[HP translation] Hope

This company is not lying at all; when they claim their service is fast, it is true.Less than a week after Ginny sent her questionnaire and photo—taken by Arthur with an old family camera, hiding her cheeks and the shadows under her eyes—a letter with Ginny's name on it The letter arrived via the Floo network.

Dear Miss Genevieve Weasley,

We are pleased to inform you that your photo submission to Spearman's Speed ​​Dating has generated considerable interest.All proper Bachelor Wizards of America want to know right now: Who is the witch in the picture?

However, of all interested wizards, one was far superior to the others.You couldn't marry a better wizard.When we informed him that he was the lucky wizard, he sent you instructions to immigrate to the United States.

We wish you a happy marriage and are offering you this Floo Powder Coupon as your first wedding gift.

congratulations!You are about to embark on the most amazing journey in your life: marriage!

Sincerely,

Ridge Spellman

spearman's speed dating chairman

Ginny looked to the sheet of paper that had come with the letter, and found quite a long list of instructions on it.Her fiancé lived in what the Muggles called Washington, a city called Seattle, which was completely on the other side of the country.After she got to New York, she had to apparate across America again, which would take nearly a full day in total.

They immediately started packing for her, because the wizard said they expected her to arrive in two days.All of Ginny's meager old clothes went into her old Hogwarts trunk, along with a few books, Hermione's class notes, some of her brothers' clothes that she used as pajamas, and Harry's Invisibility cloak.

She took other things from Harry too. "Daddy," she said, handing him a small hand mirror. "It's a two-way mirror, and if you take one side and I take the other, we can talk."

"It's Sirius's, isn't it?" Arthur said, looking at his mirror with interest.

"Yeah, he gave them to Harry. I can't Floo you, and I don't think the Beyond Owl is going to get here, so let's use this, shall we?"

"Okay," Arthur said.He smiled vaguely and pulled her into his arms. "If your mother could see that you are now a beautiful young woman..."

Through methods unknown to Ginny, Arthur got in touch with Tonks and asked her to escort Ginny to the international apparition point used by Spearman's speed-dating.The day after Ginny's letter arrived, the witch arrived early in the morning and tripped over the ugly umbrella on the porch again.Luckily, Mrs. Black had already moved on to another portrait: a portrait of her at Malfoy Manor, where she remained now.

"Hi, Ginny," Tonks said with a faint smile. "Ready to go to America, right?"

"I hope so," Ginny said.She turned to her father. "Now don't forget, Dad—"

"Every Thursday night, yes," he said. "We talk in mirrors, I don't forget. I'm not that old yet."

Ginny smiled and hugged him. "I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Kim."

"I'm sure he'll take good care of you," said Tonks, lifting one end of the suitcase while Ginny lifted the other. "If he doesn't, we'll know, and he's got something to lose!"

Ginny hugged her father one last time, wondering if she'd ever see him again, and Tonks had opened the front door and they were out.

When Ginny's shoe hit the pavement, No. 12 disappeared from sight, but she barely noticed because she was breathing deeply.After all the horrors that had happened in England, she had expected the sun to dim and the weather to be colder than usual, but it was a beautiful early spring day.The sun shone brightly in her eyes, blinding Ginny briefly.

"Come on, Ginny, we can't stay," said Tonks, as she put the suitcase into the boot of an unassuming Muggle car. "You know how to use a concealment spell, don't you?"

"I think I read them in Hermione's notes last month," said Ginny. "But I haven't tried it."

"Okay, get in the car, first cast a camouflage spell on yourself, and then I'll teach you." They got in the car, fastened their seat belts, and when Tonks wanted to change his hair color and face, Ginny cast a few A spell that turns hair nearly black, eyes blue, and removes freckles.

Tonks looked at her, adjusted her nose and mouth, and nodded. "Okay. Cover the signs of magic with a camouflage spell, so that if we meet any Death Eaters - which is quite possible - they'll think this is what we really are. They won't perceive the camouflage spell. Now, all it takes is a fairly simple wand movement—" she flicked her wrist in demonstration,"—and a spell."

"Kajet Totalus," Ginny said.

"Yes. You do it."

Ginny tried twice, but ended up casting a pretty good concealment spell.Tonks cast a Concealing Charm on himself and started the car.

"You can drive something like this?" Ginny asked in surprise.

Tonks shrugged. "Once you get the hang of it, it's not too difficult. Kingsley taught me. Oh!" She patted her forehead and began to rummage in her robes. "I know where they're supposed to be..."

Ginny cringed when she saw the two blue armbands.Tonks yanked them out.

"We need them, Kim," Tonks said firmly, seeing her reaction. "We're going to die if we're found without an armband." She waited until Ginny got one, slipped it around her arm, and then put it on herself.

The journey to the International Apparition Point was relatively uneventful.She recalled busy London streets with few cars and no almonds, and everyone they saw looked startled and hunched over.Tonks was a cautious driver, which surprised Ginny, and they moved slowly through the city with the other sparse Muggle vehicles.

The only interlude on the trip was at Charing Cross Road, not far from the Leaky Cauldron.They heard screaming and yelling first, and then, right on the sidewalk, they saw two Death Eaters playing with a Muggle woman and her teenage daughter.The Death Eaters stopped covering their faces, laughing and revealing their identities openly.The daughter's face was covered in bruises, and the woman was begging the Death Eaters to let her go.

"Don't look, don't look," Tonks muttered, and Ginny tried to look away.All around them, people just go on their way, staring straight ahead as if there wasn't a double murder going on under their noses at all.

The International Apparition point they were going to used to be public, in an old department store, but since the end of the war it had been relocated to a private apartment in Soho.Tonks parked the car on the street outside a dilapidated building on Dean Street, and the two of them got out.After shrinking Ginny's suitcase and putting it in her pocket, they entered the building and went up to the fourth floor.When they went inside, Ginny took off the blue armband and stuffed it into her pocket, and they both removed the camouflage spell from their bodies.

"Kingsley said it was room 439." Tonks murmured in a low voice, and after walking through several quiet corridors, they found that room.Tonks knocked on the door.

The door opened a crack, and Ginny saw a pair of bright little eyes watching them. "What's the matter with you?" said a harsh voice.

"Are you interested in buying a new rug?" Tonks asked.

"We just bought new carpet."

"But these are better," said Tonks, and the doors swung open to reveal a fat, kindly old wizard in pale yellow robes.

"Come in, come in," he said, and they were ushered into an eclectic front parlor.The old wizard closed the door, and Ginny heard him engage several invisible locks. "You must be a Weasley girl," he said, turning to her, his voice friendly now.He smiled. "First time to America?"

"Yes." Ginny admitted.

"Don't worry, honey," he said, leading them further into the apartment. "Many first-timers are apprehensive about the distance to Apparate, but you needn't bother—ah, we're there!"

In the middle of a normal Muggle apartment popped a spartan white room that looked a lot like St. Mungo's hall.There was a long table against one wall, and three hard white chairs opposite.Behind the desk, a bored witch in a pink robe is blowing bubbles out of gum and curling the ends of her hair with her wand.

"Opal!" snapped the old man. "My grandniece," he said apologetically to Tonks and Ginny. "Ex-Ministry of Magic customs officer, but you can't tell. The young lady Opal is leaving for America this morning, and her paperwork needs to be checked."

Ginny took out the forms that Arthur had prepared for her and handed them to Opal. She continued to blow bubbles while checking the paperwork.

"Reasons for leaving England?" she said.

"I—" Ginny felt her face flush. "I'm a mail-order bride."

Opal showed no surprise. "How long do you intend to stay in America?"

"I think indefinitely."

"Aside from personal items, did you bring anything else?"

"Uh, an invisibility cloak and a two-way mirror."

She continued to check, then took out a big red stamp and stamped each piece of paper. "There," Opal said, and for a brief moment Ginny thought she saw pity in the witch's eyes.

"Well, it's time to say goodbye, Kim," said Tonks. "Don't worry about your dad, we'll check on him from time to time."

"us?"

"Me and Kingsley. You don't have to worry about any of us, but don't have too much fun in America and forget about us."

"I won't." Ginny hugged her friend. "I'll miss all of you, every day. Tell if there's news of anyone missing, okay? Like Lupine or Sister Patil?"

Lupine's name dimmed Tonks' eyes slightly, but that was fleeting. "We will. But we're more likely to tell you how they were killed," she said, frowning.

"Where there's a will, there's a way," Ginny said. "Mum always told us that." She gave Tonks a final smile. "Goodbye. Hope we can meet again."

"Of course we'll see you again," said Tonks. "Go now. Apparate into the arms of your Prince Charming." With one last hug, Tonks waved her goodbye and the old wizard led her out.

"This way, please," Opal said, and Ginny followed her into another, smaller white room with a low platform in the center. "That's the apparition point," she explained. "I'll give you the name of the city you're going to - New York - and you'll have to think about New York, the apparition point will do the rest. The US Customs officer will be waiting on the other end, and they'll give you instructions on what to do next." She paused, and Ginny began to take deep breaths to calm herself. "I think you'll be fine," she said suddenly.Ginny watched her. "A lot of the girls who come here as mail-order brides look defeated, but you—you're tenacious."

"Six brothers change girls," said Ginny dryly.

Opal was blowing the bubbles. "War changes girls," she said, and it reminded Ginny of Luna, detached Luna, who always said profound things out of the blue.Luna also survived, helping her father publish The Quibbler every week.

"When you get to New York, it's two in the morning," Opal continued. "They usually don't allow travelers in outside of working hours because the officials hate arriving that late, but because of the war they made an exception for the UK. If you're going anywhere else—"

"Seattle," Ginny said.

"Yes, that's three hours behind New York. Your body clock will be completely confused. It will feel like night, but it will be morning when you arrive." She looked at her watch, but it was no ordinary watch; before she lowered her arm , Ginny saw several planets and constellations. "Okay. They should have it all set up for you. If you've got everything ready, stand on the platform."

Ginny took one last deep breath and stood in the center of the apparition point.Opal gave her an encouraging smile, and this was Ginny's last glimpse of England, her birthplace and home.

Her first impression of America was black.As she regained her breath after the oppressive sensation of Apparating, she noticed that the room she had Apparated into was nearly dark and silent.She was on the alert immediately, and went to get her wand.

"Oh, Merlin," murmured a voice, and suddenly, a bright light shot from the tip of the wand, less than three feet away.A young man's face emerges. "We thought you weren't here. We're practicing right now—"

All the lights suddenly came on, and Ginny briefly went blind again.

"Well, I guess not now," he said, and he extinguished the wand light. "Because you Brits are at war, we've been having drills in case that Voldemort thinks he wants America too."

"But he can't—"

"Yes, but we have to be ready anyway," he said, shrugging. "I must be professional now." He smoothed his robes and straightened himself. "Welcome foreign travelers to the United States. I'm Walter Bunce and I hope you enjoy your travels in our country. Please disembark slowly from the apparition point. If your journey has left you disoriented, we can provide medicine assist."

"I'm fine, thanks," said Ginny, stepping down.

"Very well, I need to see your paperwork." He looked at the form that Opal had just seen, and seemed equally satisfied. "Application for immigration, huh?" he said. "I know it's not just for your health. For the Brits, not anymore, right?" he continued when Ginny said nothing. "Well, it says you're going to Seattle, huh? My grandmother who lives there hates it."

"I'm sure it's lovely there," said Ginny, her heart sinking.

"She said there was too much rain. Anyway—" Bunce waved his wand, and the door opened into a narrow corridor.As they walked through the corridor, he said: "You will face a long apparition, and we will not let the transatlantic traveler continue until the traveler has rested for at least three hours. There is a lounge here. Someone will Come pick you up at the right time for the next Apparation site." He yawned loudly as they entered a large room with rows of beds and chairs. "I'm leaving get off work now. Have a nice trip." He waved his hand and headed back down the corridor.

Ginny walked to the nearest bed and placed her shrunken suitcase on the chair next to it.Even though she knew she wasn't going to fall asleep right away, knowing she had to, she stretched out on the bed. A million thoughts swirled in her head at once: What would her father do at his first breakfast alone?Is George still asleep?Is Tonks safe out there alone?What will her husband be like?

The word made her tremble: husband.She's getting married to a complete stranger.

When she was a child, her mother would always tell her the love story of how she met Arthur Weasley. "I always thought, how handsome he is in his Quidditch robes," said Molly, giggling like a little girl as she mended one of the twins' other trousers. "One day, after Gryffindor won the Hufflepuff game beautifully, I worked up the courage to speak to him..."

Ginny wasn't afraid of that kind of girlish feeling in her heart, she dreamed about how she would meet her future husband.He would be handsome, good, kind, brave, and he would be totally devoted to her, and she would be the same.When Ron started going to Hogwarts, when she first met Harry at the train station, she had been convinced that he was meant to be.And now... Now, he is gone, and also took away her dream of happiness from now on.

She must have fallen asleep without knowing it, because she was shaken awake by a tired witch whose hair was more disheveled than Hermione's. "Hello, hello," she said quickly, as Ginny grabbed her suitcase and stood up. "Frida Mellon, nice to meet you. I don't like waking up so early, let's go." She turned and started walking down the corridor; Ginny had to trot to keep up.

"I hope you've had enough rest," Frieda said, wringing her hands in worry. "Terrible things happen when you Apparate without resting. Terrible things, I've seen." She nodded.

"I'm fine," Ginny said.

"Here." They turned abruptly toward a door that read "Illinois" in faded blue letters, leading into a room similar to the one in London.The difference is that the platform here is a bit smaller.

"Okay, go up, go up." Frieda backed up and Ginny stood up again. "You're going to the next time zone, to Chicago. Thinking of Chicago. And you go."

Ginny immediately Apparated and found herself in another drab white room.

"Geneva M. Weasley from London," said a cold voice, and Ginny saw a gray-haired witch with a wart on her forehead holding a clipboard.

"Well, it's Genevieve."

"Okay, go to the break room. We're full today, lucky you. It'll be about six hours before you apparate to Denver. You'll be hungry, here's your meal ticket." Ginny found her hands full Got a coupon for a free meal at a place called The Butter Churner.

She had never seen so many people in one place, not even before the war ended.Wizards of all races and ages came and went in a large room with various shops and restaurants - Ginny remembered that Muggles called it an emporium.As she walked through it, she must have heard at least half a dozen different languages, all in angry tones.She must not be the only one whose Apparation has been delayed for so long.

At ten o'clock local time, Ginny was called over the loudspeaker, this time by another friendly customs officer who escorted her to the Denver apparition point and wished her luck.

"We're trying to organize something, you know," he said when Ginny was about to Apparate. "We don't want Voldemort coming to power."

"Thank you, England." Ginny said, and in the blink of an eye, she had arrived in Denver, Colorado.

After more delays, more annoyingly necessary breaks ("You're going to Apparate a few thousand miles today, you need to rest as much as you can!"), more irritated customs officers, and a paperwork check or two later, Ginny is finally in Arrived in Seattle at eleven in the morning, but it felt like seven in the evening to her.A very thin old man greeted her at the apparition point, and when she stepped off the platform he reached out his hand rather graciously to help her.

"You must be our English traveler, aren't you?" he asked kindly.

"Yes," she said, and she showed him all the proper paperwork.

"Your master is waiting for you," he said, leading her into an open office where several officers in navy-blue robes sat behind desks or spoke rapidly into their shorthand quills. "He was a lovely young man, charming and thoughtful."

Ginny's heart clenched in pain.coming.She was going to see him.

"He only wants the best for you, all in a private Apparating room."

That's why she didn't see the others Apparate.She thought it was odd.

"I think he'll be nice to you," said the old wizard, and he smiled reassuringly at her. "You know, I'm pretty good at judging people."

"Thank you," murmured Ginny, and she gave him a nervous smile.

When they got to the big lounge, she was surprised — the tall windows that lined one wall showed that it was still raining outside — that the customs officials didn't stop. "Want to use one of our private waiting rooms," he explained to her silent question. "Told us he thought it would be an emotionally intense meeting and didn't want everyone to see it."

Ginny had only ever met one wizard who wanted the best in everything.There was only one, but he was long dead, and his body was never found.

"Here you are, I hope you enjoy living in Seattle."

Ginny thanked the old wizard and waited until he had returned to the main lounge before reaching out a trembling hand and turning the doorknob.

One wall of the waiting room is full of windows, and it showcases the stunning skyline of Seattle in the rain, with the Space Needle towering at one end.He faced it, hands clasped behind the back of his fine wool robe.Her first impression was that he was a giant - almost as tall as Ron - but his body was lean and strong.He has a commanding air about him, like he's used to being in control and enjoys it.With a loud click, she closed the door behind her when she noticed his long pale blond hair.

He turned around and smirked at her.

"A real weasel girl."

"Malfoy?"