We landed on the top step of Grimauld place with a jarring thud. I tripped and almost fell over, but before I could let go of Harry or George, I felt the squishing, stretching, burning sensation of Apparation again. We reappeared and landed in the middle of a forest, one that I didn't recognize. What had happened? I'd taken us to Grimmauld Place, not here. I'd never even been here.
"What the bloody hell?" Ron gasped, falling to his knees with a pained look. Our hour was up, we were all changing back. I had already changed, but I had also taken my Polyjuice first. Harry was bending over, making retching noises as well. His face was bubbling and he was shrinking, his eyes turning back to their piercing emerald. I looked around, feeling off kilter and confused, what had happened? George was beside me, breathing heavily and looking upset. I opened my mouth to question him when I became aware of a searing pain in my left arm, right below my shoulder. I bit back a cry of pain and sunk to my knees, my right hand flying to my left arm and clutching it tightly. I pulled the hand away after a moment, shocked to see it already covered in blood. What had happened? I thought hazily, feeling slightly lightheaded from the pain.
"Didn't know what to do." George was saying, not noticing that I had fallen, he had his back to me, talking to Fred. Harry sank to his knees, clutching his stomach as he finally regained his real form. His eyes shot up from the ground, scanning our surroundings quickly before he came to a stop on me.
"Hermione!" He gasped, scooting over to me and grabbing me in his arms. I relaxed against him, my mind telling me I should be doing something, but unable to think of what. The only thing I could think of was the blinding pain that was flooding my arm, and the increasing light headedness I was feeling. How had this happened? What had gone wrong?
Everyone was talking now, but I could only make out a few words. I caught the words, blood, sorry, Yaxley, Fidelius, splinched, medicine, and then, bag. I twitched my right arm weakly, trying to indicate that the bag was in my shoe, but the move was feeble, and pointless. No one even noticed that my arm had moved.
"Accio bag!" Harry bellowed, his deep voice echoing through my head and causing me to squeeze my eyes shut in pain. The bag shot out of my shoe, probably into his hands. A moment later a burning liquid touched my wound, causing a searing pain I remembered from my fifth year, and everything went black.
{}o{}o{}
"It's all my fault."
"Stop saying that!"
"It is though, I tried to get us away, but I just hurt her."
"It's not your fault, we had a tail, it was the only thing we could do."
"No, I'm sure there was another way."
I could hear the words, but I couldn't tell who was saying them. I was still extremely hazy, and my arm was still throbbing. However, I was no laying on something much softer and warmer than the grass of the forest, though I wasn't sure what. I took a deep breath of air, and the oxygen helped clear my head a little, enough that I could make out who was talking.
"Merlin! How could I do it?" That was George, I was sure of it.
"Bloody Hell, it was not your fault. You just apparated six people to the middle of some forest you'd only ever been to once, after a serious fight. It's a wonder we all aren't splinched." That was Fred, now all I had to do was figure out what it was they were talking about.
"Will you two can it? I think she's waking up." That was Angelina. I felt a cool hand touch my brow, and I blinked my eyes open, feeling as though someone had put lead weights on my eye lids.
"How you feelin 'Mione?" I looked to my left and saw both Ron and Harry standing next to each other, bending over to look down at me. I moved my head to the left and saw George kneeling beside me, Fred and Angelina looking down at me over his shoulders. I opened my mouth, wetting my lips with my tongue before attempting to speak.
"What happened?" I choked out, annoyed at how much my throat felt like sandpaper.
"We had a tail." George said, grabbing my hand and rubbing the back of it. "Someone grabbed hold of me right before we apparated, I couldn't get rid of them before we reappeared at Grimmauld place. I shook them off and the apparated us all over here." He explained, looking worried.
"Did you put up defensive spells?" I asked, coughing a slight bit and marveling at how much the action made my head spin. My arm was still throbbing, but it didn't feel like it was on fire like it had earlier. Still, no matter how much pain I was in, we couldn't risk getting caught, we had to put up protection, I'd do it but I wasn't sure I could get up.
"Yeah, we put up everything we could think of." Fred answered, smiling in relief.
"Are you feeling alright 'Mione?" Harry asked, checking my forehead. A smile lifted my lips, even though it was small it felt good, and it didn't hurt.
"I'm okay, a little tired and my arm's sore, but I'm okay."
"Why don't we give these two some privacy?" Angelina asked, straightening up and grabbing Fred's arm. I smiled again, letting Harry and Ron know I was alright, they looked like they had wanted to argue against leaving. I'd figured out what George and Fred had been talking about while I was waking, and I wanted to talk to George about it.
Still staring at me worriedly, Harry stood up with Ron, giving my right arm a slight squeeze before they left. It was just George and me now. I turned my head and looked at him, he was avoiding my eyes. I sighed and rolled my body over so that I was lying on my side and facing him.
"George." I said quietly, gathering my strength so I could sit up. He still wouldn't look at me, hanging his head in shame. I propped myself up on my arm, took a deep breath, and then pushed myself up into a sitting position. My head spun and I felt nauseous, I pushed it aside though and focused on the man in front of me.
"Look at me please." I said, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm my spinning head. He obliged, lifiting his head so that he was looking at my face, though he was still avoiding my eyes.
"Sorry… So sorry." He barely whispered, lowering his head again. I took another deep breath, thanking Merlin that my head had stopped spinning and leaned forward, wrapping my good arm around his neck, and laying my heavily bandaged arm against his back.
"Thank you." I said, letting tears fill my eyes. "Thank you so much."
"What?" He asked, pushing me back, causing my head to spin again. Great.
"Thanks for saving everyone, I had no idea we were being tailed." I explained, holding onto his arms to steady myself. "I'd have never forgiven myself if something had happened to Harry, or you, or anyone, simply because of an oversight on my part. That was really quick thinking on your part."
"But I got you splinched." He objected, trying to shake my arms off. I grimaced at the motion, it jarred my arm and sent a spike of pain up it.
"No you silly goof." I said, ignoring the pain and focusing on George. "I got myself splinched. I tripped at Grimmauld place, that's why I got splinched. I was moving while you apparated." I gave a small laugh. "If I wasn't clumsy I wouldn't be splinched. It wasn't your fault at all, Love." He opened his mouth to object but I silenced him by placing a finger over his lips.
"Please don't argue with me, I'd hate to shame you with my awesome squabble skills." I said, grinning. He smiled, though it wasn't very big. "If you would like to apologize," I continued, "You can give me a kiss." He smiled at that, a real, toothy grin that made my stomach flutter with butterflies. I moved my hand from his mouth and he claimed my lips in a kiss.
I completely forgave him; he really knew how to apologize.
{}o{}o{}
It took me about two weeks for my wound to heal enough so that I could apparate again. We spent most of that week trying to figure out how to destroy the Horcrux. We had absolutely no luck on that front; we couldn't even get the thing to open up. We settled into a routine of sorts, during that time. Fred, Angelina, or George would be helping with Potterwatch, they'd be gone for a day and then reappear, trading off with each other.
We had no food, as I hadn't thought to pack any, so they would bring some from where ever it was that Lee and them had been hiding out. However, they could never bring very much, so we were always hungry. To make matters worse, we almost lost the Horcrux the day after we stole it, and now Harry was having us wear it so that we didn't risk losing it. He had intended on just wearing it himself, not making us wear it at all. However, after two days of wearing it his mood had darkened considerably and he had started lashing out at us without cause. I had inquired as to what was causing his foul mood and he finally told me about the Horcrux. We started wearing it in shifts immediately after that.
So the days passed by, slowly but surely. We were moving every other day, camping out in the various forest of Great Britain. We'd had a few close brushes, we'd heard people talking on two occasions outside the campsite, but our defensive spells had protected us. September faded away, and October arrived, bringing much colder weather, and far more depressed spirits. We were all getting worn out, and discouraged. We had no plan, and no idea about what we should do. We kept up with the Animagus lessons, and they were coming along alright. We hadn't changed into anything yet, but we were beginning to feel a tingle every time we tried the spell. I knew it had taken Sirius and James years to master the spell, but I was hoping the fact that we were older would help. I was seeing far less of George than I had ever expected, and it was making me sad. I had intended on finally taking the next step with George when we got back from the ministry break in. Now though I didn't have the chance. We couldn't very well do anything when Harry, Ron, Fred, or Angelina could walk in at any moment. Or we could end up having to run away at any moment.
September faded away, and October arrived, bringing with it worse weather, and scarcer food. We were getting crabbier, and worse.
What were we supposed to do? We couldn't destroy the locket, we couldn't figure out where anymore were, and we couldn't figure out why Dumbledore had left us the items he had.
October 15th came, and everything changed. It was night time, around nine o clock, and we were putting out our fire. George was wearing the locket for the second day in a row. We had decided on wearing it for two days in a row to try and help us get over its influence before we had to wear it again. George had agreed to try the method out first.
"I'll take the first watch." I volunteered, vanishing the left over mushroom soup, it was nowhere near good enough to save for any length of time.
"I'll stay up with you." Harry offered, throwing the bowls into my bag.
"Thanks, but you don't have to, you need your sleep."
"I won't get any sleep tonight." He said, sighing.
"Why?"
"Headache." He answered simply. I looked over at him and dropped the spoons into the bag as well.
"Okay, we can look over Tales of Beedle the bard again." He looked over at me and raised his eyebrows.
"Really?" he asked, barely suppressing a laugh. "Need a bed time story?"
"No," I said, shoving him playfully. "I want to figure out!"
"You haven't memorized it yet?" he asked, dousing the fire.
"No." I said, grinning again. "I'll read you Grumble the Goat." I said, giggling. He hated that story and I frequently read it just to annoy him.
"What are you two doing?" George asked coming up behind us and making me jump. I smiled and turned around, grabbing him in a hug.
"Talking, I'm threatening to read Grumble to him."" I said, giggling slightly as Harry gagged.
"Oh," George said, looking upset.
"What's wrong, Love?" I asked, regretting the question the minute I asked it. It was that locket of course, it had to be. That thing made everyone upset.
"Nothing." He said, sighing heavily.
"Thanks," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. "You're really the best, wearing that blasted thing for so long." I gave him a kiss on the cheek, running my fingers through his hair gently. "I love you George."
He smiled, not a real smile, but it was better than nothing. "I love you too, Hermione." He pulled away from me gently, stepping away and towards the tent.
"Wait!" I called after him. "I'll take the locket, it's my turn." He turned around slowly, raising his eyebrows.
"You sure?" He asked, looking like he didn't want to give it to me.
"Yes, it's my turn." He sighed and reached up, pulling it off his neck. I grabbed it in my hands, holding it in a firm grip before I stopped. I stood up on my tip toes and wrapped my arm around his neck again, planting a firm kiss on his soft lips. He hesitated for a moment, and then he returned it. We kissed hard for a glorious instant, finding a moment of peace in the simple comfort of each other. We broke apart a few long minutes later and I brought the necklace up and placed it around my neck.
"I really love you, George. I can't wait till we're alone again." I whispered, my voice growing husky. His eyes darkened and he grabbed me again, smothering me with hard, needy kisses.
"Sleep tight, Love." I said, stepping back after we broke the wonderful kiss. I stooped down and picked up Tales of Beedle the Bard. He smiled, a real smile and stepped back towards the tent.
"See you in the morning 'Mione."
I waved him good night before sitting down in front of the tent entrance were I would keep watch. Harry reappeared a moment later and sat next to me.
"Okay, you can read the Tales, just so long as you don't read Grumble." Harry said, smiling slightly. I glanced at him, wanting to smile but finding it harder than it had been a minute ago. Blasted locket.
I read him the wizard and the hopping pot, causing him to laugh when he imagined doing something like that to Dudley. Our watch went by quicker than I had thought it would, and before I knew it, it was time for the second watch. Harry offered to take it, and I agreed to let him after a short battle.
I climbed into my sleeping bag, scooting over so I was next to a fast asleep George and lay down. I snuggled into his warm side and closed my eyes, already counting down the hours until I could take the blasted necklace off.
"Wake up guys!" Harry's frenzied voice sounded in my ear and I jerked awake. I sat up quickly, leaving the warm comfort of George's embrace and turned towards my best friend.
"What?" I asked, my voice high as I climbed out of my sleeping bag.
"I heard people talking on the edge of camp, I think it's time we left again."
"What?" I said again, but now it was more in panic. I twisted in my seat and shook George awake, Harry had already moved to Ron, shaking his lanky form.
"Wha?" he questioned sleepily. George just grunted and pulled the blanket tighter around his shoulders. I jerked it out of his grasp and shook his shoulders. He opened his sleepy eyes and looked up at me curiously.
"Get up," I whispered to him, scared to raise my voice. "Harry heard someone poking around outside of camp."
Harry had successfully gotten Ron up, and he was now standing up. "There were at least two people, and I'm sure one of them was Greyback."
He hadn't said that earlier. I jumped up and started tossing everything into the center of the tent. Harry joined me and a moment later we had everything in a pile. I quickly shoved it all into my bag while the others left the tent. Once I had everything back in my bag I ran out of the tent and joined the others. I cast a spell that packed the tent up and shoved that in my bag along with everything else. Ron was questioning Harry while I packed up.
"When did you hear them?"
"About five minutes ago, they were talking about Voldemort." He said. A loud crack sounded behind us an evil barking laugh sounded. It was a laugh I had only heard once, and it had been in June of this year during the battle. I spun around on my heels and didn't stop the scream that rose to my lips.
Fenrir Greyback and two other people were behind us.
"What have we here?" he growled, a truly evil grin lifting his lips. He raised his wand and pointed it at me. "Looks like we have a few school drop outs here. Why would you all be using the dark lords name?" He asked, stepping towards me. I stepped back, and without another thought I screamed.
"RUN!" the others wasted no time in following my orders, I was already turning, and together we ran into the thick woods, praying that they would help us escape. I ran into the trees, getting scratched by the branches but never slowing, I threw stunners over my back at the chasing Death Eaters. I lost sight of the others, only seeing the trees in front of me. I shot another stunner over my back and stumbled, righting myself before continuing. I shot more spells, and suddenly the ground in front of me exploded. I flew through the air and landed hard on my bad arm. A shriek of pain escaped my lips as I rolled over. A feral growl sounded behind me and before I could move clawed hands grabbed my arms.
I screamed in fright as the iron hands spun me around, forcing me to lie on my back as the ugly, scarred, face of Greyback loomed above me. He gripped my wand hand forcibly, keeping my wand pointed away from his body and making it where I couldn't move my hand at all. He put his knees on either side of my body, holding me down with his other hand. He leaned his head down and took a deep sniff of my hair, making me shudder in disgust.
"Mmm," he said, breathing deeply. "What a wonderful body you have." He said, showing his fanged teeth. "I can't wait to see all of it, inside out." His animalistic voice growled out, and terror gripped me as I realized just what he was going to do. He moved his hand towards my robe fastenings, intending on undoing them and I fought al l the harder. I struggled wildly, lashing out and kicking out.
"I love feisty women." He hissed, his putrid breath making me sick. I screamed again, kicking out hard. I made contact with his leg and he howled out, losing his grip. I rolled away, pushing myself up and getting ready to run again. He growled and lunged at me, missing my body but finding purchase on my hand. I jerked wildly, forgetting my wand in my panic.
"Hermione!" someone yelled, and then Greyback fell forward in a pained heap as a flash of red light him square in his back. George was by my side, pulling me up and pulling me to his chest in a strong protective hug. I hugged him back before tugging him with me. Harry and Ron appeared at my side, breathing heavily and still running. Two more people appeared to our left, and they were gaining on us.
"Go!" George yelled, pushing us forward. "I'll catch up!" I paused for a terrible moment, debating whether or not I should. "Go!" He yelled one more time. I nodded my head, tears filling my eyes and grabbed hold of both Harry and Ron's hands, and twisted into the air, apparating us away.
We reappeared moments later, in the middle of a forest I had gone camping to as a child.
"George!" Ron gasped, bending forward and resting his hands on his knees, taking in deep gulps or air. Harry had sunk to his knees, pale and breathing heavily.
"He'll find us." I said, straightening up and raising my wand. I began casting the protective spells that would keep us safe and protected. I cast the last spell and walked back to Ron and Harry. I was trembling slightly, the full realization of what had just happened making me sick and shaky. We'd been found, how had that happened? What had gone wrong.
"How will he find us?" Ron questioned, straightening up and gripping his wand.
"My bracelet. " I said as way of answer.
"What the Bloody hell happened?" Ron asked, staring around the forest in disbelief.
"They found us." Harry answered.
"No kidding." Ron said, rolling his eyes. "I meant more along the lines of how."
"No idea." Harry said, turning towards me expectantly.
"I don't know either." I said reaching into my bag to grab out the tent. I froze before my hand got in the bag though. My wrist was bare. The bracelet I had been wearing since last Christmas, the thin gold band that had brought me comfort and a sense of security, was gone.
And with it, my link to George, to the others. We were alone, and George was stuck with the Death Eaters. What had I done?
A/N: Hi again! Okay, don't worry, they'll be back together soon. In the mean time, I have a few changes coming up. Remember, Fred won't die, and I'm going to try and not let Remus or Tonks die. Does anyone know if Animagus forms can be different than Patronus's, or do they have to be the same? Thanks for all the reviews, keep them coming!