Severus had never felt more unprepared for anything as he collected last-minute items for his trip. He made sure he had enough outfits and socks for their weeklong vacation, as well as enough muggle cash for any unplanned expenses. He was tempted to just apparate himself and his kids to their destination, or even floo, but as Tori had said, the “getting there” was just as fun as the destination itself. For the kids, at least, as Severus could not see how driving for hours on end would be fun. Severus ran through his checklist in his head, reminding himself to have the kids grab their toothbrushes for him after they finished breakfast. Of course, Harry and Iris were of no help, as both kids took their time getting dressed and packing up their last-minute must haves—such as Harry’s Spike and Iris’s Honey.

               Severus walked downstairs where his two children were still at the table finishing breakfast, though Harry had a very annoyed look on his face as he played with the last bits of cereal and milk in his bowl. Severus quickly discovered why when Iris leaned over and planted a kiss on Harry’s cheek.

               “Stop it,” Harry whined as he brushed an arm over his cheek.

               Iris ate another bite of her cereal, not saying anything for a few seconds before she leaned over and kissed Harry’s cheek again.

               “I said stop,” Harry growled, wiping at his cheek before raising his hand.

               “Ah-ah,” Severus said as he walked by the two, grabbing Harry’s hand to stop him from hitting his sister. “We do not hit.”

               “She keeps kissing me,” Harry said.

               “Because she knows it annoys you. Ignore her and move to the other side of the table if you must. But do not hit your sister.”

               Harry grabbed his bowl and moved to the seat at the end of the table. Iris moodily shrugged her shoulders when her father turned his eyes on her.

               “I was just showing him my love,” Iris said.

               “I’m about to show you my love,” Severus said before wrapping his arms around his daughter and planting several kisses on her, making her laugh and squirm in his grasp. Before Severus released her, he said firmly, “Stop teasing your brother and finish your breakfast. We need to finish packing so we can get on the road.”

               “I don’t even know where we’re going,” Iris complained. “What if I don’t like it?”

               “I’m sure you will enjoy it very much,” Severus said. “Finish eating, quickly, both of you.”

               Iris slowly took another bite of her food, and Severus bit back an exasperated growl at her willful defiance and instead said, “The sooner we get on the road, the sooner we’ll get to our surprise vacation.”

               “I don’t like surprises,” Harry muttered as he played with his cereal.

               “Harry, all you’ve done is play with your food. If you’re not going to eat anymore, you can go brush your teeth then bring me your toothbrush.”

               Harry slid out of his seat to brush his teeth. Iris stuck her tongue out at him as he walked by, and Harry copied her action. Severus caught the behavior out of the corner of his eye, but he hoped the two got all of their sibling rivalry behavior out of their system before the trip, so he held his tongue while he placed several stasis charms on the food in his fridge and pantry. Iris finished her breakfast and carried her dish out to the sink and Severus spelled Harry’s dishes out to the sink as well and cast a self-wash charm on them. Iris ran to the upstairs bathroom just as Harry came down with his toothbrush, and Severus was happy he managed to keep the two from trying to brush their teeth at the same time.

               He packed Harry’s toothbrush in Harry’s suitcase, double checking that he had Harry’s inhalers before looking over at his son as Harry grabbed Spike off the couch. He frowned at Harry’s sock-clad feet.

               “Harry, where are your trainers?”

               “I don’t know,” Harry said with a shrug. “I couldn’t find them.”

               “Where did you last have them?”

               “I don’t know. The mudroom?”

               “Did you check there?”

               “No.”

               Severus resisted rolling his eyes as he said, “Why don’t you look there and get your trainers on? We need to leave soon.”

               Harry sighed as if finding his shoes and putting them on was the most inconvenient thing in the world before he set Spike down and headed to the mudroom. Iris came down with her toothbrush and handed it to Severus, who packed it away in her suitcase. Iris grabbed her doll and a few reusable window clings to play with while Harry came back with untied trainers on his feet.

               “Daddy, I need help tying my laces,” Harry said, holding one of his feet out.

               Severus kneeled and quickly tied Harry’s trainers. It would just be faster if he did it rather than walking Harry through tying them himself as he would normally do. Once Harry was fastened up, he asked his kids to try using the loo one more time, then he ushered his kids out the door and to his car, packing all three suitcases in the trunk while his kids climbed into their car seats. Iris began decorating the window with her fairy princess window clings, creating a fairy garden with unicorns and fairies in flower houses. Harry began playing with Spike, a few of his little plastic dinosaurs sitting in the seat next to him, along with a few other toys, coloring books, and craft items for the long ride.

               Severus finally climbed into the front seat and started their journey. This would be their first family vacation, even for himself and Iris. He hoped they liked the destination when they got there, but he wasn’t spilling anything to them as he really wanted it to be a surprise. He just hoped that everyone could amuse themselves for the ride.

               However, not long into the ride, both Harry and Iris were feeling antsy, and Harry was swinging his feet, occasionally hitting the back of Severus’s seat accidentally while Iris found amusement teasing her brother again as she reached out a finger as if she might poke Harry, who glared at her.

               “I’m not touching you,” Iris said when Harry pushed her hand away. She slowly reached out her finger again.

               “Stop it.”

               “I’m not touching you.”

               “Iris, leave your brother alone,” Severus scolded. “Find something to amuse yourself with.”

               “I was,” Iris muttered under her breath.

               Harry stuck his tongue out at her, and she copied him. So, Harry stuck his tongue out more while putting his hands on his ears and wiggling his fingers.

               Iris retorted with her tongue still out and her thumb on her nose while she wiggled her fingers back.

               Harry put both hands on his cheeks and smushed his face in as much as possible.

               Iris put her index fingers in her mouth and spread her cheeks apart while crossing her eyes.

               “Keep making faces at each other and I will freeze them in place,” Severus threatened.

               Both kids dropped their hands and pouted at their father before Iris grabbed a coloring book while Harry resumed swinging his feet, staring out the window and watching as they passed through a city toward the highway. After another ten minutes of driving, Harry kicked Severus’s seat.

               “I’m bored, Daddy,” Harry complained.

               “Kicking my seat is an unacceptable way to tell me that,” Severus said. “There’s plenty for you to do back there, you have your toys, books, coloring books—”

               “It’s all boring,” Harry interrupted.

               “Then stare out the window and continue to be bored or take a nap,” Severus said. “We have a long ride ahead of us, so I suggest you find a way to make it enjoyable.”

               Severus was starting to question why Tori thought there was enjoyment in the road trip portion of a vacation. What on earth did she do with three kids in the car to keep them occupied while driving for hours on end? He fiddled with the radio, hoping there was something on the radio aimed toward kids, but he did not have much luck.

               Harry reached for one of the coloring books and flipped through it.

               “These are boring,” Harry complained. “What book are you coloring in?”

               “Since when do you want to color?” Iris asked as she paused in what she was coloring in to flip through her animal coloring book.

               “I’m bored. Are there any dinosaur ones?”

               “Here’s a dinosaur,” Iris said, showing Harry a page of a brachiosaurus.

               “Let me color that one,” Harry said, reaching for the book but Iris pulled it away.

               “No, I’m coloring in this. It’s mine.”

               “That’s not fair. You have to share.”

               “No, I don’t.”

               “Yes, you do. Dad says so.”

               “Make me.”

               “Give it to me!” Harry reached across the space between him and Iris, straining against his seatbelt.

               “Get your own!” Iris yelled.

               “Do not make me come back there, you two,” Severus snapped, glancing in his rearview mirror at them.

               “She won’t share her book!” Harry accused, pointing a finger at Iris.

               “He doesn’t even like coloring,” Iris argued.

               “I do if it’s a dinosaur.”

               “Well, it’s the only one I’ve got.”

               “No, it’s not.”

               “How would you know?”

               “There will be no coloring if you don’t stop with the bickering.”

               “That’s not fair, he started it.” Iris pointed at Harry while frowning at her father.

               “No, I didn’t, she did.”

               “Nuh uh, I’ve been being good.”

               “As good as a feather duster,” Harry retorted as he crossed his arms.

               “Don’t you sass me!” Iris snapped, glaring at her brother.

               “Enough!” Severus intervened. “Iris, share your coloring book. You have three back there. Let Harry have that one page, please. It’s a long ride.”

               “Fine.” Iris handed Harry the coloring book and grabbed another one, flipping through the pages until she found a fairy to color.

               Severus sighed as silence filled his car for a while. Harry picked through the crayons in search of the right colors for his dinosaur while Iris settled on a blue crayon to color the background of her page like the sky. Of course, peace was not meant to last long for this trip, and Severus tightened his grip on the steering wheel as the kids started up again, his knuckles white as he grit his teeth.

               “You took the red crayon,” Harry complained.

               “So,” Iris said as she continued to use it.

               “I needed it next.”

               “Well, I’m using it.”

               “You’ve been using it forever.

                “You used all the green!”

               “And you took all the blue!”

               “Did not.”

               “Yes, you did. You’re still not sharing.”   

               “Hey, I will turn this car around and there will be no vacation if you guys can’t get along.” Severus threatened as he watched the two kids fight over the red crayon. He really did not want to pull over on a busy road just to scold his kids and confiscate their things but unfortunately the situation was only escalating.

               “Ow!” Harry cradled his hand and looked at Severus pointedly. “She hit me.”

               “He pinched me.”

               “No, I didn’t.”

               “Yes, you did, don’t lie.”

               “Knock it off, you two. Keep your hands to yourselves.” Severus flicked his wrist and all the coloring books and crayons vanished from the backseat. “We’re done coloring for now. Sit back and enjoy the ride.”

               “Nice going,” Iris pouted, crossing her arms and kicking her feet.

               “It’s your fault,” Harry said, crossing his arms and looking away.

               “No, it’s not, you were hogging all my crayons.”

               “Your crayons were garbage anyway.”

               “I’ll show you garbage.” Iris clenched her fists and glared at her brother.

               “Now it’s boring again, thanks to you.”

               “You’re such a crybaby.”

               “Says you. You still sleep in nappies.”

               “No, I don’t!” Iris declared with a beet-red face.

               “Now, come on, that’s enough! Not another word back there or you’re both taking a nap.”

               Finally, the kids retreated to their own corners, playing with their own toys quietly for a peaceful thirty minutes. Severus focused on the road, reminding himself that the destination would be worth it for all involved, including himself. In the quiet that ensued, he managed to relax himself by practicing his occlumency, mediating and calming his nerves. The kids were just having a rough day, that was all. They weren’t usually at each other’s throats like this—it was just a phase, and it would pass with some time. So far, this road trip was the worst idea.  

               The peace ended when Harry piped up.

               “Are we there yet? I’m bored.”

               “I’m hungry,” Iris complained. “I want a sandwich.”

               “I need a drink,” Harry added.

               “I gotta go, too,” Iris said, grabbing at herself.

               Severus sighed. He had snacks and drinks in the trunk, but since Iris was complaining of a potty break, he might as well as pull over at the next service station. Thankfully, he spotted one just a mile down the road.

               “We can stop for lunch and a bathroom break for a half hour, then we need to get back on the road, okay?”

               Once he arrived at the rest stop, he freed his kids from their seats and Iris was quick to use the restroom before dragging her father toward the sandwich counter in the small food court at the rest stop. Severus felt his irritation rising once more as Harry struggled to decide on what he wanted while Iris picked apart the sandwich she had asked for.

“I don’t like this,” Iris said, flicking a cucumber off her sandwich. “I didn’t want cucumbers.”

“Then why did you ask for them?” Severus asked.

“I forgot,” Iris answered.

“Is there any pizza here?” Harry asked.

“Harry, I’ve told you what they have several times now. You can go make a sandwich or get a pre-made one or a salad or grab any of the snacks they have around. Pick something please.”

“I’m not hungry anymore,” Harry decided. “Can I get a fizzy drink?”

Severus growled under his breath, then said, “No, but you may have milk or juice.”

While Harry picked out a juice, Severus grabbed a few nut bars just in case Harry changed his mind later. He still has some fruit snacks as well in his car if Harry didn’t want the fruit bars. Harry settled on a juice box and slurped it down quickly while Iris destroyed her sandwich, eating only bits and pieces of it. Severus disposed of the rest and herded his kids back to the car.

They were back on the road in ten minutes headed toward their destination.

“I gotta go to the loo,” Harry announced.

“Me, too,” Iris said.

“Why didn’t you go at the service station!?” Severus couldn’t help but shout.

“I didn’t have to go then,” Harry answered softly.

“I have to go again,” Iris confessed.

Severus growled in exasperation quite loudly as he searched for a place to do a U-turn. He finally found one a few minutes down the road and turned the car around to head back to the station. He managed to get back in ten minutes and hurried his kids out of the car before either one could have had an accident. He took them to the family restroom and made sure everyone actually relieved themselves.

Back on the road, the kids were quiet as they fiddled with some of their toys, and it was a welcome change for Severus.

               “Can I play with Spike?” Iris asked, pointing at the stegosaurus.

               Severus glanced in his rearview mirror, hoping the question didn’t blow up into an argument.

               Harry hesitated for a second before handing Spike over to Iris, who cradled the stuffed dinosaur.

               “Do you want to play with my wand?” Iris asked, holding her toy wand out to Harry.

               Harry smiled and accepted the toy, waving it around to make the tip light up or swishing it for bubbles. Severus could hardly believe the interaction after this morning’s events. He silently cast a charm to keep the bubbles contained in the back seat and out of his window view. Iris tilted the stegosaurus back and pretended to feed him with one of her baby doll’s bottles.

               “What are you doing?” Harry asked her.

               “I’m feeding him,” Iris said as if it should have been obvious. “He’s hungry.”

               “He doesn’t drink milk,” Harry said, though he didn’t seem too bothered as he kept making more bubbles. “He eats leaves.”

               “He’s a baby so he needs milk first.”

               Harry said nothing in response as he made the bubbles light up with a flick of the wand in a different direction.

               Severus was surprised Harry hadn’t pushed the subject after all their disagreements with everything else thus far. One minute, they were at each other’s throats and the next they were best friends sharing their toys. After an hour, the kids grew quiet, and when Severus glanced back, he was glad to see the two napping, Iris cuddling Spike and her doll, Honey, and Harry still holding onto the toy wand in a lax grip. Severus smiled at his kids, turning the radio down slightly. Perhaps the road trip wasn’t the worst idea.

               He drove in blissful silence with the radio offering subtle background noise as he went over his plans for the vacation in his head. He really hoped the two enjoyed what he had planned for them. The last-minute plans had been hard to accomplish as the Easter break was usually a very busy time of year for many places in the UK, especially where they were going, but Tori had assisted him thankfully, and he managed to pull off a miracle in his head. How on earth there was even a room left at the hotel was beyond him, but he felt Tori had reserved the room with a sneaking suspicion Severus might need it.

               An hour and a half past when Iris stirred and looked around blearily, blinking as she took in the new landscapes around her before her eyes widened and she jumped excitedly in her car seat.

               “We’re going to the beach?” she asked.

               Severus smiled back at her excitement and Iris grinned before bouncing in her seat more. She looked over at Harry, who was still sleeping. She threw Spike at Harry, who jumped awake.

               “Hey,” he complained as he rubbed his head, adjusting his glasses and holding Spike.

               “Look outside,” Iris said.

               Harry looked outside his window, taking in the gentle waves massaging the sandy beaches below.

               “Iris, Harry, welcome to Cornwall,” Severus said. He nodded toward the beach. “Down there is Gwithian Beach. And up ahead is where we will be staying.”

               Iris bounced more in her seat as she grinned at the castle hotel they were coming up to. There was a spa at the hotel as well, which Severus would make use of for sure in his time here, and he was sure Iris wouldn’t mind some pampering. Harry, on the other hand, would probably skip spa day, but he had a lot planned for his son while he was busy treating Iris to the spa.

               “We’re really staying here! I’ll be like a princess!” Iris said gladly.

               Harry snuggled Spike close while he looked around, taking everything in.

               Severus pulled up to a parking space close to the hotel entrance, then looked back at his kids.

               “What do you say we get checked in, settle in our room, then we can take a walk down to the beach?”     

               “Yes!” Iris cheered, throwing her hands up.

               “Is it safe?” Harry asked nervously.

               “Of course,” Severus asked. “We’re just going to walk along the beach, nothing more than a little sand and the tide tickling your feet.”

               “But what if . . .”

               “Oh, Harry, you’ll be okay. This is supposed to be a fun experience. You’ll see when we get down there.”

               Severus stepped out of the vehicle and helped Harry out of his car seat as the child seemed a bit frozen. Iris leaped out of her seat and helped drag suitcases out of the trunk.

               “Did you pack bathing suits?” Iris asked.

               “You both will need new bathing suits anyway,” Severus said. “I figured we could do a little shopping tomorrow before we visit the beach for swimming.”

               “It’s getting dark,” Harry said as he stood next to his father. “Should we just visit the beach tomorrow.”

               “It’s not too dark yet,” Severus said, handing Harry’s suitcase to his son to pull inside. “You’ll be okay. Come on, let’s go get settled in our room.”

               Severus led the way into the massive hotel, his kids at his heels with their suitcases dragging behind them while Severus carried his. He checked in and was glad it was a fairly easy process, and he was handed a key for his room. He led the way to the elevator and pushed the number three. Once at the third floor, he found their room number and unlocked the door. There was only one triple family room left when Tori helped him find a hotel, and it had a double bed and a twin bed in the room, a small seating area with a TV, a small vanity table with a mirror, and a large bathroom with a shower and a tub. Breakfast was available every morning in the hotel, so all Severus had to do was feed his kids lunch and dinner, but he had planned on spoiling them with meals out anyway.

               “I love it!” Iris said, jumping on the double bed.

               “Who would like to sleep where?” Severus asked as he set the suitcases in the chairs in the sitting room. When he turned around, he noticed Iris and Harry sitting on top of the double bed. He snorted. “Okay. I guess I get the little bed.”

               Iris laughed as she plopped back on the fluffy pillows.

               “They smell really nice,” Iris said. She grabbed the towel on the bed. “Look, Daddy, it’s a swan!”

               “So, I see,” Severus smiled at his daughter. He changed his boots to sandals, and he pulled out flipflops for his kids. “Come on, change shoes if you want to head to the beach.”

               Iris hopped off the bed and kicked off her shoes and socks quickly while Harry remained seated on the bed.

               “I don’t want to go,” Harry said.

               Severus sat next to his son on the double bed.

               “You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I’ll be with you the whole time. Are you afraid of the beach?”

               “There’s sharks at the beach,” Harry said. “And sea monsters, and giant crabs, and stinging jellyfish.”

               “Who told you that?”

               Harry’s lower lip quivered, and he looked down at the bedsheets as he squeezed his dinosaur close. Severus sighed as he realized who would have told Harry about all the scary monsters at a beach. He rubbed Harry’s back comfortingly, pulling his son close to lean against his shoulder.

               “Harry, you have to know that your aunt was just trying to scare you,” Severus said. “First of all, there are no sea monsters here. Crabs, once in a while you might see, but they keep to themselves, Jellyfish do show up at the beach sometimes, but they leave people alone, they won’t hurt you. And there’s only a couple species in the water that actually hurt when they sting but they only do that if you accidentally step on one. But if you do get stung, I have a potion that will fix you right up.”

               “What about sharks?”

               “Well, I’ve yet to see a shark at the beach, but if we do see one, they do not usually attack humans. It is very rare, and the beaches have lifeguards who will let you know if they see a shark. And I will be with you as well, so you are more than safe from any sharks.”

               “You promise?” Harry asked.

               “I promise. And if it makes you feel any better, I will be in the water with you if you’d like.”

               “I would like that.”

               “I won’t make you do anything you are not ready for. There will be many people at the beach, though, you’ll see. There is no need to be afraid of the beach.”

               Harry just snuggled against his father, cuddling Spike against him.

               Iris crossed her arms in front of them.

               “Can we go now?”

               “Alright, Iris, we’re going,” Severus said with a chuckle. He picked up Harry and set him down. “Take your shoes off and get these flipflops on. We’re just going to walk on the beach. You don’t have to touch the water if you don’t want to.”

               Harry obediently put on the flipflops then followed Severus and Iris out of their hotel room and out of the hotel into the chilly evening. Severus held both kids’hands as he crossed the street and headed to the stairs leading down to the beach. The tide was low at the moment, and they were not the only ones with the idea of an evening stroll along the beach. Severus pulled his sandals off right before the sand, Iris quick to copy him as she kicked off the flipflops, Harry a little slower to do so. Iris let go of her dad’s hand and took off through the sand, laughing and kicking it around before chasing the tide inward, then running away with a squeal when it chased her back. She screamed as the cold water caught her feet.

               Harry clenched tightly to Severus’s hand, and Severus could feel a slight tremor in his son’s grip. He walked slowly with Harry through the sand, walking along the ocean without touching the water while Iris ran alongside them, playing in the tide and wet sand. Harry slowly relaxed as nothing attacked them in the first five minutes of their walk, nor did he see any dorsal fins in the water. Iris appeared to be having a lot of fun with the tide, too.

               “Do you want to try putting your feet in the water?” Severus asked him.

               Harry shook his head.

               “What if we let the water come to you? Just the very edge of it? I’ll be right with you.”

               Harry hesitated, then nodded. He allowed Severus to walk them closer to the tide where Iris was still playing tag with it. Severus stopped as the water receded, and he had Harry stand in front of him. Harry watched wide eyed as the water rushed straight for them, and he squealed as his feet were covered in the cold ocean, turning into Severus at the sudden sensation. But it lasted for a moment as it ran away from him, back into the night.

Harry glanced back at the ocean, watching as the tide came back for him and he laughed softly as the cold water touched his feet again before it pulled away. He looked up at his father, who smiled down at him. This wasn’t so bad after all. Harry relaxed his hold on Severus’s hand as the water came back and tickled his feet again, earning another shriek from Harry.

“It’s cold,” Harry said with a smile.

“I quite agree,” Severus said behind him.

               Harry watched as the tide was coming for them again, and this time, he let go of Severus’s hand to run away from it, as Iris was doing. Iris paused next to him.

               “Race you,” she challenged, then ran after the tide, Harry smiling and running after her a second after, only to turn and run away as the tide chased both kids, catching them and they screamed in laughter.

               Severus chuckled at their antics as he walked along the tide, allowing it to rush over his feet with each pull of a wave, his kids running alongside him as they played chicken with the tide.