Time seemed to lose all meaning. The only outward signal of it passing outside their hastily constructed sanctuaries was the shift from leaves to a blanket of snow underfoot. And the inevitable depletion of natural resources that followed the freezing temperatures…
Which led to her and Harry taking riskier and riskier chances to obtain food. Mostly her, since sending The Boy Who Lived into populated areas was quite idiotic, and she was done taking such opportunities to tempt Fate. No matter how his prolonged isolation from society seemed to wreak havoc on his mental state… A bag of Nik Naks wasn't worth the prospect of his capture.
Neither knew how to manage the day-to-day monotony without Ron there. Even though he had been the most sensitive to the horcrux's negative impacts, he was also the one who rebounded the quickest after removing it. Within minutes, he would be back to his normal self and, despite his parting words at the end, would be ready to rehash the same details they had gone over a hundred times.
Harry had begun to fill the silent stretches of time by watching the comings and goings of the tiny dots on the Marauder's Map. He could stare at one particular dot for hours as if his distraught gaze added some type of protection for the witch while he waited for her brother to appear on the enchanted parchment.
Hermione, on the other hand, spent her abundance of free time pretending to scour book after book from her beaded bag. Each time she pulled a random tome out of the confines of the purse, she had every intention of searching for a lead on one of their many, many, many quandaries. Unfortunately, after a few minutes, the words would blur, and she'd end up staring at the page and thinking about things best left forgotten.
It was on a night when they were both busy with their perspective pursuits that Harry spontaneously decided to shake up their tiresome routine. He dramatically sighed and discarded the unfolded map onto the table where they ate their meals. "Well, I'm bored."
Hermione snorted, "Oh no… I guess I should be thankful we are in the middle of nowhere, considering your tendency to find trouble when you get into one of these moods…"
Harry shrugged as she set aside the tattered copy of The Rise and Fall of The Dark Arts, "Who knows! The night is still young."
"That isn't funny." She snapped, her mind running through the horrific possibilities that could equate to trouble for them.
"Come on, Hermione. Lighten up a bit."
"And why in the world would I do that?"
"Because moping isn't getting us anywhere." He said, his green eyes glinting with mischief as he surveyed the sparse contents of the tent.
Annoyed by the playful prodding, she glared suspiciously at the slow contemplation of their surroundings.
"Don't look at me like that." Harry accused, the corners of his lips twitched as he fought to keep from smiling. He turned away from her skeptical glower and walked over to the radio that hadn't been touched since Ron's impromptu departure.
Hermione shook her head but remained quiet as he fiddled with the knobs until a station was picked up. The velvety tones of the announcer filled the space and reported on the (mercifully) mundane happenings outside their camp. At least as far as the muggles were concerned…
Before long, a lazy unknown beat blasted from the speakers, and Harry stood up from his stooped position. "Dance with me?"
"Dance…with…you?" She repeated as he closed the distance between the old stereo and her chair.
Not answering, he awkwardly swayed to the music and offered his hand to help her up.
She rolled her eyes but grudgingly complied and stood up with a huff of frustration.
Harry ignored her prickly demeanor and wrapped his arms around her as if going for a hug, but his fingers found the chain of the locket and undid the fastener so he could throw the foul object into the chair she had just vacated.
As soon as the cool metal no longer touched her skin, Hermione's outlook on the silly endeavor changed. She was able to see the benefit in some lighthearted distraction…
He didn't need any more encouragement. Giddy to be doing something other than sulking- Harry reached over, grabbed her wrists, and started to move her body to the music.
They're knocking now upon your door.
They measure the room; they know the score.
Her stiff robotic motions became more fluid as the heaviness of their circumstances was forgotten. For a stolen moment, they were back in the Gryffindor common room. Safe, content, and happy. Instead of being stranded on a random mountainside while a blackout blizzard raged around them. Vulnerable, restless, and angry.
Granted, they were doing far better than a couple of weeks ago when they had settled in a swamp and woke to their tent flooded with freezing water. It had taken hours to dry their belongings enough to pack and move on to less wet accommodations.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
Come on.
Harry's grip loosened on her wrists, and he made her do a little twirl that caused them both to start giggling. When she went to draw away, he pulled her in closer so she was pressed to his chest and couldn't politely reject the physical contact. They started to slowly rock back and forth in place.
The cleaners have done their job on you.
They're hip to it, man, they're in the groove.
She wrapped her arms around his waist and smiled, enjoying the warmth of his body heat against the chill that had seeped into their bones as the temperature outdoors plummeted into the negatives.
I'm hanging in there, don't you see?
In this process of elimination.
He tucked her head under his chin and held her close. Humming along to the soulful beat in place of the words he had no way of knowing
Hey, little train, wait for me.
I once was blind, but now I see.
Hermione closed her eyes and pretended it was another's arms wrapped tightly around her. And for a fleeting second, she managed to trick herself despite the fact that the body she clung to was all wrong. Her heartbeat started to race, and she listened as Harry's responded to the instinctual flush of pheromones at the thought of a different set of arms and thundered under her ear.
She found it strange that she didn't shy away from the nasty things her mind concocted doing to a much taller and scarred wizard. Or the outrageous thought that the one available to her would make a fine substitute…. Maybe it was because there would be no emotion involved, unlike with Ron, who wanted something she could not give him.
A single night spent in the arms of her friend would remain exactly that. A release for their pent-up feelings of rage and desperation…. They would be able to move on as if nothing had happened. There would be no demand for an explanation for her to stumble through the next morning.
Harry understood.
His heart beat to thoughts of someone else too.
"What is Ginny up to?" Hermione asked into the crinkled cloth on his shoulder.
"Sleeping…" He hedged, his muscles immediately turning ridge under her at the mention of his ex-girlfriend.
The sole reason they both had to control themselves…
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Took a break from book canon to try and dip my toes into the movies for some inspiration! Thank you so much for the idea, firatinceler/Dramione_Fanfiction. We needed some "fluff" and you gave my muse the perfect inspiration.
Song credit goes to "O'Child" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.
As always...
Much love,
SlytherclawLuv
P.S. If you are enjoying the story so far, do all the good things like- kudoing, bookmarking, following, favoriting, reccing and most important... reviewing!