Chapter 44: We're Going on a Trip

February 21, 1994

"I have an important announcement to make!" announced Dumbledore grandly, banging his finger on the water goblet (which hurt, a lot).

"You do?" Minerva asked from his right, raising an eyebrow. "If it's about the armadillo, I told you I was sorry…"

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Dumbledore. "I should tell them that too! Everybody, I have two important announcements to make!"

"Oh no," moaned Minerva. "Albus, please don't tell them!"

"Too late!" sniggered Dumbledore. "The first announcement: Minerva slipped an armadillo into my pumpkin juice yesterday! So if I came across as weird at all yesterday, please blame the armadillo."

His students exchanged looks.

"The second announcement!" he declared. "A GRAND announcement! Those of you who participated in the prank war, I have a surprise for you! I have your reward!"

The Great Hall burst into cheer.

"A wonderful reward!" he shouted. "A very wonderful reward! A very very wonderful reward! A very…"

"We get it, Albus," said McGonagall through gritted teeth.

"And this applies for all of the teachers as well!" exclaimed Dumbledore genially. "Listen up, everyone! We're going on a cruise!"

There was laughter and shrieking and applause from the hall.

"A Muggle cruise!" he exclaimed. "A big ship that goes through the water with lots of food and rooms! It's like a hotel on a ship. We're going to tour through France and Italy, and we'll be going for two weeks!"

"Do we have to pay?" shouted someone.

"What about my parents?"

"But I didn't participate in the prank war!"

"Are we going to skip school?"

"Do we have to pack?"

"When are we going?"

"All of your queries will be answered," Dumbledore responded. "All in good time! Now, everyone has to come! No ifs, no buts! If you participated, or if you are a teacher, you will come! It'll be a lot of fun! Severus, I'd like to see you in my office later today to help me work out the logistics."

Severus's eyes screamed murder.

"Albus, I'm not coming."

Dumbledore frowned. "Why, come now, Severus. You must. I specifically said so."

"I refuse to come," Severus said stonily. "I am not coming on your silly cruise!"

"I am sorry, Severus, but I am afraid I cannot let you stay here. What are your concerns? Tell me, and we can work something out."

Severus sighed. "There are plenty of reasons. First of all, it is irresponsible to leave the school to go on a cruise. Second, a bunch of wizards on a Muggle cruise spells danger, and you know that. Third, I am not going to the beach with a bunch of students!"

"Severus, don't be a spoilsport."

"I will be a spoilsport, Dumbledore! But I am not chaperoning this trip!"

Dumbledore nodded wisely. "Ah, Severus, I understand. Do not worry. You will not be chaperoning this trip. Not at all."

Severus was relieved. "Good. Then I…"

"You will be enjoying it just like all of the other students!" cried Dumbledore. "The teachers deserve some entertainment too!"

"What?!" spat Snape. "No. Not a chance. Dumbledore, I am not going on this trip!"

Dumbledore snapped his fingers. "Severus, I think I have found the problem! You just don't have a good pair of swimming trunks!"

Severus scowled. "That is most certainly not the…"

"Well, that's an easy fix!" exclaimed Dumbledore. "You can just borrow some of mine!"

Severus's mouth dropped open. "You aren't serious."

"No, I'm Albus," replied Dumbledore happily. "Anyway, I'll be sure to deliver a few pairs to you. Now that the swimming trunks problem is solved, do you have any other concerns?"

"Who's going to be teaching if we all go on some vacation?" asked Severus through gritted teeth.

"Professor Grubbly-Plank," responded Dumbledore. "She and Argus Filch are going to teach people how to clean the school."

"WHAT THE HECK!" cried Severus. "Dumbledore, what is this?!"

"I would classify it as entertainment, though I think amusement is a proper synonym."

"I am not coming!" Severus spat.

Dumbledore smiled maliciously. "We'll see about that."

Tonks walked towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, running a hand through her bright pink locks. There was something she needed to do, and now that it was a holiday for the mall she worked at, she decided that it couldn't be delayed any longer. She had promised to help, and she needed to honor that.

Amidst her thoughts, Tonks finally reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, pushing the door open and looking into the room, where Remus was mid-demonstration.

"Hey, Professor Lupin, could I borrow you for a second?" she asked politely.

"Yeah, absolutely," replied Remus, the corners of his mouth twitching as he started to make his way towards her. She glanced around at the classroom of attentive-looking students, noticing how interested they all looked. Once Remus reached her, Tonks ushered him just out of the classroom, closing the door gently.

"Hi, Dora," he whispered, taking her hand in his and interlocking their fingers. "What's happening?"

"I just wanted to ask you a quick question," she answered. "Hope you don't mind?"

"Of course not."

"Okay," she replied, hesitating. "So, do you teach vampires as part of the curriculum?"

He frowned. "Yes. Why?"

"Can I make a request?" she asked. "I mean, obviously I don't want to mess with your planning schedule, or anything, and I don't want to make it more work for you, or…"

"Dora, it's okay," Remus said softly, squeezing her hand. "What is it?"

"Well, when you go over vampires, can you teach them like you would teach werewolves?"

"Yeah?" he asked, frowning.

"Like, be gentle about it?" she clarified.

"Of course," he replied. "What… is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine, it's just…" She swallowed. "People may be sensitive to the subject, so…"

"Okay, I'll do that," he assured her, smoothening her hair. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it," she whispered.

"Nothing else?" he pressed.

"No," she replied, frowning, "that was it."

"There was absolutely no other reason you pulled me from the middle of a class?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Oh," she realized, laughing. "There is one more thing."

She leaned over and whispered, "I love you," in his ear, resting her head on his shoulder.

He laughed and pulled her even closer. "I love you too," he whispered, kissing her hair. Then he pulled away, a mischievous look in his eyes. "Would you be afraid of kissing the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor in the middle of the hallway, by any chance?"

She laughed. "Not at all."

Myrtle sulked in the back of the bathroom.

For once, there were some other girls in the girls bathroom; their names seemed to be Ella and Ella.

"A cruise, Ella!" exclaimed one of the Ellas. "We're going on a cruise! Dumbledore's paying for it, and it's during school, oh my god!"

Myrtle sniffed. They got to go on a cruise? Not fair!

"I'm still wondering what happens on a cruise," the other Ella said. "Like, a ship? Don't ships go on water?"

"So we're all going on a big rowboat?" asked the first Ella.

"I dunno," said the second Ella, shrugging. "How are we all gonna fit on there?"

"Maybe Dumbledore will make the boat really big. With a Biggening Spell."

"Biggening Spell. Yes, that's right."

"So, like, we need to figure out what we do there."

"Is it like a beach?" asked one Ella (Myrtle had no idea which one was which). "Like, do we need to pack swimsuits?"

"Oooh, that would be cool. Like, I totally want to see the guys on the beach."

"Especially Seamus."

"Especially Seamus."

Myrtle gagged. She knew Seamus. He had once come into the girls bathroom by accident. He wasn't very attractive.

"We have to ask someone if the cruise has, like, beaches."

"How are there beaches on a ship?"

"I dunno. We have to ask someone about the whole thing."

"Hey, let's ask Seamus!"

"Yes! He'd be so nice and help us!"

"Oooh," trilled one of the Ellas. "I love Seamus."

"Are you through?" cut in Myrtle in a haughty, disapproving voice. "Stop talking about disgusting boys if you're going to be using this bathroom!"

Ella and Ella screamed.

"OMG!" one of them cried. "What are you doing in here?"

"And why are you listening to our private conversation?" snapped the other one.

"This is my bathroom!" Myrtle informed them. "And you're not allowed to talk about that gross guy!"

"Gross?!" cried Ella, offended. "What do you mean? Apparently he's got a six-pack!"

Myrtle snorted. "A six-pack? He's just fat."

The Ellas both burst into tears.

Myrtle recoiled. "Ew! Get out of my bathroom!"

"You're just jealous of us because Seamus likes us!" one of the Ellas accused, tears dripping down her face. "You're just jealous because Seamus doesn't like you!"

"I hate Seamus!" cried Myrtle. "He's gross! I've already told you that! Besides, how can Seamus like both of you?"

"He does!" shouted the other Ella. "He likes us both!"

"Because you two are photocopies of each other," Myrtle muttered. "Now, get out of my bathroom!"

The Ellas left, still crying.

"What a bunch of baloney," muttered Myrtle, adjusting her glasses.

It wasn't fair. How come these people got to go on a cruise? While she had to sulk in the bathroom! Myrtle wanted to go on a cruise too!

Well, she thought, as a sudden thought struck her, maybe she would go on the cruise too.

Bellatrix scowled.

She still couldn't believe she had been wrong. Sirius Black had turned out to be a loyal spy, after all. He had followed the Dark Lord's orders. He had been loyal the whole time. She had thought he was bad at first, but it turned out he was actually a loyal follower.

And it wasn't fair that he was able to get out of this sickly prison and not her.

A Dementor floated around nearby, but Bellatrix wasn't scared of them anymore. Not for years. Because Dementors were meant to suck up your soul, suck up any bit of happiness that kept you alive.

Bellatrix may as well have been dead. Because there was nothing in here that was happy, and that was certainly not what was keeping her alive. Dementors didn't have anything to take from her.

But, of course, she yearned for freedom. She yearned to be rid of this accursed island, so that she could figure out what was happening with the Dark Lord. She refused to believe he was dead. He couldn't be. Not her strong, powerful Dark Lord. There must be something she could do to help him. There must be.

She felt a twinge of jealousy towards Sirius Black.

She, Bellatrix Lestrange, was the Dark Lord's most loyal follower.

And it was going to stay that way.

Candice saw Kylie approaching her in the common room, holding something in her hands. "Hi, Candice."

Candice took a deep breath and let it out. "What do you want?"

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. "I was mean to you about your dancing. But you insulted Frog Choir, and that wasn't nice."

"It's okay," said Candice softly. "Sorry for insulting Frog Choir."

"That's okay!" cried Kylie. "My frog's kind of dumb, anyway."

Candice laughed. "No, he's not."

"He doesn't croak on the beat," complained Kylie. "Anyway, when are your practice sessions? For Magical Dance?"

"Every Tuesday at five," replied Candice. "I think I'll make some friends. There's this girl named Aliya. She's the head of the club, and she's nice. Also, there's this fat guy named Neville."

"Neville?" yelped Kylie. "Oh, no, not him! He looks really ugly!"

"He's nice, though," countered Candice."

"Any guy who wears a black tutu to join the Dance Club is insane."

Candice laughed. "I think I have to agree with you on that one."

"Why are we even here?" complained Percy.

"We need to talk about all of this together." Ginny sat down on an armchair and crossed her arms across her chest.

"Ronniekins should be here any second," said Fred, pretending to check his watch.

Ron walked into the common room. "Ginny, why did you call us all here?"

"Ah, and cue Ronniekins!" exclaimed George, who was sitting on the armrest of an armchair across from Ginny.

"I told you he'd be here now," said Fred smugly. He was sitting on the other armrest of the armchair. "Come on, Ronniekins. Your spot is right here."

Ron scowled and sat down in the chair in between Fred and George.

"Hurry up and get this over with," said Percy bleakly, running a hand through his scarlet curls. "I want to go to bed."

"We need to talk over this," said Ginny levelly. "So, first of all, all of us are going on this cruise, right?"

"Yeah," said Fred and George in unison.

Ginny nodded. "So now we need to figure out what's going to happen on the cruise. The good news is, Mum and Dad aren't coming with us."

"Imagine Mum hovering over us while we're at the beach," muttered Percy.

"She'll be bugging us about sunscreen," muttered Ron.

"And Dad will be asking all the Muggles about their gadgets," sighed Fred, shaking his head.

"Excuse me, have you seen a fellytone recently?" asked George in a mock voice of his father.

The rest of the Weasleys laughed.

"Back to the point," declared Ginny. "What happens on this cruise?"

"According to Hermione…" Ron began.

"Ooooh," chorused Fred and George.

"Hey, stop that!" Ron's ears were turning red.

"Our darling Ronniekins is in love!" cooed Fred and George.

"How do you guys know exactly what to say and say it at the same time?" inquired Percy, turning to stare at the twins. "That's creepy."

"Practice," the twins said together, grinning.

"Gah!" Percy shouted.

"So, are we going to have rooms?" asked Ginny. "Like, do all of us stay in the same room?"

"Oh no," moaned Ron. "I can't live with these two!" He pointed to George and Fred, who were smirking.

"You can probably only stay with people of your own gender," said Percy. "That's how it's traditionally done."

"Which means you can't sneak off to meet Penelope in the nights," teased Ginny.

"Shut up, Ginny…"

"As I was saying," cut in Ron, scowling, "Hermione told me that it was a big ship that goes to beaches. And there's rooms on the ship. She said she'd teach me and Harry more about it later."

"So we have to ask someone more about the cruise," mused Ginny. "Like, what it's about and what happens on it. And what we have to pack."

"And when we're going," added Percy. "What if this clashes with the exams?"

"Then we skip the exams," said Fred and George together. "Easy peasy."

"I can ask Hermione," muttered Ron, while George and Fred laughed. "Hey! Stop laughing."

"First Ginny embarrassed me in front of Mum, now they're teasing you…" mumbled Percy. "Come on, Ron, we have to find out some inside information on these three."

"That's easy," replied Ron. "Ginny likes Harry."

"Hey!" protested Ginny.

"All three of you have something to be teased about," George said smugly.

"Enjoy your night," added Fred, smirking.

James had just strolled into his wife's room when Lily exclaimed, "We're going on a cruise!" She ran into his arms and tumbled him towards the sofa.

"You what?" asked James, laughing and burying his face into her hair.

"Albus is sending all the teachers on a cruise!" said Lily excitedly. "Do you think you could come?"

"A cruise would be hard to hide from the Ministry," he admitted.

"But it would be great if you could come!"

"Yeah, I guess, but how?" James asked.

"Hmm." She looked thoughtful, biting on her lip. "You're right. This wouldn't be as easy to cover as sneaking over to the castle, right?"

"Right," said James. She was adorable when she looked all thoughtful like that.

"Well, don't you want to come?" she asked, adjusting so that he was facing her, their faces inches apart.

"Of course, Lily, but…"

"We can figure something out. Maybe I can ask Dumbledore if we can bring you along." She leaned towards him enticingly.

James tried his best to concentrate. "But, Lily, how would I hide this from the Ministry?"

"Can't you take vacation?" she coaxed, kissing a trail of kisses along his jaw. He inhaled sharply.

"Lily," he moaned, feeling pleasure erupt inside him.

"Vacation?" she pressed, continuing her ministrations.

"Yeah, I can." He ran his fingers through her hair, pulling her towards him. "I'll take vacation. Now shut up. Focus on the task at hand."

She smiled against him. "Yes, Auror Potter."

A/N: Yes, you read it! They're going on a cruise! All of these people are going on a cruise to the Mediterranean! Next up is a little cruise prep, packing, itinerary, etc., and then we have dozens of glorious chapters of the cruise! It's going to be a ton of fun! Get ready for some BIG TIME FLUFF! :D