DISCLAIMER: That part of this world and those characters you've seen before belong to their Creator: JKR. The rest is mine - although I cannot quit my day job as I make no $$$ from this…
A/N: And … we're off to the Far East!
One reviewer noted that many of these younger character stories lack action or adversity. You really want me to throw a seven year old kid under the bus??? To the dogs??? This is the beginning of the explanation as to how this seven year old becomes what he becomes. And, there will be at least a little adversity in this piece.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:
WHY DO AIRPLANES FLY?
MONDAY, JUNE 27, 1988 - 16 WILLOW WAY, LOUGHTON, ESSEX, U.K.
Harry watched impassively as Remus packed his trunk. A separate suitcase was already mostly packed and Remus explained that the trunk would be shrunken down to a small size and included within the suitcase. Everything Harry owned, with the exception of a change of clothes and one of his three sets of bed linens was now packed away in the trunk. Harry thought about that. The few toys and books, the clothes, everything were all recent acquisitions. He had come to this home with nothing but the clothes on his back and a book bag with his school things. Thus the trunk was filled with things the Grangers had bought for him.
Harry felt they were overly generous. He had never had anything new before - at least not so far as he could remember. His clothes were all hand-me-downs from his larger cousin and what toys he had were the ones his cousin discarded. He watched as Remus packed his life into the trunk and realized that his real life was barely two months old. He did not mind. The best day in the life he could remember was the day that the Grangers, his new family, found him.
His stuff barely filled the trunk and Remus said that no magic was used to make anything fit. Remus added that he would probably come back with more stuff. If he truly did learn OWL levels, he could be able to both fit his new stuff in the trunk and shrink the trunk to fit in his suitcase. Harry could not believe he would return with more than was already there, but said nothing.
If his stuff barely filled the trunk and suitcase, he knew both Hermione and Clarice would need magic to make their stuff fit. They had far more than he did. While Clarice had not taken any of her clothes from her old place, she did take most of her toys and books and loads of other stuff. Hermione, of course, had loads of things as well. All they wanted to bring were now being placed into their trunks for the trip.
It had taken Remus all of twenty minutes to pack Harry's things. Now, Harry watched as Remus helped "Aunt Minne" deal with Hermione and Clarice's stuff. Neither of his two friends were the pack rat that his Cousin Dudley had been, but they both had loads of stuff. Hermione had her fancy doll collection and loads of books and such. Clarice had her plush animals and her own book collection as well. The girls had loads of clothes they had to sort through as neither would be allowed to pack anything that no longer fit. Had Harry had a normal life he might be jealous at all the stuff the girls had. But he knew they had one thing he had not had until very recently - a loving family. As he watched the packing, Harry could not help but smile. The Grangers and Hermione and Clarice had given him the greatest present ever - a real family that loved him.
It was something he had dreamt about. It was something that he had hoped for. It was now something he had. So what if they had more stuff than he did. He had the one thing he had always wanted and that was more than enough. And, Harry thought, I have Hermione and Clarice! They are coming with me too! My sister! My girl! My friends! Harry knew they meant more to him than all the toys or books in the world and they were going to be with him! He knew he would miss Bob and Rosie, as he now called Hermione's parents. He would also miss "Aunt Minnie." To a lesser extent, he would miss his Godfather, who seemed so cool and even Remus. But at least he would not be alone again. His sister and best friend would be with him.
The packing was soon complete and Harry had to admit the rooms looked bare. As little as he had, he still had things. There had been framed pictures on his wall of his new family and they were now gone. Hermione and Clarice's room had been seemingly packed with stuff, and now it too was bare and sterile. True, in a day or so another room in another country would be repacked with their things, but there was a slight sadness to seeing the walls, shelves and tables devoid of any sign that they had lived there.
"Kids?" the voice of Mr. Granger called. "Living room."
Harry and the others could tell they were not in trouble. Aside from that they had no idea what was up.
They soon arrived and saw the four adults waiting for them.
"Children," Minerva said, "we have a few presents to give you. The last things you'll need to pack. And we have a surprise for you. And Harry?"
"Yes Aunt Minnie?"
"If Sensei is around, he might want to be here."
"Erm," Harry began.
"Harry has never called me," Sensei said as he materialized. The others looked at him and the old man had a fake pout on his face that earned chuckles from the adults. "He always could and always can, but he never has."
"You never said I could!" Harry started.
"Ooops."
More chuckles, although Harry seemed to glower at his older alter ego.
"Give me a break, Harry," Sensei said. "I am a hundred and sixty-eight years old. I've used time tuners and time compression so my time age is closer to four hundred and fifty. Call it a senior moment."
After the adults stopped laughing Harry asked: "What's that?"
"We old codgers forget things."
"Oh," Harry began. "But you said you're like a computer!"
"And that means rubbish in, rubbish out. Even I am not perfect."
"Always thought you were mental," Harry mumbled. "Brilliant! But mental."
"Join the queue," Sensei laughed. "So, what's this about? Going away party?"
"Something like that," Rose said. "You first, Remus."
Remus pulled a small bag from his pocket and then waived a wand over it. It grew to several times its original size.
"I've got some presents for Harry and Clarice, and don't fret Hermione, you have not been forgotten at all. Right then." Remus pulled out two books and handed them to Harry and Clarice although as soon as Harry opened his, he knew it was a photo album. The first photo was old. It was a young man in the leather jacket and uniform of the RAF standing beside a Hawker Hurricane. Below it was a caption: Flying Officer Alfred Julius Evans, RAF, 166 Fighter Group. France, 1939.
"Your Uncle Mike and Aunt Emma made these albums for you. They are of your Mother's family - and that includes Mike's family as well. Towards the end, you have photos of your Mum growing up from a baby, through Hogwarts and to her wedding day. There are pictures of your Uncle Mike when he was in the Army, and a handful of his family as well. Finally, there are pictures of each of you with your mother that we added to complete the Evans story."
"Th-thanks," Harry began. He had a family. He had a history!
"Not done yet," Remus said softly, reaching in and pulling out two more albums. "Aunt Minnie, Sirius and I worked on this one. Well, Minnie and I collected the photos and Sirius arranged them and such. It's your Potter side all the way back to your Great-Great Grandparents, although there are loads of photos of your father growing up."
Harry was stunned. He skimmed through it looking at all the photos, some of which were moving! They told him those were wizarding photos. One stopped him in his tracks. Two young men in flight uniforms were standing beside a Spitfire. He read the Caption: Group Captain Alfred Evans congratulating Flight Leader Charles David Potter on becoming and Ace, Italy, February 6, 1944.
"They knew each other?" Harry asked.
"Evans was Charles Potter's Group Commander at the time," Remus said. "They certainly knew of each other. At your parents wedding … well, it was the first time they had met since the War and they talked for hours about it."
"Wow! But wasn't he a Wizard?"
"Fair few wizards did answer the call of His Majesty's government, Harry. Your Grandfather was quite the flyer as a pure wizard and proved quite the flyer as a wizard in the RAF. Ended the war with 16 kills. Course, your other Granddad, who had fought in the Battle of Britain and more, ended with 32 kills."
"Wow!"
"As with your first albums, this one ends with your parents' wedding," Remus said. "Now so far, both are the same, quite literally copies. These last two are unique to each of you." Remus handed Harry and Clarice another pair of albums, although it was clear Clarice's was larger. "These are pictures from after your parents's wedding. The opening pages are the same, but Harry has all of his baby photos in his. Clarice has all of hers prior to the day you were separated. You will find some with both of you in them. Clarice's also includes many of the photos from her adoptive family, which is why hers is larger. Finally, there are photos of you since you met the Grangers."
"Who made these?" Harry asked.
"Mike and Emma Evans made the Evans Album. Sirius put together the Potter album, with held from Minnie. She found many of the photos in your family vault. And, of course, Rose finished the album with the recent photos."
"Th-thanks," Harry said.
"Why?" Clarice asked.
"We never want you to forget," Rose said. "Not your birthparents, your adoptive parents, nor us. While we will see you again in a month's time, for you it will be four years and forty days. Always remember those who love and loved."
Clarice nodded.
"Wh-what about me?" Hermione asked. There was a hint of pain in her voice.
"We haven't forgotten you, Sweetie," Rose replied.
Minerva handed her the largest album yet. "This is my family," Minerva said. It starts from when I was a child and ends around the time you mother and father died. There are pictures of my younger brother and sister and later their families, all my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, including you. There are loads of your mother in there. With the possible exception of my brother Conner and his family, you and I are all that is left, Hermione."
"B-brother?" Hermione asked.
McGonagall nodded. "My younger brother. He was seven years younger than I was. He married when he was in his thirties and had three children that I know of. Early on during the last War, he said he was going to take his family and move far away. I don't know if he did. I do know that they are not known to be dead and that I never heard from them again. Deep down, I do hope they made it and are living safe and happy lives somewhere far away."
"And this," Rose added handing Hermione another large album, "is your life as our daughter."
"Thanks. I love you all so much."
"And we love you two, Hermione."
_____________________________________________________________
The kids were asleep. They were all packed and ready to go and the morning would probably be an easy one in a way. Their British Airways flight to Tokyo was set to depart Heathrow and 1:45 the following afternoon. Bob and Rose knew they had to get their at least two hours early and that Heathrow was close to an hour and a half away by the motorway. They had discussed the Underground as it was much faster, but they would have to change trains twice. Ordinarily, this was not a big deal. But with three young children and all the luggage, it was not worth the potential problems.
Rose, Minnie and Robert were seated at the kitchen table. Minnie would be staying the night as she was the adult who would accompany the children to Kyoto. They had just finished a lengthy talk about Muggle Customs and changing planes, as Minnie had seldom done either and it had been over a decade since she had done it at all. Their flight to Japan was scheduled to arrive at Tokyo's Narita International Airport at 9:10 in the morning of June 29th Tokyo time. They were then booked on Japan Airlines for a flight that would depart Narita at 1:30 in the afternoon and arrive at Osaka Itami International at 2: 25. They knew that someone from the school would be meeting Minerva and the children when they arrived at Itami to take them to Kyoto.
Bob looked up and could see his wife quietly crying.
"Rosie?"
"I - I don't know if I can do it, Bob," Rose said. "I mean, they'll be gone for so long! I know to us it will only be a month. But Bob? Four years!! They'll have four years that we missed."
"They all promised to write a lot…"
"You know it's not the same, Bob. Hermione's our baby! Harry and Clarice are such wonderful kids! They might be totally different when they get back and I would have missed it!"
"I'm sure they'll be fine," Bob tried to say soothingly, although in reality he had some misgivings as well.
"What if they're not? They're so young, Bob. They need a parent or parents! I mean, if they were older, maybe. But Hermione's not even nine yet and Clarice will turn seven while she's there! We won't be there for her Birthday!"
"She can call us."
"Not the same! Oh, if only there was a way that I could be there for them. I mean, think about it, Bob. This is our slow time of the year. I could go and you could stay here and it should not affect our practice at all."
"Cept I'll have to give up my Tuesday golf outings."
"I'm sure you'd manage. Oh it's pointless! I can't go. I am so going to miss them."
"I know. So will I, Dear. These last several weeks have been wonderful for our Hermione, and Harry and Clarice … and us."
"If there were a way…." Then Rose sighed. "But it's too late, isn't it?"
Bob nodded. Neither of the Grangers saw a mischievous smile form on Minerva's face.
TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1988 - HEATHROW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, LONDON, U.K.
They arrived at the airport in plenty of time and seemed to hit the British Airways check-in at just the right moment. There were surprisingly few people in the queues for flights as they waited to check-in. Soon, however, the queues were filling with perhaps hundreds upon hundreds of passengers. Each of the four travelers had a suitcase that they would check through to Tokyo. They could not check them all the way through because the bags were subject to inspection upon their initial arrival in Japan. They also had a carry-on that had a couple of changes of clothes, toiletries and books and such for the flight. Their tickets stated they were on British Airways Flight 23, non-stop to Tokyo an they would be seated in Row 23, Seats C through F. Harry had no idea what that meant.
With over an hour to spare before boarding would commence, they found a small restaurant for a bite of something to eat and for the four travelers to say their goodbyes to the Grangers. The Grangers would not be able to walk them to their gate as they were not ticketed and only ticketed passengers were allowed passed security.
Minerva asked a question that had vexed her for years.
"I've always wondered how airplanes stay up in the sky."
While Harry had read about that once, he really did not understand. But Robert Granger had wanted to be a pilot in his youth. He even had hoped to join the Royal Air Force and had gone so far as to find out what it took to become a pilot. Much to his dismay, while his eyesight was good enough for the Paras and SAS, it was not good enough to be a pilot. So, he quipped, he was fully qualified to jump out of perfectly good airplanes, but not to fly them.
"Why would you jump out of a perfectly good airplane?" Minerva asked.
"Military thing," Robert replied hoping not to be distracted as he wanted to tell Minnie what he knew before she got on "that infernal machine" and white-knuckled it for almost fourteen hours.
He explained that planes flew due to something called "lift." The size and shape of the wings had something to do with it as did something called "the angle of attack." Most airplane wings are not perfectly parallel to the ground when they are cruising, rather they are angled up, if only slightly at the front or "leading edge." These factors combined with the forward momentum created by the engines create lift.
As the wing moves forward, it pushes the air in front of it out of the way. Some of the air passed under the wing and some over it. But because of its shape and such, the air flowing under the wing is traveling faster than the air flowing over it. In a way, this means that at any given moment in time, so long as the wing is moving forward, there is actually more air under the wing than over it. This creates a pressure differential. The air pressure below the wing is higher than that over the wing. If this differential is high enough, the wing is - for lack of a better word - sucked upwards or held up high in the sky.
"What happens if you stop moving fast enough?" Minnie asked.
"You stall."
"What's that mean?"
"You stop flying and start falling."
"That's bad, isn't it?"
"Can be," Robert agreed. "But every pilot learns about the characteristics of their aircraft and trains to handle that situation. Combat pilots actually use that at times."
"So if those engines stop…?"
"Many commercial airliners can glide. They will lose height, but a skilled pilot can glide them down safely, for the most part."
"For the most part?"
"If there's not an airport nearby, there will be a problem. But such things almost never happen. It is the safest way to travel by Muggle means really. You're more likely to die on the motorway than on a plane. Surely, there are means of magical travel that are safer than others?"
Minerva nodded. "Truth is, any form of magical travel has risks - potentially deadly ones. Some are certainly more risky than others."
"Same's true here. Flying is actually the safest, as odd as that might sound."
Soon it was time for the travelers to make their way to their flight. It was a tear filled goodbye for all concerned. Although, had any of the children seen Rose the night before, they may have wondered why it was not more so.
The travelers left the Grangers behind as they had to and headed to their gate. They found four empty seats against the window. Hermione and Clarice sat down facing away, as that was the way the seats were positioned and had pulled out their current books and were reading. Harry, however, was enthralled by what was happening outside and spent the time between when they arrived at the Gate and when they had to board their flight staring out the window and watching all the planes.
Their row was called and they joined the queue to find their seats. When they finally found them, Harry was very disappointed. They were in the center row! His first time on a plane and he could not even look out the window! But Robert had told Minerva what to expect. Most of the flight would be at night. There really would not be all that much to see at all. Minerva did not know if that was true, but it seemed to placate the disappointed boy.
The children watched an in-flight movie and had dinner. They slept for hours afterwards, thanks to a potion Minnie slipped into their drinks and awoke in time for breakfast. Not long after, it was announced they were now descending into Tokyo and that it was now 0820 local time on June 30th. Harry asked about that. The flight was supposed to last only about fourteen hours and yet they lost an entire day? Minerva did her best to explain, but was not sure he or the others truly grasped the notion.
"It's like we traveled in time," Harry said.
"In a way," Minerva replied. "Tokyo is eight hours ahead of us based upon there the sun it. The sun rises there eight hours before it does in Britain."
"Oh."
Their flight eventually landed in Tokyo and they eventually left the plane and followed the crowds to the international baggage claim. They soon had their bags and were standing in the queue to pass through the Japanese Customs inspection.
"Professor McGonagall?" a voice asked.
Minerva looked and saw a young Japanese woman in an official looking uniform standing near them. "Yes?"
"Ohaiogosaimasu," she said with a bow. "My Sensei Watanabe sends is greetings as does Sensei Genda and welcomes you to Japan, Land of the Rising Sun." She bowed again.
"Thank you?" Minerva said.
"Are these your charges?"
"Yes, er?"
"Midori," the young woman said. "Midori Yamata. I am an assistant at the school and have been tasked to take you through our Customs and to the school directly. Unless you really wish to make your connecting flight to Osaka?"
"Er…"
"We can either be at the school in half an hour or six hours."
"Thank you - um - arigato."
"Douitashimashite."
Minerva and the others followed the young woman with their luggage away from the queue towards what looked like and interrogation room. Many of the other passengers, initially upset at the seemingly preferential treatment, now figured the older woman and the three children were in for a long, long day.
As soon as the door closed behind them, they found they were in a much larger room.
"We prefer the subterfuge," the young woman said. "Your queue mates now think you've been singled out for an interview, rather than getting a short cut through our magical Customs. Please place your bags on the table," she said indicating a large table with two similarly uniformed men behind it. "This should not take but a moment."
Minerva and the others did as they were told. The two men were each holding some kind of staff and waved them over the bags.
"Pasupoto, Kudasai?" one of the men said.
"Your passports, please," the young woman translated.
"Anata wa Nihongo wakarimasuka?" the man said to McGonagall and the others.
"Ie. Wakarimasen." the young woman replied.
The man shrugged as he stamped the passports.
"What was that?" Minerva asked.
"He asked if you understood Japanese. I told him you do not."
Minerva nodded.
"No need to worry," the young woman said. "After two terms - three at the most - you will all be fairly proficient."
"We will?" Hermione asked.
"Hai! That means 'yes.' With the exception of your English classes, all classes will be in English and Japanese. More in English at first. Almost entirely in Japanese at the end."
"Why?"
"We have students from all over the world speaking twenty or more languages. We teach them all Japanese as their school Common Tongue. Admittedly, English, Spanish or Chinese is more useful in terms of the numbers of students in summer session. But this a Japanese school. By your Seventh Term, you will no longer be segregated in class by your native tongues. Still, you will live in the English Apartments your entire time here. Japanese is the official language on the grounds and in the classrooms and school common areas. In your living quarters and community, English will still be your language. You will continue learning English, but you will also learn Japanese and be encouraged to learn at least one other language over your time here.
"Follow me."
"How are we getting to Kyoto? And why Kyoto and not Tokyo or some other place?" Minerva asked.
"Second question first," Midori said. "Kyoto was for over a thousand years the Imperial Capitol. It was not until the rise of the Shogunates that it was moved to what was then called Edo and now Tokyo. For us magicals, Kyoto remains the heart and soul of Japan. As to your first question, we pass through this door." She indicated a normal looking door. "It is a portal that shall transport us to the Gate of Harmony."
"The what?"
"The main entry through the school wards. Follow." She opened the door and passed through and the others followed.
They found themselves not before a gate in a wall, but a free standing wooden structure. It was more art than functional and looked not unlike some of the strange writing they had seen at the airport in Tokyo.
"This is a Spirit Gate," Midori said. "It is sacred to us magicals and is also an ancient feature in Shinto. For us, we pass through and are purified. Pass through and good fortune awaits on the other side. Follow."
They did as they were told. As soon as they passed through, it was as iff they stepped into another world. On the other side, it was an arch of sorts of clearly Japanese style that led into a wood without any seen paths. On this side, they seemed to step into another city altogether. Gone were the closely packed high rises they had noticed in both cities briefly and before them lay low lying buildings of ancient design, peaked and tiled roofs, wooden and plaster walls with rice paper screens and such. In the distance were a cluster of tall, more modern looking towers - not unlike apartment flats in London, only better looking. As they followed their guide, it was as if they were walking through a rich and ancient Japanese style village with the perfect landscaping.
Midori told them that these ancient buildings were the class rooms, dojos (martial arts rooms) and crafts shops of the school. The surrounding landscape was man made, yet in the Japanese style made to look natural. Japanese gardens of the classical sort such as the grounds here were made to imitate and improve upon the harmony of true nature. As a result, the magical power of the land was enhanced.
There were eight "campuses" on the grounds, all surrounded by or encased within the gardens. Their enters were each a point on an octagon, for in eastern mythos and culture, eight was the most powerful of numbers. Four campuses were on each of the cardinal points of the compass while the other four were half way between.
The eastern most, and therefore the most sacred of all was the Shrine. It was a Shinto Shrine dedicated to the magical deities. The South, Southwest and Southeast points were the magical schools, which included both all the magical classrooms and all the martial arts dojos. While physical, the arts were considered a form of magic in their own fight. To the West, Northwest and North were the non-magical campuses for all levels of education from Primary School through University. The center of the Western Campus had the school's main library. To the Northeast was the modern physical campus with swimming pools and gymnasiums and playing fields.
"Mind, Body and Magic," Midori said. It was the school motto.
In the center were eight tall buildings. Each was a ground floor with twelve upper floors. These were the student living quarters. Each floor and a half could accommodate up to thirty students. One floor was their apartments. They were small, built in the Japanese style of maximizing efficiency. Six were larger three bedroom, six were smaller two bedroom. Each had two small baths and a common area with a cooking space, dining space and living space all rolled into one. There were two additional apartments for adult advisors. These were both one bedroom flats with a private office - a luxury by Japanese standards.
There was a half floor either above or below connected by a stair to the living floor. This floor had a recreation room with games, a larger common room for lounging and a study hall for studying. The Ground Floor had each tower's main dining facility, Midori explained. Japanese was the only language used on that floor and until a student was considered proficient, they could not dine in their own flats.
At the center of the eight tower living complex was the "Market." There were all sorts of shops and such as well as places to eat and a movie complex. But one needed spending money to really enjoy it, while everything else was covered by the school tuition.
"It's such a beautiful place," Minnie said in awe.
"From its beginnings a thousand years ago, it was designed to evoke an inner peace," Midori said. "From peace one can find center and from center, knowledge and harmony."
They were led to one of the towers and entered the Lobby. She led them to the lifts and they climbed in. The lift stopped on the tenth floor.
"This is your stop, Professor," Midori said.
"Thank you," Minerva replied. "I'll see you three at diner," she added with a smile. The children were gob smacked.
"She's a floor advisor for the first Summer Session," Midori said. "She's assigned to one of the English Class, Single Session floors. You three are on Twelve which is where all first time Five Session students will live. Your minder will be here for six Real Days - a full year of classes for you. And yes, you are free to visit her in your spare time."
"This is WONDERFUL," Hermione said. "We have family here!"
Harry nodded in agreement.
"What am I then?" Clarice asked in fear.
"No," Hermione said. "You are family too. But we have an adult here. Someone we can trust."
"Oh."
They followed Midori onto the twelfth and top floor of their building. She showed them to their two bedroom flat and it was obvious where Harry and the others were to sleep. One room had a single bed and the other had two. It would be tighter than at home, but each quietly thought cozier in a way. They were instructed to drop of their bags and to follow Midori down a flight of stair to their floor's common areas for a brief tour. They were shown their floor's common room, gaming room and study hall.
"Right then" Midori said when they were done and back in their flat. "Dinner is in two hours in the Ground Floor Dining Hall. At 19:00..."
"What's that?" Harry asked.
"Seven o'clock," Midori continued, "you are to meet in the Floor Common Room where you will meet your floormates and your adult advisors.
"There will be two of them. Each as a child or children on your floor. One is magical and the other is not and this is standard for all students with less than twenty full terms when they begin their summer sessions here. As you three are full summer - so will be your advisors. Your Aunt Minnie is a two-term advisor and will leave following the completion of your First Year. But you are free to visit here whenever you wish."
"She'll be here?" Hermione asked.
"For the next three hundred days, yes," Midori replied. "Then she shall leave."
"But she's not our advisor?" Harry asked.
Midori shook her head.
_____________________________________________________________
Dinner was over and the three had a wonderful time with Minnie walking about just how special this school might be. Minnie told them that she was only going to be here for six real days, but she was allowed to attend classes of all sorts to see what and how they taught things and that was worth all of it. Besides, she was here with her favorite children.
At eight that evening, as Time Compression commenced, the residents of their floor were called to the floor Common Room. There were twenty-five students in attendance ranging in age from six to twelve. Their magical adult advisor was Emily Carter, a witch from Australia whose son and daughter were on their floor. Ms. Carter explained that because her charges were all First Year Magicals - even though they ranged in age from six to twelve, they were still too young to live without parental supervision of some kind. The two adults were there to help, she said. She would help with magic and her counterpart would help with non-magic. But people are people. She said they should all feel free to talk with either minder if their had problems.
"I would now like to introduce our non-magical minder," Ms. Carter said. "She's a Dentist on holiday who has children here. This is Rose Granger."
"Mum?" Hermione asked…
A/N: British Airways Non-stop to Tokyo was taken from their current website. Flight Number was changed. There is a connecting flight to Osaka, but it leaves much later than in this fic. Flight times are the same as in the real world. I do not know if this flight existed in 1988 as it flies over what was then the Soviet Union...