Harry James Potter gazed out the window of the psychedelically colored blue, green, and orange Hippie Van that apparently did not belong to his cousin, but instead to one of his flat -sorry- roommates. Speaking of his cousin, when he first learned about Norville -please, call me 'Shaggy'- he expected a well built man that looked like one of those redneck lumberjacks or a lasso swinging cowboy. What he least expected was a tall, lanky -but still well built, surprisingly- beatnik hippie man with light chestnut hair and a… admittedly handsome and, approachable, appearance. Which was something that Harry never thought he'd say about a relative except his parents, and they were dead.
Harry watched as the scenery flew by as they drove down the highway. They had just left Columbus City and were headed to a small town on the outskirts of it called "Coolsville", apparently Shaggy's hometown. He turned away from the window and into the backseat, looking past the large and, admittedly threatening, Great Dane, he watched as the city skyline got further and further away. He was relieved in a strange way, he never really liked the hustle and bustle lifestyle of being in the city. He preferred a quaint and small town or village over a bold and large city any day.
The Great Dane, named Scooby Doo and could talk apparently -though, Harry really shouldn't be surprised at this point- looked up at him for a moment and tilted his head to the side. Harry had to admit, it was adorable, but he couldn't help but be unnerved by the sheer size of the pooch. Harry never had a good relationship with dogs in the first place, I mean, Remus and Sirius were exceptions but they were people not actual dogs. He swallowed slightly before quickly turning back to the window.
"You don't need to be afraid of Ol' Scooby, you know."
"eep!" Harry jumped slightly in his seat, Shaggy speaking caught him off guard since the man hadn't said a word since they got in the Van.
"Like, sorry kid, didn't mean to scare you." Shaggy chuckled, "Scoob's a trained Service 'n Therapy Dog. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Besides, he's too cowardly to do much anyway."
"Rey! Rou are roo!" Scooby barked.
"Like, your right Scoob, but you know I'm right, too."
"Rumph." Scooby huffed.
Harry couldn't help but let out a small chuff of laughter, the banter between Shaggy and Scooby was like himself and Hedwig. Only except that Hedwig didn't actually talk with words and she was more like an overprotective and overbearing much older sister, closer to mother, than a brother that seemingly shared the same interests as you, but still was different as well.
Speaking of, Hedwig was perched on the headrest of the seat he sat in watching the dog closely, making sure he didn't try to attack. She glanced over at the clock on the dashboard then back at Harry and flew from her perch to swoop down and snatch a box of Girl Scout Thin Mints from the back of the Van. Apparently, both Shaggy and Scooby had hypermetabolism and needed to keep the Van stocked with snacks. She dropped it in Harry's lap before returning to her perch.
"What's this for?" He asked her, turning to look up at her with the box in hand.
'You know exactly what it's for.' The look she gave him all but screamed.
Harry had low blood sugar levels, that was what it was for. No, he did not have diabetes, it was because of his treatment from the Dursleys and his small appetite that caused it. If he didn't eat enough food, he would grow tired and cranky and have an even shorter temper than the one he already had. He had a tendency of pissing off the wrong people like that. He had a tendency of pissing of the wrong people in general, but still, it was less fallout to deal with if he could avoid it.
"Hedwig, I'm fine." Harry groaned, "I can eat when we get to Coolsville, I don't want to ruin my appetite."
'Really? Can you? Without passing out from jetlag that is?' The suspicious glare she gave him said.
Glaring right back at her with full force, they stayed in silence for a moment before Harry broke it off with a huff of "Fine…" and began opening the box. Hedwig looked very smug for an owl, and crooned with amusement.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, feathers for brains." Harry hissed, popping a cookie in his mouth, "Wow, these are good - but don't blame me if I'm not hungry for dinner later!"
Shaggy and Scooby snickered at the exchange between Master and Pet. "Like, what was that all about?"
Harry swallowed the cookie in his mouth before answering with, "I have low blood sugar, so I need to eat a certain amount of food at certain times of the day to regulate it. Usually sugary foods, but still healthy. I mean, it's okay for me to have sweets as a substitute sometimes, but I usually just have a granola bar, spoonful of Honey, or just plain old fruits. Hedwig usually has to remind me."
Shaggy made a humming sound before they lapsed into silence again. Harry watched the trees and landscape fly by as they drove and couldn't help but think about his friends as he did. How Hermione was so smart and had this certain charm to her, and how Ron was a loyal and honest friend, always at his side ready to defend him at a moment's notice. He wondered what Shaggy's roommates were like, were they smart like Hermione? Or blunt but still kind like Ron?
"Hey, um, Shaggy?" Harry asked.
"hmm?"
"What are your Roommates like?"
Shaggy glances over at him for a moment. He gave a small sigh, not one of exasperation, but of fondness. "Well, I have three Roommates. There's Fred, Daphne, and Velma, and each one of them are different. Fred loves Traps and is fascinated by different types of tricks, anything from pranks to sleight of hand-" Shaggy made sure to specify that it was sleight of hand and not real magic. "-He's mainly the leader of our group and called 'the man with a plan'. Oh, and don't confuse him for one of those football -american football- lovers, he loves photography and drama more than anything, except if it's a trap. You get him either a new trap net or a nice, high-tech, video camera and he will be your best friend forever.
"Daphne is a kickass, fashionable, redneck black belt that is mostly the brawn of our group. She also keeps anything and everything useful in her purse. She always keeps up with the latest fashions, but just because she's in heels doesn't mean she can't kick your ass. She may be nice, but, just to warn you, don't piss her off.
"And definitely don't piss off Velma. Velma is the brain of our group and is the stylish bookworm, despite the fact that she's a little more modest and simple than Daphne. Don't let her tiny size and bookish personality fool you, though, she can bench press me, Daphne, Fred, and Scooby all at once without breaking a sweat."
"Wow, quite the group of friends you got there." Harry said.
"We've been friends since, like, high school," Shaggy shrugged. "We even started a Junior Investigator Group together. We call ourselves the 'Mystery Incorporated.' We've been doing it for so long, we're even licenced now."
"Huh, you don't say…" Harry trailed off, it was going to be harder to keep the fact that magic exists from them now.
"You don't have to worry about Magic, kid," Shaggy said gently, as if reading Harry's mind. "I'll do most of the work when it comes to that."
"So, you're a wizard too?"
"Yup," Shaggy nodded, "And Scoob's my familiar."
A soft bark came from be them before snores returned, signifying that Scooby had fallen asleep. Harry hummed with relief before the Van lapsed into silence once again, this time for the rest of the trip to Coolsville.
(A/N: Wheew! That was a long one, and we still haven't even met Fred, Daphne, and Velma, yet. But in any case, have some fluffly, awkward, bonding between Harry and Shaggy. Oh, and some overprotective mama Hedwig.)
