AN: Just feeding my muse and testing the proverbial waters. Maybe y'all will like my writing maybe not. Leave a review if you think it's good or worse than My Immortal.

Disclaimer: Unsurprisingly, I own no part of the Harry Potter world nor make any claim to it. I wish though. I really do.

Flashes of light dotted the moist, springy earth of the forest. Glimpses of green, vibrant life and the darkness once more.

Thick and heavy, the foliage from the towering trees shaded against the bright countenance of the sky, blue and dotted with clouds. The peacefulness of nature belied the turmoil within. Nature cares not for the struggles and strife of those outside of its purview.

The Circle of Life and all that.

A prophecy told and to be fulfilled. Terrific powers of magic and a power that one knew not.

I have a wand, two hands and a nose. That's one more thing than he has. A sense of smell maybe?

Magic faltered.

Bollocks.

Focus!

Breathe lightly now.

Harry Potter hid inside of a tree. It was something he had not been keen to attempt practical tests with but necessity is the mother of invention.

Necessity is a pain in the ass and I'm a rebellious teenager named Improvisation. Invention must have been the favorite child.

Breathing lightly, Harry tightened his grip on his wand, struggling not to move. It's only after you become aware of non-movement that one realizes just how much one moves all the time.

The spell wasn't perfect and would not last for long nor was it meant for humans. It was a storage spell invented by a thief for hasty hiding of stolen goods. There was barely enough room inside the tree to fit a human and the tree would topple with too much movement.

"Goddamn it…he's gone. Probably sent of muli-portkeys and disapparated back again. He covers his tracks damn well; I'll give him that." the muffled voice of a Death Eater filtered to Harry.

"I hate to say it but he gets better every time."

"Don't let the Dark Lord hear you praise him."

"Come off it. The Dark Lord is not an idiot. I'm not going to blindly deny the capabilities of an enemy."

"Still…"

"I said, come off it! If the Dark Lord punishes me for having an opinion and common sense, what the hell are we doing following him?"

That's a fair point. He only tortures the idiots. And his enemies. Not a big difference between the two to him.

Harry's face twisted into a grimace as he gently pulled air through a hollow knot in the shell of the tree.

Hell, idiocy has been my enemy plenty of times too.

"Cast the high power tracking spell. I'm knackered from covering your ass earlier."

"Shit, I know. He is getting better. More powerful, too."

"The spell, please."

Shit.

Shit.

Shit-fuck-dicks-shit.

I didn't feel him cast a tracer.

Shit.

…

"I didn't get him."

"What?"

"He broke my wand fingers, remember?"

"Shit."

"Yeah."

Safe.

"Guess we search manually?"

Or not.

"I wish I didn't have to stoop to such…menial methods but better hard work over facing the Dark Lord's displeasure."

"I already told you, our Lord is not an idiot. We have solid information on his capabilities and current looks. His hair was different; did you notice?"

"I did."

Damn it all! I just got used to looking like Draco.

…Wow. That's not a thought I ever wanted to have.

The spell stuttered once more with the stray thought. It had to be constantly maintained for such a large object. Normally done with runes, but fifteen seconds and adrenaline do not good runes make.

Focus!

"I'm not seeing any tracks, mate."

"Shit. Me either."

"Must you insist on using vulgar language on every mission? I'm surprised to even hear 'damn' out of your mouth when out of the garb."

"I've got a wife and two little girls that are quickly learning every word out of my mouth. Can you imagine what she'd do to me if one of the girls dropped a word? This is my only reprieve, dammit!"

"Shhhh, alright. Sorry, mate, that's tough."

Damn. It's always hard being reminded that Death Eaters are people too.

Sweat was beginning to poor in rivulets down Harry's face, his glasses slipping down his face. The sticking charm had long since worn off with the effort of holding the storage spell.

"Shall we go? The Dark Lord will want the information while it is fresh."

A heavy sigh filtered through to Harry.

"Yes, I suppose so. Check our map trackers to be sure we can get back here with a better searching squad."

"Oh, right. Nice thinking."

A moment later, two cracks sounded announcing the disapparition of the two Death Eaters.

About to release his spell, it was only then that Harry Potter realized he had no way of releasing the spell and getting out of the tree at the same time.

The storage spell was designed to be accessed from the outside. An inward collapse would crush him.

Now sweating profusely as the spell became harder to maintain, Harry closed his eyes and sighed regretfully. Hermione always said he acted before he thought more than was good for him.

His stomach growled.

Fuck.