A/N: Hello Friends! Hope your all well. Thanks so much to everyone who dropped a review for the last chapter 3 They really make my day & I love hearing what y'all think!

I keep forgetting to mention in my notes that this will update every Wednesday around 6 pm EST until the Fic is posted. So I'll see ya next week with the next chapter! I hope you like this weeks chapter, and a big huge thank you to Lia for the Russian translations so I didn't have to use good translate.

Chapter Five: Everything is Terrible, and Everything Hurts

"больно" it hurts

Harry was sitting cross legged in the back of the Volvo, when he heard it.

It had been weeks since he'd heard from Bucky. Everyday that passed left him more and more worried about what had happened to him. He was so on edge that he'd started to get short and snappy with Hermione, even when she most certainly didn't deserve it and he tried his absolute hardest not to.

She hadn't said anything but she had noticed and instead of pressuring him to talk to her about it, she'd insisted that he let her wear the locket every day over the past week. He could see how it wore on her, but when he tried to take a turn she'd refuse.

"You're already morose enough as it is, you don't need any extra help," she'd said that morning when she tucked the locket down the front of her oversized fishermans sweater.

"Now, mind the car, will you?," She swung the duffle bag over her shoulder, starting the short walk into the town they had found the night before. They were using as little magic as possible these days. The more they blended in with the muggles the hard they were for the Snatchers to track.

"Safety in numbers," Hermione has said last time they went into one of the big outdoor markets.

Harry wasn't sure if that was true or not, but he couldn't argue with a hot coffee and a sausage roll.

Harry hadn't told Hermione why he was so out of sorts. Considering their last argument about Bucky he didn't think she'd want to hear about it.

"I'm your friend Harry," she had said, " and that means I am morally obligated to tell you when you are being a complete and utter knob."

But he had a feeling she probably knew. Hermione always knew. If he didn't know better he'd have thought she could read minds.

"моя голова, больно" it hurts, my head.

He heard it again, it was such a faint whisper. He hadn't been sure the first time.

"Am I glad to hear from you," he thought, "I was really getting worried. Are you okay?"

"что ты, призрак? как ты попал в мою голову?" what are you ghost? how did you get in my head

"Bucky, seriously are you okay? It's been weeks."

"Bucky? I don't know a Bucky"

Harry took a sharp breath, he thought he was going to throw up.

"You're Bucky,."

"They call me Soldat."

"Yeah, they do. But I call you Bucky. And you call me Harry."

"Harry."

It went silent after that. Harry stuck his head between his knees and tried to breathe. Which is how Hermione found him when she returned from going to the market.

"Oh, Harry! What's happened?" She asked, dropping to her knees next to him. The shopping forgotten on the ground next to her.

He just shook his head at her and focused very hard on breathing. She put a hand on his knee, "you can tell me you know, I promise I won't say anything. I can just listen."

He took a great ragged breath and sat up. His hand shook slightly. "I'll tell you," he rasped.

"Why don't you go sit in the front," Hermione said, holding out one of her hands,, "you can tell me all about it on the way to Cardiff. I brought you some breakfast, one of those sweet buns you like so much."

He nodded, and took her hand, swaying slightly when he climbed out of the back of the car. She led him to the passenger seat, and tucked him inside before gathering up her shopping and closing the boot of the car.

When she climbed in the front she handed him on the fluffy sweet rolls from the bakery near the market. He took it, but couldn't bring himself to take a bite.

Hermione started the car, "We just have to pick up the laundry on the way out of town," she glanced at the clock on the dashboard, "It should be ready any minute. I'll just pop in real quick and then you can tell me everything."

"Everything," he repeated flatly.

They had been driving on the motorway for over an hour before he could find any words to tell Hermione what had happened. She was intently focused on the road, the radio playing the latest pop hits softly in the background. She had taken the locket off and dumped it in the empty cup holder.

"Stupid drivers make me angry enough," she said, the first time she took it off to drive on the motorway, "I don't need Tom Riddle's ghost egging me on. We haven't got time for a road rage incident."

Harry cleared his throat dry and said "They did something to him, Hermione and he doesn't remember his name."

Hermione turned off the radio to give him her full and undivided attention. Harry wasn't sure that was a good thing, he didn't think he could take the full weight of Hermione's concern right at the moment.

"Who did something to him?"

"People he works for. He has to do what they say or they do things."

Her brow furrowed, and she shot him a nervous glance, "What do they do to him?"

"I don't know. He won't tell me. Just says not to worry about him, he's had worse."

She snorted "Well that sounds just a bit like you, don't you think?"

"What no!"

"Oh don't give me that, I swear you've said that exact sentence. Oh, me? I almost died, no no I'm fine. I've had it worse. God, now you know how Ron and I feel." She stopped, "sorry, I'm not helping am I?"

She let out a big sigh, and nodded once, "Okay, let me try again. Tell me exactly what he said,"

Harry did, while he miserably ripped off the corner of his sweet bun and took a bite.

"Do you have any idea what the first thing he said was" Hermione asked, after thinking it over a minute.

"No, I can't speak Russian, you know that,"

"You mean all this time and you haven't had him teach you any Russian at all?!"

Harry laughed, despite the tight knot for dread in the pit of his stomach. Of course the first thing Hemione would have done was learn Russian.

She smiled a little, "I guess that was rather predictable of me wasn't it?"

Harry nodded, "Just a bit yeah,"

The gps interrupted their conversation and Hermione quickly yanked the car through two lanes of traffic so they wouldn't miss their exit. Harry held on hard to the door frame, while Hermione swore under her breath. Harry was never going to get used to her doing that. She was an unexpectedly aggressive driver.

Hermione had tracked down the gsp at a charity shop not long after they had acquired the car and while it was imperfect, occasionally leading them into a field. It was certainly more accurate than Harry was with a map. He was very bad at giving directions and more than once he had had the map turned upside down for more than half a day.

At least it was easier until they were in the wrong lane rocketing down the motorway and their exit appeared out of nowhere. The first time it happened Harry hadn't known Hermione could swear like that. She had yanked the wheel so hard Harry thought for sure this was it. They were done for. Harry Potter done in a pile up on the motorway.

They didn't wreck. Hermione managed to force her way through three lanes of traffic and got them off on the correct exit. She had to pull over to have a little cry, but they were in one piece. Although Harry had been sure his heart was never going to beat normally again.

Harry still had trouble working the gps and very slowly and carefully typed in the address for the hostel they were staying in for the next few nights.

"Oh," He said, "We should be there pretty soon. Only ten more miles before our exit."

The hostel was small and was set up more like an inn. It had a wide front porch and large gardens that were sure to be lovely in the spring. It was certainly an improvement from the first hostel they had stayed at.

The first hostel Hermione had found them had been for students and it had been cheap. It was downtown and it was loud, crowded and dirty. They had spent the night taking turns sleeping while the other sat at the foot of the bed and watched the door. They agreed not to do that again.

Hemione said she had learned her lesson, and while being thrifty was important, - if the money ran out, that was that. She was willing to stretch the budget just a little for more habitable sleeping arrangements. "Besides," she'd said, "Soon it will be spring and camping won't be so bad any more. Now that we can afford to eat and for firewood."

Harry was positive he never wanted to camp ever again in his entire life.

Their room for the night might be small but it was cozy. They had quickly settled into the small second room on the second floor.

Hermione was seated on the edge of the bed, her thick frizzy hair pulled back to two braids. She sat cross legged, eating a samosa. She was wearing an enormous purple tie dye t-shirt printed with kittens in witches hats. They had found a pair of the shirts for less than a pound each in a charity shop. Hermione had refused to leave them behind. She had yet to convince Harry to wear his.

She clapped her hands together, "So I've been thinking about what you told me this morning."

Harry looked up from his spot on the old rag run on the floor, he had two large maps spread out on the floor. He had marked every town they'd stopped in with a red x, so they could avoid going through them again. "What about it?"

"Well," Hermione started, "it's just what you said. You said, he told you to not worry about him. That he'd had it worse."

Harry grimaced and nodded,

"It just reminds me so much of exactly what you would say. So I thought well, if it was Harry what would he have done? I think he knew exactly what was going to happen to him. And I think he did it anyway, because he decided that helping you was more important than protecting himself-."

Harry gaped at her, "I would-"

She held up her hand, "let me finish, he knew what was going to happen, because it's happened before. And if it's happened before, and he knew what was going to happen, then it means he must get better eventually."

"How long is eventually? It's been over three weeks,"

She shrugged, "I have no idea, you're just going to have to wait."

"Why would he do that?" Harry grumbled, angrily folding up one the maps and tossing into the duffle bag at the end of Hermione's bed.

"Obviously he thought you were worth the risk," Said Hermione sagely, "We should turn on the Wireless, Potterwatch starts soon. Eat your samosa."

Harry pulled the Wizarding Wireless out of the Duffle bag, and stuck it on the side table next to bed, for Hermione to fiddle with. Then he sat next to her and did as he was told and ate his samosa. It was delicious.

Hermione ripped a piece on naan in half and nibbled on the edge while she started to fiddle with dial on the wireless, "Is Fizzingwizbee this week's password, or was it last weeks?" she asked.

"Um, I thought this weeks was flobberworm food,"

"Must be last week then," she said, that static started to get louder. "Almost got it," she gave it one more twist and Fred and Lee Jordan's voices filled the room. "There! And it's just started we haven't missed anything," she flopped back onto the bed. Harry handed her a curry and she popped the top off, dipping in the rest of her naan.

"I'm not going to lie," she said, "I did miss takeaway while at Hogwarts."

Shhh- its starting," said Harry. She stuck out her tongue and went back to her curry.

There wasn't much to report this week, and Harry was glad. He always had a bittersweet feeling tuning into Potterwatch. It was their only source of news about the war, and while it felt so good to hear his friends' voices for an hour or so once a week Harry always dreaded what they might say. Dreaded who else might have died.

Right as they were wrapping up the program, there was a sudden noise and some shuffling, "Oh hold on, this just in," said Fred, "important message for Harry Potter, from my very own little brother."

Hermione choked on her dinner. She started coughing wildly and Harry handed her a bottle of water.

"You'll find me, at the place we last met. Wow- good one little bro- well that's all for this week. You can hear us at the same time next week and the password is dungbombs."

Fred signed off, and the wireless returned to static.

"Oh god," said Hermione, between fits of coughing, "he didn't say when. Harry, he didn't say when!"

Harry sighed and pulled the map back out and spread it on the bed, "I guess we'd better get back to the Forest of Dean as soon as possible, hadn't we?"

"How could he be so stupid!"

"How else was he going to find us Hermione, it's been months!"

"He shouldn't have to find us, he never should have left! If we aren't there it serves him right. Now let me see that."

She dragged the map into the center of the bed. They sat next to each other, eyes following the trail of red x's.

"If we take the motorway almost the whole way," Harry said, dragging his figure along the map, "It should only take a couple of days."

Hermione nodded, "We'll have to be careful to avoid anywhere we've been, but I think if we stick to exits we haven't taken before it should be alright. I don't like back tracking, I feel like we're bound to get caught."

"We have to go get Ron!"

"Of course we have to go get Ron!" She snapped back. "We'll just have to be extra careful. We should go to sleep. We have a lot of driving to do tomorrow."

They did in fact have a lot of driving to do. When Harry went to sleep it was with a bright bubble of hope at the possibility of seeing his best friend again soon.