The Road Trip

by natida

Albus, Rose and Scorpius have to somehow rescue their uncle Charlie from Giants, and Hugo has a plan. Unfortunately, it involves bringing along the entire family for the ride... and it probably won't go as smoothly as they think; after all, they ARE Weasleys.

Written for the Quidditch League Fanfiction Competition. Thanks to Ever for doing a wonderful job as a beta!

Prompt: (character) Hugo Weasley
(spell) Bat-Bogey Hex
(word) Stubborn
(word) Gliding

Word count: 2,992

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Hugo Weasley smiled with satisfaction as the Ford Anglia came to life, and steered it through the rest of the trees, wheels bumping noisily against dead branches. He finally emerged from the Forbidden Forest with a large and frankly dangerous leap, which he desperately hoped no one had seen from the castle windows.

Rose, Albus, and Scorpius gaped at him when he pulled up beside the greenhouses.

"Is that Grandpa's old car?!"

Hugo nodded and tried his best not to look smug. He could barely see the road ahead of him, being the only Weasley boy in the family to not inherit the tall genes by Fourth Year, and so he was actually relieved that he hadn't crashed into Filch's cat or something. The sooner they could be up in the sky, the better.

Rose looked both horrified and a little bit fascinated, which was a good thing when it came to her. Beside her, Scorpius Malfoy was utterly confused, not yet used to the family shenanigans despite having been friends with Rose and Albus for six years.

"Wait," Albus said haltingly, eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "You expect us to use this to rescue Uncle Charlie?"

Hugo nodded again. "It's fast, and safe. I fixed her last year. She likes me." The car lights blinked twice, as if assuring him of the fact.

"But... that's Grandpa's car!" Rose exclaimed, scandalized.

"I wrote to him and asked," Hugo shrugged. "It was my fourteenth birthday present. Are you coming or what?"

The trio looked at each other. "We can't possibly—"

"I don't want to get Hugo into this; d'you think you could drive?"

"Bugger off," Hugo remarked. "It's my car. Plus, if you want to save Uncle Charlie then we've got to act quickly."

Albus looked at Rose and shrugged in an it's-the-best-chance-we-have kind of way, and with a huff, she nodded.

She and Scorpius took to the back while Albus moved to the seat beside Hugo's, looking around him appreciatively. Hugo had always liked Albus; he was considerably calmer than anyone else in the family.

Behind him, Rose gasped. "Hugo, what—"

"I charmed it," he replied nonchalantly. Another three seats had been added at the back of the car, the interior stretching like a limousine.

"But you nearly failed Charms!"

Hugo shrugged. "I like cars."

Scorpius cleared his throat. "Shouldn't we get going?"

"Yeah, just give it a second." Hugo looked at his watch. "The rest should be here."

They stared at him with wide eyes. "The rest...?"

As if on cue, five people emerged from the castle door beyond the greenhouses, looking decidedly excited.

Rose let out a strangled sort of cry. "You told them?"

"What? He's their uncle too, you know. And we've got space."

"Louis and Roxy are thirteen!"

Hugo glared at her through the rear-view mirror. "And I'm fourteen. Your point is...?"

The whole group tumbled into the car, crawling over the others to get to the back seats, Louis stopping to do an elaborate handshake with Hugo through the window. Lily settled down next to Rose, smiling at her and leaning forwards to pat her brother on the shoulder.

"Let's do this!" Fred called out from behind Scorpius, and with a roar of the engine, the Ford Anglia lifted into the sky, to the sound of whoops from the kids.

"Oh, Merlin, this is dangerous," Rose groaned as she realized that Fred, Louis, Lucy and Roxy had all squeezed into the back seats. "Guys, when we get there you're all staying in the car. Al, Scorpius, and I can take care of this."

"What, like you 'took care' of telling Uncle Charlie you saw his dragon in those mountains angry Giants just moved into?" Lily caught Hugo's eye and winked. He grinned; Lily was awesome.

Albus turned in his seat, looking defensive. "We didn't know the Giants were there! We saw something big and naturally assumed..."

"Oh, look how funny Sprout's hat looks from up here!" Louis interrupted, and was joined by raucous laughter as they craned their necks to look at the ground below. They glided over Hogsmeade, Hugo wisely turning on the invisibility shield, which didn't stop Fred from sticking his head out of Scorpius' window to spit down at a group of Slytherins he particularly disliked.

Rose couldn't quite supress a smile, and Scorpius leaned closer to her to avoid being spat on as well, pushing Fred backwards to his seat, an arm around Rose.

Hugo glanced at them through the rear-view mirror as he steered them past Hogsmeade and towards the shadowy mountains on the horizon.

"They together yet?" he asked in a low voice.

Albus was busy poring over a map Rose had given him earlier, his eyebrows pulled together. He glanced up in confusion. "What?"

Hugo jerked his head towards his sister and Scorpius. "Are they together yet?"

"Who?" Albus looked completely bewildered, and glanced back at his best friends before turning back to Hugo. "Them? You think—?"

With a snort of laughter, Hugo shook his head. "Wow, you're an idiot."

Soon after, Roxy produced a lumpy package with enough sandwiches for everyone. The ominous task ahead of them forgotten, they all ate, Hugo balancing his sandwich on the wheel.

They arrived about forty minutes later, Hogwarts having disappeared in a cloud of mist, and their surroundings replaced by an ominously quiet mountainous area. Louis had gotten carsick halfway through the drive, much to the misfortune of any deer below, but he seemed to have forgotten all about it as he peered down at the world around them, and tapped the car lightly with his knuckle.

"You sure the invisibilty'll hold?" he asked anxiously. "I've heard Giants have these giant nets—"

"They don't have nets, Louis," Lily answered matter-of-factly. "Al, do you—"

But she never got to finish her sentence, because all of a sudden something smashed into her side of the Ford Anglia so hard that the car nearly completely turned over in the air. Hugo had to wrestle with the wheel to keep the car upright, even as he looked around wildly through the sudden fog, trying to identify what had hit them.

It came back soon enough. Albus was the first to see it, letting out a yell and pointing at—there was no mistaking it—a gigantic fist that soared at them through the clouds. Hugo swerved, narrowly missing the hit as the kids in the back crouched against the seats in front of them, yelling out obscenities that Mum would probably ground them all for if she heard.

But in his desperation to miss the first fist, Hugo didn't notice the second one. It came crashing into them, and this time Hugo could do nothing to stop them from teetering sideways dangerously, the car letting out a screeching noise as his entire family screamed in fear behind him. Their surroundings were suddenly perfectly clear, and he could see the mountainous, rocky terrain underneath them drawing closer, faster than it should—

Then Rose let out a shriek as the car jolted as it suffered another hit.

This time it dislodged Scorpius' door, causing it to fall open with Scorpius hanging dangerously off the side, holding onto the car by one hand. Lily held onto Albus' seat for dear life, grabbing Rose's arm as Rose grappled to seize Scorpius and pull him back to safety.

But there was nothing they could do as the massive arm appeared again and snatched Scorpius out of the air, pulling him down into the fog.

Hugo couldn't really make out what was happening in the car, his sole focus the task of getting them to the ground safely. They were now falling at an alarming speed, and his brakes didn't seem to be doing much to help. He looked around wildly, ignoring the chaos around him as Louis leaned over Scorpius' empty seat, Fred and Lucy holding him by the legs, to pull the severely dented door shut while Rose screamed hysterically.

They crash landed, Hugo carefully aiming for a clump of bushes. They landed much more gracefully than he thought, though the yells of desperation around him belied the amazing talent with which he had pulled off the entire thing.

"WE'RE DEAD," Louis was yelling from the back, arms gesturing wildly. Apparently the last of his sanity had been spent on getting the door closed. Roxy was oddly busied with collecting fallen sandwiches, and Rose was still yelling hysterically, shaking a shocked Albus, who had wide eyes trained on the spot Scorpius had previously occupied.

"WE KILLED SCORPIUS," Louis continued. "WE KILLED A BLOODY MALFOY – DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW BAD THAT IS!?"

"Shut up, Louis!" Lily shouted, as Lucy reached sideways and tried to wrestle him back into his seat. Lily turned to Hugo. "What're we gonna do?"

Five minutes later found them crawling out of the bushes onto more rocky terrain, in a messy line. Rose had Albus in an iron grip, furiously glaring at everyone for no reason, and a more quieted Louis, along with Fred and Roxy, were being shepherded along by Lucy.

They all froze behind a large rock, completely silent. Finally, Hugo mustered the courage to peek around the rock again and take in their surroundings.

Hugo winced as Rose shook his shoulder violently. "What?"

"Look," Rose hissed, looking over the edge of the rock, her tone slightly relieved. "There's the one that has Scorpius."

"Oh, Merlin, it's huge," Lily whispered.

Hugo looked around at them all. "Okay," he said matter-of-factly. "Everyone hold hands—"

"What—"

"Just do it, okay? We don't want to lose anyone else."

And that was how they found themselves in an immense cave, following a Giant who held a decidedly shaken—yet clearly alive—Scorpius in its fist. The blond boy looked like a rag doll, lolling about despite his attempts to break free, and it might have been funny if it hadn't also been absolutely terrifying.

They crept beside the wall of the cave, wands in hand, thankful that the sound of the colossal footsteps covered that of their shuffling feet. They were in a room of such great dimensions that Hugo couldn't properly understand what exactly the room was supposed to be… but there was Uncle Charlie, lying unconscious on what appeared to be a small pile of dried brambles. As they watched, the Giant dropped Scorpius from its grasp, letting him fall beside Charlie.

Hugo suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder and turned quickly to see Albus, who was holding something silky in his hand. His eyes widened along with everyone else's; the fact that Albus had been brave enough to nick James' Invisibility Cloak was almost more impressive than the current situation.

Pressing a finger to his lips, Albus pulled the cloak over himself and vanished immediately, Rose glaring at thin air as he left her behind.

With no warning, they were pushed forwards by a surprisingly strong gust of wind, and found themselves on the floor of the cave as another Giant crouched behind them, peering down at them with enormous eyes.

Hugo thought some of his cousins might have actually died of fear.

The great lips moved, eyes blinking slowly. "What this?" said a loud, rumbling voice that made Hugo's very bones shake. "You catch more?"

"More?" the first Giant looked around gleefully.

Struggling to his feet, Hugo did his best to pull himself together. "What do Giants like?" he hissed urgently, looking at Lily.

It took her a second to react. "Oh, err—gifts? And, err, magic...as long as it's not used against them..."

He nodded quickly. "EXCUSE ME," he yelled, since his voice barely carried all the way up to the Giants. "WE HAVE COME TO NEGOTIATE."

They looked down at him and let out snorts of laughter. "Negotiate, little human?"

"THE TERMS OF THE RELEASE OF OUR FRIENDS."

"Ah, these," the first Giant gestured at Uncle Charlie and Scorpius. "These yours?"

"Err—YES," Hugo replied quickly.

"They ours now," the Giant said simply. "They fun. We keep."

"AH, BUT... WE BRING YOU A GIFT IN EXCHANGE."

Lily and Lucy looked at him in alarm, and Fred spoke up in a whisper. "But we don't have any gifts!"

"Yeah, we do," Hugo said urgently. "Fred."

"What?!"

"Fred, you're the gift. Go. Trust me."

"Why does it have to be me?"

"You're the tallest."

"Bollocks."

"Do you want us all to die?" Lily reached for Fred and pushed him forwards, much to his panic, but he couldn't get past Lucy and Lily's iron grip.

"I don't want to die," Fred murmured quietly.

But Hugo was already showing him off. "THIS ONE IS TALLER THAN EITHER OF THOSE TWO. HE IS A MEMBER OF OUR NOBILITY, AN ESTEEMED FRIEND AND EXTREMELY TALENTED IN THE FIELDS OF MAGIC AND OF..." he looked around wildly. "DANCE. Dance, Fred."

"I'm not going to—"

"Dance."

So with a look of profound hatred directed at his cousins, Fred Weasley II began the first and last dance show of his life.

The Giants eyed him appreciatively but didn't seem entirely convinced. "And magic?"

Hugo jerked his head and with a wave of his wand, Fred let out the first spell he could think of, which, unfortunately, was the Bat-Bogey Hex... and which was mistakenly aimed towards one of the Giants' eye.

The Giant let out a yelp of fury, trying to brush the bats from his eyes, and the second Giant raised a foot as if to crush them. Thankfully, Rose had gathered her wits. A sudden storm of dust lifted up around them, and Hugo found himself and the others quickly hurried to a side, away from the trampling foot. As he climbed onto a small ledge, Hugo caught sight of Scorpius helping Albus cover a barely conscious Uncle Charlie with the Cloak.

"My toys!" shouted the Giant. "Catch them!"

Somehow, they all managed to hold hands, Lily and Lucy managing a quick head count between them. They left the cave at a run, Rose bringing up the rear, still conjuring up a storm which was getting in the Giants' eyes, judging from their yells.

"You idiot! Couldn't you just do a Wingardium Leviosa or something?"

"I didn't think of that!"

Hugo led them towards the nearest rocks at a run where they could hide better than they would in the clump of bushes the car was in. Only one of the lights lit up when he got to it, and he ducked inside quickly, hastily turning off the light lest the Giant find them. He put the key into the ignition and groaned as the car struggled to come alive.

Even as he finally succeeded in getting the motor to purr, he heard screams again, and he looked out the window to see the whole group running back towards him, in plain sight of the Giant who was no longer confused by a cloud of dust.

Angry at their carelessness, he pressed down on the accelerator and managed to dislodge the car from the bushes, the doors opening for the fleeing group, while the rumbling footsteps came their way. There was a sudden flash of movement and Albus, Scorpius and Uncle Charlie revealed themselves, hurrying towards the car as the Giant—Hugo was no longer sure which one it was—followed closely behind.

He could barely make out what Lily was yelling at him until she was within steps of the car.

"We found Uncle Charlie's dragon!"

At those words Uncle Charlie, limping and dishevelled, suddenly disentangled himself from Albus and Scorpius and ran in the direction the rest had just come from.

Breathless, they piled into the car. "GO!" Lucy shrieked, looking out the window as Roxy buried her head in her lap. "Just go! He'll be fine!"

It was a good thing Hugo obeyed her, because as soon as they lifted up into the air, something grazed the car so sharply he was sure it would leave a dent.

"I TOLD YOU THEY HAD GIANT NETS!" Louis yelled.

But they barely heard him as they all screamed at the looming shadow of a huge net of ropes that snaked overhead—

—and watched it suddenly catch fire and explode into ashes to the sound of a roaring dragon.

Hugo nearly let go of the steering wheel when he realized they were flying alongside a large burgundy dragon; the very same one Uncle Charlie had brought to Care of Magical Creatures class only a few days ago. Weak, yet gleeful, Uncle Charlie waved at them from its back, clinging to the dragon's large scales as they soared up further into the sky.

Behind them, the mountains once again faded into the fog, and the Ford Anglia glided out of the Giants' reach.

"D'you reckon he'll let us ride his dragon now?" Louis asked excitedly, his face pressed to the window. "He should, shouldn't—hey!"

His exclamation of shock and deep disgust caused them all to turn their attention back into the car, and find themselves staring at Rose and Scorpius who were pressed against the car door, kissing as if their lives depended on it.

Louis made gagging noises and Lucy laughed, but Lily handed over three sickles to Hugo, much to Albus' bewilderment.

By the time they landed, Albus, Roxy, Fred and Louis were asleep, and Rose and Scorpius sat drowsily with their arms around each other. It was strange to find the Hogwarts grounds so quiet after such an eventful afternoon.

Albus was properly awakened after having been given the job of hauling a stubborn Louis out of the back seat. "Hey, Uncle Charlie... since we saved you and all…" he said as Uncle Charlie shook all of their hands, still quite bewildered at the fact that they had managed to rescue him all by themselves. "D'you think you could do us a favour?"

"Sure."

"Please don't tell our mums."