Errare Humanum Est

DISCLAIMER: As the author of this fan fiction story I do not, in any way, profit from the story or claim any rights to the 'Harry Potter' universe. All creative rights to the 'Harry Potter' universe belong to J.K. Rowling. Thank you for letting me play in this amazing world.

CHAPTER ONE

Hermione sighed as she set down the large tome on the ground in front of her, using her free hands to pull the blankets up higher around her cold body, and stifled a cough at the movement. She tipped her head towards the sky, noticing it was completely dark for the first time since she began her watch in the late afternoon. They were camped in a forest somewhere in the south of England, using the unpopulated and heavily wooded area to hide from the world this week. The stars above her were bright and beautiful, a contrast to the hopeless feelings that were slowly beginning to creep into her awareness in the past weeks.

They had been on the run for a few months now, trying to stay hidden while they searched for Horcruxes. It was starting to take a toll on them all, the constant cold, lack of food, and lack of progress. Ron in particular seemed the most effected by their situation and radiated tension most of the waking day, making Harry and Hermione act very carefully around him to not set him off. Hermione understood, though, as she knew Ron was very worried about his family and wasn't used to being without them. She and Harry were. And, Ron had never been very skilled at controlling his emotions since she had met him on the Hogwarts Express seven years ago, so they dealt with him as they always had. It's what a family does.

Hermione wouldn't admit this to the boys, but she was worried about the lack of information she had found on the Horcruxes. The boys were depending on her, and she had let them down so far. Book after book she skimmed looking for clues, but she had not found much at all. This last book had been a particular disappointment.

She shivered as a cool breeze ran down the back of her neck, seeming to make her whole body chilled. She moved her jar with a blue flame closer to her body, willing it to help her warm up. She'd been feeling cold and achy all week, but was keeping it to herself so she didn't concern the boys. There was nothing that any of them could do about it, so what was the point of worrying them about what was probably a small cold. She didn't have any healing potions left for it, having used them on Ron a few weeks before when he'd developed a small cough, and there was no magical cure by spell. They couldn't be too careful about getting sick. Oh well. If there was something Hermione was good at, it was compartmentalizing and putting others' needs before her own. It was how she was dealing with a seemingly constant hunger, and the needs of her friends, on top of the knowledge that there were many people and creatures hunting for them. Compartmentalization.

Hermione sat staring at the bright stars for a while longer, her eyes too tired to read another page, when she heard Ron's voice rising from inside the tent. She listened to what was going on, only planning to interfere if necessary. She sighed as she realized it was only Ron getting upset about his hunger again, trying to argue with Harry about who was the better hunter and gather. She slowly stood up and reached a hand out to the tent to steady herself and took a deep breath, covering her mouth when she felt a cough starting in her chest. She would go in a try calm Ron down before this escalated.

Hermione walked in on Ron and Harry, standing facing each other in the middle of their common area, Ron ranting with a red face. "You haven't even caught anything lately, Harry. We're starving here! The pants that Hermione packed that were too tight? Now they're too loose! I can't stand this! I want to go home! We're not getting anywhere, even Hermione agrees that she thought we would have made more progress by now!" Hermione sucked in a breath as she heard Ron's words. She had said something along those lines, but had meant she was disappointed in herself for not finding more information yet. She looked helplessly at Harry, who was staring confused at her, trying to show him wordlessly that Ron was twisting her words. Harry seemed to understand, and gave her a short nod before turning back to Ron.

"Ron…we're all trying our best. Harry's doing his best. You need to calm down, take the horcrux off, and come sit with me for a while…Please…" Hermione pleaded with Ron, knowing she would be able to help him if he just listened to her.

"WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS DEFENDING HARRY! Better yet, why don't I just leave, you both don't want me around anyways, I'm just getting in the way…" Ron hissed this at Hermione, who was shaking her head at him, trying to interject.

Ron took the horcrux from around his neck and threw it to the ground at Hermione's feet, grabbing his small rucksack and running out the door of the tent. Hermione and Harry stared in confusion at the horcrux on the ground before Hermione sprang into action, running out after Ron.

Harry was left standing where his friends had left him, feeling very guilty as he realized this was all his fault. He winced as he heard Hermione's desperate voice ringing out through the forest,

"RON! PLEASE COME BACK!... DON'T LEAVE US!...RON! RO-" Her voice was cut off suddenly, and Harry lifted his head towards the door, wondering if he should be worried, or whether she had just caught up to him. He decided to just sit on the floor and wait a few minutes for Hermione to come back. If anyone had a chance at bringing Ron back to the tent, it would be her; Harry would just make the problem worse.

Hermione was breathing hard as she ran through the dark forest, looking desperately around her to find him. She stumbled a bit as she coughed hard at the exertion, but continued running in the direction Ron had gone.

"RON! PLEASE COME BACK!" She called out, hoping to see a flash of his red hair in the surrounding darkness. She held her lit wand in front of her, trying to illuminate the forest floor with its weak glow.

"DON'T LEAVE US…RON!" She kept running forward, hopping over rotting logs and skidding through mud, praying for Ron to suddenly step out of the darkness.

"RO-" She called out, interrupted when she felt herself falling towards the ground, having felt her shoe snagged the moment before. She braced herself for impact on the semi-frozen ground, but was suddenly tumbling down a hill, unable to grab something to halt her rapid descent. Hermione felt the side of her head connect with something hard and was rendered dazed, helpless to stop her body from falling any farther. From far away, Hermione registered a large splash and a cold sensation around her body that seemed to be pulling at her. She moaned as she struggled to open her eyes and found herself lying in a stream on her back, the frigid water swirling around her ears. Hermione lifted her arm slowly and placed it on the bank behind her, crying out as the movement caused a sharp pain in her ribs and chest. She felt something hard on the bank and grasped hold, ignoring the pain in her body as she moved to roll her body out of the water. After a few long moments, Hermione was finally able to lift her leg out of the water and rolled quickly onto her stomache on the ground, gasping as her body burned and her dizzy head throbbed. She laid quietly for a while, waiting for the pain to ease off, and began to feel how cold she was. She needed to send a signal to Harry and Ron, let them know where she is. She reached her numb arm out to grasp the ground around her, panicking, as she couldn't find her wand anywhere. Hot tears ran down her cheeks as she realized how much trouble she was in. She was lying at the bottom of a hill in an unfamiliar forest, without her want to get help or protect herself, and was too hurt and cold to move far. She laid her head back on the forest floor and tried to think of a plan, not realizing that she was drifting into unconsciousness.

To be continued…