Miss World , Ron Weasley

zero. shanghai

Cedric Diggory is dead: fact. Basil didn't know him personally, but Gwen was practically in love with him and even before the whole tournament thing, all she heard was Cedric this and Cedric that. And then he was dead. He was actually killed, and not just by anyone — he was killed by the Dark Lord himself, who she heard was rather ugly from the rumors that spread like wildfire through the school.

It was the ever present reminder that no one was safe anymore. It was the dark cloud over Hogwarts that wasn't going anywhere, one that followed her everywhere. The boy was actually dead, like dead as a doorknob, never coming back dead — but at least she was going home to her mom; at least that was looking good for her. The next month and a half would be the perfect blend of European art and food, and she would practically scream with joy just thinking about it.

Gwen wasn't the problem, it was more her dad and Briony ( who she'd never called mom, when will she stop trying? ), who wanted nothing more than to be rich and be boring. Her dad wasn't always like that, but she's pretty sure Briony was born a stuck-up phony with no sense of humor.

         "Bye, Ginny!" She whispered as she pulled out of the hug that engulfed her, Ginny's red hair blowing from the train steam. "You'll write?" The shorter girl asked, grabbing her trunks that were once laying haphazardly on the floor of the station. A bittersweet smile grew on her face as she nodded, her black bob moving as she did.

"Basil!" The sound of Gwen's voice calling out her name cut through the two, making her spun around to face — "Dad?" He tapped his foot impatiently, sporting his usual scowl. "Wasn't I supposed to go with Mom?" She asked, dropping her trunks. He simply shrugged, as her very much evil stepmother made her way over to them. "Plans change," he stated coldly, his face expressionless.

       "But—" She began to protest, before Briony cut her off, clearly annoyed. "Basil, now is not the time for questions. We have to leave now, you'll get answers later." She huffed, picking up her trunks. "Well, come along! Into the car we go!" Briony suddenly perked up, her eyes lighting up as she ruffled Basil's raven hair, which made her roll her eyes.

        The "family" ( if you could even call them that ) made their way to the car, stuffing their trunks into the back. The car ride was wildly uneventful, and in usual Lavinge fashion — Briony tried to start conversations that never went anywhere, her dad just drove and ignored them all, Gwen slept, and Basil tuned it all out, her eyes glued to the window.

The sights no longer were familiar as a hug pit grew on her stomach, watching the unknown streets blur past. "Where are we going?" Briony sighed, turning back to face Basil, a fake smile plastered on her face. "We're not going home, honey, we're staying someplace else all summer."

She was six when she first heard the term shanghaied. She heard her mom sputter it out, her melodic laughter filling the air. She had cocked her head, her eyebrows furrowing. "It means to be tricked, Sil," her mom had answered, a sweet smile gracing her face. Madeline Lavinge never had a bad bone in her body ( until she was high off her ass and didn't know what she was saying — it didn't matter anyways, no one could blame her then ).

        It had stemmed from the 19th century, where civilians were tricked into forced labor on American Merchant ships heading to Shanghai ( perks of being a halfblood — she had all the muggle history books she could ever want ). A dark, rather disturbing story behind something that made her mother smile so wide ( and the most sugary, sweet smile you could ever imagine possible ) made her so confused. Was it funny? Was it not? Why did people even use that term? Little Basil Lavinge couldn't wrap her head around it — and she loved that, but she most definitely didn't love how she felt right then and right there, gripping her seat belt.

Basil Lavinge had been shanghaied.

authors note: so this story will basically start when everyone goes to grimmauld place and through the summer before harry arrives and then so on so it won't be entirely based on the books in the beginning! this is just the prologue but things are gonna get real fun and teenage angst-y !