chapter 7

Three days. Three lots of twenty-four hours, three sunsets and three sunrises.

Still nothing.

Harry's boots hit the mud again in an almost comical squelch and he came to an impatient halt. Struggling to withdraw it from the sticky ground his rain-drenched glasses managed to find their way off his nose and sharply into the mud, splattering his face as they hit the ground with a 'thut'. Annoyance was beginning to become a much-visited emotion in recent days. He withdrew his wand and cleaned himself up best he could, feeling blindly for his glasses through the darkness before muttering 'Imperio' and then finally balancing them back on his nose.

When he finally looked up again into the pitch black he could see no blonde head in front of him. Squinting through his glasses he realised this was due to the fact that his companion had since donned his dark hood and so merely resembled a distant silhouette, much further ahead of him than he had previously expected. Harry picked up his pace with anxiety and found himself surrounded by less and less forest, his strides able to stretch longer and longer. Perhaps Malfoy had found what he was looking for at last.

He caught up with him at the top of the hill where Malfoy had come to a standstill. There, just over the horizon of which he could see neither beginning nor end, lay nothing but wasteland, and consequently the fourth sunrise that he had pained without Ginny. He found himself disgruntled, skeptical of any discovery being made, immaturely frustrated. It was if he was back to his Hogwarts days, yet further back still - he felt perhaps how Dudley Dursley must have felt when trying to do a complex maths problem. Feeling a little guilty at belittling the good-natured Dudley he proceeded to instead focus back on his more immediate surroundings. Malfoy's stillness and silence resembled that of a great eagle, his hawk-like eyes as grey and cold as his father's. Yet he had a certain peace of mind that his father did not. Draco was willing to be here with Harry at the very least, if he had an ulterior motive other than to be of assistance to Harry he did not show it. Yet where were they, and what was it they were doing somewhere in Eastern Europe was causing Harry to begin to doubt Malfoy's authenticity.

'I told you in the beginning,' Malfoy said quietly, eyes still fixed on the orange line that was creeping over the distant hills, 'that you would have to trust me.'

Harry silently cursed himself for being such a foolish Occlumens.

'Stop using Legilimency against me,' he said grumpily, scratching his scar distractedly as he did so. Malfoy's eyes shot immediately towards the legendary mark.

'Pain?' he inquired, but not with relish as he may have done previously, but with curiousity, frowning.

'It hasn't since we defeated Voldemort,' Harry said truthfully. 'Just a reflex. Though I wouldn't rule out the fact that it could be effected by the fact that you are drilling into my mind right now.'

'You defeated.' Malfoy said, ignoring the second part of Harry's words entirely.

'Sorry?'

'You alone defeated Lord Voldemort, as you very well know, Potter.' Malfoy reiterated, just like his old self again, placing the 'Potter' at the end unnaturally.

'Can we discuss this later? My head is killing me' Harry replied, walking forward so that Malfoy might not see his expression. He absent-mindedly fingered the ring that was rolling round in his pocket, just to check that it was still there, though he knew it was - the weight of it seemed to have magnified considerably since he had removed it from its box and transferred it there, a place unworthy for its accommodation.

'Where to?' he said with as much brightness as he could muster in the grim surroundings. Malfoy observed the area carefully for a minute or two.

'Two hours rest,' he concluded firmly.

'So we're still nowhere near?' Harry replied. From the lack of response he received he assumed this must be the case. Two days ago he would have responded more inquisitively and yet by now he knew that Malfoy would withdraw no secrets.

'Trust me,' Malfoy said simply. Harry knew he had no choice. 'Two hours rest,' he repeated and set about making camp with his wand.

'If Sirius was right...' Harry said, appearing to have no finality to his words, though this often happened when the subject of Sirius was approached.

'Yes, if Black was indeed correct,' Malfoy continued for him, '- then there is still work to be done.'

Malfoy did not seem to need Harry to agree or disagree with him, and so instead he simply remained silent. He thought regrettably of Ron and Hermione and their reactions to his sudden departure - they were bound to have known - well, for a few days now. He imagined firstly their shock at what he had discovered in the past few weeks and kept from them as well as his collaboration with a former Death Eater, and particularly Draco Malfoy. Yet his greatest regret would be their frustration and infuriation with him that he had adventured and consciously chosen to leave them behind.

But no, they had lives they had to live whereas this was Harry's life, all he had ever known and would ever know. He fingered the ring again as he thought of it - was he rushing into things? He was still incredibly young...and besides, he was beginning to think that he could never return to conventionality after all the experiences that had changed his life forever. Or perhaps by marking him Voldemort had chosen Harry's path for him. He often thought muddled thoughts like this and sometimes wished he could share his concerns with someone, but since Dumbledore's departure they were no longer words he could voice to just anyone.

He felt too protective to even approach Ginny on the subject and he knew that neither Ron nor Hermione could offer words of comfort. Harry had previously not let himself think of how stimulating their company would be but one glance over the hauntingly domineering Draco Malfoy made him miss them immediately. Ron's clumsiness yet determination to help, Hermione's steady and often bossy companionship were only a few of the things he missed from the war years. Years that ticked by inexorably and yet sometimes he guiltily wished he could have them back.

'They will be back if we're not careful,' Malfoy said darkly, and then reproached at Harry's expression. 'I apologise. Your mind is easily accessible for some reason. As if it wants to be explored, unfolded...'

'You sound like Snape,' Harry grumbled, feeling more and more schoolboy-ish by the second. He forced his respect for Snape to kick in and knew that someday he would come to complete terms with the man who was responsible for the death of his parents, however much he regretted the action.

'As long as - I sound like someone,' Malfoy retorted, though his sentence was fractured and his words were muddled somehow. 'The past is inescapable,' he finished wisely. 'Severus surprised us all yet one cannot help to admire his passionate persistance.' Harry began to realise the controversy of the situation, two previous sworn enemies, camping out and discussing deeply emotional matters together. He would make Hermione proud.

'You really should learn Occlumency though,' Malfoy continued. 'I'm not much appreciating the many occupations of Harry Potter's mind constantly flickering in my own.' His usual drawl was back, but this time it gave Harry a genuine smile. Draco did not know how to respond to this and so instead busied himself with his things.

There was an oven inside the tent that they usually used but Malfoy seemed to have decided that he wanted to remain outside. Harry found it hard to believe he would be the type of man to want to 'watch the sunrise' but he would often wake in the mornings to find him doing just that, and so they magically fashioned something with their wands in the form of a fire. Malfoy pulled out a stack of sausages that he duplicated before returning to the expandable bag they had brought, courtesy of Hermione.

Malfoy shook his head as he put the sausage of the end of his wand and stuck it into the blazing fire.

'Granger does have quite a head on her, I must say.' Harry was constantly trying to not find Malfoy's pompous exterior hilarious. 'I can never believe such qualities exist coming from a Mud- from someone like her.' Though Malfoy abided by the newly formed laws on the treatment of Muggle-borns, most of which had been hand-crafted by Arthur Weasley, he often 'slipped up' on a few counts. He gave Harry an apologetic look, or as apologetic as any Malfoy can look and added, 'You understand, it's a -'

'Reflex, I know,' Harry finished lightly, also taking a sausage. He was finding each day easier and easier in Malfoy's presence. There were just some things that you cannot discover about someone when you are mustering all your senses to loathe them greatly. Their initial grudges would perhaps never fully vanish but Harry thought that mutual respect could not be outlawed.

They sat in silence while they ate and Harry took the chance to give his surroundings greater attention.

'Any idea where we are?' he asked, though he barely expected much of a reply. Malfoy checked the compass-like instrument on his wrist. If I'm not mistaken, central Hungary,' he replied. 'If we continue to be swift we should have completed our travel in less than two days.'

Harry was shocked - three days of no information at all and now this! Well, not quite, he still didn't know the identity of the person, place or object for which they were searching. Yet Harry had learned from Dumbledore that sometimes a blinded pathway made you see all the more clearly.

'Fair enough' was his final response, trying to sound impassive about the whole thing. It was difficult to conceal the happiness flooding through him when he had been denied it for so many days. Perhaps they would be able to unveil the mystery much more quickly than Harry had previously predicted. Then Ginny would be back in his arms...he imagined her body pressed against him now, smelling her firey shoulder-length hair, her luscious scent intoxicating him...

'You do know I can still hear those thoughts?' Malfoy said in a dull tone.

It was Harry's turn to look apologetic.