For the Challenge.
Please note that the '-*-*-' signify a break in scenes, whilst the '~~~' signify a change in point of view. For example on the second one, it shows things that are happening in the same timeframe.
Just thought you ought to know.
RATED R TO BE SAFE!
Big thanks to my best bud, Mya, for letting me borrow her last name for the Muggle Studies Professor. And the first name is inspired by watching CSI:Miami.
ENJOY
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Time of Your Life | ||||
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Category: Muggle Field Trip Challenge (2007-2) Characters:Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape Genres: Comedy, Fluff, Humor, Romance Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 12 Summary: In true tradition, the fifth to seventh years are going on an excursion into the Muggle world. They will experience, for the first time to many, what being a Muggle is like. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and Ginny, along with their classmates, four professors, and a few Aurors find out that the Muggle world can be quite enjoyable. Hitcount: Story Total: 5978 Disclaimer: Not JKR. I do not look like her, I do not live in Great Britain (sadly). I am not much past my teen years. I am not her. Therefore, the following does not belong to me. Author's Notes: |
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-- It’s something unpredictable, But in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life. -- Green Day -- -*-*- “Art hur, are you quite certain this is going to be safe?” “Positive, Molly. Horatio and I have worked out all the details, and there will be several Aurors on duty.” “But I’m still not quite sure about this. They’ll be so far away. Can’t we stop them from going?” “Afraid not; it’s a mandatory trip.” Arthur then pulled his wife to him in a comforting embrace. “Besides, do you remember how much fun we had on ours?” “Yes,” she said reluctantly. “But it’s such a dangerous time. I’m not certain it’s safe enough.” “Molly, dear, Albus has assured us of our children’s safety. He has said that there will be an Auror with them at all times. They will be fine. In fact, they’re probably safer out of the country.” Molly sighed in resignation and allowed herself to melt into her husband’s arms. Profe ssor Albus Dumbledore stood from his spot at the Head Table to address the students. “This upcoming April, there will be a trip into the Muggle world for students in years five to seven. It’s mandatory, as we wish to increase our knowledge among our students with the Muggle society. Details on this trip will be posted on the common room bulletin boards on Sunday morning. “Your chaperone will be Professor Gleaves, Muggle Studies teacher, and three other members from our staff, as well as Aurors that the Ministry is so kindly providing for us. The destination will be kept secret from those going until they arrive.” Professor Dumbledore surveyed the students in front of him. “A trip to the Muggle world has been a tradition for the fifth to seventh forms all the way back to my time as a student, perhaps even further. Every three years, students in those years go into our counterpart’s world for a total of four days, experiencing the wonders that it has to offer to them. We wish to have our students a bit more cultured in the Muggle world than they currently are. It is my wish that you will all enjoy yourselves.” The Headmaster sat down, a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, and observed the results of his announcement. Immediately, the Great Hall was in rapid activity. The seventh years were telling tales to any that would listen. They told the tales that had been brought back three years ago from the years ahead of them. Katie Bell, of Gryffindor, could be heard telling a fourth form student about the havoc that twins had caused when they visited Prague in their fifth year. “Apparently they almost had the Statute of Secrecy blown wide open when they let off a series of their test fireworks. Oh, how I wish I had been able to see that. Oliver Wood was quite upset, because Professor Sprout threatened to ban them from the Quidditch team.” Harry turned to his five friends, all of whom had had their attention focused on Katie’s story. “Well, what do you lot think?” he asked. “I had forgotten about the trip, nearly anyways. I didn’t even realize that we would get to go on one, did you?” “I knew we were supposed to, but I didn’t think we would be able to, what with the war and all,” answered Hermione, who was on his right. “Mum and Dad got together on their trip. They went to Tokyo. Mum was a sixth year, and Dad a seventh. In fact, I think that trip is what caused Dad’s obsession with anything Muggle,” supplied Ginny, looking up from her breakfast of eggs and toast. “Ah ink uw my ba rigt, Gimmy,” agreed Ron through a mouthful of sausage and bacon. “Ronald Bilius Weasley, chew and swallow your food before you speak!” admonished Hermione, her upper body jerking. A split second later, Ron let out a startled oath, food falling from his mouth, and glared at the bushy-haired witch. Swallowing his food, the redhead said, “Bloody hell, Hermione, that hurt. You don’t need to kick that hard you know.” Neville, who had, along with Luna, been silent up to this point, laughed. “Ron, she might not hurt you if you just do what she says. You do realize that, right?” The tall boy grumbled something as he went back to his food, forgetting the pain. Hermione huffed and looked away from him to her other friends. “I wonder where we will be going. I think it’ll be fascinating, and we will get to learn so much,” she said. “I read about these trips in first year. Apparently the first Muggle Studies Professor proposed he take the students to a Muggle capital, and it’s been a tradition since. The first trip took place in 1801, and the students went to Athens, Greece. There isn’t much other detail on it, but it sounds like it will be fun. Don’t you…think?” Hermione’s words had become faster than normal, and she had realized that her friends were staring at her, resulting in her last word to come out weakly. She blushed and looked down as they laughed. “It does sound interesting, Hermione,” Ginny comforted. “I wonder if we’ll go to Sweden. They have a large population of Kinkle-footed Snout Gousers, and I would love to see one in person,” said Luna serenely, her face slightly thoughtful. “There is no such thing as Kinkle-footed Snout Gousers!” Hermione exclaimed, her embarrassment completely forgotten. “Whatever you have to believe, Hermione,” answered Luna, peering at her food intently. “Luna, love, you’re scaring Hermione again,” said Neville, his voice full of amusement. “Am I?” “Yes.” “Oh, I’m sorry Hermione. I’ll try not to frighten you anymore by disproving your books.” Luna looked up at the ceiling. “Rain today,” she said as she looked into the clear blue enchanted ceiling. The five were silent for a moment, choosing to just accept what the blonde girl had said. “I wonder where my parents went on their trip,” said Harry, almost to himself. Ginny, however, heard him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you could ask Professor Lupin after your Defense class today. After all, he would know. For that matter, you could ask almost anyone on the staff,” she said. Harry looked into her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I think I might do that,” he said, smiling. “…and get together?” an exasperated sounding Hermione asked. Harry hadn’t heard the first part of the question, and looked at her quizzically. “Hermione, what did you just say?” “Nothing. Honestly!” she said, obviously a bit miffed. “I have to go to the library before Charms, I’ll see you three in class, and you two at lunch.” Hermione stood, grabbed her rucksack, and stomped from the Hall. Harry turned to see that Ron and Neville looked slightly amused, and Luna looked to have a small sparkle in her eye, that he guessed meant she was amused as well. Ginny, however, looked as clueless as him. “Profe ssor Lupin?” Harry stood behind his desk, his bag on his shoulder, feeling nervous for some unknown reason. “Yes, Harry?” “Can I ask you a question?” “Of course you can. What is it?” The man, his robes slightly less shabby, turned around to look at his charge. “I was just er…I was wondering…that is…” Harry looked at the floor, adjusting the strap to his bag. “Well, what with the trip, I was just wondering…” This time he turned his attention to the windows, looking out into the rain that had been predicted by Luna earlier that day. "I was wondering where my parents went for their trip?” Lupin’s eyes dulled for a moment before returning to normal. Harry recognized that look; it was the look the man acquired whenever he spoke of Lily, James, or Sirius. “I had speculated about when you would ask me that,” he sighed as he motioned for Harry to follow him into his office. When they were seated, Lupin rubbed his eyes wearily. “When we went on our trip, we were in sixth year,” he began after a bit. “Lily was just warming up to James at that point. It was really quite amusing to see them together. We went to Copenhagen, in Denmark.” He paused, a thoughtful look on his face. “Did you have fun there?” “Yes, we did. We had loads of it,” he said. “We stayed in a beautiful Muggle hotel. There was a trellis that led to all of the rooms, and James got a brilliant idea one night to try and climb it. It was our second night in Copenhagen, and he woke the three of us up, carrying tales about how he had to see the fair Lily right at that moment. We, of course, followed him from the room and down into the courtyard. Your mother’s room was on the third floor, and James thought it would be safe to climb.” Lupin laughed as he got caught up in the memory. “It’s three in the morning, and James Anthony Potter is climbing up the trellis, mad with the notion that if he reached her window, Lily Love Evans would agree to go out with him. Needless to say, something went wrong with his brilliant plan. His foot got caught on one of the vines, and he was right panicking before he got loose. By that time, your mother had poked her head out of her window, her roommate, Clara McDonald, next to her. Lily screeched down at James that he was an absolute idiot for climbing all the way up there, and that he was lucky that he hadn’t fallen and broke his neck,” chuckled the werewolf. “Padfoot, Peter, and I were laughing our arses off as she tore into him. It was perhaps the most hilarious sight anyone could witness. James, hanging on to the white wood, his shirt and trousers torn in places, and Lily, leaning out the window, yelling at the poor boy, her red hair streaming all over in the wind. “Of course, when Lily had to take a breath, James immediately asked her to go to Hogsmeade with him when we got back. She just shut her window and closed her drapes at that.” Lupin’s eyes were dancing in mirth when he had finished his tale, and it looked like it was all he could do not to drop to the floor laughing. Harry himself was laughing at the mental image. He could just imagine his father doing something like that for the girl he loved. “Thanks for telling me that, Remus,” said Harry, dropping the formality now that they were away form other students. “I never knew my parents middle names,” he mused, and as he did so, saw the man before him eyes sadden. “That’s quite alright. I had almost forgotten that. It makes me really miss those times.” His eyes then got a faraway look. “Remind me to someday tell you of how your parents finally got together, alright?” “Don’t worry, I will.” “You best be off then. You’ve got to get to your next class, and I have first years coming next.” “Right. I’ll see you later, Remus,” said Harry as he stood and gave the man a hug. “Thanks again.” On Sunday morning, a notice appeared on all the house bulletin boards. On plain parchment, in bright green letters, were the details of the upcoming trip to the Muggle world. There was a large crowd, compromised of fifth, sixth, and seventh years, gathered around it in the Gryffindor common room. “We’ll be gone for a total of four days, but two of those include the travel to and from wherever we will be. We will stay three overnights in a Muggle hotel,” Hermione’s excited voice said to the throng. “We’ll visit many of the landmarks that are best known in the city, and some of the lesser known ones. Also, we’ll have a day to ourselves at one or more of their shopping centres. Our departure date is the week after we get back from Easter Holiday. We’ll leave on the eleventh, and come back on the fourteenth.” The students buzzed with excitement as they began to drift off, only to stop as Hermione’s voice began again. “We are not allowed to bring any Wizarding items, save for a picture or an absolute necessity. We are allowed to use our wands while we are there, in the privacy of our hotel rooms. It says here that we are not permitted to bring our robes with us. In fact, there will be a small bazaar in the Great Hall the Saturday before the trip for those of us without Muggle clothing or travel things. Everything will be at a discount. Even those born to Muggles are allowed to go to this.” All of the Muggle-born girls began talking excitedly at this, obviously pleased that they could shop for clothes from their born world while at school. This, of course, got the Wizard-born girls talking, and soon, the common room was full of the very excited voices of girls. The males just rolled their eyes, and left the women to it via the portrait hole. Three of them, however, stayed in the common room. Harry, Neville, and Ron still surrounded the bulletin board, along with their female counterparts, Ginny, Luna, and Hermione. “I wonder what types of clothes the bazaar will have,” said Hermione as she examined the notice again. “Probably all kinds,” answered Ginny. “Well, if we know what types of clothing is there, that may give us a hint to where we will be going. I mean, if we are going to some place that is going to be cold, they aren’t going to have shorts, skirts, or no sleeve shirts, now are they? The reverse applies for if we go to somewhere that is fairly warm,” explained the brown-haired witch. “It will at least give us an idea as to whether we will be going north or south.” “She does have a point,” said Luna, peering at the notice as well. “Hmm, the eleventh. The Kinkle-footed Snout Gousers prefer the later days of the month. That is a very bad time of the month to visit Sweden,” mused the girl as she walked towards the sofa in front of the hearth. “I think, though, that we should just let ourselves be surprised. It would be far more interesting that way, don’t you think, Hermione?” “Uh, yeah,” she said uncomfortably, still not used to the girl’s manner of going about things. The others hid their smiles as they watched the thousandth exchange that year alone. “Good. Then it would be quite pointless to badger the professors or go on a library raid, now wouldn’t it?” Hermione sighed, catching on to what the girl was getting at. “Yes,” she said with a disappointed look. “I did think so,” said Luna, her face not showing any emotion whatsoever. This caused all of the others to laugh. East er holidays passed quicker than was the normal, with the students coming back on the Friday before the trip for fifth to seventh years. The next day would be the bazaar in the Great Hall, and much like the days before the Easter Hols, the girls from said years were abuzz with excitement, their twittering heard at every interval. Harry, Ron, and Neville didn’t even escape this, as with the return, the females they usually kept company with decided to join in on the excitement. They would still be around the boys at every given opportunity, but for more than half of that time, they talked about the possible clothing that the bazaar would hold, often bringing out some sort of Muggle fashion magazine. Needless to say, every male in Hogwarts school, from eleven years old to one hundred and fifty- five, were thankful for the Saturday of the bazaar to come. And oh, how it came. When Neville, Harry, and Ron awoke on Saturday the fifth of April, the soft snores of their roommates could still be heard. At first, each boy wondered at what had awoken him, but that mystery was soon solved as each saw a mane of long hair leaning over him in the early morning light. “Bloody hell, Hermione!” announced Ron, sitting up quickly and almost knocking heads with his girlfriend. “What the hell are you leaning over me like that for?” “Honestly,” huffed the brunette. “We told you last night that you were to be awake by seven, and down in the common room by seven thirty,” supplied Luna, looking admonishingly at Neville from her perch on his bed. He gazed back, a guilty look on his features. “We have a lot of shopping to do today, and we want to get there before everyone else,” input Ginny, frowning down at Harry from her place next to his bed. “That means that you boys,” said Luna. “Need to get up off your arses,” continued Ginny. “Immediately,” Hermione finished. The three boys were looking back and forth wildly, all reminded of the infamous Weasley twins. “You think they practiced that?” asked Ron as the three boys stumbled into the lavatory, much to the amusement of the girls who still occupied their room. “I don’t think I want to know,” answered Harry, reaching for his soap and towel. The three boys showered and dressed as fast as they possibly could, each frightened of what would happen if the girls felt they were taking too long. Ten minutes later, the six students were making their slow progress down to the Great Hall. They had grabbed a quick breakfast from the common room, as their meals were provided in there for the day, and were eating their thrown together food on the way down the stairs. When they reached the Great Hall, the boys stopped in fear, only to be forcefully dragged into the room by the girls next to them. “Heaven,” sighed the girls in sync when they cleared the threshold. Almost every inch of the hall was filled with racks of clothing. On one side was the boys’ section, and on the other, the girls’. At the back of the enormous room, there were changing cubicles, positioned where the High Table usually stood. Once in the girls had regained their ability to think, having been temporarily blinded by the beautiful heaven before them, they each grabbed one of the boys by the arm, and dragged them to the men’s section. The next hour was one of the worst ones any male had ever been subjected to. The girls, hell bent on getting the clothes for the boys just right, had dragged them to every rack, leaving no item of clothing un-touched. Harry, Neville, and Ron had been forced to try on every single thing on that had been thrust upon them. They had idly spoken of how an afternoon with Voldemort would have been more fun. The three of them had, of course, not said this in front of the girls. “Thank Merlin that is over with,” sighed Neville as he, Harry, and Ron flopped onto a bench that had been erected. The girls had just declared that the clothes the boys had were suitable, and were now searching for their own articles. Sixth year Gryffindor boys, Harry, Ron, and Neville, had been ordered to stay within the hall, under punishment of — well the girls really hadn’t said, but the boys had decided it best not ask. “Tell me about it. I’ve tried on so many pairs of jeans, that my fingers are about ready to fall off from buttoning and unbuttoning them,” complained Harry, trying to rub the circulation back into his appendages. “Look on the bright side,” said Neville. “At least we won’t have to be subjected to this again for a while. The three of them should have enough clothing to last them a year by the time they’re done.” Ron scoffed. “You have obviously never had a sister. Trust me when I say, in a girl’s mind, they can never have enough clothes.” The fear on Neville’s face was clear as day as he said, “You have got to be kidding me mate!” “Oh, bloody hell!” she swore when she dropped her bag for the thousandth time since they had left the common room. “Hermione Jane Granger, did you just swear?” “Ronald Weasley,” Hermione rounded on him, “do not start with me!” “They’re off again,” said Neville, his voice holding a margin of amusement. The group of students going on the trip was gathered in the Entrance Hall, awaiting the portkey that would take them to their departure location. None of them knew how they would be getting to wherever they were going, and all were quite excited with all the mystery. The doors to the Great Hall opened with a bang, and an angry Severus Snape, an annoyed Minerva McGonagall, an amused Remus Lupin, and an excited Horatio Gleaves exited the confines. The students watched in amusement as the four professors lined up in front of them. A smile broke out on Lupin’s face, before he let a chuckle loose. Snape glared at the man, and McGonagall rounded on him. “Remus John Lupin, will you be quiet,” she said shrilly. The students watching the exchange shared confused, and slightly amused, glances with their friends. Snape was just opening his mouth to say something when Gleaves interrupted. “Alright! Everyone gather into four groups,” he said, his Muggle sun hat bobbing just above the sea of students. “We’re going to take four different portkeys, and a teacher will escort you to our departure point.” The students did as they were told, and soon the groups were feeling the telltale tug of a portkey. “Where are we?” was one of the first voices that broke through the din of their location. As Harry picked himself up, with the help of Ginny, he looked around him. They were underground. Lights in the ceiling broke through the darkness that surrounded them on all sides. In the distance, the beeping of a horn could be heard. Most were looking around in confusion, trying to figure out if this were some sort of prank. Everyone was in a general circle, with people dressed in black surrounding them. Harry’s wand was in his hand in an instant, wary of the people. He didn’t relax until he saw a flash of pink hair. Pointing this out to his friends, they too lowered their wand. “Everyone will please be quiet,” said Professor Gleaves, raising his hands above his head. “We are going to cast a spell on you so you are not aware of where we will be going, but you will still be able to observe things around you. Is that clear?” His statement was greeted with several nods, albeit some of them were reluctant. A blue light passed over the heads of all the students, and Harry found himself trying to shake out the fog that suddenly seemed present. “We are going to be taking a Muggle airplane to our destination,” continued the professor, excitement evident in his voice. “Many of you have no idea what an airplane is, so this should be interesting. I, myself, have only been on one —” He was cut off by Snape roughly pushing him out of the way. Snape snarled at them, lending enough time to shoot a glare at Gleaves, “We will go down the corridor over there. The werewolf — I mean, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor — will hand out your tickets and passports. There will be absolutely no talking as we walk towards the terminal. I want to hear absolute —” Snape’s mouth kept moving, but no sound came out. The students looked around wildly for the source of their professor’s sudden silence. What they found caused Colin Creevey to remove his ever-present camera from his bag. He snapped off a quick picture of McGonagall pointing her wand at Snape, with the latter still moving his lips noiselessly. “You are permitted to talk,” snapped out McGonagall, shooting a withering glare at her colleague. “But make sure not to speak about anything to do with the Wizarding world within the hearing range of Muggles. Professor Lupin, please start distributing the passports and tickets. Auror Tonks, be kind enough to help him.” The students, still shocked by the events they had witnessed, took what the adults handed to them without argument. Soon, the group of about a hundred began their trek up the stairs. Harry immediately recognized that they were in an underground car park, which he pointed out to his friends at the same time as Hermione. Customs was a tedious affair, with many of the purebloods confused at all the Muggle technology. Draco Malfoy could be heard saying something about how it would be much easier to just use their wands to shrink their luggage instead of checking it in with the airport staff. “I mean, honestly,” his drawling voice went on, “what is the point of this? What if we have something that we need in our suitcases?” Harry wanted to shout at him to shut his mouth, but refrained, as it might call more attention to their group (after all, Tonks’ hair was already doing a splendid job of it). Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Luna turned at Hermione’s sharp voice. “Ron! Get off of that!” she ordered, looking around for any suspicious Muggles. “What? Why? Aren’t we supposed to take that to the airplane?” he asked, a confused look on his face. “What gave you that mad idea?” “That show that I saw on the telly at your house last summer. The Smetsons, I think it was,” answered Ron, looking truly perplexed. “It’s The Jetsons, Ron. And it was a cartoon, meaning it wasn’t real. Also, it was set in the future, not in the present. People don’t really ride around on moving sidewalks, honestly!” explained an exasperated Hermione, grabbing Ron’s elbow and dragging him after the group, to the laughter of many around. From there on, they slowly made their progress to the terminal and their departing plane. The process was truly grueling, and Harry found that he had to stop Ginny from taking her wand out to hex people several times. The final time, Harry whispered in her ear, “Ginny, you might not want to do that in the middle of a Muggle inhabited area.” She looked sheepish at this. After what had seemed like hours, the six who had gone to the ministry the year before sat on the plane, waiting for it to take off. Hermione had produced some gum from her carry-on bag as soon as they had gotten on, and was busily handing it out to her friends. They were at the front of the plane, sitting in an area where six seats faced each other. Ron had pointed out, rather loudly, how comfortable they were. “Hermione, what am I supposed to do with this?” asked Ginny, looking at the gum. “I really don’t feel like chewing any gum right now.” “It’s for when the plane takes off,” explained Hermione, both to Ginny and the rest. “You’re supposed to chew it so that your ears don’t hurt too terribly bad when the plane changes altitudes rapidly. If you don’t chew it, your ears are bound to pop quite painfully. Trust me.” With that, the five (Hermione already having done it) popped their stick of gum into their mouths, chewing in silence for a few minutes. A voice suddenly broke through the chatter that the students were making, causing many to jump or shout out in surprise. “Welcome, students,” said the voice. “We are pleased to have you on British Airways. Your chaperones have told me that many of you are first time flyers, and I want you to be certain of your safety. This will be a non-stop flight to Magcorg,” he said. Many glanced around at the foreign word in confusion. Hermione looked puzzled as she spoke up, “There isn’t a city called that!” “Miss Granger,” hissed Snape from across the aisle, “remember that spell that you had cast on you in the car park? Or is your head too full of inconsequential drivel to remember something as simple as that?” Ron glared at Snape when he said this, placing his arm comfortingly around Hermione’s shoulders. “ — And our trip will take about three hours. We will arrive in Magcorg Airport at around five thirty. Your flight attendants will now show you all the airplane safety regulations.” After they had all watched the flight attendants and safely buckled their seat belts, the captain announced their takeoff. “Wow,” said Ron. “We’re in the air. Without a broom or magic. This is amazing!” Ginny giggled at her brother and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, Ron, absolutely amazing. You really should be in Muggle Studies, you know.” “Shut it, Ginny!” The rest of the flight passed in relative peace. Just as Ron was beginning to complain about his stomach, the flight attendant came by with her cart. “What will you have?” she asked pleasantly. “I’ll have a Sprite,” answered Hermione immediately, “and some peanuts.” “Coke and pretzels,” put in Harry. “What are tho — Ow! Hermione!” exclaimed Ron in pain. Hermione had just elbowed him in the gut. Hermione glared at Ron before turning back to the woman. “Our friends will take Coke, and can you give us half and half of the pretzels and peanuts?” “Of course,” answered the woman with a smile. A minute later, she was handing them a can of soda each. She gave Harry a bag of pretzels and dropped the rest of the bags into Hermione’s lap. “Thank you,” said Hermione politely as the woman moved towards the back of the plane, going to attend the rest of the students. “Hermione, what was that for?” “You were about to ask a stupid question,” said Hermione, handing him a bag of peanuts. She gave Ginny one of the pretzels and handed the other two bags to Neville and Luna. “Neville, will you trade me?” asked Luna, frowning down at her pretzels. “I prefer those. Daddy used to have Muggle foods around the house often, and I always found these quite bland.” She gave Neville a sweet smile, causing the boy to cave in and give her his peanuts. “Wow,” said Ron immediately. “These are really good. What are they?” “They’re called peanuts, Ronald,” said Hermione testily. “Now try your soda. If you like the peanuts, you’re bound to like Coke.” He did as he was bid. A minute later, he was spitting out the drink, making Harry duck out of the way. “Thanks Ron,” said Harry sarcastically. “IT FIZZES! Why does it fizz?” asked Ron while wiping his mouth clean with one of the napkins that had come with their cans of soda. “Drinks are not supposed to fizz!” “Because it’s a soda. Honestly!” huffed Hermione, opening her own bag of peanuts before taking a dainty sip of her Sprite. “Sometimes I forget how little purebloods truly know about the Muggle world.” “STUDENTS FROM HOGWARTS!” screamed the sign in bold letters. McGonagall lead the tired students over to the man who was to be their bus driver. “Welcome to Rome!” said the man. Hermione gasped in delight at finally knowing where they were, her features lighting up with excitement. “I will be one of your bus drivers for your touring pleasure. The others are outside waiting with the busses. If you’ll all please follow me?” The crowd of students followed the man, none questioning why they could understand what he was saying, all talking excitedly about what they knew of Rome. The fact Aurors were constantly on alert, their hands near their wand pockets, did not escape Harry’s notice. He, himself, was trying to ignore the impulse to do the same: to be on constant alert. “Wow,” breathed Ginny when they got outside. Even though they were in a more updated area of Rome, the architecture across the street was still absolutely beautiful. “This is amazing.” “Wait until you see the rest of Rome, young lady,” said their guide as he led them to three busses. “Why do we need three busses? Can’t we just expand them?” came Malfoy’s drawing voice from the back of the queue. The bus driver shot a suspicious look at the boy. “Expanding,” laughed Harry, looking back at him. “There’s no such thing as expanding a bus like this, Malfoy.” “Potter, you must be spending too much time with your Muggle relatives.” At the word ‘Muggle,’ the bus driver took on a look that said he was even more suspicious of the large group. “You have obviously forgotten all about ma — ” he was cut off in the middle of his tirade by Ginny coming up behind him and placing her hand over the blonde’s mouth. All that escaped from him was muffled sounds. Ginny whispered something harshly to him. Everyone watched the boy’s eyes widen as he nodded vigorously. Ginny removed her hand from his mouth and said loudly, “Sorry everyone, it seems Draco has forgotten to take his medication again. You all know he gets delusions of magic when this happens. We’re actually thinking about admitting him into the institution soon.” The students not in Slytherin laughed loudly at this, watching as Malfoy’s face went red with embarrassment. He looked as if he was about to say something in retort, but one glance at Ginny made him scurry away to a spot between Crabbe and Goyle. “What’d you say to him, Ginny?” asked Neville with a laugh when she returned. “Simply threatened him with the full force of my Bat-bogey hex if he didn’t shut his mouth immediately,” she said flippantly. They all laughed as they climbed onto the bus. “Where to, Madame?” the driver asked of McGonagall. She blushed for some reason, and answered, “Hotel Eden.” The man whistled, obviously impressed. “This is for a school trip? Damn, I wish my school trips were this nice,” he said, starting up the bus as he did so. The students settled into seats, letting the Aurors load their luggage. “That’s one of the best hotels in all of Rome.” Harry and his friends exchanged surprised looks at this, but kept quiet for the time being. “Yes, well,” said McGonagall uncomfortably, “our school governors pay for this trip, and it is, after all, only every three years, so it isn’t as bad as some would like to believe.” He was silent for a moment, letting a few of the Aurors get on the bus. “Perhaps,” conceded the man, turning towards the front as the traffic cleared. The bus, with the other two in tow, began to drive towards the destination. “I’ve noticed that your group can speak perfect Italian, yet you don’t have the right accent. I can’t place a finger on it, but it’s not a traditional Italian accent.” “Ah, yes,” answered McGonagall, shooting a look back at all the students to tell them not to say a word. “Our school starts Italian for our students from their first year, and by the time they’re in their fifth year, they can speak the language conversationally.” “Oh, that’s quite a good idea,” said the driver as he turned the wheel left. The driver didn’t speak again for the ride, and instead just focused on the road ahead of him. Those on the bus talked a bit, but not much. Most were exhausted from the flight, thanks to them never have before been on a plane. Soon, they arrived at Hotel Eden, causing many to gasp at its beauty. “All right, let’s get you lot inside,” said one of the Aurors after they had unloaded the students’ entire luggage. A bellboy came up and tried to take the luggage from them, but the Aurors shook their heads in the negative, and each picked up a few bags, prepared to carry them into the lobby. “Merlin,” gasped Ginny and Hermione when they entered the lobby. “It is quite nice, isn’t it?” asked Luna, looking around as if she hadn’t a care in the world. The three boys were quite awed as well, but didn’t vocalize it. The other students were in pretty much the same state of shock at the hotel’s beauty. All of this was broken, however, when McGonagall’s shrill voice broke through the awed stupor. “What do you mean you don’t have another room?” she shrieked. “Ma’am, I am terribly sorry, but whomever booked your reservation must have reserved one room short,” said the man at the desk. “I would give you one more room, but I am afraid we have no vacancy. I am terribly sorry, Madam.” McGonagall looked absolutely livid as she turned back towards the students, all of whom were looking fearfully at their Deputy Headmistress. She visibly restrained herself and began giving out room assignments. As each name was called, the students drifted over to the lifts, ready to get to their rooms. McGonagall had called every name save for six. “Misters Potter, Longbottom, and Weasley, and Misses Granger, Lovegood, and Weasley, you six have been placed in the penthouse suite for your own protection. This is on Professor Dumbledore’s orders. You six are to, at all times, be in the company of either Auror Tonks or Professor Lupin. They will also be staying in your room. You are to stay out of trouble and not go wandering by yourselves. Even though we are in a different country, that does not mean that You-Know-Who or his Death Eaters won’t be able to find you and come after you,” she said briskly, in a tone that brooked no arguments. She continued, “Also, tonight will be a relaxation night. Tomorrow, Professor Gleaves, Snape, or myself will come and get you when it is time to go out into the city. The other students will be told the same.” She paused, seeming to go over what she had said so far before saying in a softer tone, “I don’t wish to constrict your fun too much, so please, if you do feel the need to wander at all, take Tonks or Remus with you.” “We will,” answered the six in one of their in sync moments. “Right,” she said, looking at Tonks and Lupin. “You two will escort them up to their room.” she looked back to the desk and saw Snape there, a sneer of disgust on his face. “I might even join you eight in there at some point if I can’t get this straightened out.” She sighed and went to the desk, glancing back at them as she did so. “Let’s go!” said Tonks, picking up two of the bags. “I’ll race you to the lifts,” she said before taking off, giggling like a schoolgirl. “Honestly, Remus, I don’t know how she and you ever got together. You never let loose like her,” commented Harry as he picked up his and Ginny’s bags, she and the other two girls having taken off after Tonks. “And if you do let loose, I really don’t want to be there when that happens,” he finished with a shudder. Remus laughed and put a hand on Harry’s shoulder as the four men walked towards the lift. “Looks like the woman beat you,” said Tonks in a very superior voice. “I always knew men were slow, but it took you at least five minutes to get here, and it isn’t that far from the lobby.” “We also didn’t feel the need to run like wild women through a hotel, Dora,” said Remus. Tonks shot him a playful glare, sticking her tongue out as she did so. “Can we please just go up to the room?” asked Ron in a sickened voice. “Everytime the two of you get like this, you usually end up on the floor, half of your clothes abandoned.” Remus blushed and Tonks’ hair turned colours in rapid succession. “Must you lot always bring that up?” groaned Remus, looking embarrassedly down at his feet. The six looked at each other as Harry touched the penthouse button. “Yes,” they said in unison, laughing at their chaperones’ obvious embarrassment. The lift soon arrived at the top floor, opening to a short corridor. There was only one door, and Tonks gleefully took the key card from Remus and stuck it into the door. She stood there for a minute, wiggling the handle, but nothing happened. “Why won’t this key open the door,” she asked, puzzled. Hermione walked up behind the older woman, peering over her shoulder and laughed. “Tonks,” she said in amusement, “the reason it won’t work is because you’re not using it the correct way.” She took the key from Tonks and demonstrated what she meant. She stuck the key into a slot in the door handle. A green light shone and Hermione turned the handle, letting the door swing open, and a smug look on her face. “How is that thing a key?” asked Neville, obviously confused. “It doesn’t look like one at all.” “It’s a key that works by a coding system. Most hotels have them these days, instead of the traditional looking ones,” answered Luna, a smile on her face. “Daddy and I used to stay in hotels all the time,” she said when she noticed the shocked looks on everyone’s faces. “When we went out to search for various creatures. It much easier to get near a magical creature if one doesn’t have too much of a magical signature, so we stayed in Muggle areas.” Hermione shook her head and entered the room, the rest following after her. All were forced to stop right away, however, because Hermione was frozen in place. “WICKED!” exclaimed Ron, stepping to the side of his girlfriend to get a better view of the room. “This place is brilliant!” The room they were currently in was just a living area, with dark blue drapes covering the large windows. The sofas were quite modern, yet also held a sense of old Rome. A television set was set in the sitting area of the room, it’s screen quite large. There was an eight-seat glass dining table on the other side of the sofa. An elegant coffee table dominated the area between the armchairs and sofas, making for a very cozy atmosphere. There were three doors leading off of the main room. In a daze, the group split up and went into the different rooms. ~~~ The one that the boys entered had three queen-sized beds, and they assumed that the rest were like that. Neville sat on the bed, and he let himself fall backwards in comfort. “They’re even more comfortable than the ones at school!” he said, his voice sounding far away indeed as Harry and Ron claimed their own beds. Soon, the three boys were dead to the world in sleep. ~~~ Ginny, Luna, and Hermione passed through the doorway to find every girl’s dream room. The walls were a light cream colour, with large windows running along one wall. The beds were huge, queen sized at the very least, and they were covered with pillows that looked as if they could have been clouds and blankets that seemed too good to be true. And this was just looking at these things. Next to each of the three beds stood a vanity with shelves next to it. There was also a small sitting area around a fireplace that already had a fire burning in its grate. “Oh my…” trailed off Hermione, dropping her bags and running for the bed. She propelled herself onto it, flopping over onto her back as soon as she landed. A groan of pure pleasure escaped her mouth. The other two girls followed her example after shooting a glance at one another. Each burrowed deeply into their comforters, letting the softness carry them off to sleep. ~~~ Remus and Tonks entered the last room to find it only had a king sized bed. Remus looked nervously around, opening the other doors hoping to find an adjacent room. All the doors led to was the lavatory and the closet. He sighed and looked towards Tonks. “Hmm, only one bed,” she said, a mischievous look in her eye. “Yeah,” choked out Remus fearfully. “I’ll just sleep out on the sofa then, shall I?” Tonks was shaking her head and walking purposely towards him. “Oh, no old man, you will sleep in here…with me,” she said, grabbing the front of his shirt roughly and pulling him towards her. She kissed him fiercely, letting turn to jelly before breaking the kiss. She backed him towards the bed, undoing the top buttons on his shirt as she did so. Tonks then climbed on top of him, straddling his stomach. His eyes were filled with panic and lust, which she delighted in. Leaning down, she placed a lingering kiss on his lips, enjoying the groan he made when she did so. “Nymphadora, we ca-CAN’T!” The last word came out as a yelp as she nipped at his ear. “Dora, Harry and the others…they might hear. And the door is open. And —” His excuses were all null and void when she drew her wand and made the door shut with a bang. The next thing she did was shoot a silencing spell at the door, followed by one at each of the walls and the floor. As an afterthought, she sent a colloportus at the door. “Now we can. And if any of those students are smart, they’ll be doing the same thing as we are about to do,” she said with a devilish grin. “ After all, Rem, we’ve been together since last August, and it’s now April. I think that’s long enough, don’t you?” Here, she raised an eyebrow in both question and challenge. “You seductress,” grumbled Remus good-naturedly before flipping her onto her back, and attacking her neck. The six students were making their way blurrily to the front door after having received a rude awakening; someone was pounding on the door. Hermione looked out the eyehole and immediately unlocked the door. She opened it to reveal Minerva McGonagall. “We have tried and tried to call your room several times. Everyone is awake and on the terrace for breakfast, but where are you six? Asleep!” said the professor sharply. She was obviously in a foul mood, and they backed away slowly from her wrath. “Where are Tonks and Remus?” “In their room,” hazarded Neville, his voice weak and sleepy. “What did you do last night?” McGonagall asked, looking suspiciously at them. “We went to sleep,” answered Hermione, “at least that’s what Ginny, Luna, and I did. I’m not sure about everyone else.” “Yeah, we fell asleep too,” said Harry. “All right then,” said McGonagall disbelievingly. She gazed around the room, trying to decide what to do next. “Which room are Tonks and Remus in?” Hermione pointed and McGonagall marched to the door and banged on it loudly, shouting at the occupants to come out. After a moment, with absolutely no movement beyond the portal, she tried the doorknob. The six students watched as she let out a frustrated sound and whipped her wand out. A shouted spell later, and she was entering the room, the students behind her. All immediately stopped in their tracks. They backed out of the room, save for McGonagall, who went straight to the bed, and began shouting at the two asleep under the covers. “Oh Merlin,” announced Neville, flopping down on to the sofa. “Ooof,” he continued when Luna decided that he looked quite comfortable and laid down on top of him. “I never thought that I could be this exhausted. We must have seen half of Rome!” “Yeah,” agreed Ron, falling to the floor. They had toured all over Rome that day, walking to half of the places instead of going on the busses. Ron had complained about having to do this, saying that the busses would be so much easier. Hermione pointed out to him that it, in fact, wouldn’t be because of the small roads that Rome had. Harry and Ginny sat in the two armchairs that were next to each other, leaving Hermione to claim the floor next to Ron. He threw his arm over the bushy-haired witched and buried his face in her hair. “Ronald Weasley,” said Hermione in a pleasant tone, “You really might not want to touch that if you value certain parts of your anatomy.” A squeaking noise came from Ron as he propelled himself away from his girlfriend in fright. “S-s-sorry,” he stuttered, horrified. “Sure,” said Hermione as she closed her eyes to rest. The students of Hogwarts, the Aurors, and the four professors had been to the Piazza di Spagna, Fontana di Trevi, and Castel Sant'Angelo that day. For lunch, they had eaten in the Villa Borghese before taking the afternoon to walk around the grounds and marvel at the beauty. They had, of course, visited many more sites, too many to name. The next day, they were told, was their day of shopping. The students were allowed to go to several different markets in the area, as long as someone, an Auror or teacher, accompanied them. “Did you see Malfoy’s face when the guide told him that the thing she was speaking through was so easy that any child could understand it?” asked Ginny in a delighted yet tired tone. The six were confined to their room for now, as Tonks and Lupin were down in a meeting with the rest of the chaperones and Aurors. “It was pretty priceless, but Professor Gleaves’ face was also puzzled until she explained what it was,” said Harry. The two of them were the only ones with enough energy to speak, proven by the fact that snores were coming from the sofa and floor. Harry looked from his sleeping friends to Ginny, a smile on his face. “We could have fun with this, you know?” “Indeed,” said Ginny, withdrawing her wand. ~~~ Four voices screamed in unison, combined equaling the volume loud enough to wake the dead. Harry and Ginny, who were enjoying the meal they had ordered from room service, sniggered as Hermione came out of the girls’ room, breathing heavily and searching for her wand. “Where is it?” she shouted, checking on the floor and in the crevices of the sofa. “ARGH! RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY, I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!” Luna then came storming out of the boys’ room, on a similar mission as Hermione. It was the first time anyone in the room had seen the girl so emotional. Her tirade was very similar to Hermione’s and as she was searching the chairs, Neville and Ron came out of the bedrooms, both looking rather ruffled. The blonde and the brunette rounded on the boys, fury in the eyes of the women. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?” they shouted at the same time, facing their respective boyfriends. Harry and Ginny, unable to take it any longer, burst out laughing. This dragged everyone’s attention to the duo that had been previously unseen. “What are you laughing at?” snarled Hermione in an annoyed voice. “Nothing,” said Ginny as innocently as she possibly could. “Ginny.” Hermione’s voice was dangerously low and Ginny couldn’t help but laugh harder at the tone. “Harry,” she warned. Harry fell off the chair, helpless with laughter. “S-so easy!” choked out Harry in his laughter. He found himself glad that he hadn’t taken a drink of anything before the others had come out of the room. “Harry James Potter, Ginevra Molly Weasley, what did you two do now?” asked Hermione, her eyes narrowing. “Well,” began Ginny, immediately sobered, looking at Harry to give him his cue. “We didn’t take your wands, if that’s what you think,” continued Harry, deadpanned, taking the objects from one of his pockets. “Nor did we levitate all of you into a room, set you up in bed with your boyfriend or girlfriend, position you in certain ways, and let you sleep till your hearts content,” finished Ginny, a mischievous smile breaking out on her face. The four stood staring at the other two in shock before Hermione and Luna exploded in a burst of anger, each yelling at the top of their voices. This was stopped when Ginny drew her wand and cast a Silencio at their friends, causing them to stop their shouting. “It was your fault for falling asleep with me and Harry in the room, you know,” said Ginny, a smirk gracing her lips. “You should have known better. After all, Fred and George did entrust us with their legacy.” Hermione mouthed the words, “I will kill you,” at the two and made a huffing gesture. Harry smiled charmingly at her and cancelled the spell. “Food anyone?” asked Ginny in a jaunty manner. She received only glares. ~~~ Things had calmed down by the time Remus and Tonks had come back from their meeting, and the six were eating dinner comfortably at the dining table. The two joined them immediately, tucking in with a relish. Talk echoed around the table, and each found that they wished that this trip would never end. Ron was talking excitedly about how amazed he was at the twenty-four hour room service was. He never even stopped eating as he talked, making most of his words incomprehensible. They all soon wandered off to bed, getting ready for the next day of shopping. A ring echoed through the early morning din. Several others followed the first ring. It went on and on, not giving up. Finally, Hermione Granger pulled herself from her bed and walked out into the common area. “Hello?” said Hermione sleepily into the receiver of the phone. “Wake up call for penthouse suite,” answered the voice on the other end. “Wha -? Oh, all right. Thanks.” Hermione put the phone down and went back into her room, gently waking her roommates. “I think we should go wake Tonks, let her handle Remus, and then go and wake the boys, don’t you?” The two, their eyes loosing their blurry glaze, smiled just a tad evilly. Five minutes later, the three girls were in the boys’ room, each creeping towards one of the three beds. They climbed into the beds carefully, paying special attention not to jostle it too much. They had each planned a method of waking their assigned boy, and would enjoy every minute of it. ~~~ Hermione settled herself against her boyfriend’s body on top of the covers, letting her arm drape over his orange clad chest. She slid her lips up to his neck and began to kiss it, adding in a nibble here and there. She giggled when she heard his moan of pleasure. “Hermione,” he mumbled, still asleep. She had to visibly restrain herself from laughing out loud as Ron reached blindly for her. Hermione got up on her knees, much to the obvious chagrin of her boyfriend. Shifting so she was closer to his head, Hermione leaned down, letting her hair fall around them in a curtain, and kissed him firmly on the lips. Ron’s eyes shot open in surprise before he realized it wasn’t a dream. Hermione giggled into his mouth at seeing his reaction, but let out a squeak of surprise when he grabbed her and forced her on top of him, kissing her with all of his might. ~~~ Luna crept silently up Neville’s bed before slowly lifting the covers and crawling under them. She hooked her left arm and leg around him, burrowing into body. Propping herself up slightly on her right elbow, Luna softly blew into his ear, causing Neville’s left hand to come up and swat at the air. She giggled after she blew on his neck and saw his frown. “Neville,” she whispered in a husky voice. “Neville, if you don’t wake up, you won’t get your present.” She knew it was a dirty trick, but when his mouth formed a grin, her instincts told her it was the right thing to do. “What present might that be?” he asked, feigning sleep still. “Open your eyes to find out,” she answered, wiggling her body slightly to get a reaction. She wasn’t disappointed. Neville’s eyes immediately shot open, wide and dark with lust. Luna laughed lightly, taking his lips into a tantalizing kiss. “Glad you’re awake,” she whispered before extricating herself from his limbs, “but we have shopping to do, so get off your arse!” Neville’s only response was to groan, both at the prospect of shopping and the loss of contact with his girlfriend. “Present first, shopping later,” he said, grabbing her round the waist. ~~~ Ginny ripped the covers off of Harry before climbing under them herself, making sure to hog every last inch. She quietly gasped when she noticed that Harry only slept in a pair of pajama pants, leaving his chest bare. His muscled chest…muscled from Quidditch conditioning. “Oh Merlin,” she said as her eyes began to follow the trail of hair on his stomach to the waistline, knowing where the hair ended. “Oh Merlin, help me,” she whispered, wrenching her eyes away from the boy as she felt her face heat up. “Focus on waking Harry up and not on his chest. Focus, Ginny, focus!” she chastised herself, pulling her wand from her pajama pocket. She watched him frown as a draft of cold air from her wand swept over him. She couldn’t help thinking that his frown was adorable. “Harry,” she whispered, directing the air towards his face, watching in satisfaction as it blew the hair back from his forehead. “Harry,” she said again, louder this time. “Harry, it’s time to wake up.” Ginny pointed her wand at his feet, knowing that they got cold easily. He reached wildly around for the covers that she was now curled into, enjoying their warmth very much. “Your blankets are warm, Harry,” she said to him, watching in amusement as his eyes snapped open and he looked around wildly for the source of the voice. He seemed to catch her brilliant red hair, as his eyes locked onto hers. The intensity in those orbs made her catch her breath. Before she knew what was happening, she was leaning towards him, noticing him doing the same and… …They were shocked apart, before their lips had even touched, by a shouted, “TONKS!” ~~~ “TONKS!” shouted Remus as he flipped his sopping wet hair out of his eyes. He had just been awakened by cold water. When he had opened his eyes, he saw Tonks above him, her wand being tucked into her pocket. He was in the bathtub in their lavatory. And the bathtub was fool of ice-cold water. “What?” she asked innocently. “You needed a bath, because, honestly, you stink, Rem.” He glared at her. “Warming the water might have been nice,” he snapped out. “Removing my clothes would also have been good.” “But last night you told me you didn’t like anyone but yourself removing your clothes,” she defended angelically. “Tonks,” he said slowly. He then reached for her, to which she gave a squeak and ran from the room, Remus climbing from the tub and following her, his night clothes dripping as he went. “HELP! HELP! THE WEREWOLF IS COMING AFTER ME!” shouted Tonks as she ran into the boys’ room. She dived into the first bed she saw, stealing the covers from the surprised redheaded girl. “Shhh,” she whispered to Ginny and Harry. “He can’t know I’m here.” Looks of confusion met this statement. “Pretend to snog or something. Just hide me.” “What?!” asked Harry and Ginny in surprise. They looked over the head of Tonks, who was between the two of them, and then shot their heads back down. “Well, you two are already in the same bed, might as well follow your roommate’s example,” said Tonks, this time a note of panic in her voice as the sounds of Remus searching for her came closer. “Please, he’s going to get me.” “Fine,” said Ginny just as the door began to open. She leaned towards Harry, Tonks between them, and hugged him awkwardly, trying to make it look as if she were kissing him. “You know, Ginny, Harry, that would be quite believable if it weren’t for the trembling lump of covers between the two of you. Also, your faces aren’t anywhere near each other,” came Remus’ voice from the doorway. A minute later, Tonks squeaked in surprise as a dry Remus joined the three in the bed. He then proceeded to tickle her, enjoying the squirming and begging she did. “Why must everyone come into my bed?” asked Harry in an exasperated voice as he was jostled for the tenth time by his chaperones tickle fight. “Because it’s so comfortable,” answered a laughing Tonks. Harry was about to retort when four more bodies were added to the pile of limbs, causing those on the bottom to groan in surprise. “Harry,” said Luna’s voice from somewhere above him, “Tonks is right. Your bed is quite comfortable.” “Just what is going on here?” asked a sharp voice from the doorway. “Care to join us, Professor McGonagall? I have it on good authority that my bed is quite comfortable,” said Harry cheekily, lifting his head slightly to peer around the lump that was Hermione. “ Ron, for once, you were right,” admitted Neville as he adjusted one of the bags he was currently carrying for his girlfriend. “Tha - HEY!” exclaimed Ron, attempting to hit Neville, but his own bags were weighing him down. “How did I get saddled with carrying Ginny’s bags? I understand why the two of you have to carry Hermione and Luna’s things, but why do I have to carry Ginny’s?” complained Harry, looking down at the bags in his hands, puzzled. “Harry, mate,” began Neville, looking over at him, “you and Ginny are practically dating, so of course you’re going to be left with the responsibility of carrying her bags.” “Wh — we…no…I…she…no,” stuttered Harry, giving Neville a shocked look. “Harry, if I weren’t with the two of you most of the time; if I were someone observing from outside of our group, I’d think the two of you were dating,” agreed Ron. “You two obviously like each other, but you’re just too afraid to act on it.” Ron observed in a rare moment of insight. Harry stopped in the middle of the street, looking after the girls ahead, in shock. “Gerrea,” he said intelligently. “It’s the truth, Harry, and you should just snog her and get it over with,” said Neville. “Bet you Ron wouldn’t mind at all. Luna, Hermione, Ron and I are actually getting sort of fed up with the two of you dancing around each other. It’s even worse than what Ron and Hermione have been doing for the past five years.” At his last, Ron shot Neville a glare. “Really, Harry, if it is so obvious that I would notice, don’t you think its true,” asked Ron. ~~~ “We almost kissed this morning,” confided Ginny, glancing back at the boys. “You did?” asked Hermione excitedly, also shooting a glance back at the three boys. “It’s about time,” said Luna. “You’ve been dropping hints all over the place since September, and he’s definitely interested in you.” “Why didn’t you kiss?” asked Hermione. “Tonks and Remus,” answered Ginny, shooting a glare at the two. “Merlin, I would’ve ignored them and kissed instead,” said Hermione. “Well, the moment was broken, and…I don’t know. Besides, Tonks came barreling into the room a moment later, so it doesn’t really matter, as she jumped into our bed, not to mention you two plus Neville and my dolt brother,” explained Ginny, looking at the boys once more. “Our,” asked Luna and Hermione at the same time, shooting a look at the redhead. Ginny blushed right on cue, reviewing what she had said. “Well…I…he…bed…same time,” she got out embarrassedly. “Ah, ‘well I he bed same time.’ Very intelligent, and it explains so much,” said Hermione with amusement in her voice. “I think that if he doesn’t kiss you by the time we leave here, you should drag him to some romantic place, and snog him senseless,” said Luna in a bored voice, looking ahead. “Look over there, lets go to that shop. It looks interesting.” After a dinner on the terrace of Hotel Eden, all of the Hogwarts students were told to retire to their rooms and pack for their departure the next day. When they left the hotel in the morning, it would be their last time to see it, and they had to bring all of their things with them. They would then go and spend the morning at one of the Roman beaches before finally leaving for home. Harry, Ginny, Neville, Luna, Ron, and Hermione were sitting around the coffee table in the living area. All of them had already finished packing and were relaxing for the night. Remus and Tonks had retired to their bedroom. Hermione had said, minutes after the two had disappeared, that she heard several spells shouted before a silencing one was cast. “Also, Tonks confided with Ginny, Luna, and I that Remus planned to take revenge on her for this morning’s performance,” she had explained. Ron went into the boys’ room, saying he had to get something to celebrate their last night in Rome. A moment later, he returned with a bottle of Ogden's Old Firewhisky. “RON! Where did you get that?” asked Hermione in a scandalized voice. “Fred and George sent it to me before we came here. They said it makes the last night a real bang!” Ron opened the bottle and took a large swig, not choking, surprisingly enough. “Also, its everlasting!” He then threw the firewhiskey to Neville, who looked at Luna for permission before taking a sip. He, however, coughed. “Ron, why is it that I coughed and you didn’t?” asked Neville, passing the bottle onto Harry, who took a small sip to try it out before taking a large gulp. “’Cause, Fred and George let me have some last summer before school started up again,” answered Ron, plopping down next to Hermione. The bottle began to be passed around among the six, Hermione the only one not taking part in the fun, her protest heard on deaf ears. “Really, what if Tonks and Remus come out of their room?” she asked. “Do you really think that they’re going to do that? They’re probably shagging like rabbits in there,” said Ginny, giggling madly. She was becoming slightly tipsy, yet she continued to take the bottle whenever it was passed to her. “C’mon, ‘Mione, you need to lighten up. Take a drink. It’s not so bad after the first couple of sips.” “I do not approve of peer pressure,” she begged off. “You know you’re curious, love,” Ron said, giving her his drunken doe eyes. “If I take a few sips, will you lot lay off?” asked Hermione to the nods of her friends. “Fine, give it here.” Luna passed the bottle to Hermione, who proceeded to take a small sip. The others guessed she liked the whiskey, as the first sip was followed by two big gulps, before she relinquished the bottle to her boyfriend. “Happy?” “Ecstatic.” On the next go-around, Luna tried to pass the firewhiskey straight to Ron, but was stopped, however, by Hermione loudly objecting, taking the bottle from the blonde girl’s hands and downing two big swigs. “What?” she asked to the five’s incredulous and drunk expressions. “I have to catch up to you.” Thirty minutes later, all were well on their way to being drunk. Hermione, before becoming completely inebriated, had thought to cast a pre-hangover charm, so that they could enjoy the beach the next morning. Ron, Harry, and Neville had been dared to do a strip dance for the girls, and the three boys were obliging. Just as they got down to taking off their boxers, Ron gave the other boys a look and they began to dress again, in the same tantalizing way. The girls groaned at this, obviously enjoying the show. “We,” began Ron, “have decided that the six of us are due for a night out on the town. Let’s go!” Even completely smashed, Hermione still had enough common sense. “Ronalsh Weashley,” she slurred, “we are not going anywhere without Remush or Tonksh. Ish that clear?” “C’mon, ‘Mione, what is the worst that could happen if we snuck out of the hotel?” “We could run into Death Eatersh, or get detention,” she said nastily, still able to sound bossy in her intoxicated state. “Well,” said Ginny. “I’m going with them. You in Luna?” The girl nodded, standing up unsteadily. “Hermione, I think you should come with us,” observed Luna. “If you don’t, you might regret it.” Luna seemed to be the least affected of the group, but they really couldn’t tell for sure. They convinced the bushy-haired witch to come along with them, and the six were now quietly sneaking out of the hotel, being careful to avoid any major walkways. They came out onto the street of Rome in front of their hotel, the fresh air blowing their hair about. “Where are we going to go?” asked Hermione, looking at everyone. They all rolled their eyes at Hermione’s need to know everything. “Dunno, we’re just going,” said Harry, taking Ginny’s hand, much to the girl’s surprise. “C’mon, let’s go that way,” he continued, pointing to his right. They made their way through the streets of Rome, each making note of every street sign so that they would know their way back. After all, it wouldn’t do to cause a panic the next day if they weren’t in their beds. After thirty minutes, minutes that were filled with seeing beautiful Rome by dark, they reached the Fontana di Trevi. The square where it was located was abuzz with nightly Roman activity, and the six went right up to the fountain, each pulling out a coin to toss into the famous landmark. The group split up for a few minutes, each walking around and watching the Italians go about their evening. They met up again not too long afterwards, and Neville, Ron, Hermione, and Luna were wearing slightly evil smiles. “Harry, stand right here,” said Hermione suddenly, no longer appearing drunk as dragged him over to a spot and made him face the Trevi Fountain. “Quickly.” Neville did the same with Ginny, positioning her right in front of Harry. It seemed almost planned to the two puppets. “Right, now look up,” said Luna, while she, herself, looked towards someone on her left. Fireworks went off in the sky, and Ginny and Harry were so absorbed in watching the small explosions light up the sky that they didn’t see a man ride up on a moped just behind Harry. The dark haired boy, surprised, fell forward when the moped ran into him. He toppled onto Ginny, causing them both to fall into the fountain that was behind her, with a big splash. The rush of cool water immediately soaked the two. Harry lay on top of her for a moment, too shocked to even consider moving. His eyes locked onto hers, and he felt like he was drawn into their depths. “Ginny…” he whispered unconsciously, leaning closer, if it were possible, and glancing down at her lips, asking for approval. “Harry,” she whispered in kind, reaching her hands behind his neck to pull his own lips down to hers, becoming impatient, and not wanting anything to ruin the moment. Fireworks, and not the ones still lighting up the sky, exploded for Harry and Ginny as their tentative first kiss faded into a passionate, deep, and long second kiss. Behind them, Hermione was paying a man who was straddling a moped. After that was accomplished, she turned and watched two of her best friends, along with her other friends, snog to their hearts content in the water of the Trevi Fountain. “ Can you believe we’re leaving today?” asked Neville as they lounged in the sun on one of the beaches of Rome. “No,” answered Ginny. “It all seemed to go by way too fast, don’t you agree?” The others agreed in their own ways. Ginny leaned back into Harry’s chest, watching as her two best girl friends did the same to their boyfriends. She gazed out at the white sand, watching as her fellow classmates built sand castles, played chicken in the water, or, in Lavender and Parvati’s case, sun bathed. “Did you learn anything?” asked Hermione after several minutes of relaxed silence. The five looked to their friend and smiled. “Perhaps,” said Ginny, smiling to herself as she cuddled deeper into Harry’s chest. Like maybe I have the best friends in the world. And that falling into the Trevi Fountain can be quite enjoyable. Especially when the boy of your dreams falls on top of you and then proceeds to snog you senseless. Also, she added, it is not wise to go to a beach with Severus Snape. She thought this as the Professor walked by, a Speedo being his only attire. And a pink one at that. It’s something unpredictable, But in the end it’s right. I hope you had the time of your life. -- Green Day -- A/N: Thanks to Jen for pre-reading most of this. I wrote the last bit today, from about where everyone decides that Harry’s bed is comfortable. Basically, the human pile-up. I wrote most of this thing in two days. I originally decided that I was going to do the challenge, then changed my mind, but went back on it when I saw someone post their story, and I HAD to finish mine. I honestly don’t know if I got all the rules, but I know I got some of them. A lot of this amused me as I was writing it. **Please, all note, that this is a similar universe to my Bond of the Six, which is still in the writing process, and not yet published on any website. Also, note, this has not been Beta-ed, and only part of it was pre-read. I did the best I could in editing it, but am not sure how well I have done. You decide. The Jetsons belong to whomever is their creator. And Coke and Sprite belong to their companies. But yeah. I hope you all enjoyed this, and please, let me know if I made any of you laugh at any point. I would love to hear that I have! The last scenes may seem very rushed, and they were. I finished them at around 10:15 Central Time on 30 April 2007, and the challenge ends in about…now Thirty minutes. So best get this posted. Damn, this is my longest one-shot yet. Didn't mean to make it this long. OH WELL. Hope you enjoyed it! Good luck to everyone else that has entered the challenge. |
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