Chapter 50: All Aboard

March 5, 1994

"James?" Lily called. "James, darling, are you ready?"

"Yeah," he called back. "Just give me a second."

"Okay." She was wearing a dark red sweater and baby blue jeans. She knew James loved her in casuals. Well, fourteen whole days of casuals were coming up.

"I'm ready!" he proclaimed, and he stepped out of the closet, wearing…

Blue robes.

"Uh, James?" she asked, trying not to laugh. "Robes? We can't wear robes on the Muggle plane."

But he wasn't listening. He was taking in her appearance instead.

"James," she tried again, blushing, "you can't wear robes on a Muggle plane."

He looked crestfallen. "You can't?"

"No, remember?" She walked over to where he was. "You have to wear Muggle clothes. Casuals. Like what I'm wearing."

"Oh." He made no effort to move.

"Come on, let's pick something for you." She guided him by the arm and took him back to the closet. "Now, what about this?" She selected a grey t-shirt and sweater from a stack of clothes and held them out to him. "And jeans."

He made a face. "Grey? But that's boring! And that's Remus's color."

She laughed. "His color is brown, remember? Come on, you can put this on. And then we'll be ready." It was a good thing they had already packed his clothes for the vacation beforehand (and together). Otherwise, they might have had to re-pack all of his clothes.

"Okay." He had discarded his robes and pulled on his jeans, and was pulling on the t-shirt. "Better?"

She smirked. "Don't worry, James. You'll have plenty of chances on the beach to show off your six-pack."

"Hey!" He pulled on his sweater indignantly.

She poked him in the chest. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

James took her hand and the two of them lugged their packed suitcases towards the outside of the castle, and then to the Hogsmeade village, where there were many other people gathered with their own luggage.

It was about eight in the night, but it was still quite dark. Lily could feel the energy of the entire sea of people around her; Dumbledore, wearing a bright red t-shirt and khaki shorts, looked pumped.

"We're going to wait fifteen more minutes, just for a few more people to get over here, and then we're going to board!" he announced.

James took Lily's hand, and the two of them walked over to where Remus and Tonks were standing, hand in hand, Tonks's hair a soft coral, both of them wearing sweaters and jeans, just like the two of them.

"Hey," James said. "Don't you two look cute."

Tonks blushed red while Remus muttered, "Shut up."

"Excited?" asked Lily, smiling.

"Definitely," replied Tonks.

"I guess," said Remus. "But I have no idea what we're going to do."

"Well, right now, you just have to worry about passing the plane," Lily muttered, while Tonks laughed. "The Hogwarts Express to Kings Cross, and then from there we're taking the Underground to the airport. And then we take an airplane to France. And then we hang out in France for a bit until we board the ship. That's the first part."

"First part?" asked James blankly. "That was like five."

Remus snorted. "I know. I feel the same way. I'm going to fail this first part anyway."

"Come on, Remus," Tonks said coaxingly, squeezing his arm. "It's not that bad."

"I know, but…" He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "It'll be weird to go on a vacation with my students."

Lily laughed. "Good point. Same here."

"And like… showing off your abs." James was grinning.

"Who was that directed to?" asked Remus, raising an eyebrow.

"No, just saying," James replied snidely.

Lily laughed again. "I hope the train gets here fast. We're going to be on the Hogwarts Express for hours."

"Plenty of fun," noted Tonks.

After a few more people joined them, they heard the huffing and puffing of the majestic Hogwarts Express approaching them. The train gave a burst of steam, and the doors opened, and people started boarding, Dumbledore checking to make sure nobody else was sneaking onto their vacation.

"Compartment together?" James asked while the three of them nodded, and they eventually made their way onto the train, finding an empty compartment, and throwing their luggage in.

"I'm sitting next to James," Remus called.

"That works," Lily said, and she sat down next to Tonks, across from Remus and James.

James yawned. "Should I be sleepy right now?"

"What kind of question is that?" asked Tonks, while Lily snorted.

"I mean, I guess you can be sleepy," Lily answered. "You'll have plenty of time to sleep on the plane."

"But I want to play on those screens!" protested James.

"They're probably not going to have them," Lily pointed out. "Because it's a really short flight."

"Oh. Okay, then. So we get to sleep on the plane? What if I get sleepy on the Hogwarts Express?"

"Then you sleep," Remus answered in a tired voice. "What else would you do?"

"You do want to make sure that you sleep at the right times, though," pointed out Tonks. "Because there's a one hour time difference, remember? And then another hour when we go into Italy. So we want to get our sleep patterns in swing so we don't become nocturnal on the cruise."

Lily laughed, while James looked confused.

"Time difference?"

"Oh, brother," moaned Lily.

This was going to be a very long ride.

"So, who do you like?" Dean asked.

Neville paled. "Er, nobody."

Dean tutted. "Right, and I'm Seamus. Come on, everyone likes someone."

Seamus coughed pointedly. "You are not me, and I do not like anyone."

"I know, that's the point," Dean sighed. "Okay, Neville, forget about it. Harry. Who do you like?"

"Er, nobody," Harry stammered, blushing red.

"Why does everyone say that?"

"Well Dean, who do you like?" countered Ron.

"Er, nobody. But that's not the point. The point is that…"

"You said it too!" exclaimed Neville. "I mean, all of us like people, but nobody wants to say who!"

"You just admitted that you do like someone," Harry pointed out.

"And I don't like anyone!" said Seamus in a disapproving tone.

Everyone seemed to believe him, for whatever reason.

"Yeah, but I don't like anyone either," said Ron.

"Sure you do, mate," said Harry, thumping him on the back. "Don't you like Lavender?"

"Oooh," chorused Dean and Seamus.

"I know who Dean likes, anyway," remarked Seamus.

"You do?!" shrieked Dean.

"YOU DO?!" shrieked Harry, Ron, and Neville. "TELL US!"

"Wait, wait, how do you even know if it's the right person?" Dean asked Seamus.

Seamus smirked. "I mean, it's obvious. There's only one girl in the picture. Unless I'm mistaken."

"Well then, tell me who I like." Dean crossed his arms over his chest.

"Fine." Seamus leaned over and whispered something in his ear, along with another snide comment that had Dean blushing red.

"Shut up," he muttered.

"I was right, though." Seamus looked smug.

"Shut up, Seamus."

"Who is it?" asked Ron excitedly. "Who does Dean like?"

"You guys probably don't even know her," replied Seamus offhandedly. "Don't worry about it. Maybe I'll tell you guys later." He turned to Harry. "Now, out with it, lover boy. Who's your crush?"

"Well, I don't think you guys know her either," Harry replied.

"Oh, rubbish," Ron said. "Everyone knows Cho Chang, she's the Ravenclaw Seeker!"

Harry's ears turned red while Seamus, Dean, and Neville gasped.

"Cho Chang?!"

"You like Cho?" Neville asked incredulously.

"Now you have to tell me who you like!" protested Harry. "It's not fair."

"Cho's dating Cedric, though," remarked Dean. "Aliya told me."

"She's what?" gasped Harry. "She's… dating someone?"

"Yep. Diggory boy," said Seamus in distaste. "And Dean, you practically just gave it away."

"Gave what away?" asked Neville, looking clueless, while Ron's eyes widened.

"Aliya? Like, that Indian girl Aliya?"

"You racist," muttered Dean. "Yeah. Hufflepuff sixth year Aliya."

"But she's tall!" cried Ron.

Seamus snorted. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Cho's dating Cedric?" Harry said blankly.

"Who's Cedric?" asked Neville.

"What does Aliya being tall have to do with anything?" Seamus asked.

"How does that make me a racist?" asked Ron.

"I don't like Aliya," persisted Dean, crossing his arms over his chest.

The trolley witch wisely walked past their compartment.

"Why are there like… fifty sticks in your pocket?" asked a security man at the airport, raising an eyebrow.

"I am a stick collector!" said Dumbledore genially. "I collect and craft sticks!"

The man was looking him up and down like he was crazy. Which he was, in all honesty.

"What are these sticks?" he asked.

"Sticks," Dumbledore responded dutifully. "Oh, great sticks! Sticks of… oh, of wood!"

The security guard blinked a few times. "Oh. Fine, then. Go ahead. But you make sure you don't poke anyone with these, sir. Or you'll be in serious trouble."

Dumbledore put a hand to his head. "Oh, no! I wouldn't want that! No serious trouble! I'll be good!"

"You'd better be," mumbled the guard, motioning for him to go forward in the line. "Next!"

Dumbledore grinned as the rest of his traveling crew filed through security and was scanned. Unfortunately, none of the rest of them got pulled aside like he did. Eventually, McGonagall made her way up to him with a disapproving glance.

"Did he buy it?" she hissed.

"Oh, yes," Dumbledore said happily. "Though I am afraid everyone is going to start to think I am senile now. That'll be a ding to my reputation."

She snorted. "What reputation?"

"What seats do you guys have?" Remus asked James and Lily.

"A24 and B24," responded Lily. "What about you guys?"

"C17 and D17," Remus told her. "So we're not that close to each other."

"Are the Hogwarts people the only people on this plane?" asked James sleepily.

Tonks shook her head. "No, I don't think so. There's like, a hundred seats on the plane."

"More like a hundred and fifty," noted Lily.

"I rounded down," replied Tonks impatiently. "And there's, like, seventy of us. So that means we're sharing the plane with plenty of others."

James nodded. "So that means we can't talk about wizarding stuff?"

"I mean, you can, but you should say it quietly," Remus said.

"Yeah," Tonks agreed, yawning. "In general, people don't talk loudly on planes. They all kind of do their stuff. Or sleep."

"Gate B9 is boarding now!" came an announcement.

"Oh, come on now, that's us!" announced Dumbledore. "Let's go, guys!"

There was a collective murmur as people started getting up and filing towards the gate.

"Okay, James, Lily," Remus said. "We'll see you guys in France."

"That sounded very heroic," James noted, grinning. "See you on the other side."

Remus turned to Tonks with a smile. "You ready?"

"Yep. Let's go."

It took several minutes, but everyone managed to find their spots on the plane (Professor Binns was floating inside someone's luggage right now). Remus and Tonks stowed their carry-on bags in the compartment above the seat and seated themselves.

"Why is this not working?" muttered Tonks under her breath, when the air hostess was patrolling the aisles and ordering everyone to get their seatbelts on. "How do you do this, Remus, any idea?"

"Wait, let me figure it out first," he mumbled. He, too, fiddled with the seatbelt until he heard a snap. "Okay, I think I got it. Take this thingy that protrudes, and stick it into that other thing. No, the other… Here, let me help you."

He reached over and did her seatbelt properly, his hand brushing over her slim waist as he did so, rather enjoying feeling her body squirm beneath him as he adjusted the buckle so it would be comfortable for her.

"There," he responded, a tiny bit breathlessly. "Done."

She leaned over to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you, Professor."

"Yeah," he said, feeling his face go warm. "No problem."

Tonks smiled and stifled a yawn. "Are we allowed to sleep yet?"

"Yeah, of course. When you feel sleepy, you sleep." Remus smirked.

"Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway. "Are you going to sleep too?"

"Yeah, probably. Just going to wait for takeoff."

"Cool. Me too."

After many more minutes, the plane started gathering speed, going down a runway, and taking off into the sky. It was a tiny bit uncomfortable at first, but Remus got used to it after a few minutes. In a while, a ding sounded, and a bunch of different lights were illuminated and un-illuminated above them.

"Have you ever been on a plane before?" he asked conversationally.

"Yeah, plenty of times," Tonks responded. "My dad's side of the family is completely Muggle, although one of my distant cousins on his side is a wizard. Anyway, a whole lot of them live in Portugal, and there's a few in America I've visited once or twice. But I haven't been on a plane in quite a few years now. Not since I was in sixth year or so."

He smiled. "That sounds fun. I haven't been on one of these, although I do know what they are. My family never had a lot of money, not since my parents spent almost everything they had trying to find… trying to find a cure."

Her eyes widened. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to brag, or anything. I didn't want to make you feel bad by… oh my gosh, I…"

"Dora," he said gently, cutting across her rambling. "It's okay. You didn't do anything. I brought it up on my own. Now, please don't blame yourself. Okay?"

She gave him a sideways hug (as best as you could when you were seatbelted and on a plane trying to hug the person next to you), planting another kiss on his cheek. "Okay. I'm still sorry, though."

"Don't be." He patted the top of her head awkwardly. "It's all okay. Do you mind if I use you for a pillow?"

Tonks gave him a wide smile. "Not at all. Wait, let's get this pokey thing out of the way." She lifted the armrest that separated them.

"Thanks. If I'm squishing you, or hurting you, or anything like th…"

She put a finger to his lips. "Shut up, Lupin. Come on. I'm all yours."

He leaned against her shoulder slowly, trying not to put too much pressure on her, but she made an impatient clicking noise and gently pulled his head onto her in a more comfortable position. She started stroking his hair softly, which felt so good Remus had to stop himself from moaning in delight.

"Aren't you going to sleep too?" he found himself asking, despite everything.

"I will," she replied. "Now, hush! Go to sleep!"

He smiled against her skin, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder.

"Love you too," she whispered, and within minutes, they were both asleep against each other.

The bird squawked.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Normally, these big humans would be sitting inside the plane. He would be able to see them through the windows.

But there was this huge person… sitting on top of the plane?

This human was a lot bigger than normal humans. The bird was confused. Why was he sitting on top of the plane instead of being inside it? He squawked again and flapped his wings to keep up.

"Yahoo!" shouted the person. "Blimey, this is fun!"

He was wearing aviator goggles and had a huge brown beard.

The bird rolled his eyes and squawked again.

"This is squishy," complained Binns.

"I know, right?" replied a voice.

He almost jumped out of his ghostly skin. "Huh? What? Who's there?"

"Me." The person sounded annoyed.

"Oh. Me. Hi, there. Are you squished in one of these things too?"

"Yep."

"Ah. Dumbledore made me stay inside or else people would see us."

"Oh," replied the voice. "Well, that's your problem. I can float around. I'm free!"

"Oh, that's nice," said Binns in a bored tone.

"Who are you, anyway?" the voice asked.

"Cuthbert."

"Oh. Cuthbert. Nice to meet you. I'm Myrtle."

"Ah, yes, Myrtle. You're in my second-year, I believe?" he made up.

"Oh, yes, you're the new Defense teacher, aren't you?" she asked.

"That's right," he answered. He couldn't remember which subject he taught, anyway. "Well, are you coming on the cruise as well?"

"Of course I am," she answered, sounding bored. "I'll see you there."

She seemed like fun, Binns thought to himself. He wanted to get to know her better. Maybe on the cruise.

"Hey, your seat is right in front of mine," whispered Cedric, realizing that Cho was sitting in the seat in front of him on the plane.

"Oh, is it?" asked Cho, looking back at him through the crack between the seats. "That's cool."

"Hey, do you think you could talk to the person who sits next to you?" Cedric asked. Then maybe I can switch with that person and we could sit next to each other."

"Not a bad idea. Are you allowed to do that?" Cho asked.

He shrugged. "We'll find out."

She laughed. "Okay, then."

"Who is in the seat next to you, anyway?" asked Cedric.

"Uh, not sure." She peered at the person next to her. "It's some Ravenclaw. I've seen him before. Perry?"

"Oh," said Cedric. "Okay, then. Perry's his name? Let me ask him."

He looked up and down the aisle to make sure that there were no air hostesses present. Then he reached around the seat and tapped the Ravenclaw named Perry. "Hey."

Perry turned around. "Yeah?"

"Hi, Perry. Would you mind switching…"

"Who ya talking to?" asked Perry, raising an eyebrow.

"You." Cedric repressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Perry, would you mind switching seats with me? Because I'd like to sit next to her." He pointed to Cho.

"I ain't no Perry!" Perry looked affronted.

"Oh? So your name isn't Perry?" Cedric was confused.

"No, it isn't. My name is Jerry."

Cedric looked over at Cho. "His name is Jerry?"

Jerry/Perry started laughing. "Just messing with you, mate. I'm Terry."

Perry? Jerry? Terry?

"Okay, then, let's switch." The -erry hopped out of his seat. Cedric moved his stuff, and sat down in the seat (which was very warm).

"Cool, mate," said -erry, and he took Cedric's spot.

Cedric turned to face Cho, who was trying hard not to laugh.

"What is his name, really?" he muttered.

"It's Terry," she told him, giggling. "Terry Boot."

"Hey! You knew who he was the entire time?"

"Of course I do, he's a Ravenclaw. He and I are practically friends."

Cedric scowled.

A/N: And finally, their vacation is underway! And it only gets better! Stay tuned, as they all adjust to the Muggle world, and... sleeping arrangements ;)

maia04: thank you so much for your reviews, and your lovely comment on HPFF! It was so sweet! :)

Thank you to clockstartnowfan and anonymous for your lovely guest reviews! And thank you to all of our other, wonderful reviewers who so faithfully read and review our story! :)