Here is the next chapter of my story and we will finally see some action! PLEASE REVIEW! I can only improve when someone points out my mistakes. Of course I would probably be more motivated too! Thank you :)

Chapter 6: Enlightening Memories

Hermione felt pretty uncomfortable when she woke up the next morning. She was snuggling up in bed with the blanket and had a terrible headache.

That's how a hangover must feel like.

Then she suddenly remembered what happened last evening.

Not only does it feel like a hangover, but I also have one

Apparently Emilia had not only managed to foist alcohol on her, but also successfully provoked a body's reaction.

That evil git!

She slowly opened her heavy eyelids and gradually her senses became alive.

What is that smell and snoring?

Hermione quickly turned her head and looked at the inside of the camper. A high pitch scream left her lungs and there was some movement on her right side. She was not alone in her bed. This fact wasn't rather surprising, given their cramped accommodation. The exciting fact was WHO lay only a few inches away from her.

Oh God, what happened

"What do you think are you doing here?"

She grabbed his shoulder and shook him vigorously. A weird sensation was emitted from her stomach. Hermione didn't know whether this was actually a feeling or rather another reaction from her body to the alcohol.

"Hmm, what's wrong, lemme sleep…", the boy growled into his pillow.

Hermione didn't consider giving up at this point.

"Bloody hell, STOP that"

Then he suddenly realised that he wasn't woken for breakfast or by his male friend who should be sleeping next to him but by someone who was covered with him under the blanket.

"What in Merlin's name - HERMIONE?"

Ron finally turned his head in Hermione's direction, his eyed wide and his mouth hanging open.

Silence.

"I - I - I don't know how I got here, Hermione, seriously. To be honest, I don't remember a lot from last night. I don't remember anything to be precise. Oh god - mum is going to kill me"

Hermione shot him a furious glance but then tried hard to remember details of what happened after Emilia introduced them to the Russian liquor.

She tried and tried but she wasn't able find the desired memories in her head. She panicked inside but didn't show it to her friend.

"Let's not overreact, should we? I guess you were drunk and didn't know you were supposed to sleep in the tent and just lay down here. Not a big deal, really."

Oh God, you are not believing that yourself

"Yeah, probably. I will just get up then"

He pulled back the blanket, and got to this feet unsteadily.

"Bloody alcohol, never again. How silly were we to let Emilia talk us into it?"

Hermione didn't react to his question. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed and let out a squeak.

"Hermione?"

"Ron, you are - ehm - where are your clothes?", she stuttered distracted by Ron's upper body.

He was standing in front of her in only his boxers.

Ohhh no

Ron gave her a startled look, then he blushed in a deep shade of red.

"Sorry Hermione, sorry, I - I - I always sleep like that, no need to worry. Let's not overreact!?" he said, even though the last sentence resembled more a question than a statement.

Hermione's face colour had been even redder if not for the hangover, but she managed to give a still response.

"Sure! Now get dressed please. We will ask Harry and Emilia what exactly happened"

I want to hide in here forever.

As soon as the door of the camper opened and two knackered figures appeared, a loud clapping was hearable. Harry and Emilia were already sitting outside in their camping chairs and welcomed the two. Both were grinning ear to ear, evidently amused by the way Ron and Hermione looked.

"Here they are", Emilia exclaimed happily when the two approached.

Bewildered looks were exchanged. Then Ron and Hermione sat down on their chairs and looked for water and something to eat.

"What happened?", Hermione asked Harry, who was sitting opposite and was eyeing her suspiciously.

"You don't remember anything, Hermione? I thought you were a bit tipsy, but seems like you actually were hammered. Your personality changes a lot when you are drunk, really interesting if you ask me"

"Ha ha, Potter, very funny. Now tell me, PLEASE"

She blushed again and looked like she just wanted to roll up in her camping chair and disappear forever.

"You remember us playing 'Never have I ever'?", Emilia chipped in.

"Yes, I didn't play with you on purpose. I didn't want to drink much."

Emilia giggled for few seconds, but dropped it when she noticed Hermione's vicious glare.

"Sorry Hermione! Don't worry it wasn't too bad. We just decided to play another childish game"

"And that would be?"

"Spin the bottle!"

"Oh no, are you serious? And I joined? I can't imagine that!"

"Like I said", Harry interrupted. "You personality turned 180 degrees"

They sat in silence while Hermione and Ron took some of the breakfast that the others had already prepared.

"Hopefully it stays in my stomach", Ron thought feeling really hung-over. He just couldn't participate in the conversation.

Hermione wanted to avoid the next questions, but she couldn't suppress her curiosity.

"And anything special happened during that game?"

"Yes, one could say that", Emilia responded and exchanged a glance with Harry.

"Spit it out now!"

"First the bottle pointed to you and Ron. So you had to kiss each other"

Hermione's face went paler with every word she heard.

"After that you were a bit lucky or unlucky, depending how you see it, and the bottle pointed to you and Harry"

Bloody hell

"Instead of enjoying the exciting experience kissing Harry Potter, you stood up, took Ron's hand and dragged him away. We thought you would search for a more private place", Harry told her.

If Ron and Hermione thought the situation in the camper had been extremely embarrassing it was nothing compared to how they felt now. Another awkward silence spread over them. Both seemed helplessly overstrained to deal with the situation.

"Well - ", Emilia carefully began speaking. "Did you at least enjoy it?"

Harry snorted with laughter. This morning has been nothing but awkward.

Hermione got to her feet, her mouth twisted in anger and glowered at them.

"Very funny. Could we probably just drop this subject and talk about how we are going to spend our second day?"

"Sure! What do you have in mind?", Emilia responded, obviously trying to calm Hermione.

"Hiking would be fun, wouldn't it? We could follow the coastline and see where it leads us"

"Sounds great to me". Ron finally was able to say something and tried to ease the tension between Hermione and him. He smiled insecurely at her.

"Alright, it's settled then", Emilia announced. "Get your things ready, in 30 minutes we start our adventure!"

They all started to pack their things. When Hermione was about to sneak her wand in the pocket of her trousers, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Hey, Hermione"

"Harry, have you already finished packing?"

"Not really, but I wanted to talk to you first"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

He hesitated for a moment.

"About the You-Ron-Thing - I thought that you would react more positively. Don't you two have something going on since the Yule Ball?"

Hermione let out a big sigh.

"Yes Harry, there has been some thing between us - probably still is - I don't know. I just never imagined I would get drunk and do something like that. I can't tell if I like him that way. I can't remember anything either"

"I understand and have to apologise Hermione"

"For what?"

"Making fun of you two this morning. I should have been more considerate. Emilia thinks so too, she will say sorry to you later"

"Thank you. Have you and Emilia getting closer?"

"Not that close, Hermione. We just talked for another hour after you left"

Harry already had his hand on the knob, when Hermione spoke again.

"Harry - could you do me favour?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I need you to come with me to the cave tomorrow morning"

"Why?"

"I will tell you tomorrow, it won't take long. So will you come?"

"Okay alright, just wake me when you want to go. Should I tell the others to join us?"

"Please don't, it's something we can only do when we are alone"

Harry's head had been tilted quizzically during the conversation and now a broad grin gradually spread across his face.

"So you regret not kissing me and want to try it tomorrow? No offence, but I think the romantic setting inside the cave is far from ideal"

Hermione just rolled her eyes but started laughing at the same time.

"Don't worry about that, it will be much more fun"

"Oh now I am excited"

"You should be! And now go and pack your things, the others are probably already waiting"

The hiking was rather uneventful. They followed the road back to the street they came from and walked around the rocks that surrounded the camp site. From there they went along the coastline.

After roughly two miles, which took about 3 hours, the friends decided to go back.

Not only did the hangover limit their fitness, but also the trail turned out to be quite tedious.

They returned in the late afternoon to the camp site and started immediately to prepare a meal.

Since they had already explored most of the area, they decided to leave the next day around noon and drive onward.

"There are so many places where we can go, so there is no need to stay here for weeks", Emilia assured them when they discussed the matter.

They all agreed with the plan and when they finished eating, it was already getting dark. Harry and Ron again took care of the fire.

Hermione was sitting comfortable in her camping chair, a large book in her hands when Emilia proposed an activity.

"What about another round of 'Never have I ever'?"

Three perplexed faces were suddenly turned at her.

"Guys, I am joking"

And again, another day came to a lovely end.

"Harry… Harry, wake up", a hushed voice whispered.

Hermione had been entering their tent without a sound and lowered her head to Harry's ear.

"Harry, come on, we have to go"

Little by little Harry's green eyes opened, and darted back at her. After a few seconds he recognised where he was and why Hermione was standing in his tent.

He nodded with his head and Hermione went outside to let him dress.

When Harry left the tent, she was waiting for him with a Hogwarts book in her arms.

"Oh I forgot, we need your wand"

"My what? Hermione, we can't use magic here"

She put a finger to her lips to silence him and searched for something in her pocket. She raised her wand swiftly and whispered

"Accio Harry's wand"

A few seconds later, the desired object landed in her outstretched hand. Harry's mouth was hanging open.

"HERMIONE, what have you done? You will get us all into trouble"

"Funny you say that to me, when in the last five years it has been exactly the other way round. Now come, we don't have much time. I will explain it later"

She was already dragging him along towards the cave, before Harry could open his mouth and utter any objection.

As they reached their destination, Hermione quickly transformed two stones into cushions and summoned a small flame inside a glass bottle she brought along.

"Hermione, seriously, what is going on?", Harry finally asked when he was sitting on one of the cushions.

"Well, first of all I haven't been completely honest with you and I am sorry. I should have told you earlier"

Harry raised his eyebrows questioningly and kept shuffling around in his cushion.

"Two days ago at the beach, I remembered something from a book I have read a long time ago.

In France there is no such thing as control of underage magic. Here the children's parents are fully responsible for their actions."

"You mean we don't have the trace here?"

"Exactly!"

He quickly jumped to his feet and smiled happily.

"That's what you did at the beach! You have summoned the book. And I thought I was hallucinating! Give me my wand Hermione. I have to try something"

Hermione reluctantly handed over his wand.

"Expecto patronum!"

A beautiful stag erupted from the tip of his wand, filling the cave with silvery lights as the animal moved around the cave. It first decided to explore the inside and just as it was about to leave through the crack, Harry lowered his arm and the animal faded into silvery dust.

"It's really easy to summon a patronus when you think about the last few days we spent here", Harry whispered, his eyes looking dreamily at the spot where the stag was standing. "I was afraid I couldn't conjure it anymore after the Sirius' death"

Hermione's voice trembled slightly when she spoke.

"Harry…"

"I - I - am fine Hermione, just got a bit emotional, sorry"

She slowly walked over, wrapped her arms around Harry and hold him close.

"I am glad you are enjoying the trip", Hermione said in a hushed voice, the exhaled air causing a tickling sensation on his skin.

"I hope you do too?"

"Of course I do, it's the best summer I have had in my whole life"

"I didn't know Ron was such a good kisser - OUTCH"

"Now that you can joke again, I will tell you why we are here", Hermione chipped in to avoid the unpleasant topic, taking a few steps back from him.

"As you know, I have brought some books from Hogwarts. You also know about my hangover dilemma"

She began pacing up and down the cave deeply in thought.

"And you could understand why I want to remember last night. And NO it's not because of Ron. It's because it feels terrible to have a big hole in your memories"

"I found a charm in one of the books I brought. It's called lucidus memoriae"

"It's usually applied in pensieve construction. That's why saved memories appear so clear and rich of details when you relive them in the device. Anyways, the charm can also be cast the usual way. One has to think about the event, trying as hard as possible to remember it, and then say the spell. It usually works better when a second person casts it, because you can concentrate better on the memory"

"Didn't you say, you don't remember anything?", Harry interrupted her questioningly.

"Yes, that's the research question in our experiment. I know what happened shortly before and afterwards, so I will try to start from there. I hope with the help of lucidus memoriae I can at least vaguely uncover some parts"

She stopped her pacing and the well-known thirst for knowledge was visible in her eyes.

They sat down on the cushions and tried to find a comfortable position. Harry then gave Hermione a minute to replay the last evening in her head.

"Are you sure this will work?", Harry asked. His hands were slightly shaking as he raised his wand and pointed it to Hermione's forehead.

She gave him no acoustic answer but slightly nodded instead. Harry drew a deep breath before he spoke the charm.

"Lucidus memoriae!"

A dim golden light appeared where the tip of his wand touched her skin. It started to form a web of shining light around the head and soon had permeated every curl of her hair.

Suddenly she gasped and pulled her head back in surprise. Harry immediately jumped forward to avert her head from hitting the ground.

Her head was resting on his lap, as she finally opened her eyes.

"Hermione! What happened?", Harry cried out.

She moved her head with a jerk and got up. She shuddered heavily as her mouth opened to speak.

"Harry! We have to go back, fast!"

"What is …"

He couldn't finish his sentence, Hermione was already dragging him through the crack.

"HERMIONE!"

She abruptly came to a halt, turned around and looked at Harry in horror.

"Right after Ron and I left the fire, I saw something in my memories"

It took her a few seconds to regain her composure.

"I saw someone. A - A - person was standing in the dark near the tent"

Harry had a puzzled expression on his face.

"Why would anyone …?"

"HARRY! WE ARE BEING WATCHED!"