The Long and Winding Road

[LinZE]

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

Disclaimer: Alas fair reader, they are not mine.

Rating: G

Summery: A story that begins just after the Hogwarts Express draws into Kingscross at the end of book five. The main elements include, Harry Potter, Minerva McGonagall, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape and a confined space. This leads to what can only be described as an interesting start to the holidays.

PART 1

”Follow the black cat”. Harry repeated the last-minute instructions he had received from Hagrid just before the Hogwarts Express left the station. “Follow the black cat.” He had been pondering on it quietly for almost six hours now and he had still failed to establish just what the hell it was that the half giant had meant. It was all a little reminiscent of the ‘follow the spiders’ incident in his second year: however this time there was no trail of little black cats leading into the Forbidden Forest, or anywhere else for that matter. Harry knew this for a fact as he had been constantly looking for this sign, messenger… whatever it was, the entire trip. When he thought about it rationally he supposed that this specific feline might not even be supposed to appear until the end of the holidays but he wasn’t going to take a chance and risk missing an opportunity to escape from Privet Drive. Not for the first time in the last month though, he just wished that someone would tell just exactly what it was that was happening and what was expected of him personally.
He bid goodbye to Ron and Hermione, full of promises to keep in touch as well as he could, but after they had departed there was still no sign of anyone there looking for him. This was hardly a surprise though, so grabbing the handle of his trunk he rolled it out of the way of all the hundreds of people milling about on the platform. Setting Hedwig’s empty cage down on the ground, she had been left to make her own way back, he sat himself down and got ready to wait for his Aunt and Uncle to arrive. He sat and watched as the rest of the students began to dissipate and wondered to himself how the wizarding world managed to keep itself secret considering some of the totally peculiar behaviour that some of the adults were displaying, never mind what they were wearing…
As he observed the scene before him he absently started scratching behind the ears of the cat that had started winding itself in and out of his legs. The cat! Looking down he was met by a pair of green eyes staring back at him from inside a pitch-black furry mask.
“Hello,” he said quietly, continuing to pet the cat. It purred in response and nuzzled into his hand before suddenly taking off across the concourse. It stopped again maybe ten metres away and turned back as if looking for him and gave an impatient meow! The message he had received from the Groundskeeper certainly seemed to make an awful lot more sense now. All the same though, if the last year had taught him anything it was that things were often not quite as they seemed, so strapping the empty cage to his trunk he thrust his spare hand into his pocket and wrapped it around his wand as he set off behind his mysterious guide. Harry was so intent on not loosing his four-pawed piper that he didn’t notice as he stepped out of the train station. He followed it across the road and down the street for quite a distance before, with the swish of a tail, the cat disappeared down a ramp and into a low level car park.
Harry hung back, every instinct he possessed screaming that there was something wrong with this situation.
“Is that you Minerva?” came a familiar voice.
“Just how many cats do you think wonder the streets of central London Lupin? Especially with a limp like that,” retorted Snape in his all too familiar drawl.
“I was not limping Severus and considering how long we’re all going to be cooped up together, I’d be especially grateful if you’d be kind enough to say nothing if you can’t think of something constructive to add.” McGonagall’s tone was more than familiar after five years in her classes “Mr Potter? I know you’re there so, if you’d be kind enough to join us.” He did as she asked but kept a hold of his wand all the same.
“Well it seems as if the boy isn’t quite as stupid as I would assume,” Snape said, eyeing the hand he still had in his pocket.
“Severus,” McGonagall warned.
“Oh – give up woman.”
“Now, now children,” Remus Lupin interrupted. “No – it’s good that you’re on your guard but now I expect that you want to make sure that we really are who we appear to be. Maybe ask us a question only we’d know the answer to?” It seemed like a good suggestion but Harry struggled to think what he could ask them. He thought about asking about his grades or maybe the password to Dumbledore’s office but then realised that it wasn’t unfeasible that an impostor could know the answer to those. Whenever he’d seen this kind of scenario in a film or the like the questions always seemed to be about the subject’s love-life or the like and the thought of venturing down that road just made Harry shudder – never mind that he wouldn’t know the answers in any case. But then he had an idea…
“Where’s HQ?” He asked quietly but firmly. He knew that you wouldn’t be able to find it unless the secret keeper told you where it was but he was certain that to share the address between four people who really ought to know it already would be possible.
Lupin, who had been sitting sideways on the passenger seat near Harry, sprung up.
“Oh – I know this one!” he said with a smile, and for a moment Harry was disturbingly reminded of Lockhart. Leaning close his former Professor whispered the correct answer just loud enough for him to hear above the rumble of traffic on the road above. His Head of House quickly did the same and, somewhat more reluctantly, so did the Slytherin Head. It was hardly as if he’d never had anyone whisper in his ear before but he’d never really appreciated how different an experience it could be depending who was doing the whispering.
“Now can we please get a move on?” Snape asked from where he stood leaning on the roof, standing inside the open driver’s door. It only dawned on Harry as he watched them get ready to get into the car, as Lupin helped him lift his trunk into the boot, that the three of them really did look passably muggle. The Slytherin was in dark jeans and a black roll-neck pullover with his hair apparently newly washed and pulled back tidily. McGonagall had her hair braided down her back where it lay on her green twin set. There was something more different about her though and he wasn’t quite sure what it was. Maybe it was the fact that underneath her voluminous velvet robes she had been hiding quite an attractive figure, which was now highlighted perfectly by the charcoal slacks she was wearing. He just wasn’t certain that was it though. Lupin didn’t look wholly different from how he usually did except that it seemed someone had done some impressive repairs to his rather worn wardrobe.
“I’ll take the back seat,” Lupin volunteered. “No need for you to get all squished yet Minerva.”
“Thank you,” she replied, looking a little surprised. Harry waited until they were all safely ensconced in the car and were sitting on the ramp waiting to pull out onto the road before he asked the question that had been bugging for some time now.
“What exactly is going on?”


A/N: This is a fic that I have been writing (slowly but surely for more than a year) it is now complete so here is the first part.
Much thanks to Rachel for beta-ing and PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think
<----- review whore *blush*
Linds
xxx

[Alesia]

Interesting start, it is going to be fun to watch where you take this.

Alesia

[TheGryffindorSeeker]

Sounds really intresting you can tell it's taken a lot of thought, like the way youve described snape in it *he he* funny to see his hair washed lol. But i' m ejoying it, great little cliffy to get us in the same position of Harry Great fic can't wait for the update

[mugglemin]

Well, I should certainly know by now to expect great things from you...so post away!

[JKMcGonagall]

Good start. I wonder where Harry and company are going in the car. Somewhere down a long and winding road I presume.

Kay

[Isabelle]

This sounds like it could be very interesting. I look forward to the next part!

Liz

[angeldust]

sounds interesting what are they up too!!!!

[LinZE]

“Ah,” said Lupin with a soft smile “I was wondering how long it would take you.”
“Basically Mr Potter,” began McGonagall, shifting her seat to turn and face sideways so she could see where he was sitting behind Snape, “I had a discussion with the Headmaster…” The potions master snorted at this and Harry wasn’t quite sure what to make of that. She scowled at him but continued on anyway. “Well – we had a discussion and it was decided that perhaps it wouldn’t be best for anyone if you were to stay with your relatives again this summer.”
“Not that I’m not grateful but – well where am I going instead then?”
“We’re going to take you back up to the school,” Lupin said. “I’m going to be staying there this summer and officially I’ll be looking after you so to speak.”
“Right. But why send me away on the Express if…”
“Believe it or not Mr Potter, we didn’t actually want to publicise your holiday plans,” Snape said, all the while manoeuvring around a teaming roundabout.
“So what’s going to happen is that we’re going to drive back up to the castle in the muggle fashion. No magic whatsoever,” Lupin continued.
“Ok – but why is it going to take three of you? And why you three? And how come you managed to change into a black cat Professor?” he asked, finally turning to look at the Transfigurations mistress.
“Ah, well to start in reverse order, it’s all down to hair dye. I haven’t been this dark in two decades,” she said, gesturing to her solid black hair, and suddenly Harry realised what had been different about her. “We wanted to make sure no-one knew about our plans so we gave you as little information as we could, as late in the day as we could. It would hardly take a genius to realise that my usual tabby self would be easily identified by the students and anyone else watching.” He understood what she meant; when there were students returning home there were parents and not all of them were to be trusted.
“The reason we got given the job was that we’re the only members of the Order who were available and have muggle driving licences.”
“As for why this is going to take three of us is primarily due to the fact that we’re going to be driving continually for days thanks to that bloody bam pot,” Snape supplied.
“Days!” Harry couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Severus would you just concentrate on the road please?” McGonagall asked tersely.
“Why – don’t you trust me Minerva?”
“I would trust you with my life, just not to avoid getting arrested before we leave the Greater London area. It was deemed that we ought to take a somewhat circuitous route on the return journey,” she continued.
“Thank you Alastor!” Snape added, rolling his eyes.
“Well in any case, it’s about a 16 hour drive straight to the castle at the best of times but it’s the start of the muggle holidays and, well, we’re visiting Cornwall, Wales and Newcastle and some other places on the way,” Lupin said.
“Could be worse, it could be winter and then the chances are that half the roads we need would be closed.”
“The joys of rural Scotland,” Snape deadpanned, before hitting his horn as someone cut him up. “Idiotic muggle!” This time it was McGonagall’s turn to roll her eyes.
Harry’s mind was whirling with everything he had just learned. Staring out of his window at the other vehicles surrounding them as they made their way through the city he found it hard to actually accept what was happening. For so long the muggle and magic parts of his life had been separate but it seemed that yet again the edges were blurring; seeing his professors in this tableaux was a tad disturbing. They sat in silence for a while and he was just beginning to feel distinctly intimidated at the prospect of spending an extended period of time in an enclosed space with these people when Lupin broke the silence.
“Severus, do you actually know where you’re going?” The question was gentle but the response was as hard as ever.
“Of course I do – that’s why I’m driving.”
“It’s just that you’re heading towards the centre of the city…”
“Well I was going to turn right but it was a flaming one way street.” It was clear that this frustrated the man greatly.
“It is a bit of a maze around here – I’d take the first left at the next round about.”
“If I need your advice Lupin – I’ll ask for it.” The potions master took the first right.
Ten minutes later Harry recognised the same round-about and this time he took the recommended turning. Harry would almost swear that McGonagall was hiding a smile with her delicate hand. Lupin leaned across the centre seat and spoke just loud enough for Harry to hear when he leant in.
“In the cause of peace and quiet I shall refrain from commenting on that.” Harry smiled and noticed that McGonagall, in order, he presumed, to distract the man who was scowling at them in the rear-view mirror, turned on the radio. He wasn’t hugely surprised when she tuned into a classical station and didn’t even mind an awful lot. Besides, the debate that this sparked in the front as to whether the current piece was Chopin or Shosticovitch was worth it. It was strange; if he hadn’t been able to hear them he would have sworn that they were discussing quidditch or house points. He said as much to Lupin, and this in turn seemed to spark the first genuine conversation of the trip.
“Did you hear about the Magpies Harry?” Lupin asked. Harry shook his head; his interest in all things Quidditch had all but disappeared this year when he had been banned from playing himself. “It’s been rumoured that some foreign fan has bought the team and is throwing gold into getting them some decent players.”
“Some decent players isn’t going to cover it,” McGonagall pointed out somewhat sceptically.
“But it is start,” he pointed out.
“True enough” she conceded. “Oh – Remus I meant to say – Rolanda turned down the English coaching spot again.”
“Professor Hooch turned down a chance to work with the national team?” Harry asked, shocked that anyone would do that in favour of teaching kids with no aptitude to fly in a straight line.
“She just knows that a certain Scot would throttle her if she accepted,” Lupin suggested with an impish grin.
“That is such a lie Remus Lupin – and well you know it. It’s not as if I stopped talking to her when she played for them.”
“No but you did sit in the opposition’s half every time you went to go see her play though.”
“The important part is that I went to go see her,” McGonagall protested.
“It was Schuman!” There was a momentary silence at this unexpected out burst from Snape. “The concerto – it was by Schuman,” he tried to explain. “Anyway,” he continued obviously trying to change the subject. “I have a bone to pick with you Minerva about a certain trophy. I was under the impression that you were responsible for having it engraved with the latest date and house before you passed it on.”
“That would be a valid complaint Severus were it not for the fact that you broke into my study to claim it before I returned to the school.” This silenced his objections for the time being.

[LinZE]

By the time they were out of London it was past 8 and getting dark.
“I don’t know about anybody else,” McGonagall began, “but I’m ready for dinner – what do you say gentlemen?”
“Yes!” And “Me too!” Rang simultaneously from the back seat.
“Anyone would think we never fed you Mr Potter.” She replied, her voice softened with mirth. “What about you Severus? What do you fancy?”
“Food,” he replied sarcastically. “There is however, as far as I’m aware, a plethora of eating establishments in Brighton and as we’re almost there.”
“You’ve been there before?” asked Lupin. “I wouldn’t have thought it very you.”
“I’d thank you not to make assumptions about me Lupin but as a matter of fact there’s a rather good apothecary there.”
“Really?” asked McGonagall. “I shall have to remember that.”
“I wouldn’t bother – the only thing that they stock of any great quality is Wolfsbane stalks,” came the tart reply. Again they slipped into silence. It dawned on Harry that the only reason that the potions master would need those stalks was to make the wolfsbane potion for Lupin himself.
If Harry had thought that they made an odd group sitting in the car, it was nothing as to how peculiar it felt wandering along the promenade on Brighton’s sea front eating fish and chips with their fingers straight from the paper. This was also a first for him – he’d never actually had a fish supper before and was enjoying it all the more for the novelty value. He had half expected Snape to storm off as soon as they had parked but instead he had seemed relatively content to eat and walk with the group.
“Mmm. That was good, but there is not a chance in the world that I’m going to finish this lot. Anybody care for more?” his Head of House conceded. Harry glanced at Remus.
“Share?” the other man asked.
“Sure. Thanks Professor,” he added taking the papers from her.
“That sounds a little odd given the situation so why don’t we stick with Minerva for now Mr Potter.”
“Harry then,” he pointed out.
“Right – Harry,” she said with a smile.
After they had visited a somewhat dubious public restroom they returned to the car. McGonagall, or Minerva rather, took the driver’s seat and then avoided what could have been a conflict by telling Remus to sit down in the front. Harry had no problem sitting in the back, but sitting in the back with the potions master was another matter entirely though. As they pulled out of the car park and onto the busy main road the Slytherin spoke up.
“Shouldn’t you have your glasses on Minerva?” The question sounded more like an insult the way he put it.
“Actually I only need them for up close work and you seem to have forgotten the fact that my night vision is significantly better than yours.” That ended that conversation, and Remus turned on the radio and retuned it to what Harry suspected was BBC Radio 4. By the time the 11 o’clock bulletin began, he was drifting into sleep, the only other sound disrupting the silence the soft sound of breathing from the man sitting in front of him.


A/N: well I hope this answered some questions
Let me know what you think,
Linds
xxx

[Herzele]

So far I really like this story !! And I'm very curious to see what's going to happen next ...

[TheGryffindorSeeker]

yes me too! more! more! lol im excited about it, so different

[Alesia]

I really like the premise for this. It is going to be a mini-vacation it sounds like from the route they are taking. I wonder how long they are going to be able to stand either other and how long it will be before Albus shows up.

[TartanPhoenix]

THis story is really good so far, and I loved the hair dye. I also have to wonder how long it will take before they try to kill each other.

[JKMcGonagall]

I wondered how she became a black cat. There was another story I read somewhere where she wore a charmed collar that let her change cat colors to match what she wore (in this case a black dress...Albus still recognized her). I like your way of changing her color too. I also wonder how long they are all going to be able to stand each other on this trip. How come they couldn't just take a portkey back to Hogwarts? But then there wouldn't be this delightful story, would there?

Kay

[LinZE]

Well the idea is that they're trying to avoid being noticed full stop - theoretically the death eaters/other interested parties, might pick up on the surge of magic a portkey requires - after all the ministry can track surges of uncontrolled and who knows what side memebers of the ministry are on.
And yes - it does lead to a far better story *grin*
xLx

PS - Although tensions mount and tempers fray quickly it 's the other side to everyone that Harry sees that I think he's going to be most thrown by....

[angeldust]

oh you are so evil leaveing me all excited! ! ! ! I am falling so hard for this story! I just love the stuck with Professors kinda thing! Update soon

[Isabelle]

This is becoming even more interesting. I look forward to the next part!

Liz

[LinZE]

PART 3

Authors Forewarning! – I am aware that some of these jokes will mean nothing to you if you don’t have a fair idea of British culture or at least the British culture of making fun of each other depending on which part of the country we live in. As a Scot, I feel that I am perfectly within my rights to make fun of the Welsh – after all everyone else makes fun of us. Lol
In any case – if you cant read into it enough to make sense of the comments I’ll be happy to explain further.
xLx

When he woke up again the sun was shinning on his face and there was a strange smell permeating the air. There was also a strange lack of movement…
Before he’d even opened his eyes Harry was fairly certain that they’d either stopped to get petrol or driven into the back of fuel tanker. He stretched as well as he could in the somewhat confined quarters and slowly peeled open his eyes.
“Morning Harry,” Remus said, twisting in his seat to turn around and look at him. He mumbled something in response. Glancing around he realised that they were the only people in the car at the moment.
“Where is everyone?” he asked, looking towards the pay point.
“Just there,” Remus replied pointing some distance in front of the car.
Undoing his seatbelt, he shifted into the middle seat to get a better view. Standing on the forecourt the two heads of house were, it seemed, in the process of having a rather heated discussion. It struck him rather suddenly that anyone else observing this scene would probably just assume that they were a husband and wife getting on each other’s nerves after being in the car together for too long. This disturbed him somewhat, so he made the sensible decision not to think about it any more.
“He’s irritated with her because she drove all through the night,” the other man informed him.
“Oh,” was all he could think of to say. “What time is it by the way?”
“About half six.”
“Thanks”
“Oops – that’s my cue,” he said after a moment, as the other two started to head back towards them. The werewolf opened the door, got out and then settled himself back into the driver’s seat, leaving passenger door open so they could now hear what was being said.
“Severus – I didn’t set out to prove anything. I just didn’t see the point in waking you all up when you were sleeping so heavily.”
“Driving for eight hours straight was not a clever plan.”
“Good morning!” Remus said brightly as Snape slung himself into the front seat and Minerva climbed into the back.
“Good morning Remus,” she replied. “Sleep well I trust?”
“Like a log thanks.”
“And you Harry?” Now that he thought about it he had slept well. He couldn’t even remember having had any nightmares, and that was the first time that had been true since the affair in the ministry.
“Yeah,” he replied with a smile.
“Well – I think there’s a service station across the motorway what do you say to breakfast?” Remus asked.

This stop allowed them all the opportunity to freshen up and change their clothes before they grabbed croissants and fruit for breakfast as well as acquiring the basics for lunch. When they did set off again it was for Wales apparently and a few hours later they crossed the boarder. Remus and Snape had stayed fairly quiet up until this point, whether due to the fact that Minerva was fast asleep next to Harry or for another reason he wasn’t sure, but he was glad of the reprieve.
“I wonder if Aberforth still has a place around here?” Remus said to no-one in particular.
“Aberforth Dumbledore?” Harry asked.
“Yeah – it was on a farm around here he was charged with placing inappropriate charms on a goat. Or was it goats? I forget.”
“There must have been a sheep shortage that year.” It was out of his mouth before he even thought about it. He could feel himself blushing as he glanced to his right and saw that his head of house was thankfully still sleeping peacefully. Remus obviously found it quite amusing though as he was still chuckling away.
“That was neither clever or amusing Mr Potter.” Was the characteristic response from Snape. Harry watched as the driver glanced across to the adjacent seat and the light of revelation spread across his features.
“You’re Welsh!” he said with relish.
“And you’re a Werewolf – your point being?” This time it was Harry who was laughing out loud.
“Good point,” Remus conceded good naturedly as he continued to follow the winding roads.

About half past ten they stopped for a bathroom break and Snape took the driver’s seat again. In a whole different life, Harry had once heard someone say that the only thing really wrong with Wales was that there was only one way in and out. At the time it had made no sense to him whatsoever; now though it was becoming painfully clear. They had just joined the only trunk road leading out of the country and it was at a complete standstill.
“For Merlin’s sake!” Snape sighed.
“Oh well – good job we’re not in a rush,” Remus pointed out from the passenger seat. They got moving eventually however, and though it was slow progress they were getting somewhere. Harry ended up discussing the Weasley twins’ new shop with Lupin and though Snape wasn’t saying anything it was occasionally obvious that his interest was being piqued. Minerva had fallen back asleep once they had gotten going again and didn’t seem in the least bit disturbed at the rather animated impressions of the firecrackers that had been debuted in the school. She didn’t, however, have a chance of sleeping through what happened next. Snape was pulling out into the next lane behind the car in front of them when said car slowed without warning and they crashed into the back of it. Harry braced himself for the impact of the cars behind them colliding into their back but despite the sound of squealing brakes and angry horns, everyone else seemed to manage to avoid them and carry on.
“Is everyone ok?” Remus asked urgently turning around in his seat to face them.
“Fine,” Harry replied after running a quick self-diagnostic and turned to look at Minerva. Unsurprisingly, she looked like someone who had just been woken up abruptly and rather unpleasantly.
“Wha…Yes, I’m fine – what happened?” By this point their driver was out of his seat and storming towards the car in front. “Oh no…” Minerva was up and after him in an instant.

With the two doors open it wasn’t hard for them to hear what was being said only a few feet away.
“What the hell were you thinking?!” Snape asked, and part of Harry already felt sorry for the other driver (the other was hoping that said driver wasn’t in possession of a shotgun). He watched with interest the way that his own Head of House managed the Slytherin, placing a hand on his arm and silently urging him to back up a little.
“I think our first priority ought to be to get off the motorway – are you going to be ok to drive?” she asked the slightly shell-shocked driver who nodded in response.
“How about you follow me to the next turn off? There’s a view point maybe a couple of miles down the road.” The heavy Welsh accent suggested that he was a local.
“That sounds perfect,” Minerva agreed, and Harry was a little surprised at how softly she was handling him. With that they returned to the car and as soon as everyone was back inside and the engine had been restarted they followed their guide back into the flowing traffic.
“How bad’s the damage?” Remus asked once they were on the way.
“Minimal and largely cosmetic,” Minerva replied. “Which is in no small part due to Severus’ quick reactions.” The man in question just ‘hmph’ed.
“Idiot.”
“Perhaps – but antagonising the situation isn’t going to help,” she said firmly
“Perhaps,” he repeated a little less viciously.

[LinZE]

When both parties had parked in the lay-by Harry decided to take advantage of the opportunity to stretch his legs.
“Never say we do things the simple way,” Remus said, climbing out and, having shut the door again, leaning next to Harry. He couldn’t help but smile at that – they really didn’t ever seem to do anything that turned out to be straightforward. His gaze wondered over to where the two Heads of House were now talking fairly amicably with the Welsh driver and his wife.
“Harry?” Minerva called. “Do you have any regular paper in your trunk?” He had to think before he replied, mentally thinking through what he had packed. He knew he had at least a couple of rolls of parchment but….
“Yeah – I think I have a notebook,” he answered, and standing upright, went to the boot to see if he could lay his hands on it. Not only did he manage to find it (underneath all of his notes from the last year) but he also managed to lay his hands on a biro as well.
“Here you go,” he said as he neared the group and offered her what she’d asked for.
“Thank you,” she said with a smile handing them over to Snape. He was about to leave them to exchange insurance details when, the other female said something that made him stop.
“That’s a lovely well mannered boy you’ve got there – and he looks so like both of you,” she said with a smile. He wasn’t at all sure what to make of this.
“Thanks I guess,” he mumbled, and was reassured slightly at the gentle hand his ‘mother’ placed on his shoulder. Snape on the other hand just continued to write.
“He’s a good boy – we’re very proud of him.” The unexpected compliment left him with a warm feeling that he had never up to then thought to associate with the his professor. The next part of the conversation threw him far back into surprise though.
“I… I should apologise for the way I acted earlier,” Snape began as he handed over the pad and pen. “I know it’s no excuse but… it’s just that I got a bit of a shock and well… if anything happened to the boy or his mother I’d well, I’d be totally devastated.”
“Of course… of course,” they replied, and thankfully before Harry had to pull himself together, Remus appeared to divert their attention.
“Hi – Remus Lupin.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” the lady replied. “And you are…” she continued.
“Oh – just a friend of the family. I’m… well not very well quite a lot of the time and Severus here is good enough to take spectacular care of me.”

The conversation that followed was 'spectacularly' unusual in any case but when the couple finally drove away Harry was fairly certain that they hadn’t made any dire slip-ups.
“I was playing a part Lupin,” Snape said, pre-empting anyone else.
“What ever you say. Daddy.” Snape looked ready to spit fire.
“I’m sorry Professor – I didn’t mean for…”
“If there’s anything I detest more than having to apologise Mr Potter, it’s people who apologise for things that aren’t their fault.” Harry decided to say nothing in response to this. “And for future reference, Harry, it seems ridiculous for you to call me Professor when I’m apparently masquerading as your father.”
“Well Mr ‘invalided friend of the family’, come and give me a hand with lunch won’t you?” Minerva asked before dragging him off back to the car. Harry sat down on a rock and took the chance just to take in the view. He was most surprised when the other man sat down next to him. Obviously his surprise was plain to see on his face as the Potions Master offered an explanation un-asked.
“Believe it or not Mr Potter - Harry – all of this palaver serves one real purpose and that is to get you somewhere safe in one piece. I would hate to have to explain to the Headmaster that you had been killed in a freak accident while we were all looking the other way.” He wasn’t sure how to take this, but the bubbling anger that he’d managed to suppress thus far was beginning to surface again. It wasn’t as if he was totally helpless and he was fed-up with people talking about him as if he were nothing more than a burden. “This way, chances are, I’d get wiped out too and then I’d avoid all the awkward questions.” He couldn’t help himself this time, he couldn’t help but laugh. There were many things that he had expected the Slytherin to say but that certainly hadn’t been one of them.
“What on earth is the matter with him?” he heard Remus ask as he watched his approach through teary eyes.
“Apparently Harry finds the extent to which I would go to avoid the Headmaster’s wrath to be amusing.” Remus chuckled lightly as Harry himself began to sober a little.
“Wouldn’t we all go to extremes?”
“Not necessarily the same extremes though – Minerva?” The name dropped on the end made all the difference, and coupled with the sly almost smile it changed the direction of the sentence entirely.
“Don’t you start young man. I got enough of that from the High Inquisitor.” Once again he was hit by quite how surreal their current situation was as he shook his head to get rid of a somewhat inappropriate mental image.

A/N: Thanks again to Rachel. Apologies to any Welsh readers. Let me know what you think.
Linds
xxx

[TheGryffindorSeeker]

lol that was great! keep it up.

p.s love the Welsh bits ...sorry to any one who's Welsh, but i get hassle from my step cousin who's Welsh- problom being a Scot really - supries Minerva wasn't in there really lol Great Fic

[angeldust]

weehee! Very amusing i know i'm mean but gotta love Welsh jokes, and that wonderful hint at the end !!!!!!!

[Alesia]

LOL, the Welsh bits were very funny. Snape's line about getting it too, instead of having to face Albus had me on the floor. I wonder how long it is going to take Harry before he gets the true implications of what was said about extremes and Minerva.

a

[Isabelle]

I liked that a lot! Being American I don't really understand those little jokes even after I sat there for a while trying to figure them out. The part about Severus and MInerva being Harry's parents is classic. I had a good laugh at that. Bravo!

Liz

[LinZE]

PART 4

The distraction process was helped by the appearance of food and the casual conversation that sprung forth from the adults.
“I’m too old for this,” Minerva commented as she settled herself on the grass.
“Ha! Tell that to Alastor!” Remus said with conviction.
“And why, pray tell, would I do that?” she asked as she began dividing up sandwiches.
“Oh – Molly and I were talking about the fact that rather than the ‘older’ group in the Order and the ‘younger’ group that we had last time round, that there was an additional ‘middle’ age group of people well… like us.”
“OK,” she said slowly, as if she were still not entirely sure what he was getting at.
“Well we were giving Alastor examples of the members who would belong where. So – the young ones were Tonks and the Weasley boys, then there was Severus and myself and of course Arthur and Molly in the non-descript. Then we suggested Alastor himself along with you and Albus for the final group.” As far as Harry could see Minerva herself had no great objection to this – or at least wasn’t surprised by it. “Well, Alastor objected to you being grouped with ‘the old men’ as he put it. I believe the phrase used was ‘She’s still a spring chicken!’”
“Oh – for Merlin’s sake! Anyone would think I was young enough to be his daughter. I’m what? – 8 years his junior?”
“I heard Poppy come out with a classic after you were transferred to St Mungo’s – ‘and at her age too!’ - when as far as I recall she’s a good few years older than you are,” Severus added.
“Indeed. However, if we’ve all finished discussing my age (relative or otherwise) we should probably get going.” They finished up quickly and Remus and Severus took their leftovers back to the car for afternoon snacking. Harry offered Minerva a hand up, which she accepted gratefully and he noted that she almost managed to conceal her grimace as she straightened up.
Having decided to avoid returning to the main road from which they had come, a road map was produced and they set off on the B roads.
“Speaking of Alastor, Minerva,” Severus began after a few minutes.
“Yes?” she asked, her voice holding a note of trepidation.
“Albus showed me a rather unlikely picture of the two of you.” She looked a little shocked at this though. “The one from the 1940’s – you’re both in muggle uniform…”
“I haven’t seen that in years,” she said to no-one in particular. “Why he felt the need to show you that I have no idea.”
“He was recounting some of your exploits during the war.”
“Hah. My exploits were fairly limited. Alastor flew with the Airforce though.”
“What did you do?” Harry asked, intrigued by the idea of his teacher having participated in the muggle war.
“I worked back at the base – tracking the planes and the like mostly. It’s amazing how much easier it is to do with a spot of magic. I did a stint at Bletchley Park too.”
“Cool,” Harry said which seemed to amuse her.
“It’s not often ‘cool’ is used in connection with me,” she pointed out.
“I don’t know – I remember discussing how ‘cool’ our Head of House was,” Remus countered from the passenger seat.
“Probably right after she had failed to expel you for almost killing another student,” Snape retorted instantly. The change in atmosphere was palpable as the reference just made seemed to echo around the small space. For the briefest moment he saw the Head of Gryffindor’s mask flicker, saw how deep the blow fell before she covered it once again.
“Take that back,” Lupin ground out. “You know she tried bloody hard to get him expelled! And in all honesty he would have deserved it,” he added quietly. There was an extended silence and Harry was on the verge of giving up expecting an answer when Snape spoke again.
“Perhaps,” he began, “I should learn to curb my tongue on occasion.” His quiet words seemed to have a profound affect. “Believe it or not, I have accepted that you were not to blame Lupin though… though I would be lying if I said that the thought of the wolf… well that it did not disturb me. I am also well aware of what Minerva’s position was and although I do not agree with the Headmaster’s choice I do understand a little of where he was coming from in allowing him to remain at the school.” Minerva leaned forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Harry turned in his seat and continued to stare out the window at the rolling country they were still passing through, trying to make scene of what it was he was feeling.
Over the past few months, since he had witnessed that scene in the pensive, he had been working so hard to deny what it was that seemed so unreal. The way his father and Sirius had acted… it was all well and good saying they were young and foolish but in all honesty they had been older than he was now and he certainly didn’t think that that was an acceptable excuse. It wasn’t that he didn’t know what it was like to clash with someone in another house, but from what he had seen the young Snape was more than a little different from the current Slytherin prince. If their behaviour was reminiscent of anything it was of Malfoy picking on Neville. He had loved Sirius, and he still did really, but knowing that he had taken advantage of Remus’s condition so totally without a thought to the consequences for the Werewolf … it changed things.
“I think,” his head of House began, “that it would be fair to say that we’ve all done things we aren’t proud of, made decisions that with hindsight we wouldn’t have. But we can’t change the past, or at least it certainly isn’t sensible to. But perhaps it is time to move on.”
“Lemon drop anyone?” Remus asked lightly resulting in a few smiles. “No – really, Albus left us a treat,” he said, pulling out a paper bag from the glove compartment.
Though the countryside was beautiful, the atmosphere in the car greatly improved and, as Remus pointed out, it wasn’t as if they were looking for the most direct route, they had little choice but to admit that they were lost. After almost three hours of driving around and conversations along the lines of, ‘No – that must have been Wayword Lane and this is London Road,’ they finally had to stop and ask directions in a local village. Much to his surprise they even managed to avoid a ‘proper’ argument and eventually found the motorway. Unfortunately it seemed that there had been an accident resulting in the closure of two out of the three lanes and the traffic was tailed back for 15 miles. This did nothing to improve anyone’s mood, however this changed somewhat when a dozing Lupin could be heard quite distinctly singing along to the radio.
“For Merlin’s sake,” Snape sighed. “Lupin! Does this look like a karaoke bar to you?”
“Oh shh! I thought it was rather cute,” Minerva said with a smile. Remus on the other hand just looked totally lost.
“Ooooh I like this song!” he said turning up the volume. “Come on – lets car dance!” With this he lifted his arms above his head and started wriggling in his seat. “Does he love me? I want to know – how can I tell if he loves me so?…” Harry tried unsuccessfully to hide his mirth as Snape took his hands off the steering wheel (they had come to a complete halt - again) and did an un-enthusiastic, deadpan, Night Fever move.
“Are you like this all the time Lupin – or does it have something to do with the phase of the moon?”
“You know – I never thought about it,” Lupin said dropping his arms and stopping dancing.
“Personally I’d be more likely to blame the number of Lemon drops you’ve consumed in the last 3 hours,” Minerva volunteered.
“That might explain the Headmaster,” Harry mused out loud.
“Spectacular. Does that mean we’re going to be stuck in this contraption with you acting like a sugar-high toddler for the foreseeable future?”
“Quite possibly,” Remus replied before starting to dance again.

[LinZE]

When exactly the sugar began to wear off Harry wasn’t aware as he slipped into sleep not long after the dancing continued. This time when he woke up it was flashing blue lights rather than sunlight, shining in his eyes. He was more than a little surprised to discover it was dark already.
“Hello sleepy head,” Minerva said softly.
“Hey,” he replied running a hand through his hair. “How long was I asleep?”
“About three hours I’d guess,” she supplied. “And yes we’ve only just passed the accident – don’t ask.” Her smile was strained and he couldn’t help but notice the wince she tried to cover as she shifted slightly in her seat.
“Are you ok?” he asked quietly.
“Hmm? Oh yes, just sitting still for too long,” she replied, throwing a smile his way. Harry might have thought about following this up but he honestly wasn’t sure where to take it and in any case he (and everyone else) was distracted when his stomach growled loudly.
“Hear hear,” Remus echoed. “It’ll be past eight when we get anywhere likely to have food.” They all sat quietly listening to some dramatisation on the radio that Harry suspected might be Dickens. Twenty minutes later they came across a signpost for another Service station.
“You know what?” Remus asked no-one in particular.
“No Lupin – I have absolutely no idea what is going on in that mind of yours.”
“I was just going to say that I reckon we’re going to have visited pretty much every Service Station in the UK by the time we get back to the castle.”
“You exaggerate almost as well as you dance Lupin,” Snape countered easily as he pulled into the carpark and picked a spot near the grass verge. Remus was up and out as soon as the car had stopped moving but Snape let the engine idle for a few seconds before turning the ignition off. Harry opened his door and fished out his jumper from the assorted ‘stuff’ that had been collecting in the back seat. He noticed Lupin watching what was happening on the other side of the car and couldn’t help but follow his gaze. Minerva’s door was opened but she didn’t seem to be making any startling move to actually get out. Slowly she did emerge though, just as Snape was opening his door and Remus was ambling around in her direction. He got the feeling that they were all watching as she wrapped her right hand around the top of the open door. Harry’s trepidation was fading a little as she stepped out but before she was upright she bit down on a gasp that was matched by a look of sheer agony. Snape shut his door quickly and had turned and had her underneath her arms before her legs seemed to crumple beneath her.
“Minerva!” Remus called out presumably on instinct, as he closed the distance between them. Harry hung back a little but moved round enough to get a better idea of what was going on. She had one foot on the ground but her other leg was still inside the foot well and he suspected that might be part of the problem.
“Hip?” Remus asked, delivering him an even bigger clue. He received a terse nod in reply. She was biting her lip and he was struck by just how vulnerable she looked in that instant.
“Just…just give me a minute,” she ground out unconvincingly. Remus slipped his arms underneath hers from behind, talking to her quietly all the time as he clasped his hands in front of her ribcage. Now that she was more secure, leaning back against the other man, Severus could let go and understandably he began rubbing gently where his arms had been pressing into the top of the door.
“Bloody hard headed Gryffindor – why didn’t you just say some…”
“Severus,” she interrupted quietly. “Shut the hell up.” This shocked Harry as it was so incredibly out of character and he could almost swear that he heard her voice crack as she spoke. Remus threw a hellish look in Severus direction before approaching a little more cautiously.
“Ok - are you comfortable where you are or do you want to move?”
“Ummm,” she began. “I…I’m going to have to move.”
“Well just take your time, if you want a hand…” She shook her head quite viciously.
“No, I think I need to be in control,” she said. It seemed that she was mustering her strength, or courage, as she spoke. After a moment she shifted her weight slightly and lifted her leg up enough to rest her foot on the lower rim of the door. The effort this obviously took was mammoth though and even from the distance at which Harry now stood he could see the very last of the colour drain from her cheeks and her entire body begin to tremor visibly.
“Ok…” Remus said soothingly as he helped her pivot around so that she was facing the car, the front of her left shin still supported on the edge of the seat. “Woah,” he continued, as her eyes seemed to drift out of focus and she reeled quite dramatically. “Come on, Minerva,” he urged as it was quite plain that she was struggling to keep conscious.
“Minerva – if you loose consciousness we’re going to have to get in touch with Poppy,” said Severus from the back of the car. Harry hadn’t really noticed that he’d moved but now it seemed that the potions master was digging around in the boot for something. Well whatever he might have done to irritate her earlier this seemed to have the desired effect. It wasn’t instantaneous but she did seem to slowly be pulling herself back to the present. Resting her elbows on the roof she let her head fall forward into her hands, and seeing that she was balanced, Remus backed off a little but continued to rub her back gently.
“I’m sorry,” she said thickly without looking up.
“Don’t be stupid,” both of the other men said at the same time, in such different fashions that it was almost funny. Severus had reappeared now carrying what looked to Harry to be and old-fashioned doctor’s case. He opened the driver’s door again and put the case down and once again started rummaging for something.
“When was the last time you took anything Minerva?” he asked pulling out a bottle that would have passed quite easily for a muggle medicine bottle.
“Ummm…before we set off,” she replied.
The end of her sentence tailed off though as she closed her eyes, as if she were having to fight another wave of pain.
“Just bear with me,” Severus said as he poured out a substantial measure of the potion into a plastic medicine cup. “There you go.” He held it out to her but seeing how unsteady her hand was, probably wisely continued to hold on to it as she guided it towards her mouth. The mood was lightened somewhat when she grimaced at the taste.
“Don’t you make anything that tastes decent Severus?” Remus asked with a twinkle.
“No – I get a perverse pleasure in seeing those ill and in pain on the verge of throwing up what’s likely to help them,” he replied deadpan before rolling his eyes.
“Why doesn’t it surprise me that you had that bag stashed somewhere?” Minerva asked, her head once again leaning on her hands.
“Because you can guess at the kind of hard time I got from Poppy and Albus about you before we left,” he replied whilst moving things around in said bag. Wanting to do something vaguely useful Harry re-opened his door and ferreted around until he found a half full bottle of Diet Lilt.
“To take the taste away?” he suggested as he held it out over the roof of the car. She took it with a steadier hand and offered him a smile in return.
“I’m beginning to feel ganged up on,” Severus said quietly but obviously with the intention that they would all hear. They did – and he received only muffled sounds of amusement in return.
“How’re you doing?” Remus asked moving in to lean on the side of the car next to her.
“Better actually,” she replied, and as Harry meandered back around towards the group he saw that she was flexing her left leg. That said she still winced audibly when she took the next step and placed her foot on the ground.
“Easy there – I’m not a miracle worker,” Severus said as Remus stepped in to give her a little support again. “Harry – if you go into the boot and pull back the carpet at the back you should find a pair of elbow crutches.”
“How…?” Remus asked throwing him a perplexed look.
“Believe it or not there is in fact a reason why I’m head of Slytherin Lupin.”
“Yes, he’s a sadistic bastard,” Remus said quietly having turned his head to face Harry. Minerva chuckled slightly at this but Severus just scowled.

A/N – Know that again there are probably jokes in here that some of you wont get but one the less hope you get the general gist of it.
The comment about Albus having a good reason for keeping Sirius in school is one I think must be true. The way that I look at it is that if he had expelled him the chances are that he would have turned to the dark side.
Ummmm – oh yes – more to come soon which will probably fill in some of the details.
Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks to Rachel (my beta) and please review.
Thanks again
Linds

[angeldust]

hehe but poor Minerva you wrote her pain so well i couldn't stop cringeing!

[Alesia]

I really liked this chapter. It gave Harry things to think about and moved the story along. It will be interesting to see how he processes all of the information he is getting.

I agree that it was probably Albus who saved Sirius from being expelled to keep him from following the wrong path. (I wouldn't be surprised to find something similar to this in HBP) But Minerva took the blame for Sirius being allowed to stay.

Looking forward to your next chapter. Thanks!

[TheGryffindorSeeker]

wow that was a great chapter. Poor Minerva Up date soon i'm dying to know what happens

[Isabelle]

I liked this chapter. Remus on a sugar high is not something you see or read about often. I hope Minerva is okay. Update soon!

Liz

[LinZE]

PART 5

Having dug out the crutches, Harry carried them around and hovered, not certain whom he ought to hand them to. Remus held out a hand towards him though and took them from his grip. It took another few minutes for Minerva to slide her arms into the devices and she muttered one or two choice phrases as she did. After she had taken a few experimental steps she deigned that they had better go and get some food. It was more of a meander then a walk as the progress they made was slow and occasionally halting but Harry was impressed by the steely look of concentration on her face. About halfway across the car park, as she stopped and caught her breath, she glanced up at Lupin and said with the hint of a smile on her face.
“Remus – would you please go and find a bathroom before you have an accident.”
“How…” The werewolf asked in an odd repetition of his earlier words.
“After nigh on 40 years as a teacher it’s a talent you develop. Now would you…” She gestured for him to ‘shoo’ with her crutch. Harry watched as with a hint of colour in both his cheeks, the other man sped up considerably almost running the last few metres into the complex. Glancing at Snape he saw that the other man was fighting a smile. By the time they’d reached the front door Remus was standing there waiting for them looking a more than a little sheepish.
“Sorry about that,” he said as they approached.
“Never mind that Lupin,” Snape interrupted condescendingly. “However directions to the nearest facility would be greatly appreciated.” This time it was his head of house who was smiling. Harry followed the Slytherin across the foyer and only just caught Remus saying something about Disabled toilets before they were engulfed in a mob of Japanese tourists.

The process of acquiring food and drinks was becoming more routine but Harry sensed something along the lines of urgency grow as they went through the process. He could see that Minerva was tiring quickly and he suspected that whatever it was that Snape had given her was leaving her somewhat dazed.
“I’ll go get the car,” Remus said as they finished at the checkout. Harry couldn’t help but wonder how exactly this was going to work. It was fairly obvious that though whatever it was Severus had fed her had done an excellent job of numbing the pain, it would make no sense – at least to him – to sit her back in the position that seemed to have caused the problem in the first place.
“They had you lying on your right side in the hospital - right?” Snape asked quietly as they waited in a darkened corner. He had slipped an arm underneath hers again, wrapping it around her back and taking a significant portion of her weight, judging by the way she shifted.
“Yeah,” she replied drowsily, the informal phrase seeming to highlight her altered state.
“Do you think that would be the most comfortable now?” he asked her, and Harry was once again surprised by Snape’s gentle manner. As she replied in the affirmative, Remus arrived with the car, pulling it up close to the pavement where they stood.
“Right – I’ll quite happily drive the next stint,” he said as he came across to them. “But the question is how we’re going to keep you relatively comfortable with the rest of us fitting in there somewhere too.”
“It’s quite alright – it’s all in hand Remus,” Severus reassured him, though Harry wasn’t certain quite how it was all going to work. He watched, hanging back to try and give his professor at least a modicum of privacy, as the other two men did what they could to help. They got her sitting down in the back behind the passenger seat and as Remus helped her slide along a little Snape rounded the boot and disappeared into the other passenger’s door. When all the movement ceased Remus backed up a little allowing Harry a glance at what this elusive solution had turned out to be. He was more than a little surprised at what he saw. It made sense that Minerva was lying curled up on her side, her back against the seatback. He supposed this meant that there was effectively no unnecessary pressure on the problem area but it also created something of a problem in and of itself due to the fact that she was now taking up the vast majority of the back seat. It wasn’t until he clocked that Snape was no-where to be seen and crouched down to look straight into the car that he understood. Her head was resting on his knee where he was sitting on the far side.
“No need to look quite so appalled Mr Potter considering the alternative of having you in my seat – somehow I don’t think our upstanding Head of Gryffindor would stand for that – even in this state. Now, why don’t you get into the front and then we can eat?” he suggested, all the time his voice quieter than usual. Harry glanced at Minerva who seemed virtually asleep already and was struck as Snape gently placed a hand on her shoulder in an almost protective gesture before pulling the tartan travel rug down off the parcel shelf and tucking it in around her.
“Sure,” he replied with a gentle smile before he backed up and shut the door carefully.