Secret Santa for Not_Telling! (Harry Potter; Harry)

[Spoo]

Soooo…I've never once played a single Zelda game (yes, I know, I fail at life ) which is why I decided to go with what was presumably your second favorite~ Granted, it's been ages since I've written a Harry Potter fic, but I tried my best to keep everyone in character while also taking your preferences into account.

I originally tried to write something in their fourth year, since I was told that you liked it best, but I couldn't quite get the grasp of it, and for that I sincerely apologize. I hope that this is suitable, though! Takes place somewhere early on during their quest for horcruxes. More movie-ish than book-ish (I think?) since I didn't have time to re-read the seventh book.

Happy Holidays, Not_Telling!

~ *~

The increasing coldness each evening brought was more than the trio had originally anticipated. They had their tent and warming charms, but that alone wasn’t enough to keep the unpleasant iciness from seizing them after a day of trekking through the rain.

In front of him, the conjured flame wasn’t the greatest source of heat (given the bitingly cold night they were all enduring) but Harry wasted no time attempting to absorb its warmth; he rubbed his hands together before extending his fingers towards the jar. A pleasant sensation of hot air licked at his palms, making him feel a little better, but he still couldn’t shake off the awful chill that had bled into his bones.

Across the table sat the two that were closest to him - equally cold, equally quiet. He was immensely grateful that both Ron and Hermione were at his side when the burden wasn't, and had never been, theirs to carry. Together, the three of them had come so far, but it honestly felt as if they were still thousands of miles away from the task Dumbledore left Harry; they had yet to stumble across another clue or potential lead.

There were times, Harry soon noticed, where Ron looked as if he wanted to say something. He never did, though. Hermione had yet to notice (or maybe she had) but she didn’t seem to be paying much attention either way.

Ron caught Harry’s wandering gaze and held it for a moment before giving him an awkward sort of smile. “All right, Harry?” he asked.

“Never better,” Harry replied, rubbing his nose with the end of his sleeve. "How's your arm?"

But before Ron could reply, Hermione interjected with some fussing: “Of course Harry isn’t all right. Haven’t you heard him sniffling every other second?”

“No,” Ron replied honestly, looking at Harry again.

“Typical,” Hermione mumbled, reaching into her magical bag to try and find a handkerchief.

Harry, however, attempted to stop her before she could find anything. "I'm fine. Really, Hermione. Just a bit cold."

Realistically, though, Harry knew that he was most certainly not 'just a bit cold'. For the past two days or so he'd been feeling under the weather - something that he hadn't bothered admitting for one very obvious reason: They didn't have time for illness.

In a valiant effort to conceal his malaise from his friends, Harry had ignored his health (which inevitably caused it to deteriorate all the more). He reasoned that this was why he currently felt so peaky; his sinuses pulsed with every move he made, his throat ached, and there was a constant fluttering tickle in his nose.

A tickle which, against his will, suddenly made itself known in between his steepled hands.

"Hhk’KSCHishh!"

"Bless you," Hermione sighed, finally securing a clean, and thankfully intact, handkerchief. "Here."

Harry accepted the cloth, even if he didn't want to, just in time to catch another breathy, "Hh'MPFFSHhh!" within the white folds. He sniffled in the aftermath, the sound thick and gurgling.

"That doesn't sound good, mate," Ron observed, wincing.

Predictably, Hermione was not pleased. She looked beyond concerned as she stared at Harry, and then back at Ron, before she returned to digging in her bag. "I think I might still have some Pepper-Up..."

Never one to enjoy being the source of his friends' concern, much less the center of unwanted attention, Harry lowered the handkerchief from his tired face and attempted to reassure them, in spite of how congested he now sounded. "I'll be fide."

"Don't be ridiculous, Harry. You're obviously ill, and if I could just find…" Hermione's expression bordered distraught as she continued to look for the potion she feared she no longer had within her possession.

"It's all right, Hermione," Ron said, trying to calm her.

"Stop saying that it's all right when it clearly isn't!" Hermione snapped, glancing upward with an irritated expression.

And there they went, Harry thought, watching the pair go at.

The weight of their journey, compiled with recent events, wore on them endlessly it seemed. There were times where, in spite of their inner strengths, they fell prey to certain vulnerabilities. Harry hated to be the source of a squabble (although it was common practice between Ron and Hermione) but he accepted that it was just the way things were.

"…noticed yesterday, and I should have said something."

"He doesn't seem that bad off, Hermione. If he goes to bed early he'll be--"

"Much worse in the morning if he doesn't--"

"Hh'KTSCHhffff!...Ihd'MFSCHhhhff!

"Bless you," the two chorused in perfect, unplanned unison.

"Thangks," Harry droned, blowing his nose.

Having witnessed enough, Hermione stood up, reached across the table, and settled her hand across the expanse of Harry's forehead. Ron looked on beside her, watching as she felt for a potential temperature, yet there was something stiff about his expression. Whatever it was, it quickly went away when he focused on Harry, who was attempting to look up at Hermione's hand.

"You don't have a fever," she reported, pulling away some seconds later. "But you need to sleep."

"I can take his watch," Ron offered, having felt as though he needed to make at least some contribution to the topic at hand (since whatever he said or suggested didn't matter).

"I'll take his watch," Hermione quipped, looking at the injured redhead through heated eyes. "You need to rest as well."

"Hermione--"

"Both of you are in absolutely no condition to--"

"Hermione, give it to me."

Hermione glanced down to see Ron extending his hand, requesting something he hadn't specified with his command. Nevertheless understanding, she reached up and removed the locket - the horcrux - from around her neck.

An intense wave of relief washed through her, dismissing all of her negativity up until that point. She felt…calmer. Less quick to anger. Much more levelheaded. And yet, still undoubtedly concerned about Harry.

"You really ought to rest," she reemphasized, her tone having calmed from its previous franticness.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice," Harry consented, albeit reluctantly, if only to diffuse whatever tension remained amongst the three of them. "Night."

Standing up, he left the table and walked over to settle in where he'd chosen to sleep for the night. A few coughs bubbled up in his chest, yet he smothered them in the bend of his arm. As he was recovering from the fit, he looked ahead and saw Hermione slip through the tent's flap to presumably take watch outside. Ron hovered about unsurely, looking as though he might step out after her, yet he eventually made his way over to his cot. Harry heard the crackly static of the radio some seconds later.

Wearily, he reached up and removed his glasses. He sighed, sniffed, and tried not to think of how much his illness was going to...

"Hhk'KSCHhhhuh!"

...set them back.

No one would say anything about the delay, but that didn't take away the reality of it: Voldemort was growing stronger. Stronger and far more dangerous than he'd ever been. Harry's mind's eye conjured the serpentine face of the evil wizard, and it was everything he could do to banish the image. With another thick sniffle, he turned onto his side and shut his weary eyes.

Illness or not, the horcruxes needed to be found. There was no escaping it.

[Not_Telling]

:D

:D

I came onto here and opened up the story section and was absolutely FLABBERGASTED to find MY SECRET SANTA FIC !!!

It's lovely! Lovely! Wonderful! Splendiferous! I LOVEEEEEEE IT!!!!!

Uhm, could you...maybe possibly...continue? If it's not too much to ask? I wanna see more! But only if you want to, of course!

THANK YOU SO MUUUUUUUCH!!!

[VividBubbles!]

Wonderful fic, Spoo! Absolutely wonderful! I love how completely in character Ron and Hermione are. Especially Ron.

The part where you mention him tensing up when Hermione feels Harry for a fever is perfect. Most of the emotions that Rowling puts into this part of the book when they're in the woods, weighed down by the horcrux, are almost palpable in this, making it really enjoyable to read.

Super well written, Spoo. And the sneezes were lovely. Marvelous job!

BYE!

PS. I totally second N_T's request for a continuation (if you would like to continue it).

[Lace Butterfly]

Really well written fic, please continue!

[Spoo]

Thank you, everyone!

Admittedly, I was a bit nervous putting this story up because, again, it had just been so long since I'd written anything Harry Potter related. I'm both relieved and happy that it seemed to flow well and was, overall, in character ( those were my biggest concerns! ).

I'm not sure if I'll continue, since it was intended as a one-shot, but I won't dismiss the possibility entirely. Thanks again for the encouragement and lovely comments!