Hermione sat on the rocks by the sea and just stared out at the water. This was the tenth time she had woken up on this island, if she included when she first woke washed up on the beach. A sinking feeling had begun in her gut. They had had a sort of routine in the past several days, eating mostly crabs with some fish; they had also found some purple berries that so far had proved safe to eat. They checked the shoreline daily for new items that had been washed up and Hermione was never more grateful than she was two days ago, when her wash bag washed up. The make-up was ruined from being waterlogged but the razors still seemed alright and she was so grateful for toothpaste and deodorant and soap. Still...that niggling feeling that had begun a few days ago was getting stronger and stronger.

"Something's wrong isn't it?" She asked as Neville came to sit quietly beside her. He didn't look at her, that was odd for Neville and more telling than anything. He was always open and honest.

"We don't know that." He said eventually.

"Tomorrow makes it a week since they should've started searching for us. They're aurors Neville...they should have found us by now." She protested, feeling tears beginning to prickle in her eyes and blinking them back. "If they had a tracking spell, how on earth could they have not found us?!"

"I don't know." He sighed. "I...it only took us three days to get here. You're right, they should've found us by now."

"What are we going to do?" She asked, shutting her eyes tightly.

"What can we do? We'll have to wait." He shrugged solemnly. "I'm...I don't know as much about doing things the muggle way as you do but...I don't think we stand a chance of making something strong enough to survive those waters without wands or at least tools."

"You're right." She agreed. "We're pretty firmly stuck here...I...I think we're going to have to make a bit more of a...long term shelter." She flinched away from using the word permanent. She wasn't a survival expert. If it weren't for the fact that she was a witch that could do wandless magic, she would probably be dead already or soon at least. As it was, she wasn't sure how long they would actually last if they had to stay here long term. How long could they last with limited food sources and supplies? Some stories she had read had people marooned for months and some even years. Still, how many of those were actually true? Also, each situation was different, they didn't seem to have any coconuts or bananas or other fruits to live off of; it was a small island with very little resources. She supposed she should be counting her blessings for her magic, how would she have lit a fire or caught food without it?

"We're going to have to start building a proper shelter, one with walls...I have a basic idea of how but it'll take some trial and error. Also, I think we should make a bed up off of the ground, it'll stop us getting quite so many insect bites." She told him. "I think today we should check for debris and food and then focus on gathering long leaves, vines or grass and some good long branches of wood. Then tomorrow we can start building."

They found very little debris that day, a few plastic bottles amongst heaps of rubbish. The amount of rubbish washing up on this tiny island made her feel ashamed at the human population for polluting the planet this much, but the plastic bottles were extremely useful for stocking up on clean water in case her magic failed later. In the warm, humid climate of the island they needed to drink plenty of water each day to stay hydrated. Seeing no fish around today, they settled on two small crabs and a few limpets that they had used sharp stones to pry off of the rocks around the shoreline. Hermione swore that once they left this island, she would never eat seafood again.

"So, what first leaves or branches?" Neville asked her.

"Branches, we don't want to gather a load of leaves and then have them blow away, it we gather branches first we can use them to weigh down the leaves overnight." She suggested.

"Right, how many do we need do you think?"

"Well, for the shelter, what we basically want to do is build three walls and a roof to start with. The three walls being the most important because we can always use the plastic sheet for the roof until we make one." She explained, as they began to wander into the trees. "Each panel needs four sticks around the edges and then maybe a couple in the middle to help weave in the leaves. The worst part is going to be trying to tie it all securely with very little string. We'll need to get creative."

"Then we'll get creative." He nodded. "Right, so a minimum of twelve decent branches to get started with then." They set to work determinedly, snapping thinner branches by hand, Neville had quite a lot of success in breaking whole long branches with his feet by stamping and jumping on them. A few Hermione sliced with magic.

"Oh this one is a good size." She commented, reaching up to try and break off a branch.

"That's a hibiscus, it's probably too soft for supporting a shelter." Neville shook his head, glancing at it thoughtfully. "Good for firewood though, and possibly..."

"Possibly what?" She asked keenly, excited that Neville's vast knowledge of plants extended far beyond magical ones.

"We might be able to use strips of it as string. I'm not sure...without an actual knife cutting and stripping might not work."

"Let's try it anyway, it could be brilliant." She said, swiftly slicing the branch and letting it fall. "Now for leaves and grass."

As they sat by the fire eating crab that evening as they did every day, she explained to him her ideas regarding the shelter, how she planned to form the panels...assuming it went correctly. Neither of them brought up the subject of not being rescued any time soon.

When they crawled into their makeshift bed that night Hermione reached her hand out to squeeze the wizard's next to her.

"I'm sorry about Theo." she said quietly.

"Thanks. I um...part of me is still stupidly hoping he'll turn up here like I did...but by this point..." He trailed off. The end of that sentence hung in the air between them unsaid, it didn't need to be.

"The selfish part of me wishes that we had just all apparated to safety, as soon as the boat got into trouble...while we still had our wands." She admitted. "But the other men...I couldn't live with myself if I'd have just left them there."

"I know." He croaked out. "Sometimes I think the same thing. It doesn't make you a bad person Hermione...you're just logically thinking that saving Olivia and Theo at the loss of two near strangers...is better than the loss of all four of them."

"And us being stuck in the middle of nowhere." She added, swallowing back any further tears. She had broken down last night, she didn't need to do it again tonight, it wouldn't help anyone.

She felt Neville squeeze her hand reassuringly but he didn't say anything. In silence they eventually found sleep.

The next day, Neville went out searching for food and making it. He also gathered the firewood and searched the beach for debris. His reasoning was that, those were thing he knew how to do, it gave Hermione more time working on the panels.

She hoped to save what little string they had for holding all of the panels together at the end. It took her several attempts to get the outline of one panel, which looked like a naughts and crosses board with borders around it. That seemed to be the way to get it the most stable. It took another two tries to get the panel secure enough to weave without it breaking apart. Then once she had one nice secure panel that she could weave, the weaving kept coming loose and falling out. It took until Neville returned at lunchtime with a few more plastic bottles from the shoreline and some mismatched flip flops for her to have completed one panel.

"The others will be quicker." Hermione said as they ate a handful of practically charred limpets for lunch. "We know what we're doing now. It should be much quicker."

"What can I do to help?" Neville asked.

"If you wouldn't mind going and fetching some more leaves and grass, I sort of underestimated how much we would need..." She said sheepishly. "By the time you get back I'll have finished the frame and then you can take over weaving that one, while I build another."

Sure enough, when he returned with arms full of weaving materials, Hermione sat and showed him how to weave it through to fill the panel. By the time it began to grow dark they have two completed panels and one frame.

"We need to get some food before it gets too dark." Neville said, taking the third panel from Hermione and placing it with the others. She agreed and they made their way to the beach in search of something to eat. Once more only finding a couple of small crabs, they had very little to eat that night. As they ate, Hermione noted that she was still hungry. A few mouthfuls would keep them going for now but it wasn't exactly filling. They needed more food.

"I think...if you're alright finishing that third panel tomorrow, I'd like to try making some sort of crab trap." She told him. "I'm not sure how well it'll work without any form of bait but it's worth a try if it means more food."

"What kind of trap would you make?"

"Um...sort of like a woven basket tried to a rock." She explained. "I'm not sure what size they're supposed to be or exactly what shape but it's worth a try. The crabs and other sea creatures like lobsters and crayfish crawl in and then you pull the trap out and grab them."

"Definitely can't hurt to try." He agreed.

"We'll also get the three panels for the shelter tied up and secure as soon as you've finished the last one tomorrow. It should provide us with a bit of protection around the sides."

"Let's hope so, it looks like it's going to rain tonight as it is." Neville mumbled.

"Hm...maybe..." She said glancing up at the sky. She had to admit that although it was dark, it was certainly cloudier up there than usual. "Maybe we should get an early night while we can, just in case the weather wakes us up."

That night as they settled onto their makeshift bed of materials that had been washed up over leaves to soften the ground, they found themselves closer than they usually were...at least while awake anyway. With each passing day they grew closer, being in close quarters with someone tended to break down barriers she supposed. She led on her side facing him and him on his back looking up at the plastic sheet above them.

"I'm not actually tired." She huffed, looking at him.

"How about...how about if you tell me about your parents?" He suggested. "Tell me all about your trip to Australia."

"I feel horrid about that actually." She admitted. "I didn't get in trouble for doing what I did, as it was deemed to be a reasonably justified act of mercy in a time of war. I explained that it was to keep me and Harry and my parents safe. I said it was also because it would spare my parents the knowledge that their daughter was out there fighting a deadly battle somewhere...or dead. They agreed however when we found them, the ministry took over. They replaced my parents memories but...instead of leaving me to explain why they took a trip to Australia and why I looked different, they made their own memories. My parents believe that they were worried for my safety but that they had gone to hide in Australia and that I was on a mission with Harry and Ron and didn't contact them for nearly a year. They believe I came back to them after the battle of Hogwarts and all was well. All things that never happened."

"So you feel like you should tell them the truth." He nodded, knowing exactly why she was upset. "The risks of trying to change their memories again are quite high, the ministry won't agree that it was a necessary action this time."

"I know." She sighed.

"I'd want to have had them know the truth too." He told her. "But now…it isn't worth telling them the truth because they will want their memories put back to normal…and you can't do that."

"So I can't tell them either can I?"

"I don't think so." He agreed. He saw her wipe away a stray tear out of the corner of his eye. "If you decided you want to tell them the truth…then do it. They are your parents. I just don't want to see you in trouble or see you more upset because they want memories they can't have."

"No, I know you're right." She smiled weakly. He shifted slightly and stroked her arm reassuringly. "It's just one of those things, part of me wishes that I'd never done it…but our house was completely destroyed so-"

"You probably saved their lives. Trust me Hermione, having your parents as they are now is better than not having them at all." He told her.

"I know." She sniffed. "I'll always wonder though...whether it was the best choice. Maybe I should've found them myself and reversed the charm, before the ministry had any say in the matter. Still...now I have my mother asking me about men in my life constantly and my dad asking every detail about my work, even though he doesn't truly understand it. It's something I am glad to have. I wish the ministry could provide a magic cure for yours too."

"Maybe they will one day...I think that's the only comfort I can find in them. It seems like it would've been kinder just to let them die, instead of being there but not. My dad is completely gone I reckon...sometimes I like to think my mum at least understands what I'm saying, even if she's forgotten the lot of it by the time I see her next." Hermione wriggled closer against him and wrapped on arm around his stomach.

"Sometimes I can't believe how strong you are." She said softly.

"There's nothing else I can do. I can't change it and I can't not see them...they're my parents." He replied.

"They are you're parents but you've never known them properly, a lot of people would find it easier to just pretend they don't exist." She said firmly. "If we ever get off this island I'd like to meet them."

Neville swallowed, for a moment not really knowing what to say. People had offered sympathies to him before, more out of politeness than anything else, no one had ever offered to come with him...no one but his Gran of course.

"It's not really..."

"If you don't want me to I understand. It's a bit of a sensitive issue I'm sure." She said quickly, noticing his distress.

"No it's just...it's not a happy thing, no one's ever offered to come before, just me and Gran." He explained.

"They were incredibly brave, heroes even...I'd just like to meet them. I was with Bellatrix for just under an hour...I don't know if I could have held out until the end like they did." She whispered. "they'd be so proud of you Neville."

"That's all I ever wanted." He sighed. "Not that they'll ever be able to tell me either way."

They eventually found sleep huddled together in their shelter as rain started to fall lightly in the dark.

It took them three days to make their improved shelter. On the second day, they had managed to put together the panels and fasten them all properly to form sides. The third day, they spent the day making a larger panel to add as a slanted roof, covering it with the plastic sheet to protect it from the weather.

All in all Hermione was pretty proud of it. There were still things that needed doing but that night they had been glad to have it up, as rain hit them; thankfully not hard, though the wind certainly made it feel worse. They had ducked into their shelter for an early night, reading some of Hermione's rescued books until it became too dark to see.

Usually, Neville was the first to wake; she wasn't sure why but she seemed to sleep better here in a makeshift bed and shelter than back home. She didn't have nightmares as badly here. So waking up first was a surprise to her. She found herself still curled up against Neville, only now they were spooned together with his arm around her and hers over it to hold it there. She smiled; even though it was a bit embarrassing to be so intimate with him, it was nice to feel so safe and warm. It was nice to not feel alone. She had to wonder if they were like this often in the mornings when Neville woke up. He had never mentioned it but then again, she herself probably wouldn't have mentioned it either...after all they weren't doing anything and they could hardly blame themselves for seeking warmth and comfort while they were asleep. They hugged one another while awake and had even cuddled when going to sleep occasionally, so she rationalised that cuddling in the morning was no different.

Sighing and snuggling closer to him, she closed her eyes again and decided there really wasn't much reason to get up just yet. His arm tightened as she got settled and she smiled to herself. It was definitely nice to have a man to cuddle you in bed. She was just in the middle of deciding, that she needed to find time in her life to date when she got back home, when something interrupted her thoughts.

She flushed as she realised what it was. It was one of those startling moments that she had every now and then that reminded her that Neville Longbottom was in fact a man. Like when she saw him shirtless or back at work when he would do something startlingly heroic or brave. Having known him since he was eleven, it was easy to just see him and good old Neville most of the time.

'Certainly not eleven now is he?' she thought, with a slight chuckle to herself. Her body shaking obviously woke the wizard holding her as suddenly he leapt away from her.

"Oh Merlin Hermione, I'm sorry!" He exclaimed in horror. She turned to look at him as he turned bright red in embarrassment.

"It's really not a big deal." She assured him.

"You must think I'm such a-"

"Male?" She interrupted with a grin. "Seriously, it isn't a big deal. I've been made quite aware that such situations are common morning events for you guys. I lived with Harry and Ron in a tent for a year remember?"

"Yes but-"

"Unless you seriously think neither Harry nor Ron had an inconvenient erection for a whole year, I really don't see the difference. I'm not freaked out," she assured him. He looked at her disbelieving. "Surprised maybe...but I didn't leap away in horror did I?"

"No..." He replied slowly. "Sorry, normally you're still asleep. How long were you awake?"

"Not that long. I was going to get up and then I realised that there wasn't really anything to get up for and you were nice and warm so I stayed put." She admitted with a smile, she was relieved when he shyly smiled back. "I guess I should go wash and try to stun us some breakfast now though." She got up and left their little shelter and left him for a moment of privacy.

"You surprise me sometimes too you know." He said quietly to himself.