So this chapter really is a short one. Sorry, folks. it just felt it was the logical point for the chapter to end. I will upload the next one really really soon. I've just been working on them in my spare time, which is limited, plus I do my own beta reading since I can only upload on my mobile right now. On the bright side, my autocorrect has now registered several Harry Potter related words, and that surely can only be a good thing!
"So, how do we get to Shell Cottage?" Hermione asked, frowning.
Harry looked at his wand. "They didn't follow us here. Can they track apparitions?"
"They could last time we were here." Hermione replied, searching the surroundings sharply with her eyes. "But you're right, if Hornrock could track us, he would have followed us here."
The pair stood frozen to the spot, trying to figure out wether apparition was a feasible option, when Hermione gasped.
"An idea?" Harry asked, raising his head from staring at his wand. He watched as Hermione walked in circles, clearly trying to remember something important.
"Cornwall... Tinworth... It might be possible." Hermione mumbled while pacing slowly, still trying to remember something important.
"Hermione." Said Harry, and she stopped pacing to look at him. "Are you going to tell me what you're mumbling about or are you just going to keep mumbling places near Shell Cottage at me?"
"A portkey!" Hermione replied with enthusiasm.
"A portkey." Harry repeated, raising his left eyebrow. Hermione could tell that this was more of a question than a statement.
"Well, it's complicated, really," Hermione began. "I've never technically cast the spell before, but I know the theory. If I can get it to connect to the Tinworth network..." she trailed off, furrowing her brows.
"Not to put a damper on the plan or anything," Harry said with a grim expression, "but we can't use our wands."
"No." Hermione said thoughtfully, searching her brain. "But there must be a way. They haven't followed us yet."
"Probably haven't figured out that our wands are traced." Harry replied with an air of hostility. He was clearly thinking about the betrayal of the Ministry.
Hermione couldn't blame him. She felt the same way. It wasn't the first time that they had been on the run from the Ministry. Last time they had criminalised them. Would they do it again? Would people fall for it a second time? No doubt Rita Skeeter would have something to say on the matter. She had even gone so low as to attack Dumbledore immediately after his death. The very thought of it sickened her.
Hermione's eyes widened as she remembered something. Dumbledore. Dumbledore's Army.
She pulled out a round, fake golden coin from her cloak and stared at it, hear head whirring for ideas. She knew she was onto something, she just couldn't quite tie things together in her mind. The events of the day had obviously taken its toll on her, and her lack of sleep was catching up to her.
Harry mirrored her, staring at the small round coin he had just pulled out of his pocket with raised eyebrows. It was clear to Hermione that he had the same drowsy whirring in his head that she did.
"But how will they know where to find us?" Harry asked aloud, still staring at the coins.
Hermione felt her thoughts fall in to place as she stared at the numbers on the outside of the coin, then once again reached inside her cloak. Rummaging through her pockets, she pulled out a small blue book entitled "Frederick Forehorn's Maps of the UK" and a compass.
"You just carry that stuff around with you, do you?" Harry asked her, perplexed.
"Oh, honestly Harry, of course I do." Hermione replied earnestly, rolling her eyes."Everyone should have a map and compass handy at all times. Especially an Auror." She shot him a glare.
Harry's lips were curved upwards in an amused manner.
"What?" She snapped.
"Nothing." Harry replied quickly, straightening his face and fixing his gaze back on the coin."
"Tell me." Hermione fixed a cold, stern look at Harry's face. With everything that had taken place over the past twenty four hours or so, she didn't have the patience at that moment for Harry's childish sense of humour.
"It's just..." Harry faltered, then looked from his coin back to Hermione's face. "It's good to have you back, Hermione."
"Have you gone mad?" Hermione snapped with a low voice. She had realised they ought to keep her voices as quiet as possible in case they attracted any unwanted attention. Not that it was likely since they were in the middle of nowhere.
Harry chuckled under his breath, but tried to, unsuccessfully Hermione thought, cover it up with a cough. "Never mind, forget I said anything." He seemed to have caught on, because he had lowered his voice too.
Hermione gazed at Harry dumbfounded. Was she becoming less of a zombie now that she had set her sights on Ron? She still felt that gaping hole in her heart that could only be repaired once she was back in Ron's arms, but perhaps recent events had given her some sort of sense of purpose after all.
"You were saying?" Harry prompted the change of topic.
"Er, yes." Hermione held up the map and compass. "We can pinpoint our location using the maps. I discovered them in Florish and Blotts last year while, er, browsing the Geography section." she faltered a little bit.
Truth was, she had spent a lot of time in the Geography section in Diagon Alley's book shop desperately looking for some sort of lead to take her to Ron. She had become really good at reading maps as a result. Of course, she hardly wanted to admit that to Harry. There was no logic behind it whatsoever. How could she find a person through a map? She just needed to feel like she was doing something to keep herself sane.
Fortunately, Harry didn't ask. He just continued to wait for Hermione to elaborate.
"So, all we need to do is open the book and it'll appear as a dot on the map along with the co-ordinates." Hermione explained. "We can put the co-ordinates on the numbers on the outside where we would usually put the date of the next meeting."
"Won't you need a wand for that?" Harry asked hesitantly.
"Well, techinically, yes." Hermione replied, still staring at the coin in her hand. "But it's quite a simple spell, really. I should be able to do it without my wand to channel the magic, I'd just need to concentrate really hard."
Hermione had learned a tiny bit of wandless magic in her seventh year at Hogwarts, where she had returned while Harry and Ron were training to be Aurors. She had to cast a levitation charm in order to pass her Charms exam. It had been difficult, and not as strong with a wand. Her feather had weakly levitated in the air for all of five seconds before it had fallen down gracefully. Professor Flitwick, however, had seemed rather impressed, and she had recieved full marks. She was sure she could manage a simply Protean charm.
Spreading the book of maps open on the ground, Hermione crouched over the page, which was expanding to almost four times the size of the book. The look on Harry's face was priceless. No matter how long you'd spent in the wizarding world, there would always be things that would surprise those who had a muggle upbringing. As a muggle born, Hermione knew this all too well.
Taking a quick mental note of the co-ordinates on the map, Hermione grasped the fake galleon in her hand and closed her eyes in concentration. As much to her surprise as Harry's, she felt a hot burn in her palm. She heard Harry yelp as he dropped his gold coin in the grass, and quickly began searching for it.
They were silent for a moment, as Hermione gazed around them looking for familiar faces. Just as she was starting to doubt that any members of the DA still had their coins, there was a crack as a dreamy blonde girl appeared in front of them.
"Luna!" Harry grinned, pulling her into a grateful friendly hug.
"Hello Harry, Hermione." Luna Lovegood replied dreamily. "I got here as quick as I could."
Another crack and Neville Longbottom had appeared in front of them. "Alright, Harry?" he grinned. "What are we up to, then?"
I always worry about adding too many characters to the one story, as I want to make sure I'm staying as true to canon as possible (of course, epilogue excluded, although I try not to stray from that either - unless there's maths involved).
On another note, thank you so much for all your reviews so far! They really do keep me going, so keep them coming! I know my constant nagging for reviews might be annoying, but they really do help! It's good to know when I'm on the right track. As always, if you spot any mistakes, don't hesitate to let me know. I will change it as soon as I get the chance.
Next chapter should be up by the middle of next week!