Disclaimer: All characters, events and references drawn from HP belong to J.K. Rowling, etc., respectively, everything else is my own invention.
FORESIGHT
PART THREE
'Damn, I wish we had our wands!' Harry thought as he gritted his teeth. This was becoming really annoying, fast. He felt a pang of guilt again over what had happened at Hogwarts the other day. If he hadn't been so lax, they might not be in this position now. They were taking the afternoon off and Harry wanted to show Ron and Hermione the secret waterfall he had discovered behind the castle a few years ago. Hermione had mentioned taking their wands, but Harry told them they wouldn't need them. How stupid! In these dangerous times it wasn't prudent to let down their guard, and as Harry was unofficially the leader of this little team, he laid the blame at his own feet. If Ron or Hermione got hurt… He also knew that if they got out of this, he owed Fred, George and Ginny a huge debt.
When the three of them returned to the guest quarters that evening, their rooms had been completely ransacked. Beds overturned, parchments and candles strewn everywhere. Hermione was so distraught at the loss of all the copious notes and information she had compiled in her research in the library. But along with anything they had of value, their wands were missing and even Harry's invisibility cloak. We could sure use that right now, he mused. Professor McGonagall had Mr. Filch and a group of the warlocks search the castle quietly for anything suspicious and maybe even their possessions. She was wisely trying to keep the whole thing under wraps, as it appeared to be someone on the inside, someone who knew passwords and where the three of them were sleeping.
They had been in the Professor's office the following day, discussing what had happened when the attack on the school started. The Death Eaters had cleverly thrown in enough diversions and feints to make everyone - teachers, students and the special contingent of wizard guards confused about what exactly was happening and where. When the first alarm was sounded, the four of them hurried out to the corridor filled with students panicked and fleeing in all directions. Before any of them could react, a huge explosion blasted a gaping hole in a wall down the corridor, shards of glass, metal and stone flying against the opposite side of the hall and raining down on anyone who happened to be in the blast's path.
McGonagall had urged the three of them to escape from the castle as quickly as possible. It was suspected that the attack was intended to throw the whole school into disarray and keep the guard busy chasing would be attackers. All to distract from the real targets - Harry, Ron and Hermione. They knew that Voldemort had been trailing them wherever they went with his spies. Apparently the Dark Lord knew that the final horcrux had been destroyed and he was now very vulnerable. Harry recalled the rumors and news about attacks and raids by Voldemort's minions around the country increasing tremendously since that artifact now no longer held a piece of his soul. He was becoming desperate.
Harry had tried to convince the other two that they should stay and help with the crisis. But Hermione insisted that they do as McGonagall said immediately. He remembered that look Hermione gave him as she grabbed his jacket sleeve, trying to hold him back from running towards the injured students down the corridor. She didn't know how much he had appreciated the loving way she always acted in trying to watch out for his safety over the years. At times it was annoying and he wanted her not to worry so much, but he knew deep down that she truly cared for him and had seemingly made it a mission in her life to make sure he was okay in whatever he was doing. But this time her concern seemed even more intense than at any other time he could remember. Her eyes had watered to the point that she seemed almost on the verge of breaking down. Seeing her like this, especially after the enigmatic change in her behavior, caused Harry to stop dead in his tracks, feeling as if he would shatter her like glass if he took another step. Something in her trembling words to him in that corridor struck him hard, as though the wind had been knocked out of him. And so he relented, following his friend's advice as he had so many times in their past together. Her behavior seemed to unnerve Ron too, who gave her a suspicious look, before the three of them ran towards the entrance of the castle. The three of them hoped that in leaving, they might be able to draw the Death Eaters away from Hogwarts and after them.
Their wands had been stolen and were not in their pockets as they hurried towards the Forbidden Forest. It was just outside of the forest, next to Hagrid's hut, that Fred, George and Ginny had shown up to lead them toward the portkey they had setup to get the three of them to safety. The three Weasleys did have their wands and had to use them several times on their pursuers during their flight to the portkey. Harry continued to be impressed with Ginny's increasing skill at using the wand in battle situations. She had an instinctive and almost graceful method of parrying and dodging spells and counterspells. And right now he wished terribly that she were nearby to help him and Hermione. As it was however, she was not, and Harry continued to have the feeling of being naked and vulnerable with predators prowling around for them. The only things they had were their wits and cunning to get them through this right now. But, for his part, Harry was determined to make sure that Hermione got through it unscathed, wands or not.
He continued to gaze into the darkened woods, scanning for any sign of movement. Then Hermione leaned forward, moving her body as close to him as possible, while tugging on his sleeve.
"Harry…" she whispered.
He turned his head around to see her motioning back behind them several meters in the brush. There they were. Two figures with pointed hats moving silently through the brush, their heads turning this way and that, searching for their prey. They must be using spells to cloak their footsteps, Harry thought as he watched them seem to glide across the ground. He grabbed Hermione's hand resting on his back and slowly maneuvered to a crouch, Hermione following suit. They moved as quietly as possible, pausing every few moments. Suddenly, Harry froze. Wait a minute. They had heard three pops. Where was the third Death Eater? He guided Hermione under a large fir nearby and he followed in after, both of them sitting still, hoping they were out of sight.
A few moments of silence passed, then they both felt their hearts racing, hairs standing up on the back of their necks. Something was moving behind them. Harry turned his head slightly to catch a glimpse of the third attacker moving noiselessly only a few feet away from them. Both of them held their breath as the black clad predator moved on past and disappeared out of sight. They both felt tremendous relief and breathed deeply, trying to regain a little composure and allow the adrenaline in their system to subside. They continued to remain under the fir, hoping to outwait the three Death Eaters in case they were still roaming the area.
He felt Hermione lay her head on his shoulder, moving closer to him. He pulled his arm out and placed it around her waist beside him, leaning his head on hers. Despite the situation they had been going through, Harry was glad she was with him. He had taken comfort in her affections towards him so many times over the years. They had always been physically comfortable with each other even from the beginning. There was something between them that made their occasional displays of affection natural and even necessary. Harry also knew, all too well, how many rumors were started among their fellow classmates over the years to the effect that he and Hermione were an 'item'. Ron himself had shown plenty of suspicion towards the both of them, especially when he and Hermione were going through their 'together/not together' period. He was still trying to figure out what that was all about. None of those things bothered Harry at all however, because he and Hermione both knew what they had together, whether they were misunderstood or not.
Oddly enough, while he viewed Ron as the brother he never had, he had never regarded Hermione as a sister. He couldn't quite explain it, but there was some dynamic about their relationship that would not allow that connotation. He had never had a real, 'normal' family to interact with, but from everything he had gathered about it (especially observing the Weasleys in action), Ron and Hermione's behavior towards each other seemed to fit the brother-sister mold better. Their incessant bickering and arguing, Ron putting her down, etc. Sometimes he wondered if Hermione didn't have a little Weasley blood in her veins that no one knew about. To Harry, however, Hermione was his friend in the highest and truest sense of that word. Sure, the two of them had had plenty of disagreements and occasional fallouts over simple trivial matters, but he never perceived any of those things being important enough to destroy their friendship. He even took a little pride sometimes in the steadfastness of their bond, while watching his other classmates go through bouts of friends-becoming-enemies and all sorts of relational mishaps. And it was this very understanding that made the current gap between their souls even more saddening to him.
Harry awoke with a start. Somehow he had dozed off, probably from sheer exhaustion. He noticed that Hermione was still leaning on him, quiet and peaceful. Maybe she was asleep. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but started immediately looking around for any sign of movement. Nothing. Perhaps their pursuers were gone completely. He turned to whisper to Hermione and accidentally caught a swath of her hair in his face. He paused, taking in the scent of her hair briefly. For some reason he had never really noticed how good she smelled before. Any hint or clue of 'Hermione' was welcome in his soul during these times, and every 'little' thing about her now seemed to be magnified ten times.
The seeming loss of her closeness to him heightened not only those things he took for granted, but also those things he had not really deemed important in his regard for her. He was now strongly compelled to know any and everything he felt he had overlooked all these years. Was this part of the problem? Did Harry fail his friend in the one part of her being that seemed to brighten her up so many times with others? Krum's serious, if humorous, attempt to carry on a relationship with her. Neville, and even a few other boys from some of the other houses, watching her with googly eyes during that Yule Ball several years ago. He had been astonished at how beautiful she was that night, but fear and distraction with what Cho was doing had clammed him up when she needed someone she cared for to simply let her know that she was pretty and worth so much, especially after Ron's remarks to her. A pang of guilt swept over him, remembering that painful situation. He had stood with Ron and did nothing while Ron berated her and accused her of something that Harry knew was false. He should have come to her defense like she had for him so many times before. But he did not. He was afraid that Ron would quit him again if he took Hermione's side. Coward! Harry could not reflect on his own behavior that night with any sort of pleasure. How have I been so stupid all this time?
That sense of guilt mingled with sadness compelled Harry to tighten his embrace around Hermione's waist. She looked up at him, her face distorted by the bits of moonlight and shadow through the branches of the fir. That pain riddled through him again. He wanted so much to tell her how sorry he was for not noticing how special she truly was in his eyes. But again, now was not the time. They needed to find Ron and the others.
"Let's go," he whispered as both of them started to crawl out from under the tree and stand up. They stopped momentarily to look around, but seeing nothing, they proceeded to move in the opposite direction of where the Death Eaters had gone.
They came to the edge of the wood, near a long, hilly clearing that dipped down and out of site, not far from the line of trees. Hermione walked forward a bit, turning around and looking in the opposite direction of Harry, who had now just realized how lost the both of them were. They had never been this far out beyond Ron's house before and had absolutely no idea which direction to even move in.
"Hermione, do you remember which direction we ran from?" Harry whispered to her, hoping for any clues now.
"No," she whispered back, shaking her head slowly.
She was apparently distracted, for her voice and manner seemed detached, almost listless. Harry sensed that 'thing' in her as he watched her standing and looking off seemingly nowhere. But before he could even think the next thought, something moving caught the corner of his eye. His heart roared up again as he quickly reached out to grab Hermione and draw her back with him into the shadow of the trees. With her back turned, she had not seen the black forms approaching.
They stood deathly still in the darkness, hoping against hope that they would escape notice one more time. Harry watched as two of the Death Eaters moved in total silence from the direction he had seen the movement. They walked briskly in front of the two of them, coming to a halt only several feet from the tree line, which was also only a few feet from where Harry and Hermione were hiding. Harry almost jumped as the third Death Eater appeared seemingly out of nowhere, grazing past the both of them unaware. The third one joined the other two, and Harry watched the three of them discuss something quietly. Finally after several moments, the three turned away and drew out their wands. Harry heard them murmur something and the three of them vanished out of sight, the popping noise following their departure.
Too many close calls tonight, he thought. These guys were good, really good and determined. It almost seemed…coordinated. How did the Black Hats seem to know their approximate location so quickly? Twice! The more he thought about the day's events, the stranger everything was becoming to his mind. He knew that Voldemort was desperate, but he had not seen such calculation and foresight in the Dark Lord's servants before. The skirmishes that the three of them had been in occasionally over the past several months, had revealed a clumsy side to the usual evil cunning of the Death Eaters. Usually they fled or gave up chase shortly after the three of them had soundly beaten them or gotten away from their traps, but this day's chase seemed different somehow. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but before he could gather his thoughts, his attention was turned to something unexpected.
Harry could feel something warm and wet on his neck.
He slowly began to realize what he had inadvertently done when he had pulled Hermione into the shadows with him, and he could sense something inside of him now as though a fissure had begun to crack in his very soul. Something hiding within, but always there, was trying to surface in his mind and emotions as the full brunt of what was happening became apparent…