I'd like to thank fredfred and InquisitorCOC for beta-reading.

Chapter 2: The Beach

Diagon Alley, London, July 6th, 1996

"...and then I told her: 'Yes, Parvati, that's very good, but we need to write a Defence essay. Not a Herbology essay.'" Lavender Brown smiled and joined in when Ron started laughing.

"You really let her write an entire essay without telling her that it was for the wrong subject?"

She sniffed. "She was copying my notes without asking. She just smiled at me and said I wasn't using them."

He snorted. "Well, that was rather rude."

"Yes, it was. We're friends, but she should've asked." She smiled. "So, instead of listening to the debut of Celestina's latest song on the wireless, she had to write a Defence essay on Sunday evening." And it had served Parvati right - really, you didn't just borrow your friend's stuff without asking! Not to mention that she only wanted Lavender's notes because Lavender had studied with Hermione.

"That was 'At Wand Point', right?" he asked.

"Yes." She beamed at him for remembering that.

He nodded. "It's a decent song. Mum's a fan of 'A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love'. Whenever it plays on the wireless, everyone has to be quiet and listen. Drives me spare."

"Ah." Lavender nodded in sympathy. She liked that song, but if you heard it all the time… "Well, it's not going to be played too often, is it?"

"I hope not." He pushed his empty ice-cream bowl to the side. "That was great."

She pushed her own, still half-full, to the centre. "Want to help me finish this?"

"Of course!" He beamed at her and stuck his spoon into her banana split, making appreciative noises.

"So, how long do you have?" she asked after they had finished her ice-cream.

He frowned. "How long?"

"Until Potter returns. You've got plans for the afternoon, right?" Or so he'd told her when she'd asked him out yesterday.

"Ah, right." He winced a little. "We had plans, but…" He checked his watch. "He should've been back by now. Checking out my brothers' new products doesn't take that long."

She sniffed. Ron was almost the perfect boyfriend. Funny, cute, nice - he never made her feel stupid or talked down to her - and humble. But he was Potter's best friend. With all that entailed, as Hermione would say. Misplaced loyalty, Lavender called it. "He really should stop annoying Hermione," she said. She knew who Potter would target with whatever he bought today.

"They both drive each other crazy," Ron said, shrugging. "She's not exactly innocent."

She frowned. "If he didn't keep at it, she'd stop." Probably. Hermione was a little obsessed with getting even. Still, she hadn't made any elaborate revenge plans since their third year.

"That's what Harry says."

"Really?"

He grinned. "Well, that's what he means. She is rather abrasive towards him, isn't she?"

She rolled her eyes. "Hermione's a nice girl if you get to know her."

"Well, I'll have to take your word for it," he said. "She only started to be nice to me when we started dating." He snorted. "How did you become friends, anyway? For our entire first year, Harry was sure that she'd slipped you a potion."

"What?" She stared at him. He couldn't be serious!

"Well, we were little kids, and Harry couldn't understand how anyone could like her when he hated her."

"Really." She shook her head. "It was perfectly natural. We bonded over hairstyling charms."

"What?" He leaned forward. "She's had the same hairstyle for years. I didn't think she used any charms."

Lavender nodded. Potter had teased Hermione about her hair often enough. "She doesn't use them. But she knows every hairstyling charm that has ever been mentioned in any book in the library at Hogwarts." She narrowed her eyes at him, and he winced a little. "That doesn't get back to Potter, understood?"

"My lips are sealed," he replied, making a zipping motion.

"Good. It was actually my fault. I asked her why she wasn't using any charms. She said they didn't work on her hair. I told her that was rubbish; that she must not be casting them correctly." Lavender still remembered the row that had started. Hermione had reacted as if Lavender had accused her of ritually sacrificing animals or something. And then she had accused her of not knowing anything about hair! Lavender wasn't a genius like Hermione, but she wasn't dumb! And she was an expert in hairstyling charms - and a few others! "Anyway, she dared me to try, so I did - and it didn't work. So I tried other charms. Wrote to Mum and asked for more advanced ones. She started researching in the library. We worked together, and well, started to do homework together as well." Hermione had complained that Lavender was taking too long, actually, and decided to help her, but that was neither here nor there. Merlin's beard, both of them had been so stubborn about proving they were right! They had become friends without realising it.

"And no charm worked?"

"We later found out that there was a curse on her hair."

"That wasn't Harry. He would've told me if he had done it."

"Of course it wasn't him! We think it was accidental magic since she'd had her hair like that ever since she could remember." Probably a reaction to a hairstyle she didn't like as a toddler, but that was a secret Lavender wouldn't tell Ron.

"Ah." He frowned. "But why didn't she get the curse broken?"

"She did. But she's used to it, she said." What Lavender's friend had said was that she wouldn't give Potter the satisfaction of seeing her using a hairstyling charm after all his teasing, but that was close enough.

Ron shook his head again but didn't comment. Good.

"Anyway, enough of that," she told him, putting her hand on his. "Let's take advantage of our time together before Potter returns."

He grinned - he knew what she meant. And she knew the perfect place for a little snogging.

And if Potter grew impatient after being late and didn't wait in Fortescue's for them, well, that would be his own fault.

Unknown Location, July 6th, 1996

"The Ministry's let us down. Typical. When you make a tiny mistake, they immediately jump down your throat, but when you need them, they're nowhere to be found."

Harry Potter clenched his teeth. Granger just couldn't keep her mouth shut. "They'll find us," he told her. "You'll see." It hadn't even been an hour yet!

"You also said that about the Portkey taking us back." She pursed her lips.

"I said that it might be possible that the Portkey would take us back if we reactivated it," he corrected the insufferable swot. "I didn't say it would take us back."

She sniffed. "Well, it didn't. At least we can use the rope if we need to build a shelter."

That again. "Why do you want a shelter? It's not cold here. Quite the opposite, actually." It was so hot, he had shed his robes already. Granger, of course, hadn't. Even though he could see sweat running down her face. Crazy. He was still sweating in his shirt and trousers. Even in the scant shadow provided by the rock next to him.

"What if it starts raining? You want to sit here and get wet?" She shook her head, seemingly not noticing that half her hair had escaped her ponytail.

"As a matter of fact, yes," he told her, showing his teeth. "I would like that. It would be a relief from this heat."

"Only until the temperature falls during the night. Then you'd be wet and cold."

"Not if my clothes dried by nightfall," he retorted. Couldn't the stupid witch stop trying to lecture him?

"We've been here for an hour," she told him after a moment as if he didn't have a watch. "We should look for a cave or something. And edible fruits."

He scoffed. "We're lost. And if you're lost, you should stay put." Mum had taught him that after that trip to Chessington World of Adventures with Dudley. "If we start wandering around, people searching for us might miss us," he explained. He also sneered at her a little. He knew what he was doing.

She pressed her lips together and glared at him. Couldn't admit to being wrong, huh? She shook her head again. "That's different! It's like we're shipwrecked. We're not supposed to stay on the beach and starve."

"You won't starve if you don't eat anything for a few hours." He chuckled. "Certainly not after all the ice-cream you ate at Fortescue's!"

Her glare intensified. "I had a normal serving!"

"It should still keep you fed for hours," he replied. He made a point of looking at her robes. "Become a little pudgy, have we? My cousin had a weight problem as well."

"I'm not overweight!" she spat. "Not that it would be any business of yours! Oh, you're such a git! We've been stranded on an unknown island, and you think it's just like being a child who's gotten lost at the zoo? That, any second now, Mum and Dad will save you?"

"Or the Ministry," he shot back. "That was your idea, wasn't it?"

"I didn't say we needed to stay on the beach and do nothing while we're waiting!"

"We're conserving our energy." He laid back down on the robes he had spread out in the sand as a makeshift blanket. "We can look for food later."

"Then it might be too late. We might be hungry and tired, prone to making mistakes, and, here, a mistake might prove fatal!"

He rolled his eyes. Did she have to be so dramatic? "I'm sure the palm trees have coconuts. Just go and cut one down if you're hungry." She probably was - hungry people were insufferable and easy to set off. Dudley and Uncle Vernon had been like that, at least, when they had been on a diet. Huh, if Granger was on a diet all the time, that would explain her attitude.

He blinked. There was another possible explanation. "Hey, you're not on your period, are you?" That would be the worst - stuck on a beach with a girl at that time of the month.

"What?" She gasped. "That's none of your business!"

She was. Great.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Mum and Dad were taking their time.

"You… Of all the stupid things… To think that the only reason I'm not going along with your asinine plan of doing nothing is that I am…" She scoffed and he heard her take a deep breath.

"It was just a question!" he said quickly.

"A stupid and sexist question!"

He groaned. Perhaps he should cast a Silencing Charm on himself?

But fortunately, Granger calmed down. "In any case, we won't be missed for a few hours yet," she told him. "I had plans for the whole afternoon."

"I bet you did." She probably had plans for the rest of her life, all marked down in her precious schedule.

"Not everyone is as disorganised as you are."

"At least I don't freak out if a lesson is rescheduled," he shot back.

She glared at him again, lips pressed together. "You're impossible! I'm going to get a coconut!"

"Fine."

Hermione Granger scowled, deeply, as she walked away from the git. Honestly! They were stranded on a tropical island - which, as even Potter had realised, could be anywhere but probably was in the tropics - and he thought the best course of action was to stay where they'd arrived and wait for his parents?

She knew better. If stranded or shipwrecked, you needed to find water, food and shelter. Water wasn't a problem - the Water-Making Spell provided them with all the clean, fresh water they'd ever need, although some containers might be useful. But food and shelter? You couldn't conjure food; everyone who had read up on Conjuration knew that. You could enlarge or multiply it - if you had some food and knew the charms. She knew the Engorgement Charm, but not the Duplication Charm. Either would work, but she didn't have any food to use it on. Not yet, at least. More concerning was that she didn't have a magical way to keep food from spoiling. Enlarging spoilt fruit wouldn't help anyone. Well, they might be able to use it as bait, but… First, though, she had to find some food. Although the palm trees here did look like...

She grinned as she eyed the trees lining the beach. Yes, there were coconuts. At least they looked like coconuts. She narrowed her eyes and hesitated. This was - probably - a magical island, so they could actually be anything. Even dangerous plants or creatures using that form to lure in prey.

But she didn't remember reading about magical coconuts, not in Herbology nor in Care of Magical Creatures. And, damn it, she wouldn't let Potter mock her for being afraid of a few coconuts. She told him she'd get a coconut, and she would. She'd show him!

Once she figured out how to get the coconut without risking life and limb. Those palm trees didn't look easy to climb. Certainly not in her robes. She scoffed. She was a witch - she didn't need to climb a tree.

Pointing her wand at the closest coconut, she cast a Severing Charm, then stepped back - she didn't want to catch a coconut with her head.

But the coconut didn't drop. Had she missed? She aimed her wand again - it was too bad that she couldn't see where the coconuts connected to the tree - and recast the charm. Something fell - or floated down; she had cut off some foliage. But no coconut.

Perhaps a Cutting Curse? But if she hit the coconut, she'd cut it open and waste the coconut water inside. On the other hand, she could create water. And she was getting hungry.

She checked if Potter was watching - the git would tattle on her if he caught her casting a curse. But he hadn't moved; he was probably asleep. Good.

She aimed at the coconut that was the farthest from the others and cast the curse.

Most of the coconut fell, but she caught it with a Levitation Charm before it hit the sand. The coconut water splashed on to the sandy ground, though, before she'd managed to catch the coconut.

She had managed to get about two-thirds or three-quarters of a coconut. And it looked ripe, too! Pearly white coconut flesh! Perfect!

She grinned as she walked back to Potter. This would show him!

He didn't react to her return. He was pretending to be asleep. "You shouldn't sleep in the sun," she told him - his head wasn't in the shade any more.

"It's called sunbathing," he replied without opening his eyes. "You might try it sometime."

"It's called asking for sunburn," she corrected him. "We're not in England any more. The sun's much stronger here. You might even risk sunstroke."

"Tell me something I don't know."

She knew he was rolling his eyes without having to check. He was such an immature git! "Well, if you get your skin burnt, we might find out if coconuts have healing properties."

"You don't know the Sunshade Charm?"

What was that? Probably some form of magical sunblock. Not that she'd admit that she hadn't heard of that particular charm. "Why would I care about a charm I can't legally use when I'm not in school and won't ever need at Hogwarts?" She sniffed.

"And after Hogwarts?" He grinned at her. "I thought you would be prepared for life after school."

He went there? "It's not exactly a priority. Not when I can buy sunblock in any supermarket."

"Do you see a supermarket here?" He even got up and looked around, shading his eyes with his hand.

"I'm not the one lying in the sun," she retorted.

"You don't know how to cast the spell." He grinned.

"And you do?" She raised her eyebrows.

"Of course! Learned it when Ron and I visited Bill. Ron's big brother. He works as a Curse-Breaker in Egypt."

"I know." She smiled. Lavender's habit of gushing about her boyfriend had come in handy for once.

He frowned for a moment. "Why would… Ah! Your friend's a blabbermouth!"

"What?" She stared at him. "People talk about their dates. That's perfectly normal."

He grunted in return and lay down again. "Whatever."

She rolled her eyes and pushed some stray strands of hair back - she would have to redo her ponytail again. He was such a git. He didn't deserve to share her coconut. But she was better than that. Better than him. And he had to be hungry as well by now.

Shaking her head, she sat down - in the shade of the rock. She wasn't stupid enough to sit in the sun. Especially not wearing her dark robes. It was hot enough already. But she didn't fancy getting sunburnt. And she wasn't exactly dressed to remove the robes. Which was all Lavender's fault, of course.

Well, that didn't matter now. She had a meal to prepare. She put the coconut down in front of her - shell down, of course. Then she cast an Enlargement Charm on it. The coconut fragment grew to the size of a pumpkin in an instant. A normal pumpkin, not one of Hagrid's monsters.

She cut off a small slice with a Severing Charm - it worked perfectly for that - and started to chew it. She closed her eyes and sighed. It tasted perfect. Fresh, slightly sweet… she swallowed, then cut off another slice and looked at Potter. "Want some as well?" He stared at her with narrowed eyes, so she added: "It's safe."

He didn't look convinced, so she rolled her eyes. "Honestly!" She chewed and swallowed the slice she was holding. "See? It's safe. And there's enough for both of us."

He huffed, then cut his own slice. And cast a spell of some sort on it before eating it.

"Thanks," he muttered.

Hah! She grinned at the acknowledgement.

Harry Potter rolled his eyes. Damn, Granger was insufferable - she was grinning at him as if she had defeated him in a duel. Which she would never, ever manage, of course. But he was sure that she had been banned from board games as a kid since she could neither win nor lose gracefully.

At least the coconut she had brought was tasty. He had been getting a little hungry - ice-cream was great, but it didn't keep you fed for long. Unless you kept eating it, of course.

"We should be able to support ourselves for a while with coconuts," Granger told him. "There are several coconut trees, and one nut can be enlarged to feed us for a day. It would be ideal if we had a way to keep them from spoiling - we'll run out otherwise."

"Dad will find us before that," he told her. Or Mum. But Dad was the Auror.

"They haven't found us yet," she retorted with a sniff.

It wasn't his fault that her parents were muggles and couldn't help her. "They won't have missed me yet," he said. He was almost sixteen - his parents knew he could take care of himself.

"What a surprise," she replied with the worst attempt at faking surprise that he had seen since Dudley's role as a miller in that kindergarten production of 'Rumpelstiltskin' Mum had dragged him to.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Wow, how witty. How long did it take you to come up with that quip? Or did you read it in a book? In kindergarten?"

She flushed. Probably - it was hard to tell since she was already flushed from the heat. "What would you know about books? Aren't books 'booooring'?

"Not the Defence books. Or books about Quidditch," he replied, showing his teeth. And grinned when she pursed her lips. She hated that he was better than her at Defence.

"In any case," she told him through clenched teeth, "we can't just assume that we will be saved in a few hours. We need to make plans for the worst."

Being stuck with this witch was already the worst case, in Harry's opinion. He sighed. "We're not muggles, Miss Crusoe. We won't starve for a long time, looking at how many palm trees I can see from here. I bet the sea's full of fish, too. And we can make water as we please."

"And I guess we'll simply enlarge our robes and some driftwood to make a tent?" she snapped.

He laughed. "Hey, you're getting it!" He waved his wand around. "We're wizards. Well, you're a witch. Getting stranded on an island isn't the end of the world. It's just… a vacation!"

"A vacation?" She glared at him. "What if your parents don't find us? We could be stuck here for days! Weeks! Perhaps months! We might miss Hogwarts!"

"Merlin's beard, Granger, get a grip! Your priorities are completely..."

"We might miss Quidditch," she interrupted him.

He shut his mouth. "We won't. We'll be found long before September."

"And what if we aren't? Why do you think it'll be easy to find us? The Ministry obviously has no way of detecting our underage magic!" She shook her head, and her ponytail disintegrated completely. Huffing, she redid it.

"You either got cursed hair or a cursed scrunchie," Harry told her.

"My hair's not cursed, thank you very much!" she spat.

"Are you sure? Did you check?" He chuckled.

"Yes."

Harry blinked. "You actually checked if your hair was cursed?" Laughing, he shook his head. "Oh, that's…"

"It was cursed," she told him with a growl.

"It wasn't me!" he said without thinking. Uncle Sirius would be proud of his reflexes. "Really."

"I know," she told him. "If you had done it, I'd have cursed you bald!"

"Sure, sure," he said with a little more bravado than he felt. Granger was pants at duelling - at least against a competent duellist like himself - but she probably knew more spells than anyone else other than the teachers at Hogwarts.

"You're asking for a demonstration."

He pointed his wand at her. "You want to have a go? No teachers here to save you."

For a moment, it looked as if she'd go for it. Then she scoffed. "We're stranded on a deserted - possibly deserted - island, and you want to duel? How old are you?"

"You started it!" he retorted.

"I wasn't serious."

"Sure, sure."

"Oh, you…" She shook her head and sat down in the shade of the rock again. "I wish I were here with someone who wasn't such an immature git."

"I wish I wasn't here with you," he told her.

"The feeling's mutual, I assure you."

"Whatever." He closed his eyes and ignored her.

Hermione Granger had to resist the urge to hex Potter. Here she had tried to be nice to the git, offered him some of her coconut meal, and what did he do? Mocked and insulted her! Typical - the idiot had no sense of priority. Yes, it was possible that his oh-so-famous-and-rich parents would arrive quickly and take them home to Britain before they had to fend for themselves, but they couldn't count on that. Even a git like Potter should realise that they had to assume the worst and prepare accordingly. And it wasn't as if they had anything else to do - Potter was literally just lying on the ground.

She pursed her lips. She should let the git be. Once he was hungry, wet and cold, he'd realise how stupid he had been. But Potter was so stubborn, he'd probably starve rather than admit that she was correct.

And if they were saved after a few days - a nice, conservative estimate - he would probably lie and complain to his parents that she was at fault for whatever had befallen him.

She sighed. This was like the worst group project in primary school. She was the only one trying to actually do the assignment, and everyone else was doing nothing at best, or actively sabotaging her at worst. Potter would've fit right in with Smith, Popovski and Gruber in her class. At least mentally. If only she had been stranded here with Neville. That boy would have listened to her. Even Weasley would've been a clear improvement.

In any case, she knew what she had to do. Unlike a certain other person. She'd secured food and water for the time being, now she needed to find shelter. Just because the weather was nice right now didn't mean they could count on it staying nice. Tropical storms were dangerous. Depending on where they were, they might even have to face a hurricane.

Two enlarged robes turned into tents wouldn't cut it. They needed something far more solid. A cave would be best - not too close to the shore, though. But, looking around, she didn't think there were many, if any, suitable caves on this island. Not close to the shore, anyway. Perhaps she could enlarge a coconut shell and turn it into a shelter? Or… a mollusc shell? Hermit crabs used empty shells to protect themselves. But she didn't think she could enlarge a shell enough to work. Not to mention all the jokes Potter would make about her being 'crabby'.

She pointed her wand at a piece of driftwood and cast the spell as perfectly as she could. The wood grew to an impressive size - but she could easily tell that it wouldn't be enough if cast on a coconut to create a shelter. Unless it was meant for Crookshanks.

Oh, poor Crookshanks! He had to be missing her dearly! Her parents would feed him and clean his litter box, of course, but they weren't her. The poor cat might think she had abandoned him!

"Did you just realise you forgot your homework?"

She rolled her eyes. "Ha ha."

"You 'accidentally' forgot to return a book to the Hogwarts library?"

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. She had done that once, and learned her lesson. In first year. "Not everyone's stuck in first year, Potter. Some of us actually learn from our mistakes and grow up. You should try it one of these days."

"I'd have to make mistakes first."

She blinked, then snorted. "I guess you meant to get stuck to the ceiling for an hour due to stumbling while carrying a potion you meant to use on me, right?" She shook her head. "You're hopeless. Although I guess it's not entirely your fault that you've been spoilt rotten."

"Says Miss 'I won't admit I was wrong, ever!' Granger." He scoffed at her. "I bet you're still trying to prove that the Easter Bunny exists because you thought so as a toddler."

She clenched her teeth. She was perfectly capable of admitting when she was wrong! "Since you're unable to recognise your own mistakes, I don't think you're qualified to judge anyone else's."

"Ha ha," he imitated her. "You sound like Percy."

"And that's supposed to be an insult?" She raised her eyebrows and scowled at him. "He was Head Boy and has already been promoted twice at the Ministry!" And he had worked hard for his achievements. Unlike some people. Like Potter.

"And that's all that counts, right?" He scoffed again. "You should try to live a little, Granger. Have some fun. Life's more than work work nag nag."

"And you should realise that not everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouth!" she spat. "And I have fun when you're not annoying me!"

He glared at her. "I'm not like Malfoy!"

She grinned - comparisons to Malfoy always made him mad. He just couldn't stand the truth. "Could have fooled me with the way you keep talking about your parents."

"I don't talk about my parents like… like Malfoy does!"

"Oh, no - you just use their names to impress people. And tell everyone about what they and their friends did at Hogwarts."

"I don't hide behind them!" he spat.

"Really? What are you doing now, then? You're waiting for them to come and save you." She sniffed. "You're not even doing the minimum amount of work to prepare for the worst case. Pathetic!"

"Oh, you...!" He jumped up and levelled his wand at her.

But she was looking at him down the length of her own wand. She might not be as quick or athletic as he was - though she was in decent shape! - but she had been prepared for this.

She took a deep breath, tensing up. If the git actually tried to hex her… She wouldn't start it. Because she was better than that. She wasn't some spoilt rich boy. She wouldn't jeopardise their survival because of an overblown ego. But she would defend herself. And here, on the beach, he wouldn't be as quick as in the duelling ring. The sand would slow him down.

But he shook his head, then pointed his wand at the trees behind them. His patronising sneer, as if she wasn't even worthy of caution, made her want to hex him. Really hex him.

"Accio coconut!"

"What are you doing?" she snapped.

"Preparing for the worst," he replied as half a dozen coconuts landed in the sand in front of him. "See? You don't need to cut them up; you can just summon them whole - if you can competently cast a Summoning Charm."

She hadn't thought of that. In hindsight that had been an oversight. Then again, she didn't know how much force you needed to rip a coconut from its tree. But it didn't matter, anyway. "Preparing? Are you stupid? I already got a coconut for us! With one Engorgement Charm, we have enough for a whole day and leftovers. Six coconuts? We don't need six! It's a waste! And you just cut down our potential food supply by at least a week!" The damn fool! Typical - always showing off without caring about the consequences or displaying even a smidgen of common sense!

Of course he wouldn't admit his mistake. "Who's stupid? They'll keep! How do you think they get to England from the tropics if they spoil as soon as they get cut from the tree?"

She clenched her teeth. That was actually a good point - coconuts weren't kept refrigerated in the shops, at least as far as she knew. Though they might be shipped that way. In any case, she didn't know how long they would last. "That doesn't change the fact that it was unnecessary to get six of them!"

"Six whole coconuts. They'll last much longer than one coconut that has been cut open. And with a single Duplication Charm, we can make them last even longer."

He knew the Duplication Charm? Typical. She huffed. He probably got special lessons for it over the holidays while she wasn't allowed to touch her wand! On the other hand, that opened up a lot of possibilities. She pointed her wand at a piece of driftwood in the surf. "Accio wood!"

She let the wood hit the ground in front of her and ignored the sand it splattered over her robes and trainers.

"And what are you doing?"

She rolled her eyes and ignored him. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction. And she needed to focus when casting her Severing Charm. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked after cutting the wood lengthwise twice, creating a plank. A small one, but it was much easier to evenly - mostly - cut a small piece than an enlarged one.

"No?" He shook his head. "Is this supposed to be a fishing rod? Or a tent pole?"

"Tent pole?" She scoffed. "This is a plank. After you duplicate it, I'll enlarge them. That will give us enough material for a sturdy shelter." A Sticking Charm would keep it all together.

"You want me to cast the Duplication Charm? Can't you cast it yourself?"

She clenched her teeth. "Would I be asking you if I could cast it myself? Huh?" She hated admitting that she didn't know a spell Potter knew. "Now please duplicate them."

"What, you haven't learned the Duplication Charm already?"

He was staring at her. Damn it. "No, I haven't!" she spat. He just had to rub it in! "Now please…" She trailed off. She knew that stupid grin. She closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You don't know how to cast the charm either, do you?"

"I'm not the one living in the library," he replied with a mulish expression.

Was he blaming her for not studying far enough ahead? "No, you live on the Quidditch pitch. Or would, if that were allowed."

"Wood actually wanted us to camp on the pitch on the day before a match, to 'acclimate us', as he called it."

She couldn't help it - she chuckled at that. "I can see that."

Potter chuckled as well. "McGonnagal shut that down, fortunately."

She nodded. "But we do need a shelter."

"I told you - we can enlarge our robes. They're protected against rain, at least. And they can form a teepee," he told her. With a toothy smile, he added: "And we'll each have a tent for ourselves."

"That is a very good point," she agreed. "But we need poles for that."

He pointed at the driftwood at her feet. "Just cut it a few more times lengthwise."

She nodded and went to work.

Harry Potter shook his head when the girl was focused on cutting wood. Damn, Granger was a piece of work. Getting worked up over everything. At least she had now finally admitted that his ideas were better.

He snorted - silently. What had she wanted to do? Build an entire cabin out of driftwood? And then a waterwheel to power a grindstone or whatever? Or to water a field for growing crops? As if they would be here long enough for that. Ha, they'd probably be found before they needed to turn their robes into tents. Ron should start to miss him, soon, and if his friend asked Mum and Dad if Harry had returned without telling him, then they'd realise something was up and send a Patronus Messenger to find him. They had done so before, after all.

No, they really had no reason to panic. Granger was just working herself up into a frenzy because she couldn't run to a teacher right now and ask what she should do. Or she was honestly afraid of being stranded. As if they couldn't handle this - they were wizards, well, a wizard and a witch, after all.

And, he smiled at the thought, he had found a spell she didn't know! Of course, she would learn it first thing once they were back, but he could tease her about not knowing the perfect spell when she desperately needed it.

Once they were back home, at least. And this would be a great story to tell - a real adventure. Actually, Granger was right - securing water, food and shelter was a good idea. The chance that they would need it was low, but it made for a better story. 'We had already settled in and gotten comfortable for a stay of a few weeks when my parents arrived' sounded better than 'we waited until we were saved'. More impressive, too.

He stood. "I'll see if I can get some grass or something that we can use to, ah, cover the ground inside a tent," he told Granger. As Sirius had told him: 'Don't sleep in sand; it gets everywhere.'

"Good idea," she said - frowning and sounding like she'd rather get hexed than admit that.

Chuckling, he made his way over to the treeline. Perhaps a few big leaves would do - enlarge them and you wouldn't need many of them to form a sort of carpet. Though they would have to replace them often - Harry didn't want to sleep on dry leaves.

He looked at the palm trees. Those leaves, if properly enlarged, could actually serve as covers, too. He raised his wand. "Accio leaf!"

It tore apart, half landing on his head, half staying up. He quickly checked if Granger had noticed, but she was still busy making poles. Probably trying to make identical poles because anything else wasn't good enough.

Well, summoning didn't work, but there were other options. Like a Severing Charm. Although…

He looked around. Perhaps there was a tree that wasn't quite as high?

There was. There was a smaller tree a little further into what passed as a forest here. Next to a few toppled trees.

He blinked. Toppled trees? That happened, of course. But a group of them bunched together like that?

That looked odd.

Harry gripped his wand a bit more tightly and walked over to the not so clear clearing. Up close, it looked even weirder. The trees hadn't been toppled, roots and all - they had been broken off. Could a storm do that? Break some trees, close together, and leave the rest standing?

And the trees were fresh - the leaves were still green. Greenish. If a storm strong enough to do that had hit the island a short time ago, shouldn't there be more stuff on the ground?

And what was with the tree that had been shredded? He cocked his head and then froze for a moment.

This looked familiar. Where had he seen it before?

He gasped when he remembered where he had seen similarly shredded trees:

In the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary where Ron's brother Charlie worked.