Chapter 5: Epilogue, The Journey Home
The sight that greeted Neville and Luna when they looked out of their window the next morning did not cheer them. The whole sky was a leaden grey and a mixture of rain and sleet was falling. When they went down for breakfast, Sigurd was reassuring about the weather. He said that he sensed that the sun would be shining by the time that they boarded the ferry.
"How do you know that?" asked Luna.
"It's been raining for most of the night." said Sigurd, "It should stop soon. The forecast is good from mid-morning onwards, so you should have a pleasant start."
They spent their remaining time before departure having further discussions about the fantastic creatures they had seen. At about ten o'clock, their luggage was loaded into Sigurd's bright yellow Saab and they set out on the short journey to the harbour where their ship was waiting. They checked their baggage in and it was delivered to their cabin. This was to be their home for the next five days. This time, Luna had obtained an outside cabin, so they would have some idea of what was happening outside the ship. She had also booked the voyage as a cruise, so they could take advantage of some of the on-board activities and shore excursions. As they boarded, the sky was showing signs of clearing and the sun was beginning to show itself.
Once they had settled in, they enjoyed the first shipboard lunch of the voyage.
"Are you glad we're on our way home?" asked Neville.
"Of course." said Luna, "But I'm disappointed that we didn't find the snorkack."
"What do you think our chances are of seeing the Northern Lights tonight?" asked Neville.
"Good." said Luna, "Sigurd said there had been another solar storm, so, given clear nights, we should be in for some 'fireworks', although Once we've passed Bodø, we will have crossed the Arctic Circle and we will be too far South."
"I've heard that they can sometimes be seen from Scotland." said Neville, although I don't remember seeing them from Hogwarts."
"That's because there are high mountains between the castle and the Northern horizon." said Luna.
The couple spent the afternoon familiarising themselves with the layout of the ship, which would be their home for the next five days. Part of this was to find places on deck where there was not too much lighting. After a satisfying buffet dinner, they returned to their cabin and waited for complete darkness. When they emerged, the sky was clear and there was a thin crescent moon setting in the West. Finding a suitably dark part of an open deck, they settled down to watch. They were not disappointed. The aurora was at least as bright as it had been on the night they had spent at the lakeside with Arvid Eriksson. After about three hours, they decided to return to their cabin as the cold was getting to them.
"Do you realise," said Luna, "That when we have breakfast tomorrow, we will be at our Northernmost point of the voyage. Seventy-one degrees North. We passed North Cape at night on the way up. If we'd made this trip in June, we'd have seen the midnight sun."
"Surely that means there'd be no night." said Neville, "How come?"
"If you remember," said Luna, "I explained this to you back in Hogwarts when we spent those cloudless evenings on the astronomy tower. The Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbit, so, in Summer, the North Pole is towards the sun, so the sun can shine over the pole and a little way down the 'night' side of the planet."
"Oh yes!" said Neville, "I do remember now you mention it, but if we had come in June, we wouldn't have seen the lights."
The Southward voyage was uneventful. Neville and Luna joined in quite a few of the on-deck activities provided by the ferry company. One of these was the ceremony involved in leaving the Arctic, when they crossed the Arctic Circle. Luna mentioned that this was the southernmost point where the midnight sun could be seen. They As there had been an intense solar storm just before they left Kirkenes, they were treated to spectacular auroral displays on the first three nights. During their trip, they did enjoy some of the excursions provided while the ship was docked at the more important ports on the route. As they traveled further south, the auroral displays diminished but the mountain and fjordland scenery became more spectacular. The mountains were higher and steeper. A highlight on the third day was the navigation of the Lofoten Islands.
"I could get used to this kind of travel." said Neville, as they were sailing past the Lofoten Islands, "It's like a holiday where the hotel travels with you, instead of staying in a different one each night."
"Yes!" said Luna, "It's called a cruise, although these ships act more as ferries. Are you glad we chose this way of travelling?"
"I am now." said Neville, "I had my doubts when we first left Bergen, but I'm really enjoying it now. I get to spend so much leisure time with my sweet companion. I really think we're closer together now. I'm very happy about that."
Neville embraced Luna and kissed her.
"What was that for?" asked Luna, smiling.
"To show you I still love you," said Neville, "And for you being you. I'm so glad we're a proper couple after our time apart."
"That's true." said Luna, "Incidentally, going back to your earlier comment, we'll have three nights of living out of our suitcases in different hotels after Bergen. Once we're at St Pancras, we can hop across to Kings Cross, go to platform 9 and three quarters and apparate home."
"I'm looking forward to that." said Neville, "We can sleep in our own bed again in the full knowledge that there is nothing that can separate us."
"You said that you were coming to enjoy this kind of travel." said Luna, "How would you like to do this as a holiday?"
"I'd love to." said Neville, "We'd have no worries about whether we were going to find any fantastic beasts."
"Do you think we should talk to those two muggles we met a few years ago?" asked Luna, "After all, we're still very good friends with them."
"What, to see if they would like to come with us?" asked Neville.
"That's the general idea." said Luna, "I'd like a little group of us to spend time on holiday together. We'd have shared memories for all four of us."
"I'll contact Sid when we're back home," said Neville, "And see how he feels about the idea. I'm sure Cassie would be agreeable. When we were together before the conference, she took me on a Rhine cruise to try to take my mind off the conference. We both really loved it."
Once they had packed and reached Bergen, they were faced with the series of overland train journeys, ending with the Eurostar from Brussels to London. Luna had chosen this route for the return journey as she felt that Neville would like a rest from sailing. This part of the journey was uneventful apart from a very close connection at Hamburg when they had a to run between platforms. As they had planned, once they had arrived in London on the Eurostar, they were able to go to Kings Cross, gain access to platform nine and three quarters and apparate to their home in Bristol.