Fishing Without A Rod
“ R-ron are you sure this is safe?” Harry gripped the side of the aluminum boat warily. He’d never gone fishing before…and this didn’t look like anything that he’d ever seen in his glimpses of Uncle Vernon’s televised fly fishing tournaments.
“Of course it is,” Ron peered over the side of the lazy lagoon they were floating on, “ It’s dad’s boat, he took each of my brothers out to go fishing when we got to about twelve, had the talk with each of us.” Ron set a few charms into the water that Harry had never heard of.
“ Great, we’re in your dad’s sex boat-“
“ Merlin’s Pants, mate, when you say it like that it sounds…” he made a disgusted face and continued puttering over the side of the boat while Harry swallowed and tugged at his shirt.
“ Shouldn’t we be wearing life preservers or something? And where are the rods?” Harry looked about as Ron settled back into the bottom of the boat comfortably and cast a lazy buoyancy charm at his head.
“ I don’t know where you keep yours, but mine-“
“ The fishing rods?” Harry laughed as Ron rolled up his sleeves content to bask in the filtered sunlight.
“ Fishing…Oh you mean the sticks with string that the muggles use?” Harry nodded as one lazy blue eye opened to examine him, “ right, well wizards use charms,”
“ What kind of charms?”
“ Oh I don’t know, Hermione, fishing charms.” Ron sighed as Harry glanced about the bow nervously.
“ Look I just don’t like water that much; fourth year…”
“ I know, mate, but I’m not petrified and being guarded by Merpeople, and you aren’t fourteen anymore,” Ron watched him intently before nudging him with one large foot, “Just relax alright?”
Harry gulped once and nodded, sitting on the small bow ledge and trying to absorb the calm of the water…when an unusual ripple caught his eye.
“ Ron…what’s in the water?”
“ Normal stuff,” he shrugged one shoulder, “ Kelpies, trout, speckled snout fish, the occasional Monster Bass…why?”
“ Monster-“ Harry watched with wide eyes as a large fish shaped shadow the size of their boat materialized in the water beside them, “ Bass?” just as the words were uttered the giant tail of the creature knocked Harry’s lighter end of the boat up, jarring him into motion and propelling him forward into a tangle of arms and legs, freckled skin and dark hair at the other end of the boat.
“ Woah, you alright?” Ron’s voice was under him, vibrating right through his chest with its low register. Harry opened his eyes to find himself clutching Ron’s cotton shirt with his face pressed into the long slim freckled neck of his best mate.
“ Yeah,” he felt strangely out of breath, and pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Harry shoved his glasses back onto his face only to be confronted with a focused face to face encounter, a breath’s width apart.
“ Harry…” Ron hedged, squirming uncomfortably under him so they brushed together. They both froze and Harry’s breath caught unexpectedly as he looked into his friend’s eyes intently.
“ What did your dad teach you in this boat?” Harry asked quietly unable to break the strange eye contact or scuttle back to his safe non-attractive best mate Ron side of the boat.
“ Lots of useful things every wizard should know about his…wand…and what to do with it?” Ron’s voice was unsure, shaky as he forced the words out in the space between them.
“ Oh,” Harry breathed out, trying not to think about wands and red hair…he blinked at Ron for a moment and then was leaning in and kissing him hard, unsure quite what to do with his hands or if it was supposed to be so dry and rough. He was also fairly certain that his glasses were digging into Ron’s check painfully, but it didn’t really matter much anymore when Ron kissed him back with just as much intensity and enthusiasm.
Then they were apart, at opposite ends of the boat, both flushed and staring at each other intently.
“ That was-” Harry wet his lips and looked away into the muddy water, unable to endure any more eye contact.
“ A mistake” Ron ran and hand through his hair, biting his lips and shifting to sit cross legged in the bottom of the boat.
“ Right,” Harry itched everywhere, the possibility that it was all a mistake didn’t sit well with him, he rubbed his hand. I will not tell lies.
“ But…But what if it wasn’t?”
“Of course it is,” Ron peered over the side of the lazy lagoon they were floating on, “ It’s dad’s boat, he took each of my brothers out to go fishing when we got to about twelve, had the talk with each of us.” Ron set a few charms into the water that Harry had never heard of.
“ Great, we’re in your dad’s sex boat-“
“ Merlin’s Pants, mate, when you say it like that it sounds…” he made a disgusted face and continued puttering over the side of the boat while Harry swallowed and tugged at his shirt.
“ Shouldn’t we be wearing life preservers or something? And where are the rods?” Harry looked about as Ron settled back into the bottom of the boat comfortably and cast a lazy buoyancy charm at his head.
“ I don’t know where you keep yours, but mine-“
“ The fishing rods?” Harry laughed as Ron rolled up his sleeves content to bask in the filtered sunlight.
“ Fishing…Oh you mean the sticks with string that the muggles use?” Harry nodded as one lazy blue eye opened to examine him, “ right, well wizards use charms,”
“ What kind of charms?”
“ Oh I don’t know, Hermione, fishing charms.” Ron sighed as Harry glanced about the bow nervously.
“ Look I just don’t like water that much; fourth year…”
“ I know, mate, but I’m not petrified and being guarded by Merpeople, and you aren’t fourteen anymore,” Ron watched him intently before nudging him with one large foot, “Just relax alright?”
Harry gulped once and nodded, sitting on the small bow ledge and trying to absorb the calm of the water…when an unusual ripple caught his eye.
“ Ron…what’s in the water?”
“ Normal stuff,” he shrugged one shoulder, “ Kelpies, trout, speckled snout fish, the occasional Monster Bass…why?”
“ Monster-“ Harry watched with wide eyes as a large fish shaped shadow the size of their boat materialized in the water beside them, “ Bass?” just as the words were uttered the giant tail of the creature knocked Harry’s lighter end of the boat up, jarring him into motion and propelling him forward into a tangle of arms and legs, freckled skin and dark hair at the other end of the boat.
“ Woah, you alright?” Ron’s voice was under him, vibrating right through his chest with its low register. Harry opened his eyes to find himself clutching Ron’s cotton shirt with his face pressed into the long slim freckled neck of his best mate.
“ Yeah,” he felt strangely out of breath, and pushed himself up to his hands and knees. Harry shoved his glasses back onto his face only to be confronted with a focused face to face encounter, a breath’s width apart.
“ Harry…” Ron hedged, squirming uncomfortably under him so they brushed together. They both froze and Harry’s breath caught unexpectedly as he looked into his friend’s eyes intently.
“ What did your dad teach you in this boat?” Harry asked quietly unable to break the strange eye contact or scuttle back to his safe non-attractive best mate Ron side of the boat.
“ Lots of useful things every wizard should know about his…wand…and what to do with it?” Ron’s voice was unsure, shaky as he forced the words out in the space between them.
“ Oh,” Harry breathed out, trying not to think about wands and red hair…he blinked at Ron for a moment and then was leaning in and kissing him hard, unsure quite what to do with his hands or if it was supposed to be so dry and rough. He was also fairly certain that his glasses were digging into Ron’s check painfully, but it didn’t really matter much anymore when Ron kissed him back with just as much intensity and enthusiasm.
Then they were apart, at opposite ends of the boat, both flushed and staring at each other intently.
“ That was-” Harry wet his lips and looked away into the muddy water, unable to endure any more eye contact.
“ A mistake” Ron ran and hand through his hair, biting his lips and shifting to sit cross legged in the bottom of the boat.
“ Right,” Harry itched everywhere, the possibility that it was all a mistake didn’t sit well with him, he rubbed his hand. I will not tell lies.
“ But…But what if it wasn’t?”