"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board, and we can take you anywhere you want to go. I'm Stan Shunpike, and I'll be your conductor."
After handing Stan eleven Sickles, Snape boarded the bright purple, triple-decker Knight Bus. Not long after the bus started moving, a bullet-like downpour began to splatter against the windows.
"Ernie—" Snape yelled, straining his voice, "How much longer until Diagon Alley—"
But the roaring wind and rain drowned out his voice. Ernie still gripped the steering wheel tightly, leaning forward, trying to peer through the blurry road.
"Oh, so you know Ernie's name! I thought this was your first time on the bus," Stan said loudly, coming down from the second floor towards Snape. "You're our last passenger. I'm finishing early today. Once we drop you off, we're done for the day and heading home."
"How many people are ahead of me?" Snape asked.
"Oh, we need to drop off Mrs. Corbett in Glasgow first, and then the McKinnons are going to Dundee."
"McKinnons?" Hearing the familiar surname, Snape immediately thought of someone he knew and asked curiously, "Is Marlene McKinnon with them?"
Stan replied without hesitation: "If you mean a brown-haired girl about your age, I think so. Their family is on the second floor. Do you know them?"
"Yes, we're in the same—"
"Screeeech!" A piercing brake squeal cut him off. Snape instinctively grabbed a handrail, barely managing not to fall.
"Are you mad?!" Ernie leaned out of the driver's cabin, disregarding the pouring rain, and yelled at a black-robed figure in the middle of the road. "We're done for the—"
Before he could finish, a scorching red light struck him. Ernie instantly froze, his mouth still agape. Then, his body lost balance, and he fell out of the window.
"Hey!" Stan jumped up from his armchair and pointed his wand at the figure in front of the bus. There was a whooshing sound, followed by a flash of intense green light right after the red. In an instant, the window shattered, and Stan glowed with an eerie green light. He crashed heavily backward into a brass-framed bed, falling to the floor, motionless.
The bus door slammed shut. Amidst the howling wind, a figure, dripping wet from head to toe, boarded the bus. In the dim light of the interior, a menacing gleam shone from a metallic mask beneath their hood.
A Death Eater! Snape recognized the intruder.
"Drop your weapons. We won't harm innocent wizards," a low, cold voice came from beneath the mask.
Taking a deep breath, Snape quietly gripped his wand beneath his robes.
"McKinnon, come out. We need a little assistance from you."
As soon as the words left their lips, a series of booming spells and fierce fighting erupted upstairs, followed by a woman's scream. After more than a minute, with the sound of footsteps, a middle-aged man in a green floral dress walked down from the second floor, sideways. As he descended, he struggled with one hand to pull off the yellow silk scarf tied around his neck and threw it aside. He pointed his wand behind him, and the McKinnon family—all three of them, tied in a bundle—floated a few inches off the ground, following him down the stairs.
"This is disgusting. Next time, it's your turn," the cross-dressing Death Eater complained to their companion.
"Alright, since we've got them, let's head back quickly."
"Wait, there's still someone here." The cross-dressing Death Eater pointed at Snape, who was standing by the window. "He saw my face."
Just as Snape prepared to fight back, the masked Death Eater said casually, "Oh, Macnair, I know him. Severus Snape, my son's classmate, and also a member of Walpurgis."
"Why are you calling out my name, Avery!" Macnair said, annoyed.
"Hello, Severus," old Avery said, as if cheerfully. He walked up to Snape. "I've heard some interesting things about you from my son."
"But it's perfect, since you're about to become the Master's good servant, I'm now going to give you an opportunity to pledge your loyalty early." He pointed his wand at the McKinnon family. "Kill this girl, using the spell Bellatrix taught you."
Snape glanced sideways out of the corner of his eye. Mr. McKinnon's head was slumped against his chest, blood still oozing from his temple. Mrs. McKinnon and Marlene were gagged tightly with rough hemp ropes, only able to emit groaning whimpers. "Mmm..." Marlene's eyes welled with tears, and she looked pleadingly at Snape.
"Kill... kill her?" Snape tremblingly pulled out his wand from his robes, looking at old Avery with a panicked and fearful expression. "But I... I haven't successfully cast that spell yet... Can I do it?"
"Tell me your choice, do it or don't." Old Avery said coldly, not answering Snape's question.
"Okay..." Snape's voice was filled with fear, and he slowly raised his wand.
"Sectumsempra!" he squeezed out the spell through gritted teeth, frantically pointing his wand at old Avery's neck and vigorously slashing it horizontally, while simultaneously diving beneath the brass-framed bed.
Blood gushed from old Avery's neck, creating a dark red splatter. His eyes were wide with disbelief and terror, and his mouth opened, but only a faint guttural sound emerged. Old Avery's body swayed for a few moments, then there was a dull thud as he collapsed onto the floor of the carriage.
"Avery!" Macnair roared furiously. He moved his wand away from the McKinnons, and streams of curses shot towards Snape, crisscrossing in the air.
Snape rolled out from under the bed, randomly firing spells behind him. The windows instantly shattered under the impact of the wildly flying spells, producing a series of sharp cracks, fragments scattering like hail. Wind and rain poured into the carriage from all directions, and the items inside were tossed about.
Crouched behind the armchair where Ernie had been sitting, Snape gasped for breath, Macnair's curses pressing him down, barely allowing him to lift his head. Just as his mind raced, searching for an escape, a loud, echoing crack ripped through the tense air. Snape cautiously peered out and saw a tall, grey-haired figure abruptly appear inside the carriage.
Macnair hadn't even had time to react before the figure had already aimed their wand at him—
"Petrificus Totalus!"
His arms and legs snapped together, and his entire body, stiff as a board, fell backward with a thud.
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