Disclaimer: It all belongs to J.K. Rowling, and will she share? No. Rather rude if you ask me.

Murmuring incoherently Auriga briefly wondered when she had charmed her ceiling to be covered with thousands of miniscule fluttering leaves. Whilst she thought about that, she also wondered why her back was damp and when she had bought grass scented candles. Deciding that it was far too much effort to figure out the whims of her own mind she closed her eyes and tried to drift back to sleep.

Barely five seconds later, she popped them wide open as she was vigorously shaken by a strong arm grasping her shoulder.

"Whaa...???"

"Come on, you cross-eyed twit, we need to move!"

"Huh? Whaa? Where are we?"

Opting that the enlightening conversation he was about to have with Sinistra could be postponed until her single solitary brain cell stopped bouncing against the walls of her skull, Severus picked up the dazed stargazer and slung her over his shoulder. Ignoring the muffled shrieks that the struggling female professor was making, he set off at a rapid pace to find another non-lethal tree to seek refuge in.

After ten minutes of pummelling Snape's back Auriga took a break to consider her options. Following a further minute of yogic breathing she had calmed sufficiently to remember that they were currently hiding from a horde of marauding broom-wielding gnomes. The brooms triggered a memory of a muggle musical show that she had seen recently where muggles had used brooms and other objects to make music and dance. She shook her head lightly to focus. These gnomes were finding an altogether different use for their brooms and had been mercilessly clobbering anyone in their path.

Normally angry gnomes weren't a problem, what with them being around three inches tall and their brooms sized accordingly. The only time it became a serious issue was when a group of them got together, twenty determined gnomes could easily overpower an adult and cause grievous injuries. At the last count, this particular group of gnomes had swelled in number to about a hundred thousand. Hence the urgent need to find somewhere to hide.

Obviously, when fleeing from three-inch maniacs and being surrounded by trees, the sensible option would be to climb up high and wait for the party to pass on by. However, when in the Forbidden forest you had to be a tad more choosy about the tree you sought refuge in. Otherwise, instead of facing a scrawny fifteen cm bundle of rage armed with what was essentially a twig, you'd pretty quickly find yourself dealing with an incensed 20ft hulk of wood intent on snuffing your tiny light out.

Finding her current position, jarring along face down into Snape's back, most uncomfortable Auriga tried to get herself let down, only to find her struggles causing a tightening of Snape's iron grip around her waist. Realising that drastic times called for drastic measures she did what she had to do to get his attention. Taking a deep breath, she brought her hands over her head, reached down

...and pinched his bum.

Severus screeched to a halt, standing stock-still and erect as his brain processed what had just happened.

Rejoicing that her head was no longer being buffeted against Snape's angular back, Auriga manoeuvred to a position where her robes no longer suffocated her and felt immediately dizzy as blood rushed from her head to her toes. Pushing back from a still shocked Snape she lowered herself carefully to the ground, and once secure in her stance, looked into the Potion Master's eyes smirking.

"Really Severus, weren't you the one who said that we had to get moving?"

"Huh?"

Laughing delightedly she grabbed his hand firmly and pulled him along dragging him behind her as she stored the expression on his face into her 'cheer-me-up' bank for later use.

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