Title: Hey, Where Are the Kangaroos?
Authors: Silver Sparklze and The Great Muses
Summary: When Voldemort starts to wonder why Virginia Weasley managed to escape him so long ago, not only are Harry and his friends in danger, the rest of Hogwarts is too. So Professor Dumbledore hatches a brilliant plan to send Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the twins Fred and George, to the last place on Earth that Voldemort would ever look for them…Australia.
Chapter Title: Accents and Reverse Psychology
Author's Notes: This story was written by both Silver Sparklze and The Great Muses. We hope you like it, and review accordingly. In other words, review or we'll stop writing. We're kinda disappointed. Only four reviews…we'd hoped for more. But thank you to the people that did review!
Reviewer's Acknowledgement: Potterholicnumerouno: Thanks. Here's the next bit =)
Duke20104: Well, your feeling was right, as you can see. Why are you confused? It the story hard to follow? Sorry.
Ash Vault Rose Garden: thanks, glad you like it =)
JamieBell: yes, yes it is =)
~*~
Kia and Kira burst through their front door, and stood in the hallway. Kia doubled over, fighting against the blackness that hovered on the edge of her mind. Slowly, but surely, her lungs began to work again, and the asthma attack that threatened to take over her senses dissipated.
Kira, who had been watching Kia's battle with consciousness, hurried over to the fridge and grabbed two diet cokes. She handed one to Kia, who drank it gratefully.
"That was a bad one, you ok?" Kira asked anxiously.
"I'm fine. Thanks." Kia said, brushing the red curls out of her eyes. "Where's Mum?"
"Dunno, let's find her. MUM!" Kia winced, as Kira's loud voice reverberated through the big house.
Moments later, their mother, a pretty woman with blonde hair and the same oceanic blue eyes as her daughters, bustled into the kitchen.
"Oh, good, you're home." Diana Blythe exclaimed. She checked her watch, "and right on time, too!"
"Yes, why did you wants us home so early?" Kira asked her directly. They'd both had plenty of experience with Diana's skirting around the topic, but, unlike Kia, she just didn't have the patience.
"Well…"Diana looked a bit guilty, "girls, I know I promised that I wouldn't say people could stay during term time, after last term's fiasco…but…"
"Mum!" The normally docile Kia exclaimed, "you promised! You know what happened when you allowed those St. Margaret's girls to stay!"
St. Margaret's was the recently co-ed Catholic College, and Tabanca High School's greatest rival since Kia and Kira attended Tabanca HS, the relationship between the twins and the brother and sister (Aileen and Tommy Mannings) who attended St. Margaret's had been tense at best.
Especially since Tommy and Aileen had been rich, snobby brats who'd expected Diana to do everything for them. Kia and Kira had finally snapped one night, and had put spiders, snakes, and other creepy crawlies in Aileen's bed, causing the bitchy blonde to practically have a coronary. The Twins had felt better, but, for some strange reason, the Mannings duo left soon afterwards.
Kira placed a restraining arm upon Kia's arm, knowing that if she didn't stop her twin, the spluttering redhead would continue her spiel until she ran out of air.
"Ok, Mum," she said once Kia had fallen silent, "give it to us straight. Who are they and how long are they going to be staying? Oh, and what school do they go to?"
"There're six of them. Four boys and two girls." Diana tugged on a golden lock that had escaped from her braid. "They're around your age. According to the head of their boarding school they'll be here for a term or two, including the holidays. And…they're from England."
"Oh, well, that's just great." Kia said sarcastically. "How nice. What're they gonna do, wave their magic wands and 'poof' they're at school every morning?"
"Don't be silly, Kia." Diana said, "they're transferring to your school."
"What happens if we don't want to walk with them?" Kira inquired icily.
"What happens if we get…'lost'?" Kia added.
"You'll be grounded!" Diana replied, her temper finally snapping. "And I don't want to hear another word about it!"
"Well so-rry." Kia muttered, turning to walk up the stairs.
"Our apologies for breathing." Kira added, storming up after her. Moments later, the Twins' door slammed, and loud rock music could be heard throughout the house.
~*~
Harry glanced out the window as the train rocked from side to side. It was raining, and every so often little hailstones would tap on the window.
"I hate English winters." He muttered to himself, thinking about the travel brochure he'd once read on the Caribbean, which had promoted 'hot, sunny days, and cool, balmy nights'.
"What was that?" Asked Ginny. Harry sighed.
"Never mind."
"Hey," Ginny's voice softened. "Ron and Hermione can't practice Charms forever. You'll have them back before too long. Besides," she brightened, "you could hang around with me!" Harry's spirits slumped even further. Ginny didn't seem to notice, as an evil grin spread over her face. "We could send Crookshanks to 'check up' on them."
"What?"
"I have a…'curious affinity' with Crookshanks," Ginny smiled a secret smile.
"Why all the mystery?"
"Feel like it." Ginny said enigmatically, turning to the ginger cat-thing, "Crookshanks leave Hermione and Ron alone." She enunciated every word like it was important.
"Why the mystery?" Harry persisted.
"Well, you know how I'm attractive and totally irresistible, well, let's just say I'm foxy." She laughed at his expression and poked her head of the carriage door. "Come here," she whispered, "Crookshanks is nearly at their door."
Moments later someone yelped in pain, and a distinctly female voice which they recognized as Hermione's yelled,
"CROOKSHANKS!!" Harry and Ginny couldn't help but burst into laughter. Moments later, Hermione and Ron burst into Harry and Ginny's compartment. The mischievous duo had a hard time hiding their mirth.
"Have fun practicing Charms?" Harry asked, trying his hardest not to laugh. His eyes swept over Ron and Hermione's flustered appearance.
"Yes – Ron," Hermione turned to the scarlet-eared redhead, "I think you need to work on your dampening charm."
"Yes, ma'am." Ron saluted her with a silly grin on his face. He then put his arm around her and they sauntered out. Ginny looked forlornly at the door, and Harry was struck by how pretty she was. He looked out the window, wishing he could think of something to say – just to break this awkward silence.
"I broke up with Dean on the holidays." Ginny said quietly.
"Why?" Harry asked, surprised. Ginny shrugged,
"He wasn't right for me. And…" she paused, obviously thinking about what to say next. Harry tried to read her expression in the window, which he was still staring out of. Oh, what the heck, thought Ginny, "And…I had you around, and I felt guilty knowing that I was going out with Dean, but that I really wanted to be with you."
Harry reddened. You blew it; she doesn't like you anymore. His mouth was dry; it felt as if it were full of sawdust. "I – I – mean…I'm sorry," Ginny continued, "because I know you probably don't like me the same way, but I'm just letting you know."
Ginny got up and left, just as Harry managed to get over the shock and open his mouth. He closed it again, and banged his head against the glass window. He sat there for 5 minutes mulling over what Ginny said, then got up and decided to find her. He walked past the compartment Ron and Hermione were in, and got an eyeful of parts of his brunette friend he would rather have not seen. Harry tried not to think about it, and eventually found Ginny crying in the last compartment. She hurriedly wiped away her tears when she saw Harry enter. "I – I…" she stuttered as Harry walked over to her and looked into her eyes. He took her hand and she stood up, still stuttering.
"Ginny," Harry said gently, "you have no idea how much that comment meant to me. Er…the one about wanting to be with me instead of Dean." He led her over to one of the seats, and sat her down, before sitting beside her.
Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but Harry quickly stopped her. "No, wait," he said, "you've already showed how brave you are, and I really need to say this before I lose my nerve." He paused, "or my lunch." Ginny giggled, and Harry grinned. He'd said that specifically to make her smile. "Anyway," he continued, gathering up all his courage, and wondering why it was so much harder to say what he was about to say, rather than face Voldemort. " I – I – I…Ilikeyoutoo, andIhopethattakingsolongtoanswerhasn'truinedmychances." He was babbling, trying to get it all out before he lost his nerve. Ginny blinked.
"What? I don't under…oh!" A beatific smile spread over her face, and she hugged Harry suddenly, causing Harry's whole face to flush scarlet. Just as quickly as she'd smiled she became serious again. "So what are we now?" She asked.
"We're…" Harry's voice trailed off. What were they? Boyfriend and Girlfriend seemed too weak. Harry studied Ginny's face, memorizing every freckle as he stalled for time. He noted the tiny upward tilt of her nose, the small dimple in her left cheek that gave her a somewhat lopsided, endearing smile, and the slightly higher arch of her left eyebrow, which made her look faintly amused all the time. "We're…us?" He asked hopefully. Ginny smiled, and lace her fingers through his.
"Yes," she said, "we're us."
~*~
"This sucks." Kia said grumpily, rearranging her CDs so that they were categorised by artist.
"You realise that they were already sorted by genre, don't you?" Kira asked from her bed, where she was strumming on her guitar. Both girls were very musical, and knew how to play the guitar, piano, and the flute.
"When did that happen?" Kia asked, beginning to rearrange her pencils.
"Yesterday, when Andrea O'Hara told you that your painting of a bird looked more like a ruptured spleen." Kira made a note in her songbook.
"Oh, yeah…" Kia growled, eyes darkening even further until they were the colour of storm-tossed waves.
"Hey!" Kira grinned suddenly, eyes brightening to teal, "I have an idea!"
"Alert the media."
"It'll confuse the pommies." Kia looked interested, her ever-changing eyes focusing on her identical Twin,
"Oh yeah? What?"
"Well, we're aussies, right?"
"Right…" Kia wondered where this was going.
"And they're pommies. And what do pommies think about aussies?" Kira looked at Kia expectantly.
"That we ride wombats to school?"
"No! As far as they know, we have a completely different language, i.e.; 'fair dinkum, mate!'" Kira giggled, putting on an over-exaggerated Hollywood-style Australian accent, eyes sparkling the colour of a tropical ocean in her amusement…