Chapter 44
The full moon was obscured by clouds that night.
An eerie glow from behind the clouds set the mood, as the four figures blinked into existence under the hanging branches of a group of trees. Hermione was feeling particularly nervous as she gazed about the landscape in contemplation.
The rolling hills gave way to an open glade, with trees and shrubs scattered throughout. A cluster of boulders – covered in ivy and climbing vines – sat just to the right of the collection of trees the four were huddling under, a small stream carving the space between them.
Amaya and Chester stood a few paces away from Hermione, and had their heads together, mumbling and making gestures around the valley. Dìona winked at Hermione, before strolling past her to join the other two, hands in her pockets as she whistled a tune which sounded eerily like the wind.
Hermione grimaced as her stomach twisted uneasily, shaking her head and following Dìona. As she joined the huddle, she could start to make out what Chester and Amaya had been saying.
"Not good," Amaya was whispering, her words hissed out rapid fire, "…more protections than last time. This messes with our—"
"We already knew about the shielding," Chester cut in gently, "What's new is that they seem to have cleared up that back-door problem they had," He sighed, rolling his shoulders as he studied the boulder pile, "But I can work with that."
Amaya paled, and she looked at Chester with wide eyes, "No. No, you can't. It's too—"
"It's our only option, Maya," Chester interjected smoothly, "We need the tether."
"Chess—"
"Chester's right, Mai," Dìona swooped in, glancing at Chester in concern for a second before focussing back on Amaya, who was looking more and more dismayed by the second, "I don't like it any more than you, but we really do need to do this."
"But, Dì—" Amaya protested weakly.
Dìona cut her off, "You know just as much as me, how important this is. We have to do this."
Glancing once more at Chester, and then back to Dìona, Amaya deflated, nodding reluctantly.
"It'll be okay, Mai." Dìona comforted, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder.
Hermione glance between the three in bewilderment, "What will be okay, exactly?"
The three turned to her simultaneously, almost startled by her presence, and Hermione got the feeling they had forgotten she was there.
"Just a slight difference in the wards, but we can account for it." Chester smiled kindly, being the first one to recover.
Hermione eyed them suspiciously, "Right, cause it sounded like you were planning something dangerous."
Dìona laughed, reaching out to slap Hermione's shoulder, "We're planning to break into an enemy building, travel back in time and steal an important artefact. Of course, it's dangerous!"
Hermione didn't know what to say to that, so she shrugged.
Dìona did have a point.
A/N: song rec - Sink by Noah Kahan