Don't own no nothing
Did not create the hit
J.K. Rowling does
Because she did
Ease On Down The Road
Andolyn
After a few hours on the road, Harry complained he had to take care of some business urgently. With a lot of ordinary trees beside the road and no dangers in sight, Ari stopped the car and Harry hopped out.
Snape, fully awake now, threw the blanket from himself and fumbled with his safety-belt.
"You should leave it on, you know."
"I do not care- I wish to be able to get out -fast- if I have to."
"If I have to slow down suddenly, you might get out faster than you like, right through the windscreen."
"You know what worries me even more than your driving?"
"Your lack of sleep?"
"Potters neglect of some items I would have thought quite valuable to him."
"You really -are- worried about the boy!" Ari positively beamed at him.
Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose, squinted his eyes and shook his head.
"It's nothing personal." he assured her. "The boy is needed. There is more to Voldemorts wish to destroy the him than mere hatred or the wish for vengeance. I do not know all the details, but-"
Not interested in somebody's quest for destruction and concerned about her young friend, Ari interrupted and asked: "What items did he neglect?"
Snape looked out of the window. "He talks about his silly broom and books- but he left a certain heirloom behind I thought he deemed of value. A cape of his father's."
"I see.", Ari nodded pensive.
Sceptical and wide eyed Snape asked: "You understand?"
She nodded slowly. "Just too painful a memory perhaps. Things he won't allow himself to dwell on?"
With a scowl Snape continued. "On a more practical note- It is an invisibility cloak- and young Potter has quite a tendency for breaking the rules set out for him. I for one am -not- sorry for it's loss."
Again Snape's behaviour made Ari smile. He really had the role of the ever suffering teacher pat.
"So I take it Harry can be somewhat of a prankster."
Wrapping his arms around his lean frame and staring out the window impatiently, Snape harrumphed: "O the tales I could tell."
"With you on the receiving end?"
Turning his face and narrowing his eyes at her, in a slightly edged tone the words came out rapidy. "Under cover of that thing he has broken in to my store room more then once! Think whatever you like of that, but I take such as a deep violation! Besides, there are enough poisonous ingredients and potions in there to wipe out the half of England! The boy has no sense of responsibility and thinks far to highly of himself!"
With a look of disgust, Ari wiped something from her cheek.
"Do you realise you speak er - rather -moistly- when you get agitated?"
"I AM NOT-" Snape started, hesitated, piped down and finished his sentence testily "agitated."
Ari smiled at the bristling man. He seemed to have very little defence at being treated kindly and with mild mockery when he was -trying- for being intimidating.
"Of course you are not.", she gave calmly.
Snape sighed irritated, words flashing behind his eyes better left unspoken an calmed himself. He rubbed his temples.
"I am just tired, that is all."
"It is a few hours drive yet, try to get some more sleep."
Snape closed his eyes and seemed to burrow himself a little deeper in his chair and muttered a 'yes ma'm!'.
"There comes Harry."
Without opening his eyes and still muttering under his breath, Snape answered to no-one in particular.
"Oh, joy."
"Shut up, Snape."
The eyes cracked open a bit. Ari was still beaming her kind smile at him and in spite of himself it seemed, for half a second, he returned it.
The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful. There were no attacks, no police hold-ups, continuing mild summer weather and no problems with the traffic.
Conversation however, had come to a grinding halt. Harry had found Snape awake and retreated somewhat inside himself. Ari even asked the boy what Quidditch for a kind of sport was, but his reply was an explanation in dreary monotone about flying on a broom hitting at enchanted balls. Snape dozed of about half a dozen times, not getting much rest. The movement of the car disturbed him, and his temper was not improving. With Harry silent and withdrawn and Snape morose, Ari turned on the radio to try and improve things. Celine Dion's pristine voice filled the car with a the saccharine tune of 'Falling into you', which Ari happened to like. Harry shrugged because all -girls- did, and that she was no where near as good as The Weird Sisters, of whom Ari had never heard. Snape tilted his head with half hearted interest, acknowledging he heard this voice for the first time. When Ari asked him if he liked it, he shrugged, told her the verses were rather 'simple' and that the woman had an accent.
Ari gave up.
It was nearly four o'clock already, when they rounded Selkirk and Snape instructed Ari to take by-roads, which became smaller and narrower every turn they took and were no longer on the map. Finally Ari was totally lost at the end of a dead-end cobbled path. In front of her was a wooden fence with an old-fashioned gate and a large uninviting sign.
'Watch the bull! Do not cross, but if you insist, don't wear red and run real fast!'
A dusty sand-trail began where the cobbles ended. Snape got out of the car, opened the gate and beaconed Ari to drive through. She complied, with a very uneasy feel in her stomach. Snape got in, but Ari made no move to drive on.
"What is it?" he asked.
It was odd. The moment the car had passed the gate, Ari's mind leapt to a thousand and one things she still had to do. A test to correct and lessons to prepare. Paint that had to be bought, a grocery list that had to be made -right now-! She had not spoken to her mother for ages. And there was just that creepy feeling her life would go seriously wrong if -all- those things would not be immediately tended to.
"I think I left the gas on, I have to go home! And I have to phone my mother- do you know I haven't spoken to her for god knows how long? Please get out and open the gate again- we have to go back."
Harry stared at her wide eyed, not liking what he saw. Snape chuckled unkindly and quite amused. He took out his wand again.
"No. You have only fallen prey to the enchantments protecting Hogsmead, Hogsward and the surrounding area from too curious Muggles. Please hold still."
Ari crawled away with her back against the door, proving something of Snape's point against safety belts while half panicking.
"Don't you dare wave that wand at me!"
Snape smiled that toothy grin again. He should not do that, Ari thought wearily- or think about braces. His teeth were less than white and from the back of her mind came the comparison with a sleek and happily advancing panther.
"This won't hurt a bit, trust me." he purred- Do panthers purr? She thought not. She really should find some library -right now- to look up everything about the big cats. It were lions that purred- not panthers.
"Get the hell away from me!"
Snape made a small wave in the air and said quite loud: "Finite Incantatem!"
Insects crawled over Ari's skin, everywhere. They seemed to move inside, through her flesh, inside her eyes, past her lungs- then it was over. She took a deep breath and put her head in her hands.
"Stop that- Don't -ever- do that again! It feels disgusting! I hate this and I hate you!"
"You are quite welcome." Snape answered wry.
Ari blinked, blinked again and shook her head to free it from the buzzing thoughts that seemed as unimportant now as they really where. She looked up at the wizard.
"You bewitched me."
A slow nod and Harry's hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright? I mean, I've seen that spell used before, but nobody reacts the way you do."
Snape sighed. "Don't you understand the obvious, Potter. She is a Muggle- and Muggles have a lot less stamina as far as magic is concerned than wizards do. Hence a somewhat stronger reaction to even a benign counter spell."
"Glad to hear it." Ari sighed in a heavy voice, somewhat slurring the words. "So nice to know this is normal. I take it that what you did was de-bewitching me then."
"Well, one could put it that way."
"Alright. Now what?"
"Follow the road."
"Yellow Brick?"
Snape frowned and Harry grinned.
"She's alright, Sir."
Again, Snape seemed to hug himself in a gesture, that was quickly becoming standard.
"I really wish you would refer from using that inane Muggle jargon of yours."
"Spoilsport."
Snape shook his head and answered Ari's quip with seriousness.
"You are entering another world, miss Philpot. And in there, people will not appreciate references to a place they know very little of, nor are willing to concern themselves with. If you do not wish to seem very childish or even somewhat retarded, you better hold your tongue!"
Halfway through Snape's little speech, Ari's mouth fell open.
"Who the hell do you think you are to even dare suggest such an misplaced paternal and condescending idiocy!"
That scowl again.
"Very well, madam. But if you insist on treating our world on your terms, you will find yourself quickly rejected and -never- taken seriously."
Not even gracing -that- with an answer, Ari unexpectedly put her foot down and the car lurched forward. Harry yelped and found himself sprawled over the backseat, Snape was merely pushed further into his chair. He held on to his composure admirably.
Fine! That sneaky bastard had finally succeeded in making Ari miserable too. The hell with it! Him! Whatever!
"There is a fork in the road." Ari stated tersely.
"Keep to the left, that way we avoid the village"
"Right."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
"Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
"Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
"Come on, ease on down, ease on down, down the road
From the song 'Ease On Down The Road' of the musical The Wiz, with among (a lot of) others Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. This is a wonderful remake of the equally wonderful movie 'The Wizard of Oz' with Judy Garland.
Blackletter, thank you for commenting on the dialogue. I've read your stories and I must say, I admire the darkness of them. They are truly wonderful, and I would advise everybody who reads this to read them too.
Neri the Raven, thanks! I am really doing my best to make my characters three-dimensional. It's great to get a comment like yours. (Ik vraag me af hoeveel Dutchies er eigenlijk bij fanfiction.net betrokken zijn, volgens mij heel wat!)
Amy Lee, thanks! I needed that.
Sophie W. & slytherin girl, thanks for your wonderful continuing support!
Did not create the hit
J.K. Rowling does
Because she did
Ease On Down The Road
Andolyn
After a few hours on the road, Harry complained he had to take care of some business urgently. With a lot of ordinary trees beside the road and no dangers in sight, Ari stopped the car and Harry hopped out.
Snape, fully awake now, threw the blanket from himself and fumbled with his safety-belt.
"You should leave it on, you know."
"I do not care- I wish to be able to get out -fast- if I have to."
"If I have to slow down suddenly, you might get out faster than you like, right through the windscreen."
"You know what worries me even more than your driving?"
"Your lack of sleep?"
"Potters neglect of some items I would have thought quite valuable to him."
"You really -are- worried about the boy!" Ari positively beamed at him.
Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose, squinted his eyes and shook his head.
"It's nothing personal." he assured her. "The boy is needed. There is more to Voldemorts wish to destroy the him than mere hatred or the wish for vengeance. I do not know all the details, but-"
Not interested in somebody's quest for destruction and concerned about her young friend, Ari interrupted and asked: "What items did he neglect?"
Snape looked out of the window. "He talks about his silly broom and books- but he left a certain heirloom behind I thought he deemed of value. A cape of his father's."
"I see.", Ari nodded pensive.
Sceptical and wide eyed Snape asked: "You understand?"
She nodded slowly. "Just too painful a memory perhaps. Things he won't allow himself to dwell on?"
With a scowl Snape continued. "On a more practical note- It is an invisibility cloak- and young Potter has quite a tendency for breaking the rules set out for him. I for one am -not- sorry for it's loss."
Again Snape's behaviour made Ari smile. He really had the role of the ever suffering teacher pat.
"So I take it Harry can be somewhat of a prankster."
Wrapping his arms around his lean frame and staring out the window impatiently, Snape harrumphed: "O the tales I could tell."
"With you on the receiving end?"
Turning his face and narrowing his eyes at her, in a slightly edged tone the words came out rapidy. "Under cover of that thing he has broken in to my store room more then once! Think whatever you like of that, but I take such as a deep violation! Besides, there are enough poisonous ingredients and potions in there to wipe out the half of England! The boy has no sense of responsibility and thinks far to highly of himself!"
With a look of disgust, Ari wiped something from her cheek.
"Do you realise you speak er - rather -moistly- when you get agitated?"
"I AM NOT-" Snape started, hesitated, piped down and finished his sentence testily "agitated."
Ari smiled at the bristling man. He seemed to have very little defence at being treated kindly and with mild mockery when he was -trying- for being intimidating.
"Of course you are not.", she gave calmly.
Snape sighed irritated, words flashing behind his eyes better left unspoken an calmed himself. He rubbed his temples.
"I am just tired, that is all."
"It is a few hours drive yet, try to get some more sleep."
Snape closed his eyes and seemed to burrow himself a little deeper in his chair and muttered a 'yes ma'm!'.
"There comes Harry."
Without opening his eyes and still muttering under his breath, Snape answered to no-one in particular.
"Oh, joy."
"Shut up, Snape."
The eyes cracked open a bit. Ari was still beaming her kind smile at him and in spite of himself it seemed, for half a second, he returned it.
The rest of the journey was fairly uneventful. There were no attacks, no police hold-ups, continuing mild summer weather and no problems with the traffic.
Conversation however, had come to a grinding halt. Harry had found Snape awake and retreated somewhat inside himself. Ari even asked the boy what Quidditch for a kind of sport was, but his reply was an explanation in dreary monotone about flying on a broom hitting at enchanted balls. Snape dozed of about half a dozen times, not getting much rest. The movement of the car disturbed him, and his temper was not improving. With Harry silent and withdrawn and Snape morose, Ari turned on the radio to try and improve things. Celine Dion's pristine voice filled the car with a the saccharine tune of 'Falling into you', which Ari happened to like. Harry shrugged because all -girls- did, and that she was no where near as good as The Weird Sisters, of whom Ari had never heard. Snape tilted his head with half hearted interest, acknowledging he heard this voice for the first time. When Ari asked him if he liked it, he shrugged, told her the verses were rather 'simple' and that the woman had an accent.
Ari gave up.
It was nearly four o'clock already, when they rounded Selkirk and Snape instructed Ari to take by-roads, which became smaller and narrower every turn they took and were no longer on the map. Finally Ari was totally lost at the end of a dead-end cobbled path. In front of her was a wooden fence with an old-fashioned gate and a large uninviting sign.
'Watch the bull! Do not cross, but if you insist, don't wear red and run real fast!'
A dusty sand-trail began where the cobbles ended. Snape got out of the car, opened the gate and beaconed Ari to drive through. She complied, with a very uneasy feel in her stomach. Snape got in, but Ari made no move to drive on.
"What is it?" he asked.
It was odd. The moment the car had passed the gate, Ari's mind leapt to a thousand and one things she still had to do. A test to correct and lessons to prepare. Paint that had to be bought, a grocery list that had to be made -right now-! She had not spoken to her mother for ages. And there was just that creepy feeling her life would go seriously wrong if -all- those things would not be immediately tended to.
"I think I left the gas on, I have to go home! And I have to phone my mother- do you know I haven't spoken to her for god knows how long? Please get out and open the gate again- we have to go back."
Harry stared at her wide eyed, not liking what he saw. Snape chuckled unkindly and quite amused. He took out his wand again.
"No. You have only fallen prey to the enchantments protecting Hogsmead, Hogsward and the surrounding area from too curious Muggles. Please hold still."
Ari crawled away with her back against the door, proving something of Snape's point against safety belts while half panicking.
"Don't you dare wave that wand at me!"
Snape smiled that toothy grin again. He should not do that, Ari thought wearily- or think about braces. His teeth were less than white and from the back of her mind came the comparison with a sleek and happily advancing panther.
"This won't hurt a bit, trust me." he purred- Do panthers purr? She thought not. She really should find some library -right now- to look up everything about the big cats. It were lions that purred- not panthers.
"Get the hell away from me!"
Snape made a small wave in the air and said quite loud: "Finite Incantatem!"
Insects crawled over Ari's skin, everywhere. They seemed to move inside, through her flesh, inside her eyes, past her lungs- then it was over. She took a deep breath and put her head in her hands.
"Stop that- Don't -ever- do that again! It feels disgusting! I hate this and I hate you!"
"You are quite welcome." Snape answered wry.
Ari blinked, blinked again and shook her head to free it from the buzzing thoughts that seemed as unimportant now as they really where. She looked up at the wizard.
"You bewitched me."
A slow nod and Harry's hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright? I mean, I've seen that spell used before, but nobody reacts the way you do."
Snape sighed. "Don't you understand the obvious, Potter. She is a Muggle- and Muggles have a lot less stamina as far as magic is concerned than wizards do. Hence a somewhat stronger reaction to even a benign counter spell."
"Glad to hear it." Ari sighed in a heavy voice, somewhat slurring the words. "So nice to know this is normal. I take it that what you did was de-bewitching me then."
"Well, one could put it that way."
"Alright. Now what?"
"Follow the road."
"Yellow Brick?"
Snape frowned and Harry grinned.
"She's alright, Sir."
Again, Snape seemed to hug himself in a gesture, that was quickly becoming standard.
"I really wish you would refer from using that inane Muggle jargon of yours."
"Spoilsport."
Snape shook his head and answered Ari's quip with seriousness.
"You are entering another world, miss Philpot. And in there, people will not appreciate references to a place they know very little of, nor are willing to concern themselves with. If you do not wish to seem very childish or even somewhat retarded, you better hold your tongue!"
Halfway through Snape's little speech, Ari's mouth fell open.
"Who the hell do you think you are to even dare suggest such an misplaced paternal and condescending idiocy!"
That scowl again.
"Very well, madam. But if you insist on treating our world on your terms, you will find yourself quickly rejected and -never- taken seriously."
Not even gracing -that- with an answer, Ari unexpectedly put her foot down and the car lurched forward. Harry yelped and found himself sprawled over the backseat, Snape was merely pushed further into his chair. He held on to his composure admirably.
Fine! That sneaky bastard had finally succeeded in making Ari miserable too. The hell with it! Him! Whatever!
"There is a fork in the road." Ari stated tersely.
"Keep to the left, that way we avoid the village"
"Right."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
"Come on, ease on down, ease on down the road
"Don't you carry nothing that might be a load
"Come on, ease on down, ease on down, down the road
From the song 'Ease On Down The Road' of the musical The Wiz, with among (a lot of) others Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. This is a wonderful remake of the equally wonderful movie 'The Wizard of Oz' with Judy Garland.
Blackletter, thank you for commenting on the dialogue. I've read your stories and I must say, I admire the darkness of them. They are truly wonderful, and I would advise everybody who reads this to read them too.
Neri the Raven, thanks! I am really doing my best to make my characters three-dimensional. It's great to get a comment like yours. (Ik vraag me af hoeveel Dutchies er eigenlijk bij fanfiction.net betrokken zijn, volgens mij heel wat!)
Amy Lee, thanks! I needed that.
Sophie W. & slytherin girl, thanks for your wonderful continuing support!