Alec lounged on the towel in the sunlight, listening to the sounds of the waves and watching the birds fly about. This had been the first time he had ever been to the beach and the young boy immediately loved it. The scenery was beautiful, particularly around the early morning sunrises and the evening sunsets. Alec immensely enjoyed sitting on the sand and relaxing. The past school year had been rather tense with escaped convict Sirius Black on the loose. Luckily, all that had been solved when the man had finally received his trial and ended up being declared innocent. Peter Pettigrew was revealed to be the one who had committed the crimes that Sirius Black was originally imprisoned for.

"Alec, would you like to try swimming?" Severus asked one morning on the second day of vacation.

"I'm not sure if I can swim," Alec replied as he finished his breakfast and washed his plate off.

"There's no harm in trying. There is not much to know when it comes to swimming but I shall assist you in learning," Severus informed the boy. "Go change into your swimwear and wait for me before heading to the beach." Alec changed and waited in the kitchen for his father. Severus came down a few minutes later, wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Alec stared with wide eyes at his father, who had never worn any clothing that were so relaxed.

Severus rolled his eyes at his son "You didn't expect me to get into the water with pants on, did you?" he asked thoroughly amused.

Alec smiled, "It didn't occur to me that you would be wearing anything different. May we please leave now?" Severus nodded and picked up two towels on his way out.

The two wizards walked to the beach and placed their towels away from the water's edge. Severus and Alec slowly made their way into the chilly water.

"This is cold!" Alec exclaimed.

"Really?" Severus asked dryly.

Alec rolled his eyes, "Now what?"

"Try treading water first," Severus instructed as he demonstrated for Alec and the young boy copied his actions.

"Good," Severus praised and Alec beamed at him happily. Severus patiently gave additional tips on swimming basics for the rest of the morning before they called it quits. Once the young boy understood the basics, he took to the water naturally.

After they dried off, they went back to their beach house to change into appropriate attire before heading to town. They ate lunch at a small restaurant and made a tour of the town. It was a small settlement but since being situated along the beach, it was a popular tourist attraction. They visited several shops, browsing the aisles and looking for any interesting souvenirs. After several hours of wandering the town, father and son headed back home to retire to their rooms.

.................................

The following day Alec and Severus made their way to the beach once again for swimming but this time Severus carried a small jar of something with them. This jar contained Gillyweed, and Severus explained its purpose.

"Gillyweed allows us to swim underwater," Severus began, "It will enable us to have certain properties that sea creatures have such as gills and webbed feet."

Alec, being the Ravenclaw he was, asked many questions about this item. "Is it permanent? How long does it last? Will it help me swim better? Will we have to wait until it wears off before we can breathe above water? Are there other ways to breathe underwater?" The young boy was fascinated with Gillyweed and endeavored to read more about it soon.

Severus chuckled at his son's thirst for knowledge. He then tried to answer all the questions in order, "No, one hour, yes but only temporarily, yes, and yes there are other ways to breathe under water such as the Bubblehead charm." Alec paused for a moment to match each answer with the question and Severus continued, "If you wish to learn more, consult your Herbology text and if that does not have sufficient information, then I will supply you with an appropriate book."

"Okay, that sounds good. So what do we do with that?" Alec motioned to the jar.

Severus pulled out two piece of Gillyweed and handed one to Alec. He led the way into the water before turning to Alec, "You have to eat this. It isn't very pleasant but it will be worth it when we can explore the ocean floor." Alec's eyes lit up with the prospect of seeing the bottom of the ocean along with all the other sea creatures. He quickly shoved the slimy substance in his mouth and chewed it before finally feeling it take effect. Both wizards submerged themselves once they could no longer breathe and felt instant relief.

Once Alec got used to having webbed feet and gills, he followed his father downwards. They swam for about five minutes before coming across a school of yellow stripped fish. As they continued swimming, they began to come across more brightly-colored fish. Some were large while others were small. The colors varied from blues, oranges, yellows to many multi-colored ones. Alec was fascinated with all the different fish that were swimming about; he had never seen so many species in his life. The only fish he had ever seen before these were the goldfish that his cousin had, but those never lived long since Dudley constantly forget to feed them.

They continued to explore the ocean floor for the remainder of their time. The Gillyweed began to wear off just when they reached the surface. Alec and Severus climbed out of the water and dried with their green towels.

...............................

Alec was shuffling through a stack of postcards, trying to find one to send to his friends. He picked two out and went to pay when he saw his father. With the vast amount of time they spent outdoors, Severus had managed to gain a bit of color. In addition, his father wasn't around potions constantly therefore his hair was not greasy-looking. With casual clothes and no sneer on his face, he looked rather handsome. When Alec spotted Severus in that store, he saw his father talking to a middle-aged woman.

And he was flirting with her.

Alec couldn't hold in a giggle at the sight. Neither of them heard the quiet giggle from the boy hiding off to the side, only a few aisles away. Alec left them, just as the strawberry blond-haired woman handed a slip of paper, to pay for his postcards.

Severus came and stood alongside Alec who had just received his change. "Are you ready to leave?" His father asked.

They exited the store and Alec turned towards his father with a smirk on his face. "When are you taking her out?"

Severus' cheeks gained a very slight pink shade as he replied, "That is none of your business."

Alec looked up at him with an innocent expression, "Please? I just wanted to know..."

Severus growled lightly but replied anyways, "We do not have a date," he sneered at the word, "She merely gave me her number and suggested that I call her sometime."

"Ah. Are you going to call her then?" Alec asked, smiling up at his father, who scowled at him.

Severus grimaced before responding, "I do not know how to use a muggle telephone." He admitted with difficulty.

"I'll have to show you then." Alec replied, determined to instruct his father in the ways of muggles.

......................................

Once Severus was thoroughly instructed in the use of muggle telephones, he called Anne. She was thrilled that Severus called her back so quickly and they set up a date for the following evening. The next evening, Severus went on his date with Anne and everything went well. Alec tried to stay up for his dad's return, but fell asleep on the couch reading the section on Gillyweed. He awoke the next morning in his bed and belatedly realized that his father had a date last night. Alec hopped out of bed and raced to his father's room then jumped on his bed, effectively waking the older man.

"What do you want at this hour brat?" Severus asked grumpily.

"How did it go last night?" The raven-haired boy asked enthusiastically.

"You woke me you ask that? Go back to bed." His father rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head.

"It is seven thirty already and you are always awake by now!" Alec said matter-of-factly. "So you should get up and tell me how it went."

Severus groaned and then sat up. "Go make coffee and I will be down momentarily." Alec raced off to make the beverage that was so helpful in waking his father up. Alec sipped his apple juice as he waited at the table. His father came down and grabbed his coffee before slumping in the chair next to Alec. Alec waited patiently for signs that his father was more awake. After the second cup, Severus sat up properly and Alec knew he was fully up now.

"So...." Alec prompted curiously.

Severus looked at him before sighing. "It went fine. That is all you need to know."

"Where did you go?" the young boy asked.

"We dined in Le Bistro", he replied. "Is this a sufficient amount of information to satisfy your curiosity?"

"One last question..." he trailed off and pushed his chair away from the table. "Did you kiss her goodnight?"

Alec made to run off, but his father caught him by the arm. Severus smirked at the young boy in his arms. "Hmm, what will I do with you?" Alec gulped. "I know..." He began to tickle Alec, who dissolved in a fit of giggles.

"S-s-stop," Alec managed to get out in between his laughter.

Severus stopped tickling his son, "Did you learn a valuable lesson just now?"

Alec stood up, red in the face from laughter. "Yes I did! I learned that I shouldn't get caught next time!" The young boy replied cheekily before running off. Severus smirked and shook his head in amusement.