The First Peaceful Night
The First Peaceful Night
Lost once again in thought, Harry lay on his side in the lower bed of the bunk he shared with Ron. Hermione was on watch, Ron lay above him snoring, and the wall Harry had built to keep all of his ill thoughts at bay was beginning to crumble. To him, it seemed with every whip of wind, another piece of the way cracked, gave way, and fell apart.
Silent tears began to leak from his eyes. Harry tightened his resolve. Attempting to focus on happy thoughts, another bit of the wall caved as Harry could find no sanctuary. Thoughts of Ginny reminded him how far away she was, how she was no longer his, how long it had been since he held her, how long it would be till he could hold her again – if he would get to hold her again. Happy times with Sirius reminded Harry that Sirius was dead. As was Dumbledore. As was who knew how many more? The last bit of news they had had from the Wizarding world arrived with Ron. Two weeks ago. It only took a moment to kill or to die. Harry’s silent tears picked up in ferocity. Soon they were out of control, racking his entire frame, tearing at his throat, ripping it raw.
“Harry?” Hermione’s voice was thick with concern, though soft in the night. She sat down gently on the side of his bed.
“Oh, Harry,” she whispered. “Come here.”
Gently, she pulled Harry into a sitting position and cradled him in her arms. Her right hand ran lightly up and down over his back, her left hand caressed his neck and teased his long hair. It had been so long since any of them had given their appearances much thought.
Dimly, as though through a tunnel, Harry could hear the sounds of the bed moving followed by a dull thump. The bed sagged a bit behind Harry’s back as Ron sat down. Ron ran a reassuring hand up and down Harry’s arm and rested his chin on Harry’s shoulder, Ron’s forehead touching Hermione’s. Neither told Harry to ‘shhh’ or said anything about it being ‘alright’. They all knew promising such a thing would be little more than a lie. Instead, they just held him until his sobs subsided. Still, Harry’s body trembled with the onslaught of emotions and lack of sleep.
Nearly silently, Hermione raised her wand and muttered a few extra encantations, placing trigger alarms should anyone or anything come too near their tent. Then she turned back to Harry.
“Lie down, Harry,” she said, her voice gentle but firm. He complied.
“Scoot over just a bit,” she then instructed. Harry scooted closer to the wall, lying on his side to face it. As Ron’s jaw fell open, Hermione climbed into the bed behind of Harry, wrapped her arm around his waist, and intertwined her fingers with his.
“Now you, Ron,” she said. “Lie down.”
Ron snapped his mouth shut and laid down behind of Hermione, a very tight squeeze with all three of them lying on a twin size bed. Hermione took Ron’s arm and wrapped it around her waist, pulling him toward her till his body was flush with hers. Satisfied, she again grasped her wand, put the tip of it to the bed, and all three bodies shook just a bit as the bed began to expand. Waiting until there was little more than enough room for everyone to be comfortable, Hermione tucked her wand under her pillow and snuggled in. It was the warmest any of them had been in a long time. The wind outside had dulled to a gentle breeze, now only teasing the tent. Harry’s body soon quit trembling as his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. Hermione waited until Ron was snoring in her ear before she allowed herself to succumb to sleep as well. All three slept soundly through the night.
**
Sun filtered through the thin cloth of the tent early the next morning. Hermione woke slowly, her arm still wrapped around Harry, her fingers still locked with his. There was a bit of a chill as she realized Ron had rolled to his back during the night, but her hip was quite warm and she saw that, despite his relocationing, Ron hadn’t broken contact with her. Harry stirred a bit and tugged her closer via the arm he had claimed. Hermione scooted closer to him, Ron’s hand falling off her hip in the process. Immediately she missed his heat. A small sound of displeasure came from Ron, and though he still slept quite soundly, he rolled over once again wrapping himself around Hermione. This time he added the increased security of throwing a leg over hers. Any chill she had felt previously was gone. Hermione smiled to herself.
“This,” she thought, “is how we should sleep every night. I don’t believe I’ve felt so rested since we started this damned tripped.”
Feeling safe and warm, as well as loved, Hermione dropped back off to sleep.