Just doing some editing is all…hope yous're all having a nice summer/winter!
It was a week and a half later and the Weasley family was in a state of distress. Even Uncle Vernon would not, should he have bumped into her in the street, been able to call Mrs. Weasley "dumpy" anymore. She had lost so much weight since her daughter's flight that her husband began to have to coax her into eating three proper meals a day; though all she could do was nibble at the food before her and more often than not burst into tears at the table.
Harry was contacted at once after Mrs. Weasley was revived and Mr. Weasley called from work. No, Ginny hadn't come to see him, but he had sent her his Firebolt, news that sent poor Molly Weasley into a state of panic. Arthur Weasley had gotten a search party started- surely she'd gone to one of her friends, a classmate, perhaps?- but as the Weasleys and their friends turned their neighbourhood upside down in search of young Ginny, why she had gotten hold of a Firebolt was the sinister question in the back of everyone's minds.
--
A girl around 5"2, with stringy red hair and tired hazel eyes, landed a magnificent broom in the dead centre of Sydney, Australia's magical community. Her arms flopped to her sides, exhausted. Twelve countries and over fifty Galleons later, we could say that Ginny found herself better acquainted with the world.
…But she didn't. She was filthy, worn out and hungry; her arms and back were sorer than ever, and she wished, desperately wished, that Bill would to pop out of nowhere and take her somewhere with hot baths and warm meals. Which, sadly, did not happen.
She had Bill's address, without the faintest clue of how to get there; there was nothing to do but walk and ask around.
Ginny began trudging down a street named Cobberly Road, but taking in her surroundings soon lifted her spirits; the bustle reminded her of Diagon Alley, and for a moment she felt a pang of nostalgia. Just for a moment. There was something peculiar and enchanting about this place that cured her homesickness and made her fall in love with it. The atmosphere in the streets, the grin on the face of every shopkeeper was- there was no other word for it- relaxed. She understood why Bill had taken to the place immediately.
She was about to interrupt two old men stooped over a game of wizard's chess when she came across a very small store with a sign above the doorpost that read, "Too Right- Wicked Jewelry for blokes & babes; body art, piercing, & more." The letters magically changed colours every few seconds, but Ginny didn't notice that at all.
"Too Right..." she murmured. She had a flashback of last Christmas, when she'd admired Bill's dragon-tooth necklace. This was the store he'd said the necklace came from.
Ginny entered the shop; A blond boy in his early twenties dressed in a black leather outfit and troll-skin combat boots occupied the cash register. A pretty brunette standing near the back of the shop was also wearing leather, busy piercing a fourth hole in a customer's ear. All around were shelves laden with peculiar accessories, cabinets full of fascinating trinkets, and glass cases displaying funky silver jewellery. This must be the place, thought Ginny.
The ceiling was painted black, casting a dark look about the room. However, when Ginny looked up she spotted an orange circle of paint right above her.
"They're mood circles."
The boy at the cash had spoken. He pointed to the colour-coded chart. Ginny approached the chart and read:
Moods
Red: Angry
Yellow: Scared
Green: Mellow
Blue: Happy
Orange: Excited
Pink: Ashamed
Purple: Confused
Black: None of your bizzo
"Grouse, isn't it?" The leather-clad boy smiled condescendingly down at her- literally. He was indisputably over six feet tall. She wondered if wearing troll-skin boots affected his growth.
"It's fascinating," Ginny said shyly, assuming that was what he'd meant. "I haven't seen anything like it before."
The boy's smile vanished. He took a quick glance at the ceiling.
"So you're a pom," he sneered. "And you find my store fascinating, do you? Figures you haven't got any shops like it in Pommy Land."
Ginny's anger flared.
"That's United Kingdom."
"Oooh," he said, grinning unpleasantly. "My mistake. But you Poms are all the same. Y' can't take a joke."
"I beg your pardon?" Ginny blurted.
"I beg your pardon?" the boy mimicked.
Ginny forgot her shyness and glared at him.
"You're a real twat, you know that?"
The boy laughed, but there was something wrong with his laugh; like it had been washed out too many times and had lost all its colour. Ginny headed for the door.
"You must be Bill Weasley's sister," he called after her. "Same hair colour, same temper, same dislike for people better than yourselves."
Ginny froze.
"Weasley? Ginny Weasely?" came a soft, incredulous voice from a corner of the shop.
Ginny turned back to see who had spoken. It was the pretty girl in leather; she rushed over to her, and to Ginny's utter shock, gave her a warm hug.
"I'm so stoked to meet you," she said earnestly, and Ginny noticed tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
"Um…same here," she responded, wondering how this girl knew her name.
The girl turned to Cal and shot him a disapproving look.
"Pom-lover," Cal muttered.
"Give me a break. She was a likely customer until you made her want to bail out," the girl responded sharply.
Cal opened his mouth to respond, but the girl shot him a warning glance and, perhaps because he craved her good opinion, remained silent.
"Bill talks about you all the time. I'm Lauren Cordell, or Ren, that's what my mates call me. And…", her voice went down a notch, "…it's so nice to see you alive!"
"Um, what did you just say?" Ginny asked warily.
"I mean, it's nice to see you in…live! I mean in person!" Lauren explained, perhaps a bit too quickly, but still smiling brightly. "Right, so, Bill's gonna be at the bank until 6:00, after which he'll probably be heading down to the Quidditch pitch to watch the juniors play. I can't bring you to Gringotts," she added, anticipating Ginny's next question, "because frankly, nobody knows where it is besides the people that work there - 'like to keep their bizzo top-secret. You can explore the rest of the day if you like, or I can drop you off at my place so you can get some rest."
"Are you and Bill...um..?" Ginny asked, her face turning as red as her hair.
Lauren's face went pink.
"I'm your brother's mate, Ginny, nothing more than that."
"Oh," said Ginny, suddenly feeling very small and foolish.
"Never mind," Lauren assured her, waving her hand dismissing it. "You hungry? You look like you could use a bite. Or several."
"Um…"
GRUMBLE.
Ginny looked down at her stomach and gave Lauren a weak grin.
"Reckon I could?"
--
Fed and rested, a much more high-spirited Ginny walked down a busy street with Lauren, both sipping kiwi-pumpkin juice, which tasted better than Ginny had predicted.
"In a half an hour two of our junior teams are having a match, teens your age mostly. Quid's really big here so many people try to make it to every match, so if we go early we'll be able to get good seats. Bill will also no doubt head there straight after work. Whadya say?"
Ginny's face lit up.
"That sounds great! I love Quidditch!" she cried passionately, almost spilling her drink. "You think if I ask them, they'll let me play? I've come by Firebolt you know."
Lauren gaped.
"You got to Aus on A BROOMSTICK?" she asked in disbelief.
"Well, yeah," she said, smiling proudly. "I borrowed it from a friend of m...my brother Ron's."
Her smile dropped slightly at the thought of Harry.
"A Firebolt, whoa," Lauren said slowly, impressed. "I can't believe it. Well, I'm not sure they'll let you play today, but you never know. You and your Firebolt may come in handy."
--
"Hey guys!"
The group of boys and girls that seemed, to Ginny, all slightly above her age (or so they seemed to her), were not called to attention by Lauren's soft voice. They kept arguing, waving their broomsticks menacingly in the air.
"Are you sure you're friends with these people?" Ginny asked Lauren nervously.
"Of course! They're very friendly," Lauren replied cheerfully.
Ginny turned to gaze at them again. They were all glaring or scowling while the rest bellowed in each other's faces. Ginny gulped.
--
"I'm tellin' you mates, Nikki Price quit the team, and all because her father said she could do better than us," an Australian native with dark dredlocks told the other indignantly.
"That a Price for ya," a boy with spiky blond hair muttered resentfully.
An angry murmur arose amongst the crowd of kids.
"What's everyone upset about? I'm glad that boomer's gone," a boy with tousled brown hair declared. A raven-haired girl immediately punched him in the arm. The boy howled.
"Danny! What was that for?"
Danny glared at him.
"For calling a girl a boomer, that's why, you big troll."
"Geez."
"So, what do you folks plan on doin' about it?" asked a tall boy with a tanned face and sparkling blue eyes. "If we don't have a seeker we stand Buckley's of winning the cup this summer."
A few nodded in agreement.
"Bloody oath, Ryan."
"I should've gone abroad."
"We're dead meat."
A very-freckled, stout boy waved his hand energetically in Ryan's face. He pointed to himself.
"Uh, cap'n, did you forget 'bout your backup seeker?"
"Like I said," Ryan repeated. "We stand Buckley's of winning the cup this summer."
There were a few sniggers, while most of team tried to suppress their laughter.
"Oooh, that was harsh, mate!" Danny told Ryan, grinning.
Ryan turned to Benjy.
"I'm sorry mate, but you're just not ready. You understand, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Benjy replied grudgingly.
Danny put her arm around him.
"Never mind him, Benj. Ry's a touch bitter because Nikki dropped him 'round the same time she dropped the team!
Ryan's eyes widened with Danny's smile.
"You can't keep a secret, can you?" he groaned in mock-agony, trying to ignore all the gasps, sympathy, and even applauding he was getting from his and the opposing team.
"Have I ever?"
"Gotcha."
"Hey mates!" a short, brown-haired girl broke in. "Look who's here!"
She pointed to where Lauren and Ginny were standing.
"Ace! And her friend's got a broom! Ask her if she plays Quid," Ryan advised her.
"What do mean, ask her? Let's ALL go say hello," the girl suggested.
--
Ginny eyed the pack nervously. All of a sudden, a girl looked up and pointed to her. Ginny froze. A second later every single one of them mounted their brooms, and were approaching the spot where she and Lauren helplessly stood.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"Ginny, what's the matter?" Lauren asked alarmed, grabbing Ginny by her shoulders to keep her from running away.
Ginny was speechless, her eyes wide with fear. Before Lauren could say anything else, fourteen witches and wizards had landed their brooms in a circle around them.
"G'day, 'Ren!" one said with a grin.
"Who's your friend?"
"Does she play Quid?"
"Does she talk? 'Looks a bit frozen, doesn't she?"
"Mates," Lauren announced, taking Ginny's hand to calm her down. "You'll never guess who this is."
"Uh…"
"A statue?"
"Shuddup, Jo."
"A distant rellie?" Danny guessed.
"Getting warm. She's not my rellie, she's…"
"Bill Weasley's."
Everyone gasped and turned to look at Ryan wearing a self-satisfied expression on his face.
"Right?"
"Reckon! You're good, Ryan," Lauren said laughing. "This is Ginny, Bill's sister." She turned to Ginny, whose pale face was now coloured red. She had taken sudden interest in her sneakers and was studying them intently rather than face the group. Lauren tapped her.
"Ginny."
Ginny glanced up nervously.
"Ginny, may I introduce Ryan Buchanan, Benjy Cunningham, Wirinun Khoo, his older sister Wirruna Khoo, Tommy Anderson, Audrey Knox and Danny Maguire," Lauren recited enthusiastically. "They're our neighbourhoods team, the Aussie Airbornes', and- no offense you guys-" she told the others, "The best junior team in Oz. Sydney's got another team called the Stings but they're just a bunch of rich folk with no talent, right guys?" she laughed, baiting them. The Airbornes booed loudly.
"Right. Now, these seven here are the team the Airbornes will be playing against t'day, the Melbourne Mob. I've met you all before but I don't remember any of your names except for Joseph, who told it to me about 55 times during your last game against the Bornes'."
They all snickered.
"I'm Sam Von Witt , captain and chaser."
"Catie Grant, keeper."
"Luke Hunter, beater."
"My name's Becca Moss, 'n I'm a chaser."
"Cameron Thatcher, beater."
"Chloe O'Brien, chaser."
"And I'm Joseph, or Jo Parker, known far and wide for my extraordinary talent as seeker. And I didn't forget your name either, sweet Lauren."
Everybody besides for Ginny groaned. Jo, ignoring them, picked up Lauren's hand and kissed it.
"Oh Joe, didn't I politely tell you to bug off last game?"
"All attractive Sheilas play hard to get."
"You're hopeless."
"You're beautiful."
"I'm about seven years older than you."
"Age is irrelevant. I'm in love."
Lauren rolled her eyes.
"Say, Ryan," Lauren called, choosing to ignore Joseph and his dopey stare, "Looks like you've got a missing player. What d'you say about Ginny playing with you folks t'day?"
There was an uncomfortable silence. Both teams turned to look at Ryan.
Ryan took a step closer to where Ginny stood. If Ginny had wanted to look at his face she would have needed to look up, but she didn't dare. It didn't take a Hermione to realize that this boy possessed the aura of absolute authority, less to do with his good looks and height and more with something internal. Whatever he ruled would be accepted without question, which is why Ginny feebly kicked at the grass and fiddled with the handle of her broomstick as Ryan took a scrutinizing turn around her. It seemed like a millenia had passed before he moved back beside his team.
"I don't think so, Ren. If we were only practicing...I'd give her a shot, but we've got a real match today. You understand."
Ginny's red face began to burn. Lauren took note of this and casually added,
"Oh, and by the way, besides for being incredibly talented, she's also got a Firebolt."
Everyone gasped. Ryan's jaw almost dropped open in surprise. Lauren smiled innocently as she gave Ginny a tiny wink.
"What," she told Ryan. "Hadn't you noticed?"
Too Right: Definitely
Grouse: Great/terrific
Pommy: Englishman/woman
Bail out: leave (usually angrily)
Bloody oath: That's true
Boomer: male kangaroo
Dill: idiot
Sheila: girl/woman
S'lata: see you later
Stoked: excited
We stand Buckley's: we don't stand a chance
