Vacation Gone Wrong... Or Right? (part 2)
Car Rides and Kisses
by: AniDragon, aka Riona-chan
"Nasty mark on your face, there, Harry."
Harry's face scrunched up and his eyes opened a crack. He hadn't even realized he had fallen asleep.
He was surprised to see Ron standing by his window, a worried look on his face.
"It's nothing," He lied, "Just the way the folds of the pillow were pressed against my face..."
Ron nodded, but it was obvious from the look on his face that he didn't believe Harry one bit.
"In any case, not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here? There's no way you got my letter already, I only sent it yesterday."
"Truth be told, I thought you hadn't received mine. It's been a while since I sent it... So you only received it yesterday?"
Harry nodded, which made Ron sigh, "Fred and George must have done something to the poor guy to slow him down... Blokes never think that we might need to use what they test their new products on..."
This managed to get a small laugh out of Harry. He was glad the twins were still working on their dream, despite the hard times the wizarding world was going through.
"So, I'm assuming that you're going to be coming with us," Ron continued, "After all, the alternative is.... Here."
"Of course I'm coming with you!" Harry exclaimed, "Just let me pack my stuff. About how long are we going to be away for?"
"Just a weekend, so pack lightly."
Harry got up and headed to his closet where he kept his suitcases. Taking out the smallest one, he glanced at his window. It was light out, probably a little past noon.
"How did..." Harry glanced at Ron suspiciously, "How did you get here without being seen?"
A light pink colour tinted Ron's cheeks, "Oh... eh... Well..... You'll see soon... Oh! And don't forget to bring your swim trunks; we'll be close to a beach."
Noticing the quick change of subject, Harry decided to drop it. Finished packing, he stood up, suitcase in hand, "All right, let's go."
To his surprise, Ron didn't lead him to the window like Harry expected, but to the door of his room.
"Won't the Dursleys...." He started, but Ron shook his head.
"It's taken care of.... More or less..."
Still suspicious, Harry followed Ron out the door to his room, then down the stairs. As they passed by the living room, Harry soon saw what Ron meant.
The Dursleys were all in the living room, but not alone. Fred and George had decided to keep them busy while Ron had gotten Harry, it seemed. Vernon was purple faced and fuming, inches away, it seemed, from screaming at the twins. The only thing that seemed to be stopping him was Fred's wand, which was being casually twirled by the later. Even if it wasn't pointed anywhere, Harry knew that Vernon's fear of magic wouldn't make him risk testing Fred's speed.
Meanwhile, Petunia was hugging Dudley as if she would never see him again, petting his hair comfortingly. This was understandable due to the fact that George was trying to get Dudley to try a Fainting Fancy, assuring him that it was perfectly safe... on wizards. Apparently he was trying to test if they worked on muggles as well.
A small chuckle escaped Harry before he had time to try and hold it in. This got him a glare from Vernon, but Harry ignored it, "As amusing as this is," He told the twins, "I think it's about time to leave, don't you?"
George immediately abandoned his task and went to Harry's side, threw an arm around his shoulder and began leading him out of the house, "Harry! 'Bout time you made it down, mate. I don't think Fred would have been able to keep your uncle at bay for much longer... Well, okay, he could have, but not necessarily legally..."
"It's not illegal unless you get caught," Fred countered, polishing the handle of his wand nonchalantly.
"Very true, but those ministry people are so good at catching people... Well, the small criminals, at least..."
"Or the innocent ones," Harry muttered.
The room went silent for a few seconds before Fred abandoned his threatening pose near Vernon and joined his brothers in leading Harry out of the house, "Well, then, we shouldn't waste time, now, should we? Let's be off."
Before any protests could be made, Harry was out of the house, the Weasley twins and Ron hurrying him towards a blue mini van parked in the Dursleys' driveway.
He was surprised to see a familiar man in the driver's seat... It took him a few moments to recognize him as Hermione's father.
Next to him sat Mr. Weasley, who waved to Harry cheerfully, "So glad you can join us, Harry!"
Somewhat forcing his smile, Harry nodded and stepped into the van through the already open side door and sat next to Ginny, who also greeted him cheerfully. He caught a wave from Hermione, who sat in the back, and gave her a half hearted wave back.
Do any of them realize how fake that cheerfulness looks? He thought bitterly. He knew they were trying to cheer him up, but it really wasn't going well...
Distracted by his own thoughts, he only noticed Fred push him to be able to sit in the seat at the last minute, and thus toppled sideways onto Ginny. He caught himself, but not before his lips fell on hers...
His face red, he sat up straight, "I'm so sorry!" He sputtered, "Fred pushed me and... I mean, I know you have a boyfriend, so I don't want you to think--"
"It's all right!" She countered, her own face a shade that could rival her hair, "I know it was an accident! And I broke up with him anyway, so really it's okay!"
"Um... Sorry about that Harry..." Fred said with a bit of a laugh, but Harry could have sworn he saw him wink in Ginny's general direction...
Before Harry could ponder on it further, however, Mr. Weasley took advantage of Harry's sombre mood being broken to turn in his seat and begin chatting merrily.
"Well, I'll bet you're wondering exactly where we're going for this vacation... I had the idea that everyone could really use something to lift their spirits, but of course we couldn't do anything too costly... I myself wanted to do something muggle like, but I couldn't really think of anything. Ron, being the dear that he is, ran the idea by Hermione, who mentioned it to her dad, who was ever so kind enough to let us go to their family vacation home for the weekend. I thought this was brilliant! There's a beach, not to mention a nice small forest that you kids can explore--"
"And," Hermione added, while Harry tried to take in all this information, "I had an idea, because Mr. Weasley wanted to do something muggle like, that we don't bring our wands with us anywhere, and thus won't be tempted to use magic. It won't be too hard for us younger wizards, since it's illegal for us anyway, but for Mr. Weasley and the twins, it'll be an extra challenge that I'm sure they'll find fun... Or, at least that we'll find amusing to watch."
Harry, in the end, had to give a hand to the Granger's. They had really thought this out well. It sounded like it was going to be rather fun...
"But..." He heard Ron, who was in the back sitting between Hermione and George, "I don't see why we can't at least bring some Quidditch gear... Ginny and I -- and most likely Harry as well-- really need to practice..."
Hermione looked at him with one of her best stubborn faces, "No. Magic. That includes enchanted objects, Ron."
Even Harry had to laugh at Ron's facial expression.
End of Part 2
(A/N: Well, this chapter's a lot more light hearted then the last... Hope it's still to your liking! . Added a bit of a tease for Harry/Ginny fans. :D And for me, too, obviously. Anyway, please R&R!)