Runaway Fox
Chapter Sixteen: Welcome to San Francisco
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. ^_~
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Charlie went back to the hotel after a limo came to pick Hermione up and return her to her hotel. He waited for Harry to come back, but he didn't. Charlie decided to go to bed and fell asleep after some uneasiness. The next morning Simon came by with Hermione.
"Good morning," said Charlie jovially.
"Harry didn't come back, did he?" asked Simon, skipping the pleasantries.
"No, he didn't. What do we do now?" asked Charlie.
Hermione looked around her. She was feeling abandoned at that point because both her best friends had pulled a disappearing act. Why didn't they go and get Harry back right away? Now, she wasn't even sure that he was at Ron's place. What if something happened to him?
"I guess we can just take off for Ron's," said Simon musingly.
"That would be best. Come on, let's go," agreed Charlie.
"Um…guys," said Hermione as she went slightly pale. "We've got a problem."
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walked into the inn with the rest of Charlie's siblings. "Let's apparate out of here. They don't look happy," suggested Simon. Charlie didn't need to be told twice what to do, so he nodded in agreement; he really didn't like the look on his mother's face. They apparated out of the inn.
~*~
Harry was in one of the rooms of Ron's twenty bedroom home. He woke up to find that his clothes had been laundered during the evening by the house elves. His room was large and all the furniture inside was fine. The house was obliviously too big for one person and a few house elves. Harry wondered why Ron had such a large place for himself. It was five times the size of the Burrow and then some. It wasn't very cozy. It seemed cold and impressive. Just like Ron.
There came a knock at the door. It was little Luci. "Master's waiting for Harry Potter to come and eat," she said timidly when Harry opened the door.
"Thank you. I'll be ready soon," said Harry. It was early in the morning, but they had a lot to do today. After another fifteen minutes. Luci escorted Harry to the dining room where Ron was reading the paper waiting for him.
"Sorry about the long wait," said Harry.
"That's all right. I had an alarm clock to wake me up," said Ron with a smile as he looked up from his newspaper.
"I was just thinking about how big your house is," said Harry.
"Um…yeah. Thanks. I just had one of my people find a house for me. I was staying at the Scotts for a while and I needed move out," said Ron.
"You were staying with them until you physically recovered?" asked Harry.
"Yes. Mrs. Scott insisted. Simon gave up his room for me and took the living room sofa while I was staying there," said Ron.
Harry smiled a little bit. As much as he didn't want to admit it, Simon wasn't all that bad. He was the one who was taking care of Ron by watching his back. "I think it's time we head back to the Cove. Charlie is probably wondering where I went," suggested Harry.
"Okay. We'll take one of my cars over there," said Ron. "I have to show up at work later and don't think it would good if I just apparated in," he added with a slight smile.
One of his cars? How many cars did Ron have Harry wondered? They went to the garage. And Harry saw that Ron had two cars. One two seater and one four seater. He also had a motorcycle in the garage. "I was going to work on making it like Sirius' motorcycle. I was going to make it a flying motorcycle, but with work…I haven't had the time," said Ron.
"Isn't it legal?" asked Harry with a raised eyebrow.
"Well…I suppose so, but I'll use the same defense that my father used: I don't really have any intention of flying it. I just want to make fly," said Ron with a laugh. He walked over to the four seater.
Harry shook his head as they got into the car and drove off for the Cove.
~*~
Mr. Weasley walked up to the counter to ask about Harry and Charlie. "Well…I haven't seen Mr. Weasley come down and Mr. Potter never returned from the evening before. Shall I go see if Mr. Weasley is up?" asked the lady at the counter.
"Yes, please," said Mr. Weasley.
"Look at all the shops," said Ginny excitedly.
"There's a Quidditch shop. A broomstick display at the front," said Fred. He looked closer from the doorway. "It's got Ron's logos on it. They're the new broomsticks. It won't be long before they make their way to England."
"Whoa. Look at the shine on them," said George.
"They're beautiful," agreed Bill.
"Will you stop that? They're only broomsticks," said Ginny.
"Only broomsticks?!" said Fred and George in unison.
"It's not like you don't know the creator," said Percy evenly, but he wasn't very convincing because he was also looking at the broomstick.
"Boys! You'd think I'd be used to this by now," exclaimed Ginny as she shook her head.
"Charlie's not here," said Mrs. Weasley from behind them. They looked back in surprise.
"There was someone else at the counter a while ago and they said that two other people showed up and they apparated out," said Mr. Weasley.
"Was it Harry and Hermione?" asked Ginny.
"No, that's the strange thing. Harry left by himself, but didn't return. And the people who met with Charlie this morning were Hermione and Simon," said Mr. Weasley.
"Harry never came back?" asked Ginny worriedly.
"It's all right, Ginny. Maybe he went to go find Ron without them," said Percy reassuringly as he patted his sister's shoulder.
"Everything's fine," said a voice from behind them. It was Harry. "Harry!" exclaimed Ginny as she ran forward to give him a hug and kiss. He held her tightly for a moment. He finally had a chance to look at the serious looks on his in-laws' faces. They didn't look too happy right now.
"This is a surprise," said Harry quietly. "Where's Charlie?" he asked, hoping to divert some of the attention away from himself.
"We don't know," said Mrs. Weasley.
"I'm here," said Charlie as he stepped inside. There was no point in running, but Simon, Hermione, and he grabbed some breakfast. Hermione and Simon followed closely behind him. "Hi everyone!" declared Simon brightly because he knew he wasn't in as much trouble as the rest of them were. "Hey Harry," he said a little more subdued when he saw him.
"Hey Simon," said Harry back to him.
"Well, I guess everyone's here. Well…almost everyone. Harry, where have you been for the past couple of hours?" asked Hermione.
"Oh…well as much as it is a surprise to have you here," he said as he gestured to the Weasleys who just showed up. "I have an even better surprise for you all." Everyone focused their attention on Harry.
Someone else stepped through the doorway at the moment. "Welcome to San Francisco," said a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see someone in blue jeans, a long sleeved black shirt opened at the collar made out of cotton, and a jacket over it. He was wearing his sunglasses and had an ear cuff in his ear. He took off his sunglasses with a weak smile.
"Ron?" whispered Mrs. Weasley as her eyes began to tear up slightly. Mr. Weasley's jaw had dropped.
"Well, you really know how to make an entrance, Ron," said Simon as he shook his head with a smile. His comment broke the ice.
"Ron!" cried out Ginny as she ran passed her husband to give her brother a hug. His brothers' quickly regained their abilities to speak.
"Ron, it's been a while," said Bill as he came forward to hug Ron next. Percy held out his hand to shake Ron's firmly, but pulled him into an embrace. Fred and George hugged at the same time, catching him by surprise. Hermione said nothing as she pulled Simon out of the inn. "I want to stay!" said Simon in a childish voice.
"Let's give them a private moment," said Hermione as she practically dragged him out. "Oww! That's hurts! Mommy stop pulling my ear!" he cried out as Hermione pulled him by the ear. Harry started laughing. Hermione was shaking her head.
Ron walked up to his parents. He could see eye to eye with his father. His mother stood still. It was rather awkward for all of them, especially for Ron. "Congratulations on your new position at the Ministry," said Ron in a rather formal tone. He really didn't know how to approach them. Finally, Mr. Weasley embraced him. Ron clumsily hugged his father back as if he hadn't been hugged before. After a moment, Mr. Weasley released him, and his mother grabbed him by his wrists so that she could have a good look at her youngest son. "Well, you've grown a bit. How tall are you now?" she asked.
"Um…my driver's license says I'm 6'3"," said Ron.
"Yes, I suspected as much. You're tall than Bill," said Mrs. Weasley. Ron realized that it was really an awkward moment for her like it was for him. He hugged his mother at the moment.
"Aw…little Ronniekins is here," said Fred as he batted his eyes playfully.
"Ronniekins?!" called out Simon with a laugh as he fought his way back into the lobby. There were people staring at him because Hermione was holding him back. But, there weren't too many people going in and out of the inn at that early hour. "Let me go, Hermione!" he exclaimed. She did and he stumbled forward into the lobby.
"I should have used a full body bind curse on him," said Hermione with a sigh.
"I could have helped," said Harry as he smiled. Simon glared at both of them, he exclaimed, "Hey!"
"Simon, I'm taking the day off to be a tour guide. Do mind handling things for today?" asked Ron in a brisk business like manner.
"Sure. But…that means I'm late right now," he said as he looked at his watch.
"Then you'd better get moving," suggested Ron with a smile.
"Okay, boss. Whatever you say," said Simon. "See you all later." He apparated out of the inn and back to his car outside to get back to Warp Speed.
Ron looked at everyone else who was staring at him. Hermione noticed that Ron made no mention of her leaving. He hardly looked at her when she came in. "That's a cool earring, Ron," comment Bill.
"Thanks," said Ron softly as he touched it. Harry knew that there was something important about it. He notice that there was foreign writing on it. It had to be Japanese. "I think we'd better get moving," he said, clearing his throat.
"Yes, let's go. Why don't you show us the Cove first," suggested Harry, helping by changing the subject. He didn't want anyone to see that Ron was feeling some pain, but everyone seemed to notice.
"What's wrong, Ron?" asked his mother.
"I'm fine. Let's go," he said firmly as he turned his back and walked out. Everyone had no choice, but to follow him.
~*~
Ron showed them around the Cove for about two hours, but decided it was best to get out of the Cove. Harry knew why. People were staring at him. It was making him even more uncomfortable with his family around him. Harry noticed that the female population was staring at him with looks of adoration. Men knew him as the Quidditch player and the broomstick maker. "Why don't I show you something else? The Cove's a tourist trap," said Ron.
"Where?" asked Mr. Weasley.
"I'll show you my school. Well, what used to be my school," said Ron.
"Ellsinore?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"Sure, why not?" said Ron with a grin. "And I can show you some sights in Muggle San Francisco. Some of it is worth seeing. And there's a good restaurant you should try."
"I can't believe this. We came to San Francisco to see a school," said Fred with a groan.
"It's no ordinary school," said Hermione.
"That's true. You're the only Weasley that's ever been there," said Ginny to Ron. That was true. It wasn't like Hogwarts where there wasn't a stream of Weasley going through Ellsinore regularly.
"I'd love to see your school, Ron," said Mrs. Weasley, so everyone agreed with her. She was holding her son's arm most of the time as they looked around the shops. Fred and George bombarded Ron with questions about broomsticks which he answered promptly. Ginny usually got sick of hearing about such things after a while, but she didn't care because it was good to hear Ron's voice. She noticed that there was a slight accent that blended with the rest of his voice. Definitely Californian. Mr. Weasley was so pleased that Ron was going to take them through Muggle territory.
"Yes, you must be very well verse in Muggle things," said Mr. Weasley admiringly.
"It was required in Ellsinore. I had to take Muggle Studies through out my time there," said Ron with a shrug. He wasn't about to say anymore about his education. He wasn't going to say he was an Animagus or that he was a master at Transfigurations. The other emphasis that he could have taken and done as well in was Illusions, but there were too many people taking that as their emphasis. Ron didn't feel like saying anything much about himself.
They arrived at the lush grounds of Ellsinore University. The buildings were sprawled out into multiple corridors and courtyards. It looked more pleasant and stately than Hogwarts did. It wasn't built to be like an old gothic castle like the one at Hogwarts. Rather, it looked like a manor house. In certain areas, it brought to mind the palace of Versailles. Ron's guests gasped collective at the sight of it. "And this is Ellsinore University. My alma mater," he said with soft pride in his voice.
"You went here? It doesn't look like a school," said George.
"No, it doesn't. It's a university, George. Most Muggle universities are built like this. Spread out," said Ron. "Come I'll show you around." They followed him as he showed him the large fields where the Herbology classes went out to gather plants. There were four different libraries in the school: Muggle science, wizards, literature and humanities, and a library that held Muggle multimedia. The Wizards' library put the Hogwarts' one to shame easily. "How do you find anything?" asked Percy in wonder.
"It's easily just use the card boxes. They can't use computers in here, so it's the Dewey Decimal System," said Ron as he explained the cards in various long boxes. "The trick is not to put the books back. Just leave them on the tables and let the staff do it. A group of goblins do it here." He showed them some of the Potions and Muggle chemistry labs. He explained that either classes required about an hour and a half of lecturing and the labs were done separately for four hours at a time. Harry gave a pained look at the thought of being stuck at Potions for so long. The magic students had two labs a week as opposed to the Muggle students only having to suffer through one a week.
"Simon said that you were really good at Transfiguration. He said that's what your major in magic was," said Hermione quietly. Everyone turned and looked at her.
"Yes, that's true. The magic students are technically dual majors. They have a regular Muggle major and a Wizards' major which can be in Potions, Herbology, Illusions, Arithmancy, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Healing, Astronomy, Charms, and some more that I've forgotten," said Ron.
"Where did you find time to get a minor in Philosophy? Did you have a time turner?" asked Harry curiously.
"Nope. Just some fancy work with my schedule and studying in between Qudditch," answered Ron sheepishly.
"Mr. Weasley is full of surprises," said a voice of a person who had apparated into the library. The students there let out a gasp, some even made a move to get out of the library at that moment. She was a petite woman was short, straight jet black hair and almond shaped eyes. She was in a gray pantsuit and looked too young to be a professor, but she was the most powerful person in the entire school.
"Hello Chancellor Chan," said Ron.
"Hello Ron. Hello Minister and Mrs. Weasley. These must be your siblings, Ron. It's a pleasure to meet all of you," said the woman in a pleasant voice. "My name is Patricia Chan."
"You're the head the school. I read that in a report. It is nice to meet you, Professor Chan," said Mr. Weasley.
"If I had known that you were arriving, I would have invited you to come to my office. Please Ron introduce everyone," said Professor Chan with a smile.
"There are my brothers Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George. My sister Ginny. This is her husband Harry Potter who is also one of best friend from Hogwarts. And Hermione also one of my best friends from Hogwarts," said Ron gesturing to each one as he named off each one.
"I'm sure Ron's showing you the sights to see on campus. He was one of the best students I've ever seen come through here. Despite some problems. I trust that you will try not to incur any of your usually havoc and chaos, Ron?" asked Professor Chan with an arched eyebrow.
"I have no idea what you are referring to, Chancellor," said Ron with a smirk. He also conveyed a look of mild shock at the same time. Everyone turned and looked at him when he answered her back.
"Right. Good day to all you," said the Chancellor as she smiled and apparated. "What did she mean by 'havoc and chaos'?" asked Mrs. Weasley. She was using the same tone she used with Fred and George when they did something wrong.
"Nothing, Mum. Now, now. This isn't the time to go into things that happened here. She said I was a good student," said Ron with a winning smile. "Besides, adults attend this school. Their parents don't have to be informed of anything that happens It's the law. Privacy laws. Well, why don't we go to the Muggle classes?" He was saying all this as he walked off.
"Wait for us," said Charlie. They all followed Ron out to the classes. They walked into a Psychology class that was being held. The room was packed with students taking notes, talking amongst themselves, and some were sleeping. Mr. Weasley was fascinated by the what the professor was saying at the front about how the human brain worked. It was an advance class. There was a young woman with short blond hair with soft wavy curls in it. She had blue eyes like the clear water not far from where they were. Ron made eye contact with her. She smiled and waved back to him.
"Who is that?" asked Charlie.
"That's Jennifer Scott. She's Simon's younger sister. She's getting a degree in Psychology with a degree in Healing Magic. She specializing in the Care for Magical Creatures," said Ron. "Let's wait outside until the class lets up." He saw that his father was still observing the class, so was everyone else. Harry and Hermione joined Ron outside.
Harry was a little worried about Ron because as soon as they got outside, he was rubbing across his abdomen as if it hurt. Hermione placed her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away from her.
"Ron, what's wrong? Is this all happening too fast for you?" asked Hermione as she watched him. "Is there something wrong with your stomach?"
"Stop, Hermione. He's not ready to talk about it," said Harry. "Please," he added. Hermione looked back and forth between the both of them. She knew that Harry knew what was wrong because he was acting the way Simon did before.
"Fine," she whispered.
AN: Some fun stuff coming up. Imagine taking someone to a Japanese or any restaurant that forces he or she to use chopsticks for the first time. ^_~ And Hermione's going to get some answers soon along.
