After a very long time, I have uploaded chapter two!
Much thanks to -Tyler-Blaise- for encouraging me to continue the story in the first place as it was originally a one-shot.
and a thousand bowls of spaghetti to ninja82 for allowing me to spam her inbox with this story and dealing with a hundred rewrites and out of order chapters and everything else I put her through to get this next chapter up!
hope you like it! reviews greatly appreciated=D
Walking is the easiest mode of transportation, if not the safest. They are open targets, a giant bull's-eye traveling across the countryside. They trek through forests and fields alike, occasionally apparating to new locations. But apparition is difficult with so many people. More thought has to be put into choosing a destination than if there were only two or three people.
So they walk, Harry, Ron and Hermione leading the group, Fred and George in the back. Harry walks with a purpose, his head high and shoulders back, instilling confidence in the travellers that he knows where he is going, even though he hardly ever does. The main thing is to always be on the move, stopping every once in a while for a short rest, only making a complete camp every few weeks when they know they are safe.
It seems they are only too easy for the Death Eaters to find. They are out in the open for anyone to see. They should be fighting a different battle every day but there hasn't been an attack since the last one.
"Make sure you stay together!" Harry calls out every once in a while, not loud enough for the whole group to hear but at a volume that ensures the message will be passed on. He hears the murmur pass through the group and suddenly feels someone at his elbow.
"They want to know when we're stopping next, Harry."
Harry sighs. He never really knows when to stop, other than when he feels safer than he did in the last few miles. "Soon."
Ginny frowns. "Harry, that's what you keep telling them, but we haven't made a real camp in weeks."
"I know, I know. It doesn't feel right yet, Ginny. I promise, we'll stop soon." He takes her hand and squeezes it, letting go as she falls back to tell the others.
He takes a deep breath and looks around. There doesn't seem to be any sign of trouble-there never does-but he can't shake the feeling that they should keep moving. He feels as if they are being watched, followed. This is normal, of course, but it feels different this time.
He doesn't feel in danger, exactly. It's more of an annoyance, like when someone is reading over his shoulder or a professor is watching him from afar as he perfects his technique-he would feel better if they weren't there, but they aren't really doing anything wrong.
It's dark now. Several fires are spread out across a space large enough to accommodate them all but small enough that everyone can be reached if necessary. They are tired, he can tell, and he wishes they could build a real camp here but it still doesn't feel like a good place to stop.
Harry sits himself down next to a fire that is unattended, leaning back against a log someone had used to sit on. The warmth relaxes him a bit and he feels tired but he won't sleep for a while, long after everyone else has fallen asleep. He can't rest easy until he is sure that nothing is going to come after them in their sleep.
Hermione sits next to him, leaning against the log in the same fashion as Harry.
"I feel it too," she says, turning her head to face him. "Like someone is following us, but they don't want to hurt us."
"Then why don't they just show themselves?" He expects Hermione to have all the answers, a habit he gained during their years at Hogwarts, particularly when he waited until the last minute to do an essay.
She looks into the fire, studying it, and Harry wonders if maybe she can glean any insight from the flames. He turns his gaze to the fire as well, hoping to see what she does.
"Maybe they are scared. Maybe whoever it is is afraid of us."
Harry drops his gaze back to Hermione, who is still staring into the fire. "We're the good guys, Hermione. What does he have to fear?"
"Or she," she corrects him. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe he or she is worried that we wouldn't accept them."
Harry stares at Hermione long enough for her to turn and face him. "Are you saying that whoever it is is-or was-a Death Eater?"
Hermione's eyebrows knit in thought. "Not necessarily. They could have been someone associated with the Death Eaters unwillingly."
"Under the Imperius Curse?"
"Maybe. Or they have relatives involved with You-Know-Who. Or even someone we just don't like."
Harry considers this as Hermione stifles a yawn and rubs her eyes. She looks as tired as he feels.
"Go to sleep."
She smiles tiredly at him. "But I'm not even sleepy ye-" A large yawn escapes. Harry smirks at her. "Oh, all right."
She stands up and looks around the temporary campsite at the sleeping bags spread across the floor. The members of the group sleep in pairs or groups of threes, with the occasional quadrat. She begins to head back to her own sleeping bag next to Ron but a sound from Harry stops her.
He is snoring.
She sighs and laughs quietly to herself as she bends over him to wake him up. She gives him a small shake, barely containing her laughter as he sits straight up, glasses askew and fumbling for his wand.
"Coming to bed any time soon?" she asks, grinning cheekily at him.
He looks down, embarrassed, fixing his glasses and running a hand through his hair. "I'll be there soon."
She frowns at him. Soon. Soon he will be asleep against the log again, probably rolling into the fire and injuring himself. "Harry, you need to-"
"I'll be there in a minute, Hermione. Go to sleep." He isn't looking at her because he knows he will lose his will to stay up if he does. Her reproving look has that effect on him.
She sighs again, shaking her head, but makes her way to her sleeping bag. Zipping herself in she wonders if Harry will ever make it to his own sleeping bag. She stares at the empty bag next to her and extracts her arm from beneath the extra blankets she is using. She picks up her wand from beside her and taps Harry's sleeping bag several time. It glows orange for a minute and then fades.
There, she thinks, now at least he'll be warm when he finally does decide to sleep.
Replacing her wand by her side and pulling her arm back beside her, Hermione quickly falls asleep.