Someone Wake me up from this Nightmare!

It had been a week since Oleandra and the others had made it to Nidavellir, and tensions were beginning to run high. Seven entire days had passed, judging by Oleandra's pocket watch, and there hadn't been even one night. Was this some sort of midnight sun situation, like in the arctic during summertime? Nobody knew.

At any rate, without the night sky, there was no way of returning home, since the Realm Travel Galdr needed to be adapted for Nidavellir's runes, which could only be found in the stars. If there was one positive to this experience, it was that Stacey's nose had returned to normal, just as Ginny had predicted.

At any rate, to stagnate was to die. They couldn't just stay there, or they would go crazy. Draco and Oleandra kept arguing, and Tracey's eyes had turned red from crying constantly. As for Stacey, it was as if she had turned into Oleandra's shadow; she clung to the only familiar thing in this alien land, far removed from anything she had ever known. Daphne and Ginny were the only ones still calm, but they were definitely starting to worry.

Supplies were starting to run low, and Ginny, who was the only one who knew the Duplication Charm, was put in charge of making food last. Although, most of the group's provisions existed in the form of sweets, since they had visited Honeydukes before making the trip. Luckily, tooth decay wasn't even a real problem, since Ginny could also conjure toothpaste! Water similarly wasn't a problem either, as it could be conjured freely. 

In theory, if humans didn't need vitamins, proteins and minerals, they could stay hidden in their tents for the rest of their lives, eating nothing but candy. Duplicated food had less nutritional value, but Ginny could keep duplicating the original until the end of time, as sugar didn't rot, or go bad.

"Ladies, Draco," Daphne said one day, "it's become apparent to me that things cannot continue in this fashion. I propose that we ditch the Realm Exploration Manual, and head out to explore. Shall we put it to the vote?"

"Whatever," spat Draco. "I don't care. I should have known better than to trust you sisters. It's clear you have no idea what you're doing, either of you."

"I don't see you helping, either," growled Oleandra. "How were we supposed to know that night wouldn't fall?"

"Did you just growl at me?" Draco laughed derisively. "What are you, a mutt?"

"I vote that we get out of here," sniffled Tracey.

"Same here," said Ginny quietly.

"I…" Stacey began.

"You don't get a vote, you filthy Muggle," said Draco, sneering. "Why did we even bring you along, you piece of useless trash? We should just leave you here to rot."

"How about we leave you here instead?" Oleandra said angrily, raising her voice. "At least she's not constantly complaining!"

"I must be dreaming!" exclaimed Draco. "The ancient and noble House of Greengrass, reduced to Muggle-Lovers. Just wait until Father hears about this!"

"Enough!" snapped Daphne. "The vote has passed. Everyone, pack up your things, we're leaving!"

"Ah," said Ginny all of a sudden. "Speaking of Muggle-Lovers…"

Ginny fished out a small yellow object from her pocket and set it on the ground.

"Engorgio!" she said, pointing her wand at it.

Before everyone's eyes, the diminutive bauble grew into a full-sized car. Well, as full-sized as a Citroën 2CV could get, anyhow.

"That's Professor Burbage's car!" exclaimed Daphne, astonished. "You stole it?"

"I just wanted to get a closer look at it," Ginny admitted sheepishly. "I couldn't resist; it was right there for the taking! Anyway, I'd memorized dad's research notes from when he had enchanted the Ford Anglia, so—"

Draco couldn't stop himself from chuckling when he remembered how Arthur Weasley's son had got him in trouble with his very own ministerial department!

"So," Ginny continued, "I tried enchanting a Muggle car for myself. And I've done a pretty good job, if I do say so myself. Flying enchantments, Invisibility Booster 2.0, Undetectable Extension Charm…"

"You know the Undetectable Extension Charm?" asked Daphne, impressed. "That's space-time magic, above N.E.W.T. level! The usage of this Charm is heavily regulated by the Ministry!"

The Extension Charm expanded the space inside an object without changing its volume as seen from the outside. It was difficult magic, but it was a cinch for the magical genius formerly known as Tom Riddle!

"I even upgraded some of the functionalities with runes, but they won't work here, sadly," Ginny added. "Until I get the chance to adjust them, we'll still need to let the car rest after twenty-four hours of continuous flight. Oleandra, you're the best flier among us, so you'll be in charge of driving."

"I call dibs on the front seat!" said Stacey immediately. This was for the best, as Draco didn't want to sit anywhere near the Muggle.

And with that, the situation was temporarily settled. Loading the car didn't take long; everyone's luggage fit inside their pockets. As rich kids, all of the bags they had purchased were enchanted with limited versions of the Undetectable Extension Charm.

Everyone settled into their seats. Oleandra had never driven a car before, but she had seen movies. In theory, all she had to do was turn the key in the ignition, put the gear lever into drive, and press the pedal to the metal, right?

However, reality was not as forgiving as the movies. Oleandra examined the controls and groaned; it was a manual transmission! Next to the steering wheel, there was a sort of knob that stuck out from the dashboard. Was that supposed to be the gear lever? How exactly was she supposed to select the gear with this thing, there were no numbers! And next to the break and the gas pedals, there was also the clutch pedal, which was used in conjunction with the gear lever to switch gears!

"Ah, right, I forgot to mention," said Ginny, leaning forwards from the back seat. "There's the Invisibility Booster's switch, it's replacing the defrosting control… And you'll need to do this—"

At this point, Ginny made a complicated gesture with her arm, miming what Oleandra needed to do to the gear shift lever…

"In order to put the car into flying mode," she completed. "Got it?"

"Er, I think so…" said Oleandra, turning the ignition key. The car's engine spluttered, then hummed to life.

Oleandra took a deep breath and stepped on the clutch pedal, driving it down into the floor, then tried to imitate Ginny's movements, shifting into what she thought was flight mode. And finally, she slammed her foot on the gas pedal. The car jerked forwards, and then abruptly stopped as Oleandra pressed on the breaks and the car stalled out.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing?" Draco howled, holding his bloody nose. The car's sudden movement had caused him to slam his face into the front seat's backrest.

"Looks like someone forgot to put on their seatbelt!" Stacey chided him smugly. "Idiot…"

"My bad," said Oleandra sheepishly. "Let me try that again…"