Boulevard Of Broken Dreams,
Chapter 36, Flying High Again
The summer passed as summers did. Severus grew more and more angry that Heather and Raislen hadn't written him, so around mid July he'd attempted to write both again, asking if they'd gotten his letters. Heather wrote back briefly, saying that they were just busy, and reminding him that Raislen had been gone book shopping for part of the summer as well. Regulus had gotten no communication from them at all, so Severus supposed he should feel privileged to have at last been told something. He didn't though. While Heather and Raislen liked Regulus, they liked and trusted Severus more for obvious reasons. That and he was their friend first. He didn't answer Heather's rushed letter, finding it annoying and not knowing what to reply anyway.
(Don't you care that I wasn't even able to visit Raislen as we'd all planned?) would've sounded too pathetic. While it certainly felt odd to him that they did not seem to care, he wasn't about to mention it to them if they didn't. He was a bit hurt over their behavior but more angry than anything. Why were they being all weird?
One day in early August, he was reading in his room before lunch when there came an insistent tapping on his bedroom window that made him jump nearly out of his skin. The bedrooms in Prince manor weren't on the first floor, so hearing a tap at the window was a literal first. Could it be an owl, he wondered as he cautiously rose from his bed to approach the shut and shuttered window. The summer sunlight pouring into the room made it far too hot so he and his mum both kept their rooms dim. Desk lamps provided both with enough light to read by which was all they needed. As Severus approached, the tapping came again, and he stiffened, freezing in place. The sound was too rhythmic to be an owl. Too intentionally rhythmic, but who could get up to his window and what for? Someone on a broom perhaps, he thought.
With a sigh, he pushed back the shutters with one hand and slid the window open with the other. The sight that met his eyes caused his jaw to drop. "Heather? Raislen?" He couldn't believe what he saw! His two gleefully grinning friends sat with their legs tucked up under them on a bloody flying carpet of all things!
"Hi, Kid! Ready to go? We came to bust you out. Grab whatever you need and get ready fast so we can get out of here! Severus gaped as his mind took in Raislen's words while his eyes were still struggling to take in the fact they had a flying carpet.
"We didn't want to write our plans, because we didn't want your git of a grandfather intercepting your letters and stopping us," Heather said. "Sorry for the silence.
Severus swallowed as a wave of relieved joy swept over him. They hadn't forgotten him after all, and they had cared that he hadn't been allowed to come to Raislen's. "How did you get a flying carpet," he demanded excitedly. He'd never seen a real life flying carpet before, and it was most certainly as magical as he'd expected it to be. It was covered in old world Persian designs and quite colorful. It was a large, thick rug, able to comfortably hold perhaps five people, and the underside appeared to be fortified with a harder stiff sort of fabric to make sitting easier. Magic practically radiated off of it, and Severus could not wait to go for a ride.
"I figured if we busted you out, he wouldn't actually make you return home," Raislen said. "You know, it would be too embarrassing for him and would gain too much negative attention that I suppose he doesn't want."
Severus blinked. That just might work! "Brilliant," he breathed. "I'll hurry and pack, and I've got to write my Mum."
Raislen nodded. "Of course. Sure. We wouldn't want her to worry." Severus smiled before hastily retreating to his desk to write the letter. Worry was the last thing his mum deserved. He left the window open so Heather and Raislen could peer into his room. "It's so small and cramped," Heather said, clear surprise in her tone.
"It's just under the attic. Worst bedroom in the place, so you know he made sure I got it," Severus said as he hurriedly snatched quill and parchment out of a desk drawer. He hastily scribbled a note to his mum, telling her where he was going and that he'd had no idea Heather and Raislen were coming to get him. He concluded by telling her he loved her and begging her not to be angry.
He added a P.S, promising to stay home with her for the entire Christmas holiday. Of course if he asked to go to Raislens for any part of Christmas break after this, Grandfather Prince would surely say no, but that wasn't the point. He meant that he wasn't even going to ask. He would spend the time with his mum. After writing the note and leaving it folded on his bed, he dragged his school trunk from the bottom of his wardrobe and hastily began tossing things into it.
Things for the summer as well as things for school. He was ready to go in under ten minutes. The faster they got out of here, the more chance there was of actually getting away without old man Prince interfering. "Where did you get that carpet," Severus asked in awe as he approached the open window, trunk in hand.
"It's my grandfather's," Raislen replied. "I found it in his attic when my parents and I stopped off at his to drop off some books on our vacation. I asked him if I could borrow it."
"That was really nice of him," Severus said. "Do I just hoist the trunk out the window onto the carpet, then?"
"Yep and we'll put it between all of us once you're on so it won't slide off," Raislen replied. "And he said no, so I sneaked it out later when he wasn't looking. It occurred to me right away how best to use it. Heather Toy and I had already decided we'd break you out when I got back, just not how. So when I saw this beauty, I knew this was your ticket outah here! Grandfather thought it was too dangerous to let me use it until I'm of age, but what he doesn't know probably won't hurt anyone," Raislen chuckled.
"Raislen," Heather said, her tone grave and overly calm. "I just want you to know, that I won't hit you while we are high in the air, but as soon as this carpet is on the ground, I will pay you back for the Heather toy rubbish. Someday I will train you out of calling me that if it's the last thing I do."
"You're scary," Severus snickered, hefting the trunk out of the window and pushing it onto the carpet.
"Why thank you," Heather said sweetly. Grasping the trunk she pulled it into the center of the carpet as Severus excitedly climbed out of his window and onto the carpet, joining his friends. Turning he quietly slid the window shut.
"Fly away from the house," Raislen sang out and the carpet obeyed, shooting away from Prince Manor. The wind whipped Severus and Heather's hair around their faces and he laughed with glee, clutching his trunk with one hand and a bit of the carpet with the other. "Now go left," Raislen called and the carpet did so. It was firm and solid under Severus's weight, a confirmation that the harder looking underside was intended to provide a steady ride.
"This is so exciting!" He called gleefully.
Raislen grinned. "It is, isn't it?"
"How'd you figure out how to guide it," Severus wondered.
"Trial and error, Kid," Raislen laughed. "Now go right," he added to the carpet, after taking a second to peer around to see where they were.
"I could fly on this thing every day," Heather shouted to be heard over the wind. Her brown eyes sparkled and she looked nearly blissful. Like Severus, one of her hands clutched the carpet but the other held Raislen's arm. Severus grinned, knowing that Raislen must be on cloud nine over that even more than the experience of a magic carpet ride.
"I wondered why the two of you hadn't written or said a bloody word about me not being allowed to come," he admitted.
"Sorry about that, Kid,"Raislen said. "We hoped you'd assume something was up. We couldn't risk anything ruining our chances of breaking you out."
"Thanks again for that," Severus said. "Really!"
"Of course," Raislen said. "We couldn't leave you there all summer. If that Git Grandfather of yours is so concerned about the opinion of his so-called friends, I figure we can use that against him by playing hard ball right back. If we do it right, you don't have to keep taking his shit. At least not all the time."
Severus couldn't help but grin at Raislen's sports reference considering how hard Slughorn tried to get him to play for the Slytherin Quidditch team. Raislen's tall muscular build was perfect for Quidditch, so Slughorn insisted, but Raislen wasn't interested. He kept himself fit but declared the sport and most sports to be stupid and pointless pursuits for people who had nothing better to do.
Though he had offended many with that statement, Severus tended to agree with him. He also had no interest in sports, but fortunately as he did not have Raislen's build, Slughorn wasn't pestering him to join the Slytherin Quidditch team either. One had to appreciate small favors where they found them, as his mum often said. As the carpet took them to Raislens, Severus stared around, drinking in the view from on high. They flew high above the trees, and Severus found himself hoping it was high enough to avoid any Muggles seeing them. He would feel dreadful if Heather and Raislen got into trouble for helping him. The fact that they did care, and hadn't forgotten him made him happier than he could put into words. That said, he didn't want the Ministry restricting their magic or something over a flying carpet incident. "Do you think anyone will see us," he fretted, and Raislen shook his head.
"We put a don't notice me charm on the carpet," he assured.
Severus gave a sigh of relief. "Brilliant idea."
Soon they were at Raislen's. "Hold on," he called as they drifted toward the lush grass of his front lawn. "I haven't ever landed this thing before." Severus tensed himself for a rough landing, but the carpet settled lightly onto the grass. Fortunately they were in one of the wizarding neighborhoods of London's suburbs, so they didn't have to fret too much over getting into trouble for anyone noticing them landing on a flying carpet. Severus climbed off with a bit of regret that the ride was over. "Thanks, Carpet," he said, patting it gently as he stepped off onto the grass.
"Yeah," Heather agreed. Thanks, Carpet." She patted it as well and Raislen followed suit with a chuckle.
"Do you really think it thinks," he asked Severus who shrugged.
"I don't know, but it's always good to be safe just in case," he said.
"True enough, I suppose," Raislen agreed as he bent to roll up the carpet.
"Raislen," Heather called. "Wait!" Raislen straightened, giving her a look of inquiry that quickly became one of pain as she slammed him in the stomach with her right fist. "I told you I'd get you for that Heather Toy comment as soon as we were back on the ground. Now proceed." Raislen groaned, doubling over in pain. After a moment, he was able to attend to rolling up the carpet. Severus moved to help.
"What do we do with it," he asked.
"We'll take it into the parlor and have my parents return it to Grandfather's," Raislen said. "They'll understand why I had to borrow it." He took one end and Severus took the other and together the three friends headed across the lawn toward the manor.
"Ur... Do your parents know that I'm coming," Severus asked. If not things were going to get uncomfortable rather fast.
"Of course they do," Raislen huffed. "What do you take me for? They just didn't know how it was going to happen or that your grandfather said no, but we'll sort that out, don't worry."
"We will," Severus asked. A pit of fear that he would be sent home was already growing in his stomach. If that happened, Grandfather Prince would make the summer even worse, of that he was certain.
"Severus, they aren't going to make you go back home to that bastard. I mean if your mum came to get you, that's one thing, but you know she won't. You get to enjoy the rest of the summer," Raislen said. Already Severus's mind was traveling to The Library and how he planned to sleep in it again for the entire visit.