I am back again with another chapter for you all! I'm trying to keep back up my steady pace of posting even with the holidays happening for the rest of you also trying to avoid the holiday funks. Things start to take their turn in this chapter so buckle up guys the wild ride is about to begin. Thank you for reading!
Chapter Fourteen / Breaking To Your Bend
When a storm is coming you feel the effects even before they often begin. There will be a gentle rumble of the thunder in the distance that trembles in the ground. The trees bow and bend to the force of the winds as they come in. Instead of a vibrant blue sky you find only monochromatic grey clouds hanging above you. They're your tell that something is coming and to seek shelter and wait it out. And so you wait and you wait until the outside world has come to a calm silence. No more shaking from the trees, no more tremors in the ground, and no more pounding rain on all the walls. More often than not you are safe and in the clear. You can resume your life as was scheduled and go back about your day. That's the thing about life though; it doesn't always happen as you expect. We are always the trees bowing and bending to its will hoping that this isn't the day that it snaps us in half.
And then some days you walk outside to find you're in the eye of the storm.
You reach out and scream and plead to feel your feet back on solid ground but the tornado has already picked you up in its deadly grasp. Nature has no regards for your cries and it has no voice to tell you its uncertain plans. You are at the mercy completely of a creature with no conscious thought. Yet still this creature is nowhere near as devastating as those with conscious thought. Humans have the capacity for full ranges of emotions and contemplation of morals and how to apply them. Those obsessed with blood status can't see that human instinct runs in the veins of us all whether we are muggle or magical. The instinctual need to protect one's self is a common core in us all. Fight or flight and the determination of who we can trust to turn our backs to thrives in the mind of us all. It's also the same pain that we feel when the ones behind our backs are the ones holding the weapon be it a gun or a wand. The universe may break the legs holding you up but only a human will love you before they break them.
Hermione woke alone in her cot shivering and wrapping herself in the blankets that still smelled like him. She was sure she'd finally lost it for good and hallucinated their entire night together and even was imagining this smell right now but then she heard someone drop something outside of the tent and jumped with a startle to her feet. It was clumsy and half hearted but clutching the blankets tight around her she went to grab her wand from the table only to nearly trip on a giant black lump on the floor. Kicking it with her foot she recognized the leather jacket immediately and walked straight to the tent opening. Scabior was picking up a mess of tree branches and snapping them into halves before noticing her standing there look even wilder than last night staring straight at him.
"Ya know if you're gonna keep gaping at me like that I may just have 'ta charge ya. Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare?"
He squinted at her with a faux scowl and she turned several shades of pink under his glare before hiding her face under the blanket wrapped in her hands.
"God I must look a proper mess right now I don't even want to be near a reflective surface."
He made his way over to her and placed his warm hands over her own before dragging the blanket back off of her face.
"A bit ratty and you could easily pass for a street beggar in knockturn alley I reckon. What would the papers say my doll? Oh what an awful affair you would make."
His charm had yet to ever grow tiring to her and she found herself smiling more than she had in weeks as he teased her and tried to aimlessly brush her hair out with his fingers. He'd catch them in a knot or two and she'd wince slightly but didn't stop him noticing the look on his face as he worked his way through all the curls and kinks. How many nights had he laid awake thinking of this exact same moment? Getting to be so close to her he could touch her hair and feel the strange pull between them practically snapping with electricity.
"Go ahead and clean up doll I'm getting a fire sorted out for us to eat somethin."
It pained him to let go of her but he knew time was of the essence and he had to make sure she would be prepared when he broke the news to her. She hesitated but then nodded and headed back into the tent before bewitching it shut. He wasn't ready for what was about to come. Hell he didn't even know what he was going to do. He didn't want to leave her alone after what had happened but if they were heading straight towards the two of them then he had to try and intervene. Being torn from her side for a week or so would hurt but it was better than seeing her captured.
The thought of Dolohov finding her was more than enough to make the insides of his stomach want to turn. That beast was fowl and had a penchant for doing unimaginable to those that he caught. He'd heard the tales the week before of the young women that the Dark Lord had him leave on a street somewhere. Hunting was never a taboo for Scabior but the torture that was excessive and inhumane. He may have turned people over for money which was low enough, but he never laid a perverse finger on them and he sure as hell never killed one.
Not after what happened to his mother. He could never hurt a woman like that. He made that promise to himself long before he became a snatcher and he didn't ever plan on breaking it. Once the fire was made and coming to a roar he laid back and watched the flames lick at the dry blistering morning air. He wanted to think of a strategy but all that he could think about was the feeling of her pressed against his chest as his hand reached out at the dull aching spot just beneath his breast. His finger traced over the spots he remembered feeling her face press against in her sleep. It was so unfamiliar but he never wanted to lose this new feeling. It wasn't threatening or terrifying like most things he was used to. Not cold and detached or done out of an ulterior motive. It was pure and it felt like standing beneath the full glow of a summer sun. He didn't think he deserved it in the least.
"So what's on the menu?"
Her voice was soft and playful as she slid down beside him offering him the other side of her blanket. He took it gratefully even though he was near sweating beside the heavy fire. Anything to feel close to her. A wash up had done her well and she looked nearly well despite a flush still overcoming her face but that was most likely from not eating properly. Digging around the bag at his side he pulled out some sandwiches and small treats he'd picked up for her during his trip the night before. He also produced a small box wrapped in golden paper that he placed in her hands.
"What's this?"
"Just open it."
He gave no hints and just looked at her with a knowing smile as she torn the paper off and unwrapped the little box. Inside was an intricate thick gold wrist band that shimmered ever so noticeably in the radiance of the fire.
"It's been charmed! What does it do?"
Her smile nearly knocked him over as she beamed at him with an intense curiosity. He'd never seen his side of her and it was fascinating to witness. This was the Hermione that people always talked about and he'd heard of. A girl who was insatiable for knowledge and who was smarter than hell.
"It's a bond enchantment. See my ring you got has a blood connection to my family. It belonged to my father and his before him so on and such forth and that's why I can find ya with it. It calls out to me because it's connected to me. This band however is connected to me in a different way. If you're hurt or in pain I can feel it and if you're in danger I will know and I will find you. Once it's on whisper a secret word or phase to it and it will seal itself around your wrist so no one can remove it but you."
He was intense and very serious as he slid the band on her wrist, lingering momentarily to hold her hand between his own. This meant something and she was well aware of it despite wanting to believe this secret life between them would never end.
"You're leaving aren't you?"
It wasn't accusatory as he had thought it would be. Instead it was almost defeated and sad when the words left her lips. That hurt him much worse.
"I don't want to but I have to. There are people looking for you and not the kind you want to find you. They're very close and I have to lead them away. I'm not doin this to abandon ya sweet little bird I will be back as soon as I know it's safe. You're going to have to move your camp though in the opposite direction. Go as far as you can stand to walk."
His voice was rough and it was obvious he was fighting back a flurry of emotions but he wasn't going to let himself break, he had to be strong for this. For her.
"I trust you."
Toying with the new gift on her wrist she pulled it close to her mouth and whispered something to it only she could hear before it shrunk around her wrist like a second skin. She laid her head on his shoulder and they sat in a comfortable but terrifying silence as both their minds reeled with the unknown possibilities that lay ahead of them. Both of them were only hoping that in the end they would end up back in each others arms. God knows they would try. Only an hour passed but it felt like days as they sat like that eating their treats and staring at the now dying fire. With resignation they cleaned up their mess and he helped her pack her belongings and her tent back into her bag. Standing face to face in the now open clearing she unraveled the faded worn scarf from her neck placing it around his.
"So you have something of mine at least."
Knotting the scarf firmly in place he tucked it under his inner jacket for safe keeping. He wanted to say something profound to her in this moment. Something to assure her that it would be alright but nothing came to him that seemed powerful enough. Instead he used his actions to replace any words that would never mean enough. Placing both of his hands lightly on the sides of her face he looked at her searchingly in the eyes before pulling her into a passionate kiss that left them both grasping at each other for a final solidarity. It was needy but not as desperate as their first kiss. This was like a rain shower after days of a drought. It was a blessing given to delay disaster and heal wounds.
With that they parted in opposite directions and neither looked back at the other.