The Ministry really was being very helpful, Tapendra told himself. The way they had people taking luggage overseas for all of them was very handy. He just wasn't too happy to hand most of his stuff over, and had stuffed most of his sensitive items - mostly paperwork - into the backpack he wore over one shoulder.

The cats were at the White's, his car being driven back to his home by Ryan after his fiend had driven both Tapendra and the girls to the station. Their luggage had been unpacked and most of it handed over. All that, and Tapendra didn't feel fully awake yet. Judging by  how much Georgiana kept yawning, she wasn't either.

The platform at King's Cross had been few crowded when everyone had arrived to get ready to leave. The Ministry had been there, mostly to handle the Portkeys, and that didn't help the crowding, of course. The portkey's objects had been...bizarre but practical choices, given the amount of people on each one. They'd been set to go off in 5 minute intervals, and Tapendra had wound up on the first one, a long length of PVC pipe that made it an easy grip for the students with him.

"Ready, everyone?" he asked, as the clock ticked towards the departure time. He eyed the second hand, his spare hand on Cyhirae's shoulder. "Remember, we'll have to walk to the hotel-" he started, and then the clock ticked over to 8:10am.

There was a lurch, and the platform was gone as all of them were thrown off their feet.

The pipe started to spin, the Portkey's magic yanking all of them forward by the navel and into a sudden and abrupt spin. The platform swirled around them too, vanishing into a vortex, Tapendra's hair blasting in the whipping winds. It was confusing, dazzling and difficult as all hell to focus and stop from being sick -

But he had to pay attention.

"Get ready!" He yelled, but it felt like his voice didn't get far, lost in the chaos. Some of the students wrre screaming, some in fear and some in what sounded like a rush of adrenalin. He'd barely had to time to say anything when the colors around them started to shift, blue replacing the grey of Britan's skies, yellow starting to appear. His backpack was coming loose  and he shifted, trying to stop it. He took his hand off Cyhirae's shoulder, thought he heard her yell "Daddy!"-

His feet hit sand and he lost his balance, rolling, and wound up on his back on the beach. Tapendra might have stopped spinning, but the world hadn't; he let his eyes fall closed, trying to get his wits back and not throw up.

Then something heavy landed on his stomach at the same time as water washed up around his head. The breath blasted from his body, and he sat up on reflex, groaning. The heavy object turned out to be Cyhirae, and the water was the sea - the beating sound in his head was actually waves. The cool water actually felt extremely good...and helped with the nausea.

He got to his feet, glad his backpack had escaped the surf. He patted Cyhirae on the head, looking around. In the distance were the skyscrapers of what he assumed was Alexandria. The section of beach they were on was relatively empty, and a resort was nearby - its own beach much more crowded. Wizarding barriers. How handy.

"Everyone alright?" he asked the students, trying in vain to brush wet sand off his pants.

Ananke had packed a simple backpack with a few pieces of clothing that easily compacted itself into her backpack, which was buckled around her waist. It was exhilarating to be traveling again, because after being cooped up inside a castle for such a long time Ananke could only mentally sift through the research prospects and informational places they would be going to in Egypt, and wonder if there'd be anything new to pour her brain over.

Of course, she was sure the children weren't so interested in everything like she was. "Come along now, don't dawdle," Ananke chirped as she crawled onto the ground and reached over to the portkey she was traveling by. It was, quite unimaginatively, a bright-colored bucket, easy to grasp but painfully too relevant to where they were to be transported to.

After the next five minute interval the children began to line up around her portkey as she began yelling off advice, "Once you are up, you will need to try and run or walk," she was sure they would understand it when it happened and if not, "Or make sure your butt is facing the ground--" Ananke was cutoff as her and the children around her portkey were thrown into the air as their chilly surroundings sparked into a beating warmth whipped with a cool breeze. The ocean stretched and spun out into the distance as the Divination professor finally yelled, "Now let go!"

One by one, the children let go, and after the last one had done so Ananke followed suit as her red hair flew over her head and she turned herself upright and began peddling her feet like she were on a bicycle. She heard a few "Oomfs!" as she zoomed to a hovering halt and gentle peddled her way into a casual walk on the beach.

"One-two-three... six--" The robust witch casually tapped her finger in each direction of each child from her portkey before she loudly and casually chirpped, "Yes, got all mine--come on now get up," Ananke bent down to pick up one of the nearest frazzled students and pull them up by the arm.

“Are you absolutely sure that you packed everything, Balthazar?”

“Yes, Aunt Naimh,” said Alvis, and winced at the heavy, old-fashioned intonation of his own middle name. Great Aunt Naimh, like both of his grandparents and their friends, had called Alvis by that name since before he could pronounce it. Back home in Adderly, it seemed affectionate; here at King’s Cross, with his classmates in-range, it made him mourn for the loss of what minuscule social status he’d managed to pull together during the school year.

Still, he didn’t regret inviting his great-aunt along as a chaperone for this trip; not really. He loved Niamh as much as any of his relatives, and of the lot of them, she was easily the most fun. Despite being nearly 90 years old, the little old witch hadn’t slowed down a single day. She still got up early, could run for miles, and loved to travel. If anyone were suited to helping their teachers keep a mob of students in line, it was her.

Once they’d passed their bags – except for Alvis’s backpack – off to the waiting Ministry wizards, they shuffled over for a chance at the Portkeys. After a lot of shoving, apologies, and reorganization, Alvis and his aunt somehow wound up at the end of a long piece of PVC pipe, just four people over from Professor Trishna. Alvis caught sight of him over a fellow student’s shoulder and, next to him, a glimpse of Cyhirae, which made his ears burn with blush.

“Something wrong dear?” asked Aunt Naimh, pressing her free hand to his forehead. “You look flushed.”

“It’s nothing,” Alvis mumbled, and gripped the pipe as he stared, embarrassed, at his own shoes.

With a sudden jerk, he was dragged off his feet, and the floor of King’s Cross disappeared. For a few chaotic moments, all he could understand were the colors, the rushing wind, and the screams of his fellow students. Then, he his feet hit unstable ground and he fell.

“Ow!” he yelped, and got a mouthful of sand. He’d turned his ankle on the landing, and while it wasn’t actually injured, at the moment it hurt like hell. He roll onto his back and sat up, rubbing at it in annoyance.

Above him, Aunt Naimh was still standing, holding the pipe and looking wind-swept, but grinning like a loon. “Nothing like a Portkey,” she chirped. “Fastest way to get anywhere.”

Naomi had been patiently waiting around a portkey with Veronica and Abby, because they were two of the only reasons they were there. Veronica had thought it would be a great idea and Abby owled her about it everyday until the little Jamaican finally gave in.

Rather than deal with baggage Naomi just kept all of her things packed into her small hobo tote, altered to hang on her shoulders like a little drawstring bag and enchanted with an undetectable extension charm to fit everything she wanted inside of it. The only thing that had gone with her as luggage was her Kaz, her father's haphazard falcon, but he had been sent to the hotel ahead of time.

 Once the time came Naomi laid herself out on the ground by the portkey, keeping her wrap-dress and leggings clean as she wiggled her bare feet and waited for her group to be suddenly rocketed into the air until there world spun into a different place. The little witch loved portkeys, mostly because they took her back to Jamaica, but the sudden heat of the summer sun beating against her skin and the Egyptian beach breeze lashing at her hair was just as good.

Naomi let go of the portkey and leaned up to swing her legs back and forth before she was promptly dropped to the sandy beach and rolled back onto her butt. She swung her bag around and began fishing out some sandals as she looked back at her fallen friends and asked, "T'ink we can sneak a dip 'fore we go to the hotel?"

Cyhirae yawned in time with her aunt as they waited for the ministry guys to give her father their group's porkey.  She hadn't slept that well, mostly because she had been too excited, and was now regretting not forcing herself to sleep earlier. She glued herself to her father's side, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Finally her father was handed a length of pipe. She stood to his right gripping the pipe tightly, her father's hand on her shoulder. She waited nervously and was about to ask her father how much longer when she felt a pull behind her navel and everything began to spin. Her bangs flew about, and Cyhirae was glad her father had made her put her hair up before they left.

Her father's hand, which had been a steady weight the entire time, suddenly vanished. Cyhirae whipped her head around trying to see him and lost her grip on the pipe. Flying backwards feet first Cy cried out, "Daddy." She landed on something soft on her back, and lay there for what felt like a while trying to catch her breath.

As she lay there, Cyhriae vowed to never travel by portkey again. Whatever she had was groaned and sat up causing her to roll over. Cy stared up at clear blue sky and her father's chin before he looked down at her with a weak smile. Embarrassed, she scrambled off his lap, allowing him to get up.

She grabbed her back pack from the sand and dusted it off before putting it back on. Cyhirae glanced around for Gigi but was stopped by the arrival of another group. With more people soon to be popping in Cy decided it would be best to get out of the way before she got crushed like her father. "Daddy I'm going over there," she called, pointing to a spot a few meters away from the surf and in the direction of the hotels. As she walked every so often she would stop and pull off one of her flats to shake the hot sand out of it.

Holiday wear

Raine Almasy crossed onto the Kings Cross platform by herself this morning, leaving her Governess behind in the muggle station. Goodbyes at the household, as usual, had been brief and formal. Mama may have embraced her for a second or so longer than she normally does. McGregor's parting words had been to remind her to put on sunblock once she got to Alexandria, which was fair enough advice and far more practical than a hug.

Still, it felt like an anticlimactic farewell for her first lone trip abroad. No parents, no governess, no sister. Raine nearly collided with a pair of ministry workers when she got onto the platform, though she very swiftly avoided them and managed to find herself behind a group of students gathered around the Hogwarts Divination professor, Cosmos. Convenient. The teacher was having them gather around bucket on the ground and she was giving them advice on how to manage the Portkey journey. Raine joined the others in holding  the rim, her free hand gripping tightly onto the strap of the satchel she had slung across herself. She had done the Portkey trial with her parents many times before for the infrequent family reunion, and knew that belongings had a way of flinging off during that initial jerk. Some of the other students were doing the same and nervous glances were exchanged as their teacher prattled on.

"...make sure your butt is facing the ground--" Professor Cosmos, if she had anything else to say, was halted abruptly by the pull of the Portkey and Raine immediately felt herself thrown into groundless space. The cloudy dampness of Kings Cross station dissolved into clear heat. Humidity, the Gryffindor barely had time to register as a startling cerulean sky came into sight. Or was that the sea? "Now let go!" Cosmos' voice cut through the sounds of confused exclamations and Raine forced herself to release the Portkey as she broke into a jog, legs moving on instinct.

SPLASH

She landed at a terrific pace, moving in a light jog right along the shore where sand met sea. The water surprised her and she fell forward on all fours with another splash, geting her sleeves and the shins of her trousers completely soaked.

Oddly enough, her hat was still inplace. Raine stood and straightened herself, sighing at the condition of her clothes. It would dry, she supposed. Blinking in the glare of the Egyptian sun, she turned away from the ocean to see how everyone else had landed. The earlier group, Professor Trishna's, was still collecting itself. Cosmos appeared to be in impeccable condition. Raine dragged herself out of the water and inland, hoping that her shoes would dry off by the time they reached the hotel.  The luggage cart was up ahead and little Cyhirae was sitting on it with a patient look. Raine stopped short of reaching the cart and just dropped to the ground, facing the shore in anticipation of the other arrivals. As she waited, she took of her shoes, rolled up her trouser cuffs and leaned back on her hands, smiling very faintly.

Winifred was thrilled to be going to Egypt. She was even more thrilled that her father was going to help chaperone. He had made sure that she and her brothers had everything packed, and her mother had ensured all of their clothing was culturally appropriate- and that they would fit in well with Muggle Egypt. Winnie had a feeling their clothes would be the most inconspicuous (apart from actual muggle borns) since her mother did work for the muggle worthy excuse committee.

She was excited to be travelling by portkey- but also worried. Apparition had not gone over so well with her. Her eyes closed when it was time, and she was being flung through the air. When they were in Egypt she was one of many laying down in the sound- and she was one of the few who just had to get sick. (Not that it was surprising, considering how she had reacted to the apparition lesson.)

Her father also got sick- but her brothers were fine. He handed her a stick of minty gum, though, which she was thankful for.

"Wow," she said quietly, now that she could get a proper look around. The beach was beautiful and she was still having a hard time believing that she was here. "Look at the beach, dad!" she said, pointing to the water. "It's so pretty!" Winifred had never been to a proper beach before- in fact, she'd never even seen the ocean, it just wasn't something her family ever did or had the time or money to do. "I can't believe it!"   

She looked to Professor Trishna with a smile, "Do we get to actually touch the ocean?" she asked excitedly.

Baxter had been torn about going on the trip. He had been looking forward to spending the summer with his father- but his dad had encouraged him to go. It was a great chance to visit Egypt, to learn, to see the pyramids and tombs- and it was going to be a trip to remember. Besides, there would be summer left whenever he returned to England. He would be able to spend the last of the summer with his dad, and then it would be back to Hogwarts for his fourth year and to see the tournament unfold- what a year!

A few students had commented on Baxter's lack of hair. Just a week ago his father had talked him into cutting it all off, and he was glad to have followed the advice. It was more comfortable in the heat, and he had a feeling that it would pay off while he spent the next month in and out of the desert.

His mother and father had both helped him pack for the trip. He had everything on the list and more, and had been surprised at the amount of money his parents had given him for shopping. They both knew that he liked to buy things, and he'd probably want a lot of souvenirs- his mother also had a feeling that Baxter would end up spending some money on presents for his family, Baxter was thoughtful that way. (And, though he didn't know it, Tapendra had been entrusted with some back up funds in case Baxter lost his or spent it all.)

The portkey had jerked him by the navel, and it was a very unsettling feeling. Unpleasant even. He, like the others, found himself falling back onto his butt when they landed in Egypt. He stood up, dusting off the seat of pants and shaking sand off of his shirt. Baxter ran a hand over his head, knocking more sand out of his hair and then paused, taking a look at what was going on around him. He watched the other students take in the scene, and couldn't help but chuckle when Winifred asked if they were going to get to touch the ocean.

"--never been to Egypt, mind you, but m'boy Foster went there for an exhibition match in Cairo, said there was so much sand everywhere it was clogging the bristles of his broom! Reminds me of the time a chap in Stanton reverse charmed a vacuum cleaner, nasty dust all over the place--"

Philo rolled his eyes. His father Frederick had taken him to the station on the way to work and was busy chatting with one of the ministry workers collecting the luggage. Philo's trunk was largely unchanged from the school year except for more summer clothing and fewer books. Plus a cantankerous carpet folded at the bottom that was at least remaining still for once. Philo was a little nervous when the trunk was placed on a cart with the other luggage. He hadn't told his dad that he had wound up with a magic carpet near the end of term. Over dinner the other night, Philo obliquely asked his Dad about the Flying Carpet ban, since he worked in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. The main purpose of the ban, and the MMAO in general, was to prevent the recent enchanting of muggle objects that could find their way back into muggle hands. Hypothetically, an old wizarding relic magically made before the modern day would not propose any violations, as long as it remained in a wizarding household. The main worry was Flying Carpets traveled much slower than brooms and thus carpet and rider were highly visible. But it was mostly a cultural thing, as only the UK had such a ban.

Philo was wearing a loose blue shirt, brown shorts and socks tucked into his boots to prevent sand from getting in. His satchel side bag had the most import things; a copy of the itinerary, Arlaug, a hat and several sunscreen potions. As the crowd gathered on Platform 9 3/4 Philo was rubbing one such lotion on his exposed skin. It was an odd feeling, being back on the platform so soon after the end of a school term. The only thing missing was the Hogwarts Express engine, he had always thought it just sat there the whole summer until autumn.

As the professors began to give instructions, Philo shuffled over towards Professor Trishna's group and some recognized Ravenclaws for familiarity. Philo fumbled to get the sunscreen potion into the bag as the time grew close on the sending of the pipe portkey. Philo gripped the end of the pipe...

...and his hand, slick from applying the potion, nearly lost its grip just as the clock struck 8:10. Philo had the horrible imagining of falling off partway through the portkey's journey, a fate worse than splinching as his body would rip apart and vaporize in the atmosphere from here to Egypt. Somehow he managed to stay connected to the portkey by only his fingertips until the beach at Egypt. His legs and free arm had been flopping pell-mell through all the spinning so when the party landed Philo found himself running for several yards along the coast, fighting for balance until he lost momentum. He could finally breathe again.

Squinting in the harsh light, Philo skimmed the shore and distant buildings. Even for the potion applied earlier he felt like he was frying, maybe he missed a spot. Halfway back the length of his jog to the portkey gathering was his satchel, flung off his arm upon landing. Philo signaled to Professor Trishna that he was fine then crouched by the bag to pull out another sunscreen potion.

Opening the bag unleashed a torrent of obscene cacophony. Apparently Arlaug hadn't taken kindly to travel by portkey. "HOLY BLOODY #*&^$@*^%!!?--"

Philo quickly closed the bag, and shoved it a bit further into the sand to muffle the sounds from his Swear Frog.

Ambrose had ended up on his back waiting for the world to stop spinning. When it did, he clambered to his feet in the sand, and looked around himself.

"Wow!" He exclaimed, not noticing he was covered in sand still from his landing, or that the Olivers had been sick, and somewhere a frog was yelling obscenities. He'd never used a portkey, especially not one to a foreign country.
"Its so warm!" Ambrose realised next, and spun round in the sand, somewhat lost for words for a moment.

So foreign, so strange, and as he looked at the drainpipe, he realised, so very very far from home - from his Dad, his brother Tim, his cousins, and his Mum in hospital. He'd never been away without any of them. Theta and his other cousins had always been at school when he'd been there. A feeling of realisation and homesickness suddenly swept him, but as he looked around at the familiar faces - it subsided, especially as he looked at Freddie exclaiming to her father about the surroundings.

"Its so pretty!" Freddie exclaimed, and Ambrose, lost for words, only thought to himself just like you and let her continue to fire questions.
"Is it warm?" Ambrose asked, meaning the water, and walked forwards curiously, with a hand outstretched near his feet to feel the temperature.

Josh had landed on his feet from the portkey, and immediatly scanned his surroundings. yes, he was somewhat paranoid in a new place. Checking, his wand was firmly in it's holster, then he looked for hsi brother, Cahrles, who was also on the trip. spotting him, and seeing his brother was safe, he relaxed, allowing himself to appreciate the beauty of egypt. He saw Winnifred was interested in the ocean, Raine Almsy relaxing by the cart, and the usual chaos inherent on nay out-of-school trip. "I'm sure you'll get the chance to go for a dip in the sea later, Winnie" Josh called out to the enthusiastic girl. Smiling slightly, he remembered the times he had tutored her. sure, she still wasn't brilliant, but had made some progress.

The Reid sisters were well prepared for this trip to Egypt. Aileen had double-checked their luggage about a dozen times, lectured Abby about keeping to the group and other safety measures, and sneaked in two more sunblock potions into Abby's purse when she wasn't looking. Abby's priorities, of course, involved bringing along her new mobile, her extra large sunglasses and hat, and swim suit.

After a hectic start at King's Cross and lots of confusion and bickering, they arrived on the shore via portkey. Abby had clutched onto Naomi at the last minute, and Aileen had grabbed a hold of Abby, and thankfully they'd landed on dry sand. Abby promptly fell on her bum in a fit of giggles while Aileen stood and brushed sand off her shoes.

Though Aileen had never been to this particular beach before, she was used to the heat and the sea breeze from previous trips to Egypt, and glanced around with a smile. The picturesque scene was suddenly interrupted by a flurry of croaked curses.

Aileen gave the small boy with the foul-mouthed bag a warning look, hoping whatever was in there wouldn't be a problem among muggles. There was a reason she'd insisted on boarding the pets in England, no matter how much Abby complained.

The excitement from the third-years was cute, though. " Once everyone is here, we'll be walking to the hotel," she reminded them. "But in the meantime you may dip your feet in the water. Look, Professor Trishna's already got a head start," she glanced at him trying to wipe off the wet sand and stifled a snicker.

Aileen kept an eye on Abby and Naomi, and waited to see if any students needed help.

---

Abby had spent the past few minutes stealthily inching away from her sister so she and Naomi could chat on their own.

"No, silly, we're only allowed to 'dip our feet in'," Abby mimicked her sister with a giggle and took off her shoes.

She liked the idea though! Abby rolled up her trousers to above her knees and started for the water, glancing back and gesturing at Naomi to follow.

Vulpes had only traveled by portkey once in his life time. And from what he remembered it was none too pleasant. Still, there was no other way for him to get to Egypt by the look of things. And if he didn't go, Cytherea wouldn't be allowed to go... and she really wanted to go to Egypt.

So with a heavy sigh of dread Vulpes gripped the portkey with one hand, and linked arms with Cytherea to ensure she didn't get lost. Suddenly there was a lurch as he was pulled away from London into whatever dimension portkey's took you for transportation. He cast a glance at his sister whom seemed to be enjoying her self thoroughly.

Letting go when instructed, Vulpes let go and found himself landing rather awkwardly on the sandy beach. Instincts took over, and quickly he rolled to his feet. Amazingly his hat and his headphones managed to stay on. Brushing the sand off his clothes he turned to look at his sister, whom seemed to be cheering.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it, Cythe- oh my God..."

Cytherea who had been quite enjoying the ride was somewhat disappointed when told to let go. Oh well, nothing lasted forever, she supposed. Like her brother she landed roughly on the sandy beach. Unlike him she landed flat on her stomach and had the wind knocked out of her.

Not that it slowed her down any, as she immediately sprung up onto her feet and cheered. "That was so fun! Lets go again! I want-" she stopped suddenly and looked blankly at Vulpes. Suddenly she realized just how dizzy she was. Wobbling for a moment, Cytherea took a few nauseous steps to the side.

And threw up in the sand.

Tapendra gave up on trying to get rid of all the sand, and settled for removing his shoes. Even if that did mean he was standing barefoot on the hot sand. He hopped from foot to foot until he got used to it, the cooler sand by the surf line helping.

Two more groups arrived as Tapendra walked through his group, sorting them out. He'd found his wand (thankfully, not lost in the whirlwind of portkey travel) and that took care of most of the sand, water - and in a few cases, vomit - that has coated many of them during and because of their arrival.

Aileen's jab earned her a very quick glare before he smiled down at the student he was currently helping clean off. "I like to get into the spirit of things, unlike some people who take everything seriously," he told the second year, who just nodded hopefully.

"Don't wade in too deep, girls," he added, as he headed for the luggage cart. "And don't get too sandy. We don't need to track sand and water all over the hotel right away, do we?" And there might be sharks, right? They had those here, didn't they? Not worth saying yet, of course.

"Go ahead and wade, Oliver," he added, putting his backpack on the cart. He looked down at Raine, who was sat there. "Feeling alright, Almasy?" he asked, as he banged his shoes together to get the sand off of them and stuffed them in his backpack.