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“Why do muggles enjoy looking at fish swimming aimlessly in tanks?”
“Are you getting bored?”
PP didn’t want to truthfully answer that question. It was him who insisted on going to the aquarium on summer break. He had just recently watched (and possibly cried over) 50 First Dates. The blue hues that enveloped Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore in the middle of the grand aquatic displays during the movie was the most magical scene a bunch of non-magical folk could create. He remembered immediately calling (It was too urgent of a matter to send the message via owl. This is the 21st century. Wizards have phones too) Billkin to ask if he was free next weekend. Being a full-blooded wizard, PP had little to no knowledge of muggle affairs. Billkin, however, was a half-blood who spent his childhood years amongst them.
The film might have raised his expectations too high.
Anyhow, he wasn’t going to let the outfit he contemplated on wearing for one whole day go to waste. He opted to go out in a plain white shirt tucked into a pair of skinny jeans, layered with a brown button up in case it was cold inside the establishment.
The Slytherin silently thanked the gods that his boyfriend was practically a walking encyclopedia, spewing out unsolicited, random bits of fast facts while they walked hand-in-hand through glass cases filled with water and peculiar creatures.
“Did you know that when a female clownfish dies, the male changes it sex so it can guard their territory?” Billkin once said while they were in the clownfish display twenty minutes ago.
They have been pacing around the tanks for almost 30 minutes. PP wanted nothing more but to sit down and stretch out his aching legs. It was a good thing he switched to sneakers instead of boots as well because his feet would have been murdered by then.
“You haven’t answered my question.” Billkin brought him out of his trance. PP didn’t even realize that he was absentmindedly tugging on the sleeve of his boyfriend’s cream-colored sweatshirt.
“I guess I’m just tired from all the walking,” PP replied. But Billkin knows him well enough that he’s going to assume that it’s code for: If it’s possible to die out of boredom, then I would be a rotting corpse by now.
If only they could use their magic, they would have glided or flew for the whole tour, but they couldn’t in the expense of getting expelled or arrested by the Ministry. Hell, PP could try out a few spells to liven up these sea creatures. Professor McGonagall taught them a charm that makes animals talk. Might be nice to scare some muggles pressing their faces too close to the tanks.
“Wanna make a detour?” Billkin asked.
“To where?”
“It says on the map that if we make a left turn instead of a right we’ll find the path towards the outside exhibits. You wanted to see the penguins right?”
The image of the black and white birds waddling about in his head livened up the exhausted Slytherin. He had never seen a penguin with his own two eyes. He thought that they could only thrive in the South Pole until he watched the previously mentioned romcom. He then proceeded to deep dive (pun intended) into more muggle material and watch videos of penguins walking around aquariums like little tourists. It was so adorable that he squealed non-stop.
Being able to see the flightless birds somehow gave PP’s legs the strength to venture on. He pulls his Ravenclaw towards the said exit leading to the exhibit. Billkin let himself get dragged.
When they finally made it out of the tanks, PP searched for arrows leading to the exhibit. His eyes grew large when he finally heard absurd chirping noises. He frantically searched for Billkin’s arm, almost grabbing a stranger by accident.
“Slow down! They aren’t going anywhere,” his other half scolded him. Billkin couldn’t be mad though. His boyfriend’s sudden enthusiasm for the creatures was charming. If he didn’t know how the Slytherin normally acted and what he was capable of inflicting on him, he would have been fooled by now.
They almost crash into the glass dividers. PP arched forward to get a closer look at the marching birds, gripping the fences a little too tightly. He watched as a waddle of Magellanic penguins, with black backs, white stomachs, and a black stripe around its chest, clustered together at the surface. Two of them dove into the surrounding water and swam towards the couple. They moved their flippers to and frough, looking as if they were waving at them. The wizards waved back.
“They’re cuter than I thought they would be,” PP said. He met with Billkin’s eyes. “I wish I could get closer.”
“You, there! With the brown shirt!” the park staff holding a bucket that was most likely full of fish called out from a distance behind them.
PP looked around to see if anyone else was wearing a similar top to save himself from embarrassment before pointing at himself.
“Yes you! You seem to take a liking to the penguins. Would you like to feed them?” she asked while she walked towards them.
“Uh-umm, well-”
“Go ahead!” Billkin encouraged. “Come on. You said you wanted to get closer to them. Here’s your chance.”
“Your,” the lady paused for a while, examining Billkin before deciding on what to call him. “companion can come along too if he wants.”
“You heard her. Let’s go!”
The kind animal trainer slash staff, Agnes, who’s name PP just read on her ID, guided them to the door leading to the penguin enclosure. Billkin swore that PP had a slight hop to his steps when they neared the black and white creatures.
“May I first ask the names of these fine gentlemen?” Agnes inquired while she handed two sets of gloves for Billkin and him to wear. She held onto the knob of the door dividing them from the birds.
“I’m Billkin and this is PP,” the Ravenclaw introduced themselves. “This was his first time seeing penguins.”
“Really?!”
PP nodded. He was having a hard time hiding his excitement. His hands were trembling so much that Billkin had to fix the gloves for him half-way.
“Well then, let’s make your first time even more memorable, shall we?”
Agnes opened the door. A cold breeze hit PP’s face. Good thing he wore the overshirt then. After that, his mind was just a blur. Agnes was kind enough to tell him the names of every bird he gave a fish to but they all just jumbled in his mind. Skipper, Rolly, Vans, Bambi, and others that sounded like normal pet names you would give to your dog.
Billkin watched as his boyfriend paced around the penguins that were slowly rushing towards him. How he wished that he had brought a camera with him. He swore that he had never seen PP smile this widely, not even when they were together. His laugh sounded like a child opening presents on Christmas morning. It made the Ravenclaw’s heart skip a beat.
“So, you two have been friends for a long time?” Agnes suddenly asked.
Oh, Billkin realized that they haven’t disclosed their relationship with the marine wildlife trainer. Agnes had been kind enough to be cautious not to assume what they were but at this point, it would be nice if people immediately thought they were together at a glance, because they were.
“You could say that,” Billkin replied.
“We’re dating now,” PP added straightforwardly.
“I’m his boyfriend.”
“Don’t be smug,” PP said. “It’s fine Agnes. You don’t have to beat around the bush. We probably looked like a couple from afar anyway.”
“A very cute one!” she said. “Thank you for confirming. I really didn’t mean to make it feel awkward. It’s just that, you know, people might-”
“Yeah,” Billkin said. He sighed. “We know.” Compared to the muggle world, magical folk had a harder time in accepting same sex relationships because of customs heavily bounded by tradition that aged up to centuries. PP was thankful enough that his parents loved Billkin like their own. Other wizard families, especially pure bloods, didn’t have the same privilege.
Agnes must have sensed that the mood turned quite sour. She suddenly chirped. “You know what, I’d like you to meet a special pair of penguins.”
She looked around the enclosure until she spotted two birds further away from the group. “There they are. Come here!”
The younger boys carefully made their way near the pair. Their flippers were crossed at each other, making it seem like they were holding hands. “Billkin and PP, I want you to meet Karl and Fred.”
“Hello there!” PP enthusiastically greeted them. He squatted down to the penguins’ level while Billkin followed behind him. “What’s special about them?”
The trainer followed suit, crouching down to lightly pet their backs. It was soothing to see that they still didn’t move apart. “They’re together. They’re mates,” she revealed.
The wizards widened their eyes. The two looked at each other, and then back at the male penguins who were now touching foreheads. “Wow,” Billkin managed to let out.
“People often argue that even animals wouldn’t exhibit such behavior so humans shouldn’t too. Yet look at them. They’ve been together since they were rescued in the wild. At first we thought that they were just from a close pack, but they wouldn’t mate with the other females. Until we realized that they WERE each other’s mates.”
“That’s… beautiful,” PP said.
“These little rascals even attempted to steal an egg from a female.” Agnes laughed. “So, if somebody ever tells you that what you two are feeling is unnatural, tell them that you met two male penguins who literally developed their relationship in the wild, snowy caps of the South Pole. If that’s not natural enough then I don’t know what is.”
PP expected his boyfriend to share his thoughts but Billkin, a man of many words, was left speechless. In that moment, PP deliberately decided that his patronus charm would be a penguin if it could.
“Penguins are monogamous, right? They stay with one partner for life?” PP asked.
“Yes, and despite not being able to bear offspring, Karl and Fred have the strongest bond of all the penguins here, dare I say,” Agnes claimed.
No words needed to be spoken after that. PP felt a hand on his shoulder. He grabbed it, squeezing it tight. He guessed the aquarium wasn’t as mundane as he thought after all.