Blossom ➵ A Snamione Fanfic

chapter four

The train had not been moving for ten minutes now. Our two fatigued professors slept soundly, no doubt because they had been up all night. The ticket collector had been round earlier on, and now he was back to make sure that no-one had left any property.

Severus was sleeping peacefully with his mouth slightly open. Hermione was cosily tucked in between his arms, occasionally turning only to reposition herself.

The beefy ticket collector watched them as they shuffled closer together. It was extroordinary to see them together, peaceful, and for once, not sending snarky comments to one another. It was also extroordinary that they had not woken when the other passengers had left, the noise was surely loud enough to wake anyone up. They must be tired thought the inspector, scratching his thick, greying moustache.

"Miss, Mista? I dun'suppose yah could wake up? 'llo? " the ticket collector had a strange kind of accent that he had, sadly, inherited from his parents and partly from the fact that he was brought up in Liverpool. He sounded like a mix between a scouse and an Italian mobster. Quite unfortunate really.

Hermione who was mumbling incoherently, jolted up as if an electric current had run through her veins. She was unaware that Severus was holding on to her and in her rush she had accidentally knocked away his arm. She earned a small pmph from him before he opened his eyes too.

"Miss, ya awake! You'oo Mista. The train stopped 'bout ten minutes ago an' you'oo've busy snugglin' up. Cute too. Neva seen such a cute pair in't me life"

Severus snorted loudly, the beefy man looked between them and said,

"You best be gettin' off now."

Hermione and Severus merely got up and left the train onto the busy London streets.

London was a strange city. It was huge for one thing, Hermione had been to London many times during her life, to visit aunts or to go with her parents. Either way, she had become accustomed to the hum of sound and the crowds of people.

Severus had never seen such clutter in all his life. The train station had been overflowing with people, to the point where he began to doubt his sanity. He simply followed Hermione, who had no trouble leaving the station. She was muggleborn after all and she had grown up used to lifts and escalators. He had too, he was a half-blood but he didn't spend much time anywhere apart from the house in which he lived. Though he wasn't keen to admit, he found it all very fascinating and was excited to see more of London's Muggle customs.

They had left the station now, and were in the heart of the city. Hermione clutched her suitcase in one hand and with the other she was about to hail for a taxi. A black cab swerved into a free space next to the pavement. The driver poked his head out and said "Mr and Mrs Hunter? Is that you?"

Neither of them moved, they stood there like statues until Hermione said, smiling sweetly

"Oh yes, that's us. Um..may I ask who sent you?"

The driver nodded and mumbled something. He then proceeded to open a compartment to his car and pull out everything in there.

"Surely now is not the time for reorganisation?" Severus said dryly, earning a quick glare from the driver who had gone back to searching.

"I've written it somewhere, she had a very weird name. Yes! Here it was a Minerva McGonagall from Scotland." He flung the toussled paper to them and fair enough, it had Minerva's name written in a horrendous font.

They clambered into the taxi and put their suitcases in the back. The driver made some friendly chit chat and Hermione answered every question politely.