Chapter 4: Beating Around the Forest

The sound of rustling leave accompanied the sound of the crushing of dried leaves. The snow and wind attempted to blow through the forest but the many dense trees prevented their action.

Pushing away a tree branch, Hermione complained, "Was it necessary to travel through this forest on this kind of weather?"

Lumina sighed in annoyance. This would be the fifth time this morning since she told them they were going to travel through the forest that Hermione complained. Lumina retorted, "Sure, unless you prefer to travel through open snow-covered fields making it easier for the werewolves hunting us down to kill us." Nothing but silence answered her. Lumina sighed in satisfaction. It was about time that Hermione stopped complaining. Quite frankly, Lumina hated it when people complained nonstop especially when there were worst things to be dealt with. Guiding her traveling companions, she made sure that none of them were dragging behind. Looking up to the sky and through the covering of the trees, Lumina spotted her falcon guardian. Concentrating on her energy, she tried to sense any broken wavelengths in nature. So far, there were tiny breaks here and there.

Adene shrieked loudly. The next thing the travelers knew, the sound of howling wolves could be heard in the distance. Lumina cursed out loud and rushed the others into a run. Adrenaline and fear rushed through their blood pushing them to run faster than they ever thought possible. Leaves, bits of snow, and tree branches smacked into them as they ran through the thick forest with only survival in their minds. They continued to run dodging every obstacle that seemed to purposely block their paths.

The howling was getting closer. The sound of rustling feet drew closer. Spotting a seemingly abandoned cave, Lumina pointed it out to the rest. They quickly rushed toward their safe haven and quickly dove in. The shadows in the cave covered them entirely. Lumina muttered a spell to cover their smell so the werewolves will not locate them through use of their sense of smell in case they could find them with their eyes. Silence. Nothing but silence. It seems as if they were safe, but Lumina knew better.

Harry was about to step out the cave until Lumina stopped him. She whispered, "I know it may seem safe, but you know the saying, 'Looks can be deceiving.' The werewolves are using a new tactic; their waiting for their prey to come out of hiding. Who knew that those werewolves had that kind of patience?"

In the background, Ron suppressed a laugh. Hermione smacked him on the shoulder. The noise caused some leaves to rustle in the bushes. Lumina held her breath in anticipation. Were they that close? Will the werewolves find them? What will happen next if they do? She already knew the answer though. The wolves would kill them, but she knew they would keep Harry alive for Voldemort would like to kill him personally, as for her…well she didn't know what he had in store for her, for all she knew it was bad on her part. The last thing she wanted was to be held captive by her family's murderer. Just the notion alone was enough to keep her fighting against Voldemort.

Few hours have passed and the travelers had nothing to pass the boredom. Adene was still flying above the clouds watching for any suspicious movements. More minutes have passed and nothing has changed. Suddenly Adene saw the bushes part and making way toward the cave in which they were currently residing in. Adene made a sound of warning hoping her master was still awake to hear it.

Water…water…water…it surrounded everything. As far as the eye can see. Lumina didn't know where she was, but she knew this was the beginning of her nightmare. She knew what was going to happen next, but before it could even register in her mind, she was violently shaken awaked. Emerald eyes forcefully opened and she heard the sound of Adene's alert.

Hearing Adene's shriek, Harry asked, "What does that mean?"

Lumina answered, "Means trouble is coming."

Hermione asked with fear evident in her voice, "You mean the werewolves found us?"

Lumina reassured Hermione, "Don't worry. If they found us," the click of gun echoed through the cave, "I'll take care of them, ok?"

Hermione was so to say shocked by Lumina's concern for them; Hermione knew she was their enemy but she didn't think that Lumina would go so far as to put her life on the line to protect them. This lone selfless action was enough to bump down Hermione's suspicion of her, but there was still suspicion.

Lumina told or rather commanded them to stay where they were and headed for the entrance of the cave. Once outside, Lumina scrutinized the area. So far so good. Nothing was out of place. She wondered if Adene saw was just an illusion but she doubted it; Adene wasn't susceptible to magic let alone illusions. Lumina strained her hearing to further 'see' if anything close was approaching her. Silence…just the howl of the wind greeted her. A twig snapped behind her causing Lumina to swiftly turn around only to be attacked by a massive figure. Her back landed on the ground with a thud and her gun skidded away from her. Attempting to free herself, she delivered a swift but a powerful blow to the towering figure. The figure toppled to the ground next to her which gave Lumina the chance to make a run for her gun. Sprinting, she slid across the dirt as soon as she was near the gun, grabbed it while positioning herself upright and pointed the gun to where she last saw her attacker.

The moment she pointed her gun, she felt the cold steel of a merciless blade pressing against her throat. Though her life was on the line and her attacker could easily kill her right there and then, she kept her fear at bay. Lowering her gun, Lumina spat out, "What is it you want?"

She felt the figure behind her shift. His chin rested on the nook of her shoulder. She heard him take in the scent of her hair. After a few seconds, he finally spoke, "Still smell like Lilies. Your reflexes has gotten slower. The werewolves would definitely have killed you."

Lumina was about to take action and free herself until she heard a familiar voice.

"You better let her go before we hurt you."

The man turned to face the person who spoke up. His gleaming silver eyes stared at the person who dared threaten him. Lumina saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione pointing their wands at the man holding her hostage. Their faces held anger and what she could distinguish, concern. They held concern for her, even when they held also suspicion? Lumina was quite baffled. Not able to hold it in, she laughed out loud causing everyone around her to stare at her as if she was crazy. Assuming everyone had time to get their thoughts back, she quickly grabbed the blade, swung it away from her, and delivered a head high kick to her captor causing him to roll on the ground. As soon as he stopped rolling, she pointed her gun at him.

She demanded, "What the devil are you doing here Bane? And what the hell do you want?"

Spitting the dirt out of his mouth, he answered, "Should've known you'd do something like that to get my guard down."

With more anger than she ever felt, she picked him up by the front of his shirt and forcefully demanded, "You still haven't answered my question. Now…ANSWER IT!"

Slapping her grip away, he answered casually, "Can't an old flame greet you?"

The mention of 'an old flame' caused the trio to raise their eyebrows in surprise especially one famous wizard. Lumina punched him across the face and yelled, "Don't you dare call yourself my old flame you treacherous snake, you coward, you traitor, you fiend, you hypocrite, you…you…YOU!" With each accusation she sent him, she took one dangerous step toward him. She was about to attack him if the three wizards hadn't held her back. They were having a hard time holding her in place since she was struggling with such strength.

Adene's gentle voice as she asked Bane a question calmed Lumina. "Bane did you not come across any grown werewolves as you were coming here."

Bane stroked his chin in thought. "As a matter of fact I did."

Lumina asked in suspicion, "And where are they?"

Bane answered blankly, "Convinced them you were somewhere else."

"And how did you do that?"

Bane answered in a matter-of-fact tone, "I travel with them." A nanosecond later, Bane was avoiding bullets that were fired his way. The way he was avoiding them seemed like he was more like dancing. When the last bullet was fired, Lumina was still firing her gun. The sound of an empty gun still echoed through the forest. Click…click…click…the sound continued to vibrate through the night. Lumina's eyes started to glitter with water. Before the first drop could slide down her cheek, Lumina darted through the bushes and away from the one who caused her to relive the pain.

Bane started running after her but was stopped when a wand was pointed in his face.

Determined to keep Lumina safe, Harry said, "Leave her alone. I don't know what you did to her, but if it's enough to make her cry after seeing you, you deserve her hate."

Bane smiled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say her charms have gotten to you too."

Hermione intervened, "Highly unlikely. We barely know her. It's not enough for Harry to even mildly like her." She turned her attention to Harry. "Right Harry?"

Harry was deep in thought. He didn't know exactly what he felt about her. It was more of a mixture of things; suspicion, like, and more conflicting feelings. As Harry was trying to sort out what his feelings for Lumina were exactly.

Bane stated more to himself, "Highly unlikely huh? Well whatever makes you feel better. If you don't mind I'm going to look for Lumina now and make sure she doesn't run into trouble again." Bane was about to walk through the bushes but was yet again stopped.

Harry prevented him from going any further. "I'll go after her."

Bane thought about it. Maybe this will give Harry the chance to sort out his conflicting feelings, but then again…Bane didn't want any competition. Before he could protest, Harry already followed the trail Lumina left behind.

Bane shouted to Harry even though he could no longer see him, "Hope you know your way around this forest!"

Hermione questioned him, "Now why would you say that?"

Bane grinned. Hermione could tell he was up to something and it wasn't good. What he said next nearly made her faint. "This forest has a mind of its own. So anyone who wanders in it will get a taste of its cruelty. This forest will switch things around if you don't go to the right place in the right order."

Lumina dunked her head in the cool river water. She didn't lift her head for two minutes. After feeling the pain subsiding, she lifted her head and pointed toward the sky with eyes closed. The cooling waters slid down her face to her neck and sliding further downward wetting her attire. She didn't care as long as the pain of betrayal was gone from her senses. Never in her life or mind did she ever expect to meet up with him again. The last time she saw him, she was left surrounded by muggers whom she had to fight all by herself. Well not really by herself; Adene was fighting along side her as well. Lumina laughed out loud.

She whispered to herself, "I got to admit. He did do one thing right; causing pain to me made me able to cope with my nightmares better. I don't feel that much pain as before whenever I dream it."

She opened her eyes and saw the stars blinking back at her. "How dare you mock me like that. What have I done to deserve your cruelty? Have I not done everything to keep things in order? Or is it not enough for you?"

She slumped in head in defeat. Feeling the tears build up again, she let out her grief by shouting to the stars, "Why did you take away my family? Why did you leave me all alone? Why did you take him away after I finally accepted him? Why did you have to make him die especially at the hands of a so called friend? Why did you take away my father? Why did you bring that son of a bitch traitor back in my life when you knew what he did to me? Why did you even let him live? And why can't I summon the strength to kill him?"

After crying out to the stars, Lumina bowed her head in distress. The tears kept running no matter how hard she tried to stop them. Later, her crying soon turned to sobbing to which she was grateful for. Adene's cry was heard behind her. Lumina turned around and saw Harry standing with concern on his face. She wanted to turn her face away from his sight; she didn't like it when people saw her crying or the evidence of crying. Adene flew to the skies after leading the young wizard to his destination. Not wanting to be alone with Harry, Lumina sent a mental message to Adene to stay but the bird told her she had to solve her problems.

The two continued to stare at each other, not one able to tear the other's gaze away. Harry nearly dropped his wand when he saw Lumina's state and now he couldn't help but stare. His first impression of her was a bold, confident, and strong person. Just seeing her helpless as a lamb surprised him; he never thought anything could affect the warrior to this extent. When he looked at her the first thing that registered into his mind was to console her in any way he could. Lumina was the first to turn her gaze away.

She spoke up, "Well, what do you want? Came to see the waterworks and mock me?"

Harry took one cautious step toward her. "I just thought…"

Lumina interrupted, "You just thought that you can gain my trust by consoling me then betray me when the situation gets ugly, right?"

Harry explained, "No. I thought you might need someone to talk to…you know about whatever happened between you and Bane."

The mention of his name was enough for the tears to flow freely once again. Feeling distressed and utterly helpless, Lumina pounded the ground with her fists. She shouted, "What's the matter with me? He means nothing to me yet here I am crying over him and what he did to me. Why the hell is this happening?"

Though it pained him to say it without knowing the reason why, he thought, "Maybe it's because you still have feelings for him?"

Lumina spat out in disgust, "Him? Have feelings for him? That traitor? Don't make me laugh."

The two were silent for awhile. Lumina was grateful for the silence; it gave her time to sort out things that were troubling her mind at the current moment. Sure at that time she did have feelings for Bane, but it was just an innocent crush and the fact that there were no other contacts for thousands of miles. She confused love and crush. Cursing herself for her naivety, Lumina was determined to not let it happen to her again. She thought to herself that maybe Harry was right; maybe she needed to talk to someone about it and let it all out…maybe that's the solution to ridding the feelings she has left for Bane.

Turning her attention to Harry who managed to sit next to her without her knowledge, she started explaining leaving out some details not concerning Bane, "I met Bane when I was fourteen. I was hiking through the forest; that's where I met him. I kind of got into trouble by climbing a steep and rocky trail. Managed to fall and twist my ankle as well as get some scratches and bruises on my arms and legs. I waited for hours for someone in the village to notice that I was missing. Then as if my wish came true, Bane spotted me and came to help. He took care of my broken ankle and treated my other injuries. I was naïve at that time and I mistook his kindness and hospitality as a sign he loved me." She waited for laugher to come, but only saw Harry listening intently. She continued, "While I was healing, he kept me company; talked to me, tended to my needs, and sometimes flirted with me. At that time I thought he was a regular and genuine 'knight-in-shining-armor.' But then that day proved me wrong. A week after I healed, we went into the forest, he said he had something to say to me. As soon as we reached our…well his destination, he told me he wanted to tell me he loved me. When I heard those words, I was overfilled with joy. I couldn't believe he felt the same way. I told him I loved him too. After my confession, a band of muggers surrounded us. And like the coward he was, he pushed me toward them and ran to save his own hide. I fought all of them with Adene at my side. The injuries I received then wasn't as painful as the one Bane gave to me. Afterwards, I promised to myself that I wouldn't let that happen to me again and that the next time I ever saw Bane again, I'd kill him."

Harry was too shocked to say anything. He never thought any one would be so cruel as to play with someone's emotion. He didn't know where it came from but he felt this sudden hatred for Bane. Hearing Lumina cry once again, he figured that telling what happened did not help her get over her feelings for Bane. Forgetting that she was a fierce fighter, he gathered her in his arms and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. While she was crying, he gently rubbed her back as if it was second nature to him. Having thought of an idea, he suggested, "How about we pretend that we're a couple?" Feeling her stiffen, he quickly explained, "If Bane finds out you're already taken, he won't try to win you back. Plus he'll leave you alone. It's only pretend."

Lumina looked up to come face to face with Harry; their noses only inches apart. Lumina speculated, "Wonder how Bane will react."