AN: Lovely loyal readers, please remember the warnings and tags that come with this story. CHARACTER DEATH / HORROR.
There's darkness on the horizon.
She could rely on nobody but herself. So she had carried on alone, just her and Samuel.
Until Severus came along.
And he swore to himself, he would fight to protect them until his last breath.
Summer gave way into autumn, and soon became winter. And it was harsh.
Their preparations could only take them so far, and though they had stockpiled a huge amount of food and water, it was still difficult.
Hermione had saved every fur from every kill, and stitched together they provided warm, if not a little smelly, blankets that took the chill off.
The problem came when a harsh snowfall left them under a substantial amount of snow. The polar storm left them in the dark and cold for days straight, as thick clouds of snow blocked the sun, and chilled the air. They were unable to leave the rail house due to the distinct lack of being able to see more than a foot in front of your face. However the worse was yet to come.
After days of heavy snowfall, and low temperatures meaning the snow was settling and sticking to the ground and going nowhere soon, unable to take the weight of numerous layers of snow, part of the rail house's roof collapsed. Thankfully for all, it was not over their bedroom, but the gaping hole in the ceiling opened the house to the elements and they had to run through their firewood at twice the rate they had planned for, just to keep their teeth from chattering. Severus attempted to fix up the roof but it was no good, the wooden beams were rotten and crumbling and had simply collapsed under the weight of the snow, and no amount of botching would get it back together. Magical repair was out of the question too, charms of that size would be impossible for either of them to do without a wand, and would draw screamers to their location like a beacon.
Being open to the elements also meant they were vulnerable, from both muggles and immune, the smoke from their fire would usually not be an issue in the fortified house, but in low visibility and opened to the elements as it was, they had distinctly lost the advantage and it was an unwelcome beacon advertising their location in the no longer entirely defend-able building.
Despite their best efforts, Samuel caught a chill and a bad cold. They spent days in bed, with Samuel in the middle, trying to keep him as warm as they possibly could, and their supply of balms that Severus made were quickly run through. Hermoine wept as Samuel cried through a bad head-cold, he was wobbly and had lost his equilibrium and they both feared he'd lost what little hearing he'd had left. He slept bodily atop of Severus's chest, taking warmth and comfort. At the worst point, when the boy's rattling breaths were shaking his small chest, Hermione had to use the last of the inhaler she carried for him.
As the snow began to clear, and the worst of the winter began to recede with it, the small family found themselves mercifully still intact.
Both Hermione and Severus had dropped a lot of weight, and as they had feared they proved that what little was left of Samuel's hearing had indeed gone with the infection that had wracked his head and sinuses, though thankfully devoid of the pressure and infection, his equilibrium had returned and he was at least steady on his feet once more.
They had stopped making love when the worst of the cold came, such intimacies were a waste of energy and not suitable for when sharing a bed with a child, but as the first day came when the air was not biting, Samuel was able to sleep in his own bed once more, under the weight of the furs whilst his carers became reacquainted with one another.
They made love with a desperation, born of sheer relief at having survived the harsh winter. She accepted him on top of her, over her, inside of her as he gave her everything that he had, and emptied himself into her. They moved together in that long practised rhythm of lovers, that had gone on aeons before them and would go on aeons after.
Every day they could, they made love, until they were forced to accept that along with their dwindling supply of condoms, they also had a dwindling supply of food and would soon have to venture out of the rail house, whatever the weather.
They fought, argued and wept long and hard about it, as the rail house had well and truly become their home. But the fact of the matter remained, the rail house was no longer safe. Physically or structurally. Opened to the elements when the roof came through, the wind and the rain had wracked the building, and water and damp seeped into the wood foundations and the wooden beams were beginning to go mouldy and rot. The floor creaked and groaned when you walked on it, and Severus actually put his foot through the hallway floor when he went to the bathroom.
Albeit reluctantly, it was agreed that as soon as there was a day mild enough for the small family to travel, they were to pack up their supplies and leave the rail house for good. They would take shelter for the rest of the winter in one of the abandoned houses in the nearby village where they oft went for supplies. It was not ideal, nor was it long term, but as Severus reminded her, the brick buildings were at least intact, and that alone put them above the crumbling rail house in terms of safety.
When the heavy storms finally gave way to a light drizzle of rain, they packed their bags and prepared to move, each swallowing the uneasiness they felt at leaving their once secure home, despite the various events of the past year, the rail house had almost been a safe little bubble that kept them isolated from the desolation of the world outside.
They had agreed that Severus's plan to find a way on to Eigg was the best one they had, and after spending some time resting and re-supplying in the local village, that was what they were going to do.
With one last look behind them at the crumbling ruin that had been their home for so long, the three of them said goodbye to the rail house for the last time, and made their way through the murky grey daylight towards the village, as the fine mist of rain hung around them like a foreboding shroud of things to come.