Harry Potter and the Fantasy Quest

Chapter 2 - Dire Straits

Harry and the others traveled for several hours without incident. As the sun began to set in what Harry assumed was the west, they stopped and began to make camp. Fred discovered that he had a bag larger on the inside than it was on the outside, and it contained four tents. Ron and Ginny went off in search of some food while the remaining men set up the tents, even Draco. Hermione collected firewood, and Harry started a campfire, surprised to discover that he actually knew how to do this.

Ron returned with a deer carcass. Ginny had managed to bring down two rabbits with her sling, and she also brought back some edible roots and leaves. After they had eaten, Harry began assigning shifts to keep watch.

"Hermione, you go first, since you have heavy armor to get into and out of. Ginny, why don't you go next, then Ron, then Fred, then me. George, you need your rest to be effective in your spellcasting, so I'm not assigning you a watch. That way, if our sleep does get interrupted, you can still get a complete 8 hours."

"You can't tell me you actually trust that DM person, do you?" sneered Malfoy, breaking his long silence. Harry turned to him coolly.

"No, I don't trust her. However, I do think that she's trying to be fair and play by some rules, whether we understand them or not. I see no harm in keeping a watch throughout the night. In fact, it's probably a good idea. When she stops giving us hints, then I'll worry."

"I agree," Ron put in, glaring at Malfoy. That enmity clearly hadn't dulled with the transfer to this world.

"Do you even need to ask why you weren't assigned a watch?" added Hermione to Draco.

"Of course not. I know perfectly well that none of you trust me."

By unspoken agreement, Draco took the fourth tent for himself. No one was particularly eager to sleep right next to him, anyway. Ron helped Harry remove his armor in the tent they were sharing, while Fred and George took a tent together, and Ginny settled down in the tent she would eventually share with Hermione. Hermione seated herself by the low fire to begin her two-hour guard shift. They had also agreed to keep the fire burning low all night, to help with visibility and to keep common predators away.

Most of the night passed in apparent calm. At any rate, Harry slept soundly until a shout awoke him. The inside of the tent was very dark, and it was a moment before Harry remembered where he was. As soon as he did, he sat straight upright.

"Harry? Are you awake?" he heard Ron's voice nearby. Harry just grunted in response and reached for his sword. Ron exited the tent, and as some firelight illuminated him, Harry could see that Ron carried his two swords. Harry thought longingly of his armor, uncomfortable as it was, but knew that he didn't have time to put it on. He did, however, grab his shield before he went out to see what was going on.

Near the fire, Harry glimpsed Fred lying pinned under the largest lion Harry had ever seen. It had to be three times longer than Fred! Fred's bow was lying on the ground beside him, but, as Harry watched, Fred managed to pull out his rapier and stick the lion with it. Ron and Harry immediately ran to his aid, though Harry was vaguely aware of other battles going on around him. He heard George casting a spell and thought he saw a flash, as though the campfire had suddenly blazed up, but after that, his attention was completely occupied with the scene in front of him.

The lion raked at Fred, causing him to fall unconscious. Ron got there first, both swords drawn, and struck. He hit twice with the longsword and once with the shortsword, drawing blood with each strike. Harry then joined the fray, driving his sword into the beast's flank twice. The lion turned on Ron in rage, clawing and biting him. Harry struck the lion, and his sword sank deep into its body. Blood gushed out, covering his hand, and the lion fell down, dead.

Wasting no time, Ron and Harry rushed to Fred. Harry could tell instantly that Fred was not in very good shape, and he laid his hands upon him. Within a few seconds, many of Fred's wounds were healed, and he woke up. He immediately sprang up, ready to fight.

"It's okay," said Ron, putting a restraining hand on him. "It's dead. The fight's over."

Harry stood up to look around and saw that Ron was right in more ways than he may have realized. Hermione, Ginny, Draco, and George surrounded the body of another gigantic lion. In addition, Ginny now seemed to be accompanied by a huge weasel about 6 feet long, which she was just now gently detaching from the lion's flank. Harry thought he saw the inert form of a second weasel at the edge of the firelight.

"Lesser Restoration," Hermione said, laying her hands on herself. "That's better. Now, who's the most injured?"

"Are you all right?" Ron asked her in a concerned voice.

"The other weasel latched on to me, that's all," she said. "I'm fine now." Still, Ron refused to leave her side after that.

As Hermione and Ginny went around healing those who seemed to need it, Fred went and sadly picked up his bow. Harry could now see that the bowstring had broken.

"I tried to shoot the thing when I first saw it," Fred explained. "The bloody string broke, though, and the lion jumped me."

"Now, that I can fix," said George cheerfully. "Mending," he added, grasping the bowstring. When he let go, it was one piece again.

"Excellent!" said Fred. "Thanks, brother!"

"Anytime. I'm afraid Draco's tent is a bit worse for wear, though, and that's too big for me to fix."

Harry looked over at where Draco's tent was set up and noted that it had some claw marks and looked as though it had been severely burned.

"Why do you care?" asked Fred suspiciously.

"I wouldn't, normally, but he did help to attack the lion when it came after me."

"Well, you got it off me," said Draco grudgingly, "although I noticed you didn't mind if you incinerated me in the process!"

"You dodged all right, didn't you?" George responded, not seeming at all abashed. "Besides," he added, turning back to Fred, "you don't really want to share a tent with Malfoy, do you?"

"Good point, my intelligent brother."

"Well, I can fix the tent," said Hermione, who had just healed George. She went over to the tent and said, "Make whole." The tent was immediately repaired. She then turned back to George with her best McGonagall look.

"If the lion was occupied with Draco, why did you attack it?" she asked sternly.

George looked a little sheepish.

"I had a new spell I wanted to try," he admitted.

"Spoken like a true chaotic," said a laughing voice behind them. The DM was there again. "Nice work, by the way. Excellent teamwork. And congratulations, Ginny. I'd hoped you would think of that."

Ginny grinned triumphantly and indicated the large weasel beside her.

"Everyone, this is my new Dire Weasel animal companion," she announced.

"Great; the little Weasel's got a pet weasel," sneered Draco, some of his old attitude returning.

"She's not a pet; she's a companion," Ginny retorted disdainfully.

"Are you going to stop by after every battle?" Harry asked, addressing the DM.

"Not all, no," replied the DM. "I'm really just here now because I forgot to tell you that you will be coming upon a village late tomorrow afternoon. You can stop there to rest and get supplies if you wish. It will be your last opportunity to do so before you reach the area of the wizard's influence."

"Okay. Um...thanks?" Harry said, a little disgruntled.

"No problem. Well, I'll be off then." And so she was.

Once everyone had settled down a bit, Harry put on his armor and took his turn at watch. He was fairly certain it wouldn't be necessary, but it was only fair, and he didn't think he could sleep anyway.