Author's Note: So here is the next chapter. I don't really know what to say about it, haha. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

Warning: Please remember this story is rated M, there will be dark themes and touchy subjects throughout. It is a war piece, a dark-angst-drama-horror type of war story with a little romance thrown in. Keep the rating in mind when deciding it the story is appropriate for you.

April 26th, 1999

"We're living in hard times." -Antonio Banderas

Harry was furiously scratching at one of the cuts on his arm. Walking through the woods for months had exposed him to many types of injuries and infections. There was almost a slight greenish tint around the cut he was scratching but he couldn't help but irritate the injury more.

Hermione was asleep only feet away from him. She had pulled a pile of dead leaves from the ground to surround her like a blanket. In the months they had been traveling she had lost a significant amount of weight. Even the warm spring air felt cold to her small frame. It seemed like everywhere they traveled she was too cold and tired to go any further.

Ron had taken to biting off Hermione's head every chance he got. The lack of food had caused his temper to grow immensely. He blamed Hermione and Harry for his family's death, although none of them were sure who survived the Battle of Hogwarts.

It had been nearly a year since the battle, but for the three teens it seemed like an entirely different lifetime. They had been surviving on nothing more than rain water and the occasional rabbit. Harry had managed to catch a few snakes by speaking to them, trapping them till he could kill them for food. Ron had managed to become a decent hunter using the tools Hermione made from sticks and rocks they found on the floor of the woods.

Harry looked at the greenish cut on his arm with a scowl. His body was covered in many scars from the last few months of travel. He ventured a guess that at least eighty percent of his body had small faint scars covering its canvas. Hermione and Ron had been luckier in that sense, neither of them were as clumsy as Harry had been. Hermione was suffering from malnourishment and Ron was growing violent form the lack of food but they both managed to keep from cutting themselves up.

Hermione's breath pattern changed and Harry could tell she was awake. None of them wasted much energy with opening their eyes or moving about much, instead they would just take a deep breath and wait for what the day might bring. Harry wanted to stay positive for her, he knew out of the three of them she was suffering the most mentally but he had no clue how to help her.

"Morning. We'll have to move today." He said to her still body.

Hermione gave a small grunt, it was almost inaudible but Harry's ears had become adjusted. He didn't have to remind her that they couldn't stay still. For the last year they had constantly been on the move. Hermione didn't think she had ever healed properly because of it. She wanted to find a safe house, but none of them were sure where they were trapped in the woods.

It had only been a month before when Ron disappeared for a week and came back with news. Voldemort had expanded, he had taken over a majority of Europe and was hoping to move into Asia in the next few years. He had placed a trace on all forms of magic within Britain. Hermione had never been so glad that they hadn't' tried wandless magic as when she heard that piece of information.

There were still times when Ron insisted that they needed to go back, needed to find his family and fight. Part of Hermione knew he was trying to be heroic. He wanted to save the world from the horrible place it had become. But Hermione and Harry had clearer minds, they knew that if they went back they wouldn't survive.

"Which way are we heading this time?" she asked as she slowly sat up.

Their bodies were weak from malnourishment, Hermione worst of all. Every move they made had to be well thought out and carefully executed.

"I figured we'd let Ron take the lead this time. You know how he is."

"Rude, bossy, mean?"

"Hermione, come on. Ron needs to see we're not against him. You and I have basically taken over our lives. He just wants some say in things."

"Yeah, he wants to say we need to turn ourselves in… and you know what, I'm sick of hearing it. This has been hard on all of us. I'm wasting away, you probably have a disease judging from the color of your arm. But Ron, poor baby can only eat as much as we do. He doesn't have sweets and so he goes mad! He's convinced his whole family is dead, or that they just gave into You-Know-Who. I don't want to sit in some stupid New Town like a sitting duck."

"And what are you doing here?" Hermione looked up to see Ron standing behind her.

That was another habit he had fallen into. More often than not Hermione found Ron eavesdropping on her conversations with Harry. It was like the red head thought they were going to make life changing decisions and leave him out of it. Every time he listened in a fight started, but Hermione was not ready to argue so early in the morning.

"You're right Ron, I'm not really doing anything here. We are traveling through the woods and its not doing anyone any good, but at least we're alive."

"Congratulations, you're alive. You made us run away and now people are dead because of you. But at least you're alive." He spat out throwing a dead rabbit at her.

Hermione looked at Harry, who long ago had gotten sick of the bickering. He knew Hermione never meant to start it, and he had a feeling Ron didn't mean to either, but all the same everyday was a challenge and it made what they were doing harder.

If only there was some safe way of learning everything Ron needed to know without risking their lives. They couldn't risk the New Towns. Though Ron had learned, around the same time he discovered that Voldemort expanded, that only two New Towns were running. Which meant Hermione would be on her own and Harry and Ron would be together. Harry just knew they couldn't survive that separation.

"Ron, mate," Harry said changing the subject, "we've got to move today. What direction do you think?"

Hermione watched Ron's face carefully. Harry still trusted Ron's judgment enough but she didn't. Ron was so desperate to see his family she wouldn't be surprised if he led them straight into a nearby village. She felt guilty for distrusting her best friend, but in the year since the war he had hardly been the same person.

"There's a town nearby no matter what direction we go. It took a year but we finally made it to the edge of the woods. No way is safe."

Hermione let out a small breath she had been holding while she waited for his response. Looking at Harry she knew there wasn't much else for them to do. They would have to back track if they wanted to keep their cover… But back tracking could be dangerous even if they managed to stay on the same path.

"Ron, are you sure?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I was walking around for days, I know what I saw."

Hermione bit her lip, cutting into it again. Her lips were the only place she had continuously cut open. Every day she would bit at her lip from nervousness and it would split open squirting a small amount of blood into her mouth.

"Maybe if we wait for night we can sneak through a town." She suggested.

"That'd be dangerous." Harry said.

"So is sitting here. If we have to chose a town no matter what surely night would be smarter."

"There are night P.S. and Snatchers around everywhere. Harry, she led us straight to a dead end."

Hermione didn't know what to say. She had been the one giving most of the direction orders. Harry would help every few days but she had been leading them through most of the forest, following the trail of small animals so they could keep their food supply. Clearly the animals were just as stupid as she felt.

"I'm sorry." She stuttered out unsure of herself.

"Damn right, you're sorry!" Ron shouted.

"Don't yell at her. Don't yell at all -what do you want to do, get us killed?" Harry hissed out quietly.

"Not a bad idea." All three jumped at the foreign voice.

A man in his thirties stood behind them, leaning against a tree staring at them like they were water in the desert. Hermione's eyes went wide, looking almost comical on her sunken in face. Harry had, out of habit, reached for his wand that was no longer there. Ron just stood, staring the man down knowing there was little that could be done.

"Well, well, what have I got here?" the man laughed.

In a split second Harry took off. His feet moving so fast they barely touched the ground. Hermione followed his lead but she could hardly run and fell behind after only a few seconds. The two ran as fast as they could. Hermione made it only a short distance away before she fell to the ground, her ankle in too much pain to move further. Ron was catching up with her, and Harry had noticed her absence.

The two boys ran to her. Whatever issues might have occurred between them were no match to the adrenaline of the situation. Ron did his best to pull her from the ground and force her to keep moving. Harry had finally caught back up with the two of them and was trying to assist Ron.

But the man was so close, he had hardly sprinted before he caught up to the three teens. They might have been younger but they were clearly injured and out of shape. And before they knew it they were surrounded not only by the man but three other snatchers.

Magic was the only thing that would save them. They were already caught, doing wandless magic could hardly hurt them… or that's what Hermione had thought. Everything she shot at the men bounced off their shields as if she held no power. The stunners and body binds held hardly any power after a year of not practicing any magic.

Harry joined, shooting spells off the best he could. His strength had never been wandless magic, and the few he could do were hardly any help against grown men. The snatchers seemed to have paired off with the trio. Two men fighting Harry and one each with Hermione and Ron.

Spells and curses flew back and forth between the group. Hermione was doing her best to keep a shield around the boys as well as herself, but it was draining. The snatchers were advancing on them and she could hardly do anything about it. The only thing she could think of was to surprise the men, which clearly would be difficult in the middle of a fight.

Shifting her position Hermione found herself free of the spell zone. Her snatcher had continued shooting off spells without even paying attention but now they were being directed at Ron. She dropped to the ground, army crawling her way out of the fighting circle. She was surprised it was working, the grown men were so enamored by the fighting they didn't even notice who it was they were shooting spells at. Ron was the only one who seemed to notice her absence as he looked around frantically, assuming she had been hit and fallen to the ground.

Hermione forced herself to stand, pushing herself up with all the might she had. She didn't even have to focus on walking quietly with all the spell work being shouted around her. As quickly as she could on her ankle she made her way behind the man who had first caught them. He was deep in his duel with Harry, shouting off nasty spells that Hermione was glad Harry was skilled enough to dodge or shield. She walked up, only an arm's length away from the man and silently prayed her plan would work.

She locked eyes with Ron for only a split second. Despite all their bickering he was still her best friend and in that moment she knew she was his. His eyes glazed over with concern in the second that he had noticed her. Harry hadn't seen her, and for that she was glad. Ron was too confused to process what was happening but Harry would have called out and given her away before she was ready.

"Oi, idiots!" she called out as loudly as she could manage.

Every man before her turned to look at her. No one shot a spell as they turned. The man who had found them turned all the way around to face her. She caught his eyes staring into her face and as quickly as she could process she swung her right arm around to connect her first with his cheek.

She thought the surprise would give the boys a moment to win but they had been as distracted by her punch as the snatchers had. The man she had hit swayed on his feet, his hand nursing his cheek. She didn't even notice the other man who had been fighting Harry cast a spell.

Hermione had never been in a body bind before and she hoped never again would she experience it. Her mind was desperately crying out to her body to move, she was frightfully aware but she had no control. She could hear more spells being cast until two more thuds followed by silence.

The man she had hit stood over her grabbing her cheeks in one hand and pulling her head up to resist the bind. His fingers traced the roughness of her jawline and he smiled down at her with an evil glint in his eye.

"Won't you be a delicious one," Hermione's mind panicked thinking of all the creatures that were sure to be following Voldemort, "but not yet. First, learn to respect your superiors. Next time you touch me, mudblood, it'll be your life."

Hermione wanted to scream, she wanted to run. But the grown man stood over her and pulled his arm back before jutting it forward to meet with her nose. Before she could even register what was happening the world had gone dark.

A.N: So there is the third chapter! Obviously there was a big time jump but I didn't want to waste your time reading about a lot of roaming around the woods and petty fights -no unnecessary chapters! I love reviews and I'll do my best to have a shout out to anyone who reviews before the next chapter is posted!

THANK YOU! to lizziemarie0509, I promise I won't destroy Harry and Ginny's happiness. In fact I already have their ending planned out so them you don't need to worry about; Julia, I'm sorry for the long wait and I'm so happy to be on your favorites list -Ginny won't come in for a little while but once she does she'll be a fairly consistent character