His wand was lit, illuminating the twisted trunks of the hawthorn trees. A fresh spider web had appeared, forming elaborate patterns over the small entrance of the portal. Disgusting.

Grimacing, Tom reached out with his free hand, destroying the white webbing with a few violent swipes. He had lingered in the woods far longer than he'd have liked - sitting on the trunk of a fallen tree, leaning against another, pacing around when he grew bored of even lounging. But Hermione was taking her sweet time in deciding to show.

He was giving her a final chance. But he also couldn't wait forever.

There shouldn't be the need to. After making himself scarce over the past few days, Tom was confident that Hermione missed him terribly by now.

And if that wasn't enough, perhaps she would be thoroughly rattled by Diggle's murder. With Figg still imprisoned and Moody's personal interest in the case aroused, Hermione's paranoia was bound to get the better of her before long. He knew her well enough to foresee that.

If anything, he would miss his copy of Beedle the Bard. He had read the old book from cover to cover many times over, but the significance of the book could not be overstated. If the book had been enough to propel him into adventure, Tom suspected that the book would be more than enough to rouse Hermione's own imagination.

As if there was a God smiling on him, as Tom was ruminating on Hermione, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

There weren't many townspeople who would transversing the forest at this dark hour.

His patience had paid off. Hermione stepped into the clearing, her brown eyes squinting as she recognised him. "Tom." She wasn't as excited as he was expecting, her voice flat.

"Did you enjoy the book I left to you?"

"Haven't really had the chance to read it, Tom."

He nodded. "I expected not. But you're here now. You changed your mind after all?"

He saw her resentment clearly printed on her face. Hermione had always been too expressive for her own good. But he enjoyed that about her.

"Why else would I be here?"

But the sullen attitude wouldn't do. Smiling tersely, Tom beckoned for her to join him at the foot of the twisted hawthorn trees. Despite her new rebellious feelings, Hermione was quick to obey, trotting over the undergrowth. But when he bent to kiss her, she stubbornly turned her face away.

"Oh, would you stop that - you've already got me, alright?" A scowl darkened her pretty face. "I'm leaving with you, aren't I?" She looked at him sourly. "Don't insult my intelligence." Heaving herself onto the tree trunks, Hermione slipped into the hollow first.

"It's not an act, Hermione," Tom called out from behind her back. But he let it rest. She was already in a poor mood. Sparing one last glance at the forest around them, Tom followed her through the entrance. "You don't even know where you're going."

"Clearly not to Yorkshire though, huh?"

"No, we're taking a little detour." She accepted the new information in stride, nodding simply. Dusting the dirt off his pants, Tom scanned their new surroundings. It looked much the same. But he knew that the fauna and flora were radically different. Far more valuable and dangerous.

"Are we hunting thestrals then?" Hermione's sudden and fleeting compliance was unexpected - considering how much she fought him on other fronts - but Tom appreciated the small, easy victories along the way.

"So you did have time to read the section I took notes on," Tom remarked, striding forward purposefully. His wand provided the dim lighting. Hermione's steady footsteps informed his senses that she was following closely.

Thestrals lived in this forest, he knew that much for certain, but aside from that fact, how to track down the herd or even a lone thestral was not immediately within his sphere of knowledge.

"I did. They're attracted to blood. Are we going to cut our palms or something of that sort?"

"I don't imagine that would be a very good idea," Tom replied dryly. "There are other magical creatures equally attracted to blood." He would let her imagination fill in the rest. "Did you tell anyone you were leaving with me?"

"No." Despite how closely she kept to him, her awe was not completely stamped out by her reservations and fears for the dark forest. Already, they were encountering new species of plant life - colourful and exotic-looking. Small creatures watched from the coverage of those vegetation. But Tom had his eye on bigger game. "Though Ginny tried to stop me."

Emphasis on "tried". "It did not go well for her?" he mused.

Hermione scoffed. "What are you implying? I didn't hurt her or anything. She was just trying to look out for me."

"Ginny was not jealous?" Susan Bones had pulled him aside before he left, daring to ask if he was in want of a travelling companion. But he was not one to kiss and tell.

"No," came Hermione's cold reply. He imagined she was scowling at his back.

They continued to walk in silence for a time.

"Do you even know where we're going?"

"I have an idea." Tom's voice was clipped.

He doubted that answer would satisfy her for long. "Look at those." Tom pointed his illuminated wand towards a clutter of red mushrooms near their feet. The fungi seemed to gradually shrink away from the soft light.

Hermione shot him a skeptical look before bending down for a closer look at the mushrooms. She started when one of the mushrooms suddenly leapt into the air, landing a few centimeters away. "They're magic too?" She looked at Tom, her bushy brown hair obscuring part of her face.

"Leaping Toadstools," Tom clarified. "Dumbledore used to buy them by the buckets for a handful of Galleons." He brought the light closer - leading some of the other toadstools to follow their first peer and hop away.

"Are they alive? Can they think?" The wonder had returned to Hermione's voice, the same awe with which she had carried during their earlier days of practicing magic together. Tom prefered that Hermione.

"I don't know for a fact whether or not they're sentient - they could still only be acting out of instinct, impulses." Some people didn't even seem to be sentient themselves - just dumb animals luggering about.

"They're kind of cute," Hermione admitted, returning to her full height. She smiled, embarrassed by her own admission.

"After we find those thestrals, I'll get you as many Leaping Toadstools as you want," Tom promised her. He couldn't help but laugh when she blushed, a sight only barely discernible in their limited lighting.

"You know I never thought to look down at our feet when we were walking," Hermione confessed, casting the toadstools one last endearing glance. "I wonder what other kinds of creatures I might have overlooked because of that?"

Tom shrugged. "You can't take in everything in life. If you're always looking down, you're also bound to miss something right in front of you." Shaking his head, he reached into his expanding leather bag. "Are you hungry? Mrs. Weasley packed me some food for the road."

Before Hermione could answer, a cry suddenly cut through the nocturnal sounds of insects and wind. It was painfully sad but inhumane.

Tom pivoted on his heel, his dark eyes scanning the ground around their feet. But all he saw was the colony of Leaping Toadstools, fleeing the scene with each successive hop.

"What was that?" Hermione grabbed his arm.

"An augurey," Tom gritted his teeth. Dumbledore had always warned him to beware the Irish Phoenixes - they were nothing like his former master's beloved pet phoenix whose tears brought life. The cries of an augurey spelt impending death. He knew this as much as any learned wizard. "We have to leave now."

Although Hermione had released his arm, Tom grabbed her hand, anchoring her to him as he pushed his way through the brambles and thorns, avoiding any clear well-trodden paths.

He ignored her questions of "why" as he dragged her after him. All Tom could see was the dark room he had stumbled in when Grindelwald came to visit Dumbledore. The dark wizard had secured a boggart for Dumbledore's study but Tom hadn't known that at the time. All he saw was his own pale corpse, floating face-down in a dark pool of water.

Happy New Years! I wanted to thank Lost O'Fallon Girl, Cassie, Imtherealshill, and the guest users for leaving reviews; I really appreciate the support. This chapter is from Tom's POV and the next one will be from Ginny's, but the majority will continue to be from Hermione's.