Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 38 The Fugitive's Journey Begins
Leighton is a parking attendant for a car rental company in Bristol.

His job was tedious and boring, at least that's what he thought.

Every day, he was responsible for handing over the car keys to all sorts of different people, and then listening to their grand travel plans. He could only stay in the parking lot watching cars come and go, and had to offer praise against his will.

The sky was gradually darkening. Layton glanced at the time on his watch. If the company's salespeople didn't attract any new customers to pick up their cars, he could wait another five minutes at most before he could switch shifts with the old drunkard on night duty and end this monotonous day.

However, just when he concluded that no one would plan to rent a car so late, he started packing his things in advance, preparing to leave work.

Outside the guard post, someone suddenly knocked gently on the glass window.

Layton stopped what he was doing, looked up, and saw that five people had appeared outside the pavilion at some point.

The leader was a tall man wearing a dark blue T-shirt, black shorts, and black hair tied in a short ponytail. He looked somewhat like a TV star.

Beside the man was a child who looked no more than 10 years old. The child also had messy black hair and was wearing a brand-new children's outfit with the tags still on. He was excitedly looking at his new clothes, like a child from the countryside.

Two more people were following behind them.

A tall, thin, pale-faced young man and a short, stout middle-aged man wearing glasses.

Their clothes looked new, and you could smell the distinctive scent of pure cotton fabric when you got closer.

The tall, thin, pale young man had a girl who appeared to be asleep on his back.

"Is this Mr. Layton?"

The man at the head, with a short ponytail, smiled and asked.

Layton then stopped examining the area and opened the small window in front of the pavilion.

"I'm."

“Mr. Mills sent us here; these are the documents he gave us to pick up the car.”

As he spoke, the man with the short ponytail handed a car rental receipt into the window.

Wright took the paper, glanced at its contents to make sure they were correct, and then selected one of the car keys from a pile on the counter.

"Volvo 240 Touring. Hmm, the license plate number is CV 219, and it's parked in parking space 076."

After handing the keys to the man with the short ponytail, Wright routinely mentioned some precautions and the return date, but his gaze couldn't help but drift towards the two people behind the man, one tall and one short.

Layton couldn't see what the girl on the tall, handsome man's back looked like, but he always felt there was something strange about the two of them. Even though they were dressed normally, there was something awkward about them.

But soon, the short-haired man with the car keys led the group to the parking lot to find their rented car, disappearing from Mr. Layton's sight as he was about to leave work.

The man with the short ponytail is none other than Severus Snape.

After stealing Patty from Bardemington Manor, he immediately reunited with Harry and Bloody Wolpert and prevented them from using Apparition to teleport directly to Patdemington.

"From now on, put away your wands and do not use any magic, not even the most basic levitation charm."

"Why? Aren't we supposed to move as quickly as possible?" Volpe couldn't help but ask.

“Any magic will leave a trace, let alone a spell like Apparition that allows you to trace the location of the spell.” Severus led them to the nearest phone booth and found the phone number for a car rental company.

He spoke to Henney and Volpe before picking up the microphone.

"In fact, if the Aurors didn't just see themselves as wizards and only thought about the problem from the perspective of magic, they could have identified you as the murderers on day one. But they rarely think that they can use things that Muggles can use. The long-term implementation of the Act of Secrecy has influenced their thinking, causing them to believe that wizards and Muggles are separate entities."

"However, in reality, Muggles use tools that anyone can use, unlike magic, which only works on specific individuals. Obviously, most people are still unaware of this, which is not a good thing for wizards as a whole, but for us now, it is an excellent way to hide."

“Remember, act like a real Muggle. I’ll go buy the new clothes we need and rent a car later. Wolpe, go to Gringotts and do me a favor.”

Severus directed Bloody and Volpe while simultaneously calling the car rental company and arranging to meet one of their salesmen, Mills, at a certain location to complete the rental procedures.

Subsequently, the four of them clearly defined their roles.

They temporarily settled Patty in a small inn, with Bloodny and Harry guarding the place. Wolpe went to Gringotts to retrieve the vault key Severus had given him and run some errands. Severus, on the other hand, went out to coordinate matters related to Muggles, including buying clothes and renting cars.

Finally, they reunited at the small hotel.

“I did as you said, and opened a new vault in my own name, and moved the medicine that was being brewed in the original vault into it.”

Wolpe returned the vault key to Severus, who clearly had a guess about what was going on.

"Is that the medicine that can revive Patty?" Upon hearing this, Bloodny, who had just changed out of her robes and into new clothes, looked over with shining eyes.

"Mr. Snape, you...you were prepared?"

“But that pot of medicine will need to be boiled for at least another four days.” Severus held the car pick-up certificate he had obtained that afternoon. “Come on, Bloody, you carry Patty on your back. Remember to let her hair down to cover her face.”

He led Harry, Bloodny, and Wolpert, who had changed into normal Muggle clothes, to the car rental company's parking lot. After receiving the car keys from the attendant, the four of them, along with Patty, got into the spacious, boxy station wagon.

Harry sat in the front row, while Henney sat in the back with Patty and Wolper in his arms.

The vampires and wizards, who had never sat in a Muggle car before, were so curious about everything inside. They even studied the door handles for quite a while.

"Don't touch anything in the car."

Severus reminded him, but he himself sat in the driver's seat, pondering the thing in front of him for a long time.

Whether it was a car from the 1980s or a right-hand drive vehicle, Severus had to familiarize himself with it all over again.

This terrified Harry, who was watching from the side.

He instinctively believed that his teacher was all-powerful and omnipotent, but look at him now.
"Hold on tight, we're about to set off!"

Finally, Severus started the car and surprisingly skillfully shifted the gear lever!

Just as Harry caught his breath and was about to fasten his seatbelt, the car, which hadn't even moved forward half a meter, suddenly shook violently and stalled on the spot!
The car was eerily quiet.

After a long while, Xueni hugged Patty tightly in his arms and said carefully.

"Or, a flying broomstick would be a good choice too."

"Or a flying carpet would be fine too," Volpe added at the opportune moment.

"I just released the clutch too quickly." Severus turned the key again to start the engine, trying to cover up his embarrassment. "Don't be afraid, I dare say no one in the wizarding world knows how to drive better than me!"

This time he successfully drove the car out of the parking space and slowly drove out of the parking lot.

Every time Severus shifted gears, the car would shake violently, forcing Harry and the two in the back to hold on tightly to the handles above the doors!

"Mr. Snape, where are we going now?" Bloody asked nervously.

Severus gripped the steering wheel with one hand and began to get used to the car's rhythm. He rolled down the window and rested his other hand on the door.

He spoke lightly as the wind blew into the car and ruffled his black hair.

"We can go anywhere for the next four days, as long as we don't get caught by the Aurors. Also, Elder, don't forget to keep writing your book. You said you could finish it in three days at most, so remember to use your writing skills; we need your work!"

Volpe had already opened his notebook, and he was currently pulling at his hair.

"I'm trying to calm down and think this through!"

At this moment, Blood Nymph whispered something.

"Can we go to the Cotswolds?"

Upon hearing the somewhat familiar place name, Severus raised an eyebrow. Before he could even recall what this place was, Harry, who was diligently fastening his seatbelt in the passenger seat, reminded him.

“Miss Patty has always wanted to go back to her hometown, where there is a farm, and Bloody promised her that he would take her there.”

Severus laughed.

"I remember there was a huge tulip field there, wasn't there? It's perfect for a picnic! Let's go, let's go to the Cotswolds!"

Bloody's eyes reddened again, and he hugged Patty, looking extremely moved.

Upon discovering this, Harry quickly pulled the back of his new clothes forward.

"You can't use my clothes to wipe your nose anymore; it's a new one the teacher bought today!"

A burst of hearty laughter erupted from the car as it drove out of Bristol at dusk.

The fugitive's journey has begun.

(End of this chapter)