His lips became pouty and according to Hermione…'cute'. His hair, now in a bun, had grown to waist length and had shiny green streaks running through it. There were scales of varying shades of green and blue on his body. Lighter on his face, around his cheekbones and forehead, and darker on his body. They were mostly on his shoulder blades with a thin line from his navel to his tail. He had to admit, though, that it was pretty. His waist was smaller and his hips were wider, which made him remember the other hard part of accepting this change. It was just his luck that he was a submissive.

A bloody submissive.

Harry sighed and watched as the little bubbles rose to the surface. He had been at Grimmauld Place for two weeks, just swimming around the tank, nothing better to do.

He figured he should be happy. He had gotten a break from the wizarding world. The Auror department had put out an announcement that he had been injured in the battle and needed some time away to heal. Of course, reporters camped outside his house for a few days but moved on when they realized he wasn't going to give them a story.

Ron and Hermione were going to visit him soon. They had every day since he had been home. He considered asking them to maybe take him to the beach or something so he could get more space to move. He was beginning to feel trapped and he hated that feeling. With another soft sigh, he resorted to taking a nap till his friends arrived.

When he awoke again, it was to the chiming of the Floo and a few seconds later, his two best friends stepped through.

"Hey, Harry!" they said in unison, coming to stand in front the tank. He waved at them before swimming to the top and poking his head out. He would be able to breathe for about 10 mins before he had to return to the water again.

"Hey, guys. How was your day?"

"My day was okay. Had some new clients," Hermione answered. She was a family lawyer and an adoption agent. She handled cases of any magical children that were being abused and ensuring they were placed in secure and loving homes. It was a good job, and she was amazing at it. She was supposed to be on maternity leave, being almost seven months pregnant, but Harry wasn't sure she even knew what that meant.

"The trial for the bastards will begin in two days," Ron said, his tone angry. Harry knew he was still upset about the entire thing.

He wished he could've been able to attend the trials. The bastards had done so much damage before they found them. Experimenting with potions and using people as test subjects. They had found deformed bodies all over wizarding Britain. They had ruined families. Hermione's office received more children because of them. He hoped they'd each get a life sentence in Azkaban. The dementors were no longer there, but it was still a horrible place to be.

"Harry?" Hermione's soft voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"Sorry, got lost in my thoughts there," he responded with a tired smile. He ducked beneath the water when he felt his lungs burning. He gave another smile as he returned to reassure them that he was okay. He had to or else they would shut down his proposition.

"Any changes today?" Hermione asked, like she did every day.

"Nope. It's a lot easier to swim but nothing much. I wanted to run something by you, though. Since I'm almost an expert swimmer now, I was wondering if I should move to someplace bigger. You know, to get more practice?" he suggested, making his eyes bigger to hopefully sway them.

"There's no need for the puppy eyes, Harry. We were going to suggest that anyway," Ron said with a roll of his eyes and a laugh.

"Really?" He asked excitedly. His tail swishing in the water in his excitement.

"Yes!" Hermione said, laughing. "The Healer suggested maybe The Great Lake. It's extremely big, there are other mer-people, and it has easy access to help if you need it. A little house will be built for you as well."

"That's a great idea! Only Professor McGonagall will know though, right?" he asked.

"Her and the teachers. No one else," Ron confirmed. He was a little hesitant about the other teachers knowing, but he knew it was a compromise.

"Okay. When do we go?" he asked, his excitement back again. He was practically bobbing in the water.

"Tomorrow, Harry. Around this same time," Hermione answered with a big smile.

He was glad to see them a little happy again. He knew they were sad after the incident. They were like parents when their children were injured. They wouldn't be okay until he was. He loved them for that. He was truly excited though, and he couldn't wait for the move. They talked for a bit more before Ron and Hermione left.

He lay contemplating what was going to happen and for the first time since his transformation, he felt a little hopeful. He would be alone, away from the masses. He didn't think the other creatures in the lake would hero worship him like the wizards.

Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so bad after all.