They arrived in dusky silence, one sleeping and one wide awake. He observed the constant, shifting patterns of the moon obscured by tree branches scurry across her face. Her eyes moved incessantly beneath her lids, and he wondered if she always slept so tulmutously. Her head rocked back and forth, and she had whispered something fiercely that sounded like she was trying to ward something off.

The train stopped, far more smoothly than any non-magic kind. In fact, the stop was so seamless, he hadn't realised they had arrived. The blackness was palpable enough to look still despite constant motion.

She didn't awake. He nudged her with his foot, catiously. He was not under the pretense that she enjoyed gratuitous physical contact. She moved slightly, the width of a hummingbird's wingbeat. He grasped her arm, marvelling at how sleepwarmed she had become, and gently rattled it. Her eyes flew open, startled, then wary. It was hard to discern the blackness of the man rousing her from the pitch-dark of outside.

I believe we're here.


His words were spoken carefully and deliberately. She nodded and stooped to gather her belongings. She gave him a curious glance.

Don't you have more than that?.

He looked at his small valise and shook his head. He had never been an excessive packer, nor a hedonist where clothing and accessories were concerned.

I require nothing more. How are we going to reach our destination?.

He gestured to the absolutely deserted platform of the station. The lack of people made him uneasy and skittish.

I have a car. Don't worry , I'm old enough to drive (she had noticed his disbelieving stare).

If Severus believed broomsticks to be something of a rough ride, he had no idea that a car could be so sickening. The constant motion, as well as the artificially pungent fumes from the seats made him ill. She gave him a sympathetic look, and instructed him to roll down the window. He stuck his head quickly, not wanting his hair to be too ruffled by the wind.

It was surprising that inside such a small vessel could be so dense. The seats practically caved beneath him, and he scoffed at the muggle's poor imitation of velvet. There were blazing, neon lights in front of him, each one ticking, dancing, flashing or making an odd sound. He pressed one hesistantly, and bit back a yelp as some goddawful music filled the front seat. She laughed nervously, then turned the knob down.

Put your seatbelt on.

She gave him a cursory overview, then continued to hum and drive, not noticing his consternation. What the hell was a seatbelt? He didn't require a belt, if she had noticed. He pretended to fumble for something as he desperately looked for what she was talking about. His hand slid over a cool, metal handle.

Don't touch that!.

She almost shouted, and his fingers immediately curled back into the sleeves of his robes.

What was that?.

The door handle. If you had opened it, you would've been pitched out of the car and been rolling happily into oncoming traffic.

.

He tried to say it casually, but he could not help the tremor that undermined his velvet voice. This was evidence of how vulnerable he really was, and how much trust both he and Dumbledore were placing in the girl.

How do I use a seatbelt?.

He asked this in a low growl, so the banality of his question would be evenly matched to the ferocity of his tone.

You see that grey thing, in the corner? Yeah, well, pull it down, it's ok, it's supposed to do that. There is a small, metal button right by your right thigh. Put the...er...the seat cord into it, and click it.

He looked at her with what would have been a skeptical sneer, save for the fact they were both swathed in darkness.

And this does what, exactly? Because ceasing circulation to my extremeties?.

She took a deep breath, and by the ragged exhalation, he could tell her was trying her patience.

If we were to crash, Professor, theortically, that would stop you from diving headfirst into the windshield and either becoming decapitated or bleeding to death. Understand?.

He didn't answer, only stared at the eerily elongated shadows on the passing road. He enjoyed the sound of rushing gravel and the odd, hyperspastic whizz of passing cars.

He shifted again in his seat, trying to find yet another elusively comfortable position.

We should be there in an hour. Sleep for now.

I was planning on it anyway. Stimulating conversation does not appear to be your forté.

He said this with a snarl and a smirk. He could feel her body become rigid, even though she was almost 2 feet away.

I wish I knew magic.

She confessed this mournfully. He started up, wondering why she had even bothered telling him.

Why? So you could wear a hat and ride a broomstick like every other member of your youth brigade, Miss Ambruzzi?.

He could not refrain from calling her the much detested nickname of so many of his other students. It was a habit and a defense mechanism, both of which had become interchangeable.

So perhaps I could rid myself of you more quickly.

This silenced him as soundly as someone spitting him in his face.








A/N: I must have reviews! I want to further this story because there are so many possibilities, but no one seems to find it interesting! Anyway, whatever, I'll still keep posting and whoever reads....PLEASE REVIEW!