the 5k around the world Part II (Location 3): Ireland

Keith hit the ground with a thud.

Sighing, he looked around. Still not Mama's house. Of course. this was only his...what? Third stop?

Glancing down, he saw the telltale slip of paper. Stupid Mama.

Hi Keith,
It's Mama again. You're in Ireland darling, take in the sights!

"Ireland again?! I thought I was out of this place! I don't care if you honeymooned here Mama, I hate this country!"

The next portkey leaves at the Royal station theater at 3:30. Have fun!

Keith tore up the piece of paper. It accomplished nothing except making him angrier.

He looked around. He was in...somebody's backyard, it looked like. Maybe they weren't home. Or maybe they were a wizard family. Or maybe Mama was so senile that she didn't even care about keeping magic secret from muggles. Stupid Mama.

Jack was pretty sure she had her things packed up. She hadn't been home long, and that was the way she hoped to keep it. She had spoken to her brother Riley and told him of her plan to hang out with Chip, perhaps Andrew, and maybe even stop by at Shell Cottage for a small visit to the Weasleys.

Right now, her parents and Riley were out at some sort of expo. She rolled her eyes at the very thought of it. Boy were they stuck on perfection or whatever. She would like the house and the yards if it weren't for the soulless people living in it, ie her robots-for-parents.

Right now she was shuffling through her cupboards, trying to find delicious snacks. Too bad her parents were health buffs. She knew Riley liked to stay fit too but would indulge on sugar and sweets every once in awhile just like everyone else. She had just found the chips when she heard a thud.

She looked out the window into the backyard. There was someone sitting up in her backyard. She walked towards the back door and slipped outside to investigate. Her hand slipped into her pocket and gripped the handle around her wand; in these times, you never knew what to expect.

"Excuse me?" As she got closer, recognition dawned on her face and she could not help but smile at the absurdity of the situation. "Keith?"

Keith glanced up, jaw dropping nearly to the floor when he realized who was standing in the doorway.

"Keith?"

"Jack?!" Keith asked in utter disbelief.

He remembered Jack. She was the one who had found him making illegal potions in the abandon room on the fourth floor last year at Hogwarts. She was the one who was cool enough not to rat him out, and even help him fight James. Landing in her backyard, of all people's was...

Insane.

"Jack!" Keith said, grinning. "Awesome! And I thought I was going to have to find the portkey all by myself this time!" He did a little victory dance before walking over to her. "So is this your house, or what? Sorry for dropping in unannounced, but I didn't exactly have a choice in the matter you see...."

Jack gave Keith a flabbergasted look. He did not seem at all perturbed by appearing i her backyard, he just seemed shocked to find out it was her backyard. Did it matter who's backyard? The fact was...he was in her backyard!?

She nodded. "Yeah, this is my parents' house, it's where I spend like three days of my summer vacation." The other days were spent...well...just about anywhere else. She shook her head again and walked over to him, holding out a hand to help him up. "What are you doing here?" He had said something about a portkey. "Grab a rogue portkey by mistake or something?"

Keith frowned. "Rogue portkey? I guess...that's kinda...true...sorta." he shrugged. "I know I'm going to sound completely insane when I say this, alright? Because I know it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard, but just bear with me." he sighed and took a deep breath. "So I was on my way to visit Mama (Maya-Maw) - Mama is my grandmother, but I just call her Mama - and I had to bring her this special pocket watch," He said, digging around in his pocket for the tiny silver pocket watch. He pulled it out and showed it to her. "It's like, super old and worth more than my life, but it's really delicate so it can't handle apparation. So anyway, I use the portkey, but I wind up in New York City because apparently my Mama has gone completely senile and wants to make sure I see the world. So she's set up all these random portkeys around the world. I was in New York, where I met Andrew, but then I got taken to Ireland. Not here Ireland, another part. And I saw some more kids for hogwarts. But I found those portkeys, and know here I am!" He said this all very fast and ended in a large smile.

Jack stared at him, mouth tipped open, eyebrows up, and eyes wide of confused shock. She realized how silly she must look, so she closed her mouth with a snap and shook her head. His grandmother had sent him on a wild goose chase around the world? His grandmother?!

She shook her head again, chuckling this time as she did so. "Mama sounds crazy to me!" She barked an amused laugh and put her hands on her hips. "Really crazy." She had to admit though; it beat her summer so far. "So do you know where to find the other Portkeys?"

"Well, yeah," Keith said, rolling his eyes. "Pretty much everyone in my family is crazy. I just hide it better than most." He grinned and fished around in his pocket for some loose change to play with. "Mama is always complaining that I don't get out enough, so she's taking matters into her own hands. I mean, she tried to drop my dad in an active volcano when my Mom said she was going to marry him. They get along now...sorta. She hasn't tried to kill him in a few months at least. But she's pretty civil for the most part."

He shrugged as she mentioned the other portkeys. "Kinda. Thankfully, Mama has at least put the locations of the portkeys on a note. But she's a bit...erratic. One was on a bus, another was hidden in jello...that's a long story. Don't ask." he glanced around the street and looked up at Jack. "Anyway, do you know where the Royal Station Theater is?"

Jack was usually a very good audience when it came to stories and this one was no exception. She chuckled when Keith said he could hide the crazy better than his family, shook her head when he said his Mama wanted him to get out, and widened her eyes in surprise when he explained that she had tried to kill his dad a few times. "Oh, well, that sounds like fun," she said, smiling an amused grin.

She laughed again when he said he had found a portkey in jello. He asked if she knew where Royal Station Theater was and she shook her head. "No idea. Why, is that where you think the next portkey will be?" If so, she could always find a map and drive him there in her crappy little Ford Comet that she loved so dearly. She had nothing to do anyhow and this was an adventure, moving it to the top of her list of priorities.

Keith nodded. "More or less. It's a start, anyway." He checked the silver pocket watch and nodded. The thing had proved to be his invaluable tool in this little adventure, automatically changing depending on the time zone. "It's about 12 now, and the portkey doesn't leave until 3:30..." Keith groaned. This was not a good sign. "Three and a half hours...that much time usually means it isn't going to be easy to get a hold on, so this won't be as straightforward as it sounds."

Jack grimaced, a mischievous twinkle in her eye never the less. "Fun. I never pass up an epic quest!" She turned and motioned for Keith to follow. She turned and walked back towards the house, pulling the door open and slipping back into the kitchen. She tapped her chin and then headed into the room over and went over to a large desk. She began yanking up drawers, compiling a small stack of maps.

She kicked the drawers closed and strode over to Keith, thrusting the maps out to him. "Here, if you want to take a gander at those, we can figure out where to go from there. If it's too far from here I can Apparate, and you can come Side-Along. But it might be easier to drive too." She shrugged. "You thirsty or anything?" She usually did not have guests at her house so she really did not know what she was supposed to ask.