𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦 ; 𝒹.𝒽

twenty-eight

NEW YORK CITY

Aurora bid her goodbye to Hugh and stood outside of the airport watching people go by. There were no flights to Maine, so she had to find another version of transportation... when it wasn't three in the morning. 

She lugged her lethargic body into a taxi, "Where too?" The man asked in a loud and slightly aggressive tone. 

"Uhh..."

"Come on. I don't have all night."

She rubbed her forehead, "I honestly don't know. Just..."

"I'll take you further into the city. How's that sound?"

"Yeah. That's alright."

And so he dropped her off in the heart of New York City. She quickly transfigured her money into American money before handing it to the man. 

Even at three in the morning, the city was still as lively as ever. Her senses were almost overloaded, this was completely new and she wasn't sure how she felt about it. 

People pushed past her and cars honked loudly and drunk people cried and laughed together all while knocking into things on the street. 

The bright lights were blinding and Aurora hugged her bag a little closer to her body when people would pass by too close.

She found a small convenience store on the corner, she was going to buy water but after experiencing the rather robust and invasive city, she needed something stronger. 

She walked around the store, perplexed by the snacks and... the smell of the store. This really made Aurora realize just how different muggles lived their lives to non-muggles. 

She got a bottle of wine and Lay's Potato Chips, whatever those were. She walked to the counter, setting her the things down.

"ID?"

"Excuse me?"

The man on the other end of the counter narrowed his gaze, "You're buying alcohol, Queen Victoria. Need to see an ID." He said. She sighed and reached into her bag, pulling out the fake ID and showing it to him. He shook his head, "You can't buy this."

"Why not?" Aurora asked, fed up and tired. 

"You're not 21. Gotta be 21 to buy alcohol, it's the law."

"That's the most ridiculous law I have ever heard of." She said, leaning her hands on the counter, "I had my first Butterbeer at 13."

He looked at her quizzically, "The fuck is Butterbeer?"

"I–" Aurora sighed as she glanced around the empty store, "Never mind."

She reached into her coat pocket and the man backed up, "Woah woah, relax. I don't want any trouble here."

"What?"

"I know you got a gun in there. Trust me. This ain't my first rodeo."

She sighed and pulled out her wand, "Obliviate."

She left money on the table before taking the wine and chips, putting it in her bag and walking out, "Fucking Americans."

Aurora then found a pizza place that was open all night. She ordered a simple pepperoni pizza, hissing at how hot the box was. After almost an hour of trying to find her way, she stumbled upon a hotel. 

She sighed and threw herself down on the bed, kicking off her shoes before screaming into her pillow. She took a shower and changed into comfortable clothing, hopping into bed. Aurora cracked open the wine and opened the pizza box after summoning Regulus.

"I fucking hate America. This better be worth it." She muttered, taking a drink of the wine straight from the bottle, "21 to buy alcohol! Absolutely insane. And it's not even that good. Not to mention those potato chips, oh, and Americans call crisps 'chips,' doesn't make any sense. Anyways, they are incredibly salty. I don't know how people eat them."

"You got the wine from a random corner store in New York, how good did you expect it to be?"

She shrugged, "At least this pizza is pretty damn good. Not like I have much to compare it to considering I've never had pizza until now."

"I heard New York was sort of known for their pizza." Regulus said. 

"Hm."

"Look, you need to be careful how you travel. You got lucky you didn't get ambushed. I don't doubt Voldemort has gathered a following here in America."

"How do you want me to travel then?"

"By foot."

Aurora scoffed, "Do you realize how long that'll take?"

"Yes."

"I am not walking to Maine!"

"How badly do you want to find this bloody Horcrux? Huh? Regardless, it'll take less than 2 weeks if you don't screw around."

She took another drink of the wine, "I'll be less pissed about this when I've slept and eaten a proper meal."