Liz and Kyle were eating breakfast in the main room when a
woman and her two teenage children stepped through the fireplace covered in
soot. They watched the matronly woman
attack the soot with her clothing brush until most of it was gone from all
three. She also swept the soot from two
battered trunks that clunked into the room behind them.
Tom walked up to her greeting her warmly. "Mrs. Weasley, right on time. Arthur
said you'll be needing rooms tonight. How many rooms are you needing?"
"Hullo Tom. I
think three rooms will be enough. Fred
and George will be arriving this afternoon. And Arthur will be joining us
tonight. May I reserve a private
banquet room for all of us for supper?"
"Of course. What time would you like it served?"
"About 5:30 p.m.?"
"It will be ready for you." Tom said with a smile
as he hurried off.
Mrs. Weasley glanced around the room and approached the
teens. "Are you Liz and
Kyle?" she asked.
Liz stood to shake her hand. "Yes, I'm Liz. You
must be Mrs. Weasley."
"Yes, yes I'm Molly Weasley. And this is Ron and Ginny," she replied with a smile
gesturing to the teens behind her. Both the Weasley teens were tall with red
hair and freckles. Ginny's hair was
long with curls while Ron's was short and straight, but a bit tussled from the
journey.
Kyle finished chewing his pancakes and offered his
hand. "Kyle."
"Hi, I'm Ginny. I'm going to be one of your tutors during summer session. This is
Ron. He's going to help too." She seemed almost giddy at the prospect.
"We were just finishing breakfast. Have you eaten?" offered Liz.
Mrs. Weasley smiled. Thank you dear we ate before we left. If you don't mind we'll join you while you finish."
As they finished breakfast, Ron finished off Liz's bacon and
Ginny ate a piece of toast. When they
were done, they went outside and Molly tapped the brick over the trash
bin. Returning to the alley, they went
first to Mr. Olivander's to get their wands.
Kyle went first. It
took thirty minutes to find his sturdy fourteen-inch heart of cedar with
unicorn hair core.
Liz took about twenty minutes. Her wand was a very springy nine and three eighths inches willow
with a dragon heartstring core.
They then picked up their completed robes, purchased their
cauldrons and scales and returned to the pub to drop off everything.
A new store called Flee, Fly, Floo, which specialized
in travel means, devices, and gear, was attracting a lot of attention. They headed there next.
They had a special on three-lock trunks. These trunks, which appeared to be ordinary,
had three times the amount of space as a regular trunk. Each key determined which compartment
opened.
Both Liz and Kyle decided to buy one. Kyle picked a brown one. He decided to use one compartment for
clothes, one for school supplies and one for his football gear, for when he
returned to the States and spent that week in football camp right before school
started again.
Liz bought a green one determining that she could always use
the extra compartments for clothes, shoes, and toiletries.
The girls were headed towards the check out when Ginny
noticed Ron leading Kyle down the broom aisle. She rolled her eyes and sighed. She caught her mother's attention and said, "They just headed down
that aisle and it's going to take forever. I'm going to take Liz to get ice cream while they play."
Molly smiled with understanding and agreed to Ginny's plan.
When they left Flee, Fly, Floo they went to Flourean
Fortesceau's Ice Cream Parlor to enjoy a treat and to rest their feet.
Ginny leaned forward with a gleam in her eye. "So tell me about America."
"What do you want to know?" she asked with a
smile.
"What's your life like there? What do you study in school? Boys, everything," Ginny
giggled.
Liz chuckled and began, "Well, at home I'm a waitress
after school in my family's restaurant. I go to West Roswell High School. I'm in the Science Club, I love science." Liz says with a small chuckle. "I'm a pretty good student. We have seven classes a day. As
far as boys go, I have one special friend, but he doesn't know about me being a
witch. I'm not ready to tell him
because I don't think it will last." She sighed resolutely and thought to herself, That's good. Don't mention aliens, gunshot wounds, or
destiny and you'll be fine. "What about you Ginny? Are there any special boys in your
life?"
"You mean besides my six older brothers?" She laughed,
then went on. "Well, there is this
one that I've kind of had a crush on for years. He knows that I used to have a crush on him, but I'm not sure he
knows that I still do. He's kind
of famous and has kind of gotten used everybody noticing him. I'm ready for him
to notice me for a change. So tell me,
why don't you think yours will last?"
With a sigh, Liz answered, staring at her fingers.
"Because we're from different worlds and sometimes they shouldn't
mix."
"I can understand that," Ginny nodded. "I think the one I like only thinks of
me as Ron's kid sister."
"As in, I love you like a sister or as in Does
she have to tag along?"
"The latter." This is said with chagrin.
"Ouch," Liz stated with a grimace. She decided to change the subject. "So, tell me about school."
"It's huge and wonderful. You're going to the best school and you're in the best house in
it. How can you not have a great
time? Besides, I'm going to be there to
help you and so is Hermione. She's the smartest
girl in the whole school."
"So you're really giving up your whole summer just to
help us out?" Liz looked concerned.
"Partially, yes. But my parents are going to be out a lot this summer and you are saving
me from having to spend the next two months with my older brother Percy. I love him dearly, but he acts so pompous
all the time. He drives me
bonkers."
"It is probably going to be the best time of my life,
but I have to admit, I'm very nervous. I've never done magic before," Liz admits.
"You mean you've only recently developed the
skills? Wow, and I thought I was a late
bloomer, don't worry about it. You'll
do fine."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Liz said with
a sigh of relief.
She looked up and saw Ron and Kyle headed towards them. Kyle was carrying something large. Liz squinted and then looked confused,
wondering, What's he up to now? She turned to Ginny and asked, "Is
that a broom that he's carrying?"
Ginny's eyes were dancing when she answered. "Oh yeah. Did I mention you get to learn to fly?"