Bungle in the Jungle
Live in Their Dark Tents
By JBern
Bungle in the Jungle
Author Notes:
Disclaimer — You are still Harry Potter. Even trying to change your identity won’t affect that. There’s a woman out there with the initials JKR. She owns you and any other identity you try to hide behind. At least she doesn’t seem to be after you right now. Maybe she knows about Dumbledore’s fixation on socks?
Acknowledgements — The usual suspects: IP82, Sirius009, ChuckdaTruck, Smeagolita and FairyQilan have all made some very important contributions to this story. I make the story, but they make it better.
Chapter 5 — Live in Their Dark Tents
Now that’s what you call a good night’s sleep! No ugly nightmares about Tommy. Maybe he was too cheap to pay for the transoceanic option for the curse connection. The bed is nice and comfy, you could spend most of the morning in here, but Bill says it’s time to do some shopping and at the very least you need more underwear. One really is the loneliest number. Perhaps it is time to go ‘commando’?
You shower knowing you still have an hour and a half before breakfast ends. Maybe the three blonde girls from Toronto will be there. That’s the real ‘golden trio’ — mercy! Apparently, the rumor about Potter men and redheads isn’t necessarily true. You are getting excited about today, outfitting Harry Potter — err James Black. You opt to reuse boxers one final time. After all, you are going to be trying on lots of clothes today. Merlin knows who tried them on before you! You dress and use your complimentary toiletries the hotel provided. Money talks and bullshit, well, bullshit fathers a child and names him Draco. Ha, that’s a good one! You have to remember to tell that one to Luna. Thinking about your fourth blonde girl (fifth if you count Draco!) in less than fifteen minutes you decide to check the journal. Your eyes pop out of your head.
YOU UNBELIEVEABLE GIT!!! COULDN’T KEEP A SECRET FOR TEN FREAKING MINUTES! Just kidding. I understand. You have a lot going on and plus I think I recognized a certain eldest brother, so I guess we are even. Tell anyone else and all bets are off.
I don’t know what to say about your letter. I am stunned that they would do that to you. Not Ginny, mind you, she’s always been after you. In fact, I would venture to say that I have married the two of you well over a hundred times. When Ginny used to come over, I had a stuffed bear, if you must know his name is Barry Potter. We painted a little lightning bolt on his forehead and we’d go out and make little flower wreaths. Once we did that, I would officiate over the ceremony and the two of you would live happily ever after, at least until the next weekend, when we would do the whole thing over again.
Are you even going to come back to Hogwarts this year? I hope you do, but wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t. If you do, we can make Hermione’s life as Head Girl more miserable than she could ever imagine. I’m up for some good old fashion pranking, plus Looney can get away with so much! Just you wait and see. I am shocked at her though. I could see this from Ronald, but it really surprises me about her. Even if you don’t come back this year, I promise you I will make them suffer as only my insane alter ego can!
Yes, I have been holding back during the DA. I can probably give you a run for your money in a duel. I wouldn’t mind finding out one day if you’re up for it. Unless you’re scared of wittle old me? I dropped the act in the Ministry, because it wasn’t playtime any more. I think about our performance there a lot. Ginny wasn’t too bad under pressure. I honestly didn’t think much of Ron, Hermione and Neville’s skills. I am sorry if that offends you but look at how it went. Ron was a sloth. Maybe Quidditch camp will teach him some reactions. After Hermione cast each spell, it was almost like she looked around for someone to give her house points. Sure she knows tons of spells, but there is a difference between knowing and using! Neville is a sweetheart, but he lacks confidence and consistency. Surviving that fight should do wonders for him, I hope it does. You, on the other hand, were really good! I’m not just saying that to make you blush either. I think you were the only one who really got how desperate the situation was. I am going to see about trying to find some better offensive spells than the ones I had at my disposal that night. I will make the next Death Eater I encounter wish they were never born.
Sorry, didn’t mean to get so bloodthirsty there and I hope you are not upset by my brutal assessment of everyone’s skills. It’s amazing we were even that good given our excellent defense training, sheesh! You were the best instructor I have had in four years there. By the way, since you seem to know Professor Lupin pretty well, does he have a thing for hinkypunks and grindylows? I’m not trying to slight the man; he did cover a lot of Dark Creatures, but didn’t teach my class much in the way of spells. Then again, it was just a second year class.
Anyway, Sweden is nice. Daddy is meeting up with our usual guide, if they’ll let him out unsupervised this year. Mostly, our expeditions consist of wandering around looking for tracks, taking large quantities of pictures of said tracks and discussing their migration patterns. At least I have convinced them that we have collected enough fecal samples! Mostly, I just like to hang out in the fresh air and be away from all the people. It’s beautiful and quiet out here. How about you? Are you getting some peace and quiet? You could use some. I’m not entirely sure you would know what to do with it! Just kidding! Let me know what you are up to, or at least as much as you can.
Yours,
Luna
You feel like a little weight has been lifted from you. At least you know that she isn’t mad at you. You are slightly concerned that she suddenly seems a little too desperate to talk, but all things considered, you can’t really complain. She made some valid points about everybody who fought at the Ministry. What Luna had said was indeed brutal, but it had a certain truth to it. Hermione does tend to wait to see the effects of her spell before beginning the next one. Ron’s footwork is good, but his wand work is marginal. Hopefully, Neville will be better after he gets his own wand. Luna and Ginny were hindered by a limited spell inventory courtesy of piss poor instruction.
Dear Luna,
First, thanks for not being upset. He seems to be the only one in that family worth a damn right now. Well actually, I don’t know the other brother that well, so it’s wrong to judge him by the rest. Second, please tell me you don’t still have the bear! There is such a thing as too much information. Though, I must admit I am curious to know if you ever married Barry. Sorry, I had to ask.
Well today, we are going shopping. My rapid departure left me with little in the way of possessions. It turns out this is all being paid for with my inheritance money, so I don’t feel that bad about buying some nice stuff. If I see something, I’ll pick you up a souvenir. Maybe one of those ‘my friend went to wherever I am at and all I got is this lousy T-shirt’ shirts? At the moment, I don’t know if I am going to go back to Hogwarts. Then again, what choice do I have? I am still underage. I think Remus Lupin is my guardian now and he’s pretty much a puppet of the headmaster. I am going to try and learn as much as I can here. I plan on being able to apparate soon. Since you know who my traveling companion is, you probably know what he does for a living. Well that’s what we are going to be doing. I get to be camp cook and night watchman. In between, I should be able to convince some of the rest of our group to give me some ad-hoc training.
If I do come back, I look forward to making my former friends lives as difficult as possible, with your participation of course! Excuse me for asking, but I always thought you had a thing for Ron. Was that just part of your act? Now that I have introduced to the real you, I just can’t see the two of you.
I’m not offended by your thoughts on the fight at the Department of Mysteries. When I have relived it, I have mainly looked at my role and not everyone else’s. Once I read what you wrote, I thought about it and came to pretty much the same conclusions you reached. I am trying not to let my current opinion of some of them get to me, but you are right. You and Ginny didn’t have anything beyond stunners, body binds and disarmers to work with. Neville is brave, but raw. Ron is very physically capable, but lacks something when it comes to his wand work. Hermione is very knowledgeable, but she doesn’t have that competitive streak needed in a duel. If I do come back, I’ll be more than happy to duel with you. Though I must admit, I am more than a bit scared of wittle old you.
I have never asked Remus about his thing for grindylows and hinkypunks. My guess is he taught from experience and he probably had a lot of experience with those things given his background. You should have touched on them in your first year, but you had that waste of human flesh known as Lockhart, don’t get me started. I wish I knew where Remus stood on all this. I’d like to think that he would be as ticked off as I am about it, but at the same time he is probably part of the whole ‘greater good’ thing.
I am glad you are enjoying Sweden. Too bad you can’t convince your father to check along the beaches. I was about to make a cheeky comment about me not knowing what to do with peace and quiet, when I realized that you are right. I don’t know what to do with them, but I am willing to find out.
Yours,
Harry
You set the pen down and close the journal, sending the message on its way. Oops! You forgot to tell her the Draco comment. Oh well, some other time then. With your stomach growling a bit, you head over to Bill’s room and meet up with him for breakfast.
"Morning Blondie!" Bill says, "Guess I’ll need to redo the hair coloring charm on you before we go shopping. Wouldn’t want it to suddenly wear off. You don’t mind keeping it until we head out of town do you? Here hold still it will only take a moment."
"No, not really. I doubt anyone would recognize me, but I don’t want to chance it."
"You sleep okay?"
"Yeah, no dreams. I wonder if there is a distance limitation to my connection to the Dork Lord."
"Hopefully, but that is way out of my specialty. Hell, it’s way out of anyone’s specialty. I wouldn’t even begin to guess. Ready for some breakfast?" You nod in agreement, but it does feel strange as your body’s clock adjusts to the time change.
The two of you head for the elevator. "So what are we doing today?"
"After breakfast, we can go get you some regular clothes and then we’ll hit the magical village about 5 kilometers from here and do the other shopping. I’ve got a small conference room booked. Tonight the guide and the other curse breaker should be in. Our hit wizards don’t arrive until tomorrow."
"Yay! Spend my money before Dumbledore does!"
"Harry, let it go." Bill says with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Why should I?" You ask.
"Fine, I didn’t want to get into this with you, but I guess it needs to be said. Do you think Dumbledore is rich?"
"Well, yeah." That’s a silly question.
"He’s not. The only people who make less than he does at the school are Filch and Hagrid. He gets a little money from licensing his image to the chocolate frog cards, but all his other titles are honorary ones that pay nothing. He had a bunch of money before he started fighting Dark Wizards. You know what he does with the money he does have?"
You gulp. Dumbledore must be rich. He has to be. "What?"
"Did you like being in school with my brother, or Neville Longbottom? Forget about what just happened between you and my family."
"Yes." You answer wondering where this is going.
"Most of Dumbledore’s money is in tied up in scholarship trusts. Every year he has three scholarship winners from his trust accounts. The other one from your year was Mandy Brockle — something or other. My family ran out of school money after Percy. They wouldn’t have been able to send the rest if it wasn’t for the headmaster. They would have had to go to one of the other smaller schools, where the quality is suspect. You think the Board of Governors isn’t an elitist group trying to keep the poor families and muggleborns out? Hell, Lucius Malfoy was one of their members. You probably don’t even know that your family trust sponsors one Muggleborn every year through the school."
"It does? I do?" You say taking it all in and wondering whose education your family is footing the bill for.
"Yup. Those two Creevey boys are Potter Trust Scholarship recipients. In your year, I think it’s a Hufflepuff girl named Megan Jones." Suddenly, the hero worship of the two brothers makes a bit of sense. You always wondered how the two muggle boys developed their obsession with you. Megan Jones has maybe said less than a dozen words to you the entire time you’ve been at school. She is probably embarrassed being around you.
Bill looks over at you as the elevator doors close. "Sorry Harry, I was trying to think of a nicer way to tell you about all this. I figured yesterday, you wouldn’t have wanted to hear this at all and we’d have just ended up arguing which wouldn’t have been productive at all."
"But Neville’s family shouldn’t be that bad off? They’re an old pureblood family." You say.
"So is my family. Do you know how much money it costs to keep his parents at St. Mungo’s? For fifteen years?"
"No, I don’t. How do you know all this?" You admit somewhat ashamed of yourself, that you had never considered these things.
"Dumbledore uses me as a go between with the goblins handling the books. I don’t know why he is doing the things he is with you, but he has been helping out a great number of people over the years. Especially those who have helped him like my family. Answer this, would you use the money you have to fight Voldemort?"
You are surprised Bill can say it without going into the usual hysterics. "Yes."
"That’s what he is doing with it." It makes sense — damn!
"Hey, you said the name?" You ask trying to get away from the subject, since you know you’re on the losing end.
"My job requires that I encounter a lot of terrifying things. He is a terrifying thing and I don’t really feel like encountering him, but I can say a name without feeling that I am going to be struck down. I just don’t go around saying it, because it makes other people uncomfortable."
Your conversation is cut short by a family of five entering at the fifth floor. It’s a lot to think on. You want to be angry. You want to shout. You also don’t want to sound like a petulant child who didn’t get a lolly. The elevator arrives in the main lobby. You follow Bill towards the mouth-watering breakfast buffet.
"Bill, let me ask you something? What would you do if you were me?"
"Did you read the copy of the will yet?"
"No. I was exhausted when we got in. I was going to do it tonight and have you with me if possible to explain things to me and keep me from getting too angry."
"Well in short, Sirius left Remus in charge of your financial affairs until your seventeenth birthday. So, as long as he is signing off on whatever the headmaster is doing, there isn’t really much you can do. Your options are pretty limited. You could threaten to go to the press or take Remus to court on charges of inheritance mismanagement. Given our society, it is one of the most serious charges you can level. It’s just short of murder, torture and forcible rape. Being found guilty of minor mismanagement usually carries both financial penalties and prison terms. Major mismanagement can result in more severe penalties and are even grounds for honor duels. The fact that Remus has his ‘condition’ would work for you and you could easily put him in prison. To answer your question, I would do nothing. Remus is approving expenditures to fight a Dark Lord. True, he’s probably the old man’s scapegoat, but unless you would like to drag the Order’s finances into the light of day and send a good man to prison then you are in a no win situation. When you hit seventeen, you can do what you need to do to make them accountable for their actions, or at the very least make sure they have to come through you. If you end up returning to Hogwarts, I recommend you use this as leverage against the headmaster and force him into treating you as an equal, but remember if you go against him on this one it will ultimately be Remus that pays the price."
Suddenly, your omelet tastes more like a shit sandwich. No matter what, the old man gets away with it. The best you can do is screw one of your parent’s best friends over.
Bill looks at you sympathetically. "Look at it this way. This is just the Black money. No one can touch the Potter money but you and the goblins. You are still going to be extremely wealthy and the money that is being spent is going to fight the bad guys. Your letting this whole issue distract you from what you should really be mad about."
"You’re right Bill. The money isn’t that important. Drugging me and messing with my mind is more important."
"There you go, ignore the distractions and stick to the things that matter. Don’t forgive it and never forget it." Bill said as the two of you sat down with your full plates. The food is good and filling. You stew over everything Bill has just said. It makes sense.
"Luna must have spotted you in the airport yesterday, but she is going to be in Sweden for most of the summer. I don’t think we have to worry. She doesn’t know exactly where we are and she realizes that I don’t intend to tell her."
Bill looks thoughtful for a moment. "Well there isn’t a lot we could possibly do about it either way."
You continue to chat while gorging yourself on the fine breakfast. The three girls from Toronto come in. You briefly catch the eyes of one of them. She is the shortest with wavy hair. The other two have longer and straighter hair. She flashes you a smile and a wink, which you return with a smile of your own and a slight redness to your face. This causes an eruption of giggles and whispering. Maybe you were better off with love potions? Bill of course hasn’t missed a thing.
"My aren’t you just the little heartbreaker. Been in town less than a day and already you’re attracting fans."
"Yeah right. Shove it."
"Oh be a sport about it, James Black. Part of being on vacation is to experience things you never have before." Bill apparently has a gift for mischief making as well.
You opt to respond in kind. "Well if I do get into anything. I’ll try and be a sport and remember the silencing charm, unlike other people I know." There’s the Weasley pigmentation you are familiar with.
The two of you finish breakfast and you manage to keep yourself from making eye contact with the females. Though you do manage to catch that the winker is named Amy. They checked in right in front of you and Bill last night and you know they are here for a full week. The best part is none of these girls has any idea about a boy-who-lived.
"Well I see we may have to get you some dressy clothes too." Bill says slyly having recovered from your verbal jab.
Two hours later you have completed your clothes shopping and you look pretty impressive. At least that is what Bill and a couple of salesgirls said. You are simply happy you have more than one pair of underwear. You have to admit you do look good in clothes that actually fit you. Bill said he would be able to drop a couple of charms on them for wand concealment and what not. Better yet, you convinced him to teach you the charms so you could do it. No time like the present to start practicing. After a light lunch the two of you head off to the magical community for some serious shopping.
One of the first stores you hit is a broom shop. As much as you would like to buy another Firebolt, you decide to be discrete and buy a broom called the Dragonfly. It doesn’t have nearly the top speed of even some of the newer Cleansweeps, but it is supposed to be one of the most maneuverable and nimble brooms on the market. It would be a fantastic keeper or beater broom. It handles really well. Maybe Sloper or Kirke would like it. Right now the only thing you would give your team’s keeper at the moment is a swift kick in the you- know-what.
You pick up a decent sized trunk, nothing flashy. Most everything will be in the camp tent. Bill told you that it is even bigger than the one you were in at the World Cup. In fact tomorrow, you have to go grocery shopping for six people for a minimum of a week at a time and prepare the menus you are going to use. You are looking forward to being able to use magic in your cooking. You’ve always been pretty handy in the kitchen and now with some magic; you are going to out do those cooking shows Aunt Horseface used to watch on the telly.
Most of the books are in either Spanish or Portuguese. You do manage to find some books in English. A couple of them are second hand. So you manage to pick up a book on household charms, a beginners guide to ancient runes, a couple of potion manuals and two dueling books. With Bill’s old textbooks and the few tomes that came from the Black Manor, you should have ample study material. The only thing you really wanted was anything on apparition. Bill said he would start explaining the theory to you after you get your grocery list and menus together. You do have to earn your keep on this expedition. Many of the other things Bill purchases are interesting. They include items for the campsite like stones that are warded to drive insects and other vermin away, magic lanterns that supply a strong light and various pre-made potions for life in the jungle.
One of the most interesting items you acquired today was a complete set of dragon hide, including the vest, elbow length gauntlets and boots. It was from a Peruvian Vipertooth, the most common dragon breed in this part of the world. They aren’t very big and they’re flame doesn’t shoot very far, but they make up for it with a poisonous bite. In fact bezoars coated in powdered Vipertooth fang are said to be twice as effective as a regular bezoar. Of course by saying they don’t get very large, you mean six to ten meters in size. The material isn’t as strong as other breeds, but it is more flexible and breathable than anything short of grapplehorn hide. Bill advised you to compromise protection for speed. One of the other sayings in his vocation is "a slow cursebreaker is a dead cursebreaker."
Bill takes you to a magical optometrist and has you fitted for Cursebreaker’s glasses. They look and act like standard glasses, but are charmed to allow you to see magic on command. These are about as expensive as your firebolt. He explains that when you are in a tomb, the rule is "looks once look twice then do what ever it is you plan on doing". Keeping the magic sight on for extended periods leads to a vicious headache and it might temporarily blind you if you fought a duel with the feature turned on. He has the shopkeeper demonstrate with a set of test runes. You see the magic dancing in various shades on the runes. Otherwise the glasses come with sight correction, indestructible, anti-fogging and water repellent charms on them. You ask hopefully if they can see invisible objects. Bill said he has never tried it, but doubts that it would work. It’s not Moody’s eye, but what the heck. It’s better than what you got. Kind of silly that you have never gotten magical glasses before now, isn’t it?
"I’ll teach you the basics. The number one rule is patience. The number two rule is caution. Wrong moves get people injured or worse and whoever created whatever runes or trap you are trying to bypass did not intend for people to get by. Our last stop is to pick up a basic rune carving kit for you to practice on."
"How much are you intending to teach me?" You ask curious, painfully wishing once again that you had taken Ancient Runes over that stupid course where your death was regularly predicted.
"Hopefully, more than you’ll ever need. Who knows maybe by the time you are done, you’ll forget all about being an auror and want a really exciting job like mine?" The man has an infectious grin.
With shopping finished for the day, the two of you head back to the hotel. Apparating is uncomfortable, especially when someone else is doing it. It requires a certain level of trust. In a way it is like saying, "Please do me a favor, and bring all my body parts with us."
You slip into your room for a quick shower and disposal of stinky overused boxers. Right after getting out, there is a knock at the door. You throw a towel around your waist and go to see what Bill wants.
"What’s up, Bill?" You ask opening the door. It’s not Bill. She’s short, cute and Canadian. She is also grinning ear to ear at the moment over the blush that is rapidly spreading over James Black’s body. Thankfully, you held onto the towel.
"Um not quite, hi I’m Amy."
"Har-, I mean I’m James. Nice to meet you."
"Would you like me to come back in a few minutes? You probably want to put something on?"
In a perfect world you would be smooth and sophisticated. You would look her in the eye and tell her in a husky voice that she is the one that’s not in the right attire and ask her if she would like a towel of her own. Unfortunately what comes out is, "Urm, yeah. That’s er, sure. Come back in a couple of minutes." Yes indeed, the very picture of sophistication!
You spend the next minute looking for a hole to crawl into, it does not appear. So, you dress. You pick out some of the nicer items from today’s shopping. Maybe, it will distract her from the fact you are such a dunderhead.
Five minutes later, there is a knock on the door. You open it and find Amy on the other side of the door.
"Hello, again. Nice clothes." She says. You see her appraising you. It rather feels like you are a hunk of meat. You wonder if Hermione feels like this when people don’t even bother to look her in the eyes.
"It’s nice to meet you again, Amy."
"My sisters and I are going to hit some of the dance clubs after dinner tonight. Wanna come?"
Rather forward isn’t she. "What time?"
"Eight"
"Let me check with Bill." You say stepping out into the hall and knocking on Bill’s door.
A moment later you are rewarded with the face of Bill Weasley, "What’s up?"
You gesture to the young lady standing in your doorway. "Amy has just invited me to go to a dance club with her and her sisters."
"When?"
"Eight tonight."
"Until?"
"Uh, sometime later than eight" You say with a grin.
"I’ll lay down a couple of restrictions, but I don’t see why not. We need to meet our guests in the conference room in fifteen minutes after we eat and knock out the prelims. After that, you’re a big boy, just don’t make me regret saying that." He adds with a smile before shutting his door.
You turn back to Amy. "Don’t you have to be a bit older to do the dance clubs around here?"
She shrugs her shoulders and looks wistful. "The bouncers down here seem to miss that fact all the time. The upside of being a cute blonde."
"The downside?" She’s apparently not shy or modest.
"Everyone assumes I’m an idiot. Plus some of the shop owners like to touch our hair. It happens more in the Caribbean, but it is still kind of creepy."
"That’s not true." You watch her cock her head at you. Okay it is true. Lavender pretty much would define the ditzy blonde. Her best friend should be blonde, but for her ethnicity. It’s impossible to take either girl seriously.
"Oh dear, you might not work out. To run with me and the twins, you need to be able to lie convincingly and that was the lamest denial I have ever heard. You’d better work on that. Well, I must be headed off to dinner, Jimmy. See you at eight."
You watch her head back down the hall to the elevators. Her sisters launch into a giggly interrogation and you see currency exchange hands. You don’t know whether to be flattered or irate. Oh well, you can ask Bill for advice on that later.
Dinner gets served in the conference room. You meet Maria Sanchez. She’s the Mexican cursebreaker. She looks like she is in her mid-forties. She is not exactly attractive. You know now what Millicent Bulstrode would look like if she grew up in Mexico, with a Latino background. Maybe there is actually such a thing as the ‘ugly stick’. If there actually is, perhaps they broke it while beating on her. She also does not appear to be impressed by Bill’s age either. Bill introduces you and she pretty much roles her eyes. It’s a change form having people fall all over themselves in front of you. She obviously thinks you are the Boy-Who-Shouldn’t-Be-Here.
The guide is an American Indian, Lakota Sioux to be exact. He looks very old. If it wasn’t impolite, you’d probably ask. He has a ‘weathered’ look to him. His name is Lone Thundercloud. He seems to have a nice and gentle manner. Of course, you thought that about Dumbledore at one point. Thundercloud at least takes a moment to size you up and then shakes your hand. You can work with him.
You watch as Bill explains their employment contract from Phoenix Expeditions. They perform a confidentiality oath while the waitress is out of the room. Once the oath is performed Bill explains that they will be looking for the "City of the Dammed." Sanchez roles her eyes and mutters something about ‘at least the money is good.’ The guide looks very thoughtful.
"I was there in my youth. It was a nice magical city. Thirty-five years ago, the city disappeared. There were rumors of a Dark Wizard, who slaughtered the population and was powerful enough to hide an entire city from the world. Many have tried to find it. There are rumors that at least one succeeded, but he came back missing a limb as screaming about it being a Necropolis and that his entire expedition was slaughtered."
You look over at Bill. He gives you the "we’ll talk about this later" look in return. Your mind is racing. The fact that the guide was once there and no one can remember where the city is. You have a good idea just who that Dark Wizard was. A few pieces of the puzzle come together. It explains why Bill was sent here.
When Sanchez hears that you will be cooking and protecting at night, she snorts derisively. It takes a demonstration of your patronus to shut her up. It’s a good guess that the only thing Hagasauraus Rex will be teaching you is how to keep your temper in check. It wouldn’t be one of your adventures, if someone wasn’t around to irritate you. The guide does a good job of masking his grin.
Two hours later you meet Amy and her sisters in the lobby. Apparently, her sisters shopped locally for their dates. Are you on a date? That’s a really good question. One of their dates, they kept insisting on calling him ‘Rico Suave’ for some strange reason.
Dancing was fun, none of that silly waltz crap. Sure enough the cute blondes managed to get everyone into a club. It was liberating just to go out and cut loose. You don’t have to worry about what the papers will say, or what your classmates would think. Amy is like some bizarre combination of Lavender and the Weasel Wench. She dances with you and damn near everyone else there, like some dynamo of energy and her sisters are just as bad. You do manage to learn that their parents bring them down here fairly often. Their father is an executive at a Canadian pharmaceutical company that has a plant down here. Some of the locals know them by names.
They get you drinking. You’ve only ever had a few tastes of alcohol, mostly at the urging of your dorm mates or Fred and George. After admitting that you are not much of a drinker to Amy and enduring her calling you a bit of a prude, she goes and gets you her drink of choice Jamaican Rum and Coke. The taste takes some getting used to, but you have decided that you like this drink. After a few of these, you are now dancing with Amy, Amy’s sisters and virtually any other girl who crosses your path. You flirt shamelessly. James Black with lowered inhibitions seems to act a bit like Sirius Black. Unfortunately, James Black has at least one to many and ends up transforming into a brooding Harry Potter. Imagine that! You’re a brooding drunk. Who would have ever guessed? One of your last memories of that evening is Amy helping you get back to your hotel room. Smooth sophisticated James Black would have invited her in. Brooding and drunken Harry Potter thanks her for the fun and apologizes if you embarrassed her. The last conscious thought on your mind is that your morning probably won’t be near as fun.
Author Notes:
Full discussion on my forum on this site and Darklordpotter. Next chapter — you get the chance to go grocery shopping while recovering from your hangover. That will go well won’t it? Hopefully, Bill knows a good sobering charm. Plus you better start hitting the books and practicing.