Severus and the others' plan to head directly north to Wales, then detour through Birmingham before finally reaching the Cotswolds fell apart.
Shortly after arriving in Gloucestershire, Severus, being cautious, bought a British road map from a newsstand and quickly realized that if they wanted to find the editor who would agree to publish Worple's work, they should head southwest toward Devon, not northeast toward Gloucestershire.
Fortunately, they hadn't wasted much of their journey. Upon realizing they were going the wrong way, Severus immediately turned the car around and retraced their route.
Soon after, they passed a convoy of police cars with blaring sirens.
Severus didn't see Kingsley, who was sitting in the back seat with the police chief, and Kingsley didn't notice who was driving the passing station wagon.
At their closest, the two vehicles were less than nine feet apart!
However, after they passed, only Harry curiously turned to look at the police cars.
"Do you think those policemen are coming after us?" He speculated.
In the back seat, Sanguini, who was holding Patty, shook his head frantically.
"Don't say such unlucky things!"
Severus had tuned the car radio to the Wizarding Wireless Network. The host is a wizard who introduced himself as a current employee of the Ministry's Department of Magical Law Enforcement and a legal columnist for the Daily Prophet, Wigworthy, was rattling off all the charges Severus would face if caught.
Severus, the person in question, listened with great interest, while Harry, bored, knelt on the passenger seat and turned to watch Sanguini carefully arranging Patty's hair as she lay in his arms.
"You're in love with her, aren't you, Sanguini?" Harry asked curiously.
Harry's blunt question made Sanguini's pale face instantly flush red.
He stammered, "We're… we're friends. Very, very good friends…"
Worple, who was using a quill to scratch his scalp, glanced at him sideways and said sarcastically, "Oh, just friends? I thought the only way you treated friends was by constantly borrowing money, over and over again!"
"If you were penniless and homeless, I'd borrow money from Patty to take care of you, Eldred." Sanguini said earnestly.
Worple shouted, "How dare you say such things after what happened to Dudley! Don't jinx me… I'll never be penniless and homeless!"
"Well, that's too bad, Eldred. If that's the case, you'll be Sanguini's creditor for the rest of your life!" Severus laughed as he steered the car with one hand.
Sanguini, who is teased relentlessly, squirmed uncomfortably. He looked down at Patty's sleeping, princess-like face and tightened his embrace around her.
"I'll get better… and so will she. We'll all have a very, very good future."
"A good future requires us to take steps toward it." Severus opened the car's sunroof, "Don't be so tense, Sanguini. Listen to me… this might be a bit unsafe, but a vampire's physique is different from a human's. You'll be fine. Put Patty down for now, stand up, spread your arms, and shout whatever you want to shout, alright?"
Sanguini shook his head nervously. He obviously had never vented like this before.
First, he'd met Patty, then conspired with Worple to sneak her out, only for things to spiral out of control. Finally, Severus had caught them and helped them escape with Patty, beginning their life on the run. All of this had left the already timid vampire in a constant state of tension.
He hadn't slept well for several nights in a row, not just last night.
"Come on! Stand up, Sanguini! You need to let it out!" Harry also encouraged him.
By this time, Worple had helped him to steady Patty in his arms.
"Hurry up! You still owe me a mountain of debt! Don't let the pressure drive you insane before you can pay me back! Stand up, shout it out… say whatever you want! Curse whoever you want! Love whoever you want!"
Pushed by their encouragement, Sanguini finally, hesitantly, stood up.
This station wagon originally had no sunroof, and the glass panel above had been added by Severus the night before after they reached the motel. If Arthur saw it, he might even excitedly discuss the modifications with him.
As Sanguini leaned halfway out of the car, the rushing wind whipped his curly black hair wildly, making it hard for him to keep his eyes open.
But it was then that he realized… the sky was astonishingly blue!
The towering fir trees on either side of the road swayed in the wind, as if the whole world was embracing him!
He breathed in the crisp air, instinctively spreading his arms wide, letting the playful gusts rush through him.
Sanguini didn't curse anyone, nor did he confess his love.
Instead, he relaxed and savored this moment of freedom, then let out a loud, wordless shout…
"Aaaaaahhhhh-"
After he had shouted out all the air in his lungs, he took another deep breath and shouted again!
When the drivers of passing cars lean out and call Sanguini a lunatic, Worple would shout back directly, defending Sanguini's honor.
And so, Sanguini kept yelling, for what felt like an eternity, until, without even realizing when, he finally slumped back into his seat, tears streaming down his face.
What greeted him was the cheers from Harry, Worple and Severus!
…
At almost 1 p.m., after driving over 70 miles, they arrived in Devon, at a village called Ottery St. Catchpole, nestled along the River Otter.
This wasn't just any Muggle villag, as several wizarding families lived in seclusion here: the Diggorys, the Fawcetts, the Weasleys, the Lovegoods, and more.
When they arrived here, Severus deliberately avoided the road on the south side of the village.
Because down that path stood a lopsided little house called the Burrow, where the Weasleys lived, the same place Fred and George had once invited Harry to visit.
Their destination this time was easy to find, as it was on a hill in Ottery St. Catchpole.
On the hilltop there is a weirdly shaped cylindrical house pointing straight to the sky, and behind the house hangs a massive, black spectral moon, making the whole house look like an enormous chess piece!
After parking the car on the side of the road, Severus led Harry and the others out. They didn't leave Patty behind and Sanguini still carried her on his back.
"Mr. Snape, this friend you mentioned… he, what's your relationship with him like...?" As they approached the door, Worple stammered nervously, suddenly sounding as shaky as Sanguini.
Severus patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Trust me, let's put aside about our relationship for now. Once we tell him the truth and hand him what you've written, even if it's something earth-shattering, he will dare to report it! And he won't embellish a single word!"
Hearing Severus's confident words, Worple couldn't help but nodded, his worries easing slightly.
As they approached the house, they could see three hand-painted signs nailed to the gate.
[X. Lovegood, Editor of The Quibbler]
[Please Pick Your Own Mistletoe]
[Do Not Disturb the Dirigible Plums]
"The Quibbler?!" Worple's eyes widened in shock.
Meanwhile, Harry looked at the incomprehensible slogans, then looked up at the even stranger house. He felt that the person living here must be a strange wizard like the ones in the stories meant to frighten children.
At this time, Severus had already pushed open the gate. He led them through a garden overgrown with peculiar plants, flanked by two ancient crabapple trees bent by the wind.
He raised his hand and knocked firmly on the heavy black door, which was studded with iron nails and bore an eagle-shaped knocker.
About four or five seconds later, the door opened.
Xenophilius Lovegood, the editor of The Quibbler, with long, dirty, white hair like cotton candy and wearing slovenly pajamas, stood behind the door.
When he saw who was standing before him, he was stunned.
Behind him, there was a little girl with long light blonde hair, who was about the same age as Harry, looking over at him.