A Touch of Exploration

[ginnydor]

WHO: Ginny Weasley and Open
WHERE: All around the City (if you have a specific location where you want to run into her, please let me know in the subject)
WHEN: Monday, daytime leading into night
WARNINGS: Probably none!
SUMMARY: Now that Ginny has been here a while, she thinks it's about time she gets to know the City she's in. She's going

Comments

[notgayformscott]

One could find Ryan out late afternoon. He had convinced Michael that New York pizza was a good enough reason to take a half day. He still wanted to check out a few colleges, see if he can get any credit for the classes taken back home.

He was sitting just outside of Central Park with a few brochures and his phone out. It was then he looked up and saw the redhead. He smiled to himself. "Ginny?" He asked. He was now fairly certain he knew who she was.

[ginnydor]

Ginny had been walking through the Park for a while now, taking it all in because that's what people did. It was quite a nice area, she thought, sort of quiet, especially with the noise of the City all around. She was startled when she heard her name; she didn't know all that many people here yet. But when her eyes lit on Ryan, she grinned and went over to him.

"Ryan! Hello. It's nice to meet you for real this time."

[notgayformscott]

He stacked up his paperwork and put it in the briefcase he had. When she approached, he smiled back to her. "In person, yeah. What are you doing? You look like you're wondering." He said.

[ginnydor]

She watched him move all the papers about, wondering what they were for. Even paper was weird to her. She was used to rolls of parchment.

"I am," she said. "I'm trying to see the whole City if I can. Have to get to know it somehow."

[notsaintly]

[ and of course, here's fred, charming stoplights to stick on red. this is a whole new level of trolling for him to engage in and he is obviously having a ball. ]

[ginnydor]

[ For some reason, the cars on the road seem very unhappy. There are an awful lot of horns blaring and no one seems to be actually moving, which Ginny thinks is very odd. And then of course, right in the midst of all that, she spots a familiar crop of red hair. Wavering between eye-rolling and laughing, the jogs to catch up with him. ]

You know, that’s very mean, Fred.

[notsaintly]

[ fred turns to her, grin stretched across his face. with another flick of his wand, the light changes back to green. this is probably going to cause some sort of pile up if he keeps at it. ]

I've no idea why they're still going on with this car business. Brooms and floo are so much faster.

[ginnydor]

Yes, and they don't involve traffic lights. [ Ginny winces when all the cars seem to move at once. Oh, this won't end well. ]

Actually, I miss flying. Have you got your broom with you?

[i_seethestrals]

Luna had come to a similar conclusion the last time she was here. It was nothing like home, and sometimes that made her feel quite sad, but on most days she found herself enjoying the strange new experience. Like today, for instance, when she found herself sitting on a park beach.

Idly people watching (taking particular interest in a father and son passing what looked like a small Quaffle to another) with a brochure folded in her lap.

[ginnydor]

The park seemed like a good place to meet people, apparently. Ginny had already seen Ryan here, and it wasn’t long before she saw another familiar face as well. With a smile, she came over to sit on the seat beside Luna.

“Hi Luna! Are you having a good day?”

[i_seethestrals]

"Ginny!"

She turned away from the father and son with a brilliant smile. This was fantastic, she hadn't expected to run into her best friend today. "Wonderful, really. Better now that you're here. How has yours been?"

[ginnydor]

"It's been brilliant!" Ginny shared the enthusiasm, and smiled back. "I've just been trying to look around, you know, get to know the place. I don't think I saw half of it, but so far it's lovely!"

[hairwasmyroom]

Erin figured she might as well see the sights too. She hadn't been to New York for years and never without being in a group before. She'd gone to Times Square, but it was hard to just stand in one spot and look. Everyone was moving around her and she felt like she had to move too, like a branch caught in a fast moving river.

Finally she made her way up to Central Park. Here she could enjoy the greenery and take time out to relax. Sitting down under a tree, she pulled off her shoes and rubbed at her feet. And that's when she thought she recognized someone not far away.

"Hey, you're Ginny, aren't you? Ginny who was on my phone?"

[ginnydor]

Ginny turned when she heard her name, dark red hair flying around her shoulders. She spotted Erin sitting down and gave her a grin of recognition as she came over.

"Hello! Yes, that's me. It's much better meeting you in person, though, I still don't really know how to use those things. How do you like New York?"

[hairwasmyroom]

"Oh, it's fun!" she exclaimed, then gestured to her feet, amending that statement. "I mean, besides how big and far apart everything us."

[ginnydor]

Ginny laughed and grinned her agreement. She’d seen so much of the City today and yet it felt like she’d barely seen any of it. Particularly if Ryan was right about there being actually five boroughs.

“I know! The biggest city I’ve been to before this is London, and everything’s closer together there. I don’t know how anyone ever finds their way around. I like this park, though. Is Scranton very different from this?”

[purmoncul]

Sitting outside a bar across from a certain now-closed used bookstore is one Sirius Black. He'd done a rather admirable job of keeping it together in Remus's wake, but some days were better than others, and today was not a good day. Everything hurt, and none of the usual distractions were distracting enough, and he just needed something to dull the jagged edges of the world.

That something, in this instance, seemed to be whiskey. He had a few books and a notebook, but wasn't paying much attention to any of them, alternating between crowdwatching and staring off into his mind's eye. Ginny's hair made her stand out, however, as well as the sense of magic about her.

Sirius isn't feeling quite so social that he'll call out to her, but if she looks over, he'll nod.

((...I don't actually know if Sirius and Ginny have met yet, from his point of view. He hasn't made it back to Grimmauld in his world!))

[ginnydor]

((Oh then he probably hasn't! She only knew he wasn't a crazy murderer from Grimmauld onwards!))

Ginny has had her eyes up most of the day, looking around at the City. Getting used to it is a job of work, and she's getting the strong impression that she's barely seen a sliver of it. Still, she likes it.

On one of the occasions when she looks around at the buildings she's passing, she spots Sirius sitting outside at a bar. She blinks, at first not sure of what she's seeing because it's been quite a long time from her point of view. But he doesn't look that much of a different age from when she last saw him. He looks a bit wilder, maybe, but it's definitely Sirius.

Which means that he's alive...really alive here, just like Fred and Tonks. She can't keep the grin off her face when he looks up and nods at her, and she goes over to see him.

"Sirius? Hi! It's really good to see you!"

[purmoncul]

His eyebrows go up as she approaches. So many of the younger generation seem to know him, and to smile at it, it really was quite charming.

"...You're another of Harry and Hermione's, I take it? And a Weasley, if the Devon on your tongue is any indicator."

He stands to shake her hand, his own smile still a bit hollow but warming up. It's got a bit of alcohol and melancholy to fight through, but Sirius would always rather feel happy than sad, and Harry had such wonderful friends. The clouds around him start drifting away at a good pace.

"You must forgive me, I'm a bit behind just about everyone on the timeline, it seems. Not as badly as I once was, but all the same."

[ginnydor]

He must be behind her indeed, if he doesn't know her at all. She wonders if he's coming from the time when he was on the run; that might explain the appearance that's a little wilder than she's used to. She shakes his hand, though, and gives him another smile.

"You're right on both counts. I'm Ginny Weasley. Harry and Hermione are friends of mine. I'm sorry, this must be a bit weird, then. You've not met me, but you will. Someday. I'll try and not give anything away."