There was a funny roaring sound in his ears. Hmm... what was that? Disoriented, Harry started to wake up. What was that? And why was he waking up? The world gave a dip, and he remembered. Blinking and rubbing his eyes, Harry looked around. He was still on his seat on the darkened plane. Someone had laid his chair back and tucked him under his blanket. His tray was still down. He yawned tiredly and rubbed the last of sleep out of his eyes. The plane did another funny rumble and the seatbelt sign lit up with a musical tone. A crayon rolled off his tray to the floor. The murmur of voices in the background grew louder, more distinct.

"..going on?"

"Turbulence... seatbelts."

"Fine... sleep..."

Harry looked to Hoppity. Her telly was off and she was leaning against the wall on a small pillow, asleep and snoring softly. Past her, Harry could see nothing but dark fog outside the window.

A noise, indicating that the intercom had turned on was heard, followed by a male voice. "This is the Co-pilot. We've just hit some minor turbulence." The plane gave another couple of dips during his announcement, as if proving his point. "Everything is perfectly fine, but we ask that you stay in your seats with your safety belts on. We will be landing in about 30 minutes. Thank you."

The plane did a deep dip as the intercom signed off. It felt strange and fun. Not quite as exhilarating as a broom, but a different kind of fun as he had no control over it. He wanted it to do it again.

He turned to look at Snape. Harry was faintly surprised that the man was sitting ramrod straight, his arms folded and eyes closed with a clear look of discomfort on his face. His notebook and quill were nowhere in sight and the tray had been folded up. The plane did another deep dip and Harry saw the man's features tighten.

Kathleen walked past in the aisle, then backtracked once she saw him.

"Oh, you've woken up Harry!" She hurried over. "Are you okay?"

The plane did another couple of short dips as he nodded. "What's happening?"

"Oh! Well Harry, we've hit turbulence. Shall I explain it to you?" She continued with an animated voice. "Well, you already know that airplanes fly through air. When the airplane starts moving very fast on the ground, the speed from the air underneath them pushes up on the plane's wings and the airplane lifts up into the sky." She mimicked a plane taking off and then flying with her hand. "The plane then flies through the air. Only different parts of the air move at different speeds so when an airplane goes through these different parts of the air quickly, the plane moves a little." She moved her 'plane' up and down randomly. "That's what we call turbulence. Usually it's just little bumps that no one notices," she made slight, quick up and down motions with her hand. "But other times we cross bigger spots of differences, and the plane moves more noticeably." She moved her 'plane' up and down a large amount several times swiftly, the real plane actually dipped a few times too, as if following her example. "Up and down. Up and down. See? Nothing to worry about."

Snape moved suddenly, undoing his safety belt and springing from his seat. Slipping past Kathleen, he headed up the aisle purposefully, and before he disappeared behind a metal door, Harry could see that his face was a sickly grey.

The Stewardess turned back to Harry and blinked. "Oh. Well, I'm sure he'll be alright." She looked at Harry, a concerned look on her face. "Are you feeling poorly too?"

"No Kathleen." He said, shyly smiling. He was surprised that she cared.

She smiled back and patted his head, then bent down to pick up the crayon that had dropped. "All the same, you shouldn't try to read or write- erm, color. It might make you feel sick. Would you like to listen to music or watch the telly instead?" She placed the crayons back into their box.

"Okay." He found the headphones on the side of his seat, still plugged in, and put them over his ears. Kathleen waved to him and left, taking the crayons as well he noticed. He would have liked to keep them. Oh well. The plane banked sharply to the right and dropped a little. Harry relished the feeling for as long as it lasted. He then pressed the button on his armrest to turn on the telly, and shifted in his seat, finding a more comfortable position. The same cartoon from earlier was playing again. He watched it for a few minutes, then started to flip through the other channels. There was a cooking show, an odd chat show, a boring movie, a music video channel, a sitcom, infomercial channel, another boring movie…

Snape returned to his seat, looking a little better than the last time Harry had seen him, but still a little harrowed. Noticing that Harry was looking at him, Snape gave him a silently challenging look.

Harry refused to look away. He pulled down his earphones. "Are you feeling better Sir?"

The eyes narrowed slightly. "Yes."

Turning away from Snape, Harry turned back to his telly, pulled on his headphones, and continued to go through the channels. Another infomercial, sports channel, the Airline's channel, and a movie with a swamp monster. He stopped on the swamp monster movie. Watching it, Harry soon found out that it was a nice swamp monster, who saved a little girl's life and her dog and who now was running away from the police.

The plane started to do a strange dip. It felt more... controlled and Harry's ears popped. He rubbed them underneath the headphones. He heard that funny sound that signaled that someone was about to use the intercom through his headphones, cutting out the sound of the movie.

"This is the Captain. We'll be landing in about ten minutes. Right now we just need to drop a little altitude in preparation to land. At this time, we ask that all passengers remain seated with their safety belts on until the light goes out on the ground. Thank you."

The plane did another controlled decent as a woman's voice came over the intercom next. "Please stay seated with your safety belts on until after plane lands and stops any and all motion on the ground. Place all trays and seats in the upright position. Make sure that all overheard compartments are closed and locked. If you need assistance, flight attendants will be walking down the aisles momentarily. Thank you for flying British Airways."

The plane did another short lowering and this time banked to the left. Snape's face had a pinched look to it. As if casting about for something to distract him, the man spotted Harry's coloring book, still opened to the last page with the fireworks and girl in the witches' hat. He grasped it and quickly flipped through it, scanning the pages with a contemptuous air. Git. Harry could just imagine the twit marking his artwork with red ink where he had gone outside the lines, or used colors that he disagreed with, or didn't scribble in the 'right direction'.

Harry was shocked and surprised when 'The Git' tore off the last page and tucked it into his case. He noticed Harry's confounded expression and raised an eyebrow. He spoke sardonically. "Can't leave clues, now can we?"

He was saved from a response by Kathleen bustling over.

"Do you have any trash to throw away?"

Snape wordlessly handed her the coloring booklet. Git. Twit. Scoundrel. Calling him names in his head made Harry feel slightly better. The stewardess looked surprised for a moment before taking it and dropping it into the bin in front of her. She then leaned over and locked Harry's tray back into the closed position.

"You'll have to sit up now, luv." She helped him find the right button and his chair straightened slowly. Hoppity woke up during the commotion.

"Are we landing now?" She asked, yawning.

"Yes M'am. In about five minutes." Kathleen took the pillow and blanket that Hoppity handed to her. Following her example, Harry then handed her the pillows he had snuck at his sides at the beginning of the flight, but opted to keep the blanket. It was too cold on the plane to give up just yet.

Snape looked annoyed at the amount of object passing that was occurring over him, but before he could say anything the plane gave another controlled decent and banked to the side again. The man swallowed and Harry turned his attention to the window where he was amazed to see a city of lights through the darkness. He watched, enraptured of the city outside the window and enjoyed the movements of the plane until they landed, his movie forgotten.

The landing itself was a thrilling rush outside the window. The things outside grew exponentially bigger the closer they got to the ground and then a great jolting 'Thump'! They had landed with a bump, the airplane still moving fast on the runway, a loud roaring sound in their ears as they were flung slightly forward. Fun! The plane slowed down, then moved very slowly, making turns. Next to him, Snape was breathing unsteadily, a light sweat had broken over his forehead. Served the git right. Twit. Scoundrel.

"Wasn't that wonderful?" Hoppity asked, stretching her arms in front of her.

"It was utterly repulsive. I can't be off this horrid contraption quick enough." Snape dabbed at his forehead with a plain white handkerchief. Trust Snape to spoil any fun.

At Hoppity's uncomfortable look Harry felt compelled to help her out. "Well, I liked it."

Snape scoffed. "Of course. A dangerous, whimsical Muggle flying device. It just screams 'Potter' and 'featherbrained Gryffindors."

Git. Twit. Poopey pants. Ou, he liked that last one. Although Snape did have a point. He had driven that car with Ron to Hogwarts his second year. And there was something about a flying motorcycle...

The plane was still moving and the Captain's voice came over the speaker once more. "We've arrived at the airport at Gate I-12. The current time is eleven thirty-three at night. It is a nice seventy two degrees outside with clear weather."

The plane did a slight jolt and stopped moving. The safety belt light turned off with the now familiar tone, and Harry could hear people unstrapping their belts and starting to take their luggage down.

Snape quickly undid his own belt and stood up agitatedly. "Hurry up. I want to get of this thing as soon as possible." He picked up his case as Harry slid out of his own seat and Hoppity gathered up her bag.

They shuffled slowly up the aisle, following a mass of other passengers. As they passed Kathleen, she waved and gave a special goodbye to Harry.

"Goodbye Harry! Stay safe, luv!"

When they finally reached the front exit of the plane, the pilot and a few flight attendants lined up waved cheerfully goodbye and thanked them as they exited.

It felt strange being on the ground again. Harry had gotten used to the vibrations and slight movement of the plane while it was in the air, and now a level, steady ground felt awkward.

They walked up a short ramp this time and entered the airport gate area. The first thing that Harry noticed was that the carpet was a grey blue and that benches of black seats surrounded the gates. This airport had its gates arranged in a very large circle, the middle of the circle was a marble looking floor leading to a wide hallway. A few people were milling about, and waiting on seats.

They stood there unsure for awhile before Hoppity spotted a woman in a dark navy business suit, dark sunglasses and a large gold coloured "D" pin on her jacket. Clasping Harry's hand, she pulled him over to her, Snape followed.

"Agent D?"

The woman turned to them and nodded. "Yes." Her eyes shifted around, taking in Harry and Snape." We made arrangements for you to take a shuttle to another airport. It will leave in two hours so you have plenty of time to get something to eat in the meantime." The best was to describe the Agent was bland. Bland looks, bland accent. Only the large 'D' pin made her stand out in any way.

Hoppity blinked at her. "Erm, what's a shuttle?"

"It's just another short flight."

"Wait!" Snape butted in, looking flabbergasted. "Do you mean to say that we have to get on another of those abominable flying contraptions?"

The Agent turned to look at him coolly and murmured quietly, so that only they could hear. "Sir, it's standard procedure to change flight plans at the last minute to confuse anyone who might wish to track you. In any case, it was never confirmed that you would only go on one flight."

"Well then, if you are so used to changing schedules, change it again! No more planes!" Snape hissed out, incensed.

The Agent was slightly fazed but managed to keep her voice calm and low. "It's not that simple. Either a two hour plane ride or a two day car drive and I can assure you that the plane ride is much preferable. In any case, I'm sorry but you don't really have a choice."

Snape looked like he was about to say something more but Hoppity butted in. "That's fine. Did you say something about food earlier?"

"Yes. I'll escort you to the food area. There's a motor cart standing by."

"No. We'll travel by foot." Snape was adamant.

Agent D was a little surprised but nodded and motioned for them to walk on. Harry was a little disappointed at not being able to get another ride on a motor cart, but he was feeling much too cranky to argue. He was hungry and hoped that someone would give him something to eat, and not forget about him like the Dursleys' liked to do. Hoppity clasped his hand and pulled him along. He was getting used to that by now.

They walked down the wide corridor, Snape and Agent D in the lead. The pace was fast and Harry felt like he was doing double time just to keep up. They walked on and on, past gate after gate. Some areas were eerily vacant, while others were held crowds of people. They passed several souvenir and food carts and little stores that were closed and locked up, and a couple that were still open.

Harry felt so very tired, but did his best to keep going. He was very glad that he didn't need to carry anything. The excitement of being in a new place and the pace helped him stay awake, although the fast pace did push his tolerance.

The group exited one wing and found themselves at a large hall filled with escalators. Agent D led them to the down escalators. Harry watched as Snape comically paused at the first step to watch the steps move, then timed his boarding before placing both feet on the same step and balanced as he was swept downwards. He and Hoppity followed with no problems, although Hoppity did pause a little before stepping on. The escalator lead to a super long underground hallway, and Harry sagged a bit at the thought of walking to the end of it. Fortunately, after the first section of concrete walls were passed, the corridor widened and they came upon a long row of metal doors. Large colorful writing was posted over the doors. Harry wondered briefly what the doors led to before a large, fast train barreled by. The train slowed and a melodious tone was heard over an intercom.

"This is loading area J. Next stop is loading area I." The doors opened and a few people exited.

"What's this?" Snape was wary.

"Just an underground train, Sir. I suggest you follow me unless you wish to walk several more miles." And indeed the corridor looked like it went forever. Harry didn't think that he would have been able to make it that long.

Agent D quickly walked on, and he gratefully followed her, pulling Hoppity along. Snape, rather than be stranded alone, followed them in peevishly, the door shut behind him. The train car was different than any train car Harry had ever been on. There weren't any places to sit, just tall metal poles and overhead handles. Agent D casually grasped a handle, Snape and Hoppity followed her example. Next to Hoppity, Harry quickly grabbed onto a pole as the train started to move. It didn't go very fast, only the first movements were enough to knock anyone off balance although it did make several turns. The train made several stops, each time stating what loading area they were at and what the next stop was.

They got off at loading area C and found the escalators to the higher level. They walked a little ways to a breakfast restaurant, there were pictures of breakfast food on large cardboard signs suspended from the ceiling. Some tables were placed in the corridor and were roped off from the main walkway. Harry could see other tables and booths further within the restaurant. Agent D led them to a table in the roped off area, then excused herself to collect their food. Hoppity sat down and Snape positioned himself diagonally across from her. Harry gladly sat next to Hoppity, across from Snape.

They sat there awkwardly, and Harry felt himself grow tired with the moment of forced stillness after the grueling pace earlier. Their guide came back with a young waiter carrying a huge tray with three plates and several glasses and some other things. The waiter placed their plates and glasses in front of them and pulled out silverware from his front pocket apron, all while juggling the tray impressively. The plates all had large, round, grided pastry things, eggs and some sausage. Harry's food had been thoughtfully cut up into tiny bits.

Harry looked at Hoppity's round grided pastry curiously, as his was unrecognizable of its intended shape. Hoppity poked at it. "What is this?"

The young waiter seemed to think that the question was aimed at him because he was the one who answered. "That's our Summer Slammer special. Golden Belgium waffles with rich butter, delicious scrambled eggs and New York style sausage with a side of fresh fruit."

Fruit? Harry poked around his own plate with his fork. Ah yes, there was one cut up strawberry and half a slice of a peach hidden underneath the waffle bits.

The waiter then set down a coffee cup in front of Agent D and a covered metal gravy boat in the middle of the table. "Here's the maple syrup. We also have strawberry, blueberry, peach and raspberry syrup if you'd prefer." The waiter paused, giving them ample time to reply but no one voiced anything. Snape speared a sausage and Hoppity was still poking at her waffle. The Agent looked disinterested as she looked in the opposite direction and stirred her coffee. Harry would have liked to ask to try them all but didn't say anything as he thought that the adults would scold him for being gluttonous. The waiter took the last thing off his tray, which happened to be a large pitcher of orange juice, and turned the tray to rest under one arm. He started to pour the juice into their glasses one handedly. Harry watched transfixed as ice clopped into the glasses with the juice. "Would you like anything else to drink?"

"Erm, how about a cuppa?" Hoppity was the one who braved the initiative.

The waiter blinked, clearly confused. "A cup-pah?"

"Tea?"

The waiter was still lost. "Oh, Tea! Is that a brand? We have iced tea."

"Ah, never mind."

Snape was sneering at his plate.

"Well. If that will be all?" The waiter took a step backwards, indicating his intended departure.

"Yes, thank you." The waiter turned and fled. Hoppity started to cut up her waffle.

Harry ate a few bites of waffle bits. It tasted a little sugary but bland. Maybe some syrup on it would taste better? Harry didn't want to ask for it, and didn't want to seem rude by reaching across the table to get it, so he waited and sipped his juice to see if Hoppity would pick it up to use on her own waffle. It would be an opportune time to ask for it just after she finished using it. Harry was soon gratified to see her reaching out for the metal syrup container and waited until she poured an overflowing amount ("Ops!") on her waffle.

"May I have some too?"

"Sure you can, Harry." Hoppity smiled at him and poured syrup over his cut up waffle a bit more carefully than she had her own.

The rest of the breakfast passed away quietly, just the sound of silverware on the plates and chewing sounds was heard. Harry ate his food steadily but wearily.

He was startled when Hoppity suddenly pushed back her chair and stood up. She had finished quickly while he had been sluggishly plodding away at his food.

"I'll just pop over in that store for a quick look and see."

The agent nodded her head, unbothered and Snape was ignoring everything as usual. Harry was too tired to answer. He didn't exactly want to be left here with Snape, but the Agent seemed like she was going to stay put so he guessed it was alright. "Well then. I'll be back in a jiffy." Harry watched as she made her way across the corridor to the gift store and disappeared inside. He rubbed his eyes and made new endeavors to finish his breakfast.

---------

Snape cautiously sipped a glass of what had been termed 'orange juice'. He briefly wondered if it were really made of oranges, or if it was named so idiotically because of the color. He grimaced at the overly sweet taste and placed the glass back on the table.

He was feeling a great deal better now that he was on stationary ground, and off of that horrid flying machine. He didn't think that the food had helped much, the sweetness almost made the meal unpalatable. Needless to say, he was not looking forward to another Muggle trip through the skies. He couldn't believe that he had been coerced into this fiasco. How did the old man convince him to do such things? Babysitting Potter, indeed. His only consolation was that he could hand over the responsibility to Smirkett and brew in peace while she and the brat were away, doing whatever it was that little children and witches pretending to be Muggles did during the day.

And it was 'Smirkett'. He refused to contemplate calling her 'Hoppity'. It was ridiculous. He couldn't see himself calling her by her middle name either. Wasn't Clementine some sort of fruit? Awful. There was no way in Hades that he was going to call her by some childish nickname like 'Clemmy' either. He shuddered at her friendly nature.

The bubbling twit had engulfed her breakfast in a sickeningly animatedly way and then had bounded off to pursue trinkets across the hall, leaving him alone with the grubby, disgusting little boy and a toffee-nosed hag. Not that Smirkett's company was much better…

It was even more irritating that he couldn't be certain that the hag he was sitting next to, the one who seemed solely responsible for forcing him onto yet another plane, was even a witch or a Muggle. It unnerved him to be dependent on such an unknown. They didn't even know her real name, or if she was who she claimed to be. He had only consumed this meal because there were very few potions that could be mixed in with food, fewer that would remain potent through any food preparation, and all had strong flavours that could not be masked well enough without giving themselves away.

Snape leaned closer to the 'Agent' in the pretense of reaching for the salt. She moved out of the way, but the close contact was enough for Snape to catch and concentrate fiercely on. Not a Muggle… but not a witch?

He reached forward again, this time for the pepper. Never mind that he had finished breakfast and his plate was clear. The Agent gave him a puzzled, yet still bland glance and he covered by placing the salt and pepper shakers on the side of the table. By now he had gotten enough closeness to tell. The calm and muted magical energies coming off of her was the kind he associated with Squibs... not completely magically dormant, but enough that no magical Institution would accept her. A cross between a squib and a low powered witch then. Her cool demeanor and clear mind was probably the only way that she was able to harness any magical energy she possessed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Snape could see Smirkett dancing past glass walls and bright displays. No doubt pawning through everything she could get her senseless hands on.

Potter was slouched in his chair, one disgusting hand wrapped around a fork as he made pitiful attempts to eat while trying to stay awake.

It would have been endearing if he didn't find Potter such a nuisance. Sticking his irritating, dirty little nose into everyone's business... Snape pulled himself back to the matter at hand: the Agent. She was too cool, too blank. He didn't trust her. He'd have to find out, preferable with no one the wiser, least of all the snot faced boy who couldn't keep his hands to himself. Potter was almost asleep... now this young with such lowered defenses a slight suggestion would push him over the edge...

In a motion masked by a stretch, Snape snaked his wand out in his right hand, the one away from the Agent, and focused his magical energy into the palm of his hand. He made sure that he kept one eye on the Agent as he had the entire time since he first laid eyes on her. A quick shake, and the wand was re-holstered. Snape then focused and waved his palm under the table at the little boy across from him with the intent of Sleep. This close, it wouldn't take too much energy.

The fork was dropped, the head lolled to one side. The spell had been a little more powerful then he had intended it to be. Oh well. He gave an inward smirk. He did not envy the one who was to wake him when it was time to move on.

From here, he could see a bit of drool start to slide from the unpleasant child's mouth. He grimaced, and observed that the Agent was just as bothered by it as well. Of course, any undercover agent worth their salt would be able to detect such things unconsciously... even if they didn't wish to acknowledge such. He was reminded of the Occlumency lessons with Potter and ruthlessly shoved them out of his mind and under a rock.

Time for business. Snape turned to the Agent, she wasn't startled, but his quick motion caught her attention. As it should.

He strengthened his mental walls and prepared himself to delve in. The first question was the hardest. "Do you support the Dark Lord?"

A blink. Probably surprise at such a question. He caught her eyes, using that contact and her surprise as an accessible entrance.

"No."

He pushed against mental barriers that were surprisingly structured for a squib. He could tell that she was telling the truth. "Do you wish harm on anyone in this party?"

"No."

A little deeper. Her thoughts were so transparent, but so organized. He allowed himself to admire it for a moment. Everything he touched just fluttered away as if extraneous. Irrelevant and inconsequential. Either she didn't have any defenses against Legilimency or she was allowing him to see. Or maybe, there wasn't anything there. He was unable to find anything contrary to her answers.

"Are you involved in any plans to harm or otherwise endanger anyone in this party."

"No."

He ruthlessly reached in for any feelings of ill intent, digging into every corner to unearth any threats. There were none. Everything just slipped through like mist… no feelings of enmity at all. No evil plans.

Satisfied, he leaned back, withdrawing fingers from her mind. She looked a little disoriented and narrowed her eyes at him. She seemed to be able to tell that he had done something... but since his intent was for their safety and not to harm her there were no discernable effects. Perhaps a slight headache, but for a mind as logical and structured as she had, she should be able to just ignore it.

A walking machine... he thought with cool appreciation.

Snape was pulled from his thoughts as he sensed Smirkett coming towards them. The twit was carrying a shopping bag and looked a little unsure before spotting them and giving a soft smile. Snape pretended to ignore her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as she approached the table and spotted the slumbering brat. He smirked as he anticipated the difficulty she would soon face.

---------

(rewind…)

Hoppity browsed the shelves of the medium sized gift shop. She wanted to get something for Harry to eat during the next plane ride. She had felt so negligent earlier when the flight attendant, Kathleen, had suggested that she give him a snack when his ears were bothering him and looked at her to produce something. She had had nothing to give him, and resolved to rectify that for the next ride.

The shop was stuffed full of little souvenirs, T-shirts, spoons, magnets and coffee mugs. There was a large wall devoted to different magazines. She passed some shelves full of some odd games and small toys. She studied the miniature planes and airport sets briefly before turning to a large rack full of plushy animals and dolls. There were many small bean filled animals and a cute set of plushy dolls in pilot and stewardess uniforms, with painted on smiling faces.

Moving down the rack, she passed some medium sized furry jungle animals and some green stuffed dragons. She could clearly tell that they were indeed dragons and not some strange Muggle lizards. She picked one up to study it closer. It was as long as the length of her forearm and hand and mostly green with small ridges along its back and down the tail. Small wings laid flat against its sides. She lifted a wing and saw an odd shiny purplish metallic texture on the underneath parts. She turned it over to look closer, and noticed the same metallic texture patterned on its belly. The short stubby legs had three small brown claws sewed at the ends of each foot. The dragon had an open mouth full with triangular white felt teeth, giving it a happy expression. She closed its mouth with one hand, and the dragon gave off a "Roar!" sound, startling her. The dragon looked decidedly fierce now that its snout was closed. She let go, and it sprung back to its happy expression. She was absolutely delighted with the dragon.

The perfect idea formed in her mind. She could buy it for Harry! She resisted the urge to clap her hands as they were full of plush dragon. What a marvelous idea. That way, she would be able to buy it and see it once in awhile and Harry would be able to enjoy it. The poor boy was all tuckered out from their traveling in the middle of the night. She was sure that he would appreciate a dragon plushy as he didn't even have anything to play with or even hold on to. This gift would be a marvelous way to help perk him up a bit. She was surprised that the child hadn't had a tantrum yet. He seemed young enough and certainly tired enough to have one. She had noticed that he had almost fallen asleep in his breakfast several times that morning, erhm, night. Hopefully this toy would brighten his spirits enough that he wouldn't have a tantrum yet. She smiled to herself and tucked the dragon beneath one arm. Now for a snack...

She quickly pursued the endless candy and snack aisles, coming across some jelly beans. Ah, I have always wanted to try the Muggle version. She picked up a medium sized packet. This will have to do. She didn't want to leave her traveling companions alone for too long. She quickly walked to the middle of the store to get in line to pay, and dug in her bag for that American Muggle money she had exchanged for earlier that day. Finding it, she pulled it out. The man in front of her bought a magazine and moved away. She approached the counter and placed the dragon and candy on it. The young cashier quickly rung it up.

"That will be twenty-eight dollars and twenty-five cents." The cashier placed her items in a white plastic bag.

She pulled out a green piece of paper with 20's marked on the corners and gambled by placing a similar bill with 10's on the corners. Oh, she hoped that she had given the right things, it would be ever so embarrassing if she had given the cashier the American equivalent of knuts instead of galleons.

The cashier didn't notice her nervousness and just took the bills and quickly exchanged them with one bill back and some funny coins. Pretending that she did this everyday, Hoppity took them back and dumped them in her bag, picked up the white bag the cashier held out to her and turned to go. As she walked out of the store, she half expected the cashier to call after her, demanding that she pay the right amount of money. She breathed a sigh of relief as she exited the small shop without any interruptions.

She soon spotted her traveling companions still sitting in the same spot as they were before. The Agent seemed a little nervous and was giving Snape a wary glance. Snape looked considerably calmer. It seemed as if something had happened between them while she was away. Shrugging it off, she walked towards them and looked at Harry. The poor boy was fast asleep, his head leaning back and sideways on the chair. On closer inspection, she could see a bit of syrup dribbled down his face and onto the top of his shirt. He looked adorable, but sticky. Maybe she should have him wash his hands before giving him the dragon.

At that moment, the Agent spoke up. "We should leave pretty soon. There are restrooms nearby that we can stop by."

Good idea. Hoppity leaned over Harry and held onto one of his upper arms, giving him a light shake. "Harry, it's time to wake up now, luv." His eyes still closed, the boy gave a pained expression, then an upset one before giving off a nearly inaudible whine. He opened his eyes crankily and crossly blinked at her. She could feel the Agent and Snape's eyes watching her unobtrusively.

Wishing for something to distract the boy, she smiled brightly and pulled out the stuffed dragon. "Look Harry! Look what I got for you! It's a dragon!"

Harry's expression was definitely a puzzled one. It was much better than the churlish one before. Brows furrowed, he blinked up at her. "For me?"

"Yes for you."

He paused before asking, "Why?"

She was startled for a moment. Perhaps he was just out of sorts, or didn't think that he knew her well enough to accept a gift. "Why not? Don't you want it?"

He made a tentative reach for it and she pulled it back. She felt mean for thinking it, but his resultant slightly hurt and lost face was so cute. "You can have it as soon as you go wash your hands, alright? You don't want it to get all sticky, now do you?"

The boy shook his head 'yes', then 'no' and made to stand up. She moved back, giving him room and placed the dragon back into the bag. The Agent and Snape stood up as well. Hoppity carefully grabbed one of Harry's hands that looked the least sticky and then followed the Agent to the restrooms.

Agent D stopped in front of a door with little symbols of a girl and a boy and a wheelchair. She motioned to it and then opened the door. "He won't get lost in there."

Hoppity let go of Harry's hand. "Well okay." As he walked to the door she suddenly remembered the syrup on his face. "Harry don't forget to wash your face too!" The door shut behind him. She set down her white bag against the wall next to the door for Harry to see when he got out and then made her way to the nearby sign that said "Women" and had a symbol of a person with a skirt on it. She turned to the Agent, addressing Snape in the process. "I'll just be in here."