HPTD - CH 90 - OVER THE CLOUDS (Patreon)

"I'm parched. Are you sure there's nothing to drink?" asked Harry, adjusting the glasses that kept slipping down his sweaty nose. It was terribly hot inside the car. They had already pulled off their sweaters, but it hardly made any difference.

"I'm sure, Harry, we've already checked everywhere," said Ron, a little irritated, "There are more toffees if you'd like."

Ron and Harry had found a fat packet of toffees in the glove box and had almost finished it all. It had been great fun at the time, but it had made them extremely thirsty now.

"I think I've had enough toffees for the entire year. But I could do with a glass of ice-cold pumpkin juice from the trolley right now."

"You're only making it worse by talking about it, mate," said Ron, who had his tongue hanging from his mouth, trying to lick the moisture from the air.

Harry tried imitating him and found that it didn't work; maybe if they were flying inside the clouds - but then they wouldn't be able to see anything and might end up flying into a plane.

"I reckon we should have another check on the train. It's been quite a while," said Harry, hoping to get some relief from the sun and some moisture on his tongue.

"Alrigh- Aahh," Ron let out a spooked cry as something knocked on the car door.

"Wuss," said the empty sky that soon turned out into two figures on a broomstick.

"Whaa... You... How?" babbled Ron.

"Howya, eejits! Been chasin' rainbows, have ya?" said Ben loudly.

"Ben! Cho!! what are you guys doing here?" asked Harry excitedly. A lot more excited at seeing Cho, for sure.

"Hi, Harry."

"Oh, nothing too exciting really, just on a job from a crazy bushy brown-haired witch. Something about saving two dunderheads," said Ben.

"Hermione? She sent you to save us?" asked Ron.

"Would you believe it? There's a bit of wit in you after all!" said Ben.

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?" asked Ron, looking quite a bit offended, with his tongue still hanging from his mouth.

"Just that someone with even half a wit would have thought twice before flying a car to Hogwarts," said Ben.

"Ben, that's rather mean, don't you think?" asked Cho.

"No, I don't," replied Ben, giving her a strange look.

"Well, at least I still have my eyebrows. Looks like yours couldn't stand the sight of you and decided to make a run for it," said Ron.
"What'd I tell you? He doesn't deserve your pity, Cho," said Ben, scrunching his nonexistent eyebrows.

"Um, the barrier at the station - it didn't open for us," said Harry, looking a little embarrassed.

"You could have sent an owl to school, you know, and they would have sent someone to get you or opened the Floo for you," said Ben, and both Harry and Ron looked at each other trying to come up with an excuse.

"We didn't think of that," said Harry, looking quite embarrassed now.

"We didn't have time to waste thinking. We had a flying car, and we used it. I think you're just jealous that you're not in here," said Ron with a smug look.

"Ah, yes, your incredible idiocy leaves me truly green with envy," said Ben.

"That's it with you. What's your problem with me?" said Ron, pulling out his old wand.

"Ron, calm down," said Harry, pulling at his wand-arm.

"Yeah, calm down, mate. You're not on the train. You use magic here, and we'll all be getting a howler from the ministry," said Ben and Ron, lowered his wand at the mention of the Howler.

"Good, now scoot over," said Ben, opening the door.

"Why would I do that? You don't even know how to fly this thing," said Ron in protest, but Ben easily pushed him aside and got in the driver's seat, giving the broom's reigns to Cho.

"The hell are you doing?" shouted Ron.

"Saving your skin. Doesn't your dad work for the ministry? In the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office?" said Ben, getting comfortable with the controls. It wasn't too hard, as he knew how to drive and the rest worked on intent like a broomstick.

"What's dad got to do with this?" said Ron, clinging to the seat as the car took a few bumps while Ben got the hang of it.

"Has it occurred to you that this vehicle is a muggle artifact? I don't know if you've noticed, but muggle cars don't usually fly, which would make it a misuse of muggle artifact, quite a severe one at that," said Ben steadying the car just above the clouds and Cho got in the backseat.

Harry gulped at the thought of getting Mr Weasley in trouble.

"It-it can't be that bad. Fred and George have taken it flying loads of times," said Ron.

"Well, unlike you, I'm sure they knew what they were doing and weren't seen by muggles," said Ben.

"We weren't seen either, and it's not our fault the invisibility booster got faulty," said Ron.

"Or you just don't know how to use it," said Ben, pressing the tiny silver button on the dashboard. The car and everyone in it vanished.

"What? How'd you do that?" asked an invisible Ron.

"Uh, Intent? You've got to mean it, like all magic," said Ben, lowering the car towards the Hogwarts Express, next to the open window.

Ben was glad to see that the trolly witch was no longer lying flat on top of the train and he wouldn't have to deal with her for now.

"Alright. Everybody out of the car and into the train," said Ben, sticking the car as close to the window as possible.

"Why? We can all get off at Hogwarts," said Ron.

"If that's what you'd like. I'm sure Snape will be thrilled to see you land this thing so he can get you expelled once and for all. Not to mention how happy Lucious Malfoy would be to finally get your father sacked for enchanting a freaking flying car. But you'll be able to brag in front of everyone, yay."

"Smart ass," said Ron before exiting the car through the window.

Once Harry, Ron, Cho and Hedwig were inside the train, Ben landed the car on the roof, shrunk all the luggage and sent it into storage. He then shrunk the car, opened a portal to the island, and sent it through.

Landing inside the train on his broom, Ben returned their shrunk luggage to them.

"What'd you do with the car?" asked Ron.

"Don't worry about it. I took care of it."

-End of Chapter-

AN: Well, I had fun writing this chapter. There's something about Ron that makes me want to just mess with him.