Chapter 7: Chapter 7

It was Mid-March by the time he'd gotten the funds to clear from the Hogwarts Board of Directors. A thousand Galleons, which equaled about 5000 British pounds. A tidy sum, and hopefully enough to suit his needs.

He met up with Tonks in Hogsmeade Saturday morning and the pair apparated into the muggle part of London. After an enjoyable breakfast with the pink haired Witch the two hit up every new and used car dealership in the greater London metropolitan area. The reason was simple. They were buying a car!

Months prior, Carson had convinced Dumbledore to expand the muggle studies class to cover Automobile operation. Considering the ubiquity of the metal muggle transport carriages the idea had merit. Almost every student knew, or at least was familiar with what an Automobile was. But the headmaster couldn't think of one in the last few years that could drive one.

So, for extra credits students could sign up for driving lessons with the American. Some of the staff even took him up on the offer. The lands around Hogwarts had picturesque roads that winded through the hilly terrain, but more importantly traffic was sparse, making it an ideal location to learn.

Carson's first car had been a 1974 Datsun 260Z, a rear wheel drive two door coupe. He missed it dearly, but doubted he'd find a twenty year old car like that one today. With only 5000 quid, as the locals referred to their money, he was squarely focused on used cars five to ten years old. Tonks had mentioned that there were repair spells that could fix mechanical machines without the time consuming labor needed to pull the complicated bits apart. He wondered briefly why Wizards and witches didn't just become mechanics. It was a foolproof way to make money.

oOo

5 hours and 3000 pounds later the two were cruising up the Motorway 1, as the British liked to all their FREEWAYS. He'd spotted a well-worn M3 sitting in a used car dealership and was instantly sold. Tonks had patched the front tire and muffler after the transaction. During the ride back to Hogwarts she'd fixed the entire interior, starting with getting the radio to play the Wizarding Wireless Network.

The downside was that it was blaring music from that terrible band she'd liked so much. The Weird Sisters or something to that end. After Sheffield they switched spots. Ted taught her to drive back in her 7th year, meaning he could catch a few winks.

Of course the back seats HAD to be broken in, so a half hour detour down a forestry road was the next order of business. Car sex was more of an art than an activity, and the Metamorph had given him an O in the subject. The experience had left the muggle with sore knees but a permanent smile plastered across his face.

It was late evening before they pulled through the castle gates. The whopping willow went nuts as they drove past, though neither of them knew why. With a tired sigh the pair pulled themselves from the black car, stretching and popping stiff joints. Finch looked displeased at their late arrival, but held his tongue. It was well after curfew, and both were famished.

The next stop naturally was the kitchens, where the elves practically fell over themselves greeting the pair. Apparently the jovial creatures had placed bets on the couple after Carson's first visit. Tonks raised an eyebrow at the thought that the only muggle in the school had consulted house elves of all things on relationship advice. Then she realized that the little creatures probably knew more about each student than even the teachers.

Did her boyfriend pump the big eared creatures for information on her during her time at the school? She kept stealing curious glances at the brown haired man as they munched on sandwiches and juice, which both wolfed down with great fervor. They finally crawled into bed sometime after three, having showered first. All in all it had been a good day.

The next morning the couple entered the great hall hand in hand. The headmaster was made aware of their success the previous day, and the young couple even convinced him to go for a quick rip. It turns out the Supreme Mugwump giggled like a little schoolgirl every time the German salon was thrown sideways around a corner. But before heading back into the castle the powerful Wizard was suckered into fixing the back tires, which had been worn down quite a bit over the last hour. God he loved magic.

oOo

Hogwarts front gate, Scotland April 13th, 1997

There were two students of his list today. One was a bushy haired girl by the name of Granger, and the other was Malfoy. The second surprised him, but it wasn't like he could refuse to teach. That'd be biased, and while he tended to run his mouth a little he tried to stay as professional as possible around the pint sized wand waivers. The two walked up to him, both looking rather miserable.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you didn't want to be here, but that can't be right because this here's a voluntary exercise."

He uncrossed his arms and pushed off the quarter panel, opening the door. "Miss Granger, if you'd be so kind as to sit in the back please." The girl complied, clutching a book bag like it was a floatation device or something. The reason for her riding backseat was in case the greaser tried to pull another stunt on him she'd hopefully hex his balls off.

Carson and Draco made eye contact before the elder said; "Well, get in. Oh, and I'll be taking your wand for the lesson." He held out his hand like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why not hers?" the blonde teen asked stupidly.

"Well, for one she didn't try to attack me. And the other reason is that there's a good chance it could snap when you sit down. Had it happen to a couple students before. Now hand it over."

The Slytherin grumbled in disapproval as he handed the stick over, and Carson swiftly locked it in the glove compartment.

"All right, you ever driven stick before?"

The blonde teen shook his head, still struggling to figure out the seat controls. After showing him how to adjust the seat, he ordered both his passengers to buckle up.

"Muggle traffic cops love to bust people for not wearing your belt. So make it a habit to do that before you turn over the engine, comprende?"

Both kids nodded in understanding.

"All right, now use your left foot to press down the far left pedal all the way, and keep your right foot on the center pedal. He explained what each pedal does. Hermione caught on quickly, already familiar with the terms and the general understanding of what a car does. Malfoy was another story.

He was impatient, snappy, and after 5 minutes of bunny hoping the BMW down the road Carson smacked the boy upside the head.

"Lose the attitude kid, or this isn't going to work." In the back the Gryffindor failed to hold back a giggle, and Malfoy snapped at her.

"Shut up Budblood, you think you can do better?"

Another smack on the head, this one with a bit more force. "And loose the name calling, you're 16 frikkin years old, not 5. If I hear it from your mouth again so god help me god, I will pin you to the ground and you will be eating a bar of soap!"

Draco paled. His mother had done that once after calling a distant relative the M word. It was unpleasant to say the least.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh I would. And it wouldn't be the Ivory soap either. You ever heard of Gritty Goat milk soap?"

Draco hadn't, but the name was self-explanatory.

"I'll be good!" he blurted, eyes wide with fear.

Seeing that his old-school threat seemed to work, Carson went back to the lesson.

"All right, one more time from the top. Ease off the brake, give it a little gas, and slowly, gently lift the clutch until you feel it grab." He'd asked poor Tonks to fix that part of the car half dozen times already because the damn kids were so hard on it.

Malfoy scrunched his face in concentration, and after almost stalling it managed to get it into first gear. He celebrated with an uncharacteristic whoop of excitement. Hermione raised an eyebrow, but Carson quickly told him that when the red needle passed 4 he needed to let go of the gas and press the clutch down at the same time. Draco complied and Carson, with his hand over the boys shifted the car up into second gear.

"All right, now do the opposite and give it gas while letting go of the clutch again," he instructed. The shift was very hard, rocking the car violently forward, then back again as Draco pressed the pedal down. They were on a straight stretch, so thankfully not much concentration was needed to watch the road. They continued through the motion shifting all the way to 5th, then stopping and repeating the process a few times. Most students were still a bit shaky, but managed to do this without further input by the end of the lesson. Stalling happened quite a bit, but he was no different when he started.

"Remember, when you stop the clutch needs to be pushed in." Malfoy nodded and restarted the engine.

After an hour, it was the girls turn. She had listened intently, and progressed much quicker than the blonde now sitting in the back seat. He seemed upset at this fact, but Carson soothed his ruffled feathers saying that the second student usually did better because they observed for a bit.

Finally the Professor drove them back, explaining what he wanted to cover in the next lesson and demonstrating. Both were impressed that he could shift so easily and effortlessly when all they had done for two hours was abuse the muggle motor carriage.

Draco was left with a smidge of respect for the teacher, and was secretly looking forward to the next lesson. Carson meanwhile hoped that the occasional interaction with the biased boy would open his eyes a little.