Chapter 03 -- I Had A Dream (early June 1969)

[majorjune]

Just a warning to readers that this chapter contains language using ethnic slurs and also suggestion of sexual abuse. 
There is also underaged drinking and drug use, which was not uncommon in the late 1960s.



"We gotta get back somehow!"

"I told you there's no way!"

"We can take a taxi..."

"No cab's goin' that way, there's a damn riot goin' on, we'd have t'spend all the money we made!"

"Maybe not..."


Angel and Azalea were walking together, arguing. Yesmina was behind them, schlepping a decidedly tired and grumpy DeWard, made all the grumpier by the earlier loss of his toy. Severus trailed behind.

They were walking in something they'd told him was called Central Park. Severus had been barely paying attention to the argument; instead, he was admiring the park and was amazed that an almost rural place was in the middle of a big city.


However, he didn't miss Angel's glance back at him, or the fact that Azalea stopped walking and turned from Angel to stare at Severus.

"I told you that you could have it," Severus stated somewhat defensively.

"What?!" Azalea demanded.

"The money I have," Severus answered.

"What money?" Azalea asked, lowering her voice and taking a step closer to Severus.


"The American money the man gave me on the boat that brought me here!" Severus answered, somewhat loudly. "I won't need it! Angel said it's what? Eighty dollars?"

"Shhhh!" Angel almost shouted, looking from left to right and using his hands to indicate that Severus should lower his voice.

"What?!" Severus responded.

"Keep your voice down, asshole!" Angel answered in a hoarse whisper. Severus didn't know whether to be angry or afraid. He decided on anger and started to ball up his fists.

"Sev," Yesmina pleaded, "you have to be careful...you could get mugged..."

Severus didn't know what "mugged" meant, but it sounded too much like "Muggle".

"Attacked," Angel added, seeing Severus' confused look. "Beaten up. Your money stolen. Geez, you really are stupid!"

Before Severus could punch him, Azalea put her hands on her hips and demanded, "Just why did that man on that boat give you all that money, English Boy!?"

There it was again. What was it about these kids? What did they think he'd done?

"I DON'T KNOW!!" Severus screamed at them.  "HE JUST GAVE IT TO ME!!  TO BE NICE!!"

Azalea looked at him with a sneer.

"Yeah, English Boy, I'm sure he was plenty ‘nice’ to you! And you was plenty nice to him in return.."

She turned on her heel and started walking away, but then wheeled around to face him again.

"We all here know how to be 'nice’, don't we?! We all have lots of experience being 'nice' to lots of men!! Me and Angel and Yesmina and even DeWard, he has to be nice to men for money, too!"

Tears were flowing down her cheeks, and she choked on the last few words.

Severus didn't understand exactly what she was talking about, but he knew it was something bad if Azalea was crying about it. Yesmina seemed to cry at the least provocation, and indeed her eyes were wet as she reached a hand to Azalea, who just whirled around and stalked away.

DeWard seemed to have decided that it was time for everyone to cry and started wailing loudly. Even Angel's lip was trembling.

Severus didn't know what to feel. He hated seeing Azalea cry. But he also hated them all for trying to make him feel guilty about something he hadn't done.

"You...you...!!" Severus sputtered. "You damn...MUGGLES!!"


He grabbed DeWard from Yesmina and stalked off, mumbling a sort of charm his Mum used to say to him when he was little and would cry about something.

Whether it was the charm, or just the novelty of this new, strange boy carrying him, DeWard indeed stopped crying and stared at Severus.

Azalea had stopped and was staring at Severus, but he passed without saying a word to her. He didn't know why he was doing what he was doing, but at least DeWard wasn't crying anymore, no one was yelling at him, and he didn't have to look at Azalea..

Severus couldn't see it, but Azalea, Angel, and Yesmina were just standing, staring at each other. Yesmina looked confused, but the side of Angel's mouth rose, and Azalea grinned as she wiped her eyes and mouthed to the other two, "Muggos?"

"Hey!" Angel laughed at Severus' retreating back. "Whatcha call us?"

Severus kept stalking away, mumbling to himself and to DeWard, who seemed to find Severus fascinating.

"Hey! English Boy!" Azalea yelled, catching up with Severus and forcing him to stop and turn around. Severus kept softly singing his chant.

"Whatcha call us?" she laughed. "Muggos?"

Still mumbling, Severus was getting quite frustrated, and thought that he might actually be getting a headache.

"Whatcha sayin', English Boy?" Azalea laughed, shoving him on his shoulder.

Severus stopped in mid-phrase.

"MUGGLE!" he spit out.  "MUH-GULL!  You're all just Muggles!"

Now he thought that he might start crying.

Azalea and Angel looked at each other again, and then burst out laughing. Even Yesmina softly smiled.

"Muh-gwuh," DeWard murmured. Since this made Azalea and Angel laugh harder, he said it again.

"Guess that told us!" Angel laughed.

Azalea held her side, laughing.

"You...you muggo, you!" she screeched at Angel in laughter.

"You Muggo!" Angel retorted, pointing at her.

"Muh-gwuh!" DeWard added.

Even Severus at this point was almost smiling. These kids were crazy. They couldn't even take an insult properly.

"What the hell does that mean?" Azalea gasped.

Severus shrugged and sighed at the same time.

"It's just a word," he said.

"But what does it mean?" she pressed.. "What makes someone a 'muggo'?"

"Muh-gwuh," DeWard interrupted, hoping everyone would start laughing again.

Severus' mind raced. What was he going to tell them?

"It's just a word my people use..." he began.

"Your people!?" Azalea demanded. Her mood had dramatically shifted. "Just what are 'your' people?"

Severus paused; he had the distinct feeling that anything he said at this point would get him into trouble.

"Muh...muh..." DeWard mumbled, wondering why no one was laughing anymore.

"It's cool," Angel cautioned Azalea. "He didn't mean anything by it..."

However, Azalea would not be placated.

"What's whitey English Boy mean by 'his' people, huh? He too good for the spicks and nigg...?"

"HEY!" Angel shouted at her.  "YOU shut up!"

"Mu...mu...mu..." DeWard quietly whispered. Severus let him slip to the ground, and Yesmina quickly grabbed him and they both moved a few feet away.

Azalea and Angel were now glaring at each other. Severus suspected that they were about to start hitting each other.

"I am sorry..." Severus interrupted. "Muggle is a word we use where I come from to describe outsiders."

It wasn't quite a lie, but the truth would be harder to explain, and Azalea obviously had totally misinterpreted what he'd said.

"See?" Angel stated.  "You have a big mouth, Azalea!  You should talk!  You're too quick to use bad words and call people names yourself!"

"Yeah, but he used that 'muggo' word just like 'spi...'," Azalea started.

"SHUT UP!" Angel screamed.  "You say that word too much, you know!"

Azalea looked crestfallen.

"I don't call you that, I just..."

"Yeah, you complain about others sayin' it, you complain all the time so you end up sayin' it all the time! And how's callin' him 'whitey' any different, huh?"

Angel seemed close to tears.

"You didn't see how he helped us today!" Angel continued.  "You didn't see how he helped Yesmina, when she hurt herself and couldn't stop bleeding.  So everything's groovy, Azalea, don't start coppin' an attitude.  He's cool..."

There was that word "groovy" again. Severus didn't know what "coppin' an attitude" meant other than it apparently was what Azalea had just done.  And he figured that "cool" was equivalent to "groovy", and that it was a good thing to be either one.

"Gotta go potty!" DeWard interrupted with impeccable timing. Yesmina was crouched down beside him. Severus thought that she looked like she might cry again.

"Let's find a McDonald's," Angel suggested.  "We can use the bathroom and get something to eat."


He walked past Azalea and Severus, leading the way out of the park. Severus thought his face looked wet when he walked past, but perhaps Angel was only sweating because of the heat and humidity.

Yesmina picked up DeWard and trotted after Angel.  Azalea and Severus looked at each other.

"After you," she said.

Severus paused.

"No...after you..."

He wanted to keep this scary girl in his sight.

They stared at each other for a few seconds more, then Azalea laughed, turned, and followed the others. Severus followed a short space behind.

Azalea was beautiful and she smelled of something faraway and exotic. But she was scary crazy.

After some time Angel lead the way out of the park. They crossed the street without a word and then went down a block and entered a place to eat that said "McDonald's" on it's sign.


Yesmina let DeWard down when they entered the restaurant, and Angel took his hand.. Angel looked at Severus and then jerked his head to the side as Yesmina and Azalea went down a hall in the same direction.

"What?" Severus asked.

"Come on!" Angel demanded, turning and going down the hall.

Severus followed and just saw Yesmina and Azalea going through a door farther down the hall.

Severus started to follow them.

"Hey! Where you goin'?" Angel demanded.. He had stopped at the first door in the hallway. Severus looked at the sign on the door and saw that it read "Mens", and had a little stick figure of a man on it.

Severus grinned sheepishly and followed Angel, who stopped just inside the door and looked around the room.

There was a young man at one of the urinals, but no one in any of the stalls. Angel warily walked DeWard down to the last stall, neither saying a word. Angel then took up a position outside the stall that Severus clearly understood was one of keeping guard.

Severus stood there, and Angel cocked his head at the next stall.

"You better go while we're here," Angel told him.

Severus saw the logic of the suggestion and so followed Angel's advice. He came out of the stall the same time that DeWard did. The young man was gone.

"Help DeWard wash his hands, and watch the door," Angel instructed, flushing DeWard's toilet and then closing himself in the stall.

But Severus had just walked with DeWard down to the sinks and had just turned on the water when he heard Angel flush his toilet and almost immediately appear next them at the sinks -- so quickly that Severus would have almost believed Angel had apparated there.

"Hurry up, let's make sure the girls are okay," Angel stated as he let his hands gather some humidity from the faucets, then he pressed a button on a box on the wall, which resulted in warm air blowing out of it.

Angel lifted DeWard up to dry his hands in the blowing air. DeWard found this immensely amusing, but Angel wouldn't let him linger to play.

Severus was used to paper towels in the boys room at the school he attended back home, but he had never seen a box blowing air that dried hands. After Angel put DeWard down and headed for the door, Severus put his own wet hands up to the blowing air box.

But after only a few seconds, the air stopped blowing. Severus just stood there with water trickling down his arms, wondering what to do.

"Push the button!" Angel shouted, but before Severus could do anything, Angel leaned over and pushed the button for him.

The air started blowing again; Severus stood under the outlet, holding his hands to the air. Warm air blew on his face and hair and he wondered if this thing was like the blow dryer thing that he had used that morning.

"You're as bad as DeWard, I've got to do everything for you!" Angel exclaimed, holding DeWard's hand in one of his own while using the other to push the door open and look up and down the hall outside.

"You don't have to pick me up," Severus observed, as the air stopped blowing and he turned to Angel. Angel stared back at him, and then started to laugh.

"No...no, I don't have to pick you up!" Angel laughed. "Not yet, anyways!"

He held the door open. "Come on, let's find the girls."

There was no one else in the hallway.

"Go see if they're sitting down," Angel instructed Severus. "I'll wait here in case they haven't come out yet."

Severus went to the end of the hall and looked around the room where people were sitting at tables and booths.

At first he didn't recognize anyone, but then saw Azalea half standing from her seat in a booth towards the front of the room waving frantically at him. Yesmina sat opposite her, ad she turned to look at what Azalea was waving at, and then smiled and waved when she saw Severus.

Severus turned and went back up the hall to Angel and DeWard.

"They're sitting in there," he said, gesturing toward the dining room.

"You coulda just given me a heads up," Angel stated, as they walked up the hall.

"A what?" Severus asked.

"A...oh, never mind!" Angel sighed as they entered the dining room and went over to where the girls were sitting. "Why didn't you wait for us?"

"Cuz we figured we'd get us some seats instead!" Azalea countered.

"Sumthin' coulda happened..." Angel mumbled.


"Well, it didn't!" Azalea answered. "Come on, let's get something to eat!"

They left Yesmina behind with DeWard at the booth and took Severus with them up to the counter.

Angel and Azalea ordered for themselves plus Yesmina and DeWard. Severus couldn't decide whether he wanted a hamburger or a fish sandwich, so he decided that he'd get both a Big Mac and a Fishwich plus a large order of fries plus a large chocolate milkshake.

When they went back to the booth, he'd hoped he'd be able to sit next to Azalea, but Angel sat next to her first, and Yesmina scooted over closer to DeWard and indicated that Severus should sit next to her.

Music was playing over the intercom system in the restaurant.

I had a dream last night
What a lovely dream it was
I dreamed we all were all right
Happy in a land of oz

Severus remained silent, concentrating on eating and especially on his chocolate milkshake, while Azalea and Angel argued.  Severus was glad that Yesmina for once was neither talking nor crying.

"We gotta figure some way t'get home tonight!" Angel stated.

"Why?" Azalea demanded.  "We already in trouble fo' bein' late!"

"But we'll be in worse trouble!" Angel countered.

"You’ll be in worse trouble!  Me, I'll just get beat..."

Azalea took a big bite out of her burger and chewed it thoughtfully.

Severus glanced over at Yesmina -- sure enough, her eyes were wet and worse yet, DeWard seemed to be taking his cue from her as his lips trembled and tears started streaming down his face.  It was obvious that it was only a matter of moments before DeWard would start caterwauling.

Severus grabbed an unused straw, ripped one end off it, and then blew the wrapper into DeWard's face. This succeeded in distracting DeWard, who looked up at Severus with opened mouth.

Severus took another unused straw and did the same thing. This time DeWard not only smiled, but also giggled and clapped his hands.

DeWard wasn't the only one who was distracted. Yesmina, Angel, and Azalea all stared at Severus as if he'd lost his mind.

Severus paused as he held a third straw to his mouth.

"You were making the kid cry," he explained, then blew the wrapper at DeWard, who by this time had caught onto the nature of the game. Unfortunately for those closest to him, he neglected to use a new straw but instead used the one with which he'd been drinking his soda.

This seemed to be the signal to commence a general melee of straw blowing, napkin and paper wrapping throwing, which then lead into flying french fries and bits of bun and catsup-soaked pickles.


Angel was particularly adept at squirting partially opened packets of catsup, to which Azalea responded with a barrage of mustard.

Severus had never seen Yesmina laughing so hard.

A pimply faced young man wearing a McDonald's uniform came over to their table. He had a bit of fuzz over his upper lip, and a tag on his shirt that had "Ass't Mgr" under his name.

"You'll have to stop that!" his voice cracked.

"Or what?!" Angel demanded.

"Or you'll have to leave!" the Ass't Mgr gravely informed them.

"Yeah?" Azalea laughed, and she squeezed a packet of mustard over the Ass't Mgr's name tag, making it difficult to see that he was an Ass't Mgr.

Severus knew that he didn't have much experience with Muggles, and especially with American Muggle culture -- but he had a pretty good idea that what Azalea had just done wasn't considered as funny by the Ass't Mgr as it was by everyone sitting at the booth.

"That's it!" the Ass't Mgr exclaimed. "I'm calling the police!"




He turned on his heels and stalked out of sight..

Everyone at the table was still laughing uncontrollably, but Angel and Azalea managed to scoop what was left of their food into bags and quickly slide out of the booth.

Severus took the hint, grabbed his chocolate milkshake, and stood up so that Yesmina could grab DeWard and get out of the booth and run laughing with Azalea toward the door.

Severus saw that Angel grabbed two handfuls of condiment packets before leaving the table. They met the girls at the door, everyone doubled over with laughter.

"Wait! Wait!" Angel gasped, grabbing Severus by the arm, then scattering the packets on the floor.

Severus understood immediately, and joined Angel and the others in stomping on the packets, resulting in a shower of catsup, mustard, tartar sauce and relish spraying the floor and some nearby tables and booths.


Still shrieking with laughter they ran out the door, only pausing as Angel stooped down to lift DeWard up to ride piggyback, then they ran around the corner and back into the park.


They stumbled into a tunnel and collapsed laughing into a corner just off the path. Severus and Yesmina lay giggling on a grassy embankment just outside the entrance. Angel let DeWard down here and collapsed next to the other two, guffawing.

DeWard chortled in glee, just happy that everyone else was happy. Azalea stood in front of them, bent at the waist, hand to her chest, trying to catch her breath.

"You crazy, English Boy!" she gasped.

Severus was endeavoring to catch his own breath.

"M...me!?" he gasped. "I only blew a few straw wrappers!"

This statement brought a fresh round of laughter from the others.  Azalea started gasping at the same time she was laughing, and stumbled to where a low stone abutment projected from the tunnel entrance.


"You crazy, English Boy!" she again gasped as she sat down, hand still to her chest as she laughed.

"You okay, Azalea?" Angel asked, still laughing.  Azalea nodded, but she still seemed to have difficulty breathing.  Yesmina stopped laughing.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked.

Azalea nodded and made a dismissive gesture with her hand, but she still seemed to be having a problem catching her breath.

Yesmina jumped up and went over to Azalea, grabbed her handbag, and fished around the bottom of it before retrieving a small canister.

"Here!" Yesmina demanded, shoving it into Azalea's face.

Azalea took it and put her lips around the top and pressed, breathing in the contents.

Severus noticed that everyone had gotten very quiet, except for DeWard who announced, "Azalea's got cold."

"I'm okay, DeWard," she said, putting the canister back into her bag and taking a few deep breaths.

"Azalea has asthma," Yesmina told Severus.  Angel just stared at his own feet.

"What's asthma?" Severus asked.

"Sometimes she has trouble breathing," Yesmina answered, coming back and sitting down next to Severus.

"It's stupid!" Azalea mumbled fiercely, and Severus recognized the same desire to not show weakness that he himself often attempted.

"When it happens, she needs to breathe in her medicine," Yesmina continued. "Remember that, in case Angel or me aren't around when it happens to her. Get that medicine out of her bag and make her breathe it!"

"Sure," Severus answered, really not sure at all.

"It ain't that important," Azalea interjected.

"Ain't important, 'cept you could die!" Angel shouted at her.

"Shut up!" Azalea countered, and Angel did.

In fact that repressed all conversation.  Azalea fished a compact out of her bag and checked her hair and makeup. DeWard found the weeds and bugs on the embankment immensely interesting.  Angel lay back and closed his eyes, and Yesmina just looked miserable again.

"You know, English Boy," Azalea stated, replacing the compact in her bag and fishing out a hair pick, "You keep actin' crazy they'll deport you..."

She looked at Severus and winked.

"His name's 'Severus'!" Angel exclaimed, not opening his eyes.

"I know what English Boy's name is!" Azalea countered, glaring at Angel.  She then turned back to Severus.

"I was just telling Sev-er-us that they deport people like him who act crazy like that!"

Azalea again smiled and winked at Severus, who remained silent.

"You the one's crazy!" Angel retorted.  "Besides, that's what he wants.  He’s got a home to go back to!"

The bitterness in Angel's voice was unmistakable.  Severus almost felt guilty.

"Who you callin' crazy!?" Azalea demanded.

"You could come with me!" Severus interrupted.  He wasn't sure why he'd said it.

Azalea turned back to Severus with a look of surprise.  Angel opened his eyes and stared at him.  Yesmina looked loving and sad at the same time.

"What's it like where you live?" Azalea demanded.

"I don't know...," Severus floundered. "Nothing special."

"You ain't rich...?" said Azalea, as much a statement of fact as a question.

"No," Severus apologized, "I'm not rich."

Azalea snorted.

"We'd be just as bad off, then!"

"They'd never let us," Yesmina interjected.  "But thank you for offering, Sev..."

Why was it always Yesmina who acted nice to him instead of Azalea, Severus thought to himself.

"Well, we still have to figure out what we're going to do," Angel interrupted, "cuz we're all in a shitload of trouble."

"Why can't we all just go back tomorrow and explain what happened?" Severus asked.  Angel and Azalea looked at him as if he was insane.  Yesmina looked sad again.

"Because, Sev-er-us!" Azalea began. "If we're all lucky, the least that'll happen is we all get beat!"

"Probably not him," Angel interjected.  "They're supposed to be comin' back for him either today or tomorrow..."

"SO!" Azalea exclaimed, as if that proved some point.  "That means Social Services knows Angel and Yesmina and DeWard's missin'!"

Azalea looked at Severus as if the point that she was trying to make should be abundantly clear.

"So?" Severus asked.

"So!" Azalea repeated. "That means they's goin' t'take them away!"

Severus was puzzled. DeWard had crawled into Yesmina's lap, and both looked like they were about to cry again.

"The Sarmientos aren't great," Angel stated softly, "but they're the best we been at...at least they don't..."

Angel's voice trailed off. He was biting his lip and looked like he'd have liked to punch something. Tears streamed down Yesmina's face as she hugged DeWard.

"Yeah, at least they don't...!" Azalea growled.  "At least they don't...!"

She was almost screaming.

Severus had never felt this way before.  He was frightened.  Not for himself.  Not really.  Not frightened of these Muggle kids.  He was frightened for them.

He didn't know why.  He didn't understand what.  He just knew -- it was almost a palpable presence -- that they'd all been through something evil that he could not understand.

"So, English Boy!" Azalea turned to Severus, startling him.  "Sev-er-us!  They mess w'you back home!?"

"What?" was the only thing Severus could think of to say.  Azalea came and leaned into his face, only inches away.  Her piercing gaze seemed to burn right into him.

She then snorted and turned, going back to where she'd been sitting.

"He hasn't been messed with," Angel quietly confirmed.  Severus had no idea what they were talking about, or how Angel would know whether he'd been "messed with", whatever it was.

"No, he's a virgin," Azalea said quietly.

There was that word again; he'd heard kids at school, and at the playground in Lily's neighborhood sometimes say it, always laughing as if it was a dirty word.

He wasn't sure whether Azalea was insulting him, but she had not said it like an insult, so he didn't say anything.

"So, Severus," Azalea snorted, one side of her mouth lifting, "the choice is whether we go back, and they take Angel and Yesmina and DeWard away and put them with people who'll do who knows what to them, and I get beat to within an inch of my life...of course, you get to go home.  Maybe.  Maybe they'll blame you...say you’s the bad influence!  Put you in joovie, you never get home...!"

Severus was afraid to ask what "joovie" meant.  He just knew it sounded bad.  He now desperately wanted to go home, but was just as desperately sure that it was now impossible.  He bit his lip to keep from crying.  Yesmina reached over, took his hand, and squeezed it.

"It'll be okay, Sev," Angel told him.  "We won't let them take you.  I told you...we stick together...we take care of each other...we won't let them break us up..."

"So what do we do, then?" Severus asked, slipping his hand out of Yesmina's.

Azalea stared at him for a second, and then laughed, opening her bag and searching for something in it.

"Well tonight we party!" she announced, producing a bottle that had a reddish liquid in it.


"What the...?" Angel demanded, leaning forward and grabbing the bottle.

"Stole it from my aunt!" Azalea proudly announced.  "It's called Cherry Key-ah-fah, it's spelled funny cuz it's foreign..."

Angel twisted open the bottle cap, and took a tentative taste; the look on his face betrayed that he was pleasantly surprised with the taste.  He took a longer swig of the contents and passed the bottle to Yesmina, who after a tentative taste also took a deep swallow and passed the bottle to Severus.

Severus looked at the bottle and it's contents with some skepticism.  The liquid was very pink, almost red.  He took a sniff, and indeed the liquid did smell faintly of cherries.  As he was debating whether to drink it or not, Azalea fished something else out of her bag, which Severus wondered was bewitched so that it could hold anything and everything put into it.

"Also stole this from her!" Azalea announce, tossing a clear plastic baggie onto the grass by Angel.  Severus couldn't quite make out what was in the baggie, but Angel and Yesmina's eyes bugged out when they saw it.

"Azalea!  What the fuck!" Angel exclaimed, scooping up the bag and putting it under his shirt while he looked furtively around them.

"No one's around, I checked," Azalea announced, tossing a lighter at Angel.  She looked at Severus.  "You gonna drink that?"

Severus looked down at the bottle, and without first testing how it tasted, just put the bottle to his lips and took a swallow.

It was very sweet, but also burned his tongue and throat.  After the burning sensation subsided, he noticed the taste of cherries in his mouth, but also the sensation of cherry in his nose.

And almost immediately, he felt pleasantly light-headed.

Azalea grabbed the bottle away from him and took a drink; she then passed the bottle to DeWard, who needed Yesmina's help to tilt the large bottle..

"He's gonna sleep tight tonight!" Azalea laughed.  "All li'l children should sleep tight!"

Azalea found that statement very funny, but Severus couldn't fathom the joke.  Yesmina passed the bottle to him after having taken a drink herself, and as Severus took his second swallow and passed the bottle back to Azalea, Angel was taking something out of the baggie and using Azalea's lighter to light one end of it.

Angel then stuck the unlit end into his mouth and sucked deeply; Severus had seen people smoking cigarettes like that, but he'd never seen a cigarette that was all greenish brown and somewhat lumpy like this one was.

Angel passed the funny cigarette to Azalea who, after taking a quick swallow of the burning cherry stuff, passed the bottle to Angel.  Azalea took a deep puff from the funny cigarette, then passed it to Severus.

He looked at it, not knowing what to do; he'd never smoked anything before.

"Take a deep drag," Azalea instructed, "and hold it for as long as you can before breathing again..."

Severus tentatively put the unlit end into his mouth and inhaled.

The stuff burned worse than the cherry liquid.  He tried to hold his breath, but after only a second, he started coughing uncontrollably.

Everyone else found this very funny.

"Try again, Sev," Yesmina told him.  "I had trouble at first, too..."

Severus took another drag; this time he was determined not to gag, because he didn't want Yesmina being better than him at anything.

He held his breath as Yesmina leaned over and took the funny cigarette from him and sucked on it.  She then passed it to Angel.

The stuff burned terribly, but he was determined not to give in.  His eyes started watering, but as Angel took his turn and passed it back to Azalea, Severus still held his breath.

Azalea took a deep drag and passed it back to Severus at the same time the burning cherry liquid bottle was passed to him from Yesmina.  Severus finally breathed, taking a swig from the bottle followed by another long breath of smoke from the funny cigarette.

He wondered if this was part of the magick that Muggles had stolen from wizards that he had heard his mother talk about.

What it was doing to him seemed like magick.

When he could no longer hold his breath, he exhaled, and then he realized just how very funny everything was.  How really ridiculous.  Him.  How he got here.  These kids.  The predicament in which they all now found themselves.

Hilarious.

Why were they all so very serious just a short while ago?  That was stupid.  Nothing was that bad.  It was not bad at all.  They just would not go back, that would solve the problem.

He could not stop laughing.

No one else could stop laughing, either.  He was glad.  He even liked Yesmina this way, she should be giggling uncontrollably all of the time instead of crying.

Soon everyone was hungry again, and Severus was glad to share all of the food he had hidden in his coat pockets and in the duffle bag.  Azalea found it very funny, and also impressive, that Severus admitted that he had stolen it.

Azalea fished a radio out of her seemingly bottomless bag, so that they could have music.

They made plans.  Azalea told them about something called a "Free Store" in something called "The Village" (Severus wondered if it would be hard traveling to The Village from the city) where they could get clothes.

She then said they could all ride some dog down south to her grandmother's house where they'd all be welcome.  Severus could not understand how one greyhound could carry them all...he'd have thought they would have needed at least two, maybe three, unless it was an unusually large greyhound dog.

Everyone thought this was immensely funny when he said it.

They talked about their dreams for the future.  Azalea wanted to become a dancer or a fashion model.  Angel wanted to be an astronaut or a baseball player.  When pressed, DeWard decided he'd be a fireman when he grew up.  Yesmina announced that her greatest desire was to get married and become a mother to many babies.

Everyone laughed hysterically when Severus said he wanted to be a wizard, even Severus himself.

They'd finished the bottle of burning cherry liquid, and had smoked two more funny cigarettes.  Angel wrapped up the baggie with the remaining funny cigarettes and hid it in Severus' duffle bag.

By this time, it had gotten dark; they had some light from lampposts about 20 feet from either entrance to the tunnel, but the center of the tunnel was almost pitch black.

DeWard was already asleep, his head in Yesmina's lap.  Yesmina herself looked to be nodding off, and even Azalea stifled a yawn.

Severus spread his coat on the grass for them to lie on; Yesmina stated she thought that was very gallant of Severus, at which Azalea laughed and stated that he was now Sir Severus the Gallant, and then she passed out.

Yesmina cradled DeWard between them; Severus sat on the corner of his coat that was still available, and was just about to lay down, when he noticed Angel sitting on the low wall in the tunnel, just outside of the pool of light.


Severus watched him for a few moments, and it was obvious that Angel was keeping guard.

Severus got up, walked over, and sat next to Angel, neither saying a word..

They sat there for about a minute in silence.  Angel then looked at the others, who were now asleep.

"Y'know why they took Yesmina away from her mother?" he suddenly asked.

"Something about her mother being addicted to something..." Severus answered, not sure where Angel was going with this.

"Yeah, but you know how her mother got the money for the junk?" Angel paused.  "Her mother had men pay to have sex with Yesmina.  She was younger than DeWard's now...then she was put into a foster home, and the father there messed with her too...!"

Severus didn't say anything.  So that was what "messed with" meant.

"And Azalea...her whole family messed with her!" Angel exclaimed in disgust.  "They move her from one relative to another, they all just mess with her!  Where she at now, her aunt sells her to men so's the aunt can have more than just the monthly gov'ment check...!"

Severus looked at the sleeping girls, not saying a word.

"And DeWard!" Angel continued.  "Who knows what's really happened with him!  Don't know if anyone messed with him, but he's messed up!"

"What do you mean?" Severus asked, turning back to Angel.

"Look at him!  He acts like he's two!" Angel whispered harshly.  "Somethin’ happened t'him, happened to whoever Shawna or DeShonna was!  He doesn't call out for her so much now, but he used to cry all the time in his sleep and call for her, or his mother..."

Severus wondered why Angel was telling him all this.

"We gotta watch out for them," Angel continued, as if reading Severus' thoughts.  "DeWard's so young, and Yesmina's so...well, she's delicate.  Fragile.  She's got that condition that makes her so pale and makes her bleed.  And Azalea acts so tough, but she ain't..."


Severus heard a sound farther down in the tunnel where it was dark.  Angel didn't seem to notice.  Perhaps it was just an animal.

"She talks about us going to her grandmother's," Angel continued to whisper, "but why isn't she already at granny's then?"

Severus heard it again, and this time so did Angel, who turned and looked in the same direction as Severus.

They were both in the dark, but the girls and DeWard were just outside the tunnel, with the lamppost bathing them in an eerie green light.

The crunch of gravel under someone's foot was now unmistakable, and was also much closer than before.

Severus saw Angel lean down and pick up a large rock next to him, never moving his eyes from where the sound was last heard.

Severus watched, and saw a movement in the shadows just beyond where the light didn't reach.  He couldn not tell whether it was a boy or a man, but whoever it was, they were much taller than Angel and Severus.

Severus glanced over at Angel; the look on Angel's face immediately informed Severus that this was not the first time that Angel had been in such a situation.  But somehow Severus also knew that Angel was scared, frightened almost to the point of panic.  Yet Angel did not move, he just continued to watch and wait, his rock ready to use as a weapon.

There was another crunching sound, and Severus could now see the intruder's face, at least the nose and eyes.  And the eyes were staring at the girls with the ravenous appetite of a starving animal.

Before the intruder could get any closer, Angel stood up and threw the rock he'd been holding, hitting the intruder on the side of the head.

Unfortunately, it didn't knock the stranger out, or seemingly do much damage at all.  He turned and looked into the dark where Angel and Severus were standing; they weren't sure whether they could be seen or not, but it was obvious that their presence was now known.

Angel frantically looked around for another rock to throw, when suddenly it seemed like every loose rock in the tunnel was flying at the intruder at once.  Angel stopped and looked from the intruder back to Severus, who was just standing and glaring at the intruder, who was now running in the opposite direction out of the tunnel, with the blizzard of rocks following him.

The rocks stopped flying as soon as the intruder disappeared out of sight.

Severus turned to Angel, about to say, "That was weird!", but stopped when he saw Angel's expression.

Angel was staring at him with an expression of respect, perhaps tinged with a little fear.

"Brujo!" Angel exclaimed in awe, sitting down again but not taking his eyes off Severus.

"What's 'brujo'?" Severus asked, sitting down next to Angel.  Angel just shook his head and chuckled.

"Maybe you are going to be a wizard when you grow up, Magic Man!" Angel exclaimed.  He looked back up the tunnel where the intruder had disappeared.  "I don't think he'll be coming back tonight, but you never know.  Or there may be others.  We'll still have to keep a watch."

Severus nodded.

"No reason both of us stayin' awake, though..." Angel continued, yawning.  "You want to sleep first?  Or you stay up now, wake me in a few hours so's you can sleep..."

"Okay," Severus answered.  There were so many things he was thinking about, not the least of which was wondering whether Angel really did recognize that he was a wizard, that Severus knew it would be hard getting to sleep at this time.

Angel went over to the girls and took the corner of the coat that was still empty, and lay down...but Severus suspected that Angel did not fall asleep for some time.

Azalea's radio was still playing softly; a woman with a lovely soft voice would occasionally announce what had played, and once Severus heard her refer to herself as the "Night Bird" at somewhere called WNET-FM.

Severus wondered if she might be a witch, and if someone calling themselves a "Night Bird" might know where he could find an owl or two so that he could get letters back to his Mum and to Lily letting them know that he was alright.

Finally, after a few hours, Angel came and told him to get some sleep.  As he lay on the corner of his coat next to Yesmina, he heard the Night Bird woman play the same song he'd heard earlier in the restaurant.

Nestled together like lost puppies huddled against the elements, Severus soon joined the others in the land of Oz...



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I had a dream last night
What a lovely dream it was
I dreamed we all were alright
Happy in a land of Oz

Why did everybody laugh when I told them my dream?
I guess they all were so far from that kind of that scene
Feeling real mean

I heard a song last night
What a lovely song it was
I thought I'd hum it all night

Unforgettable because..
All of the players were playing together
And all of the heavies were as light as a feather
See, your love remember is a feeling of sorrow
But as I recall, the rest will just follow

I had a dream last night
What a lovely dream it was
I dreamed we all were alright
Happy in a land of Oz

What a lovely dream it was
What a lovely dream it was
What a lovely dream it was

I HAD A DREAM
John Sebastian
1969