Disclaimer; I don't own any of the characters.
Forest of Mystery.
They woke up very early the next morning. It was not even light when Dean and Ron went out to get some water, but they were tired of lying on the hard ground. They really would have to do something about it soon. Lavender and Seamus quickly made something for breakfast, using the food Harry still had in his trunk, while Hermione checked on Harry and Parvati, to make sure they were resting all right. Neville, who had just gotten up, moved to her side and looked as she checked on their friends. Softly, he spoke.
"Are they alright, Hermione?"
Everyone stopped doing what they were doing at the moment and looked at her. The girl shrugged slightly. "I think they are fine. As far as I can tell, they are just sleeping."
Everyone nodded, understanding that, even if she was smart, she was not a medi-witch, and that therefore she could only guess what was going on.
Once they had eaten, Dean, Seamus, Ron, and Lavender decided to go together to hunt and fish. After all, there was a big lake where Ron and Harry had hunted the day before, and to them it didn't really matter where they got their food.
This time it took them nearly two hours to reach the place, because they had to be careful to remain together and to follow the path the two boys had followed the day before, in hopes that nothing had changed overnight. The lianas were a great help, because Ron knew that without them they would have been hopelessly lost.
Once they reached the lake, Dean and Seamus were about to go do their things when Lavender stopped them. "Hey, wait a moment. If the two of you start fishing, then all those animals are going to run away, and Ron and I will not be able to catch anything."
All boys turned to look at her and nodded, knowing she was right. Dean sighed and was the first to speak. "What do you suggest we do, Lavender?"
The girl looked towards some of the bigger animals. "How about we try to hunt one or two of those together. Then you and Dean can go fish something while Ron and I collect plants and fruits."
Seamus looked sceptically towards the animals she had pointed to. They were from the same kind as the one Harry had killed when they had first arrived. "You're nuts, Lavender. Once we start attacking them, they are either going to flee, or they are going to hunt us as a group. I don't fancy trying to outrun one of those things."
Ron frowned. "Maybe we could climb on a tree and try to kill them from there."
Dean snorted. "Yeah, right, Ron. I may not be Hermione, but I know that those cats can climb trees, all cats can! That would be even worse. Besides, how are we supposed to bring what we kill back? They are not very big but we would have to carry them for at least two hours."
Lavender frowned at him. "Lower your voice, Dean; you're going to scare every animal away. Besides, you can't expect us to keep hunting small things. They are fine as long as we can provide for enough fresh food, but I might want to remind you that winter is approaching in about two months, it might start to snow and we're going to have to stay put in our cave. Even if we can risk it to go out, there might not be any animals around. We need the meat desperately; there are eight of us to feed!"
Seamus put a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. "Why don't we take care of one problem at the time? First, we have to figure out how to safely hunt those things; later we'll think about how we're going to bring them back to the cave."
Everyone nodded in agreement. After all, if they couldn't carry them back, they could always leave them there, the other animals wouldn't mind. Dean looked at the big felines again and started to search through his pockets. "How about we kill them from far away and then, if they try to come too close to us, we can use fire to keep them away."
Ron raised an eyebrow towards him. "That's a cool idea, but how do we get the fire in the first place? Unless you've forgotten, we can't do magic, and I don't want any of us to end up as Harry and Parvati while we are out here in the open."
The other boy rolled his eyes and finally took his hand out of his pocket. "Don't be dense, Ron. Of course we're not going to use magic, but you're forgetting that the world doesn't revolve around it. Muggles live pretty well without the use of magic, and they certainly know how to quickly light a fire." He opened his hand and showed his friends the small lighter. While Ron looked confused at it, Lavender and Seamus smiled.
Dean, seeing the other boy's confused look, pushed on the small button and the flame sprung up. Ron yelped softly, looking at the object with huge eyes. His friends couldn't help but laugh at him; they had never seen the other boy so startled. Lavender patted the red-haired boy on the shoulder and smirked at him. "You'll get used to it."
The other two boys went to pick up some wood while Lavender tried to tell Ron the difference between using a lighter and doing magic. When the tall boy was finally convinced that Dean wouldn't get hurt by using the small muggle object, they joined the other two and made two solid torches, wrapping a few plants around two long staffs.
Ron and Dean climbed up the tree and took their knives, aiming for the big felines. Seamus and Lavender moved a bit away from the tree and got ready to light the two torches as soon as the first knife was thrown. The girl quickly nodded to the two boys above them and Ron, who had waited for her signal, threw the first knife with as much strength as he could. He had thrown it to one of the smaller felines, who had been standing a bit away from the group, and the animal quickly fell down. The other animals noticed at once, and while most of them started to run away, a smaller group came to them, intend to attacking them. Dean was able to kill another one with his second knife while Ron missed his mark. Seamus and Lavender had quickly lighted the torches and were trying to drive the felines away from them. It seemed to work until one roared in anger and jumped.
To be continued.
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. And thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie.
Forest of Mystery.
They woke up very early the next morning. It was not even light when Dean and Ron went out to get some water, but they were tired of lying on the hard ground. They really would have to do something about it soon. Lavender and Seamus quickly made something for breakfast, using the food Harry still had in his trunk, while Hermione checked on Harry and Parvati, to make sure they were resting all right. Neville, who had just gotten up, moved to her side and looked as she checked on their friends. Softly, he spoke.
"Are they alright, Hermione?"
Everyone stopped doing what they were doing at the moment and looked at her. The girl shrugged slightly. "I think they are fine. As far as I can tell, they are just sleeping."
Everyone nodded, understanding that, even if she was smart, she was not a medi-witch, and that therefore she could only guess what was going on.
Once they had eaten, Dean, Seamus, Ron, and Lavender decided to go together to hunt and fish. After all, there was a big lake where Ron and Harry had hunted the day before, and to them it didn't really matter where they got their food.
This time it took them nearly two hours to reach the place, because they had to be careful to remain together and to follow the path the two boys had followed the day before, in hopes that nothing had changed overnight. The lianas were a great help, because Ron knew that without them they would have been hopelessly lost.
Once they reached the lake, Dean and Seamus were about to go do their things when Lavender stopped them. "Hey, wait a moment. If the two of you start fishing, then all those animals are going to run away, and Ron and I will not be able to catch anything."
All boys turned to look at her and nodded, knowing she was right. Dean sighed and was the first to speak. "What do you suggest we do, Lavender?"
The girl looked towards some of the bigger animals. "How about we try to hunt one or two of those together. Then you and Dean can go fish something while Ron and I collect plants and fruits."
Seamus looked sceptically towards the animals she had pointed to. They were from the same kind as the one Harry had killed when they had first arrived. "You're nuts, Lavender. Once we start attacking them, they are either going to flee, or they are going to hunt us as a group. I don't fancy trying to outrun one of those things."
Ron frowned. "Maybe we could climb on a tree and try to kill them from there."
Dean snorted. "Yeah, right, Ron. I may not be Hermione, but I know that those cats can climb trees, all cats can! That would be even worse. Besides, how are we supposed to bring what we kill back? They are not very big but we would have to carry them for at least two hours."
Lavender frowned at him. "Lower your voice, Dean; you're going to scare every animal away. Besides, you can't expect us to keep hunting small things. They are fine as long as we can provide for enough fresh food, but I might want to remind you that winter is approaching in about two months, it might start to snow and we're going to have to stay put in our cave. Even if we can risk it to go out, there might not be any animals around. We need the meat desperately; there are eight of us to feed!"
Seamus put a calming hand on the girl's shoulder. "Why don't we take care of one problem at the time? First, we have to figure out how to safely hunt those things; later we'll think about how we're going to bring them back to the cave."
Everyone nodded in agreement. After all, if they couldn't carry them back, they could always leave them there, the other animals wouldn't mind. Dean looked at the big felines again and started to search through his pockets. "How about we kill them from far away and then, if they try to come too close to us, we can use fire to keep them away."
Ron raised an eyebrow towards him. "That's a cool idea, but how do we get the fire in the first place? Unless you've forgotten, we can't do magic, and I don't want any of us to end up as Harry and Parvati while we are out here in the open."
The other boy rolled his eyes and finally took his hand out of his pocket. "Don't be dense, Ron. Of course we're not going to use magic, but you're forgetting that the world doesn't revolve around it. Muggles live pretty well without the use of magic, and they certainly know how to quickly light a fire." He opened his hand and showed his friends the small lighter. While Ron looked confused at it, Lavender and Seamus smiled.
Dean, seeing the other boy's confused look, pushed on the small button and the flame sprung up. Ron yelped softly, looking at the object with huge eyes. His friends couldn't help but laugh at him; they had never seen the other boy so startled. Lavender patted the red-haired boy on the shoulder and smirked at him. "You'll get used to it."
The other two boys went to pick up some wood while Lavender tried to tell Ron the difference between using a lighter and doing magic. When the tall boy was finally convinced that Dean wouldn't get hurt by using the small muggle object, they joined the other two and made two solid torches, wrapping a few plants around two long staffs.
Ron and Dean climbed up the tree and took their knives, aiming for the big felines. Seamus and Lavender moved a bit away from the tree and got ready to light the two torches as soon as the first knife was thrown. The girl quickly nodded to the two boys above them and Ron, who had waited for her signal, threw the first knife with as much strength as he could. He had thrown it to one of the smaller felines, who had been standing a bit away from the group, and the animal quickly fell down. The other animals noticed at once, and while most of them started to run away, a smaller group came to them, intend to attacking them. Dean was able to kill another one with his second knife while Ron missed his mark. Seamus and Lavender had quickly lighted the torches and were trying to drive the felines away from them. It seemed to work until one roared in anger and jumped.
To be continued.
A/N: Thanks for all reviews. And thanks to my beta-reader, Vinnie.