Challenge #70 - Summer Holidays
Title: No Snakes in Egypt
Rating/Warnings: G
Characters/Pairing: Ginny Weasley, Bill Weasley
Summary: Ginny's holiday in Egypt after the events in Chamber of Secrets.
Word Count: 560
Author's Notes: I really enjoyed working on this. I tried to stay as close to canon as possible in terms of references to plot and characterization. I hope I succeeded.
Registered purchases?: Both quill and parchment registered.
'I'm coming!' Ginny yelled back.
Her mother had insisted she should be in the middle of the picture, next to her brother Ron. Ginny thought they all looked ridiculous standing before a pyramid they hadn't even visited. It was a matter of a few seconds - she was blinded by the flash of the camera and then could see properly again.
The heat was unbearable, even though she liked the smells of the fruits everywhere in the streets. Just this morning, they had visited the local souk where all the tourist traps were held. A miniature flying carpet had amused her for a few minutes while Fred and George next to her had tried, unsuccessfully, to haggle over the price of a powerful lucky charm.
Everyone was obsessed with Bill's work. From what she understood, his job was to neutralize dark magic in places and items. Items like Tom's diary. Ironic, she thought, that he should have been so far when his own sister was being possessed by Voldemort's memory. It was painfully obvious that everyone was avoiding looking at her each time Bill mentioned cursed snakes.
'I'm okay,' she said. And again. And again.
After taking the picture, the whole family went back to their hotel and Ginny changed into her blue bathing suit for a swim. Her mother had only just allowed her to swim without a chaperone and she was happy with her new found freedom.
She jumped into the fresh water and observed Taoufik, the hotel's owner's son, from afar. He was enjoying the sun in his deck chair. He'd bumped into her that morning when she had come down for breakfast. He probably didn't remember any of it.
Suddenly, there was a splash near her. She looked around, surprised, and saw none other than Bill.
'Bill!,' Ginny cried out. 'How did you manage to escape the others?'
He shrugged 'I switched the topic to the current inflation of the knut and only Percy seemed interested.'
He laughed and splashed water at her. She chuckled and swam to him. He carried her and threw her in the water as if she were nothing more than a feather. Ginny loved the swimming pool. Her family rarely used it and she considered it her private space.
Bill reached her very quickly and together they moved towards the edge of the pool. She stretched her legs and held the cement with her tiny fingers as they rested. Bill turned to face her:
'So how was it? You first year of school? Did you enjoy it?'
'It was okay. Mostly boring.' she paused. 'I made a few friends.'
'Yeah? That's good. I heard about..'
Ginny froze. Why did everyone treat her as if she were a fragile little thing? More than ever before, it was hard to gain their trust. She was tired of the whispers interrupted when she came into a room they were all in.
'... about Harry wooing you?' Bill finished, grinning.
'Oh Bill!' Ginny laughed, relieved.
She pushed him into the water and he pretended to be genuinely drowning to please her.
Their game had gained the attention of Taoufik who had removed his sunglasses and was squinting to look at them.
Ginny blushed and dived further into the pool that was glittering like gold.
560/50 = 11 points + 10 bonus points = 21 points
Sibylle//Ravenclaw
Rating/Warnings: G
Characters/Pairing: Ginny Weasley, Bill Weasley
Summary: Ginny's holiday in Egypt after the events in Chamber of Secrets.
Word Count: 560
Author's Notes: I really enjoyed working on this. I tried to stay as close to canon as possible in terms of references to plot and characterization. I hope I succeeded.
Registered purchases?: Both quill and parchment registered.
'I'm coming!' Ginny yelled back.
Her mother had insisted she should be in the middle of the picture, next to her brother Ron. Ginny thought they all looked ridiculous standing before a pyramid they hadn't even visited. It was a matter of a few seconds - she was blinded by the flash of the camera and then could see properly again.
The heat was unbearable, even though she liked the smells of the fruits everywhere in the streets. Just this morning, they had visited the local souk where all the tourist traps were held. A miniature flying carpet had amused her for a few minutes while Fred and George next to her had tried, unsuccessfully, to haggle over the price of a powerful lucky charm.
Everyone was obsessed with Bill's work. From what she understood, his job was to neutralize dark magic in places and items. Items like Tom's diary. Ironic, she thought, that he should have been so far when his own sister was being possessed by Voldemort's memory. It was painfully obvious that everyone was avoiding looking at her each time Bill mentioned cursed snakes.
'I'm okay,' she said. And again. And again.
After taking the picture, the whole family went back to their hotel and Ginny changed into her blue bathing suit for a swim. Her mother had only just allowed her to swim without a chaperone and she was happy with her new found freedom.
She jumped into the fresh water and observed Taoufik, the hotel's owner's son, from afar. He was enjoying the sun in his deck chair. He'd bumped into her that morning when she had come down for breakfast. He probably didn't remember any of it.
Suddenly, there was a splash near her. She looked around, surprised, and saw none other than Bill.
'Bill!,' Ginny cried out. 'How did you manage to escape the others?'
He shrugged 'I switched the topic to the current inflation of the knut and only Percy seemed interested.'
He laughed and splashed water at her. She chuckled and swam to him. He carried her and threw her in the water as if she were nothing more than a feather. Ginny loved the swimming pool. Her family rarely used it and she considered it her private space.
Bill reached her very quickly and together they moved towards the edge of the pool. She stretched her legs and held the cement with her tiny fingers as they rested. Bill turned to face her:
'So how was it? You first year of school? Did you enjoy it?'
'It was okay. Mostly boring.' she paused. 'I made a few friends.'
'Yeah? That's good. I heard about..'
Ginny froze. Why did everyone treat her as if she were a fragile little thing? More than ever before, it was hard to gain their trust. She was tired of the whispers interrupted when she came into a room they were all in.
'... about Harry wooing you?' Bill finished, grinning.
'Oh Bill!' Ginny laughed, relieved.
She pushed him into the water and he pretended to be genuinely drowning to please her.
Their game had gained the attention of Taoufik who had removed his sunglasses and was squinting to look at them.
Ginny blushed and dived further into the pool that was glittering like gold.
560/50 = 11 points + 10 bonus points = 21 points
Sibylle//Ravenclaw