Torment

It was the early morning, just after the sun had come up. Severus stood on the sidewalk of Spinner's End with Neville, Miles, Dudley, and Peter (because of course, he was there) as they waited for the other men to arrive. Mary's eldest, Maisie, had suggested that everyone in the extended family visit Liverpool for a beach day, to which Marley had enthusiastically agreed. And from there, given Marley's social circle and in-laws (her reconciliation with Ginevra covering both), as well as her job in organizing tours and outings for her wizarding guests, everyone found themselves planning for, perhaps, the largest public family gathering Severus had been to since the New Year's party back in '10.

The women and children were traveling separately for the sake of staking out the beaches for a good spot, which left the men to bring the food and refreshments. Currently, Neville, Miles, and Dudley were taking inventory of their supplies, the latter two having offered to bring their grills and smokers (both had grown fond of American barbecue), which would require a larger vehicle to transport if they were going to travel there the Muggle way. Peter was on the phone with Remus about something Severus didn't care about, but he was just glad the other man was distracted.

A collection of loud cracking sounds went off in the distance, in the direction of the crack willows, and it took little time before Regulus arrived with Harry and Sirius. "Are we the first to arrive?" Regulus asked.

"The first," Severus confirmed. "Harry, could you help load the food into the van when Arthur arrives?"

"No problem," Harry said.

"I'll give you a hand with that, mate," Sirius added.

"When's Uncle Remus arriving?"

"Won't be long," Peter said as he hung up. "He was picking out some meat at the butcher's."

Another crack filled the air.

"Is that him?" Neville asked.

"I'm not sure," Peter answered. "He didn't sound ready when the call ended."

All eyes scanned the direction of the crack willows and found Theodore, Orion, and Draco approaching.

"Mr. Weasley's not here yet?" Orion asked.

"He shouldn't be long," Harry said.

Peter's cell phone rang again, and he stepped aside to answer.

"What are we having for lunch?" Draco asked as he looked over the grills and smokers.

"There's a variety," Miles explained as he opened one of the coolers. "Here's all the fish and seafood. We've also got sausages, chicken, and mutton."

"Uncle Remus is getting the beef and pork," Harry added.

"That was Remus," Peter said as he returned. "Arthur's picking him up in Cardiff."

"How long will they be, then?" Dudley asked.

"Two hours," Miles answered, "give or take."

"Two hours?!" Draco seemed less than pleased.

"Mr. Weasley wants to drive us there via van," Severus explained.

"It'd be easier to Apparate."

"Like hell, I'm doing that again," Miles countered. "I'd like to keep my fittles down."

"We need to transport all of this," Theodore said. "Apparition wouldn't be ideal."

"Stick it all in a bag with an Extension Charm, then!" Draco argued.

"Stick my grill and my smoker in with a bunch of clutter?!" Miles asked. "It'll be bost before we get there!"

"There will be no Apparition," Severus said firmly. "Besides, Lily insisted that we go with Arthur. I'll never hear the end of it if we don't."

"... so, we just wait, then?" Harry asked.

"We wait."

Two and a half hours passed, and Severus found himself sitting beside Regulus and Theodore on the curbside. Harry, Sirius, Dudley, and Peter had gone back inside to watch TV with Snarky, while Neville, Miles, Orion, and Draco remained outside, sitting on the curbside or the coolers (depending on who'd gotten the better seating first).

"Has the ice melted?" Miles asked Neville.

Neville got off his cooler and opened it, shutting it just as quickly. "No, it's fine."

"Does Arthur know how to get here?" Regulus asked Severus.

"He has Remus with him," Severus said. "He'd have to willfully ignore his directions to get lost."

"Do you have one of those cell phones?"

"No, just the house phone."

"Should I call?" Neville offered.

"Perhaps-" Severus stopped as he sensed something.

"Dad?"

"I think they're here."

Everyone else turned their heads to look down the street. "Where?" Miles asked.

"Give them a few minutes."

A few minutes passed, and a large van turned the corner and headed their way. In the driver's seat sat a happy Arthur Weasley, who stuck his head and arm out the door window and shouted, "Morning, all!"

"Neville, let Harry and the others know they're here," Severus said as he stood up with Regulus and Theodore.

The Weasley van stopped directly in front of Severus and Regulus with a jolt. William was the first to step out from the navigator's seat and he stepped forward to shake Severus's hand. "Morning, sir."

"Good morning, William."

"Awfully early, isn't it?" Charles asked as he and the Weasley twins came out from the back of the van. "Is this everything?"

"Yeah," Miles replied. "Easy with the cookery; it tips easily if you handle it wrong."

Charlie helped Miles lift one of the smokers, while the Weasley twins carried the other. Neville had returned with Harry and the others, and they soon loaded the coolers and grills as well.

"What took so long?" Peter asked Remus as the latter walked to them.

"I got confused at one of the turns," Remus said apologetically. "They must have added a new road since the map was printed."

Soon, everything was loaded, and Severus followed Remus, Peter, and Regulus into the back of the van, which had been enchanted with an Extension Charm to fit everyone inside, including Amos and Cedric Diggory and Xenophilius Lovegood, who were still buckled in. A pale-faced Ronald (which was difficult to notice, to begin with) was hunched over a waste basket with a wand in his hand.

"God, what's that smell?!" Draco exclaimed as he stepped inside.

"Shut it," Ronald mumbled.

"Alright, Ron?" Harry asked as he and Dudley sat next to him.

"Just a bit carsick," Arthur called back cheerily as all the doors closed. "Right, all! Let's head off, shall we?"

Severus watched as the Weasleys in the back all quickly buckled their seat belts, and he had even more concerns that Remus was following suit. Severus did likewise.

Lily was pacing back and forth along the side of the parking lot. She, Petunia, Marlene, and Molly had been waiting for nearly an hour longer than what Remus had promised.

"Do you think they took a bad turn?" Marlene asked.

"With Arthur driving, it's possible," Molly answered.

Before Lily could respond, Petunia pointed at something and said, "I think I see them."

Lily turned and saw a van pull into the parking lot with an inelegant swerve, winding in-between parked cars and trucks until it came to an unceremonious halt in an open space in front of the waiting women. The driver opened his door and hopped out with a spring in his step.

"We're all here, ladies!" Arthur announced as he came up and leaned in to kiss Molly.

Molly slapped Arthur's chest repeatedly as she said, "You're an hour late, Arthur Weasley!"

"We took a bad turn," Bill said apologetically as he came out of the passenger's seat. "How are the others?"

"Mary has the children building sandcastles," Lily answered.

"... must be a lot of sandcastles, then," Bill laughed. He banged on the side of the van and shouted, "Are we all ready?"

The back of the van opened up, and the food and cookery were unloaded. Harry and Sirius were the first out with one of the smokers, with Fred and George carrying the other; Dudley, Charlie, Cedric, and Bill brought out the grills, leaving Arthur, Amos, Remus, Peter, and Xenophilius to unload the food.

"Where are the others?" Lily asked.

"Let's just say they're not feeling well," Sirius answered.

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see," Harry added, shaking his head.

Lily furrowed her brow and looked back to the van with confusion, but her questions were soon answered as the rest of the men unloaded.

Draco and Theodore were the first to step out, the former leaning his weight on the latter as both hurried to the nearest waste bin. Draco leaned over and dry-heaved, while Theodore gagged and looked away to control his breathing. Orion followed and, seeing Draco leaning his head over the bin, tensed up, averted his eyes, and hurried past Lily with a brief nod. Milo and Ron were the next out, both supporting the very limp weight Neville out of the van and onto solid ground; all three were pallid, but Milo had the thickest sheen of sweat over his face, and his hair was excessively damp.

"Nev?!" Lily rushed to Neville and tilted his chin up. "Are you alright, sweetheart?"

"The road-" Ron retched before he could finish the sentence.

"... driving," Miles muttered, his eyes locked onto a non-existent object somewhere ahead. "Too much..."

"Where's Severus?" Lily asked.

"Van," Neville whimpered.

Lily hurried to the back of the van just as Regulus and Severus shakily stepped out, both looking like they'd just returned from the trenches. She couldn't tell who was supporting the weight of whom, but neither one of them could stand without the other. "Sev?"

Severus looked up through the curtains of his sweat-dampened hair, opened his mouth, and vomited.