After enduring another night much like the first, the Weasleys departed the hotel once again.
"So, what are we gonna do today?" Bill asked.
"Well, I saw a place yesterday where people can go out on boats and watch dolphins." Molly told the family as they drove along. She was clearly not keen on reliving another afternoon desperately trying to keep up with her 8-year-old son.
"Sounds awesome." Charlie grinned.
"I love dolphins!" Little Ginny squealed with delight.
"Let's go!" Ron smiled.
"Yay! We can play pirates!" Fred cried happily.
"No pirates Fred." Molly warned.
"I heard some chap in the hotel talking somewhere where there are horses available and tourist can horseback ride along the beach." Arthur said.
"Yay! We can play outlaws!" George exclaimed.
"No! No outlaws!" Molly told him.
"I'm allergic to horsehair." Percy muttered.
"Or, we could always go to the zoo. I saw a sign for one not too far back." Molly offered.
"Wait a moment, hold on. All these suggestions sound like stuff Charlie would like." Bill said.
"They're suggestions that the whole family will enjoy together, William." Molly snapped. She still hadn't quite forgiven her eldest sons for not watching the twins properly the day before.
"Well, we're close to the docks. Let's go see when the dolphin spotting boat departs." Arthur said.
Thirty minutes later, all 9 Weasleys were piled onto a boat. On the boat, there was a small pool filled with live marine creatures for visitors to observe and even hold.
"Come on Perce, take a look." Charlie said as he picked Ginny up so she could have a closer look.
"No thank you." Percy looked as though the thought of touching wet little creatures positively appalled him.
"I like this guy." Bill said, stroking a small stingray that was happily gliding through the water.
"Bill! I wanna see!" Ron said, reaching his arms up to his oldest brother.
"Ok Ron, here we go." Bill said as he lifted Ron off the floor.
"Argh! Let go our slave, ye villain!" Fred and George ran up to Bill, waving sticks (which they had mysteriously obtained) around like swords. Both twins had one eye squeezed shut as though they were missing eyes.
Bill stared blankly at the twins before turning his attention back to the pool.
"Aye! Ye best listen, Matey, or we'll make ya walk the plank!" Fred said.
"I am so scared." Bill told him.
"Aye, as ye should be. The dreaded shark Blacktooth the Fierce lurks in these waters."
"He's eaten uglier sailors than yourself, make no mistake!"
"I'm not your slave." Ron told them.
"Yes you be! You're Ronald the Longnose! Our faithful slave."
"Now let him go so he can swab the deck!"
"And what are your names?" Charlie asked interestedly.
"I be Captain Firehair Frederick of the Spanish Main!"
"And I be Captain Jeering George of the Caribbean."
"Ye two be our first mates! Fishface Bill and Two-Ton Charlie. That be Percy the Wimp. He don't talk much."
"What about me?" Ginny asked.
"You be Fair Ginevra of the Eastern Volcano Islands."
"Okay." Ginny smiled.
"I beg your pardon." Bill said.
"Yes, Matey?"
"Does my face look like a fish to you?"
"Aye, when ye pulls yourself out of bed."
"Don't take it personally."
"I have to admit I find my name a bit insulting as well." Charlie glared at the twins.
"Aye, tis the life of a pirate." Fred said, feigning sadness.
"I do not weigh two tons."
"Ye's broader than most blokes to sail these six seas."
"Seven."
"Ye dare contradict your Captain?" George snarled.
"Oh I'm so sorry. How silly of me to believe there are seven seas. I do hope you'll forgive my stupidity." Charlie said sarcastically.
"We're gonna be seeing some dolphins here in just a sec!" The boat's driver called.
"Tis alright, Matey. Must be the salty sea air. Does crazy things to the mind!" Fred gave what seemed to be a drunken sway, before he and George bolted up to see the dolphins. The rest of the Weasleys followed.
"There she blows!" Fred yelled, his red hair being tousled by the wind.
"Where?" Ron asked.
"I don't know! I just always wanted to say that!" Fred yelled back.
"Look! I see one! I see one!" Ginny cried happily.
"Where?" George asked.
"There!" Ginny pointed. Sure enough, the sleek, graceful, gray dorsal fin of an Atlantic Bottlenose dolphin glinted in the sunlight.
"Look! There's another one!" Charlie pointed.
"And another!"
"Fred, that's a tire."
"Oh. LITTER BUG!" He yelled at no one in particular.
"Oh look! That must be the haunted lighthouse!" Bill pointed to a tall building in the distance.
"Delphin Lighthouse!" The driver called to them. "A young girl once lived around these shores and spent every day of her life down by the beach. After her love, a pirate, was hanged, she cast herself into the sea and was never seen again. However, many claim that her ghost still lingers to this day, searching for the lost soul of her beloved."
Every member of the Weasley family felt shivers run down their spine.
"That's so sad." Ginny whispered.
"I'm glad the ghosts at school have a sense of humor." Charlie muttered.
"Except the Bloody Baron." Bill said.
"Well, he never talks. He just glowers at people as they walk by."
"What a creep. I wish someone would exorcise him."
The Weasleys continued to watch the dolphins for another 30 minutes before the boat docked once again.
"Good bye! Thank you!" Arthur called.
"Best of luck Matey. Beware Blacktooth the Fierce!" Fred and George saulted.
"Same to you, you salty sea dogs!" The driver winked.
"That was great." Charlie said, a huge smile plastered on his freckled face.
"Daddy, let's go ride the horses!" Ginny said.
"Alright. Then we'll stop for some lunch."
The strong smell of horses greeted the Weasleys at the stables.
"Ugh…It smells positively vile out here." Percy wrinkled his nose.
"Welcome!" Called the instructor. "How many?"
"9." Arthur replied.
"Alright, now who here's a first time rider." Everyone except Molly raised their hands.
"Mum? You can ride a horse?" Bill asked.
"Of course. I used to own a horse. She was beautiful. Her name was Mystic." Her children seemed impressed.
"Well then Ma'am, we'll give you an advanced riding horse. The rest of the family will get the more tame horses."
Once every member was mounted on a horse, they set off for a walk on the beach. Molly was an excellent rider and rode ahead of the others.
"Show off." Bill muttered, watching his mother. His back and legs already hurt like crazy, even though his horse was only trotting.
"Come on Bill!" Charlie's horse went cantering past Bill. Bill stared, mouth agape, at Charlie, who was riding with just as much (if not more) ease as Molly. Bill's horse made eye contact with Charlie's and seconds later, was cantering just as fast, much to Bill's displeasure.
"Woah! Oh Merlin…Stop! Too fast! Stop! Ow! This hurts!"
"Woo! Let's go!" Fred called to George as they rode to the beach. "Get out of the way! We need to escape from the horrible bandit Ole' Wild Drake, most notorious robber of Gringotts in six centuries!"
"I'm right behind you!" George called. All of a sudden, he started laughing.
"What?" Fred called.
"Look at those birds!" George giggled, pointing down at the sand. Small birds, no bigger than a few inches, with the tiniest legs anyone had ever seen were running along the beach. Their legs were so small that they did not bend when they moved. Fred started cracking up.
"What did you do?" Molly called back to them upon hearing their laughter. Fred and George were laughing too hard to reply.
"Look! Look – at the – at the-" By Fred and George had tears of laughter streaming down their cheeks and were unable to finish their sentences.
The family gathered around them and stared at them.
"Look." Fred managed through his laughter and pointed at the little birds.
"Sandpipers." Charlie supplied.
"SANDPIPERS!" Fred and George howled with laughter.
Ginny gasped. "Mummy! They're so cute! Can I have one?"
"No, Sweetheart. They belong here on the beach."
"What is so funny about sandpipers?" Bill asked, which caused Fred and George once again to dissolve into a giggling fit.
"I think Fred and George have had too much ocean air." Ron commented cutely.
"I need to go back to school." Percy muttered.
A/N - Hey everyone! Happy New Year! Hooray for 2006! Graduation year for me! Woo Hoo! Anyway, sorry for the long time it takes me to update. I love all the positive reviews and I can't thank you enough for taking the time to review!
I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I don't personally think it's my best (though I do love the pirate names! Yay Pirates!), but I hope you like it. I base a lot of the Weasleys' experiences in this story off experiences I've had when I've taken trips with my choir or band or gone to the Fair. This chapter was based entirely off things that happened two years ago on a choir trip to Corpus Christi (though sadly we didn't give each other pirate names. We did see sandpipers though and they are just about the cutest birds ever. They made me laugh a lot too). This March, I'm taking two trips to Florida, one with band, and the other for our senior trip. I am very much looking forward to them, especially because I'll have a lot of new ideas for our favorite wizarding family!
Next Chapter will be about the Weasley's experience at the haunted Delphin Lighthouse, which is a Lighthouse I made up for a fictional paper in Advanced Composition class last year. The young girl and her pirate boyfriend mentioned in this chapter were in the story too. I felt really sad when I killed them off. I really liked them. Anyway...
One more thing: I do NOT own "Too Much Time on my Hands" from the previous chapter. That would be a Styx song. Hooray for Styx! They rock. Thanks for reviewing and I will update as soon as I can!
Love, Midnight Paradise