19. Where Clouds are Far Behind Me

“Oh she’s so adorable! I always thought you’d get a cat! Just look at those sweet eyes.” Harry had never before heard Hermione sound so incredibly soppy. He made a face at Ron over the girls’ heads as they pored over the photo of Dora while waiting for Bill, Fleur and George to join them as they got ready to leave the next morning.

“Mum’s going to go nuts when you bring that thing home,” warned Ron ominously.

“Mum will know before we get home. Kingsley has to sign the paperwork, so we sent it to Percy,” explained Ginny loftily. “So she has plenty of time to get used to it.”

“You can’t go around bringing home strays all the time!”

“Aw go on little brother, mum loves strays,” said Bill’s voice as he sauntered up behind them with Fleur. “She let Percy keep his stupid rat.”

“More’s the pity,” muttered Harry.

“Dora is not a stray, Ronald!” said Ginny glaring at him. “Anyway, you and the twins brought home a whole new person! She let you keep him!”

“Hey! I am not a stray!” Harry’s protest went unheeded.

“Oh please, tell me you wouldn’t have picked him up at the train station yourself, given half the chance?” said Ron, rolling his eyes dramatically.

“I am right here!” said Harry forcefully.

“Besides, we brought home a useful one,” said Ron facetiously and he leaned over and ruffled Harry’s hair. “Our stray degomes the garden and saves the world. What is yours going to do? Dig up the herb garden I expect!” Harry growled at Ron as he tried to flatten his hair.

“Well at least she’s not an over excitable fluff ball like Pig!”

“She is a bit over excitable Ginny,” started Harry.

“Who’s side are you on?” she turned on him unexpectedly. Harry made a show of leaning over to kiss her and nuzzle her neck to prove just exactly who’s side he was on.

“Exactly what are you planning on bringing home, Ginny?” intercepted Bill. Ginny handed him the photograph.

“We bought Dora yesterday.”

“Oh look at ‘er adorable eyes!” squealed Fleur.

“It’s just a dog,” said Bill with amusement.

“No, zis ees an adorable babee!” insisted Fleur.

“Now bringing home that would give mum kittens!” said Ron, pointing a finger at Ginny.

“Ha! I think she’d get over it pretty quick if I did bring home a baby, thanks to your excellent judgment in strays,” said Ginny, grinning. Ron looked at her in horror; Harry just shook his head resignedly.

“Did you really buy her a dog, Harry?” asked Bill as he handed Ginny back her photograph. Harry looked at Bill curiously and shook his head.

“No, Ginny bought a dog,” he paused, “Creeler actually. Hey, Ginny, do you think we could teach her to round up the garden gnomes?” Ginny considered that for a moment before declaring that she was going to try that very thing as soon as they got home. Bill looked at Harry shrewdly but Harry didn’t notice, concerned more at that moment with George.

“Where is George?” he asked, twisting to look up the stairs. “He is coming right? He didn’t find some girl last night that he prefers over us?”

“I don’t know how any girl could prefer anyone over you,” said a low voice from the corner. It was soft and husky and, quite frankly, scary. Harry started and spun around. Ashley’s brunette friend was standing about three feet away, a predatory gleam in her eye. She stepped forward and if you had asked Harry at that moment he would have told you he was being hunted like prey. The brunette was at least a head taller than him and she was wearing heels. Harry felt miniscule at that moment and began looking wildly around for escape. Evil wand bearing wizards he could deal with. This, this was something else!

As the girl advanced on him Harry realised that Hermione, Ron and Ginny had all abandoned him. The three of them were huddled together, leaning on each other for support as they laughed at the horror struck look on his face. Harry scowled at them; they were going to pay for that.

“I’m absolutely positive that the newspapers simply haven’t got a clue this time,” said the brunette with the husky voice, unfurling a paper and dangling it in front of Harry. If she thought that this would have the same effect as dangling a carrot before a rabbit she was sorely mistaken, Harry merely took another step backwards, and slightly to the side, as he tried to put himself in range of Ron so he could cuff him over the head. It was Bill who came to his rescue. Smoothly inserting himself between Harry and the witch he smiled his most charming smile at her. Swiftly plucking the newspaper from her grasp he offered her his other hand to shake.

“Bill Weasley, pleasure to meet you,” he said smoothly, “and you are?”

“Jessica,” said the girl, “pleased to meet you.” In Harry’s opinion she did not sound pleased at all. With Bill’s interference Harry managed to sidle away and place himself behind the three people he now referred to as traitors. Hermione leaned over and snagged the newspaper from Bill as he waved it behind his back at them. While Hermione straightened the paper out and began scanning the front page Bill took Jessica by the arm and led her over to the brasserie where they had eaten breakfast two mornings ago. He deftly deposited her in there, extolling the virtues of the scrambled eggs and handing her over to the care of the waiter in the doorway. As Bill came back, a glaring Jessica staring holes through the back of his head as she was ruthlessly led away by the waiter, Harry sighed with relief.

“Thanks Bill,” he said gratefully before turning to the traitors. “Gee, could you lot be any more helpful?” Ginny was still doubled over with laughter and Hermione was engrossed in the paper so it was only Ron who shrugged, smirking at him. Harry reached out and punched Ron on the shoulder.

“Oh, goodness,” squeaked Hermione suddenly. Harry didn’t want to know but a strange force compelled him to look. Harry and Ginny had seen a few suspicious looking characters the previous day, people who were being trailed by Quick Quotes Quills weren’t exactly inconspicuous, but none had tried to interfere in their day. Harry wondered what story anyone could possibly make out of him and Ginny wandering around Origin Alley all day. Apparently if they got in touch with Rita Skeeter and then took a picture of him and Ginny clinched together in the middle of Origin Alley, they could make up all sorts of things.

“If that’s what you two like to get up to, I’m glad I wasn’t around yesterday,” muttered Ron. Harry slugged him in the shoulder again.

“This is outrageous!” said Hermione. “Who writes this sort of claptrap?” Harry skimmed the article written under the full colour picture of himself and Ginny kissing in the middle of Origin Alley the day before.

<center>MISS GRANGER HEARTBROKEN, HARRY POTTER TAKES ADVANTAGE OF BENEFACTOR’S DAUGHTER? </center>

If our sources are to be believed, and they are, the floozy in the above picture is none other than a Miss Weasley, youngest child and only daughter of the family who took Mr Potter in when he found himself homeless following the war in Britain which he singlehandedly put a stop to mere months ago. It is possible that this young woman has been offered to Mr Potter as a reward of sorts. However, according to our sources in Britain (because we have been quite unable to actually capture her face), Weasley is considered to be quite good looking and Mr Potter would not be the first war hero to enjoy the spoils of war.

There is debate in British wizarding circles about whether Weasley has been offered to Mr Potter by her destitute parents, who surely stand to make good money with a suitable match, or if she has simply been seduced by the heroic visage of wizarding Britain’s most eligible bachelor and endeavoured to trap him. It has been acknowledged that Harry Potter could have any witch of his choosing and there are those who do not believe that he would choose Weasley willingly.

“I’m telling you she [Weasely] is an expert at Love Potions,” says Weasely’s Hogwarts classmate Miss Romilda Vane. “Her best friend is Hermione Granger, the brightest witch at school. She could have taught her easily enough.” Has Miss Granger lost her true love by her own hand? Has Mr Potter been bewitched? However if she is as good looking as they say perhaps Mr Potter simply prefers her to the rather plain Miss Granger. One wonders what sparks might fly when Miss Granger learns of her friend’s betrayal, if indeed it is a betrayal on her part.

Perhaps the betrayal is Mr Potter’s. If Harry Potter could have any woman he chooses, could he in fact be taking advantage of his status to bed whoever takes his fancy? Another possibility is that Mr Potter simply feels a debt to the Weasely family. Our source spoke to Mr Potter’s classmate Mr Neville Longbottom.

“Well, Ginny [Weasley] did have a crush on Harry,” he says. “They’re like his family, the Weasleys, they look after him. He’d do anything for them.” Have her parents successfully negotiated a desirable match for their daughter or is our young hero simply doing his foster family a service and giving their daughter what she has sought all these years in repayment for their kindness?

Only time will tell but for now the question remains, has Harry Potter abandoned his child and it’s mother in favour of a clearly unsustainable relationship based on lies and love potions?

“This is just … Harry! You have got to do something about this!” said Hermione forcefully as she waved the paper in his face.

“What exactly do you propose I do, Hermione?” said Harry exasperatedly. “The only successful interaction I ever had with the press was arranged by you, so why don’t you do something!” Harry and Hermione began to bicker, loudly, collecting their fair share of stares as people moved through the foyer of the hotel. Neither heard Ginny mutter that she was going to fetch George, nor did they notice when she moved softly up the stairs. Harry began to tune out as Hermione got into her stride. She began pacing and waving her arms about, stopping intermittently to waggle a finger in his face. Running out of steam, Harry tried desperately to keep a straight face as Hermione began to list the creative ways in which she would make Romilda Vane sorry she’d ever learned to talk. As Hermione began to wind down he forced himself to stop looking at Ron, who was pulling faces at him behind Hermione’s back, and pay attention to her.

“- you have got to deal with it, Harry!”

“Yes Hermione.”

“This can’t go on.”

“No Hermione.”

“The record really needs to be set straight!”

“Yes Hermione.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Hermione turned on him suddenly, forcefully. Harry shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he confessed. “Can you think of something? Please? I’ll be your best friend?” He gave her his best puppy dog look and she laughed.

“I’m already your best friend,” she said with a smile.

“That’s it!” exclaimed Ron suddenly. Hermione whirled to look at him.

“Oh!” she exclaimed. She began nodding. “It might just work, yes. It’s perfect!” Ron was smiling and nodding along with her.

“Yeah, see, it’s obvious.”

“Yes, yes, it just might work! You’re brilliant Ron!” said Hermione, beaming at both him and Harry. Ron looked smug but Harry just looked at them in utter confusion.

“So er, you both think it’s a great idea then?”

“Of course Harry!”

“Bound to work!”

“It’s positively scary that you two can do that,” Harry said, shaking his head.

“But don’t you think it’s a brilliant plan, Harry?” persisted Hermione. Harry had absolutely no idea, because unlike them, he had no idea what the plan was. He just nodded. If there were any people in the world he could trust they were Ron and Hermione. If they had a plan he’d go along with it. He contemplated that it was somewhat a turn of events; they often went along with what he said. It was sort of comforting to go along with someone else’s idea for a change. He smiled and turned to Ginny. She wasn’t there.

Scanning the foyer in confusion he was unable to locate her and his heart sank. Was she upset that he’d turned to Ron and Hermione? Was she embarrassed about the article, or angry perhaps? Well, he reasoned with himself, she had been laughing at his predicament with the predatory Jessica, so maybe it served her right. He dismissed that idea as soon as it came. She definitely didn’t deserve any of this. Harry had gotten relatively used to the press by now and Hermione seemed to take it in her stride. Ron was lucky enough to rarely be mentioned but Ginny had never before been the subject of such speculation, rumour and innuendo. Harry sighed heavily, running his hand through his hair, unable to locate her. Bill and Fleur were reading the article and Fleur was tutting in one of the best imitations of her mother in law that Harry had ever seen.

“’Oo do zey zink zey are, zees reporters?” she questioned the air angrily. “Zey cannot call ‘er a floozy! Zis ees not right! ‘Arry!” Harry jumped. Fleur was glaring at him menacingly and waved the paper in his face much as Hermione had done.

“You weel fix zis!” she snarled at him. Harry just looked at her in alarm. Bill put a calming hand on her arm and spoke softly in her ear and her face softened. Suddenly she threw herself at him. “Oh of course eet ees not your fault!” Harry’s head was fairly spinning now and his anxiety over Ginny was increasing.

“Where’s Ginny?” he asked. Hermione looked up from the Galleon in her hand and Ron shrugged.

“I can’t keep track of her, Harry, that’s your job,” he said. Harry just glowered at him.

“Don’t talk about her like that,” he growled. “She’s not a pet or something to be tracked and catalogued!” Ron backed up several steps, raising his hands in surrender. Harry realised he had his wand in his hand and had begun to raise it. He dropped his hand and sighed. Surrendering to his frustration he kicked a nearby rubbish bin.

“You okay mate?” asked Ron softly. Harry put his wand away.

“Yeah, sorry Ron,” he said softly. “It’s not fair. That article is terrible and Ginny doesn’t deserve this. It’s says simply awful things about her and all of you. And what was Neville thinking?”

“I don’t expect he was quoted accurately Harry,” said Hermione as she briskly tapped her DA Galleon and pocketed it. “Now Neville and Luna should get that message soon enough. I do hope Dennis has his on him. Dean will be easy enough for Luna to contact if he hasn’t got his on him, do you suppose Neville will be able to track down Seamus easily enough?”

“What are you on about Hermione?” asked Harry exasperatedly.

“He’ll tell Parvati anyway, won’t he?” interrupted Ron.

“Yes and hopefully they can get it issued today,” added Hermione.

“Tell me what on earth is going on!” roared Harry. Ron looked at him in alarm.

“Calm down Harry, it’s the plan!”

“Well if I knew what the plan was maybe I would be calm!” cried Harry in sheer frustration. “You two are talking in secret lovers’ code and Ginny has vanished! You expect me to keep calm?” Hermione blushed violently and the tips of Ron’s ears went red.

“I just used the DA Galleon to contact Luna and Neville,” explained Hermione as the blush began to fade. “Luna is going to publish an article about you and your friends. An accurate one, illustrated with photos that Colin has taken. They will talk to your friends and present an accurate picture of things.”

“Yeah and mum and dad,” added Ron. “If they’ve caught even a whiff of this, they’ll be furious.” Harry let out a deep breath that he didn’t realise he’d been holding.

“Thanks guys,” Hermione smiled at him and Ron slugged him on the shoulder. Harry feigned grievous injury, staggering slightly and grinning. He sobered suddenly. “Where did Ginny go?” He was answered by a groan from behind. George was holding one hand to his head, shuffling across the foyer. Ginny was trailing him, dragging his bag.

“I can’t wait until I am of age,” she huffed as she threw the bag at George’s feet. “Next time you get roaring drunk and have a hangover you can carry, or levitate, since you are of age, your own blasted bag!”

“Ginny, stop shouting,” whined George. “You promised you’d stop doing that.” Ginny crossed her arms and glared at him.

“Serves you right!” she growled. George raised an eyebrow and looked from Bill to Harry.

“What’s up her nose?” George asked them and Ginny shrieked wordlessly at him, a sound that pierced Harry’s skull even though he wasn’t hungover. No wonder George began whimpering.

“Harry, call her off,” he said, most unwisely, and he found himself on the wrong end of a bat bogey hex.

“Don’t treat me like an object or a –a pet!” she spat, advancing on him. Bill swiftly put himself between Ginny and George and demanded that she remove the hex on George. Unwilling, or perhaps unable to defy Bill, Ginny complied.

“I know you’re angry Gin, I am too, but turning on George is not the answer,” said Bill softly. “Please, put your wand away.” Ginny stood rigid, her wand still dangling at her side, eyes hard and glittering.

“Ginny,” murmured Harry. Whatever else he had been going to say to her didn’t matter. She turned to him then, the rigid stance gone, the fury dissipating. Harry reached out and pulled her to him and she resisted him for only a split second before allowing Harry to enfold her in his arms. She sighed heavily and Harry kissed the top of her head tenderly.

“I’m sorry, George,” she said. George glowered at her but nodded his head briefly and then winced at the movement.

“What were you doing last night?” questioned Bill peering at George, inspecting the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes.

“Drinking with Jonathon,” muttered George. Bill shook his head resignedly.

“Don’t make a habit of it, hey?” he said softly, putting a hand on George’s shoulder. His younger brother looked up at him tremulously.

“It only makes the pain go away for a while,” he said quietly. “It’s just as bad in the morning.”

“Only now you have a hangover to boot,” grinned Ron.

“Piss off,” said George listlessly. At that moment Jonathon came bounding exuberantly through the front door of the hotel.

“Good morning everybody!” George winced dramatically and Jonathon laughed before thrusting a small bottle at him. “Drink up Georgie boy! You’ll feel good enough to hit the frog and toad after a shot of that!” George eyed him warily before drinking the contents of the bottle.

“I hope that’s not a reference some new sort of cuisine you intend to introduce me to,” he grimaced at the after taste of the potion.

“Nah mate, frog and toad, road. I’m coming with youse!” said Jonathon cheerily. “On the Roobus, Bert was getting up me last night.”

“Bert?” squinted George, looking marginally better and now only holding his head with one hand. “I don’t remember Bert?”

“I think you were too plastered mate,” said Jonathon cheerfully. “Had a few sheilas interested in you but.” George looked at him blearily.

“I did?”

“Yep!” said Jonathon, clearly far too cheerily for George’s hangover. “Bert brought some very nice looking sheilas along and they were very interested in you mate!” George looked at him askance.

“What – um … where – oh bollocks!” said George. Ron stifled a snigger and Hermione looked at him disapprovingly.

“Don’t worry, nothing too drastic,” laughed Jonathon. “I packed you off back here before you got in more than a good pash with Amy. Lovely girl, that …” He trailed off clearly lost in a very nice memory involving the lovely Amy.

“I seem to remember you were wrapped around a girl actually,” said George looking thoughtfully at him. “It’s a pretty vague memory though. I wish I could remember more about what I got up to.” Jonathon looked strained.

“Ah, that weren’t nothing, she’s not, well, she don’t think of me like that,” he said a little wistfully. “Both had a few too many pots and got a bit carried away. I remember enough that you didn’t embarrass yourself mate, don’t worry.”

“Oh I’m not worried,” said George cheekily, his hangover clearly gone. “It’s just a travesty I can’t remember what was clearly such a lovely snog. So why are you coming along today?”

“Apparently I don’t spend enough time with Bert and Ernie, my bestest friends in the whole wide world,” here Jonathon began waving his arms erratically as if emphasising the entire world, “and if I don’t spend some quality time with Bert today I’m getting my backside booted from here to Sunday. Accordin’ to Bert hanging out with Ernie just ain’t the same, so I’m on the Roobus today. Probably need my help with the whole chess club anyway.

“Be a great way to see the country though. Ernie says youse’re the last booking so you’ll have to tag along while he does everyone else. It’ll be grouse but! Say, have you lot seen the Oracle today? Should be shot, them journos I reckon. Anyone who’s seen youse two together would be mad to believe a word of it.” He nodded at Ginny who was still wrapped firmly in Harry’s arms. Truthfully Harry was afraid to let her go because he was drawing a lot of comfort from simply holding her. He smiled at Jonathon and pulled her subtly closer, running one hand down her back to rest lightly on one hip and perhaps she sensed his feelings because she looked up at him and reached up a hand to stroke his cheek gently, mouthing ‘I love you’ at him. Unable to resist her, Harry leaned down and kissed her softly before pulling back a little.

“Now that picture would tell the real story,” said Ron softly. Harry ignored him, lost as he was in the depths of Ginny’s eyes. It was like he could speak to her this way, it made the touch of her hand on his cheek more real and the rest of the world fade away. In her eyes he could see how much she loved him, how much she had always loved him and he could see, on the edges, the anger and embarrassment the article had caused her. He wanted desperately to take away that pain and wondered if he willed it long enough or loved her hard enough if that would do it.

“I love you,” he whispered to Ginny just before a glaring flash went off. Startled, they both turned to see Hermione looking at them apologetically.

“Sorry,” she murmured, “but that’s the perfect picture and they do say a picture is worth a thousand words.” Harry smiled at Hermione before looking back down at Ginny.

“They’ve got a plan,” he said. “I’m sorry that was printed that about you. I wish I knew how to make it go away, but Hermione’s contacted Luna. They’ve got some crazy plan involving her and Neville and Dean.” Harry shrugged while Ginny looked sceptically at Ron.

“And you trust these two?” she asked. Harry nodded while Ginny eyed Ron who was absently scratching his head while Hermione lectured him about correctly packing her camera back in the case.

“I trust these two with my life, Ginny.”

“Her, I get, it’s the fact that you trust him that makes me question your sanity.” Harry laughed, watching Ginny’s eyes sparkle with mischief, the pain in them nearly gone. Harry made it his mission to eliminate all traces by the end of the day.

“Come on! Bert and Ernie’ll be here any minute and I do NOT need to be on Bert’s bad side right now thanks very much,” said Jonathon impatiently. The rest grabbed their bags and followed him out onto the footpath.

“Don’t we have to summon it?’ asked Harry curiously as Jonathon just stood there.

“Nah, Roobus turns up on timetable if you booked it,” he said. “Might get summoned a few times today I suppose. Most people know to book it if you want it to arrive within coo-ee of the time of the time you need it.” Sure enough, within moments an enormous electric blue bus arrived with a BANG and jerked to a stop in front of them. A slight girl with dark hair and piercing blue eyes leapt down from the back end of the bus that Harry now saw looked almost identical to the Knight Bus, apart from its colour. The girl raced up to Jonathon and threw her arms around his neck.

“I thought you were joshing about being here today!” she shrieked in his ear. “You’re coming?”

“Yeah, I am,” said Jonathon hugging her back. “Did’ya honestly think I was pullin’ ya leg? Stone the flamin’ crows you’re a daft one Bert!” At that moment the front door to the bus blew open and a dark curly head poked out.

“Stop molestin’ him Alberta,” said the young man with the badge that proclaimed him as Ernie. “It’s not like you haven’t seen him in yonks! You went ‘round last night!”

“Don’t call me that!” hissed Bert. “You know I hate that.”

“Yeah an’ I know how you think any minute away from Johno is torture,” muttered Ernie, not loud enough for Jonathon, helping Bill and George load luggage, to hear.

“Don’t call him Johno,” sighed Bert. “You know he hates it.”

“Mebee if you would just take him to bed you’d loosen him up some aye?” said Ernie with a grin showing a set of even, white teeth. Bert blushed heavily and shoved Ernie back into the bus.

“Shut up!” said Bert, clambering up after him. “He doesn’t even know I’m alive. Would he have gone out with the incredible face sucking Amy if he knew?” Harry raised an eyebrow at Ginny and she stifled a giggle as they followed Bert’s beckoning hand onto the bus.

“Mebee you shoulda thought about that afore you went and tried to make him jealous with Griffin,” said Ernie settling into the driver’s seat, which was a deck chair, “pompous ass.”

“Remind you of anyone?” Ginny muttered. Harry completely lost it then and Ron had to shove him unceremoniously up the steps of the bus.

“What’s so funny?” he asked plaintively as Harry collapsed in a laughing heap in the aisle. “Move over Harry, I want to get a seat!” The inside of the Roobus was furnished with an assortment of deck chairs, squashy arm chairs and recliners, a circular staircase stood in one back corner. There was a muted murmur of voices coming from the floors above them but the ground floor was empty of passengers.

Ron eventually pushed Harry’s head down and stepped over him, claiming a recliner in the middle of the bus. George, Bill and Jonathon clambered into the bus through the back and flopped into deck chairs near the back. Hermione and Fleur went to find seats while Ginny fixed up their fare with Bert after liberating Harry’s pocket of his money bag. Returning to Harry she hauled him upright now that he had almost ceased his laughter and pushed him into a recliner a few seats away from Ron. Harry watched Hermione settle herself in Ron’s lap and sobered as he saw Ron smile up at her and reach out to smooth her hair, whispering something that made Hermione smile back. She tucked an arm around him and snuggled her head under his chin. Ron put a hand on her thigh and began stroking it softly while he kissed the back of her neck. Harry didn’t realise it but he was wearing the same expression that people often saw on Ron when he watched Harry with his sister.

“What are you thinking?” asked Ginny softly from the chair beside him. Harry turned to Ginny and snaked out a hand to pull her onto his lap.

“Wondering if Hermione knows how much Ron loves her,” said Harry quietly, unable to resist burying his face in Ginny’s hair and running a hand down the length of her thigh. Ginny turned to look at them. Hermione had turned her face up to Ron who was holding the back of her head with one hand and was peppering her face with little kisses while his other hand ran up her leg, over her hip and up under her jumper.

“I think she has a pretty good idea,” answered Ginny as Ron stopped teasing Hermione and covered her mouth with his. Hermione’s eyes fluttered shut and her hand reached up to rest on Ron’s chest as the two kissed, heedless of the audience around them. Harry smiled.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Roobus sped across the continent stopping abruptly to let off members of the chess club and picking up an assortment of witches and wizards who seemed to know Bert and Ernie quite well. A number were obviously familiar with Jonathon also. They headed north, picking up the Flidge maintenance wizard at Wollemi, who complained that he’d only just finished cleaning the Flidges after Saturday’s game and he’d have to go back on Wednesday to make sure they were all open and working for the Friday night Thunderer – Nargun game, which the Narguns were, for the first time ever, tipped to win. Harry wondered aloud why he wasn’t Flidging home and Bert chuckled loudly.

“Can’t handle Flidging,” she said, “makes him terribly sick!”

The first of the chess club players was dropped off at a poky little town in the middle of nowhere and Jonathon pointed out some of the local landmarks in the distance before the Roobus suddenly shot off again. They got a glimpse of the beach at Tweed Heads where a rather gloomy looking wizard carrying an enormous chess set disembarked and scurried off into the sand dunes. At Toowoomba, in Queensland, they picked up a rather shifty looking wizard who Ernie loudly warned not to cause any trouble or he’d throw him off in the middle of nowhere.

“Quite capable of doing that too,” muttered Jonathon as the shifty wizard skulked up the stairs at the rear. “There’s miles and miles of desert out there you’d not see anyone for days if Ernie took a mind to it.” An assortment of scantily clad witches got on and off the bus in Rockhampton and Townsville before they left two elderly members of the chess club at a street in a small town that looked to be surrounded by sugar cane and banana plantations. As they headed west Jonathon made Ernie stop the bus so they could look at the rainforests and Hermione took their picture in front of a stunning waterfall. By the time they arrived in Darwin and offloaded several passengers it was time for morning tea. Harry got off the bus with the rest to stretch his legs.

“Here, I thought it was bloody winter mate!” exclaimed Ron as they stepped into what might reasonably be considered sweltering heat. Jonathon laughed as Ron stripped off his jumper.

“Youse’re in Darwin mate. They don’t know the meaning of the word cold!” Harry idly thought that the Postmistress had not been joking about the different climates in Australia. Jonathon continued, “Now, Melbourne, they know the meaning of the word cold. Hey Ern! Are we going to Melbourne today?” Ernie looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. Jonathon looked satisfied.

“There, that’ll learn youse what cold is,” he said smugly. Ron shook his head at Jonathon.

“Mate, you’re talking to people who went to school in a drafty castle in Scotland,” he said. “You have no idea what cold is.”

“’Ogwarts ees ‘orrible and cold,” shuddered Fleur. “But zees ‘umidity, eet is not much better. My ‘air, eet weel go leemp.” She flounced back into the bus and Ginny pulled a face behind her retreating back. They spent a few moments sunning themselves before Ernie herded them back onto the bus.

They had just dropped Mrs Somersby and six large cats off in the Bungle Bungles in the far north when a loud and wailing klaxon sounded throughout the bus.

“What the bloody hell was that?” demanded Ron when it stopped.

“Summoning alarm,” said Ernie shortly and he began winding a handle just above his head.

“Hold on!” bellowed Bert as the bus suddenly lurched magnificently, shuddered and came to a stop with a huge bang in front of a old building in what was clearly a sea port. Harry was flung out of his chair and hit the side of the bus with a thud and as soon as the bus stopped quivering Ginny and Hermione has rushed to his aid.

“Harry, are you okay?” asked Hermione anxiously as Harry lay still, a pain thumping in his head. Harry opened his eyes, squinting in the bright light and groaned.

“Are you alright mate?” said Bert frantically as she leaned over Harry. “Old Mr Walpole … always summoning the bus in an emergency. One of these days it will be an emergency I suppose. Can you move?” Harry experimented and found, to his own surprise, that he could actually sit upright. Ginny was looking at him, worry etched on her features and he smiled at her.

“I’m okay,” he said, “takes more than a bus ride to do me in.” He grinned at her but to his consternation Ginny burst into tears. With a speed he did not know he had, he had her in his arms and was whispering softly in her ear.

“Ginny, it’s alright, we’re all okay. I just lost my grip.” Ginny sniffed loudly and with great effort pulled herself together. She didn’t say anything but curled herself into his lap. Harry shared a puzzled look with Ron before gingerly getting to his feet and sitting back in his chair. Ginny curled up in his lap once more. Once Bert and Ernie had established that Harry was fine and apologised profusely for the mishap the Roobus was on its way again. Mr Walpole’s ‘emergency’ had seen them fly across the country to Fremantle and now they were on their way to Adelaide before they went Outback. Harry idly listened to Jonathon tell Bill about Adelaide as they travelled across a vast expanse of desert.

“Pretty little place really, not much life in it but,” Jonathon mused. “They got heaps of wineries down there. Coupla good beaches, little bit of shopping but, yeah, bit quiet. I‘m a city boy meself and South Australia’s not much but Adelaide and a heap of desert.”

“I’m used to the desert,” said Bill a trifle wistfully. “I used to work in Eygpt.” Bert answered that there were a few chess clubbers that lived in the South Australian desert. Apparently they would be lunching in Adelaide although Ernie warned them not to take too long as Mr Walpole had already put him behind schedule.

Harry shifted his attention to Ginny then. She was still curled up in his lap, her hands grasping his shirt and her head tucked under his chin. Harry wondered if she was asleep, she had been so still and quiet. Harry met Ron’s eyes over the top of Ginny’s head. Ron was looking sadly at his sister and offered Harry a weak smile.

“Ginny?” Harry whispered. The only answer he got was her right hand tightening imperceptibly around the chunk of his shirt that she was holding as her body began to tremble slightly. Harry began to softly stroke her hair and then down her back before running his hand along her arms. Something had spooked her and Harry would give anything to know what it was. As he stroked her tenderly he felt Ginny relax and he twisted his head to try and see her face. Her eyes were closed and there were slight frown lines on her forehead. Raising a hand gently Harry smoothed them away and pulled her face up to press a kiss to her forehead. He felt her shiver as he trailed a hand down the side of her face and neck and prayed that it was a shiver of delight and not one of dread. He was rewarded when Ginny opened her eyes and smiled at him. He wanted to question her but he saw some of the pain still in her eyes and, wanting more than anything for it to go away, he kissed her, softly at first and then with growing urgency despite the presence of her brothers.

Ginny released her hold on his shirt and wound her fingers up into his hair while Harry cradled her head in one hand and ran the other along her thigh and over her hip. He wanted to pour all his feelings into that kiss so that she knew how much he cared for her and loved her and so that the pain on the edges of her eyes would go away. Ginny responded enthusiastically to his kiss. Opening her mouth to him she pressed him back into the chair and kissed him until his head was spinning and he was dizzy from lack of oxygen. When she pulled away Ginny laid her head next to his on the back of the chair and Harry looked into her eyes, breathing heavily and willing her to know how much he loved her. As he watched he thought he could see the dark spots that were her pain fade until almost none was left and he smiled.

“Hey Ginny,” Harry breathed. “Are you okay now?” Ginny nodded without offering further explanation and they sat in silence until the bus came to a shuddering halt in a wide tree lined street.

It was certainly not warm in Adelaide, a fact which had Ron complaining loudly as he pulled his jumper back over his head. They had come to a stop in the heart of South Australia’s capital, but true to form, the Muggles bustling about did not notice the massive electric blue bus sitting outside their train station. The trees were overpowered by the multi storied buildings behind them and their bare branches left the street looking rather bleak, the grey of the buildings blending with the colour of the skies above them. There was a food van parked in front of them and Harry could hear the distant rattle of trains as they pulled out of the station behind it. The remaining passengers on the bus clattered down the staircase.

“Hey Ern, you ever gonna pick a different lunch spot?” grumbled a hunchbacked old wizard in purple robes.

“Nah, I’m not,” said Ernie.

“There’s nothing wrong with a good pie floater now and again. Go find a sandwich shop if you’re not happy, you lazy bugger,” interjected Bert. The old wizard kept grumbling as he exited the bus. Harry followed him off the bus, Ginny clinging tightly to his hand, he squeezed it reassuringly and asked if she was okay. Ginny nodded firmly but Harry could not shake the feeling that she had been unreasonably upset when he had hit the side of the bus but he could not quite place his finger on why. He felt like he should know but the reason was elusive. He shrugged mentally, it’s not like he was hurt, the bump had been minor and if they kept dwelling on it they’d not have any fun. He smiled at Ginny warmly and they trailed Ron to the food van.

The food van in front of them turned out to be a pie cart. It looked closed so Harry was unsure how they were supposed to get lunch there. One of the witches from the Roobus had seated herself on the footpath and opened her packed sandwich but the other occupants were clustered around the van. Ernie reached out and tapped on the shutter and it suddenly rose up with a loud clatter. A young, spotty wizard peered out at them.

“About time Ern!” he said. “I were about to give up on ya and go home!”

“Yer full of it,” said Ernie shortly, “now give us our lunch afore the Muggles start noticin’!” Lunch turned out to be a selection of savoury pastries including a rather odd looking combination of meat pie, smothered in tomato sauce, sitting in green pea soup that Ernie dug into with relish. The sickly green combined with pastry and bright red tomato sauce was something that not even Ron was sure was a good idea. He wasn’t one to pass up a challenge however and when Jonathon called him a wuss for not giving it a go Ron tried it. Harry chose a less threatening looking pasty and Ginny a pie without the green bits. Fleur looked ill at the thought of any of it but gamely attempted a pie, having had one at the Quidditch. No one was sad to board the bus again however as standing on a freezing street eating baked pastry goods from paper bags wasn’t exactly pleasant. Ernie was the only one who seemed to have any real enthusiasm for the idea.

As the bus rumbled north Harry noticed Bert watching Jonathon as he and George conversed quietly in one corner of the bus. Harry hadn’t been friends with Ron and Hermione for seven years without picking up a few things and he could tell that Jonathon was as taken with Bert as she obviously was with him. Jonathon watched her when he thought no one was looking and whenever she got up to assist a passenger off the bus his eyes followed her curves up the staircase. No doubt he was also taking the opportunity to catch as much of her legs as possible, which wasn’t difficult as Bert was clad in what was obviously national dress, even for wizards, of shorts and thongs. She had protested vehemently when Ron called them flip-flops and declared that term ‘poncy and foreign’, demanding that they all refer to them as thongs while they were down under, thank you very much. George had not been amused to learn that what he had been used to calling a thong was in fact almost always called a G-String (although Ernie clearly preferred the term ‘butt floss’) and, in answer to Jonathon’s cheeky inquiry, none of them were likely to find out if Bert was wearing one! As Bert helped old Mrs Weatherstone off the bus at a very pink roadhouse in a place called Oodnadatta, George leaned over and whispered to Jonathon.

“If you keep looking at her like that your eyes are going to fall out of your head and then we’ll have to pick them up and pull the dust off them. Make a move, man!” Jonathon glared at him.

“Get real! She does not think of me like that,” said Jonathon morosely. “I wish.”

“Oh stop it!” said Hermione sharply to the surprise of them all. “If she was ogling you any more when you bent over to haul a suitcase off the bus we’d be picking up her eyeballs! You men just try to get out of making a move because you’re chicken!”

“Unsure, Hermione, not chicken,” ventured Ron. Hermione turned and gave him a scathing look.

“Oh yes Mr Lionheart,” she scoffed. “Did you ever even make a move?”

“Yeah, with Lavender,” muttered Harry. The tips of Ron’s ears were red and he glared at Harry menacingly.

“You can’t talk,” said Ron fiercely.

“Yes I can,” argued Harry. “I kissed a girl before you ever did.”

“Unless you count Auntie Muriel,” giggled Ginny and Ron threw a threatening glance in her direction and growled. George stood up dramatically.

“Children, children,” he proclaimed condescendingly. “Now is not the time for petty bickering. She’s coming back, shhhhhhhhh.” Bert scrambled back onto the bus and called out to Ernie that they were right to go before sinking into the deckchair next to Jonathon and declaring old Mrs Weatherstone the most verbose person she ever had the misfortune to meet. She crossed her legs and leaned back, stretching and closing her eyes, exposing the skin of her neck and wrists to Jonathon as she did so. He was mesmerised. George began whispering in his ear, Jonathon whispering fiercely back.

“What are you two whispering about like a pair of Nyols?” Bert asked lazily. Jonathon started suddenly.

“Nothing,” he said, “never mind.” George went to say something else and Jonathon elbowed him.

“Hey,” protested George, “I just wanted to know what a Nyol was!” Harry was rather curious himself. It turned out they were tiny little grey creatures with big ears who lived in the rocks. They were a bit elusive but you could tell they were around because you could hear them whispering and rustling. They were pretty strong though so in Jonathon’s opinion you wanted to be careful when walking where Nyols were as they grabbed at your ankles.

“They reckon there is some at Coober Pedy, that’s the next stop,” Bert said, eyes still closed, Jonathon still staring at her legs. “I’ve never seen any evidence of that though. Hey Ernie?”

“Yeah Bert?”

“We going to Coober Pedy this arvo?”

“Yeah Bert.”

“Got time to stop and stretch our legs?”

“Yeah Bert.”

“You want desert, Bill,” said Jonathon. “Coober Pedy’s got desert. Heaps of desert. Come to that Australia’s got a lot of desert. Some people think the desert’s dead you know, but desert around here don’t mean dead at all. Teeming with life our deserts, isn’t that right Ernie? Ernie grew up in the deserts, born in Alice Springs. He’s a boy from the bush even if I’m not. Hey Ernie, we gunna be in Alice before dinner at this rate?”

“Yeah Johno.”

“Don’t call me that.” Harry grinned. Ernie seemed to be getting more taciturn as they day went on. He rather thought perhaps being friends with Jonathon had rendered Ernie thus. It was only a few more minutes before they reached Coober Pedy and rolled into a rather dusty red earthed town. It had few buildings but Bert soon explained that a lot of places were actually underground, dug into the earth in the sides of hills. Once she pointed that out it was easier to see them. Ernie brought the bus to a stop on a street lined with shops and they disembarked into a dry but not unpleasantly hot climate. A nearby window display caught Harry’s eye. It was full of jewellery decked with opals, the stones Ginny had admired in the jewellery shop window in Origin Alley the day before. Bert noticed his gaze.

“Opals,” she said, “millions of ‘em here, opal capital of the world.” Harry chanced a glance at Ginny and saw that she and Hermione were engaged in trying to entice Fleur off the bus.

“Hey, do me a favour, keep Ginny occupied,” he whispered to Bert. She winked at him conspiratorially and gave him a small salute as he hurried into the jewellery store. His mission was short and sweet and expedited with the utmost speed. He rather thought he’d managed to get away with it until Ginny settled in his lap as they took off again.

“And where did you go, Mr Potter?” she asked slyly. Harry shrugged his shoulders. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice? I notice everything about you, Harry.” Harry gulped as her hands began to roam. He stopped her as her hands got daringly close to straying below his waist and smiled his most winning smile at her.

“Oh no you don’t, Miss Weasley,” he said softly, pinning her hands with his own, larger ones. “I know what you are looking for, and you won’t find it. Wait until tomorrow, like a good girl.” Ginny frowned at him and he kissed it away with soft, delicate kisses that made her melt into him.

“Oi! Get a room!” said George plaintively. “I’m sick of watching you two go at it!”

“Stop watching then,” said Ginny tartly.

“But there isn’t anything else to watch,” complained George. “That landscape’s a bit monotonous.”

“We’re nearly there,” said Bert. “Got three chess clubbers to drop off in Alice and then it’s just young Arkie going to Melbourne. After that we’ll get you lot to Yackandandah. Scenery’s a lot more inviting down south."

“Hey Ernie, you gunna swing by Yulara?” called Jonathon. “Be a treat for the Poms hey? Can’t bring ‘em all the way in this rattler without swinging by the Rock! And your mum is always having a go at you for not visiting her. Keep the old chook happy maybe?”

“It’s out of the way,” grumbled Ernie shortly.

“Aw go on Ern! Arkie’d go for it, he hates getting off the bus on a Monday night anyway. Always wants to stay and chat,” interrupted Bert. “Anyway you promised your mum she’d see more of you once you started driving the bus, not less, and we haven’t detoured to Yulara for ages.”

“Alright,” said Ernie shortly and moments later he brought the bus to a shuddering stop in what appeared to be the middle of a dry river bed. It was sandy with smooth round rocks and stones scattered throughout. Trees grew at odd angles along the edges and at one point a massive fallen tree trunk seemed to act as a root system for a line of trees that all stood straight up in a line, growing from the fallen trunk. The last three chess club members disembarked here and Bill looked curiously out at their surroundings.

“Hey, what’s with the camels?” he asked Bert. Harry craned his neck to see the train of camels ambling along towards them. About six camels were tied together, people swaying atop of them. They all clambered off the bus to get a better look and their feet sank into the soft sand.

“Thought this was Australia?” said Ron, puzzled. “What’re the camels doing here?”

“Ah, ship of the desert, best thing for transporting things in the outback,” said Bert. “I rode a camel once. They replaced the camels with trains eventually but camels are a major tourist attraction. By the looks these ones are heading back out along the river to the camel farm for dinner.”

“What river?”

“You’re in the river mate,” said Bert, rolling her eyes. “Todd River. It’s not flowing right now. Hardly ever flows. Grouse bit of scenery but.” Harry had to admit, it was picturesque and the rolling camels with the people riding gracefully on top were mesmerising. He was shaken out of his trance by Ernie.

“Oi, if ya wanna go to Uluru, get back on the bus,” he said grumpily.

“Mate, if you’re gunna see ya mum,” said Jonathon, “be a bit more cheery aye?”

“She’s gunna have words with me,” complained Ernie. “First she’ll ‘ave a go at me for not hangin’ around, then she’ll have a few things to say about me not usin’ me education wisely after all her sacrifice. Then I’ll probably get the ‘you don’ come and see me enough’ lecture.”

“Well, you don’t go and see your old lady enough Ern!” said Bert in frustration. Ernie scowled at her and stomped back onto the bus, grumbling under his breath. The rest of them filed in behind him and Ernie barely let them get seated before the bus took off again, sending up a spray of the riverbed sand and gravel before the bus lurched onto the road again. It wasn’t long before Ernie brought the bus to a rapid halt and the occupants of the bus nearly went flying out of their seats.

“He gets a bit reckless when he’s grumpy,” muttered Bert as she held out a hand to Jonathon to haul him off the floor. Once standing Jonathon held onto her hand for just a moment longer than was necessary and neither seemed to notice that they were standing closer than they needed to. Jonathon bent his head ever so slightly, the two of them seemed to have forgotten that anyone else was there.

“You alright?” asked Jonathon quietly. “Didn’t, you know, sustain an injury when the doofus stopped like that?” Bert shook her head slowly.

“You?”

“Nah, I’m fine.” Harry dared not move or breathe; this was likely the moment they had been waiting for, probably for years.

“Well let’s go if we’re goin’!” yelled Ernie from the front of the bus. The spell was broken and Jonathon and Bert hastily dropped hands and Bert turned to Ernie businesslike while Jonathon busied himself studying a pulled thread on his jumper. They filed off the bus onto a dusty red road, joined by young Arkie (who proved to be anything but young but apparently his father was one hundred and fifty seven so young Arkie’s one hundred and two was indeed young).

“Oh, it’s beautiful,” breathed Hermione, pointing to the large monolith in the distance.

“Ern, why don’t you take us up to the Rock and go see your mum? Me and Bert’ll show the Poms what it’s about,” said Bert, she turned to young Arkie. “You wanna come Ark, or you gunna get a drink?” Young Arkie nodded briefly at a nearby building and Bert nodded, promising to pick him up before they left.

“Mum’ll be put out if you don’ come and visit her,” stated Ernie categorically to Jonathon.

“Okay, so you come and pick us up from the Rock in about an hour then, take us back to see your mum,” sighed Jonathon. “But you’re not getting out of havin’ a nice visit with her without us lot nosin’ in on it.”

“Yeah well I hope cousin Gracie’s there when you turn up then,” grumbled Ernie as headed back onto the bus. Cousin Gracie turned out to be one of Ernie’s many relatives who had taken a particular shine to Jonathon on a previous visit and was rather … enthusiastic.

“I know how you feel,” said Harry quietly, not seeing Ginny shoot him a sharp look. “Enthusiastic girls are a bit … wearing.”

“Why don’t you get yourself a real live girl, then?” asked George pointedly tilting his head imperceptibly towards Bert, who was waving her arms at Uluru and explaining something to Hermione. “What’s she going to do if you waltz in with a bird on your arm?” Jonathon glared at him before hissing,

“Don’t be so bloody obvious!”

“Don’t be so bloody idiotic!” George said.

“Oh he’s always idiotic,” said Bert smiling. “Come on, let’s go.”

Standing at the base of the huge red rock Harry felt infinitesimally small. The rough red walls rose up into the sky stopping abruptly, sharply against the azure sky. From far away you couldn’t see that the base of Uluru was surrounded by trees through which birds squawked and invisible skinks and insects rustled and buzzed. The giant red monolith rose up out of the flat plain as if it had been dropped from the sky and colonies of plants and creatures had made their home in the bush that thrived in the watercourses created by the rare rain that ran off the rock and collected at it’s base. The yellowing grass reached their knees, waving in a silent breeze that rippled through the trees. A red gravelly path wound it’s way around the rock and a chain leading up to the top was providing purchase for a number of Muggles winding their way up and down a worn path. The atmosphere was still despite the presence of so many tourists and Uluru gave of a feeling of quiet reverence that Harry had not felt before. The immense monument to nature made Harry appreciate the vastness of this continent in a way that could not be conveyed with anything else he had seen to date. The flat plain around them stretched for miles and miles and on the red horizon he could see only distant hills and dunes, fuzzy in the distance and heat haze.

“Ernie’s mob don’t climb the rock,” Jonathon was saying when Harry forced his attention back to their group. “They let the tourists have a go up it if they want but this is a sacred place, y’know? I think it’s a truly grouse place, it’s one of them places that you can feel is magical if you get my meaning but I ‘aint ever gunna climb it. It’s just not right I reckon, heaps more to see around the base anyway. Probably can’t get around the whole thing in an hour but we can have a go – Ernie’ll find us when he gets away from his mum.” Entwining his fingers with Ginny’s, Harry trailed after Jonathon with the rest of them while Jonathon told them stories that he’d learned from Ernie’s uncles.

“I used to come here for part of the summer,” Jonathon explained. “After Christmas, me mum’d never let us come for Christmas, but me and Dave used to join him up here and his uncles’d take us out and tell us the stories. It looks fabulous right after it’s been raining.” He stopped at a bend in the path and beckoned them into a small alcove at the base. A viewing platform was set up overlooking a small pool of water.

“See here, that trail, the water comes down there and fills this pool,” Jonathon indicated the water collected on the rocks in front of them. “The Rainbow Serpent, he made this whole thing and there were a coupla other snakes, slithering over the rock, made all them grooves for the water to come down now and that makes the waterhole for the birds and animals. I haven’t been out here for ages, forgotten half the story.” Jonathon shook his head sadly before staring out over the water as he leaned on one of the railings edging the platform.

“Lucky we have any stories really,” said Bert softly, covering one of Jonathon’s hands with her own. “You’re a good friend, Jonathon. Ernie don’t expect you to remember all the stories, but if you came out with us more often, maybe he’d tell them to you more and you’d remember them. You got caught up in the big city life. You don’t come out here with us as much as you used to.

“You know Ernie doesn’t feel like he fits in sometimes. He feels like you’re a bridge between his two worlds. He’s luckier than most though. At least his mob is willing to believe in magic and accept it.” Bert sighed wistfully then and Jonathon turned to her, reaching out to cup her cheek tenderly. Harry felt the subtext of their conversation flowing round them and stood motionless while Bert closed her eyes and sighed.

“Your dad’ll come around,” said Jonathon softly. “You can’t expect him to get over having his whole house vanished in a fit of teenage pique, and being homeless for three days, very easily.” Bert smiled weakly as she opened her eyes to look up at him.

“I didn’t mean to do it,” she said, staring into Jonathon’s eyes. “But Alastair really wasn’t as bad as he made out.” Jonathon laughed softly.

“If he was your dad’s first introduction to a wizard other than the headmaster it’s no wonder he went off his trolley about the prospect of his sixteen year old daughter marrying one,” he smiled. “You need to introduce him to someone else, someone who’s worthy of you. Someone your dad already likes.”

“The only one of my magical friends dad really likes is you,” said Bert wistfully, looking out across the waterhole, turning her face in the palm of his hand. “So I’ve got buckley’s of that ...” she trailed off as Jonathon brought his other hand up to cup her face and turn it back to him. He lowered his head slowly to hers and breathed,

“No, I’d say that’s a real possibility. The chances are inordinately high in fact.” Bert stared at him in wonder as Jonathon moved closer and covered her mouth with his, he kissed her softly, cupping her face in his hands and she stood, motionless as if not believing this was real, her hands hanging limply at her sides. Jonathon pulled away, his eyes clouded and he dropped his hands.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I’ll just-”

“No!” whispered Bert fiercely. “Don’t be sorry.” And she reached out and pulled his head back down to hers, this time she kissed him and after a few moments of shock Jonathon wound his arms around her waist and kissed her back. No one dared move, or ruin the moment, they all sensed it had been coming for quite some time and Jonathon and Bert kissed in the shadow of the massive rock, in one of the most magical places in the country, for several long minutes. The stillness was broken suddenly by a groan and the two broke apart and all spun around to see Ernie standing on the path shaking his head.

“For the love of Merlin,” he said, smiling. “Could you not do that in front of the ancestors.” Jonathon blushed deeply but Bert just grinned at him cheekily.

“If I recall correctly it was your idea that I make him mine,” she said. “What was it you said I should do? Take him to b-” Ernie leapt forward with surprising agility and covered her mouth with his hand.

“Don’ paint the picture Alberta,” he shuddered and Bert laughed. She pulled away and slugged him on the arm.

“Don’t call me that.” Jonathon watched as Ernie tugged on Bert’s long hair.

“Let’s go,” he said, grinning at Jonathon. “Mebee I can get me some peace now she won’ be moanin’ about you not noticin’ her all day?” Jonathon reached out and took Bert’s hand in his and she smiled shyly at him looking through her lashes as Jonathon put an arm around Ernie’s shoulders and they led the way back to the Roobus.

“Just be careful she don’t share too much with you aye?” he said and Ernie shuddered. The three of them wandered up to the bus bickering softly and George looked around at his siblings walking hand in hand with their significant others and shook his head resignedly.

“I really need to find myself a bird. I just don’t see young Arkie as my type at all.” Ron laughed and pulled George in for a one armed hug just as they reached the bus.

“I’m sure you’ll have no trouble once we get back home,” he said reassuringly. George looked at him thoughtfully for a few moments.

“D’you think I can get double the women now? Surely something has to work in my favour?” Ron threw back his head and laughed.

“I think Fred would expect it. If the ladies are deprived of him then you really need to step up to the plate!” Hermione pursed her lips but did not say anything about the rather sexist remark because Ron and George were laughing so uproariously that she and Harry had to push them up the steps onto the bus and no one had seen George laugh like that in months.

They sank into their seats and Ernie adjusted his seat and started the bus up. They took off with a bang and landed suddenly, bone jarringly a minute later when the bus seemed to just drop onto the road with a massive thud. Bert sat up from her deck chair suddenly, tearing her hand away from Jonathon’s abruptly as she ran up to the front of the bus.

“Whadja do Ern?” she gasped. Ernie shrugged, clambering out of his seat slowly.

“Feels like some of the magic’s missin’ mebee,” he said with a puzzled frown. He hopped down went around to the side of the bus, the rest of them following him. “I told Akrie we’d be back in a minute an’ I hope this don’ take too long cause we’ll never get to Yackandandah at this rate. You two an’ yer silly detours.” Jonathon and Bert shared a glance over Ernie’s head as he bet to undo a clasp before they both leaned down to help him hoist open the panel. They all peered in expectantly.

Harry had no idea what he was looking at, the colourful swirls and whorls of magic moved without meaning in the space exposed by the removed panel but Bert gasped and Jonathon shook his head.

“Damn Pukwudgies!” exploded Bert.

“Bugger,” said Ernie.