Ellie awoke on the hard surface of the wilderness, a multitude of tree branches and pebbles digging into her back. She blinked her eyes open, hearing her girlfriend's voice just a few feet away from her.
"Oh my God. Shh, shh, shh. It's all right. It's okay," Hermione exclaimed in a panicked tone.
Ellie immediately scrambled to her feet to see Hermione hunched over Ron, a chunk of the ginger's arm seeming to be sliced off. He was whimpering in pain, squirming as Hermione struggled to keep him still. Ellie moved to Ron's other side, aiding in holding him down.
Hermione called out to Harry, who was approaching them slowly.
"Harry. Harry, quickly, in my bag. There's a bottle labeled 'Essence of Dittany'."
Ellie helped Hermione remove Ron's blood-soaked clothes, his pain too unbearable for him to even speak.
Harry quickly moved to Hermione's bag, rummaging around.
"Shh. Shh," Hermione said as she tried to comfort Ron.
"Okay, okay. Quickly!" Hermione yelled to Harry.
By now, Ellie could see the panic flood Hermione's eyes. She didn't know what to do other than help hold him down in attempts to suppress his groans of pain.
"Harry, hurry up!" Ellie urged.
"Accio Dittany," Harry pointed at the bag, pulling out a small, black bottle.
"It's all right," Hermione reassured to Ron. She turned to Harry. "Unstopper it."
Harry approached the three of them, horrified at the sight. "Hermione, his arm."
"Now's not the time!" Ellie cried out.
"I know, just do it," Hermione ordered, her breath hitching.
She took the bottle from Harry's hands. "Okay, it's gonna sting a little bit."
"What happened? I thought we meant to be going back to Grimmauld Place," Harry urged.
"We were. We were. Shh. It's all right. One more, one more," Hermione cried out. "We were there, we were there, but Yaxley had hold of me, and I... I knew once he'd seen where we were, we couldn't stay... so I brought us here... but Ron got splinched."
Ron quieted himself as the bottle started to heal his wounds. His groans of pain had reduced to nothing as his friends sighed with relief.
Hermione looked down at her hands to see they were stained with blood. She quickly rose to her feet, grabbing her wand.
"Protego Totalum," Hermione incited, bringing both her hands up. "Salvio Hexia."
"What are you doing?" Harry called out.
"Protective enchantments. I don't fancy another visit like the one we had in Shaftesbury Avenue, do you? You can get going on the tent," Hermione answered.
"Tent? Where am I supposed to find a tent?" Harry questioned as Hermione continued to place the enchantments.
"You dimwit, in her bag," Ellie said as she stood up to grab Hermione's bag. She reached inside, feeling around for a tent.
--
The night was rough, as Hermione didn't want to talk much. Ellie had decided to give her some space to let her recover, though she was able to sneak in a goodnight kiss.
"You first," Hermione urged as the four of them stood behind the locket.
Harry held up his wand, pointing it towards the locket.
"Dissendium."
A blast exploded from the area. The four of them walked over to the locket to see it was still perfectly intact, the leaves around it burned to a crisp.
"Incendio," Hermione continued, making the locket burst into flames.
"Reducto," Ellie tried, but the locket just bounced around.
"Expulso," Harry continued, sending the locket to fly a few meters away. "Diffindo. Reducto."
Harry continued to incite a variety of spells in attempt to destroy the locket. Still, it stayed perfectly intact, not being affected by anything.
Harry picked it up and placed it over his neck.
"What are you doing?" Hermione pondered as Harry tucked the locket into his shirt.
"We have to keep it safe until we find out how to destroy it," Harry replied.
"I can keep it," Ellie offered, though Harry shook his head.
"Seems strange, mate. Dumbledore sends you off to find all these Horcruxes, but doesn't tell you how to destroy them. Doesn't that bother you?" Ron observed.
"Oh come on, Ron," Ellie groaned as Harry stormed off.
A couple hours passed since their attempt at destroying it. Hermione had ordered Ron to recover in bed, taking Ellie with her on a walk to forage for food. The walk was quiet for the most part, though Hermione seemed calmer now that Ron was doing better. Hermione and Ellie made their way towards Harry, who was seated at the tent's entrance, seeming to have his head under stress.
"I thought it had stopped," Hermione spoke. "You can't keep letting him in, Harry."
Hermione took a seat on the ground as Ellie stayed standing.
"You-Know-Who has found Gregorovitch," Harry explained.
"The wandmaker?" Hermione questioned.
"He wants something that Gregorovitch used to have... but I don't know what. But he wants it desperately. I mean, it's as if his life depends on it."
The sound of the radio from inside the tent made Harry jump.
"Don't," Hermione pleaded. "It comforts him."
Ellie listened intently, knowing it wasn't her conversation to include herself in.
"It sets my teeth on edge," Harry said in an annoyed tone. "What's he expecting to hear, good news?"
"I think he just hopes he doesn't hear bad news," Hermione suggested.
Harry stood to his feet, seeming to be itching to do something productive. "How long before he can travel?"
Hermione looked up at him. "I'm doing everything I can."
"You're not doing enough!" Harry snapped at Hermione.
Ellie immediately stormed to Harry, grabbing a fistful of his shirt as his face rested inches from him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Ellie said angrily, her fist twisting the fabric of his flannel.
"Speak to her like that one more time. I dare you," Ellie spat sarcastically, her body fuming with rage.
Harry seemed to cower backwards but kept his expression the same. Hermione immediately rose to her feet to grab Ellie's arm.
"Ellie, stop," Hermione ordered. Ellie complied to her girlfriend, loosening her grip on Harry.
Harry started to storm off in another direction.
"Take it off," Hermione called out. "I said, take it off now."
Harry stopped in his tracks as Hermione approached him, taking the locket from him.
"Better?" Hermione asked.
"Loads."
"We'll take it in turns, okay?"
--
Hermione had volunteered to keep watch later that night, wanting to give everyone a rest. Not long after the boys had fallen asleep, Ellie emerged from the tent, sitting next to her girlfriend in front of the fire.
Ellie placed a loving kiss on Hermione's forehead, wrapping her arm over her shoulders.
"Hey, darling," Ellie greeted softly, her voice comforting and warm.
Hermione didn't say anything, but instead rested her head on Ellie's shoulder, sliding closer to the Hufflepuff. She rested her hands on Ellie's outstretched legs, her fingers absently rubbing over her thigh.
"I'm sorry, love," Ellie apologized in a low voice.
"For what?" Hermione questioned innocently, the tone of her voice displaying curiosity.
"I just feel like I haven't been helping much," Ellie said simply as she rubbed Hermione's upper arm with her hand.
Hermione lifted her head to look at Ellie, the flicker of the flames dimly illuminating her face.
"You're doing more than you know. Besides, it was my fault you got caught up in this mess," Hermione replied as she tucked a strand of hair behind Ellie's ear.
It was quiet for a moment until Ellie spoke up once more.
"How are you feeling, my love?" Ellie asked as she locked eyes with the Gryffindor. Hermione's eyes were tired, yet still showed endless amounts of love for her girlfriend.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, in general."
"I'm okay, love. Thanks for asking. Just tired," Hermione said as she continued to admire her girlfriend.
A small smile crept upon Hermione's face, something Ellie hadn't seen much of within the past month.
"What is it?" Ellie asked, her girlfriend's cheeks flushed red.
"You're just beautiful," Hermione complimented breathlessly, her eyes taking in every aspect of Ellie's face.
Ellie's cheeks grew red at the compliment, her mouth curling into a wide smile. She cupped Hermione's jaw as she connected their lips slowly, the absence of each other's skin proving to have taken a toll. What started out as an innocent kiss quickly escalated to a heated snogging session as the lovers desperately tried to make up for the lack of physical affection.
The snap of a branch brought them back to reality, both their heads turning in the direction. The lovers immediately stood up as they cautiously walked towards the sound. They stopped in their tracks as they saw a man carrying another walking near them. They were followed by another man, his hair unkept and eyes swollen. Hermione grabbed Ellie's hand as she attempted to gulp away her fear.
The man in the rear stopped in his tracks. "What's that?"
Both of the girls held their breath as the man walked near them. The man stopped just before Hermione, pointing his finger as his brain attempted to uncover his questions.
"What's that smell?"
Ellie quietly shifted herself to stand in front of Hermione, taking her place as she now stood in front of the man. Hermione took a step backwards in response, though she still held her breath fearfully.
Hermione tried to stay as quiet as possible, nearly suffocating Ellie's hand. The man's goon dropped the unconscious one, causing him to turn around. The man seemed to have lost focus as he focused his attention elsewhere. Within moments, the three of them left, seeming to have forgotten about the particular smell.
Hermione and Ellie let out a sigh of relief as the men carried on. Harry appeared behind the two, his eyes showing the lack of sleep.
"Snatchers," Harry commented. "Good to know your enchantments work."
"He could smell it. My perfume," Hermione said shakily.
"It's okay, my love," Ellie muttered quietly in an attempt to reassure her girlfriend, rubbing her back tenderly.
Hermione, Ellie, and Harry made their way back to the tent, the girls' hearts barely slowly down after their close encounter. Ellie listened as Harry insisted that they travel by foot, considering Ron wasn't strong enough to Apparate yet.