In The Woods ➳ H.S.

☙ f o r t y - t h r e e

I let him smash another stack of plates before limping over to him, my aggressive behavior towards Zayn probably opening up the wounds on my thigh. I placed my arms around his waist and encased him in a hug. He struggles at first, cursing at me while questioning what I was doing.

All those times in my past when I felt a heavy burden on my shoulders, I had always needed someone to just come and hold me and tell me everything's going to be okay, but that never happened.

I now realize that since all the people Harry knew growing up were cold to him, he must have felt the same way - and now I want to be that person to him, the person who he can depend on in times like this, because whether I liked it or not Harry had turned into my support.

God knows when that even happened.

He soon calms down, movements ceasing as he stays in my arms - not pushing back but not holding me as well.

"Are you calm now?" I ask and I feel him nod against my shoulder. I let go of him and he immediately goes for another stack of plates.

I hold his hands to stop him and he groans. "Harry, stop it." I say sternly.

"What do you want me to do?!" He shouts.

"Calm down, for one." I say, refusing to take the bait. He was looking for an argument to let his anger out. "We can do this."

He snorts. "No offense, Anna, but all you know is hunting and I can, what? Read? Fence? Dance? Greet people with poise?" He snaps at me. "That first village will be burnt down because of us."

"It doesn't matter." I state blankly, still holding his struggling hands.

"Doesn't matter?" He questions. "Anna, it should matter the most to you! That's your home!" He shouts.

I shake my head. "Home is where the heart is." I say. "My family was my home and they're already dead. I have no home now." I bitterly add.

He stares at me for a long while before ripping his hands away from me. I thought he was going to smash more plates but he moves to lean on the counter opposite to me. He runs one of his hands through his tousled hair before speaking. "So we let those people there die?" He asks.

I shake my head again. "There are no people left in the village. They're already all dead." I say, remembering what Liam told me about the guards hanging everyone.

"Then what do we do?" Harry asks. "They go through the first village, and when they realize it's empty they go the second one."

I gulp, trying to see the situation play out in my mind. I knew the second village was done for already.

I try and remember my trip to the castle, the memory of it hazy after everything that has happened since then, but I make estimations on how long it takes to get from town to town. I'm guessing it would take two days to get from here to the second village.

"Once they realize the first village is empty it would take them about a handful of hours or so - a day if we're lucky - to regroup and think of possible new moves." I say, leaning back against the counter behind me too. "But even then we won't have time to send a battalion or even a messenger to the second town."

Harry sighs, as if he had already thought of what I just said. "But we do have time to send one to the fourth village." I say, causing Harry's head to snap up.

"What do you mean?" He asks.

"We would obviously not give in to their demands, so by this morning they'll be in the first town." I start. "But it will be empty, by nightfall they would probably be slaughtering the second town. Then they'd give us another warning, a few hours to see if we'd give them your mother's head and the wedding, and since we presumably won't be giving in, it'd take them another handful of hours to get to the third village and more time to kill the whole town off.

"That whole thing would take assumingly a day and a half - enough time to get some sort of army to the fourth town if we move now." I say.

Harry gawks at me before he starts speed-walking towards the door, ridiculous really as he was still in his underwear - a sight I would have laughed at if the situation wasn't so grave.

"I need the general and heads of my army in the library now!" He shouts out the door. He was about to leave before his steps falter and he turns around. A huge smile paints itself on his lips as he looked at me in awe. "It's too early for this, but when all this is over, I promise I'll take you out and give you the best night of your life." He says before turning around and leaving.

His words almost bring a smile to my face before I notice Zayn on the floor, slight groaning coming out of his lips.

The fact that he was still breathing enraged me and I made my way over to him. I crouch down and lean forward, grabbing his shirt in fists and slightly lift his upper body from the floor. "I know you're awake, now bloody tell me what did you do?" I force the words through clenched teeth.

His eyes slowly open, one of them already swelling badly but he manages to blink up at me. "W-what?" He stutters, voice rough and breaking.

I shake him, causing a loud groan to fall from his mouth. "Fucking talk." I demand.

"What are you talking about? Who are you? Where am I?" He asks, swelling eyes looking around in complete confusion before the furrow and his eyes lock on mine again. "Who am I?"

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The king is Robin btw, but idk I imagine him as Vernon from Harry Potter (but the actor's dead now, may he rest in peace)

Oh! AND GO READ LAST DAY OF SUMMER BY MISSLGREGORY IT'S NICE YO.

My q's 4 u!

1. Do you think zayn's truly lost his memory or nah??

2. If you were trapped alone in an island with nothing to eat but a crate magically appears but it's only filled with garlic would you eat it? (I would tbh, I have an unhealthy obsession with that stuff)