PRINCESS ➳ harry potter , draco malfoy (OLD VERSION)

102 || Revenge

When Ron stormed out of the tent, he left behind his battery-operated radio. Every night, Harry and Hermione listened in to hear the list of deaths that were called out on the news. Not once did they hear a name that meant anything to them or they recognised, but still, they listened intently.

Wind whistled outside their tent as snow fell heavily to the earth. The pair of Gryffindors were sat in chairs opposite each other and were staring at the radio, which was reading out the list of names of the recently deceased. Harry had given Hermione his blanket and she curled her legs up onto the chair, her knees hugged close to her chest, two blankets wrapped around her. Harry was cold but he would not admit that to her. He had dragged her along on this quest, after all, and after Ron and Katie walked out, he was determined to keep Hermione as comfortable as possible. He could not lose her too.

"Lara Farrell, Anne Horton," the voice over the radio said, reading the list of names of the dead. "Joseph Williams, David Smith, Katerina Blair..."

Harry and Hermione both felt their hearts stop. Simultaneously, they both looked up, their eyes met and welled with tears. Hermione's expression was full of grief and her tears began to fall like a waterfall. Harry's expression, however, was completely unfathomable. He did not cry, at least not until he had stood up and wordlessly left the tent.

At first, Hermione made no effort to follow him. She thought that he wanted to be alone, but then she remembered how Harry could often be reckless and, quite frankly, stupid, and letting him wander alone through a dark, snowy wood in the depths of the night was definitely not wise. She threw off her blankets and followed him outside. The wind whipped around her and tangled her hair in her face, and the thick snowfall was almost impossible to see through. She could just about see Harry's dark silhouette some ten feet away. He was aimlessly kicking away piles of snow with his feet, completely disregarding the fact that he was shivering from head to toe and his fingers were going numb. As far as he was concerned, numbness would be better than the pain he was feeling in the moment.

"Harry?" Hermione called out.

Whether or not her words were carried away by the wind and Harry did not hear her, or he had simply ignored her, Hermione did not know. But as she drew closer to him, he cast his gaze over his shoulder. When he saw her, he hastily disappeared into the trees.

Hermione helplessly glanced between the tent and the dark mass of trees and then, sighing heavily, she followed Harry, rubbing her arms to keep herself warm.

Harry had sat himself on a large rock by the edge of a frozen pond. As far as Hermione could tell, he was not crying, but he looked very despondent. Hermione sat next to him on the rock, hoping that he wouldn't take off again. Thankfully, he didn't. In fact, he actually inched closer to her, seeking warmth and comfort, and a reminder that he had not lost everyone that he loved.

"Harry?" Hermione repeated.

Harry sniffled. He tried to keep it discreet but Hermione still heard.

"I never told her, Hermione." Harry choked out, his voice cracking. Hermione felt her heart clench and she wrapped her arm around her friend, allowing him to lean his head on her shoulder.

Hermione did not know it, but Harry could still hear what she thought were her silent tears.

***

"Do it." Bellatrix ordered.

No matter how tightly Katie gripped her wand, her hand was too sweaty and it was sliding from her clutches. Her entire upper body was trembling, and that did not excuse her arm.

The little, white rabbit was casually sniffing the floor, which Katie was sure smelled strongly of polish. It's nose and ears twitched — it looked so carefree. The creature had no idea what was about to happen to it.