Sometime during the early morning hours Lachlan had succumbed to sleep. He rarely dreamed, but after a long day and an even longer night, it was impossible to sleep soundly. He couldn't remember much of them, but there was no forgetting the final image that haunted his dreams before he woke: Abernathy's body in the place of the young woman, her face collapsed by by his bludger. He woke with a startle at her sudden touch, only to let out a deep breath upon realization that he—and she—were alive and well.

Or as well as they could be at the moment. His hands immediately rose to press against his torso, which had someone stayed warm (if that's what he was calling it) throughout the night. It was the first night in his life that he'd slept beside another person since childhood—and the first time he'd slept beside an unrelated woman at all. It was funny how one night in subzero temperatures could make him long for the touch of another human being, but that's just how he felt as she pulled away from him.

"Don't suppose they taught you any tricks for finding food in the auror training program, eh?" he asked, feeling his stomach rumble as he attempted to rise to his feet. The cold struck his body immediately, sending him reaching for the furs. Nope, never again would he willingly venture out into the cold. Never.

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