HARRY POTTER AND THE GRAND TOUR
Hi everyone! This is my first fan fic ever. I submit this in the hope that someone will take over the story. English is not my first language and I really struggled to write this. I lack both the time and the writing ability to write the whole story but wanted to put out at least this 2 chapters as to offer a look at the potential that I think the idea of the story has. The idea is that our favourite characters, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny go on a journey around the world, a Grand Tour (check the HP wiki for the tour), which I think opens up a lot of story potential for adventure, character development and romance. If there is any real fan-fiction writers willing to take over the story, please message me. I'd like someone to add more dialogue, character development and humor to these opening 2 chapters as well as continue the story throughout all of the journey. Thank you for your time and enjoy!
March 14, 1999
Headmistress Minerva McGonagall
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Mr Arthur Weasley
'The Burrow', Ottery St Catchpole, Devon
West Country, England
Dear Arthur,
The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the events that took place on the school grounds on the past Saturday night concerning a muggle machine of your property.
At 10pm of Saturday the 13th, after being relentlessly bullied by his classmates, first year Waldy Roodville broke out of the castle and immersed himself into the deepest corners of the Forbidden Forest. Inevitably, he soon found himself about to be smashed to death by a Giant's club. However, this was when a most peculiar thing happened. According to the boy, he was saved by a 'flying metallic creature with two bright eyes'.
Of course, as I'm sure you have, I instantly recognized what the child described as a 'metallic creature'. Indeed, he was referring to the enchanted muggle machine that your son Ron used all those years ago to get to Hogwarts Castle with the aid of Harry Potter, the 'automobail'.
Apparently, the boy hid himself inside the automobail, which was in turn destroyed by the powerful Giant. The automobail barely managed to return the boy safely back to the school, where it collapsed, and it hasn't moved or produced sound since.
The automobail is currently awaiting for your retrieval inside our school Storeroom, and you may come for it whenever you can.
I am looking forward to see you again.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Headmistress at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
This letter was read out loud by Arthur Weasley on the sunny noon of the 17th of June of 1999, 3 months after receiving it, as he sat at the table for dinner at the Burrow. The Weasleys were hosting a welcome party for Ginny and Hermione, who had just arrived from Hogwarts. Unlike Harry and Ron, Hermione had gone back to school to finish her studies after the Battle of Hogwarts, and now, both Hermione and Ginny had graduated the school with the highest of honors, and were prepared for the coming challenges of adult life. The only exception to the awe that the present faces expressed for Arthur's letter were Mr and Mrs Granger, who got lost after the first few lines of the letter and restrained themselves to quietly ask their daughter what a 'muggle' was.
After reading the letter, Arthur explained how excited he was when he had first read it 3 months before, how he had immediately scheduled a visit to Hogwarts and how he had had the idea to keep the whole thing a secret until it was the time to give his daughter a most awesome graduation present. Harry, Ron, Hermione and George were ecstatic, Ginny was almost in tears, Molly was not very happy, and the Grangers were confused. Arthur led them all to the garage, where the light blue Ford Anglia was parked, and explained to them how he managed to fix the car with a couple of charms, leaving it practically new. He said that, to prevent the mistakes of the past, he had added a charm to make the vehicle indestructible. Ginny was the first to try it, and she proved once again her natural ability with flying objects.
George spent the afternoon mocking Arthur for the letter's last line, which only deepened Molly's anger towards her husband. She had baked a big cake that tried (and failed) to look like Gryffindor's emblematic lion, and sat with the Grangers, inquiring them about dentistry and mugglehood in general. The muggle couple's gift to their daughter consisted of an old bracelet that had been in the family for a long time, which didn't seem like much compared to a flying car, but had as much love as the car had fun. At around 6pm, Hermione went back with her parents to their old home, George went back to his flat in Diagon Alley (where he lived now with his now best friend Lee Jordan), and Harry and Ron went back to 12 Grimmauld Place, where they had been living for the last year.
Harry and Ron worked as interns at the Auror Department, where they usually raided ex-Death Eater hide-outs and made several important arrests. During the course of the year, Ron had learned more from muggle culture than he had during the previous 18 years of his life, and he was absolutely fascinated by it. The 2 young wizards heard muggle music and frequented muggle bars. They had made a few attempts at browsing the internet, but soon discarded the whole thing as just confusing nonsense. They even went to the movies a few times, the last of which had produced a heated debate between Ron and his older brother George, who argued for the original Star Wars trilogy's superiority over the new prequel movie. They often visited the Burrow, where they spent time with the Weasley parents, and flew around with their brooms. Harry had bought a brand new Nimbus 2600, which had recently dethroned the Firebolt as the new fastest broom in the world. They saw Hermione and Ginny every weekend at Hogsmead as well as for Christmas, Easter and at some occasional encounters in the Shrieking Shack. On May, there was a big event at Hogwarts to celebrate a year since the defeat of Voldemort and on June, there was a Graduation Ball for seventh years and their relatives.
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had spent the whole year talking about the possibility of going on a vacation when Hermione came across a very interesting idea at the library. Apparently, in the late 19th century, it was a common tradition among graduated wizards and witches to go on a journey around the world, a journey they called the 'Grand Tour'. It was a year long trip of discovery and adventure, meeting other cultures and knowing the world, and they had to do it. According to tradition, 19th century wizards made the Tour on flying, invisible carriages, in order to really enjoy the journey, as opposed to just Apparating everywhere. The four young wizards were a little worried about where they could find one of those such carriages, but this particular problem was solved the moment Arthur Weasly announced his special gift for his daughter. It was hard to convince Harry at first, who was worried about his career as an Auror at the Ministry. Ron on the other side, was fascinated with the idea, anxious to take a break from dark magic and Death Eaters. After all, they both had been struggling with dark wizards for years and, as Harry knew deep inside, they really needed this. Ginny and Hermione were not even sure about what they wanted to do with their lives anyway, so they figured that taking a year to travel wouldn't hurt them. They consulted many different people about possible destinies and must-see places and soon they'd come up with a plan that satisfied the 4 of them. The Tour would last a whole year. They would visit 21 countries and stay about 2 weeks in each. They would departure on late August and visit, in chronological order, Paris, Beauxbatons, Barcelona, Rome, Athens, Berlin, Drumstrang, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uganda, India, China, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, New York, Vegas, and finally, Ilvermorny School in Massachusetts.
The 4 wizards still had 2 months before the start of the journey, which they spent playing Quidditch at the Burrow, partying at 12 Grimmauld Place and flying the Ford Anglia. The 2 months passed fast and soon it was time to leave. Yet again, the Weasleys found themselves hosting a 'goodbye party' at the Burrow, this time with many of the wizard's friends like Neville, Luna and Seamus. Around 3pm, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione packed their suitcases and brooms in the magically expanded trunk and got in the car. Ron started the engine, pressed the Invisibility Booster, turned on the radio and, with the sound of the Weird Sisters, flew away, south across the English Channel, towards Paris.