Island of Inimical Paradise

One: The Portkey

It was one of the few days where clouds evanesced and all that could be seen was the sun. Diagon Alley was full of its usually bustling movements, where one could easily get lost within the depths of the crowds. Today was noticeably one of the busiest days of the year, for it was a lovely day in the summer, but also was one of the uncommon days where shops put a few good-quality items on sale. Witches and wizards could be seen in almost every direction haggling with shop owners. A few wizards, who were annoyed by the heavy clogging, used their broomsticks to hover right above the customers. Angry shouts could be heard in some occasions when a broomstick hit the taller wizards. However, other than those few instances, it was a pleasant day where all magical people were just enjoying themselves. Although the Alley was heavily crowded, a wizard and a witch could be easily spotted from afar through the mass of black, brunette, and blonde heads by their vibrant flaming red hair. The two were in argument and simultaneously attempting to penetrate through the crowds.

"Ron, if you didn't forget your pajamas, we wouldn't have to be in this predicament!" Ginny shouted. She really just wanted to find the other two parts of the Golden Trio. The sooner they could find them, the sooner they could leave. She was beginning to get very impatient and her temper was rising each time Ron spoke. Many students in Hogwarts and even a few elders in the wizarding world feared the famous Weasley temper. Ginny had taken enough from Ron by this point and she just couldn't control her temper for much longer. Everything that came from his mouth was either embarrassing or annoying.

Ron, who was stunned by her moodiness, asked, "What do you want me to do without my pajamas, sleep around naked?"

Instantaneously, Ron blushed and Ginny gave him a mortified laugh. She did not want to hear that. It was expected though; after all, it was Ron Weasley. He always spoke before he thought. Ginny was sometimes amazed by his brilliancy when it came to strategy in wars. The two characteristics seemed impossible to fit into one person.

She started to scan the newly constructed Diagon Alley for Harry and Hermione. They were waiting right where Hermione had said she would. She waved her hand in the air to get their attention. Harry appeared to have been looking for them too, but he glanced at Ginny and looked as if to have not noticed her. Hermione, who has always been known for her attention, saw Ginny. After a minute of waving her hand furiously, she was relieved to see she received the attention of Ron and Ginny. Hermione then grabbed Harry's hand and flurried through the crowd to get to Ginny and Ron.

"Ginny, Ron, it's great to see you! Finally. We're almost out of time to catch the portkey!" Harry said, hugging them both. Even though he had just seen them yesterday, he was in a good mood. There was reason to be in a good mood, they were all going on vacation together.

"Well, there's not enough time to hug and welcome each other right now, we have to go all the way to the end of Diagon Alley!" Hermione said in a worried tone. She didn't want to miss the Portkey. She was actually looking forward to a break since the pile of work she had received.

"Hermione, couldn't we just apparate there?" Ginny said.

Hermione actually believed this was a waste of magic, and magic was only to be used for specific purposes. However, since she too was in a jovial mood, she permitted everybody to apparate to the end of Diagon Alley. They all took out their wands and with a pop they apparated to their destination.

At the end of Diagon Alley was what appeared to be a small shop. However, once inside the shop, it looked as if it were a wizard's version of an airport. Not that any wizard would fly on an airplane. This was the Portkey Post for all international trips. Very few wizards could apparate internationally, and many were afraid of splinching themselves. To solve this problem, the Ministry of Magic set up the Portkey Post for all international portkeys. This way, they could keep track of who was going where, in case something happened internationally. Hermione was one of the minds who helped craft this idea after the war. She didn't want another Bertha Jorkins incident to happen. Like all Animagi were asked to register, any wizard who could apparate internationally was asked to register for an international license. The only problem with this system was the chance that some wizard or witch would apparate illegally internationally. That was what Hermione had to deal with after her vacation.

All portkeys could be made with a simple portus spell, but it was still difficult to create one for an international destination. Every country that has it's known magical inhabitants have different Ministries and thus different magical regulations. Sometimes, when a portkey is created for international purposes, the different magical signals would cause a problem and would leave a wizard stranded in the incorrect country. Another problem with the portkey is that it would be difficult for a wizard to create one for areas far from England if they have not mastered in the portus spell. That is why the Portkey Department of the Ministry, with the help of Hermione and other intelligent wizards, created the Portkey Port. After four months of its usage, the Ministry was confident that this was an effective and safe system to use.

"So Ron, did you pack all your stuff?" Hermione asked.

Ron replied, "Of course Hermione, it's not like I would forget anything. I think only Ginny is capable of such a thing." His eye twinkled when he looked at Ginny.

Ginny playfully punched him in the arm. She opened her bag and made sure all the shrunken trunks were in there. She took both of Harry and Hermione's trunks the day before to keep in her bag.

A witch who used the Sonorus Charm announced, "All Portkeys going internationally to any Wizard City in the Caribbean, Egypt, India, or France for the 10:20 Portkey please go to Station 5. This is the last call for any Portkeys going internationally to any Wizard City in the Caribbean, Egypt, India, or France."

Hermione almost panicked, "That is us we must go to Station 5 now!" She took her wand and grabbed the first hand she could get, which was Ron's, and scampered to Station 5. Ron looked back at Harry and Ginny with a look that begged for help. He didn't want to go anywhere with a neurotic Hermione alone. She always seemed to be a little neurotic.

Harry and Ginny looked at Ron's face and laughed, but they realized that they too had to go, so they quickly followed Ron and Hermione. The crowd was large and soon Harry and Ginny lost the site of Ron and Hermione.

"We can find the station ourselves. It's not as if they would allow The-Boy-Who-Lived to miss a Portkey," Ginny said.

Harry sometimes didn't like the way people mocked his fame. He didn't really enjoy his fame that much, but he also didn't like it when people mocked him. He was about to say something when his thoughts were interrupted by a speaker, "Oh look! It's the famous couple - going off for the holidays?"

The previously pug-faced Pansy Parkinson stepped into their view. She had her usual annoying expression on that clearly was obtained from being a Slytherin. Even though she had grown out of her repulsiveness, she still retained the same expressions. Her arrogance clearly shined through her posture and disgusting sneer. Some people just could never change. Old rivalries would just remain the same.

Ginny glared and retorted, "Parkinson we have a Portkey to catch. Leave us alone you git. I think you and your ugly face should just Crucio itself." It wasn't that great of a retort, but Ginny was in a hurry and she was always better with her wand than her tongue.

"I don't appreciate it when people call my friends gits," drawled the voice of Draco Malfoy. He had approached behind Ginny, and she jumped when he spoke.

"Maybe it just hasn't leaked through your gel-seeped brain that all your friends are gits!" Ginny replied, turning around to face him. He stood just a few inches taller than the last time she remembered seeing him. Other than his height, he looked exactly as he had looked before. He still had that famous smirk, and he still had that posture that made it look as if everyone else was inferior to him. This made Ginny step back once. She never liked this feeling that Malfoy gave and it just wasn't right. He still retained his Slytherin values, and this could be seen through just his appearance.

Now she was really aggravated. First, they were almost late to their portkey because her imbecile of a brother forgot his sleeping suit, and then she had to knock into the arrogant Parkinson and ferret-Malfoy. Why did these types of coincidences have to happen today of all days? She hadn't seen Malfoy for years; the only time she realized he even existed was when his name was mentioned in The Daily Prophet or when her co-workers said something about him. Parkinson, she met occasionally, for her family seemed to always have to come to St. Mungos. They had several 'accidents' these past couple of years after the war. Ginny always suspected that they were just cleaning up any Dark Magic items, which would undoubtedly lead to the 'accidents.'

Harry didn't even know Ginny could defend herself. He was astounded for a moment, but then he said, "Ginny, they aren't worth it! We got a Portkey to catch!" He then grabbed her arm and scampered to the station in almost the same manner that Hermione did. Both of them didn't even dare give one glance to the rude ex-Slytherins.

The Station itself was pretty dark; Ginny could only make out the faces of her companions because they were right next to her. Although the place was just built, they had to use the underground to build some of the areas. Expanding charms did work somewhat, but to keep passengers satisfied, they created a larger area underground. The magical light fixtures weren't of the best quality, and the station itself almost convinced some wizards that they should donate some of their sickles to make the place better.

To Harry's annoyance, the Portkey attendant said that they delayed the Portkey a few minutes for the one and only Harry Potter. After stating that, many of the wizards in the station moved towards Harry to see if it really was their hero. Now Harry was annoyed and it was getting really hot. The good thing about this was that Ron and Hermione were able to find them very easily. Hermione looked a little annoyed for Harry and Ginny coming so late, but she forgave them instantly. Her patience was starting to dissolve too.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny all sent Harry an amused expression, which he returned with a rude gesture. They laughed at him and finally the Portkeys lit up.

They all chose a small boot so that they wouldn't have to Portkey with all of the Potter Fans. Surprisingly, they were the only ones to use it. They all felt the familiar whirl of the Portkey. The last time Ginny had used a portkey was in her third year when they were going to the Quidditch World Cup. She shuddered, remembering that was the day when the Dark Mark was seen for the first time in years, and it symbolized the beginning of the upcoming war. Her stomach churned with this thought, but she knew that the war was over and there was nothing to worry about anymore. Life was safe once again. The threat of Lord Voldemort was vanished, and she never had to think about being possessed again.

The whirl of the portkey soon increased and became a little jerky. Ginny thought this must be normal, because she never used an international Portkey. It seemed logical that it would be zooming really fast.

The problem was that the speed of the Portkey just kept increasing. They were now being violently pushed throughout this teleportation and it was very uncomfortable and painful. Soon, it was going so fast that they all believed they would vomit. Ginny could hear screams coming from someone, but quickly realized that it was her voice that was screaming. She had to tell herself that it would all be over soon and this was just normal. A sudden thought came over her and she became scared. Her head was forced down by the speed of the portkey, but with all her strength, she looked over at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They all had an expression of horror, and knowing that both Harry and Hermione had used international portkeys before, maybe there was something wrong. She looked back down and thought that everybody always thought of the worst possible situation first. This could not be true. Everything was fine. There must be some moments of irregularity during portkey teleportations.

All four of them let go of the Portkey and they landed with a thump.