Disclaimer: If you read, my previous chapters, you know what I own, and
what I don't. Johnny's song belongs to Queen.
Once again, thank you to Clara, Rocio and Maribel for the Spanish (and in this chapter I'll use it).
THANK YOU to my incredible beta reader Nyarth, for the needed help and comments.
RUNAWAY
3-Hunger sucks
Knockturn Alley was a quiet street. Never the joyful noise of Diagon Alley here. Severus walked quickly, avoiding eye contact with the few witches and wizards in the street, in case he was stopped by someone he couldn't best. Almost any adult in the wizarding world, at that.
Uncle Belchior had shown him the way to muggle London once before and how to open the exit.
"Abre, alohomora." He tapped the huge rocks pilled over one another in the wall. They seemed to melt before his eyes. He stepped to the other side into a dark alley with no windows and only some rubbish cans at the end of it.
Severus felt a lump in his throat. This was way too radical for him. He had never spoken to single muggle in his whole life. He looked back to Knockturn alley and remembered his mothers words; "He's getting to act so much like his father and uncle it scares me. I wish I had not married him. I wish I'd never given him a child". That made his decision for him.
"Fecho." He paced the street carefully, making sure the floor was as solid as the magical street he'd left. Assured it wasn't going to crumble under his feet, he went on.
It was a nice sunny day, if a bit cold. All day he walked the streets, observed the people. They did not look at him twice, in spite of his tunic. He looked so different, from the other children.
Possibly, people just thought his mother had no taste. To which Severus would definitely agree in his present predicament. He rather liked what he saw of London. He spent most of his day in St James Park (benevolently ignoring the cursed name), watching the squirrels and swans until he started hungering for the crumbs of bread people were throwing to the animals.
He felt then, that his plan had been rash and cemented over a base of hotheaded thoughts. He supposed it was his vampire ancestry, that so many times made him act in fury, on instinct and instead of with logic. He always regretted it after. Should he go back?
His stomach told him definitely yes. His head said no, but with the passing hours his stomach was getting progressively more convincing. The night was as dark in muggle London as in the wizarding world. And as cold too.
Severus wished he had his Hogwarts cloak as he lay down in foetal position on a garden stool. He clutched his arms, trying to keep his body warm. It was, by his reckoning, the worst night of his life.
Severus did not know how much time he spent there. The clouds were covering the moon, and he could not guess at what time was it. It had passed enough, though, for him to decide he would freeze if he did not move. THAT was definitely not on his project to live a long life.
He got up and started to run in the park to get warm. He'd stop periodically to rest, and then would start running again to stay warm. When the day came at last, he was exhausted, starved and frozen. These were enough reasons to convince Severus he should return home.
Now, where was that dark alley? His sense of direction was a bit. disoriented, he guessed. He couldn't stop trembling as he walked the London streets, to no avail.
"For Merlin's sake! All streets look the same! Who was the lunatic who designed this city? Should be at St Mungo's! This is like finding a needle in a haystack."
By this time, and after cursing the "inventor" of London and his entire lineage, Severus' pride was going down the drain and he started weeping. He had given a step too large and wasn't ready face the consequences.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
He entered all the alleys he found, with an increasingly sinking feeling. He did not recognize any, as the passage to the wizarding word.
Finally, he sat in one of those and cried; "I'm going to die here!"
London was pretty noisy in the morning. The traffic was roaring, and people were talking everywhere. Severus got up, and once more began in search of the alley. He started to notice (with some curious and strange detachment) that, given enough starving time, he had stopped feeling his stomach. "Good".
The feeling didn't last. The morning gave way to the afternoon, which lead into evening. Severus sat against a building wall, exhausted. His terror was giving way to numbness.
That's when he heard a young voice singing:
"I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it were I like."
"You're such a kid!" Complained other young voice. "What a stupid song!"
"He's a gilipollas." Agreed the voice of someone who was starting to change to his adult tone, but would fall shamefully into falsetto.
"What is a gilipollas?" Asked the voice who had been singing.
"That's what you are! Don't you know anything?"
"I'm not Spanish! Why should I know what a gilipollas is?"
"He is right, Javier." A new voice agreed.
"Shut up woman! You're such a girl."
"I am, a girl! What has that to do with his not speaking Spanish?"
"Girls are always whining. Go away!"
Severus peeked around the corner, to see the speakers. Three boys and a girl, all about his age. The shorthaired strawberry blond girl was openly facing a taller, brunette boy.
"No!" The smallest boy of the group and the one who had been singing cut in. "She brought us food! Leave her alone."
"I see." Answered the taller boy, once again falling in his falsetto tone "Johnny has a girlfriend."
That brought a chuckle from the boy Severus had not heard speak yet and a complaint from the girl:
"I'm not his girlfriend! He's nine; I'm ten! Can't you see the nonsense, you're saying?"
"Cojones, who cares?"
"What is coj."
"I'll explain that one later!" Cut the girl. "Just eat! I have to go! If my mother gets home and finds I'm out I'll be punished!"
The three boys needed no other incentive. They grabbed the paper bag the girl had brought, and started to devour its contents.
Severus threw his pride and caution away and approached silently.
The group froze in mid-mouthful to stare at him.
"What do you want?" Asked the older one, Javier, roughly.
Severus stopped in his tracks but did not allow himself to flee.
"Que quieres, capullo?" Javier stepped forward menacingly.
Now, Severus was unable to answer. He did not even understand the question.
"I."
"Stop it, Javier!" Ordered the girl. " Look at him! He's a pup!"
Anger and frustration got the better of Severus:
"Who are you calling a pup?" He yelled. "I'm twelve, and you're just ten." He stated, as if that settled the argument on who the "pup" was.
The others were not convinced. They laughed their heads off and Johnny started to chant: " Pup, pup, puppy!"
Severus' stomach was ruling him. He just couldn't go away. He also couldn't take his eyes from the bag with the food or the cookies the boys had in their hands.
"Poor puppy." The girl understood. "Boys, share!"
"No!" Snapped the brown haired one, who hadn't spoken yet "We're hungry too!"
"You're eating!" The girl pressed. "And that's because I brought you food! I'm telling you to share!"
Javier called: "Come here, pup!"
"I'm not a pup!" Severus insisted though he obeyed.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yes." THAT was an understatement.
"Where did you come from?"
Well, that was certainly a question Severus did not wish to answer. "I.I'm a runaway."
"From home?" asked the girl.
"Humm. Yes. Can I have a cookie, please?"
"You seem to need more than a cookie" the girl took the bag from Johnny's greedy hands. "I bought bread, some cheese, and cookies. It was all I could bring, this fast. Take some bread and cheese. Go on!"
Severus grabbed two of the small loaves and devoured them in front of the muggles.
"I'm Jen." The girl introduced herself while Severus was eating. "This is Johnny and he's nine" She tousled the blond boy's hair. "He is Beef." She pointed the one that hadn't enjoy shortening his meagre meal. "We think he has a demanding tapeworm! Eats like a horse and never gets fat!"
"For crying out loud!" He complained, "Where do I have food to eat like a horse?"
"This foul mouthed Spanish" Jen continued, as if never interrupted. "is Javier."
"I'm the chief!" informed Javier, just to ensure quick-tongued Jen, was not.
"Anyway" She shrugged. "they're all runaways"
Severus looked at her meaningfully.
"I am not." She answered the unasked question "And if I don't get home right now, I'll be grounded. See you."
Swiftly, she turned her back on them and ran off.
The boys threw themselves on the rest of the food, it the appetite, of the starving. The meal was fast finished. Javier looked at Severus and asked:
"What do I do with you now, pendejo?"
Once again, thank you to Clara, Rocio and Maribel for the Spanish (and in this chapter I'll use it).
THANK YOU to my incredible beta reader Nyarth, for the needed help and comments.
RUNAWAY
3-Hunger sucks
Knockturn Alley was a quiet street. Never the joyful noise of Diagon Alley here. Severus walked quickly, avoiding eye contact with the few witches and wizards in the street, in case he was stopped by someone he couldn't best. Almost any adult in the wizarding world, at that.
Uncle Belchior had shown him the way to muggle London once before and how to open the exit.
"Abre, alohomora." He tapped the huge rocks pilled over one another in the wall. They seemed to melt before his eyes. He stepped to the other side into a dark alley with no windows and only some rubbish cans at the end of it.
Severus felt a lump in his throat. This was way too radical for him. He had never spoken to single muggle in his whole life. He looked back to Knockturn alley and remembered his mothers words; "He's getting to act so much like his father and uncle it scares me. I wish I had not married him. I wish I'd never given him a child". That made his decision for him.
"Fecho." He paced the street carefully, making sure the floor was as solid as the magical street he'd left. Assured it wasn't going to crumble under his feet, he went on.
It was a nice sunny day, if a bit cold. All day he walked the streets, observed the people. They did not look at him twice, in spite of his tunic. He looked so different, from the other children.
Possibly, people just thought his mother had no taste. To which Severus would definitely agree in his present predicament. He rather liked what he saw of London. He spent most of his day in St James Park (benevolently ignoring the cursed name), watching the squirrels and swans until he started hungering for the crumbs of bread people were throwing to the animals.
He felt then, that his plan had been rash and cemented over a base of hotheaded thoughts. He supposed it was his vampire ancestry, that so many times made him act in fury, on instinct and instead of with logic. He always regretted it after. Should he go back?
His stomach told him definitely yes. His head said no, but with the passing hours his stomach was getting progressively more convincing. The night was as dark in muggle London as in the wizarding world. And as cold too.
Severus wished he had his Hogwarts cloak as he lay down in foetal position on a garden stool. He clutched his arms, trying to keep his body warm. It was, by his reckoning, the worst night of his life.
Severus did not know how much time he spent there. The clouds were covering the moon, and he could not guess at what time was it. It had passed enough, though, for him to decide he would freeze if he did not move. THAT was definitely not on his project to live a long life.
He got up and started to run in the park to get warm. He'd stop periodically to rest, and then would start running again to stay warm. When the day came at last, he was exhausted, starved and frozen. These were enough reasons to convince Severus he should return home.
Now, where was that dark alley? His sense of direction was a bit. disoriented, he guessed. He couldn't stop trembling as he walked the London streets, to no avail.
"For Merlin's sake! All streets look the same! Who was the lunatic who designed this city? Should be at St Mungo's! This is like finding a needle in a haystack."
By this time, and after cursing the "inventor" of London and his entire lineage, Severus' pride was going down the drain and he started weeping. He had given a step too large and wasn't ready face the consequences.
"Shit, shit, shit!"
He entered all the alleys he found, with an increasingly sinking feeling. He did not recognize any, as the passage to the wizarding word.
Finally, he sat in one of those and cried; "I'm going to die here!"
London was pretty noisy in the morning. The traffic was roaring, and people were talking everywhere. Severus got up, and once more began in search of the alley. He started to notice (with some curious and strange detachment) that, given enough starving time, he had stopped feeling his stomach. "Good".
The feeling didn't last. The morning gave way to the afternoon, which lead into evening. Severus sat against a building wall, exhausted. His terror was giving way to numbness.
That's when he heard a young voice singing:
"I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike. I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride it were I like."
"You're such a kid!" Complained other young voice. "What a stupid song!"
"He's a gilipollas." Agreed the voice of someone who was starting to change to his adult tone, but would fall shamefully into falsetto.
"What is a gilipollas?" Asked the voice who had been singing.
"That's what you are! Don't you know anything?"
"I'm not Spanish! Why should I know what a gilipollas is?"
"He is right, Javier." A new voice agreed.
"Shut up woman! You're such a girl."
"I am, a girl! What has that to do with his not speaking Spanish?"
"Girls are always whining. Go away!"
Severus peeked around the corner, to see the speakers. Three boys and a girl, all about his age. The shorthaired strawberry blond girl was openly facing a taller, brunette boy.
"No!" The smallest boy of the group and the one who had been singing cut in. "She brought us food! Leave her alone."
"I see." Answered the taller boy, once again falling in his falsetto tone "Johnny has a girlfriend."
That brought a chuckle from the boy Severus had not heard speak yet and a complaint from the girl:
"I'm not his girlfriend! He's nine; I'm ten! Can't you see the nonsense, you're saying?"
"Cojones, who cares?"
"What is coj."
"I'll explain that one later!" Cut the girl. "Just eat! I have to go! If my mother gets home and finds I'm out I'll be punished!"
The three boys needed no other incentive. They grabbed the paper bag the girl had brought, and started to devour its contents.
Severus threw his pride and caution away and approached silently.
The group froze in mid-mouthful to stare at him.
"What do you want?" Asked the older one, Javier, roughly.
Severus stopped in his tracks but did not allow himself to flee.
"Que quieres, capullo?" Javier stepped forward menacingly.
Now, Severus was unable to answer. He did not even understand the question.
"I."
"Stop it, Javier!" Ordered the girl. " Look at him! He's a pup!"
Anger and frustration got the better of Severus:
"Who are you calling a pup?" He yelled. "I'm twelve, and you're just ten." He stated, as if that settled the argument on who the "pup" was.
The others were not convinced. They laughed their heads off and Johnny started to chant: " Pup, pup, puppy!"
Severus' stomach was ruling him. He just couldn't go away. He also couldn't take his eyes from the bag with the food or the cookies the boys had in their hands.
"Poor puppy." The girl understood. "Boys, share!"
"No!" Snapped the brown haired one, who hadn't spoken yet "We're hungry too!"
"You're eating!" The girl pressed. "And that's because I brought you food! I'm telling you to share!"
Javier called: "Come here, pup!"
"I'm not a pup!" Severus insisted though he obeyed.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yes." THAT was an understatement.
"Where did you come from?"
Well, that was certainly a question Severus did not wish to answer. "I.I'm a runaway."
"From home?" asked the girl.
"Humm. Yes. Can I have a cookie, please?"
"You seem to need more than a cookie" the girl took the bag from Johnny's greedy hands. "I bought bread, some cheese, and cookies. It was all I could bring, this fast. Take some bread and cheese. Go on!"
Severus grabbed two of the small loaves and devoured them in front of the muggles.
"I'm Jen." The girl introduced herself while Severus was eating. "This is Johnny and he's nine" She tousled the blond boy's hair. "He is Beef." She pointed the one that hadn't enjoy shortening his meagre meal. "We think he has a demanding tapeworm! Eats like a horse and never gets fat!"
"For crying out loud!" He complained, "Where do I have food to eat like a horse?"
"This foul mouthed Spanish" Jen continued, as if never interrupted. "is Javier."
"I'm the chief!" informed Javier, just to ensure quick-tongued Jen, was not.
"Anyway" She shrugged. "they're all runaways"
Severus looked at her meaningfully.
"I am not." She answered the unasked question "And if I don't get home right now, I'll be grounded. See you."
Swiftly, she turned her back on them and ran off.
The boys threw themselves on the rest of the food, it the appetite, of the starving. The meal was fast finished. Javier looked at Severus and asked:
"What do I do with you now, pendejo?"