Less than a minute later, Ginny watched Ryan exit, followed by Bill carrying the two helmets.
"S'lata!" Ryan called, as he walked away from the house.
Does that mean he's not coming with us?" Ginny whispered to Bill, accepting the helmet he offered her.
"No, he's going to apparate and meet us there," Bill replied. He made a funny face to match her grimace, and she laughed. "Sorry about that, Gin. I didn't think to ask you beforehand. For a moment there I'd forgotten how shy you are."
"I'm not shy anymore, not really. I just…can't stand him that's all!"
Bill burst into laughter as he helped her adjust her helmet.
"You hate the bloke? Then why'd you agree to join the team? Plan on whacking him with your broom?"
"I joined because they let," Ginny retorted in a muffled voice from behind her visor. "Fred, George, Ron…none of them ever let me play," she recounted bitterly. "They just thought I was into it because I wanted to 'be a big kid'. But all of a sudden I'm holding a Firebolt and I'm magically fit to be a player, a seeker, no less. So I'm taking the shot, even if a git like Ryan is captain."
Bill looked at her in surprise and then grinned.
"That's the spirit, Gin. The only way to prove you're good is if you get the chance to show what you're made of. I'd wait before making up my mind about Ryan, though."
"I see."
"And another word of advice? Brothers are like that; it's part of the job description. And as you know how serious Fred and George are, it's no wonder they take this part of their job with the same seriousness they apply to everything else."
"Haha," she replied, amused. "Anyway, how did you say Ryan was getting to Too Right?" she asked, climbing unto the back of the motorcycle.
"He's apparating."
"Ryan's EIGHTEEN?"
"No, in Aus you can apparate at sixteen, if you pass the test."
"I wanna live here," Ginny said dreamily.
"And speaking of modes of transport, why don't you bring the Firebolt with you?" Bill suggested. "And your swimsuit, if you brought one. 'Never know, they might come in useful."
When the Firebolt and swimsuit were safely tucked into the trunk of the motorcycle (its spaciousness strangely similar to Mr. Weasley's ex-Ford Anglia), Bill jumped on the bike and the engine roared to life. In a few moments they were in the sky, soaring over trees, traffic, the world...for about sixty seconds. Almost as soon as they were up in the sky Bill began to land, arriving precisely in front of Too Right.
Bill pulled off his helmet and turned to Ginny, his face wearing a mock-arrogant expression.
"Perfect parking, as always."
"You've got to teach me that," his younger sister begged.
"Have you driven before?" he asked her sceptically.
"Do pigs fly? Mum would kill me."
"Point taken; Mum doesn't even know I bought this motorcycle."
"What, you haven't told her?"
"Do pigs fly? She'd kill me."
"Point taken."
He helped her off the bike, and with each of them holding their helmets under their arms, they approached the skull on the door.
"Hey- you came yesterday," it sneered menacingly at Ginny.
"You remembered" she responded brightly.
"'Course I did. I've got an ace memory!" the skull chirped. "Why I remember..."
Bill and Ginny nodded politely and entered the shop, leaving the skull to ramble on to whomever might be passing by.
"Hey, look up," Ginny told Bill as soon as they stepped inside.
An orange circle had appeared on the ceiling above him.
"Ha! I'd forgotten about those," he exclaimed. "They're wicked! Reckon this is the only place in Aus that's got 'em. Ren said they're imported from South Africa."
"Well, if it isn't Mr. I-Know-Every-Bloody-Fact and his baby sister," a cold voice called from a corner of the shop.
Ginny cringed, recognizing whom it was. Cal Price. She spun around and glared at him as he walked towards them, but his eyes were fixed spitefully on Bill.
"Haven't anything more to do than inventing pathetic insults to throw at customers?" Bill said lightly, apparently used to the friendliness of Cal's greetings.
"Always so arrogant...and always so poor," Cal said, smiling wickedly. " I wouldn't be surprised if those little goblins at the bank fired you for stealing."
"No, Price, you'd be the only one stupid enough to do that," Bill replied, always remaining calm.
Cal's face turned red, but he tried to suppress his anger.
"I aughta give 'em a shout, let 'em know what a serious employee you are, shopping in the middle of the day," he threatened, reaching for some powder in a glass jar.
"Don't bother. Bill's already told my dad, and he completely understands," someone said from behind them.
Ryan stood by the door, clutching his broomstick and looking at Cal defiantly. Cal seemed surprised by Ryan's sudden appearance, but quickly concealed it.
"Got yourself a bodyguard, Weasley?" Cal sneered. "And no one less than, oh, yesterday's leftovers."
As Ryan's face grew visibly more tense, Ginny turned from him to Cal, confused. What did Cal mean by that? And what did Ryan mean by his dad "understanding" about Bill? It all felt extremely awkward, as though each was speaking a different language, and Ginny wasn't sure of anything but her desire to leave the place at once. Somebody do something, she thought desperately.
"Hey, you guys are actually on time!"
Lauren hurried over to them from a small office at the back.
Ginny gave her a small wave, very thankful indeed.
"Hi Bill, Ginny…and Ryan! Decided to join us, didja? Ace," Lauren told him warmly.
"You're leaving, Ren?" Cal asked startled.
"Yeah, I told you this morning that I was taking the day off. It's Tuesday- Tuesday's are never busy."
"But, but-" Cal spluttered, his face turning a pretty shade of purple.
"Cal, I've covered for you thousands of times," Lauren said, ushering everyone outside. "I'm asking you just this once to cover for me."
It seemed like it was costing him every ounce of self-restraint he possessed. His eyes kept darting from Bill, who was already outside, to Lauren, standing by the door, ready to join him. He was trapped.
"Fine," he said through clenched teeth.
Lauren gave him a huge smile, forcing him to return it with an enormous fake one.
"Thanks a million, Cal- bye!"
And with a friendly wave, Lauren left Too Right for the day, to the delight of her friends, and to the dismay of Cal, who was left standing behind the counter in an empty store, counting the ways in which he hated Bill Weasley, an activity that occupied him for the remainder of the day.
---
"This is----it?"
Ginny tried not to sound too disappointed as she stared at the same row of shops on Cobberly Road she had seen the day before. Standing outside Barnop's Bakery, she could hear Patty yelling at Barney inside, something about the pavs again. As much as she was fond of the two of them, she was hoping to be brought to somewhere exciting, to do something that would keep her image of Bill's "wonderful life in Australia" from being dashed. Bill put his hand on her shoulder.
"Gin," he said. "You didn't think I'd let you go home without seeing what Aus is really about, did you?"
"I'm guessing there's more to this street than meets the eye?"
"Chya."
They led her to an alley behind Barnop's that Ginny hadn't noticed until it were pointed out, probably because it was so narrow. Bill stopped abruptly, looking at the brick wall and muttering to himself.
"What's he doing?" Ginny whispered to Lauren.
"Just watch."
After a few moments, Bill pulled out his wand and drummed a simple beat on a few different bricks. Suddenly, a face appeared in the brick's place.
"How many?" it asked in a gruff voice.
"We're four, thank you," Bill replied pleasantly.
Before Ginny had a chance to ask about it, a golden outline of a door became visible against the old, ruddy wall. Bill moved aside, gesturing to Lauren.
"Ladies first."
Lauren shot Ginny a supportive smile, and then placed herself right in the middle of door. With a small gust of wind, she was gone.
"Kinda like a Platform 9 ¾, but without the running?" Ginny asked her brother.
"Kinda. Want to go next?"
"Uh…"
She wasn't so sure she was ready to get sucked into a wall yet. It was one of those nerve-racking, once-a-year events she didn't look forward to.
"Don't tell me our new seeker's scared of a wall?" Ryan said with a smirk.
"Scared? Me? Sure you're not?" Ginny responded briskly. Without waiting for a reply, she stepped in front of the door, gripping the Firebolt tightly as she briefly heard the wind rush past her ears. Her body suddenly felt like butter, and she gasped, seeing herself dissolve into the wall.
She would've fell over once on the other side- the wall had a way of spitting you out- but Lauren had been waiting right there and caught her.
"Thanks," Ginny gasped. Her eyes widened as she took in her new surroundings. Her eyes darted from one marvel to the next- she could scarcely believe her eyes! Better than any magic she had ever seen, better than anything she could have expected—
THE BEACH!
Oh, the beach, with sand and seashells and a beautiful boardwalk, only for witches and wizards! There were some tanning and sipping pumpkin juice; others were in the water, having contests to see who could conjure the biggest wave. Many children were building sandcastles with sophisticated irrigation systems and smoking chimneys, whereas the great majority of teenagers seemed to be passionately devoted to standing on their brooms and riding the colossal waves (both magical and natural ones). The boardwalk was a world unto itself- ice cream parlours, juice stands, small shops selling bizarre little trinkets all on display outside, all begging to be picked up and played with. There were people shouting, people laughing, people enjoying themselves. Combined with the salty sea breeze and warm sun, the whole scene had an aura of absolute perfection. As Ginny soaked it all in, Bill arrived and stood beside her.
"Welcome to Burton's Beach," he said.
---
"I'll have one scoop of the Gummygum Greatness, please."
"Wise choice," Bill remarked. "You're always safe with that one. It's about the only one he can't, you know, tamper with."
They were standing in Faustus' Fantastic Flavours, watching Ginny pick an ice cream cone. The four of them had spent the first half of the afternoon by the water. Ginny had finally understood why Bill had told her to bring her broomstick and swimsuit along. Nearly every teenager on the beach was either surfing on his or her broomstick or attempting to do so. She learnt that with the help of a magical ointment, one's broom could be made waterproof and help you stay standing while surfing, or so the sport was called. Ryan had brought his along and quickly joined the pack, and for a while Ginny, Bill and Lauren watched him ride above, under, and in and out of waves. Ryan was as amazing a surfer as he was a keeper, and pretty soon a crowd of people were watching alongside them as Ryan twisted and turned his broom, shooting through the water so quickly Ginny was getting dizzy keeping track of him.
Of course, then Bill had to say, "Hey Ginny, why don't you give it a shot?" Sure, Ginny had thought. To Bill, anything new was an adventure. And it may have been the same for Ginny were it not for her inexperience with the ocean. She had only been once before, in Egypt two years earlier. She was also reluctant to try any sport that wasn't Quidditch, especially if she had to be coached by Ryan. It was her desire to please Bill that overruled her reservations on the matter, and Ryan was called over to explain the sport. It sounded idiotic at first, (well, idiotic and scary beyond all reason) but Ginny found herself listening intently as Ryan demonstrated the best ways to stay on the broom, to catch a wave, and so forth. She refused to risk damaging the Firebolt so she used Ryan's to practice. After an exhausting yet fascinating two hours (during which Ginny barely managed to stand on the broom for longer than a few seconds), the four of them left the beach and made for the boardwalk, where Bill treated them all to ice cream.
"Whadya mean, tamper?" Ginny asked Bill when they were outside, sitting in the shade at a small round table.
"Faus is a friend of mine. He thinks it's funny to keep magically changing the flavours around. I once chose what I thought was caramel and pecans ended up being pumpkin-flavoured with pieces of cockroach cluster."
"Fred tricked me into tasting one of those once."
"No way, I taught him that!"
Ginny laughed.
"So, how about we do the boardwalk next?" Bill asked everyone. They all agreed. "What sort of shops d'you guys wanna check out?"
"Quidditch", Ryan and Ginny said in unison.
"I was thinking of looking at other accessory shops, y'know, see what's out there that we haven't got at Too Right," Lauren replied. "Why don't we split up for a while and then meet back here in an hour?"
Bill and Ryan both agreed ("But don't be late, Gin. There are some people I want you to meet."), which left Ginny with little opportunity to protest. Ten minutes later, she and Ryan were left to wander around the boardwalk by themselves.
"I…saw a crowd of people cheering about something," Ginny told him to break the uncomfortable silence between them. "See?" She pointed to a spot a little further down.
Ryan flashed her a grin.
"Ah, it's contest season," he explained. "Blokes try to compete in whatever they fancy they're good at."
"Such as…?"
"Flying, for example."
Ginny paused for a moment and then smiled reticently to herself.
"What?" Ryan asked her, noticing the smile. "What'd I say?"
---
"Your brother's going to kill me when he finds out I let you do this."
"It can be as dangerous as surfing- there's just flying involved, right?"
"No, there's flying and there's gold, and I'm warning you, these folks aren't friendly when they lose," Ryan said as they made her way through the large crowd of boys (and some girls) ranging from teenagers to young adults.
"Why shouldn't they be? It's just a game."
"What is with you and 'it's just a game'!" he exploded.
Ginny eyed him warily.
"Just…stop…saying that," he said, trying to be civil.
"I don't have to bet myself, do I?" Ginny asked, thinking of the 3 knuts she had left.
"Not if you're competing. Others bet on whomever they think will win, and afterwards all the gold is divided up between the winner and the ones who bet on him…or her," he added as an afterthought.
When they finally reached the front, Ginny observed a medium-sized wooden table with three cauldrons sitting on it, the one in the middle much larger than the two on its sides. All three were empty.
"Aaaaaaaaaa'right," the guy standing behind the table bellowed. "Who's up next, mates?"
"I am!" Ginny cried. Several beefy guys beside her looked at her strangely. "I mean, yeah, I'll do it," she said nonchalantly.
The boy in charge burst out laughing, getting several others to join in.
"Sorry love," he told her, still snickering. "But we don't accept little sheilas."
Ryan moved up and stood beside her.
"Ah, Ginny, maybe you better not," he began, but Ginny ignored him.
"I'm fourteen years old, and I've got a Firebolt," she shot back, placing the broom in full view.
The boy stopped laughing at once, as did his friends. The huge mob gradually fell silent.
He looked from Ginny to the Firebolt, then back to Ginny.
"May I?" he whispered.
"Okay then, as long as you're careful."
He picked it up with both hands, fingering it reverently.
"Bloody oath, a real Firebolt," he murmured to himself, in total awe. "The superfine handle made of ash, the unsurpassable aerodynamic perfection, the streamlined birch twigs and the-"
"Golden registration number," Ginny finished off. "So…does this mean I'm legible?"
The boy snapped out of his trance.
"What? Oh yeah, you're totally in, uh---what's your name again?"
"Ginny Weasley."
"Hi, I'm Peter Wilkins," he replied in a friendly tone. He turned to the once-again bustling spectators. "Aaaaaaaaaa'right! Who here is brave enough to give it a burl? Indeed, can ANYONE match a Firebolt?"
Ginny heard snippets of conversations rippling through the crowd.
"No way, I ain't tryin'."
"Yeah, it's a FIREBOLT, no way I can beat that with a bloody Comet 260."
"And I thought my Nimbus 2001 was cool."
"Ha! The Firebolt's an international standard broom, y'know."
"He'll do it," a girl's voice called out from the outer rims of the crowd.
Everyone turned to identify the speaker. Ginny gulped as she watched a girl a few inches taller than her with long blond hair, frosty blue eyes and a familiar sneer saunter over to where Ginny stood, tailed by a tall boy holding a sleek Nimbus 2002. He sported a dark, thin goatee and an arrogant expression, looking down at Ginny as though she were no more than a pebble. Ginny attempted a feeble grin, but she was so nervous it came out lopsided; he must have thought she was making faces at him, which only made her seem more small and foolish.
"Well, if it isn't our flying champ Les Callaghan," Peter bellowed, slapping his hand.
What HAVE I gotten myself into? Ginny thought frantically She turned to Ryan for reassurance, but he seemed to have forgotten all about her and the rest of the world, except for the girl with the long blond hair and the twisted smile. His narrowed eyes remained fixed on her, his cheeks suddenly flushed. After a little while the girl noticed him. Her smile became even more twisted and she said in an exaggeratedly sweet voice,
"Ryan! How SWELL to see you!"
"Nikki," was all Ryan could manage to reply through clenched teeth.
Something clicked in Ginny's mind just then and she stared blankly at the girl.
"You're a Price," she blurted.
Nikki's eyes darted from Ryan to Ginny, her perverse smile still intact, her arms folded across her chest.
"And you must be my back-up," she said brightly.
"Your back-up?" Ginny quickly asked.
"Of course- didn't Ryan tell you I used to play seeker for the talentless little Airbornes? I'm with the Stings now, the better team in Sydney, and you must be the back-up seeker, and no doubt the back-up girl-"
"Shut up Nikki," Ryan cut her short. Nikki looked appalled, but strangely satisfied.
"Always so childish, Ry," she said condescendingly.
"At least I'm not a traitor."
"I prefer to think of myself as a freelancer," she replied. Her eyes exuded illusory innocence.
"Hey- d'you got a problem with my girl?" Les piped up.
Ryan looked up at him, noticing him for the first time. The two glared at each other.
"Are all of you DONE? Because we folks are tryin' to have a race here," Peter broke in (with jolly good timing I might add).
Nikki flashed Ryan and Ginny a final, wicked grin.
"G'luck to you both- you're going to need it." Then she turned her backs to them.
"Um…d'you want me to hit her?" Ginny muttered to Ryan.
Ryan gave her a wry smile.
"No use- she'd still be a Price."
"I'm starting to get the feeling I should have listened to you and not gotten involved."
"Never mind that, you've got to win this race."
"Why?" Ginny asked, boggled by his sudden interest.
"Because when the 'Bornes hear that you've beaten Nikki's boyfriend, they'll play a lot better at practice, I'm sure of it. You can't imagine what kind of effect the presence of a Firebolt can have on a team."
"You might be surprised," Ginny mumbled. She was thinking of the Gryffindors.
Ryan gave her a queer look but said nothing. Then he nodded his head towards the table and said,
"Check it out."
Ginny looked at the table; the smaller cauldron on the left was overflowing with gold- the one on the right was only half-full.
"I'm guessing mine's the one on the right?"
"Yeah, but hey, he's been winning these races for the past three years- whad'you expect? Listen-" he said, getting closer to keep Les and Nikki from overhearing. "You've got a Firebolt- use it! The Nimbus '02 's no match in speed or breaking spell, so when you both get to the other side, he'll need to break early and you won't. If you zoom until the last possible minute and then rush back at the highest speed you aughta make it," he finished with a flourish.
Instead of being grateful, Ginny cast him an angry look.
"Well, if the Firebolt can do it," she said curtly. And before he could reply she mounted the Firebolt and flew up to the starting point, where Les promptly joined her, leering ominously.
Peter was finally finished collecting the last of the bets and taking down everyone's names.
"I see most folks have chosen to root for our returning Champ!" he commented loudly, gesturing to Les' cauldron which was bursting with gold. He then poured the contents of both small cauldrons into the large one, shouting,
"Ha! These are the highest stakes I've seen yet! Now ARE YOU READY?"
Leaving his friends in charge of watching the gold, he mounted his boom and came close to where Les and Ginny hovered several feet above the ground. The large crowd was exuberant. For the most part, they were chanting "Champ! Champ! Champ!" while a feeble few were yelling, "Go, Firebolt!"
Ginny threw a last glance at Ryan- he was watching her fixedly. Nikki appeared by his side, her piercing blue eyes boring holes through Ginny like bullets.
Just relax, she begged herself, watching her hands shake violently before clasping them over her broomstick. Remember what Bill said- the only way to prove you're good is if you get the chance to show what you're made of.
"Now see here," Peter was saying. "You've got to fly until the end of the boardwalk, where Kyle is standing by Giant Rock."
"Uh, Giant Rock?" asked Ginny.
"'Just a big boulder- y'can't miss it. Anyway, you've got the touch the rock- Kyle will be there to judge so you've really got to touch it- hands and feet both permissible- and then fly back. First person to the starting point wins the race and blimey, a whole lot of gold."
"On your marks," Peter said, holding his wand up in the air.
Ginny tightened her grip on the Firebolt.
"Get set-"
She scanned the horizon; Giant Rock was barely visible.
"GO!"
Ginny pressed the handle and the Firebolt went whooshing through the air at such incredible speed Ginny nearly fell over. She bent her head low and urged the Firebolt forward. The shops and people she passed became a colorful blur except for Giant Rock, which, as she approached it, became the only clear object in her sight. It makes a great deal of sense then, that she did not even distinguish her brother and Lauren from the groups of people who had stopped whatever they were doing to watch the race.
---
Bill watched as two obscured figures cut through the air before him; One had flaming red hair. Bill looked at Lauren, who seemed to be thinking precisely what was running through his mind.
"Was that…Ginny?"
---
He's catching up! He's catching up!
Ginny felt Les hot on her tail. So many things had come into their paths! Balloons, birds, and she had just dodged an old witch soaring peacefully on her broom. She was almost there, almost…but all of a sudden Les was close behind her, then beside her, and finally-
Oh no!
They were a few feet apart, with Les in the lead. Ginny tried not to let the panic control her.
Whatever you do- DON'T SLOW DOWN!
Les, having no choice, started to break two seconds early to keep from crashing into the boulder; Ginny grabbed the opening and zoomed towards Giant Rock. She was a mere inch away when she applied the break at full force- the Firebolt spun around just enough to let Ginny propel herself against the rock and dash back to the start.
She didn't know how it happened, but she finally grasped why Les was called "Champ". At first she thought he'd gotten lost, then from out of nowhere, he was in the lead! She pressed the Firebolt's handle, hearing no sound but the whooshing of wind past her ears, seeing nothing but the dark shape of Les falling back and back, until they were racing side by side, far above the ground to avoid any more perilous obstacles. Ginny searched ahead- she saw the white line on the ground.
She jerked the handle downwards, and pushed with all her strength. Les barely missed a beat, racing anxiously beside her. Ginny bent her body forward until she was totally pressed against the broom. Huddled into a ball, she felt tiny, but powerful. Only a few seconds away from the finish line. She took a quick gasp of air and dove under Les' broom.
The race was over, but she had no idea if her flash of nerve had paid off. She braked and slipped off the Firebolt, her quivering body sprawled out on the wooden planks of the boardwalk, her arms flopped to her sides. She lay there for a few seconds, trying to catch her breath, hearing the crowd making noise but unable to discern their words.
Then Ryan's face popped into view, shining with amazement.
"That was just, I mean, you were really…" he seemed at loss of words.
He offered her his hand and helped her up. Ginny looked around, still trembling, and saw that the crowd was getting thinner. The losers were swearing loudly and leaving, though some still stood examining her with newfound wonder. Nikki was arguing bitterly with Les, occasionally glancing up to glare at Ginny before continuing to hurl insults at him. Those who had bet on Ginny were cheering madly for her, chanting her name and showering her (and the Firebolt) with praises. Her face as red as a Remembral, Nikki stomped away from Les and right up to Ginny.
"You got lucky twice, but don't give yourself airs. That Quidditch cup will be the Stings, and we'll do it without a Firebolt," she told her smugly (looking quite mad, actually).
Before Ginny could answer, Ryan replied calmly enough,
"Actually, Ginny's got something you never had- talent. You and I both know the Airbornes have never had a BETTER chance of winning the cup, so bug off, you pretentious boomer."
Nikki's face seemed ready to explode. She opened her mouth to respond but could find no words, so she quickly shut it again and stormed off, Les hurrying after her and Ginny staring at Ryan disbelievingly. His words seemed too sweet to be true...perhaps she had imagined them? Suddenly, Bill and Lauren appeared, both out of breath.
"Bill!" Ginny exclaimed weakly at the sight of him. "PLEASE don't tell Mum…wait, are you very mad?"
His face broke into a grin.
"You're crazy, you know that?" he said laughing, throwing his arm over her shoulder. "Racing Les Callaghan. You're really starting to remind me of someone I know."
"Who?" Ginny asked puzzled.
"Me."
Ginny returned his grin, feeling a surge of emotion.
"D'you know?" she told him gratefully, "That's the greatest compliment anyone's ever given me."
