DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter. This story is meant for entertainment purposes only; I make no money from this story or any of my stories. Any similarities this story may have to anyone elses stories are merely coincidental, and are in no way intended.

Author's Note: NOW we're getting to the more-detailed stuff with more dialogue, etc. :) Thanks for sticking with me guys, went through some REALLY difficult times, but I'm WAY better now. You guys' constant reviews kept me going with a smile! :D Not to jinx myself, but I should be able to update more now! Thanks again everyone! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Without further ado, I give you the much-awaited:

Chapter 3: Hello

"Honestly Ronald, it's no big deal!" Hermione huffed. She stopped walking and crossed her arms across her chest. "I'm tired of you wondering about it, do you really think Harry and I would do something together?"

Harry stopped walking when she said this and turned back to her and Ron. Neville, who was beside him at the time, got behind him quickly as if to shield himself from the upcoming fight. Sighing, Harry ran a hand through his hair. He half-listened to Ron's debates as he watched the sunrise. They had been walking throughout the entire night, too scared to stop in case of threats, and hadn't eaten yet either. Rubbing a hand over his stomach, he willed it to stop aching.

"H-Harry, isn't there a way to get them to stop fighting?" Neville asked from behind him.

Harry growled, annoyed with everyone at the moment, too tired and hungry for pleasantries. He felt Neville's hand on his shoulder and calmed himself. "Ron, Hermione, will you stop arguing all the time? It's only been a day since we left, and my ears feel like they're about to fall off!" he stated. He winced at the look of anger on Hermione's face directed toward him.

"I'd stop if he would just let the MINOR issue drop!" she stated, emphasizing the word "minor."

"And I'd let the issue drop if she'd just tell me what happened! If it's so MINOR then why don't you guys just tell me? Did something happen between you two?" Ron asked, his eyes turning amber in anger at the thought.

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to calm his senses. "Ron, nothing really happened, okay? Hermione and I ran into Pansy on the way down-"

"Pansy?" Ron interrupted, running the name through his mind. "Oh, you mean the girl who's always bothering subs 'cause she thinks she's better than them? I thought she was in the dungeon dorms?"

Harry nodded, ignoring the frustrated look Hermione sent his way. The girl wasn't having it, "Really, Harry? Why must you always give in to his overly-exaggerated nagging?"

"'Overly-exaggerated?'" Ron repeated, "I'm not the one who's hiding-."

With a groan of frustration, Harry interrupted Ron, his instincts to give in to the dominant's pleas leading him on to telling just what had occurred. He could only hope the reason his submissive instincts were making him do this was because of his tiredness and that this wouldn't become a daily occurrence.

Not wanting Hermione to know how much his submissive side ruled his mind at the moment, he knew he needed to come up with a logical reason to tell Ron about the issue. This sounded easier than it was as the logical part of Harry's brain felt fogged from the sleepless night.

"If it's not important, then why should we care to tell him? Teasing him of his ignorance only gets so far before we're making the issue bigger than what it should be!" he declared angrily. "And, yes Ron, you're right. Though, we all know she was in the tower dorms to sleep with a random sub. We all know she can't stand a day without getting any. She saw us leaving and started interrogating us. So, I stood up against her, and she threatened us, so Hermione punched her, then we ran like Hell."

Silence, then, Ron gaped. "Wait, Hermione…hit a dominant?"

Hermione smiled with the memory, still mad at Harry for telling but grateful for the reprieve from Ron's questions all the same. "It felt amazing too!"

Harry grinned as well as Neville made a lovely impression of Ron's face at the moment. "W-what?" Neville asked, his body still at the thought. "B-but, that's against the rules, and dangerous, and-"

"You hit a DOMINANT?" Ron interrupted again.

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron as Harry tried to calm Neville. "It's not like she was a tough one or anything, besides, she deserved it with her constant superiority complex!"

Harry turned to Neville and felt his anger shifting. He couldn't stay mad with someone so innocent around. The boy wasn't used to fighting as much as the rest of their group, and his self-esteem was severely lacking thanks to his home and school life. He touched the boy's shoulder in a gesture of comfort, mentally blocking Ron and Hermione's new argument with well-practiced ease. "C'mon, Nev, she did deserve it." Neville nodded, his mouth still gaping open. "Don't wanna catch flies, do you?" The other looked up at him with surprised eyes before nodding and closing his mouth.

"Sorry, Harry, I just…"

Harry nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I know, it was pretty shocking… You should've been there!" he added happily.

Neville laughed, "I think I would've fainted."

Harry gave him a smile in return before shifting to a more serious issue, "Look, from now on things are gonna be different, might as well get used to the idea early, right? Who knows what goes on out here? For all we know, we'll fight off many dominants."

Neville looked terrified at the thought, but soon gathered his composure, "Yeah, I g-guess you're right, Harry. I need to t-toughen up, yeah?"

Harry shook his head, "Not really, you're plenty tough."Neville chuckled humorlessly, "Right…"

"You just need confidence is all. Years of living in that stupid school with those rules and those idiot dominants didn't really help any of us in the confidence area." Harry supplied.

Neville gave him a doubtful look, "You guys are the most outgoing subs I know…"

Harry squeezed the other's shoulder, "We're not that outgoing, we just don't show how scared we are inside, it's different."

Before Harry and Neville could continue their conversation, a loud scream echoed around them. Neville started as Ron and Hermione both stopped their bickering over the dominant-hitting issue at once. Tense, the four runaways listened closely to the woods around them. After a few minutes of silence, Harry spoke, "They need help." he declared, sounding braver than he felt.

"Are you crazy?" Ron asked, his voice strained, "Did you not just hear that?"

"What else are we to do, stay here and wait 'til whatever caused the scream comes for us first?" Harry asked sarcastically.

"I-I think we should stay here," Neville began, looking to the ground when the others turned to him. "We're just four students…" he finished.

Hermione nodded in agreement, "I'm with Neville," she proclaimed, "besides, we didn't get a good sense of where the voice came from and to leave this place now would be almost suicidal."

"I think so too." Ron said after a minute of tense silence.

Harry looked back into the forest they were about to enter, and felt himself nod, albeit reluctantly. "I hope they're okay," he murmured.

He felt Hermione's hand grasp his, "Who knows, they could be the enemy." she said in hopes to calm his nerves.

"And who's the enemy exactly?" he asked quietly.

"Other packs," Neville answered the rhetorical question. "And hunters..."

Hermione turned still at the thought, while Ron smiled as if the word "hunters" was a joke, "Really, you've been reading too much fiction, Nev."

Neville, surprisingly, narrowed his eyes at the dominant, "They're real." he stated, before looking down at the ground in stunned silence when he realized he had just challenged a dominant.

"I believe they are too," Hermione agreed. "Otherwise why would all of those people in the war have died?"

Ron looked to Harry for help, but the raven-haired teen just shook his head, "I agree with them." he stated matter-of-factly.

"Look," Ron began, ignoring the annoyed looks on the others' faces. "I'm not saying they weren't real at one point, I'm just saying they're not now!"

Neville looked like he was about to respond, but when he looked into Ron's eyes, he immediately backed away from the redhead teen and grasped Harry's arm. "Fine," Ron said, "believe what you want."

Harry looked at the risen sun and made a quick decision. "Let's get some sleep, guys."

Hermione nodded, "I'll get some food out so we can eat first."

They found a small clearing only a few feet from where they were standing. The surrounding trees gave a sense of comfort as well as a sense of foreboding. Each made themselves a bed of leaves as they got ready for a short slumber. Harry set his makeshift bed between Neville and Ron's. As the three boys sat down on the leaves, Hermione gave each person a ration from her bag.

"What's this?" Ron asked, looking at his piece of bread in disgust. "Where's the rest of it?"

Hermione glared, "We need to save the food, not eat all of it in one night! Besides, if you wanted more you should have packed some food for yourself!"

"B-but…What about meat? If I don't have meat I'll die…" he began, then, after seeing Hermione's eye roll, he added, "I swear I will, Hermione!"

"We don't have any!" she replied heatedly.

Ron paled, "What?"

"I only packed what I had near me, and I don't keep random stashes of meat in my room!" Hermione stated.

Ron shook his head and looked at his ration with wide eyes, "No meat…" he repeated.

"Yes, and you could have packed some if you had wanted some! You had more than enough time to go to the kitchens…"

Harry looked down and grinned despite himself as Hermione ranted about not eating all the food she packed at once and about proper packing of food. He took his own bread ate it slowly, savoring the food for all it was worth, Neville did the same beside him.

He stood from his seat, effectively silencing the argument. "Hey, as much as I hate to put an end to this happy dinner experience, can we please get some sleep?"

"But, Harry, look at what she's given me!" Ron pleaded while pointing at his food, flinching at Hermione's heated expression.

Harry gave a serious expression then, "Look, the only reason everyone's arguing anyway is 'cause we're all tired. We need rest, and the sooner we get it the better off we'll be for tomorrow's journey."

"Fine," Hermione said, "but we'll need a watch. And since we won't be sleeping but a few hours, I say each watch needs to last at most two hours each."

Harry nodded, "I'll go first, you guys get some sleep."

"No, Harry, you go first, as the only dominant-"

Harry silenced the redhead with a look, "Exactly why you should be the last person woken. Because, as much as I hate to say it, you're the only one who knows how to hunt and the like so you'll need to be the most-alert in case of a threat."

Ron didn't argue the logic, instead choosing to gulp down his bread hurriedly. Hermione did the same before she took off her wristwatch and handed it to Harry. The group settled in for the night, and Harry stayed awake with the watch in one hand, tiredly awaiting his time to sleep while opening his senses as best he could.

-o-

Albus Dumbledore paced his office, his heart beating wildly against his chest, proving only to add to his rage. He made his feet pause their pacing, and focused only on his breathing. His hand reached into his pocket to pull out some of his favorite treats. Forcing himself to remain calm despite his boiling anger, he ate the handful of lemon drops in one go. He prided himself on always keeping his composure, yet when this unexpected news came, he couldn't help but feel shaken.

He could still barely understand the news. Four students had left the school in spite of the numerous outside threats. Not only had they left, but they would be noticed by others as missing. There wasn't a cover Dumbledore could give as the four were so different. They wouldn't be on a trip or even with the same illness as they hardly were seen together.

The students were well-known in the school. One of the students was Neville Longbottom, the ideal submissive. Meek, he shied away from the dominants, and even other submissives. The boy knew his place, and was exceptional at his work in class. This was the one Albus was most confused about running away. The boy wouldn't have done this alone, that was for sure. He had to of been either kidnapped, which was doubtful, or was persuaded to leave.

Besides Neville, Hermione Granger was reported missing as well. The most intelligent submissive, surpassing even the dominants in all her classes but sports. She was outwardly against the submissive/dominant ideas set by the laws. She supported her arguments for submissive rights with logic that made even her professors look twice at the laws. Yet, she was the first to stand down when placed in a situation where her teachers would disprove of her voice. She yearned for learning, and was scared of disobeying her professors, so why did she leave her school? Someone had to of given her reason enough to leave. Or perhaps it was teenage rebellion?

Then there was Ronald Weasley, the only dominant in their group. He had various siblings, and although his sister's status as a submissive, was known to stand for dominant rights. Could Albus have misjudged the teen? Brash; boyish, Ron made for an ideal dominant. With this seemingly random act of leaving the school, the teen had thrown Albus for a complete loop. There was always the probability the boy had ran after the other three to bring them back to the school, but surely he would have shown up by now? And why wouldn't he have told a teacher first?

Then, there was the fourth run away, the one Albus berated himself for not guarding better. He should have known Harry Potter would leave the school. Albus growled lowly, his mind taking a turn for the worse. After years of trying to perfect the boy, his wishes for the future slipped through his fingers. He had kidded himself for thinking the boy would ever show respect for the dominants. He would never know how Harry, after years under his guidance, became such a dominant-acting submissive. The eight years he had spent with Lily before her death proved more than enough to bring out Lily's own attitude about the dominant and submissive laws in Harry.

Had Harry been a dominant, would he have turned out better? Albus shook his head, now wasn't the time for what-ifs. He needed answers now. Where did the group go? What would need to be done as punishment when they were found? And, most importantly, would he do about Tom? The man needed to stay uninformed about Harry's leave, but with spies hiding within the school, Albus doubted the man wouldn't know about the teen's absence already.

He needed a search party, a fast one at that. To find Harry before Tom did. Before it was too late.

-o-

Harry woke to a hand shaking him awake. Opening his eyes tiredly, he saw an equally-tired Ron shaking his shoulder to wake him. He groaned in response, "'m awake…"

Ron gave a half-smile before rubbing his own eyes, "Time to wake, gotta day of travel to do."

Behind the redhead, Hermione was finishing covering the fire. "Everyone ready then?" she asked, too well-rested to Harry.

Harry yawned and struggled to get up from the forest floor, his body aching not only from yesterday's running, but from the sudden shift of a fluffy mattress to the hard ground. His lungs, on the other hand, had never felt so refreshed. The outside air making his insides feel more alive than they had in years. Living inside a castle made the air stuffy and different from the natural air.

Hermione nudged his body with a foot, waking him from a sleep he hadn't known he had been entering. "C'mon, Harry, we need to go!" she urged.

Harry growled, "How're you so… peppy?" he asked, determining the right word for the girl's attitude.

Hermione forcibly lifted him up by his arm. "Ow!" Harry said to which Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Come on drama queen, I'm ready to go!"

Harry stretched, standing now. Then, he remembered, "Oh yeah, the full moon's soon, right?"

Hermione nodded happily. "Yep!"

Harry blinked at her, "Which means you'll be gradually getting more and more weird?"

Hermione raised her eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing!" he said quickly, raising his arms in self-defense.

Hermione gave him an irritated look before leading the group into the surrounding forest. Ron nudged his side. "Reckon she'll be especially moody today?"

Harry nodded, "It is around that time…" he added.

Hermione turned and glared at the two, growling under her breath. "Why are you two always out to ruin my good moods?" she asked irritably. "What were you saying anyway?"

Neville grabbed Harry's arm as protection. Not that Harry would be able to do much against Hermione. "Nothing!" he said for the second time that day, once again throwing his hands up in defense. Her eyebrow twitched, but otherwise she backed down from the fight.

After another hour of tense walking, Hermione suddenly stopped, causing an oblivious Ron to bump into her back. Before she could fall to the ground from the hit, Ron caught her. "Sorry…" he mumbled, his face reddening.

Hermione held up a finger as he let go of her. "Shh…" she whispered, motioning for them to listen. Harry opened his senses as far as they could go, about to tell Hermione she must've heard one of them break a twig or something when he heard the distinct sound of footsteps heading toward them from their left.

Ron jolted into a defensive stance, each of his hands pulling a small dagger from his belt. He stood in front of the submissives, ready to attack. Harry grimaced at the thought of a fight, wasn't this what he wanted? His body still, he nearly jumped when Hermione placed her hand in his. For a second, he thought she needed comfort, but when she let go, he found a knife of his own in his hand. He would have given her a grateful smile if he wasn't so scared.

Then, the footsteps paused. Harry clenched his hand around his weapon, his heart pounding in his ears. His body demanding him to stand down from the fight. Taking a deep, shattering breath, he forcibly stilled his shaking hands.

Then, from out of the wood, a girl appeared. She looked at the group with large, round; bright eyes that gave her a surprised look, eyes that Harry thought could see right through him. Over the eyes were pale eyebrows that stood out over the dirt on her face. "Hello," she said casually, almost as if she found them as no threat to her. In spite of her confident tone, from head to toe she looked as if she had been through Hell and back. She wore only a small white dress which was holey and had singes on the bottom. Spots of dirt covered her body, letting only small parts of her fair white skin show through. Her dirty-blonde waist length hair was a web of tangles.

Looking at her small figure, Harry found she looked…odd in the best terms. There was an aura around the girl that was as comforting as it was hazy and dream-like. Harry stared into her silvery-grey eyes, and found that she didn't take the look as challenging in the least. Instead, she chose to smile at him instead of fight.

Maybe she's not a werewolf? Harry thought, trying to determine the girl's weirdness, despite his heart being set on her being just that. Harry breathed in, smelling her air only to find she was a werewolf as well, a dominant despite her lithe form. Her air also held another hint of her being, but he had never smelt it before, and as such he couldn't place it.

"H-hi…" he replied curiously, his head tilted slightly as he tried to figure out why she was there alone and whether she was a threat or not. With another sniff to the air, his body stiffened. There was a distinct smell of blood in the air, drifting from the girl.

Ron growled and, unlike the growls from prior fights with the group as they were walking, this one was louder and more threatening. Almost as if the others were just playful and mocking in a way. His now fully-amber eyes watched the girl predatorily. "What do you want?" he asked lowly, a threat lingering in his throat.

She lifted her hands slowly, as if to show them she meant no harm. "I'm sorry," she began, "for intruding on your travels but I seem to be lost." She looked around her surroundings with glazed-over eyes. "Well, not lost, I just don't seem know where I am." she continued slowly as if the news was new to her. Harry would have snorted if he wasn't so shocked.

Meanwhile, Hermione looked the girl over, then gasped, "Your head!"

The girl blinked, "Yes?" she asked.

Harry looked at the girl's head closely, then saw it, nearing the back where the spot was mostly hidden from the group, he could see blood. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, quite." the girl said. "Just dizzy is all, but I suspect it's the wrackspurts' doing."

Harry stepped forward, wanting to see the wound that caused the blood, only to be pushed back by one of Ron's outstretched arms. "Don't move." he ordered.

The girl tilted her head to the side as Neville's face paled, "You-you're wounded." he stated nervously.

The girl nodded, "Though, not as badly as my friend." she replied.

"Your friend?" Hermione questioned.

"Oh, yes, he's back there," she pointed a still-lifted finger towards where she had just come from. "I'm afraid I'm not strong enough to lift him without hurting him more than he already is."

"Is-is that why you're here?" Neville asked.

She nodded shortly, "Yes."

"Where is your pack?" Ron asked.

She looked up towards a treetop to her side, "The nargles are near." she said mistily. "I wonder if they know we're here."

Ron growled again, this one less threatening. His mind confused, he gave her a glare. "I didn't ask about some stupid made-up creature…"

She snapped her head back to Ron in a second, making the redhead start. "They are here. Perhaps leaving would be best?"

"Listen, I don't know who you are or where your pack is-"

"My pack?" the blonde asked, "Oh… I don't know. I seem to have misplaced my thoughts…"

Before Ron could go off on a rant, Harry replied to her, "You mean, you don't remember anything?" he asked.

The girl gave him a genuine smile, "I'm sure I will in time, when I find my memories again. But for now I've been given a reprieve from them it seems."

Hermione gave a huff, "Are you certain?"

The girl looked confused yet knowing at the same time, "Yes, I believe so."

Before a reply could be made, the sound of running feet on the forest ground could be heard from the opposite direction the girl had come from. "Shall we go now? Before they come to steal?" the blonde asked.

Ron stiffened, his mind in a cloud. He looked to their small group with a questioning look, silently begging for their input. "Take us to your friend." Harry stated.

With another grin, the girl turned swiftly and led them on her tip-toes into the forest she had just came from. "How do you know it's not a trap?" Ron seethed.

Harry shrugged in return, running after the ditzy girl. "We only had a couple choices Ron, what else should we do?"

Ron looked about to say something, but Hermione cut-in, "If her pack wanted to attack they had plenty opportunity to, they would have beaten us easily with surprise. Now, can we please stop talking and start running?" she asked with a frustrated tone.

The group quickly sprinted after the surprisingly-fast girl, Harry taking the lead as the fastest, Hermione last. The blonde led them to a place where they could barely see past the trees, plants and vines growing taller and longer respectively. It grew harder to run as they tumbled through the forest. The girl had no problem though, easily moving through the bramble and such with a smile. Even if her feet touched a particular rough area, she just kept going without complaint.

"It's just through here," she declared, moving a few vines to uncover a clearing. The four gathered inside the domelike clearing with the girl following behind. The chasers that had followed them grew louder, and the group of five held their breath as they passed, not even testing the vines for people.

When their predators were out of hearing distance, the group let out a breath. "H-hunters…" Neville said, speaking about who the chasers were.

Harry nodded and spoke before Ron could give in his doubts, "How else did they not smell us out?"

Hermione agreed with a nod of her own, "And they didn't smell like wolves."

Ron chewed on his bottom lip, "You're right…" he admitted. "They weren't weres at all…"

The blonde coughed, making the four others stare at her in surprise. "Sorry," she said, her voice strained. "My friend is over there." she said, pointing to the other side of the dome, where a pile of leaves stood. "I covered him just in case as he couldn't be moved and couldn't move himself."

Before the others could move, Ron held out an arm, effectively going into dominant-mode once more. He shifted his gaze from the pile of leaves to the girl, going back and forth between the two repeatedly as he made his way in front of the leaves. Sniffing, he stiffened. "There's a guy here, but he's unconscious," he said, shifting the leaves over to one side. Beneath them, Harry could make out platinum blond hair and fair skin.

Harry found himself helping Ron clear the leaves from the body. When they were done, Harry tried to flip the boy onto his back, but Ron took his wrist with a hand, and pushed it back. "Don't touch him." he demanded. Harry narrowed his eyes, growing wary of Ron's instincts.

"I'm only going to turn him over…" Harry said, shifting under Ron's amber gaze.

"Just let him follow his instincts for now, Harry," Hermione said from behind him.

Harry looked up, meeting her gaze from where he sat, "But-"

"He's scared," she whispered into his ear. "Just let him have reassurance that we're all safe and he'll be fine."

Harry nodded, gently removing his hand from Ron's grip before backing away from the body. Ron looked the boy over with narrowed eyes, "He's a submissive." he stated. "What happened to him?"

The blonde walked over, stepping to the other side of the body. "I can't seem to remember."

Ron made a noise in the back of his throat, "What do you remember then?"

The girl looked thoughtful for a moment, "It's like a dream… I woke up only I wasn't waking for I was already awake. I was there and that's all, next to this boy on the ground. I checked the boy and found he couldn't answer. Then I left, I was walking through the wood when I heard your pack. I needed help so I asked you."

"That's all you know then?" Ron checked.

The girl nodded, "I can't seem to place my title either… I know it was something about the moon…"

Ron groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "How do we know you're not lying."

"You don't." the girl replied. "But I'd like it if you believed me."

After a moment of silence, Ron's eyes dimmed from the amber to their normal blue. "What about the naglers or whatever?"

The girl tilted her head in wonder, then her eyes lit up, "Oh, you mean the nargles! Yes, they hide in various places, stealing your things."

"What?" Ron asked, his expression clearly confused. "And what about the other things?"

"Wrackspurts?" the girl asked. Ron nodded, "They confuse you and make you dizzy, and lightheaded…"

Ron started when Hermione touched his shoulder, "She's clearly been hit pretty hard," she said, "Maybe she's making these creatures up in place of her memories."

The girl gave a harsh look to Hermione, "They're real." she stated matter-of-factly. Hermione rolled her eyes, but said nothing else.

Ron stared at the girl, then to the boy. "What should we do?" he asked.

Harry shrugged, "What did you want us to do for you?" he asked the blonde.

"Help is all I ask. At least until he heals, then I'll leave you alone."

Hermione gave a pained look, "But what can we do?" she asked.

"You are the only hope I have at the moment, since I haven't a clue where I'm to be or to do. I only ask you to help him." the girl replied. "Perhaps find out where others are."

Harry sighed, "Okay," he said, earning himself a glare from Ron and Hermione both. "What?" he asked them.

Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him toward where a contemplative Neville sat on the ground. "What are you thinking?" she asked.

"I want to help her!" he defended, rubbing his shoulder and ignoring her 'quit acting like it hurt when it obviously didn't' look.

"But, Harry, what're we supposed to do?" Ron asked, joining them, while watching the girl closely.

Harry shrugged, "Let's just take them with us, if anything it'll help us too. We'll have a girl who, once she has her memory back, can tell us about her pack and about the lifestyle out here in general."

Hermione sighed, "But that's just it, Harry, how do we know she's safe? For all we know she's leading us to our deaths, or once she gets her memory back she'll kill us or-"

"I agree with Harry." Neville declared, standing from his spot and taking his place beside Harry. "I have a good feeling about her." he said to Hermione, avoiding Ron's eyes.

"Oh, that's good, then!" Ron said sarcastically, throwing his hands up in the air, his daggers now returned to his belt. "Now when anything happens to us, I'll remember to ask you about how you FEEL about the situation! 'We're about to be eaten, oh no! Wait, maybe Neville has a good feeling about it, maybe we shouldn't fight back!'" he snapped, sarcasm lacing his voice.

Neville narrowed his eyes at the ground but said nothing, choosing instead to lean toward Harry. Said-boy ran a hand through his hair. "I want to stay with her too, I have a good feeling as well." he said, his tone asking Ron to try to mock his intuition.

"Fine," Ron said, "but when we're dead, I'll know who to thank." he said, turning on his heel and stalking to the corner with the unconscious boy once more.

Harry winced mentally at how angry Ron was, but he couldn't bring himself to go over to the boy. He looked to Hermione, who just crossed her arms and walked to the boy where Ron was. He saw her contemplating where the boy was hurt without touching him, as Ron's gaze was fixated directly on her movements.

Meanwhile the odd girl stared at Harry with fogged eyes. Expressionless, the blonde continued to stare, and even though Harry knew he should be at the very least freaked out, the boy found didn't mind at all. He continued to examine the girl from the corner of his eye while Neville regarded her with wide eyes.

They stayed in the clearing for awhile, each person with a different thought on their minds, except the girl, whose blank gaze made Harry assume she was going through a meditation of sorts. "Harry?"

Harry turned to Neville, "Yeah?"

"What do you suppose we're to do with the boy?" he asked.

Harry looked at his fingers, "Maybe we should carry him?"

"Where though?" Neville asked.

Harry shrugged, "Well, I guess we're just going to continue our journey through the wood until we find something or someone. I mean, we are still on the run from the school searches, and we need to find her pack." he suggested, not needing to point to the silent girl in the corner for Neville to know of whom he spoke. His mind ran through the various options they had, trying to find one they should follow now that they had two more added to their makeshift "pack."

Neville nodded, "What do you suppose we'll find out here?"

Harry thumped his head on the bark of the tree behind him, "I dunno, but I really hope it's better out here than it was at the school."

Night came sooner than they expected, Harry leading the watch as they decided to get more sleep whilst they thought on their next move. A fire was created to keep warm by as the night air cooled considerably more than it had before on their journey, the dome they currently occupied seeming to hold cold air in. Harry stood from his spot on his makeshift-leaf bedding and walked over to the boy he hadn't been able to see before thanks to Ron's ever-watchful eyes.

He sat next to the body, his hands moving on their own accord to touch the skin. He was alive, Harry noted from the pulse beneath his fingertips, but he was extremely cold. With nothing but a shabby; worn pair of boxers on, the boy looked more frail than Harry first thought. His hair was platinum blond and his skin a fair; pale white to match. Goosebumps littered his skin, and there were multiple scars on his back, dried blood coating most. Deciding to clean the wounds first, Harry grasped his messenger bag in one hand and dug through it to find a bottle of water inside. Tearing off his already-worn sleeve, his dampened it with water from the bottle and gently began dabbing the boy's wounds.

"It's horrible, isn't it?" Harry heard behind him. Looking, he saw the blonde girl.

He made a sound of agreement, continuing to dab at the blood, "Are you sure you can't remember anything? Not even him?"

The girl nodded, "Yes, but not from lack of trying. I've looked, but I can't seem to find my mind. Perhaps the nargles took it with them." She looked dazed for a moment, "But it's no matter, it'll come back to me I'm sure, just as everything does in the end."

"I'm sure it will," Harry agreed.

"Do you believe me?" she asked quietly.

Harry shrugged, "I don't really know." he said truthfully. "But I suppose not believing you will only lead to more confusion than there already is."

Then, after a moment of silence, "Is it the easiest way to cope?" she asked, surprising Harry.

The boy paused in cleaning the wounds on the blond boy and turned to the girl with furrowed eyebrows. "What?"

She made a slight humming noise, "No matter..." With a confused look at the mysterious girl, Harry finished his cleaning and took off his cloak. Covering the boy with it, he pondered what the blonde had told him. Then, she spoke once more, "Be wary, Harry Potter, the heliopath is on its way, and it burns everything, even what is hidden. Perhaps the time for revelation is near…" With that said, she hummed.

Harry gave her a surprised look, to which she gave a small smile. She stood, brushed her knees off, and left Harry to his thoughts. He heard her gave a sigh of contentment as she settled down on the ground, having refused to sleep in leaves. It wasn't until he woke Neville for his guard and was almost asleep when he realized that he hadn't told her his name, at least, no one he knew of used his last name for her to know of it. Too tired to think anymore, he slept.

Author's Note: Yes, I know Neville's so…submissive-ish, but remember that he didn't gain his confidence yet since there wasn't a DA or anything, plus he's bullied by the doms and by his grandmother.

Yes, we all know whom that girl is! If you don't then well…Maybe you should read the books. Also, the boy? Yep, you should know who that is! J Don't worry I still like Ron/Hermione as a pairing, but should anyone persuade me otherwise…

Thanks for reading! I haven't written in a LONG time and I am running a pret-ty high fever right now, so there are bound to be mistakes, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE inform me of the mistakes in a review! Thanks in advanced! (I just don't have a beta so… Yeah…) LOVE YOU GUYS!