"Do I even want to know what illegal things you had to do in order to make a Dodge Viper apparate?" Nathan called up to the driver; having to scream over the sound system that threatened to finish off his already lack-luster hearing.

"Just a little bit of rocket fuel, enhanced with some floo powder and a few magical incantations…nothing horribly illegal…" Charles lowered the sound system enough to answer; but it remained many decibels too loud for the soldier to hear Nathan's heavy sigh.

"I'm glad I'm not an Auror anymore…,' He remarked to a still rattled Hermoine,' or I'd have to send all my friends to Azkaban." Despite the severity of the situation the group had only recently escaped; Nathan's small jest had gained a light giggle from his charge.

Turning to look for pursuit; Nathan was almost worried when the rural roads were vacant. Almost cracking his skull on the back windshield, Nathan turned to look for an ambush up ahead…realizing slowly that Charles had simply braked and that no danger was imminent.

"So where are we headed?" Charles waited for a reply as the engine revved menacingly; no doubt waking even the hardiest sleeper in the small valley.

"Our end location isn't an option at the moment. We can't take the chance that we're being tracked…" The driver made to cut Nathan off, but a quick wave of dismissal forestalled any objection as to his vehicle's capabilities.

"I'm sure the finest anti-tracking devices are installed…but we have to make sure. If there's a way to trace the untraceable than you can bet your American flag Voldemort knows about it; assuming he didn't invent it himself." Though the rest of the battle-hardened group sat unflinching, Nathan noticed a small, involuntary tremor from the young witch.

"Then what did you have in mind? I certainly don't have all night to run around making sure we aren't being followed." Franklin inserted; hoping to bring the conversation to a point of conclusion.

"For one thing; you do have all night. If you'd prefer to get out now though; no one will stop you…but there's nothing to say they won't trace this back to your cozy little mansion back home…" Letting the effects of his statement fester for a few brief moments, long enough for Franklin to turn indignantly away, Nathan continued:

"For another, I do have somewhere in mind. Not far from here actually. You should still have it on your GPS Charles." As Nathan spoke, Charles was already activating his list of destinations; finding only a handful in London, and the only one his old friend could possibly be considering was a residence the soldier had no inclination to visit.

"Its still there…but you sure you want to take this young lady to Reno's?" Fighting his own misgivings, Nathan nodded…the driver accepting his decision reluctantly and selecting in the location. Though Charles would have preferred higher class accommodations, he realized arguing would prove pointless. Feeling the car begin to shift with the same jerking quality of actual Floo travel, Nathan decided now would be a good time to strap-in…but, in keeping with the strength and power of the vehicle; the restraints were more akin to a harness than a seat belt. Like the Knight bus on steroids; the car ripped through straight-aways and cut around corners; leaving Nathan's organs far behind the vehicle as it covered miles in moments. Tracking their position on the GPS, Nathan wondered how many wrecks his companion had gone through to get a hold of this contraption…and how fast it felt when he drove it over an OCEAN. Slowly the sleepy countryside gave way to the shadier, darker parts of London. Hearing a loud alarm, there was no warning before the Viper stopped immediately, the motion so defined and controlled that Nathan wondered if the brakes were bewitched in fitting with the rest of the vehicle. Wheeling into the overgrown drive-way, Charles carefully shut down his creation and stepped out; triggering several security systems as soon as they closed the doors. The house, more like a shed, was in obvious need of repair. Several holes were prominent in the front door and the windows were boarded over; an obvious haven for those not wanting to be found. Had a former Ministry technician not lived here, the residence might have been raided weekly and found guilty of a dozen different violations; but as it was it remained out of the way of both the muggle police and the ministry.

"What is this place?" Hermoine's voice broke the quiet sharply, almost breaking as they turned to look at her.

"It's a place where we can rest for a minute." Nathan answered vaguely, beginning towards the door with long strides. The young witch could swear she saw a shaggy looking head staring creepily through the side window, though every time she made for a second look it was gone again. Charles and Franklin ushered her forwards after Nathan looked stupidly back at them; motioning for them to follow as he rapped rhythmically on the door. It opened immediately, a wand stuck in Nathan's chest which he shoved into the doorframe; smashing it against the brackets of the door until the wand fell from the limp hand. Stepping through the door, Nathan shoved the man to the ground, staring down at him with disgust as Hermoine was nearly carried in. Another figure, a similar build and height to Nathan, approached, but instead of attacking him, Nathan clasped his hand in friendship.

"I apologize for my friend here. He's a little too skiddish for this line of work and I haven't had the heart to break it to him." Opening up in roaring laughter, the two men stepped over the fallen door-opener and their host motioned for each to take a seat in the long coach that seemed to stretch for miles….and with a second look, Hermoine realized it did.

"No need to apologize Reno; I know how things can get around here. That one party…we actually managed to cover the entire couch!" Franklin seemed disgusted, pinching his nose against the rotten, too-sweet smell that had been invading their nostrils even before the group had entered. Charles, on the other hand, had a longing look on his face that revealed he had been at several parties here in older days.

"Who's your friend?" Hermoine puffed out her chest, making to address herself but Charles nudged her sharply in the ribs.

" Just a tag-along. Favor for an old friend, you understand." Accepting it at face value, Reno produced a long, twisted chord that he began to chew on; lighting the opposite end as her protectors collectively sighed. Instead of blowing out smoke, the lit end produced a fine mist that circulated quickly throughout the room despite the lack of general air flow.

"When are you going to give that up?" Charles growled, a look of contempt on his face that Reno returned with animal fury…that slowly faded into dumb complacence as the drug quickly deadened his emotions.

"I'll give it up when it stops feeling good." Reno shrugged; Nathan patting him on the shoulder to gain his attention from the cloud of mist his eyes had begun to follow.

"Listen Reno…I found us a safe-house than even Voldemort can't find…" Reno burst into a fit of laughter, Nathan biting back the yell in his throat as he pulled Reno back around to look eye-to-eye with him.

"This isn't a joke. Dumbledore himself is watching over this place." This seemed to gain the drugged man's attention, but it was lost again as he took another long drag from the twisted chord. Hermoine began to notice that while the mist was smothering the entire room, an especially thick veil consumed the owner's body.

"Dumbledore huh? Well…I'm safe as a safe in here man…and I'm not going to let some school teacher tell me how to live my…" Reno plunged off the couch, rolling several time across the floor until he smacked against a wall. Turning to look at them, the face was now more intelligent, though obviously his brain was still clouded.

"It's not like that Reno…" Before Nathan could finish, several trashy and ragged looking women came falling out of a closet, laughing hysterically and climbing hazardly to their feet.

"Those guys trying to get you to buy a new door again? We don't need one baby…" One muttered in Reno's general direction…staggering drunkenly over and collapsing down beside him.

"Naw baby…I think he's trying to get me to go back to school…" Nathan vented a howl of frustration before crossing over and lifting Reno up to his feet; the ex-auror staring at him and ignoring the scratches to his ankle inflicted by the resident's girlfriend. Pushing Nathan back, Reno went for his wand…and pulled out another chord of mist. Slapping it out of his friend's hand, Nathan dodged the clumsy punch from his friend and tripped him, Charles catching him like a medicine ball and lowering the dazed man to the couch. Reno made to stand again, but before he could regain his footing the visitor had him pinned, Franklin intercepting his would-be savior girlfriend. As the string of curses began to flow, Nathan accepted them almost with a smile of satisfaction.

"Is this what it takes to get you to think straight?!" The former auror yelled over his old school-mate's protests, Hermoine watching this whole exchange with a sense of mild terror. It was nothing compared to the three headed dog, Fluffy, but it was more than she was used to dealing with on a summer vacation.

"I oughtta bash your face in!" Struggling, Reno almost wormed free; Nathan having to grunt with the exertion of holding the man down.

"You ought to listen to me! Now, I can get us to a place EVEN safer than here. All I need to do is make sure no one is tracking us…" Before the sentence could finish, alarms began to whine throughout the house, Nathan rearing back with wand drawn but instead of death eaters, the outside cameras showed ministry officials. Grabbing Hermoine by the arm, Nathan made a mad dash for the closet; Franklin and Charles following close behind. Pushing Hermoine in first and ushering his companions through, Nathan gestured for Reno to hurry…but there was a look of reluctance there the visitor didn't like in the least.

"Go ahead boy-o…I'll make sure you make a clean getaway." Slamming his body against the door, Reno began to mutter incantations as the door shrunk and bolted itself shut.

"My poor car…" Charles whined from the closet; Nathan nodding in appreciation to his friend before disappearing into the closet and shutting the door behind him. Hermoine almost vomited as a swirling sensation gripped her abdomen…but as quickly as the feeling had come it vanished, the young witch hesitantly opening her eyes to find the interior of Charles' car…two blocks north of the shed they had just vacated.

"What in the name of Flamel…" Franklin began, but Nathan cut him off with a quick wave of his hand.

"It's a special travel station. It allows you to grab what you want and proceed where you want, given you know very precisely what that is. By concentrating on the car, Charles was able to grab it, but the more you have to grab, the shorter the range." With his mind at ease, Franklin strapped in, the others following suit as Charles started the engine and turned back to ask for the next destination…but his question was answered by the Viper's GPS…an image of a young lady with a heart-shaped face and dark eyes.

"Hello! Hello! Can you hear me?!" Routed through the over-amped speakers, her voice nearly deafened Franklin, who had to cover his ears and grimaced audibly in pain.

"Yes we can hear you. And do whisper in the future." Franklin grumbled, the woman nodding as her hair switched from green to purple.

"I'll be waiting at the Shaky Wand…meet me there." Fading away, the woman created as many questions as she solved.

"Shaky Wand it is." Charles declared loudly, shifting into gear and following the instructions to the bar….which was conveniently 45 miles away.

* * * *