Harry Potter and the Sorceress of the Stars

Hundreds of metres above the Earth's surface, a small green car soared through the air, barely visible from the ground against the backdrop of the Scottish Highlands' night sky. The flying car made for quite the peculiar sight— and not just because it was actively disobeying the laws of gravity.

"Baby car doot doot doo-doot," Tracey sang. "Baby… ugh. Oh, what's the use— at this rate, by the time I find Hogwarts, the year will already be over…"

In response to Tracey's words, the small green car honked its horn in a manner it judged to be comforting.

"Thanks, Moss," Tracey sighed, then added urgently, "But there's no need for loop-de-loops to cheer me up— I'd rather arrive in one piece."

Indeed, even the most knowledgeable of car enthusiasts would have struggled to identify the airborne vehicle's make and model, even if it had been earthbound and completely stationary— for this particular car had not been born from a human's hands or from the cold mechanical arms of an assembly line, but from the union of two enchanted cars.

Moss the Car was the offspring of Professor Babbage's Citroën 2 CV (affectionately nicknamed the Canary Car by Astoria and the Bananamobile by Oleandra) and Arthur Weasley's Ford Anglia 105E (nicknamed Mr Weasley's car by Harry). Astoria had helped bring Moss into the world, though at the time the matter was raised, Oleandra hadn't thought to ask her which of the two cars was the mother.

In any case, Tracey didn't quite remember how the newborn car had ended up in her possession, as she'd just woken from being Stunned and Rennervated at the time— but she was quite happy it had made its way into her hands, because Moss had saved her from being taken in the middle of the night by Death Eaters, when she'd been staying in an abandoned ice cream parlour on Diagon Alley.

(After receiving the Sword of the Lake from Oleandra, Astoria had given it a few overly enthusiastic practice swings, and the miniature car had accidentally been sent flying in Tracey's direction. Astoria had then promptly forgotten about the newborn car, since the battle in the Department of Mysteries had happened half an hour later).

As Tracey rummaged around the glove compartment, hoping to find a map that wasn't there, the steering wheel suddenly turned sharply to the left, sending the car hurtling towards the ground in a steep dive.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Tracey yelled, abandoning all thoughts of finding a map. She grabbed the steering wheel and turned it all the way to the right— causing the car to perform a few barrel rolls. "STOP, PLEASE STOP!"

Eventually, Tracey managed to regain control of her vehicle and regain some altitude, but just as she was about to berate Moss for its youthful recklessness, she spotted a beacon of light shining below.

"Is that…?" said Tracey testily, peering through the windscreen. "The Hogwarts Express…?"

Below her, a locomotive was cutting a wide swathe through the darkness; the powerful headlamp affixed to the front of the train illuminating both the scarlet steam engine and the tracks for hundreds of metres ahead.

No doubt about it— that was the Hogwarts Express!

"Should I follow it?" Tracey wondered out loud, having subconsciously started talking to herself to stave off the loneliness, after spending weeks on end with only a car for company. "Or should I go in the opposite direction…?"

The sun had set an hour ago, and after having been forced to witness the earth and sky switching places a dozen times in quick succession, Tracey was quite disorientated— not to mention more than a little queasy. As such, she wasn't certain if the Hogwarts Express was currently heading northwards or southwards.

"Oh, how could I have forgotten— Oleandra never shuts up about the stars!" exclaimed Tracey, upon hearing Moss honk its horn. "The polar star shows the way north!"

Having found her bearings, Tracey flew her car downwards and followed the train tracks— and within a few minutes, she was flying over Hogsmeade— then the Black Lake— and finally, Hogwarts's outer walls…

…and that's when Tracey discovered that Dumbledore had reactivated the Anti-Flight Jinx covering the castle grounds. The Anti-Flight Jinx, just as the name implied, prevented most flying enchantments imbued into artefacts from functioning within a specified area—the spell didn't work on those who could fly under their own power.

These wards had first been activated at the start of Tracey's third year at Hogwarts, following Sirius Black's escape from Azkaban, but they had now been reactivated, to prevent Voldemort and his Death Eaters from invading the school from the skies!

The instant her flying car crossed into the castle grounds, Tracey found herself plummeting towards the ground at a rather alarming rate— only this time, try as she might, no matter how much she menaced to throttle the car's steering wheel, or how hard she stamped her foot on the accelerator pedal, the car refused to pull up from its suicidal nosedive.

"Aieeee!" Tracey screeched, as she helplessly watched the ground rushing up towards her, holding on to her seatbelt for dear life. "I don't want to die yeeeet!"

Tracey closed her eyes and braced herself for the impact— which ended up never coming. Tracey opened one eye, then the other— and to her relief (and horror), she found that she was staring down at Professor Snape's strained face (furrowed brow, hooked nose and all) through Moss's windscreen.

A vein bulged on Snape's forehead, as he gave his wand a few rapid jerks— which had the effect of lowering the car to the ground in as many controlled bursts. Visibly, producing a Slowing Charm potent enough to stop a falling two-ton hunk of metal had taken a lot out of the man…

"Out!" growled Snape, in a tone that brooked no disobedience.

Tracey scrambled to remove her seatbelt, kicked open the door and belly-flopped out of the car, which was now floating a few feet above the ground— and with Tracey safe and sound, Snape whipped his wand arm, sending Tracey's car hurtling hood over wheels away.

"Moss!" Tracey cried out in dismay.

"Wha—?" Harry exclaimed in surprise— Harry, for some reason, was accompanying Professor Snape on his tour of Hogwarts's grounds in the middle of the night. "Tracey!?"

Professor Snape shot them both a withering glare, which had the immediate effect of shutting them up.

"Follow," said Snape coldly— and having said his piece, he turned on his heel and started walking quickly towards Hogwarts; its windows shining brightly in the darkness of the night…