The Serpent and the Lioness

Chapter 10

Growing impatient the brave lion went into the den. It was a very dangerous move because even though the serpent was a great healer he was also very dangerous. For he had felt betrayed once again. He was no fool, he knew that the lioness wasn't of his kind.

Even though they had shared a mighty journey, his old nature had returned. However, the lioness had waited long enough and she grabbed him by his tail and pulled him out! The serpent was so angry and ran away again. Leaving the lioness sad, but determined. For you see, the lioness was very clever, she had found him once. She'd do it again.

ooOOoo

Hermione woke with a start. Her heart pounding as her nightmare started to fade away. She had been dreaming of the final battle—only this time, she hadn't left Snape to bleed out in the shack alone, she had stayed with him, begging him, pleading with him to stay with her but no matter what she did he only bled out into her hands.

His eyes had looked at her with such betrayal and hurt. It left a deep ache in her heart. When had she betrayed him? Her sleep heavy mind could recall no such instance and it was starting to grate on her. Why did he feel betrayed? Why did she feel guilty over something she couldn't have possibly done!

She groaned into the stiff pillow beneath and rubbed her nose into the coarse fabric. She'd been on the run now for three weeks. Jumping from place to place, tracking his movements. Every time she'd get close he would disappear again. He was so insufferable! Every time she'd tried to reach out through their connection he had pushed her out without so much as a 'bugger off'. She wanted to shake him senseless.

Then about three days ago, the connection abruptly went silent. She couldn't feel him thrumming in the back of her mind and it worried her. It worried her that maybe he'd gone and done something to get himself injured or worse. She had managed to get close during that time. For some reason she found herself back in the Forest of Dean. She had managed to follow the meager magical signatures to his concealed campsite and had set up her own camp just outside of his wards.

Her back was sore from laying on the cot, she had managed to acquire a few extra amenities during her time, though she felt exceptionally guilty at having confounded the elderly muggle shop owner out of a few essential items. She had made sure to make a list of everything she had stolen and vowed to send him the money for it later.

Her potions stock was also about out, the purple potion he had left her turned out to be a muscle relaxant, and she hadn't needed much, a drop or two on her tongue had eased all the tension in her lower back, it had made hiking through the forest a much less horrid experience. The salve he'd left in the bag had removed all the irritation around the scar. She had even glanced in the small mirror she had managed to conjure, amazed at how faint the line was starting to become. She could hardly believe the progress she'd made in healing, but she was out of the salve now, having used it on the scar on her chest as well in a rare moment of vanity.

Now she had just two days worth of muscle relaxant and a half day of pain potion. She was in serious need of supplies, but she knew she couldn't just confound a magical shop owner, there were wards against that and she didn't much like the idea of being arrested. She had managed a few of the ingredients she knew she needed to make the potion. Most of them were growing wild in the forest, but without a way to properly store them she had a limited time to use them. If she didn't find the final ingredients soon, she'd have to start all over again.

Another soft groan left her throat and she pulled the blanket over her head. She needed coffee, more than that she needed a long, very hot, bath. She missed basic things, sinks, toilets, baths. What she would do to just spend one hour in the tub that she'd used when she stayed with Snape.