A Sliver of Change | S. Black

Part 4: Chapter 5

(Please read authors not at the end)

Part 4:

Chapter 5 –

December 17th, 1997

The rustling of the tent filled the area as she flickered her wand over the object, folding it down to size and pocketing it in the bag that her and Hermione had charmed to fit all the things they needed for this mission.

Her heart was heavy as she glanced over at the witch, her eyes misting over the edge of the cliff they once inhabited, a tired glint in her eye. It had been rough for her over the past few weeks, her cries filling the silence of the tent each night as she reminisced the day that Ron had left them.

It had been a challenge to get her to agree to leave the next day, knowing they needed to keep moving if they not only didn't want to be caught but also to hopefully find new information they could work with and eventually she finally caved in, but only after taking her time packing everything up.

Lia knew it would be almost impossible for Ron to find them now if he ever wished to, hiding their tracks at every moment to vanish themselves from Voldemort and his lackies, but she still held the hope that if ever the moment came that he wanted to join the team again, he would find a way. She had already forgiven him, knowing that tensions were high leading up to that night and everyone eventually has a breaking point. She just hoped that he got his head out of his ass fast enough to know that despite what he thought, his friends needed him now more than ever.

She frowned as she packed up the last of their things, handing the bag off to Sirius with a small smile and meeting Harry and Hermione by the rock she sat perched on. Her eyes were distant as they reached their hands out for her, the four of them connecting as she felt the familiar pull of apparating, the world around her whizzing before they landed in an unknown part of a forest having let Hermione take the lead on their newest location.

It was usually between Lia and her where they went, having already mapped out several different places that they knew Voldemort would never look. A lot were muggle areas that Hermione had gone to with her parents and Lia now felt terrible for making her think of a place that reminded her of them on top of everything with Ron.

Her eyes drifted over the brunettes back as she stumbled off to an unknown part of the woods, her quiet sobs filling the area. She saw Harry about to move after her, being the one who usually consoled her during these moments, but Lia held out a hand to him, signaling that it was her turn to attempt to cheer up the bright witch.

"You and Sirius get everything set up and start the protective chants," she muttered to her godson, "I'll check on Hermione."

Harry nodded reluctantly before gracing her with a small smile, most likely remembering that before everything happened and Lia remembered who she was, her and Hermione were pretty close. She turned to see Sirius smiling at her and with a shake of his head he wrapped his arms around Harry's shoulder as they started to set up their camp for the next few days.

After releasing a long sigh, she turned on her heel to trace after Hermione, her steps causing cracks of branches to fill the air and she found Hermione sitting on a log by a running stream of water. Not wanting to scare her, she made sure to step on multiple branches and leaves to make her aware of her presence and after Hermione looked over her shoulder to determine who it was, she shifted slightly to the left on the log to give Lia room to sit down with her.

Following Hermione's lead, Lia did just that, a breath leaving her lips as she looked towards the exhausted muggleborn, her tired eyes roaming the area. Silence encased them for many moments, a bubble that they were wrapped in as if the world around them ceased to exist before Hermione broke it.