Prologue

Harry's eyes flicked open. His hand went to his glasses, lying on the table next to his bed. He slotted them into place and sat up. The tent was quiet, Hermione was still sleeping and the lamp was covered. He rose silently to his feet and checked his watch. It said 6:24. He peeped out of the flap in the tent and looked around. Outside the sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon and a few weak rays of light were poking through and throwing strange shadows on the ground around the clearing them were in. A rabbit poked its head out of a hole and looked side to side, presumably doing exactly what Harry was doing. A gust of wind blew and reminded him that he was in just his boxers.

"Pull the flap closed or you'll get cold" said a soft voice from behind him and Harry jumped slightly and instinctively went for his wand. When giggling ensued from behind him he turned slowly and looked at the source of the noise. Hermione was laying in her bed with the covers pulled up to her chin, and a smile on her face.

"Don't do that" Harry chided as he returned to his bed and found his clothes.

"So what's the plan for today?" Hermione asked while Harry got dressed. Harry shook his head.

"No idea, and every day that we dawdle and don't find anything Voldemort gets stronger" As Harry spoke Hermione got up as well and began to get dressed as well. Harry kept his back turned when he heard the bed clothes rustling. Hermione was his best friend and they had been through hell and back, and even though they were sharing a tent and it was inevitable that they would see more of each other, Harry tried to minimise this contact. It wasn't because he wanted to, or because he didn't like Hermione in that way; it was because he thought he had to. If he gave into the feelings that he had for Hermione he thought he would not be able to focus on the immediate problem. He had decided that if they won and Voldemort was beaten he would tell her then, but as each day passed and that chance got smaller and smaller he was increasingly of the opinion that he should just tell her and be done with it.

Hermione for her part felt quite similar. It was easier now Ron had gone. When he had been there he would wonder around in his boxers and if he was to loud, which he always was, he would wake her up and she would get up to tell him off. Harry would usually be woken by the noise and would see the two of them arguing. Now this was nothing new, until an incident 3 or so weeks ago. They had been lucky; they had found an old cottage in the woods which had a still working shower so they had all had a wash. Seeing as their clothes were still dirty, Hermione decided to sleep in her underwear and resolved to get up early to wash her clothes. Unfortunately Ron got up first and was wondering around trying to find something to eat and Hermione got up to deal with him. Harry was also woken by the noise. As Hermione got up she saw Harry's eyes go wide and he blushed bright red. She quickly threw her shirt on to cover her body. She was embarrassed but also quietly pleased; Harry had not turned away or complained, if anything he seemed to be more friendly and appreciative of her after that. But she still kept her body hidden mostly. She liked Harry and was pretty sure he liked her but she couldn't be sure. She had made up her mind when Ron left to tell Harry how she felt when the war was over but as their work got harder and their chance of surviving grew slimmer and slimmer she was trying to build up the courage to tell him now. Tomorrow she decided. Tomorrow.

"Well is there anything nearby?" she asked when she was dressed. She tapped Harry on the shoulder so he knew it was safe to turn around. He did so and smiled at her, slightly red-faced. She smiled back and took his hand in hers.

"You alright?" she asked, with real concern in her voice. Harry nodded and gave her hand a quick squeeze.

"Yea it's just my head" he said and absently rubbed his scar. Hermione looked at him more closely. He had dark rings round his eyes, as if he had not been sleeping, and his face was starting too looked pinched and worn. His eyes, once a lovely shade of emerald green, were now a dark green, like the waters of a stagnant pond. As she looked into his eyes they seemed to flash, slightly and a little of their former colour returned to them. Harry went slightly redder and dropped her hand.

"Well, there is a village about a mile away" Harry said as they sat down facing each other. He could see the journey starting to take its toll on Hermione. Her face was looking haggard and she slumped slightly. He still felt something for Hermione and he wasn't sure what that feeling was. But as he sat and looked at her the feeling seemed to grow and swell until he was sure he was going to burst from it. HE was just about to say something when Hermione spoke up.

"Well then, in the absence of a different plan shall we go and have a furtle around" she said and Harry forced his emotions back into their box. She was in work mode and he didn't want to interrupt her.

"Seems like a plan. Let's go furtling" he said, trying to be light hearted and he was rewarded with a smile on her face. And with that they set to work breaking camp.

An hour later they were ready to set off. Hermione waved her wand and the barriers came down and they set off. Both of them had their wands out and ready for use. After half an hour's silence they reached the edges of the forest. They could see the village, no more than a couple of hundred yards away. But more importantly they saw a small knot of people, no more than three or four, standing around at the edge of the village. They would have looked suspicious anywhere and as one of the moved Harry saw he had a wand in his hand. He ducked back and told Hermione what he had seen.

"Death Eaters?" Hermione asked and Harry shook his head.

"Snatchers" Harry said and Hermione nodded. That was almost as bad. If they fought the snatchers and lost they would be taken straight to Voldemort and that would be that. At least if they won, no one would really care or notice. There were hundreds of snatchers roaming the countryside looking for fugitives and a few less here and there would make no real difference.

"We gonna take them?" Hermione asked and Harry nodded. Hermione looked a little surprised and Harry explained.

"If we avoid fights and just go around everyone we will be forced into a corner, i am sick of running away from every bad guy just because i am a good guy" he aid and Hermione smiled slightly.

"Harry I wasn't going to argue I was just wondering why today?" Harry simply looked back at them and raised his wand.

"Because it had to happen someday" he said. Hermione nodded and moved up to him. She looked around and suddenly had an idea. She picked up a stone and hurled it at the group. It thudded into the ground a good 50 yards short of them, but it had the desired effect. They suddenly jumped and started moving towards the woods. As they advanced Harry and Hermione backed away from the woods edge and took refuge in a thick bush. As the snatchers came to the trees, they all lit up their wands and kept coming. Harry smiled and Hermione shook her head. They never learn. One of the snatchers came within 5 feet of the two heroes hiding spot. He didn't appear to have seen them as he kept moving. Harry's stunning spell caught him square in the back and he fell to ground, his fall muffled by the damp leaves and bracken on the forest floor. At that Harry and Hermione stood up and gave a whistle. The three remaining snatchers came towards them and before they knew what was happening two had been stunned and the last had been disarmed.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked the man. The man looked set to tough it out until Hermione made it over to them. He looked around for his compatriots and saw them all unconscious and tied to a tree at that he started babbling.

"We were told to watch the village because Harry Potter might come by and if he did we were to take him to Malfoy Manor and then we would get a reward and...Oh god oh god... don't hurt me please... pleas" Harry stunning spell silenced his ramblings.

"At least he didn't recognise you" Hermione said as they dragged the body over to the others.

"That's something I suppose" Harry said as they finished tying the last man to the tree and they set off again.

When they got to the village, sunlight was glinting off the rooftops and there was some movement around the buildings. Hermione cast a magic detection spell and was very surprised to see a small green light hovering over one of the buildings.

"Harry, there is something in that building" Hermione said and Harry nodded.

"Is it what we are looking for?" he asked and Hermione shrugged.

"Green light means unknown magic. It could be anything" she said and the two of them headed off to investigate. When they arrived at the building they found it was a dilapidated two storey house that was quite clearly empty. They slowly made their way up the path towards it and pushed what remained of the front door out of the way. Hermione whispered the spell again and the light led them up to the 1st floor. On the first floor they found the source. It was a book. It was an A5 notebook, bound in black leather and engraved with the initials B.S.

"What is happening here?" Harry asked and Hermione shook her head.

"The signal is defiantly coming from that book" she said and started poking it with her wand.

"Is it a portkey?" Harry asked and Hermione shook her head.

"Well let's see what it says shall we" Harry said and picked the book up. Then it happened. There was a rumble and a crack and Harry and Hermione were thrown across the room. When they got back to their feet they found that the book was gone and in its place was, well they were not sure what it was.

It was an oval roughly 6 feet tall and maybe 3 foot wide at the widest point. It rippled and flowed like water yet stayed exactly where it was.

"Well there's your answer" Hermione said as they inched closer.

"What is it?" Harry asked and Hermione looked at him surprised.

"I don't know Harry, could be a dimensional portal could be a hole in the fabric of the world, could be a practical joke" Harry stopped and squinted at it. There were vague faces and shapes in the fabric of the portal.

"Well only one way to find out" Hermione said and she strode towards it. Before Harry could stop her she had vanished, as if by magic.

"Hermione!" he yelled and dived through the portal after her.