(I have only one thing to say, and that is: fucking writer's block!
Enjoy.)
"Are
you sure there's nothing you need to do before you leave?" Ron
asked Ginny. "Don't you have to quit your job, say goodbye to
friends…anything?"
"Trust me," Ginny said tiredly. "There
is nothing here that I particularly mind leaving behind."
"Well
then why didn't you want to come home?"
Not in the mood for
making up lies, Ginny just shrugged.
"So…" Ron said,
searching for a change of subject. "Your friend is gay,
yeah?"
"Which one?" Ginny asked. "They both
are."
"Really…So you don't mind that, then," Ron said,
more as a statement that a question.
"No, why would I?"
"I
don't know. Some people do."
"Idiots…" Ginny
mumbled.
"No kidding…" Ron sighed.
The pair of red-heads
were walking up the street towards their hotel from the corner store
which hid the gateway to the wizarding side of the city. Neither
Harry nor Ron had had any pumpkin juice since they had arrived in New
York, and they were missing it, so they had gone to get some. It was
mid evening and the sunset was barely visible between the tall
buildings.
"Hey!" a tall teen with sandy-blond hair ran
towards them as they walked up the street. "Aren't you Ron
Weasley?"
"Yeah," Ron shook the boy's hand.
"I'm a
huge fan! Congratulations on the world cup last year." The boy
seemed almost hyper with excitement.
"Thank you," Ron
smiled.
"You don't have a pen on you, do you?" the boy
asked. Ron nodded. "I don't have any paper. Could you…sign my
arm?"
Ron laughed. "Sure…why not." He pulled his wand out
of his pocket, muttered a spell, and quickly scrawled his signature
on the boys forearm.
"Thank you so much." The boy ran
off.
"So you're really playing for England, eh?" Ginny asked
conversationally. "That's great."
"Yeah… I love it.
"You
Keeping?"
"Yep," Ron replied proudly. "And I don't need
to be tricked into thinking I've been given Felix Felicis to play
well, either."
Ginny laughed.
Ron pulled out the room key
when they arrived back at the hotel.
"Is everyone all packed up
and ready to go?" Ron asked, once he and Harry had poured tall
glasses of pumpkin juice.
There was a nod of ascent around the
room.
"Great. Harry and I have decided it's worth the risk of
side-along apparating Hali over, because the flight is just too long.
How much luggage do you think you can carry, Gin?"
"I can do
my share," she replied.
"Adam?"
"Plenty. I can make
more trips, as well, if necessary," Adam volunteered.
"That
would definitely be helpful," Harry replied greatfully.
Adam
noticed that Harry and Ron were sitting quite close together. Not
quite so close as to draw attention to themselves, but close enough
for a sharp eye to catch it. Adam said nothing, but smiled.
"Okay,
shall we go?" Ginny asked, picking up a suitcase and a duffel
bag.
o
"Look…I'm sorry I left like that. I'm sorry you
were worried about me all those years. I'm sorry…I just had to
get away. I needed to be alone, and I needed it right then. I was
young, mum…"
"You never wrote, you never came to visit…"
there were tears of joy in Molly Weasley's eyes at being reunited
with her daughter after all those long years.
"I still might go
back…"
"Is there anything we can do to convince you to
stay?"
Ginny shrugged.
"Well, you must be tired after that
long apparition. Your room is just as you left it." Molly ushered
Ginny up the stairs.
o
Molly walked into the living room where
Hali, Harry, Ron, and Adam were sitting by the fire drinking pumpkin
juice. She settled herself down on a chair across from
them.
"So…where did you find her?"
"I found her in a
muggle restaurant," Harry said softly. "Ron was down the street
getting something while I went to get us coffees. I found her running
for the bathroom. When Ron came back the four of us were standing out
in the parking lot."
"What exactly was she running from when
she came to America, anyway? She always told me I'd never
understand."
"You wouldn't, unless you'd grown up in the
wizarding world," Ron said.
"You're a muggle?" Molly
asked, sounding surprised.
Hali shrugged. "So I'm told," she
sighed.
"Well, I'm sure the four of you are very tired. Ron,
Harry, are you going back to your flat or staying here for the
night?"
"I think we'll head back. Hali and Adam can have my room, mum," Ron volunteered.
"Alright. Come back for breakfast tomorrow, alright?"
Harry and Ron said their goodbyes and apparated home.
"Right, well, you two stay right there and I'll go get the room ready for you."
"Thanks so much for letting us stay, Mrs. Weasley," Adam said greatfully.
"Certainly, dear."
Once Molly left the room, Hali picked up her glass of pumpkin juice and sniffed it. "It really is an odd flavour," she said strangely, and sipped it slowly.
Adam laughed.
Just then, Hermione Granger walked into the living room with her nose buried in a large book, a quill in her ink stained hand and a wad of parchment under her arm. She looked up fro her book to find two strange people sitting in her favorite area to sit while she does the work she didn't manage to finish up at the ministry.
"Oh…you must be Ginny's friends."
"Wow…way too many famous people for one week," Adam rubbed his eyes. "Hermione Granger?"
Hermione was famous for her research which ultimately lead to Harry's defeat of the Dark Lord.
Hermione flushed slightly and flopped into an armchair. "That would be me."
"I'm Adam Woodrow." Adam smiled widely at Hermione, a tiny amount of adrenaline leaking into his system. The same thing was happening to Hali and Hermione.
"Hali Delleman," Hali grinned.
The three sat in a comfortably silence until Molly returned to show Hali and Adam to their room.
(A/N – Just so it's clear, that adrenalin rush is what gay-dar feels like.)
