A/N: Here is Chapter 2, please enjoy!

Warnings: Crude language. Character death. Very descriptive blood, guts, and gore. If you are easily grossed out by blood and/or wounds, this story is not for you.

Chapter 2 - Stain the Sand Red

"Did you lock the door?" asked Hermione as she started up her truck.

"Of course," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "I also made sure the oven was off and all of the windows were closed, the beds were made, the dishes were clean, and the TV was dusted. Happy?"

Hermione arched one eyebrow at the windshield as she pulled onto the street. "Of course I am. You did everything I asked of you plus a little extra," she stated, choosing to ignore Harry's sarcasm.

A small smile pulled at Harry's lips and he reclined the back of his seat a little to get more comfortable. They were going on a two week road trip and would be staying at various hotels and cottages throughout. Hermione had protested the idea originally due to the fact that such a trip would interfere with studies, but she never could deny Harry of anything. He was too happy and fun to say no to.

Hermione glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled. He was such a teenage boy. He had just popped open a can of Pringles and was munching away. And although he didn't eat quite as much as Ron Weasley, her other friend, he ate more in one hour than Hermione did in a whole day. Hermione turned on the radio and they rocked out as they drove south towards Brighton.

Some time and a gas and food stop later, they were pulling up to a beach just outside of Brighton. It was almost sunset, and the sun lit up the rippling water with a million tiny flecks of gold. This was the first time either of them had been to the beach, and they were awed at how much water there was. It was an infinite pool of turquoise that seemed to drop off at the edge of the world, and both Harry and Hermione sat staring for a few minutes before getting out of the truck. Harry pulled out a picnic basket, and they both sat on the hood of the truck with the basket between them.

They munched on Turkey sandwiches with mustard as they admired the beauty of the ocean before them, and it wasn't until they were finished that Hermione broke the silence with a whisper, as if she might disrupt the flow off serenity rolling in from the sea. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," said Harry just as quietly.

"This was a great idea, Harry. I'm glad I finally acquiesced."

"Me too. Because...well, I wouldn't want to be here at this moment with anyone else," said Harry. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks following his semi-bold statement, and laid down against the windshield in an effort to hide it.

Hermione did the same and turned her head to smile at him. "Me neither, Harry." There were a couple moments of silence, then Hermione said, "I don't think Ginny would mind being alone here with you either," with laughter evident in her voice.

Harry chuckled. "She does seem quite entranced by me."

"And how do you feel about her?" inquired Hermione.

Harry swallowed convulsively as his stomach churned. A radical thought had just crossed his mind. Maybe, just maybe, it might be the right time to tell Hermione how he felt. They were in a pretty romantic setting here, with the setting sun painting the sky beautiful shades of pink and red, just the two of them there like they were the only people in the world. Yes, now was a great time. "Well...the truth is, I kind of like somebody else."

"Oh?" said Hermione. "Who is it? Do I know her?"

"Yes, you do," said Harry, glad to let Hermione steer this conversation rather than telling her right out.

After a few seconds of silence, Hermione asked, "Well, who is it? I won't tell anyone," she said, smirking.

"Come on, Hermione. You're smart, try and work it out," Harry said in a much calmer voice than he expected to come out.

"Alright. Um...is she in our year?" she asked.

"Yes," said Harry simply.

"What color is her hair?"

"Brown," Harry said, the butterflies in his stomach seemingly going mad.

"Is it Lavender?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed.

Harry actually laughed at that one. "Lavender? You think I like that...that...bimbo?" He said, unable to think of a better word to describe her.

"So, you like them smarter," Hermione accurately inferred. She thought for a second, then asked hesitantly, "Just making sure here, but...are you...interested in women?"

Harry choked on air and sat bolt upright. That wasn't exactly how he saw the conversation happening in his head. W-what? Yeah, I'm straight."

"Just making sure," said Hermione, a little wide-eyed. "Because I would have no problem with it if you were, you know."

"Hermione, I'm glad you would be okay with it, but seriously, I like women." Harry sighed. "You know what, I'll just tell you. The truth is, I like-"

A gunshot and breaking glass shattered the peacefulness evening silence. Harry and Hermione swore and jumped off the hood as another gunshot was fired at them. The first bullet had got the rear window, the glass littering the back seats. There were four black cars with Death Eaters firing out of the windows driving at them.

Harry and Hermione jumped in the car, Hermione behind the wheel again, and they sped east, the truck's tires spraying sand behind them. The pursuing cars were all Mercedes, and they were gaining on the duo. Harry climbed into the back seat, grabbed a QBZ-95 Assault Rifle with attached underbarrel grenade launcher, one of the few guns they took on the trip, and climbed into the bed, army crawling to the edge.

The Death Eaters were within ten feet of the back of the truck now, their gunfire punching holes in Hermione's truck. Harry fired a grenade and one car exploded in a ball of fire, the heat slamming Harry's face. He loaded up the only other grenade he had and took aim again. But the Death Eaters were now swerving as they approached, looking like big snakes weaving left and right, making it hard to judge where to fire. Harry finally squeezed the trigger and the grenade whipped past one of the cars and blew a column of sand towards the sky. "Shit," said Harry as he detached the grenade launcher. He felt a bullet tease the end of his ebony locks, and he quickly aimed at the nearest car, which was pulling level with the back of the truck, and squeezed the trigger. His bullets punched through the windshield and slammed into the driver's face, causing the car to swerve more violently and drive right into the ocean, the tide attempting to pull the vehicle and its occupants into the ocean's crushing depths.

As Harry reloaded his weapon, a grenade thunked the bed in front of him, tossed out of the window of one of the cars. They were on either side of the bed of the truck, their front windows even with Harry. Harry grabbed the explosive and hurled it as hard as he could at the car with the passenger's side facing him, and it hit the passenger's face just as it exploded. Harry ducked as superheated shrapnel streaked through the air, and the truck jerked as a piece pierced the rear right tire. Hermione slammed on the breaks to prevent the truck from flipping, and Harry slid in the bed and slammed into the truck.

The remaining car stopped ten feet in front of the truck and four Death Eaters hopped out, guns gleaming menacingly in the dying sunlight. Hermione climbed into the bed with Harry, a sawed-off 12-gauge shotgun in her small but sure hands. They nodded at each other, all of their battles fought side by side giving them the intuition to know what the other was thinking, and they leaned out of opposite sides of the bed, guns aiming at the four remaining Death Eaters that disrupted their romantic evening.

Harry lined up his sights at the chest of one Death Eater and squeezed the trigger, the burst of bullets slamming into the man's chest and killing him instantly, his destroyed corpse falling to the ground and his blood soaking the sand.

Another Death Eater had ran up and was using the hood of Hermione's truck as cover. This didn't work well, for as soon as he peeked over it, Hermione had blown his head into a fine mist before he could even pull his pistol up.

Hermione tossed a grenade over the top of the truck and towards a Death Eater, and when it exploded, all that was left of the unfortunate man was a spray of red around where he had been standing.

The last Death Eater threw his gun towards the truck and cried, "I surrender! Please don't kill me!"

Harry and Hermione looked at each other and nodded again, and Harry called out, "Any sudden moves and you're dead!"

"Okay, okay!"

The man was standing out in the open, arms above his head, and Harry and Hermione got out of the bed of the truck and slowly walked toward him, guns not wavering one bit. Harry grabbed a set of throwaway handcuffs that he and Hermione kept in their cars at all times for situations such as these, and Harry cuffed the man as Hermione pulled out her cell phone, stepping away a few feet so the Death Eater couldn't hear what she was saying.

Harry was behind the Death Eater holding the cuffs, and he grimaced as the sharp smell of piss and shit and death assaulted his nostrils, some of the first two coming from the man in front of him. "You're really scared, aren't you," Harry said menacingly.

"Yes. Oh please, God, don't kill me!" he cried hysterically. "Please!"

"Just answer a few questions and we'll leave you to the authorities instead of...taking care of you ourselves," he growled. Truthfully, he wouldn't and couldn't kill an unarmed and handcuffed man; that just crossed a moral boundary, but the man didn't know that.

"Okay, okay. Just please let me live. I'll tell you anything," the man said, his voice shaking.

"How did you know me and Hermione were here?" He asked with a rough voice.

"My Lord has a spy...in your group of friends. One of them knew you were going on a trip." The man was sweating bullets.

"Who? Who's the spy?" Harry demanded. That really wasn't good if it was true. How could one of his friends be a spy? They were a pretty small group of friends, with only about seven or eight that Harry and Hermione told about this trip.

"I don't know. My Lord would never tell us something like that for obvious reasons."

"Dammit," said Harry. "Why does Voldemort want us dead so badly?"

"You two...you're the best of the best," explained the man, swallowing convulsively. "The poster children for the rebels. Natural leaders."

Harry sighed and clubbed the man with the butt of his gun, knocking him out. Knocked out prisoners were so much easier to deal with.

Hermione walked back up to Harry, closing her cell phone and stowing it in her pocket. "Dumbledore's sending a couple of the Order that are staked out near here. They'll be here in an hour." She smiled. "Nice shooting, by the way."

"You too, and nice driving." They watched the sun disappear below the horizon, and Harry sighed. "There goes the end of our vacation."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry, and Harry returned the gesture. "Who needs a vacation? Personally, I find a good fight a better stress reliever than any road trip."

Harry laughed and hugged Hermione tighter, and they laid down side by side, admiring the vast infiniteness of the universe.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know your thoughts in a review!