"Good morning, James," Izzy, Petra's sister, announced cheerfully, moving alongside him as the travelers made their way into the pearly dawn gloom. "It's exciting, isn't it?"
"It is, actually," James agreed, smiling at the younger girl as she skipped next to him, her blonde curls bouncing around her face. Izzy was a year older than James' sister, Lily, but it was a little hard to remember that. Where Lucy tended to strike people as older than she really was, Izabella Morganstern had a simple innocence that made her seem rather younger. Petra had explained to James and his family that Izzy had been born with some sort of learning disability, one that had earned her the disdain of her own mother and very nearly doomed her to a life of dull servitude at the woman's cold hand. James didn't think that Izzy seemed slow, exactly. On the contrary, it was almost as if her brain was simply blissfully unencumbered by the sorts of nagging worries that left most people grumpy and irritable. James envied her a little bit.
"Petra didn't want to get up when I tried to wake her," Izzy said in a stage whisper, nodding toward her sister, who was walking some distance away, near Percy and Audrey. "She says she's not a morning person."
James nodded. "I'm not either, usually. But this is different, isn't it?"
"It's not like getting up for a day of work on the farm or anything dull like that," Izzy agreed, grabbing James' hand and skipping merrily. "We're off on a grand adventure! We're going for a ride on a ship, just like Treus. Aren't we?"
"Raise ye forth thy wands and wits," Albus commented from somewhere behind James. "Right 'Treus'?"
"So how are we getting there, then?" Ralph piped up. James turned to see the bigger boy walking alongside Albus, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his hooded sweatshirt. "Portkey? I've always wanted to travel by Portkey. Is it that stump over there?"
"You see who's leading this little expedition, don't you Ralph?" James replied, nodding toward the front of the group.
Ralph squinted. "Yeah. It's Merlin," he said, and then slumped as realization struck him. "Oh."
Albus peered ahead at the Headmaster. "What's that mean, then?"
"It means we're walking," James answered, grinning. "Merlin likes to commune with the secret whatsits of nature whenever he gets the chance, don't you know."
Ralph sighed. "Why's he even coming anyway?"
"Simple," a new voice answered. James glanced up to see Ralph's father, Denniston Dolohov, walking nearby, his cheeks flushed in the pearly light that sifted down through the trees of the Forbidden Forest. "Back in his time, nobody knew anything about the 'New World', although lots of wizards and witches suspected its existence. He's coming along for a few days before heading back to Hogwarts. I expect he wants to take a look around and see what life is like on the other side of the pond. It'd be like one of us traveling to the distant future and being offered a chance to visit cities on the moon."
"Now that would be cool," Albus sighed. "Much better than being carted off to stupid old America."
"I'd be careful with talk like that," Lucy said. James glanced aside and saw her walking on the other side of Izzy, her duffle bag slung over one shoulder. "I understand that Americans can be fiercely proud of their country. Not unlike some of us, of course."
"Well, it's easy for us, isn't it?" Albus exclaimed. "I mean, we've got ourselves loads of history and traditions, going back thousands of years! They've got, what? About fifteen minutes and a tea party?"
"Speaking of tea," Ralph said, rubbing his stomach, "I could use a bite."
As if on cue, James' mother drifted back from the front of the group. "Biscuits, anyone?" she said, carrying an open tin.
James shouldered his bag and grabbed with both hands. "Thanks, Mum."
"Ah! Shortbread," Izzy exclaimed happily. "We hardly ever got shortbread at home!"
"Merlinus says a little nourishment is needed for the journey," Ginny commented, nodding. "After all, we've got a lot to do and a long way to go."
"And we're walking the entire way?" Albus asked around a mouthful of biscuit. "Seriously?"
Ginny nodded. "Merlin sent all of our trunks ahead yesterday afternoon. They'll be waiting for us at the port. A little exercise will do you some good."
"Maybe it'll help you grow a bum," Lucy suggested helpfully.
"Hah hah," Albus chimed sarcastically. "So how long is this going to take anyway?"
"Yeah," Ralph huffed, peering up at the trees as they passed overhead. "What if any of us, you know, faints from hunger or something along the way?"
"We're here," a voice called from the front. To James' surprise, he recognized it as belonging to Neville Longbottom. "Everybody stay close now."
Albus boggled. "We're here?"
"Is that Professor Longbottom?" Ralph frowned, puzzled. "I mean, fun's fun, but shouldn't somebody be staying back home to run Hogwarts?"
James, who'd been on one of Merlin's magical walking trips in the past, grinned. Still clutching a biscuit in one hand, he ran ahead, joining the adults near the front of the group.
"Hi Uncle Percy, Aunt Audrey, Molly," he called as he passed. "Hi Petra. Good morning." He darted past her and slowed down as he found his dad, Merlin, and Neville Longbottom walking at the head of the troop. Sure enough, as James looked around, he could see that the trees here looked different. They were no longer the enormous old growth of the Forbidden Forest. These were young trees, choked with weeds and moss, leaning in the shifting wind. The air smelled briny and damp.
"Good morning, James," Neville said, smiling down at him. "Excited?"
"I am!" James agreed, meeting Neville's smile. "Why are you coming along? If you don't mind me asking."
"Professor Longbottom has come at my request, Mr. Potter," Merlin answered, striding easily down a winding, rocky path. "Besides, even Herbology teachers deserve the occasional holiday. Even if it is a working holiday."
"The Alma Alerons have asked me to give a lecture," Neville admitted sheepishly. "I was recommended to their Flora Department by Ben Franklyn himself. It seemed an opportunity not to miss."
"Wands away, everyone," Harry commented mildly. James looked up as the trees thinned and fell behind them. He could see now that they were on the outskirts of a small crowded fishing village. The morning sky was low and dull, packed with clouds over the rooftops. Smoke drifted listlessly from dozens of chimneys and the streets were wet, their cobbles shining dully. The group tramped their way single file down the curving, stony path until it met the street. An old man with a grizzled white beard was seated on a stool nearby, stooped beneath the awning of a fish shop. He pushed the brim of his cap up with a horny thumb as the group filed past.
"Good morning," Harry Potter said cheerfully.
"Lovely day for a stroll, isn't it then?" Ginny added, bringing up the rear.
"Nice town you've got here," Albus cried, turning around and walking backwards, smiling at the man. "Smells a bit funny, but we won't hold it against you!"