Nightmares and Nocturnes

The Snake in the Grass

Chapter 13: The Snake in the Grass

The night girl knew few things, but that which she knew, she knew with her whole mind, and believed with her whole soul; that the light which she conjured from nothing was beautiful, and that the dark was no place to live. And so, when doubt made to consume her, and when she struggled even to stand, she clung wholeheartedly to her truths, to the arduous nature of knowing.

Where there were vacancies, she filled them with truths. It was true, firstly, that she could carve paths in the dark, and she could use those paths with which to crawl, hands and knees, towards the light; and it was equally true - as true as the pulse of her heart - that the day boy, for all that he shone, was made to fit within her little chasms, to fill her up with light.

. . . . . . . .

2004

. . . . . . . .

"I'm surprised you still have that," Hermione commented, gesturing to the galleon in Zacharias's hand. "If I were to guess that anyone would hold on to old D.A. paraphernalia, I would not have thought it'd be you."

"I'm not the type to throw things out," Zacharias replied, slinking down in his seat and shrugging. "Plus I had a feeling it might help me find you, you know." He made a face. "Since everything else has clearly gone to shit."

"Certainly has," Harry muttered, shaking his head, "But still. Didn't think that out of everyone, you'd be the one to show up here."

"You expecting people?" Zacharias asked curiously, glancing between them. "Is that why you started using the galleons again?"

Hermione bit her lip, glancing at Harry. He shrugged.

"Not expecting people, exactly," Harry replied warily. "Just . . . "

He trailed off, growing fidgety under Zacharias's questioning. It had been clear enough - to Hermione, at least - that Harry was waiting to hear from Luna, and Zacharias Smith was an unsavory alternative by any measure.

"Well, without the use of the Patronus charm, there's really no other way to communicate, but we wanted people to know there was a safe place with us if they needed it," Hermione supplied softly, filling in the blanks. "This was the next best thing, though I had always suspected most people wouldn't still have theirs." She glanced up curiously. "How did you know how to find us?"

"Well," Zacharias began, a bit too smugly for Hermione's taste, "you used to put the date and times for D.A. meetings where the serial numbers were," he explained, pulling the coin out of his pocket and gesturing. "But now it's geographic coordinates, right?"

"Right," Hermione confirmed uncertainly. "I presume you noticed the coin warming from the Protean charm, then?"

"Yes," Zacharias supplied with a nod, flipping the coin in the air and stowing it back in his pocket. "I didn't know what the numbers were right away until I realized you two were giving away your location. Or, well," he amended, "former locations, I should say."

Harry's brow furrowed at that. "How long have you been looking for us?" he asked slowly, his green eyes fixing uneasily on Zacharias. "It sounds like you know an awful lot about how we've been getting away from Snatchers."

"Well, it's not so complicated," Zacharias sniffed, and again, there was something distasteful for Hermione in his expression. "You essentially stay somewhere for a few weeks and then cast a Patronus charm right before you leave, don't you?"