ANNOYANCE AND SELFISHNESS.

After the bedroom door was locked and after casting several spells to make sure no one could hear them, Darcy laid down on her temporary bed, trying to soak in the comfort that she would soon no longer have. Hermione grabbed her bag off the foot of the bed and Harry let Lupin lie down next to Darcy so he could continue resting. After everyone got settled down and squished together on the small bed, Hermione pulled out, what looked to be, an empty vial. Darcy raised an eyebrow as she reached out for it. Hermione handed it to the other girl and Darcy opened it, looking in.

"It's hair," she announced plainly.

Hermione took the vial back and stoppered it. "It's not just hair, Darcy," Hermione informed her. "It's Bellatrix Lestrange's hair."

Darcy looked extremely bored, not understand at all where she was going with this. She was quite disturbed that Hermione had been carrying a strand of Bellatrix's hair for who knows how long. Awkwardly, Darcy shifted and scratched the back of her head, making a note to take another shower soon. Harry, knowing that his sister was intelligent for her age, assumed she knew what the plan was, but after no one spoke for a few minutes, Harry began to doubt that she was putting all the pieces together.

Harry dug around in the bag for a few seconds and pulled out what he was looking for. A flask that when opened, smelled of manure and rotten cheese. Darcy held her nose and groaned. "No, no, no!" she cried, grabbing the flask from Harry and shutting it quickly, saving everyone from the putrid smell that now contaminated the fresh air in the room. "This isn't happening. This is a terrible idea. There's too many of us, you know that."

"But," Harry continued, taking the flask back from his sister. "With a few spells I know that you know, we can morph everyone, too. That way if we don't have enough potion, we'll still have a backup plan. Plus, we'll have the Invisibility Cloak."

Darcy sighed and rubbed her temples, glancing at Lupin, who had the same dumbstruck look on his face as she did. "It won't work, Harry," she grumbled, looking him dead in the eyes. "There's too many people. Bellatrix Lestrange wouldn't be traveling with – what? – three other people. They wouldn't let us all into the vault."

"It's worth a shot," Harry snapped. "We'll never know if we don't try."

"I'm telling you right now," she retorted, rolling her eyes. "It won't work. Gringotts is highly protected and with so much security around Diagon Alley because of us, they're going to be very sketchy and very cautious when it comes to large groups."

"Then what plan do you have?" Harry began to raise his voice and Darcy frowned. "Because I'd love to hear it! Go ahead – I'm listening – lay it on me."

Darcy mumbled something.

"What was that?" Harry asked angrily, holding his hand up to his ear. "I don't think I caught that."

"I don't have a plan!" screamed Darcy and everyone went silent. There was an awkward silence over the group of five and Ron wanted nothing to run from the room and swim as far away from them as possible. It was rare to witness a true shouting match between Harry and Darcy, but when people were around, it was horrible. Harry and Darcy did not think about everyone else listening. When they argued, it was just them.

"Exactly as I thought!" scoffed Harry, looking away from Darcy and to Hermione, whose head was down. She was swinging her legs back and forth as they dangled from the edge of the bed. Lupin coughed to break the silence, but no one paid any attention to him, so he closed his eyes and tried to block out the immature bickering. "At least we've been trying to think of a plan. And if you don't have one, then we're going to have to follow through with mine."

"Our plan, actually –" Ron interrupted, but Harry shot him a nasty look.

Darcy was breathing heavily. She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm standing my ground. This plan will not work. If you think Griphook will actually help us, then you're mistaken. Goblins have never been particularly friendly creatures, I'll have you know. Griphook will cheat us. He's going to get us caught."

"He'll do nothing of the sort!" replied Harry. "Griphook gave us his word in exchange for the sword!"

Darcy threw her arms in the air. "You don't think things through, Harry!" she yelled. "Griphook will take the sword and run. And then what? Say we get into the vault – we might have a Horcrux, but nothing to destroy it with. And if we don't get into the vault? Then we're down a possible Horcrux and the one thing we know can destroy it."

"Basilisk fangs can destroy Horcruxes – that's what gave the sword the ability to," Harry said slowly to Darcy as if she were a small child.

"I understand that," Darcy hissed. "You are more than welcome to hunt and kill a damn Basilisk. That's all you! And if you don't want to do that, then I have no idea where you think you're going to get a damn fang!" Her face was red with anger.

Harry hesitated and thought for a brief moment. Her argument was definitely rational. He had to admit, both of their plans had flaws. Well, his definitely did, but he wasn't about to admit defeat. He was going to press on and convince everyone that his plan was the only way.

"Quit being selfish, okay?" Darcy told Harry. "All five of us need to speak about a plan before acting upon it. We're together in this. It's not just you. It's not just you three. Remus and I are a part of this group, too, and we deserve to have some input!"

Harry was quiet. "Darcy, may I speak to you in the other room? Privately?"

Darcy rolled her eyes yet again and stood up off the bed, signaling to Lupin that she'd only be a minute or so. Lupin nodded and closed his eyes again, hoping to get some sleep in before Darcy blew up and was in a horrible mood for a few days. The last thing he wanted was Darcy to be in one of her bad moods. He needed her to take care of him for a few days. He relied on her.

Harry led Darcy into the room he had been staying in the past few days and shut the door. He did not lock it or cast any particular spells, but he spoke to her quietly and in a harsh tone. "How dare you call me selfish?" he breathed. "You haven't done anything but stay by Remus's side like a puppy dog! If you want input in our plans, you and Remus need to consult us every once in a while! You haven't been up to speak with us for a while because you felt, for some odd reason, that you had to stay by Remus while he was sleeping! And you call me selfish?"

Darcy's jaw dropped slightly. "You're being very rude, Harry! I've been doing my best to take care of everyone around here, not just Remus! You don't understand – he's just been through a transformation! If you're agreeing to let him stay, then you have to understand that he needs slightly more attention than everyone else!"

"Then maybe he shouldn't stay," whispered Harry and Darcy pursed her lips in a very Aunt Petunia way. "Maybe it's too much to have him come along. It's a fifth person and he's got issues that will simply slow us down! Without Remus here, we could have left a while ago!"

"Don't blame this all on him!" Darcy said through her teeth. She clenched her fists by her sides and felt her temples throbbing. "None of this is his fault at all! He's doing our best to help us and I think we should keep him. He knows too much now."

Harry crossed his arms and sighed. "Why are you here right now, Darcy?" he asked quietly and Darcy stammered, fairly sure that she had just explained the answer to Harry a few days ago. She had lost track of time completely. "It's quite obvious that you're absolutely infatuated with Remus. With him here, it's just a distraction for you. And we look to you as a leader! We don't need this, Darcy."

"It's not infatuation!" protested Darcy, realizing her voice had become louder. She lowered it again and listened carefully to make sure no one was eavesdropping. When she was certain no one was at the door, she continued. "I do love him, Harry. I absolutely do."

"Then go," Harry said in an icy tone. He briefly reminded Darcy of Snape, but she shook the thought out of her head. "Go home, then. If you want to be with him so badly, then leave. We can carry on without you two. We'll be just fine."

Darcy felt her heart sink. Is that what Harry wanted? Did he not want her there? "H – Harry," sighed Darcy, her bottom lip quivering. "I'm not going to leave you. You think I'd pick Remus over you? I would never do that… I never have!"

"Ever since we left Hogwarts, you've become this obsessive person," Harry ruffled his hair. "You're obsessed with finding these Horcrux – a little too much. You won't even consider thinking about the Deathly Hallows! And now that Remus is here, you're obsessed with him. I need you to be focused on this mission and nothing else."

Darcy closed her eyes, knowing that she had been awfully distracted at Shell Cottage. Lupin had taken up most of her time. She constantly wanted to be by his side and now that she thought about it, she realized how annoying she must have been hanging off his arm the entire time. She wondered if Lupin had tried to escape her, but merely failed because she tracked him down no matter what. Harry was absolutely right.

"I thought that allowing Remus to stay would be good for you," Harry continued, beginning to pace about the room. His shoes were loud on the wooden floor, but not loud enough for anyone to notice. He turned on his heels and walked faster, gripping his hair, obviously frustrated. "I thought it might motivate you, but he's just been slowing us down. He's been slowing you down."

"Well, I don't want him to go," Darcy said suddenly and Harry stopped, looking at her. "I want him to stay. He said he'd stay."

"Darcy –"

"He's trying, Harry! He's trying the best he can. We just stopped at a bad time. It won't always be like this!"

"I know he's trying and I know it's not his fault he's – he's a – well…"

Darcy gave Harry the saddest look he had ever seen. She was genuine about it, too. Her eyes were big and wide, watery and dull. She bit down on her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. Darcy looked away and grabbed the doorknob, preparing to turn it. She paused for a moment, trying to calm herself down before exiting the room. "You can't blame something he can't control," she told Harry. "That's what people have been doing his entire life."

"I'm sorry," Harry answered quickly. "I know."

"We can leave the day after tomorrow. That morning." Harry raised his eyebrows. "Remus just needs one more day to rest and then we'll move."

"You're okay with the plan?"

Darcy turned around and put her hands on her hips, finally caving in. "Yes," she shrugged. "We have no other options. We need to get out of here before word gets out this is where we've been staying."

Harry nodded shortly and the two left the room, explaining to the rest of their friends to be packed and ready, for they were going to be on the run for quite a while yet again.

That night, for the first time during their stay at Shell Cottage, rain poured from the skies. The sky got dark early, but Darcy had no sense of time. She just knew that she could not walk outside without feeling like she was taking a shower. She stayed in bed all day with the window propped open, reading a book and drinking hot cocoa that Bill had made, enjoying the calming rain falling outside.

Everyone was taking time for themselves. Harry had been sleeping all day, trying to rest up before going without sleep for a while. Ron alternated from the kitchen and his bedroom, eating most of the food in the house. It had been so long since the four had had regular food. Not fish or plants or berries. Hermione had been reading in the living room and Lupin had been dozing on an armchair with his feet on the table. He snored lightly, but Hermione was able to tune it out.

They all had grown tired and irritated. Any little thing set them all off. They had spent too much time crammed together. After so long, you got tired of being around the same people. Darcy wished that she could wake up next to new people some days. She wished she was at the Burrow and Charlie was pounding at her door, telling her to get up for breakfast. She wished she was at Hogwarts, student teaching potions. She wished she was anywhere but at Shell Cottage, planning to break into the most famous Wizarding bank in the world.

When the sky was completely black and stars were out, the rain still had not slowed down. Darcy closed her book and sighed, standing up and walking out of her room for the third time that entire day. She brought her mug with her, to refill it with water. She was getting tired of drinking hot cocoa. It made her tired. And that was the last thing she needed. Darcy needed all the energy she could get, which meant she would probably have to go to sleep soon, too.

Once Darcy entered the kitchen quietly, so she wouldn't wake Lupin, she filled up the mug with cold water and drank it quickly, ready to head to bed. To kill time, she took the magic sponge that normally washed dishes by itself, and she rinsed out the mug, squirting soap in it and washing it manually. She jumped when she felt hands touch her waist softly.

Darcy turned her head and saw Lupin's face next to her head, pale and sweaty. She paid hardly any attention to him at all, not wanting to bother him. Lupin let her go and grabbed a glass of his own, filling it with water and drinking it all very quickly.

"Going to bed?" he asked her, wiping his mouth with his sleeve like an unmannered boy. Darcy scrunched her nose, but held her tongue, knowing she probably did the same thing every once in a while.

"What time is it?"

Darcy looked past Lupin, seeing that Hermione was still very focused on her book in the sitting room. "Nearly ten."

She looked at Lupin again and nodded curtly. "Most likely, then." Darcy walked off, leaving Lupin in the kitchen. He watched her move and noticed that she didn't have curvy hips that wiggled when she walked. He tilted his head, staring at her until she turned around and caught him. She smiled weakly. "Aren't you coming?"

Lupin followed her as fast as he could up the stairs and into the back bedroom. It smelled of rain and nature and the ocean and Lupin had never walked into a more comfortable and cozy room. He could have stayed in there forever with Darcy, sleeping next to her and hearing the pouring rain. He laid down without speaking and got warm underneath the large blankets. Noticing the book on the bedside table beside him, he picked it up and flipped through the pages.

"It's a Muggle book," Darcy told him softly, stretching and then closing the windows slightly. "I took it from my Aunt Petunia when I was only sixteen."

"What's it about?"

"It's a real story," Darcy explained to him, getting into bed beside Lupin and taking the book from his hands, looking at the front cover. "About a girl in the 1940's and prejudice and mass genocide."

Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"She was fifteen when this was published and fifteen when she died." Lupin's eyes widened, eagerly taking in the information Darcy was feeding him. "In Germany – you know about the Holocaust, right? You grew up in a half-Muggle household."

"I've heard of it," he stated plainly and Darcy grinned, knowing that he knew exactly what the Holocaust was.

"Well, she was in hiding for a while. I think you should read it. I really enjoy the parts where she talks about all the goodness in people. In everybody, really."

"Do you agree?" asked Lupin and Darcy's eyebrows furrowed.

"Agree with what?"

"That there's goodness in everybody?"

"Well, I think that's a bit of an unfair question," Darcy shrugged, thinking hard. "For example, You-Know-Who has no goodness in him whatsoever. But his soul is so far gone and destroyed that it'd be impossible, I think. But here's the thing. To him – to You-Know-Who himself – he thinks he's a good person. He thinks he's actually doing the right thing."

"Why do I feel as if you're defending You-Know-Who right now?" Lupin said, a bit sketched out by Darcy's monologue.

"I'm not defending his actions whatsoever," Darcy replied quickly. "I'm just saying – how do you define goodness? Do you define it morally – like what is socially acceptable? Or do you define it as a personal feeling… like do you truly believe what you're doing is right? It's a very grey area, in my opinion. The goodness in You-Know-Who may be the extreme love he has for his snake."

"I don't think that's quite how it works," Lupin argued calmly. "You-Know-Who may very well be an exception in this case."

"Well, excluding You-Know-Who, then yes. I do believe there is goodness in everyone."

"Even Bellatrix?"

Darcy hesitated. "Somewhere in her black hole of a heart, she must care for something. A person or something. I don't really know, honestly. It doesn't give me much reassurance that a fifteen year old Muggle has it all figured out and I don't at this age."

"You've been exposed to much more evil than she has, I think." Lupin pulled his wand from his pocket and waved it around a few times, causing all the candles to go out around the room. He took the book from Darcy and put it back on the table beside him. "And that makes all the difference."

Darcy stared at Lupin, unconsciously smiling. "You don't believe it, do you?"

Lupin chuckled. "No," he told her slowly. "I don't."

"I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree, then?" Darcy asked and Lupin shrugged. "I think if you read the book, your point of view on the human race would change. There are some amazing people out there if you really look."

"On the contrary, I think that good things come to you. You don't have to look for them."

"So you're telling me that if I want good things to happen to me, I have to sit back and wait?"

Lupin laughed, defeated. "We'll figure out how to achieve total happiness when we get ourselves out of this situation. How does that sound?"

"Excellent," said Darcy, lying back on the back and looking up at the dark ceiling. "That sounds wonderful." After a few seconds of silence, she bit her lip. "What do you think of Harry's plan?" She propped herself up on her elbow, looking down at Lupin, whose eyes shot open instantly.

"I didn't expect much from a seventeen-year-old boy, to be frank," Lupin sighed. "But I suppose it's the only plan we've got at the moment. If we have even the slight opportunity to find a Horcrux, I think we should take it, no matter how ridiculous the plan may seem."

Lupin closed his eyes again as Darcy thought. "Do you think it'll work, though?"

"I can't say."

"Hey," smiled Darcy. "I think when all of this is said and done, we should go back to Hogwarts. To stay there for a little, you know? I mean, I just feel like Hogwarts is where I was raised and it's home to me… Maybe we could stay for a year while I'm teaching or something."

"And what of Teddy?"

Darcy pursed her lips. "Oh." She was sure Lupin was trying to fall asleep. "Right, I forgot. It's weird not yet being able to see him."

"Mm."

She felt like she was being annoying again, but she wished he would talk more. She enjoyed the intelligent conversations he could strike up with her in a moment, testing her mental capability and seeing if she could actually think – which she could. That's one of the things Lupin liked about her was her ability to stand her ground when it came to an opinion of her's.

Darcy rolled over with her back facing Lupin and she heard him shift behind her. She closed her eyes and felt his lips press gently against her cheek and then pull away. "Good night, Darcy. Thank you for taking care of me."

She said nothing, but pretended to be asleep.