Across London, at Number 12 Grimmauld Place, Ron and Ginny descended the stairs slowly, creeping in the shadows, careful not to make a noise. Two flights below, they could hear Tonks and their father and mother talking to someone, they couldn't quite make out what was being said, or who was saying what, but it sounded vaguely like Remus. "Odd," thought Ron aloud, "I never heard him come in."
"That's because he didn't you dope! He's probably using the fire, moron!" Ginny whispered roughly as she sighed delicately. Ron looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, and frowned.
"It's frightening when you do that Gin," he said quietly.
"Do what, Ron?" she asked through gritted teeth.
"Know what I'm talking about automatically."
"Ron, don't be so ridiculous, you're too arrogant to realize that you're such a simpleton that anyone could figure what's on your mind! Honestly!" She clicked her tongue and proceeded down the steps, no longer bothering to be quiet and stealth. Ron followed her down with an incredulous look on his face, scowling at the back of his little sister's head with an unpleasant wrinkle in his nose.
"You don't have to be so cheeky, it's not like I did anything to you, you know!" he retorted when they reached the bottom step. Ginny just pretended not to hear and marched down the hallway. Realizing she was headed towards the kitchen, Ron called out, "Ginny, don't interrupt their chat! Just wait up here, we can play Gobstones if you like." Too late, Ginny was pulling the door open and starting down the wooden staircase to the basement kitchen.
Tonks looked up first, standing up abruptly, accidentally kicking Arthur in the shin as she straightened up. Arthur scooted back and winced in pain, and Molly and Remus, whose head was in the flames, turned to look at Ginny who was stopped on the bottom stair. She glanced at them all, and then back at the fire, startled to see that Remus' head was gone. "What was Professor Lupin talking to you guys about," she asked curiously.
Molly stood up slowly, rocking slightly, and dusted her apron off. Putting the kettle back on to boil in the fire, she muttered, "Never you mind, it doesn't concern you, just Harry and Remus! Now, dear, get your brother, your father is ready to leave, don't make him wait!" She bustled over to the counter to add last minute things to the 'care package' of sorts that she was sending along for the twins. "Arthur, you go ahead, take Ginny, and I'll send this box with Ron when he comes down."
"No, love, I'll just take it in this case here," he said, excitedly holding up the Muggle bag. Mrs. Weasley looked at it with a wary eye, but then just tutted and turned back to the counter.
The door from the first level hallway opened up, and Ron entered the room and started down the steps to the ground. The box was sitting on the table in front of the fireplace, and Mr. Weasley and Ginny were standing at the foot of the stairs hanging their robes up on the coat hook, donning Muggle clothes underneath. It appeared that someone had helped Arthur pick out proper Muggle clothes, because he looked too Muggle to be anything other than a Muggle. He was dressed impeccably in a suit and tie, complete with a briefcase and all. Ginny was dressed like any other teen-ager in Muggle London.
Mr. Weasley opened his briefcase to reveal an obviously magically enlarged interior, not unlike the way that the old Ford Anglia had been enlarged. He placed a quick feather-light charm on the box, and sealed it shut with a cursory tap of his wand. He laid his briefcase on the table, and slid the box into it sideways. Stretching the case, he closed it and for a fleeting moment, the leather of the case remained stretched bizarrely around the large square box. Then a small popping noise emitted from the case, and it shrunk back to it's standard size. Mr. Weasley picked it up, nodded to his wife, and started across the room to climb the stairs, followed by his daughter.
"I'll see you later, darlings!" Mrs. Weasley called to her husband and her daughter's ascending backs, "Send my love to Fred and George, and be careful on that Muggle Underground! Ron," she turned to her son, "leave your robes here," not noticing that he was already dressed in plain Muggle clothes, "now come here, I'm going to transfigure you a bit, and then you must hurry to catch your father and sister at the bus stop!"
Ron trudged across the room, not quite sure what his mother meant by 'transfigured'. "Mum, what do you mean? Are you going to turn me into a bird or something?"
"No darling, don't be silly! Dumbledore thought it best that when we all leave the house, especially if we're going in groups of more than two, that we disguise our selves, so that we don't appear related in anyway. We can't be attracting too much attention in Muggle London, and we can never be to careful! Especially since our clan all has trademarks, and we're prime targets!" she rambled a bit, and then recovered her prudence, "Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that! Oh, well Ron, you must be alerted to the fact, I'm sure you'll take care. Now come closer, and close your eyes!" She pointed her wand at him and muttered something quietly. Ron felt a warm breeze rush past him and he could feel a tingle spread all over his body as his appearance changed. Molly giggled and handed him a pair of sunglasses. "I've always wanted another!" she said nonsensically. (Or so it seemed to Ron, who neglected to glance at the result of the 'disguise as he rushed up the steps.)
He ran down the entry hall and wrenched open the door. There was a muted twinkling sound as the house popped into ordinary view, and then out of sight again as Ron clattered down the rough path. His feet felt lighter, and his ankles were stressed. He glanced down to see what it was that was causing his awkward movement, and nearly screamed. His feet were small and delicate, and crammed into lovely little pink high heeled sandals (or so his mother had appraised). His legs were trapped in sheer panty hose, and he was wearing a mini skirt. Still running as he looked down in disbelief, his heel got caught in a crevice between two slabs of concrete sidewalk, and in slow motion, he fell forward, very ungracefully.
A block ahead, Ginny and Arthur had arrived at the bus stop and were taking a seat on the worn bucket seat row of chairs under the small sheltered stop. The glanced back to watch for Ron, and to their surprise, they saw him, dressed like a rather trashy young woman. The watched him fall, splayed out on the pavement, and Arthur jumped up, his hand flying to his coat pocket, where his wand was. Ginny too jumped up in a rush, but she put her hand on her fathers arm, and whispered through the corner of her mouth, "I think it was just a trip!" Sure enough, Ron, slowly got up and brushed himself off. He glanced around as if to see if anyone had seen him, and started down the street at a stroll. Mr. Weasley looked towards the opposite end of the small shelter, where an older man who had been reading a newspaper, was watching him with a look on his face clearly displaying the fact he thought Arthur was disturbed.
"It was a bumble-bee." Arthur said rather lamely as he made a show of sitting back down slowly. Ginny rolled her eyes, and sat down again. Ron made his way to the shelter a moment later, and sat down in the middle seat, equal distance from the old man, and his father and sister. Ginny glanced at him and stifled a snicker. Hearing it, he glared at her, and then crossed his arms and stared down the street, watching for the bus.
Mr. Weasley tapped his watch rhythmically with a pattern. Ginny guessed he was sending a confirmation message to someone, regarding Ron. I would venture to say that Ginny was correct to guess this, and that Ginevra Victoria Weasley was indeed a very intelligent witch, who was going to go far in life.
At a few minutes past 6:35 (the buses correct scheduled time of arrival) the bus could be heard roaring up the slight hill down the street, and it slowly idled to a halt in front of the stop. The old man climbed on first, followed by Ron and then Ginny and Arthur. Ron kept pretending he didn't know the man with his daughter, and took a seat by the door. Ginny and Arthur continued to the back of the bus, and sat by the exit door.
The ride to downtown London was brief, only two stops along the way. Ginny glanced again at her brother, who currently appeared to be a rather trashy young woman, dressed in an 'up to there' mini skirt, and a tight fitting mesh top that could clearly be seen through to display a solid, bright pink bra. His hair was cut to around his shoulders, and it's color forcibly reminded Ginny of Cho Chang's hair, straight, silky black. At one of the stops, a mischievous looking boy got on the bus, his hair dyed bright blue, and a large ring through his eyebrow. He glanced at Ron and gave a low whistle. Ron looked at him with a disgusted sneer on his face, got up, and moved closer to the back of the bus.
The bus stopped at the corner of the street that the Leaky Cauldron sat on, and Arthur got off, shepherding Ginny to the sidewalk across the street. The bus started rolling again, and then stopped down the block a few corners down. Arthur turned around, relieved when he saw his son get off the bus. Ron started down the street towards the Record store where his father had just disappeared by. He was the only person on the street that saw the man with his daughter vanish, and he was the only one who could see where they went. The Leaky Cauldron sat between two stores, looking rather squeezed in, and as shabby as always. Ron reached the door way and pulled the handle to enter. A bell jingled over the door, and he walked in to find his Arthur and Ginny sitting at a table near the fireplace. Mr. Weasley got up as soon as he saw Ron, and lead him to the back door. In the Alley behind the pub, he pointed his wand at his son, and said, "Finite Incantatem!" Ron shivered slightly as a cold draft of wind rustled his hair and blew his clothes. "I thought it best not to let Fred and George see you like that, they'd laugh themselves to death." Mr. Weasley said kindly as he tapped the bricks with his wand. Ginny stepped through the archway first, and headed straight to her brothers' store near the Menagerie. Ron, followed by his father, walked behind Ginny towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Meanwhile, further on down the Alley at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Harry Potter and Remus Lupin were being ushered inside to a small conference room. Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taking so long for me to keep up with the story, I've been out of town recently, and I have several assignments that I'm working on. Please REVIEW what I've got up so far so I know what you think! Thank you so much! Disclaimer: I don't own hardly any of these characters, places, names, you all know who does, proper thanks to them for their marvelous ideas!
"That's because he didn't you dope! He's probably using the fire, moron!" Ginny whispered roughly as she sighed delicately. Ron looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, and frowned.
"It's frightening when you do that Gin," he said quietly.
"Do what, Ron?" she asked through gritted teeth.
"Know what I'm talking about automatically."
"Ron, don't be so ridiculous, you're too arrogant to realize that you're such a simpleton that anyone could figure what's on your mind! Honestly!" She clicked her tongue and proceeded down the steps, no longer bothering to be quiet and stealth. Ron followed her down with an incredulous look on his face, scowling at the back of his little sister's head with an unpleasant wrinkle in his nose.
"You don't have to be so cheeky, it's not like I did anything to you, you know!" he retorted when they reached the bottom step. Ginny just pretended not to hear and marched down the hallway. Realizing she was headed towards the kitchen, Ron called out, "Ginny, don't interrupt their chat! Just wait up here, we can play Gobstones if you like." Too late, Ginny was pulling the door open and starting down the wooden staircase to the basement kitchen.
Tonks looked up first, standing up abruptly, accidentally kicking Arthur in the shin as she straightened up. Arthur scooted back and winced in pain, and Molly and Remus, whose head was in the flames, turned to look at Ginny who was stopped on the bottom stair. She glanced at them all, and then back at the fire, startled to see that Remus' head was gone. "What was Professor Lupin talking to you guys about," she asked curiously.
Molly stood up slowly, rocking slightly, and dusted her apron off. Putting the kettle back on to boil in the fire, she muttered, "Never you mind, it doesn't concern you, just Harry and Remus! Now, dear, get your brother, your father is ready to leave, don't make him wait!" She bustled over to the counter to add last minute things to the 'care package' of sorts that she was sending along for the twins. "Arthur, you go ahead, take Ginny, and I'll send this box with Ron when he comes down."
"No, love, I'll just take it in this case here," he said, excitedly holding up the Muggle bag. Mrs. Weasley looked at it with a wary eye, but then just tutted and turned back to the counter.
The door from the first level hallway opened up, and Ron entered the room and started down the steps to the ground. The box was sitting on the table in front of the fireplace, and Mr. Weasley and Ginny were standing at the foot of the stairs hanging their robes up on the coat hook, donning Muggle clothes underneath. It appeared that someone had helped Arthur pick out proper Muggle clothes, because he looked too Muggle to be anything other than a Muggle. He was dressed impeccably in a suit and tie, complete with a briefcase and all. Ginny was dressed like any other teen-ager in Muggle London.
Mr. Weasley opened his briefcase to reveal an obviously magically enlarged interior, not unlike the way that the old Ford Anglia had been enlarged. He placed a quick feather-light charm on the box, and sealed it shut with a cursory tap of his wand. He laid his briefcase on the table, and slid the box into it sideways. Stretching the case, he closed it and for a fleeting moment, the leather of the case remained stretched bizarrely around the large square box. Then a small popping noise emitted from the case, and it shrunk back to it's standard size. Mr. Weasley picked it up, nodded to his wife, and started across the room to climb the stairs, followed by his daughter.
"I'll see you later, darlings!" Mrs. Weasley called to her husband and her daughter's ascending backs, "Send my love to Fred and George, and be careful on that Muggle Underground! Ron," she turned to her son, "leave your robes here," not noticing that he was already dressed in plain Muggle clothes, "now come here, I'm going to transfigure you a bit, and then you must hurry to catch your father and sister at the bus stop!"
Ron trudged across the room, not quite sure what his mother meant by 'transfigured'. "Mum, what do you mean? Are you going to turn me into a bird or something?"
"No darling, don't be silly! Dumbledore thought it best that when we all leave the house, especially if we're going in groups of more than two, that we disguise our selves, so that we don't appear related in anyway. We can't be attracting too much attention in Muggle London, and we can never be to careful! Especially since our clan all has trademarks, and we're prime targets!" she rambled a bit, and then recovered her prudence, "Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned that! Oh, well Ron, you must be alerted to the fact, I'm sure you'll take care. Now come closer, and close your eyes!" She pointed her wand at him and muttered something quietly. Ron felt a warm breeze rush past him and he could feel a tingle spread all over his body as his appearance changed. Molly giggled and handed him a pair of sunglasses. "I've always wanted another!" she said nonsensically. (Or so it seemed to Ron, who neglected to glance at the result of the 'disguise as he rushed up the steps.)
He ran down the entry hall and wrenched open the door. There was a muted twinkling sound as the house popped into ordinary view, and then out of sight again as Ron clattered down the rough path. His feet felt lighter, and his ankles were stressed. He glanced down to see what it was that was causing his awkward movement, and nearly screamed. His feet were small and delicate, and crammed into lovely little pink high heeled sandals (or so his mother had appraised). His legs were trapped in sheer panty hose, and he was wearing a mini skirt. Still running as he looked down in disbelief, his heel got caught in a crevice between two slabs of concrete sidewalk, and in slow motion, he fell forward, very ungracefully.
A block ahead, Ginny and Arthur had arrived at the bus stop and were taking a seat on the worn bucket seat row of chairs under the small sheltered stop. The glanced back to watch for Ron, and to their surprise, they saw him, dressed like a rather trashy young woman. The watched him fall, splayed out on the pavement, and Arthur jumped up, his hand flying to his coat pocket, where his wand was. Ginny too jumped up in a rush, but she put her hand on her fathers arm, and whispered through the corner of her mouth, "I think it was just a trip!" Sure enough, Ron, slowly got up and brushed himself off. He glanced around as if to see if anyone had seen him, and started down the street at a stroll. Mr. Weasley looked towards the opposite end of the small shelter, where an older man who had been reading a newspaper, was watching him with a look on his face clearly displaying the fact he thought Arthur was disturbed.
"It was a bumble-bee." Arthur said rather lamely as he made a show of sitting back down slowly. Ginny rolled her eyes, and sat down again. Ron made his way to the shelter a moment later, and sat down in the middle seat, equal distance from the old man, and his father and sister. Ginny glanced at him and stifled a snicker. Hearing it, he glared at her, and then crossed his arms and stared down the street, watching for the bus.
Mr. Weasley tapped his watch rhythmically with a pattern. Ginny guessed he was sending a confirmation message to someone, regarding Ron. I would venture to say that Ginny was correct to guess this, and that Ginevra Victoria Weasley was indeed a very intelligent witch, who was going to go far in life.
At a few minutes past 6:35 (the buses correct scheduled time of arrival) the bus could be heard roaring up the slight hill down the street, and it slowly idled to a halt in front of the stop. The old man climbed on first, followed by Ron and then Ginny and Arthur. Ron kept pretending he didn't know the man with his daughter, and took a seat by the door. Ginny and Arthur continued to the back of the bus, and sat by the exit door.
The ride to downtown London was brief, only two stops along the way. Ginny glanced again at her brother, who currently appeared to be a rather trashy young woman, dressed in an 'up to there' mini skirt, and a tight fitting mesh top that could clearly be seen through to display a solid, bright pink bra. His hair was cut to around his shoulders, and it's color forcibly reminded Ginny of Cho Chang's hair, straight, silky black. At one of the stops, a mischievous looking boy got on the bus, his hair dyed bright blue, and a large ring through his eyebrow. He glanced at Ron and gave a low whistle. Ron looked at him with a disgusted sneer on his face, got up, and moved closer to the back of the bus.
The bus stopped at the corner of the street that the Leaky Cauldron sat on, and Arthur got off, shepherding Ginny to the sidewalk across the street. The bus started rolling again, and then stopped down the block a few corners down. Arthur turned around, relieved when he saw his son get off the bus. Ron started down the street towards the Record store where his father had just disappeared by. He was the only person on the street that saw the man with his daughter vanish, and he was the only one who could see where they went. The Leaky Cauldron sat between two stores, looking rather squeezed in, and as shabby as always. Ron reached the door way and pulled the handle to enter. A bell jingled over the door, and he walked in to find his Arthur and Ginny sitting at a table near the fireplace. Mr. Weasley got up as soon as he saw Ron, and lead him to the back door. In the Alley behind the pub, he pointed his wand at his son, and said, "Finite Incantatem!" Ron shivered slightly as a cold draft of wind rustled his hair and blew his clothes. "I thought it best not to let Fred and George see you like that, they'd laugh themselves to death." Mr. Weasley said kindly as he tapped the bricks with his wand. Ginny stepped through the archway first, and headed straight to her brothers' store near the Menagerie. Ron, followed by his father, walked behind Ginny towards Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Meanwhile, further on down the Alley at Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Harry Potter and Remus Lupin were being ushered inside to a small conference room. Author's Note: I'm sorry it's taking so long for me to keep up with the story, I've been out of town recently, and I have several assignments that I'm working on. Please REVIEW what I've got up so far so I know what you think! Thank you so much! Disclaimer: I don't own hardly any of these characters, places, names, you all know who does, proper thanks to them for their marvelous ideas!