It was a cold, dreary night at the Alfred Windsor Orphanage. The moldy floorboards groaned and creaked every time you slyly stepped on one, towards the window. It was wide open, with its ripped, tattered drapes blowing in the unforgiving breeze. You climbed out carefully, and landed softly onto the ground. The guard dog was sleeping quietly, and you sneaked away from that dreadful place you called home.
Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry was your true home. You had a family and friends that loved and supported you. It was a life you could never have in Bristol. You started to run as fast as you could, away from the place you had to call home. You didn't care where you went, as long as you were as far from that orphanage as possible. They treated you like slaves. Starved, abused, and put to work until every single one of your dreams was shattered. But you stayed strong. For Hogwarts. All you had was your wand in your pocket, and your remaining money from the Gringott's Wizarding bank.
After running for what seemed like miles, you finally stopped to take a breath. You sat down on the curb, and observed the unfamiliar surroundings around you. It was pitch-black in the freezing cold night. You took out your wand and held it high in the air. It began to make a whistling noise, and you were about to whisper "Lumos" when a blinding light was coming down the road. You dropped your wand from the light, and turned away from it.
"Great. Caught." you thought frustratingly, picking up your wand. You recognized the sound of a vehicle, slowly approaching you, and then loud BANG. When you looked up to see what was in front of you, you saw a ghastly purple triple-decker bus opening its doors, and a tall strapping young man on its steps.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this evening. The-" he stopped and noticed you on the curb. It was dark, and had a hard time seeing his face, but his eyes shined like stars.
Stan dropped his professional voice and said (directly to you this time), "My, woss an ever so lovely girl like you doin' on the curb?" He had a thick cockney accent, but you replied smartly, "It's about time!" You jumped to your feet, making Stan jump back a little in surprise. "I've been waiting all night." you teased, and grinned. Stan seemed a little speechless, but broke the awkward silence and said, "Trav'ling lightly, eh?" He looked around for luggage to carry, but none was to be seen.
"Yup." you said brightly. "How much to get to London?"
"Eleven Sickles," Stan started. "But for fifteen you get-" He was interrupted with Eleven Sickles being placed into his hand. You wanted to use as little money as possible, and the Sickles were sandwiched in-between your hand, and Stan's. Stan let loose of his grip around your hand and put the money away.
"Right then," you noticed nervousness in his voice. He held out his hand for yours and said, "Climb on aboard!" You grabbed his hand, and he pulled you into the Knight Bus. He seemed to pull a little too hard, and you stumbled into his arms. The well-lighted bus gave you a good look at Stan's face. He seemed 2 or 3 years older than you, and he had quite a few blemishes on his face. Other then that, he was pretty decent looking, along with some fond eyes, you thought.
The bus lurched forward, and you felt your feet losing balance, but Stan's arms went around your waist to keep you in place. He had you even closer in his arms, and felt yourself blushing brightly as he shouted, "Very funny, Ern!" sarcastically. He placed you down onto one of the brass beds and whispered, "This one's yours" and winked.
The bus heaved forward again, and this time Stan lost his balance and fell on top of you. His weight on you felt comforting, but he kept himself up with his arms. You felt his legs shift in between yours and his breath was on your lips. Stan quickly got up, giving you an empty feeling inside. "That's enuff Ern!" he said angrily. You heard a low chuckle from the front. Must be the driver, you thought. Stan stood up straight and called out, "Take 'er away Ern!"
The Knight bus gave off another loud BANG and zoomed off through the streets.
"Woss your name?" Stan asked eagerly. He was learning against a support beam, letting his hat slip off. You gave him your name and he smiled and said, "The moss beautiful name I've ever 'eard of." You felt yourself blush, but suddenly the bus violently accelerated, then abruptly stopped. As a result, Stan hit his head against the pole, and he swore and you gasped.
After confirming he was alright he explained, "Ah, that's Ernie Prang for ya. 'e's the driver. C'mon! You should meet 'im!" Before you could say anything, Stan took your hand again and walked to the front of the bus. You saw a rather old man with thick glasses behind the wheel of the Knight Bus. "This is Ern." Stan said in an almost annoyed voice. Ernie nodded towards you, but did a double-take when he saw your face.
"Blimey," he said in a surprised tone. "Pike, I didn't know she was such a beaut! Have you kissed her yet?" he said playfully. Stan stammered and pushed you away from Ernie. "Ar, you'll do it soon!" he foretold with laughter. "It was nice meting you!" you said back to him. You tried to turn around and wave, but Stan was still pushing you to your bed.
"Well that woss a mistake." he said and rubbed the back of his head, when he should've been rubbing the front, there was a noticeable bruise on his forehead. A trip to Bristol to London took awhile, plus the other passengers going to their destinations. But Stan happily did his job, carrying luggage and all those other things conductors do. Just watching him work made you feel tired, and drifted to sleep in your bed. Slowly, the other passengers left the bus, and you were the only one left. You awoke to a hand against your cheek, and hair was brushed away from your eyes. You opened your eyes drearily and saw Stan sitting on the side of your bed, with another smile.
"Hi Stan" you said sleepily, and slowly rose in your bed. You tried to stretch, but realized one of your hands has being held by Stan's. You laughed and placed your lips against his bruise on his forehead. Stan sat still, and whispered in your ear, "Last stop of the night, love."
When your lips left his forehead, they were soon on Stan's. Your arms instinctively wrapped around his neck, pulling him in closer. The bus hauled forwards again, giving Stan an opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth. Your fingers dug into his hair while his hands were rubbing your sides. You didn't notice the bus stopped and pulled away from Stan, out of breath.
You just stared into each other's eyes, slightly panting. You didn't want this ride to end, but Stan slowly stood to his feet and announced, "London!" to the empty bus. You also got up, tidied yourself and turned for the door. Just as you turned around to say goodbye to Stan, he had you in a hug. His head rested on top of yours and he said, "You know where to find me…" as he stroked your hair. You let go of him and gave him a light kiss on the lips.
"See you around" you whispered, and jumped off the bus. You couldn't help turning around one more time to see his face. He looked down at you from the Knight Bus with a hopeful smile, hands around the door frame. Stan shouted, "Take 'er away Ern!' without turning his head to him, and the bus gave one last BANG. He waved good-bye, blew you a kiss, and the bus vanished.
