Chapter 172 : Dragons and Secrets
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"Just don't drive her crazy while I'm gone." Ginny warned her father in a mock stern voice. He looked properly chastised as he sat down to eat his own hasty breakfast; he would be accompanying Percy to the Ministry and his nervous son had convinced him to leave an hour early. By the time the remaining three Weasley males still staying in the house walked down the stairs, Percy and Arthur had to leave.
"Now be careful and listen to your brother." Arthur told his only daughter. "Write often and try to stay out of trouble." Ginny was dying to respond "don't I always?" but opted on sparing her father the panic attack. After her brother and father flooed away, she ran back to her bedroom, looking around for the things she might have forgotten as she got dressed. Her suitcase was rather small, but she was convinced she had everything she needed with her. Sudden voices from the living room caught her attention; Charlie had arrived. She flew down the stairs and into her second oldest brother's arms.
"Hey, Gin!" Charlie seemed even burlier since the time she had seen him last and had even managed to acquire a new burn on his right hand; it didn't seem very severe though, so she figured the story behind would be brought up for her amusement sooner or later. "Ready to go?"
"I was ready ages ago!" She stated, not managing to control her enthusiasm. She pointed at her suitcase -which Charlie picked up as if it was lighter than a feather- and started hugging her family goodbye. After a few more advices from her mother and a couple of wishes to have fun from her brothers, she once again promised to be safe and write. Charlie pulled a pen out of his pocket and held it out to his sister.
"On three." He stated and Ginny rushed to grab a hold of it; it was a Muggle pen, she noticed, and by the looks of it, out of ink. "One, two…" She smiled once more at her family. "…three!" And they were off; she felt the expected tag behind her navel and the world started spinning. Her house disappeared from view and, as hard as it was to believe, when she landed –on top of her brother but still- she was in Romania. The area they had landed on was a clearing in a think forest. She looked around bewitched and took a deep breath; she could see why her brother would want to live in such a place.
"Is that scent, pines?" She asked, holding a hand for her brother. Charlie pulled himself off the ground smiling.
"Black pines and cedars actually." He informed her. "You like it, sis?"
"I love it!" She exclaimed. "Is the whole area like this?"
"The shelter is situated in a clearing away from the forest about twenty minutes from here; we'll have to walk a little. The dragons don't react well to portals and we try to avoid apparating and disapparating very close to them." Ginny nodded, not minding walking in the least; before attending Hogwarts, she used to walk the two miles to a stream she had discovered when she was eight. And while in Hogwarts she regularly walked to Hagrid's hut for tea. Just tea though; she drew the line at cakes.
"Lead the way then!" She said and the two siblings walked, Charlie telling her a bit of the other trainers working at the shelter.
"There's Paul, he's from Edinburgh. He's a year older than me and his own sister volunteered to help this year; she's called Mary and she's your age. Nice kid, came over a few days ago. She's in Hufflepuff, I think." Ginny nodded. "Then there's Anna from Germany who's a couple of years younger than me…" He kept going as Ginny tried to memorize the names. There were two more volunteers in the shelter; another girl, Leonie from France and a boy, Edward from Denmark. He had talked about six more trainers before he mumbled "…and then there's Vesper."
"Vesper?" Ginny asked trying not to smirk. Her brother blushed and then she knew she had struck gold.
"Vesper Gilligan." He mumbled. "She's Irish and she's three years younger than me. She was in Ravenclaw."
"Okay." Ginny said smiling at her brother. "I look forward to meeting everybody then." She commented, her smirk finally showing.
"Are you, by any chance, related to Fred and George?" Charlie inquired drily.
"Only a little." She answered as the scenery around them changed; the trees slowly gave way to a valley, shadowed by a line of tall mountains. In the distance she could see the buildings that composed the shelter; something that looked like an oversized barn and the type of buildings one saw in horse training centers. And then there were the dragons.
"Dragons!" She simply exclaimed looking at her laughing brother.
"What did you expect? Owls?" Charlie asked amused. "It is a dragon shelter after all."
"I know but… Dragons!" She repeated, pointing at a great Hungarian Horntail that was stretching in the distance. Charlie started laughing again and pushed his sister forward.
"They are a little intimidating once you first see them." He admitted.
"Do they ever stop?" Ginny asked, looking at him confused.
"Nope. I just didn't want to scare you away."
"You'd have to drag me away, kicking and screaming. And I don't know if you'd succeed. I love this place!" She proclaimed as she noticed a woman coming to meet them; she had long black hair and seemed to be of average height. She was very pretty, Ginny noticed as they approached her; her blushing brother seemed to be of the same opinion. So this was Vesper then.
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