Disclaimer: See beginning!
Chapter 2: Something fishy
"Remind me again, how's this going to work?" Hermione asked, wading into the shallow part of the water and shivering as it lapped at her legs.
"Well, basically," Piper crouched down awkwardly on the bank. "I freeze the water so you can see and catch the fish more easily. Then you pick the two fattest and using your wand, lift the fish up and out, onto the bank."
"But can't we do it, in a way that doesn't involve me getting wet?"
"Not if you want supper." Piper shook her head. "Right, ready? And, 3...2...1..." Hermione nearly overbalanced in shock. Her legs felt like they were cemented into the water, however when she touch it, it felt wet and liquid enough. When Piper had 'froze' the water, she hadn't developed-a-thick-crust-of-ice-good-for-ice-skating-froze it. She had stopped-it-in-it's-tracks-froze it. "Hey, you do realise there's a time limit on this thing?" Piper called, bringing Hermione back out of her day dream. Hermione whipped out her wand.
"Wingardium Leviosa!" Hermione repeated, and being Hermione, she managed to lift two fish out at the same time and smack them against a tree. Piper ran to the fish, and the water rushed back to life, almost knocking Hermione over. She hurried to the bank and climbed up. Piper turned round, beaming and holding two unmoving fish, one in each hand.
"Well, we've got supper!" she said, smiling. "Now all we need is..." Hermione waved her wand again and blue flames shot out of it, making a neat little camping fire on the grass. Then she moved the fallen log over to make a little bench and finally pointed her wand at her legs, which dried instantly. "Impressive." Piper said. Hermione just nodded, faintly embarrassed that she was being praised by such a powerful witch.
A little while Hermione leant back, thoroughly content. The fish was absolutely delicious, even if the only thing accompanying it was wild mushrooms.
"Thanks Piper, I needed that!" she said. Piper blushed and took Hermione's make-shift plate.
"I suppose we'll have to wash these." she commented, doubtfully, eyeing the dirty pieces of wood. "I'll wash them in the stream - unless you." Piper, half paused, hopefully. Hermione pointed her wand at the plates, lazily.
"Scourgify" the dirt on the plate vanished. Piper examined them with raised eyebrows.
"Nice." Hermione smiled again, while Piper stacked the wooden plates at the trunk of the tree.
"Piper, can I ask you something?" she suddenly asked.
"Shoot." Piper nodded, joining Hermione on the log by the fire.
"Why are you here? I don't mean to sound rude or anything," she added, hastily. "It's just that, by the looks of it you have family yourself to care for," Hermione indicated Piper's slight bump. "And you're here looking after me."
"Good question." Piper admitted after a slight pause. "Well, I guess the real reason is that, you needed help. I mean evidently you're a very special witch - maybe you play an important part in the future. Otherwise you wouldn't have a Charmed One with you or this never be happening to you."
"But that's bad." Hermione put in. Piper looked confused.
"You lost me."
"Like you said, I must have an important part to play in the future. Otherwise you wouldn't be here excetera, excetera. But with a powerful witch - comes the powerful... demon." Piper noted the fear in Hermione's voice. "We've never learnt how to vanquish demons at Hogwarts - or to make up spells - wand work won't be enough..." Hermione's trail of ramblings ran out and she just stared helplessly at Piper.
"You're really scared about this aren't you?" Piper asked, softly. Hermione nodded.
"I got scared reading about them in the school's library. I thought, I hoped that they were just what my friends told me. Faery tales. I mean to think that something is actually capable of doing something that horrific... and then to find out that they're real and coming after you. It's just, so, mindblowing!" Piper put an arm round the fifteen year old.
"If it helps, my baby has this thing about not letting Mommy die. I think we're both safe." Hermione gave a very weak smile, remembering earlier with the whole healing thing. "But you're right. Just because I'm indestructable doesn't mean some pretty big demons won't be after our heads. However, I do think that we won't be able to figure a way back if we don't get some sleep." Hermione nodded and tried to get comfy on some moss. "But Hermione," Hermione turned over to face Piper's smiling face, illuminated by the flames. "You'd better sleep with your wand just in case."
'Piper. Piper' Piper didn't know where she was. She was lying on a white marble floor, in what seemed like a white temple. Clouds past floated outside, on a cool breeze, the marble floor was warm and all Piper wanted was to lie there for eternity...But, 'Piper, Piper'...
"Piper! Piper!" Piper moaned and woke up to see Hermione bending over her, shaking her with a worried look in her brown eyes. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, just abit odd... why? What's happened?" Piper bolted upright - a movement that made her feel nauseous. 'Damn! What a time for morning sickness to kick in.'
"You were tossing and then you sort of became peaceful - I thought you'd died!" Hermione rocked back on her legs and bit her lip. "Sorry, but you've no idea how creepy that was!" Piper shook her head, trying to clear it, only increasing the nausiousness.
"I'm fine, I'm fine - whoa!" Piper clasped a hand over her mouth. "I don't think the baby liked Mommy's fish." Hermione looked scared again, it made Piper want to laugh but restrained from doing so, unpleasantly aware of the fact that something much more unwelcome might come along too. "Oh God! Oh my God!" Hermione rushed to Piper's side and helped the pregnant woman to her feet, practically carrying her, for Piper's unstable, shaking, legs were in no position to support Piper's body plus some. They barely made it too the stream in time. Piper crouched on her arms and legs, her body racked with well... and Hermione watching, warily. Eventually Piper's explosions turned to coughs, she reached down into the stream and cupped a hand.
"No!" Hermione stopped her. "Think of the germs!" She pulled out her wand again. Running along the ground was a small rodent. Hermione seized it, then attempted to position herself so her wand was in one hand and pointing at the struggling animal in her hand. "Pertrificus Totalus!" The mouse froze. Hermione smiled inwardly, but didn't have time to admire her handiwork. She tapped it three times with her wand. "Vera Verto" In a flash, she was holding a silver water goblet. She squinted at it in the dark, shrugged. "Scourgify!"
"Hermione!" Piper called, weakly.
"Agumenti!" Hermione whispered, pointing her wand at the goblet one final time, before hurrying back to Piper, nearly spilling the filling goblet in her haste. "I'm here. Drink this!" She shoved the goblet under Piper's nose, Piper inhaling half of it up the nostrils before understanding what it was. She took a deep drink then gave a shudder, that took all the strength from her body.
"Thanks!" she said, hoarsly. "Now, if you help me back over to the fire..." Hermione hauled her up again and led her back to the minature camp. Piper curled up on the soft moss near the warmth and the heat and didn't stir, still, Hermione took the precaution of turning her back before performing all the counter charms.
"Ouch!" Hermione dropped the squirming mite and sucked her finger. The little mouse scurried away into the dark, being turned into a water goblet, cleaned and then drunk out of, obviously too much for it.
A thud woke Piper the second time. She opened her eyes blearily, it was light, the fire had gone out which meant it was day. Piper turned over to see where Hermione was and shot back in surprise. An arrow had embedded itself in the ground, a few minutes away from her face.
"Hermione, wake up!" Piper pulled the half-asleep girl to her feet.
"Wass wrong?" she asked, bewilderdly, her voice slurred from sleep. Piper was just about to reply when a faint whistling noise was heard above them. Fearing the worst, Piper glanced upwards.
"Move!" Piper pulled Hermione, painfully by the arm out of the way as another arrow sailed through the air and hit the spot where Hermione had been two seconds previous. Hermione stared wide eyed, thoughts of sleep abandoned, the pain in her arm that Piper was still clutching, forgotten (or maybe it had just gone numb).
"Was that a demon attack?" she asked cautiously. Piper released Hermione (who couldn't help but sigh as all feeling flooded back into her arm) and bent down. She ripped an arrow out of the ground and examined it.
"No. It's not dark lighter. No poison, and they use arrows a bit more modern." She judged, holding up, what looked like a stone age arrow. Hermione reached out to touch it with tentative fingers but stopped.
"Can you hear that?" she asked. The rhythmetic thump of horse hooves filled the country air, birds stopped singing and stones began rattling on the ground. Piper let the arrow fall from her hand and slowly edged in front of Hermione, shoulders tensed, hands at the ready. Hermione fingered her wand in her pocket, mentally going through all the defensive spells she'd ever learnt about. Just over the hill, seven figures, riding on horseback came galloping over to them,
"Piper," Hermione whispered. "When you said about the arrow being modern - what time period are we comparing it to here?" The seven figures reigned in their horses and stared at the two time-travellers.
"Arthur look at this, two women, alone by the looks of it." one stated, eyeing Piper and Hermione.
"Well you can tell he's the brains of the family." Piper muttered for Hermione's ears only.
"Wenches, what is your purpose here?" another one asked.
"What is yours?" Piper returned at once.
"The woman's got feist." one commented.
"Ladies, I am Arthur Castus and these are the Sarmation Knights." said a man in a shiny breastplate, indicating to the other six around him. "Lancelot, Gawain, Bors, Tristan, Dagonet and Galahad." Each man inclined his head to the stunned Hermione and the raised eye-browed Piper. Piper bit back a sarcastic remark of 'And who are you when you're at home?'' and instead opted for,
"Did you fire those arrows?" the Knights looked at each other. "You could've killed us!"
"I think the wench is angry." Lancelot muttered to Bors.
"I repeat you could've killed us!"
"Piper, no they couldn't." Hermione piped up, her voice higher than usual.
"Hows that then?" Piper demanded, rounding on Hermione.
"Look at the arrows. They're facing the wrong way to be fired by them."
"But then," Piper turned back to the Knights, confused. "If you didn't fire them, who did?"
