Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, brilliantly created by J.K.
Rowling. Most situations are based on those created by J.K. Rowling.
Author's Note: Creature references from "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," by Newt Scamander (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling). Apologies on the long time period between updates - work and whatnot has been busy!
Chapter Four: April in Paris
Olivia Weasley watched eagerly out of the window as the train sped through the French countryside. Sitting across from her, also staring intently through the glass, was her cousin Lily. Every now and then, the two nearly four year old girls would face each other and giggle. Their mothers would look at each other and smile as well. It seemed that the cousins, so close together in age, always had some sort of big secret to share with each other that they didn't make the rest of the family privy to.
"What's so funny?" Ginny asked Lily, though she knew the question was pointless.
She knew she was correct when both girls giggled again and said, "Nothing."
"Are we there yet?" James asked from his place in the compartment.
"Another hour or so, buddy," Harry said to his son, to which James groaned.
"I'm bored!" he announced.
"Why don't you play a game?" Ginny asked him.
"I know, I know!" Emma exclaimed with excitement. "We can play Guess the Creature!"
"Okay!" said James. "I want to go first!" Emma obliged, and James began. "Okay, I'm shy and I live in trees."
"Don't you think you need more information?" Ron asked James, but he was soon corrected.
"Bowtruckle!" Emma called out, matter-of-factly, and Ron noticed with a smile how very Hermione-like Emma was when she answered questions. In fact, she continued. "They eat woodlice and if they are threatened they might take out your eyes." This time it was Hermione's turn to smile, because she recognized the same thing Ron had.
"Like mother, like daughter," Ron said, and he laughed, causing the other adults to laugh as well as the train continued to speed towards Paris.
* * *
They arrived at their hotel in the evening, exhausted. "I'm beat," said Harry. "And I think Lily is too." He gestured to the little girl, who was sleeping in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.
"Perhaps we should head to bed," said Hermione, "and begin our explorations of the city tomorrow."
"A good idea," said Ginny as James leaned into her, clearly tired as well. Ron and Hermione's children were in no better shape. Jack was sleeping in his stroller, Olivia was drowsy, but still standing. Emma seemed the only one wide awake.
"Do I have to go to bed?" she asked.
"You have to come up to the room with us," Ron said, "but you don't necessarily have to sleep when we get there."
"Can't we go out?" Emma asked. "I want to see what Paris looks like in person."
Hermione smiled at her. "I would love that, Em," she said. "But we've traveled all day, and everyone's tired. First thing in the morning, I promise." Emma made no more protest, and the families headed to their rooms to sleep off the train ride.
* * *
The next morning, Emma was dressed and ready to go before anybody. Noticing right away that none of the other members of her family seemed ready to start the day, she pulled out her mother's trusty old copy of "Hogwarts: A History" (which Hermione never left home without) and started to read, until she heard Jack starting to stir. She smiled, because when the two-year-old awakened, it generally meant that everyone would soon be awake.
Sure enough, within fifteen minutes Ron and Hermione had managed to get their three children ready to leave the hotel room. Emma volunteered to run down the hall to knock on Harry and Ginny's door to see if they were ready to go themselves.
That afternoon, after a leisurely breakfast and a walk around the hotel to orient themselves, the two families found themselves standing beneath the Eiffel Tower. Olivia, already tired out, was being carried by Hermione and Jack was gleefully riding on Ron's shoulders. Harry and Ginny were in a similar situation with their kids.
"I want to go up!" Emma exclaimed. In the time before their trip, she and Hermione had read many books about Paris, and Emma had become immediately intrigued with the city, and declared that she was going to see everything.
"High up!" Jack exclaimed as he looked up at the tower.
"I suppose we can take the elevator, can't we?" Ron asked, and he looked over at the ticket booth. "The line's not too long."
"We can't come to Paris and not go to the top of the Eiffel Tower," Hermione said, and she led the way. Harry, Ginny, James and Lily followed. Hermione, the only one nearly fluent in French (though Ron, Harry and Ginny had picked up bits and pieces of other languages in their various job trainings years earlier) was the one elected to buy the tickets.
The five children looked, amazed, through the windows of the elevator as they rose higher and higher. They had certainly been in elevators before, and James and Emma knew how to fly on broomsticks, but there was still something about watching the metal of the Eiffel Tower pass them by as they rose higher and higher into the air.
Emma eagerly ran to the side of the tower to look down. "Look, mummy! From this high up, the people down there look like litter on the ground!" She giggled, and James immediately ran over to have a look for himself.
Hermione looked as well, and said, with a laugh, "You're right Em. They do kind of looks like scraps of paper from this height."
"I want to see!" Olivia exclaimed. Standing on the ground, she was too short to see over the wall. Hermione lifted her up, and the entire family looked out over Paris.
"Oh, look!" Hermione exclaimed, and she pointed out various landmarks: the Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, and Notre Dame.
"I want to see all of it," said Emma dreamily, and she gazed down at the Seine river dreamily, until the family decided to head down and find some lunch.
* * *
On the third day of their trip, Harry and Ginny awoke to the sun shining in their room. A quick glance told them that the children were still sleeping, and Harry hugged Ginny close to him and whispered in her ear, "Happy Anniversary." The trip, in addition to being a birthday present for Hermione, was serving the purpose of celebrating Harry and Ginny's tenth wedding anniversary.
Ginny smiled, turning to face Harry. "Happy Anniversary," she repeated before she kissed him. They lingered in bed, whispering to each other, until their reverie was interrupted by James.
"I'm hungry!" he announced. Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry and they got out of bed and prepared for their day.
As a gift to the couple, Ron and Hermione agreed to have James and Lily stay in their hotel room over night, so that Harry and Ginny could go out to dinner and spend some time alone. At five o'clock that evening, they dropped the children off and headed out of the hotel. They knew their destination: they were going to enjoy a leisurely dinner, and then see the Paris city lights by night when they took a boat cruise over the Seine River.
They sat down to dinner in a restaurant that used forks in both the traditional and non-traditional sense, as they graced the tables - and the walls in decorative sculptures. "This is nice," Ginny said to Harry, and he agreed. "Do you think Ron and Hermione will be okay with the kids tonight?"
"I think so," said Harry, and he looked at her. "But I don't think we should worry about that. Tonight is just for us. The kids are in good hands, Ron and Hermione know how to find us if they need us, and we have all night to spend together."
Ginny smiled in anticipation, thinking of later on that evening when they would get back to the hotel room. Still, she pulled her mind back to the present when the waiter came over and asked what they wanted to drink. Harry ordered their most expensive bottle of champagne. When Ginny started to complain about the cost, Harry halted her, saying, "Gin, it isn't everyday that we celebrate ten years of being married."
Ginny didn't complain again after that, and decided to enjoy the evening she had with her husband. She certainly didn't complain about the food - which she and Hermione had been gushing over since they arrived, and she didn't complain when she and Harry walked hand in hand to the Metro station to head to the river.
It was dark when the cruise began, exactly what they had been hoping for. They chose seats on the top of the boat, towards the back, where they could watch the lights of Paris go by without a lot of obstruction. As expected, the boat was quite crowded, but for the happy couple it seemed as though they were the only two there.
Ginny gasped as the lit up Eiffel Tower came into view. "Look how nice it is, Harry," she said, and pointed. Harry agreed, and kissed her, before putting his arm around her and holding her closer to him.
"You know," she said, "I think this is the best anniversary celebration we've ever had."
"Well, I don't know about the best," said Harry. "But it's definitely the most interesting. I have to say though, Gin, that all our anniversaries have been pretty special." Ginny sighed and nodded, and they continued to watch Paris pass them by, ignoring the sound of the announcer telling them stories about the various landmarks they were passing.
They walked back to the hotel hand in hand, despite the late hour. They had long ago discovered a passion for walking around together after dark. Since the threat of Voldemort had gone away, they didn't feel unsafe, and they loved looking up at the stars, though with the millions of lights in Paris, the stars were faded.
They arrived back at the hotel room, and Harry called room service to get another bottle of champagne, as well as a dozen roses. Ginny stood and looked out the window. Harry joined her and they watched cars drive by. "Wouldn't you like to live here?" Ginny asked.
"Maybe for a little while," said Harry, and he kissed her, before pulling her away from the window and shutting the curtains. "But I think I'd miss the life we have too much." He backed her towards the bed.
"I think you're right," said Ginny, and she felt the bed hit her knees and she sat down on it and moved to lean against the headboard. Harry sat next to her and kissed her again.
"I love you," he said.
"Love you too," Ginny said back, and Harry kissed her again before turning out the lights.
Author's Note: Creature references from "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," by Newt Scamander (a.k.a. J.K. Rowling). Apologies on the long time period between updates - work and whatnot has been busy!
Chapter Four: April in Paris
Olivia Weasley watched eagerly out of the window as the train sped through the French countryside. Sitting across from her, also staring intently through the glass, was her cousin Lily. Every now and then, the two nearly four year old girls would face each other and giggle. Their mothers would look at each other and smile as well. It seemed that the cousins, so close together in age, always had some sort of big secret to share with each other that they didn't make the rest of the family privy to.
"What's so funny?" Ginny asked Lily, though she knew the question was pointless.
She knew she was correct when both girls giggled again and said, "Nothing."
"Are we there yet?" James asked from his place in the compartment.
"Another hour or so, buddy," Harry said to his son, to which James groaned.
"I'm bored!" he announced.
"Why don't you play a game?" Ginny asked him.
"I know, I know!" Emma exclaimed with excitement. "We can play Guess the Creature!"
"Okay!" said James. "I want to go first!" Emma obliged, and James began. "Okay, I'm shy and I live in trees."
"Don't you think you need more information?" Ron asked James, but he was soon corrected.
"Bowtruckle!" Emma called out, matter-of-factly, and Ron noticed with a smile how very Hermione-like Emma was when she answered questions. In fact, she continued. "They eat woodlice and if they are threatened they might take out your eyes." This time it was Hermione's turn to smile, because she recognized the same thing Ron had.
"Like mother, like daughter," Ron said, and he laughed, causing the other adults to laugh as well as the train continued to speed towards Paris.
* * *
They arrived at their hotel in the evening, exhausted. "I'm beat," said Harry. "And I think Lily is too." He gestured to the little girl, who was sleeping in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder.
"Perhaps we should head to bed," said Hermione, "and begin our explorations of the city tomorrow."
"A good idea," said Ginny as James leaned into her, clearly tired as well. Ron and Hermione's children were in no better shape. Jack was sleeping in his stroller, Olivia was drowsy, but still standing. Emma seemed the only one wide awake.
"Do I have to go to bed?" she asked.
"You have to come up to the room with us," Ron said, "but you don't necessarily have to sleep when we get there."
"Can't we go out?" Emma asked. "I want to see what Paris looks like in person."
Hermione smiled at her. "I would love that, Em," she said. "But we've traveled all day, and everyone's tired. First thing in the morning, I promise." Emma made no more protest, and the families headed to their rooms to sleep off the train ride.
* * *
The next morning, Emma was dressed and ready to go before anybody. Noticing right away that none of the other members of her family seemed ready to start the day, she pulled out her mother's trusty old copy of "Hogwarts: A History" (which Hermione never left home without) and started to read, until she heard Jack starting to stir. She smiled, because when the two-year-old awakened, it generally meant that everyone would soon be awake.
Sure enough, within fifteen minutes Ron and Hermione had managed to get their three children ready to leave the hotel room. Emma volunteered to run down the hall to knock on Harry and Ginny's door to see if they were ready to go themselves.
That afternoon, after a leisurely breakfast and a walk around the hotel to orient themselves, the two families found themselves standing beneath the Eiffel Tower. Olivia, already tired out, was being carried by Hermione and Jack was gleefully riding on Ron's shoulders. Harry and Ginny were in a similar situation with their kids.
"I want to go up!" Emma exclaimed. In the time before their trip, she and Hermione had read many books about Paris, and Emma had become immediately intrigued with the city, and declared that she was going to see everything.
"High up!" Jack exclaimed as he looked up at the tower.
"I suppose we can take the elevator, can't we?" Ron asked, and he looked over at the ticket booth. "The line's not too long."
"We can't come to Paris and not go to the top of the Eiffel Tower," Hermione said, and she led the way. Harry, Ginny, James and Lily followed. Hermione, the only one nearly fluent in French (though Ron, Harry and Ginny had picked up bits and pieces of other languages in their various job trainings years earlier) was the one elected to buy the tickets.
The five children looked, amazed, through the windows of the elevator as they rose higher and higher. They had certainly been in elevators before, and James and Emma knew how to fly on broomsticks, but there was still something about watching the metal of the Eiffel Tower pass them by as they rose higher and higher into the air.
Emma eagerly ran to the side of the tower to look down. "Look, mummy! From this high up, the people down there look like litter on the ground!" She giggled, and James immediately ran over to have a look for himself.
Hermione looked as well, and said, with a laugh, "You're right Em. They do kind of looks like scraps of paper from this height."
"I want to see!" Olivia exclaimed. Standing on the ground, she was too short to see over the wall. Hermione lifted her up, and the entire family looked out over Paris.
"Oh, look!" Hermione exclaimed, and she pointed out various landmarks: the Sacre Coeur, the Louvre, and Notre Dame.
"I want to see all of it," said Emma dreamily, and she gazed down at the Seine river dreamily, until the family decided to head down and find some lunch.
* * *
On the third day of their trip, Harry and Ginny awoke to the sun shining in their room. A quick glance told them that the children were still sleeping, and Harry hugged Ginny close to him and whispered in her ear, "Happy Anniversary." The trip, in addition to being a birthday present for Hermione, was serving the purpose of celebrating Harry and Ginny's tenth wedding anniversary.
Ginny smiled, turning to face Harry. "Happy Anniversary," she repeated before she kissed him. They lingered in bed, whispering to each other, until their reverie was interrupted by James.
"I'm hungry!" he announced. Ginny rolled her eyes at Harry and they got out of bed and prepared for their day.
As a gift to the couple, Ron and Hermione agreed to have James and Lily stay in their hotel room over night, so that Harry and Ginny could go out to dinner and spend some time alone. At five o'clock that evening, they dropped the children off and headed out of the hotel. They knew their destination: they were going to enjoy a leisurely dinner, and then see the Paris city lights by night when they took a boat cruise over the Seine River.
They sat down to dinner in a restaurant that used forks in both the traditional and non-traditional sense, as they graced the tables - and the walls in decorative sculptures. "This is nice," Ginny said to Harry, and he agreed. "Do you think Ron and Hermione will be okay with the kids tonight?"
"I think so," said Harry, and he looked at her. "But I don't think we should worry about that. Tonight is just for us. The kids are in good hands, Ron and Hermione know how to find us if they need us, and we have all night to spend together."
Ginny smiled in anticipation, thinking of later on that evening when they would get back to the hotel room. Still, she pulled her mind back to the present when the waiter came over and asked what they wanted to drink. Harry ordered their most expensive bottle of champagne. When Ginny started to complain about the cost, Harry halted her, saying, "Gin, it isn't everyday that we celebrate ten years of being married."
Ginny didn't complain again after that, and decided to enjoy the evening she had with her husband. She certainly didn't complain about the food - which she and Hermione had been gushing over since they arrived, and she didn't complain when she and Harry walked hand in hand to the Metro station to head to the river.
It was dark when the cruise began, exactly what they had been hoping for. They chose seats on the top of the boat, towards the back, where they could watch the lights of Paris go by without a lot of obstruction. As expected, the boat was quite crowded, but for the happy couple it seemed as though they were the only two there.
Ginny gasped as the lit up Eiffel Tower came into view. "Look how nice it is, Harry," she said, and pointed. Harry agreed, and kissed her, before putting his arm around her and holding her closer to him.
"You know," she said, "I think this is the best anniversary celebration we've ever had."
"Well, I don't know about the best," said Harry. "But it's definitely the most interesting. I have to say though, Gin, that all our anniversaries have been pretty special." Ginny sighed and nodded, and they continued to watch Paris pass them by, ignoring the sound of the announcer telling them stories about the various landmarks they were passing.
They walked back to the hotel hand in hand, despite the late hour. They had long ago discovered a passion for walking around together after dark. Since the threat of Voldemort had gone away, they didn't feel unsafe, and they loved looking up at the stars, though with the millions of lights in Paris, the stars were faded.
They arrived back at the hotel room, and Harry called room service to get another bottle of champagne, as well as a dozen roses. Ginny stood and looked out the window. Harry joined her and they watched cars drive by. "Wouldn't you like to live here?" Ginny asked.
"Maybe for a little while," said Harry, and he kissed her, before pulling her away from the window and shutting the curtains. "But I think I'd miss the life we have too much." He backed her towards the bed.
"I think you're right," said Ginny, and she felt the bed hit her knees and she sat down on it and moved to lean against the headboard. Harry sat next to her and kissed her again.
"I love you," he said.
"Love you too," Ginny said back, and Harry kissed her again before turning out the lights.