Italics: flashbacks/ past.

Non-italics: present day.

Harry was confused when he felt something warm resting on his chest. His eyes fluttered open, blinking away his sleep and he smiled when he saw the brown curls, sprawled out over his chest. Hermione's breathing was soothing, her heartbeat calm, he nervously reached out and placed his hand on her hip, his heart rate increasing when she hooked a leg over his, her body pressing into his side. He swallowed heavily as he felt her soft chest press into his hard one, he watched as she slowly stirred, her head rising a few inches and turning to stare at him, a dazed expression on her face.

She reached out, her eyes still hooded with slumber and ran her fingers down his face, as if making sure she wasn't dreaming. The moment a smile graced his features Hermione's eyes snapped open and Harry saw a plethora of emotions passing through her dark irises. She looked down and seemed alarmed that her hand was on his chest, her leg wrapped around his in a somewhat possessive manner. She looked back at him and noticed the emotive look he was giving her, a look filled with so much raw emotion Hermione couldn't look away. It took her a moment to fully comprehend how safe and warm she felt in his arms, his hand was resting gently on her hip, his other slowly moved to rest over her hand that was on his chest. She bit her lip when she realised how happy she felt at that moment, how complete she was.

Harry saw the realisation in her eyes but didn't know how to make sense of it, fear crept into his heart when the thought of her possible anger or regret at waking up in such a compromising position. Harry immediately sat up, gently bringing her into a sitting position with him, he stood and thought for a moment of what to say.

"Good morning 'Mione." What was that? 'Good morning'? How about I love you with a burning passion that cannot be extinguished? A voice shouted from somewhere deep inside of him, he felt the sudden need to touch her when she turned and stared at him with a questioning glint in her eye. Her night gown had ridden up her legs so that it barely covered her underwear, her breasts seemed to be gently caressing the locket he had given her the night before.

"Hello H-Henry." Her voice was still full of sleep, causing it to be deep and throaty. Harry was already sick of his fake name, it always confused him when she would use it or his actual name, she had told him that there are times when she can use his real name, but those are only when they are in specific conditions. She sat up, leaning on one hand, still facing him and he swallowed when his eyes travelled once more over the length of her body.

"I'm going to… shower." He immediately left the room, already feeling the blood rushing to one point in his body, the one point he did not want Hermione to notice. Hermione collapsed back onto the bed feeling more confused than ever, she arched her back in an attempt to stretch out her tight muscles, she lay back down and looked to the window, a slight sliver of the early morning sun could be seen in between the drapes which she had closed last night. Hermione reached for her wand and flicked it once, opening the curtains a fraction more so she could see properly out and smiled when she felt the rays of sunlight wash over her body.

Harry stepped out of the bathroom and froze, watching her, her eyes were closed, a streak of honey gold sunlight was dancing across her body, she turned and smiled broadly as he entered the room once more. Hermione stood and walked towards the vacated bathroom, breathing in the humid air his scent reached her nose as she passed and her cheeks burned in embarrassment for noticing such a thing.

She left the door ajar, as per usual and stepped into the shower feeling the hot water pound into her tired body.

It was a much cooler day, despite the sun that shone overhead. Hermione trudged along behind her best friend feeling the cool air, bite into her skin. She watched as he reached for her again and Hermione realised he was waiting for her to apparate. She gulped and pictured a forest just outside a town she had visited as a young child. She felt her stomach growl in protest when the familiar tug of apparition pulled at her navel.

She stumbled slightly when they landed, her brain still spinning despite their lack of motion. Once she had regained equilibrium she noticed the pair of strong arms wrapped around her to prevent her falling. Hermione looked up and mumbled thanks and watched Harry let go, awkwardly looking at his feet. Hermione looked around and saw through the trees the township, she sighed longingly and then turned, heading in the opposite direction, deeper into the forest. Deeper into darkness.

***

Almost two months passed quickly with little incident, Hermione could feel something deep inside of her hinting that danger was lurking around every dark corner. She looked up into the sky and saw that it reflected her mood, cold and saddened. Snow had begun to fall, the temperature plummeting as they trekked through the Scottish highlands, wishing to be fairly close to Hogwarts when Fawkes came to retrieve them. Harry remained cautious, guarded over whether they should return to a place where they were expected to journey.

Hermione had only told him one part of Dumbledore's letter, the last few lines about Fawkes. She didn't want to burden his already troubled mind. His nightmares had increased, but he adamantly refused to tell her the contents of these dreams, Hermione however knew they were about her, he had called her name out several times during his night terrors, his voice always filled with so much pain.

Harry was asleep in the tent and Hermione knew she shouldn't have journeyed outside the protection of it. But she wandered forward, needing to clear her head. She frowned in concentration as she tried to organise her jumbled thoughts, thoughts that centred on her ever confusing relationship with Harry and their search for the horcruxes.

She kept walking, feeling the crisp fresh air revitalise her mind, yet pierce painfully into her skin which was uncovered. The forest was deathly quiet, the trees swayed in the wind, yet no sound emitted from their elderly limbs. The vibrancy of summer had left no trace in these deadened looking woods, the long cool winter seemed to suffocate all life from nature, and suffocate her heart.

A twig snapped, the sound echoing sharply in the otherwise silent expanse. Hermione froze, she clutched her wand in fear. She turned violently; a shadow flickered past her line of sight. Suddenly the temperature began to get to her, her body began to quiver, but Hermione knew that fear was starting to weigh down heavily on her heart. She didn't dare speak and even if she tried she doubted her voice would be able to formulate any audible words.

A white skull appeared to be floating infront of her, about six foot off the ground. Hermione took a nervous step backwards, wand raised towards the unknown. The figure stepped out into the soft glow of the moon and Hermione realised before her stood a man, a man dressed completely in black, his mask the only thing clearly visible in the night.

The man, she noticed held a long black cane with a silver serpent head for a handle. He reached up to remove his hood and mask, but Hermione already knew who he was; the mere action confirmed it for her.

Lucius Malfoy stared down his nose at her, or as best he could from the distance between them. An aristocratic smirk was upon his face which would be handsome if not for the hatred in his eyes and the blood upon his hands.

Hermione glared at him defiantly and this caused his smirk to turn into a bone chilling smile. A laugh sounded from behind her and she turned her head slightly, in a hope to keep Malfoy senior within her line of sight. There, to the south stood a woman, her laugh was maniacal, her eyes were what Hermione would describe as a very deep brown, but in the light they appeared black, the malice within them made Hermione shiver uncontrollably.

Bellatrix Lestrange took a few steps forward her black wand twirling in her long mangled fingers. She appeared to walk with a slight limp, as if she had been injured, but Hermione was forced to take a step east so that she could keep both death eater's within her sight. Her laughter shattered the still night air and Hermione cringed as the sound rang inside her head. Bellatrix appeared to look contemplative, tapping her chin with the tip of her wand. Slowly a cruel smile appeared on her haunted features.

"What a lovely little present we have here Lucius, just in time for Christmas."

"Oh yes, I believe you are something the Dark Lord has coveted for many years." Hermione's eyes widened in shock as both turned to her and advanced.

She sent a curse towards Bellatrix and watched as she went flying into a tree with a loud crack. She turned to Lucius whom was directly before her and stunned him with a flick of her wand, gasping in pain when his cutting curse hit her arm. Bellatrix stood, wand aloft, pointing directly at her and then her angry scowl turned into a look of pure glee.

Hermione stopped moving. The blade was as cool as ice on her neck and she let out a whimper of pain when it slowly dug into the delicate skin of her thoat. She felt the warmth of her blood run down her neck, contrasting strongly with the cold air.

The rattling breath on her ear made bile rise to her throat. She watched as a spider like hand reached forward and took her wand, a hiss escaped her captor's throat and Hermione swallowed heavily. She felt something cool and wet flicker on the side of her face and realised it was his tongue. A single tear rolled down her cheek and an icy cold laugh erupted from deep within his throat.

"Now. Mudblood. Tell me where Harry Potter isss."

AN apologies for the lack of updates. I have been extremely ill this week and have only just started feeling better.

So, your thoughts?