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Harry opened his eyes, finding himself laying in the cot. He tried to move, and his arm throbbed in complaint. He ignored it, looking around frantically for Hermione. He didn't remember a whole lot, but when his eyes traveled around to the surroundings of the tent, he relaxed. Harry pulled the blankets laid on top of him away, and he let his feet touch the cold floor. He shivered and looked around for his shoes, which were right next to his bed. He bent down to reach them, met with soreness in his arm again. Harry groaned and reached over to touch it. Only then did he realize that his upper body was covered in completely different clothes than before. Had Hermione taken off his clothes?

His face grew hot.

Sure, he knew that his clothes would be bloody. Hell, his arm would be a bloodied mess itself. But the thought of Hermione removing his clothes sent shivers down his spine, and he didn't like it. She'd obviously seen him shirtless before! It wasn't such a big deal then. She just removed his sweater and shirt, stopped or at least paused the bleeding, and bandaged him up.

For fucks sake, get a grip.

Harry put on his shoes and walked out of the tent. His eyes widened at the sight in front of him. There was snow everywhere, and the trees were dead, but everything looked so beautiful. Sure, he was freezing his ass off. But it was worth the view. He looked over to see a fire set up, and he knew she was there.

"You've outdone yourself, Hermione," he sighed in disbelief, looking back to take everything in again. Hermione's head turned to look at him, relieved that he was out of bed.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"I feel brilliant," Harry joked, moving over to take a seat against the tree across from her. "How long have I been out?"

"A few days," Hermione replied, looking at his arm. "How's it feel?"

"Still sore," Harry said.

"It's only half-healed, it'll take some time to heal up completely," Hermione explained.

"How'd you stop it? When Arthur got bitten by the snake, he told me he was bleeding like mad," Harry questioned.

"A couple spells and some Dittany," Hermione answered. "It was strange, though. That snake was poisonous, without a doubt. It didn't seem to affect you like how it did with Arthur. Your body was definitely reacting, but not how it was supposed to. I reckon that's what really allowed me to stop the bleeding."

Harry frowned slightly and looked at the ground. Why had he reacted differently? Is that just how the poison is? Does everyone have a different reaction to it? Or just him? These questions lingered in his mind as he played with the snow on the ground, creating a small pile.

"What is this place?" Harry asked.

"The Forest of Dean," Hermione said. "Came here once with Mum and Dad...years ago. It's exactly how I remembered it. Like, nothing's changed. Not true, of course, everything's changed. My parents...they wouldn't recognize any of it. Not the trees...not the river....not even me."

The mood took a gloomy turn. Harry didn't know how to respond to her. He thought about holding her hand or something, but he was across from her, and her hands were cuddled up against each other.

"Sometimes...sometimes I wish we could just stay here," Hermione added, looking around. "Grow old." She thought for a moment, and met Harry's eyes. "Together."

Harry felt his face grow hot again, and he broke eye contact. There was a silence that felt like hours to Harry. What did she mean by that?

"You wanted to know who the boy in the photograph was?" Hermione cleared her throat, looking away from her hands. "I know." That most definitely caught Harry's attention. "Gallot Grindelwald. Here."

Hermione handed Harry the book that was in her lap, which he took eagerly. Harry analyzed the pages with the pictures of the boy. He knew he saw him somewhere!

"He's the thief I saw in Gregorovitch's wand shop," Harry mentioned. That reminded him of something. "Speaking of which, where is my wand?"

Hermione's face suddenly dropped. She looked down at her hands and played with them in the most anxious way possible. Harry felt dread fill his stomach.

"Where's my wand, Hermione?" he asked more firmly.

Hermione let out a shaky breath and moved aside. She moved to lift a piece of cloth up that was on the ground. She moved it. Harry's throat caught.

It was his wand. It was snapped in half.

"As we were leaving Godric's Hollow, I casted a curse and it rebounded," Hermione reasoned quickly, her heart beating out of her chest. Harry stared at the remains of his wand with sorrow, not daring to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry. I tried to mend it but wands are different. I gave it my best, but nothing was fixing it-"

"How am I supposed to continue?" Harry asked, his green eyes suddenly moving back to Hermione's brown ones. Hermione found it hard to keep on looking in them. He was really angry, but tried to hold it in. "Why didn't you use your wand?"

"I don't know- it- it all happened so fast, I wasn't thinking," Hermione stuttered.

"You'd rather risk mine than yours?" Harry growled, not being able to hold in his anger.

"What? No! No, Harry, why would you even think that?" Hermione exclaimed, revolted. "I didn't mean to-"

"I don't have a wand!" Harry shouted. "I can't even perform magic now! How am I supposed to- how do I fight V- him! I don't have..fuck!"

Hermione flinched at the cursing, and Harry stood up, not able to sit down anymore. He ignored the pain in his arm as he paced around. She didn't mean to, it was an accident. He understood that but..fucking hell, he has no wand! Without a wand, he has no hope of fighting Voldemort.

Hermione stood up, playing with her hands nervously as she walked up to Harry, who had stopped pacing. He took deep breaths.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I didn't mean to, I really didn't. It's my fault," Hermione said, tears forming in her eyes. Harry's clenched fists relaxed, and he walked towards her.

"You were trying to protect us," he told her. "He was there, wasn't he?" Hermione shook her head, looking more relieved. Harry couldn't bring himself to apologize yet. He still needed a damn wand. But he held it in. "Just...lend me yours, yeah?"

"Of course," Hermione agreed, reaching into her sweater's pocket and giving him her wand. It didn't feel like his own, but it'll have to do. "I'm sorry, Harry."

"I know," Harry nodded. "Go inside and get warm. I'll take the locket as well."

Hermione did as he said, removing the locket from around her neck. She lifted it up slightly, and Harry saw the mark he had left on her neck from a few nights ago. He was stunned. She didn't attempt to mask it or do anything with it? Hermione stared at him confusedly after he didn't take the locket out of her hand for a few seconds. Harry snapped out of it and grabbed the locket from her hands, putting it around his neck. He felt heavy, and his mood worsened a little. He was caught off guard again when Hermione lifted her hand to his face, caressing his cheek. The coldness from the locket seemed to fade away slightly as she did so.

"You can...go into the tent too, you know," Hermione said shyly.

Harry was in disbelief. Was she saying what he think she was saying? Did she WANT another lustful night? If she did, how far did she want to take it? Or was she merely being friendly and didn't want her friend out in the cold again? Friend...friends don't make out but...oh bloody hell, what has he done?

"Maybe I will," was all Harry was able to get out.

Hermione gave him a small smile, then walked away, into the tent. Harry felt a bit colder now.