Title: Paradise Island

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Spoilers: For all books (just to be safe)

Notes: A great big 'thank you' to Wolf's scream for helping me struggle with grammar. Your help is very appreciated :)

Feedback: Yes, please! You can either review or send me a mail at :)

1. Getting the good news

Mr. Vernon Dursley, of Privet Drive Number 04, preferred life to go in a well-ordered way. He hated surprises, as did his wife and teenage son, although this innocent Saturday morning might have had a slight chance of changing his mind.

Mr. Dursley sat in the kitchen, as was his wont on free mornings, soaking his large moustache in a cup of coffee and lazily skimming through the articles in the weekend newspaper. Every once in a while he would shake his head in disapproval, muttering about lunatics and shooting a dark look at his nephew, who sat quietly in a corner and enjoyed a slice of dried bread with his snowy owl, Hedwig.

For said nephew, who went by the name of Harry Potter, symbolised everything that Vernon and his family despised. You see, Harry Potter was a wizard. Sure, he had only just finished his sixth year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry (where he had once again failed to get killed by Lord Voldemort) so he wasn't yet considered a fully-trained wizard, but still – he brought an ever-increasing amount of anomaly into the Dursley's life. In short: Harry Potter was chaos in its purest form!

Sending another hateful look at his nephew, Vernon returned his attention to the news. At least, he tried to because it was this exact moment that the door flew open with a mighty crash and his wife, long-necked and horse-faced Petunia, dashed into the kitchen in an uncharacteristic display of enthusiasm.

"Vernon!" she exclaimed, eyes sparkling with joy. "What do you think has just happened?"

He blinked up at her with mild interest. Knowing his wife, whose favourite passion was spying in the neighbours, she was about to deliver a shocking story about Mrs. Dunston, who lived two doors away on their left side. Petunia had always been suspicious of her for some reason. 'Here we go´ he thought, but said instead: "Yes, Dear?"

"Here!" she smiled, waving around an envelope in obvious triumph as if it contained an invitation to join the Queen for tea this afternoon. "I've won! We've won!"

Felling that his mother's agitation took up too much attention which should rightfully belong to him, Dudley Dursely burped loudly and hammered his fist on the kitchen table. "I want more ham!" he announced while his extensive bottom threatened to break the chair he was sitting on.

"Oh!" Petunia turned to her Dudekins´ and placed a loud, smacking kiss on his fat head. "Soon you won't get ham, my boy, but coconuts and exotic fish and fruits!"

Dudley did look a bit surprised at that revelation, but long-honed habits took over and he started whining in a surprisingly high voice. "But I want ham, Mom!" He howled, impaling Harry with a mean glare as he caught his skinny cousin rolling his eyes at the tantrum.

"Now, now," Vernon soothed his chubby son, "You know what the nurse in Smeltings said. You have to lose some weight or your body will suffer the consequences. Think of your blood pressure, the amount of sugar in your blood or at least your back! You've been complaining that it hurts lately!"

"And what would be a better opportunity to lose weight than spending a whole month on a tropical island!" Petunia beamed, finally letting the cat out of the bag. "In our very own bungalow, no less!"

"Tropical island?" Dudley squeaked.

"Our own bungalow?" Vernon echoed.

"Hooooot?" Hedwig added.

Petunia nodded vigorously. "Yes. Don't you remember the crossword puzzle I solved two weeks ago? Well, I sent it in and won the main prize!" In a hustle of nervous energy she reclaimed the letter once again and started reading:

"Dear Mrs. Dursley,

Sunshine Holidays is proud to inform you that you have won one part of the main prize in our crossword puzzle competition.

You, along with your family, have won a whole month on a tropical island where you will live in your own bungalow (which will be shared with the second lucky winner) by the beach.

You will be brought there with Sunshine Airlines, where you and your family will fly in the first class compartment.

Please contact us to inform us how many tickets you need.

The flight will take place on August 1st, 10 o'clock in the morning.

Yours sincerely, Brendan Leigh

(Sunshine Corporation Director)"

For a while stunned silence filled the kitchen. Then, finally Mr. Dursley found his voice again. "I wonder who the other lucky winner is. We'll have to share the bungalow with them, after all."

o0o -

"Pass the bread, would you?" a cheerful voice hollered over the hustle and bustle that exploded in the Weasley kitchen, where an assembly of lively red-heads were having breakfast. The two twins, Fred and George, had yet to be convinced that breakfast had nothing to do with "break – fast" and were pouring all of their considerable energy into that goal: breaking something fast while their mother, a plump but kind woman by the name of Molly, was trying to restore order by taking well-aimed swings at the twins heads with a wooden spoon. However, the threatening effect was somewhat marred by the fact that the spoon transformed itself into a rubber duck in mid-swing, causing riotous laughter by Fred and George.

"It works!" Fred shouted. "Witness another marvellous invention by – us!"

George joined in his laughter and gave an exaggerated bow but was interrupted by his little brother Ron's voice.

"So he just dove after the snitch and…!"

"Oh, d..! Mom!" the voice of young Ginny whined, "I got marmalade on my shirt! How can I..?"

"Ginevra," Molly admonished in shock, "you're not supposed to speak that way! And you, young man," she turned around and focused on Charlie, the brave dragon-hunter from Romania, who was giving his best not to tremble under his mother's stern gaze, "Didn't I clearly forbid you to teach any of the children Romanian swear-words?"

"Sorry, Mom. It just – escaped my mouth when I wasn't paying attention?" He tried a careful smile that was sure to melt Molly's heart. A warm smile stole its way onto her kind face in answer, completely ruining the effect of the stern scowl she tried to maintain. Luckily, a loud splat! announced that the family owl, Errol, had just flown against the window.

"Post is here!" George exclaimed excitedly and jumped up to get to the delirious owl. "To Mr. Arthur Weasley," he read while curiously scanning the envelope for the sender. His eyes lit up with astonishment as he finally found it and handed the letter to his father. "It's from the Ministry. What would they want from you on a weekend?" he frowned and promptly got his answer.

"Eureka!" Arthur Weasley cried as he bounced off his chair (knocking off a few plates in the process). "Molly!"

Ron exchanged an exasperated look with Charlie. "I reckon he's gone bonkers," he conversationally told his older brother who nodded solemnly before turning his attention back to the slice of toast in front of him. "Happens to the best of them. Just think of Moody."

"Molly!" Arthur exclaimed again. "We're going on holiday!"

"Arthur?" Molly inquired cautiously, one eyebrow rising slowly. "Are you all right, Love?"

Smiling broadly her husband rushed towards her, grabbed her hands firmly and twirled Molly around in a fast improvised waltz while holding up the letter triumphantly. Fred and George exchanged glances. Doubtlessly they were already pondering the consequences of having a crazy father. Sly smiles crept onto their faces while Ginny took a more direct approach.

"What is it, Dad?"

"That, Weasleys," Arthur declared in an important voice, "is a letter from Sunshine Holidays. I took part in a Muggle crossletter…crossentence…Oh, yes! It's called crossword puzzle and – who would have thought? – I've won! We're going on a holiday trip on a tropical island! And we're going to do it the Muggle way! We're even going to share our bungalow with a real live Muggle family!" He declared with relish.

Various mouths dropped at that new piece of information. Ever so slowly understanding dawned and slow smiles made their way onto the Weasleys faces, eyes starting to shine in anticipation.

Then the door flew open with a sudden bang to reveal a sleep-tousled Percy Weasley.

"Sorry, I slept so long," he mumbled sleepily. "Did I miss something?"

o00o -

A/N: Hi there and welcome to the ride! This is just a little piece I'm writing for fun. It'll prominently feature the whole Weasley family (safe for poor Bill who has to work), the Dursley family plus Harry and Hermione.

Constructive criticism as well as all comments you might have would be greatly appreciated :)