After pushing aside certain thoughts, Hermione mentioned her idea to just transfigure money and Ginny was surprisingly okay with it and, in the older witch's opinion, went overboard.
"Really Gin? When are you gonna have time to wear all of this?" She gestured towards the shopping bags full of clothes. "
I know we'll only be here a few more days but having options never hurts."
"Okay fair enough but where exactly are you going to put it all? I mean our current residence doesn't have a usable closet."
Ginny grinned and pointed at a building near the beach. "No, but our new one does."
The brunette's eyes followed her finger, "A hotel?"
The redhead nodded enthusiastically, "Yup!"
"Ginny you know we can't make the transfigured item hold long enough for that to work. Maybe for one night if we're lucky."
"True but your transfiguration idea gave me one of my own, see." She held up a card. A credit card.
Hermione grabbed it, "This looks and feels real, but it won't work. The numbers-"
"Good thing it's an exact copy of somebody else's apart from the name then, huh?" Ginny snickered smugly.
"How-no when did you get your hands on some else's card?"
"I wasn't just trying on clothes earlier. So let's get a room! I'm dying for a real bath."
The bushy-haired girl reminded herself that identity theft in a world that was only temporary wouldn't really affect someone in the long run so she grudgingly went with it. "Fine but one of us needs to create an ID with this person's name," Hermione paused to look at the name and was grateful it was a woman's name, "Iris Hale."
"Okay Hermione, or should I say Iris? Hurry it up. I can hear the shower calling my name."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Not that simple. I have no idea what American IDs in the eighties look like, so that shower will just have to keep calling you until I find out."
Ginny groaned, "Can't we just summon someone's ID and be done with it?"
"Sure, if you wanna explain to the people who witness a flying piece of plastic the reason that it's flying."
"The wind?" Ginny suggested with a coy grin.
Hermione gave her a look of irritation. "Come on. You got a hold of the credit card to make a realistic copy without notice. I'm sure between the two of us we can see what an ID looks like."
"Yeah... but I really want to wash my hair now," the redhead whined as she tugged on a piece of her limp hair to emphasize her point.
"Well, the sooner you stop complaining the sooner your hair will get washed."
Hermione turned and walked away having said that. The ginger followed but she wasn't happy about it and made it known quietly so as not to hamper their chances of sneakily snagging an ID from someone temporarily.
-
Ginny was probably happier than she'd been since she arrived in this weird and awful place as the young witch was now freshly showered and dressed in a sexy but comfortable set of PJs atop of a real bed. Yes, she was just about in heaven for the moment as she laid stretched out on her stomach flipping through the telly channels mindlessly.
Hermione, who had just exited the bathroom to find her friend lounging around in her PJs, nearly scolded her for it but ultimately didn't because they still had a couple hours left until they needed to get to Michael's house. Relaxing was probably a good idea to help de-stress themselves.
Without further ado the brunette followed suit and dressed comfortably but also in clothes suitable to go out in. It was similar to what she wore the previous night because there was no telling what would happen in the later part of the night.
For now though, the girl sat down with her new brush in front of the mirror. After two nights sleeping in the dirt and having ridden on the back of a motorcycle the witch could tell her hair wasn't happy with her. Magic could only accomplish so much. It was times like this that she wished for her wizarding world hair products, or at least muggle ones from the late nineties instead of the things Ginny bought for her.
Her brown eyes flicked to the cans of hairspray but away again just as fast. She didn't need volume or something to make her hair anymore uncontrollable than it already was. Ginny wasn't wrong about her hair fitting in here but still old habits and all.
"Let me do it."
Hermione nearly jumped as the other snuck up behind her. "What?"
"Your hair. I'll fix it up for you." The redhead gestured to the other girl's hair to emphasize her words.
"You mean you'll make it even more eighties-like," Hermione shot back.
"Well, I don't know if that's possible," she joked causing the older girl to contemplate the wisdom in allowing it before giving in.
"Fine... do whatever." Hermione held out the hairbrush to her and the girl happily took it before also grabbing the bag of hairspray.
"Don't go overboard though," she warned with a stern expression, hoping it had the same effect as her favorite professor. Judging by the gleeful and mischievous look in the redhead's eyes it didn't.
"Of course, don't worry. I know what I'm doing," she reassured her.
"Somehow, I'm not reassured," Hermione deadpanned.
"Oh, shush. You'll love it when I'm finished," the girl stated confident of her abilities.
Love it was quite a bold promise but by the time she was finished over an hour later Hermione decided that she didn't hate it.
-
The two witches found themselves outside of Michael's house just before dark, having decided to both wait it out and see if the Lost Boys showed up to do their intimidating bike show as well as see if their magic could hide them from said boys. Hopefully it would, because that would not only be a good thing to know but it would certainly move their plan along in the way they wanted it to. Who knew how the boys would react to the two of them hanging around outside the dwelling of their newest addition to their little vampire gang.
Watching the sun go down in silence with each other was a first but it wasn't a bad one. Still, after the colors faded and the stars appeared Ginny started to grow bored, she'd spent many long hours looking at the stars in Astronomy class after all.
Hermione passed her time by mentally naming the constellations while her fellow time-traveler dozed lightly against her shoulder only to be jolted awake when the sounds of motorbikes hit her ears.
She caught Hermione's eyes and held them for a moment until laughter and shouts, along with bright headlights, filled the area. It was actually scarier in person than just watching it through a scene the redhead decided, while gripping the other girl's arm a bit too tightly. The older witch didn't complain. It unnerved her too.
Soon it was over, and the pair looked towards the door to see Michael looking outside unaware that they were there. In fact, he was also unaware that the vampires were watching his every move as well before the door closed.
Ginny nearly spoke but the other girl's hand quickly covered her mouth because, while the spell seemed to be holding right now, who knew if that extended to their voice. Better not have to find out.
Hermione's eyes darted around because, while she didn't see them, she was sure that they were still there. The witch didn't know how but she just knew it. Ginny stared at her curiously and then looked around. She didn't see or feel anything unusual and was starting to wonder if it was just the other girl being paranoid.
Then the hand pressing itself against her mouth fell away. "They're gone."
Ginny rolled her eyes, "I can see that."
Hermione looked at her and then vaguely wondered why the other girl didn't notice what she did but shrugged it off as left-over instincts from the war and instead asked, "Okay, so you know the plan now, right?"
"Yeah, apparate inside and grab Michael after he drops the milk but before he goes all 'grr' on his kid brother. Then drop him in an area with humans and watch him eat them from a distance... Man this is messed up."
"It is, but it was also your idea," Hermione reminded the paling girl.
"I didn't think we'd have to watch it though!" Ginny said for the umpteenth time.
"It's the only way to know for sure if it worked."
"I know and that's the only reason I'm agreeing to be that close to a vampire buffet again."
Ginny wanted this night to be over with already. At least she had a nice bed ready for her by the end of it. Even so, after tonight even a bed might not help her sleep. So far she hadn't really had any nightmares so that was something. How long it would last the girl couldn't say.
Hermione grabbed the redhead's arm and with a bite to her lip and a slight taste of blood she and Ginny appeared in Sam's room. They'd thought it through and decided even if he was unfortunately in there at the time that he'd be the easiest to cast a memory charm on.
Luckily for them, he wasn't so the two girls looked around the room.
It was the same as the movie from the posters to the comic books lying about, even the vampire comic was there. Wait... Hermione's eyes widened.
"Ginny look!" She quickly snatched up the comic off of the bed and showed the other girl.
"How'd he get this?" The younger girl was equally perplexed.
"I don't know... could we have missed some. Maybe they keep extras in the back or behind the counter. I should've thought of that. There's even a phone number written on the back," Hermione said beating herself up.
"How he got it isn't important. What is, is that he no longer has it."
With that Ginny took it from her and rolled it up and sticking it inside of the purse she insisted on carrying for the night because it matched her outfit. Hermione had thought it'd be more of a hindrance before but now it proved useful.
"Downstairs next?" Ginny asked getting a nod in return.
The two quietly stepped into the hallway and slowly made their way past the bathroom door. From the off-key singing they could safely assume that they're about where they wanted to be at.
Peering down the stairs, neither saw Michael yet but it was only a matter of time. A scratching sound made Ginny quietly swear and whisper about the dog, so the two hurried down the stairs as fast and quietly as they could only to see Michael come into view as they neared the bottom.
Instead of asking them who they are and what they were doing in his house like most teenagers, he was completely consumed by instinct. His whole posture radiated an intense aura like that of a hungry predator.
Hermione was the first to react out of the three of them. She quickly grabbed both Ginny's arm and the half vampire's and side-along apparated with the both of them to a beach and, once there, let go of Michael's arm. He was a bit dazed from the strange method of travel but even out of it he was hungry looking. He jumped at the first food source available, which was them, only to miss when Ginny pulled Hermione back just enough to avoid the now feral Michael. The brunette witch used apparation again to make them appear much farther away but still in seeing distance.
All the while, the group of beach people who had previously been partying and had witnessed this were confused. They didn't know how to react or were too drunk to react correctly. That is until Michael latched onto the closest one in a hungered frenzy and started to feed for the first time.
Ginny looked away and stuttered, "S-see easy solution we'll be home in no time." The screams made her flinch and tug at Hermione. "It worked so let's go."
The brunette shook her head, "Some of the people are getting away."
"Good for them," Ginny told her but didn't stop her tugging, "let's follow their example."
"The ones that get away need to have their memories wiped."
Ginny laughed in a hollow tone, "Really? You're worried about secrecy in this world too?"
"Until we can leave we need to keep up appearances. You go back to the hotel. I'll make sure to erase the witnesses' memories."
Ginny shook her head, "You're totally crazy! That vampire over there is bloodthirsty and will try to eat you if we stick around."
"Probably," Hermione bit her lip and looked at her friend. "You should go now before I put up the barrier."
"This wasn't part of the plan," the redhead frowned.
"It was, but I just didn't tell you about it knowing that you wouldn't agree to it." Ginny glared at the other girl before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "I'll be quick. A few memory spells and then the barrier is gone and the fleeing people will still run in fright because they'll think someone is attacking them with a knife. That's all they'll know. Look there's no time left to debate this."
Michael was already on his second person and closer to them now. Not to mention that the other five she had counted were getting farther as time passed.
Ginny opened her eyes in defeat. "You're right," then she bit her lip hard enough for Hermione to see the blood start to well up. Several bright lights rendered the rest of the partygoers unable to move.
"Problem solved," Ginny told her licking her bleeding lips.
Hermione looked around and gasped, "You stunned them..."
Sure, she could remove their memories easier this way but what good would it do if they couldn't move in time to get away from the vampire? Surely, he wouldn't be able to feed on them all though, so that may still save them.
"Hermione lets go," Ginny said eyeing the vampire who was on his third meal and one of the people she'd stunned.
"You mean to leave them like that, they'll die..." Hermione was uncomfortable with this whole plan but leaving them all to die... she couldn't bring herself to do that.
"They aren't real!" Ginny shouted and Hermione's brown eyes caught the hers and saw that they were scared, angry and, most of all, there was guilt deep inside of them. To live with it Ginny told herself that they weren't real people but that wasn't right. Hermione knew that somehow their magic had made these people real. They were real.
Her shout had gotten Michael's attention and he was headed toward them. Luckily, Ginny saw this because she was facing his way while still holding Hermione's arm so she used side-along apparition and the next thing Hermione knew they were back in their hotel room.
Ginny let her hand go and ran into the bathroom while the brunette stood stunned staring at the carpet floor where sand had been seconds ago. The plan involved letting Michael kill someone, which was just as bad as killing them herself. She knew that but she hadn't really thought about it. Not until now.
Ginny's reasoning had been what Hermione had vaguely told herself about this unknown single person, but the more people that got added to the ever-growing list had Hermione realizing that she didn't really believe that these people weren't real. That they'd somehow cease to exist when Ginny and herself made it back home. Even if that was somehow true, they were alive now and so their deaths counted. And even if it was to get back home, how could she have ever thought it was justifiable to just let people die.
Sounds of someone being sick finally got through her own tangled web of a mess her brain was currently in and, almost on auto-pilot, she went to the bathroom and kneeled down beside the sick girl to pull back her hair.
Ginny knew it was wrong too.
That they should've come up with an idea that didn't involve any deaths, but this was the easiest way and the clock was ticking down to the end of the movie. They had just two nights left after tonight.
She moved the hand not holding the girl's hair to her back to rub it.
"...You're right. They're not real." She didn't believe that and likely Ginny didn't either but if it helped Hermione could lie to her friend. If it helped, Hermione could do a lot of things, though she'd never thought standing aside and letting innocent people die was one of them.
But it was... She did it last night at the bowling alley too even if she was only just now realizing it.
She could have helped, maybe even saved, some of them.
It wouldn't have endeared her to The Lost Boys but was that more important than human life?
At the time it seemed so. That was why the obvious thing to do had been to do nothing.
Her inactions may haunt her more than her actions by the time she got back home but after going through all of this... after doing what she'd done... getting back home seemed like the only way to justify it.
Only two more nights, she thought.
Surely keeping them alive for two more nights wouldn't be as hard as it'd been so far. No, the hard part was over... at least for her.
Hermione looked at the redhead who had stopped throwing up and decided to help her get into her PJs and then into bed. She needed a good night's rest and then they could figure out where to go from here.
-
David was busy flirting was a busty blonde and her friend not far from the Ferris wheel. He'd been considering making them tonight's meal when he felt it. He hadn't felt this feeling in over ten years. It made him freeze only to glance over a moment later and see his boys' reactions matched his own. Though Paul's was a bit confused having never felt this before.
Michael had fed.
He was officially one of them.
David smirked.
"Change of plans boys."