Chapter 7 – Ni sa Bula!

A/N: A quick guide to Fijian! Bula means hello. Mode (MOH-day) means goodbye. Vinaka means thank you. Kava is a drink made from a powdered root filtered with water through a sock. And a frangipani is a type of flower. Google it – they're so pretty. A bure is like a little cabin/cottage.

The plane touched down on the Fijian tarmac in complete darkness. "Bula, welcome to Fiji!" said the flight attendant over the loudspeaker. The time is 5:10 AM. Please note that all travelers not continuing to Los Angeles must go through customs located by the baggage claim. Thank you for flying Qantas." Lily opened her eyes and cracked her neck loudly. "James," she whispered, shaking his shoulder. "Wake up. We're here."

James cracked open an eye and looked out the window at the moonlit palm trees and the tarmac bathed in yellow. He reached across Sirius and nudged Mary. "Mary," he whispered to here. "We're here!"

Mary woke excitedly, immediately pressing her face to the window to take in her much anticipated Fiji. "There it is," she breathed, fogging up the plastic. "Fiji."

They left the double-decker plane onto an outdoor walkway leading to the terminal. The air was warm and slightly muggy, and it smelled of frangipanis and rain. Once they had collected their bags, gone through customs, and exchanged their pounds, Belgian francs, and lira for Fiji dollars, they headed out of the airport into the still-dark day. "Why isn't it light yet?" Sirius asked curiously.

"Since Fiji is so close to the equator, it only gets like twelve hours of daylight," Mary explained. "Usually from 6 AM to 6 PM."

They decided to Apparate instead of taking a cab to save money, and Lily read the address of the hotel aloud to them. "332 Levu Lane, Nadi Fiji," she read. "Remember that, okay? I don't want anyone ending up splinched in Hawaii." They went behind the airport, where there was only a sullen Indian man smoking a cigarette who didn't even look up at the four loud cracks as they Apparated to the inn.

The Venomous Tentacula, read a sign with peeling paint on a guesthouse overlooking the beach. Trees and bushes of frangipani flowers surrounded it, along with birds of paradise and some other spiny tropical plants. It was rundown, but beautiful. They stood, staring, until Lily squared her shoulders and strode through the open door.

A dark-skinned wizard missing a tooth was standing behind an old counter in the pub area, wearing an old T-shirt, shorts, and no shoes. "Bula!" he greeted them. "My name is Oro. Welcome to the Venomous Tentacula."

"Hi," Lily began. "One bure under Evans?"

"Of course," Oro replied. "Right this way." He brandished a wand that looked like it was made of palm wood. "Locomotor Trunks."

The foursome followed him along a dirt path, tripping over bushes and breathing in the flowery, wet scent that seemed to follow them everywhere. The sun burned down and Lily cringed, feeling her skin burn. 20 feet later, he stopped outside a small hut with a thatched roof. "Bure 12," he said, sweeping his arms wide and directing their luggage into the cottage with his wand. "Rules and regulations…your bure comes with three broomsticks. Please do not fly above fifty feet or leave the grounds. Follow the Statute of Secrecy. Breakfast is every morning from 8 to 11. Enjoy your stay, and don't hesitate to ask for anything."

Lily studied her phrase book. "V…vinaka?" she asked tentatively and Oro smiled broadly.

"You pick up Fijian fast! You'll be talking to little kids on the beach in no time." With that he left, lighting a cigarette and taking a drag as he walked.

Mary was the first inside the bure. The walls were made of wicker and the windows were paneless with screens over them. The doors opened onto a tiny porch with a weathered chair, and the promised three broomsticks lay against an armrest of the couch. The bedrooms were small with two twin beds in each one. Lily and Sirius had just entered and dropped their bags when-

"-BEACH!" shouted James and the four friends whirled into action.

"Accio swimsuit!" four different voices yelled, and four different suits flew into four different hands. Four different bodies changed in four different rooms, and eight feet flew out the back door, pounding through the sand into the surf.

"It's warm!" Lily yelped in surprise. She had just barely gotten all the way in when a huge wave caught her and sent her flipping through the air, freefalling for a few feet until the water caught her and placed her gently on her feet on the sandy ocean floor.

"Wheeee!" James and Sirius yelled, tackling each other and splashing into the water. Coughing salt, they emerged a few moments later. "Let's swim out to that dock!" Sirius called to Lily and Mary, and Mary was off, cutting through the water like a fish.

Lily hung back with James. "You never learned to swim?" she asked. When he shook his head morosely, she smiled. "Come on, I'll teach you." She Transfigured a piece of seaweed into a kickboard and soon, James was keeping up with the best of them, despite Sirius' teasing about having to use a kickboard. She pulled him onto the dock and pressed a finger to her lips, pointing and grinning evilly towards Sirius, who was standing on the edge of the dock sunning himself. "One…two…three!" she whispered, and she and James grabbed him around the waist and sent him flying into the water.

He emerged seconds later, spluttering. "That's it! You're going down, Lilyflower!" Unfortunately, Lily hadn't heard him and when he grabbed her hand and pulled, she was taken completely surprised.

"Ahhhhh!" she screeched as she tumbled into the water in a painful bellyflop, just as a huge wave rocked the dock. Somersaulting over and over, she broke the surface, coughing and picking seaweed out of her bikini top. "Ugh," she said, tasting salt in the back of her throat. She was so engrossed in getting seaweed and sand out of her hair and ears that she didn't hear Mary's frantic hisses or notice that James and Sirius were now completely mesmerized in something.

"Lily!" Mary said finally.

"What?" Lily shot back. Mary just pointed, and Lily looked down to see that the triangles of her bikini top had been shoved apart, giving the two boys a perfect view of her rack. She did the only thing that made sense then – she jumped into the water facing away and furiously pulled the triangles into place. Sirius was guffawing loudly and James was about thirteen different shades of red and purple. His mind had completely short-circuited at this sight. "Stop it!" Lily whined, climbing the moss-covered ladder out of the water.

James watched her come out of the water and felt his jaw drop. The world was moving in slow motion as Lily's slender body emerged, the beads of water on her skin glinting in the sunshine. Her hair was full of salt water and a beautiful smile lit up her face as she laughed, wringing her hair with her hands. "Prongs," Sirius hissed. "You're making the Lilyface!" James shook his head slowly and blinked, but he couldn't come back down to Earth. Now Lily was listening to Mary whispering in her ear and throwing back her head in laughter. I love her, James thought dazedly. "Oh, that's it, Sirius muttered. Flicking his wand, he thought Levicorpus! James let out a yell as he was dangled over the clear blue water's surface.

"I see a giant clam!" he yelled, his face turning very red. "C'mon, Padfoot, let me down!" Sirius laughed and thought Liberacorpus! and James hit the water with an almighty splash!

The foursome stayed out until 6:00, when the sun began to set. "Wow," Lily breathed. "It's like throwing all the paint in the world on a canvas, but something other than brown comes out." James just gaped at this comment. What he wouldn't give to be able to observe like she did. He couldn't stop thinking about their first kiss, and he looked over at her. A peaceful smile played across her lips, and the sunset was reflected in her emerald eyes. Just do it, he urged himself. There's nothing to it.

His hand was inches from her shoulder when she turned suddenly and said "Accio Broom!" One of their brooms from their bure came hurtling towards them and stopped in front of James. "For you," she said, before diving off the dock. "Come on!" she shouted, and the other three were quick to follow – Sirius and Mary in the water and James in the air.