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.
They bedded down in the village, and stayed there for a couple of weeks. It was a trade off, as though the warmth of the brick building was much appreciated, the nervousness from feeling so unprotected was not a welcome bedfellow.
The house was defend-able to a degree, but nothing like the rail house had been. When the snow finally cleared, the first thing that they had to do, much to both their chagrin was to figure out where in the world they actually were. They had been living in the rail house for what must have been a year at the least, but neither of them actually had any idea where they were in the country, other than roughly in the north somewhere, so they would have to discover their exact location so that they could figure out which way they needed to move in.
A supply raid on what had been the post office, provided them with their current address, a small village in Yorkshire, and a road map. Most roads were overgrown and abandoned now, but having the map was a definite help to avoid uncross-able rivers and large cities, which could have added days onto their journey if they had stumbled upon one and had to turn themselves around.
For one last time they took Samuel on the small park that he so loved. Now totally deaf, the boy didn't seem phased by his hearing loss at all as he smiled and giggled when Severus pushed him on the swings or lifted him to the top of the slide, as Hermione watched on fondly.
They waved goodbye to the park, and began to move. Hermione had found a pull along shopping trolley at the post office, it was one of those horrible tartan things that your grandmother might take shopping with her, but it held a lot, was waterproof and was easily pulled along so it was requisitioned by Hermione, even as Severus sneered at the thing in distaste. Much to Samuel's delight, it also took his weight on top and he would spend many a happy hour sitting on top and being pulled along by one of the adults. When he wasn't atop the trolley, he was usually sat upon Severus's shoulders.
oOo
They had over 300 miles to cover, and on foot in winter was not the best time to do it, but they had no choice if they wanted to reach Eigg. They seriously debated fortifying the house in the village, as they had done the rail house instead of moving on. But the idea was soon discarded. It was no long term solution, and they did not want to spend the rest of their lives on edge.
When the weather broke once more, and snow and ice turned to miserable rain they were moving again. Hermione and Samuel it turned out were both excellent climbers, and when they had to settle down for the night in the forest of Bowland, they climbed the trees and strapped themselves to a branch for safety. Severus much to his chagrin and Samuel's amusement, had to be half dragged up the tree. He was many things, but there was one thing his 6ft 2 gangly self was not and that was a good climber. As soon as he was safely strapped to a thick branch though, he punished Samuel for his laughter with a tickle attack that had the boy squealing and giggling as Hermione could only watch on in amusement.
It took them weeks to traverse the forest of Bowland, and they got turned around more than once, and despite the inherent danger it produced, they were grateful when they broke north of the forest and were able to spend the night in an abandoned building instead. Despite being rat infested and draughty, Severus was grateful to spend the night on solid ground, and share a bed once more with Hermione.
They were down to their last condom, and she tore into the sun-faded and illegible packet, and covered his cock with the rubber, and he groaned in pleasure at that simple action. They made love desperately, the box springs squeaking rhythmically as he eagerly fucked her into the mattress. It had been too long since they had been joined this way, that they could both agree on. She arched her back, grasping the headboard behind her and her buried his face in her neck. Moaning rapturously she arched further under him, taught like a bowstring as he sank his teeth in her shoulder as he finished and she responded by digging her nails into his back, as he felt her clench around him .
They locked eyes as they both came down from their peak gradually, sweating and panting as the sweet lassitude was filling their body and making their limbs heavy. A deep kiss was exchanged, and no words were needed. The forest of Bowland had been harsh, but they knew the worse was to come. In order to avoid big cities they were going to have to travel through the lake district, an area of massive lakes and many mountainous paths. This moment they had would need to be relished, as like the forest of Bowland, safe places to sleep where going to be few and far between. One thing the Lake District was, was open and shelter was going to be hard to find. The only other option, of avoiding the lake district and the Penines, had them going past large cities like Middles-borough, Durham and Newcastle where the amount of immune was sure to be in the thousands. It was not a safe option.
Spent, and tired Severus went to pull away from Hermione and dispose of the condom, only to freeze. Hermione instantly noticed the action and sat up as she spoke. "Severus?" Hermione questioned and his wide eyes met hers. She must have seen the panic there, because she questioned him urgently once more."Severus what's wrong?" He swallowed carefully before meeting her gaze and answering her. "The condom broke".