A.N ~ Thank you all so much for the encouraging reviews on my first chapter! I'm seriously grateful for the support. Fair warning Severus is a bit of a jerk in this story, although I'm sure he will warm up eventually. P.S- there are naughty, sweary words in this story. Please let me know if you'd rather I left it out, although Snape might get shirty 😉 As always, anything you have previously encountered is not mine, I am just borrowing. Happy reading!

Hermione didn't have time to react as Professor Snape fairly swooped towards her, robes billowing.

"What did you do?" He snarled, leaning into her face.

Fearful but rather indignant, she glared at him.

"What did I do? What did you do? You were the one in charge of the portkey."

She was beginning to panic as she looked around the wilderness, worst case scenarios flicking through her mind's eye. Hissing, Severus turned to face the greenery behind them. Taking in their surroundings, he came to a swift conclusion. He didn't have a fucking clue where they were.

"Well, Professor? What are we going to do? You're the teacher!" His student's voice rose in octaves with each word she uttered.

"I have no more capability than you on this god-forsaken rock. Has that massive brain of yours already forgotten that as we speak my owl is taking our wands to Australia?"

"You can use wandless magic- you taught Harry legilimency! You're supposed to be one of the most powerful wizards alive. Surely there must be something-"

"I tried and failed to teach that miserable imbecile legilimency. That is beside the point. We gave up our magic the moment we touched the portkey."

He stated that last part matter-of-factly, as if it were common knowledge.

"We did WHAT? You said we had to give up our wands, you never mentioned that we had to give up our magic entirely. I would NEVER have agreed to it. That is simply obscene, it's unheard of, it's-"

"It's the only way the ministry would allow the trip, that's what it is. Do calm down, your hysteria is giving me a headache. You would do well to remember that they are your parents we are rescuing, Ms Granger- not mine."

Taking a deep breath, Hermione nodded.

"Yes. I- sorry" She muttered lamely. The words were tinged with bitterness. She despised losing arguments and admitting herself guilty of poor judgement.

"Sorry is meaningless. Your apology would do me better if it took the form of action and you were to leave me alone to think without your incessant prattling."

Despite being entirely magic-less, she could practically feel the aura of fury radiating off him. His words made her blood boil, and she scowled at his back, which was now turned to her. Without uttering another word, Hermione spun away and headed in the direction of the jungle. She would have to deal with the situation herself, as per usual.

Severus heard her feet traipsing through the sand angrily and rolled his eyes. Once he could no longer hear the footfalls, he heaved a deep sigh and lowered himself onto the sand. He sat staring at the small pearly granules for a long time, mind churning over and rejecting every plan it created. There must be an out, something he was missing. There was always an out, it was how he was still alive. That and a certain know-it-all bitch. The hours passed slowly, morning giving way to afternoon. Finally hanging his head in his hands, Severus scrubbed his cheeks and admitted defeated. They were stuck, at the mercy of the elements and the fucking Moirai. From what he knew of the three goddesses of fate, they were as cruel as they were beautiful. With the way his life was going, Severus felt like he was their most despised puppet.

The moment Hermione's sneakers had hit firm ground and she felt the cool breath of the undergrow on her skin, the anger dissipated. In its place now sat sheer exhaustion, growing steadily deeper as the hours passed. She had picked a fallen tree covered in lush green moss to sit upon. She pulled off her shoes, tossing them aside. She let her feet touch the rich dark dirt of the jungle floor. The witch's shoulders shook as she began to sob gently, feeling utterly and totally helpless. Whilst Severus let his denial take hold as he sat on the sand, Hermione chose understanding. She had never had cause to develop nonacceptance as a trait. Deep down, the moment her eyes met the ocean she had known they were trapped. The ramifications were hitting now, though. She was stuck on an unknown island with no magic and a man who hated her. She almost wished the portkey had splinched her in two, so she did not have to face reality any longer.

Eventually however, darkness began to creep over the island and instinctual fear won out against her exhaustion. Who knew what sort of creatures were lurking in the damp cove of the trees surrounding her? Suddenly feeling very exposed and vulnerable, she stood and began to retrace her steps along the path of flattened grass. As much as she disliked Professor Snape, especially now, the thought of facing the situation alone was entirely overwhelming and Hermione felt her pulse quicken as she picked up the pace. She couldn't help but feel as though she were being watched and didn't stop to check as she raced toward the beach.

Severus was still in the exact same position he had sat down in many hours before. The tide would be lapping at his feet soon. He didn't particularly care. As the wizard was wondering if he would be fired for allowing the idiot girl to get herself killed on a random island in god knows where, the rustle of leaves caught his attention. His student burst through the trees as if the devil himself was hot on her heels. Upon seeing him looking, she hauled herself to a stop and walked slowly towards him.

He couldn't help himself as he sneered at her.

"Scared, Ms Granger? Don't think that coming over here will do you any good."

He was surprised when she said nothing at all, simply seating herself next to him and looking out at the inky black swells highlighted in the moon's glow. The feeling of discomfort abated somewhat now that she was not alone, but still she did not look back. Had she, the girl would have seen the pair of golden feline eyes glinting in between a gap in the trees.

That night, the pair neither spoke nor slept and come morning, both were weary. Once the sun had risen enough that she could see some distance into the jungle, Hermione crawled up the sand and under the shade of a large palm tree. She needed water desperately, dehydrated from tears and sweat, but her body refused to do anything more and she closed her eyes. Severus took the opportunity to look for water, far more used to physical exhaustion than his student, despite her time on the run. He walked through the jungle, stopping often to observe any new plants he came across. The island was apparently quite large, he had walked for at least an hour and only seemed to be delving deeper. He let the increasing humidity guide him, until he found a particularly damp patch of rainforest with a small spring in its centre. It wasn't much, barely a trickle, but it looked to be fresh. He knelt and tested it before drinking his fill, deciding to bring the idiot girl back here once she had finished being weak.

Headache reduced and feeling revived, Severus headed back towards the beach, ripping off large leaves and placing them on the ground periodically. That way, they would be able to find their way back without too much fuss. Now that his thirst was quenched, his stomach rumbled. He would need to find food, and soon if they hoped to remain alive. They wouldn't survive another day with Ms Granger trying to rub two brain cells together.

Upon reaching the palm tree, he felt a sliver of guilt at seeing the girl. The sun had risen higher in the sky and as such, she was no longer in the shade of the palm tree. Her face, hands and ankles had all been exposed to the sun and were now a bright shade of fuchsia. That was bound to hurt. Shaking her awake, he stated "You're burnt. You need water."

The ache which started as a gentle throb behind her eyes was now a splitting pain which radiated through her head.

"Ohh, god. Professor."

"The water is at least an hour walk, Ms Granger."

"I don't think I can" Her voice trailed off, little more than a coarse whisper.

Something had been niggling at the back of her mind, and it finally surfaced.

"My bag, there's water in my bag."

Severus stopped, dumbfounded at himself. In his misery, he had forgotten about their belongings, still dumped in the sand where they had been thrown by the portkey. What a fool. He had walked all that distance when there had been water mere metres away. Swallowing his anger, he reasoned it was better to know now. What little she had brought wouldn't last forever. He retrieved it for the girl, undoing the cap and sticking the bottle in her face. When she made no move to drink, he growled, frustrated, and held it against her lips, tilting it back until she pressed her lips together with a splutter.

Hermione closed her eyes, relief flooding her as the now-warm water ran down her throat. She remained still for a further ten minutes, allowing the headache to subside to a degree before sipping the bottle again. Finally, she spoke.

"Thank you, Sir. I'm sorry for forgetting I had water with me."

There she was with that pointless word again.

"No matter, I forgot we had brought bags also. I suggest we remove our belongings and see what we have at our disposal. Unless you would like to attempt survival alone, that is, in which case I shall bid you farewell now."

"NO. No, thank you. I think the odds of getting through this are higher if we stick together."

"Very well. Do try your best not to irritate me, then."

She looked as though she were about to reply, but instead closed her mouth with an audible snap.

Between them, they had a weeks' worth of clothes each, two tubes of toothpaste and two toothbrushes, the now empty bottle, a block of chocolate, three books (Hermione's), one pen, one hairbrush (also Hermione's) and a small first aid kit full of essentials and a pocketknife belonging to Severus. When he pulled it from his bag, Hermione quirked an eyebrow.

"I don't always carry one" He snapped. "I don't particularly like the thought of being at the disposal of rogue death eaters without even the protection of a small knife."

By the time the two had nibbled some chocolate and repacked their belongings, the sun was beginning to set on the island once more.

"Can we move down to the shoreline?" Hermione hoped he wouldn't ask her why; she didn't want to be laughed at over her fear of the jungle.

Severus was too tired to question the point, or argue it, so he simply agreed. This time, the pair lay on their backs in the sand, far enough away that the incoming tide would not reach them. Severus fell asleep quickly, having been awake for many hours now. Hermione stayed up, gazing at the bright moon and accompanying stars. She thought about Hogwarts, about Harry and Ron and the others. They wouldn't be worried yet, they had no clue anything was amiss.