Padfoot and his Pup

21. | Midnight Adventures - Part II

The ride to the station was painfully silent. None of them said a word and it was an awfully tight fit in the back.

Although his own home lacked a telephone, Harry was pretty certain that Ron's family did own a one. Mr. Weasley's fascination towards all things muggle had motivated him to procure it from the ministry a few days ago. It had been an ordeal but the man had been determined to get it working.

As for Sirius... an uneasy nervousness crept into his bones. He'd been living with the man for nearly a month now and the two of them had fallen into an easy familiarity and routine.

Not once had his godfather gotten mad at him. Of course until then, there hadn't been any reason. His midnight adventure had certainly changed that.

Far too soon for his liking, they arrived at the station. They were led to a bench in the corner of the office, facing the cubicles. It was the middle of the night and apart from a handful of sour police officers on the night shift, the station was nearly empty.

As they waited for the inspector, one of the other officers treated their cuts and bruises as best as she could using the emergency first aid kit. It was a miracle that none of them were badly hurt.

Harry did not wince when she cleaned the cut on his head for his mind was on a different wavelength altogether.

The inspector in charge was a short, slightly red faced man in his late forties. The officers Frank and Ed explained what had transpired, the latter waving his hands excitedly as he described the flying and eventually falling car. The inspector scoffed at that.

"Flying cars! I see you've clearly fallen off the wagon again! You're on thin ice, Burke! You remind me of an old partner who insisted he'd seen two blokes take off on a flying motorcycle. What's next? Evil witches on broomsticks?"

The other officer wisely kept his mouth shut.

"What we have here is nothing more than four spoiled brats with little regard for the law." He levelled each of the boys with a glare that clearly indicated just how much of a nuisance he considered them to be.

"Let me tell you how this is going to go. Call your parents and once we're all settled in, I'd like to know just what they think of your little outing. What you boys need is a firm hand."

Harry knew that the inspector didn't mean it in the literal sense but he shrunk back in his seat nonetheless. The inspector retreated to his office after instructing Frank to let him know when the adults arrived.

Ron and George agreed that Fred should be the one to call their parents since George had taken the brunt of their mother's ire the last time.

"Mum's livid." Fred grumbled as he returned to his seat. "I couldn't talk to Dad but I reckon he's pretty ticked off as well. Mum said she'd floo call Sirius. They'll be here in about half an hour."

Harry's palms were sweating. He rubbed them against the fabric of his trousers wanting more than anything to simply go back home. He was aware that it was a childish thought but he didn't care.

His traitorous mind wandered to what might've occurred if he'd been living with Vernon and Petunia. He could vividly picture his uncle's face, nearly purple with barely controlled rage as he dragged Harry back home. He shuddered because he knew all too well that what would've followed once they were within the confines of Number 4, Privet Drive.