December 19th

Falling asleep in a chair left a lot to be desired. It was only the sheer exhaustion plaguing Hermione's body that seemed to never end that allowed her to find the tiniest bit of rest sitting up. Maybe one day would come when she could sleep without worry until she was no longer tired. She feared something like that would take days, not hours. Possibly even months or years of sleep. Death would likely be the only true respite from the danger of violence and worry of her existence she could expect.

The gentle touch of fingertips on her arm woke her up suddenly. She hadn't even been aware that she'd fallen asleep. Some guard she turned out to be. Opening her eyes up to assess whether or not she was in danger, she sighed in relief when she saw her husband's dark brown eyes staring into hers. Antonin had been asleep since they showed up on the doorstep of an old friend in the middle of the night. Close to death, it had been something of a miracle that he'd even been able to make it through that first night. Later, when he was well and she wasn't quite so afraid for him any longer, she would make some snarky remark about it being his sheer stubbornness that kept him alive when normal men would've been dead.

Her chair was as close to the edge of the bed as it was possible to be without actually being inside the bed with him. She hadn't left his side for longer than a minute or two since the whole ordeal began. Part of her feared that if she let him out of her sights for too long again that he wouldn't wake up. How would she tell their son that his father was dead? She hoped to never find out.

Antonin's weak smile threatened the last of her resolve. She could feel the tears forming that she hadn't allowed herself to cry since she and Thorfinn rescued him from Draco's flat. There had been real fear in her that she wouldn't be able to stop crying if she started. No one would tell her for certain if her husband would survive. He'd lost so much blood in his fight in The Junk Shop and then he wasn't exactly well-cared for while he was stashed inside the untraceable flat. If they hadn't gotten there when they did…. No, she refused to allow herself to think about that possibility. Not again. Not when he was awake and smiling. She leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.

"You know, Hermione, as much as I love waking up next to you, I prefer it a great deal more when you're actually in the bed with me."

A short, strangled laugh came out of her mouth that almost turned into a sob. How could he joke at a time like that? When he was only just saved from death? She rubbed at her eyes and tried to smile.

"You scared me, Antonin Dolohov. Don't ever do that again. If you even think about dying, stop."

He wasn't strong enough to sit up and pull her into his arms even though she could tell that was exactly what he wanted to do. Feeling his own weakness wasn't easy. If he was expected to remain in bed for any length of time, his grumpy attitude would eventually show. In that moment, however, he was much more concerned for his wife than he was for himself. Able to offer her only the touch of his hand, she accepted it gratefully.

"Where are we? I don't recognize this room."

Just as she was about to explain to him the decision she made the night he was rescued, there was a gentle knock at the door of the bedroom they were borrowing. Hermione stood up to cross the room. A little annoyed with the poor timing of the person on the other side of the door, she bit down a disparaging remark. It would do no one any favors to be rude to the person who undoubtedly saved her husband's life. She twisted the doorknob to allow the intruder access into their own spare bedroom.

"I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, but I heard voices and you really should try to eat something, Mr. Dolohov."

Sarah Jordan stepped inside the room carrying a tray laden down with soup and several vials of potions. One warm smile from their hostess and some of Hermione's annoyance faded away. Somehow she got the impression that she would always feel the tiniest bit inadequate in the other witch's presence. She seemed to be everything that Hermione was not. Antonin's bright smile proved that he was either thankful for the woman's presence or excited about the meal he was about to consume.

"No need to be so formal, especially if I owe my life to you."

"Hermione was the one who got you out of the mess you were in. I just patched you up when you got here."

When seconds mattered and they needed a safe place to take the possibly dying Antonin, Hermione could only think of one place. Conversations with Sarah while she stayed in her home, both in Wales and in the Resistance village in Devon, reminded her that the woman was a Healer. Or at least she had been before Lee insisted that his family travel to a new home to fight with the Resistance. Some of the lovely woman's bitterness and frustration about her change in living arrangements was that she had to leave her patients behind. Hermione knew that the moment they were free to return to Wales, Sarah would be packing up her family to leave.

They caused quite a stir in the village showing up in the middle of the night. Three Death Eaters arriving unexpectedly could've become a dangerous situation quickly. Thankfully there had been cooler heads amongst the enraged villagers. Hermione didn't know what would've happened if Thorfinn lost his temper. Or if she'd lost hers. Tiberius Zeller made certain that they were able to cross the village to the Jordan house without incident. He was a respected member of the Resistance and a leader in the village. No one was willing to go against his word.

Lee didn't hesitate to allow them entrance into his home when they knocked on the front door. Especially not when his wife took one look at her newest patient and demanded they follow her. He was a wise wizard who knew better than to go against his wife's wishes. Anyone who believed that Hufflepuffs were nothing but weak pushovers had clearly never taken the time to get to know one. Hermione would've followed Sarah into battle if she'd been so inclined.

There had been some frightening moments while the Healer checked over Antonin's injuries. A couple of times that even the professional Sarah couldn't hide her concern. Instead of giving in to her worries, she continued to work swiftly and steadily. Despite the fact that nearly everyone who ever met Thorfinn for the first time in person was intimidated by his size and his reputation, Sarah didn't hesitate to give him orders to move Antonin's battered body this way or that. He followed those orders without question. Like Lee, he understood all too well what it was like to be married to a determined Hufflepuff. When she was finished with her healing spells and ready to just leave Antonin's body to do the rest of the work, she placed a gentle hand on Thorfinn's forearm.

"I was so sorry to hear about Hannah's death. We were in the same House and I admired her greatly. She was a beautiful soul."

Thorfinn would go to the very ends of the Earth for Sarah Jordan if she asked him to after that. Whatever she desired, she would have it. After he rubbed his weary eyes to hide the fact that he was still in enormous pain thinking about his late wife, Sarah handed him a vial of potion that she swore would help him sleep much better than all the fire whiskey in the world. He'd had to excuse himself from the room at that point. Some wounds would take a lifetime to heal.

"Antonin, this is Sarah Jordan. She's a Healer and she's… with the Resistance."

Hermione wasn't completely sure how he would take the news that he was being treated in the private home of some of his former enemies. Especially considering all of the complications that arose because of his previous relationship with Ginny, she knew that he would likely be ill at ease amongst them. Antonin simply smiled at his Healer.

"I remember going to your house in Wales when I was looking for Hermione."

All three occupants of the room felt a little awkward at the reminder of the time that Hermione was on the run. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Sarah returned his smile and handed the tray to Hermione. She made her excuses to leave the married couple alone. When the door clicked shut behind her, Antonin laughed.

"You brought me to the Resistance?"

"I didn't know where else to go. We were desperate."

She sat down on the edge of the bed with the tray to give herself something to do besides talk about her decision. While it was clearly the correct one, in the moment, she hadn't been so confident. When the concerned villagers were shouting at them to leave, she'd almost given in. Even the dangers in St. Mungo's seemed preferable to the mob. She helped Antonin sit up to have his first meal in days.

"What happened that night, Antonin?"

He sighed, resigned to the fact that he was going to have to talk about it whether he wanted to or not. Knocking back the vials of the potions he was ordered to take first, he left her sitting in uncomfortable suspense. Clearly it had been bad, but had it been that bad? Was he about to reveal that they were still beset with enemies all around them?

"There's not that much to tell, I'm afraid. It all happened very fast. Thorfinn and I went to the Junk Shop to meet with…"

"No, don't tell me. Thorfinn didn't think it was a good idea that I know."

"I wish you didn't have to know any of this and it has nothing to do with the unknown spell in your head. But regardless, it was clear that it was an ambush from the start. They took out Thorfinn first before he could get a single spell off. Smart really. Then they all turned their attention to me. I'm not sure the exact number but there were at least ten in the shop."

"Did you see who they were?"

"Only Malfoy. The others had masks on. No idea."

He really couldn't give her a lot of details. After a fierce fight, he was just simply too outnumbered to do much good. The spells used against him were cruel, designed to weaken him but not kill him. It frustrated him that he wasn't able to tell her more than that, but the memories were becoming faded. When he began to yawn thanks to the potions, she kissed him once on the lips and begged him to go back to sleep. His body still needed rest.

Hermione carried his empty tray back to the kitchen when she was convinced he was making an effort to fall back asleep. Beyond the quick exits from the bedroom to take care of personal matters that lasted no longer than a few minutes at a time, she hadn't spent much time outside of the bedroom. Stepping into the kitchen to find Lizzie seated at the table scribbling on parchment startled her. How could she forget in her time away how unnerving the young girl was? Lizzie stared at her guest, but didn't say a single word.

"Did he eat everything?"

Sarah's voice startled Hermione back to reality. Looking away from the girl still staring in her direction, she focused her attention on the other witch.

"Yes, he did. He's trying to go back to sleep now. Thank you for everything you've done for us, Sarah. I'm not sure how we can ever repay you."

"Nonsense. It's my pleasure. Your husband has very kind eyes. I noticed that months ago."

Uncomfortable once again by the reminder of her time on the run and the fact that Lizzie was still staring at her, Hermione set the tray down next to the sink.

"I know that you're taking a big risk in keeping us both in your house. I promise that it won't be for long."

She could feel eyes on her back following her the entire way back to the bedroom.