Redemption

Canada

"We should soon take a flight to Canada. I need a Passport, though. Do you have one?" Pansy asked.

"Yes, Dad had them ready in case we needed to leave Britain during the war, although he has never acknowledged the magical world."

"I need one as well, if we're going to use Muggle transportation. I don't have any Muggle documents, though, except for my driving license. Will that suffice when applying for a passport?"

Dudley turned apologetic. "I don't know. Dad handled all that for me, as I was under age. Yet I'm sure you can find some magical way to get one. You have a ministry, don't you?"

Pansy grimaced. "I'm not sure what's left of it after the war, and I don't think it ever handled passports anyway." She thought a bit and added, "Maybe the Goblins would know. I'll ask at Gringotts."

She visited the bank the next day. Dudley tagged along, quite curious about Goblins. Once they reached Gringotts, he felt quite frightened at the sight of the armed guards. As strong as he was, he doubted he would have had a chance against any of them, even without their magic, despite them being much smaller than him. When looking at them he felt like they were predators and he was their prey. He didn't like that feeling.

Dudley was quite glad to leave the bank about an hour later. Pansy was now the proud holder of a new British Passport, legally procured by the bank under the authority given to it by the British Crown.

They almost bumped into Harry. "Dudley! What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Harry. We've just been at Gringotts. Those Goblins look real frightening!"

"We?" Harry looked quickly between Dudley and Pansy. "I didn't think you'd stay together."

"We're engaged now. I proposed to Pansy and she agreed. We're going to Canada to find her parents." Dudley looked very proud.

"Well, cousin, Pansy, you're really surprising me. Congratulations! Did you tell your parents?"

Pansy spoke now. "We told them we were engaged. Your aunt was the first to spot my ring." She put her hand forward to show it to Harry. "We didn't tell them I'm a witch, though."

Harry grimaced. "I don't want to be nearby when they find out." He shook hands with them both. "Sorry to leave you now, but I have a meeting in a few minutes. Will I see you at school, Pansy?"

"Of course. I still need to graduate, just like you."

"Fine. See you then."

The next evening, Pansy was studying the map of Canada which they had bought the previous day at a mall. "I'm not yet sure where we need to go. Like most magical dwellings, my grandparents' address is kept secret. I need to invoke some family magic to recall the address. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to tell you. While we are engaged, I do not think it is recognized by magic, not being a proper betrothal."

"You may not be able to tell me the address, but I hope you can still tell me where we need our flight to land, so I can book the flight." They were in Dudley's room at home and he had the phone book open at the section of travel agents. "We also need to discuss the car," he added reluctantly. "Most rental agencies require the driver to be at least twenty-one with three years driving experience. I'm not sure we can even rent a car."

Pansy dismissed his worries. "We shall buy a car. It may even turn more cost-effective, as we're probably going to drive thousands of miles and keep the car for more than a month. Once we sell it, at the end of our journey, we'll get most of our money back."

It still took Pansy two more days to find the address. As expected, she couldn't tell it to Dudley, but she could show him the general area on a map of Canada. It was north of Calgary. "I'll be able to direct you for most of our way, but I'll need to be the one driving the car for the last section of the road, as I won't be able to tell you. Sorry, that's how this magic works."

"That's fine with me, as long as we're together."

It was the first airplane flight for both of them. Dudley had never left the British Isle before. Pansy had been to the Continent a few times, but had always used magical transportation.

"It's huge!" she whispered in awe as they reached Heathrow. The runways seemed to go forever and the terminal building was just immense. It surely was larger than Hogwarts, although not really elegant. She would have been in awe of the large electronic boards that displayed flight data, and those displaying commercial ads, had she not seen similar boards in the malls she had visited with Dudley. It was still all mind numbing, making her realize how little most magical folks knew about Muggles. She estimated the mere number of people inside the terminal to be much larger than all the current magical population of Britain, probably even if counting all sentient magical creatures as well.

Dudley was not as impressed. He had already seen this and other airports on TV and knew what to expect and how to act. He checked the huge boards and directed Pansy to the right queue, passing check-in and security and then passport control. Her Gringotts produced passport posed no problem at all.

"These corridors are really wide," Pansy commented as they were walking towards the boarding gate.

"They need to accommodate several flights landing or taking off almost at once, each carrying a few hundred passengers," he explained. Pansy tried the calculations. Three landings contained about twice the number of passengers compared to Hogwarts' population, all needing to reach the exit gates. Now the corridors seemed barely adequate.

She still liked the moving walkways. They reminded her of the moving stairs to the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. She'd only visited there once, but she remembered the experience.

Pansy had insisted on the best seats, especially after learning that the flight to Calgary would take about nine hours. Dudley thought the price difference was too high, but Pansy thought nothing of it, and she was paying. They bought first class tickets.

Pansy had never seen an airplane up close. As they approached the boarding gate, she became aware of the airplanes seen through the windows and their sizes, compared to the people near them. She was somewhat reminded of the dragons she had seen during fourth year, but none was as big as the airplane she was approaching.

"How do they fly?" she asked worriedly.

"There is a very good scientific explanation of how it works, but I've never paid it much attention," Dudley confessed. "Still, thousands of airplanes crossing the sky each day are evidence enough that it works quite right, I think."

Pansy smiled nervously. It was at such times, when she was stressed, that she feared her old self would be manifested. She would hate it to happen, but she wasn't sure she could control it. Luckily, Dudley's presence, holding hands with her, was soothing enough.

She was actually disappointed by the first-class seats. While comfortable, as expected, they kept them too far apart from each other. She would have rather sat closer to Dudley, let him hug her, put her head on his wide chest... At least they could still hold hands. She felt frightened during takeoff. The noise was almost intolerable and the stress of being in such a closed box, no matter how large it was, made her thankful that she was still able to control her magic. Yet the noise subsided a few minutes later and they could use their personal viewing systems and earphones. Dudley suggested one of the light comedies and she immersed herself in the movie, trying to ignore the emptiness outside her window.

They both fell asleep after a while, enjoying the convenience of first-class seats. She was still having some nightmares when not hugged by Dudley, but not during the flight, thankfully.

A taxi took them from the airport to a luxury hotel in the city, where they shared a room. "Tomorrow we're going to buy a car," Pansy said, "but right now, all I want is to cuddle with you and relax." She still made sure to cast the contraceptive spell before going to bed, yet they only cuddled in bed before falling asleep.

"We need some warmer clothes," Pansy said as they left the hotel after breakfast. The morning air was quite chilly, despite it being midsummer, and as they were heading north, much colder weather was to be expected. A shopping strip nearby promised to fulfill their needs.

"There's a used car agency across the street," Pansy noted as they were finishing their initial shopping.

"Are you sure you want to buy a used car? It may be more trouble than it's worth." Dudley was very reluctant.

"Look at the sign, just left of the large U. Do you see anything?"

"Just some plain yellow paint. Why?"

"I see a wand moving, pointing at the text and emitting sparks. There is some magic in work here. I want to check this, at least. Let me do all the talking, please."

Dudley smiled. He would have done the same anyway. He didn't consider himself smart enough to negotiate buying a used car.

"We have a dispute," Pansy said to the agent – the only person there. "My fiancé sees just a plain yellow paint near that large U, but I see something else. Who is right?"

The man smiled. "Welcome to the only magical car retailer in this part of Canada. How can I really help you?"

Dudley didn't understand much of the conversation Pansy had with the car dealer. They mentioned charms and spells and runes. He was just content that Pansy could make head and tails of it. When they left the place, driving a seemingly plain old Dodge, whose red color looked quite faded, Dudley was pleased that it all went well.

Back in their room, Pansy told him, "That car we bought can go for thousands of miles without refueling, as it works mainly on magic. It only needs the regular motor to cover up the magical qualities and to power the electrical lights and the radio. You would like to listen to some music on the road, won't you?"

They spent the afternoon revising their planned route according to information they got from the car dealer. They had a nice dinner at a local pub and retired early to bed.

Dudley thought she wanted to go early on the road. Pansy had different ideas. "Dudley, I thought I could wait until we met my parents before becoming fully yours, but I can wait no longer. Will you take me now?"

Dudley didn't even need to answer. He just hugged her tighter and let their bodies react. After spending so many frustrating nights, refraining from doing what came naturally, it was a real blessing, knowing that whatever he would do with her was fine. He kissed her and caressed her and let his hands roam her body in places he had been reluctant to touch before. Pansy responded in a similar way, making him gasp at her boldness a few times. When they finally united, it was fierce and tender and just wonderful. Dudley had seen enough magazines to know what was expected of him and made sure that his fiancée reached her peak just before him. When they finally collapsed of exhaustion, after another fabulous uniting, they fell asleep, still connected.

"I think we need to take a good shower," Pansy told him, after a long good-morning kiss.

Dudley was a bit alarmed seeing some reddish spots on the sheets. "Have I hurt you?" he asked worriedly.

"No, silly. You've only taken my virginity. It barely hurt, but there was some blood. I'll clean it before we leave. Let's shower now."

He was still worried. He could see that she walked a bit differently, as if her thighs hurt, but he didn't want to ask stupid questions. After showering together, that almost turned into another love-making session, she seemed to walk normally again.

They dressed silently. Pansy waved her wand at the bed, making the sheets clean, and then at their luggage, making all their stuff pack itself nicely. She then cast another spell that lightened their luggage without making it too light. Dudley carried it easily to their car, but had a hotel employee touched any of their suitcases, he would had not become suspicious.