AN
fun fact, chapter 70 and 71 were originally just one regular chapter, then it became a longer chapter, and then, with tears streaming down my face as I continued writing, it stretched to over 7k, I therefore felt obligated to split it. enjoy!
lots of love,
s
__
Sarah, Selena and Hermione were scouring through books, trying to find answers from the bits of information Dumbledore left them. It seemed a bit sadistic, Sarah thought, maybe it was the last joke Dumbledore had played, giving them only crumbs and expecting them to retrace the steps of the recipe along with the ingredients. Which so far seemed impossible. If that terrible metaphor told Sarah anything, was that she was hungry.
Hermione thought of everything except of food. That had been discovered the first morning of their layout. Their stomachs were in knots the day they had arrived, and a cup of boiling tea sufficed to calm them down, but when Ron woke up from a long nap in the afternoon, he asked if he could have something to eat. Under Sarah's order, he didn't move around for the day, which is why he asked Hermione. She had cereal bars, a handful of them, and before Harry and Ron could let their nerves out on her, Sarah and Selena swooped in.
"We didn't plan on camping in the middle of a forest for weeks, so we didn't bring much," started Selena.
And Sarah continued, "-But if we ration it right and use our NEWT knowledge in Herbology, we should survive."
"Water is set thanks to that stream Sarah and Fred found, I have some seeds, we can plant them and grow some potatoes or carrots? I think. Not entirely sure."
"There were some oats back in a cupboard back at Grimmauld Place that I packed, also coffee, a few packs of Cauldron Cakes and honey."
"Oh, and I also brought canned soup. Which is what you'll eat now, Ron," Selena announced and took it out of her bag, walked over to the small corner they set up as the kitchen, it was more a drop-in corner with the pot they used to boil the water for the tea last night.
Selena warmed up Ron's soup and handed it to Hermione after she'd noticed a small glance she interpreted to be her silently asking if she could do it.
"Aren't you just perfect?" beamed Fred, he and George walking up behind them.
"Splendid how you've thought of everything," George went on proudly.
Sarah and Selena exchanged an amused look while they took out the small bag of seeds. Selena told her quietly she wasn't sure what those seeds were, or if she will manage to grow anything from them, but the two of them ought to find a way.
"Well, we have to, don't we?" giggled Selena, turning to face the twins, her normally neck-length black hair was now a bit longer and held by a small claw clip at the back of her head, a strand of hair escaped its clutch when she whipped her head to face them.
"Exactly. You two act like you're twelve most of the time, someone has to be responsible in the relationship." Sarah had tied her hair into a side braid, she would have given anything for a hot shower, to get the dust and rain off, but the closest to that was the freezing water from the stream they warmed up in the mornings to wash up quickly.
It reminded her a bit of the bucket of water Olga had given her back in the Malfoy cellars. The humidity of the air around them was making her hair act up, all fuzzy and indomptable, that hairstyle was the only one that didn't make her look like a deranged woman.
"Excuse me, we make a living out of acting like twelve year olds," Fred defended himself and his brother with an indignant tone and hand pressed against his chest.
George and Fred were wearing their knitted jumpers with their initials on them, it just so happened Sarah and Selena had packed one for themselves as well. The four were facing each other and they mirrored each other's outfits, it was endearing.
"Yeah, okay, go gather some tree branches for tonight's fire," said Sarah authoritative to the both of them and they eagerly made their way out of the tent, exchanging excitedly on making a contest out of it.
"I'll bet you a Cauldron Cake one of them comes back with a splinter," waged Selena, shaking her head endearingly at the two ginger-heads walking down the hill.
"It would surprise me if they didn't," Sarah answered with a smile wide and the two girls took care of those seeds for the rest of the afternoon, got a small plant to grow out of the ground, if they did the same thing for the next couple days, they might start to eat whatever vegetable it made.
_
"Who wants to start?" asked Harry, his wand drawn, everyone else doing the same except for Ron who had his arm bandaged.
"I'll do it," offered Sarah, taking a step forward. The locket was set over some leaves, a faint screech seemed to come from it like it was alive or something. Which made sense and was terrifying at the same time, to think there was a piece of Voldemort's soul attached to that object.
Sarah pointed her wand at it, "Incendio." A great fire erupted from it, a fire that would have destroyed any other object, it darkened the leaves around the locket, they became carbonized and everyone winced from the smell of burning dirt.
"You couldn't have chosen another spell, love?" spoke Fred nasally, pinching his nose. She simply shrugged and sent them all an apologetic look. When she walked closer, the locket was indeed on fire, but it slowly faded away while it remained intact.
"Damn it," she muttered under her breath, Harry took a step forward and sent it flying a few feet away from them, it wailed, but nothing happened. They all formed a circle around it and bombed it with defensive spells, all doing nothing but destroying the leaves beneath their feet.
Selena told them all to step away and said angrily, "Bombarda Maxima." It blew a great hole in the ground, and after the dust set, they opened their eyes to find the Horcrux resting without a scratch at the bottom. Harry sent a chain of numerous spells, each with more frustration and conviction than the one before, until he seemed to have given everything he could, nothing was helping. He made it fly out of the hole and put the Horcrux around his neck.
"What are you doing?" asked Hermione shrilly.
"We need to keep it safe until we find a way to destroy it," Harry answered her, tucked it beneath his shirt.
They'd spent a full hour trying to destroy it, without getting anywhere. And in total, they had been wandering around this forest for a few weeks, now. The leaves were falling down, the ground was covered with brown and golden, suggesting they might be in early or mid-October already.
"Seems strange, though, mate. Dumbledore sends you off on this mission to find the Horcruxes but doesn't actually tell you how to destroy them," said Ron bitterly, "Doesn't that bother you?"
Harry sighed, his gaze sweeping over all these people who'd ended up here with him, because of him, "Of course it does, Ron. But it doesn't do us any good to whine about it."
Everyone averted their eyes from them, sensing some built up tension they definitely didn't need atop it all. Fred, George, Selena and Sarah walked away, leaving Hermione and the other two to sort this one out by themselves.
"I don't think I told you but I got kicked out of the Auror Program," admitted Selena quietly.
Sarah gasped from utter shock, "What?"
Her friend clicked her tongue, like she was trying to summon the courage to say the words aloud, "Yeah, apparently being Muggleborn and all...you can't protect witches and wizards if you're not a witch or a wizard. I wasn't alone in this situation, a dozen left, too. We received a letter telling us it would be of no use to come back in September."
"But you are a witch, love," said George sadly, nudging her shoulder.
"I know," she nodded at him with a small smile that seemed to be of some effort to produce.
"An amazing one at that," he added, and pressed a soft kiss on her head.
That day was the same as the rest of them. Research that didn't lead anywhere, tensions between friends, they were tired, almost hopeless, it seemed that way from time to time. They ate in the mornings and in the evenings, it turned out Selena's seeds were potatoes like she anticipated, which were more nutritious than Hermione's cereal bars, although they kept their hunger at bay for the first few days.
Ron was getting better, slowly, but he spent a lot of time silently listening to the radio along with Fred and George. Lee's voice would spark up on the Potterwatch, and whenever they heard his familiar voice, as well as the voices of Remus and Kingsley, they all breathed easier again.
And although they were all worried, Ron had more trouble with the whole situation. He was hurt, meaning he couldn't do much all day beside sitting on his bunk bed. He spent his days grumbling under his breath and listening to the radio, which by the sight of it, was driving Harry out of his mind. Fred and George tried to talk to him, told him this wasn't what any of them wanted, that he needed to stop being a git and adapt to the situation, but that only made Ron frown and turn his back on them, hugging the radio, the monotonous and grim voice of the reporter was his only comfort right now.
Hermione and Sarah were gathering small plants and herbs near a tree, comparing different plants to the pictures in her books, determining whether or not they were edible or on the contrary, poisonous. They were discussing the shape of the leaf, Sarah thought it looked like that one in the picture but Hermione made a good point regarding the direction of the nerves, which weren't the same shape.
They eventually decided not to take it if they had doubts, the last thing they needed was to eat a poisonous plant. They stuck with what they knew was safe, and right as they were about to move on to another spot, the herbs getting scarce in the one they had been picking at for the last week, they heard Harry whimper and saw him resting his back against the tent with a dreadful look in his eyes.
Hermione and Sarah knew this could only mean one thing, Voldemort was messing with his mind again.
They got up from their place and slowly approached Harry, trying not to startle him, he was staring at a far away point like he was watching something, like he was being shown something. When he came back, his head snapped towards Sarah and Hermione, he looked surprised to see them there.
"I thought it had stopped," said Sarah softly. "You can't keep letting him in, Harry."
He simply clenched his jaw and squinted his eyes at her, a reaction she wasn't prepared for, it was almost hateful but in a split second he was normal again. That's when she spotted the chain of the Horcrux around his neck, which would explain that whole interaction.
"You-Know-Who's found Gregorovitch," he started explaining, Sarah and Hermione sat on the ground facing him.
"The wandmaker?" said Hermione, receiving a nod from Harry.
"Gregorovitch had something, and that something is something he wants desperately, like his life depends on it-"
"Could it be a Horcrux?" Sarah interjected, "If his life depends on it, I mean. He's definitely heard wind of you trying to find them, maybe he's gathering them again so you can't reach them."
"I honestly have no idea," said Harry, right before Ron's radio startled him, he sent the tent's drape a cold glare, seemed ready to fight it.
Hermione quickly reacted, "Don't, it comforts him."
"It sends my teeth on edge," spat Harry, "What does he expect to hear? Good news?"
"I think he just hopes he doesn't hear bad news," said Sarah defeated. Although she sometimes wished Ron would turn it off, because even in the night she could hear that radio, she never heard of Remus or Tonks which could only mean they were safe. Right before the wedding, Sarah had found out from Tonks that she was pregnant, and Remus had been overjoyed, even though something in his eyes was fearing the baby would inherit his 'condition', is what he called it.
"How long before he can travel?" blurted Harry as he got to his feet.
Sarah shook her head, "I dunno...I'm not sure, I don't have-"
"What do you mean you don't know?" He raised his voice and it made her flinch, she quickly got up to her feet, Hermione alongside of her.
"I mean I don't know! What he needs is rest and sustenance, he's not strong enough for me to perform healing magic that would fix his arm in a second, I need to let his body heal naturally for-"
"Then what good are you!? You're supposed to be a Healer!"
Fred, George and Selena had heard shouting and got out of the tent, warily watching the scene unravel.
Sarah was trying to stay calm, she knew this was coming from exhaustion, anger and that locket hanging around his neck, "I'm doing everything I can-"
"YOU'RE NOT DOING ENOUGH!"
Fred formed a fist and took a forceful step forward but was stopped by George, let Sarah deal with Harry on her own.
"You brought us here, stroke of genius that was, truly," Harry pointed an accusatory finger at Hermione, "I have no clue where to begin, that bloody radio is always blasting on and on, and the visions started again, we're completely useless!"
Sarah and Hermione were left speechless before his comments, but before Harry could walk past them, Hermione turned to him, "Take it off."
Harry stopped walking and glared at her without saying a word. "I said take it off, now."
Sarah stretched out a hand and Harry dropped the locket. "Feeling better?"
Harry let out a breath and noticed the crowd a few feet away from him, received a disapproving look from everyone and a particularly angry one from Fred.
He turned to face Hermione and Sarah, his bright blue eyes gentle and apologetic, "I'm sorry."
"It's all right," said Hermione, Sarah simply nodded at him and looked down at the Horcrux.
"We'll take it in turns," she said and hung it around her neck. When Harry left, she saw Hermione's gaze following him then dropping on the ground. "I know what you're thinking. Don't do that to yourself."
Hermione shook her head, didn't raise her eyes to meet Sarah's, she took a particular interest in her shoes, "He's right, though."
"No, he isn't. And that wasn't our Harry. It was a vision distorted Harry, and I'm not talking about him without glasses."
Hermione snorted softly, "That was a lame joke."
She nodded and smiled, "I know. But it has the merit to exist."
"You're the reason we're all alive, you and your brilliant mind. Harry was just being a git, don't mind him," Sarah put and arm around her shoulders and they walked back to the new spot to gather herbs.
_
Sarah and George were keeping watch this evening, the only benefit of being as many as they were on a delicate and supposedly discreet mission, were the night shifts. Two could easily keep watch while the others slept but if it became unbearable, there was always one that was rested enough to take over.
This way, Selena and Fred had the bed to themselves from time to time. Later in the night, Fred and Selena will take over. They worked out the switches to their advantage, not that they didn't enjoy sharing, but after so many weeks, it was nice to have the space. That much they agreed on.
Hermione and Harry weren't getting restful sleep, though. Hermione was ruminating, despite everyone telling her she wasn't the one to blame, she searched and thought relentlessly.
The radio was keeping Harry up, still a bit on edge. He and Ron rarely spoke, if they did, it would be initiated by Harry, Ron would mutter a one word response.
The only person he talked to was Sarah, because she was spending a half hour every morning and evening either changing and checking to see the progress of his healing, and she tried to make him to get out of head and interact with them.
He had retreated within himself much more than usual. Maybe it had something to do with seeing Fred and George with their girlfriends and Harry sitting with Hermione for hours looking through books, trying to figure out what Dumbledore was trying to tell them through all these puzzle pieces he left behind.
She could understand his feelings of loneliness, but it was no use. He wasn't compliant in seeing the silver lining.
Sarah and George were playing cards next to the fire, he asked her what was the worst thing about being held captive, because himself had experienced anything of the sort, except maybe the time Bill and Charlie locked him and Fred in the Attic with the Ghoul when they were seven. Sarah remembered that, she was the one to let them out and they swore to not prank her for a whole week.
"That ought to make you an expert on the matter," he joked, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Don't fret, Georgie, I'll trade you if you wish," she said, checking her cards and finally set them down, George's face fell apart because she had won, again.
"I don't believe it," he whined "You're some sort of witch, aren't you?"
She did a mock courtesy and gathered from the napkin the peanuts they were betting on. "You know, they say those who have bad luck at cards have good luck in love."
George snorted softly and peaked inside the tent, certainly at Selena, "Well, then, I guess I'm not complaining."
Sarah wrinkled her nose and grinned at him while she shuffled the cards, "It's going great between you two, isn't it?"
"Amazingly, yes," he smiled widely down at his lap.
"It's been what- Almost three years, right?"
"Oh, Merlin," George nodded and rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, "Three years in December, yes. Where did the time go? It all unwinded so naturally."
Sarah chuckled softly, an immense feeling of joy for her best friends, "Mind if I ask what the near or distant future holds?"
That made him squint at her suspiciously for a second, "Did she put you up to this?"
"No, I swear," she shook her head and raised her right hand to emphasize the truthfulness of it. George grinned, "I'm joking, we did actually talk about it, and I'm sure you've heard all about it," she quickly opened her mouth to reply to that but he pointed a warning finger at her, "Don't try to deny it, I've known you both for enough time. You know before I do, and she knows before Fred does."
"Okay, fine," she sighed defeated, "You aren't wrong." She distributed the cards again and they started a new game.
"Can't you just see it?" He looked up from his cards, his eyes lit up despite looking at nothing but a dark forest, "Ten years from now, all of us gathering at Bill's beach house for an afternoon during the summer, daredevil kids running around and away from you especially because of your obsession with sunscreen and Fleur teaching us how to make French cocktails?"
She snorted with laughter, taking another card and rearranging them in her hand, "It's a nice picture, indeed. If I do end up having daredevil kids, I'll definitely need those cocktails."
George chuckled along with her, "What about you? What does the future-near or distant-hold?"
"I love thinking of that, truly," she mused, looked over her cards and switched again, George did the same thing. "Although it often seems more like a fantasy than a dream."
"How so?"
"Because of this," she tapped her forearm, glancing up at him and saw him nod in understanding. "But as confusing and frightening as it is, he just makes it all worth it."
"Well that's lovely to hear," George smiled fondly, "You've changed him quite a bit, you know."
"Hope that's not a bad thing-" she breathed out worriedly.
"No, not at all, he's still reckless, mental and brilliant, he's still Fred, but...Better. Like he's trying his best every day and that concept was unknown to both of us for a long, long time," he emphasized then grinned at his cards. "You bring out the best in each other, that's what I'm saying."
"That's another lovely thing to hear. But I think you and Fred deserve some of the credit if not most of it, you've started your own business from scratch with your first true love: practical jokes. If that doesn't give you the absolute willpower to get out of bed in the morning," she raised a shoulder and dropped it before she said, "I don't what does."
George grinned and rearranged his cards, nodded his head low when he said, "You get us. Which is why sleeping beauty in there is madly in love with you and you've been appointed brown-haired sibling since day one."
She cackled gleefully and he added, "If you don't become my sister-in-law I'll kill you," he shot her a deadpan and warning look which made both of them wheeze, trying their best not to laugh out loud, wiping away small tears at the corners of their eyes.
"Don't you worry, Georgie," asserted brightly and laid out her cards, showed him she beat him again and he threw his hands up in exasperation. She smiled triumphantly and handed him the deck of cards to shuffle.
"But wait a minute-If bad luck at cards means good luck in love, what does that mean for you if you're dating Fred?" George raised a suspicious eyebrow. He was still holding up the tent drape and he gestured between her and Fred, "Does it mean it'll end up nastily?"
She scoffed and hit his knee, "No way!" George moved away from her when she hit him and snickered teasingly.
"I don't think there's a corollary for the winners at cards. I was just trying to make you feel better for being a loser," she deadpanned and pointed at the cards, "Shuffle."
"I mean, I don't know how it gets better than this," she tilted her head towards the tent. She peaked inside and looked at him, a sweet smile drawing on her face. His eyes seemed to be moving and from that she got that he was dreaming.
"It's bad luck for the pillow though, he's drooling all over it," George winced and earned himself another scoff.
"Shut up. He's adorable."
George gaged jokingly but before Sarah could react to that, she saw Hermione and Harry standing farther away from the tent, only they weren't talking, nor alone.
George and Sarah got out their wands and stood up, he wanted to start running towards them but Sarah stopped him, set a finger over her lips, telling him to keep quiet.
There were three men that had stopped and seemed to be looking at Hermione and around the area they used as a campsite. But after a few seconds of being incredibly still, they walked away.
"They were Snatchers, Hermione and Selena's charms worked, but they would have heard the you breaking twigs if you'd ran."
Harry and Hermione walked towards the tent again, and Sarah happened to glance inside, saw Ron glaring at the pair, looking betrayed and heartbroken. She made a mental note of making him take off the Horcrux.
"He could smell my perfume," said Hermione breathlessly, "That's why they stopped."
"Yeah, Hermione, as much as I like your perfume, don't wear it next time," said Harry lightheartedly, got a smile from Sarah, Hermione and George.
"Perfume, rookie mistake," Sarah told her sympathetically, "I almost got caught because of that, too. I stick to lavender essential oil, now. The scent doesn't strike you as much since it's more floral."
"Oh, I've been meaning to tell you, it smells amazing," Hermione commented, they started up a discussion over where she'd got it and the fact it was relaxing and easing up her nerves, and George and Harry cleared their throats loudly to get them to stop talking.
"We still good for leaving tomorrow, right?" Harry asked her.
Sarah nodded, "Ron's doing better, so yes."
"Good. Do you want me to take on the switch later?"
"No, it's okay, we made a deal with Fred and Selena, we'll switch with them," said George, pointing his thumb towards the entrance of the tent.
"Brilliant, well, good night, then." Hermione walked inside, followed by Harry and Sarah quickly followed them to reach Ron and make him give her the Horcrux before resuming to kicking George's arse at cards.