The Marauders - Order of the Phoenix Part Three

Checkpoints

"Papers?"

Remus put the paperwork onto the counter and watched the wizard inspect his identification and the freshly signed paperwork that Tina had gotten drawn up by her old offices at MACUSA, giving Remus Lupin clearance to disapparate internationally using side along with a minor. Bradley hovered at Remus's elbow, looking around at the crowd of witches and wizards coming in and going out from all over the world. Remus held Newt Scamander's suitcase in one fist and Bradley's hand in the other.

"You're British. Where are your entry papers?" asked the wizard, looking up from the pile Remus had already given him.

"We came through Greenland when we entered," Remus answered, "With Newt Scamander. He has special clearance. We were picking up a creature in Newfoundland on the way to New York City. If you see here on the back of this one here, you'll find his clearance identification and he signed off for me..." Remus turned one of the sheets over.

"Yes, I see," mused the wizard.

Remus's hand had shook just slightly pointing at the blank sheet that Newt had promised him would show whatever he said it would show when the time came. But the wizard never batted an eye, simply nodded and shuffled the papers back together before handing them to Remus. "Alright, on you go then. You'll wait in line over there 'til you're called..." He waved Remus and Bradley off, then motioned for the next wizard in line to approach his desk.

Remus and Bradley hurried to a cluster of people waiting by one of the wide gaps in Lady Liberty's crown - the arrival and departure point in Manhattan for the International Disapparation line.

"This is so cool," Bradley was gushing. "I've never done it by side along before. Usually I'm in the case. Do you think we might see some like sea serpents or sharks or something?"

"Why on earth would we see sea serpents and sharks?" Remus asked, looking at him curiously.

"Well, we're going over the ocean aren't we?" Bradley asked.

Remus chuckled, "Yes, but we're disapparating. We'll only see glimpses of the check points along the way."

"Oh," Bradley said in a disappointed tone.

"Maybe there will be some in the water around the check points," Remus said.

They were in line for a time, waiting for a large family disapparating in from Greece with at least fifteen people in their group, and then a family wearing traditional hijabs on their way to Iraq, right behind a wizard in a kilt, dragging behind him a great big hairy-looking cow.

"I feel so boring," Bradley said. "We should've brought one of the creatures on a leash. Maybe one of the occamies."

"I'm nervous enough trying to side-along you, not to mention an occamey, too," Remus said.

"Is it hard to disapparate?" Bradley asked.

"It takes a lot of concentration," Remus answered.

They were finally next up and Remus grabbed onto Bradley's hand and they walked up to the hoop that lay on the floor, marking the disapparation point. "Hold on tight," Remus said, taking a deep breath. He felt Bradley's fingers tighten on his and he closed his eyes and concentrated --

CRACK!

They'd reached the second point, took a couple steps to the next hoop, and --

CRACK!

Third point - somewhere mid-Atlantic --

CRACK!

Remus looked over at Bradley, whose eyes were wide and face flushed. "Do you need a break?"