I have decided I really need some sort of psychological adjustment so I stop leaving my beloved fanfiction for so long.

I've got some mood music playing so let's see if I can get some of this out.

...

Hermione knew her luck could only last her so much longer. After fighting for what seemed like days she was knocked on the back of the head by something that she was sure was a branch, but she wasn't so sure because she was quickly unconscious. When she woke up she was tied to what she knew for a fact was a branch and she was propped up beside the night shift lookout from her ship.

"Captain Granger?" he whispered frantically. "You gotta get yourself outta here! You're on a mission, arencha? We don't matter if you don't go through with it!"

Hermione's voice was slurred when she whispered back. "I'm not leaving you guys behind. My life isn't worth all of yours."

"But it is," he replied. Hermione was so sorry that she didn't know this man's name. "Captain Granger...most of us are crooks who signed up just to avoid going to the big house. None of us would be makin' much of our lives if not for you."

"What is your name?" Hermione said when he stopped speaking.

"You can call me Chess," he replied.

"Well, Chess," Hermione said, finally coming to most of the way. "I'm going to get you and every one of these people out of here safe and alive."

Hermione pulled her wrists free. Sometime during Chess's speech, Draco had aimed his wand at her wrists and undid the tough bindings.

Then she took a chance. Luckily, she and Draco were on the same page.

Pulling her wand out, she began undoing the hand bindings of everyone in the clearing before she was apprehended by the natives all going about their business - cooking, cleaning, pottery and taunting the captives.

A small boy was the first to notice that the shocked prisoners were suddenly falling free of their fastenings. He called to his mother, a woman slicing roots with a bamboo razor. The woman stood and revealed that she was broad-shouldered and muscular, and quite terrifying with her knife held just so.

Unsure of whether or not these guys could use magic, Hermione blasted the razor from the woman's hand and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, they had voodoo on their side, and suddenly, thanks to their medicine man, they were all trapped within the clearing by some sort of invisible barrier. It was a fight to the death, then.

Or just a fight to kill or maim the medicine man.

It was like a good game of Doctor Dodge-ball.

"I hope you're ready for a fight," Draco said as he passed her by, headed straight for Lily Jane, whom they hadn't managed to untie at the time.

Hermione took a deep breath and took a shot.

.

Meanwhile, Harry, Sirius and Neville had heard the commotion and had moved on to check out what was going on. When they reached the source of said commotion, they were surprised to find that there was a war raging on.

Sirius was the first to attempt to join and help. However, the moment he tried to enter the clearing, he was shocked and pushed to his back.

"What the -" he shook his head. "What was that?"

Harry bent over and picked up a stone. Then he pulled back his elbow and snapped his wrist forward, throwing it against the force field. It flew backwards and sent a tremor through the whole field.

"Do that again, Harry," Neville said distractedly, looking up into the trees.

Harry shrugged and picked up a slightly larger stone, throwing it with all of his might against the field.

Neville pointed up. "I don't think it protects from the top." He looked straight ahead, into the clearing. Then he pointed to a man inside of a tent. He was sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, hands rested on a branch covered in knots. "I think he's creating it. If we can send some kind of a hex at him, we can destroy the force field and help them out."

"Neville, I'm fairly certain that entails climbing these trees," Harry pointed out. "Which then also entails that we have to climb down from them without dying. I'm not sure this is the best plan."

Neville shrugged and pointed behind Harry. "Sirius seems to think it's a pretty good plan."

Harry turned to find his godfather already scaling the heights. Neville jogged off to join him and Harry slapped his forehead. "If I die, I'm coming back to kill them."

.

Hermione was exhausted, but there was absolutely no time for a break. Apparently, there were several wizards in the small cannibal tribe on the Isla de Esmeralda, and they knew spells Hermione had never even dreamed of before. Fighting them was the greatest challenge Hermione had ever faced because she never knew what to anticipate.

Lily Jane could really hold her own, which made sense, considering who raised her. She and Draco were circling, saving each other and taking out a large amount of the attacking tribesmen.

Hermione slashed her wand sideways, easily knocking back a boy maybe two or three years younger than her. But that used a bit of focus and Hermione didn't notice someone come up behind her and attempt to reach for her wand by throwing their strong arm around her neck. Choking, Hermione wasn't so sure she'd be able to struggle out of this one.

The arm suddenly went limp, followed by the body connected to it, and Hermione spun around nimbly, sending a quick stupefy to make sure the man was down for good. She looked up, finding that it was Draco who had saved her.

She nodded at him to thank him and then turned back to the fight, sawing down the tribesmen as she once more tried to make her way to the medicine man at the far side of the encampment.

"Get down!"

Hermione immediately ducked at the words, and so did every other English-speaking member of the clearing. There was a blast from above and the force field fell. The tent that had covered the medicine man was in flames.

Anyone who could run was immediately headed for the beach. Hermione continued to fight off tribesmen and directed the able-bodied on the way to the beach and to each take at least one person who couldn't take themselves.

When she was sure it was just she, Draco, Madge, Lily Jane, and Harry left in the camp, Sirius and Neville having carried several people back to shore, Hermione fled, followed by the others. The tribesmen pursued them for almost a mile but they soon stopped, deciding it was futile to fight for their supper against all the people fighting back.

"We have to get out of here," Hermione said, using a sonorus to speak with everyone on the beach. "Crew, get back to the ship. Everyone else, I've sent a patronus to the ministry. There should be aurors and healers here momentarily to bring everyone back to St. Mungo's. Good luck everyone. Let's get the hell out of here."