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The sunlight filtered through the leaves, leaving behind a dappled pattern of light and dark across the undergrowth. The hum of the forest and the wind rustling the branches combined with the constantly shifting dappling gave a chaotic peace to the depths of the Forest of Dean. Harry sat against the trunk of a tree, letting the peace slowly seep into his soul. He needed this; the constant attention and responsibility since the Battle of Hogwarts was eating him alive. Theoretically he should still be in the ministry, working with the Aurors to sort out the falsified charges during the Occupation but he just couldn't anymore. The slow realization that there would be very little long-term change was an inescapable weight crushing his expectations. He wondered if everything was even worth it. More and more the answer seemed to be no.
A quiet pop brought him to alert, muscles tensed and ready to react. The familiar footsteps caused him to relax again, so the slender fingers sliding between his own were welcomed. He squeezed her hand back as she sat next to him, head on his shoulder.
"It wasn't worth it." she said quietly. He buried his face in her curls to hide the tear tracks. She always knew him best. Always her.
"No." he admitted to himself in the safety of her hair. He wondered what she was thinking about; what her plans were. She was always so ready. Plans within preparation within plans, that was Hermione's thing.
"Time for us to disappear, Harry." that shocked him. The immediate reaction was horror and grief, but the more he thought about it…
The dappling had all but dissolved into a diffuse mess of shadows and twilight by the time he squeezed her hand again and his response whispered between them.
"OK, Hermione. Lead the way"
With a quiet pop the forest was left to descend to full darkness without human witnesses.