Author's Note: OH MY GOSH!! It's DONE!!! FINALLY!!!! Who cares if it isn't any good or exciting?? You might, but right now, I don't… Sorry if it is anyway. It's been so long since I updated. I'm half sure of what comes next, so (cross your fingers) it won't take as long as this chapter. Please! Read on!!

Lunacy Joins the Hogwarts Trio

Chapter Twenty-Five: Blissful and Happy

"Don't forget the apple pie!"

"How could we forget? You've reminded us a few hundred times."

"Have not."

"Stop being immature. We've got the apple pie."

"Oy! Now we don't got room for the sandwiches! Take away some of that apple pie. We don't need that much!"

"Yes we do!"

"No, we don't. Who'll eat it all?"

"Me!"

"And you'll burst from too much of it too."

"I don't care! That's some good apple pie!"

"We know that. But sandwiches are nice too. We need room for them!"

"Will you two quit bickering and help us pack!" Harry said loudly at Ron and Tahnee.

They apologized off-handedly and returned to packing bits and pieces of food from the lunch table for their picnic while people within the hall chanced odd glances at them. Adelaide, Bryce, Harry, Hermione, Kristen, Ron and Tahnee were going on a picnic to Vooda Falls in the Absurdum outside area. It was only Harry who hadn't been there before, so they had planned an outing during Tuesday lunch to spend the lunch hour swimming and eating beside the Falls. Adelaide, however, was not permitted to swim by Madame Irving, as her arm was still healing and bandaged.

"Oh, what about the pumpkin and apple juices?" Adelaide stated, holding up two large plastic bottles.

It was in another three minutes that they were finally packed up and ready to go. They said goodbye and left the castle and began walking to the left side of the large school, occasionally slipping about on the stones.

"It's really nice at Vooda Falls, Harry," Hermione assured, kicking a stone that hit the back of Ron's ankle. "Sorry, Ron."

Adelaide sighed dramatically and wistfully.

"I don't even remember the last time I saw Vooda Falls. Gosh, I can't remember what it looks like!" she cried, gawking.

Bryce, Kristen and Tahnee each rolled their eyes mockingly.

"It was when slipped on the rocks and landed face first in the shallows with a blood nose and split lip, remember?" Bryce said innocently, sniggering along with everyone else.

Adelaide flushed, smiling lopsidedly, recalling the painful memory. "Oh, yeah…"

"And then McPhee caught us on the way back to school and yelled at you for not being careful. Then Madame Irving dabbed your lip with that yummy smelling blue stuff and you screamed, making that Second Year rush in, thinking someone was being murdered. Remember, that boy… What's-his-name? Um… Hayden Buzz. And after that, he had the crazy idea planted in his head that Madame Irving wanted the whole student body dead! It was hilarious! Millagen managed to sort him out though,"
Bryce continued, humouring them all.

The bush and shrubbery began growing thicker and the pebbled ground turned to crumbling, dead spinifex and reddish dirt. Awkwardly, they trod through the dry undergrowth, following a well-marked trail through the trees. Only a few minutes later, they came to an odd archway, constructed from the over-hanging branches of two gumtrees. Promptly, Kristen spoke to the empty archway.

"Oaken Willow once said to me,

Little child, I am a tree.

I cry redwood tears,

And sip eucalyptus beers.

Now run along, little child,

Otherwise, I show you wild!"

Harry attempted to conceal his amused smile, but Tahnee saw.

"We don't write the passwords!" she proclaimed defensively. "That job is left for the House Student Councillors!"

"I didn't blame you for anything!" Harry replied, raising his eyebrows.

"Are you two going to hurry up or just stand there all day chit-chatting?" Kristen called to them, now on the other side of the archway.

The scenery had changed from the dull, dry and scorching hot surroundings of bush, to a greener surrounding. Harry and Tahnee entered through the archway as the last two. Besides Kristen, the others had already disappeared.

It was still swelteringly hot, but less humid and sticky. Scattered among the gumtrees, bottlebrush trees, and other various eucalypt trees; there were dark jade coloured ferns. As they walked along another path, the ferns grew a little thicker and the air became cooler from the gigantic shadow from a large, over-hanging cliff made from a jagged and red rock. Embedded in the dirt were big, grey rocks. After about three minutes of treading across slippery rocks and getting scratched by branches sticking out onto the pathway, loud splashes and yells could be heard through the greenery. Two seconds later, the falls could be seen.

There was a beautiful, gigantic pool, the colour of the green depths of the ocean where the pool was deepest, bordered with walls of stone, with ferns growing between the cracks and large ledges of rock providing a diving board of sorts. The shore was not sand, but small, glittering pebbles, exactly like the ones in front of the school. Across the stony shore, descending deafeningly was a white waterfall, falling heavily into the pool causing ripples to wash onto the shore.

"You slow coaches!"

Harry averted his attention to Bryce who was yelling at them from a large, flat rock that was sitting half in and half out of the water. The picnic basket and the small pile of towels they had brought along were placed at the dry end of the rock. Everyone was already in the water, save Hermione who was slowly wading in and Bryce who was preparing to jump from the rock.

"Come on! Hop in! The water's luuurrrvely!"

There was a thunderous splash as Bryce bombed into the water, sending a wave of water, wetting everyone close enough. Kristen laughed heartily, and then raced forward as cautiously has he could over the smooth stones, threw off his shirt, ran up the rock and dived into the water, just missing Bryce's head bobbing up and down in the water. Tahnee and Harry repeated Kristen's antics in turn, plunging into the depths of the pool.

As everyone was in the Dining Hall, they had the paradise to themselves for the lunch hour. Adelaide, at first, was perched upon a rock hanging over the pool, watching everyone else in an unusual silence. But Tahnee coaxed her down from her solitary position and convinced her that it was just fine to wade in the shallows. The water begun at her ankles, then her knees and finally Adelaide had gone so deep that she was submerged above the waist and needed to lift her injured arm in prevention of getting it wet.

After twenty minutes of exploring the water, they sat down with beach towels wrapped loosely around their waists on the shore and set out the lunch dishes on another towel rather than a picnic blanket. There were cold sausages, coleslaw, salad, chicken, sandwiches, apple pie (of course) and a large flask of pumpkin juice all taken from the Dining Hall.

"Easter holidays coming up!" Tahnee said happily, tearing off a chunk of sausage.

Ron screwed up his face in puzzlement. "No they're not..."

"Oh yes they are," she replied bouncily. "Four months! Only four months!"

"Sorry to burst your ever over-blown bubble but that might as well be half a year, Nee," Adelaide said bluntly.

"Four months is not half a year! We need to plan in advance anyway!"

"What do you suggest?" Hermione asked calmly, slowly chewing a ham, cheese and pickle sandwich.

"My place is big..." Tahnee hinted, the ghost of a smile flittering about on her face.

"Can't, sorry," Adelaide confessed, watching Tahnee's face fall a little. "I'm going home for Easter. I'll visit you for sure though. And I'm almost certain my house won't be free from your wrath all holidays."

"You say it as if she destroys your place randomly in the holidays," Harry pointed out, shifting about to find a comfortable position amongst the pebbles.

"She does it to every Floo Powder code she knows!" Bryce burst out, laughing.

Twenty minutes before the Practical Duelling class begun, they packed away the scraps of food and the damp towels into the picnic hamper, threw on their school robes on over their slightly wet bathers and hiked back up to the school.

When they arrived at the Duelling gym, the bell had not yet sounded the ending of the lunch period. However, they entered anyway, neatly placing the picnic basket against the wall in a remote corner before taking a seat upon the small stage at the front of the gym.

The Duelling gym was only a little similar to a Muggle gym. The chief difference was the walls and the ground: they were padded thick and firm with a magical substance much like bulky gymnastic mats. They were spelled to be solid enough to stand straight without wobbling on and squashy enough to soften the force of falling or getting slammed into walls by unfriendly spells and curses. At the front of the gym was a platform raised a metre from the ground that was used for demonstrations by the teacher. Next to the stage on the right side, there was a little Muggle drinking fountain, an odd thing to have in a wizarding school.

"I can't wait to start this!" Kristen said gleefully, rubbing his hands together in a mischievous manner. "Want to have a go at it, Bryce?"

"Sure. Let's show these amateurs how it's done. No serious ouch curses though," Bryce replied, jumping from the platform onto the lower ground.

"Are we even allowed...?" Hermione began, but Tahnee quieted her.

"They do it all the time, I swear. They don't ever do anything dangerous. They're not children who've been dropped on the heads."

Bryce and Kristen stood a couple of metres away from each other with their wands in their hands. Like robots, they both bowed their heads formally at the exact same moment and begun.

"Expelliarmus!"

Two disarming spells collided in mid-air, forcefully slamming against an invisible wall and flung back towards a boy. Bryce and Kristen were walloped with powerful strength in the chest by the spells and hurtled backwards, landing with a slap onto the soft floor. Kristen was first to recover.

"Numass!"

Bryce hurled himself flat against the floor, dodging the spell. Nimbly, just after the light sped over him, he aimed his wand and shouted a curse of his own. Kristen got hit on the leg and fell squarely on his behind. His wand fell from his hand as he began furiously scratching his right leg that was hit by the spell. Bryce shot another curse his way, causing him to role to the side to avoid a second hit. Briskly, he snatched up his wand from beside him and yelled a spell with the wand aimed at his brother. The shot was too high and collided with the wall opposite about a metre above Bryce's head. Taking the chance where Bryce instinctively looked back to see the spell slam into the wall, Kristen shouted again.

"Stupefy!"

The red light whizzed towards Bryce, an accurate aim. A second before impact… It vanished. Disappeared. Poof. Gone. Kristen sat up straight and scrunched his face up in thoughtfulness. Come to think of it… The insane itchiness in his leg wasn't there anymore…

"Clever demonstration of what we've learnt so far, boys. Though I'd really prefer it if you gave us entertainment while a professor is present, thank you."

The twins looked about their surroundings. The class of Absurdum fifth years had congregated in the gym and had seated themselves on the stage around Adelaide, Tahnee, Harry, Ron and Hermione to watch the duel between Bryce and Kristen. Their faces were a little disappointed from when it had been suddenly cut short by the Professor standing in the doorway with a stern gaze upon his face.

"Come on then, I've a class to teach and you've some lessons to learn so get down from the platform," Millagen ordered, climbing the few steps onto the stage as the students scattered and seated themselves on the mats below.

"What did he do?" Kristen hissed at Harry as they sat down.

"He came in and snapped his fingers and the spell just vanished!"

"Before we actually begin the lesson, let's make note that Miss Weller and Mr Potter have finally joined our class for this half of the year. Before you ask, Miss Weller, no, you are not permitted to take an active part in these lessons until that arm of yours has fully healed. It would be foolish if you did," Millagen said swiftly, looking down upon the students from his high place on the stage. "Now, on with the lesson, I say!

"We'll be working on your dodges and rolls and those sort of athletic bits and pieces. It's exhausting work after a long while, but I trust your energy levels to be soaring above the required levels. Most certainly just after lunch!" Millagen exclaimed. "Stand up, all of you. No… Miss Weller, you sit right back down. Take a seat up here. I won't be demonstrating extremely dangerous moves yet."

Grumbling, Adelaide took a seat on the edge of the platform and watched everyone else spread out around the large room, flexing their arms and legs as if they knew what they were doing. It was pointless arguing with the Headmaster; you didn't need to be a Seer to know that Millagen would conquer any tiff.

"I've gathered together a list of moves and actions, if done correctly, are valuable when avoiding attacks from an opponent. Some of them are easy to include in a duel and others will need practice. Right, now that I've made my speech, we'll begin with a bob. Watch."

Millagen walked to the back of the stage and shed his glamorous, silken robes, folding them neatly in half and placing them on the ground. Now he was dressed in plain grey trousers and a white, buttoned shirt. He resumed his position in the centre of the stage and demonstrated his bob. It involved Millagen arching his back backwards and bending his knees. It seemed rather odd to watch a middle-age man perform moves off Charlie's Angels.

"Could you please take of your robes for today's lesson. It proves to be difficult to participate with them on. Next lesson bring clothes suitable to move around freely in," Millagen instructed the students.

Obediently, they took off the billowing robes. It was lucky that those who had been swimming wore shorts and shirts thrown over their bathers, though they did have large wet patches where the water had soaked into the material.

Over the next fifteen minutes of the lesson, Millagen displayed the manoeuvres he had selected and demanded that the pupils follow what he was doing and repeat them until they had them perfect to his high standards. After that, came the fun part.

"Right, pair up!" Millagen shouted out, jumping with unknown elegance from the platform and began walking among his students. "Yes, I know there is an odd number. One of you will keep Miss Weller company until we swap partners."

There was a loud rush in which people bustled about the room, searching for a partner to work with. Harry just had to stand there and he was flooded by people wanting to work with him, but it was Ron who got the honour. Adelaide was joined by Emmery Scott. He was a tall, lanky Aboriginal boy who had a powerful knack for Charms. When he sat beside her, he was a full two heads taller than she was.

"You are to shoot light at your partner and light only, you hear me? Can everyone do that?" Millagen glared at everyone, rotating his head so everyone got a dose of his severe and fierce stare.

All at once, jets of brightly coloured lights whizzed in every direction with amazing speeds. Everyone ducked to the floor to miss getting walloped by the streams of light. Fortunately, the storm of lights smashed into the walls, leaving only small pinpoints of black rubber.

Millagen shuffled his feet and smiled wanefully. "Thank you for that... Demonstration of your abilities. It is preferable if you warn the class. Anyhow, we are to shoot light at your opponents and using the techniques you learnt today, dodge the light from your partner's wand. But before we begin, line up only the centre of the room in your pairs, facing your opponent."

Presently, everyone was in a jumbled mass in front of the professor. Given the new instruction, they all spread out in a noisy line down the long gym with their wands aimed and ready to go.

Millagen stepped from in between Mirabella and Yasmine and hollered loudly, "Begin!"

As if an explosion occurred, the jets of speedy light pelted across room, followed by every person using some learnt action to dodge them successfully. The lights and avoidance continued with few getting struck. If you were, you were thrown back a couple of metres. Millagen stood to one side of the class, yelling bits and pieces.

"Duck! Weave, Marshall! Fantastic feint, Kempton. Marsden, more oomph in your bobbing! Keep your guards up!"

It went on much like that for the next ten minutes. By then, everyone was beginning to tire from ducking and weaving and feinting and the oncoming lights were slower being released. Kristen and Dominic at the back of the gym had halted the duel altogether and were sitting down to catch their breaths.

"Alright, alright," Millagen said, quieter than his usual previous ramblings. "Five minute break. Someone will have to trade places with Mr Scott when we start again. Any volunteers?"

Nearly the whole class found the energy to raise their arms as fast as possible to volunteer.

"Will you look at that? Miss Weller is more popular than I thought. Miss Raven, you may have the honour."

There were groans of disappointment and exhaustion as the students wandered and limped over to the drink fountain to drench their mouths and splash their faces with the sweet, cool water. Tahnee, after gulping down as much of it as her stomach could hold, came over to Adelaide, gasping for air.

"My gosh, that is hard work," she wheezed, leaning against the platform. "I'm puffed. You're so lucky you don't have to do it. Bopping and bipping and ducking and all that silly stuff."

"I think it's good to learn incase you get into an overly sticky situation," Adelaide said, smiling. "Or just to show off your moves and whatever. Maybe he'll teach us to somersault in mid-air like they do on TV."

"Hey… Now that's a good idea…"

"Come along," Millagen cried over the hushed chatter. "We've energy to burn and light to dodge!"

Tahnee looked into Adelaide's face, wailed pitifully and rolled her eyes sarcastically. Forcing a grin, she turned her back on Adelaide and joined with Bryce, her new duel partner for the last fifteen minutes of the lesson.

*****^*****

That Friday, Madame Irving proclaimed that Adelaide's arm had eventually healed with the help of the spelled bandages. The following day, third years and above were to visit the underground wizarding village of Wilban. Mainly the large Aboriginal family who lived in the caves of the village, though there were other residents ran it.

The Saturday morning was spent competing in games of Exploding Snap, Go Fish and Chess. Hermione, who just couldn't win at any game, retreated to a corner to read a book on foreign Magic's. Harry repeatedly opposed Ron in Chess, losing sorely every time, but trying again and again to win over Ron. Kristen was in another secluded spot and was flicking through a Transfiguration textbook borrowed from the library looking a little bored with it. Bryce and Tahnee were skittishly working their way through a game of Exploding Snap. The cards hadn't exploded for a while and both were expecting them to at any moment. Adelaide had been deserted after playing Go Fish and had begun to sort the cards into suits and in numerical order.

"This is very boring," she commented lightly, placing the two of hearts on top of the ace of hearts.

"For you maybe," Tahnee answered, dropping a card on the pile and then leaning back incase of explosion.

"Check!"

Adelaide leaned over the table and looked at the chessboard. Harry's expression was triumphant and Ron's calculating.

"I'm going to win!"

"Afraid not, Mr Potter sir," Ron said mockingly, slowly moving his hand to the chessboard with a smug smile on his face. "Ron Weasley is too good for you."

He moved his king to one side and Harry's face fell.

"Oh. Damn."

Kristen laughed from behind his book. "For a second there, I thought Mr Weasley was beaten."

"Shocked it ever crossed your mind."

"Who's got a watch?" Bryce asked, cautiously placing a card upon the pile between him and Tahnee.

"I do," Hermione replied, not even glancing away from the book. "Fifteen minutes until we meet out front."

"How did you know I was going to say that?" Bryce blurted, looking up.

All of a sudden, a loud eruption boomed before Tahnee and Bryce, singeing their eyebrows and smouldering parts of their robes closest to the table. With haste, they both began slapping their clothes and blowing the tiny wisps of black smoke away. Hermione raised her eyebrows amusedly and everyone else laughed outright.

Marking her place in the book with a scrap piece of paper, Hermione stated primly, "I don't know about you, but I'm going downstairs."

She rose from her armchair, leaving her book on a small coffee table. Harry frowned in thought as he stared intensely at the chessboard, seeking a winning move before they left.

"Come on, Harry," Ron said, pulling his friend up. "I'll finish throttling you when we come back."

In a loose cluster they dawdled downstairs to the school entrance where the student majority were waiting to be taken to Wilban. When they arrived at the meeting place, it was swarming with happy teenagers, ready for a few hours trip to the village. Lined up in front of the school were about twenty small, bizarre contraptions used to transport everyone to the village entry passage. They were curiously narrow and hovered soundlessly above the pebbly ground. There were small doorways into the devices, shielded by black curtains.

"Snatch one while we can," Ron whispered to Harry, eyeing the crowd with distaste.

They all agreed on his statement and strolled boldly over to the nearest hovering box. Inside, it was larger than expected, although still quite little. On opposite sides of the craft, there were two benches, each able to seat three comfortably. But there were seven of them so one side had to squish four people alongside. Hermione, Tahnee, Adelaide and Bryce were the unlucky ones nominated to squeeze tightly together. Immediately after they settled into their seats, the craft begun to move silently above the ground, through the thick bush. The slenderness of the apparatus allowed it to move freely between trees without getting stuck. After a short five-minute ride, the craft halted and they climbed out.

The entrance to Wilban was a staircase created from the wood of some local gumtrees descending into the ground. The stairs were stained with the dark red dirt from above and below where the ground was red dirt where it was so compacted that it was rock hard. There was a long and wide tunnel following the stairs that travelled steadily downwards, the darkness banished by small glowing globes embedded in the walls. Fifty metres along, the passage broadened to the width of a small street. It was here where the first stores of the village showed themselves, made in the walls of the caves.

Adelaide, Tahnee, Kristen, Bryce, Hermione, Harry and Ron stood to one side of the street, pausing as the three Hogwarts students ogled at the rather dusky, gloomy underground village.

"Let's start with lunch," Kristen remarked, rubbing his stomach distinctly.

"Yeah, I'm starved," Ron agreed, grinning.

"There's a café place just up here," Tahnee suggested. "Very nice sandwiches."

"Aren't sandwiches all the same?" Harry said as they began walking in the direction that Tahnee pointed in.

"This place make these special spreads and combinations only made here," she commentated as they went along, gazing into each store with eager eyes. "They're absolutely brilliant I reckon. Extremely unique tastes. They do supply the normal stuff too though."

The café was little and homely lit by extravagantly brightly lit globes in the ceiling. The walls were yellow and the tables and chairs scattered about the store a soft blue colour. The visiting students already occupied most of the tables and chairs. The café was popular among them. At the back of the room was where the counter was situated, a small, dark skinned lady stood, taking orders from a few seventh years. On the walls were blackboards showing certain specials and extra toppings.

"It's nice," Hermione stated, leading them over to a spare table.

Tahnee, Adelaide and Kristen took chairs from another table and crowded around the one Hermione had chosen. Harry held the menu from the centre of the table, skimming through the list with Ron and Hermione reading the other side. Swivelling it round, they read through the other side.

"Erm… Chicken and salad will suit me," Harry said, handing the menu to Kristen.

"I'll have Rose Marmalade and some strawberry juice," Hermione informed, pursing her lips. "Nice and sweet."

"A chocolate milkshake and… Oh, I don't know…" Ron murmured, biting down on his lip and staring at the tabletop. "What are you having, Kris?"

"Toasted lebanese with tomato, cheese, ham and pineapple, and a chocolate milkshake."

"Yeah, I'll have that."

"Rosy Special and a pineapple soda!" Tahnee announced, rubbing her hands together. "I'll go order this stuff. Adela, Bryce, what are you getting?"

"Fruit Salad and Chocolate cream and pineapple soda, thanks."

"Spearmint milk and Steven Special."

Tahnee nodded slowly and repeated the lunches to herself before sauntering over to the counter to join the queue. It was not long before she was back again, reporting that the food was on its way! Five minutes later, a bony Aboriginal girl about their age served the food.

"Hi."

Tahnee smiled at the girl. "Hey. Nora, this is Hermione, Harry and Ron. You guys, this is Nora."

Nora was skinny and tall. Carefully, she placed each meal before them, followed by the drinks.

"Don't you go to the school?" Ron inquired, taking a long slurp from the straw in his milkshake.

"No, I study privately with my family. It's our way," Nora responded cordially.

"Oh!" Hermione erupted suddenly. "You learn the traditional magic! Oh, is it interesting?"

Nora laughed, "I suppose it is. Sometimes the theory and the history get boring. I better go, food to serve."

"See you later."

"Yeah, bye."

"It must be wonderfully fascinating to learn a different magic!" Hermione said passionately, taking a bite of her sandwich. "And this is really nice! Anyway, the traditional Aboriginal magic is fading because the European way (the way we learn) is taking over because it seems so much simpler!"

When lunch had been fully digested and had settled in their stomachs, exploration of Wilban was due. They stacked the plates neatly on the table and returned the chairs to their rightful places. They waved a final goodbye to Nora who was delivering food to a couple of elderly ladies and left the cafe.

"What places do you want to visit?" Tahnee asked, her question directed towards Harry, Ron and Hermione.

"Have you got any Quidditch shops?" Ron queried, his eyes roaming over the stores along the main street.

"'Course there are!" Adelaide gushed, seizing Ron and Harry's hands. "It's off the main street, but not far. The place is fantastic! They've even begun their own line of brooms! They're actually for beginners, but still!"

"Hey, we'll meet you at Suga&Fizz, okay?" Tahnee bellowed after the three retreating figures.

"Right-o!"

When Adelaide had dragged Harry and Ron a few metres, she released their wrists and walked beside them, directing the way to the Quidditch shop. She led them past a small supermarket, a colourful toy store, robe shop and other novelty stores that caught the attention of Harry and Ron. The streets of Wilban were teeming with school students and full of activity. They turned of the main street and the crowd became a little thinner. A little way down, Adelaide showed them the store with a brand new broom, gleaming in the front window surrounded with Quidditch equipment.

Inside the Quidditch shop, it was brilliant. In one section there were display brooms of the home brand and all the top brooms. In another sector of the place were the different balls and such. There were shelves full of Quidditch books about every team imaginable and techniques and an assortment of models and toys.  Instantaneously, the three separated to visit different parts of the store. Harry and Ron went to check out the display brooms and Adelaide began searching for a book primarily for Chasers.

"I've got my book," Adelaide declared, coming over to look at the brooms with the boys. "What you looking at?"

THE ATTONITUS

Latin for THUNDERSTRUCK, this extraordinary racing broom will leave you stunned. Able to reach acceleration of 0-200 miles an hour in 7 seconds with swift and accurate breaking abilities, The Attonitus is unquestionably the greatest racing broom of the century. Resembling the state of the art Firebolt, the Attonitus obtains a sleek, subtle ash handle, treated with top diamond-hard polish. The broomtail contains only the most aerodynamic and perfect twigs from the elm tree to give The Attonitus speed and pinpoint accuracy. Incorporating an unbreakable braking charm and a safety enchantment, The Attonitus is a one of a kind broom. COST: 103 galleons, 4 sickles, 7 knuts.

"That's bloody fast," Ron whispered in awe, wide eyed as they all stared at the glossy new broom.

"And really expensive!" Adelaide exclaimed. "That's a lot of money."

"It's amazing," Harry breathed.

"It's not really a Chaser broom, is it?" Adelaide said ponderingly. "More… I don't know. Seeker maybe."

"Definitely Seeker," Ron confirmed. "Reckon you can thrash Slytherin on that, Harry?"

"Maybe. My Firebolt does a pretty good anyway, though."

A bit later in Suga&Fizz, the crowd was suffocatingly unbearable. The store was a marvellous lolly shop selling everything from Endless Eucalyptus Drops to Acid Pops. Tahnee, Kristen, Bryce and Hermione were over by the fudge taste testing, accepting tiny slices of fudge from a lady wearing thick layers of dark red lipstick and blue eye shadow. The colours clashed horribly and made her look older than she might have been.

"Oh, Ron, Harry," Hermione gushed, "You have got to try the Liquorice Chocolate! It's delicious! Excuse me, could we please have two samples of the Liquorice Chocolate? Thanks."

She passed them over to Ron and Harry who swallowed them at once.

"That's pretty good," Ron agreed, nodding his head.

"I think I'll get a bit to take back with us," Hermione said. "Did you find anything at the Quidditch shop?"

Ron grinned. "We found the fastest broom ever!"

"Um… Okay. That's great. Do you want to taste the Honey Nougat?"

Pooling some of their money together, they bought a collection of sweets including fudges, chocolate, Endless Eucalyptus Drops, Bubbling Banana Bombs, Ice Mice, Acid Pops, Cherry Twists and a few other bits and pieces to pig out on a rainy day. After squeezing their way out of the blissful candy store, Hermione and Tahnee went off to the bookstore, Adelaide, Ron and Bryce to the pranking shop and Kristen and Harry to the jumble shop. In half an hours time they were to meet at Chilly Dreams, the Ice-Cream Parlour.

Step On My Toe was the place Adelaide, Ron and Bryce visited. It wasn't nearly as good as Zonko's because the range was smaller as they didn't get shipments from other countries. But Ron found something he rather thought funny and bought it with the pocket money his mother gave him for the trip. When they entered Chilly Dreams, Harry and Kristen were already seated at a booth with melting ice cream in their mouths. So they ordered their own ice creams and sat beside them.

"Find anything interesting?" Harry asked as Adelaide, Ron and Bryce slurped the ice cream from their spoons.

"This gum that gives you blue spots!"  Ron laughed, stirring his chocolate mint Sundae. "Want some?"

"No thanks."

"You're loss."

"I'm sure. Hi, Hermione," Harry said, waving to she and Tahnee as they arrived and seated themselves nearby. "What did you get?"

"A book on more advanced Charms," Hermione explained, affectionately patting the bag beside her chair. "I'm pretty sure we'll be using it next year."

"Hermione, you want a sundae?" Tahnee asked, rising from her seat. Hermione nodded. "Strawberry? Chocolate? Pineapple?"

"Strawberry, thanks."

For the remainder of the afternoon, they munched up their ice creams and explored the town of Wilban until boredom took over. It was then they returned to the school, exhausted from the afternoon of walking around.

Author's Note: Something you should know: Vooda Falls is named after a friend of mine who reviews all the time, Vooda Tribal!! She's really the best!! Thanks a bunch, Caitlin!! J