The Greener Side of the Abyss

Chapter Two.

Tensing as I wake, I check that I'm still in a place I recognise, and that I still have my wand with me. I don't think I've had a proper peaceful waking up since the second war began, nearly two years ago. Relaxing as I realise that I'm still in the tent, wand under my pillow, I glance over at Ron. He's still asleep, sleeping bag flung open in the morning heat, long limbs tangled everywhere. As the tent is only meant to sleep two people, he currently has his right arm lying heavily across my ribs, but I don't really mind all that much. His face is relaxed, his mouth slightly open as he snores lightly. I bet he has no problem waking up relaxed. His feelings are always written across his face, leaving it open for anyone to read. Feelings... shit, last night. What the hell happened to me?

I'll tell you what Greengrass; you let your barriers down for half a minute.

I did as well. Well that obviously can't happen again. Slytherins can't reveal their feelings, can't have them written all over their faces like Gryffindors obviously can. I just let go for several seconds. A momentary lapse; it won't happen again. I suppose we had best be off, if we want to get a decent amount of hiking in before the midday sun. I can already hear sounds of stirring from the other tent, so I suppose I had best wake Ron up.

I turn over and begin to shake his arm muttering that it's time to wake up. He rolls over, taking my arm with him and muttering, "Come on Hooch that was obviously a foul." I try again, slightly more forcefully. He stirs again, this time muttering, "No Fred, I won't eat the frog!" Jesus, this isn't getting me anywhere. Right, if that's the way he wants to play it...

"WEASLEY, WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

He sits up bolt straight, rubbing his eyes with his hands and then running one through his disheveled hair, messing it up even more.

"Good morning to you too Red," he mutters, yawning loudly.

"Yes well you weren't waking up any other way and- What did you just call me?"

"Well you don't like me calling you Greengrass or Daph and I don't like calling you Daphne so I thought I'd make up a nickname. It refers to your hair colour."

"Oh goody!" I exclaim, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Does this mean I get to call you orange?"

"Come off it, your hair's almost exactly the same colour as mine."

"Yes, I unfortunately realised this when people started mistaking me for Ginny."

He sighs. "Oh don't get all pissy with me, or I'll tell Blaise about that time I woke up and found you in Seamus' bed."

I can fell my eyes widening. "You wouldn't. Anyway, that only happened because we were both drunk and he thought I was Ginny."

"He though you were Ginny? As in my sister Ginny?"

"Christ's sake Ron, I know how much you hate to admit it, but your sister is a grown up now. She's twenty years old. In fact I'd say she's slept with more blokes than you have."

He blushes. "That was just a test. And it was only four blokes."

"Common knowledge around school that you were though. And it's still more than I have." Ron looks up from underneath his fringe and grins. Shit, why did I tell him that?

"How many guys have you shagged then?"

"I'll only tell you if you tell me exactly which blokes you slept with," I say in a prissy imitation of Granger.

He rolls his eyes. "Fine. Well first there was Harry." I snort. "What?"

"Everyone knew about Harry. Next."

"Well then there was Seamus, and after that there was Zach."

I frown. "Bejesus Ron. As in our Zach? Hot yet slightly annoying blond from Hufflepuff Zach? No wonder you're always so careful around Blaise."

"Yeah. Man that was bad." He winces, remembering. "Then lastly there was Malfoy."

"As in Draco Malfoy?" I ask, flabbergasted.

"Yeah, dunno what possessed me. That was what put me off guys for good. So how many guys have you 'slept with' as you so eloquently put it?"

I look down, hiding my blush. "Well, erm... none actually," I mumble quickly.

Ron looks incredulous. "So you've never slept with anyone, ever?" I shake my head miserably. "Not even Seamus?"

"No, not even Seamus."

"But everyone had Seamus. How do you live?"

"I managed perfectly well on my own thank you," I say frostily. "Or at least I did until we went on assignment."

"So you haven't even, you know, whatever the female equivalent of wanking is, for two damn weeks? God, I'd probably die!"

"You mean you have?" I ask, slight note of hysteria in my voice. Ron shrugs.

"Come on we had best be off soon." He climbs out of the tent flaps, grabbing his wash bag as he goes. I clamber out after him, stretching and wincing as the powerful mid-morning sun hits my slightly pinkly-brown burnt shoulders.

I find him with a bowl of water in the kitchen, peering into a tiny mirror as he shaves. I take out my toothbrush and paste and peer at the water skeptically. Good, no shaving foam yet. I dunk my brush in and begin brushing my teeth, spitting the froth out of the front flap when I'm finished, watching it evaporate in the sun.

"I'm so fed up of this," I moan as I watch Ron dunk his head in the water and shake it of his hair like a small dog.

"Me to," he sighs, padding out of the tent with me. "I wish we'd just come across these damn Death Eaters once and for all."

I nod as I slip my white t-shirt over my head. Well, it would've been white at some point; it's sort of a grubby beige now. My jeans are ripped and cruddy now as well, but I really can't be bothered to find any others. I watch Ron go over to Zach and Blaise and help them pack up the kitchen tent as I brush my hair. I hate my hair. It's wavy, and flicky and unmanageable, but worst of all, it's bright red even though both my parents have brown hair. Damned Slytherin inbreeding, I swear that's what caused it. I tug the offending stuff into a ponytail and wander over to see if the guys need any help.

"Nah, we're just about done here," Zach says, brushing his sun bleached blond hair out of his eyes. "In fact we'd best be off now, it's nearly half ten."

So we pick up our rucksacks and begin to walk. We walk and walk until Zach's whining and Blaise's whining, and I can just tell that Ron's about to punch someone's face in.

"For fucks sake, will you both stop whinging!" he yells. "We're all hot, and we're all tired and we've all got sore feet!"

I sigh and leave him to his yelling, scanning the horizon. By the look of the sun, it's just about midday; time we stopped for a rest. But I can see no shade and I'll be damned if we're setting the bloody tents up again. Hold on, is that a bit of green over the dune? I run up to the top of it and nearly yell for joy when I see an area of several palm trees, surrounding a pool of water, roughly a hundred yards from where I'm standing.

"OI! If you'd all stop yelling for five minutes, I can see greenery about a hundred yards from here. Race you to the water!" I begin to run down the dune, my feet slipping in the sand as I laugh with childish abandon. I reach the pool and size it up as I slip off my rucksack and shoes. Just big enough for four hungry, tired people, barely passed their teenage years, to swim. I immediately take a running jump into it, yelling with delight as I feel the cold water coursing through me. Be damned if I was bothering with taking clothes off. I feel several splashes around me as Ron and Blaise abandon their rucksacks and jump in, Zach running up just as they surface.

"Thank God for thinking up oasis's next time you see him will you?" laughs Ron as he does a couple of strokes. "This is amazing. I vote we take a nap under the palm trees and wait for the strongest of the sun to pass."

"I vote we set up camp and stay here forever," Zach replies, hauling himself out the water and offering me a hand.

"Unfortunately we have several highly dangerous Death Eaters to catch, but yeah staying here until about three would be nice." I look over to Blaise, who's lying in the water, floating on his back. "Hey Blaise, are you ever coming out of there?"

"No," he yells, sticking his tongue out at me. "I'm going to stay in here forever and turned into a wrinkly old prune."

"Your choice," I mutter as I flop down next to Ron under the trees. "Who's up for some lunch?"

"Oh, most definitely me," Ron answers, rummaging around in his bag. "Although we'll just have to finish up the fruit, HQ are sending us some more food tonight. Mangoes do you, Red?"

"Gods yes." I grab the proffered fruit out of his hands and bite into it deeply, letting the juice drip down my chin. "Mmm, perfect."

I watch as Ron and Zach eat there Mangoes in a similar way as Blaise jumps out of the water, the lure of fruit apparently too strong to overpower his floating like an overgrown prune. He catches the one Ron chucks at him and sinks down next to me. I finish my fruit in record quick time and sigh as I lean against the tree trunk, closing my eyes.

"Hey, I dunno about any of you lot, but I could sure use a quick nap right now. What do you say guys?" No response. I open my eyes quickly. "Guys?" All I can see however is three twenty-one year old men, leaning back against each other, and snoring heavily as they sleep. A smile forms on my face as I watch them, but is soon overtaken by a frown as a sudden thought enters my brain.

"Bugger, how am I going to sleep now?"