Trial By Fire
Chapter 6: Straw Hats and Leopard Cubs
"Are you sure this is what they want?"
"Of course I am! I wrote it down."
"If they get mad, blame it on Hermione."
"Ouch, Herm. I was just kidding, you didn't have to hit me."
"Shhh! They're getting on!"
"Turn off the light!"
"Go 'way, I'm hiding here."
"Scoot over, there's nowhere else."
"Shh!"
In the dark, the group heard a key turn in the lock, and then the door pushed open.
"Well, Gin, here's our honeymoon suite." Harry said, opening the door and setting down their suitcases.
"Harry, it's lovely!"
"Glad you like it, we might never leave." Harry moved toward his new wife mischievously.
"Surprise!" Ron said, popping out from behind a chair. He didn't exactly want to hear the rest of their conversation.
The others followed Ron's suit. Soon every member of the immediate Weasley family had crawled from under beds, spilled out of closets, and peeked out from behind curtains.
"Oh! How nice! You came to see us off!" Ginny said in a desperate effort to keep from blushing.
"Oh, no, dear." Said Molly, casually brushing off her robes. "Didn't Harry tell you? He invited us to come on the cruise with you. Wasn't that a nice surprise?"
"No, he um, he didn't tell me." Ginny said hesitantly, shooting a sideways glance at Harry, who was looking very bewildered.
"Why don't we let you two unpack, and we'll meet you for dinner." Arthur suggested, seeing the startled look on Harry's face and the scarlet color of Ginny's.
"How long does it take to unpack?" Ron asked incredulously. "It's two hours until dinner." Molly and Arthur had already left the room, paying no mind to their youngest son's protests.
"Well, this is their honeymoon after all, Ron." Charlie said with a grin.
"Yeah, we have to let them have privacy, now don't we." Fred nudged George, who winked at Harry.
Ron didn't look very happy at this, but he allowed himself to be ushered out by Charlie and Bill with Hermione following behind them.
"Um, Harry," Ginny began, shutting the door as the last of her family left their suite. "Why did you invite my family?"
"I didn't! I thought they were just going to meet us for Disney. Oh!" Harry said smacking his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Hermione! The list!"
"What list?" Ginny asked as Harry rushed out of the cabin in pursuit of Hermione.
"Hermione!" Harry called, jogging down the small corridor outside of his suite.
Charlie, Bill, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione all stopped walking and turned around to face Harry.
"You guys keep going, I just need to talk to Hermione for a minute." Harry said to the other Weasleys.
"O.K. See you for dinner, Harry," Bill called over his shoulder as the group resumed walking.
Harry turned to Hermione once the group had turned the corner. "Can I see the list? The list you made for our requirements of the ship?"
"Sure, Harry. It's right here," Hermione handed him the scrap of paper. "I really do think it's sweet of you to invite us, but do try to be modest around Ron, you know how he is..."
Harry wasn't listening. He was looking at the list on the scrap of paper Hermione had handed him.
'Cruise: Romantic, tropical-maybe Caribbean, 5-7 days long, *pampered, Disney World after, family come.'
Harry groaned inwardly. He had only meant that the family should come to Disney World, not the cruise! It was just his luck that the one time Hermione didn't take exceptionally thorough notes, it resulted in the entire clan of Weasleys accompanying him on his honeymoon.
"Something wrong, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Oh. No, everything's fine." He said quickly. "But do you mind if I keep this?"
Hermione shook her head, giving Harry a quizzical look.
"Thanks. See you for dinner." Harry said and hurried back to his cabin, where Ginny was waiting at the door.
Harry handed Ginny the paper, shutting the door behind him.
"Read it."
"What is it?" Ginny asked, taking the paper.
"The list Hermione made when we told her what we wanted for the cruise."
"Oh." Ginny realized what had happened and sank into a chair, still staring at the paper.
"Yeah," Harry agreed.
"Well, what can we do?" Ginny sighed.
"Nothing. It's a big ship," Harry said optimistically. "They make lots of stops in ports and stuff. I bet we won't even know they're around."
Ginny raised her eyebrows doubtfully, but kept silent as she moved on to unpacking her suitcase.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Knock, knock."
"Yes?" Harry called from his cabin.
"It's Ron, can I come in?"
"Sure, Ron. We were just leaving, though." Ginny said, opening the door for him.
"Wearing that?" Ron asked, gesturing to the not exactly modest string bikini Ginny had on.
"Yes, Ron."
"But Harry, don't you object to this? Her-her going out in public like-like this?" Run stuttered.
"Actually," Harry said, putting his arm around Ginny's waist. "I picked it out."
"Let's go to the Jacuzzi, shall we Harry?"
"See you at dinner, Ron." Harry called over his shoulder.
"Maybe." Ginny added smiling, and they left Ron sputtering.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Where are they?" Molly asked, sitting at the dinner table, looking around the crowed dining area.
"It's their honeymoon, after all, dear." Arthur pointed out, looking at his watch.
"Yeah, Mum. Who are we to make them come to dinner on their honeymoon?" Bill asked innocently, picking up his fork and taking a bite of his salad.
"Who are we to make them come out of their room at all?" Fred took a sip of his wine, looking just as angelic.
"At this rate, you'll have a grandchild by April." Charlie added, glancing at Molly who was beaming at the thought of her first grandchild.
Ron dropped his fork and went very pale.
"Oh, look, we've made poor Ronnie ill." George observed, calmly sipping his Margarita.
"Yes, and the way you're behaving, it's about to make me ill," Percy snapped pompusly. "We shouldn't be discussing their personal lives."
"Come on, Perce. Ron just has to face the facts." George said, glancing at Ron. Ron still looked very pale but he was glaring at George venomously. "This is their honeymoon, and they're probably off making…"
"Straw hats in the craft building."
"That's not what I was going to say, but if that's how you put it-"
"Ahem." Harry said loudly, from behind George, who jumped at turned to face an embarrassed Harry and a very amused Ginny.
"Do you like the straw had that I made, George?" Ginny asked, swatting him with her hand made straw hat.
"Er, no Ginny dear. Beautiful hat, I'll have to go make one myself tomorrow. Beautiful hat it is, and Harry made one too. Very cute, very cute." George babbled, his ears turning pink, while Bill and Charlie burst out laughing.
Ron smiled and the color came back into his face. He was very glad that's where Harry and Ginny had been, instead of, well, somewhere else.
Dinner passed rather uneventfully. No food blew up, or tasted like Brussel sprouts, or caused anyone to sprout wings and feathers, perhaps because George was determined to be on his best behavior after that embarrassing incident.
Ginny awoke the next morning to hear Harry's light gentle snores. At first she had to ask herself what she was doing in bed next to Harry, but then she relaxed with a sigh; Harry was her husband, and as long as she was alive she would sleep next to him every night. As she watched the rise and fall of his bare muscular chest, she reflected on their relationship.
Sure, there had been some rough times; times when she would have liked to throw the towel in and call it quits. But now they were married, and since Percy had broken his relationship off with Cho, there was no one who could hinder their happiness.
"Knock, knock! Rise and shine!"
Ginny rolled her eyes and gave a small sigh. Except for Ron. Goodness knows she loved him, but honestly, he could be a prat when he put his mind to it.
"Come on, you two! It's nearly nine o'clock! What are you doing in there?"
Harry opened his eyes and reached for his glasses on the table by the bed. Turning on his side to face Ginny, he whispered in her ear, "I say we hide under the bed until he goes away."
Ginny nodded her agreement, until a plan formed in her devious mind. It was all too easy to think up a prank now, not for nothing had she lived with George and Fred for more than ten years. Ginny motioned to Harry, and the two quietly untangled themselves from the sheets.
Ginny led him to the door, and began snogging him very loudly, adding her own sound effects for Ron's benefit. Harry caught on to Ginny's scheme and said, "Ginny, we'd better call for room service. We're going to be too busy to go eat."
Ginny opened the door just in time to see Ron bolting around the corner, hands over his ears, his eyes wide and face pale.
"Do you think that was too much?" Ginny asked worriedly. Harry raised his eyebrows at her and she answered her own question. "Nope."
"So, should we call for room service?" Harry asked, sitting on the bed, grinning slyly at her.
"I'm not really hungry, let's go check out some of the stores on the lower deck." Ginny said nonchalantly. "I saw a really cute outfit when I walked by there yesterday." Ginny pulled on some shorts and a tank top, ignoring Harry's not-so-subtle-hint.
"It's our honeymoon, and instead of sex she wants to go shopping," Harry complained.
Ginny grabbed his hand, pulling him off the bed into her arms. She kissed him, gently at first, then she ran her tongue along his lips. Harry was leaning in closer when she pulled away. "This is only the first day of the cruise," Ginny said softly, running her hands through Harry's hair. "I only want one hour of shopping, and then we'll spend the rest of the day where ever you want." Ginny gave Harry a seductive kiss before she pulled away and walked towards the door.
"At least you're learning to compromise," Harry said as he pulled on a pair of board shorts over his boxers.
*~*~*~*~*
"What's it like?"
"Is it crowded?"
"Are there good souvenirs?"
"Are the rides fast?"
"Are the lines long?"
It was the last morning of the cruise, and in an hour the ship would be docking in Tampa Bay, Florida. From there, Weasley-Potter clan would travel to Disney World for four days and three nights. Harry and Hermione, the only two in the group who really knew about Disney, were bombarded with questions.
Hermione had never been to Disney World but she had read several travel brochures, so she answered the Weasleys' questions, while Harry finished packing.
Fred and George were shoving brightly wrapped candies in the pockets of their cargo shorts, and Ginny made a mental note not to eat anything she was given by Fred or George.
The entire group gasped as they walked into the lobby of the Swan Hotel. The floors were covered in plush blue carpet illustrated with graceful swans. There were two grand marble staircases leading up from either side of the front desk that led up to exclusive conference rooms. To the right there were four elevators, and to the left there were signs with arrows that pointed down different hallways saying, 'Pool,' 'Workout Room,' 'Elevators,' 'Restaurant,' and 'Breakfast Room.'
Hermione, having stayed in fancy hotels with her family on various vacations, was the first to stop gawking and approach the front desk.
"We should have five rooms. The name is Weasley." Hermione said briskly to the teenage clerk at the desk. "And our luggage will be arriving from the Cruise line, when it does, will you please call room 605."
"Have a nice day. If you need anything, just dial 5 on your room phone," the clerk smiled, handing Hermione five small envelopes.
Hermione grinned back and nodded her thanks. She walked over to the rest of the group.
"I have the room keys and room numbers.," Hermione told them, opening the envelopes and distributing room keys, which were actually plastic cards. "Harry and Ginny, you guys are room 604. Ron, our room is 605; Bill and Charlie, room 606; Fred, George, and Percy will be sharing room 607; and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, your room is 608."
"You're making me share a room with them?" Percy looked pleadingly at Hermione.
"Aw, what's the matter, Perce? Come on, it'll be fun." George threw an arm around Percy's shoulders.
"Yeah, Perce. You can tell us about that exciting work you do for the ministry," Fred added. "You know, busting all those bad guys."
"How would you like it if you were sold a cauldron that was too thin?" Percy huffed.
"You say this is a key?" Mr. Weasley asked, flipping the card over and examining it closely. "In England, keys are metal and small. How does it work?"
"This is a special hotel Key, Arthur. I'll show you when we get to our rooms." Hermione assured him, leading the group to the elevators and pressing the button. Soon they heard a small 'ding' and the silver doors slid open, revealing the small room with glass walls.
"What is this?" Mr. Weasley asked, staring apprehensively at the elevator interior.
"It's an elevator," Hermione explain, stepping over the small crack in the floor into the elevator. The rest of the Weasley-Potter clan followed, and the group crowded in, listening as Hermione enlightened them on the operation of elevators.
"This metal box is connected to very large metal cables that are connected to a pulley at the very top of the elevator shaft on the very top floor. When you push a button, it sends an electronic signal, the pulleys start working, and the elevator moves up or down, depending on what floor you want to go to. Our room numbers all start with six, so our rooms are on the sixth floor. Go ahead, Arthur, push the button." Hermione smiled at Mr. Weasley, who had never encountered an elevator before, and was obviously about to burst with excitement.
Mr. Weasley clapped his hands like a little boy. He stared in fascination at the fifteen buttons and pushed buttons randomly. As the elevator stopped at floors two and five, Hermione explained that Mr. Weasley only needed to press the six. When the elevator came to a stop at the sixth floor, Mrs. Weasley had to literally take his arm and drag him out of the elevator.
"Please, Molly. Just let me ride it for a minute longer."
"No, Arthur. This is a nice hotel and I will not have you running around like a seven year old," Molly said firmly as her husband looked longingly at the silver doors of the elevator.
Hermione showed everyone how to use their room keys to open their hotel room doors, how to use the telephone to call down to the front desk, how to order from room service, and how to operate the television remote. Then everyone found something to keep them occupied until their luggage arrived. Fred and George locked themselves up in their room while Percy went to Bill and Charlie's room to play a Muggle card game Harry had taught them. While Molly was taking a nap, Arthur sneaked out of their room to ride the elevators. Hermione and Ron wandered off to explore the rest of the hotel, and Harry and Ginny went to their room to watch TVh
*~*~*~*~*~*
"Look, you guys, there's a great café down the street." Fred said, flipping through a travel brochure he had found in his hotel room. "'Caribbean Bongo's has authentic Caribbean food in a casual atmosphere. Kids menu available upon request, live band every Friday,'" he read.
The Weasley/Potter group had met downstairs at six to try and decide where to eat dinner. It was now six thirty and the group was no closer to eating than they had been. Finally, Molly and Arthur had retired to their hotel room, saying they were tired and they would just order room service.
"Oooh," Hermione said. "Tonight's Friday."
"Yeah, but listen to this." Bill snatched the brochure from Fred. "'Bubba Bear Café, features the best Bear Burger this side of the Mississippi in a kid friendly dining atmosphere. After dinner enjoy a life like show of singing and dancing with Bubba and the gang.'"
Charlie rolled his eyes at Bill. "Bubba Bear Café?"
"Then what do you suggest?"
Charlie grabbed the brochure from Bill and read, "'Tiki Lounge and Restaurant: authentic Hawaiian and Malaysian cuisine. Happy hour from five to seven-buy on get one free drinks. Hawaiian dance show from 6:30 to 7:30.' It's six. If we leave now we can get front row seats. Girls, grass skirts, hula. Enough said."
"Ahem." Hermione said loudly, and Ginny glared at Charlie.
"Oh, right..." Charlie said.
"I think we should-" George jerked the brochure from Charlie.
"Nobody cares what you think, numskull."
"Shut up, Ron, I'm older than you!"
"I'm taller than you!"
"And I'm taller than both of you, so-"
"Oh, shut your trap, Bill. Nobody wants to go to the Bubba Bear Café."
Harry, Ginny, and Hermione remained quiet, and started moving away from the group. People were starting to stare.
"Ahem!" Percy said loudly, and the fighting stopped. Ron noticed people were looking at them curiously and his ears began to turn pink.
"I think," Percy began. "That Harry and Ginny should chose, since it is their honeymoon."
The seven Weasleys (including Hermione) turned to look at Harry and Ginny expectantly.
"Actually, there's this really great place in Downtown Disney, called the Rainforest Café. I was thinking we could go there." Harry said, almost apologetically.
Bill frowned slightly. He was sure Harry would have chosen the Bubba Bear Café. Harry looked like a Bubba Bear kind of guy.
*~*~*~*~*
"An hour?" The group chorused incredulously.
Ginny shrugged. "The lady told me I could put our name on the list and we could walk around downtown and then we could come back when our table's ready."
The group stood in front of the Rainforest Café, located in Downtown Disney. Jungle sounds could be heard from inside the restaurant. Around the entrance, life like trees and vines sheltered the building. Every now and then, a snake would slither through the branches. The first time she saw the snake, Ginny gave a tiny squeal, but the attendant at the restaurant had assured the group that any and all creatures in the restaurant were totally fake, realistic though they seemed.
"Well, I wanted to look around anyway." Hermione declared. "Let's walk around. Harry and Ginny, you lead off."
Harry and Ginny, followed by the rest of the group, turned to the left and began walking down the street. Hermione, who was acting as tour guide, had picked up several brochures and was reading from them. "Up there should be a Lego-land."
"What's a Lego?" Fred asked.
"It's like a little block. Kids build things with it. The brochure says there's a life size dragon, man, pony, monster, and cat built entirely out of Legos, plus a kids playground and a place where you can build your own cars and race them on a ramp."
"Awesome," Fred and George breathed, their eyes wide with excitement.
Percy rolled his eyes at their enthusiasm. Fred and George could be so immature.
~*~*~*~*~*
"I can't believe Percy beat us," Fred moaned.
"We didn't even win once." George shook his head in defeat.
"And I thought you guys were going to…What was it? Something about my ass? Getting kicked?" Percy asked, looking puzzled, as the group left Lego Land.
"How many times did you guys race?" Charlie asked.
"Fifty," George said glumly.
"I believe," Percy cut in smugly, "that it was more like fifty seven."
"Zero out of fifty-seven? That's pretty pitiful," Bill said.
"Don't remind us. We'll never live this down." George groaned.
"Oh, don't worry, Georgie. I bought three sets of Lego Race Kits-just in case you ever want a rematch." Percy held up a plastic bag from the Lego Gift Shop, as the rest of the group laughed.
They reached the Rainforest Café and Harry looked at his watch.
"What time is it?" Ginny asked.
"It's been an hour, so it should be ready soon." Harry answered.
"I'll go check," Hermione volunteered, approaching the entrance. She spoke with the server, then waved for the group to follow her.
"Everybody here? Alright then, follow me." The server said energetically, holding a stack of menus.
The second Ginny followed the server through the entrance, it was like they were transported. She wasn't in Florida anymore, she wasn't even in the United States. Surely she was in a rainforest, somewhere in Brazil or Central America. Lush green vegetation grew around the walls and formed a canopy above their heads. She felt a drop on her right shoulder and looked over; a baby elephant standing with its mother had just squirted her. To her left, a group of gorillas were howling and beating their chests. Up in the foliage high above their heads, snakes slithered and hissed, vibrant multi-colored parrots cawed, spider monkeys swung from branch to branch, calling to each other. Amazing, she thought, all this is fake. But it looks so real.
"Here's your table."
The group sat at the long rectangular table that had been set up for them, next to a group of leopards and leopard cubs. Ron sat at the far end of the table, between Hermione and Percy. Bill sat to the right of Hermione, next to George. Harry sat at the other end of the table, sandwiched between Charlie, who was to the right of George, and Ginny. To Ginny's left was Fred, and next to Fred sat Percy.
The server passed out menus, then left, saying she would come back in a few minutes for their drink orders.
"Oh, Ginny, look behind you." Hermione said, looking over Ginny's shoulder.
Ginny turned to face a life-size leopard, covered with shiny black fur licking her wide-eyed cub, who was about the size of a large teddy bear. Every so often, the mother leopard would stop and let out a growl at the monkeys swinging in the trees above them. Another pair of cubs tumbled in the tall tan grass, swatting each other playfully.
"This place is amazing," Bill said, looking around.
"Yeah, great idea, Harry," Charlie said, nodding his head in approval. "Even better than a Hula show."
"Way better," Ginny said emphatically, still gazing at the tiny leopard cubs.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I'm sorry for the delay on this chapter. I just wasn't getting much inspiration and then I had to go and start Truth Is A Whisper. Don't worry, their honeymoon isn't over yet. Next chapter: everyone at Disney World! Look for lots of Weasleys, some Fred + George pranks, annoying little kids, and of course, Mickey Mouse. Sorry if this chapter is too long for your liking but I couldn't find a good place to cut it. As always, reviews are much loved!
A shout out to all those who reviewed on Chapter 5:
theMuse: thanks for your reviews and beta skills!
lil hermie girl: glad you liked the chapter :)
Merin Cloudwater: Are you normally a H/H shipper? Well, you never know...they say the first year of marriage is really tough...
Lady Arwen of Rivendale: their kids? I have to finish the honeymoon first! :)
Lana Riddle: thank you very much :D
Julephenia: I'm not big fan of Cho myself (in case you didn't pick up on that ;) )
jc: Cho might pop up later on...we'll have to see :)
star magic: Lol, thanks.
Montana Magic: Glad you liked it.
Snowy: How did I get a review without Bethany's Infamous Nitpicks? :D thanks for the reviews.
Tabby Cat: I'm working on it!
Beccs: Thank you much. :)
Anie: 1:20? Girl, you need to sleep! But thanks for the reviews. I hope you liked this chapter.