Harry Potter was looking forward to spend some carefree weeks with the Weasleys. Severus Snape thought he would just run another quick errand for the Headmaster before the start of the term. But suddenly they find themselves on the run, and far away from Hogwarts the Boy-Who-Lived and the Death-Eater-Turned-Spy discover that behind the façades they are both only human. Guest appearances by Mrs. Figg, the Dursleys, everyone's favorite dog-animagus (later) and many more.
NO SLASH!
Disclaimer
Mrs. Rowling created and owns the world of Harry Potter. I don't.
I only borrow some of her characters to play around with them.
The VW Jetta belongs to the Volkswagen AG.
Beta read by Kristin
Unfamiliar Roads
By Clio
Chapter 3 - To London
When Mrs. Figg woke Harry the next morning it was still suspiciously dark in the living room. He thought that it couldn't be later than 6:30 in the morning. "Ah, the little sunshine is awake! Get up, Harry, it's going to be a wonderful day!" Mrs. Figg chirped and moved along to yank open the curtains.
The gray light of dawn filtered into the room. It took a moment for Harry's sleepy brain to realize he was lying on the couch in Mrs. Figg's living room, covered with a threadbare blanket full of cat hair. Disgusted, he pushed it back, and sat up. How hadn't he noticed all the hair yesterday? At the foot of the bed sat a big white cat, whose name he had learned yesterday was Tiddles, which stared at him and the blanket pointedly. Had the cat shared the bed without his notice? Harry considered throwing a pillow at the cat when he suddenly remembered the reason he wasn't sleeping in the guestroom, which was his usual refuge when staying with Mrs. Figg.
Professor Snape slept there.
Mrs. Figg swept past him humming " Jingle Bells", not bothered by the fact that it was August.
Harry grimaced. Speaking of riding in a sleigh, was he really expected to go to London with Snape or had that only been a bad dream? His worst fears were confirmed when Mrs. Figg came back into the room with an armful of Muggle clothes. "As you might already know you will not go straight back to Hogwarts, Harry." She winked at him. He flushed, realizing she knew that he had overheard her conversation with Professor Dumbledore the previous night. "After you have showered and dressed I want you to go upstairs and wake my other guest. Tell him to wear these." She hung the clothes over the back of the couch with a snigger.
"What? There's no way I'm going up there."
"Oh, Harry, please. I have to feed the cats. Do an old lady a favor."
Although she turned away from Harry, he caught a glimpse of the broad grin
spreading across her face.
After being finished with a very extended shower, Harry thoroughly brushed
his teeth and combed his hair as time-consuming as possible until he realized
he could no longer procrastinate. Reluctantly, he picked up the clothes
from the couch, and made his way, slowly, up the stairs. He decided he
would knock on the door, drop the clothes, and run down the stairs as quick
as possible.
When he reached the guestroom he noticed that the door was slightly
open. Curiosity won over, and he silently pushed it open all the way, an
odd sight falling upon his eyes. Severus Snape, the much dreaded, gloomy
Potions master of Hogwarts, was sleeping peacefully between the cheery
apricot sheets in the room decorated with cat figurines and brightly painted
walls. Harry grinned.
Then he noted that untrue to his word Snape was sleeping with a firm
grip around his wand, ready to hex any unsuspecting intruder. This, and
the fact that he awkwardly cradled his injured arm against his chest, somewhat
disturbed the serene picture. Carefully, not wanting to risk the wrath
of Snape, Harry backed out of the room. Following his original plan, he
dropped at the clothes outside the door, yelling, "Good morning, Professor,
Mrs. Figg says you are to wear these." He quickly rapped his knuckles upon
the wood before hurrying back to the safety of the first floor, and Mrs.
Figg.
He found her in the backyard, where she not only was feeding her own
four cats but also a large number of strays. She smiled upon seeing Harry
frown at the animals. "I see you don't like cats. Didn't they teach you
at Hogwarts that cats are very sensitive to dark magic? A cat is a wizard's
best friend, or so the saying goes."
He frowned again. That may be true, but he doubted it was necessary
for Mrs. Figg to have a whole battalion of furry, dark magic sensors around.
After feeding the cats, Harry helped her to set up the kitchen table for breakfast. He had just taken the first sip from his tea when Snape entered the room. In spite of the habitual scowl his newly shaven face looked a lot more relaxed than it had the night before. Harry noted that although he had so vehemently protested against it yesterday, his arm was still draped in the sling. Mrs. Figg, who had also noted that, nodded in approvement. "You look a lot better this morning. I'm glad those clothes fit you."
Snape glanced darkly down at his attire. He was wearing a pair of old-fashioned brown corduroy pants and a dark green woolen sweater over a gray shirt. The sweater was already threadbare at the elbows. "Please enlighten me, where did these clothes come from?"
"Oh, there was this fellow who cut back the hedges and such around here," she said while inviting Snape to the table with a vague hand gesture. "He left a set of clothes here he used to wear at work. Well, one day, he just didn't come back."
Snape sat down with a sneer. "I'm wearing the work outfit of a long dead Muggle gardener?"
The elder lady shrugged. "Better than your torn robes. And a lot less suspicious when moving amongst Muggles."
Snape raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Muggles? You seem to forget I am going back to Hogwarts today, Arabella."
"I'm afraid you will not." About half an hour later Mrs. Figg had filled
him in on her conversation with Dumbledore the previous night. He protested
a few times, but in general, he didn't seem to be overly surprised about
the changed goal of his mission. Harry chewed on his toast without much
enthusiasm. He would be stuck with Snape for at least a day.
It turned out that Mrs. Figg not only was able to lend Muggle clothes to Snape, but also able to supply them with transportation. She had an old Volkswagen Jetta in the garage next to the house. Since Harry was not able to Apparate yet, and brooms, as well as the Knight Bus, were too noticeable, a car would be least conspicuous to go to London with. Besides, Snape didn't have much faith in Muggle public transportation.
"Do you think you can drive this?" Mrs. Figg asked Snape when she showed them the rusty car.
"It's a Muggle device, Arabella. It's not like those machines are complicated."
While Mrs. Figg seemed to accept this as a yes, Harry strongly suspected
that Snape had never in his life driven a car – but he decided to keep
those thoughts to himself.
After they had fitted the school trunk and Hedwig's cage into the backseat, and boarded the car, Harry was forced to revise his opinion. Although he seemed to be very uncomfortable in the driver's seat, it clearly was not the first time Snape sat in a car.
Harry thought he saw him wince a bit as he redrew his right arm from the sling to grip the steering-wheel. It seemed to be a good thing he could use his uninjured left arm to shift the gears. After a few minutes of fumbling with various buttons and some lethal glares at the levers, Snape managed to start the car and back out of the driveway.
Mrs. Figg positively beamed at them. She motioned for Harry to open the window, handing him a large paper bag. "Have a nice trip, you two."
"Thank you!" Harry smiled back.
Snape only nodded curtly. In the next second the engine died with his efforts to put it in gear. With a glower at Harry, who had dissolved into a fit of giggles in his seat, he started the car again and forced the gear with a horrible grinding noise that only made Harry giggle harder. This time, he managed to leave Mrs. Figg's driveway without further incident. Soon they also left Little Whinging behind.
After 30 minutes on the highway, Harry had already found that the car reeked of cat pee, had no radio, and that the bag Mrs. Figg had handed him contained the infamous chocolate cookies. He decided to break the uncomfortable silence in the car. "So, where exactly are we going, sir?"
Snape ground out "London" without any further explanation. Discouraged by the answer, Harry returned to fidgeting with the cookie bag. Although he knew the cookies were tasteless, he ate one later out of sheer boredom.
"Want one?" he mumbled with cookie crumbs falling from his mouth. Snape looked at the offered cookie bag and suddenly pulled the car over to the shoulder of the road where he stopped.
"Alright, Potter. Let me set some things straight here. First, this is not a joyride, nor is it a social call. So stop trying to make any small talk. I'm not interested in your mindless chit-chat. Second, I did not ask to be your bodyguard, although you might think that your VIP status calls for one. My time is too precious to waste on babysitting. Third, I hope the situation in Hogsmeade will be cleared shortly, because I intend to return to Hogwarts as soon as possible. Without students it is a very peaceful place. Fourth, keep those bloody cookies to yourself. I already had a rather painful encounter with them yesterday. Understood?" Harry nodded mutely, too intimidated to say anything.
"Good." With some difficulties Snape put the car into gear and continued their trip.
After a few minutes Harry began to wonder about Snape's last remark. Had he been as serious about the cookies as he had been, without doubt, about the other things? He scratched his head and looked at his Potions teacher.
"What?" Snape barked, noticing Harry's look.
"Um, I was just wondering how you know to drive a car."
"Unlike you might assume with your limited imagination I don't spend all of my time teaching Potions to little dunderheads like yourself ."
Harry strongly doubted that Snape really had a life outside the dungeon,
but he remembered what Snape had said earlier about mindless chit-chat
and he refrained himself from an answer.
Surprisingly Snape addressed him about an hour later. "Potter, as far as I can tell from this reading, we need to refill the tank."
Harry didn't know what Snape was trying to tell him, until he realized
that maybe he didn't know what to do. "You have to keep driving until we
get to a roadside gas station." Snape nodded, obviously satisfied
with the answer.
At the station he told Harry to fill the tank while he would watch his
every move. Together, they went inside the shop, and since Snape apparently
wasn't willing to pay, Harry handed over the £20 note that Mrs. Figg
had given him the day before. He watched unhappily as his only Muggle money
disappeared. For a moment he thought about buying some candy, but the money
was just enough to cover the fuel. Snape remained watchful of Harry the
entire time.
The old car was using up gas fast, and some time later they again had to stop for more. This time Snape got out and filled the tank. After doing so he came to the window on Harry's side of the car. "Potter?"
"Um, I don't have any more money, sir. Don't you?"
"Muggle money? Of course not."
After an awkward pause in which Snape looked repeatedly from the car to the cashier and back, he handed Harry the keys, "Listen, Potter. Get the engine running, I will be back here in a minute." He felt for the wand in his sleeve.
"Er, Professor, you know that there are cameras around here somewhere, right?"
"Cameras?"
"Yeah, recording devices to prevent, well, fuel theft, I suppose." Harry gave Snape an apologetic half-smile.
His teacher had already spotted the camera that was pointed in the direction of their gas pump. He glared at it as if he could will it to shut down. Harry supposed that if that was possible, of all people, Snape probably could, without effort.
The salesman behind the cashier looked in their direction through the shop window. "Whatever you plan to do, I would propose to do it soon before we rise even more suspicion."
Snape shot him an angry glare and turned to go into the shop. Harry started the car engine and scooted over to the passenger side when he saw two yellow flashes inside of the mini-mart. He glanced around, noticing that they were still the only customers of the station. The next moment Snape entered the car, tossed something towards Harry, and drove out of the station. Once safe back on the road Harry asked unbelievingly. "We did not just rob a gas station, did we?"
Snape sneered at him. "Why didn't you bring more money, Potter?"
Harry forced himself not to argue with Snape and inspected the two little
packs in his lap instead. They turned out to be an bar of chocolate and
a pack of cigarettes. "Dinner" was Snape's only comment, and after a while
"the chocolate is for you."
Finally, they arrived in London. It was already dark when they reached the little flat in the quiet suburbs. Snape seemed to be familiar with the surroundings, and went upstairs without any further words, leaving Harry to struggle with his trunk and Hedwig's cage. When Harry at last came into the flat, Snape was at the window smoking a cigarette.
"You will be sleeping here," he said, indicating a couch.
Harry dropped his luggage and explored the flat. It consisted of a living room with a pantry, a bathroom, and a small bedroom. All rooms were furnished in a Muggle style, and supplied with enough things to make the place appear occupied. There were towels in the bathroom, clothes in the wardrobes, and books on the shelves. To Harry's disappointment he discovered that the little fridge in the pantry was empty.
"Still hungry?"
Snape had come up behind him. He looked down at Harry with a sour expression, massaging his injured shoulder. Harry noted that he again carried his arm in the sling.
"I saw a First Aid cabinet in the bathroom. Maybe it contains some Muggle painkillers."
"I does. I put them there." Snape's expression softened a bit. "I have been here before, you know."
"Oh, right," Harry said, feeling stupid. He felt even more so when Snape, who had walked over to the bathroom, turned and said, "You can consider me touched by your concern. Good night, Potter."
"I was only trying to help, you git," he whispered.
Harry arranged himself in the most comfortable position he could attain on the couch. He dearly hoped that they'd be at Hogwarts the next morning, as he steeled himself for the second night on a couch in 24 hours.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*******~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: The next chapter will take not so long to be posted.
Promise. There will be considerably more action and suspense in it. And
what's Darth Vader got to do with it all?
I'd like to thank everyone who was reviewing the last chapter. You
guys are great.
Sev's-gurl and kaypee: Glad you understand my urge
to take points from my students, but they were actually very well behaved
lately.
Kalla: Half of your compliment should go to my excellent
beta-reader Kristin who smoothes out my English a lot. Glad you liked East
of Eden. Sometimes I'm a bit unhappy with my earlier stories.
ProfSnapeFan: My two main characters asked me to kindly tell
you that they don't find it the least bit entertaining to be on the run
together.
Ossobucco: I was especially happy about such a nice review
from a fellow non-native English speaker. I try my best to keep this story
in a different tone than my others. It's actually fun to see the world
with Harry's eyes and to write from his perspective.
Demeter: Well, Mrs. Figg kind of grabbed my story and ran
with it. I never intended to give her so much room in the fic, but once
writing about her I couldn't stop. She is a very interesting old lady,
I like her a lot. And she is not the least bit impressed by Snape's attitude.
klev: Creating my own stories helps me to shorten the time
to Book 5. : )
Also thanks to Nemesis, Not a Muggle, arcee, Bubby, sova, kbear
and The Slayer for their encouragement.
