Disclaimer: I own nothing – not a single character (except Cicily, Margo, Berenice, Ginger, Marcus, and the rest of the Byerly family), 7th book plot, or books by J.K. Rowling.
A/n: The new installment is here and now all you need to do is enjoy!
A reminder: ~*~ separates the past while ~*~|*|~*~ separates the present.
Chapter: The Adventures of the Herbologist [Part 1]
For a while now, Ginger and Sirius were staying in Ginger’s house at Cancun, Mexico. The Central Americas had always been much fun to be at when other cultures were to be discovered. The house was right beside a beach and a nice neighborhood where small miscellaneous stores were located in. Ginger wanted to be there because of the cultures, stores, and because the house was close to her old friends’ houses. Her friends being Herbologists like her and also being her partners back long ago when she worked as a Herbologist for the Ministry.
Anyway, Ginger and Sirius had enjoyed their honey moon thus far since there were many distractions from their secrets; the ones that they had been hiding for some good time now. However, now that some distractions had gotten over with, they still wanted to know more about each other.
Sirius in particular wanted to know what had become of Ginger’s life when she first stared working as a Herbologist before taking part of The Daily Prophet’s writing staff.
“So, will you tell me?” he continued to beg and plead.
Ginger stopped avoiding the begging at once when they were on their house’s patio.
“Fine then, I’ll tell you,” she sighed, now going back inside the house.
Sirius grinned ecstatically and rubbed his hands whilst Ginger looked for her journal, which was out in the open on their dinning table. Once she got to it she came back out of the house to sit down beside Sirius at their patio table.
She flipped the pages of her book while she informed him, “This will be a goody for you then; my adventures.”
“Great, I get to know more about you and later about me, right?” he wondered.
Ginger sighed, “It isn’t like you had any adventures during your time in Azkaban, Sirius.” Then she smiled. “Well, you might have.”
“Yes, I might have, but I can’t even remember,” Sirius said dejectedly, but he managed to turn his attention to his wife (and he loved to do that now). “So… will you read aloud?”
Of course, Ginger thought as she soon started to read.
~*~|*|~*~
Dear Linda,
My days are sort of better than others here. I mean, I met a lot of people that are just… wonderful! They’re Latin, but they’re fun! My new partners in the Herbology Department at the Ministry are all here, from Mexico! I can’t believe my luck!
Well… I can’t say that I’ve forgotten about a few people. I can’t forget about him, even after all of the picking and the cruel punishment (did I even deserve that punishment?).
Sirius Black, you will be my downfall!
However, I must go on. I have to say what I’ve been through. Well, I have to tell you my adventures as a Herbologist in Central America!
Your escritora,
Gin
~*~|*|~*~
A thin and long light-brown-haired woman popped out of no where on the cold streets of Mexico City. It wasn’t really where she wanted to be at the time; not even at night time. Silently she cursed the other Herbologists that told her to dress lightly for her trip.
How terrible, the thought of being in Mexico D.F.
The streets were cold and she felt slight warmth when the sun was over her, but it didn’t last long. The day turned into a steely dark blue and the street lights were very dim. There was also a low amount of people walking by in the streets.
She was still stuck at the Apparition point though. Hopefully someone would come and pick her up.
And that someone should be one of the people working for the Herbology Department here in the Distrito Federal! her mind growled angrily.
Eventually time scurried by again. Only slower to the thin light-brown-haired woman until a “pop” was heard before the chime of a nearby church took its toll.
“O, perdóneme… No sabia que usted estaba ahí! (Oh, excuse me, I didn’t know that you were there!)” the voice that was very thick with Mexican Spanish (and not Castellano – which is spoken in Spain) belonged to a taller, thinner, and pale girl with long black hair, which was in a braid.
Her eyes were a dark brown that filled with sympathy once she saw the shocked long light-brown-haired woman, she frowned apologetically. “Usted no habla Español, verdad? (You don’t speak Spanish; am I right?)”
“Er… No… yo no poder hablar,” the light-brown-haired woman had to struggle to tell her the short sentence.
The girl smiled gently as she also struggled to speak English, “My English isn’t so well, but… are you Ginger Byerly?”
“Yes,” Ginger answered. “Are you from the Herbologist Department?”
“No, I’m an Apprentice, but I was sent to pick you up… I’m sorry for the tardiness… I was kinda busy with some paper work that I was supposed to finish hours ago,” the girl explained. “My name is Reynolda though; Reynolda Reyes.”
“Nice to meet you then since you already know my name… no intros,” Ginger grinned, now shaking Reynolda’s hand.
Reynolda smiled crookedly after that and then she offered, “Well… we have to get going. My bosses are waiting for me to escort you back to Headquarters.”
“Wonderful then, I’m in, but what kind of travel will you be using?”
“Side-Apparition, if that’s what you Europeans call it,” Reynolda answered sheepishly when she held on to Ginger’s hand. “This will take a longer time than you might have expected because this city is big.”
“Okay, I’m ready for it,” Ginger told Reynolda whole-heartedly even if she knew what was going to happen afterwards.
Reynolda obliged and soon the two of them were sucked into the tube network that was known as Apparition.
~*~
Ginger next appeared in a very heavily lighted place. It looked to be a white washed building where a lot of people were working. Many flying office memos passed by her face at high speed as well as notices that skimmed the air like flags.
“The Herbology Department is this way; follow me,” Reynolda’s voice broke Ginger’s speculation.
Soon, Ginger was following the tall black-haired woman again and this time they passed down a long hallway that was full with busy posts where people lined up or traveled with papers to and fro. Eventually they reached the area where many fireplaces and elevators were. The heat there was unbearable due to the fireplaces that were on (according to the sign) twenty four hours a day.
“Come, the air gets much fresher in the elevators,” the tall black-haired woman informed her.
What Reynolda had said was actually true. The air became more full, fresher, and even sweet to her mouth and nostrils. Ginger took the air in appreciatively while she watched the wizards that had entered the elevator on the second floor. They all dressed in either Muggle clothing or in robes that appeared to look like long sleeved coats. Each accommodated the brown, blonde, black, and occasionally red-haired witch or wizard. Most of these hair colors were artificial though.
Then at last, when they reached the fifth floor, Reynolda motioned Ginger to step out of the elevator.
The voice from over head spoke in two languages at that point, “Departamento y Registro de Plantas Desconocidas; Department and Registry of Unknown Plants. Departamento de Herbólogia; Herbology Department.”
Ginger followed until Reynolda stopped at a throng that was issuing from the last door.
“My bosses should be waiting for you in there. I’ve already sent them a message telling them that I brought you here,” Reynolda told Ginger.
Ginger smiled. “Thank you then.”
“You’re welcome,” Reynolda said with much difficulty.
“Your English was nice though, but if you keep practicing I’m sure that you’ll be like a natural,” Ginger tried to be enthusiastic.
Reynolda nodded and flushed rather deeply. “Yes, I need to keep practicing; tweak up my experience. Thank you for the kind words, Miss Byerly.”
“Ay, Señorita Reyes! (Hey, Miss Reyes!)” a dark Hispanic man had reached them and he was smirking slightly at Reynolda, “Nico quiere que lleves a la Señora a la oficina pero eso es si la trajiste! (Nico – Nick – wants you to take the woman to the office, but that’s if you brought her!)”
The fluent way that these people spoke the Spanish made Ginger slightly frustrated. Again, she cursed silently for not re-taking her forgotten Spanish classes at the Herbology Centre back in London. The Ministry of Magic had asked her if she had wanted to retake the class a few years after her courses had ended. Since Ginger thought that she had perfected the language, she put down the offer.
This is what I get for being stupid! she mentally kicked herself.
Meanwhile, Reynolda scolded the young man and told him sternly, “I brought her, actually, and she’s right here.”
“O…” the young man’s brown eyes darted to Ginger, whom had her arms crossed with her luggage leaning on her leg. Then he cleared his throat and started to apologize, “I’m very sorry, Miss…”
“It’s fine, honestly, but… where am I supposed to be?” Ginger asked.
The young man notified her smartly and all in correct English wording, “Down the hall right here and into the room at the far right. Most of our superiors – including Mr. Nicolas Mendes – are awaiting your presence.”
“Thank you, both of you,” Ginger thanked them both.
The young man beamed and then told her, “My name is Roberto Robles, by the way. May your day be great, Miss Byerly!”
“Yours too, Mr. Robles,” she called back with a wave.
Then she entered the room and was surprised to see many “superiors” that were as young as herself.
The first to see her was a vertically-challenged and well built dark tanned young man. He had short dark-brown-highlighted-by-blonde hair, a long delicate nose that was cracked in the side, and bright brown eyes.
His English surprised Ginger when he acknowledged her, “You must be Ginger Byerly from the British Ministry of Magic, I presume?”
“Yes, that’s me,” Ginger replied gingerly.
“Then we shall start on the introductions,” the man said brightly. “My name is Eduardo Fuentes and my sister is also working here.”
The woman that looked to be a few years younger than him informed her, “That’d be me. My name’s Luz Fuentes and I’ve just joined which is why I’m not as sunburned as my buddies here.”
“We are the buddies she’s talking about,” a bloke and a girl that looked very much alike even though their dark sunburns pointed out that they were twins. The girl informed Ginger, “I’m the writer,” then the boy added, “and I’m the experimenter in the lab.”
“Meanwhile I regulate over them,” the lightest out of all of them (and the one with the most build) was a long black-haired and gray-eyed fellow joined in at last. He had pale skin and since Ginger was staring so hard at him, he managed to tell her, “I’m part Albino, if you’re wondering why I’m not as sunburned as my fellow pupils.”
“Hey! Watch it! I’m not your pupil anymore!” Luz argued, but she soon added lightly, “even though I wish that I could still work under your wing, Demetrio.”
Ginger smiled at Luz, but then when she looked at the bloke that was Demetrio… she felt a slight tinge of disgust and an embarrassing churn of butterflies in her stomach at the same time. The bloke looked just like… he looked almost like… him!
Due to her silence and staring at Demetrio intently, he told her, “My whole name is Demetrio Blanco. I’m the head of this department and I’m usually up and down with the errands of it. The second in command is Eduardo, then it’s the twins – Julia and Marcos --, and the last one of us that’s then in charge (and if by chance) is little Luz!”
The twins gave Luz a noogie. Now Ginger had a little bit of time to see the dark-brown-haired girl, whom had the same nose as Eduardo, same bright eyes, but was slightly taller than him with a thinner frame though. Her hair was in a pony tail though. The twins had darker brown hair, sunburned skin, almost-black eyes, and thin frames.
Then Ginger looked at Demetrio… only to be reminded of him. How could she not forget about him? He that had caused her so much pain in her youth… and for giving her the bitter taste of humiliation that she still savored.
She was suddenly snapped back to reality when Demetrio smiled crookedly at her (causing her heart to skip a beat). “Well… we have a lot to get planned. First of all… we have to get you some place to stay. Anyone know where?”
While Eduardo, Luz, Julia, Marcos, and Demetrio tried to discuss over possible Inns that Ginger could stay at (or hotels that were like the familiar Inns of England), Ginger thought over how she would write down the day’s events down…
She’d probably make two full entries of her adventures there in Mexico City… but the list of things that she would be doing was really uncertain.
So she let her days guide her through her notebook, which was recently bought at a Mexican Staples in Mexico City along with the proper clothes for the cold city.
And with a mental note, she wrote in: never wear light clothes to Mexico D.F. or you’ll freeze to death.
~*~|*|~*~
Sirius whistled a long tune when Ginger flipped the page over and then place a bookmark in the diary.
“That was interesting…” he murmured.
Ginger raised an eyebrow. “What; my journey or my colleagues?”
“No, none of those!” he kissed her hand and then told her, “That so called Demetrio – if I pronounced it right. You… liked him?”
“You could say that… but it was only because… well, you should already know.”
“He looked like me… but were his gray eyes really his? I’ve never seen that color on anyone’s eyes unless they were part of my family,” Sirius reasoned.
Ginger answered the question briefly, “He wore contacts that sort of were colored more lightly than his light blue eyes, so they gave the aura of gray eyes, but yes, he looked like you and he reminded me a lot of you,” she paused to give a sigh, “so much that I accidentally… snapped at him and pushed him away.”
“You mean that he actually tried to get with you?”
“Yes,” Ginger answered sadly. She could only think of what they could have been like together. The man was so kind-hearted, but slightly more focused on his work than anything else. The only times that Demetrio talked to her it was only because of work – otherwise he wouldn’t squeak a word out at her.
Their first date together was a business lunch with an Argentinean Herbologist. Most of the time Demetrio would steal her glances and he even tried to steal a kiss, but that was only when the Herbologist left the table to greet familiar members of Argentinean society, which he knew of.
Hmm… the shame, the shame… Edward, Ginger’s brother – her conscious, said with distaste.
Sirius took this time to comment, “One can only imagine how terrible he sounds compared to a lovesick puppy…”
That was when Ginger told Sirius, “That’s why I moved on to the South American Ministry of Magic. They had fun all the time and since Demetrio wasn’t there… I felt great!”
“And that meant that you would have been better off without me; your Messer Padfoot?” he looked sad at the words she had said.
To this Ginger snapped, “No, I wouldn’t have been better off without you… not when I had been unjust with you.”
“You weren’t, I was,” he whispered, now grasping her waist gently. He looked down at her, his gray eyes clasped to her brown ones.
Again the two of them felt complete – even if they hadn’t finished reading each others secrets. Those would pop up later and each of them would listen intently to the other.
Eventually, Ginger and Sirius went to sleep, cuddled up together, trying to not be separated by anything. When morning arrived, a crisp white invitation arrived by owl.
When they awoke and ate breakfast, Sirius took the liberty of reading it aloud.
Sirius & Ginger Black,
You are invited to Cicily Abner Harry Potter’s wedding which will be held on October 30th of this year. Be sure to dress in your best, be happy, and be excited for there will also be a reception right after to celebrate Halloween right after the wedding.
The couple,
Harry & Cicily-soon-to-be-Potter
P.s.
Costumes are applicable to be worn during the reception.
To this, Ginger and Sirius raised each other’s eyebrows at each other.
“So… what do you want to wear?” he asked curiously…
~*~|*|~*~ A/n: Alrighty then. Harry and Sisi are getting married! (Yes, finally!)
Anyway, a few questions to whomever posts reviews (Snapegirl, Asian, and a few others that I can’t really name at the moment – until later):
- If you were going to the reception, what would you wear?
For the Sev and Siri lovers:
- What would Sev wear?
- What would Siri wear?
And that’s about it. I might add a new chapter by this weekend, but that’s if I’m not busy with Psychology (it’s become a thing now-a-days…).
Keep reading and reviewing other stories while I’m gone though!
Your (odd, busy, thinkative) escritora,
~Meli♥
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