Chapter 19

It had been a few weeks since their meeting with Dresden. The first few days they'd spent traveling by train and sleeping in actual hotels, had been a nice break from camping. They were so far from home that neither had worried too much about being noticed, relaxing on how often they glamoured their appearance when they were around others. Their brief trip through civilization had allowed them to restock the supplies, as well. This time around, they were careful to use magic to replenish their food supplies when they were running low. Having a reliable source of sustenance made their second foray into never-ending forests significantly more bearable. However, this leg of their journey wasn't any easier than the first.

The weather had change from late-summer to fall, bringing lower temperatures and more rain. The cooler temperatures were welcomed; the rain not so much. It had been raining for three days now with little more than half-hour pauses throughout the day. Cedric and Anya had been trapped inside the tent the whole time and were slowly losing their minds. They'd each read every book they had twice, taken inventory of food and potion supplies, and practiced what spells they could without damaging the tent. Neither of them had anticipated a situation where they would need something to pass the time. They couldn't even find a boring set of cards in their bags.

"You know what?" Anya said on the third rainy afternoon. She was lounging on the couch in baggy pajama pants and an old sweater, reminiscing silently about Hogwarts. "I think it's almost Halloween. God, I'd love to be at the feast and have a real meal prepared by someone else. Wouldn't you?"

Cedric didn't responded. Turning her head silently, Anya found him sitting ramrod straight in the old, lumpy armchair. His eyes were focused on the flap of the tent with such an intensity, she thought it might catch fire. Sighing, she picked up a throw pillow from the floor and threw it at him. It hit his face soundlessly and Anya laughed at the slightly bewildered expression on Cedric's face as he looked down at the pillow. He lifted his eyes to hers, one eyebrow raised in question.

"I was talking to you," Anya said, still smiling. "You know, glaring at the rain won't make it go away."

Cedric ran a hand through his hair, messing it in frustration. "I am aware of how the weather works."

He settled back into his sour disposition. He thought they were wasting time, which wasn't entirely wrong but they didn't have a choice. They'd never find a magically hidden building in this downpour. Plus, as Anya had pointed out many times, the muddy terrain would make their search that much harder and leave a trail. They had no idea what was out here in the woods. It was better to waste time than risk injury or death searching for Krall's home. Her logic, however, hadn't improved Cedric's mood.

"All right," she sighed, pushing herself off of the couch. "If we were back at Hogwarts, what is the one fun thing you would want to do?"

His scowl disappeared as his face relaxed into a more thoughtful expression. After a moment, a soft smile graced his lips and his eyes lit up. "Quidditch."

Anya, who was now standing in front him, huffed in annoyance. Folding her arms in front of her, she muttered, "Of course. That's not really something I can work with."

Cedric smirked at her response, an idea forming. She was too distracted trying to come up with a way to elevate his mood that she missed how his manner changed from nostalgic to mischievous. With inhuman speed, he pulled her into lap, laughing at her yelp of surprise.

"I hate it when you do that," she complained, lightly slapping his chest though she made no effort to get up. Instead she settled into a more comfortable position, wrapping her arms around his neck. "This isn't quidditch."

"Well, like you said, quidditch isn't really an option at the moment," he said, slipping a hand under her sweater to trace patterns on her skin. "But I think we can find something else to do."

She giggled at his attempt to be smooth. Undeterred, he closed the space between them, silencing her. Her fingers knotted in his hair as she returned the kiss, feeling grateful for the downpour that was trapping them inside.

The first thing Anya noticed the next morning was absence of tapping water on the canvas of the tent. It seemed the rain may have finally stopped. She snuggled closer to Cedric, hiding from the chilly, wet air that had infiltrated their shelter. The bluebell flames they used to keep warm had gone out in the night. Usually, they would have recast the flames before going to bed but they'd been a little preoccupied. Anya was about to fall back asleep when something heavy and hot landed on her feet.

She jerked up, hugging the throw blanket to her as she turned to see what could possibly be lying on her. Her surprise only increased when she saw a young dragon sitting there; its eyes focused on a bowtruckle that had momentarily escaped the dragon's reach by jumping up to the back of the couch. Carefully, she slid her feet away from the animal and then tried to shake Cedric awake. Disgruntled from the abrupt awakening, Cedric mumbled incoherently as he adjusted to consciousness. Afraid he would draw the dragon's attention to them, placed a hand over his mouth. Cedric's eyes widen, almost comically, before turning his head slightly to meet her gaze.

"There's a dragon in the tent," she whispered, barely moving her lips. She removed her hand from his mouth, hoping he'd stay quiet. Given the confused look on his face, she couldn't be sure what he would do.

Slowly, he pushed himself up so he could see if it was true, muttering "shit" when he saw the black-scaled creature. Its back was to them now, as it continued to hunt the bowtruckle. Anya realized it must have been very young as it didn't pay much attention to its surroundings. Still, that didn't mean it could do serious damage if it wanted to.

Making as little noise as possible, Cedric handed her clothes from a pile next to him.

"How do you think it got in?" she asked, still whispering as she slid on her sweater.

"It walked in. The enchantments were to keep people out, not dragons," he said with a disbelieving shake of his head. "We are close to the dragon sanctuary. It probably lives there."

Anya felt a little relief at that. The dragons in the sanctuary basically lived in captivity, especially when they were young. The babies were said to be fairly friendly toward humans until they were about a year since they spent so much time with them.

Pulling on her sweat pants, she asked, "So what should we do?"

A fully-dressed Cedric straightened up and shrugged. "Try to lead it out of the tent and away before its mother comes looking?"

By now the baby dragon had noticed their movements and was eying them with curiosity, the bowtruckle long forgotten. Though she knew dragons, even small ones, were dangerous, Anya thought this one was quite cute. She didn't recognize its species. Care of Magical Creatures hadn't been a favorite subject of hers. She'd done well in it, but hadn't retained much. All she could remember was that a lot of dragon species had black or dark scales. The memory of the first Triwizard Task flashed her mind, making her shudder. Anya hoped it wasn't a Hungarian Horntail. Given that their hides protected them from magic, she really didn't want to meet a full-grown version of their little friend no matter what the breed.

"Let's see," she muttered, looking around for something useful. As she looked, the small dragon trotted over to her, chirping every few steps.

"Looks like he likes you," Cedric said, smiling.

Indeed, it did seem drawn to her as it came to a stop in front her. It must have thought she had food. She a took a step back, testing a theory, and was happy to see the dragon follow her. Anya took another step and so did the dragon. Slowly, she led the baby dragon out of the tent, wondering what they would do once it was outside. Cedric followed behind, careful not to startle it.

Anya didn't have to wonder long about how to get the dragon to go back home. Once they were outside, a low, rumbling growl reverberated around them. Anya and Cedric froze, observing their surroundings with as little movement as possible. The baby, however, perked its head toward the sound and bounded off into the thick vegetation toward the source of the sound. After a few moments of making sure their friend didn't come back with a bigger dragon they both exhaled in relief.

"I think we should move on before we have any other unexpected visitors," Cedric suggested.

Anya nodded enthusiastically. "Agreed."

"Do you think we have the right coordinates?" Anya asked, side-stepping a particularly squishy patch of mud. "I mean, who would live this close to a dragon sanctuary?"

Anya inhaled sharply as she briefly lost her footing on the slippery ground. Cedric turned around to see if she was all right, concern changing to amusement as he observed her slightly hunched over stance and arms thrown out to help regain her balance. Glaring, Anya righted herself and resumed walking. It wasn't her fault the ground was a slick death trap.

It had been about an hour since they'd packed up their camp. Their pace was slower than normal. Not only was the ground hazardous after three days of rain, but they were taking extra care in inspecting their surroundings as they walked. They were searching for any sign of habitation that would be out of place this far into the forest: a worn path, cleanly cut tree limbs, a muddy shoe print that wasn't theirs. Cedric believed they'd be able to sense any magic used to protect his father's home. He was convinced it would stand out quite a bit in this environment.

"The dragon egg trade is very profitable," Cedric mused in response to her question. "And it's not like they'd have to worry about a lot of neighbors, magic or otherwise."

"Still crazy," Anya muttered.

"Didn't say it wasn't."

They fell silent, trying to sense a magical barricade among the bushes and trees. Anya wasn't so sure about Cedric's theory. It's not like they noticed a difference with their own protective magical barriers. However, Cedric believed these had to be more powerful like ones used at Hogwarts or the Quidditch World Cup. He'd noticed them at both. Anya hadn't. She chalked it up to him a real half-demon. That must have had something to do with his extra sensitivity.

"Can we pause for a bit," Anya asked, gasping a little. They'd been trekking through the forest for a few hours now and her legs were aching from exhaustion. She'd have thought after three days of rest, she could have made it further.

"Uh, sure," Cedric said.

They stopped a few feet up the path once they found some boulders to sit on instead of on the muddy ground. Anya carefully positioned herself so she didn't sit on a wet patch of moss that was growing on the boulder. Cedric searched through his bag until he found a bottle of water, handing it to her with a look of concern. Avoiding his eyes, she took the bottle.

"Have you been feeding?"

"Of course," she muttered, taking a long drink. "Look at where we are, I have an endless supply of my preferred source of energy."

"And yet you're asking for a rest after only a few hours of walking." When she didn't respond, he sighed and took a seat on an adjacent boulder. "I'm not blind, you know. I know you've been feeding more. I've noticed how you've limited how often you use your abilities and magic. Why haven't you said anything?"

Anya looked away from him, screwing the bottle lid on in an effort to stall. She thought she'd been so careful. She couldn't fathom how he'd noticed her feeding more frequently. Though, she supposed he could have been curious about why she was going off by herself so much and followed her. Or taken notice of her changed appearance before and after her solo excursions. She hated him for being so observant.

"I was handling it. I am handling," she corrected, her voice sounding weaker than she would have wished. Realizing there was no point in hiding it anymore, she added, "And I didn't want you to leave me behind in some effort to keep me safe."

She turned her gaze to him only to see him staring off into the trees, his lips set in a grim, thin line. His gray eyes were unreadable. Anya knew he had a right to be mad. They'd promised to be honest with each other, and she hadn't held up her end of the deal. But could he really say that he wouldn't have left her back in France? His jaw clenched for half a second and she wondered if he was thinking something similar.

"Well, you're not wrong," he admitted with a defeated sigh. "Though I suppose it would have been the worst course. We have a chance of getting you help now, at least. I just wished you would have told me."

"I know, I'm sorry."

He let her sit for another ten minutes, waiting for her breathing to return to normal and then a little longer after that. She drank a little more water during their silent rest, not worried about running out thanks to a replenishing charm. When she was ready to resume their hike, she capped the bottle and handed it back to Cedric with an energetic "let's go."

Taking the bottle, Cedric looked skeptical. "Are you sure? We can take a little more time. It's not like were hot on the trail."

"I'm sure," she insisted, sliding off of the boulder. "We should try to cover as much ground today as we can. We have lost three days."

Cedric nodded, frowning at her words. "You're right. We probably don't have much time."

He ignored Anya's confused look, taking the lead once again. She followed. Technically, they had nothing but time. Well, it'd be nice to find Damian Krall's home sooner rather than later. The Order needed all the help they could get, after all. But they weren't on an official schedule. Dumbledore didn't expect them back, or even to hear from them, by any specific time, and no one else knew where they were. Anya couldn't suppress the feeling of unease that that last thought caused. It was so easy to go missing when no one knew where you were or expected you somewhere.

The ground leveled off after another hour, which was a welcomed relief to Anya. She could catch her breath without needing to sit down. Not that it mattered much. The only thing she'd felt was the wet, cool air and the regular thrumming of life energy from the plants around them. Anya noticed the ground wasn't as muddy here either, though she couldn't figure out why. This path was just as exposed to the elements as the rest of their make-shift trail had been.

Anya kept her gaze down, not wanting to trip over a loose root. However, she slowly began to realize something was different about their current path. For weeks, they'd been cutting their way through forests. Constantly being grazed by branches, having parts of plants stick to their clothes and hair, and tripping over twigs and roots, but there was none of that right now. Lifting her head up, she paused and observed their surroundings.

"Cedric," she called as he was a few yards away. "This is a real path."

He stopped and mimicked her earlier actions in taking in the trail. Anya felt herself tense, suddenly feeling exposed. Cedric must have felt the same because he was standing next to her about five seconds after she'd called to him. His eyes darted around them, looking for a sign of someone else but the trail remained empty with only the natural sound of the forest.

"Someone made this," Cedric said, keeping his voice low, "which means we must be close to some kind of dwelling."

"And they used magic. The trail is too clear and too dry for it have been made or used by muggles. They've cast some spell to maintain it."

Anya felt rather than saw Cedric tense beside her, almost becoming immobile. He was on high alert, ready to attack if it was needed. Anya wasn't as defensive. There was nothing to indicate they were immediate danger. She would feel much better, however, if they moved back into the trees where there was more coverage. They could walk parallel to the path to see where it led. As nice as it was not to fight through the foliage, it wasn't worth being open to an ambush.

As if reading her mind, Cedric tugged lightly on her sleeve and led them back into the trees. He was able to keep his steps silent, so no one heard the crunching leaves as he walked. Anya struggled to take delicate steps before pulling out a wand and casting a silencing charm. She couldn't see his face, but she knew he hadn't missed the spell. Thankfully, he didn't say anything.

They followed the trail, able to see hints of its flat, smooth surface between spaces of green. Anya thought back and tried to figure out when they switched from forest to path, but couldn't pinpoint a time or distance. Clearly, she hadn't been paying as much of attention as she should have. If she'd been that oblivious to when they found the trail, then they could have missed any number of things.

Cedric stopped and held out his arm, wordlessly telling her to stop walking as well. She did so, coming to a stop next to him. His eyes were focused ahead, but Anya didn't see anything when she followed his gaze. He'd probably just seen a shadow a branch swaying in the wind.

"Cedric," she whispered, trying to break his concentration. With a small shake of his head, he indicated for her to say silent. She was about to protest when a blur of movement caught her eye.

Before she could even think the words that they were in trouble, they were suddenly surrounded by six tall figures. Cedric reacted faster, stepping between her and the nearest figure in front of them. The act was pointless as they were encircled by these strangers, though she appreciated it. She tried to look at them, but quickly found she was unable to see anything. The more she tried to focus on the people around them , the blurrier her vision became and the louder the ringing in her head got. Anya clutched her head in pain, falling to the ground. A second later, she felt Cedric fall next her. In a matter seconds, she succumbed to the attack and her world faded to black.

AN: I'm sorry that it's taking so long to write this. To be honest, I've felt very disconnected from this story for awhile and that's made it harder to write (and I'm pretty sure that's come through in the writing). There have been several times I wanted to quit, but I am determined to finish this story. If anyone is still reading this fic, thank you.