The next morning when Harry awoke the tent felt colder than it had before. He took a quick look outside to find fine white flakes falling from the sky. He packed up quickly, grabbing the coffee, hitting it with a quick warming charm, and drinking it while eating a protein bar from his supplies. He took the tent down as quickly as he could. Then with his wand held in his long sleeve and after peering every direction to make sure no one was watching wordlessly removed the enchantments he had placed on the site, doing his best to make it look like he was just doing some morning stretches.
He packed everything back into his Jeep and set off to his next stop. He visited three cabins that day finding no leads before making his way back to Eureka in the afternoon, stopping in at the wizarding store on the edge of town to contact the bank, arranging to have the money sent to that little wizarding store deciding he'd rather have it with him before going back to visit Mel and the others, having dinner in a small greasy spoon diner, and then settling into a motel room for the night so that he could shower and watch the telly for a while. American tv was strange. The humor was so different from British tv, or at least it was to him. He was glad to be off the road. While the Jeep handled fairly well the tires did slip some on the freshly wet and slightly icy roads, though he acknowledged that that could be his driving skills and not the car itself.
The next day he woke to large flakes falling from the sky. He stopped again in the wizarding store picking up a few more things along with his money then he made his way back up to Merl's Mount, taking a different road into town this time and stopping occasionally to take pictures with the camera he had stashed in his bags, so as to better look like a tourist to the Muggle authorities at the airport. He hadn't actually planned on taking any picture but the snow amongst the trees was just too beautiful to pass up, as was the view from the overlook just before turning to drive the last few miles into town.
At the overlook he stopped to take a drink of the Polyjuice potion having let it lapse while he drove that morning. After Mel's warning about the perils of overuse he had been drinking it less often. He had spent the evening in the motel as himself, occasionally looking in the mirror to remind himself that he really was himself. It wasn't that it was that hard, he had chosen hair from a Muggle in London that looked fairly similar to him from the Ministry stores. The man had slightly darker brown hair, that was curly rather than the mess normally on top of Harry's head. He had green eyes and did wear glasses, though Harry discovered they were not real glasses after he changed the first time. The man was also a good ten centimeters taller and a touch thinner or lankier. Harry had put on some muscle from the physical training to be an auror. This of course meant that he had had to pack two sets of clothes but thankfully the knapsack made that easier to deal with. He just had separate bags in it for each set. Each time he put it over his shoulder or threw it in the backseat he marveled again at the lack of weight. There was so much packed in it, it should have weighed a stone or more, the weight should have been noticeable but it was feather light.
The first few times Harry had used Polyjuice Potion first with Ron as Crabbe and Goyle to get into the Slytherin common room and then with Ron and Hermione to get into the ministry, he had been so distracted he hadn't really noticed many of the changes and how they felt. As part of the typical auror training they had to practice doing undercover work in a variety of ways, not just using Polyjuice, but it was the Polyjuice session that was the most disorienting. He couldn't say he was used to it now but it was easier than it had been. During the two week session of training he and the others had all had to become around thirty different people, random samples from Muggles taken around the UK and kept in a storage facility somewhere in the Ministry. Harry had asked and found that each sample was dated and had a location marked on it so no auror would accidentally use a sample from the area they were completing an investigation in.
It wasn't just the fact that the changes that were made so quickly that made it disorienting, it was things like the first time he had to polyjuice himself into a woman. He and Ron both did it at the same time and when their breasts began to grow, they looked down in amazement and in shock both had slowly reached up to feel the new growth and then realizing what they were doing, dropped their hands embarrassed. Neville stood next to them cackling, well they knew it was Neville as he was in the same location as before but he had turned into a young boy. As he had once been a young boy he wasn't bothered as it wasn't so strange.
While in the disguise of each of those people they were required to perform a number of tasks, rather simple tasks such as walking and sitting but those changing the physical characteristics that many used to identify gender were required to try using the bathroom. Now that had been an interesting experience, one he preferred not spending too much time thinking about. Ron had asked why they were required to change into another sex and was informed that due to the limited number of active aurors there was always a chance that they might not have someone fitting characteristics needed for a particular investigation so they all needed to be prepared.
After spending some time in a female form and returning to his own then to a different male form and sitting down Harry wondered just what Hermione and Fleur had felt like disguised as him to help him escape his home. He made a note to himself to give them each a special gift that Christmas. Sitting on a thestral with parts you were not used to, had to have been somewhat distracting in their flight and they both made it; they had both stayed safe, had kept their calm. He was amazed. When it was Neville's turn to become a woman Ron and Harry laughed just as hard as he had while they watched him try to resist the urge to explore the new body and turn several shades of red when he realized what he was doing.
The first day Harry had spent searching, he had resisted all urges to go to the bathroom until he was able to be himself again. He was going to make a suggestion to the auror training unit that no matter the physical characteristics, all trainees be required to make that attempt multiple times throughout the polyjuice session. It had taken him three days to become comfortable enough in the body that wasn't quite his to follow natural instincts and simply go to the bathroom when he felt the need. Every time he tried the first two days he had felt as if it was his hands on someone else's body even though they weren't his hands when he looked at them, maybe because he used his hands so much more they felt like they were his.
It felt wrong, a violation in some way even if the original person would never know that it was happening. It also left him wondering about the ethics and legality of becoming another person without their permission and decided that that was something he would have to ask about. He knew Barty Crouch Jr had been charged with impersonating an auror even though Mad Eye had been a retired auror. Harry found it interesting he hadn't been charged as simply impersonating a wizard or impersonating a professor as that was what Mad Eye was supposed to be doing thing. He wondered if those impersonation laws applied to the general wizarding population or if they applied to Muggles. He would have to ask when he returned, maybe that was something that needed to change even with the care taken to not be in the same area of the country as the Muggle the sample came from. Which led to him wondering if they somehow tracked those Muggles in case they moved or died. What would happen if you were in the disguise of someone who had died and came across a friend or relative of theirs? Overall Polyjuice potion use was creating more and more questions for him. He made a note to practice more those other methods of disguises, maybe look into Muggle ways to disguise himself for future use, overall those wouldn't feel so ethically hinky.
As Harry drove into town he was greeted once again by the large tree. He wondered what they did to light it. It was quite tall to put candles all the way up near the top and quite dangerous as well here in the woods but he supposed they had some method to make it sparkle like Christmas trees often did and he doubted it was electrical, though considering that there was always the possibility of NoMajs arriving in town he could be wrong. Maybe they used bluebell fire. He'd have to ask later if he remembered.
There was no one out on the green or anywhere else in town that he could see when he pulled up and parked at the bar, but there were three or four other large sports utility vehicles in parking spaces down the road some by the bar and some across the street by the clinic.
Harry checked the rearview mirror quickly to make sure that he was in disguise. He no longer felt the Polyjuice take effect so it had become a habit to look in the mirror before opening the door each time he got out of the car. He quickly noted the small changes, then grabbed his wallet and his map and headed into the bar.
Hope was once again sitting at the far right end of the bar. As it was afternoon Harry noted she once again had a glass and a bottle sitting with her however this time she also had a plate with a large sandwich and pile of chips. The sight made Harry's mouth water.
Paige came through the kitchen door and smiled when she saw Harry, "Hey welcome back. Any luck with your search?"
"I guess that depends on how you look at it," he responded, "no luck finding Draco, but I have been able to check some places off so I know where not to look."
"Now that's surprisingly optimistic point of view," she said, "Are you here for lunch?"
Harry nodded, "Yes, and I thought I'd go across and see if I can use Mel's phone again."
"You go ahead and do that then," Paige said, "and I'm going to get a plate ready for when you come back. We made a large roast last night but had very few people come in so we have plenty of leftovers. We're turning them into some pretty piled high roast beef sandwiches. Do you want yours hot or cold?"
He only thought for a fraction of a second before answering, "Hot sounds wonderful."
He laid his map, pencil, and marker on the bar then turned and headed back across the street. When he climbed the steps he noticed a sign he had missed the last time "open, come on in" and so he did just that. This time he took in the small waiting area. There were a few plastic chairs with cushions that hardly looked comfortable at all off to each side and a display of muggle magazines on a table. He supposed this was needed as a cover should any NoMajs arrive. There was a small sign on the wall that read "Melinda Miles Healer." He imagined if any non magical people came in they would see a sign that said "Melinda Miles, Doctor." He wasn't sure what to do to get her attention so he waited a moment. He looked around the room for a bell or something and saw nothing. He was just about to call out when he heard Mel call down the stairs, "I'll be right there."
"No rush," Harry replied, "I just came to see if I could use your phone again."
Mel came down the stairs with a smile. They exchanged the same question and answer that he had with Paige about the search.
"Well no one has come through that recognized him and Mikey didn't meet anyone yesterday that recognized him either but she should be back in town shortly for lunch. You're just in time you know I was headed across the street for lunch myself. You go ahead go on back and make the call and I'll make sure we both have food."
"I stopped in there before coming here," he said, "since it is lunchtime and I wasn't sure where I find you and I am hungry."
"Oh you must have been to the bank and refilled your wallet. You seem much more willing to eat today."
Harry could feel his cheeks flush, "Was I that obvious?"
"Only to one used to seeing patients and looking for any clues in their behavior of the underlying issue. You'd be surprised how often someone is afraid or embarrassed to tell me what is really going on. So I've become fairly adept and picking up on smaller signals. I'm not sure anyone else would have picked up on it. They probably just saw it as nervousness in meeting a whole bunch of new people all at once."
"Well thanks," Harry said, "oh would you tell Paige no beer this time please. With the snow on the road I'd rather be completely sober while I'm driving. I don't want to have the slightest bit of alcohol in my system, just in case."
"Very responsible," she commented, "and very smart. I'll let her know. I think they usually have fresh-made lemonade would that be good or would you prefer coffee?"
Harry cocked his head to one side considering, "How about both?"
"Sounds perfect to me. I'll tell her."
"Thanks."
He turned and walked down the hall to Mel's office as she went out the front door of the clinic. He went through the now familiar procedure to use the calling card and waited while the phone rang on the other end hoping this time they would answer. He was even prepared for Ron's questions.
"Hello," came Hermione's voice, "Harry is that you?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry we missed your call the other night. I'm just so tired. Some days are so much more exhausting than others now. So I went to bed early and Ron was doing some research he says but I have a feeling he was watching the telly, it's such an utter distraction for him."
Harry bit his lip trying not to laugh thinking she was just as bad when it came to books, "S'alright Mione, I figured you were in bed and we both know how oblivious Ron can be at least when he's not at work needing to be observant."
"How are you?" she asked eagerly.
"I'm fine. How are you and little Rose. She's not going to make an early appearance is she?"
"Some days I wish she would," Hermione said, "being pregnant is so tiring and I'm ready to see her little face and hold her in my arms. Then other days I just hope she doesn't come until she's supposed to or even a little late. I'm not sure we're ready. I mean we have all of the baby stuff we need. We have nappies and a bassinet and a crib and clothes and well you get the idea, but are we really ready? Will I know what to do with a baby? I'm an only child and I never babysat. Ron is one of the youngest two of seven, he was too young to ever have to take care of Ginny. I'm worried we'll do something wrong."
"Hermione you're going to make wonderful parents. As ridiculous as Ron can be and as distracted as he can be he had an excellent example of how to be a parent, as did you. I know things have changed some since we were little but I think you'd still be safe in the long run asking yourself what your mum and dad or Molly and Arthur would do."
"True our parents are all pretty amazing,' she admitted. "Did I tell you? My mom and Molly are going to come spend a week with us each after Rose is here."
"Are you sure you want to do that?" Harry tried to keep the skepticism out of his voice. They had all heard the stories from Bill and Fleur about Molly's visit after Victoire was born. Molly had tried to take over the house and do things in her own way rather than the way that Fleur did them or wanted them done. She was full of good intentions but claimed with all of her experience as a mother, she did have seven children after all, that she knew what was best and they would see that in time.
"I've always gotten along better with Molly than Fleur does," she said.
"Well that's true, other than the time she thought you were breaking my heart and you are much more likely to speak your mind."
"Hey," she nearly shouted.
"I don't mean it in a bad way. I just mean you won't let her roll right over you doing whatever she wants. Fleur has always been more afraid to speak up since Molly didn't like her to begin with, so she didn't want to anger or upset her after they were married and possibly lead to more problems in the family."
"True," she acknowledged, "now tell me what's going on with you. Have you found him? I'm guessing not or it would have been the first thing you told me, not that I really gave you a chance? Except that I did ask you how you are and if you'd found him I would think you'd be happy about that and tell me then-"
"Mione," Harry interrupted; he had heard her go off on tangents before but it seemed to get worse the more stressed she was and right not she was obviously very stressed.
"Sorry, tell me everything."
He laughed at the image in his mind's eye of her sitting with cheeks flushed, biting her lip, "No there has been no sign of him no one ever recognizes him in the picture. I really think he is in disguise at this point, so now I'm searching the back roads one house or cabin at a time. It hasn't been so bad, the last two days especially since I found this little wizarding village."
"Merl's Mount," she said, "I tried to do a little research but I couldn't find anything on it though. It's really not on any maps not even wizarding ones of the U.S."
"It's not much bigger than a dot even, not on the map just in size." he said, "There's maybe ten buildings in the town proper. I think they call themselves a town but the majority of the people who would say they're residents live a few miles or more out of town and they don't seem to have any local government in any form, but they've been very helpful," he explained in more detail what happened on his first visit to town two days before. He told her about all of the people and how they had given him ideas of where to look and not to look.
"Sounds like you found a wonderful place but probably one he would have avoid," she commented.
"I wonder if he's ever even been through here I guess when I find him I can ask."
"And if you don't find him Harry?" she asked though quietly. "I hate to even say that, but what if you don't find him, at least not in time."
"I don't know," he replied, "I'm trying not to think of that. Last I heard Narcissa was holding on."
"The healers refuse to give an estimate on how much time she has left though. She could take a sudden turn for the worse. You really do need to have a plan. You also need to decide how much longer you're going to keep searching."
"I've only been here a few weeks Mione."
"Is that Harry, let me talk to him," Harry heard Ron say as if he had just come up behind Hermione, then he heard some shuffling as they moved around the closet and Ron took over the phone. Harry could picture them as clearly as if he was sitting there with them, Ron in the chair with Hermione in his lap one arm wrapped around her and both of hers resting on her belly. "Hey mate any luck finding the ferret?"
"Ron," Harry rolled his eyes and sighed.
"Just teasing, how much longer are you going to be though? You're missing out on some good cases here."
"You'll have to tell me about them another time. I ordered lunch across the street and it's probably getting cold," Harry said trying to cut Ron off before he got started. Once Ron started talking about cases he could talk for an hour without stopping. It wasn't that Harry didn't enjoy discussing their job, he just didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Ron did. He'd lost track of the number of times he and Neville had looked at each other at lunch at the Leaky silently trying to come up with a plan to get out. It had almost become a competition between the two of them to see who could leave first as the other would wind up stuck. Ron was none the wiser too intent on hearing himself talk.
Harry had the thought suddenly that he was going to owe Neville the chance to escape multiple times when he returned and they all ate lunch together again, at least as many weeks as he'd been gone which meant he'd be stuck listening to Ron until they had to return to work. Maybe he'd get lucky and Rose would be born by the time he went back. That way Ron would be off for a few weeks as he was taking a week or two to stay home with Hermione, though he wondered now if that would be before or after their mothers each visited, probably after. He'd heard that new parents were often exhausted though so maybe Ron would be too tired to talk. Plus he figured it would be better to hear about baby Rose and every little thing she did, or whatever his mother or mother-is-law said or did than the cases they worked day in and day out. All this ran through his mind fairly quickly so he wasn't really listening to what Ron, then something Ron said caught his attention.
"Wait, what did you just say?" he said suddenly.
"What, you weren't listening," Ron complained.
"Sorry," Harry said not really sorry at all, "I was thinking about my lunch just waiting for me, it's been hours since I ate breakfast. Anyway, what did you say?"
"I have no one to talk to at lunch or really the rest of the day," he was practically whining.
"Where's Neville?" Harry asked, thinking his other friend must be on to something.
"I don't know. He's working on some project. He has some separate assignment from me and he's got to do a ton of research. He's been spending all his time in the ministry library going over files and then going out and talking to people."
Harry said, "Oh you mean he's actually working?"
Ron complained again, "I resent that."
Harry laughed, "You do realize at some point you're going to be on a stake out somewhere and have to stay quiet right?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Ron said, "I can do that. You know I can."
"Yes I know, but maybe you should practice those skills in the office more often, remember how we were told in training to listen more and talk less. Now I have to go. Give Hermione my love. I'll call again when I can and I promise to be careful," he said before either Ron or Hermione could chime in from the other end.
"Alright mate, talk to you soon."
Harry shook his head and laughed again as he hung up the phone. As he stepped outside the clinic he noticed several more cars were parked in front of the bar. It seemed to be much more busy today than they had been two days ago; he only hoped his food was still warm. That he supposed, was a dumb thought, Paige had probably either waited to make his plate or used a warming charm on it. It wasn't really a surprise him not thinking of the charm though, after all he had been spending a lot of time in NoMaj restaurants, cafes, and diners where you really couldn't let the food get cold. Then he chuckled quietly to himself as he realized Ron hadn't said anything about warming charms either to keep him on the phone. He would have argued as he always did though that he could swear he could taste the difference between freshly cooked food and food that had been reheated in any way whether it was magical or Muggle. It didn't make it inedible, just different and he was never quite able to put into words why.
He took his place at the bar pushing aside the map he had left there earlier. He found himself sitting right next to Mel as she enjoyed her lunch. Paige cast a quick charm on the plate that she had behind the bar and placed it in front of him.
"We thought you might be awhile," she said.
He nodded, "I could have been longer but I managed to cut off my best friend before he could start telling me a dozen stories about work and what I'm missing. I get enough of those when I'm home I don't need them right now."
"Oh one of those," Mikey asked and raised an eyebrow with a sparkle in her eye letting Harry know she was just kidding around, "I know how that is, some people are nothing but work. They live it, even when they have a life outside of work they still think and talk about it. It does get tiring after time doesn't it."
"It's so odd," he replied, "he was never like that in school. Then he barely did the work unless Hermione was annoying him about it, or annoying us about it, I wasn't much better to be honest. I mean I worked for the classes I enjoyed but when it was a class like History of Magic or Divination...well I say that but making up answers for Divination was actually fun. Still now that we're working it's all he wants to talk about."
"Well when people find something they're passionate about," Mel commented between bites, "they can get a bit overboard."
"True," he said, "but I don't really have to worry about that right now so I'm going to eat."
"While you do," Michaela said, "let me see that map for a second."
Harry nodded and gestured with his elbow towards the map on the bar as he took a giant bite from his sandwich then hummed in appreciation; the soft thick homemade bread, roast beef, gravy, and swiss cheese all melted together-- and exploded with flavor in his mouth.
Michaela unfolded the map found the dot that Mel had used to mark Merl's Mount, picked up the pencil, and began to trace lines and mark off places.
"I stopped and talked to a few people since you were here. Everyone denied knowing the man in the picture but there was one," she broke off looking as if she was trying to decide what exactly to say next, "well let me let me tell you about it you'll probably have the same feeling I did auror training and all."
Harry finish chewing quickly, swallowed, took a small drink of his lemonade, and then responded, "I don't know, you have a lot more experience than I do right now. I mean I've only been at this for three years so practically anyone would have had more experience than me unless it's a new trainee."
"Smooth James," Mel intoned, "very smooth way to not call someone old."
At that Harry could feel his cheeks flush again, "I really didn't… I didn't mean… I" he stuttered and the ladies all laughed.
Finally he sighed, face aflame, "Just tell me."
Michaela had circled a spot on the map, "As I was driving around yesterday I remembered that there had been an old wizard shut in, living in a cabin by himself. He never came to town, at least not in years before I even got here and certainly not after I moved here. We always had to take food and supplies to him. He was a gruff old guy but he was polite. The last time we visited he said we wouldn't need to come out anymore, that he was taking on a roommate though where that person was going to live I don't know. It's not like there was room to spare in that little cabin. Anyway, he said the roommate would do the shopping from then on, but we never saw the guy. He must have done the shopping in Eureka or somewhere else, a bigger town.
"Which makes sense," Paige interjected, "we do our own shopping in bigger towns."
Mikey nodded, "I had not been back since old Raleigh said not to bother coming out to check on him but I still wanted to anyway. Mel went instead."
"I had more of an excuse, wanted to check on his health since it had been quite a while since I'd seen him or gotten an owl from him. It was about a year ago and this guy, must have been the roommate, said that Raleigh had died and left him the cabin but he wasn't sure that was legal and wasn't sure who to ask so he was going to stay there until he was told otherwise. He showed me a note Raleigh had left behind with him saying he had owled the bank to let them know to transfer ownership to Austin, that's his name, the roommate that is. So I told him that was fine if we heard anything about anybody else having any rights to the land or the cabin we would let him know. I contacted the bank and discovered that Raleigh had indeed sent them a letter to transfer the deed to Austin before he passed, they had even sent a goblin out to witness him writing a second letter that they have on file."
Harry nodded as he continued eating knowing that the ladies would get to the point eventually but hoping that they would get there a little more quickly and not wanting to say anything or show any impatience as they were being helpful after all.
Mikey continued, "I don't think Austin's the name he's always used and I don't really know why, there was just something about the way he said it, it felt as if he had to think for just a split second before answering. I've never heard any complaints about him. I didn't even think about him being up there when you asked the other day, it wasn't until I was on the road that I remembered that there are two or three other old witches and wizards living up there by themselves to and another two or three NoMajs. It really wasn't even his name or even the way he said it that got my attention. I mean I noticed it but that was more of an an afterthought as I was replaying the conversation in my mind," she explained. "When I showed him the picture there was something in his eyes, something about the way they narrowed just a touch as he looked at it and his denial was just little too firm not excessive just a bit too...I don't know it's hard to explain. Whatever it was was momentary as well. I'd think I was imagining it but…"
"But you do have experience with people and reading them," Harry said, "and some people are better at that than others anyway."
"Yes," she agreed, "Reading little body language signals is something I was fairly good at when actively working whereas I might miss something in a scene I was reviewing, fortunately my partner was the opposite, probably why we made such a good team. Anyway, I marked the place here and I'll draw on the roads to show you how to get there because he either knows something or he is your missing man."
"He always was sneaky in school," Harry said, "he got away with stuff that most people couldn't. At the time I thought it was just because his head of house covered for him, his head and his parents were old friends. Then there was his father who would have had a shite fest and found a way to blame someone else for things he did. He regularly did just because he could but maybe he was just that sneaky. It's an interesting thought. Anyway, you marking the roads on the map for me should make traveling in these backwoods easier."
"That it would," Michaela agreed.
Harry finished up his lunch, thanked Paige again, asked for a thermos of coffee for his drive, and leaned over the map with Michaela while she showed him how to drive to the cabin. She made him repeat the directions back to her including the landmarks she had mentioned, specifically the old wooden fence that would appear on the right just before the last turn.
"You sure you're ok driving up here in the snow? How much do you drive back home?"
"I don't drive much at home but I did get several days practice with a Muggle driving instructor before I left, mainly just to learn to drive on the right side of the road rather than the left. I did ask for an automatic. I drive a manual transmission at home but I thought trying to do that on an unfamiliar vehicle using my right hand instead of my left in an area I don't know with the possibility of snow and ice was just one too many variables.
It's been alright; better before the snow but I just try to drive slowly, not so slowly that I start sliding backwards but slowly. It's earned me a few honks and hand gestures from people flying around me but I'm not going to start driving in a way I'm not comfortable with to make the locals happy, sorry."
Michaela laughed, "Don't apologize, better safe than sorry. If you happen to get pulled over by a NoMaj officer for driving too slow, and it could happen, just explain it to them the way you explained it to me and while you're at it if they ask why you're here say you're here to visit me. I have a brother about your age, Josh, you can be penpals from when you were in school and you're meeting him here for a week of guy time under the supervision of big sister."
"Ok," Harry replied, "Josh, good old Josh, he wrote the funniest letters about your family-"
"Cat," she filled in, "we did have a kneazle named Fea, and Josh loved that annoying little furball."
Harry laughed, "I'll avoid too many details. Actually I think I'll just try to avoid being pulled over."
"Good plan," she said.
Paige filled a thermos of coffee and handed it over the bar to Harry, "Stay safe and warm."
"I will," he said and laid a few dragots on the bar not even asking how much he owed this time. He had plenty to spare. This money had come from his personal account not from the ministry. He was feeling kind of guilty for lying to these people about who he was. Maybe someday he would get the chance to come back and explain but for now he thanked them again for all their help and headed out to his jeep.
He sat in the front seat, with the map unfolded looking carefully at the roads he would need to take and replaying Mikey's instructions in his head on how to get there. He finally set the map folded just so he could see what he needed to see at a quick glance in the passenger seat beside him, pulled out and began the drive.
Mikey had said the drive would take about an hour at least in these conditions. Harry knew it would take him longer as he just wasn't comfortable driving quickly in the snow like he had told the witches; he drove fast enough to maintain forward progress but not much faster than that. There had been a time or two since the snow started that he could feel the tires lose their grip on the road when he sped up just a touch too much. It hadn't taken him long to find the sweet spot when it came to speed. He thought about turning on the radio to find music as background noise while he drove, not that he minded silence but after some time he missed having background noise, however he had quickly found out the first day in the woods that there wasn't much reception up here amongst these giant trees so it wasn't really worth it. The songs playing and cutting out then picking back up randomly was more annoying and distracting than the silence so left the radio alone.
He found the first two roads and made the first two turns easily, then he pulled off to the side to check the next few steps and discovered he had only two more turns to make. He found the first one on the left and made the drive looking for the wooden fencing that Mikey had mentioned but he couldn't see it anywhere; it was probably buried in the snow. It wasn't long before he realized he had gone too far so he carefully turned the car around and headed back. He once again missed the turnoff to the road though he didn't realize it until he had made it all the way back to previous road. So again he carefully turned around and began going in the other direction wondering if he really hadn't gone far enough the first time, he hadn't been looking at his odometer to track the distance but he didn't really trust taking his eyes off the road to do that.
Harry drove carefully back up the road, but the snow had begun falling harder and he was having a hard time seeing. Just as he was deciding to pull off to the side and wait until the snow let up, knowing he wouldn't be able to see the turn in these conditions, he felt the tires slip and being inexperienced driving in those conditions he over-corrected. The Jeep went off the road and into a ditch. When it stopped Harry hit his head and blacked out for just a second.
When he came back to full consciousness he looked around. Everything in the car seem to have survived so he opened the door slowly and began to step out just as slowly. He almost immediately knew it wouldn't be easy as the vehicle was at a wicked tilt and it was not a short drop to get his feet on the ground. He turned his body so that he was fully facing out the door and with his hands braced on the seat he slowly slid down pointing his toes to give him just a few more centimeters of length. His triceps were burning trying to hold him up, finally he just let himself drop and felt a pain in his right ankle as that foot hit first. He didn't quite buckle to the ground as he caught himself on the bottom ledge of the door frame but he did have to hold on tight to get his feet back under him.
Running a hand along the car Harry walked slowly around to the front as best he could, slipping and sliding up the other side of the ditch to check the damage on the passenger side. He couldn't tell for sure but there didn't seem to be a lot of damage it seemed that it could be fairly easily repaired. Unfortunately it would still have to be repaired. From what he could see the fender was dented pretty badly and there were scratches on the paint all along the front. He just hoped there wasn't worse damage underneath making the car undrivable. He was glad he had insisted on the additional insurance coverage on the rental contract, paying the difference himself.
He moved around back to the front and then on around to the driver side, carefully climbed out of the ditch, and onto the roadway. He stood just looking at the car wondering if there was anything he could do to get it back on the road. He reached for his wand and realized the one in his pocket was his secondary wand. His original, his favorite, must still be in the Jeep. He could use the second one to summon the original and the map so that he could try to figure out where he was. He did exactly that and stood with his feet getting colder and his upper body too. As he looked around he saw the fence that he had been looking for was just beyond the fender on the front of the Jeep. He should be able to walk to the cabin from here and maybe get help getting to get back on the road even if this wasn't actually Draco. He tucked his wand down in the special pocket in his jeans he'd had made for it after using it to summon his knapsack and to the close the door. He stuck his favorite wand in a hidden pocket in the knapsack where only he could find it. Then taking one last look at the map, he folded it, stuck it in the knapsack, and tossed the sack over his shoulder. He began to make his way slowly down the road.
As he walked he saw what had made him miss the entrance to the driveway he was looking for. The trees hung low over it, especially as the branches were weighted with snow. The space didn't seem very large. It might be easier to see in the spring or even the summer when you would notice the difference between the leaves and the space below. With the cloud cover hiding the sun and the snow falling marred his view.
He made the turn and began walking down the driveway discovering that the appearance of a tight space from the road was deceptive which made perfect sense, otherwise no one would be able to drive here. He continued walking for what seemed to be several minutes and felt as if he was getting nowhere but the snow here had piled up quite deep along the side of the road and he didn't feel comfortable walking in the middle you never knew when someone might turn, drive down, and not see him after all the locals were much more comfortable on these roads. So he stuck close to the edge slipping and sliding along.
A few minutes passed and the trees on either side of the road gave way to a fairly large clearing off to either side. The snow had temporarily eased off and it was clear enough that he could see a cabin in the distance, at least he thought it was a cabin off to the right. The road must curve so he decided rather than sticking to the road he would carefully make his way in a straight line across the ground. As he walked he become more and more tired; everything was cold and began to hurt. It dawned on him the he had not cast a warming charm on himself and that he had left the winter coat he purchased back in the Jeep. Fingers cold and stiff he fumbled with the wand pocket, unable to retrieve it he rubbed his hands together vigorously, or as vigorously as he could, trying to warm them then ran them over his arms. While the long-sleeve flannel shirt had begun to feel quite warm when he was sitting in the bar on Merl's Mount it wasn't nearly enough out here in the elements even with the shirt underneath also being long sleeved.
He shook his head at the thought of the nearly untouched thermos of hot, steaming coffee sitting in the passenger seat behind him, so far behind him now. He turned for a moment to look back thinking it might be worth retrieving the coffee and the coat but seeing how far he had come and knowing how difficult it would be to climb back up into the Jeep he turned again and began trudging to the cabin.
Suddenly the world in front of cabin was blurry. He wasn't sure what was causing it, if it was an injury or the fact that the snow was coming down much harder now and the wind had picked up and was blowing the snow around. He felt still more tired, stopped for a moment, pushed up the glasses off his nose and rubbed his eyes, blinking several times. Things seemed to be more clear so he began walking, nearly shuffling again. A few steps further his right foot, the one that he had hurt getting out of the Jeep, slipped into a hole and he pitched forward arms flailing wildly trying to catch himself. He managed not to hit his head again but now his left wrist sang in pain. He tried crawling as standing on his ankle hurt too much. He struggled with his left wrist and settled on crawling mostly on his stomach using his left elbow instead, intent on continuing to move as much as possible. He looked up and the cabin still seemed so far away so he resolved not to look up again for several minutes sure he would be nearly there, but when he looked again it appeared no larger and no closer. Finally he could move no more. He was simply too tired and in too much pain. He decided to rest for just a moment, closed his eyes, laid his head down on his uninjured right arm and...