[h2][center]Mary Winthrop[/center][/h2]

Mary lay reading on a hammock in the shade of an overgrown tree, one foot hanging over trailing lightly and sometimes pushing against the ground. Her summer thus far had been idyllic. Andrew, her father, and herself had spent it at a small sea-side cottage he had bought when he had first brought Mary home. It was one of her favorite places to go now. Most of the time it was a weekend trip or a short trip, this time they had gone for a whole month. It was the first Summer since Mary had started school that they had that much time together. Now they wouldn't see each other for basically another year. 

“Mary,” her father's voice called from the cottage. “Are you finished packing?”

“Yes. I'll be in in a minute I just want to finish this chapter.”

“Okay, I want to take the Knight bus shortly to Diagon Alley.” Mary nodded, her eyes still darting across the page, there wasn't that much left in the chapter. A breeze cooled her burnt cheeks and some sand landed into her eye. With a groan she got out of the hammock and went inside, still reading the book with one eye and rubbing at the other. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just some sand in my eye. Wind kicked it up.”

“Welcome to the beach.” Andrew grinned and went back to his task preparing their late lunches for the bus ride. “What time is the portkey tomorrow?”

“Four pm.” Mary said, closing the book and climbing the stairs up to her small room at the top. She loved the tiny room with its huge windows that opened out facing the sea, it gave her a sense of freedom she had never experienced before living with her father. Mary paused before placing the book she had been reading in the large, though not as large as is should be considering how much stuff was actually packed into it, trunk. For a brief moment she was scared of the future.

Mary had never been much of a traveler, and the next year would be nothing but traveling. It was a scary thought. In all her life she had been maybe a dozen places, and all of those had been in the last ten years. Odd how it had been only ten years, and even odder still how ten years felt like more lifetimes then just the one she had lived. The Mary of ten years ago was not the Mary of now. Things were changing, more than just her. She was done at Hogwarts-

“Mary, bring your trunk down. I'm going to wave down the Bus.”

“Coming.” Mary dropped the book and closed the lid, and with a wave of her wand the lock disappeared and no key could unlock it. Only someone with the unlocking spell could open the trunk now. She picked up one handle and dragged the trunk behind her, it was as light as if it were empty. Mary smiled, magic was wonderful, and descended down the stairs. Her father was standing several paces away from the house with his hand out, waving down an invisible taxi cab.

There was a crashing sound and a violently purple bus screeched to a halt inches from Andrew. He didn't flinch. Down hopped a young man who launched into an explanation about the bus. “Yes, yes, we know.” Andrew cut the man off, placing the coins for both Mary and his tickets. “Two for Diagon Alley please.”

“I wanted to hear his speech.” Mary whispered to Andrew once they had gotten their things positioned between two seats on the second floor. They didn't have time to sit as the bus started moving with a jerk going from zero to at least 70 in less than three seconds. By the G-force alone Mary was forced into her seat, and all the seats in front of them came sliding back into them. A harried looking woman groaned and turned a little more green. 

“We could have been saved this suffering.” Andrew looked at Mary with a raised eyebrow.

“I was curious.” She gave a small shrug. “And besides we were told discrete travel.

“Apparating is discrete.” 

“And boring.” Mary smiled brightly and looked out the window to watch the speeding scenery. There would be loud bangs and whatever was flashing by would disappear and something new and different was replaced by it.

“You'll have a year of non-boring travel, why did I have to suffer too?” Andrew groaned. “If she hurls I'll hurl too.” Mary giggled, and patted her father on the hand. “You'll write to me won't you?”

“Yes I will, every day.”

“I don't require every day, just regularly.” Andrew wrapped his arm around Mary and kissed the top of her head gently, a sensation she never got tired of. 

It was just after the seats were exchanged with beds, as equally not bolted down, that they arrived at Diagon Alley. Andrew checked them into rooms at the Leaky Cauldron, with beds that didn't move. Mary had spent a few nights in the Leaky Cauldron before growing up, though most of those times she had shared the room with her cousin, who Mary hoped would show up soon. She didn't want to have to wait until Paris to see her. Her heart beat sped up at the thought of seeing Paris, and the rest of the world. It was so terrifying and fun sounding. 

Once her things were in place Mary knocked on her father's room. “I'm going to go into the Alley.” He gave a grumpy sounding okay. “Do you want me to ask Mrs. Longbottom to bring you up something to settle your stomach?” The responding noise sounded like it could have been please, so Mary found Mrs. Longbottom and requested a soothing drink for Andrew.

Finally she was out in Diagon Alley out of the stuffy air of indoors. She had never been to Diagon Alley at this time of year, and certainly not by herself. She grinned ready to explore.