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Author: St Margarets Story: The New Zealand Chronicles Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-DH Status: Completed Reviews: 19 Words: 170,671
Ginny left St. Kilda’s with a lighter heart. Her horrible fight with Harry hadn’t damaged their relationship beyond repair. Now that some of her gnawing tension had eased, Ginny wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed. She was tired after her late night and all the worry about Harry. But napping would have to wait since she had to return to Dunedin to withdraw the gold from their vault. Once she was on the bus, she found she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Mountains, rivers, and shimmering lakes all slid by like they were part of a soundless dream. Howard’s voice and the passengers calling out their destinations faded into the background. Maybe if she just closed her eyes… She woke seemingly hours later when the bus stopped moving. Disoriented and worried that she had missed something, Ginny roughly combed her hand through her hair and looked out the window. The bus was parked in an open field that overlooked a broad river valley. Sheep placidly plucked at whatever green vegetation they could find under the matted brown tussock. Ginny looked around the bus. There were only two other passengers – a nervous-looking witch holding a birdcage – and an enormous woman with very black eyes. Howard was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Howard?” she asked the two witches. The fat witch answered. “Trying to fix the bus. He’s been at it for the past fifteen minutes.” “He’s got Buckley’s Chance,” snorted the nervous-looking witch. “I went to school with Howard. He can barely levitate a feather.” “Were you in Howard’s class, Jolene?” asked the fat witch who was trying to turn her bulky body in the narrow seat so she could have a conversation. “I was.” Jolene nodded. “And I was stuck as his partner in Charms.” She pointed to her crooked nose. “This used to be straight.” The two of them continued to talk about their school days while Ginny craned her neck to see what Howard was doing. She could Apparate to Dunedin on her own, she supposed, since she had been to Gringotts that morning and could easily picture it in her mind, but she should help Howard if he was stuck. She went to the front of the bus and saw that the bonnet was open. “It’ll be right,” the fat witch said, addressing Ginny. “If you’re not in a hurry the other Tiki Bus from the North Island will pop down if Howard can’t get this one going.” “I’m not in a hurry,” Ginny said. “I just thought maybe I could help him.” Both witches stared at her. “Aren’t you the Pommy who got stuck in the Apparition Trap last night?” Jolene asked, cocking her head with interest. Ginny felt her face burn. “Yes,” she answered. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t help with the bus.” She lifted her chin and stepped down to the door. Of course, she didn’t know if she could help, but she had watched her father charm that Muggle car to fly. And she knew a few more charms than levitating a feather – already that made her more qualified than Howard. Of course, Howard might not want her help. “What’s the problem?” she asked, standing next to him and peering into the compartment swirling with magic. At first glance it was difficult to detect the different spells, but she used the color method Professor Flitwick had taught them and soon she was able to individuate the various strands of magic. “She’s stalled out,” Howard said angrily. “We’re that close to Dunedin,” he said, spreading his thumb and forefinger. “And she stops – bang. Luckily we didn’t Splinch – not that you can Splinch in an Apparating object – but still. It was a close call.” “Out of Floo powder?” Ginny hazarded a guess. “We don’t use Floo powder – we’re close enough to the South Pole that destination, determination and deliberation will do the trick for the whole bus.” Ginny frowned. “You mean, you Apparate us all when you drive the bus? I thought the bus was charmed to do that.” “The bus is enchanted to Apparate,” Howard assured her. “But the driver does the three D’s. See? My thoughts flow from the steering wheel into the box here.” He pointed to a knot of charms the size of two fists. “And then the thoughts connect and flow out to the charms that surround the bus.” Now that Howard explained it, it was really very simple. Ginny studied the rainbow of colors emanating from the thought box. “Then something must be wrong with one of the charms surrounding the bus,” she said slowly. “I already checked every charm in this compartment,” Howard growled. “I’m going to walk around the bus and check for cracks,” Ginny said, taking out her wand. She slowly circled the bus, casting a wide detection spell that made the bus – where it wasn’t covered in mud – blush a glowing pink. Howard followed behind as Jolene and the fat witch watched from the windows. Ginny studied the mud covering the flaps over the tires and the mud spattered high on sides of the bus. “Where did all the mud come from?” Howard tugged at his shapeless hat. “I had a spot of trouble this morning. I didn’t know the ground had thawed in Arthur’s Pass, so I – er –” “Shortcut?” Ginny asked briskly, kneeling down to get a better look at the undercarriage. Hundreds of pairs of eyes glowed back at her. She gasped. “Howard! Look!” “Blimey. Mud snails.” He shook his head. “The boss is not going to be happy.” “No wonder the bus couldn’t Apparate,” Ginny murmured. “Those snails are sucking on the magic. See?” She cast the detection spell. “The magic doesn’t even show underneath.” Howard took off his shapeless hat and scratched his balding head. “Now what?” “We could scrape them off?” Ginny suggested. Howard shook his head. “They have powerful suckers.” “Poison?” “Take too long.” “Water?” “They love water.” Howard absently balled his hat in his huge hands. “Fire?” “It’ll scorch the bus – that paint job is only three years old.” Ginny sighed. Howard was obviously not a problem solver. Apparition. Apparition. What did she know about Apparition? She thought about Twycross and his lessons. She thought about her travels on the Knight Bus. She thought about the Apparition Trap from the night before. None of those things seemed to lead to a solution here. Then she heard Luna’s voice in her mind: I managed to finally remove that wart on my finger. I don’t like to take potions and I had heard that you can rid yourself of hangnails, moles, or warts if you can Pin-Point Apparate. You just concentrate on the parts you want to leave behind. Ginny knelt down again and stared at all the unblinking eyes. Time to get rid of the warts on the Tiki Tour Bus. “Howard? Would you mind if I drove the bus up the road a bit?” * Ginny was still feeling the warm glow of accomplishment as she cooked dinner later that evening. Luna’s Pin-Point Apparition trick had worked even though Ginny had never tried it before. She had no doubt that she was successful on her first try because Apparition was so much easier in this Southern atmosphere. Jolene, the fat witch whose name turned out to be Barbara, and Howard had been amazed that she was able to rid the undercarriage of all of those snails in just three short hops. Ginny didn’t think that made her a powerful witch, she just thought that she had more deliberation than Howard who seemed more distracted than usual. “I’m worried about my mum. She’s been ill and she only has my silly sister to look out for her,” Howard confided to her after the bus cleared out in Dunedin. “It’s very hard to worry about your destination when you have other things on your mind.” Ginny could appreciate that somewhat, but she found that she would rather worry about a problem like how to get snails off of the Tiki Tour Bus than worry about personal things you couldn’t do anything about anyway. She sighed and tried to coax the cauldron to stir the vegetables. All of the cookware and most of the utensils of Contented Cottage were wary of strangers since they were obviously discarded bits and pieces from other kitchens. “You’re just going to have to get used me,” she told the cauldron. “I’m here to stay.” “Who are you talking to?” Harry asked from behind her. She whirled around. “You startled me!” “Sorry.” He smiled and handed her a bunch of bright yellow daffodils. “Here.” “For me?” she asked stupidly. Harry had never given her flowers. The color rose in his face and he shuffled his feet. “I just wanted –” He was interrupted by a yellow smilie-face that popped out of the blooms. “Get Well Sooooon!” it said in high voice. Ginny almost dropped the bouquet. “Oh, no,” Harry groaned. “I bought those at the hospital gift shop. I had no idea.” She giggled at the chagrin on his face and at the cheesy thing that was still smilingly wishing her a speedy recovery. “They should have a heart-patient warning on them,” she said, handing him the flowers. “Why don’t you put them in water whilst I finish with these lamb chops?” “I’ll do a Silencing Charm, too.” “Good idea.” Ginny busied herself with the finishing touches for dinner – directing the potato masher to work – finding a dish for the mint jelly – setting the butter dish on the table. “Do you need help?” Harry asked. Between the two of them they were soon sitting at the table together. It was the first meal Ginny had ever cooked for Harry and their first meal in their new home. Harry didn’t acknowledge this as he cut into his lamb chop. “’s good,” he said between bites. “I was starving.” Now Ginny could understand why her mother liked to cook so much. There was a certain satisfaction at seeing your efforts being appreciated so enthusiastically. “I drove the Tiki Tour Bus today,” she said as a conversation starter. Harry’s eyes lit up. “I heard.” “Already?” The grapevine was as good as Hogwarts. “Three different versions,” Harry said. “How did that get out so quickly?” “One of the passengers is the mother of one of the Healers at St. Kilda’s,” Harry answered, reaching for more bread. “Oh.” Ginny frowned. “Was that Jolene or Barbara?” “I’ve no idea,” Harry said. “All I know is that you’re no Pommy Princess, according to everyone who’s talked to me about you.” Sudden tears stung her eyes. “Oh, really? That’s not what I heard at the party last night.” He looked up from his plate in surprise. “What?” She told him about overhearing what the group of Healers had said about her. Harry’s reaction was a one-word characterization of those women along with a dangerous glint in his eye. “I thought so, too,” Ginny said, heartened that Harry was so obviously on her side. “Is that another reason you were so upset last night?” Harry asked. “I mean – I know it was bad enough that I got into the program and you didn’t – not that it was any fault of your own – but I had no idea –” “Harry!” Now it was her turn to be surprised. She had always thought that she knew what he was thinking – but this time she had missed something. “I’m glad you made the program! It’s what you’ve wanted all along.” His mouth twisted with skepticism, but he remained silent. “Harry, we talked about this when we got engaged. And I don’t understand why –” Then she stopped as she remembered something they had talked about on the ship. You Weasleys are so competitive. She looked him in the eye. “I’m on your side, remember? I want you to do this program.” “You do?” He put down his knife and fork with deliberation and then took a deep breath. “Because if you don’t want me to do the program or if you don’t like it here, we’ll leave.” “No!” The last thing she wanted was another sacrifice from Harry. “I do like it here.” At his set expression, she continued quickly. “I mean, I didn’t like it here yesterday because I was so disappointed about not making the program. But everyone – except for those Healers – has been very kind.” His eyes darkened with understanding and he nodded. “I know. Of course you were disappointed.” “Terribly,” she admitted. He took her hand. “Sorry,” he whispered. Her throat closed up at the sympathy in his eyes. He swallowed. “Ginny – I should have said that earlier –” “You tried.” She sniffed and gave a short laugh. “I didn’t let you get a word in edgewise.” “I think I was so overwhelmed when I heard them explaining the extent of your injury, that I couldn’t think of anything else.” “Oh.” Her lip trembled as she looked down at their clasped hands. This is what she had wanted from him yesterday. “Ginny.” He squeezed her hand. “It’s not fair, either.” Her eyes flew to his face. “You would have been brilliant.” His face looked blurry through the tears standing in her eyes. “You thought of all those clever spells to use against the sharks and you kept us from being washed overboard –” She started to cry. “That’s all I wanted to hear, yesterday, Harry. And –” He tugged at her hand. “Come here.” She ended up sitting on his lap, sniffling into his shoulder as he listed all the things she knew how to do – like fly and swim and think on her feet – that the Search and Rescue program would never know about. “I felt like such a fool at that party,” Ginny confessed, wiping her eyes. It was easier to tell him about her damaged pride than to admit that she had been reliving all the rejection she had ever felt in her life. “It felt like everyone there knew I had tried to get into the program and that I had failed.” “Ginny, no one knew you applied for the program.” “They didn’t?” She hooked her arms around his neck so she could look into his face. “How could they? You applied under your maiden name. The Healers aren’t allowed to talk about your medical history.” “Oh.” She relaxed against him for a moment, putting her head on his shoulder. “Your classmates all know me now,” she said gloomily as a new thought struck her. “I was the first rescue.” “And you did absolutely everything right,” Harry told her, tightening his embrace. “Mr. Hilary referred to you in class as the ‘perfect victim.’” At her groan, Harry continued. “You were perfect because you didn’t lose your head. You sent up a signal. You didn’t wander about. You built a fire and stayed with it.” “Anyone would have –” ”Ha! Not after the stories Hilary told us. I’m telling you, everyone was impressed.” “You weren’t,” she whispered. “You were angrier than ever when Niall Dunbrack found me.” “I wasn’t angry –” he began. Ginny snorted. “I was worried, okay?” Harry said. Ginny could feel the tension building in his neck. “One minute you’re there and the next you’re gone.” She rubbed the warm flesh of his neck and suddenly remembered her mother’s angry words after she and Ron decided to walk to Ottery St. Catchpole to ‘see the Muggles’ when they were just five or six. Don’t scare me like that again! she had shrieked. “There’s no Floo here,” he said, the emotion in his voice making it harsh-sounding. She had been so bewildered at her mother’s anger – and so guilty. “And I wasn’t sure who to call or what to do,” Harry continued. That evening her mother had made Ron his favorite dinner, and had tucked Ginny into bed with extra tenderness. Mummy’s not angry, Mummy worries she’ll lose you. “You did the right thing,” she said, running a soothing hand over his shoulders. “I’m all right.” He pulled her close at that and held her tightly for a long time. Ginny hugged him back. “I’m all right,” she crooned. “We’re both all right.” * After they washed and dried the mis-matched dishes, Harry suggested they go for a broom ride since the Healers had told Ginny she should get as much magical exercise as possible. Ginny vaguely remembered Healer Welby saying something about swimming, but she didn’t tell Harry that. He didn’t think she was taking her injury seriously enough as it was. She wore her warmest cloak and thought to take along the map of authorized broom routes. They had ample time to study the map once they found the thermals – those warm currents of air where birds or brooms could coast without effort. “I can’t believe there aren’t any birds up here,” Ginny remarked as Harry studied the map. “A lot of the native birds don’t fly,” Harry said. “They just Apparate.” “And get themselves caught in traps,” Ginny said. “One of the witches on the bus, Jolene, was telling me how there is an avian society that goes out every morning and every evening to free the birds in the traps.” “Really?” Harry said, folding the map and putting it in the pocket of his shirt. “Because every morning and every evening we’re supposed to check the traps for people – whether they’re Muggles or magical.” “How do you get them out?” Ginny asked, as she nudged her broom to follow Harry’s lead. “The easiest way is to say the password,” Harry replied over his shoulder. “That is, if the right words are known. I think they’re closer to sounds than actual words. They’ve only discovered passwords for about half the traps.” She frowned and followed him, glad to be out of the cold wind that suddenly crossed their path. It didn’t seem possible that in this day and age there were still parts of the magical world that were a mystery. If they had Apparition Traps in Britain, the passwords would have been discovered long ago. Or if Gringotts owned them, she thought cynically. Ginny looked down at the land they were flying over. The light was fading, so the forests looked very dark, as did the many streams rushing down the face of the mountain. There wasn’t a lot of color in the clear winter sunset, but the stark lines of this jagged peak and the gentler slopes in the distance were starkly beautiful. Harry looked at the map again and then signaled that they should descend. Now Ginny could see “their” lake and “their” Apparition Trap shimmering in the twilight. They passed over Jeremiah Dey’s shop and the path through the forest that led to Contented Cottage. Ginny felt pleasantly tired and relaxed when they landed. Her whirling thoughts had quieted to be replaced with images of still mountains and serene lakes. Harry yawned as they put their brooms away in the shed. “Tired?” she asked as they walked towards the welcoming light of the cottage. “Yeah. It’s been a day.” Harry went into the bathroom to get ready for bed, while Ginny said good night to the cauldron and the other pots and pans in the kitchen. “What are you doing?” “I’m trying to get the cookware to trust me,” Ginny said. Harry stared at her. “I always forget that about magical objects – like Ron’s chess set.” “It’s sad when you see used things or things that have been abused,” she said. “And these have been rejected…” She trailed off at the expression on his face. “What?” Harry answered by gently putting his arms around her. “Nothing.” “What?” “That’s just such a Ginny thing to do – worrying about the kitchen things.” She knew by the indulgent tone in his voice that he approved of this “Ginny thing,” but she was dying to know just what he meant by it. Before she could ask him, though, he yawned again. “Harry, go to bed,” she said, rubbing a circle on his back one last time. “I’ll be right in.” Harry was half-asleep when Ginny finally crept under the covers. He rolled on to his side so he could pull her close to him. Ginny snuggled up next to him and sighed contentedly. “Get well soooon!” Harry started. “Best wishes for a speedy recovery! Speedy recovery! Speedy recovery!” Ginny giggled. “I think your Silencing Charm wore off.” “I’ll get it,” he mumbled, reaching for his wand. She heard heavy footsteps, Harry’s sleepy voice, and then silence. When Harry slid back into bed, his feet felt icy. “You’re cold,” Ginny said, trapping his feet between hers. “Uh huh,” he mumbled. Ginny relaxed as she listened to the slow, steady of rhythm of his breathing. Nothing had changed and everything had changed since last night. She was still going to be apart from Harry. She wasn’t going to be in the Search and Rescue program. She had no idea what she was going to do during her year in New Zealand. But Harry still loved her – she knew it even though he hadn’t used that word once today. Words. She rolled over and burrowed into her pillow. There were no known words for half of the Apparition Traps in New Zealand. That thought should worry her – but tonight it didn’t. * “I’m going,” Harry said into her ear the next morning. She opened her eyes and saw him bending over her. “What? What’s going on today?” He looked at his watch. “Can’t talk. I have to be at St. Kilda’s in five minutes.” He quickly kissed her forehead. “When will you be home?” “Same time as yesterday,” he answered, suddenly smiling at her. His eyes were warm green in the morning light. “Bye.” Then he Disapparated. Ginny stared at the spot where he had been standing and realized that she hadn’t asked him one thing about his day yesterday. She shook her hair back from her face and made a mental vow to not be so needy today. Really, she was missing out on everything. “Get well soooon!” She giggled. The smiley-face was at it again. Any patient at St. Kilda’s would either succumb or recover just to get away from it. She padded into the main room, admiring the way the sunlight was streaming in from the kitchen window. When she cast the Silencing Charm, it was finally quiet enough for her to hear an insistent tapping at the window. A blur of white caught her eye before it dawned on her who was making that noise. “Hedwig,” she breathed as she opened the window. “You’re back.”
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