Disclaimer- Wow, it must be nice to be J.K. Rowling ... she just gets so much praise.
Author's note- Yeah, so the whole finishing before HBP thing really didn't happen, obviously. I guess this story is now sort of an alternative to the events of book six. Oh well. I personally thought HBP was one of the best in the series so far … especially with that oh-my-God ending. I still think it could've done with a vacation, though, so I am fully intent on finishing this story. I think I might continue for a few more chapters than I originally thought. Some things in HBP have got me thinking and there's a possibility I might branch out a little … but I'm not completely sure. It'll take some brainstorming if I do. Anyway, I'm loving the reviews, all of them, and constructive criticism is always welcome. Special shout out to Laubo … your thoughts betray you, I know you love Harry Potter!
Summer '96
Chapter 9
It was clear immediately, as they entered the hotel room, that Ginny's prediction of Hermione's response to their discussion of the previous night was quite accurate. Harry had approached her in the kitchen, feeling somewhat wary, but Hermione just handed over a plate of toast and gave him a smile that held within it more support and understanding than could ever have been put into words.
It was a different story for Ron, though. Although Ginny exhibited a certain indifference (most likely resulting from her already vented feelings), Hermione would hardly even speak directly to him. The tension between the two was more than just palpable, it was suffocating. Ron seemed not to want to push the matter much, however, and so their dispute went unresolved for the moment.
The day was beginning to progress very slowly; about an hour after Harry and Ron's return, everyone, except Hermione, was to be found once more in front of the TV.
"You know," said Ginny, interrupting the babblings and rantings of some psychiatrist they were watching on channel seven, "I think You-Know-Who just needs a good psychiatrist. I mean, seriously, just someone to go up to him and say, 'Look, you had a bad childhood, get over it already.'"
Harry gazed at her for a moment, and then burst out laughing with Ron.
"Oh, come on," began Ginny in a voice dripping with sarcasm, "you don't think we could persuade him to see a shrink?"
"Highly doubtful," gasped Ron, struggling to recover himself.
Ginny merely smiled, just as Hermione entered the room. She had thus far been holed up in the bedroom for most of the morning, and was standing before them now with an unmistakable glow of excitement on her face.
"What's up?" asked Harry curiously.
"I've found something we can do today," said Hermione, clearly attempting to contain her emotion. "Erm, did anyone bring their swimsuits with them?"
Harry snorted. "What swimsuit? Like the Dursleys would ever bring me to a pool?"
Hermione turned instead to Ron and Ginny.
"Oh, uh, well we don't really swim all that much," said Ginny. "It's mainly Quidditch at our house, you know?"
Hermione's face fell ever so slightly before she said decidedly, "Well, that's alright. I'm sure they must sell them there."
"Where?" asked Ron, obviously impatient for her to get to the point.
Hermione didn't look at him, but rather spoke to the room as a whole. "We are going to Six Flags, Elitch Gardens."
The end of this statement was met with a confused silence. Harry didn't have a clue what "Six Flags Elitch Gardens," was, and nor, apparently, did Ron and Ginny.
"It's a theme park," sighed Hermione.
"Oh," spoke Harry softly, in quiet realization and relief; with a name like, "Six Flags," he'd been picturing golf. "Like with roller coasters and stuff," he explained to Ron and Ginny, who were still looking baffled.
When they continued to appear completely clueless, Hermione said, "Oh, you'll see. Actually, we should probably get going … if we want to catch the bus that is."
"The bus?" said Ginny, speaking at last. "How far away is this place, Hermione?"
"It's in Denver, the state capital, so it's about two hours away. Not exactly the Knight Bus, I know, but we'll get there."
"How do you know about this place?" asked Harry, marveling at Hermione's ability to always know everything, even in a foreign country.
"It was in some brochure I picked up in one of the souvenir shops," stated Hermione proudly. "I read that there are a lot of stores there too, so there's a possibility that they might sell swimsuits."
"And what do we need swimsuits for?" asked Ron.
"For the water park, of course," said Hermione, as if this was an absurdly stupid to ask. She turned to go, heading back toward her room. Before she reached the door, however, she called back at them from over her shoulder, "Well, are you coming?"
Harry glanced at the others, and then shrugged. They rose from the couch, and followed Hermione down the hallway to get ready.
The bus ride into Denver was long, slow, and extremely boring. Ginny and Hermione shared a seat in front of Harry and Ron, and had giggled and gossiped throughout the entire journey. Harry, however, was to be found staring out the window at the passing landscape, seated beside a snoring Ron. Hermione had told them all to bring plenty of money, so Harry had stuffed his pockets with cash, which he now regretted doing as it gave him the self-conscious feeling of appearing to have just robbed a muggle bank.
When the bus finally pulled up at their stop, Harry met it with immense relief; his legs were growing stiff from sitting so long. They stepped down onto the pavement of the sidewalk below and began walking in the direction of an expansive parking lot, leaving behind them the massive buildings of downtown Denver. As they arrived at the entrance to the park, Harry could feel the beginnings of a hot day gradually creeping up on them. Ginny fanned herself slightly with her hand while they paid for their tickets and moved through a turn stile into an open-ended hall, with small stores and restaurants on either side. They made their way through this and emerged into the park, the sun once again beating down upon them.
"Now what?" asked Ron, apparently amused at the sight of the large carousel standing directly in front of them.
Hermione shot him a look of irritation, and reached for one of the maps stacked next to an enormous sign erected nearby. "Now," she said, her eyes searching the page, "we go this way." And she broke off, leading them left down what seemed to be a miniature street lined with shops that had been designed to resemble old-fashioned homes of some sort.
The park didn't appear too crowded yet; Harry suspected that it had only opened a short while ago. Large planters, positively overflowing with petunias and other such flowers, hung outside the shops, providing a kaleidoscope of color. They were certainly beautiful, but Harry found himself flinching involuntarily as they reminded him of his aunt.
They reached the end of the "street," and a vast Ferris Wheel loomed into view, towering above them. It had at least twenty carriages, large enough to hold five or six people each, and was adorned with a circular sign that read, "Not to SEE Elitch's, is not to see Denver." Behind it, countless roller coasters snaked their way around tents, shops, and other rides, scattered throughout their field of vision.
The group gazed, slightly open-mouthed, at this sight before Ron breathed, "What the bloody hell is that?"
"A Ferris Wheel," said Hermione simply. Then, "Come on!"
Harry tore his eyes from the gigantic wheel to see Hermione beckoning them all towards it. They followed her to a maze of handrails, around which trailed a line of people all waiting to board the ride. Although the line wasn't too long, they were still stuck standing there for a while, listening to the music blaring from nearby, and yet unseen, speakers. Some song, apparently called, "The Macarena," came on, prompting Harry to mutter, "And I thought the Weird Sisters were bad…."
Harry got on first when they finally arrived at the front of the line; he pushed open the small doors on the carriage and stepped down to sit on one side where he was soon joined by Ron. Ginny twisted around slightly in her seat to gaze over the edge as the ride came to life and slowly moved them upwards, while Hermione's eyes fixed directly ahead, seemingly concentrated on the horizon as if she was frightened to look down.
As they began to gain speed, Harry too turned to see what lay below them. Hundreds of people dotted the ground, now so surprisingly far away. The surrounding rides were all active, and distant screams could be heard over the occasional rumble of coaster on track. The skyscraping buildings of downtown caught Harry's eye while they began their descent, especially one that looked curiously like a giant cash register.
They went around at least twice more, none of them talking as they all took in the panoramic view of the park. The ride ended in such a seemingly small amount of time, and they departed down a wooden ramp after exiting the carriage.
"Well," said Ginny, " I liked it. Muggles certainly have come up with interesting ideas on how to have fun."
Hermione grinned speechlessly.
"What should we do now?" Harry asked, turning to her.
"Oh, I don't know. Whatever you want, I guess," she said.
"I think we should go on that white roller coaster," said Ron.
"White roller coaster?"
"Yeah, I saw it from the Ferris wheel. It's somewhere that way," he explained, pointing off in front of them.
"Okay," said Ginny. "We might as well."
They glanced at the map, and then attempted to navigate their way through the park and its quickly swelling crowd.
"Look at all the food," said Harry, nodding towards the numerous stands surrounding them. People selling everything from pretzels to funnel cakes stood behind them, most under umbrellas to shelter themselves from the harsh sun.
"Yeah," said Ron. "You could almost come here just to eat."
After winding around to the far end of the park, they arrived at last at the entrance to a classic, wooden, white roller coaster. They followed a path underneath it that led to where the line began to get on, and were pleasantly surprised to encounter virtually no wait.
Harry sat with Hermione, his stomach squirming with an apprehensive excitement. He had never been on a roller coaster before; the Dursleys had always adamantly refused to bring him anywhere that might prove to be fun. He gazed straight ahead at the people seated in front of him. A rather pretty Indian girl, who reminded him of Parvati Patil, sat glancing warily at the track that stretched out before them.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God," Harry heard Hermione mutter as the coaster began its steady climb up the first hill. As they launched downward, some people lifted both arms into the air. After a slight attempt at this, Harry quickly stopped; it made him feel as though he were likely to be jettisoned from the ride.
They got off a few minutes later, Hermione's screams still echoing in Harry's ears, and proceeded back the way they came. Even after the constant twists and turns of the roller coaster, the group decided to immediately board a ride called, "The Sea Dragon," where Harry's stomach dropped so often, he thought he was pretty close to throwing it up. The Swings weren't too bad, though; the breeze created as they cut through the air cooled them down some at least, but The Teacups right after ended the enjoyment derived from this previous ride.
"I think I'm going to throw up," mumbled Ginny, who had become extremely pale. Harry, feeling a little nauseous himself, sat down on a bench beside her.
"You guys should just go ahead," she said, glancing up at Hermione, who had apparently enjoyed the experience immensely, at Ron, who was gazing longingly at a nearby red and blue roller coaster, and at Harry, who was watching her cautiously.
"We can't leave you alone," said Hermione.
"I'll be fine-."
"No," said Harry. "Hermione's right, none of us should be alone. I'll stay with you."
"What? No, it's alright, Harry, I can stay," said Hermione hurriedly.
"It's okay, you should go," he said, nodding towards Ron and grinning inwardly at her desperation. "I'm feeling a bit peaky too."
Hermione threw him a look of mingled anger and frustration before responding, "Fine. We'll meet in front of the Ferris wheel in an hour." She turned on her heel and began to march away. Ron gave Ginny a quick, "Feel better!" before turning to catch up with her.
"Nice," said Ginny. "Maybe they'll be able to work out their issues during the half-hour line onto some ride. Of course, they'll probably just end up annoying everyone around them."
"True," laughed Harry, "but it's better than them annoying us. And it wasn't just for them … I don't think I'll ever drink tea again."
"Know what you mean," Ginny muttered. Although obviously still not feeling her best, Harry noticed that she at least was beginning to regain some color in her face.
"You want to try walking around a bit?" asked Harry. "We could check out the gift shops, get out of the heat."
"Okay," she sighed.
They wandered in the direction they had first come, talking and, as Ginny put it, "people watching." So many interesting (to put it lightly) people passed by them, that it was impossible not to wonder about them and whatever lives they led. The two maneuvered their way around a woman with about five screaming children and came to a large souvenir shop where they decided to look at swimsuits.
Ginny came out of the dressing room after a few minutes to greet Harry, who had already picked something out and was now waiting for her to finally make a decision.
"I've officially come to the conclusion that muggles are extremely strange," she said matter of factly. "Here I am, trying to get dressed, and meanwhile, someone has taken the time to write, 'Cows kick ass,' on the back of the door."
Harry didn't say anything to this. In fact, he hardly registered what she was talking about at all. Ginny had emerged from the dressing room wearing a stunning two piece, her flaming red hair falling gracefully over her shoulders.
"What?" asked Ginny.
Harry swallowed hard. "Um, you- you look great."
"Oh, thanks." There was an awkward sort of silence before Ginny finally continued, "Well, I guess I should probably change, you know, so we can get going."
"Er, yeah," said Harry.
She went back into the dressing room, leaving Harry utterly confused. He had never thought of Ginny as anything more than a friend, and yet….
They left the shop ten minutes later, clutching their surprisingly expensive purchases and growing hungry through the welcomed absence of their nausea. Stopping off at one of the stands they had seen earlier, they each bought a hot dog and one funnel cake to share. With five minutes left until they were due to meet Ron and Hermione, they finished up and started back towards the Ferris wheel. Ron and Hermione appeared a short while after they arrived, both looking exhausted and yet strangely pleased.
"So, how was the ride?" asked Ginny.
"Let's just say that it's called the 'Mind Eraser' for a reason," groaned Hermione as she collapsed onto a bench next to her.
"I feel like I've been hit repeatedly over the head with a bludger," said Ron.
"Maybe we should just go over to the water park then," Harry suggested. "Seems like we've all had enough of the rides here."
"That sounds like a good idea," said Ginny. "Harry and I have already gotten our swimsuits … we can show Ron where to get his, and then we can all change and head over there."
"Alright," Hermione seemed to say with renewed enthusiasm at the prospect of no more roller coasters. She pulled herself up to follow Harry as he took the lead with Ron at his side.
Harry noticed that Ron kept glancing back every now and then to exchange a small smile with Hermione as she talked with Ginny, and suddenly the slightly pleased look that both had worn upon their arrival began to make sense.
"I take it you two made up?" asked Harry with a grin.
Ron seemed taken aback that Harry had noticed anything. His ears turning steadily redder, he replied, "Erm, yes. We- we worked things out."
"Glad to hear it."
Ron took about as much time deciding what to buy as his sister did, and by the time they finally left the shop, changed, and rented a locker to keep their money-filled clothes in, they had only enough time for a ride or two before they had to leave for the dinner that Hermione had arranged as a surprise. Skipping over the wave pool, which was so packed with people that it would've been impossible to do anything but stand in one place, they moved on instead to something called, 'The Lazy River,' where each person received an intertube and floated along leisurely down a winding water ride.
"I wish everyday could be like this," said Ginny, who was lying in her tube, gazing up at the cloudless sky above them.
Ron, who had been fuming ever since he had seen the swimsuit that Ginny had bought for herself, said with a touch of contempt, "What, you want to get sick on gigantic spinning teacups everyday?"
"No, Ron," Ginny sighed, "I like the fact that that's the only thing we do have to think about. I like not worrying about whether I, or someone else I know, is going to die today."
Harry felt a twinge of pain at this last comment as he thought of Sirius. But then, as Ron gazed at her understandingly, as Hermione looked ahead in pensive silence, Harry realized just how right Ginny was. It was wonderful, if only for this short time, to know that his friends, at least, were safe … that everything was just normal for the moment.
They neared a waterfall, and Harry pushed Hermione's intertube beneath it so that her thoughts were abruptly interrupted as cold water cascaded over her head. After two more trips through the ride, accompanied by Hermione's desperate attempts to dunk Harry underneath the water, they decided to dry off and get ready to make their way back toward the enormous buildings downtown.
Hermione's hair was, if possible, even more frizzy and curly than normal, and they were hardly dressed for a nice dinner anywhere, but after leaving the park, they wandered over to a restaurant Hermione had found called, 'The Spaghetti Factory.' Hermione and Ron, neither of whom had had anything for lunch, devoured their meals quickly under amused glances from Harry and Ginny, and rather disapproving looks from the people sitting nearby. They each had a dessert of Neapolitan ice cream and then left an hour later after long discussions about Quidditch and classes they were going to take that year at Hogwarts (Hermione positively exhausting the topic of O.W.L. results).
On the trip back to Vail, Harry was once again to be found sitting beside a sleeping Weasley, only this time it was Ginny that lay dreaming as he gazed out of the window. Ron and Hermione sat behind them, tentatively holding hands as they talked quietly. Ginny stirred in her sleep and moved to rest her head against Harry's shoulder. He had no desire to move her away.
It was late that night when they finally arrived at the hotel. Yawning, they trudged in, Harry happily anticipating the bed that lay upstairs waiting for him. He followed Hermione through the door to their room and down the hallway, when suddenly, she came to an abrupt stop, causing him to run right into her.
"Hermione, what-?" Harry asked, but he fell silent as he gazed in the direction that Hermione was looking in with a look of terror wrought upon her face. As Ron and Ginny came to a halt behind him, Harry saw exactly 'what.'
Remus Lupin was sitting on the couch waiting for them.
