prompt for April 18th - Harry Potter/Sneakers
Part two of what I wrote on the plane yesterday.
Prompt for April 18:
Just beyond the edge of the woods.
Harry and Hermione are still in range of the signal tracker, it turns out, but just barely; they're well to the west of London. Mother says they need to chase the signal, if they're going to do this thing properly, so the Americans load a few things into their rented van. Ron doesn't expect that cargo to include him until Whistler looks at him - or, at least, faces in his general direction - and says, "What, you think we'd go to the trouble of finding your friends without giving you a ride to them?"
"Well, I thought I might be able to Apparate there--"
"The teleporting trick? Thought you said that was one of your weak points. Besides, we have no way to tell you where they are unless you're there. It's faster on the whole if you come along."
It's wholly unlike Ron's few rides in the Anglia. Between the people, the apparently minimised amount of equipment, and the lack of magical enhancement, it's rather cramped; he can't follow the conversation half as easily; and at no point on the journey are they airborne, unless one counts a few interesting bumps when they get off the pavement (which Ron doesn't). Still, it's serviceable to the job at hand, and somewhere around two hours later, they pull up in a clearing and stop.
"All right," Mother calls from the front. "Signal's in this clearing - the rest is up to you."
Ron climbs out of the back of the van, and notes Hermione's shield charms right away. He starts toward them, then notices some movement at the far end of the clearing, pauses the watch it, and breaks into a run. He doesn't know what Harry thinks he's doing, but it doesn't look good.
***
The end of Ron's yell reaches the van, and Carl frowns. If the running hadn't been ominous enough, anything including the word 'mental' at that volume can't possibly be a good sign.
When Ron comes back, it looks even worse. He's supporting Harry with one arm and carrying a sword in the other hand; Harry's soaking and shirtless despite the temperature, holding his clothes and the battered remnants of the locket. It's good to see the thing's finally out of the way, but what drives Carl to comment are the marks on Harry's neck - which look like they were left by a tightening chain.
"Dammit, Hermione, I told you wearing the evil jewelry was a bad idea!"
He knows she can hear it, even though she has yet to lower the protective spells that would let her rebuttal get out. And Harry certainly doesn't get a pass on his own stupidity - he'll hear about it when he's not apparently half-drowned. But still, it feels good to let one of these idiot kids have it.
Prompt for April 18:
Just beyond the edge of the woods.
Harry and Hermione are still in range of the signal tracker, it turns out, but just barely; they're well to the west of London. Mother says they need to chase the signal, if they're going to do this thing properly, so the Americans load a few things into their rented van. Ron doesn't expect that cargo to include him until Whistler looks at him - or, at least, faces in his general direction - and says, "What, you think we'd go to the trouble of finding your friends without giving you a ride to them?"
"Well, I thought I might be able to Apparate there--"
"The teleporting trick? Thought you said that was one of your weak points. Besides, we have no way to tell you where they are unless you're there. It's faster on the whole if you come along."
It's wholly unlike Ron's few rides in the Anglia. Between the people, the apparently minimised amount of equipment, and the lack of magical enhancement, it's rather cramped; he can't follow the conversation half as easily; and at no point on the journey are they airborne, unless one counts a few interesting bumps when they get off the pavement (which Ron doesn't). Still, it's serviceable to the job at hand, and somewhere around two hours later, they pull up in a clearing and stop.
"All right," Mother calls from the front. "Signal's in this clearing - the rest is up to you."
Ron climbs out of the back of the van, and notes Hermione's shield charms right away. He starts toward them, then notices some movement at the far end of the clearing, pauses the watch it, and breaks into a run. He doesn't know what Harry thinks he's doing, but it doesn't look good.
***
The end of Ron's yell reaches the van, and Carl frowns. If the running hadn't been ominous enough, anything including the word 'mental' at that volume can't possibly be a good sign.
When Ron comes back, it looks even worse. He's supporting Harry with one arm and carrying a sword in the other hand; Harry's soaking and shirtless despite the temperature, holding his clothes and the battered remnants of the locket. It's good to see the thing's finally out of the way, but what drives Carl to comment are the marks on Harry's neck - which look like they were left by a tightening chain.
"Dammit, Hermione, I told you wearing the evil jewelry was a bad idea!"
He knows she can hear it, even though she has yet to lower the protective spells that would let her rebuttal get out. And Harry certainly doesn't get a pass on his own stupidity - he'll hear about it when he's not apparently half-drowned. But still, it feels good to let one of these idiot kids have it.