AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
Severus had seen poppies like this before. They only bloomed in springtime in the remotest parts of the Nebraska badlands. If they were few in number, they posed no great threat. If there were hundreds of them, such as there were in this field, they were a great danger..
"Oh aren't they beautiful," Neville began before bouncing towards the flowers.
Severus grabbed his tail and yanked him back. He yowled before glaring at him.
"Do not go in there," Severus warned, unfazed by Neville's expression. "Those are Mac somnorous."
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"A kind of poppy that when grown in large quantities puts one into a deep sleep from which they may never awaken," Severus explained.
"Huh, I don't feel tired," Harry noted.
"That's because you're made of straw. You wouldn't become tired given you can't inhale a thing."
"Oh yeah I wouldn't." He gave them a small grin. "I guess there is some benefit to being straw after all."
"Indeed," Severus scratched his chin as he examined the field. "Hermione should be fine too since she is made of tin."
"I haven't been tired since my last accident. I'll manage just fine," she replied.
"So how do we get through this field?" Neville asked. "I can breathe, meaning I'll inhale them and get sleepy."
"In the movie, the Good Witch of the North made it snow, killing the poppies," Severus noted. "Unfortunately, I've lost her phone number, so that's out of the question."
Harry shook his head. "I can't wait to learn what a phone is."
"Trust me, it isn't that exciting."
"Oh."
Severus scratched his chin. "I suppose I can try to apparate us across."
Crookshanks let out a meow before sniffing the flowers. Severus picked him up and held him close. "No, don't do that."
Crookshanks growled but did not move in his arms.
"Anyway, I can try to apparate," Severus began. "That could get us across."
"I take it I'll never know what that is," Harry replied with a frown.
"Sadly, no. A scarecrow cannot apparate, no matter how many brains he has."
"Why not?" Hermione asked.
"You need magic to do so."
"Like the Wicked Witch of the West?"
"Something like that. Now please, let me try to apparate." Severus focused as much as he could on how the Emerald City appeared in the movie. The image was as clear in his mind as if he'd been there.
Nothing happened.
He tried harder, with no different of a result. Then, he exhaled. "My magic is no good here."
"Fabulous," Neville muttered.
"Perhaps we could carry you," Hermione suggested.
"We?"
"Yes," she replied. "If Harry and I can't breathe in the fumes, we could carry you across the field."
"Doubtful," Severus replied. "In the movie the Tin Man and the Scarecrow couldn't carry a sixteen year old girl across the field. You'd be hopeless carrying a full grown man."
"This isn't the movie."
"But everything's played out like the movie, including this field."
"Why don't we just go around it?" Neville suggested.
"This field could go on for miles, and there's no guarantee once we pass it we won't be so lost we can't find the way to Emerald City," Severus answered.
"Then it looks like carrying you is our best option," Hermione replied.
"But the Tin Man and Scarecrow couldn't do it."
"Maybe they tried to carry too many people at once," Hermione suggested. "If we carry you and Crookshanks first, then Neville, we may have better luck than they did in the movie."
Severus didn't appear convinced. The cat in his arms wasn't impressed with the plan either.
"Do you have a better idea?" Harry asked.
"No," Severus admitted.
"Then why not try it?" Harry asked.
"Fine," Severus shook his head. "You can try carrying me, but if you fail, then take Crookshanks and find the wizard. Surely you two can manage to carry him on your own."
"I think so," Harry eyed Crookshanks warily as the half kneazle pawed at him. "Unless he plays with my straw."
"That would be unfortunate," Severus replied before Hermione lifted him on her back.
"See, you aren't that heavy," she began.
"You have no idea how long this field goes on for."
"We'll get further if you two stop talking and enact your plan," Neville noted.
"I'll hold my breath as long as I can," Severus began before taking a deep breath.
"Very well then," Hermione began carrying him through the field, Harry running ahead with a Crookshanks pawing at his arms.
As Severus was carried through the field, he wondered what the other Hogwarts professors would think of him. He was clinging to a can of oil like it was the most precious item in existence, he was running through a field he would advise anyone against entering, and he was being carried by a tin person. It was as surreal as any technicolor movie ever was.
He took one breath.
The ride wasn't too terrible. He wasn't feeling too drowsy, not like he had when he was recovering from Nagini's bite. After her bite he'd been in a coma for two weeks. Even after waking up he was exhausted. The only time he wasn't exhausted was when Hermione came to see him in the hospital. She had a way of giving him energy, even if he was loathe to admit it.
"How are you doing back there?"
Severus didn't answer. Didn't she know answering him involved breathing?
"Knock once on my shoulder if you're fine, twice if you're sleepy."
He knocked once as he stared out at the fields. Neville was getting smaller, and he couldn't hear Scarecrow Harry. They must've gone ahead. Perhaps Hermione was stronger than he'd given her credit for. Human Hermione was quite strong, especially when defending those she loved.
Another breath.
Hermione. Just the name was enough to relax his body. Rubbing oil on tin was one thing, but to feel a human's skin would be divine. He'd always wondered what her skin felt like. It must be soft, so soft, soft as freshly dried sheets.
Another breath.
"How are you doing back there?" Tin Woman Hermione was slowing down. Severus didn't mind. She could keep going slower. Somehow he'd find a way to be with her again, somehow.
"Severus?"
He didn't feel Hermione trip over his dead weight.
If Hermione still had a heart, it would be racing. From what she could guess, she hadn't made it halfway through the field without dropping him. She only hoped he wasn't injured.
She gazed at him, eyes closed in the poppies, a can of oil grasped in his hands. It had been years since she'd seen a man asleep, so at peace with the world. The last time was so powerful, so life-affirming…
Her tin body jolted awake. No, she couldn't stare at him, not when he needed to get across.
"Severus?" She asked.
No answer.
"Severus!" She called as she shook him.
"What's wrong?" Harry approached her.
"Keep going, Severus is asleep," Hermione panicked.
"Severus is asleep?" Harry set Crookshanks down.
"Harry go on! He told you to carry Crookshanks to safety if something happened to him."
"You need help carrying him."
"No, I can do it on my own." She raised him onto her back, but he was nothing like a tree branch. A tree could be made into a lever, but he was deadweight, pure deadweight.
"Here, you can't keep him on your back like that," Harry noted. "You'll have to carry him in your arms."
"Are you sure that's advisable?" Hermione asked.
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"He may feel violated, like I'm taking advantage of the situation to get closer to him."
"Why would he think you're violating him? He told you to carry him, and you're carrying him. There's no issue."
Hermione hummed in concession.
"Here, reposition him like this," Harry shifted Severus' body, "and take him in your arms."
Hermione took him as gently as she could. After repositioning him in her arms, she resumed carrying him through the fields.
"How heavy is he?" Harry asked as he walked beside her.
"Honestly, not heavy at all," Hermione replied. "Once I got him off my back he wasn't so hard to carry. I've carried trees much heavier than him."
"You look happy holding him."
"Happy may be a strong word." She directed her attention to the man in her arms. "But he does look at peace when he sleeps. For that, I am happy."
"You really care for him, don't you?"
"As much as any tin woman can care for a friend," her voice was quieter.
"You're a great friend to him," Harry noted. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you like him more than you like your prince."
"Nobody will ever be my prince."
"Of course not, but if you ever wanted to move on…"
"He would go right home to Hogwarts and I'd be left here."
"True."
Hermione stepped onto the first patch of grass. "That wasn't so terrible."
"No," Harry walked a little outside of the field. "But have we given any thought to how to wake up Severus, Crookshanks, and when we bring him here, Neville?"
"I was honestly hoping you had some idea of how to do that."
"How could I have any ideas? I'm a brainless scarecrow."
"True."
"Here, you have the brains, or at least as much as any tin person could have," Harry began. "I'll carry Neville here while you watch over Severus and Crookshanks. Then, we'll think of something."
"And by we'll, you mean me," she replied.
"Wow, you are smart. No wonder you are asking for a heart instead of a brain," Harry skipped down the field.
Hermione shook her head before turning her attention to Severus. He was still asleep, his breathing even, the frown lines on his face less prominent. How long had it been since he'd last slept? Walking around for so long must have tired him out. Hermione remembered fatigue being unpleasant, something she fought in order to stay up and read one more book, or spend a few extra minutes with her prince. Perhaps it would not be so harmful to let him sleep for a time.
At some point, they needed some way to awaken him. The rising sun had awakened Hermione when she was a human. Given that it was late afternoon, that would not be an option. What would help?
"Okay, I should've asked for your help," Harry slouched over before throwing Neville off his back. "Lions are heavy."
"I probably should've gone given I'm used to carrying heavier objects," she replied.
"Maybe." He positioned Neville into a more comfortable position. "So, did you think of anything?"
"Well," her eyes lit up. "Severus mentioned the Witch of the North, but I don't know how to reach her."
"Perhaps if we call her name she'll come."
"I think her name is Minerva."
"I don't know her name, so we'll go with that name."
"Okay." Hermione looked to the sky. "Minerva? Minerva are you there?"
"Right here."
A woman in a pink powdery dress stood before them. She grinned as she extended her wand with a silver star.
"Oh thank goodness," Hermione began. "We're in a bit of a tight spot. See, we just walked Severus, Crookshanks, and Neville through this field of poppies, but we have no idea how to wake them up."
"Don't worry," Minerva replied. "The spell wears off naturally in two days."
"Two days?" Harry began. "That's a long time."
"Yes, and Ron may attack us again in the meantime," Hermione replied.
"Ron has attacked you?" Minerva frowned.
"Yes."
"So Molly hasn't given up on her quest for the shoes."
"If she was the one who sent Ron, then no."
"Oh dear." Minerva tutted. "It would be a disaster if Molly were to get her hands on those shoes. She would destroy Oz with them."
"How?" Harry asked.
"You don't want to know the things she has in store for Oz if she gains possession of those shoes," Minerva warned.
"What do we do then?" Hermione asked. "We have to wake up Severus, Crookshanks, and Neville. We can't sit here for two days waiting for Molly to attack us."
"I will wake them up under one condition."
"What?" Hermione and Harry asked in unison.
"You must never allow Molly to gain possession of those shoes," Minerva began as a few sparks fell from her wand. "You must do everything in your power to keep those shoes on Severus' feet."
"That's a large responsibility," Harry noted.
"Yes, and I'm not sure Severus would appreciate us making this promise for him," Hermione noted. "He may find himself in a situation where he's willing to give them up."
"I'll protect the shoes."
Everyone looked down at Neville, who had one eye halfway open. He yawned and continued. "I'll keep the shoes from falling into Molly's hands."
"I will too," Hermione vowed.
"Yes, I will too," Harry added.
"You've all made a very wise decision." Minerva swirled her wand around Neville, Severus, and Crookshanks. "Trezi dormitori, trezi."
With a mighty stretch and yawn, Neville rose. Severus' eyes fluttered open. Minerva poofed away before Severus could see her.
"Where's the snow?" Severus muttered.
"Nowhere," Hermione answered.
"Hermione was able to carry you all the way to the end of the field, and I was able to carry Crookshanks and Neville," Harry answered. "We didn't need snow."
"Huh." Severus sat as Crookshanks imitated Neville's stretch. "I suppose the movie can't predict everything."
"No, I suppose not," Hermione replied.
"Movie or not, we need to get to Emerald City." Harry replied. "There's a wizard to see!"
"Indeed," Severus answered as he stood.
Harry began to skip as music began to play, "We're off to see…"
Severus glared at Harry.
"Er, we are very excited to see the wizard," he said as the music died. "We are going to see the wizard, and we are very excited about it."
"Thank you," Severus answered as he picked up Crookshanks and followed Harry.
Neville and Hermione walked with their friends. Though Hermione wore a pleasant expression, a few times she caught a glimpse of Severus' shoes.
What kind of mess had Severus found himself in? More importantly, how could she help him out of it?