Ginny hurried down the path, biting her lip in worry. She remembered seeing Hermione and Sephie helping their mother support Remus into Hogwarts after a particularly bad night. She had no idea what constituted a bad or good night, but...
She stifled a scream as she saw Jeremy. He was practically unconscious, bleeding in a million places. ~I guess this would be a bad night,~ she thought sourly, pulling her wand. She knelt next to him.
"Jeremy?"
He moaned quietly and tried to move.
"No! Don't move!" she barked. He stopped. She laid her wand against several of the worst cuts, murmuring healing spells as she sealed the vessels and then worked on his skin. She watched with satisfaction as his skin turned back to its normal color. His eyes flew open.
"What the hell-" He froze as he saw Ginny, wand still extended over his left shoulder.
"What are YOU doing here?" he asked grouchily. Ginny flipped her hair over her shoulder, insulted.
"I just saved your life, you prat!" she snarled, rising to her feet to effectively stalk away. She didn't even see Jeremy move until his hand was on her shoulder, turning her around.
"G-Ginny... I'm sorry. I mean, I'm not used to people... HELPING me."
She smiled softly. "Get used to it."
He blinked. "Huh?"
She rolled her eyes. "Sooner or later you would have found SOMEONE who wasn't as prejudiced as 95% of the wizarding world... you're just lucky it was sooner, Walters." She placed her hands on her hips. "You could have died last night."
He bit back the obvious retort and nodded. "Thank you," he answered clearly, looking her square in the eye.
~*~ NYC ~*~
Mariah came downstairs, yawning. She had spent the night in Hermione's room, learning about everyone. For someone so obviously engulfed in books, she was a very good judge of character, and had an excellent memory... unfortunately for Ron, of course.
~That boy is going to have problems if he keeps acting up, because Hermione has so much dirt on him it's not even funny,~ she thought, halting at the bottom of the stairs in surprise. Though it was only 5:30 in the morning, Harry Potter was seated at the table with Janelle, eating toast and eggs.
"Good morning, Mariah," Harry said cheerfully, noticing her.
"G'Morning, Harry... Janelle," she nodded.
"Morning, Mariah, dear... eggs?"
"Overeasy, please," she laughed as she sat herself across from Harry. The plate in front of her was suddenly filled with eggs overeasy with a side of hash browns and toast.
"Thank you," she said, immediately digging in.
"Sleep well?" Janelle asked her.
She nodded vigorously, swallowing before saying, "Oh, wonderful, thanks." Then she muttered, "After I WENT to sleep, that is."
Harry must have heard her, because he was currently muffling a laugh in his napkin.
"So... what are your plans for the day?" Janelle asked them.
"Nothing," they both answered simultaniously.
Janelle laughed as they looked at each other in surprise. "I have a marvelous idea! I think you two should take the bus into the city."
"Manhattan?" Harry's interest perked up.
"Of course. Mariah's been there; she can show you around.... besides, you two seem the most placid of this bunch... not that that's saying much... so I think it'd be good for you to be out of the house while the rest of them are settling in."
"I think it's a great idea!" said Harry, surprising Mariah. She had thought he would prefer to hang out with his friends.
"Mariah?"
"Sure!" she managed, going back to her food.
~*~
They climbed on the bus in full wizard regalia; Janelle explained to them the reason for lax security.
"Please," she said, rolling her eyes. "Like Manhattan's not already full of weirdly dressed people. No one will even NOTICE, much less care."
~*~ Australia ~*~
Ginny had been meeting Jeremy secretly for about two weeks now. The two talked... a lot. He told her about his lycanthropy, and she told him about being the youngest sibling of a family of nine, with six brothers. He teased her about being a Brit, and she teased him about being an Aussie.
"Jeremy," she asked one day, "would you go to school... if you could?"
"Yes," he answered distantly. "I think I would love it. Why?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh," she shrugged, "Just asking."
He knew that look by now... that look that said she was planning something.
"Gin..."
"Sorry, Jeremy. Stray thoughts," she said. Suddenly she heard footsteps. Apparently Jeremy heard them, too.
"Ginny!"
There stood Dari with her boyfriend, Barry.
"What did I tell you?" she yelled furiously. Jeremy placed himself slightly in front of Ginny, although he knew she was quite capable of taking care of herself.
"I don't CARE!" she screamed back. "I DON'T!"
"Well, I DO! HOW DO YOU THINK IT MAKES ME LOOK, HAVING MY SLUT COUSIN WHORING WITH A WEREWOLF?"
"I wonder how long you would stay in Uncle Robert's house if he found out you had an ABORTION? Who's the slut now, Dari?"
"You bitch," growled Barry, stepping towards her. Jeremy started forward, but Ginny caught him by the shirt.
"Oh, no. This is MY pleasure," she said calmly, though he saw her eyes snapping.
"Bring it, bitch," she laughed as Barry threw an infuriated punch she easily ducked.
She let loose with a well placed toe kick. Harder and she would have disembowled him, but she wasn't a murderer. She simply knocked the wind out of him, but he got in one shot before he went down, splitting her lip.
Dari screamed and ran to her boyfriend's side as he groaned in pain. Jeremy quickly took Ginny's hand and took her to the clearing where they had first met.
"You ok?" he asked gently as he ripped the bottom portion of his shirt off and dabbed her lip with it.
"Never better," she grinned... she didn't feel the pain. Living with six brothers made a girl tough.
"I'm sorry... about what they said to you," he said awkwardly.
"And I'm sorry for Dari. Again. But... you know what?"
"What?"
"I wish... that I had been..." She didn't finish, ~... your girlfriend, so I could have been damn proud of it...~ but simply let the tears gather behind her eyelids.
He used two fingers to lift her chin. "Ginny."
She refused to look at him. He sighed and lowered his lips to hers in a gentle kiss... considering her lips was still busted.
Her eyes flew open, then fluttered shut. They kissed for another minute, then he let her go.
"I'm sor-"
She held up a hand, eyes twinkling. "Don't finish that sentence unless you mean it."
He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Good," she smiled... then leaned in to kiss him again.
~*~ NYC ~*~
Harry and Mariah walked back from the bus stop slowly, dicussing their day. As they drew closer to the house, they heard George shout, "Are you girls READY YET?!"
"George, if you call us one more time, I'll drop a flippin DUNGBOMB on your head!" Sephie bellowed back, annoyed.
"What's going on?" Harry asked curiously of Janelle.
"They're waiting for the girls... to go swimming," she explained.
Harry started to laugh.
Janelle nodded. "I'm waiting patiently... I've got glasses of cold water. If that fails, I've always got the hose."
"What are you two on about?" Mariah asked.
"They're wizards, Mari. The guys almost passed out when the girls wore shorts here. They're gonna have coronaries when they see them in bathing suits.," he explained.
She started to giggle... then rightout laugh as the girls came downstairs with towels wrapped about them.
"Ready?" asked Lexi.
"Yup," said Draco, taking her hand.
They went outside ( without Mariah and Harry, who were changing )... and the guys' jaws dropped as the girls laid out their towels and made ready to get in.
Lexi was in a purple tankini whose top didn't exactly reach the waist of the bottoms.
Hermione was in a one piece blue swimsuit with a low back and a low front to match.
Sephie was in a bikini top with board shorts over the bottoms, both green.
Janelle laughed as George quickly jumped in... then yelled as he realized what Janelle had done (dump ice cubes in that morning)
"Geez! It's freezing!" he yelped.
"Serves you right, Weasley!" laughed Sephie, dipping her foot in.
"Oh, it's not THAT cold, you wimp!" she started... though her sister saw she was lying through her teeth.
~*~ Australia ~*~
Ginny lingered by Jeremy, loath to go back to her aunt's.
"Ginny, you have to go," he said unconvincingly.
"I know," she said, sniffling,. "But... God knows WHAT Dari told them. After I beat up her boyfriend, I can almost bet they're sending me home...." she let out a sob.
Jeremy quickly put his arms around her, his own voice choked. "And if they do, I'll write you every single day," he said firmly. They kissed one last time, and then he let Ginny go into the fading light.
She stifled a scream as she saw Jeremy. He was practically unconscious, bleeding in a million places. ~I guess this would be a bad night,~ she thought sourly, pulling her wand. She knelt next to him.
"Jeremy?"
He moaned quietly and tried to move.
"No! Don't move!" she barked. He stopped. She laid her wand against several of the worst cuts, murmuring healing spells as she sealed the vessels and then worked on his skin. She watched with satisfaction as his skin turned back to its normal color. His eyes flew open.
"What the hell-" He froze as he saw Ginny, wand still extended over his left shoulder.
"What are YOU doing here?" he asked grouchily. Ginny flipped her hair over her shoulder, insulted.
"I just saved your life, you prat!" she snarled, rising to her feet to effectively stalk away. She didn't even see Jeremy move until his hand was on her shoulder, turning her around.
"G-Ginny... I'm sorry. I mean, I'm not used to people... HELPING me."
She smiled softly. "Get used to it."
He blinked. "Huh?"
She rolled her eyes. "Sooner or later you would have found SOMEONE who wasn't as prejudiced as 95% of the wizarding world... you're just lucky it was sooner, Walters." She placed her hands on her hips. "You could have died last night."
He bit back the obvious retort and nodded. "Thank you," he answered clearly, looking her square in the eye.
~*~ NYC ~*~
Mariah came downstairs, yawning. She had spent the night in Hermione's room, learning about everyone. For someone so obviously engulfed in books, she was a very good judge of character, and had an excellent memory... unfortunately for Ron, of course.
~That boy is going to have problems if he keeps acting up, because Hermione has so much dirt on him it's not even funny,~ she thought, halting at the bottom of the stairs in surprise. Though it was only 5:30 in the morning, Harry Potter was seated at the table with Janelle, eating toast and eggs.
"Good morning, Mariah," Harry said cheerfully, noticing her.
"G'Morning, Harry... Janelle," she nodded.
"Morning, Mariah, dear... eggs?"
"Overeasy, please," she laughed as she sat herself across from Harry. The plate in front of her was suddenly filled with eggs overeasy with a side of hash browns and toast.
"Thank you," she said, immediately digging in.
"Sleep well?" Janelle asked her.
She nodded vigorously, swallowing before saying, "Oh, wonderful, thanks." Then she muttered, "After I WENT to sleep, that is."
Harry must have heard her, because he was currently muffling a laugh in his napkin.
"So... what are your plans for the day?" Janelle asked them.
"Nothing," they both answered simultaniously.
Janelle laughed as they looked at each other in surprise. "I have a marvelous idea! I think you two should take the bus into the city."
"Manhattan?" Harry's interest perked up.
"Of course. Mariah's been there; she can show you around.... besides, you two seem the most placid of this bunch... not that that's saying much... so I think it'd be good for you to be out of the house while the rest of them are settling in."
"I think it's a great idea!" said Harry, surprising Mariah. She had thought he would prefer to hang out with his friends.
"Mariah?"
"Sure!" she managed, going back to her food.
~*~
They climbed on the bus in full wizard regalia; Janelle explained to them the reason for lax security.
"Please," she said, rolling her eyes. "Like Manhattan's not already full of weirdly dressed people. No one will even NOTICE, much less care."
~*~ Australia ~*~
Ginny had been meeting Jeremy secretly for about two weeks now. The two talked... a lot. He told her about his lycanthropy, and she told him about being the youngest sibling of a family of nine, with six brothers. He teased her about being a Brit, and she teased him about being an Aussie.
"Jeremy," she asked one day, "would you go to school... if you could?"
"Yes," he answered distantly. "I think I would love it. Why?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh," she shrugged, "Just asking."
He knew that look by now... that look that said she was planning something.
"Gin..."
"Sorry, Jeremy. Stray thoughts," she said. Suddenly she heard footsteps. Apparently Jeremy heard them, too.
"Ginny!"
There stood Dari with her boyfriend, Barry.
"What did I tell you?" she yelled furiously. Jeremy placed himself slightly in front of Ginny, although he knew she was quite capable of taking care of herself.
"I don't CARE!" she screamed back. "I DON'T!"
"Well, I DO! HOW DO YOU THINK IT MAKES ME LOOK, HAVING MY SLUT COUSIN WHORING WITH A WEREWOLF?"
"I wonder how long you would stay in Uncle Robert's house if he found out you had an ABORTION? Who's the slut now, Dari?"
"You bitch," growled Barry, stepping towards her. Jeremy started forward, but Ginny caught him by the shirt.
"Oh, no. This is MY pleasure," she said calmly, though he saw her eyes snapping.
"Bring it, bitch," she laughed as Barry threw an infuriated punch she easily ducked.
She let loose with a well placed toe kick. Harder and she would have disembowled him, but she wasn't a murderer. She simply knocked the wind out of him, but he got in one shot before he went down, splitting her lip.
Dari screamed and ran to her boyfriend's side as he groaned in pain. Jeremy quickly took Ginny's hand and took her to the clearing where they had first met.
"You ok?" he asked gently as he ripped the bottom portion of his shirt off and dabbed her lip with it.
"Never better," she grinned... she didn't feel the pain. Living with six brothers made a girl tough.
"I'm sorry... about what they said to you," he said awkwardly.
"And I'm sorry for Dari. Again. But... you know what?"
"What?"
"I wish... that I had been..." She didn't finish, ~... your girlfriend, so I could have been damn proud of it...~ but simply let the tears gather behind her eyelids.
He used two fingers to lift her chin. "Ginny."
She refused to look at him. He sighed and lowered his lips to hers in a gentle kiss... considering her lips was still busted.
Her eyes flew open, then fluttered shut. They kissed for another minute, then he let her go.
"I'm sor-"
She held up a hand, eyes twinkling. "Don't finish that sentence unless you mean it."
He couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Good," she smiled... then leaned in to kiss him again.
~*~ NYC ~*~
Harry and Mariah walked back from the bus stop slowly, dicussing their day. As they drew closer to the house, they heard George shout, "Are you girls READY YET?!"
"George, if you call us one more time, I'll drop a flippin DUNGBOMB on your head!" Sephie bellowed back, annoyed.
"What's going on?" Harry asked curiously of Janelle.
"They're waiting for the girls... to go swimming," she explained.
Harry started to laugh.
Janelle nodded. "I'm waiting patiently... I've got glasses of cold water. If that fails, I've always got the hose."
"What are you two on about?" Mariah asked.
"They're wizards, Mari. The guys almost passed out when the girls wore shorts here. They're gonna have coronaries when they see them in bathing suits.," he explained.
She started to giggle... then rightout laugh as the girls came downstairs with towels wrapped about them.
"Ready?" asked Lexi.
"Yup," said Draco, taking her hand.
They went outside ( without Mariah and Harry, who were changing )... and the guys' jaws dropped as the girls laid out their towels and made ready to get in.
Lexi was in a purple tankini whose top didn't exactly reach the waist of the bottoms.
Hermione was in a one piece blue swimsuit with a low back and a low front to match.
Sephie was in a bikini top with board shorts over the bottoms, both green.
Janelle laughed as George quickly jumped in... then yelled as he realized what Janelle had done (dump ice cubes in that morning)
"Geez! It's freezing!" he yelped.
"Serves you right, Weasley!" laughed Sephie, dipping her foot in.
"Oh, it's not THAT cold, you wimp!" she started... though her sister saw she was lying through her teeth.
~*~ Australia ~*~
Ginny lingered by Jeremy, loath to go back to her aunt's.
"Ginny, you have to go," he said unconvincingly.
"I know," she said, sniffling,. "But... God knows WHAT Dari told them. After I beat up her boyfriend, I can almost bet they're sending me home...." she let out a sob.
Jeremy quickly put his arms around her, his own voice choked. "And if they do, I'll write you every single day," he said firmly. They kissed one last time, and then he let Ginny go into the fading light.