FicWad

Chapter 19



To London...To London







Anna skidded to a stop and then walked sedately into the Great Hall for breakfast, just a minute or two late, the food having just been served. She had the good grace to blush as she drew even with the Gryffindor D.A. members, who tut-tuted and checked their watches, none too subtly.



"Cheeky little blighters," Anna hissed at them as she passed. They snickered and grinned at her.



At the staff table, Severus Snape watched her progress with a sneer on his face. Gazing down the Slytherin table he saw Draco looking at him. Severus rolled his eyes and mimed looking at his watch, shaking his head. Draco snorted and nodded.



"I saw that," Anna mumbled as she sat down. "Pass me the toast and jam, please." Smiling sweetly, she waited until he turned his head and stuck out her tongue at him. She heard a couple of students choke and snort, but had a supremely blank look on her face as he turned back to hand her the toast caddy.



He hesitated. "I know that innocent, 'who me?' look only too well. What did you do?"



"Why, Professor Snape, what /ever /do you mean?" She busied herself with the toast to hide her smile.



As he reached for the jam pot and turned to place it at her elbow, he continued, "I have procured a rather large Christmas stocking, but I fear my efforts were in vain. You're going to London, I understand."



"Yes, family and friends descending on me and plans were made ages ago; can't disappoint. I am sorry Severus."



"Don't be, as long as we can arrange for some time together."



"What if I come back a day early? Maybe two."



"Would you? Can you?"



"I can and I will."



"Oh, goody/. /Then I will get my Christmas wish; although late/, as usual. However, the anticipation /might make the wait bearable. I suppose." He heaved a little sigh.



"Putz!"



"Yes...indeed."



"Ditto .. Are you sure you can't come to London and drop by for a visit?"



"What plausible excuse could there be for my going to your home?"



"Damn, you're right. Oh, well, patience, dear."



"Anticipation, darling. You're taking the Express, I assume?"



"No, Tut."



"I believe you enjoy yourself entirely too much on that machine. Must you use it?"



"/Yes/. I'm taking Harry Potter and Winky, the house elf, with me."



"/Really/?" His eyebrow shot up. "The more, the merrier?" he sneered.



"Don't you use that tone or give me that look, Severus Snape."



"Temper, temper."



"You are a brat."



"Guilty...I'll miss you."



"As will I miss you," she whispered huskily, a sudden catch in her throat.



"Coffee?"



"Yes...indeed."



"Ditto."



X # X # X



Anna and Winky were closing the lids on two small suitcases, when they heard voices in the classroom. It was Harry, with a small knapsack slung over his shoulder, carrying Hedwig in her cage. Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Neville, all dragging their trunks, followed him.



"Be right there," called Anna, sticking her head out of the door to her chambers.



"Better hurry, Aunt Anna," Neville admonished, "if you're going to race the train. We want it to be a fair start."



"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Anna hustled down the stairs with Winky at her heels.



"Hello, Winky," Hermione greeted the house elf. "I hear you're going to London, too."



"Oh, yes, Miss. I is going to be a proper house elf again." Winky looked up at Anna. "I is just afraid of how we is getting there."



"I found a solution to that little problem, Winky." Turning, she smiled at Neville. "Did you find it?"



"Yes, here you go." Neville handed over a hiking backpack, with an aluminum frame that held the equipment bag rigidly in place. "It was in the bottom of my trunk. I knew this birthday gift you sent me would come in handy one day."



"Excellent. Now, Winky, I'm going to use a charm on you, to put you to sleep. You'll wake up when we arrive in London. Does that sound like a good way to travel?"



"Oh, /yes/, Miss."



"Harry, I'm afraid you'll have to wear the backpack, but it's quite comfortable, really and Winky only weighs a few pounds. I hope you don't mind."



"Sure, it'll be fine," said Harry, as he took the backpack and with help from Neville and Hermione, soon had it on and adjusted comfortably.



"Ok, Harry, just sit on this bench for a minute," instructed Anna, "and I'll get Winky settled inside."



Harry sat down and Anna checked the inside of the bag, sizing up how best to make Winky comfortable.



"Let me make a nice little bed for you, Winky. It'll keep you cushioned and warm." Taking her wand, she lined the space with a quilted comforter and put a small pillow and blanket in, too. "Ok, in you go." Lifting Winky into the backpack, she helped her settle down and get comfortable. "Ready?"



"Yes, Miss."



Anna took her wand and tapped the house elf lightly on her shoulder. Winky's eyes closed and she relaxed, deep asleep.



"How's that feel, Harry, too heavy?"



"No. I honestly can't feel her weight at all. This thing is really well balanced."



"Good, now let's put the rest of the things in." Anna lifted Hedwig's cage, Harry's knapsack, and her two suitcases into the opening of the backpack, closing and fastening the lid. "Still ok, Harry?"



Harry stood up and shifted around a little. "It's fine. Hardly know I've got anything back there."



"Great!" Anna beamed. "Let's get this show on the road, fun seekers! 'Locomotor trunks'. Next stop, London!"



X # X # X



Most of the students were watching out of the windows of the Hogwarts Express, half an hour later, as Professor Twigg-Jones and Harry rolled slowly down the platform astride Tut, goggles and gloves on, ready to ride.



Spotting Seamus, Anna called out, "Seamus! I'll let you know how he runs, and then we'll make any adjustments when I get back."



"Sure, and I'll give a listen as you leave. If the train doesn't drown you out, that is."



"Not bloody likely!" Anna grinned at him and waved.



"Ready, Professor?" Hagrid asked, checking for any last minute stragglers on the platform.



"Anytime, Hagrid!" Anna replied and gave him a thumb's up.



Hagrid signaled the driver of the Hogwarts Express, who blew the whistle and the train lurched forward. Ron checked his watch, and then leaned out the window, as Harry glanced at his.



"11:01, Harry!" he yelled, as the train pulled away. Harry nodded in agreement, and waved.



"See you at King's Cross!" Anna shouted.



X # X # X



They rolled down the road that lead into and then out of Hogsmeade, catching glimpses of the scarlet steam engine through the trees to their left. Soon it was lost to their sight as they entered the thick woods on the other side of the village. Finally emerging from the forest, they found themselves on a country lane. Turning smoothly onto a larger road, Anna opened the throttle and the engine roared down the blacktop. Harry had the same sensation of speed that he felt when riding his broom. However, being the passenger, without having control, was a little un-nerving at first. He quickly settled down, though, and began to enjoy the ride.



As they swooped down valleys and around lakes, Harry couldn't believe how beautiful the changing countryside was, even in winter. They drove through several small villages and towns and then the M6 ramp shot them onto the main highway heading south.



"Ready, Harry?" Anna asked over her shoulder.



"As I'll ever be, I guess. Do it!"



Anna tapped her wand three times with her finger and the landscape started to blur slightly as the bike reached its top cruising speed. Threading effortlessly through traffic, they flew onward, turning east at Penrith onto the A66 and then south again on the A1(M), stopping only for lunch and petrol, south of Leeds.



X # X #X



Lifting the flap of Harry's backpack, Anna checked on Winky, who was curled in a ball, snoring softly.



"I hope she can adapt to the fact it's a Muggle house we're heading for. We'll just have to let her do her thing, I guess." Anna snapped the clasp shut and looked at Harry. "Did you have enough to eat?"



"Yeah. Let's get to London."



Harry grinned as he stood, shifted the backpack and picked up his goggles and gloves from the table. Having never traveled, except on the Hogwarts Express and if you don't count that wild trip the day before his eleventh birthday, when his Uncle Vernon was trying to outrun the post owls, he was having a wonderful adventure. The ride on Tut was a thrill and the widely varying scenery had been fascinating to Harry. But, he was also anxious to get to Anna's townhouse and see Remus Lupin, who, she had assured him, would be awaiting their arrival.



X # X # X



Soon they were cutting through the suburbs and Harry could see office buildings and blocks of flats getting higher and more numerous as they approached the center of London itself. The traffic had, not surprisingly, increased also, but that didn't seem to bother Anna or Tut one iota, as the big machine slipped effortlessly between the cars and lorries on it's way to King's Cross Station.



"How're we doing on the time, Harry?" Anna asked over her shoulder as they rounded a turn and headed east past Regents Park.



"The train's due in about ten minutes. Are we going to make it?"



"Just. Be ready to get off and into the station as quick as you can, once I find a place to park Tut."



A few blocks later, she glided to a stop outside King's Cross Station. Getting off of the bike and pocketing their wands, they hurried into the building and headed for Platform 9 3/4. Just as they reached the barrier...



"Anna? And Harry, too!" Molly and Arthur Weasley arrived at the platform entrance from the other direction.



"Molly! Arthur! How splendid to see you!" Anna threw her arms around Molly and gave her a big hug. Mr. Weasley was shaking Harry's hand, and then he turned to get his hug from Anna as Mrs. Weasley smothered Harry in a welcoming embrace.



"Why are you two here and not on the train?" Mr. Weasley suddenly seemed to realize something wasn't right.



"We raced the train on my bike, Arthur," Anna informed him with a wide grin.



"Really! A motor-bicycle! Here?" He looked around as if expecting to find it just on the other side of a nearby brick pillar.



"It's parked outside, Arthur," Anna laughed. "I'll show it to you right after..."



"HA! Beat you!" Ron shouted triumphantly. He had just come through the barrier, with Hermione, Ginny, Neville, Seamus, Dean and Luna right behind him.



"Oh, no, no, no. We've been here for a couple of minutes, saying hello and talking with your parents, Ron," Harry protested. "So, HA! yourself; we beat you here."



"But the bet was to meet us on the platform."



"I told you, we stopped to say hello!"



"We did hold them up, Ronald, dear," Molly admitted sheepishly. "We didn't know there was a wager."



"Why don't we call it a tie, then?" suggested Anna, holding up her hands to head off more argument, looking around at all of them.



"Ok, fine." "Good enough for me." "How fast /were /you two going?" "At least you made it safe and sound."



"Mom! Dad!" Hermione spotted her parents approaching. She re-introduced Professor Twigg-Jones to them and they talked for a few minutes, even as more students emerged from Platform 9 3/4, looking around for their waiting relatives.



Turning to the others, Anna smiled. "Well, I left my bike double parked, so we'd better go before Tut scares some poor Bobby to death by growling at him. We'll be in touch over the holidays, everyone. Don't hesitate to drop in, 42 Harley St. I'm in the book, too, Hermione, if you want to give us a ring."



"Have fun, Harry!" "Happy Christmas!" "See you soon!" "Drive carefully!" "Goodbye, everybody!"