Author's Note:

The Houses Competition (or THC) Round 7

Story Type: Standard (up to 3,000 words)

House: Hufflepuff

Class: Astronomy

Prompt: Theme: Travel. Your story has to contain travel/traveling of some sorts for the better half of it. Examples of travel could be, but are not limited to: flying, expedition, time, space… travel.

3. (Character) Severus Snape

Word Count: 1,407

Disclaimers/triggers: Snape Survives AU, SS/HG, they are adults and in a relationship, etc.

Beta Love: Thanks to Ti for looking over my story!

Additional note: To the surprise of literally NOBODY, I chose Severus again. Hehehe…


Snape's On a Plane

Severus Snape wasn't an idiot. Of course he knew about airplanes. He'd seen them flying overhead as a child and had wished very much to be on them instead of in the drafty, cold home he'd been born into. Though his interest in muggle things had never captivated him the way that the magical world had, Severus fondly remembered a book he'd borrowed from the school library that showed overviews and schematics of various types of vehicles, including planes. The idea that such a large thing could stay airborne seemed magical in and of itself.

Now, though, as he stood waiting at Gate 8 to fly to Australia with Hermione for the holidays, Severus found himself greatly wishing that they'd just gone and purchased a wildly overpriced Portkey instead of a wildly overpriced pair of round trip plane tickets.

"You're saying that I have to check my luggage?" Hermione was saying to the bored-faced airport clerk. "I specifically purchased a bag that was considered carry-on size!"

Severus took a deep breath as he heard Hermione's tone growing shrill. She'd gotten better at controlling it in the past few years, but he could tell that she wasn't coping well with the unexpected change.

"I understand, ma'am, but unfortunately, you have a coach class ticket, which means that if the first and second class passengers have too much carry-on luggage, you may be asked to check it. Of course we will cover the baggage fee for you as a courtesy," the woman replied, her expression betraying just how many times she had been forced to have this exact conversation with a disgruntled passenger.

"A courtes—oh, hi Severus. Did you hear that, though?" Hermione turned as he gently grasped her shoulder.

"Hermione, please. I understand that this is upsetting, but this woman cannot help the situation in which we find ourselves," Severus said gently.

"Says you, who brought a singular briefcase," Hermione groused, looking put-out that she hadn't thought to do that herself. They both knew that Severus had worked for over a week on the Undetectable Extension Charm, but Hermione had assured him that, as long as her bag was small enough to fit in the carry-on area, she wouldn't need to use magic.

"Let's take a walk around the terminal," Severus replied. "We can get out our pre-flight jitters that way."

Truth be told, he had quite a lot more than the jitters. The thought of having to trust the muggles to keep the plane from falling out of the sky was nerve-wracking, especially after all of those action films he'd watched with Hermione that depicted all manner of muggle machinery exploding.

"You're right," Hermione said, her eyes softening. She turned to the airport clerk. "My apologies for being short with you. I understand you can't do anything about it. It is the holidays, after all."

The woman gave them a tired smile and wished them well.

"If you want, I can assist with a transfiguration charm to change your baggage into something smaller and more portable," Severus said, once they were out of earshot.

"I thought about doing that, but then I remembered that there's security cameras everywhere," Hermione replied with a sigh. "If I suddenly reappear from the women's toilets with a tiny handbag after going in with my rolling bag, it's going to look suspicious."

Severus winced. He had forgotten about the muggle security cameras. In the wizarding world, there was no such thing as video surveillance. He supposed that, at this point, the muggles were probably far more than a match for any sort of Dark Lord shenanigans in the future.

"Would you like to get a snack before we get on the plane? It's going to be a long flight and I hear the food court is pretty good here," Hermione said.

Severus shook his head. "I can smell the grease from here."

Hermione took his hand and squeezed it. "Are you nervous? I know this is your first time flying."

"Don't be ridiculous! Why should I be nervous about being shot at a high speed through the sky in a metal tube at an unnaturally high altitude?" Severus deadpanned.

"I shouldn't have shown you Snakes on a Plane," Hermione muttered, nibbling at her thumbnail.

"Well, at least there won't be snakes. I mean, unless you count me," Severus quipped, finally smiling as Hermione snorted with laughter.

"If we're counting ourselves as representatives of our House mascots, then there'll be a lion on the plane too," Hermione replied, snickering.

"More like a pussycat," Severus said, ruffling her hair and pulling away in mock fear as she pretended to take a swipe at him. "Fine, fine. You can be my emotional support lion."

"Only for you." Hermione leaned into his side and he wrapped an arm around her. "So, are you nervous about meeting my parents?"

"After this experience?" Severus asked. "Not at all. Flying the muggle way puts things into perspective, wouldn't you say?"

They walked a bit further before turning back. A nearby speaker flared to life, announcing that their flight was about to board, so they hurried back to their terminal. Hermione begrudgingly checked her bag and they stood in line to board, watching the first and second class passengers boarding before being allowed to board themselves.

"Do you want the window seat?" Hermione asked, as they found their aisle.

"And miss the lovely view of the tarmac? How could I ever live with myself?" Severus rolled his eyes.

Hermione giggled and scooted over to the window.

Severus sat next to her and fiddled with the seatbelt. "Ugh! It won't latch!"

He finally tied the two ends together only for Hermione to notice that he'd somehow tied hers to the one on the opposite side of his seat and they had to do some quick maneuvering to get it untied and everyone properly buckled in before the flight attendant stopped by to admonish them.

Severus held Hermione's hand very tightly when the plane began to take off, but he noted that she was gripping his hand rather tightly as well, and felt slightly better about his own nerves. The flight itself was quite boring once he got used to getting glimpses over Hermione's shoulder of the clouds and sky whenever he turned to talk to her. Of course, there was a pair of infants squalling a few rows behind them. Luckily, both Hermione and Severus had brought charmed earplugs that filtered out unpleasant noises. Severus found himself dozing against her side when the plane began to shake and he sat up rigidly in his seat, his eyes wide with fright.

"Just a bit of turbulence. Should be through it in a few minutes," the pilot said through the intercom, and both Hermione and Severus looked out the window at the sky as though trying to figure out what was making the plane shake and shudder.

True to the pilot's words, they didn't experience turbulence for the remainder of the trip, for which Severus was greatly thankful. They did both have to suffer through a few sub-par meals, and a movie that was so terrible that he and Hermione spent most of it mocking the idiotic decisions of the characters, but it was largely pleasant until he had to use the airplane toilet.

The horrifying sound as the toilet sucked everything out made Severus a bit wobbly on his legs and he had to take a long moment in the tiny water closet to calm himself before heading back to his seat, his face quite a lot paler than usual. If Hermione noticed, she blessedly did not say anything.

The landing process was a little hair-raising, but they finally touched down on the tarmac no worse for wear.

"All in all, how was your first flight?" Hermione asked, as they shuffled out of the plane with the other passengers. "Better than a silly old Portkey, right?"

"Slightly less awful than being attacked by a giant-bloody-snake," Severus deadpanned, "but infinitely better with you by my side."

"Oh, you!" Hermione blushed and pecked him on the cheek.

It was, however, after they had been waiting for nearly an hour for Hermione's checked bag to arrive on the baggage conveyor belt that she finally turned to him with a look of utter exasperation and said, "Portkey?"

Severus nodded. The friendly skies were no match for traveling with magic. "Portkey," he agreed.