Hello everybody!

So I'm not exactly sure if anyone really likes this story.

I'll try and update as much as possible. I do realize that this story is coming along slow so far but I promise you, there's going to be plenty of tension and frustration between characters pretty soon here. I'm sorry for the extremely late update but I've been so busy lately. I'll try and keep up with updates as best as I can.

Continue on please. (:

Chapter Two

Heart of Courage

The heart of love is courage,

The core of courage is love,

Without the one there is no other.

Love listens with courage to care,

The courage to forsake fear, doubt, desire.

Love is wisdom, love is freedom, love is kindness.

Love listens.

Love speaks.

Speak love, and courage will listen. -

Courage by Bea Early

Hermione cracked open an eye and blinked rapidly. It was dusk and the November chill was already creeping into the tiny hut. Hermione curled into a tighter ball to try and keep the cold out. Her sore muscles screamed in protest as she tightened them, her head felt heavy with exhaustion as she made an attempt to sit up. Her vision grew black for a moment as she experienced a head rush. Her bare feet rested on the ice cold floor as she groggily pulled the covers back, shivering as the frosty air assaulted her body. Hermione looked down at the clothes she was clad in, black cropped sweatpants and an oversized orange hoodie. Alexander must have changed her out of the jeans and sweater she was wearing during training.

There was a hesitant knock at the door on the other side of the hut. Hermione stood a stretched, standing up on her tip-toes, reaching for the ceiling and groaned happily as she eased her sore muscles.

"Come in!" She called and the door opened to reveal Alona. Hermione smiled and motioned her inside. Alona swiftly shut the door and practically skipped over to Hermione, flopping onto her cot.

"How are you feeling?" Alona asked, taking in Hermione's groggy appearance. Hermione shrugged off her question and bent to retrieve her jeans and sweater folded neatly next to her bed. She placed them in her trunk and searched for a new pair of jeans and her favorite emerald green sweater. "You seemed pretty tired when Alexander brought you back to camp." Hermione dug through her trunk, feeling around for clean socks.

"I still am. What time is it?" Finding a pair of socks she straightened and sat on the cot next to Alona and began to dress.

"It's nearly five." Hermione's head snapped up to look at Alona.

"Five? Merlin! I slept the entire day away!" Alona began to straighten Hermione's bed.

"You have been training hard lately, you have exceeded everyone's expectations. You need to rest, you'll wear yourself out if you don't settle down once in a while. You don't want to fall ill do you?"

"A small price to pay to defeat Voldemort." Was all Hermione said as she pulled the sweater over her head. Alona became silent and when Hermione glanced over at her friend she saw the concerned look on her face. Hermione sighed and stood, searching for her high tops.

"Do you think we'll really win the war?" Alona whispered quietly. Hermione tensed before straightening slowly and facing Alona. Her hands were clasped together, her fingers twisting and tangling together as she rang her hands. Her face was a mask of fear, worry etching lines in her face making her appear much older than she really was. Her mouth was a hard bloodless line as she pressed her lips together. Her sea green eyes wouldn't meet Hermione's, but instead flickered everywhere else as if she had asked the room the question, not Hermione. A thick silence enveloped the room interrupted by Alona's heavy breathing. Hermione continued to watch her friend, observing the way Alona squirmed under her gaze. Finally she asked softly,

"Do you believe we will?" Again, silence. Alona had stopped breathing. Hermione's gaze never wavered, burning into the side of Alona's head. Alona's fingers began to turn blue from the pressure she was applying to them. The one ring she wore was digging into her skin, nearly breaking the barrier. Her face was completely white, the blue veins standing out against her stark skin. Her eyes were closed now, her eyelids creased together as she squeezed them tightly shut. "Alona." A strangled sound came from the tense girl in front of Hermione. "Alona, answer me."

"No. No, I don't believe we will." A tense pause followed her truthful words.

"Then we won't." Alona's head snapped up, her face a mask of shock.

"What did you say?" Hermione barely blinked.

"You heard me, Alona. Don't pretend you didn't." Alona rose to her feet, her eyes narrowed.

"What're you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that even if even one single person in the Order doesn't believe we'll win, we won't. We need everyone to believe that we can and will, otherwise, these doubts will destroy us if Voldemort doesn't." Alona flinched at the name that Hermione spoke of. Hermione ignored her and made her way to the door that led outside. She heard Alona move to follow her but didn't slow her pace to allow the other girl to catch up.

Once outside Hermione picked up her speed, feeling the need to get away from Alona's watching gaze. Behind her, Alona's voice spoke her name, calling for her to slow down but only encouraged Hermione to move her legs faster, carrying her in a measured run. The muscles in her limbs protested heavily but after a few moments of stretching them out they began to lose the achy feeling and helped propel her away from Alona.

The trees and foliage whipped past her as she sprinted faster and with more power. Her chestnut curls flew behind her, reminding her of a superheros cape. A small smile tugged on the corners of her mouth at the thought of her being a superhero. The scenery began to change as she made her way to the edge of the forest where the camp was hidden and burst out of the trees shadows into the trampled meadow where training took place.

It was deserted. Hermione slowed to a fast paced walk and made a beeline for the northern corner of the meadow where the grass wasn't tramped and uprooted. She made her way down the small path she had discovered all those months ago that led to the large tree that overlooked the frozen river. Hermione leaped for a low branch and hauled herself up, climbing until she was sitting on her favorite branch. Straddling the branch she leaned back against the trunk of the tree and looked out across the ice-covered river. She wasn't sure if it was safe to walk on, she wasn't eager to test it out and find out it wasn't by falling through the ice into the chilling water.

The trees on the other side of the river were dark, holding telltale secrets within. It made Hermione shiver to begin to think of what lurked in those woods. No one had attempted to cross the river to adventure beyond those trees, Hermione could easily see why everyone in the Order avoided it. Still, it made her curious. Why had they forbidden anyone to enter those woods?

Do you really want to find out? Hermione swallowed hard and turned her gaze away from the shadow-clad trees to rest it on the sky above them. There were churning clouds, promising a fore-coming storm. That meant that the evening patrol would be sent out early to renew the wards and spells that hid them from the outside world. The sun was hidden behind the black clouds, making it seem later than it really was.

The sound of frozen grass being crunched under foot came to Hermione's ears and she searched for the source of the noise. Below her, some fifty yards away from the tree, Alexander was walking absentmindedly, his face cast down, eyes on his feet. His face was a mask of mixed emotions, his eyes tired with worry. He looked much older than twenty-three at the moment with his skin being so pale and his eyes rimmed with dark circles. Something didn't look quite right, Alexander had always been so strong, so confident in the way he brought faith to the Order. The way he demanded you do bring your best to the army of witches and wizards and to make your imperfections more manageable.

Now he looks exhausted, beaten, projecting the image that the light inside of him had been turned off. He had always glowed with this pure light that brought hope to the Order and made him one of the main leaders of the Order. Now he looked weak.

Vulnerable even.

It brought fear to Hermione that her mentor looked so defeated. But she hardly dared to move, she didn't want him to think that she had been spying on him. She couldn't afford for Alexander to distrust her, especially in times like these where all of their lives depended on trust. Below her, Alexander stopped walking and stood, staring out over the silent river just as Hermione had been only a moment ago. His breath circled above him like cigarette smoke, his dull eyes searched the banking almost as if he saw something that Hermione couldn't.

Alexander shoved his hands deep into his coat pockets to bare them from the crisp wind. His lips parted slightly, blowing a cloud of his breath out and up. His mind was clogged with haunted thoughts, that Hermione could tell for sure. One of his hands appeared out of his pocket to rub at his face, a sigh slipping out of him. Hermione couldn't bear to watch him be so miserable any longer. She stood in one fluid motion, balancing herself on the branch. She hardly made a sound as she dropped down to a lower branch, catching it with her scarred palms and swinging herself lower and lower until she was on flat ground, landing crouched on the balls of her feet.

Alexander hadn't heard her. She slowly stood from her stance, her eyes on Alexander's back. He felt her presence almost immediately, and whirled to find her leaning against the trunk of the tree, her eyes curiously bright with worry.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Only a moment." She assured him. His eyes narrowed at her in distrust.

"You followed me." It wasn't a question, but a guess. Hermione was hurt that her mentor thought she was spying on him.

"Actually I was here first." Her tone had a slight edge to it. Alexander picked up on it and took a step closer.

"I would have seen you, you followed me, didn't you?" Hermione shoved away from the tree, her eyes shining with anger.

"I did not follow you! I was here before you were, I saw you walk over here." Alexander scoffed.

"Where were you then?" Hermione motioned up and he followed her gaze to the top of the tree. His gaze fell back down to her. "Let me see your hands." Trying to control her irritation, Hermione stepped forward and held her hands out, palm up. They were scraped from gripping the rough branches, bits of pieces of the bark still clung to her skin. The tension in Alexander's shoulders left him and he raised his head to look at her. Hermione's eyes were swirling with disbelief and she snatched her hands away from his reach, taking a step behind her.

"You actually thought I was spying on you." Guilt twisted in Alexander's stomach at the furious look on her face as she confirmed her suspicions. "Nice to know how well you trust me," she whispered and spun on her heel, striding away from him. He lurched forward and caught the back of her hoodie, stopping her from moving any further away from him.

"Wait, Hermione." She tore out of his grasp and glared at him.

"I thought you of all people would trust me no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, perhaps I was wrong."

"I do trust you, Hermione. Just let me explain-" She cut him off,

"Explain what? That you don't trust your own apprentice? Who has known you for how long? And has always, always encouraged you to bring your ideas to the rest of the Order?" Alexander swallowed hard, his hand falling away from Hermione. She stood still, waiting for his excuse. He opened his mouth, but no words followed. She shook her head, ringlets bouncing away from her face. She began to turn away again, to make her way back to camp, but his voice stopped her.

"I believe there's a spy among us." She froze, her anger being chased away with shock. She looked over her shoulder at her mentor, eyes wide.

"What makes you believe that?" She murmured. Alexander held her gaze, and spoke softly.

"I can't explain it, I get the feeling that we're being watched by one of our own. I'm not sure if it's someone new or if they had joined us long ago." Hermione stiffened. Alexander knew what was coming.

"And you think that person is me."

"No! No, I didn't and I don't." Hermione's eyes stayed locked on his for many moments, unwavering, searching for the truth. Alexander held his breath, waiting for her to either throw another sneered response or to walk away from him. Finally, Hermione blinked and nodded slowly, finding no trace of a lie in his eyes. Alexander let out the breath he had been holding, relief making his shoulders sag. He took a step toward Hermione, needing to reassure her further that he trusted her to the fullest extent.

"Hermione, don't you ever think for even a second that I don't trust you or that I suspect you as a spy. Honestly, you're the only person I fully believe in and trust with my life. Everybody in the Order has secrets and it's hard to sleep in the same hut with people that you're not sure are who they say they really are. I apologize for the way I treated you and for assuming that you were following me. I'm on edge right now, I feel as though I need to be prepared for betrayal." Hermione took this all in silently, her facial expression curious. Slowly, she reached out and took his larger hand in her much smaller one. His breath got caught in his throat, like a fly in a spiders web. He stared down at their touching hands, a warm feeling bubbling up deep in his chest.

When he looked up she was watching him closely, her mocha eyes soft with concern.

"If we keep turning on each other and lose trust and belief in this battle we're fighting we're just doing Voldemort's job for him even before one of us makes a move. We'll destroy each other even before he attacks. If there is a spy among us we'll find them and interrogate them. But accusing one another isn't going to solve anything. We've got to work together to figure this out. Without the entire Order, we're done for and I mean the entire Order, not just most of us, all of us." Alexander stared out across the meadow as Hermione voiced her opinion, listening intently. Finally he spoke.

"I have a feeling that you will always be the smartest witch of your age, no one can compare to your smarts." Hermione's face flushed, the blood rushing to her cheeks as she bit her bottom lip to cover the small smile that threatened to blossom across her face. Calloused fingers softly touched her chin and raised her face up to meet Alexander's. His jade eyes shone down at her with a carefully hidden expression, a corner of his mouth lifted in a grin.

"Don't ever hide your smile, it lights up your face and everything around it. You never know, somebody might be falling in love with that smile." Hermione's eyes widened to resemble the size of tires. With a gentle squeeze of her hand, he left go of her chin and stepped around her, giving her his crooked smile once again. He strode off, his coat flapping around his knees. Before he disappeared behind the tree line he glanced over his shoulder, eyes glowing with the fading sunlight. Before Hermione could blink he winked and molded into the shadows of the forest.

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All my love,

Screamaahhh(;