Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two: Journey to the West

Like Bill had promised, he returned about two hours later.

"I've got good news and bad news for you," he said.

Daphne and Ginny exchanged a look. "Well…let's hear it, I guess?" Daphne said.

"The good news is that I know where Valentina is. The bad news is that she isn't close to here. She's in Wales, at the Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber," Bill said.

"That's…what, two hundred miles or something?" Ginny asked.

Bill nodded. "And pretty difficult to Apparate to if you've never been there before, and that's not even getting into the fact you'd have people after you if you tried."

"About that," Daphne said. "So far, they've only come after us when we said You-Know-Who's name. Why haven't they come after us for Apparating, or the magic we used against the Death Eaters?"

Bill's expression darkened. "A lot of people are fleeing, so the Department has been swamped by reports of underage magic. See, Hogwarts attendance is being made mandatory, and there are plenty of people who are trying to go into hiding with their kids, meaning a lot of Traces are being triggered at the moment. Unless you're someone they're actively hunting — like Harry — they probably won't come after you for Apparating alone. However, the more you do it, the more likely it'll become for them to take notice that you're moving around a lot, and that's going to interest them. You shouldn't use magic until you get rid of the Trace, if you can help it."

"Can't you make a Portkey for us, or something?" Ginny asked.

"I've never been there, either, and you need the same kind of focus to make a Portkey as you do to Apparate. The Floo network is monitored as well, so I wouldn't recommend that, either," Bill said. "Normally I'd suggest using the Knight Bus for a trip like this, but it hasn't driven since Stan Shunpike got arrested. You'll need to use a broom or something, if you want to get there in any kind of decent time, and I can probably get you some of those. Ginny has her own, and I'm sure Ron won't mind Daphne using his. I'll fit compasses to them which point to the Burial Chamber, too, so you'll be able to find your way. Downside to that, of course, is you'll need to fly high enough to remain undetected by Muggles so as not to draw the wrong kind of attention."

"I say we go for it," Daphne said immediately. As much as she hated flying on a broom, she'd do it if it meant being able to get Ginny's Trace broken, and rejoining Harry afterward.

"I wish you'd gotten me one of those warming bracelets you bought for Harry a few years back," Ginny said ruefully. "Without one, this trip is going to suck."

"Well, it's your birthday in a week, right? Guess I know what to get you, then," Daphne said with a smile. She wasn't looking forward to the cold, either, but she hadn't packed the enchanted dress robes and gloves she'd worn at the Yule Ball, so there was nothing to be done about it.

"Alright," Bill said. "You two put on something warm, and I'll swing by the Burrow to get the brooms."

"Won't we be seen, though? I mean, it's still light outside, isn't it?" Daphne asked.

Bill smiled. "I think I can help with that, at least a little. I'll show you when I get back. See you in a bit." He left the house, once again leaving Daphne and Ginny alone.

"So…did you bring anything warm?" Ginny asked.

Daphne responded by opening her bag wide and holding it out to Ginny, who looked inside. "I can't see a thing," she said.

"Oh, right. Wait, I'll see if the Dursleys have a flashlight…"

Daphne checked every kitchen drawer — Muggle Studies had taught her that Muggles usually had a drawer there filled with miscellaneous junk — and cabinet, but found nothing. In Harry's cupboard under the stairs, however, she found what she was looking for and shone it into the bag.

Ginny's clothes were in a pile near the bottom. Daphne's own were in a pile nearby. Ginny gave her a look and seemed like she was about to say something, but then she changed her mind.

"What?" Daphne asked apprehensively.

Ginny grinned sheepishly. "Well, I was going to ask if you're related to Ron, because he never folds his clothes either, but then I realized that there aren't many purebloods left, and that you probably are related to him, so you're related to me, and I don't want to think about that," she said.

Daphne laughed. "Well, aside from the fact we wouldn't be having kids, you don't need to worry. The Prewett-Weasley and Pyrites-Greengrass family trees don't overlap in the recent past. There have been some joins throughout history, but the most recent one was like ten generations ago. We're fine. Oh, and the Potters don't overlap for at least nine generations, either. The three of us can safely get together."

Ginny gave her a sideways glance. "That was surprisingly detailed," she said.

Daphne grinned. "That's probably because I was afraid of it too, so I looked it up."

"What would you have done if there were recent overlaps?" Ginny asked interestedly.

"Never mention it to either of you and pretend I never saw it," Daphne said immediately. "Anyway, let's get changed into something warm…despite it being hot out at the moment."

They picked out warm traveling cloaks, gloves, and scarves. It looked more like they were going on a winter expedition than heading out on a beautiful summer's day, but Daphne could still remember her flight to Grimmauld Place back in fifth year, and she had no intention of freezing to her broom this time.

Bill returned a few minutes later, carrying two brooms and two shimmering cloaks.

"These are old traveling cloaks I put a Bedazzling Hex on," he said. "They'll hide you from prying eyes unless someone is looking directly at you and already knows you're there. They're not the most reliable, especially when flying, but they should give you a bit of cover during your takeoff and landing. You should probably put them on inside and take off from the back garden, though. I'll lock up and return the keys to Mrs. Figg once you're gone."

Ginny smiled brightly and hugged Bill. "Thank you so much for helping us," she said.

Bill gently hugged her back. "Of course," he said. "I wouldn't leave my sister and her girlfriend hanging. Besides, I'm sure Ron, Harry, and Hermione could use your help. Sirius told me you've gotten pretty strong."

He handed Daphne and Ginny both a broom and a cloak.

"Well, time to get going, you two. It's a long flight and the sooner you get there, the better. I don't know how long Valentina intends to stay there, after all."

"Thank you," Daphne said softly. She knew Ginny had said it already, but Bill had done a lot for them in a very short time. She wished she could repay him more than just saying 'thanks'.

"Just keep yourselves safe, okay? And whatever you're going to do…good luck," Bill said.

Daphne and Ginny put on the cloaks Bill had given them, over the traveling cloaks they were already wearing. They weren't entirely invisible, like they would be under Harry's cloak, but the slight shimmer in the air that betrayed their presence was difficult to spot, and the bits of exposed broom once they took off probably wouldn't draw that much attention, either.

They went out into the garden and mounted their brooms. Bill raised his hand in greeting, and then Daphne and Ginny kicked off from the ground and soared up into the air, the house rapidly shrinking behind them as they gained height.

Daphne glanced at the broom handle in front of her, and saw that the magical compass Bill had affixed to it was pointing west, so even as she ascended, she began to head in that direction, Ginny flying close by her. It was already getting a bit cold, but Daphne knew they had to climb higher still. The Bedazzling cloak was whipping around in the wind, and it would far too easy for someone on the ground to spot them.

Fortunately, Ron's broom was a much better one than the ancient one Moody had given to her last time, and it was actually responsive to what she wanted to do, even though she wasn't enjoying the flight one bit. Still, everything was going well.

At least, that was what Daphne thought. Then, however, Ginny said, "We should probably speed it up a bit. At this rate it'll take us days to get there."

"I…thought we were flying pretty fast," Daphne said.

Ginny laughed, but then she realized that Daphne was serious, and began to laugh even harder.

"You really don't like flying, do you?" she asked.

Daphne shook her head, a bit annoyed. "No," she said.

"Well, I'm about to show you how we should be flying. Ron's broom can easily keep up with mine, so this shouldn't be an issue for you. Come on, follow me."

She pulled ahead at what seemed to Daphne to be lightning speed. As uncomfortable as she was, though, she wasn't about to give Ginny the satisfaction of laughing at her like that, so she leaned forward a bit and accelerated.

The wind instantly became fiercer and colder, but she kept her eyes focused on Ginny, who'd opened up something of a gap, and soon she was beginning to catch up.

"Finally here, then?" Ginny asked once Daphne was flying alongside her.

"Y-yeah. Easy," Daphne said.

Ginny smirked. "Good. Then we can get going for real now." And once again, she shot off ahead.

"You little…" Daphne muttered, but then she once again bit back her discomfort and accelerated a bit more to catch up again.

As soon as she did, she saw that Ginny was still grinning at her.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Daphne asked.

Ginny nodded. "I haven't flown since the last Quidditch game at school. I've missed it," she said. "Besides…it's not often that I get a chance to fly with you."

"I wonder why," Daphne said through gritted teeth, but in reality Ginny's remark made her discomfort suddenly far less noticeable.

"You'll get used to it soon enough," Ginny said. "We should be about high enough anyway," she added with a look down.

Indeed, when Daphne looked down as well she could barely see the cars moving on the roads. To anyone looking up from below, the two of them would probably look like nothing more than specks. Nothing anyone would look twice at, certainly.

"How fast are we flying, anyway?" Daphne asked.

"I think somewhere around fifty to fifty-five miles per hour," Ginny said. "We could go faster, of course — Ron's Cleansweep Eleven can do seventy, maybe seventy-five if you push it — but my Eight goes up to sixty-five, and I don't think you would like it very much. Harry's Firebolt could do a hundred and fifty, but of course, he lost it when the Death Eaters attacked them…"

"I can't even imagine flying at a speed like that," Daphne said with a shudder.

"It's really not that bad, but I suppose that if you don't like flying to begin with, it'd be a bit of an ask," Ginny said. She checked her watch. "It'll probably be nearly dark by the time we get there. Did you bring a tent, or something? In case we need to spend the night there?"

Daphne nodded. "Yeah, in the bag. It's a bit smaller than the one we had at the World Cup, but it should be fine. It's the one my parents used."

"Well-prepared," Ginny said approvingly.

"Hermione and I talked about it a bit," Daphne said, "so we each had a bag with supplies packed in case we had to make a quick getaway. I've got some clothes for Harry and Ron in there as well."

After that, they were silent for a long time. They'd been flying close together to be able to understand each other with some difficulty, but it was easier to fly slightly further apart. Daphne occasionally checked her compass and watch to determine roughly how long they still had to go, but for the most part there really wasn't much to do but fly west.

The landscape beneath them, though gorgeously lit by the bright sun, wasn't interesting enough to keep looking at, and the whipping wind was rapidly numbing Daphne's hands to such a degree that even checking her watch became difficult.

The entire trip would take them just over four hours, give or take, and already Daphne was wishing she could land again. But this was their best chance to get Ginny's Trace removed, and for that she was willing to suffer on the broom for the better part of the afternoon and early evening.

She gripped the broom tighter — or so she thought, anyway, her fingers were too numb to tell — and put her head down, hoping it would make things just a bit less cold.

She zoned out for a while, simply keeping up with Ginny and not thinking about anything. It would be a perfect mindset for Divination, but Daphne was so cold that nothing else seemed to be able to enter her mind except the knowledge that it was, in fact, cold. A premonition of a warm cup of tea would have been very welcome, if only to imagine for a moment that she wasn't freezing.

Just when she thought she couldn't possibly get any more sore and frozen, Ginny said, "I think we're nearly there."

Daphne checked her compass and saw the needle turning bit by bit as they were beginning to near and pass their destination.

"Finally," Daphne said, and without caring who might be watching from the ground, she sent her broom into a dive, quickly followed by Ginny.

Still following their compass needles they descended, and soon Daphne could see the small clump of stones that seemed to be their destination. A path led from it to a nearby road, and there was a house not too far from it, but in general the area seemed quite empty.

Since there were woods close by, Daphne and Ginny descended between the trees — Daphne with some difficulty and swearing — and finally touched down on the forest floor.

Daphne breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Merlin. Solid ground," she said. "And warmth! I'll never underestimate the joy of being able to feel your fingers and toes ever again." Ginny laughed.

"Isn't that a little exaggerated?" she asked.

"How doesn't this bother you?" Daphne asked enviously.

Ginny shrugged. "I was happy to fly again and the cold never bothered me anyway. The warmth is nice, though. Now come on, let's see what we can find."

Slinging their brooms over their shoulders, they set off toward the tree line, beyond which was the field with the stones in it. Just beyond the trees, though, Daphne suddenly felt something she'd felt before, the feeling of magic so thick you could almost touch it.

"Do you feel that?" she asked.

Ginny stopped walking and looked around. "Feel what?"

Daphne gestured around. "This. That feeling as if we're…immersed in magic, or something. I've felt it before somewhere…Wait! I think it was–"

"At the Quidditch World Cup," a voice in an Italian accent said from nearby.

Daphne whirled around and only now noticed the tent, in front of which stood a witch with long, dark brown hair.

"What brings you all the way here, Daphne Greengrass?" Valentina Barese asked.

Yes, I'll be that dick and end the chapter here, because it's midnight and I've got work tomorrow.