My beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. They helped a lot.

Chapter 3: The Monster

Little Whinging, Surrey, Britain, July 6th, 1996

"Auntie Lily!"

"Hi, Dudley."

Lily Potter winced as her nephew turned around and yelled loud enough to wake the dead: "Mum! Auntie Lily's here!"

Petunia's head appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. "Lily?" She sounded surprised.

"I was in the neighbourhood and decided to visit," Lily told her. A lie, of course - but then again, for a witch who had mastered Apparition and didn't depend on the Floo Network or even brooms, all of England was 'in the neighbourhood'.

"Come in, come in! I've just put on the kettle."

"Thank you." Lily knew that Petunia hadn't just put on the kettle, of course. It was a Saturday, so she would receive her friends for tea in an hour. But as Petunia didn't call her out about her lie, Lily didn't do so either. They knew each other. Just as Lily knew that Vernon would be golfing right now. And Petunia wouldn't ask about Lily's work as a spellcrafter.

"Harry isn't with you?" Dudley asked as she sat down in Petunia's living room. "I've got a new game I wanted to show him." He pouted.

"No, he was meeting Ron in Diagon Alley. They were buying school supplies, I think." Another lie. Unless one counted prank items as school supplies. Lily kept smiling even though she really wanted to sigh - if only Harry would grow up! He could do so much better if he didn't waste his time and energy on that pointless feud.

"Oh." Dudley frowned. "Boring then."

"Yes," Petunia agreed as she set down the tea service. "Though I'm sure they'll visit later."

"Today?" Dudley perked up again.

"Probably not," Petunia said, pouring tea into their cups. "It takes a long time to buy all the things needed for Hogwarts."

Lily nodded. In an hour, Petunia's friends would arrive, and then Vernon would return. And that would be a bad time for Harry to visit - especially if Ron was with him.

"Can they apparate already?" Dudley asked.

Both Lily and Petunia tensed. "No, that takes a lot of lessons," Lily replied. "It's dangerous until you've got your licence."

"Like driving?"

"More dangerous," Petunia said. "You don't tend to leave your head behind when driving."

"Unless you hit a metal beam at the right height!" Dudley grinned. Of course, he wouldn't be impressed by gruesome tales of splinched body parts. Unlike his mother.

"Dudley! That's not a joking matter!" Petunia scolded him.

He frowned for a moment, then shrugged and started to devour the scones.

"Don't ruin your appetite," Petunia told him. "Dinner's at seven."

Dudley mumbled something unintelligible with his mouth full. He swallowed, then stood. "I'm going to play for a bit, Mum, Auntie. Tell Harry I've got a new game - a new shooter - OK?"

"I will," Lily said. And she would - Dudley would check with Harry. But as soon as she heard the door to Dudley's room close, she sighed and looked at Petunia.

"They're just games," her sister told her. "No one's getting a face full of boils from computer games."

So news of Harry's greatest misdeed this year had spread already. He must have told Dudley. "I've taken his Cloak away," Lily said.

"About time," Petunia replied. "The way you let him run wild like that…"

This was an old argument. But Lily refrained from bringing up Dudley's misdeeds. Perhaps computer games were good for her nephew. "I do what I can. But I can't do much when he's at Hogwarts."

Petunia nodded. "What about James's friend? Isn't he a teacher there?"

Lily sighed. "Remus can't be everywhere." She suspected her friend could do more, but then, Remus had been far too lenient with James and the others when he was a prefect - and they had done worse on occasion.

"I'm so glad Smeltings doesn't tolerate such tomfoolery."

Lily smiled. "Dudley told me about the 'fencing matches'."

Petunia hid her frown behind her cup. "That's not the same as cursing someone."

"No one's cursing anyone," Lily corrected her. Her sister knew the differences between hexes, jinxes and curses perfectly well - she had quizzed Lily on them when she had been doing her homework for Hogwarts. "And the matron is very good at removing hexes and jinxes. It's not the same as being sent to the hospital."

"Ah." Petunia nodded. "So, how's Rose doing?" she asked with a smile.

Lily returned the smile. Honestly, this time. "She's doing well. Very good marks in her exams, so we're looking forward to her O.W.L.s. And she's grown again, so we've had to adjust her clothes."

"Ah. Convenient."

Lily shrugged and took a sip from her tea. "She's got a new pet, too. A Pygmy Puff."

"The same creature that Dudley wanted so badly a few years ago?"

"Smaller," Lily said.

Petunia nodded, and they both sipped from their cups.

"So, what did Harry do this time?" Petunia asked. "You wouldn't have been in the neighbourhood if you didn't want to talk about something."

Lily chuckled humourlessly. Petunia knew her well indeed. "He made Gryffindor lose the House Cup and is already buying prank items for next year. I swear, he never learns."

Her sister shook her head. "And James is still insisting that he'll grow out of it?"

"James says he was the same at his age."

"I pity the girl, then." Petunia refilled her cup.

"Don't," Lily told her. "She's as guilty as Harry." Minerva had been clear about that.

Petunia shrugged. "A boy shouldn't attack a girl."

"Things are different at Hogwarts," Lily replied. The Wizarding World wasn't perfect - far from it! Lily was very much aware of how many faults Wizarding Britain had. But sexism wasn't amongst them. Petunia, though, had been raised that way: Boys didn't hit girls. And she had raised Dudley that way. "Besides, half the time, she attacks Harry." And both thought they had to get even, if Lily's impression was correct.

Petunia shook her head. "Perhaps they should settle their difference with a game."

They'd hex each other before the game even started. And again once one of them lost. But Lily nodded. Petunia was trying to help, in her own way. And, speaking of helping… "So, how is your garden doing?"

"Oh, great!" Petunia smiled brightly. "The flower beds are perfect this year. I might win the competition - as long as the herbs grow nicely and the tomatoes ripen at the right time."

Lily didn't offer magical help. Her sister had her pride. And, Lily had to admit, Petunia was good at gardening.

Godric's Hollow, Devon, Britain, July 6th, 1996

"So, how was your visit to my dear sister-in-law?" James asked as soon as Lily entered their home.

"The same as usual," she replied.

"You two verbally fenced, you vented, she made snide remarks about our friends and me and you ended up talking plants?"

"More or less." She smiled as she took a seat on the couch, kicked off her low-heeled shoes and lay down.

He shook his head. He was wearing his Auror robes, she noted. "Was there an emergency at work and they called you in?"

"No, no. I just couldn't find my apron. And since my robes are charmed against fire…" He grinned.

She sighed. "Rose must have taken it. Potions homework."

"Ah." He nodded, lifted her feet and sat down on the couch. Dropping her feet on his lap, he added: "I'll have to buy a new one, then."

She nodded in agreement. Rose was far more mature than Harry. She was also as talented. And hard-working. But she tended to be a little hard on her tools when working with potions. The girl was, in her own way, as stubborn as her brother - she continued to attempt new recipes despite regular setbacks. "I should never have told her about Severus," Lily muttered.

"Yes," James agreed.

She glared at him. "You know how I meant it."

"I still hope you'll come to your senses."

She huffed. And this was where her children's stubbornness came from. "Really, it's been almost twenty years. Not even I hold a grudge that long. It's time…" She trailed off when the flames in the fireplace turned green, but no one stepped out of it.

"Harry? Lily? James? Rose?"

That was Ron. She sat up and flicked her wand, unsealing the fireplace. "Come through, Ron!" she said. She didn't lower her wand, of course. And neither did James. Old habits died hard. Very hard.

A moment later, Ron stepped into their living room. "Hi, Lily. Hi, James. Is Harry here?"

After resealing the fireplace, Lily frowned. "He's supposed to be with you."

"Oh." Ron grimaced. "Well, he left to visit my brothers' shop. We were supposed to meet afterwards, but he never showed up."

"How long ago was that?" James asked.

"Uh…" Ron glanced at the clock on the wall. "Two hours since he left? One and a half until he should've been back?"

"You waited one and a half hours for him?" Lily asked. That wasn't normal.

"Ah… I met Lavender."

That explained it. But it didn't explain where Harry was. The boy had some explaining to do. Lily waved her wand and conjured a Patronus Messenger. "Harry! Where are you? Ron's waiting for you in our living room!" She flicked her wand, sending the translucent doe on her way.

Only the doe didn't leave. It looked confused - as much as a spell could look confused - as it walked in a circle.

Lily froze. Her spell couldn't find her son? No… That was impossible.

Unknown Location, July 6th, 1996

"Granger! Granger!"

Hermione Granger rolled her eyes as she turned to look over her shoulder. She was just about finished with the poles for the tents. What was Potter's problem? He was running full tilt towards her.

"We've got problems! Big problems!"

"You've just realised that?" Typical! She'd been telling the git that they had to prepare for the worst.

"No! I mean, yes - but it's not what you're thinking!"

"And how would you know what I'm thinking?" He wasn't a Legilimens.

"Because you keep telling everyone what you think, all the time?"

"I only have to repeat myself to those who don't listen," she replied. Such as Potter.

The git clenched his teeth. "Really…" He took a deep breath. "Look, we've got trouble - trouble the size of a dragon!"

"What?" She stared at him. He couldn't be implying what she thought he was implying. "You saw a dragon?"

"Something the size of an adult dragon," he replied. "Well, traces of it."

"Really." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Like when you saw a dragon in the Forbidden Forest?"

"No!" He glared at her. "Come and take a look if you don't believe me!"

"Oh, I will!" she told him. And she'd be ready for any of his stupid pranks.

"Follow me, then!" He grabbed his robes and folded them.

"Gladly." As if she'd let him walk behind her.

He led her across the beach, into the forest - a little way away from where she'd picked her coconut.

And then she stared at the small clearing. The way the trees had been scratched - clawed - and ripped out...

"See? I wasn't making things up."

"Quiet!" she snapped. He didn't have to rub it in - as if anyone would expect her to trust him after everything he'd said and done.

She knelt down at the base of a fallen palm tree and looked at the roots. Uprooted. And the claw marks… this had to have been a huge, ferocious monster. She swallowed and fought the urge to run away. She was better than that. She was a Gryffindor. And she also knew that hasty, panicked actions weren't the answer to any problem. "You think this was the work of a dragon?" she asked after a few deep breaths.

"No, of course not. I said 'something the size of a dragon," he told her, rolling his eyes before looking at the sky again. "There's no trace of fire here. Nothing was burnt."

He was right - dragons loved to set things on fire. "That's indeed unusual behaviour for a dragon. But the claw marks…" She pointed at a shredded tree. "There aren't many creatures with claws large enough to do this."

"And there's this," he said, pointing at the ground.

There was half a track there. Of a big three-toed foot with claws. She pointed her wand at it and cast a spell. "It weighed a great deal, relatively speaking."

"It was flying, though," he told her. "The trees outside the clearing aren't damaged."

"That doesn't mean that it flew away - we don't know how big it is. It could've fit perfectly fine between the trees," she pointed out. "Or it could've apparated."

"But the canopies are damaged here," he said, pointing upwards. "Like from wing strokes."

"That's true. Which means we can estimate the wingspan." She did a quick mental estimate. And didn't like what she came up with."If we take the lack of burnt soil and vegetation at face value and so exclude dragons, then that leaves precious few other creatures which can reach this sort of size. Wyverns. Rocs. Feathered Serpents, but they don't have claws.."

"And all of them are known to attack and eat humans," he said. "We don't need to know exactly what did this - we need to find a cave or something to hide in."

"Without knowing what sort of creature we're dealing with, we can't choose the correct response;" she retorted.

"Granger!" he snapped. "This isn't some stupid test! We don't need to find the perfect answer - we need to hide first, so we don't get eaten!"

"And we can't hide if we don't know what senses the creature has and in what sort of place it makes its lair - and how much it can contort its body! If it is as agile as some animals it might be able to slither through very narrow cracks - or into narrow caves!"

"Well, I don't see any feathers here - and it would've left some from striking the trees with its wings!" he retorted.

She nodded. All the known feathered magical creatures were constantly replacing their feathers. Hippogriffs shed so many, Luna had a pillow filled with them. "See? We're making progress."

"Oh, damn it, Granger, we're…"

A roar interrupted him, and both of them froze. "That was…" she trailed off.

"It came from the mountain," he said.

They looked at each other.

"We need to hide," he said.

He was right, damn it. They needed to hide. Quickly.

"Come on!" Harry Potter said through clenched teeth. "We need to hide!" If Granger didn't move, he'd drag her with him - or he'd float her. They'd leave no tracks that way. He pulled his shirt off, then stuck his folded robes to the back of it and put it on again. Instant backpack!

"We're under the trees already," she repeated - but she was moving, at last.

"Those won't be enough," he retorted. Not against a flying predator - Hedwig could spot a mouse in thick grass without problems. And could snap it up in a heartbeat.

"Alright," Granger replied, waving her wand. What was she casting?

"Such flying creatures usually hunt by sight. Cast a Disillusionment Charm on us! I'll be able to follow you with my Human-presence-revealing Charm, so we won't get separated."

Oh. He grimaced. "I don't know that spell."

"What?" She gasped. "But… you're always sneaking around! No prefect's ever caught you! I learned to cast this charm just to finally be able to spot you!"

Good luck trying that charm against his Cloak! Well, technically Dad's. Which Mum had taken away. "I don't use a Disillusionment Charm."

She clenched her teeth. "Well, whatever method you use, do it now, before we get noticed!"

"I don't have it on me," he said.

"What?" She shook her head. "Typical! Always relying on your money!"

Oh, for… "There was no need to learn that spell, so I learned other spells instead!" He checked the sky. "And this isn't the time to have a row! We need to hide!"

"That's what I was saying. We need to hide from an aerial predator. A cave would be best, but we might have to settle for an overhang."

Did she ever stop talking like she was lecturing someone? "I doubt we'll find either on a sandy beach," he told her. "We'll have a better chance if we go further inland, where the jungle starts."

"That's the direction of the monster," she said.

"Yes." He swallowed the insult on his tongue. "But it's also the best spot to hide. If we go looking for a cave or overhang on the beach, it'll be easy to spot us from the air."

"Let's go, then," she said. "But if we get eaten by a monster, my last words will be 'I told you so'."

He snorted despite himself, even though he couldn't tell whether or not Granger was joking. That would be so very… her, to say such a thing.

They made their way through the palm forest - if you could call the scattered trees that - until they reached the actual jungle. Harry stumbled several times, trying to keep an eye on the sky. If a flying monster appeared… well, most of his duelling spells would be useless. A creature that size needed spells that were banned from duelling. Or useless in duelling. A Shield Charm might protect them against the first attack but wouldn't last long. But… well, at least his Shield Charm would hold. Granger's was worse. And she wasn't as good a duellist as he was. And… He clenched his teeth. Between the two of them, he had the better chance of surviving an attack. Which meant he would have to ensure the monster attacked him. Dad would do the same. Even for Granger.

"If we get spotted, I'll attract its attention. You look for a spot to hide." He didn't look at her as he spoke.

"What?" she hissed, panting. "Are you planning to sacrifice yourself?"

"No." Not really. Depending on what exactly they were dealing with, he had a chance of defeating it. And not having to worry about Granger would help.

"Of course you are, you idiot!" She scoffed, then gasped when she slipped on a particularly large root. "All you'd do was give it a taste for human flesh."

"And what would you do? Try to lecture it to death?" He spat. They were now in the jungle, and walking was difficult with all the underbrush getting in their way.

"Ha ha ha." She huffed and panted a little more. "No, I'd attempt to distract it without getting killed in the process."

"You said it - 'attempt'." And she'd fail. He used a Severing Charm to remove a low-hanging branch that resisted being pushed away. Something skittered under the next tree.

"It's still a better idea than feeding yourself to it! Really…"

He turned to look at her.

"Oh! I've got the solution!" She beamed at him. Without the sweat running down her face, she would probably have looked smug. "We'll distract it - should it spot us - with fish! Enlarged fish! Unless this island is much larger than it appears, a creature of that size wouldn't find enough prey inland - not in the long run - so it'll likely hunt maritime creatures, too."

That was… actually not a bad idea. "And where will we get the fish?"

And now she was frowning at him again, as if that flaw in her plan was his fault!

Where would they get fish? That was a good question, Hermione Granger had to admit. Even if Potter was the one asking it. Fortunately, she had an answer. Of sorts. "We can summon fish."

"You've seen a fish?" Potter asked. "Because you can't just raise your wand and summon something you haven't seen even once."

She rolled her eyes. The git was quoting theory? To her? "I didn't mean that we could summon fish here. We'll have to find some, first."

"And where would we do that? If we head to the beach to look for fish in the shallows, we'll be exposed to the monster."

She looked up at the sky to check that the monster wasn't already out hunting. "Of course not," she retorted. "But this is a sizable island with a lot of vegetation; there should be some streams or ponds somewhere, which should contain fish."

"That's a lot of 'shoulds'," he commented.

"It's two, actually," she corrected him.

"Two rather crucial 'shoulds', then," he shot back with a frown.

"So? Do you have a better idea? Except for playing bait and hoping your body will feed it enough so it won't hunt until help arrives?" Really, did Potter have a death wish? 'Bait Who Lived' wasn't supposed to be taken seriously.

He didn't have an answer for that, of course. He tried anyway. "We could burrow. Use the Vanishing Spell to dig a hole and hide in it. Use foliage and branches to cover the top."

"And hope that the creature doesn't smell or hear us." She shook her head. "Let's call that plan B."

"And with your plan, we need to hope that the creature eats fish." He stared at her for a moment, then looked up.

She followed his example. The sky was still clear. "Most predators can and will eat fish."

"Muggle animals, maybe. Magical creatures can have much more restricted diets."

"Can you name examples that aren't small, specialised species such as the Frog-Eating Ghostsnake?"

"We don't know what we're dealing with."

"Exactly. So it's logical to go with what we know generally applies to large airborne predators: that they eat all kinds of meat and fish."

"Fish we haven't yet found."

"Fish we might've found if you'd stop questioning everything." Really!

"Says the witch whose right arm is paler than her left because she's always raising it to ask questions."

She clenched her teeth. "As you were so fond of reminding me earlier: We aren't at school. Now let's go look for some water!"

"Not without some leaves we can use as cover!" Without waiting for her reply, he turned and cut a few palm fronds.

"Is that everything, or do you want to take some sand and earth with us into which we can burrow, just in case that we should end up on a rock?"

He frowned as if he was actually considering it. Honestly! "Let's go!" she said. "If there are streams, they'll likely run down the hillside."

"It might actually be a mountain," he said. "It looks tall enough."

She glanced at him. He was smirking. The damn git had no sense of priorities!

Shaking her head, she started walking towards the hill. And tried to keep an eye on the sky as much as possible. She didn't want to end up as food for a monster.

"Let me take the lead," he said. "There could be snakes and other venomous animals."

"I'm quite proficient with all sorts of anti-venom and anti-poison spells," she told him. Which he should know since she had learned them to deal with his pranks.

"Well, then I should go first so you can heal me if anything happens!" He grinned at her.

"If you insist on playing bait, be my guest." She sketched a bow and gestured towards the hill.

"Thank you."

His smile looked as insincere as hers. She was about to comment on that, but another roar interrupted her.

"Uh…" He looked over his shoulder.

"Let's go!" she told him.

Another roar. Harry Potter froze - some predators could only see you if you moved; at least that's what Hagrid had taught them, and Jurassic Park agreed. But the sky was still clear. Well, except for a few birds. What was the monster doing? Why did animals roar? As a threat display, mostly, if he remembered correctly. And for communication. Was there another monster around? Were they hearing two creatures trying to intimidate each other? Or was that a mating call?

Ugh. Either way, it was bad news. Unless this was some harmless small animal that could use an Amplification Charm-like power, it was a very big, very angry creature. And they were walking towards it because Granger had a plan.

Well, it wasn't a bad plan. But it wasn't a good plan, either. Though as Remus had taught them in Defence: In an emergency, it was usually better to do something than nothing. Harry hoped that this wasn't an exception. How long did it take for his parents to notice that he was missing, anyway? Usually, they sent a Patronus Messenger - which would then arrive at the worst possible moment.

Damn. He really hoped that the monster wouldn't end up being led to them by a glowing flying stag or doe - especially one which was shouting at him...

He shook his head. He couldn't dwell on that. If they found fish before that, then they could feed the monster as a distraction. Not many creatures would go after prey if they had food already. Too much of a risk of getting hurt for nothing.

There were creatures, though, which would do such a thing. Those which didn't expect to be hurt by anything. The ones which were too dumb to realise humans - wizards - were dangerous. And those which had killed wizards before. Like dragons.

But this creature wasn't a dragon. No trace of any fire breathing. Charlie had been very clear about dragons and fire. Not much that could burn was left around their lairs. Which was, now that he came to think of it, kind of self-destructive - it meant their lairs would be easy to find.

Then again, a dragon would probably encourage its meals to come to it, instead of having to hunt them down.

He brushed another branch away, then gasped and jumped back when something hissed at him - a snake!

"Snake!" he yelled, staring at the animal. It was brown. Wrapped around the branch, it looked just like a part of the tree. And it was hissing, baring its fangs at him.

"What? Did it bite you?" Granger was there, pointing her wand at him. "I don't detect any poison."

"It didn't bite me," he told her. As if he'd let a snake bite him - he had Seeker's reflexes!

"Ah." She nodded and took a step back. "That's a threat display."

"I know."

"I don't recognise the species, though," she went on.

"Are you a snake expert?" he asked.

"No." She sounded as if she was embarrassed that she wasn't. "But I've read up on them."

"Not enough, then. Let's go." The monster, whatever it was, wouldn't stay in its lair forever.

She huffed but - for once - didn't answer back, and they gave the snake a wide berth as they continued their trek towards the hill.

About twenty minutes later, they arrived at the foot of the hill, where the hillside started to become steeper, and the trees became scarcer. "I don't see any water," Harry said.

"We'll circle it."

"Clockwise," he said. That would, unless his ears were deceiving him, take them away from the monster - or, at least, not as close towards it as the alternative. "And let's get back into the denser forest."

She groaned in response.

He glanced at her. She was quite flushed - and sweaty. Of course, she wasn't in good shape, so she'd tire faster than Harry. But wearing her robes didn't help. "Perhaps you should ditch the robes," he told her.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," he pointed out - she looked like she'd suffer heatstroke if she didn't rest.

"Why, thank you," she spat.

"My pleasure," he retorted. Damn, she couldn't even accept a little helpful advice, could she?

"Let's go."

Hermione Granger took deep breaths as she followed Potter. She was hot - far too hot. But ditching her robes… No. Her robes weren't enchanted, but the material was still quite tough. Snakes and other animals would have trouble biting her through it. And that was worth a little heat.

Although she should still take a few precautions anyway. If she succumbed to heatstroke, that would be a calamity. She pointed her wand at her head. "Aguamenti!"

Ah. The stream of cool water hitting her felt like heaven. She closed her eyes for a moment and drenched her face. Washed the sweat away. Damn. She'd forgotten about that. Salt. They needed salt as well.

"What are you doing?"

Wasn't it obvious? "Cooling off," she replied. Then she took a few sips - mouthfuls - of water.

"Watch out that you don't chafe," he said. "Wet clothes aren't ideal for sports."

"I know." She let the water hit her face again and sighed. "Ah." That felt good. When she opened her eyes, she found Potter staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing."

She rolled her eyes. Whatever.

"I just thought… we could make a stream," he went on, chuckling.

She laughed, even though it wasn't that funny. "We'll need seawater, too," she told him. "So we can get the salt we're sweating out here."

He blinked. "Right. That'll be…"

"...easy. We just need a vessel and a drying charm."

"Right. Use a coconut shell as a container?"

"Yes." She nodded. "And then we enlarge it."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Plan C. We still need to find fish." She smiled. He got it.

"Right." He turned and continued walking, cutting a branch away with a quick charm, then ducking when it fell.

"I can take the lead," she offered.

"We went over that. You're better at fixing me up."

She pressed her lips together. That didn't mean he had to take all the risks. Well, it sort of did - it was logical, after all. But it felt wrong. She didn't want to hide behind him. And if he actually sacrificed himself for her… Well, she wouldn't let him do that.

They continued their walk. The underbrush here, at the edge of the jungle, was far denser, though, and her robes kept snagging on branches or even the trunks of the smaller trees. It was getting annoying. And Potter's raised eyebrows whenever he turned to wait for her weren't helping.

Hermione tried her best to ignore both annoyances. But it was hard. As hard as ignoring the nagging fear that she'd be caught by the monster in this underbrush like a fly in a spider's web.

"You know, you're trying too hard."

She glared at him. "What?"

"With your robes. You won't stop being a witch if you wear something more suitable for the jungle, you know," Potter said.

"Right. Give me a moment, and I'll pull my khakis and pith helmet out of my travelling wardrobe," she shot back. Before he could say anything, she added: "And no, I don't have a travelling wardrobe." Oh, if Potter had some enchanted shrunken extended wardrobe, she'd…

"Well, if you can't dress up as Jane you can always dress up as Tarzan." He chuckled.

She rolled her eyes at him. "'King of the Apes' sounds like your role." He was certainly acting the part.

He frowned in return. Didn't like his stupid 'joke' being turned back on him, huh?

"Jokes aside, if we get discovered by the monster, you won't be able to run far in those robes," he said after a moment.

"I'm aware of that," she told him.

"Really? And why are you still wearing your robes, then? Are you planning to play bait?" The way he scoffed at the notion told her that he had taken her earlier remarks personally.

"No," she spat. "I wouldn't want to infringe on your chosen role!"

"Granger, don't be stupid! Drop the damn robes! If you're nude under them, you can have my shirt."

"How generous." She scoffed. "How about we move further into the jungle, where the foliage isn't as dense," she retorted. "I was fine until we hit the edge of the forest here."

"You have a loose definition of 'fine'. Really, your behaviour makes no sense."

"My robes protect me from stings and bites."

"Just cast the spells on yourself."

"There aren't any spells on them. It's the fabric," she told him. "It's sturdier than my other clothes." And certainly tougher than her skin.

"So you are in your underwear beneath your robes!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Then what's the problem? If you're afraid of bugs, I can cast a bug-repelling charm on you."

"I can cast that myself." She clenched her teeth. The git wouldn't stop, despite the urgency of their situation. Fine! She gripped her robes and pulled them up until she could grab their hem, then pulled them over her head. A quick wave of her wand later, she was protected by an Insect-Repelling Charm.

That still left her robes themselves to deal with. Folded or bunched up, they were rather unwieldy. How could she…? Ah. She rolled them up and stuck the ends together with a spell, forming a sort of voluminous sash. Like the way that some soldiers used to carry their blankets.

She'd still get her legs scratched - but she knew that was inevitable. She should never have let Lavender talk her into wearing short shorts and a sleeveless top… Well, she shouldn't have told her friend about such clothes. Or shown her pictures.

She'd have to cast dozens of healing charms later.

Harry Potter stared. Granger in short shorts and a flimsy top was the last thing he had expected to see. Well, the second to last thing. And she wasn't nearly as plump as he had expected from a bookworm. In fact, her legs were... Damn, he was staring. Instead of keeping an eye out for monsters! And it was Granger.

Damn.

He turned and checked the sky, then the forest. No sign of a monster. Or any dangerous animals.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go on!" Granger complained.

"Right," he replied. He glanced over his shoulder. Just to check that she wasn't carrying her robes in her arms or something. She wasn't.

That was actually a clever solution. Perhaps better than what he had done with his own robes, which were folded and stuck to the back of his shirt… No. His clothes granted better freedom of movement. And that was crucial in a fight. Any fight. Especially against monsters.

Or animals. Couldn't forget them. This was a jungle on a magical island. They had already seen a snake, but there would be more animals hiding here. Such as… "A frog?"

Granger was at his side instantly. "A frog? Frogs are amphibians! That means there should be water around for them to breed. Where is it?"

He pointed at the small animal perched on a leaf.

"Oh, there it is." She crouched and peered at it as if they were in a lesson with Hagrid. No - she'd be cautious in that case.

"We should be close to a body of water - they won't travel too far from water, I think."

"Well, onward then," Harry said.

But instead of a stream they discovered a trail a little later. With more tracks.

"Those aren't the same tracks we saw before," Granger stated the obvious. "They're not only smaller but have one more toe."

"And one more claw," Harry added, pointing at the marks on the trunk nearby.

"Hard to tell what species they are just from these tracks. But they're about the size of a cat," she added.

"Harmless then," Harry concluded.

"They could be venomous. Or travel and hunt in packs. Or they could be magical."

He frowned at her. "You're such a ray of sunshine, Granger. Always lifting our spirits with your optimism."

"I'm merely cautious. If they are harmless we won't be, ah, harmed, but if they aren't, we'll be prepared."

"Like you were prepared to flee through the underbrush in your robes?"

He could see her clench her teeth. "At least the robes kept my legs from getting scratched."

He glanced at her legs without meaning to. They looked fine. Slightly scratched. No worse than his arms.

She cast a healing charm, and most of the scratches vanished.

"Doesn't seem like a serious problem," he commented.

"It hurts and is distracting," she replied.

He snorted. "Don't let yourself get distracted then." A good duellist had to be able to ignore pain - to an extent, anyway. And other distractions.

"I'll just have to imagine the scratches are you, then."

"You think I'm a distraction?" He raised his eyebrows at her for effect.

"Not in that sense," she spat.

"'That sense'?" He grinned. "What are you thinking about?"

She rolled her eyes. "About finding water and summoning fish so we won't get eaten by a giant flying monster. What are you thinking about?"

How much longer his parents' Patronus Messengers would take. But he didn't say that. "How to reach that water without getting lost in the jungle."

"Then kindly get on with it," she snapped.

He sighed and started walking again.

They reached a small stream a few minutes later. Granger had been right about the frog not being far from water.

And there was even a small pond with a waterfall at the foot of the hill. Not large, but tall enough to serve as a shower. And… "Is that a cave behind the water?"

She squinted at the waterfall. "It looks like it."

Harry grinned. Just like in some of Dudley's games. "Let's explore it!"

"Wait!" Granger protested. "It's probably occupied!"

That was a good point. Although…

The familiar roar interrupted his thoughts. It sounded closer than before - much closer.

No… He looked up and saw wide wings flap in the sky above. "It's hunting!" he snapped. And they were out of cover.

"Into the cave!" Granger yelled. "Quickly!"

Above them, the monster - it looked like a sort of dragon - circled round.

It had seen them.

"Run!"