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Wizards in Rome Spells Trouble | ||||
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Category: Muggle Field Trip Challenge (2007-2) Characters:None Genres: None Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 20 Summary: ** Winner of Most Romantic in the Muggle Field Trip Challenge ** What do you get when a group of teenage wizards spend the weekend in Rome, Italy? Mischief, misfortune, and mayhem ensues! Hitcount: Story Total: 6356 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. Author's Notes: The first time I submitted this there was a mistake: the last scene was not supposed to be in the beginning and at the end, it was only supposed to be at the end. Please excuse this error. |
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Disclaimer: The Hotel Navona, Piazza Navona, La Maison, The Colisseum, The Pantheon, and El Centro Commercial Cinecitta Due do not belong to me. They are all real places in Rome, Italy. I researched Rome and these places for a week prior to writing this story. Disclaimer Two: I do not own any part of Harry Potter. I’m just playing with characters a bit and thanking JKR for that opportunity. “Welcome to the Hotel Navona! Here are your room keys,” said a lanky man with curly graying brown hair, round and a wrinkly smile. “Thank you, Professor Borduck,” said Hermione, as she took the key for the room that she’d be sharing with Ginny and Luna and Harry took the key for the room he’d be sharing with Ron and Seamus. The six students and Muggle Studies Professor gathered around the lifts and waited for an available one to reach the hotel lobby. ***** Harry bounced impatiently on the balls of his feet. He was eager to leave the stifling hotel and show his friends more of the world he’d grown up in- that is, the Muggle World. When Hermione had first approached him two weeks ago about signing up for a field trip to Muggle Rome, Harry had been skeptical at first. He doubted proper security measures would be put into place, especially with Voldemort’s frequent attacks on Muggle areas. But, when Ron and Ginny, convinced by the Muggle-obsessed Mr. Weasley, added their names to those who would be going on the trip, Harry began to see what was supposed to be an elongated Muggle Studies class as an opportunity to show his friends the world in which he grew up and a chance to escape from the growing chaos the wizarding world was slowly being engulfed by. Ding. The lift doors parted and they filed into a small, mirrored room they were just able to squeeze into. The doors slid shut they were met by the reflections of themselves in their strange Muggle attire. Immediately his eyes were drawn to Ginny, her purple tank top clashing fantastically with her red mane, which was kept out of her flushed face with a pair of large brown sunglasses. Harry sighed at the sight of her, reminding himself as he had since Bill and Fleur’s wedding the previous summer that her safety was more important than his happiness. Things were still slightly awkward between Harry and Ginny whenever they happened to be left alone in the Gryffindor Common Room. This particular instance seemed to be more and more frequent since Ron and Hermione had officially gotten over their fears and become a couple. They had finally snapped two months ago on Valentines’ Day, where during one of their infamous rows. Harry still wasn’t quite sure how a heated fight could end in a snogging session in less than two minutes. Harry sought out his best friend’s reflections in the lift doors and saw their hands interlocked. It was then he noticed Ginny’s eyes staring directly at his and he quickly broke the gaze and silently willed the lift doors to open. It was going to be a long weekend. ***** “I’ll have a garlic and onion pizza,” said Ron to a waitress dressed in a toga that was secured with a yellow pin which read, ‘Hi, my name is BRIDGET! Welcome to CAESAR’S PALACE!” “Ron, your breath is going to be disgusting if you eat that,” chided Hermione. “On second thought, I’ll just have plain,” Ron amended, looking sheepishly at his satisfied girlfriend. The waitress nodded curtly and strode off into the restaurant. Harry, his friends, and Professor Borduck were seated in the outdoor portion of the restaurant, CAESAR’S PALACE, overlooking a busy street in Rome. “Uh, why was she wearing a bed sheet?” asked Seamus as he raised an eyebrow and stared after their waitress. “I think it was the style during Caesar’s time. I learned about him in primary school,” Harry recalled, much to the surprise of his friends and himself. “Caesar?” Ginny repeated. “Sorry, I’ve never heard of him.” “Julius Caesar,” replied Hermione, was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in classical antiquity. He played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire.” “Now hold on a second, Hermione,” interrupted Ron. “Do you mean to tell me that this bloke was named after a salad dressing?” Harry sniggered and looked expectantly at Hermione for the upcoming tirade. He was not to be disappointed. “Honestly Ron! The salad dressing was named after him! You, of all people should have known that,” Hermione said, exasperated. Ron’s ears turned a brilliant shade of red and he struggled to say something comprehendible. Professor Borduck spared him the trouble. “Before we explore the ancient buildings and monuments, I suggest we do a little shopping and get some souvenirs for our friends back at Hogwarts,” he proposed. There was a general murmur of agreement before their food arrived. When their stomachs were full and the check was paid (with help from Harry to calculate the correct amount of Muggle money), the group joined the many tourists walking down Rome’s crowded streets until they came to an enormous building covered in tinted windows. It seemed to stretch out for at least half a mile and was several stories high. “El Centro Commercial Cinecitta Due,” recited Ginny, reading a grey marble tablet next the entrance of the building. “It’s a mall,” explained Hermione. “Like an indoor Diagon Alley.” Looks of understanding passed across the faces of Ron, Ginny, and Seamus while Luna merely smiled and led the way inside. Directly ahead of the doors, the students and professor were met by two escalators. “Whoa! What’re those?” Ron exclaimed, running up to the escalators and touching a moving stair before snatching his finger away. “I wouldn’t touch that if you value your fingers,” cautioned Harry as he caught up with his friend. Without preamble, Ron began to climb the down escalator, nearly knocking over a little girl and her father, and eventually jogged in place. “Ron! You’re not supposed to go up the down escalator!” shouted Hermione. “But I don’t know how to get off!” Ron yelled back, panic crossing his face. “Just stop moving, you prat!” yelled Ginny, finally losing her resolve and bursting out laughing. Harry found himself joining in with her and together they tried to catch their breath as Ron stumbled onto solid ground. “Bloody hell!” he gasped as he righted himself. “Hey, do you think I could try that again?” “Are you trying to kill yourself?” sighed Hermione, taking his hand and leading him onto the up escalator. “Come on, what’s the worst thing that can happed?” reasoned Seamus, eyeing the down escalator eagerly. “Squatting Porksnaps can suck you under,” replied Luna as she adjusted her green rubber handbag and stepped lightly off of the escalator. No one bothered to question her confident statement as they started to explore the shops. ***** After perusing numerous shops and buying a great deal of glow-in-the dark Coliseums, Harry found himself sitting on a bench in the middle of the enormous mall. After waiting about 15 minutes for Seamus, Ron, and Luna to get out of the bathroom, Hermione shifted awkwardly on the bench between Harry and Ginny and the strangled silence stretched on. She cleared her throat. “Um… maybe we should go check on them, they’ve been in there for a while. And you know Ron, he’s probably getting himself into trouble.” “Sure.” Harry almost couldn’t hide his relief. He was beginning to get extremely uncomfortable sitting almost alone with Ginny. Harry stood up and walked towards the men’s bathroom and Hermione and Ginny followed him, planning on staying outside, but when they got to the bathroom they were surprised to see a large group of men hanging outside the bathroom. “What’s going on?” asked Ginny to the (obviously American) tourist with his pants hanging around his knees. “Dude, there’s some chick in there.” “A chick…? Ugh, Luna!” “What? Wait! Gin-“ Harry’s words were lost on her as she walked into the men’s room. “Ginny!” Harry followed her into the bathroom, with Hermione closely behind. “Wait- no Hermione, Ginny- get out of- Seamus! What are you doing?!” Ron, Seamus and Luna were crammed around one of the stalls and Seamus had his wand pointed at something. Hermione rushed over and pushed the wand down. “Are you insane, Seamus?! What if someone saw?” “No one’s in here because of Luna, and anyway the toilet it- it- it just made this weird noise and started sucking everything down by itself. There’s something wrong with it!” Seamus waved his wand in front of the flashing red light in front of the toilet. “Look, there it goes, it’s going again! Actually you know, it’s kind of cool! It’s bloody brilliant. I mean look; I just wave my wand in front of it and look, look! It’s going! Try it, Ron!” Seamus waved his wand wildly in front of the toilet, grinning as he demonstrated to Ron the art of making the toilet flush. Luna turned towards Harry, Ginny, and Hermione. “I was just trying to explain to him that the Snarkledorffs flush it for you. It’s common knowledge. In order to keep the Muggle Minister quiet about us wizards, the Ministry of Magic for years, has provided the Muggle world with perks like, automatic doors, fire sprinklers, oh, and that clap on light. Anyway, they use Snarkledorffs, which are these tiny imps that they use to work in Muggle restrooms. That’s the red light you see. The flashing light means they’re working. They watch you through it and then wait till you’re done and they work their magic. My dad tried running an article about them before but the Ministry wouldn’t let him run it, they said it illegitimate, but they were really just covering up the fact that the Snarkledorffs are oppressed and overworked, and they work long hours for little pay, and they’re really just servants to the insatiable greed of our overpaid, pompous government.” “Luna, the toilets just have sensors in them. It’s part of that thing Muggles have, you know, electricity?” Hermione tilted her head toward Luna. “Oh, that’s just a cover-up. There’s really no such thing as electricity, instead-“ “Let’s just get out of here before Seamus blows up that toilet,” Ginny interrupted and led the group out of the bathroom. The group of men became silent as they passed. Harry could feel their eyes on the back of his head. The American tourist called out, “Thank god! What was that chick thinking?” “Oh, she was trying to sneak in some time with her boyfriend. Right Seamus?” Ginny improvised, staring at Seamus and clearly indicating that he was supposed to play along. “Errr, right,” Seamus said putting an awkward arm around Luna’s shoulders. “We’re all here on holiday, aren’t we Harry?” smiled Ginny, putting an arm around Harry’s waist and pulling him close. “Uh…yeah,” stuttered Harry. With that, they strode off towards the store where Professor Borduck was still shopping. As soon as they turned the corner, Harry broke free of Ginny’s grasp and ran to catch up with Ron and Hermione. ***** “Our next stop: the Pantheon! Everyone look at your pamphlets. They give a brief overview on the important Muggle history this architecture represents!” exclaimed Professor Borduck as they trooped over to a dome-shaped building with a queue of people trying to push their way through the door. Hermione immediately buried her nose in the orange pamphlet and Ron placed a hand on her arm to steer her so she wouldn’t bump into anybody. “Ow, Ron! That hurt!” said Hermione when Ron turned her to the right. “I was only trying to make sure you didn’t trample a bunch of kids,” Ron shot back. “So what exactly is this Pantheon place?” asked Harry, trying to distract Hermione and Ron from the brewing row. This earned him a thankful look from both Ginny and Professor Borduck. “It says here that the Pantheon dates back to 27 B.C. and is one of the best preserved buildings that date back to ancient Rome,” Seamus piped in, also reading his orange pamphlet. “It is the tomb of Raffaello, Vittorio Emanuele II, and Umberto I.” “Hey Seamus, how would you like to have a name like Umberto?” sniggered Ron and he and Seamus paused to guffaw and lean against the Pantheon’s pillars. Hermione huffed and probably would have retorted had Professor Borduck not urged the group to go through the doors. Upon entering, everyone’s heads immediately tilted upwards towards the magnificent ceiling with the sun shining brightly through the oculus. Next, their eyes shifted to the marble floor, which was decorated with colored geometric figures. Ron interrupted their awe was interrupted by saying, “Why would someone want to put a hole in their ceiling?” The group of incognito students and professor had to bite back their snorts and chuckles at Ron’s comment. Even Hermione was rolling her eyes with a smile on her face. “I mean, but do they do when it rains?” Ron continued. “They use Giant Mushrooms,” replied Luna as she studied the oculus. “That’s what my dad told me. They grow Giant Mushrooms to shield themselves from the rain. They’re huge you know. Can fit up to ten people under one Mushroom.” Ron stared at Luna, shrugged and went with Seamus to look at one of the statues on the wall. Harry was about to follow when his eyes caught the sight of Ginny’s hair directly in the light shining through the oculus. It shined and shimmered hues of red that made Harry want to walk over to her and run his hands through its silky strands. “Harry! Mate, you coming?” called Seamus and Harry sighed. “Yeah, coming!” he answered and tore his eyes away from Ginny to joined his friends. ***** Hours and many monuments later, the troop returned to Hotel Navona. “I’m heading up to bed. I want you all in your respective rooms by 10:00 sharp,” announced Professor Borduck. “And you should know that there are charms in place preventing any boys from entering the girl’s hotel rooms. The same goes for the girls and the boy’s rooms. Good night.” With that, Professor Borduck entered the lift and the doors slid closed. “Finally,” sighed Ginny. “Well, I think I’m gonna head up to bed too,” said Ron, yawning for effect. “Oh no you don’t,” said Ginny. “We’re going out.” “But Professor Borduck said to be in our rooms by 10:00,” Hermione recounted. “It’s 9:30 now, Ginny. We can’t just up and leave!” “What he doesn’t know won’t kill him. Besides, we’re going back to school early tomorrow. Don’t you want to see what Rome really has to offer?” Ginny grinned mischievously, earning Hermione a defeated look and Harry a blush. The group casually strolled out the door of the hotel and into the Piazza Navona. Nightlife in Rome was drastically different than the tourist-packed days. Families with small children were replaced with young couples walking down the streets hand-in-hand. Music could be heard playing down one of the streets and stars illuminated the night sky. “Where are we going, Ginny?” Hermione asked. “I saw a few places not too far from the hotel I’d like to try,” was the only answer she gave them. She turned a corner and led them down a side street, finally approaching a door with a sign above it that read La Maison is glittering purple script. Ginny was about to open the door when a portly man stepped in front of her, causing her to be face-to-face with his black suit and stern expression. “Do you have a reservation?” he growled. “Um, Weasley?” Hermione attempted. The man looked as if he was going to scathingly reply when his eyes became glazed over and his expression slackened. “Right, Miss Weasley, come on in. We’ve been expecting,” he droned, opening the door and allowing them in. They clambered inside and the door shut behind him. “Ginny! What did you do?” questioned Hermione. “Mild memory charm, don’t worry about it,” Ginny replied, pocketing her wand. “He won’t even remember us, he’ll just have a little headache when he wakes up tomorrow. So, what do you think?” For the first time, Harry surveyed his surroundings. They were standing at the back of a huge, dark red room. Couches and tables for two lined the walls while a hardwood floor covered with people dancing filled in the middle. In the very front of the room, a DJ on a raised platform was playing a song with Italian words and a heavy bass beat. “Wicked,” grinned Ron. “Come on Hermione.” He tried pulling Hermione onto the dance floor with him but she didn’t budge. “Ron, do we really have to? I don’t think-,” “What do you say we ditch these two and show them what they’re missing,” whispered Ginny as she grabbed Harry’s hand and dragged him into the midst of the dancers. Suddenly, Harry felt his hands on her swaying hips and her arms around his neck. He tried to break away but the people dancing around him enclosed him and Ginny in the crowd and pushed them even closer together. He was trying to look anywhere but her as her hands moved his lower on her waist and he hiked them up again. Harry didn’t know how much longer he could bear keeping away from her. It was all so unfair: Harry was trying to protect Ginny and here she was, dancing with him and making his head spin. In an instant, his emerald eyes met Ginny’s deep brown ones. The monster in his chest emerged, more powerful than ever and roared just as Harry crushed his mouth to hers. Immediately, he felt Ginny reciprocate the kiss as she pulled him closer to her and ran her hands through his hair. Harry felt complete once more as the monster in his chest sighed, relieved and he tightened his grip on her waist. Gasping for air, they broke apart and stared at each other with a mixture of elation and trepidation. “I missed you,” said Ginny as stared up into his eyes, willing him not to push her away again. Still shocked and not knowing quite what to say, Harry reached up and tucked a piece of her fiery hair behind her ear. The music changed to an upbeat Latin rhythm, and Harry engaged her in dancing, still speechless and bewildered from his actions and inner turmoil. He knew that he ought to be distancing himself from her, and that he was crossing every boundary he had put up to keep her away, but at that moment, Harry didn’t care. He was having the time of his life with the girl he loved and nothing, not even an evil wizard who wanted to kill him, could make him stop dancing with her at that moment. They danced for two more songs before Ginny finally pulled him off the dance floor. They passed Seamus and Luna drinking sodas and chatting animatedly at a table. Harry could just see Ron and Hermione through the throng of dancers and smiled when he saw Ron turn Hermione under his arm and pull her back towards him. “Harry,” Ginny said, pulling him down onto one of the dark red couches. All at once, reality rushed back into Harry’s senses and he realized the consequences of what had just happened. “Ginny, I’m sorry,” he explained hastily. “We- I shouldn’t have done that. Voldemort-,” “Can’t we forget about Tom for just one night?” pleaded Ginny. “Just for tonight, we can pretend that there is no Voldemort. All we’ll be is two normal people that want to have fun and are in love.” Losing the last of his resolve, Harry reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand before leaning in and gently kissing her. “Ginny, this was a great idea! I’m so glad you convin- Harry? Ginny?” Hermione, closely followed by Ron, approached the pair, who quickly broke apart and cast their eyes downward. “I think we should head back to the hotel,” said Ron as Hermione glanced at her watch. “Merlin, it’s after midnight! Ron’s right, we’d better go,” said Hermione, giving Harry and Ginny an apologetic look. After finding Seamus and Luna, the group left the club scene for the starlit streets of Rome. Grinning madly and holding hands, Harry and Ginny led the way back to the Piazza Navona. Just as they were to follow their friends into the hotel, Ginny broke away from Harry and ran in the direction of a huge fountain that marked the center of the piazza. “Ginny!” Harry called as he ran to catch up with her. She splashed water in her still sweaty face and surveyed the Fontana dei Fuimi. “What are those?” she asked Harry, pointing to the coins on the bottom of the fountain. “Muggle money. There’s a silly Muggle myth where if you make a wish and throw a coin in a fountain, the wish will come true,” Harry replied, sitting on the edge of the fountain. “Well I happen to like silly traditions,” giggled Ginny. “Do you have any money?” “Only a couple of Galleons,” said Harry, feeling around in is pocket and finally producing a golden coin, handing it to Ginny. Ginny threw the coin in the air and lost her footing. As she fell forward Harry grabbed her around the waist. The coin fell into the fountain with a small splash, right in the center. “I guess you’ll always be my savior,” Ginny smiled, turning in his arms to face him. “What did you wish for?” asked Harry curiously. “For more nights like tonight,” she said, making the distance between them disappear and ending their day in Rome with a tender kiss. A/N: This is my first submission to a SIYE Challenge so I hope it meets the standards. I have to thank my friends Olivia and Alison for helping me come up with fantastic ways for Harry and his friends to cause mischief. Also, thank you to Alison for betaing this for me when my beta couldn’t be reached. |
| Reviews 20 |
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