First a quick note to Krad Lokamion: I really don't know how many chapters I'll have...I've got the plot and everything developed; it's just a matter of putting it into words.... A rough estimate on chapters'd be about thirty if not a little more, 'cause a lot's gonna happen to poor Harry....
Chapter Five
Skiing
Harry walked along the ramp, expecting to see some enourmous plane with odds and ends sticking out everywhere, only to discover that the inside of the plane was very small; there were four seats on each wall of the plane, each facing inward, then a door on Harry's right that said "Pilot's Bunker: UNAUTHORIZED PERSONAL PLEASE DO NOT ENTER. Thank you."
Harry stood for a moment, watching as Fred and George seated themselves on the first chairs on the right in front of Harry, looking a tad disappointed, but amazed nevertheless. Harry was about to sit down next to Ron when a booming voice made him start.
"Please take a seat on either side of the...seat places," it said, sounding a bit confused. "Erm...please bare with me, I am a first-time pilot, but I ensure you that you will make it safely to Aust - er! Switzerland, that is!"
Harry's amazement was instantly replaced by anxiety, and a look at Ron's and Hermione's faces said they were feeling a bit frightened, too. Mr. Weasley sat down across from Ginny, who was on Hermione's left, looking rather green.
"I'm a little - er - afraid of heights," he explained, "so I had to use a spell that would calm me.... Side effects are rather drastic on one's stomach, I'm afraid..."
Harry grinned in spite of himself. Ron was looking a tad green, also, but Harry chose not to comment on it. Harry had never been in even a Muggle airplane, so he had had no idea what to expect, but he had thought it would've been a bit flashier than this. He was beginning to get rather board when the same booming voice came on again.
"Please fasten your safety belts and remain seated for the rest of the trip," it said clearly. "Thank you."
Harry took his safety belt in his hand (labled Wizards' United, as most of the other items on the plane were - Harry guessed it was the flight company) and quickly latched it to the -
"Ron, where's the end you strap the buckle to?" Harry asked, feeling around the left side of his seat furiously.
"What, yours doesn't have one?" Mr. Weasley asked curiously.
"Not that I can tell..."
"Wait, Harry! Here it is!" said Ron suddenly, tossing the end Harry was looking for at him. Harry caught it and strapped it on just as the plane began to hum (engines?).
"How does this thing work, anyhow?" Harry asked Mr. Weasley. Mr. Weasley's eyes glinted as he leaned forward a bit.
"Some kind of incantation to make something very heavy - like this once-was Muggle plane - fly," he said. "Millions of anti-Muggle spells are placed on it so they can't see it. What we'll actually do" - the plane began to move under them - "is fly up a couple hundred miles, then the entire plane Disapparates, and Apparates above our cabin so we can use a Portkey to enter..."
Hermione's eyes had began to widen as he said "Disapparate" and "Apparate," and were now the size of saucers.
"But - we're not allowed to Apparate until we've taken the test," she said, frowning a bit.
"Yes, but the Ministry cast special spells on these planes so that an incantation will allow it to Disapparate and then Apparate back again," said Mr. Weasley as the plane lifted off the ground and shook slightly. "And the pilots have been through months if not years of training on Apparition. If they mess up, they can go to Azkaban for life for murdering people, even if it is unintentional."
Hermione seemed satisfied with his explanation as the plane began to glide smoothly upward, almost pitched ninety degrees. The chairs began to slide around and formed two rows at the end furthest from the pilot's bunker. Harry jumped when this first began to happen; he hadn't expected this...
"Unfortunately," continued Mr. Weasley, "when the destination is as far away as Switzerland, even with Apparition, there's a lot of interference, so it takes several hours. I'd say about three for us; it's kind of like the Muggle movie Star Wars when they go into hyperspace."
"You've seen Star Wars?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Oh yes," said Mr. Weasley brightly as the chairs rocked slightly, "I love Muggle movies, and Star Wars is a classic. Even wizards a familiar with Kedis and Smitesabers!"
Hermione giggled.
"Jedis and Lightsabers," she corrected, continuing to giggle a bit.
"Oh yes! Of course!" said Mr. Weasley.
"We have now Apparated," said the booming voice. "You may move about until further notified."
The chairs slid back to their original spots, and Fred and George immediately unbuckled their seatbelts and walked around the room.
"Can we go through this door, Dad?" Fred asked, putting a hand on the doorknob of a door behind where the seats had been during the nosepitch. Harry could've sworn it wasn't there before.
"Oh yes, that's the lobby," said Mr. Weasley.
"Lobby?" repeated Harry, echoed by Hermione and Ron a moment later.
"Yes," said Mr. Weasley. "Food, and a few Muggle games that Hermione'll explain to you all."
Harry unbuckled his seatbelt and headed for the door, following Fred and George closely; Ron, Hermione, and Ginny followed him in suite. As they entered the room, Harry's eyes widened in shock, and he heard Hermione gasp behind him.
The room was about fifty feet long, and fifty feet wide; on the left there were tables filled with plates of food, in the middle there were a lot of Muggle things; Harry recognized an air hockey table, a ping-pong board, and a few arcade games. The right had two doors; a men's and women's bathroom on each side.
Harry noticed his mouth had been open and quickly closed it. He realized he shouldn't have been too surprised; last year at the Quidditch World Cup, the tents Mr. Weasley had had were shabby on the outside and huge on the inside. It was still rather amazing.
"Harry, d'you know how to play any of these games?" Ron asked, staring at the air hockey table in the middle of the room and grabbing one of the blockers.
Harry shook his head.
"Hermione?" Ron asked.
"Yes," said Hermione. "That's called air hockey. I don't know exactly how it works; I think there's air running across the board and that's what makes the puck move. The puck is that little piece of plastic right there. The object of the game is to get the puck into the little slot on the opposite side of the side you're on. The person with the most goals at the end of the game wins."
It took them quite a few games (one Sickle each), but after a while Ron finally could beat Hermione, and so could Harry. Hermione was actually quite good at air hockey, but Harry and Ron eventually got into a match against each other. After a thirty minute furious battle, the game came out tied, thirteen to thirteen. Hermione explained ping-pong to them next; she was definately better at this sport than either Harry or Ron, and Ron lost horribly to her. Harry also lost, making Hermione the champion at ping-pong. Three hours later, Ron was playing Pac Man (at which he was very good at, it appeared, but didn't see how Muggles could sit there for hours playing it), Harry was beating Ginny at air hockey, and Hermione was eating chocolate for a change (dentist parents, Harry thought, could be a bad thing).
"I scored!" Ginny screeched suddenly, causing everyone but Harry to jump; Harry glared in false anger at her across the table.
"Next goal wins," said Harry. The score was now five to five, and they had been playing for an hour. Their game came to an unfortunate end, however, as the booming voice told everyone to go back to their seats.
Harry buckled himself tightly into his seat.
"Ready the Portkey, Mr. Weasley," boomed the voice, "we're about to arrive."
Mr. Weasley took a banana out of his pocket as he strapped himself in.
"On three jump out of your seats and grab the Portkey," said the voice. "One...two.... THREE!"
Harry sprang from his seat and touched the Portkey, as did everyone else, and everything began to spin.
Harry's feet slammed into the ground and nearly gaveway under him, but he managed to keep himself standing. Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, and Ron were the only others to stay standing; the girls had fallen upon impact. As Harry stood and dusted himself off, he investigated the place he was at curiously. They were standing on a verandah, apparently; snow was falling softly around them, and there was a door in front of Harry. The porch was painted red, and there was smoke coming from the chimney, which was perched atop the roof.
"I've got the key right...here," said Mr. Weasley, withdrawing a key from his pocket. He put it in the door and let them in, Fred and George going first, then Ginny and Hermione, then Harry and Ron. The cabin wasn't as impressive as the airplane was, however; there were three little rooms with two beds in each upstairs, and one bed downstairs past the living room; the living room had a television in it, a fireplace, and a very worn sofa. The stairway upstairs was directly in front of the door, and behind it was a stairway to the basement; the basement was full of sofas and had three old non-operative televisions (two with their screens busted in, the other in complete shambles), and one operative one.
"Ron and Harry sleep in the room to the right, then left upstairs," said Mr. Weasley to them as they congregated in the living room, "Hermione and Ginny get the one to the right then right again, and Fred and George can have the lone room to the left."
They all nodded in agreement.
"Now, I've got to be in Bern for two days to help sort this out," said Mr. Weasley slowly, "so Fred and George are in charge while I'm gone.... Don't blow the house up, boys...it's the Switz Ministry's...."
Fred and George just grinned somewhat evilly. Mr. Weasley grinned shakily back, then Mr. Weasley turned back to the others.
"You can go skiing today, as it's ten o'clock right now," he said. "I told Ron where the ski slope is, so follow him. You can get there by broomstick as long as you STAY BELOW THE TREELINES AND DO NOT RISE UP ABOVE! You could get me and yourselves in a heap of trouble if you're seen, and I'm hesitant to let you go at all...but I don't want to let you two" - he gestured to Fred and George - "loose in Switzerland behind the wheel of a car. DO NOT RISE TOO HIGH! And if any of you can't fly well, ride with Harry or Ron - they're both naturals."
"What about us?!" demanded Fred.
"I know you can fly well, but..." He winked at Fred and George, which went unnoticed by Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Fred and George suddenly both grinned very widely, and Harry cast a weary glance at Ron, who returned it.
"Okay, here're three broomsticks, Fred's, George's, and Ron's," Mr. Weasley continued. "And Harry - your broomstick's upstairs with your other things."
Harry nodded, then raced upstairs to get his Firebolt. In Ron's and his room, one bed had Hedwig and Harry's huge trunk on it; the other had Ron's trunk and Pigwidgeon's cage. Harry raced to his trunk, opened it, and grabbed his Firebolt eagerly, once more ready to fly. He raced back downstairs to find the others were already outside; Mr. Weasley had Disapparated.
"Ready to go, Harry?" George asked.
Harry nodded fervently, then peered down for a closer look at the handles of Fred's, George's, and Ron's brooms.
"Nimbus Two Thousands?" Harry mouthed to Fred. Fred grinned and winked at Harry.
"Gin's gotta ride with you, mate," said George, gesturing to Harry, "and Hermione'll ride with Ron."
They nodded, Hermione and Ginny a little less enthusiastically; Harry wasn't sure whether it was at the idea of sharing a broom with Ron and he or if they had a fear of heights. He was guessing more the latter.
"All right boys and girls," said Fred, "climb aboard and follow" - he gasped loudly - "Ickle Ronniekins!"
Ron glared at him as he climbed aboard his broomstick. Hermione slowly got on behind him, looking quite terrified. Harry climbed on his Firebolt and waited for Ginny to get on behind him before taking off directly behind Fred; Ron had gone first, the Fred, then Harry, then George. They sped down the slopes before Ron darted into a small forest; Harry saw why he'd done so a few moments later - the path opened up, and cars were driving back and forth across a road. The trek through the forest was hard, even for Harry. As he darted in and out of trees, Ginny's hands flew around his waste tightly, and her grip was continually tightening to the point he had to say, "Breathe!" and she loosened her grip a bit. After a moment, Ron slowed down to a complete stop.
"We're to the end of the forest," he announced as the others landed next to him. "The slope is right ahead of us. Dad said they take wizard money, so Harry can pay for his and we'll pay for everyone else's."
"Hey!" said Hermione. "I've got wizard money!"
"How much?"
"Ten Galleons."
"That'll be enough, I think. Now, follow me!"
They walked out of the forest to find a white mountain lying before them. Hermione and Ginny gasped as Ron headed towards a large building, gesturing for them to leave their broomsticks there. Harry hastily complied, but he didn't like the thought of leaving his Firebolt behind. Ron led them to a set of glass doors and took them towards a section of the counter that said, "Wizards Only," and Harry guessed Muggles couldn't see it.
"So, watcha want?" the wizard at the counter asked, smiling at them.
"Um...we want to rent four skiis," said Ron.
"Gotcha," the wizard said. He turned and went into a back room, humming quietly to himself. He came back a moment later, holding eight long rods in sets of two. "That'll be...I think I'll give yeh a bit of a discount since yer my first customers t'day...fifteen Galleons fer yeh all!"
Ron's eyes widened, then he gave the wizard fifteen gold coins.
"What can I get fer you two?" the wizard asked. "I'm Dol Tallow, by the way."
"I want to rent a pair of skiis," said Hermione.
"Okie-dokie," said Dol Tallow, and he disappeared in the back room again, then came back with another pair of skiis. "Two Galleons."
Hermione gave him two Galleons, then Harry stepped up.
"And you'd be Harry Potter, right?" Dol asked curiously. Seeing Harry's shock, he continued, "One o' the best Divinators in the world, I am.... You lot go t' Hogwarts, right?"
They nodded.
"Never like Beauxbatons," said Dol. "Anyway, wha'd'you want, Mr. Potter?"
"What else d'you have other than skiis?" Harry asked, thinking hard.
"Well, we got snowboards - very popular with the kids 'round here, 'specially Muggles - and little skiis that're about two feet long each. Those're the ones I use 'cause they're like skating more 'n the others. I play hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Canada and America, by the way, this is just my summer job."
Harry thought for a moment.
"I'll try the little skiis," he said finally.
"All righty!" Dol disappeared once more, then reappeared with two little skiis in his hands. "Think they're called Mini-Skiis, but I don't know. I call 'em Baby Skiis, personally. Three Galleons."
Harry took out three Galleons and paid Dol.
"Thank yeh kindly, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Weasley children," he said. "Have fun and be careful. If yeh need help, I also give an instructory course for beginners."
"All right," said Ron, taking his skiis, "thanks, Mr. Tallow."
Dol nodded, then Harry grabbed his "Baby" skiis and followed Ron, Fred, George, Hermione, and Ginny out of the building through the backdoor. The slopes were slicked with white; it appeared Harry had been right when he'd thought about it snowing. He didn't know if it was just the weather, or if some wizard had enchanted the snow to fall.
"Okay," said Ron, "now we take this thingy - ski lift, I think - to the top of the mountain, then we ski back down. Me and Hermione'll go first."
As they walked towards another booth labled "Wizards," Harry heard Hermione nagging Ron about his grammar.
"It's Hermione and I!"
Harry grinned as they spoke to the witch at the booth, then got on a single red chair a moment later.
"Harry, you and Gin go next," said Fred, grinning evilly.
Harry clutched his skiis tightly in his arms as they went over to the witch in charge of the ski lift.
"How're you this fine day?" she asked brightly. "Hold on a moment while the next chair comes around."
They waited for a moment, until a bright orange chair flew around.
"All right, just stand there and let it pick you up off your feet," said the witch. "Be careful."
Harry stood on Ginny's right as the chair swooped him off his feet, and they began to rise. Harry peered down at the snow curiously. He'd always been around snow at Hogwarts, but he still liked it a lot, mainly because the Dursleys had never let him play in snow before.
Ginny suddenly shivered next to him.
"Afraid of heights?" he asked curiously, glancing at her briefly.
"Yes, a little," said Ginny, blushing. But for once, Harry thought that it was because she was afraid of heights that she was blushing; usually when he talked to her she blushed. For some reason, a little splotch of anger welled in him.
"Have you ever been skiing before?" Ginny asked.
Harry let out a hollow laugh.
"With the Dursleys? Yeah right. They wouldn't so much as let me out of the house."
Ginny nodded.
They were finally nearing the summit a moment later, and Harry watched Ron and Hermione click their skiis on. Harry and Ginny waited a moment more before a wizard helped them out of the ski lift when they reached the top.
"Now," said the wizard once Fred and George were there, "there's the beginner course." He pointed towards the slope on the far right. "The intermediate, and the expert course - Hippogriff's Rampage. Be careful."
Harry clicked his minute skiis on, then headed towards the far right course.
"C'mon Harry," said Ron, beckoning him over to the middle course, "how hard could this one be?"
"Very," stated Harry. "I'm going down the beginner at first. I don't feel like having a broken nose before Quidditch starts..."
Ron nodded slowly, then slid over to the beginner's course. The path looked pretty straight to Harry, but with lots of trees.
"Here goes nothing," muttered Harry, pushing off with his right foot. He started down the fairly steep slope, gaining speed as he went. He turned his skiis sideways a bit, slowing himself. Wow, he thought, this is fun. He continued down the slope, bypassing the ramps, until he finally got enough courage to try one...hey, he reasoned, what's a broken nose? He hit the ramp, flew through the air a few feet, then landed perfectly on his feet and skidded to a stop.
He turned to watch Ron come down the slope. Ron was having a bit of a rougher time, it appeared; he was skidding down on his bottom most of the way. He got to the bottom a moment later, and finally picked himself up, rubbing his bottom.
"Ow," he muttered. "You were good."
"Thanks," said Harry.
Hermione made it down very slowly, but remained on her feet and did not try any ramps, as Ron hadn't. Ginny came down a little faster, and made it fine, too. Fred and George barreled down the mountain as fast as they could, hitting every ramp along the way. When they reached Harry and the others, they were covered in snow and laughing their heads off at each other.
"Good run, Harry!" George said through his laughter. "We tried a few ramps...didn't quite...make it...did we...?"
Harry laughed. Pretty soon they were heading back up the mountain to give it another go, Harry and Ron in tow.
By the end of the day, Harry was wet from head to toe, red from the cold, and, all in all, a very happy wizard. Ron had gotten progressively better, and had even tried a ramp or two. He'd made it on both, but his bottom was very sore by the end of the day. Hermione and Ginny got their speed up, also, and Ginny tried a ramp ("I told you not to, Gin!"). Fred and George didn't get better; in fact, they only got worse, but laughed harder and harder about it each time. Harry was wondering about their sanity as they turned their skiis in.
"See yeh, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Weasleys," said Dol as they left. "Hope yeh had fun!"
They flew back to the cabin, Harry and Ginny laughing and chatting along the way. When they reached the cabin, they were all ready for a long night's rest.... And Fred had mentioned something about a pillow fight tomorrow...
Chapter Five
Skiing
Harry walked along the ramp, expecting to see some enourmous plane with odds and ends sticking out everywhere, only to discover that the inside of the plane was very small; there were four seats on each wall of the plane, each facing inward, then a door on Harry's right that said "Pilot's Bunker: UNAUTHORIZED PERSONAL PLEASE DO NOT ENTER. Thank you."
Harry stood for a moment, watching as Fred and George seated themselves on the first chairs on the right in front of Harry, looking a tad disappointed, but amazed nevertheless. Harry was about to sit down next to Ron when a booming voice made him start.
"Please take a seat on either side of the...seat places," it said, sounding a bit confused. "Erm...please bare with me, I am a first-time pilot, but I ensure you that you will make it safely to Aust - er! Switzerland, that is!"
Harry's amazement was instantly replaced by anxiety, and a look at Ron's and Hermione's faces said they were feeling a bit frightened, too. Mr. Weasley sat down across from Ginny, who was on Hermione's left, looking rather green.
"I'm a little - er - afraid of heights," he explained, "so I had to use a spell that would calm me.... Side effects are rather drastic on one's stomach, I'm afraid..."
Harry grinned in spite of himself. Ron was looking a tad green, also, but Harry chose not to comment on it. Harry had never been in even a Muggle airplane, so he had had no idea what to expect, but he had thought it would've been a bit flashier than this. He was beginning to get rather board when the same booming voice came on again.
"Please fasten your safety belts and remain seated for the rest of the trip," it said clearly. "Thank you."
Harry took his safety belt in his hand (labled Wizards' United, as most of the other items on the plane were - Harry guessed it was the flight company) and quickly latched it to the -
"Ron, where's the end you strap the buckle to?" Harry asked, feeling around the left side of his seat furiously.
"What, yours doesn't have one?" Mr. Weasley asked curiously.
"Not that I can tell..."
"Wait, Harry! Here it is!" said Ron suddenly, tossing the end Harry was looking for at him. Harry caught it and strapped it on just as the plane began to hum (engines?).
"How does this thing work, anyhow?" Harry asked Mr. Weasley. Mr. Weasley's eyes glinted as he leaned forward a bit.
"Some kind of incantation to make something very heavy - like this once-was Muggle plane - fly," he said. "Millions of anti-Muggle spells are placed on it so they can't see it. What we'll actually do" - the plane began to move under them - "is fly up a couple hundred miles, then the entire plane Disapparates, and Apparates above our cabin so we can use a Portkey to enter..."
Hermione's eyes had began to widen as he said "Disapparate" and "Apparate," and were now the size of saucers.
"But - we're not allowed to Apparate until we've taken the test," she said, frowning a bit.
"Yes, but the Ministry cast special spells on these planes so that an incantation will allow it to Disapparate and then Apparate back again," said Mr. Weasley as the plane lifted off the ground and shook slightly. "And the pilots have been through months if not years of training on Apparition. If they mess up, they can go to Azkaban for life for murdering people, even if it is unintentional."
Hermione seemed satisfied with his explanation as the plane began to glide smoothly upward, almost pitched ninety degrees. The chairs began to slide around and formed two rows at the end furthest from the pilot's bunker. Harry jumped when this first began to happen; he hadn't expected this...
"Unfortunately," continued Mr. Weasley, "when the destination is as far away as Switzerland, even with Apparition, there's a lot of interference, so it takes several hours. I'd say about three for us; it's kind of like the Muggle movie Star Wars when they go into hyperspace."
"You've seen Star Wars?" Hermione asked curiously.
"Oh yes," said Mr. Weasley brightly as the chairs rocked slightly, "I love Muggle movies, and Star Wars is a classic. Even wizards a familiar with Kedis and Smitesabers!"
Hermione giggled.
"Jedis and Lightsabers," she corrected, continuing to giggle a bit.
"Oh yes! Of course!" said Mr. Weasley.
"We have now Apparated," said the booming voice. "You may move about until further notified."
The chairs slid back to their original spots, and Fred and George immediately unbuckled their seatbelts and walked around the room.
"Can we go through this door, Dad?" Fred asked, putting a hand on the doorknob of a door behind where the seats had been during the nosepitch. Harry could've sworn it wasn't there before.
"Oh yes, that's the lobby," said Mr. Weasley.
"Lobby?" repeated Harry, echoed by Hermione and Ron a moment later.
"Yes," said Mr. Weasley. "Food, and a few Muggle games that Hermione'll explain to you all."
Harry unbuckled his seatbelt and headed for the door, following Fred and George closely; Ron, Hermione, and Ginny followed him in suite. As they entered the room, Harry's eyes widened in shock, and he heard Hermione gasp behind him.
The room was about fifty feet long, and fifty feet wide; on the left there were tables filled with plates of food, in the middle there were a lot of Muggle things; Harry recognized an air hockey table, a ping-pong board, and a few arcade games. The right had two doors; a men's and women's bathroom on each side.
Harry noticed his mouth had been open and quickly closed it. He realized he shouldn't have been too surprised; last year at the Quidditch World Cup, the tents Mr. Weasley had had were shabby on the outside and huge on the inside. It was still rather amazing.
"Harry, d'you know how to play any of these games?" Ron asked, staring at the air hockey table in the middle of the room and grabbing one of the blockers.
Harry shook his head.
"Hermione?" Ron asked.
"Yes," said Hermione. "That's called air hockey. I don't know exactly how it works; I think there's air running across the board and that's what makes the puck move. The puck is that little piece of plastic right there. The object of the game is to get the puck into the little slot on the opposite side of the side you're on. The person with the most goals at the end of the game wins."
It took them quite a few games (one Sickle each), but after a while Ron finally could beat Hermione, and so could Harry. Hermione was actually quite good at air hockey, but Harry and Ron eventually got into a match against each other. After a thirty minute furious battle, the game came out tied, thirteen to thirteen. Hermione explained ping-pong to them next; she was definately better at this sport than either Harry or Ron, and Ron lost horribly to her. Harry also lost, making Hermione the champion at ping-pong. Three hours later, Ron was playing Pac Man (at which he was very good at, it appeared, but didn't see how Muggles could sit there for hours playing it), Harry was beating Ginny at air hockey, and Hermione was eating chocolate for a change (dentist parents, Harry thought, could be a bad thing).
"I scored!" Ginny screeched suddenly, causing everyone but Harry to jump; Harry glared in false anger at her across the table.
"Next goal wins," said Harry. The score was now five to five, and they had been playing for an hour. Their game came to an unfortunate end, however, as the booming voice told everyone to go back to their seats.
Harry buckled himself tightly into his seat.
"Ready the Portkey, Mr. Weasley," boomed the voice, "we're about to arrive."
Mr. Weasley took a banana out of his pocket as he strapped himself in.
"On three jump out of your seats and grab the Portkey," said the voice. "One...two.... THREE!"
Harry sprang from his seat and touched the Portkey, as did everyone else, and everything began to spin.
Harry's feet slammed into the ground and nearly gaveway under him, but he managed to keep himself standing. Mr. Weasley, Fred, George, and Ron were the only others to stay standing; the girls had fallen upon impact. As Harry stood and dusted himself off, he investigated the place he was at curiously. They were standing on a verandah, apparently; snow was falling softly around them, and there was a door in front of Harry. The porch was painted red, and there was smoke coming from the chimney, which was perched atop the roof.
"I've got the key right...here," said Mr. Weasley, withdrawing a key from his pocket. He put it in the door and let them in, Fred and George going first, then Ginny and Hermione, then Harry and Ron. The cabin wasn't as impressive as the airplane was, however; there were three little rooms with two beds in each upstairs, and one bed downstairs past the living room; the living room had a television in it, a fireplace, and a very worn sofa. The stairway upstairs was directly in front of the door, and behind it was a stairway to the basement; the basement was full of sofas and had three old non-operative televisions (two with their screens busted in, the other in complete shambles), and one operative one.
"Ron and Harry sleep in the room to the right, then left upstairs," said Mr. Weasley to them as they congregated in the living room, "Hermione and Ginny get the one to the right then right again, and Fred and George can have the lone room to the left."
They all nodded in agreement.
"Now, I've got to be in Bern for two days to help sort this out," said Mr. Weasley slowly, "so Fred and George are in charge while I'm gone.... Don't blow the house up, boys...it's the Switz Ministry's...."
Fred and George just grinned somewhat evilly. Mr. Weasley grinned shakily back, then Mr. Weasley turned back to the others.
"You can go skiing today, as it's ten o'clock right now," he said. "I told Ron where the ski slope is, so follow him. You can get there by broomstick as long as you STAY BELOW THE TREELINES AND DO NOT RISE UP ABOVE! You could get me and yourselves in a heap of trouble if you're seen, and I'm hesitant to let you go at all...but I don't want to let you two" - he gestured to Fred and George - "loose in Switzerland behind the wheel of a car. DO NOT RISE TOO HIGH! And if any of you can't fly well, ride with Harry or Ron - they're both naturals."
"What about us?!" demanded Fred.
"I know you can fly well, but..." He winked at Fred and George, which went unnoticed by Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Fred and George suddenly both grinned very widely, and Harry cast a weary glance at Ron, who returned it.
"Okay, here're three broomsticks, Fred's, George's, and Ron's," Mr. Weasley continued. "And Harry - your broomstick's upstairs with your other things."
Harry nodded, then raced upstairs to get his Firebolt. In Ron's and his room, one bed had Hedwig and Harry's huge trunk on it; the other had Ron's trunk and Pigwidgeon's cage. Harry raced to his trunk, opened it, and grabbed his Firebolt eagerly, once more ready to fly. He raced back downstairs to find the others were already outside; Mr. Weasley had Disapparated.
"Ready to go, Harry?" George asked.
Harry nodded fervently, then peered down for a closer look at the handles of Fred's, George's, and Ron's brooms.
"Nimbus Two Thousands?" Harry mouthed to Fred. Fred grinned and winked at Harry.
"Gin's gotta ride with you, mate," said George, gesturing to Harry, "and Hermione'll ride with Ron."
They nodded, Hermione and Ginny a little less enthusiastically; Harry wasn't sure whether it was at the idea of sharing a broom with Ron and he or if they had a fear of heights. He was guessing more the latter.
"All right boys and girls," said Fred, "climb aboard and follow" - he gasped loudly - "Ickle Ronniekins!"
Ron glared at him as he climbed aboard his broomstick. Hermione slowly got on behind him, looking quite terrified. Harry climbed on his Firebolt and waited for Ginny to get on behind him before taking off directly behind Fred; Ron had gone first, the Fred, then Harry, then George. They sped down the slopes before Ron darted into a small forest; Harry saw why he'd done so a few moments later - the path opened up, and cars were driving back and forth across a road. The trek through the forest was hard, even for Harry. As he darted in and out of trees, Ginny's hands flew around his waste tightly, and her grip was continually tightening to the point he had to say, "Breathe!" and she loosened her grip a bit. After a moment, Ron slowed down to a complete stop.
"We're to the end of the forest," he announced as the others landed next to him. "The slope is right ahead of us. Dad said they take wizard money, so Harry can pay for his and we'll pay for everyone else's."
"Hey!" said Hermione. "I've got wizard money!"
"How much?"
"Ten Galleons."
"That'll be enough, I think. Now, follow me!"
They walked out of the forest to find a white mountain lying before them. Hermione and Ginny gasped as Ron headed towards a large building, gesturing for them to leave their broomsticks there. Harry hastily complied, but he didn't like the thought of leaving his Firebolt behind. Ron led them to a set of glass doors and took them towards a section of the counter that said, "Wizards Only," and Harry guessed Muggles couldn't see it.
"So, watcha want?" the wizard at the counter asked, smiling at them.
"Um...we want to rent four skiis," said Ron.
"Gotcha," the wizard said. He turned and went into a back room, humming quietly to himself. He came back a moment later, holding eight long rods in sets of two. "That'll be...I think I'll give yeh a bit of a discount since yer my first customers t'day...fifteen Galleons fer yeh all!"
Ron's eyes widened, then he gave the wizard fifteen gold coins.
"What can I get fer you two?" the wizard asked. "I'm Dol Tallow, by the way."
"I want to rent a pair of skiis," said Hermione.
"Okie-dokie," said Dol Tallow, and he disappeared in the back room again, then came back with another pair of skiis. "Two Galleons."
Hermione gave him two Galleons, then Harry stepped up.
"And you'd be Harry Potter, right?" Dol asked curiously. Seeing Harry's shock, he continued, "One o' the best Divinators in the world, I am.... You lot go t' Hogwarts, right?"
They nodded.
"Never like Beauxbatons," said Dol. "Anyway, wha'd'you want, Mr. Potter?"
"What else d'you have other than skiis?" Harry asked, thinking hard.
"Well, we got snowboards - very popular with the kids 'round here, 'specially Muggles - and little skiis that're about two feet long each. Those're the ones I use 'cause they're like skating more 'n the others. I play hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs in Canada and America, by the way, this is just my summer job."
Harry thought for a moment.
"I'll try the little skiis," he said finally.
"All righty!" Dol disappeared once more, then reappeared with two little skiis in his hands. "Think they're called Mini-Skiis, but I don't know. I call 'em Baby Skiis, personally. Three Galleons."
Harry took out three Galleons and paid Dol.
"Thank yeh kindly, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Weasley children," he said. "Have fun and be careful. If yeh need help, I also give an instructory course for beginners."
"All right," said Ron, taking his skiis, "thanks, Mr. Tallow."
Dol nodded, then Harry grabbed his "Baby" skiis and followed Ron, Fred, George, Hermione, and Ginny out of the building through the backdoor. The slopes were slicked with white; it appeared Harry had been right when he'd thought about it snowing. He didn't know if it was just the weather, or if some wizard had enchanted the snow to fall.
"Okay," said Ron, "now we take this thingy - ski lift, I think - to the top of the mountain, then we ski back down. Me and Hermione'll go first."
As they walked towards another booth labled "Wizards," Harry heard Hermione nagging Ron about his grammar.
"It's Hermione and I!"
Harry grinned as they spoke to the witch at the booth, then got on a single red chair a moment later.
"Harry, you and Gin go next," said Fred, grinning evilly.
Harry clutched his skiis tightly in his arms as they went over to the witch in charge of the ski lift.
"How're you this fine day?" she asked brightly. "Hold on a moment while the next chair comes around."
They waited for a moment, until a bright orange chair flew around.
"All right, just stand there and let it pick you up off your feet," said the witch. "Be careful."
Harry stood on Ginny's right as the chair swooped him off his feet, and they began to rise. Harry peered down at the snow curiously. He'd always been around snow at Hogwarts, but he still liked it a lot, mainly because the Dursleys had never let him play in snow before.
Ginny suddenly shivered next to him.
"Afraid of heights?" he asked curiously, glancing at her briefly.
"Yes, a little," said Ginny, blushing. But for once, Harry thought that it was because she was afraid of heights that she was blushing; usually when he talked to her she blushed. For some reason, a little splotch of anger welled in him.
"Have you ever been skiing before?" Ginny asked.
Harry let out a hollow laugh.
"With the Dursleys? Yeah right. They wouldn't so much as let me out of the house."
Ginny nodded.
They were finally nearing the summit a moment later, and Harry watched Ron and Hermione click their skiis on. Harry and Ginny waited a moment more before a wizard helped them out of the ski lift when they reached the top.
"Now," said the wizard once Fred and George were there, "there's the beginner course." He pointed towards the slope on the far right. "The intermediate, and the expert course - Hippogriff's Rampage. Be careful."
Harry clicked his minute skiis on, then headed towards the far right course.
"C'mon Harry," said Ron, beckoning him over to the middle course, "how hard could this one be?"
"Very," stated Harry. "I'm going down the beginner at first. I don't feel like having a broken nose before Quidditch starts..."
Ron nodded slowly, then slid over to the beginner's course. The path looked pretty straight to Harry, but with lots of trees.
"Here goes nothing," muttered Harry, pushing off with his right foot. He started down the fairly steep slope, gaining speed as he went. He turned his skiis sideways a bit, slowing himself. Wow, he thought, this is fun. He continued down the slope, bypassing the ramps, until he finally got enough courage to try one...hey, he reasoned, what's a broken nose? He hit the ramp, flew through the air a few feet, then landed perfectly on his feet and skidded to a stop.
He turned to watch Ron come down the slope. Ron was having a bit of a rougher time, it appeared; he was skidding down on his bottom most of the way. He got to the bottom a moment later, and finally picked himself up, rubbing his bottom.
"Ow," he muttered. "You were good."
"Thanks," said Harry.
Hermione made it down very slowly, but remained on her feet and did not try any ramps, as Ron hadn't. Ginny came down a little faster, and made it fine, too. Fred and George barreled down the mountain as fast as they could, hitting every ramp along the way. When they reached Harry and the others, they were covered in snow and laughing their heads off at each other.
"Good run, Harry!" George said through his laughter. "We tried a few ramps...didn't quite...make it...did we...?"
Harry laughed. Pretty soon they were heading back up the mountain to give it another go, Harry and Ron in tow.
By the end of the day, Harry was wet from head to toe, red from the cold, and, all in all, a very happy wizard. Ron had gotten progressively better, and had even tried a ramp or two. He'd made it on both, but his bottom was very sore by the end of the day. Hermione and Ginny got their speed up, also, and Ginny tried a ramp ("I told you not to, Gin!"). Fred and George didn't get better; in fact, they only got worse, but laughed harder and harder about it each time. Harry was wondering about their sanity as they turned their skiis in.
"See yeh, Mr. Potter, Miss Granger, Weasleys," said Dol as they left. "Hope yeh had fun!"
They flew back to the cabin, Harry and Ginny laughing and chatting along the way. When they reached the cabin, they were all ready for a long night's rest.... And Fred had mentioned something about a pillow fight tomorrow...