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The world seemed to be on fire in the twilight, the setting sun sending reddish orange rays over the hidden house deep in the English countryside. Hermione approached it cautiously, her wand out and ready for anything that may happen. She felt the slight shiver of the boundary ward as she crossed it- Harry hadn't bothered to set it to keep people out - merely to alert him when someone crossed the barrier.
Was he really that confident no one would find him or seek him out? It had taken her two weeks since their last disastrous encounter to track him down. Harry was no longer returning to Grimmauld and Kreacher as always, was singularly spitefully unhelpful. The only reason she had found this house had been with a less than legal locating charm that she only knew from her work in the Department of Mysteries.
Urgency to get in and put her plan into motion made her approach the door with barely a pause.
"Alohomora!" The door swung open as she hurried through with her bag. She looked around cautiously, heading deeper into the house until she finally settled herself into the corner of what appeared to be a sparsely furnished drawing room.
Hermione couldn't hear him, but she knew she was running out of time to get the ward up. She hurriedly knelt to start scratching the necessary runes onto the floor. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as some sixth sense told her he was looking for her. He was close.
Just as she finished the ward, there was a rush of wind that made her curls move, and suddenly he was there standing in the shadowed doorway. Time's up. She sat down on the floor and crossed her legs as she looked at him.
"Hello Harry."
He laughed and there was a hint of wildness in it as he stalked toward her, finally moving into the light of the room.
"I should have known it would be you. It's always you."
His face was covered in scars, the lightning scar from Voldemort not even noticeable anymore. The longest was the claw mark that went from the top left of his head down across his face before disappearing under his shirt.
"You're my best friend."
"Don't. We're not kids anymore, Hermione. You don't get to step into my life if I don't want you here."
"I'm not leaving."
"Yes. You are. Right now."
Harry came and reached down to make her stand up and his hand hit the ward."What the fuck?"
"It's a modified shield charm." She gestured to the marks on the floor. "It is bound by the Runes and prevents anyone from passing until I remove them or its protection is exhausted."
Harry glanced over at the clock on the wall. "We don't have time for this. You need to leave. NOW."
Hermione tilted her chin stubbornly as she looked up at him. A group of werewolves who blamed him for Fenrir Greyback's death had attacked Harry. Then, in Harry's usual 'I can't burden or risk anyone else mentality', he cut them all off.
"I'm staying. You are being dramatic. Remus was a werewolf too, and he was fine."
Harry leaned towards the ward, pressing his hands against it. "It wasn't about that."
"Then what was it about?" Harry's head lifted up, his eyes closing as he sniffed the air.
"We're out of time. Your ward better be as good as you think, Hermione, or I'm going to be very angry with you."
"Well, since you'd probably eat me if it failed, I don't think I have to worry about you being angry later."
He looked at her, his green eyes gleaming and wolfish. The magic of the moon had already caught him. She could see the subtle shifting of his body as the magic started drifting higher to cover him. His voice emerged in a low growl.
"I wouldn't bite you too much, mate."
Hermione's eyes widened as Harry fell and suddenly there was a large black wolf in front of her, its eyes fixed on her.
