Disclaimer: I don't own them. J.K. Rowling does. I only play with them!
4. The British Museum
They took the tube to Leicester Square, dropped their purchases off at the hotel, then had lunch in a small restaurant. The students talked among themselves, filling Sirius' group in on Carter's prank and chatting about what they'd seen, but they had enough sense to behave themselves for the moment. The other Hufflepuffs were annoyed about losing so many points and the rest of students likely didn't want to be next.
After lunch, they went to the British Museum. By far the largest museum in London, it held collections from every continent. Hermione suggested they start with a few of the highlights. She regretted there was so little Muggle history taught at Hogwarts; their worlds had been separate for a long time but the Muggle world had still influenced theirs.
She'd been at the museum before and still knew where to find the Rosetta Stone, which they'd learned about in Ancient Runes but none of the students had ever seen for real, the Sutton Hoo ship burial, where a King had been buried with an entire thirty metre long ship, Ginger, the five thousand year old naturally mummified man, and many other important displays.
She'd been afraid the students might not be interested in the ancient displays, but that, at least, she shouldn't have worried about. Katrin, Mary and Leroy were hard to get away from the Rosetta Stone and later the Mesopotamian 'World Map' with its inscriptions. Ian wanted to learn everything about the mummies and looked at the beautifully decorated sarcophagi in awe. Alicia and Sirena went for the various pieces of jewelry, although they were openly disdainful of the 'common' pieces of armour and weaponry that were also on display.
The greatest problem was keeping them together. And making them watch their tongues. None of them had ever been in the Muggle world before, except to pass through on their way to the train station, Diagon Alley or wherever, and when they got excited about something they forgot.
"I bet this one is a real painting, look, no one's in it, they must've walked off!" Trust Nathan to find a still life of a table and chair.
"It's supposed to be like that," Marian corrected him.
"What, with no one in it? That's silly."
Sirius threw them a warning glance.
Fortunately, they were getting used to this. "You're such a clown!" Marian quickly exclaimed.
Just joking, people, nothing to see here… Hermione gave Marian five points for her save, then glanced at her watch. Only an hour and a half after lunch but she was dying for a cup of tea and a break. Perhaps she could suggest they all grab a drink, there were several café's in the museum and they'd probably be able to do tea without getting in any trouble.
Fortunately, her suggestion was immediately accepted and everybody managed to get their orders without any problems. The café was crowded and they had to take some tables near Muggle visitors, but the students were too busy arguing about where to go next to mention anything Muggle or magic. Leroy was trying to take a group picture with his new camera and was having a hard time figuring out how it worked, but that, too, was something not entirely unheard of among Muggles.
"So shall we split up again?" Remus suggested. "It doesn't sound like they'll agree on anything soon."
"As long as everyone manages to keep track of their students," Sirius smirked.
"Oh, shut up," Snape snapped.
"Well, he was in your group," Sirius pointed out. "How'd he get away anyhow?"
"He must have taken off when I helped Mr. Jones and Mr. Plunge with their purchases. Contrary to what most students seem to think, I do not have eyes in the back of my head," Snape replied.
"Sirius, let it go," Hermione sighed. Now where'd that come from? Snape could take care of himself. Oh well. It had surprised her anyone had sneaked out on Snape, in particular, but it could've happened to any of them. She was just trying to prevent another round of bickering, that was all.
"So who goes where?" Remus asked, steering the conversation back on track.
"I'd like our own British history," Hermione said.
Sirius shrugged. "Anything is fine with me."
"Of course, since you can't distinguish one culture from another anyhow. I'll take Ancient Rome," Snape sneered.
"Fitting. Just make sure you don't get any students stuck in the Trojan Horse," Sirius remarked, proving Snape's point.
Hermione snickered.
"What?" Sirius asked.
"That's Greek, not Roman," Hermione managed, trying hard not to laugh out loud. She liked Sirius well enough but she had to agree with Snape, he was not culturally inclined.
Snape, of course, only smirked.
"I'll take North America. Everybody finished with their tea?" Remus said.
Hermione nodded, thankful for his interruption. Damn, she had to learn to keep a straight face instead of cracking up when something like this happened!
"Meet at the museum shop at five," she said.
The rest of the afternoon held no great surprises, and neither did dinner. For the evening, Hermione took the group to a show in West End. A few minor mishaps were all that happened, and the evening went by very quickly. It was only just past ten when they returned to the hotel.
A/N:
Makota: Thank you!
Arysta: Thank you for your reviews! Yes, they're still doing pretty well, aren't they? You'd almost think it's gonna turn out to be a nice, quiet weekend after all… : )
Zoe: Thank you!
Whisper: Thank you! It would be difficult to learn everything about any culture without ever going there. I'm sure we'd make a lot of mistakes in the Wizarding world too, even if we'd read all the books. Still kinda wish I could give it a try, of course ::sigh::
Rosmerta: Thank you! Heh, a toaster with wings would be fun, but a bit harder to transfigure it like that… and poor Remus would never have been able to make that woman believe they were merely a group of illusionists! : )