A/N: Hey gang! Sorry its taken me awhile to post the next installment - I've started school and don't have as much time to write as I would like. More to come as soon as I get a free second, I promise! In the meantime, why not R/R? Thanks!
Three hours later . . .
"Four hundred fifty seven bottles of butterbeer on the
wall, four hundred fifty seven bottles of butterbeer! Take one
down, pass it around, four hundred fifty six bottles of butterbeer
on the wall . . . "
"I'm going to kill them," Ron groaned. Fred, George,
Lee, and the rest of the Griffindors at the back of the bus had
started at 700 bottles of butterbeer and had been singing for
a good hour. Harry had to admit, it was getting annoying.
Obnoxious singing aside, the bus ride was proving to be rather
uneventful. After a somewhat rocky start, Hagrid seemed to catch
on to driving pretty quickly and was now cruising along with the
traffic, his gigantic arm hanging out of the window.
Hermione was still giving Ron the silent treatment, but this
did not surprise Harry. Hermione could be pretty stubborn at times,
and Harry knew that she wasn't going to come around until she
was good and ready.
"Ugh - I'm dead bored. Do you think we're almost there?"
Ron asked, trying to look past Harry and Hermione out the window.
Harry shook his head.
"Dumbledore said we weren't going to arrive until morning,
remember?"
"I can sit here that long! I'll go crazy! Let's do something,
Harry."
"Like what?"
"I dunno, we could play a game or something. You know, like
one of those games you play in the car - 'I see something thats
red' or something like that?"
"Ron, I grew up with the Dursley's. We never played games
in the car."
Suddenly, a head appeared over the top of the seat in front of
them.
"Did someone mention games?" Lavender Brown asked.
"How about Truth or Dare?" Parvati's head shot up as
well.
"Oh, Truth or Dare, can I play too?"
"Er - are you sure you want to play Truth or Dare with them,
Ron?" Harry asked. There was something in the tone of Lavender's
voice that was making him a little nervous. Ron, however, simply
shrugged.
"Why not? We've got nothing better to do!"
"Hey, can we join in?" Seamus and Dean leaned across
the aisle, looking eager.
"Sure. Hey, Neville, wanna play Truth or Dare?"
"Um . . . all right . . . "
Ron glanced across the seat to where Hermione sat curled up with
her nose buried in a book.
"Hermione, do you want to play?" he asked her quietly.
To Harry's surprise, Hermione looked up from her book to stare
at Ron. He couldn't quite read the expression on her face. After
a moment of strange silence -
"Yes. Yes, I think I will play." Hermione replied,
putting her book away. "Who goes first?"
"Harry, why don't you go first?" Parvati said. Harry
looked up at her, startled.
"Why me?"
"I dunno - just ask someone a question."
Harry swallowed. He had never actually played Truth or Dare before,
but he had the feeling it could turn into a dangerous game.
"Er . . . Ron, truth or dare?"
"Um - truth, I guess."
Harry sat back, thinking hard. Ron was one of his best friends
- he didn't want to ask him something that might embarrass him.
"Lets see . . . have you ever . . . er . . . um -
oh! I know, whats the one thing that scares you more than anything
else in the world?"
Ron blushed. "You already know -"
"Just answer the question, Ron!" Parvati demanded.
Ron sighed.
"Spiders, ok? I am scared of spiders. Are you happy now?"
"Now, Ron, you ask someone else a question." Lavender
prodded him.
"Neville, truth or dare?"
"Truth." Neville answered quickly. Parvati giggled
and Neville glanced at her nervously.
Ron sat in silence for a minute, trying to think of a question.
"Um . . . "
"Ron, hurry up and ask him something!"
"Hold on!! I'm thinking! . . . . Neville, what scares
you more than anything else in the world?"
"Snape." Neville replied with a shudder. Lavender rolled
her eyes.
"Honestly, its so boring playing with you boys! I'm going
to ask a question now . . . Hermione, truth or dare?"
Hermione seemed startled to suddenly be called on.
"Truth."
"Which boy at Hogwarts would you most want to kiss, and
why?"
A collective gasp came from the boys in the group. Hermione's
cheeks were now turning a definite shade of pink. Lavender looked
very pleased with herself.
"You have to answer, Hermione, or else you have to take
a dare."
"Please answer her, Hermione," Dean said, looking rather
uptight. "I'm afraid of what the dare might be!"
"One boy out of the whole school? This is going to take
some thought . . . " Hermione drummed her fingers on the
back of the seat. The other seven Griffindors sat in silence,
watching her.
"Four hundred thirty four bottles of butterbeer on the wall,
four hundred thirty four bottles of butterbeer! Take one down,
pass it around . . . "
Ron glanced towards the back of the bus in annoyance.
"They've been singing for hours! Hurry up and answer, Hermione,
so I can go yell at them - "
SCRRRREEEECCCCCHHHHHH!!!!
The bus suddenly swerved violently to the left, tossing Harry,
Ron, Neville and Seamus into the aisle. The vehicle came to sudden
stop and those students who were not already thrown from their
seats were now tossed forward onto the floor. For a moment, everyone
sat in shocked silence.
"Hagrid, what just happened?"
"Somethin' just jumped in front of the bus, thats what happened!"
Hagrid replied breathlessly, wiping his face. Professor McGonagall
pulled herself to her feet and leaned over the seat behind Hagrid,
staring out of the windshield.
"Well, where did it go?"
"I dunno, it just came runnin' out of the woods - "
The static of the bus intercom suddenly interrupted the conversation,
and Professor Dumbledore's voice filled the air, sounding only
mildly concerned.
"MINERVA? EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT?"
Professor McGonagall looked slightly puzzled.
"Where . . . ? Oh - Hagrid, how do you work this thing?
Albus? Can you hear me?"
"YES, I CAN HEAR YOU. WHAT'S HAPPENED TO THE BUS?"
"Nothing. Hagrid almost hit a dog or something, but its
all right now. We're on our way."
"VERY GOOD." Dumbledore chuckled, "I RATHER ENJOY
THIS INTERCOM SYSTEM, DON'T YOU? I'VE BEEN PESTERING SEVERUS WITH
IT ALL EVENING."
"Yes, its lovely." Professor McGonagall replied absently.
She was watching Hagrid, who was turning the key over and over
again without so much as a sputter from the engine. The students
were now picking themselves up out of the aisle and were also
watching what was going on at the front of the bus.
"Has the engine died?" Ron asked fearfully.
"If it has, we're walking to Snickity's - right gang?"
Fred Weasley crowed as he pulled himself to his feet.
"Settle down, now, settle down!" Madam Hooch said,
trying to push her way past Professor Trelawney who was now dangling
some sort of crystals over Hagrid's head.
"We could be there by morning if we started walking right
now -"
"No one is walking anywhere, Mr. Weasley."
"But -"
Hagrid pulled himself to his feet and opened the bus door.
"Hagrid, where are you going?" Professor McGonagall
demanded.
"I'm gonna check the engine." Hagrid replied, lumbering
down the stairs.
"But Hagrid - you don't know anything about the engine!"
Professor McGonagall called after him. She sighed and turned the
intercom dial on the dashboard.
"Dumbledore?"
"YES, PROFESSOR?"
"The bus won't start. Hagrid's gone out to look at the engine,
but I really don't -"
"Gaaaaaahhhhhhh!!"
Without warning, Hagrid suddenly flew back up the bus stairs,
slamming the door behind him.
"The engine! It's fully of bloody pixies!"
A murmur ran through the bus. Professor McGonagall and Madam
Hooch were staring at Hagrid as he slumped into a seat beside
Professor Trelawney, who was still staring into her crystal, completely
oblivious to the situation.
"MINERVA, WHATS GOING ON?
Professor McGonagall looked at Hagrid, who shrugged helplessly.
"I dunno what to do, Professor. There's thousands of 'em
out there . . ."
"Just a moment, Albus." Professor McGonagall said with
a sigh, getting out of her seat and heading towards the door.
"Minerva -"
"Wait here." she snapped, shutting the door behind
her. Hagrid looked at Madam Hooch, who shook her head.
"MINERVA?"
"Um- she's just stepped out a moment, Professor. She will
be right back." Madam Hooch answered nervously.
"We're losing precious travel time!" George Weasley
whined, bouncing up and down on the back seat.
"Pity Professor Lockhart's not here, eh?" Ron said
quietly to Harry and Hermione. "He seemed to have a way with
pixies."
"Do you think they'll be able to call a tow truck?"
Harry asked. Ron stared at him blankly.
"A what?"
Harry shook his head. "Nevermind."
The bus door suddenly screeched open again, and Professor McGonagall
came up the the stairs, slightly out of breath.
"Try the key again, Hagrid."
Hagrid slumped back into the driver's seat and gave the key a
half-hearted turn. To everyone's amazement, the engine turned
over with a rumble, and Hagrid steered the bus back onto the road.
A cheer rose up from the students.
"How did you -?" Hagrid asked Professor McGonagall
in shock. She shrugged and turned the intercom back on.
"Albus, we're on our way."
"VERY GOOD, PROFESSOR. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT."
"I did foresee this little delay, you know." Professor
Trelawney sputtered mystically from the front seat. " I
was most anxious to warn you all, but I thought perhaps it would
make Hagrid nervous -"
"Yes, well thank you, Sybil. You've been most helpful."
McGonagall said dryly. At the back of the bus, the Weasley twins
once again resumed their singing, and Harry, Ron and Hermione
sat back in their seat, suddenly tired from the excitement of
the past hour.
"Wake me when we get there." said Ron, closing his
eyes.
"Aren't we going to finish our game?" Lavender asked,
looking dismayed. Harry shook his head.
"Not now, Lavender, everyone's getting tired."
"You're no fun." Lavender sulked, turning back to her
seat.
"Wait until you see us tomorrow," Ron said sleepily,
without even opening his eyes. "Tomorrow is going to be the
definition of fun."
"Uhm . . . Ron? Can you make your brothers shut up?"
Harry asked quietly.
Ron didn't answer. He was already asleep.