Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Forest of Mystery:
Dean carefully looked up, trying to see through the dust that now filled the cave. He was all covered up with dirt, but unhurt. Looking around, he tried to make out the figures of his friends, but to no avail; he couldn't make out anything through this dust. Coughing a bit, he called out, "hey, guys, is everyone ok?"
To his left he heard Lavender's voice answer him. "I'm fine, and so is Neville. How about everyone else?"
Ron's voice sounded muffled. "Get off me, Seamus! You're heavy."
They all could hear some movement and then Ron's relieved sigh when the other boy got up. Before Dean had the chance to ask them if they were alright, Hermione's concerned voice ran through the cave.
"Harry? Parvati? Are you both alright?"
It took a moment before Harry's exhausted voice answered them. "Define alright, Hermione."
Everyone sighed in relief but started to move when Parvati's voice sounded. "Instead of just standing there, being relieved, you could help us out here. I don't know about Harry, but I would like to breathe some fresh air and there's no way in hell I can stand up on my own right now."
Harry grunted and slowly started to get up from where he had fallen. Since the dust had started to settle down, Dean was able to see the movement and walked to his side to help him stand up. "Are you feeling well, Harry?"
The other boy nodded tiredly. "Fine, Dean, just a bit tired; that took a lot out of us."
Hermione appeared at his side. "But you did a very good job, as far as we can see; you managed to bring the whole ceiling down, and you put enough effort in it so that the stones that fell are small enough so we can move them without much problem without magic."
Parvati, who was leaning on Ron, complained from behind them. "Can we get out of here? I really want to lay down."
Dean nodded and started to walk forward, dragging Harry along. Neville appeared at their side and started supporting the black-haired boy from his other side, while Lavender did the same with Parvati. Seamus and Hermione walked forward, making sure that the cave was still in one piece, and nothing else would collapse on them. Quickly they extended some robes on the floor and made two makeshift beds for their friends. Dean and Neville appeared first, nearly carrying Harry, shortly followed by the other members from their little group. They lay both teens down. Lavender stayed at their side, talking softly to them trying to keep them awake, since Hermione wanted them to eat something. Everyone else was running around the room, trying to do get things done as quickly as possible. In their haste, they only managing to get in each other's way and were going even slower. Finally, Ron, who had been carrying a cauldron full of water, got enough of it and raised his voice. "Enough!"
Everyone stopped moving around and looked at him questioningly. The red haired boy glared at them all. "All of us need to calm down, we're only making things worse. Neville, you sort through the plants you and Hermione brought in today and pick out something we can make some soup with. Dean, look through Harry's trunk, there should be some meat in there; we will have to deal with what Harry and I killed tomorrow. The rest of you, either sit down or leave towards the smaller rooms and start making some kind of sleeping arrangements for everyone."
Everyone sighed and did as they were told. Within twenty minutes, they had all eaten and Harry and Parvati were soundly asleep.
Everone else, gathered around the fire and started to talk about what they were going to do in the morning.
Hermione stretched out a bit. "Someone should stay and start clear that room. I doubt Harry and Parvati will be in any condition to do it. Besides, I wouldn't like the idea of them staying here alone."
Everone nodded in agreement. Ron shrugged. "I'll stay."
But Lavender shook her head. "No, you won't. I need you to come with me to show me where Harry and you hunted today; we all need to get familiar of where it is so we can go there without a guide each time. We need to bring lots of food back since we have no idea how the winter will be. We also still have to take care of meat and fish we brought back today."
Seamus cut in. "Talking about that, how are we supposed to keep the food good? I mean, the winter will last months and the food without conserving charms, will rot."
Everyone thought for a while until Hermione answered. "Dean, Seamus, did you notice if there was any salt near the river? If we had enough salt, we should be able to conserve the food. At least, that's what people tended to do in the muggle world before there were fridges."
Dean frowned a bit. "I don't know if there were, Hermione, but I'll make sure to look for it when we go out tomorrow."
Lavender spoke up. "Besides, there's a cave that's very cold; I don't know how long we'll manage to keep the things in a good state, but it will help."
Hermione looked a bit surprised at her. "Really? That will help a lot, so we won't have to put salt on everything. Is it very big?"
Lavender shrugged a bit. "Same size as the one we put the wood in earlier." Then she added. "Parvati and I dragged that feline thing in there. Does anyone have any idea how to clean and cut it up? I mean, we can hardly leave it there with its fur."
Neville looked a bit sick. "I once saw how they cleaned up a rabbit; it's really disgusting, but I guess we'll have to get used to it."
Hermione looked fascinated. "I have seen it too. I guess that means that Neville and I will be staying here tomorrow. He can start to clean up the rooms and I'll try to do something about the cat." In an aftertought, she added, "we should also start with our rooms. It's nice to sleep all here together, but there's more than enough space to have at least separate rooms for boys and girls."
Dean nodded. "Not only that, we could also see to it that we find something more permanent for beds. I don't know about you, but I don't look forwards to sleeping on the floor for months; it ends up being uncomfortable."
Ron raised his eyebrows towards him. "And how do you plan to do that? It's not like we can go to a shop and buy a new bed."
Dean glared at him. "No, but we may be able to get enough plants to do something, to make it a little more comfortable."
Hermione placed a hand on Ron's shoulder to stop the sharp remark she could see was coming. "Calm down, Ron, Dean has a point, it would be more comfortable. We may not be able to make a bed as such, but if we make a hole in the ground for each of us and fill it with some hay, it will be nearly as good as a bed."
Seamus shook his head. "Hermione, how are we going to do that? In case you haven't noticed, the rooms around here are made of solid rock." He looked at Lavender. "The other rooms are the same, aren't they?"
Lavender nodded. "With the exception of the green room, the other rooms with no portals in them are all completely made in rock." She looked at Hermione. "And we can't do magic, at least not for now, we'll need all our reserves to finish the green room before the winter."
Hermione smiled wickedly. "Ah, but we still have potions. As much as I loathe to admit it, they will be much more useful in this kind of situation than magic." She smiled mischievously towards Neville. "Or have you forgotten the nice little potion you created the last day of term last year. The one that made a hole in the potion's class floor."
Neville groaned loudly. "How could I forget? I thought Snape was going to murder me on the spot. I've seen him pissed off at me hundred of times, but I swear that one was the worse. I'll never forget that you're not supposed to put unicorn hair with mandrake roots, 'cause it makes an acid that will be able to go through nearly everything."
His eyes opened wide when he realized what he had said and Hermione smirked pleased. "Exactly, my friends, and that include rocks."
Ron beamed at her. "Hermione, you're a genius!"
The girl blushed brightly, making everyone laugh. "Ok, it's decided then. Lavender and Ron will hunt tomorrow. Dean and Seamus will go fish and take care of some plants, and Neville and I will stay here."
Everyone nodded. They stayed in silence a while longer. It was too early to go to bed, but there was nothing else for them to do, so they put out the fire and laid down in their makeshift beds, hoping that tomorrow would go well.
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. Thanks to my beta, Vinnie.
Forest of Mystery:
Dean carefully looked up, trying to see through the dust that now filled the cave. He was all covered up with dirt, but unhurt. Looking around, he tried to make out the figures of his friends, but to no avail; he couldn't make out anything through this dust. Coughing a bit, he called out, "hey, guys, is everyone ok?"
To his left he heard Lavender's voice answer him. "I'm fine, and so is Neville. How about everyone else?"
Ron's voice sounded muffled. "Get off me, Seamus! You're heavy."
They all could hear some movement and then Ron's relieved sigh when the other boy got up. Before Dean had the chance to ask them if they were alright, Hermione's concerned voice ran through the cave.
"Harry? Parvati? Are you both alright?"
It took a moment before Harry's exhausted voice answered them. "Define alright, Hermione."
Everyone sighed in relief but started to move when Parvati's voice sounded. "Instead of just standing there, being relieved, you could help us out here. I don't know about Harry, but I would like to breathe some fresh air and there's no way in hell I can stand up on my own right now."
Harry grunted and slowly started to get up from where he had fallen. Since the dust had started to settle down, Dean was able to see the movement and walked to his side to help him stand up. "Are you feeling well, Harry?"
The other boy nodded tiredly. "Fine, Dean, just a bit tired; that took a lot out of us."
Hermione appeared at his side. "But you did a very good job, as far as we can see; you managed to bring the whole ceiling down, and you put enough effort in it so that the stones that fell are small enough so we can move them without much problem without magic."
Parvati, who was leaning on Ron, complained from behind them. "Can we get out of here? I really want to lay down."
Dean nodded and started to walk forward, dragging Harry along. Neville appeared at their side and started supporting the black-haired boy from his other side, while Lavender did the same with Parvati. Seamus and Hermione walked forward, making sure that the cave was still in one piece, and nothing else would collapse on them. Quickly they extended some robes on the floor and made two makeshift beds for their friends. Dean and Neville appeared first, nearly carrying Harry, shortly followed by the other members from their little group. They lay both teens down. Lavender stayed at their side, talking softly to them trying to keep them awake, since Hermione wanted them to eat something. Everyone else was running around the room, trying to do get things done as quickly as possible. In their haste, they only managing to get in each other's way and were going even slower. Finally, Ron, who had been carrying a cauldron full of water, got enough of it and raised his voice. "Enough!"
Everyone stopped moving around and looked at him questioningly. The red haired boy glared at them all. "All of us need to calm down, we're only making things worse. Neville, you sort through the plants you and Hermione brought in today and pick out something we can make some soup with. Dean, look through Harry's trunk, there should be some meat in there; we will have to deal with what Harry and I killed tomorrow. The rest of you, either sit down or leave towards the smaller rooms and start making some kind of sleeping arrangements for everyone."
Everyone sighed and did as they were told. Within twenty minutes, they had all eaten and Harry and Parvati were soundly asleep.
Everone else, gathered around the fire and started to talk about what they were going to do in the morning.
Hermione stretched out a bit. "Someone should stay and start clear that room. I doubt Harry and Parvati will be in any condition to do it. Besides, I wouldn't like the idea of them staying here alone."
Everone nodded in agreement. Ron shrugged. "I'll stay."
But Lavender shook her head. "No, you won't. I need you to come with me to show me where Harry and you hunted today; we all need to get familiar of where it is so we can go there without a guide each time. We need to bring lots of food back since we have no idea how the winter will be. We also still have to take care of meat and fish we brought back today."
Seamus cut in. "Talking about that, how are we supposed to keep the food good? I mean, the winter will last months and the food without conserving charms, will rot."
Everyone thought for a while until Hermione answered. "Dean, Seamus, did you notice if there was any salt near the river? If we had enough salt, we should be able to conserve the food. At least, that's what people tended to do in the muggle world before there were fridges."
Dean frowned a bit. "I don't know if there were, Hermione, but I'll make sure to look for it when we go out tomorrow."
Lavender spoke up. "Besides, there's a cave that's very cold; I don't know how long we'll manage to keep the things in a good state, but it will help."
Hermione looked a bit surprised at her. "Really? That will help a lot, so we won't have to put salt on everything. Is it very big?"
Lavender shrugged a bit. "Same size as the one we put the wood in earlier." Then she added. "Parvati and I dragged that feline thing in there. Does anyone have any idea how to clean and cut it up? I mean, we can hardly leave it there with its fur."
Neville looked a bit sick. "I once saw how they cleaned up a rabbit; it's really disgusting, but I guess we'll have to get used to it."
Hermione looked fascinated. "I have seen it too. I guess that means that Neville and I will be staying here tomorrow. He can start to clean up the rooms and I'll try to do something about the cat." In an aftertought, she added, "we should also start with our rooms. It's nice to sleep all here together, but there's more than enough space to have at least separate rooms for boys and girls."
Dean nodded. "Not only that, we could also see to it that we find something more permanent for beds. I don't know about you, but I don't look forwards to sleeping on the floor for months; it ends up being uncomfortable."
Ron raised his eyebrows towards him. "And how do you plan to do that? It's not like we can go to a shop and buy a new bed."
Dean glared at him. "No, but we may be able to get enough plants to do something, to make it a little more comfortable."
Hermione placed a hand on Ron's shoulder to stop the sharp remark she could see was coming. "Calm down, Ron, Dean has a point, it would be more comfortable. We may not be able to make a bed as such, but if we make a hole in the ground for each of us and fill it with some hay, it will be nearly as good as a bed."
Seamus shook his head. "Hermione, how are we going to do that? In case you haven't noticed, the rooms around here are made of solid rock." He looked at Lavender. "The other rooms are the same, aren't they?"
Lavender nodded. "With the exception of the green room, the other rooms with no portals in them are all completely made in rock." She looked at Hermione. "And we can't do magic, at least not for now, we'll need all our reserves to finish the green room before the winter."
Hermione smiled wickedly. "Ah, but we still have potions. As much as I loathe to admit it, they will be much more useful in this kind of situation than magic." She smiled mischievously towards Neville. "Or have you forgotten the nice little potion you created the last day of term last year. The one that made a hole in the potion's class floor."
Neville groaned loudly. "How could I forget? I thought Snape was going to murder me on the spot. I've seen him pissed off at me hundred of times, but I swear that one was the worse. I'll never forget that you're not supposed to put unicorn hair with mandrake roots, 'cause it makes an acid that will be able to go through nearly everything."
His eyes opened wide when he realized what he had said and Hermione smirked pleased. "Exactly, my friends, and that include rocks."
Ron beamed at her. "Hermione, you're a genius!"
The girl blushed brightly, making everyone laugh. "Ok, it's decided then. Lavender and Ron will hunt tomorrow. Dean and Seamus will go fish and take care of some plants, and Neville and I will stay here."
Everyone nodded. They stayed in silence a while longer. It was too early to go to bed, but there was nothing else for them to do, so they put out the fire and laid down in their makeshift beds, hoping that tomorrow would go well.
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. Thanks to my beta, Vinnie.
