Chapter 2

The next few days were a flurry of activity. There was a lot of discussion on where they should go, and finally Hermione suggested going to the States. She had read about some of the magical history that was there and had always found it fascinating. Eager to get on their way, Ron and Harry agreed.

It wasn't too long before the three of them were packed and ready to go, with their international Portkeys sitting on the table in front of them. The Portkeys were set to activate that evening at 7pm, and they would be arriving in Salem, Massachusetts at 2pm. The Portkeys hadn't been easy to get and had required some ingenuity on Hermione's part, but she been able to convince the Ministry that she was going there with two of her other friends and not Harry Potter.

“The three of you just got back from the Horcrux hunt. You just battled Voldemort. Don't you think you should rest up and get ready for school?”

Ron looked at his mother and then at his two friends. They had heard the same words over and over again at least five times a day ever since they had announced their plans to take a trip. “Mum, we've been resting for the past three months. Don'tcha think we deserve to have some fun? Look at Harry. He hasn't had a day of fun in his life.”

Molly's expression had softened when he'd mentioned Harry, as it almost always did. “But the three of you are so young...”

“Mum, we're full grown! For Merlin's sake, we have gone out and fought the darkest wizard of all time. We're not -” Ron stopped before he finished his argument and thought better of it due to a look from Hermione, “going to get ourselves in trouble or anything. We promise.”

Molly crossed her arms over her chest. “You're not going to get into trouble? And how exactly do you plan to keep that promise? You are going to a foreign country, and you won't know anyone there. For all you know there could be another wizard like Voldemort there. And how exactly are you going to handle the hotel situations?”

“Mum!” Ron's face was bright red, as well as the tips of his ears.

“Well, I know how you and Hermione have been getting closer,” Molly said plainly. “Did your father have that talk with you?”

“Years ago.” He looked at Hermione and then back at his mother. “OK, Mum, you got us. Hermione and I are really taking this trip to elope, and Harry's going along because he's going to be my best man.”

“Ron!” Hermione exclaimed in horror.

Finally, Harry could stay quiet no longer. “Hermione will have her own hotel room.” Harry thought this rather unnecessary considering that for ten months the three of them had been sharing a tent, seeing each other in their pajamas and all, but he didn't say anything.

That seemed to put Molly at ease, but the three of them knew that she still wasn't happy about the situation. Checking to make sure that all of them had packed what they had needed and that Ron had money with him, her fussing over them lasted nearly until the Portkeys activated.

“Make sure that you owl me the moment you get there so that I know that you arrived, and make sure that you bundle up...”

“Mum! We're going to the States, not Antarctica!”

“Mrs. Weasley, we have packed clothes for any possible climate. But it's almost time for the Portkeys to activate, and if we miss them, we may not be able to get more.”

“Okay,” Molly said, giving them each a hug and watching them pick up their Portkeys. “Remember to bring your sister back something!”

At precisely 7pm, the three of them disappeared.

***

Hermione had never liked the sensation that Portkeys caused, but she knew that for long distances such as international travel they were the most efficient. Upon landing, she tumbled to the ground and waited for Ron and Harry. Seeing Ron falling toward her, she swiftly got out of his way just as he hit the ground with Harry landing soon after.

“Gonna need to practice that some, I reckon. 'Course, I never thought we were gonna get out of the house, what with Mum giving us the third degree. Can you believe she actually thought we were going to have sex?”

“Yeah, it's not like we weren't all living together in that tent on the Horcrux hunt.”

“But she figured that we were more responsible then because of us helping you, Harry. Now we don't have anything else important to do, so she figures we're going to let our raging hormones take over,” Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

“Hey, who says we don't have anything important to do? I say we have something very important to do. We're going to go have some fun!” Ron said with a grin as he got to his feet, then bent down to help Hermione to her feet as Harry got up.

“That sounds important to me,” Harry said with a grin.

As they made their way toward the hotel, the three of them looked around in wonder at the beautiful foliage. The leaves on the trees were just starting to turn colours and they were treated to a sight that they didn't see often in London – a clear blue sky unmarred by smog.

“S'pose we could take in a Quidditch match while we're here?” Ron asked Harry, who then turned to Hermione. To their surprise, she smiled.

“We should make a schedule of all we want to do. Of course, since there is a lot of history here, I want to take in some of the culture. We will make sure that we do everything that we want to do. We should spend half of our time here and half of our time in Louisiana.”

“Right then. Let's get to the hotel and get settled, and then we'll see what there is to see and do here.”