Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in affiliation with the series.
A/N: I hope that disclaimer is good enough. I forgot to put it up in the first chapter. Here's chapter 2, thanks for allll the wonderful support from chapter 1. Yes, this story will be long, but I am putting alot of thought into it. Helpful criticism and compliments are always appreciated. To my reviews so far, Abby, Black, Quiddie 15, Angelface04, and Elsa, thanks so much. Dont forget to review again. To everyone new, hope you enjoy the story!
The Strength In The Wild
By Crzyangelchic
Chapter 2: Hiding
The streets were blurry and dark even thought it was barely passed three in the afternoon. Angelina wasn't sure if it was because it was now winter in Britain or if the evil from the Dark creatures were sucking up the sunlight and happiness in the air. She knew the blurriness came from the tears obstructing her view. Her mother had died while she had been away and she had come back to find everything she had ever known to be in ruins. She stumbled along the street, much of it deserted, and turned right at a corner. It began to snow and in her blind stumbling, she bumped into something and fell to her knees.
"Get up, woman. Show your papers."
Before Angelina could react, a gruff hand pulled her roughly to her feet. Ignoring the warnings flaring in her head, she raised her head proudly, glaring at the shadowy being that had knocked her to the ground.
"Show your damn papers," he said again, "you filthy mudblood". His voice was coarse and it reminded Angelina of stone grating on stone. Bits of spit flew from his mouth as he spoke but Angelina didn't lower her face. She knew she didn't have papers. She knew this man could subject her to whatever punishment he felt a lowlife like her deserved. But she wouldn't lower her face.
His face remained in shadow as he laughed at her. Flecks of spit hit her face. "So you're not going to comply, huh? Do you know walking around without your papers is punishable…" He leaned forward, finally showing his face. Angelina hid a shudder. "You're a pretty thing. I'm sure I can think of a way to punish you."
Angelina showed the first sign of fear as his meaning took affect. Her eyes widened slightly and she tried to back away slowly. He grabbed her arm and Angelina began to struggle.
"Let go of me!" She screamed. The other people walking along the streets kept going on their way.
"You're a filthy mudblood. You know you want it as bad as I do."
He was wrestling with her now, trying to grab her flailing arms. She somehow reached up and slapped him. His face, one so scarred and deformed Mad-Eye Moody would look like an Adonis, broke into a hideous smile. "I like when a bitch has some fight in her."
"No, dammit!" She was struggling harder now as he began to take their tussle into a darker, scarier alley in the street. "I'll pay you money? Is that what you want? I have jewelry. My…my mother's jewelry, dammit!"
And as Angelina continued to fight and offer him bribes, he drag her, bodily, into the cold, cold darkness…
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"Lina. Lina wake up."
Angelina stayed with her back facing him. Her eyes were open and she stared blankly at the stone wall in front of her.
"I wasn't sleeping," she said evenly. The floor of the cave was hard and her muscles never quite got used to being in contact with stone even through all those years. The makeshift blankets padded with grasses that members of the pack made to sleep on provided little cushioning against the stone of the cave floor.
A hand reached over and gently pulled her shoulder back so that she was now lying on her back. She looked up into a grisly looking face, which she knew at one time had looked quite handsome.
"Then why were you just laying there, Li?" he asked gently.
Not wanting to worry him, Angelina smiled briefly. "I was just…thinking."
He gave her a look, but didn't follow up on it. "We have to get moving again. Justin says that the snow clouds look to be heading this way, and if we get snowed in like last time…"
"Yeah, yeah, I know. We wont be so lucky to cuddle up with the wolves like last time," she said sitting up and stretching her aching muscles. She was craving some of that green leaf tea Marietta always made to relieve aches and pains.
"Yes, that's still a miracle. They probably wouldn't have let us even near them, especially with young, had you not healed one of there members before. It's still phenomenal that you even knew animal healing remedies."
Angelina was one of the few in her camp that knew of any non-magical medicinal treatments. She had taken a class on it at Hogwarts when she had considered a career in healing. That life seemed so long ago. And so very lost.
She got up from her blanket and began tucking it back into her carryon sack, which held her other measly possessions. She was guessing they would be picking up camp and moving again soon before the light outside became too bright.
He continued to talk but Angelina barely listened. He paused here and there to brush particles of leaf and dust from her hair and clothes. He asked her how she felt and recommended she get some green leaf tea for her aches and pains.
"I saved you some, because I saw that you hadn't come over this morning and I didn't want Jerry to drink it all up like always."
He looked at her, waiting for her response. She gave herself a mental shake, trying to remember what he might've been talking about last.
"Oh…uh, thanks, Alan," she replied meekly. He smiled broadly and started rambling on again.
Angelina was used to this, however. Living with a small group of only about a dozen or so people allowed everyone to get to know each other's habits and to get excessively close with everyone else. And many took advantage of the intimacy that harsh, crowded living brought to a group of wanderers. Angelina, however, had kept herself to herself. And although she predicted that Alan liked her (he too had refused to become…intimate with anyone else), she didn't return his feelings. She allowed him to fuss over her and compliment her, but he wasn't what she was looking for. She didn't even really know what she was looking for, but she didn't want to become close to anyone just yet.
She walked over to the pot of tea with a now silent Alan. The pot was big and old and had been one of the other few treasures they had come across in their many wanderings. Every now and then, in extreme destitution, someone would get fed up and venture into a nearby town to search for food and supplies. Angelina had done it once. It wasn't something she would like to repeat.
She sat down crossed legged by the fire, sipped her tea, and watched as various other members packed their things, just as measly as hers, in the semi-darkness.
"You're unusually quiet today, Li."
Angelina turned her head slightly towards him and saw him watching her with worried eyes.
"I'm quiet every day, Alan."
"No, unusually quiet."
She waited for him go on but he didn't. She looked down into the chipped cup, another little treasure.
"I'm just…thinking," she finished finally.
Both was spared from the awkward silence that followed when a short little man came over and plopped down on the other side of Angelina.
"Li, you're finally up, huh? You're lucky this one is such a good friend here. I practically had to fight him for the last cup of tea."
Jerry's comment was punctuated with a goofy grin and he looked passed Angelina towards Alan. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Alan turning red.
"Well, yeah, Li, he did get that last cup. So I gave you mine."
Angelina turned compassionate eyes toward Alan. For all the fussiness and annoyance in his personality, he was a good friend and a good person.
Angelina shot an annoyed look towards Jerry. "Well it would've been just as easy for you to split some of yours with me or Al instead of drinking three cups of it."
"Oh, no you don't, Li," Jerry interjected playfully. "I only managed two cups today. Tea's always hard to come by in the winter months, with the trees dying and all." Angelina rolled her eyes. The trees didn't die and the tea was made from several bushes of herbs. But she let him continue. "And plus," he added, "I was going to share, but Ally here was all eager to sacrifice himself for you. I just couldn't argue with that."
Alan turned a shade darker and mumbled something inaudible.
Angelina turned back to Jerry. "That's not self sacrificing, that's just being a good person."
"You saying I'm not a good person? Me, Li?"
"Hm, lets see," she pretended to consider it. "Your selfish and rude and inconsiderate and obnoxious. No, I wouldn't nominate you for any good Samaritan awards or put you charge of handling anything with sharp edges."
Alan laughed out loud and Angelina hid a smile.
"Ouch. The lady has won that round."
"Damn right I have."
Angelina and Jerry had been battling it out forever. Similarly, everyone and Jerry have been battling it out. He wasn't one to get over on wits so most people in the group was on the upper hand. However, if one was easily intimidated, like Alan was, Jerry could be a nightmare.
Jerry turned mischievous eyes towards Alan. "Well, the lady has touché-d me on that one. But I'm sure that's more that she's ever touché-d you—"
Before Angelina could get mad again and Alan could blush some more, a shadow loomed above them.
"Come on people. We have to leave before the sun gets too bright." Justin was always the practical one.
Angelina was loath to end the bantering but she realized the problems they would encounter if they didn't have some shadowing of cover to leave by. By the time the sun rose high in the sky, the air and the mountain lands would be crawling with dark creatures hunting for fugitives.
She took one last sip of her tea, which was tepid and bitter by now, and put the cup back with her belongings. Standing up she scanned the cave and its occupants.
"Has everyone packed and have our trails been erased?" she asked Justin. She knew that by now he had probably taken care of the finer details, but she always asked.
"Everyone's packed and waiting for you." He threw a look at Jerry and Alan still sitting on the ground. Moving closer, he lowered his voice. A sense of urgency clung to his tone. "The snow clouds are moving in faster than I predicted. We'll need to find shelter again by sundown."
Jerry finally stood up, looking Justin up and down. "Wait, what are you saying? Uh uh. I'm not leaving. We might get caught out in the snow if we leave here now," he said seriously. He had finally grasped the magnitude of the situation.
"We can't stay in the cave, the supplies here are exhausted," Justin shot back. "Plus, we are too low to the ground, the snow will fall in on us and pack us in."
"But at least we'll be dry—"
"Jerry! Which part of the snow will fall in don't you understand?"
Angelina stepped before them. She didn't need them fighting right now and she was upset at how late they had stayed in the cave. They had to move now and they had to move fast.
"We can't stay in the cave for another reason, Jerry. It's been 3 weeks and we're on thin ice about being found. We should've left days ago." Shit, shit, shit, she thought. They were running all sorts of risks.
"But what about the snow?" Alan finally asked.
Angelina reached into her backpack and pulled out the map Susan, the artist of the group, had drawn up of the surrounding terrain. Angelina had been planning this new escape for days, but hadn't proposed it to the rest of the people yet. Dammit, why had they slacked off this time around?
"Shit, shit, shit," Jerry said, mirroring Angelina's previous thoughts. He ran over towards the mouth of the cave, pushed passed the leaves the group had carefully arranged at the opening to help conceal it, and looked up at the sky again.
Angelina traced her pattern on the map. If they planned this out just right they should be able to find shelter by sundown. She hoped.
"Listen everybody!" she shouted suddenly. The nervous activity of the cave paused and all eyes turned to her.
Angelina took a deep breath. Over the years she had become used to being looked upon as their 'leader'. There wasn't much she had to do but plan escapes and keep everyone in check if things started to get ugly within the pack. Her Quidditch strategy skills that had helped her be a fabulous captain during her Hogwarts years also helped with their escape plans. Her quick temper and down to earth attitude usually helped keep everything running smoothly. Lately though, she had been off her mark and now she just wished her old mental skills would snap back in order.
"We must travel by the forest heading north along the Swirling River. We have to head towards the cave between the clefts in the Sun Facing mountain sides."
To anyone but these dozen people, the names given to specific landmarks would mean nothing. Now, however, every face in the room nodded.
"We have to stay close by the river, hidden under the branches and…" Angelina searched the faces, mentally closing her eyes to choose a person. "…Martin, you stay 500 yards ahead of the group."
She glanced around the group again. She hated this part. Always hated choosing who would go ahead and look for danger, ultimately placing their lives in harm's way first, and who would stay behind the group, trailing them so as to erase all trails and keep a lookout for enemies from the back. She looked around. Their eyes filled with determination. They were entering survival mode again, but she remembered each one individually and personally. She couldn't choose. She was their leader and she couldn't choose.
"And I'll…I'll stay behind the group and keep watch."
Some started to protest. She was their leader and was not dispensable. But Angelina didn't think anyone of her dozen was.
With that said, she nodded quickly to them and started helping Alan clean up the area where they had built a fire to make tea. Justin moved forward where she had just stood.
"Remember, everyone, there's snow coming and we're not going to get to Sun Face cave before it starts. Dress warmly and conserve your energy!"
There was now an anxious kind of tension in the room. Moving between hiding places was not only dangerous but also physically challenging. To avoid the same problem of being snowed in while at camp, they would have to climb up a steep path to get to the Sun Facing cave. And they had to make the trek before the heavy snow started. Angelina wouldn't allow herself to ponder it, but if she did she'd realize this was one of the more dangerous escapes they have encountered during their mountain hiding. But you just didn't think about things like that when you were running for your lives.
Once Justin had finished, everyone grabbed their belongings, ready for the journey. It was then that a single, thin voice rose above the bustle.
"You forgot to mention the last thing, Justin. 'If one is caught, he must not reveal us all. If one befalls the clutches of the dark, we must continue on into the light.'"
Angelina froze in the middle of what she was doing (along with everyone else) and just stood there. Everyone knew of the code, but no one had uttered it for some many years they've been traveling together. Angelina turned towards the center of the cave where young Elisa stood, staring back at everyone. She didn't look threatening or malicious; she simply stood there. Angelina didn't know what to say, but before anyone could say anything, a blur of color came rushing into the center to stand by Elisa.
"What the bloody HELL is everyone still doing here?" Jerry screamed, looking wildly around. "I can see Dementors in the distance, sucking away at the air in the far east." He looked around at the shocked faces.
"Run!"
A/N: Please review. Tell me what you think!
