A/N: Dedicated to Zeft and Lindsical.

Disclaimer: HP and associated characters belong to Rowling.

------------

PROLOGUE

Millicent was still swearing to take revenge on her best friend as she was photographed, glowering like a thundercloud, at the entrance to the luxury cruise liner like all the other stupidly excited Muggle tourists. Shoving the fake and stupid life saving white hoop-looking thing into the arms of the elderly gentleman following her, she stomped onto the boat and looked neither right nor left as she sought out her cabin. Pansy just did not understand that she could NOT take a vacation. And she did not LIKE hot places, anyway. It was all asinine, and Pansy needed to get into her perfectly coiffed little banker head that listening to the Muggleborns who passed through Gringotts to exchange Galleons for Muggle currency was a BAD idea.

It had been bloody Terry Boot, who Millicent recalled as an overly sociable Ravenclaw who'd probably talk the ears off a rock if said rock HAD ears, who'd mentioned hearing on the Muggle radio about some drawing for prizes, the grand prize being an all-expenses-paid cruise to the Caribbean, and Pansy had entered HER name on a lark, casting a subtle charm to tilt probability in her favour.

Millicent had not known a thing about it until Pansy had marched into her office in the back of the practice stadium of the Montrose Magpies and slapped the ticket and itinerary on her desk, triumph in every feature. Had Millicent not been in the process of responding to roughly two dozen pieces of fanmail, she likely would have taken the time to hex her best friend unconscious.

But Pansy worked quickly and with typical, ruthless Slytherin acumen, and by the end of the day, before Millicent had even finished with the stack of owl post, had secured the time off from Millicent's boss, strutted smugly away only to return an hour later with a bikini the likes of which Millicent would NEVER wear in public, and a strict injunction to have fun. And so Millicent found herself glowering at the little plastic card thing that was supposed to work like a key. It looked very flimsy and stupid, but even she did not feel up to facing Magical Law Enforcement for using her wand on a very large, very populated Muggle boat.

The cabin was rather nice, though, when she'd finally figured out how to use the card thing, and in the privacy of her room, she quickly changed out of the girly-looking sundress that Pansy had made her wear, into her favourite pair of jeans and a black tank top. There was a nice selection of chilled beverages, she discovered, though most of the non-alcoholic ones she didn't recognize. Opening a bottle at random and taking a cautious sip, she quickly felt her bad mood abate, and decided that she'd suggest to Madam Rosmerta to stock the Three Broomsticks with this Coca Cola stuff next time she was in Hogsmeade.

The boat, contrary to her expectations, didn't rock or quake at all when it pulled away from shore, and after amusing herself for a while trying out several drinks at the bar, she decided to leave her cabin and explore the ship. After all, it would be boring to stay in her room by herself for a long time.

It was in the strange, dark room filled with odd machines with bright lights and knobby protrusions and buttons that she unexpectedly came across a familiar face.

She had just walked past one of the machines when the young man seated in front of it pressing buttons and nozzles with great gusto gave a cheer, and the familiarity of the voice jarred her into a halt. Blinking and thinking that perhaps the dim light of this strange "arcade" place was making her see things, she stared at his back for a few moments before stepping forward to get a closer look, and it was at that exact moment that the young man triumphantly turned around, apparently finished with his game, and both of them started in recognition.

Millicent was the first to recover her... equanimity. Glare firmly in place upon her features, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"What the bloody fuck are YOU doing here, MacMillan?" she barked. ---------------------------------------------------------------