B"SD

Neither Assassin's Creed, nor Harry Potter belong to me.

Chapter Nine

The night settled in around them, as a sleepy chorus of "g'night"s emanated from various beds. And one by one, the travelers dropped off to sleep. Ezio leaned against the tent's entrance, arms folded, staring into the blessedly inky blackness. Somewhere up the mountain path, an owl hooted, sending the echoes spiraling through the scenery. The assassin settled back, comfortably, recalling a journey he had taken many years previously with his older brother, Federico, and their father to visit their uncle in Monteriggioni.

They had camped out near a mountain path then, too. Eager to please, Ezio had insisted on taking first watch. He could still remember that thrill of responsibility that had filled his chest when his father had agreed. Seven years old, and doing the night watch like one of the city soldiers! He had marched importantly up and down in front of their tent, the night's silence closing in around him. Finally, tired out, he had flopped down by the dying embers of the fire, yawning widely. Suddenly, there had been a savage cry from directly behind them, and someone had grabbed the boy from the back.

"AUGH!" He had shrieked in surprise and fear, before whipping around to find his dear older brother collapsed on the floor, laughing.

"Oh, that was priceless!" the ten-year-old had wheezed between peals of laughter. "You….should…have seen….your….face!" Furious, embarrassed, indignant, Ezio had leapt at his brother and began pummeling him. Giovanni had had to pull the smaller boy off of his older brother, because Federico was still laughing to hard to fight back. Now, more than ten years later, the assassin smiled at the memory.

A snap from behind him drew him sharply back to the present. He whipped around, staring into the darkness. He squinted hard, trying to make out any sign of movement. There! He turned on his Eagle Vision. It was glowing through the darkness, and far up the mountain path, mostly obscured by the mountain itself. But he had been sure he had seen it. A red aura, glowing around the figure of a man. At least he thought it was a man…it was hard to tell from such a distance, and equally impossible to know whether their follower was a Templar or a Death Eater. Then it was completely hidden by the stones around it.

There was a rustling from behind him, from the tent. He turned to see that Harry had woken, and had come out to join him.

"We have company," Ezio said darkly, nodding out to where the red glow had been.

"Should we leave?" Harry asked, alarmed. Ezio shook his head.

"No, I only saw one, and he was too far off to attack tonight. I believe he is just following us."

"Death Eater?" Harry squinted into the night, unable to see anything.

"Possibly." Ezio shrugged. "He could well be a Templar, though too." Harry cast a dark look across the pitch black scenery, then sat down in the tent entrance with a heavy, exasperated sigh.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Harry said, with a hollow laugh. There was a pause as his face settled into a frown. "I'm tired of being chased."

"Eh?" Ezio dropped down next to the younger boy.

"It's nothing." Harry said, shaking his head. Ezio snorted. "Okay, so it isn't nothing," Harry conceded, "But it's no use whining about it is there? I've been a marked man since before I was born; complaining won't change that."

"No," Ezio said, "But that doesn't mean you can't every once in a while."

"Yeah, but once I start, I don't think I'd be able to stop. A lot happens to me," Harry said, trying to keep his voice as controlled as possible. Honestly, if it wasn't Voldemort, it was the Ministry, or the Dursleys, or Snape, he added with a surge of hatred.

"Yes, I'm beginning to see that." Ezio said wryly. Harry laughed, this time a little more easily.

"But you know," Ezio went on, staring at the multitude of stars above them, "Even if we don't control our fates, or what happens to us, we do control how we will take it." Harry hmm'd in agreement. "Even if that means we allow ourselves to complain once in a while." Ezio added with a smile. "If we do that, perhaps we can then see how things could turn out for the better." Harry was quiet for some time, mulling that idea over.

"You may be right," He said, "I mean, who knows if I'dve had Ron and Hermione if it hadn't been for all our stupid adventures at school…or Professor Dumbledore." He shook his head ruefully. "I'm just being a git, I guess."

"Well," Ezio said, cracking his neck, "I hope that you are feeling better, because I'm all out of philosophy for today." Harry laughed.

"Yeah, think I'm good."

"Bene," Ezio slurred and retreated beneath his hood, leaning against the tent. Harry smiled, making a small note to discuss Ezio catching a few z's while on guard duty later. He stood up and ducked into the tent. It was about time he got a good night's sleep, leaving all his troubles in the hands of the capable Italian assassin.

Desmond awoke to the smell of frying bacon. He groaned and rolled over- and almost shrieked. Lucy was curled up in the nook of his arm comfortably, and she shifted slightly at his movement. It was apparent from her slow breathing and relaxed expression that she was still asleep, despite the sunlight seeping through the tent flaps. Glancing around, Desmond face palmed with his other hand as he noted Rebecca and Hermione's empty sleeping bags. The engineer would never let him forget this…

Just then, said head-phoned woman poked her head into the room.

"Breakfast is served, lovebirds." She announced sweetly, sending Desmond a wink. He responded with a glare that could freeze a desert. He slid slowly from under Lucy and staggered into the kitchen. He moaned at the full table. Well, at least he was up before someone.

"Ah, Desmond!" Shaun grinned, "Good of you to join us!"

"Just leave me alone, asshole." Desmond grunted and grabbed a piece of toast from the counter.

"Whoa, Desmond," Rebecca tsked, "not a morning person, are we?"

"Shut up," Desmond muffled through a mouthful of toast. Taking a seat at the table, he noted the map Leonardo and Ezio were poring over as the pair scratched their chins in consideration. Ron looked like he was still asleep, munching blandly on his bacon and Harry's expression was the one he always wore- Desmond couldn't quite place it. Hermione was at the stove, frying two more slices of bacon and Rebecca and Shaun were just finishing up their toast.

"So, where are we headed today, doc?" Desmond asked Leonardo preppily.

The blonde inventor proceeded to ignore him, muttering softly to Ezio and pointing to a specific area on the map.

"Well about that," Harry explained hesitantly, "Leonardo seems to think we might've gone off track…"

"Well we were being chased," Ezio's head snapped up defensively, "I'd like to see you stick to this gruello's map while being pursued by horsemen!"

"I suppose now would not be a good time to mention your driving skills?" Ron yawned. Ezio sent him a dirty look.

"Well which way are we supposed to be going?" Desmond asked, eye brows raised.

"See," Leonardo pointed to a forested part on the map, while sending Ezio a side-glare, "We're here. We missed the road to Forli by a few kilometers- instead now we're on a detour through San Gimignano."

"That sounds like a nice place." Rebecca nodded enthusiastically.

"It does, doesn't it?" Shaun snorted, "Why don't we take some tours and get souvenirs while we're there, eh Beccar? This isn't a vacation."

"You could stand to lighten up a bit, Shaun!" Rebecca replied, frustrated, "All I said is I thought it sounded nice!"

"And we have another problem," Ezio added, slapping his hand on the table for attention, "we're being followed."

"Death eaters?" Hermione asked from the stove.

"Could be," Ezio nodded, "but it may be Templars as well. Or…it might even be both working together."

"Well that's just stupid," Shaun retorted, "The Templars wouldn't do that. They can hardly even work with each other."

"I'm just open to possibilities," Ezio shrugged, "if we are attacked by Death Eaters, there won't be much I can do, though I will try. Most of the fight will be up to Harry and his group."

"Morning guys," A blonde yawned from the doorway.

"Lucy," Desmond nodded, "Did you hear what's happening today?"

"No, what?" Lucy asked sleepily, piling a small stack of bacon on a plate. Desmond repeated the highlights of the previous conversations (minus the bickering).

"So are we turning around or going through San Gimignano?" She asked, breakfast now finished.

"It may be a bit of a detour," Harry said, "but it's also a pretty good way to throw off whoever's chasing us."

"And if we turned around," Ezio added, "the road is mostly empty- perfect place for an ambush."

"San Gimignano it is, then." Ron sighed. "How long is that going to take?"

"Well as we're already part of the way there, it should be close; no more than two days," Leonardo said helpfully.

"Someone needs to work on your judge of distance, Leo," Ron grumbled.

"Ron," Hermione said warningly.

"Yeah, yeah," He waved her off; he was in no mood for another lecture this bloody early in the morning. "C'mon then," he said, standing up. "Let's get this show on the road."

A/N: One of my favorite chapters, this one. The next one'll be happier, I promise.

Italian Translation: Bene: Good