Chapter 4: The Instinct of Survival

Hermione opened her eyes. She must have finally fallen asleep at some point, after she had gotten over her fear that the man next to her would hurt her. He had said he wouldn't, but...well...he was an escaped criminal who had done time in Azkaban. She had never felt so utterly defeated, so helpless in her life. She still could not comprehend how her wand had so freely given its loyalty to this man, this stranger who had so effectively disarmed her.

She turned her head (the only part of her that wasn't immobilized by the spell) and looked into his dark eyes. He was laying on his side next to her, head propped on his hand. She thought she saw sympathy on his face, a gentleness there. When he saw that she was awake, he quickly rearranged his features into the now familiar coldness. Hermione wondered if she had imagined the compassion, or if wishful thinking on her part had projected that illusion on to his face.

"'Morning, love." The man spoke. No, she wasn't imagining it—his voice had a softer quality to it.

Good, she thought. If he doesn't see me as a threat it will be that much easier to escape.

"Do you mind?" she snapped. "I need to get up and..." Hermione felt the heat rising to her cheeks. "I need to use the bathroom." The man seemed to enjoy her contemptuous attitude, as a cocky grin crossed his face.

"Yeah, guess I can help you out there." He flicked her wand, and Hermione felt the spell lift. She swung herself off the bed and retreated to the small bathroom. He must have performed some degree of magic in this room because while the rest of the cabin looked as though it hadn't been touched in years, the lavatory was sparkling clean. She felt a rush of gratitude before it was replaced with the logical thought that if it weren't for him, she wouldn't be in this situation at all.

When Hermione emerged from the bathroom (after unsuccessfully trying to open the window), the man was sitting on a small couch in the main part of the cabin. He glanced at her and patted the cushion beside him, causing a small cloud of dust to raise in the air. He quickly muttered a spell, and the couch was instantly dust free and clean.

"You're quite practiced with those cleaning spells." Hermione blurted out. He laughed, and she noticed in spite of herself that he had a deep, kind, (and sort of sexy) laugh.

"I've stayed in too many places like this. Despite what you probably think, I do like some degree of cleanliness in my living space. Please sit down, we need to talk." Hermione moved toward the couch, and seated herself as far away from him as she could.

"Are you going to tell me where we are?" She asked him. He looked at her for a moment before answering.

"We are in the house I lived in as a boy. The ocean is not far from here, just a small walk through the woods. I spent many happy hours there, playing in the dunes. That was before..." He stopped there, a haunted look on his face. Almost against her will, Hermione was intrigued.

"Before...?" she inquired. He did not address her question, instead using the wand to light a fire in the grate. Hermione waited for a moment, and then thought of another question.

"How many people lived here? There's only the one small bedroom!" He smiled wryly.

"Now you know why most of my time was spent down on the beach. It really was the best playground." He quickly changed the subject by adding, "There is the issue of food. Speaking for myself, I have not eaten very much in the past three days. I'm headed down to the beach to find some fish for us. Do you need anything while I'm gone?"

"My freedom would be nice." Hermione responded. He smiled again, and she felt a strange unfamiliar warmth spread through her, cushioning the fear.

"You have a sharp tongue, love." He got up and moved toward the door. As he was leaving, he turned toward her again. "I like that." With a roguish wink, he was gone.

As soon as the man had disappeared, Hermione sprang up from the couch. She ran to the door, but the enchantment still held strong. She tried each window again, but met with the same result. In frustration, she banged her fists against the window, but he had been thorough. An anti-breaking jinx had been applied to each pane of glass.

"I've got to get out of here!" She cried. "Okay...think. What do I know about protective wards and enchantments? There has got to a way..."

OoooOO

Scabior checked to make sure that his disillusionment charm was strong enough. He would not make that mistake again, although his faulty charm could be attributed to his prior weakened state. He breathed in the fresh scent of the ocean, and closed his eyes. Listening to the pounding surf brought him back to happier times, and for a moment it seemed as though the preceding years might not have happened at all.

But they had...they had. He thought quickly of the events that had brought him here, and of the feisty little witch trapped in the cabin. She did have a point, he thought to himself. There really was no reason to keep her here. She would not be able to find this place, or lead anyone else here. His excuse that he needed a hostage sounded flimsy even to him. So why then, he mused. Maybe he had been so starved for human company, specifically for the presence of a woman who had not been corrupted by the Dark Side. He sighed to himself. There really was the slim chance that the Aurors would catch up to him eventually, and he had to be ready when they did. As long as he had Hermione, they would not harm him and he could possibly buy himself enough time to get away and avoid Azkaban. It was a matter of survival.

Scabior quickly summoned a couple of fish and placed them into his waiting bag. With one last look at the waves crashing into the shore, he Disapparated back to the cabin. He quickly located the ripple of magic that was the edge of the protective ward. With a wave of his wand, he removed the ward for a moment so that he could step back inside of its shelter. There was a momentary disturbance in the air, and just as he was about to jump inside, something came hurtling out at him.

Scabior immediately thought of the Aurors and raised his wand defensively, trying to assess the danger. Hermione used this moment of distraction to push past him and run toward the forest. He shouted after her and cast a few spells, which she deftly avoided. He gave chase as she disappeared into the trees.

Knowing that there was not another human for miles, he cast the Huminio Revealo spell in every direction, and was finally rewarded with a presence to his left. He veered in that direction, searching the brush. She would not be able to get far. It was winter and she had no wand, food, or warm clothing. He would find her, it was what he did after all.

A/N Please review! I hope you are enjoying this story. I apologize for the double chapter at the beginning, I'm still learning how to upload chapters! :)