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That’s The Biggest Mouse I’ve Ever Seen! | ||||
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Category: Alternate Universe, Post-Hogwarts Characters:None Genres: Comedy, Fluff, Humor Warnings: None Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 3 Summary: Harry, Ginny and friends arrange a magical vacation for her parents to a very magical place. The problem is that there is sometimes more than one type of magic at hand...and not everything is as simple as it seems at first. This one-shot takes place just a few months after the ending to The Best of Times. Hitcount: Story Total: 7417 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: A/N: For those who have not met him, Spenser Hemmingway is an original character that I developed to provide perspective, explain my American writing style, and often act as the narrator. I sent him to Hogwarts for his seventh year as an exchange student, and he decided to stay. |
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By Spenser Hemmingway “The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”–Willie Nelson “What a magnificent idea Harry! It has been ages since Molly and I took a real holiday.” “Arthur! It’s completely out of the question!” Mrs. Weasley howled at her husband from across the Burrow’s kitchen. “And why is that my love?” “You know exactly why Arthur! Bill and Fleur’s baby…” “It isn’t due for almost three months Mum,” Ron cut in. Hermione placed a supportive hand on her husband’s shoulder to help emphasize the point. “Well there are baby clothes to gather…their nursery to decorate…I need to show her how to brew the anti-colic potions!” she continued. “There are such things as anti-colic potions?” I stammered out. Why hadn’t she mentioned those when Luna and I first brought Nicholas home? Molly Weasley gave me a quick apologetic look, suddenly realizing the omission to our own training. “Mum, Fleur’s mother is already there for them…and driving Bill and her bonkers I might add,” Ginny told her. We were all smiling at the picture of the large Frenchwoman trying to rule that roost. No, Molly Weasley wasn’t amused. She was bristling at the thought of someone else in control of the situation. Of course, we could easily remind the woman of how she had done the exact same thing at the couple’s wedding almost three years earlier. “Molly, you can help any of us when our babies arrive,” Harry pointed out. That seemed to placate her for the moment, but then her eyebrows shot up. “No, no, no…Ginny and I are not expecting a baby. I don’t think we are.” Ginny quickly shook her head to confirm it. Mrs. Weasley eyed them both for a few seconds to see if they were telling her the truth. “Molly, it would be a wonderful opportunity! Think of all the Muggle contrivances we’d get to see. It could be the educational experience of a lifetime for us.” “You mean for you Arthur. No…we simply cannot afford it,” she told him, and then turned her back on us to continue cutting up the dinner chickens. She was putting her foot down, but this time we were prepared for it. “It won’t cost you a Knut Mum,” Ron said. “All of us are pitching in to take you two over there…for your thirtieth wedding anniversary.” A look of horror suddenly appeared on both parents’ faces. Had they forgotten? “Oh my word! Is that this year?” Molly slowly, quietly asked. “It’s in June,” Arthur Weasley reminded her. Both stood there mortified at the realization. “It’s…it’s just that California is so very far away,” Molly said finally. We could tell that she was about to admit defeat. “I mean even traveling there through that magical Gate portal…” “Actually, Ron and I discussed it, and we thought it would be much more fun for you both to fly to Los Angeles.” What had Hermione said? Arthur Weasley looked as if the smile would break his face at the prospect. The rest of us, except for Ron surprisingly, were floored at her words. Hermione hated to fly almost as much as Hagrid did to shave. Seeing her husband this way was the final nail in the soup. Molly threw up her hands–accidentally causing the chicken wing she held to go flying. From out of nowhere came Errol, somehow snagging it in the air. The old owl almost made it out the door, but instead slammed into the adjacent wall. He wasn’t wearing his bifocals that afternoon. “Oh very well,” Mrs. Weasley said then as she recovered the meat, and revived the bird with a cup of cold water. “Tell us about this place you want to visit.” “It’s called Disneyland, and it’s wonderful,” Harry began to explain. “I really don’t like the idea of leaving baby Nicholas with your parents again Spenser.” “Luna, it’s only for three days, and they haven’t seen him since August,” I told her. She had become increasingly clingy with our little boy after being separated from him a number of times the previous summer. Luna’s father had been very much the same way when she was a child after the tragic loss of his wife. “You leave him when you go to work don’t you?” “He’s either at the daycare center there, or at home with his nanny-elf, and that’s just a short Apparation away. You said this Last Angels place is a thousand miles from their home.” “Then you Apparate to the Los Angeles Gate, pass through it to Portland, and then crack…you’re at Mom and Dad’s doorstep in just minutes.” I wasn’t convincing her. “Spenser, that is still too far to send an owl quickly,” she countered. “Your parents’ fireplace isn’t equipped with a Floo messaging system; you told me that most American homes aren’t capable of being a part of the network.” Her eyes told me that she believed she had won the argument, but they grew larger when I held up the small electronic device I had purchased in London. “It’s called a cellular telephone Luna,” I said. “We can talk to my folks on it.” I opened it up and held the phone to my face to demonstrate. She took it from me, and carefully examined it for perhaps a minute, finally deciding to imitate my actions. “Mrs. Hemmingway can you hear me? It’s Luna. Spenser, am I doing it wrong?” “Uhm…no, you don’t understand Luni…” Yes, I am the only one permitted to call her that. It’s in a different context, a different spelling, and a term of affection for my wife. “Oh, I see. I must not be speaking loudly enough. Mrs. Hemmingway! Mother Hemmingway can you hear me now! It’s Luna! Can you hear me now?” she shouted at the not yet activated phone. “Spenser, I don’t think that your phony cell is working properly.” She set the phone on the Weasleys’ parlor table then and drew her wand to point at it. I stopped her just in time. “Luna, I’ll…I’ll show you how to work it once we’re away from the Burrow.” Most Muggle devices didn’t work in or near the Weasley home. None did in the vicinity of Hogwarts or the Hogsmeade village. The only exceptions were my Muggle Studies classroom and our home’s office, and then only at certain times…very short times. “It really is a useful gadget, and this is the smallest one on the market. They say that in a few years you will be able to take pictures with one, and even access the Internet.” “Ah, I remember the Internet. You use your folding magic mirror with all the little lettered squares on it…” “It’s still called a laptop computer Luna.” “…and it has that long rubber rope thingamabob tied to it, which goes off through the wall, and it’s connected to another mirror somewhere else far, far away. When you press the squares, you send magic through the rope, and it finds its way to the other person. How will this little device work without the thingy?” Oh boy… “The magic turns into invisible smoke, which will travel very quickly across the sky to the other phony cell…I mean cell phone. It’s just like the Wizard Wireless.” Actually, I wasn’t sure how that worked, even at Hogwarts. “Luna, with a set of these in the park, Harry and Ginny might be at the Matterhorn and could say…call us over at New Orleans asking us to meet them somewhere in ten minutes.” “Spenser, that’s silly. You can’t travel between America and the Matterhorn that quickly. I’ve been there. Daddy and I had some wonderful meals at the nicest little café. Mmm…strawberry crepes.” “You’ve been to New Orleans, Luna?” “What? No, I meant that the café was at the summit of the mountain. It was a part of this beautiful resort inn up there–-The Ocean View Hotel.” “Ocean View? From the Swiss Alps?” “To be honest, the owner did say that you had to crane your neck and utilize a very good telescope to see it.” Luna picked up the phone again and played with flipping it open several times. She seemed to be doubtful about it working, but I knew that she trusted me about such things. “We can really talk to your parents anytime with this Spenser?” “Yes, we can. There are so few Witches and Wizards in America that we’ve had to learn to use things like this a lot more than they do over here. Granted, once we arrive there, I’ll need to adjust the calling plan. We don’t want to end up paying roaming fees through the nose…that’s just a figure of speech Luna. The thing is though, you can call Portland from the line for The Pirates of the Caribbean in the morning and from the deck of the Mississippi Riverboat after lunch. It’s as easy as all get-up.” “Mississippi…the Caribbean? Spenser, I thought that we were going to southern California. Did you say pirates?” “That Luna…is precisely correct, and your asking the questions is exactly why we are going.” “In all my born days, I have never been so completely humiliated Arthur!” “Molly, I told you that it was a simple misunderstanding.” “Misunderstanding? First you somehow locked one of those nice young men out of that small room at the front of their flying machine!” Mrs. Weasley continued to scream. “All those people at the front of the chamber were shouting at me. I could barely hear the other man up there. I wanted to discuss what was keeping all of us up in the air that way. I merely closed the door behind me.” “Dad, that’s illegal with Muggles,” Ginny began to explain. “It’s called hijacking,” Harry clarified. “On top of that you somehow knocked the other pilot unconscious. It is extremely fortunate that the automatic pilot was engaged at the time.” “Ah, there’s a very amusing story behind that as well. You see…” Arthur Weasley began. Molly Weasley didn’t allow him to finish. “Of all the… Do you know what would have happened if the American Bureau of Magic hadn’t intervened with those officials? They had to alter the memories of twenty or thirty people! We’ve lost a whole day of our holiday in a Muggle jail! There’s going to be an inquiry…a scandal…and a…” Molly Weasley paused here, but she continued to glare at her thoroughly embarrassed husband. All at once the last thing we expected occurred. She began to giggle…and then to laugh all out. We just stared at her as if she had grown another head. “Mum, are you all right?” Ginny softly asked her. “I’m fine dear…really. It’s just that the whole thing is so hilarious when you think about it. It truly is. Oh Arthur, don’t look at me that way. I’m perfectly sane. This is just one more story that our grandchildren will want to hear time and again. Now everyone, perhaps we should see about our hotel accommodations.” “We’ve taken care of that Molly. We signed you into your room last night, and moved your luggage there while you both were… Well, it’s been taken care of,” Harry told her. He put his arm around Ginny then, and gave her parents a sincere, amused smile at the now-humorous situation.” “That’s grand Harry,” Mr. Weasley cautiously said. He was clearly relieved at his wife’s abrupt change of mood, but no doubt suspicious as well. “Perhaps we could move on to your park then Harry.” “The rental van is outside sir,” I told him. “We drive on the right here, so I guess I have that duty again.” Ron and Hermione led the way out of the Federal Building, followed closely by his parents, then Harry and Ginny, and with Luna and me in the rear. We smiled back at the agents and clerks as we passed, all of whom had been in a vastly different mood before the Obliviating Witches had dealt with them. I imagined that the whole thing would be amusing by the time I wrote it down, but it had been a bit of a nail-biter when we first arrived. Yes, everyone was in a great mood now, and we deserved it. It had been a long, hard few months, and we earned a nice post-Christmas break. Harry and Ginny continued to teach part-time at Hogwarts, but mostly they kept busy with their new broom shop. They had set up a small yet efficient production line, rented store space in Hogsmeade to sell them, and established a large number of accounts throughout the British Isles and all of Europe in fact. Fred and George had hinted that Harry and Ginny could make good use of our American vacation as a marketing opportunity. Ginny almost tackled them single-handed when they suggested the group compromise our down time. The drive back to Anaheim from the downtown area took well over an hour, despite our having missed the morning rush hour. Even though it was only early January, by ten o’clock it was in the mid-seventies outside. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley marveled at the van’s air conditioner unit, but they seemed puzzled at how it could possibly work. “It’s really very simple,” Luna began to explain. I saw Hermione’s eyes widen in anticipation of what we expected to be a colorful discourse. “The compressor circulates coolant through coils, over which a flow of air is passed to lower its temperature. The cold air is blown inside here, and the heat is dissipated outside.” An explanation involving three-headed sponge weevils would have been less amazing than hearing her say all that. “Luna…wherever did you learn…?” Harry started to ask. “Oh look. The San Francisco Giants will be playing their opening game at Angel Stadium this spring,” she read from the large display as we passed the Anaheim baseball field. “You realize that they probably aren’t real angels, but I understand that America does have a very prominent giant population. They are mostly congregated in California’s Bay Area and near New York City. I wonder how they can play baseball that way here in front of all those Muggles.” Yes, that was our girl all right. “There’s our hotel Dad,” Ron quickly said, pointing off to our left as we drove by. He gave Hermione a quick apologetic grin for cutting off her response to Luna. Fifteen more minutes brought us to Disneyland, and, while I had been there a number of times over the years, I still got a thrill at the sight. It was good to be back. “Welcome to the Magic Kingdom,” I announced. Naturally, this invited yet another one of Luna’s explanations. “The Tiki Room was wonderful Harry. I can’t wait to bring Mum and Dad back here to see it. They’ll both love all those singing mechanical birds. We can can’t we?” Ginny asked. Despite the unseasonably warm winter day she was snuggled up close to him as they left the attraction. Neither one seemed to mind. “That would be great, but we can’t have a repeat of what happened in The Haunted Mansion Ginny. Your dad tried to climb out of the ride cart to see how the Muggles had captured so many ghosts. I’m not sure that he believed Hermione’s explanation about their hiding there from Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis.” “Who?” “The Ghostbusters; I’ll explain later. Where would you like to go now Ginny? The Jungle Ride, or how about Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride? We have another hour until we take over your parents’ education.” “I know that Dad will want to try out that big Space Mountain ride, although Mum may be a challenge to convince. She doesn’t like the faster ones.” “I noticed that Hermione hasn’t gone on any of them either. I thought that after the airplane trip she would be all right with everything here. Wait…what is it? Did I say something wrong?” “I’ll tell you about it later Harry. Oh look! Hats with large mouse ears! We absolutely need to bring one of those back for Professor McGonagall. I wonder if she would really…” Something caught Ginny’s attention suddenly, and Harry had to turn around to see what…no, who it was. There, wandering around the edge of the gift shop, was a small girl that they decided had to be no older than five or maybe six. She was crying, clearly confused, and the jerky motions of her head immediately told them that she was looking for someone. Carefully approaching her, Ginny knelt down beside the child, and gently took her hand. “It’s all right sweetheart. It’s going to be fine. Did you lose your mummy and daddy?” Ginny asked. Harry thought that there was a quick reaction to the British accent, but then the girl threw herself into Ginny’s arms, and cried all the more. “Harry, could you ask the store clerk to call someone. They must deal with lost parents all the time here.” “Right! I’m on it!” Harry was gone almost before he finished speaking. “Now, my name is Ginny. What’s yours?” “Molly. I’m…I’m not supposed to talk to strangers,” she said, reluctantly pulling away. “Molly…that’s my mum’s name too. You’re right; you shouldn’t speak to strangers. My husband just went to get one of the park constables to help you. Would that be okay?” “I suppose so. You talk funny,” little Molly said then, and Ginny almost laughed aloud at the small child’s bluntness. “We’re from Great Britain. I live at a place called the Broom Farm, which is in the village of Hogsmeade, Scotland. We’re here with my brother and his wife, some friends and my parents. Yours must be looking for you right now Molly.” “I’m…I’m here with my big sister.” Molly began to cry again and was almost choking on her words. “She was talking to the sorcerer, the one with the big wand. She said that she knew him.” Ginny’s head shot back, and her face darkened at the girl’s words. “He had a wand? Was it like this?” Ginny carefully pulled hers from her belt where it had been hidden beneath the long shirt she wore. Everyone that day had gone to great lengths to ensure that their clothing offered similar concealment. “Not exactly. Yours is much nicer. Did you buy it over in Fantasyland?” “No…Diagon Alley,” Ginny said without thinking. I doubt that little Molly would recognize that London landmark, even if she was a small Witch, she quickly decided however. Ginny’s mind was racing then. Sorcery was a term too often associated with Dark magic, and not used as commonly as many believed. If someone was openly displaying a wand there, then they had to find him, and ensure the older sibling was all right. “You’re certain about this Molly? I mean are you absolutely certain?” “I had to go to the restroom. Marcia wouldn’t listen when I kept asking her to take me, so I just went. When I came out, they were gone. I…I can’t find them.” The child once again accepted Ginny’s embrace. Looking up, she saw Harry approaching with a man and woman, both in park uniforms. Carefully disengaging herself from Molly, Ginny gave her a reassuring smile, and surrendered the small girl to the guards. “Harry, this might be serious. She said that she last saw her older sister with a sorcerer, and that he had a wand,” Ginny explained as she pulled him off to a private nook beside a candy shop. “I really don’t think that it was one of us. If someone is openly brandishing a wand here, then it could be a serious problem.” “We’d better find the others. They mentioned that they were going to be in that place called Tomorrowland. Blast, you would think that we could go on just one trip without something like this happening.” Ginny suddenly reached up, and gave him a quick, but intense kiss. “What was that for? Not that I mind,” he said with a smile. “Just for being that wonderful hero that you always are, and that wonderful man that I fell in love with.” “So, you see, the VCR machine sends the motion picture’s image through the cable to this large television screen over there, and you are able to watch whatever the Muggles have recorded onto the tape,” Hermione explained. “Incredible! Absolutely incredible! They shrink all those people and buildings, magically stick them to the tape, and then by activating it they all perform a play behind that box’s glass window.” Arthur Weasley was almost dancing at the sight, and even his less inquisitive wife was captivated with everything she was witnessing. “Uhm…no, not exactly…I mean… Yes, that’s how it works. You’re doing a splendid job of picking up on all these Muggle inventions.” She had been trying to explain everything inside the Tomorrowland technological exhibition for over an hour, and, for the most part, unsuccessfully. She gave Ron a pleading look, but he could only smile back at her about it all. After all, it hadn’t been that long before when he was first exposed to the non-magical world to this extent. Hermione finally just shrugged and smiled herself. At least her in-laws were enjoying their visit. Me on the other hand… “Oooh boy…” I moaned as we joined them in the large display room. Luna was already studying everything around us, just as Mr. Weasley had been. I should have thought of bringing her there sooner. “Spenser! What is it mate?” Ron asked with sincere concern in his voice. The others started gathering around me with looks of similar apprehension. “It’s almost like you were hit with a stun bolt, or Luna gave you another long kiss.” “It wasn’t as merciful as the former, or as wonderful as the latter. Luna made me take her through It’s a Small World six times.” “Oh you poor dear! Come sit down on this bench immediately,” Molly Weasley commanded. “We only went through it once, and I swear that I will never, never get that song out of my head.” “Yes, even I didn’t want to see it again,” Arthur added. “Luna, you really do need to be careful about such things.” “It was so wonderful. I just kept thinking how much little Nicholas will enjoy it when we bring him.” Everyone was suddenly quiet at Luna’s words, knowing how much she was missing our baby son at the moment. Luna smiled though, and we knew what an effort she was making to enjoy herself. “There all of you are! See Ginny, I told you this is where your father would be.” Harry and Ginny were rushing toward us, waving, and trying to dodge other visitors in the considerably crowded room. “We may have a problem,” he finally said, trying to catch his breath. They both looked as if they had just run clear across the park. “Mum, Dad…there’s another Wizard in the park, and he may have something to do with a missing girl.” Ginny went on to explain the rest of what had happened earlier, and, with each word, our mood became more and more serious. “Oh feldercarb!” Arthur finally said when she had finished. It was the first and only time I ever heard him use that particular expletive. “Well, naturally we’ll have to split up, and search your Disneyland as best we can. Spenser, I believe that you said you know your way about fairly well.” “Well…uhm, yes. I’ve visited here almost every year since I was five.” Something was suddenly bothering me, and I wasn’t at all sure what it was. “Splendid,” he continued. “If you could show us the best places to look using these small brochure maps that they provided us… Molly, you and I really are going to need to separate as well. Perhaps if you could go with Ron, I would like to pair with Hermione. I would like to discuss that strange elevated train with you if you don’t mind. I mean as we walk.” “You must mean the Monorail,” she clarified. Hermione exchanged a look with the rest of us then, silently pressing her opinion that matters were about to get interesting. She was right. “Mum we’ve been back and forth across Frontierland and New Orleans four times now. The closest thing to magic we’ve seen are those Muggle trick cards they were selling back there. Maybe we should go look for the others now.” “Yes, yes perhaps you’re right dear. I did enjoy going up inside that large tree house. It was just like your Great Uncle Yancy’s home in Bolivia. What a fascinating man he was. Did you know that…” “Mum!” “Oh yes dear…of course. We can… Hmm, what an interesting smell. I wonder…” “While you’re wondering Mum, I need to go find the loo. Promise me that you won’t go wandering off now. All right Mum? Okay?” “Certainly…certainly Ron. It almost smells like…” Ron didn’t hear what she thought the aroma reminded her of. He had consumed five bottles of a wonderful Muggle soda he had discovered and was paying the price at the moment. Fortunately, at Disneyland, you were rarely more than a few dozen yards from a restroom, and he covered the distance in less than a minute. Emerging again into the sunlight, his feeling of relief lasted all of fifteen seconds. Molly Weasley was nowhere to be seen. “Crikey! What is it with this place? Every time someone goes to the toilet, people disappear!” Ron knew his mother could not have gone far; he had only been inside for perhaps two minutes. He quickly scanned the courtyard area, darting about, and looking inside several of the replica New Orleans’ shops. He paused for just a moment to listen to a Dixieland jazz band, and mentally kicked himself for not having access to a clarinet, or the opportunity to play with the accomplished group. Several times, he stopped to question one of the Disneyland employees that were going about their never-ending jobs of keeping the enormous operation functioning. Despite everyone’s best efforts, they had not done a very adequate job of dressing his parents to pass as California Muggles. The group finally reasoned that they could just explain the Weasleys’ more-Wizard attire as being rural English fashion. That said, it should have been an easier matter than it was to locate her. Where could she have gone? It wasn’t as if she knew her way around… Oh crum! he suddenly thought. There was one place around which Molly Weasley knew her way regardless of where she was in the world. Ron ran back to the exact spot where he had last seen her standing. “Oh Mum, you wouldn’t do that…would you?” Ron walked straight toward the French Quarter style building immediately in front of him. After speaking to the man at the door, he was led inside and to the back of the large structure. At the door, Ron’s guide motioned for him to enter, and mumbled something about having to get back to his work. Slowly pushing it open, and stepping inside, he was astonished at what he was witnessing. No, he wasn’t, he decided instantly. This was his mother after all. “So you see, if you brush your brisket with this garlic and basil baste, and then allow it to sit for just a few minutes before you proceed, then the flavor is enhanced ten-fold. It really is too bad that you don’t have any dragon-tooth root, but then, of course, you wouldn’t would you. Here taste this now and you’ll see what I mean.” Molly literally stuffed a small piece into the mouth of the foremost of chefs gathered about her. His doubtful expression continued for perhaps three seconds before his eyes closed, and a look of pure bliss replaced it. “Mum! What are you doing?” Ron yelled. He made a determined effort not to smile at the scene before him. “Ah, hello Ron. Now gentlemen, if you take just a tad bit of essence of clove and…” “Mum! What are you doing?” Ron repeated. He stepped over, and gently took her arm to make his point. “Remember the you-know-who we’re looking for, going around waving the you-know-what? The missing girl Mum?” “I beg your pardon Ron. Gentlemen, I’m afraid that we’ll have to postpone this to another time. Ron we…” “No, no!” they said in unison. “You promised to show us how to make pumpkin puffs madam!” a tall chef to the rear protested as well. “She’ll send you the recipe,” Ron told them as he took his mother back the way they had entered. “Just don’t try to stew the owl that brings it,” they heard him say just as the kitchen door closed behind them. “Mr. Weasley, we really should be covering more ground. I appreciate your…” “Hermione, I’ve been your father-in-law for almost two years now. You really should start calling me Arthur.” “Yes sir…I mean Arthur. It’s just that we really do need to spend more time trying to find the Wizard the girl saw with her sister, and less time examining Muggle artifacts.” In just over ninety minutes, Hermione estimated that they hadn’t examined yet a third of Tomorrowland. She was already regretting not having taken a less interesting sector. The trouble was, everything in the park was equally fascinating to the man. “I’m quite sure that if the Wizard could be identified by a Muggle child so easily then… Hold on! There he is! That has to be the largest wand that I’ve ever seen!” Before Hermione could ascertain what he had spotted, Arthur Weasley had drawn his wand (but wisely held it behind his arm and somewhat out of sight), and charged off away from her through the crowd. A moment later she saw the same Dark Wizard that he had. “No Mr. Weasley…Arthur wait!” “Stupefy!” Arthur shouted, and Hermione watched in horror as the magical bolt hit the other man in the center of the chest. The Dark Wizard was down, but it was the wrong one. “I’m sorry that I had to do that in front of all these Muggles Hermione. He was waving his large wand about, and clearly ready to attack me. Someone else may have been hurt as well.” He, more than most Wizards, knew the consequences of what he had been forced to do. “Arthur…you’ve just stunned Darth Vader! He’s a Muggle inside a costume, and part of their entertainment. That’s not a wand. It’s a prop for his act, and it’s called a light saber.” “Oh dear me,” Mr. Weasley quietly said as the realization of what he had done began to sink in. Twice in twenty-four hours, he had seriously jeopardized the group with his ill judgment. Now he had to think quickly to salvage matters. “Ouch! What happened to me? I feel as if I was kicked by a mule.” This Darth Vader’s voice definitely didn’t sound the way it had in the films Hermione had seen. Arthur Weasley’s mind was racing. He had to think of something to explain what had occurred, and quickly. Wait a moment. I wonder if that might work? I’ve seen them perform in Hyde Park. “Uh-hem… Ladies and gentlemen, I must apologize to my esteemed associate here for my clumsiness. I was initiating my first feat of legerdemain, and I should have been more careful with my magical effects.” Arthur cocked his head, and stared into Hermione’s eyes, hoping that she saw that he wanted her to play along. He held up his wand again, and this time without reciting the spell, levitated the Sith lord into the air, and back to his feet. The crowd loved it, and everyone was straining their eyes looking for the wires. A tap of the wand, and there appeared in his hand a nice, black silk top hat, from which he then produced a white rabbit. This naturally being an old standard, it drew far less applause. However, when he tossed the bunny high into the air and then transformed it into a pigeon, the reaction was a wild one. For the next ten minutes, the Great Weasley and his lovely assistant performed all manner of magic tricks for the adoring crowd. Only when Hermione pointed toward approaching park guards did the two stop their show, ending it with their finest illusion. Arthur whispered something in Hermione’s ear, and a moment later the two Disapparated off, leaving behind a large crowd demanding the encore they would never receive. “Harry I’m sorry. I really do need to sit down. We’ve been walking about all day, and, even with these good shoes, my feet are almost numb.” She pointed toward an empty bench just inside the entrance, and with an excellent view of the Main Street U.S.A. portion of the park. “Mine feel the same way Ginny,” he told her after they literally dropped onto the seat. “I have to admit that I’m getting hungry too. It’ll be dark in a half-hour, so if we don’t find anything by then, we had best just contact the American Magic Bureau with our suspicions.” “I’m starting to have my doubts Harry. If that little girl hadn’t been so convinced that her sister had been with a Wizard… I don’t know what to think.” Ginny leaned into him then on the bench, and the two enjoyed each other’s warmth. The heat of the California day would soon give way to the more appropriate winter cool of evening. No one had thought to bring a jacket with them, but the day was originally supposed to be a shorter visit. Harry and Ginny just sat there for several minutes holding hands like the newlyweds they still were. They studied the dwindling crowds that passed by, and Ginny noted that most adults seemed to have kids attached. “What do you think that our children will be like Harry?” she finally asked him. In typical fashion for the two of them, he had been thinking the same thing at the same moment and grinned at her about it. “The boys are all going to be tall and have black mops of unruly hair. The girls are all going to be redheads and as beautiful as their mother. Naturally, the brothers will be overprotective, and the sisters…well, they’ll all know the Bat Bogey Hex. One more thing Ginny, I don’t care what you say, were stopping with seven of each.” Harry jumped up, knowing that his wife was about to swat him for that pronouncement. He held up his hands and gave her his best set upon look, while she pretended an angry one, placing a hand on her wand. After a few seconds though, she stood, stepped up to her husband, and placed her arms around him. The kiss that followed drew applause and laughter from the passersby. Neither Harry nor Ginny cared. When they finally broke apart, Harry just continued to look down at her, enjoying the passing moments, and not caring a whit about some strange sorcerer wandering around Disneyland. At least he didn’t for several seconds until something in the distance caught his eye. “Oh no! It couldn’t be! Not that!” Harry almost yelled. Not bothering to explain, he took Ginny’s hand, and ran then in the direction of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. The crowds greatly slowed their forward progress, but after six or seven minutes they finally reached the drawbridge. Hearing their names, they paused just long enough to recognize the rest of the group, and to motion for everyone to follow. On the other side of the castle, the crowd was fortunately quite a bit smaller in size. Not waiting for the others to catch up, Harry and Ginny quickened their pace, and closed the distance to their target. Finally slowing, Harry released Ginny’s hand, and then carefully reached out to touch the sorcerer on the shoulder…or rather the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. “Excuse me Mickey. Would you happen to know two girls by the names of Molly and Marcia?” The mouse stopped, turned, positioned his head so he could see Harry better through the mask’s eye openings, and then nodded yes. As it turned out, the young man inside the mouse costume was the older sister’s boyfriend from college. In fact, it was he who had obtained day passes for the two. Not wanting to ruin the five-year-old’s Disneyland experience, neither had revealed that this wasn’t the real Mickey. Little Molly, as upset as she had been, had simply failed to mention the big ears on the sorcerer. I was kicking myself that I hadn’t thought of it sooner. The mouse took us to a small restaurant where he was to meet the girls after changing, and we saw that the two had indeed reunited. Molly (ours) gave Marcia a five minute howler-class lecture about keeping better tabs on her kid sister, but finally stopped short of revealing that we had had wasted the day searching for a rogue Wizard. Actually, it hadn’t been all bad. Where I felt that Hermione thought Mr. Weasley’s lessons had been a chore at times, I had been thrilled to death to show off all the Muggle attractions to Luna. I couldn’t wait to hear her explain all of it to little Nicholas in a few years, especially when we could visit the new California Adventure park next door, as well as another Disneyland section they were planning. It was an area dedicated to Looney Tunes, or the Disney equivalent. We made an early evening of it and escorted the Weasley parents to the nice hotel suite we had reserved for them. We all regretted that they had lost its use that first night, and we regretted still more how we had forgotten they were in the same clothes that they had put on in England. We quickly explained the air conditioner unit, Muggle television and coffeemaker to them, but advised against attempting to use the electric iron or hairdryer. The next day was far better than the one before. Everyone apart from Hermione and Mrs. Weasley systematically went on each ride except It’s a Small World, and Luna only pulled me onto that twice. Molly Weasley then spent about three hours teaching Wizard cuisine to a large impromptu class of Disney chefs. Her pumpkin puffs were an enormous success among both the staff and customers there. Ron and Hermione excused themselves, and with a clarinet he conjured up, joined in with that same jazz band. He later commented that it was amazing how quickly the group had picked up his version of Hogwarts Forever. I had the pleasure that afternoon of once again escorting Luna and Arthur Weasley through the technology exhibition. I won’t embarrass either one by recounting their various comments while there. The explanations they offered about such things as the robots, mainframe computer, jet pack, and compact disk players–-they were…original. I also don’t think that I’ll describe the reactions from the other visitors to what they said. You can use your imagination. Harry and Ginny managed to finally slip away to be alone, and I’m still not entirely certain where they wandered that day. I picture them as having just aimlessly walked about hand-in-hand, enjoying each other’s company as much as the Disneyland sights, entertainment and attractions. All I know for sure is that when we all met up again that night for the park parade and grand finale, Harry was wearing a nice fedora he had purchased in Adventureland, and Ginny had the mouse ears for McGonagall and herself. They both went out of their way to stress the difference between a mouse like Mickey and a rat like Pettigrew. That evening we had all remembered to bring our coats with us and were fortunate enough to find a nice place to watch the show next to the statue of Walt and his mouse. The parade of course was incredible, and the looks on the faces of the two older Weasleys told everyone that we had done something good. As I snuggled up next to Luna, I quickly checked out the other two couples as well. Ron and Hermione had both been in an almost giddy moody since rejoining us. Harry and Ginny…well they were Harry and Ginny. “Did you two have a great day?” I finally asked them. I already knew the answer, but I still wanted to see their reactions. “It was fantastic Spense. We strolled about, and talked, and…you know,” Ginny explained. “Disneyland is a fabulous place, and not just for children,” Harry added. “Hey, it won’t be that many years until you’re bringing little Nicholas here yourself.” “It won’t be that many years until we are bringing little Arthur back,” Ron said then, and intentionally delaying turning to see our reactions to his revelation. Finally, he did though, and seeing our faces, he started to laugh. “Yeah I just found out myself. Ginny is the only other one who knew, and that’s why Hermione has been avoiding some of the wilder rides. Dad…it really is going to be a boy, and he’s due in August. I hope that you don’t mind us naming him after you.” Arthur the senior’s grin told Ron that he didn’t. “Well Harry, Luna and I cheated a bit adopting Nicholas when his mom died, but you and Ginny can still catch up if you’d like.” Both of them just gave me an evil smile, which could be interpreted in any number of ways. The fireworks started then, and the actress who portrayed Tinkerbelle went shooting across her support wire, prancing through the air in time with the music. “You know that the real Tinkerbelle doesn’t look anything like her,” Ginny commented. “How do you know that Ginny?” her mother asked, distracted by the strange remark. “I’m afraid that’s a story for another time,” Harry replied as he once again pulled Ginny in for a long, magical kiss. We all saw the newspapers the next morning before leaving for the airport. No one on the Disneyland staff could explain the how and why, but they could simply confirm what the whole park…no the whole city already knew. It was the wildest, brightest, most spectacular fireworks display that anyone could ever remember seeing. To this day it hasn’t been matched. Was it just a coincidence that it occurred while the two shared that kiss? Who’s to say with such a magical couple in such a magical place? Mischief managed! A/N: Apologies and sincere thanks to the worlds of Walt Disney, the Ghostbusters and to Mr. Vader. |
| Reviews 3 |
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