Sweeney returned early the next morning. He swore that he had spent all night going through the proper paperwork with the ministry officials and made sure the body was tagged and everything. But I could tell by his bright eyes and bushy tail that he had spent a cosy night cuddled up in bed with some "brass" in the Leaky Cauldron.
No one else believed him either, but we were all too tired to have a go at him, even Scabior, who had been up since daybreak and was currently chain smoking against a tree with a sour look on his face. I think it was because he knew that if Sweeney had just left the body lying around somewhere at the Ministry, Umbridge and all of our superiors would be down on him like a ton of bricks.
The previous few days that we had spent tramping through the countryside hadn't bothered me too much, but now it just seemed as though we were wandering around aimlessly hoping to find Potter. Everyone was annoying me today. I wanted to punch Sweeney in his big, smug gob as he went on and on about how much of a geezer he was after last night. Flint was hanging onto his every word of course, cheering him on so I wanted to punch him equally as hard. Greyback was breathing unnecessarily loudly, I wouldn't punch him but I could imagine doing it in my head. Scabior was just being a sulky bugger as he knew what the rest of us were thinking. If he's such a great leader, why haven't we found them yet? And to top it all off none of us had washed in days.
A few hours later, Sweeney was telling Flint for the third time how he had, "….banged her so hard she nearly went back in time.", when Scabior spoke.
"Can I just stop you there?" he put his hand in the air and without turning around said, "May I ask what exactly you think is so bloody brilliant about you shagging some bird? Is it some massive achievement that you have done something that your ancestors have been doing before time began? Because let me tell you, if it was that amazing I don't think I'd be able to move from the amount of medals I'd be wearing and next to the rest of the population you would just look like a shaved monkey in a tracksuit that someone has given a galleon to. Alright?"
That certainly shut him up. He ducked his head and mumbled something incoherent. I was really tempted to start clapping but thought better of it. It would have been funny, but there was something chilling about Scabior's tone that made it seem deadly serious.
We walked on silently for the next hour and I was about to ask when we were going to stop for the night when something caught my eye.
"Here, what's that?" I pointed to a strip of dusky pink material wrapped around a tree.
They all looked to where I was pointing and Greyback trudged ahead to see what it was.
"It's a scarf"
Scabior nudged past him and untied it, "Le'me see." He studied it for a second before pressing it to his face and sniffing.
"It's that perfume again." He seemed to say to himself before addressing the rest of us, "One of them is wearing perfume. They can't have gone far and they'll have to stop for the night. So I suggest we get some shut eye for this time tomorrow we'll be collecting a hefty sum from the Ministry."
That perked everyone up a bit so they set about building a fire and sorting the tent. Scabior was still holding the scarf and I thought that he might want me to look after it. That and the colour was pretty. I caught the end of it but he pulled it away.
"I'll be looking after that thank you. You get cracking with the tent like a good girl." He wrapped it around his neck and leaned back against the tree we found it on. I looked at him strangely.
"Go on." He said like it was completely normal to sniff and then wear a girl's scarf.
Later that evening, just as I was about to go to bed, Scabior pulled me to one side.
"I'm curious Hatchet", a smile played on his elegant features as he wrapped his fingers in a few loose strands of my hair, (this was a habit he enforced on nearly every female in his line of sight regardless), "What exactly are you going to do with your cut of the money? 'Cause you don't seem the sort to have a bank account or a property investment."
That was a good question. I could hear the others talking about it outside, wasting it on drink, women, gambling and the like. Scabior would probably do the same but I seriously didn't know.
" Erm, food, drink. Maybe rent myself a proper room for a few months. Why?"
He shrugged, "Just wondering what someone like you would do with it"
This statement pissed me off, I gave him a shove so he let go of me, "Are you the same person that I've been working for the past four months, or are you just stupid?" I nearly whispered the last part, not wanting to anger him.
He raised an eyebrow, a little taken back.
"There never has and never will be 'someone like me'. I'm unique, individual and blessed with a warped personality, speech impediment, voice that sounds like I smoke a packet a day and a goblins war wound for a face."
He still didn't say anything, making me even angrier. I let out a series of clicks and growls in frustration and stormed pat him and onto my camp bed, pulling the covers over my head. I could hear the steady pace of his breathing as he stood there a moment longer, then he let out a small grunt of laughter and left.
I must have fallen asleep in the midst of my mental feud because the next thing I knew I was being shaken awake by Flint.
"Wha'?" I mumbled
"It's your turn" he whispered sleepily before climbing into the bed next to mine.
"Right, right" I mumbled to myself trying to find my boots and jacket in the dark. The sharp night air certainly brightened me up as I sat down outside the tent and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.
I felt rather chirpy and then I remembered what Scabior had said to me the night before and this just sent me back into my immense huff.
It did get me thinking though. About what I would do after this was all over. If You-Know-Who did win then I would spend the rest of my life collecting galleons and delivering mudbloods. Sounded fine until I considered the aspect of doing that with a man that I desperately liked but didn't like me at all and had managed to convince himself that women only slept with him for the sake of it. Well, maybe they did but that didn't mean I would, "…and deep down, it will mean very little to you either." How was he so bloody sure on how I felt? I don't even know how I feel.
On the other hand You-Know-Who wouldn't win and I'd be sent to Azkaban to rot away just as my mother had. To be honest I didn't fancy either.
Without thinking I stood up and began to walk in a random direction. I was going back to London where I could crawl back into my hole so no-one would bother me with their money and their rugged good looks ever again. I started to sprint, dodging trees and leaping over logs, intending to find a safe spot and apparate back. Sorted.
I had gotten so used to the feeling the wind whipping past my face and the constant thud of my feet pounding on the ground, it came as a real shock when I went smack into something warm and feathery.
I lay there for a second before getting to my feet, ready to take on whatever blocked my path.
I wasn't expecting it to be a hippogriff. It let out an angry screech before leaning down to look at me with its giant yellow eye. My brain was telling me to bow, or at least reach for my wand but my limbs wouldn't let me. I just stood there, stunned, paralysed with fear. It didn't kill me the last time, so it wouldn't fail again.
It let out another deafening screech, rising up and throwing those lethal talons in the air and bringing them down in front of me, ready to attack. I was a dead woman.
It raised its left talon, ready to strike, but something stopped it. It looked as though a current was running through its body as it twitched, unable to move. It turned its head with difficulty and shrieked as it saw its attacker. I did the same and shrieked just as loudly as I saw who it was. The hippogriff broke free and charged at its new target, but was stopped again as thick black ropes appeared from thin air, binding its beak and feet together. It squirmed around but managed to break free, now more revved up for a kill. It only got a few more feet as a bright flash of green light ended it. The hippogriff fell to one side, making the earth shake as it did so.
Scabior looked at me, arrogantly calm as always, while I stared back with my mouth open wide.
"What the bloody hell do you think you're playing at?" he sounded pissed off, but he was doing his best to keep his voice under control. When I didn't reply, he let out an agitated hiss and made a swift movement with his wand. There was the sound of a whip cracking and a sharp slap reached my face. That was enough to spur me into action. I pulled my wand out of my jacket pocket, but had second thoughts and flung it to one side and ran at him instead. He had flung his wand down too, ready for a physical fight. I punched him as hard as I could in the face and his head jerked back. There was a nice trickle of blood flowing from his nose as he turned back to me, fire in his eyes. Before I could do anything else, I felt his fist make contact with my jaw, knocking me off my feet. I grabbed him around the ankles and pulled him down too and rolled on top of him, intending to hit him in the stomach but he pushed me off and stood up kicking me so I buckled.
"Give up. We both know who's going to win!" he jeered wiping his face with the back of his hand.
The wind was knocked out of me but I got up, determined to fight on. I lunged at him, biting hard into his shoulder. He let out grunt of pain and punched me hard on the face again. I felt a tooth chip and could taste copper but I pulled him down with me. I tried to bite him again, the face this time, but he grabbed me but the hair and pulled me back. I scrabbled at his hand until I felt his grip loosen slightly and gave a sudden jerk so I head-butt him in the chin. He was lying flat on the forest floor, looking dazed and I felt just as dizzy and tried to stand up, but a sharp tug brought me down again. He was on top of me this time, I tried to hit him but he got me by the wrists and held them above my head. Frustrated I tried to wriggle free, but he held me there.
"Do you feel better now after your little outburst?" his face was very close to mine, the blood was still running from his nose, but he didn't look angry at all, just amused, "Clamed down after having a pop at ol' Scabior here?"
I spat the blood that was collecting in my mouth onto the ground beside me, and lay back, out of breath and defeated.
He was still in my personal space, waiting for me to say something.
"This is probably the first time you've seen me covered in blood that isn't someone else's" I looked up at the trees, not wanting to make eye contact.
He gave a dry laugh, "You're certainly something else darling"
I stared up at him, interested that only now he was giving me a pet name like I was one of his many women. Feeling daring, I lifted my head slightly and let my lips brush against his slightly, for just a second. He didn't react so I didn't again and let them linger for a while longer, but nothing. I went to pull away when I felt the smallest amount of pressure of him kissing back, if you could even call it that. I gazed up at him in shock, but he had the usual arrogant smirk plastered across his face that he always had.
"Are you going to tell me what you were doing out here?" he asked as though nothing had happened.
"I will when you get off me"
We both stood and I said flatly as I brushed some of the mud off my bottom, "I was going back to London"
"Why?"
" 'Cause I don't want the money and I don't want to go to Azkaban and I don't want to run around with that lot any more, hunting like a pack of wolves"
He raise an eyebrow, "What do you want?"
You "To be left alone"
He shrugged, "Fine then. Go."
"What?" I was down on my hands and knees, trying to find my wand.
"You don't really expect me to try and stop you? I only followed you out here to see what you were up to. Go." He ran a hand through his tangled hair, "But it's not going to be me explaining to the Ministry, or, possibly, the Dark Lord why you have abandoned your fellow men in this so called war."
A pang of fear went through me as I found my wand and stood up straight again.
"They'll find you and drag you kicking and screaming, or in your case, biting and growling all the way back to the ministry. And this time, it won't be for recruitment" he was walking away now, back to the camp.
"Are you being serious?" I called after him.
"Oh yes" he called back.
It didn't take much more thinking for me to run after him and back into my sort of comfy, sort of safe bed. But there was something that kept me awake for the rest of the night. The little me inside my head was doing wee dances and shouting, "He kind of sort of kissed you!" over and over so I never got a wink of sleep.
Once again, that's for all those reviews, they are really encouraging. The next chapter will probably be the last in this part of the story. SlaughterWhore, I really liked those drawings, very impressive and flattered that you thought of Hatchet, she's nowhere near as pretty though! If anyone else wants to draw Hatchet feel free!
