Chapter 61: Parc Phoenix

March 16th, 1994

Nice, France

Ron laughed. "No way!"

"Yeah, honestly. And then the book literally floated up out of my hands…"

"Were Fred and George behind this?"

"Ron, stop it!" Hermione rolled her eyes. "Let me get to the climax, for Merlin's sake."

"Yeah, but…"

"Shush. Shut up and listen. Like I was saying, it suddenly just fell on top of my head-"

"On top of your head?" Ron asked, and then he burst out laughing.

"It's not funny! It hurt!"

"Does it still hurt?"

"No."

"So it's funny," Ron reasoned, snickering.

"Oh, so clever."

"I am clever."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Hermione rolled her eyes again. "And you're the one who helps me in all my classes and does my homework for me."

"There's a difference between book-smart and being clever."

"I know that! There's knowledge outside of books, Ron."

"Did you learn that from a book?" he asked, the corners of his mouth twitching.

"If you don't shut up, I'll-"

SLAM!

Ron whirled around to see Harry leaving the room the three of them had been sitting and talking in, a lounge somewhere on the fifth floor.

"Harry?" Ron asked. He turned to Hermione. "Why did Harry leave?"

"I don't know! Do you think he's mad about Venice?"

"I hope not…"

"He talked to us yesterday, didn't he?" Hermione asked. "We were talking about the flute thing, and then he said hi to us, and we said hi back, and we kept talking about the flute thing…"

"That's it, isn't it?" Ron asked, standing up suddenly. "We're ignoring him."

"No we aren't!"

"Yes, we are. Did we say anything to him at all while we were in here today?" Ron challenged. "No! We were talking about the book which fell on your head, and he was here the whole time. We didn't even say anything to him."

"You think he's mad about that?" Hermione asked quietly.

"I'd leave if you two were just talking on and on and weren't including me," Ron admitted. "If you were just cracking some sort of case or laughing together, and you'd neglected me off on my bed… I'd get up and leave."

"Oh." Hermione bit her lip. "I didn't even realize…"

"It's not your fault. It's not mine, either. We just have to include him more."

"But that makes no sense! He's sort of the essence of our friendship."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"How can we include him? It kind of feels like he's the boss of the group. Not the boss, but like… it's his group. How can we include him?"

"It's not his group," Ron disagreed. "We're friends. But I get what you're saying, it's weird. We have to apologize to him."

Hermione sighed. "I just hope he'll forgive us."

"Welcome to the Musee Massena. This is a museum of famous artwork. We consider it the 'architectural jewel' of the Promenade des Anglais. It brings back art from history and the old days of the Riviera and blends it with the current day of modern Nice."

Tonks grinned. "Sounds fun."

"It does," agreed Lily as the two of them set into the museum. "It's going to be really fun, actually."

"You like visiting art galleries?" Tonks asked conversationally.

"Yep. Harry thinks they're boring. So does Liana. I don't like them for the history, or because I'm interested in paintings. There are always hidden meanings in them. Or I think so. I'm a nut on that stuff."

Tonks smiled. "Kind of like conspiracy theories? Except not as full-fledged?"

"Yeah. Exactly like that. It's really cool to find hidden patterns and hidden meanings in that kind of stuff."

"There are lots of books on that kind of thing," Tonks told her as they turned a corner, heading into a hallway full of paintings hung up on the walls. "Muggle and Wizarding."

"Really?" Lily frowned. "Those would actually be kind of fun to read. I used to read all the time back in my school days. Now I still read, just… not as often. If I do, it's more of a typical romance or tragedy."

She laughed. "I like reading. I love reading books. Not textbooks, though, textbooks are boring."

Lily smirked. "I used to think otherwise."

Tonks laughed again. "Anyway, I recommend… The Painted Prophecy, Stained, and Purple Beads."

"Purple Beads?" asked Lily, snorting.

Tonks grinned. "Yeah. It's actually really good, though. It's comical, but it's also about a picture of, well… purple beads."

"Okay," replied Lily. "I'll check them all out. Now let's look at these paintings…" She turned towards the wall where a lot of paintings were hung. "Woah…"

"These are good," Tonks noted, walking up to one. Tonks's hair was tied up in a pink ponytail, and she was wearing an oversized black sweater and pink shorts. Lily was wearing a pink jacket and black jeans, her hair let loose around her shoulders. "It's so intricate."

"Can you draw?"

"Erm… I think so, yeah," she replied. "I'm good at sketching, honestly. I can do really cool stuff with a pencil. But not so much with a quill. The ink goes everywhere."

"Pencils are easier," agreed Lily. "Shame we have to use quills."

"Harry?"

Harry turned around, the clear, young female voice interrupting him from his angry and miserable thoughts. It was Ginny.

She was talking to him now?

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Er… I just wanted to tell you why I'm… mad at you. Maybe we can clear things up?"

"Like, you want to be friends again?" Harry asked, not daring to believe it. Could he possibly have a friend again?

"Yes." She glared at him. "Do you have a problem?"

"No," said Harry quickly. "Absolutely not." He marvelled at how far Ginny had come. At the beginning of the year, she ducked and ran away whenever he came near. Now, she was talking to him… being snarky towards him.

Merlin, had she changed.

"You're mad because of the thing in the pool, right?" he asked her. "If so, I'm sor-"

"It's not because of that," she interrupted. Her voice didn't go all shrill and she didn't start yelling like he'd thought she would. "It's because of the thing with Andrew Kirken."

"Who's Andrew Kirken?"

"The guy I was outside with," Ginny responded. "On the Grounds. My friend."

Harry blinked, and then he remembered. "Oh, that. What did I do? I thought it was all Ron… oh."

"Yeah, 'oh'," Ginny agreed. "I can make my own friends. I can make my own decisions. It's not a big deal. I expected Ron, git that he is, to do that, because he's my brother. He's protective. And, I hate to say this, but he's allowed to. I get why he does it. But you had no right! You should have been standing up for me. How many times have you been alone with, like, Hermione? She's just your friend, right? It's not bad."

"I… I guess so," replied Harry. "When you put it that way…"

"Yeah, and you said I had to be careful around Andrew! I trust Andrew! He's my friend the same way you're friends with Hermione or anybody else, Harry. He's safe."

"I get it," said Harry. "I get what you mean, Ginny, and I'm super sor-"

"Hey, Ginny!" cried George, running up to them. "I have something cool to show you!"

"But Harry and I were just-"

"Sorry," he apologized. "But it's really cool. You guys can talk in five minutes, literally, I just have to show you… it's not going to stay for long!"

"What is it?"

"Just come! It's kind of like a theatre on wheels. And they serve ice cream! And it's a puppet show. The thing you would like!"

"Can I finish my-" started Harry.

"No, Harry, sorry!" apologized George again. "Come on, Ginny! Fred's already there."

Ginny sighed, turning back to Harry. "I'll be back," she told him.

Harry sighed.

"Take your time."

"Where are we going, Remus?" James asked Remus. "Tell me! Stop keeping me in the suspense."

"It's worth the surprise, James," Remus replied, dragging him along. "You're going to like it."

"I'm sure I am," muttered James. "The last time this happened, you dragged me to the library."

"You liked the library, and I didn't drag you without telling you where we were going."

"Dragging is dragging," replied James. "I hope you're not taking me to some kind of boring museum… Let me guess! You're taking me to the art museum Tonks and Lily went to."

"Nope," replied Remus, rolling his eyes. "We're not going to the art gallery."

"Oh, phew." James breathed out a sigh of relief. "Going and exploring art…"

Remus smirked. "You'll enjoy where we're going."

"Or so you say."

Remus rolled his eyes, but he was smiling as they finally reached their destination.

It was a stadium. It looked like a large lifeboat. The words 'Allianz Riviera' were printed on it, with a logo in the middle.

"Woah," whispered James. "Where are we?"

"The Stade de Nice," Remus responded, shoving his hands into his pockets as he leaned back, looking at the stadium. "It's a football stadium."

"Cool," marvelled James. "What's the home team?"

"OGC Nice."

"Never heard of it," replied James. "But then again, I don't follow football that actively, especially not a league between clubs in Nice."

"You'd enjoy it," Remus responded. "I followed it when I was younger. We followed the clubs in Wales."

James nodded. "Did you buy us tickets for inside, though?"

"Yep," Remus said, grinning. "I knew you'd like it."

"How much did it cost?" James asked.

"Don't worry about that. I'm funding this stuff."

"No way! You're the best, Moony."

Remus laughed. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, let's go."

They walked inside and toured the stadium. A match was going to be played five hours later, so the stadium was bustling with workers and people who had arrived early. Food stands had already been set up. Remus and James ordered fries with ketchup, and then they went outside and watched as a machine ran across the field, making the grass even.

"It looks so cool," James noted, stunned. "Just like a Quidditch Field. Except… there are goalposts. And there's no flying involved."

"Flying?" asked a woman. "And huh, what's Quidditch?"

They turned around to see a woman with curly blonde hair and sunglasses staring at them. She was sipping coke out of a can.

"What do you mean, flying?" she asked. "Is Quidditch really a thing? I have never heard of it."

"It's a sport the two of us came up with," Remus answered politely. "When we were younger."

"Ah," replied the woman. "So it doesn't exist."

"Nope," replied James, catching on. "It's basically a game where you can fly. You know, when you're a kid, you come up with all kinds of silly stuff."

The woman didn't look like she understood.

"Yeah. Sure."

Sia and Valentina were going to Parc Phoenix, which was supposed to be a really cool park with a zoo and a garden, and a big lake.

Sia was wearing a dark grey shirt and black jeans, her black hair falling until her shoulders. Her sunglasses were pushed above her forehead. Valentina, on the other hand, was dressed the complete opposite. She had on a long pink dress, and her blonde hair was tied up into an exquisite bun. She even had boots on.

"You realize we're going to a garden, right?" Sia checked. "We're going to be stepping in mud."

"Yep, I know."

"Won't your… dress get dirty?"

"Eh, yeah. It's comfortable, though." Valentina shot a grin at Sia.

"If you say so." Sia smirked. "Just make sure that you know you're going to get… very dirty."

"Oh, great," groaned a voice. "You two are coming too?"

Sia knew the voice. She had gotten used to it and its taunting.

"What does it look like?" she shot back, without even turning around. "You think we're going to sit in a bus and go back and forth on the road?"

"You-"

"Okay, okay, enough," came a new voice.

Sia had to turn around this time. It was Draco Malfoy, and he took a seat next to Candice, who was next to Kylie, who was next to Liana. The latter had a scowl on her face.

"You guys have to stop quarrelling," he ordered. "Yes, we're all going to the Parc Phoenix. Can you guys not just shut up and enjoy it?"

"Tell that to Liana," suggested Sia.

"Hey, I-"

"Shut up," Draco interrupted as the bus came to a halt and they all filed out and started walking into the park. "Just shut it. Slytherins shouldn't fight with each other. Our common enemy is the Gryffindors."

Valentina and Sia exchanged a look.

"Stop instigating first years against Houses already, Draco," came another voice. Sia groaned. Why were so many people coming to this park? The smile wiped off of Draco's face as well. It was Cedric Diggory, accompanied by Cho Chang.

"What are you doing here?" Valentina asked Cedric interestedly. "And you're Cho, right?" she asked, turning to Cho.

"Yeah, I am," she replied, smiling at her before throwing a rather annoyed look at Draco.

"We're going to Parc Phoenix," replied Cedric.

"So are we," grumbled the others.

"Great!" Cedric seemed to be the only one with a smile still on his face.

"Let's go, then," mumbled Sia. "Where do you want to go?"

"The greenhouse," replied Valentina.

"Hey, come on, I wanted to go there!" groaned Draco.

"Hello, Draco. I recognize your voice," came a dreamy voice.

Sia turned around. It was a girl with shimmery blonde hair, who was a Ravenclaw. "Hi," Sia greeted. "What's your name?"

"Ah, Allesia Channing. I've seen you in the hallway sometimes, you know?" the girl continued, her blonde hair dancing in the wind.

"Oh. Interesting." She sounded a little weird, but still nice. "I go by Sia, though. Don't call me Allesia or else… well… don't."

"Okay, Sia. Nice to meet you." She grabbed a fistful of the air suddenly, as if she'd been possessed by an evil spirit. "Oh, darn!"

Sia opened her mouth to speak. "Er, are you okay?"

The girl looked at her, but her eyes seemed far away. "Yeah. I suppose I am. I'm looking for Nargles. I thought I found a couple in the air… like there." The girl danced around, clapping the air at random times, returning. "I found two."

"Oh, good for you," Draco said.

"What's your name?" Sia asked again.

"Luna. Luna Lovegood."

Luna Lovegood… yeah, Sia had heard that name before. Except when she'd heard it, it was Looney Lovegood.

Huh. That was kind of mean.

Percy was excited.

Penelope was not so excited.

"Ruins?" she asked, sounding incredulous. "Are you serious?"

"Yes of course! Ruins are very fascinating and educational."

"Percy," she groaned. "We came here to have some fun. Why are we exploring 'educational' stuff? Can't we go to the beach?"

"And learn about crab species? Seriously, Penny, I learned them all in first year."

"No! I mean to go for a swim. For a walk."

"An… educational swim?" Percy asked blankly. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean."

"I mean, nothing educational! We just go for a swim. We dive into the ocean and splash around. That's all I mean. Do you not understand or something? I don't want to do educational stuff!" She looked around. "Ruins! It's not fascinating, Percy."

"I… I thought you liked learning."

"Of course I do. I love history and education. But that's for school, or when we're at home, bored. We're on vacation. There are so many things to do. And we spend it learning? Like, can't one thing be for pure pleasure? Nothing 'learning' involved?" she fired at him.

"You…"

"Perce, please. I don't want to go exploring ruins. Can we go to a mall?"

"We went shopping earlier, though. Come, let's go try looking around."

Penelope sighed.

Percy frowned. He didn't get it.

Ruins were fun!

"No, Percy. I'm not going to look around ruins. You stay. I'm going-"

"But we went shopping earlier!"

"Yeah, and you've been totally ruining the rest of my vacation. You know what, you enjoy. I'm going to call one of my friends and we're going to go out to the beach or something."

Percy stared at her blankly. "But… I thought we were together. You're supposed to stick with me and we do stuff together!"

"Yeah. I always stick with you. I always do stuff with you. Can't you do something I want, for a change?"

Percy opened his mouth, then closed it. "Oh. Well… What can we do?"

Penelope rolled her eyes, but she scrunched up her face in thought, running her hands down her hair.

"Can we go for pizza?"

"Yes, we should! That would be very… wait." Percy's enthusiasm vanished. "Sorry, Penny, I don't have my Arithmancy Fraction Spiral with me at the moment."

"Why do you need a Spiral?"

"For charting the fractions of the pizza onto a graph…"

He trailed off as he saw the murderous look he was receiving from her.

A/N: Aaaand we're back. Sorry for the crazy updating schedule. 😭

Enjoy! Please review :)