A/N: Hi everyone! Before going into the chapter, I just wanted to say a massive thankyou to everybody who reviewed! You're all so awesome! There will be a list of individual thankyous plus a proper author's not down the bottom.

CHAPTER 3 – Reunion, Photo Madness and More...

The next morning, Ron opened his eyes and yawned. Sunlight poured through the window and he smiled to himself. It was going to be another gorgeous day.

He got out of bed and made his way slowly to the kitchen, where he found Hermione already sitting down at the table, her hair neatly brushed and tied up and already dressed. She said bossily, "Ok, this morning we're going to your family's place to say thanks and catch up with the rest of them and then we'll head over London to go shopping. After that we'll get your photo. Also when you were still asleep Harry sent Hedwig – she's doing well for an old owl by the way – and said he set us up a meeting with the guide person. He's going to tell us in detail how things work. Then after lunch I have to go in to work – Suzy swapped shifts with me again – so that'll be a perfect chance to let them know how long we'll be away for. After that I thought it might be nice to go out for dinner, we're meeting Harry and Ginny again and Neville and Luna as well. Also the twins said they might drop by too."

Ron snorted. Typical Hermione, organising the whole day before it had even begun. He said, "Ok. Are you nearly ready to go?"

"Yep, just let me grab my bag..." she shuffled around for a bit, dropping in various bits of paper and the neat stack of lists as she went.

When they were finally standing in front of the fireplace, Ron leant up and grabbed the silver pot of Floo powder on top of the mantelpiece. He through a pinch in the fire and said clearly, "The Burrow," and then whooshed away. Hermione followed.

They arrived in the Weasleys' living room where Mrs. Weasley was knitting. As she saw them, she jumped up and flew towards Ron. She gave him a bone-crushing hug and then moved to Hermione, saying as she went, "Oh, lovely! It's so wonderful you could both come! Arthur's just outside, and Bill and Charlie are upstairs."

Just then, Arthur Weasley shuffled in from next door. He looked tired and weary but when he saw Ron and Hermione, his face lit up. He hurried towards them, greeting them warmly.

"Ron, Hermione! It's so good to see you again!"

Hermione smiled back and replied, "Thanks, and the same to you! We're sorry we couldn't stop by earlier but we just had to come and see you to say thankyou for such a wonderful present!"

Just then, Bill and Charlie came downstairs and greeted them again. After all the "hello"s and "how are you"s had been said, Mrs. Weasley bustled off to make them all tea.

Soon they were seated around the Weasley's comfortable living room, sipping hot sweet tea. Hermione noticed a slightly unfamiliar taste about it and asked Mrs. Weasley, "This tea is a bit unusual...where is it from?"

Mrs. Weasley replied, "Oh, it's from Luna's shop. She's just opened a place that sells all natural medicines and teas, you know the like. This one's got lemon, chamomile, lavender and a bunch of other herb-y type stuff. They're really very good. She makes them all herself."

After about an hour, Hermione said apologetically, "Well, we better go now. It was so lovely to catch up with you all, and once again thankyou!"

"You're quite welcome dear, it was the least we could do. You and Ronnie make such a lovely couple." replied Mrs. Weasley.

Ron blushed and hurried Hermione to the Weasleys' fireplace where they Flooed to London. They got out and walked to a big shopping centre.

Hermione walked quickly past several shops and stopped at one that sold bags and luggage. She strode purposefully in with Ron following meekly behind her. With some things, it was best to let Hermione take charge.

After browsing at several stands, a perky young shop assistant came up and said to Hermione, "Excuse me, ma'am, may I help you?"

Hermione replied, "Yes actually, we're looking for travelling sets. We need new luggage."

"Of course ma'am, right this way."

They followed him down to the back of the store where he left them on their own to look. After fifteen minutes of Hermione tutting about shabby locks and dodgy zips, Ron was getting bored. He pointed hopefully at a likely looking candidate.

"How about this one?"

"No, no, no. See the stitching along the hem? That'll come undone as soon as the suitcase is filled."

"Ok, how about this one?"

"Absolutely not – look at the zip on this thing, that'll fly off at the slightest bump."

They went on like this until Ron was nearly in tears of boredom. Hermione finally noticed him looking hopefully outside and said sympathetically, "Ok, you go outside and wait. I'll finish up in here. Oh, I know! You can go and get your photo done! Now see that little booth over there?" she pointed outside to a Muggle photo both.

"Yeah?"

"Well you go in there and put some money in the hole that says 'MONEY'. Then you press the buttons – everything will already be written there on the wall – and sit quietly on the seat. When the green light comes on, smile. Then there will be a flash – and don't panic, that's just the photo being taken – and you wait a few seconds, then take the photos that come out of the slot in the wall. Got it?"

"I think so." He gulped.

"Good. Now here's some Muggle money," she said, handing him a handful of change. "I'll meet you outside the booth when you're done."

"Ok. Good luck with suitcases." He wandered back up the shop and over to the photo booth. On the way, he marveled at this strange Muggle shopping centre. A little boy holding a dripping ice cream tugged on his mother's arm and said loudly, pointing at Ron, "Mummy why is that man's head on fire?"

The embarrassed mother shushed her son and said, "Be quiet, Jimmy, don't be so rude." Ron scowled slightly. He got into the photo booth and shut the curtain. On the side of the wall, there was a notice that said, PRESS BUTTON FOR REQUIRED PHOTO. Below that there was a series of smaller buttons along side labels which read things like, "Best Friends, Portrait and Single."

He scanned down the list, muttering, "Passport...passport...aha, bingo." He pressed the button which flashed and then said, "insert money now". He did as he was told, thinking cockily to himself, 'this thing isn't so bad. What was Hermione talking about?'

He then sat quietly on the seat and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

By now he was getting impatient and he wondered what was going on. He got off the seat and pressed his face right up close to the walls, searching for a button that he might've missed. Suddenly there was a flash and he jumped back in horror. A few seconds later, the photos came out of the slot. Ron looked at them and nearly fainted.

The photo was of his face squished up in one corner of the photograph. His freckles stood out unnaturally and his mouth was slightly opened. One eye was half closed and altogether the photo looked as though it had been taken when Ron was about to vomit.

Damn! He thought. If only he had sat on the chair, then he could have had a nice, normal photo like everyone else. He got out of the booth and stomped over to Hermione who was checking her watch and waiting for him nervously. She saw him and exclaimed, "There you are! I was wondering where you'd got to, you've been gone for ages! Ooh, how are the photos! Let me have a look."

He wordlessly passed over the sheet of photos, still in shock. She scanned them and her face stayed blank. She looked up at his quivering bottom lip and said, "Oh they're not that bad. They're just a little...erm...a bit..."

"Come on, admit it. They suck."

"Ok, they are pretty socking. But it doesn't matter. Go on, we'll go and take them again and this time I'll stand outside and say the instructions through the curtain. Come on, we'll fix it up." Hermione consoled him. She took him by the hand but when they got to the photo booth, a sign on the door said CLOSED FOR REPAIRS.

Ron whimpered. Hermione looked anxious but then said, "Ron, it's not that bad. We can just use these, nobody cares about how you look on your passport."

"Hermione, they're awful! I look like I've just been out all night and then spent the morning throwing up!"

"It doesn't matter. You're still the most handsome man I know, regardless of a bad photo." She smiled, kissing him. This caused two old ladies at the water fountain to stop their gossiping and smile fondly at the two young people.

Hermione blushed slightly and said, "Come on, we better head off to the meeting with the guide now. Let's go."

Soon they arrived at their meeting destination. They stood outside a big, white marble building with the letters AT HOME AND ABROARD – FOR ALL YOUR TRAVELLING NEEDS etched in gold along the top. Ron looked up and whispered to Hermione, "Wow, snazzy!"

She nodded and they walked up the steps past a small fishpond and into the main entrance of the building. Inside, the walls, ceiling and floor were all white marble and there was a receptionist at the front desk. She was very pretty, with dark hair and light brown eyes. She was wearing white robes with a golden badge pinned to them, which read, "Lola Epstein – receptionist".

She looked up and smiled in greeting and said, "You must be Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger?"

"Yes, we are."

"Ah, right this way. Your meeting is just upstairs. Let me show you."

The followed her up the stairs (white marble, of course) and down a corridor. There were doors lining all the walls with golden numbers printed on them. Lola muttered to herself as she strode down the hall, "64...65...66...ah, here we are, number 67. Goodbye, Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger."

"Goodbye," Hermione called out behind her.

"Nice service," Ron whispered once again to Hermione.

"Yeah, I know – looks like they really got it right by picking this place." She murmured back.

Just then, the door opened and a small, balding man in a safari suit bounced out and said in a thick accent, "Right this please, right this way!" Hermione and a very puzzled Ron followed him into the room.

As soon as they walked in and shut the door behind them, the room vanished and turned into an African safari scene. The small man was jumping about trying to get a chair down form a tree- how it got there nobody knew. He puffed and panted until Ron leant up and pulled it down for him.

"Thankyou young man, thankyou so much." He said as he sat down. Ron and Hermione stood awkwardly in front of him. "Well, sit down, there's plenty of room for us all out here. And don't be afraid of the bugs, they won't hurt you. My office is just bewitched to look like Africa. I spent many years there studying so I feel most at home there. Ah, the memories..." he trailed off.

Ron looked at Hermione quizzically and mouthed, 'he's a nut'. Hermione frowned and shook her head slightly and mouthed back, 'listen to him'. The old man snapped back to reality and said hurriedly, "Oh dear, I'm so sorry about that. You must think I'm dreadfully rude, not introducing myself. I'm Professor Nigel Epstein, but you may call me Nigel or Nige."

"Epstein...wasn't that the name of the receptionist?" Ron asked.

"Oh yes, she's my daughter. Very organised, very well mannered, so she's a joy to have around the place to help out. Anyway, I expect you'll be wanting to know about the procedures for you holiday, yes?"

They nodded.

He went on, "Well, as you know, you are going to Tahiti first. All accommodation has been taken care of and we have always tried to provide the best but there may be occasions in which...well, we'll worry about that when we get to it. I will meet you in one week at Heathrow Airport to help you get on the plane and see you off. From there, you will not need to worry about a thing. Once your time in Tahiti is up, I will page you on the beeper-" at this he stopped and pulled out a black pager from a canvas tote bag hanging around his shoulder and handed it to Ron, "And ten minutes later, I will Apparate to your whereabouts. There is a ten-minute warning so if you're in the shower or something you have time to get dressed. Now, this beeper is very, very important. You must not lose it. If you ever get into any trouble at all, you can beep me – the number is programmed into it already. This beeper is your lifeline and I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to keep it safe. My suggestion is to tape it to your chest, or sew it into the inside lining of your clothes. Just do not lose it.

"All of the airfares, just like the accommodation, has already been taken care of. You have to do the minimal amount of work on this holiday, seeing as it is your honeymoon."

Hermione and Ron digested all of the information. Nigel opened his mouth again and said, "Now, is there anything else you're unsure about?"

"I don't think so," Ron replied.

"Excellent! Well, I think that's all – now, my daughter will show you out..." as if on cue, there was a knock and the door reappeared. The African jungle disappeared. They said thankyou and left. Hermione looked at her watch and gasped.

"Oh no, I was supposed to be at work half an hour ago!"

"But Hermione, you don't start for another half an hour anyway!" Ron said, puzzled.

"Yes, but I always try and be there an hour early, just in case!"

"Well, I'm afraid you'll have to settle with being there half an hour early. Besides, why does Suzy always swap with you? Can't you take the day off? You know, we could spend some time together..." he said slyly.

"Ron, stop it. We've spent the day together and the reason I fill in for Suzy is because she takes my early shifts for me when I do."

Ron pouted and said sulkily, "Fine. Go then. I'm sure I'll manage just fine on my own.

"I'm sure you will too. Toodles."

Ron pouted once again and Apparated home again. There was still another three hours before he was supposed to start getting ready for dinner with Harry, Ginny, Neville and Luna. How was he going to pass the time? Suddenly an excellent thought popped into his head. I know...he thought...I'll have a nap.

Hi everyone! Sorry about the crummy ending but I need to finish because I've been writing all morning and my shoulders are hurting. Also, many, many apologies for the late update! I've just gone back to school and I've been absolutely swamped with homework – you know how it is. But I've got the latest chapter up and I hope you all enjoyed it! Cheers!

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