Return

RONALD WEALSY!

"Where are you going?" asked Ron.

"If we're staying, we should put some protective enchantments around the place," she replied, and raising her wand, she began to walk in a wide circle around Harry and Ron, murmuring incantations as she went.

"Good. You need them" Sirius nodded.

Harry saw little disturbances in the surrounding air: It was as if Hermione had cast a heat haze upon their clearing.

"Salvio Hexia . . . Protego Totalum . . . Repello Muggletum . . . Muffliato . . .

"Good job, Hermione," Remus smiled, looking relived.

You could get out the tent, Harry. . . ."

"You have a tent?" the twins asked, shocked. "Why?"

"You have a roof over your head," Lily breathed, relaxing slightly.

"Tent?"

"In the bag!"

"Where else?" Smirked James

"In the . . . of course," said Harry.

"Tell me you have food in that bag," Lily begged Hermione, forcefully reminded of their thin frames.

"No," Hermione winced causing everyone to groan.

"So you basically ate nothing for 9 months," Remus growled. Sirius let out a pained noise between a whimper and a growl.

"No, they came to us for a while, we fed them up" bill said.

"That's where I went for the next memory," Harry said. "Food. But I met dementors."

"But you can make a brilliant Patronus!" protested Ron, when Harry arrived back at the tent empty handed, out of breath, and mouthing the single word, dementors.

"I couldn't . . . make one." he panted, clutching the stitch in his side. "Wouldn't . . . come."

"What?" Ginny asked confused. "Why?" Tonks asked at the same time.

"So we still haven't got any food.

"Shut up, Ron," Bill said. "There are more important  things at the moment"

"Shut up, Ron," snapped Hermione. "Harry, what happened? Why do you think you couldn't make your Patronus? You managed perfectly yesterday!"

"So this is the next day," Arthur nodded, following along.

"I don't know."

He sat low in one of Perkins's old armchairs. Ron kicked a chair leg.

"What?" he snarled at Hermione. "I'm starving! All I've had since I bled half to death is a couple of toadstools!"

"Ron," Molly reprimanded in a warning tone.

"You go and fight your way through the dementors, then," said Harry, stung.

"I would, but my arm's in a sling, in case you hadn't noticed!"

"That's convenient."

"Harry!" Lilly scolded.

"And what's that supposed to — ?"

"Of course!" cried Hermione, clapping a hand to her forehead and startling both of them into silence. "Harry, give me the locket! Come on," she said impatiently, clicking her fingers at him when he did not react, "the Horcrux, Harry, you're still wearing it!"