Notes: I am really sorry for having left this story off for so long, and I apologize for my following ramblings. Also, it is a bit of a short chapter, ah well...

Basically, I had a bit of writer's block, and was distracted with other things, namely a story about a futuristic Canada getting ready to beat the living tar out of the Axis powers of an alternate World War II (it makes sense in context). As well as other similar stories on the alternate history discussion board.

Anyways...

August 3, 1996

11:00:34 AM PDT

Harry found his throat was sore even as he was screaming wildly, strapped down in his seat by a tight harness. Next to him, Daphne was screaming just as loudly as they went upside down. In front of Harry, Sirius Black was howling mad, and Harry could hear the others screaming their lungs out.

Of course, they were perfectly safe, and the greater concern for the group was the blazing heat and sun burns. For they were taking the Saturday off for a visit to the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, and they were in an amusement park located at Hastings Park.

They were riding the Corkscrew, a steel roller coaster first opened only two years ago at Playland, and they were having the time of their lives. The two corkscrew loops and high speed turns reminded Harry of flying on a broom, but the ride was giving him an epic adrenalin rush. It was a rather short ride, but it left everyone catching their breaths. Harry mock-glared as Sirius bought several photographs of the Brits screaming on the coaster; they were taken by cameras located along the tracks. After collecting their breaths, the girls began to giggle as they dragged the others towards the imposing wooden coaster that had been the park's signature attraction since 1958.

After the emotionally draining chat a few nights ago, the Greengrasses decided to treat everyone to a visit to a theme park, to cheer them up and also give Harry a bit of the childhood he had been denied. They had portkeyed to Skana Point, a Magical District hidden in downtown Vancouver, and they took a magical bus, a safer counterpart of the Knight bus, to the park. Harry had insisted on paying the entrance fees for everyone, despite everybody's protests.

Remus Lupin and Tonks had joined the group, along with the twins, and with the exception of Sam, Sam's family, and Hermione, everyone else was just bewildered by the amusement park. Daniel and Michelle Greengrass had left the group earlier with their young children, taking them to the more kid-friendly attractions in the park, leaving Sam and the Brits to enjoy the day. The others were now trying to see how many rides they could get on before the park closed in the evening.

Tracy was having a small panic attack as metal restraints held her and Neville to their seats of the small car of the train. It felt even less safe than the Corkscrew, and the creaking of the wooden structures didn't help her either. At the very front of the train, Sirius had taken the entire row, with Remus and Tonks just behind him. Sirius looked behind him to see the fear in everyone's eyes. He gave a maniacal laugh as the roller coaster sped out of the station. Even Sam, who had gone to the park many times before, looked a bit unnerved by the crazed dog animagus.

After making a wide right turn, the train was soon getting pulled up by chains up a large hill, the creaking and clacking nerving most of the teens. Then at the top of the hill, the train raced down the steep slope, the laughter or screaming filling the air, as Sirius did a good impression of a rodeo cowboy, hollering in glee as he twirled an imaginary cowboy hat in the air...

(For the rest of the ride, here's the front row view: .com/watch?v=atCJxlmrfCw)

At the station, everyone was once again kneeling down, trying to catch their breaths and felt the after effects of another adrenalin rush. Then Harry began to laugh, not a humorless laugh or one hiding misery. It was the bright laugh of a boy enjoying a beautiful day with his girlfriend and friends on the west coast of Canada.

They ate hotdogs, fries, and burgers for lunch, before heading to play some carnival games. Harry managed to win a giant stuffed bear for Daphne in a balloon game, while Remus got Tonk a wildly colored stuffed monkey from skeeball. The Weasley twins got themselves inflatable hammers from a game of high striker, which they promptly used to swing at the others in the group.

After they went around the games for a couple of hours, the teens split off in pairs, with Harry and Daphne heading off to the Log Flume, while Neville and Tracy went towards the Wooden Coaster again. The twins and the Mauraders, plus Tonks, went to the Scooters Bumper car ride to terrorize other riders, while Sam and Hermione went to the Wild Mouse roller coaster. It was a night to be had...

August 15, 1996

08:22:45 AM EDT

Toronto Pearson International Airport

Harry was pacing back and forth impatiently as Harry, Daphne, Hermione, and Sirius waited for yet another arrival from Britain. Daphne stopped him in mid-pace, and her smile made him relax a little bit, though his mind was still pacing back and forth.

For the following days after Playland, the teens spent much of their free time either at the park near the Greengrass home, or were out shopping in Toronto. Their tutors continued the lessons, impressed by how fast the teens were soaking up the lessons. Harry felt happier than he ever felt before, and had gone on a few nights out with just Daphne. Neville and Tracy also went out a few times together, though Hermione and Sam had yet to actually go out.

Finally, they saw a lithe blonde girl walking out to the arrivals hall, staring wide-eyed at everything around her. Her father was also looking bewildered by the massive terminal. The Lovegoods had decided to head to Canada, with Xenophilius planning to search for undiscovered creatures in the vast wilderness of Canada.

Luna felt sad as Ron and the Weasleys decided to stay in Britain, taking residence in 12 Grimmauld Place, which was still doubling as the headquarters of the Order. It seemed that Mrs. Weasley was not ready to leave Britain, and didn't want to part with her two youngest children. Bill Weasley was apparently visiting Fleur Delacoeur, and was planning to join the part-veela witch in visiting Fleur's Montreal relatives during the fall.

The Rookery and the Burrow were both considered too dangerous to return to for the time being, as there were fears that Riddle's follows might return to simply devastate Ottery St. Catchpole. But, Luna was hoping to catch up with her friends in Canada, and had promised to find a way to write to Ron during the School year.