Disclaimer: Yet again, all Harry Potter-related things belong to JK Rowling, who I am not.
Author's Notes: I'm really sorry for not getting this up sooner. Even though I'm on summer break, I've been loaded down with things to do and all that, so I had next to no time to get this done before I went away. I'm so incredibly sorry. I really meant to get this up sooner. And then HBP came out and I busied myself with that for two days (what a book, right? I won't say anything in case some of my readers haven't finished yet.) Anyways, thanks to all my wonderful reviewers who reviewed on the story, let's attempt to break 150 this time! Please enjoy this chapter, guys, it's all for you! Oh, and the "cheer" you guys see in a couple minutes is nearly direct-quote from a Junior who shouted this while I was lost in the parking lot of Busch Gardens. Only a few modifications have been made. Enjoy!
Chapter 13: Rescue Party
The May air was crisp and clean, and no night had ever seemed better. They were still lost, but that didn't matter to anyone in the slightest. George and Katie were engaged, Ron and Hermione had made up, and everyone just seemed to love life in general. It was sheer perfection.
The whole group of them, which included around fifteen people by now. It was turning into quite the party. So that's almost what they had made it into. There were bags of brightly colored jelly slugs and gummy worms that were being passed around from person, and Fred and George managed to conjure up some butterbeer in celebration. ("Nonalcoholic celebratory drinks for the ickle kiddies!" as Fred had said.)
The sounds of blithe and merry happiness echoed throughout the whole parking lot, which was quite large. On several occasions they had tried retracing their steps only to discover it lead them to nowhere. And this time, nowhere did not lead to the roller coaster.
Angelina had jumped onto Fred's back, and he was now carrying her piggy-back. Those two would always be children at heart. Fred, who was having one of the greatest times of his life ever (prior to the wedding, that is) was recalling memories from his Hogwarts days and seemed to have temporarily forgotten his chaperoning duties to become a student again. He made up a cheer-type shout, which the rest of the group laughed to and repeated.
"We're from Hogwarts!" he shouted into the air, at the top of his lungs.
"We're from Hogwarts!" The rest of the group echoed him, even louder.
"Where the heck is our bus!" He shouted again.
"Where the heck is our bus!" The echo came again.
"We don't know where it is…" He seemed to be losing his creative touch.
"We don't know where it is!" The group shouted enthusiastically.
"And neither do the chaperones!" Fred beamed at George, and the two high-fived.
The rest of the group laughed, "And neither do the chaperones!" They shouted loudly, and then let out cat calls and applause.
Ron scooped up Hermione in his arms and carried her. She laughed the entire way, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Who knew being lost could be so fun?
Harry and Ginny were sitting on a curb by the group, holding hands and sitting closely.
"Guys, call me crazy, but I'd like to get back to the hotel at some point before the night is over." Ginny said, tearing her eyes away from Harry's.
"Our dear little sister is right." George said, and pulled out his wand, muttered a charm into it and then said in a few seconds "we're all set."
"What'd you do?" Ron asked him, bringing Hermione back down to her feet. She brushed herself off lightly, then turned back to the Weasley brothers, her hands resting on her hips.
"A simple telecommunication charm." George said, and demonstrated again. The tip of his wand blinked a light shade of red, and then a light shade of apple green.
"Dumbledore should be arriving shortly." Fred said, still carrying Angelina on his back. She seemed to be playing with his hair, not at all eager to return to the adults.
"Oh?" Hermione asked, "I thought Telecommunication Charms only sent a message to another's wand, and were not used as a tracking device."
"Ah, and you are most correct," George said, twirling his wand around in his fingers, "but Frederick and I have been tinkering around with other spells and charms, and through select business with the Order, which you little tikes will know nothing about, we have other, more precise means of communication and tracking."
The rest of the group looked on, astounded.
"Since when did you get so smart?" Ron asked, earning himself an elbow in the stomach from Hermione. She knew it was true, too, that Fred and George weren't exactly geniuses, but she thought it better not to remind them. Ron let out a soft "oof" and rubbed his stomach.
"Ah, my dear, sweet little brother. So young, so naïve, so clueless." Fred said, putting Angelina down onto the ground, much to her dismay. He put an arm loosely around Ron and shook his head.
Ron rolled his eyes. He had no idea what Fred was going on about, and he didn't want to know, either. His older twin brothers still had the minds of perverted 12-year-olds and the maturity to match it. Whatever was on his mind, was better kept inside his mind.
Then, Dean put a hand framing his eyes to look into the distance, blocking off the blinding light from the streetlamps. In his clear line of vision, he saw Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick come into sight, right towards them.
Their group cheered and ran over toward the Professors, all of whom seemed relieved at not losing a number of their students. Fred and George hoisted tiny Professor Flitwick into the air on their shoulders, and the rest just clapped Dumbledore on the back and Seamus even hugged Professor McGonagall, who seemed shocked, but flattered nonetheless.
"Before we head back to our buses," Professor Dumbledore began, "I would like to ask you one thing."
Everyone gulped, expecting to be asked to please pack their things to return home on the following morning, since they had not only used magic in front of muggles (telecommunication charm), but they'd delayed the night's activities but a considerable hour, and in that hour had been reckless and inconsiderate to their fellow students.
"How did you manage to get lost in a parking lot?" Dumbledore smiled, peering down at all 15 of them through his half-moon spectacles.
They all exhaled huge sighs of relief, and Harry started, "Well, I guess my roommates and I were all talking so in depth about how much fun our day was, we walked straight, instead of turning left, thus landing in the middle of the parking lot."
"And I only thought Harry had a shortcut, so, naturally, I led my roommates and I to follow him." Ginny said, piping in.
"We thought the same thing as Ginny." Lavender said sweetly, and Dumbledore knew they were telling the truth. He could see through all of them that the "accident" wasn't quite so accidental, but he knew these kids would never deliberately get lost to be mischievous, besides Fred and George. He could see the reason in their minds, and he just smiled again.
"Very well," he said, then turned to Fred and George, "however, how did our chaperones get lost?"
Katie, saving her new fiancé, and his brother and his fiancée, held up her left hand to the professors and smiled.
McGonagall put a hand over her mouth, "Does this mean-"
George swung his arm over Katie, "Yep, We're getting married."
Everyone could see the tears of happiness in both McGonagall and Dumbledore's eyes, as each professor hugged Katie and shook hands with George. Dumbledore was touched. His two former students were getting married. He'd seen the many rises and falls of their relationship at the beginning, and had even enchanted a few hallways and items to help bring them closer together. It had worked. Now, they were getting married.
"This is certainly a celebration!" Dumbledore said, "There will be one hour longer before curfew tonight."
Everyone cheered and chatter merrily the whole way back to the buses. They'd been closer than they imagined the entire time, lucky for them, and once they all returned to their separate buses.
Once the infamous Eight returned on their bus, they were greeted with cheering and loud rounds of applause. Ron blushed deep scarlet, and took Hermione by the hand and led her to their seat, through all the hands clapping them on the back and ruffling their hair.
George stood up and announced his engagement to Katie yet again, and louder cheers and congratulatory remarks were shouted across the bus. He told them how because of the blessed event, Dumbledore was allowing them an extra hour of curfew, meaning their curfew for the night was 1 AM, and even louder cheers and squeals were heard.
Everyone, even those at the brink of falling asleep a few minutes ago, were awake and enthusiastic about the night to come. It was their final night (A/N: I know I said it would be a week, but I don't have any ideas for their last night. But seeing as what's coming actually happened on my last night, it's easier to say so) and with a later curfew, good things were bound to happen.
It was 10 PM by the time they had gotten back to their hotel, and were dismissed from the buses and told to be careful about magic, and all the other rules they had been told during their stay but decided not to follow.
The Infamous Eight, as they had officially named themselves, split to their separate rooms quickly to get snacks and drinks and other things to ensure that the night would last as long as they made it. And sugar seemed the most plausible way to do so.
Ten minutes later, everyone was in the hallway outside the room of the four guys, bags of chips, candy, soda, and other sweets in tow. A few magazines were spread out across the floor, opened to the pages of gossip or fun, pointless quizzes that told the beholder nothing, but were fun to do with a group of friends anyways.
"What Charm or Spell Best Describes Your Personality?" Hannah read from the top of a page in TeenWitch, the newest teen magazine written by Rita Skeeter, with publication assists from The Quibbler.
Ginny snorted, and Luna stared off at the wall dreamily, her hands folded under her chin, "I've already taken it, and apparently, I'm the Cheering Charm, because I make people happy."
A couple minutes later, Hannah looked to be calculating something in her mind, and pointed at a side of the magazine, reading it intently, and giggling softly. "Well, evidently I'm Accio because I'm able to 'summon things I want apparent ease.'"
Hermione laughed and Ginny joined her.
"Hey, 'Mione, do this quiz to me." Harry said from across the hall, where he was sitting against the hall, halfway through a bag of potato chips.
"I will-" Ginny began, until a shadow came over the rug they were sitting on and they looked up to see Professor Snape glaring down upon them.
"Potter, Weasleys, Granger, Finnigan, Abbott, Longbottom, Lovegood." He said, his eyes hard and cold, "You are not to sit around in the entranceways. Now, please vacate this hallway and move your little party elsewhere or you all will be sent back to your rooms for the night. Understood?"
They all mumbled 'yes' and picked up the food and drinks, and the magazine, where Hermione marked the page of the quiz, and decided to go to the outdoor pool by the beach, where virtually no one was, and only a few people were on the beach. Almost everyone was in the indoor pool, splashing and flirting, so the outdoors were nice and quiet. Perfect for the Infamous Eight to have some good, private fun.
There were many beach chairs alongside the shimmering pool, which glittered underneath the small lights of the moon and stars. The plastic chairs all laid desolate and untouched, reflecting a very small portion of the light given from the higher bodies, and the wind was echoing through the air calmly and crisply.
They arranged the chairs the best they could, in a misshapen circle, put all their food out in the middle to share, and resumed their little party, knowing they would break no rules outside by themselves.
Hermione crossed her legs on the long chair she was sitting on and turned to Harry, opening up the copy of TeenWitch they had before, and going back to the same page they were on before, with the quiz.
"Question 1: What is your favorite subject in school?" She asked him, munching on a candy bar.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts." He said, "except when Umbridge teaches."
"Good call, mate." Ron said to him from the next chair over.
"Question 2," Hermione continued, "If you were an animal, what would you be? (This may reflect the form your patronus may take if you are uncertain)."
"Stag, then." He said, promptly making his Patronus from the tip of his wand.
The rest of the group watched it gallop away and over the water, where it disintegrated into a light mist.
Hermione marked something on the magazine, "Question 3: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"
Harry considered this for a moment, "Hopefully alive, for one. If that happens, then I hope to be an auror and married."
He called Ginny over and held her close to him in her lap, making Ron grimace.
Almost ten minutes later, Hermione asked Harry the final, tenth question.
"Question 10: Describe yourself in one word."
"Er- daring?" He asked, unsure, and Hermione marked it down and calculated his score.
"Well, Harry, you're Evanesco." She read the passage underneath the spell, "While this spell is used only on objects, you are like the spell, because you have a knack for adventure, and disappearing. Others worry about you because they do not often know of your whereabouts. They will stick by you through and through. Your favorite color is white. You also love feather pillows and leather jackets. Because of your personality, you have many close friends who care about you."
Harry raised an eyebrow, before Ron and himself began chortling.
"That's all you, Harry." Ron said, in fits of laughter, "Leather jackets and feather pillows, disappearing before our very eyes."
Harry just laughed at this and Hermione set the magazine down, and reached into the plastic bag next to her, pulling out a brightly colored bag of potato chips, named Puffy's Tangy and Sweet Pepper Chips.
Hermione opened the bag and sniffed it, "Whose are these?" She wrinkled her nose.
"Oh, I got those. I thought they looked unique." Luna said, looking up from her game of Exploding Snap with Neville.
Hermione tasted one, then nearly spit it out. "Lune, I love you and all, but these chips are awful."
"Let me try one of those." Ron said, taking the bag from her and tossing a chip into his mouth. He gagged, but swallowed it anyways. "I love eating as much as the next guy, but Hermione's right, those are horrible."
"I like them." Seamus said, popping a few into his mouth without grimacing.
They stared at him, "You're kidding."
"What, they don't look half-bad." Hannah said, but quickly changed her mind as she got the aftertaste from the chip she had eaten.
She grabbed a couple chips and ran to one of her fellow Hufflepuff friends, whispered something to her, and everyone saw her friend take a couple of the chips and eat them, then her face turned to a painful grimace and she spit the chips out, laughing and glaring at Hannah at the same time. Hannah brought the girl over to their party, where they invited her and gave her a chocolate frog to, like the rest of them, get the taste of the chips out of her mouth.
"You all know Jessica Amato." She said, motioning to the tall brunette girl behind her.
"Sorry, Han, I can't stay. Justin's waiting for me." Apparently, this girl was with Justin Finch-Fletchley. She waved goodbye to the rest of their group and ran off to the indoor pool, where she splashed in and was cradled by her boyfriend.
Seamus was still divulging in the awful chips, seemingly torturing the others by eating them in their presence.
"Finnigan should be the Puffy's Man." Neville joked, and everyone laughed. Seamus puffed out his chest and put on a voice much lower than his own.
"I'm the Puffy's Man. I bring the chips, I eat the chips, I am the chips!" He said, and everyone doubled over in laughter.
Hannah couldn't contain herself. She went over and kissed him, holding the kiss while backing him up, step by step, until his heels were at the edge of the pool. She pulled away and said "I love the Puffy's Man." and pushed him in.
Seamus splashed back in the water, the chips floating all around him, going everywhere. He surfaced a second later, mock-glaring at Hannah with a mischievous grin on his lips.
"You." He said, water dripping from his messy hair.
"Me?" She said, pretending to sound afraid.
"Come here, Babe. I have to tell you something. Something secret." He said, and motioned for her to come closer.
She fell for it. When she was close enough, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her in the pool with him. She gave a loud little shriek and went into the water, where Seamus caught her underwater.
"What goes around, comes around." He whispered coyly, and kissed her again, and she promptly kissed him back.
The group was now standing at the edge of the pool, looking down at them and laughing hysterically.
Harry cannon-balled in at the side and everyone followed him, girls included. He held Ginny close to him in the water, being reminded of the day they'd gotten together.
Ron cradled Hermione against him, planting sweet little kisses on her lips every few minutes, each one getting deeper and longer.
After what seemed like mere seconds, a bell sounded. One AM. Their last night was over and done with. Tomorrow they would be leaving, and the trip of their lives would be over. They had many memories to take home with them, and a day still left to have their last bit of mischief. And having their mischief they would do.
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A/N: Well, I hope everyone liked that. I'm thinking, one or two more chapters left, and two sequels to follow, if you guys would like me to. Expect extreme fluff in the last couple chapters. I'm going to try and get this next chapter up sooner. I'm not going to promise anything, but I'm sure going to try. Thank you to everyone who has been patient with me. Please review, everyone! And also, if you would like me to make a quiz like the one Harry, Hannah, and Luna took, please let me know. I would be happy to do that after my final chapter, for you all to have fun with.