The Sleeping Princess

11- Not a Pirate's Life

For the rest of their second day on Mer Island, they spent it finishing up repairs on the Marauder. It wasn't until the morning of the third day did Sirius yell at them all to set sail so that he could take the three of them back up.

The smooth wind ruffled the ocean as the gulls cried overhead happily. The wild waves lapping up against boat that sliced through the choppy sea. The wind battered the white sails and shaking the pirate flag that was high upon the ship. A mellow screech sliced through the chattered and calls of the deck.

A young kid named Cedric was shuffling a deck of cards. "You know how to play cards?" he asked good-naturedly.

"A little," Harry answered, coming out of his depressing thoughts.

He pulled his chair closer to the table and picked up his cards before he glanced up when someone offered him a swig of a bottle. He stared at the bottle before grabbing it and placing the mouth of it to his lips. He took a generous gulp and nearly spat it back up.

"What the hell is that?" he croaked trying hard not to cough.

"Rum," he answered, looking ready to laugh.

"You're kidding," he said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "This stuff is as bad as sewage"

"We know," he answered sadly "but this is the only decent thing to drink around here. Except water…" he shuddered.

"Hell and back," Harry shook his head in disgust, "Try to taste the bloody thing before you buy it next time."

"Easier said than done," he laughed, holding out the cards he then said, "You wanna shuffle?"

They continued to play for nearly two hours. Sometimes he won, but most of the time he continued to lose as badly as possible. After a few more rounds, Harry left, before he owed Cedric even more money, and went up on deck to find Sirius or his friends.

To his delight, he spotted Sirius standing there at the edge of the ship, watching the waves. Harry watched him curiously before he walked forward. "Have any plans once we'll anchor?" he asked his godfather.

Sirius shrugged, "Get a drink. And then we'll sail on to Diagon Alley"

"How exciting," he said with a smile "You've got business in Diagon Alley?"

"I merchandise with some people there," Sirius answered.

"Like thieving?" he asked knowingly.

Sirius gave him a pointed look "You can't steal something that already belongs to you in the first place. And besides, I never steal, I take a loan from pirates."

"With intendance to never give it back?" Harry finished for him.

Sirius laughed as he ruffled his hair. Harry then said, "You should be careful Captain… people might start to suspect that you actually have a sense of humor."

Sirius chuckled and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "You ok?"

Harry looked up at him in surprise. "Why bring that up all of a sudden?"

He shrugged. "Don't know. Just felt like it needed to be said."

Harry looked at him long and hard and asked, "You don't seem to be having as much fun as you usually do. I've noticed it when you last came to visit us at the farm last year. You hardly talked about life on the high seas anymore."