A/N: I do not own any character references by JK Rowling in the Harry Potter series or agree with her comments. This story is a product of my pure imagination. I do not profit from this and will not pay for any commissions for art about this story.
What am I fighting for?
There must be something more.
For all these words I sing
Do you feel anything?
What am I fighting for?
What am I fighting for?
~ Fighting by Yellowcard
~*~1st May 1998 ~*~
Hermione stared at Neville in disbelief as he came through the tunnel.
"Hermione!" Neville said as he hugged Ron, then turned to her, hugging her tightly, "I knew you'd come! Kept telling Seamus it was a matter of time!"
As Neville pulled away, Hermione noticed his injuries, clearly at the same time as Harry. "Neville, what's happened to you?" Harry asked.
"What? This?" Neville said, shaking his head, "This is nothing. Seamus is worse. You'll see. Shall we get going then? Oh,"Neville turned to Aberforth, "Ab, there might be a couple more people on the way."
"Couple more?" repeated Aberforth. "What d' you mean, a couple more, Longbottom? There's a curfew and Caterwauling charm on the whole village!"
"I know, that's why they'll be Apparating directly into the bar," Neville told him, "Just send them down the passage when they get here, will you? Thanks a lot."
Neville climbed up on the mantelpiece, then held his hand out for her to help her climb up and into the tunnel. Ron followed them, and Harry, after speaking with Aberforth, followed behind. Inside were smooth stone steps, brass lamps that hung from the walls, and the floor was dirt-covered and worn, showing its frequent use.
"How long's this been here?" Ron asked, "It isn't on the Marauder's Map, is it, Harry? I thought there were only seven passages in and out of the school?"
"They sealed off all of those before the start of the year," Neville told them, "There's no chance of getting through any of them now, not with curses over the entrances and Death Eaters and dementors waiting at the exits." Neville started walking backward down the tunnel, "Nevermind that stuff… is it true? Did you break into Gringotts? Did you escape on a dragon? It's everywhere, everyone's talking about it. Terry Boot got beaten up by Carrow for yelling about it in the Great Hall at dinner!"
"Yeah, it's true," Harry told him from behind her as she followed Neville.
Neville laughed, "What did you do with the dragon?"
"Released it into the wild," Ron said as he caught her as she slipped a bit, "Hermione was all for keeping it as a pet-"
Hermione elbowed him, "Don't exaggerate, Ron."
"But what have you been doing? People have been saying you've just been on the run, Harry, but I don't think you've been up to something," Neville stated, glancing back at them.
"You're right," Harry said, "but tell us about Hogwarts, Neville, we haven't heard anything."
"It's been… well, it's not really like Hogwarts anymore," Neville told them as his smile fell from his face. "Do you know about the Carrows?"
"Those two Death Eaters who teach here?" Ron asked.
"They do more than teach," Neville told them, "They're in charge of all discipline. They like punishment, the Carrows."
"Like Umbridge?" Harry asked.
"Nah, they make her look tame. The other teachers are all supposed to refer us to the Carrows if we do anything wrong. They don't, though, if they can avoid it. You can tell they all hate them as much as we do," Neville said as the next set of lamps ignited, "Amycus, the bloke, he teaches what used to be Defense Against the Dark Arts, except now it's just Dark Arts. We're supposed to practice the Cruciatus Curse on people who've earned detentions-"
Hermione gasped and echoed Harry and Ron's, "What?"
"Yeah," Neville said, "That's how I got this one." Neville pointed to a deep gash in his cheek."I refused to do it. Some people are into it, though. Crabbe and Goyle love it. First time they've ever been top in anything, I expect. Alecto, Amycus's sister, teaches Muggle Studies, which is compulsory for everyone. We've all got to listen to her explain how Muggles are like animals, stupid and dirty, and how they drove wizards into hiding by being vicious toward them, and how the natural order is being reestablished. I got this one," he said, pointing to another cut on his face, "for asking her how much Muggle blood she and her brother have got."
"Blimey, Neville," Ron said, shaking his head, "There's a time and place for getting a smart mouth."
"You didn't hear her," Neville told him sadly. "You wouldn't have stood it either. The thing is, it helps when people stand up to them, it gives everyone hope. I used to notice that when you did it, Harry."
Hermione's legs started getting tired, and she let Ron pass her so he could be next to Neville.
"But they've used you as a knife sharpener," Ron said.
Neville shrugged, "Doesn't matter. They don't want to spill too much pureblood, so they'll torture us a bit if we're mouthy, but they won't actually kill us."
Hermione's throat was tight as she listened to Neville, and she suddenly felt a hand on her arm. Glancing back, Harry gave her a slight smile. "We'll protect you," he whispered.
"The only people in real danger are the ones whose friends and relatives on the outside are giving trouble. They get taken hostage. Old Xeno Lovegood was getting a bit too outspoken in the Quibbler, so they dragged Luna off the train on the way back for Christmas." Neville said sadly.
"Neville, she's all right, we've seen her," Hermione assured him.
Neville pulled a golden coin out of his pocket. "Yeah, I know, she managed to get a message to me." He flipped the familiar DA coin in his hand, then looked at her, "These have been great. The Carrows never rumbled how we were communicating, it drove them mad. We used to sneak out at night and put graffiti on the walls: Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting, stuff like that. Snape hated it."
"You used to?" Harry asked as he placed his hand on her back to steady her as she stumbled again.
"Well, it got more difficult as time went on," Neville confessed. "We lost Luna at Christmas, and Ginny never came back after Easter, and the three of us were sort of the leaders. The Carrows seemed to know I was behind a lot of it, so they started coming down on me hard, and then Michael Corner went and got caught releasing a first-year they'd chain up, and they tortured him pretty badly." Hermione gasped at this. "That scared people off."
"No kidding," Ron muttered as the passage they were on started sloping upward.
"Yeah, well, I couldn't ask people to go through what Michael did, so we dropped those kinds of stunts. But we were still fighting, doing underground stuff, right up until a couple of weeks ago. That's when they decided there was only one way to stop me, I suppose, and they went for Gran." Neville told him.
"They what?" Hermione and the boys were shocked.
"Yeah," Neville said as they all slowed their pace a bit and were panting because of the passages' rise, "Well, you can see their thinking. It had worked really well, kidnapping kids to force their relatives to behave, I s'pose it was only a matter of time before they did it the other way around. Thing was," Neville turned around and Hermione was surprised to see him grinning. "They bit off a bit more than they could chew with Gran. Little old witch living alone, they probably thought they didn't need to send anyone particularly powerful. Anyway,"Neville laughed, "Dawlish is still in St. Mungo's and Gran's on the run. She sent me a letter." He patted his robes, "Telling me she was proud of me, that I'm my parents' son, and to keep it up."
"Cool," Ron said.
Hermione stopped for a moment to catch her breath, and Harry paused next to her. "Are you okay?"
Hermione nodded, "It's the first really physical activity I've done since… then." Harry put his arm around her as she nodded, "I'm good."
"Yeah," Neville said happily, "Only thing was, once they realized they had no hold over me, they decided Hogwarts could do without me after all. I don't know whether they were planning to kill me or send me to Azkaban, either way, I knew it was time to disappear."
"But," Ron said, confused, "Aren't we heading straight back into Hogwarts?"
"Course," Neville said as they got to a wall, "You'll see. We're here."
Turning a corner, they saw the end of the passage. Another short flight of steps led them to a door. Neville pushed it open and climbed through first.
Hermione heard Neville yell, "Look who it is! Didn't I tell you?"
Ron climbed through first, then held his hand out for her to assist her through. Harry emerged behind her, and the screams were nearly deafening. People were yelling, "Harry!" "It's Potter, it's Potter!" and even some "Ron!" and her own name.
Suddenly, she, Ron, and Harry were engulfed. Arms pulled her into hugs, hands rubbed her back, and over twenty people greeted them. Swarming them to the point she could barely tell who was who.
"Okay, okay, calm down!" Neville yelled, and everyone gave them space.
Hermione looked around at where they were. It was an enormous room that looked like a treehouse. Hammocks were hung along the ceiling, providing a sleeping space for people who were coloured similar to the tapestries on the walls, in all the houses except Slytherin. Bookcases were filled with books. The only place this could be, Hermione thought, was the Room of Requirement.
"Where are we?" Ron asked.
"Room of Requirement of course!" Neville said proudly, "Surpassed itself, hasn't it? The Carrows were chasing me, and I knew I had just one chance for a hideout: I managed to get through the door, and this is what I found!" He looked around, "Well, it wasn't exactly like this when I arrived, it was a load smaller, there was only one hammock and was just Gryffindor hangings. But it's expanded more and more of the DA have arrived."
"And the Carrows can't get in?" Harry asked, looking around.
"No," Seamus said, grinning through his bruised and puffy face, "It's a proper hideout, as long as one of us stays in here, they can't get at us, the door won't open. It's all down to Neville. He really gets this room. You've got to ask it exactly what you need, like 'I don't want any Carrow supporters to be able to get in' and it will do it for you! You've just got to make sure you close the loopholes! Neville's the man!"
"It's quite straightforward, really," Neville said, "I'd been in here about a day and a half, and getting really hungry, and wishing I could get something to eat, and that's when the passage to the Hogs's Head opened up. I went through it and met Aberforth. He's been providing us with food, because for some reason, that's the one thing the room doesn't really do."
"Yeah, well, food's one of the five exceptions to Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration," Ron said.
Hermione looked at him, shocked. "Who are you?"
"So we've been hiding out here for nearly two weeks," Seamus told them, "And it just makes more hammocks every time we need them, and it's even sprouted a pretty good bathroom once the first started turning up-"
Lavender popped up behind some of the Ravenclaws, "And thought they'd quite like to wash, yes."
Hermione looked around to see many of their school year mates from the DA and some of Ginny's class as well.
"Tell us what you've been up to, thought," Ernie said, "There've been so many rumours, we've been trying to keep up with you on Potterwatch. You didn't break into Gringott's?"
"They did!" Neville said so proudly, "And the dragon's true, too!"
Everyone was cheering, and Hermione rolled her eyes. Ron took a bow.
"What were you after?" Seamus asked.
Ron looked at her, and she went to open her mouth, when Harry suddenly slumped onto her. "Ron!" She yelled, trying to catch him.
Ron grabbed Harry, holding him up. Sweat was already gathering on his brow.
"Is he okay?" Neville asked.
Hermione swallowed hard. "He is. Just give him a moment," she whispered.
She watched as Harry stood back up and wiped his face.
"Are you all right, Harry?" Neville asked, "Want to sit down? I expect you're tired, aren't-"
"No," Harry said, looking directly at her and Ron. "We need to get going."
Hermione inwardly groaned. Voldemort knew.
"What are we going to do, then, Harry?" Seamus asked. "What's the plan?"
"Plan?" Harry asked as he wobbled again, and Hermione took his arm. "Well, there's something we, Ron, Hermione, and I, need to do, then we'll get out of here."
Neville looked confused, "What d'you mean, get out of here?"
"We haven't come back to stay," Harry said, rubbing his scar. "There's something important we need to do."
"What is it?" Neville asked.
"I… I can't tell you," Harry stated.
Neville stared at them, "Why can't you tell us? It's something to do with fighting You-know-who, right?"
"Well, yeah," Harry nodded.
Neville squared his shoulders, "Then we'll help you." And many of the DA nodded.
"You don't understand," Harry stressed, "We… we can't tell you. We've got to do it… alone."
"Why?" Neville asked.
"Because…" Harry trailed off, and Hermione could tell that his scar was hurting him, hindering his thoughts, "Dumbledore left the three of us a job, and we weren't supposed to tell… I mean, he wanted us to do it, just the three of us."
"We're his army," Neville told him, "Dumbledore's Army. We were all in it together, we've been keeping it going while you three have been off on your own-"
"It hasn't exactly been a picnic, mate," Ron told him.
"I never said it had, but I don't see why you can't trust us. Everyone in this room's been fighting, and they've been driven in here because the Carrows were hunting them down. Everyone in here's proven loyal to Dumbledore, loyal to you," Neville stated.
"Look," Harry said, and Hermione jumped as the tunnel door opened.
Luna came out with Dean, "We got your message, Neville! Hello, you three, I thought you must be here!"
Seamus yelled out Dean's name and nearly knocked Hermione over as he rushed to hug Dean.
"Hi, everyone!" Luna said with a big smile, "Oh, it's great to be back!"
"Luna," Harry said, "What are you doing here? How did you…"
"I sent for her," Neville said, holding up his galleon, "I promised her and Ginny that if you turned up, I'd let them know. We all thought that if you came back, it would mean revolution. That we were going to overthrow Snape and the Carrows."
"Of course that's what it means," Luna stated as she looked at them, "Isn't it, Harry? We're going to fight them out of Hogwarts?"
"Listen. I'm sorry, but that's not what we came back for. There's something we've got to do, and then-"
"You're going to leave us in this mess?" Michael Corner yelled.
"No!" Ron replied, "What we're doing will benefit everyone in the end, it's all about trying to get rid of You-Know-Who-"
"Then let us help!" Neville said angrily, "We want to be part of it!"
Hermione looked behind her as the tunnel opened again, and this time, Ginny climbed through, followed by Fred, George, and Lee Jordan. Ginny smiled at Harry, and Hermione's heart constricted.
"Aberforth's getting a bit annoyed," Fred said, waving to people, "He wants a kip and his bar's turned into a railway station."
Hermione looked at Harry as others appeared. Harry's face showed his surprise as Cho came through.
"I got the message," she said, holding up her own fake Galleon, and she walked over to sit beside Michael Corner.
"So what's the plan, Harry?" George asked.
Harry looked at Hermione helplessly before turning to everyone, "There isn't one."
"Just going to make it up as we go along, are we? My favourite kind," Fred said, grinning.
"You've got to stop this!" Harry told Neville, "What did you call them all back for? This is insane!"
"We're fighting, aren't we?" Dean asked, showing his Galleon, "The message said Harry was back, and we were going to fight! I'll have to get a wand, though-"
Seamus looked at Dean, "You haven't got a wand?"
Ron turned to Harry, "Why can't they help?"
Harry's pupils were wide as he swayed slightly, "What?"
"They can help," Ron said quietly to her and Harry, "We don't know where it is. We've got to find it fast. We don't have to tell them it's a Horcrux."
Harry looked at her, and she gave him a nod. "I think Ron's right," she said slowly, "We don't even know what we're looking for, we need them. You don't have to do everything alone, Harry."
Hermione watched as Harry turned paler in front of her, obviously in pain. "All right," he said quietly. "Okay," Harry said as he turned to the room. Instantly, the room grew quiet. Harry sighed, "There's something we need to find," Harry said, "Something… something that'll help us overthrow You-Know-who. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone ever come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?"
Luna piped up, "Well, there's her lost diadem. I told you about it, remember, Harry? The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Daddy's trying to duplicate it."
"Yeah, but the lost diadem is lost, Luna. That's sort of the point," Michael Corner said, rolling his eyes.
"When was it lost?" Harry asked.
"Centuries ago, they say," Cho told him, "Professor Flitwick says the diadem vanished with Ravenclaw herself. People have looked, nobody's ever found a trace of it, have they?" she asked her fellow Ravenclaws, who all shook their heads.
"Sorry, but what is a diadem?" Ron asked.
"It's a kind of crown," Terry Boot said, "Ravenclaw's was supposed to have magical properties, enhance the wisdom of the wearer."
"Yes, Daddy's Wrackspurt siphons-" Luna said as Harry cut her off.
"And none of you have ever seen anything that looks like it?" Harry asked.
Hermione bit her lip as they all shook their heads.
"If you'd like to see what the diadem's supposed to look like, I could take you up to our common room and show you, Harry? Ravenclaw's wearing it in her statue." Cho suggested.
Harry stumbled for a moment, then turned to her and Ron. "He's on the move," he said quietly. He turned back to Cho, "Listen, I know it's not much of a lead, but I'm going to go and look at this statue and at least find out what the diadem looks like. Wait for me here and keep, you know, the other one, safe."
Hermione stared at him, and he nodded to her. Ron went over to his brothers, and Harry leaned in toward her.
"Look, you are still not feeling well," Harry started.
"Neither are you!" Hermione hissed.
"Just give me this," Harry told her, "Go find a chair or a hammock, rest okay? Don't think I don't see the tremors."
Hermione sighed as Cho stood, and Hermione wanted to reach out to him, telling him not to go with her. Only Cho had ever made her feel insecure before. Ginny piped up, "No, Luna will take Harry, won't you Luna?"
"Oooh, yes, I'd like to," Luna said happily.
Cho looked disappointed, and Hermione tried not to celebrate it.
Harry turned to Neville, "How do we get out?"
"Over here," Neville said as he led Harry and Luna to a corner.
Hermione bit down on her lip as a small cupboard opened to reveal a staircase.
"It comes out somewhere different every day, so they've never been able to find it," Neville told him, "Only trouble is, we never know exactly where we're going to end up when we go out. Be careful, Harry, they're always patrolling the corridors at night."
"No problem," Harry told him, "See you in a bit."
Hermione nearly collapsed when he disappeared, and Fred rushed to catch her.
"Hermione!" Ron yelled, running over to her, "Are you okay?"
Hermione swallowed hard, "Just got lightheaded for a minute."
George made the Hufflepuff in the chair nearest to her move, "Budge off."
Fred helped her sit down and knelt in front of her, "Look, I don't know what you three have been up to, but you look like you could faint any minute. When was the last time you ate or drank anything?"
Ginny came over and started fanning Hermione with a book.
"We had some bread and cheese at Hog's Head earlier, but it had been nearly a day since we ate before that. Does anyone have some water?" Ron asked.
Someone brought bottles of Butterbeer over for her, and Fred opened the bottle for her. "Drink up."
Hermione took a sip, and it turned her stomach. "Oh no, something is wrong with this." She said as Lavender brought her a glass of water, "Thanks."
Fred sniffed it, then drank it. "A bit warm but tastes fine." Fred looked at Ron, "Did she get exposed to something?"
"She has been off since she was…" Ron trailed off, looking at Hermione, and said more quietly, "Since Bellatrix tortured her. She held her under the Cruciatus curse for so long."
Fred and George both looked at her, shocked. "Fucking hell, Hermione," George said, shocked, "Are you okay?"
Hermione slowly sipped her water, then closed her eyes, leaning back in the chair. "It's probably the nerve damage in my abdomen. I've been having tremors and muscle discomfort since then. I'll be fine." She took a deep breath. "Just give me a moment."
She heard Ron and his brothers whispering about her, but the darkness quickly took her under as she fell asleep.
When she came to, Mrs. Weasley was standing over her, and she looked at her, confused, "Mrs. Weasley? What are you doing here?"
Looking behind her, Hermione could see Kingsley, Remus, even old classmates such as Oliver Wood, Katie Bell, Angelina, and Alicia, as well as Bill and Fleur, who were there speaking with Mrs. Weasley.
"Hermione, Fleur tells me that you had been attacked and are still recovering. You should leave," Mrs. Weasley stressed.
Hermione sat up, "No, I'll be fine."
The door reopened to the school, and Remus ran up the stairs, "Harry! What's happening?"
"Voldemort's on his way, they're barricading the school. Snape's run for it. What are you doing here? How did you know?" Harry asked, looking around.
"We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore's Army," Fred explained, "You couldn't expect everyone to miss the fun, Harry, and the DA let the Order know, and it kind of snowballed."
"What's first, Harry?" George asked, "What's going on?"
"They're evacuating the younger kids and everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organized," Harry said, "We're fighting."
Hermione flinched as those in the room surged toward the stairs, and they ran past Harry, all with their wands drawn.
Only a few remained behind as Harry came down the stairs. Mrs. Weasley was standing toe to toe with Ginny, surrounded by Remus, Fred, George, Bill, and Fleur.
"You're underage!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, "I won't permit it! The boys yes, but you, you've got to go home!"
"I won't!" Ginny yelled, pulling out of her mother's grip, "I'm in Dumbledore's Army!"
"A teenager's gang!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.
"A teenagers' gang that's about to take him on, which no one else has dared to do!" Fred defended.
"She's sixteen!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, "She's not old enough! What were you two thinking, bringing her with you?"
"Mum's right, Ginny," Bill said, "You can't do this. Everyone underage will have to leave, it's only right."
"I can't go home!" Ginny shouted, "My whole family's here, I can't stand waiting there alone and not knowing and…" she trailed off, "Fine. I'll say goodbye for now, then, and…"
But someone else was coming through the tunnel. Hermione gasped when Percy appeared.
"Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I… " Percy said, shocked at everyone staring at him.
Fleur turned to Remus, "So 'ow eez leetle Teddy?"
Remus slowly blinked at her. "Oh yeah, he's fine. Yes, Tonks is with him at her mother's." He pulled a picture out of his jacket, "Here I've got a picture."
Hermione stood and walked over behind Harry to see a tiny baby with bright turquoise hair.
"I was a fool!" Percy yelled, "I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a…"
"Ministry loving, family disowning, power hungry moron," Fred stated.
"Yes, I was," Percy stated.
"Well, you can't say fairer than that," Fred said, holding his hand out to Percy.
Mrs. Weasley burst into tears and ran forward, pushing Fred aside and pulled Percy into a hug.
Tears came to Hermione's eyes as Percy looked at Mr. Weasley, "I'm sorry, Dad." Mr. Weasley walked over and hugged him as well.
"What made you see sense, Perce?" George asked.
"It's been coming on for a while," Percy said, wiping his eyes, "But I had to find a way out, and it's not so easy at the Ministry; they're imprisoning traitors all the time. I managed to make contact with Aberforth, and he tipped me off ten minutes ago that Hogwarts was going to make a fight of it, so here I am."
"Well, we do look to our prefects to take a lead at times such as these," George said, imitating Percy. "Now let's get upstairs and fight, or all the good Death Eaters'll be taken."
Percy straightened his traveling cloak and looked at Fleur, "So, you're my sister-in-law now?" He asked, holding his hand out to Fleur, then hurried off to the staircase with Bill, Fred, and George.
"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley yelled as Hermione saw her trying to sneak out.
"Molly, how about this?" Remus said. "Why doesn't Ginny stay here, then at least she'll be on the scene and know what's going on, but she won't be in the middle of the fighting?"
"That's a good idea," Mr. Weasley said, "Ginny, you stay in this room, you hear me?"
Ginny nodded.
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Remus ran up the stairs, and Harry turned to Hermione and Ron. Ron looked at Hermione, "I'm going to the bathroom for supplies."
Hermione nodded as Ron ran off.
Harry frowned. "He doesn't want you going with him?"
"She passed out while you were gone," Ginny stated.
Harry looked at her, frowning, and she sighed, "I didn't pass out. I closed my eyes after being lightheaded."
Harry took her head in his hands. "When this is over, I want you to go to Pomphrey."
"It's just the effects from the curse, Harry," Hermione told him.
"Still, I just," Harry trailed off as his eyes went unfocused. Then he blinked, "He's here."
Hermione gasped, and Harry looked at both of them. "You both stay here."
"But Harry," Hermione said as Harry looked at her.
"I don't want to worry about you both," Harry stated, "If you don't stay here, at least go with Ron, it will be deep enough in the bathroom that you'll be safe."
Hermione nodded as Harry turned to leave, "Harry?!"
Harry turned back to her, and she glanced at Ginny, then back to Harry. "Be careful."
Harry nodded, "You too."
Ginny looked at her as Harry left, "So when did that start?"
Hermione looked at her, "When did what start?"
"You and Harry," Ginny stated.
Hermione paled, "Nothing is happening between me and Harry now. Look, I have to catch up with Ron. Stay here."
Hermione ran as fast as she could to the girls' bathroom, where she knew Ron would be heading. How he would be getting inside the Chamber, she did not know. Sliding to a stop, she saw Ron standing in front of the sinks. "Ron"
Ron turned around, seeing her, "What are you doing here?! Harry and I talked, and we said that you should-"
"Stay behind? Got that, but it's not happening. Are you trying to get in?" She asked, walking over to him.
Ron nodded as he looked back at the sink, "Harry talks in his sleep, sometimes in Parseltongue. I've been trying different hisses and none of them worked."
"Keep trying," Hermione said as she walked over to the small window in the bathroom and looked out. Despite the dark night, Hermione could see wands lit. More Death Eaters were here.
Ron hissed, and suddenly the marble groaned, "Bloody hell! It worked!"
Suddenly, it was as if the walls were talking right into her head. "I know that you are preparing to fight."
Hermione looked at Ron in horror as he looked at her wide-eyed. "You hear it too?" He asked, and she nodded.
"Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood." Hermione gasped as pressure pressed in on her, "Give me Harry Potter and no shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."
Hermione looked at Ron, "Well, let's go already! It's half till!"
Ron jumped in first, and Hermione slid down the pipe behind him. Casting a cushioning charm at the bottom of the pipe, they slowed at the bottom. Ron looked up at the dark pipe as Hermione cast Lumos, "Didn't quite think this through. How are we going to get out?"
Hermione hurried through the channel, "I have Harry's Firebolt."
As they ran through the different channels, Ron tried to remember back from their second year, Hermione made Ron stop. "Quiet!" Hermione hissed.
Ron looked around wide-eyed. "Do you hear another one?"
"No, listen!"
Faintly, bangs and explosions could be heard, and small rocks were falling from the ceiling. "Shit, I think they're battling. Let's go! This place could fall in at any moment if they get close enough!"
Finally, they reached the deepest part of the Chamber, where the remains of the Basilisk sat. "Holy shit," Hermione breathed out, "And Harry defeated that?"
Ron ran over and started pulling its fangs from its skull, "Come on, we don't have a lot of time!"
Hermione joined him, gathering the fangs in her bag. Ron piled some in his arms, then dumped them into her bag. "Okay, this should do it. Do you have the cup?"
Hermione reached into her beaded bag, pulling it out.
"No time like the present to test our theory, stab it," Ron said, taking it and holding it, "Now it might fight back."
Hermione took a fang into her hand and raised it above her head.
"Hermione Granger, the girl who will lose everything. Second best at love, and he will choose someone else."
Hermione plunged it into the cup, and she fell back onto her bottom as it screamed, black mist filling the area, and then it cleared.
"You did it!" Ron yelled as he helped her up and pulled her into his arms.
Then their lips met.
With Harry, it was like her heart suddenly could beat again. Her blood sang for him. With Ron, it was shocking, but pleasant. But felt wrong and off. Hermione placed her hands on his chest, pushing him away, "Stop."
Ron pulled away, "Sorry, I just got caught up."
"Let's go," Hermione said as she reached into her beaded bag and pulled out Harry's broom.
Hermione climbed behind Ron, and together they took off toward the entrance. Exiting the bathroom, the fight outside was more obvious. Hermione opened her bag, handed the fangs to Ron, and then piled them back in her arms so that they would have them at the ready.
"Where would Harry be?" Ron asked.
"Room of Requirement. We could at least find someone who might know. Let's go!" Hermione yelled as they ran arms full.
They had just made it to the Room of Requirement and were trying to figure out how to open it when they heard a yell.
"Where the hell have you been?" Harry shouted.
"Chamber of Secrets," Ron told him.
"Chamber… what?" Harry asked, surprised, stopping in front of them.
"It was Ron, all Ron's idea. Wasn't it absolutely brilliant? Ron came up with the idea that the Basilisk fangs were there," Hermione told him.
Ron looked at him, "Something to get rid of Horcruxes."
Harry's eyes looked at the fangs in her arms, "But how did you get in there? You need to speak Parseltongue!"
"He did," Hermione whispered, "Show him, Ron!"
Ron hissed, "it's what you did to open the locket. I had to have a few goes to get it right, but… we got there in the end."
"He was amazing," Hermione told him, "Amazing."
"So…" Harry said.
"So we're another horcrux down," Ron said, pulling the remains out of his jacket, "Hermione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn't had the pleasure yet."
"Genius!" Harry yelled.
"It was nothing," Ron said, "So what's new with you?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and went to scold them when there was an explosion overhead. Dust fell from the ceiling, and they heard a scream in the distance.
Harry looked at both of them, "I know what the diadem looks like, and I know where it is. He did it exactly where I hid my old Potions book, where everyone's been hiding stuff for centuries. He thought he was the only one to find it. Come on." As the walls trembled again, he grabbed Hermione's arm and led her and Ron back through the entrance and staircase to the Room of Requirement. It was nearly empty. Only three people remained. Ginny, Tonks, and a woman whom Hermione knew had to be Neville's grandmother.
She stood and looked at them. "Ah, Potter, you can tell us what's going on."
"Is everyone okay?" Ginny and Tonks asked.
"As far as we know," Harry told them, "Are there still people in the passage to the Hog's Head?"
"I was the last to come through," Ms. Longbottom said, "I sealed it, I think it unwise to leave it open now Aberforth has left his pub. Have you seen my Grandson?"
"He's fighting," Harry told her.
"Naturally," She said proudly, "Excuse me, I must go and assist him."
Harry turned to Tonks, "I thought you were supposed to be with Teddy at your mother's?"
"I couldn't stand not knowing," Tonks bit her lip. "She'll look after him. Have you seen Remus?"
"He was planning to lead a group of fighters into the grounds," Harry started as she ran off.
Harry looked at Ginny, "Ginny, I'm sorry, but we need you to leave too. Just for a bit. Then you can come back in."
Ginny grinned, running for the steps.
"And then you can come back in!" Harry yelled, "You got to come back in!"
"Hang on a moment!" Ron said, "We've forgotten someone!"
"Who?" Hermione asked.
"The house-elves! They'll be down in the kitchen, won't they?" Ron asked.
"You mean we ought to get them fighting?" Harry asked.
"No," Ron said, "I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want any more Dobbys, do we? We can't order them to die for us-"
Hermione dropped all the fangs in her arms and threw herself at Ron, hugging him. Ron threw away the fangs in his arms and Harry's broomstick, then lifted Hermione off her feet as he kissed her again.
"Is this a moment?" Harry asked awkwardly. "Oi! There's a war going on here!"
Hermione swallowed hard, pushing away from Ron and looking at Harry, who looked away from her. Swallowing back the bile that tried to
"I know, mate. So it's now or never, isn't it?" Ron asked.
"Never mind that, what about the Horcrux?" Harry shouted, "D'you think you could just…. Just hold it in until we've got the diadem?"
Hermione swallowed hard at the jealousy she heard in his voice. "Harry, I-"
"Yeah, right, sorry," Ron said as he started gathering the fangs.
"Harry-" Hermione said as Harry finally looked at her, and she inhaled.
"Not right now, Hermione," Harry said, shaking his head, "Let's go."
"Harry, listen please," Hermione said as he shook his head as he headed out of the Room of Requirement.
Hermione bit her lip as she gathered the fangs she dropped and followed Harry out of the Room of Requirement. Stepping out into the corridor was like stepping out into a new world. "My God."
Outside the Room of Requirement, dust filled the air. The walls were shaking, and outside, spells were firing, filling the air with red and green light. Grawp was walking past the window, swinging one of the gargoyles.
"Let's hope he steps on some of them!" Ron said as screams echoed close by.
"As long as it's not any of our lot!" Ginny yelled from the window on the other side of them as she and Tonks aimed jinxes at those below.
"Good girl!" Aberforth yelled, running past them, "They look like they might be breaching the north battlements, they've brought giants of their own!"
"Have you seen Remus?" Tonks called after him.
"He was dueling Dolohov," Shouted Aberforth, "Haven't seen him since!"
"Tonks," Ginny said, "Tonks, I'm sure he's okay-"
Hermione watched as Tonks ran off toward the battle. Ginny looked at them helplessly.
"They'll be all right," Harry said. "Ginny, we'll be right back in a moment. Just keep out of the way, keep safe." He turned to her and Ron, "Come on!"
Hermione followed him to the Room of Requirement and watched Harry pace. The door opened, and they immediately went through. The moment the door shut behind them, the world went silent. No war could have been happening outside. Inside was a large room, with objects covering nearly every surface, towering over their heads.
"And he never realized anyone could get in?" Ron said.
"He thought he was the only one," Harry said, "Too bad for him, I've had to hide stuff in my time… this way. I think it's down here…"
Hermione looked around at the piles of broken junk. "Accio Diadem!" Even though she knew it wouldn't work.
"Let's split up," Harry told them, "Look for a stone bust of an old man wearing a wig and a tiara! It's standing on a cupboard and it's definitely somewhere near here."
Hermione ran down one aisle, and the boys went down two others. Hermione cast Lumos for more light to try to find something that glittered. Cloaks, chairs, old desks, and linens, so many books that were missing covers and pages were scattered. Hermione was so deep into the labyrinth of the Room of Requirement when she heard, "We was hiding on the corridor outside."
Hermione gasped, hurrying toward the voice.
"Can do diss-lusion charms now! And then you turned up right in front of us and said you was looking for a die-gum! What's a die-dum?"
Hermione heard Ron from not too far away from her. "Harry? Are you talking to someone?"
She started heading toward him when she heard "Descendo!" Then Harry yelled, "Ron!"
Hermione screamed as she ran toward where she had seen everything fall. She couldn't understand what Harry and the other voices were saying. But sighed in relief when she heard Ron nearby say, "Harry?! What's going on?"
"Harry?" One of the male voices said, "What's going… no, Potter! Crucio!"
Hermione hurried toward the voices and could clearly recognize Malfoy yelling, "Stop! The Dark Lord wants him alive!"
"So? I'm not killing him, am I?" Asked the other voice and Hermione crept around a corner to see it was Crabbe talking, "But if I can, I will, the Dark Lord wants him dead anyway, what's the diff-"
Hermione sent a stunning spell at Crabbe and nearly hit Harry in the process, but would have hit Crabbe if Malfoy hadn't pulled him out of the way.
"It's that Mudblood! Avada Kedavra!"
Hermione was able to dive to the ground as Crabbe's spell flew past her. Harry sent a stunning spell at Crabbe, who dove out of the way.
"Don't kill him! DON'T KILL HIM!" Malfoy yelled.
Harry ran over to her and grabbed her hand, pulling her up as he yelled, "Expelliarmus!" Sending Goyle's wand flying. Hermione sent a stunning spell at Malfoy, which he dodged, then Ron ran into their aisle and shot a Body Binding Curse. Crabbe turned around, yelling, "Avada Kedavra!"
Ron jumped out of the way just in time, and Hermione pulled away from Harry, running toward Malfoy and Crabbe, hitting Goyle with a stunning spell as she went by him.
"It's somewhere here!" Harry yelled at her, pointing at the pile of junk, "Look for it while I go and help R-"
Hermione heard the roar as Harry did, but saw the flames before he did. "HARRY!"
Toward her and Harry, Crabbe and Ron were both running toward them.
"Like it hot, scum?" Crabbe roared as he ran.
Hermione gasped, seeing flames following them. Like a snake coming from Crabbe's wand, its tongue was teasing and lingering on the dry pieces of old junk that had accumulated over the years. Already crumbling under the flames.
"Aquamenti!" Harry yelled, and Hermione inhaled as the water evaporated in midair, "Run!"
Malfoy grabbed Goyle, and Crabbe was already past all of them. Hermione, Harry, and Ron all ran after them. The fire followed them, chasing them. Harry grabbed her, pulling her around the corner as the fire started to change. It was not just serpents now; it had the shape of dragons and chimeras, as if created by the centuries of junk they had fed on.
Ron slid to a stop, and Hermione and Harry stopped next to them. The fire was circling them now.
Hermione started panicking as she looked around, unable to see an escape. "What can we do?" She screamed, "What can we do?"
"Here!" Harry yelled as he found a pair of broomsticks and threw one to Ron, who grabbed her and put her behind him.
Harry got onto the other and Hermione tried her best to keep her eyes open as they took off. The flames were hot against her back as it nearly got them. The heat was building, and the room was filling with smoke, making it hard to breathe.
Closing her eyes against Ron's back as she leaned into him as he swooped and swerved. "Harry, let's get out, let's get out!" Ron yelled.
Hermione opened her eyes as she heard a scream.
"It's too dangerous!" Ron yelled.
Hermione nearly yelled at Harry when he turned in the air and flew off toward Draco and an unconscious Goyle. She gasped as Harry dove and missed Draco's arm.
"IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!" Ron yelled as flames in the shape of a chimaera came close to them as Ron went toward Goyle, and she grabbed him, draping him over the back of their broom as Malfoy climbed on Harry's.
Ron must have seen the door as she did and raced to it.
"The door, get to the door, the door!" Malfoy screamed as he and Harry followed them.
It was becoming hard for Hermione to breathe, and the soot was stinging her eyes. On the ground, the last bit of untouched junk was engulfed.
"What are you doing? What are you doing? The door's that way!" Malfoy screamed.
Hermione looked behind her and saw Harry swerve, narrowly escaping flames of a serpent as Ron flew them out the open door. Landing hard, Hermione fell off as Goyle slid off and bent over vomiting.
Standing up, Hermione wiped her mouth and looked at the open door as smoke billowed out and flames started to lick the door. "Come on, Harry," she whispered.
Then a broomstick raced out the door, which shut behind them and sealed as if it never existed. The broomstick hit the wall next to her, and she sank to the ground beside Goyle, trying to catch her breath. The small amount of vomit from her stomach had already sunk into the dust and debris as she looked beside her as Malfoy fell off Harry's broom facedown, coughing and retching. Harry rolled over and sat up, looking at her and Ron, who sat down in relief.
"Crabbe," Malfoy choked out, looking around, "Crabbe."
"He's dead," Ron said harshly.
Catching her breath slightly, Hermione could hear the bangs within the castle as it shook under them.
Harry staggered to his feet when the Headless Hunt had passed and looked around. Hermione flinched as she heard screams close by.
"Where's Ginny? She was here. She was supposed to be going back into the Room of Requirement," Harry said.
"Blimey, d'you reckon it'll still work after that fire?" Ron asked, rubbing his chest as he stood, "Shall we split up and look?"
Hermione stood up, "No. Let's stick together. I say we go…" she trailed off as she saw a tiara on his arm, "Harry, what's that on your arm?" She breathed out.
"What? Oh yeah…" Harry said as he pulled it from his wrist and held it up. It was black with soot and seemed to be seeping black goo. It started to vibrate, then it broke into pieces in his hands.
Hermione gasped as the broken tiara screamed. "It must have been Fiendfyre," Hermione said.
Harry looked at her, "Sorry?"
"Fiendfyre, cursed fire, it's one of the substances that destroy Horcruxes, but I would never, ever have dared use it. It's so dangerous, how did Crabbe know how to…" Hermione said, shaking her head.
"Must've learned from the Carrows," Harry told her.
"Shame he wasn't concentrating when they mentioned how to stop it, really," Ron said. "If he hadn't tried to kill us all, I'd be quite sorry he was dead."
"But don't you realize?" Hermione whispered, trying to make sure Draco didn't hear them, "This means, if we can just get the snake…"
Hermione froze when the shouts and yells started getting closer. Even worse, she could see the light emanating from spells flashing on the walls.
Fred and Percy appeared at the end of the corridor, battling two Death Eaters. She, Harry, and Ron ran to help, and spells started flying in all directions. Percy's Death Eater's hood slipped, revealing the Minister of Magic himself.
"Hello, Minister!" Percy yelled, "Did I mention I'm resigning?"
"You're joking, Perce!" Fred shouted as he, Ron, and Hermione all shot a stunning spell, and his Death Eater fell like a rock.
Thickness fell to the ground with tiny spikes all over him, and Fred looked at Percy with a grin, "You actually are joking, Perce… I don't think I've heard you joke since you were-"
Then the air exploded. Hermione's feet left the ground, and she barreled through the air with debris raining down on her. She landed on something soft but hard, then quickly put a shield charm up as more wreckage rained down on her.
Opening her eyes, cold, dust-filled air hit them as she coughed. Her legs were covered in small pieces of wall that her shield had not been able to cover. Looking out, she saw that a large hole had been blasted in the side of the castle. Then she heard it. One of the worst sounds that she had heard in her life. A gut-wrenching cry of agony and pain. Instantly, her stomach dropped as she looked around and nearly cried in relief as she saw Harry, hurt and bleeding badly from his cheek, but alive.
Trying to remove more debris from her legs, Harry came over and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet. She barely registered what had broken her fall, a now dead Death Eater, a large piece of debris had crushed his head. Then she saw three redheaded men on the ground, not far from where the wall had been blasted. Together, she and Harry stumbled over stone chunks and wood.
"No! No! No!" One of the Weasley men was shouting, "No! Percy! No!"
Fred was shaking a still Percy, who lay on the floor covered in blood. Ron was kneeling beside them, and Hermione, Harry's hand still in her own, stumbled behind them and gasped, seeing Percy's glasses broken and his eyes staring without seeing. A smile was still slightly on his face.
Hermione collapsed to her knees in disbelief. The rest of the battle seemed so far away as the dust settled around them.
Then a body fell past the hole blown into the side of the school, and curses flew in at them from the darkness outside, hitting the wall behind their heads.
"Get down!" Harry yelled as more curses flew toward them.
Both Ron and Harry grabbed her and pulled her to the floor, protecting her. Fred lay on top of Percy's body, shielding it. Harry's head moved against hers, and she heard him yell, "Fred! Come on! We've got to move!"
Ron got up and crawled over to Fred. "Fred!" He grabbed onto Fred's shoulders, his hands slipping on the blood on Fred's back. "Fred, you can't do anything for him! We're going to-"
Hermione screamed as she saw it. The biggest spider she had ever seen was trying to climb through the wall.
Ron and Harry shouted, sending twin stunning spells towards it. They collided midair and hit the spider, sending it backward out of the hole.
"It brought friends!" Harry yelled, looking out the hole.
Harry stood in the hole, sending stunning spells down on them, then ducked as curses came soaring over his head. "Let's move, NOW!"
Harry pushed her and Ron ahead of him, then grabbed Percy's body under the armpits. Fred saw Harry struggling and stopped clinging to Percy's body and stood up, grabbing his feet.
Together, they moved Percy to where a suit of armor once stood, then caught up with her and Ron.
Fred let out a yell, "George!" then sprinted off as Hermione ran behind a tapestry, pulling Ron with her as he tried to run after Fred.
Hermione looked at Ron as she pulled his clothes and pushed him against the wall. "Harry, in here!" she yelled when he didn't appear.
She heard Harry come through the tapestry as she struggled with Ron, "Listen to me, LISTEN RON!"
"I wanna help, I wanna kill Death Eaters!" Ron yelled as he shook.
"Ron, we're the only ones who can end it! Please, Ron, we need the snake! We've got to kill the snake!" Hermione told him as she grabbed his collar, "We WILL fight! We'll have to, to reach the snake! But let's not lose sight now of what we're supposed to be doing! We're the only ones who can end it!"
She wiped her face on her sleeve and noticed for the first time how torn and burnt it was. Trying to catch her breath, she took large breaths, still trying to keep hold of Ron as she turned to Harry. "You need to find out where Voldemort is, because he'll have the snake with him, won't he?" Hermione swallowed hard as she finally accepted what she had tried to deny for nearly a year, "Do it, Harry. Look inside him!"
Harry closed his eyes and slumped against the wall. Hermione grabbed him with her other hand as Ron caught him in his hands.
Hermione cast all the protective enchantments she could think of on their little protective spot on the staircase as Ron held Harry up, and she protected them in their little bubble amid the war, despite the cries, screeches, and bangs of battle.
With a gasp, Harry opened his eyes. "He's in the Shrieking Shack. The snake's with him, it's got some sort of magical protection around it. He's just sent Lucius Malfoy to find Snape."
"Voldemort's sitting in the Shrieking Shack?" Hermione asked, suddenly consumed by anger, "He's not… he's not even fighting?!"
"He doesn't think he needs to fight," Harry told her, "He thinks I'm going to go to him."
"But why?" Hermione asked, confused.
"He knows I'm after Horcruxes, he's keeping Nagini close beside him, obviously I'm going to have to go to him to get near the thing-" Harry stated.
"Right," Ron said, standing straighter, "So you can't go. That's what he wants, what he's expecting. You stay here and look after Hermione, and I'll go get it-"
Harry pushed Ron back, "You two stay here, I'll go under the Cloak and I'll be back as soon as I-"
"No," Hermione said, looking at both of them, "It makes much more sense if I take the Cloak and-"
"Don't even think about it," Ron snarled at her.
Hermione looked at him, "Ron, I'm just as capable-"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the tapestry move. "Potter!" and two masked Death Eaters stood there.
"Glisseo!" Hermione shouted.
The stairs beneath their feet turned into a chute, and she, Harry, and Ron hurried down it, unable to control their speed, but so fast that the Death Eaters' Stunning Spells flew far over their heads. They shot through the tapestry and spun onto the floor, and her back hit the opposite wall.
"Duro!" Hermione yelled, pointing at the tapestry, and it turned to stone just in time for two loud crunches as the Death Eaters crumpled.
"Get back!" Ron yelled, and Harry pulled her against a door as a herd of desks thundered past them with Professor McGonagall following behind them, her hair flowing behind her.
As she turned the corner, she yelled, "Charge!"
Hermione inhaled deeply, "Harry, you get the Cloak on. Never mind us-"
But he threw it over all three of them. Together they ran down the next staircase and found themselves in a corridor full of duelers. The portraits were even screaming advice to the duelers, both students and teachers. Hermione saw that Dean now had a wand and was face-to-face with Dolohov, and Parvati was battling Travers. Raising her wand as Harry and Ron did too, there was no easy place to cast without possibly hitting one of their friends.
"Wheeeeeee!"
Hermione looked up to see Peeves zooming over them, dropping Snargaluff pods down into the Death Eaters.
"Argh!" Tubers hit the cloak over Ron's head,
"Someone's invisible there!" A Death Eater shouted.
Dean knocked the Death Eater out with a Stunning Spell and Parvati Body-Bind Cursed Dolohov.
"Let's go!" Harry yelled, and they gathered the Cloak tightly as they ran toward the top of the marble staircase into the entrance hall.
"I'm Draco Malfoy! I'm Draco! I'm on your side!" Draco was on the upper landing, pleading with another masked Death Eater.
Harry stunned the Death Eater, and Ron punched Malfoy as they passed.
"And that's the second time we've saved your life tonight, you two-faced bastard!" Ron yelled.
As they ran, there were more duelers on the stairs and in the hall. Death Eaters were everywhere, battling teachers and students. Hermione spotted Flitwick and Kingsley near the front doors. Students were running, carrying, and dragging classmates. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran down the marble staircase. Glass shattered to their left, and the Slytherin hourglass spilled its emeralds everywhere, so that people slipped and staggered as they ran. Two bodies fell from the balcony overhead. A gray blur sped across the hall to sink its teeth into one of the fallen.
"No!" Hermione screamed, and with a blast, Fenir Greyback was thrown backward from the feebly stirring body of Lavender Brown. He hit the marble banisters and struggled to return to his feet. With a bright white flash and a crack, a crystal ball fell on top of his head, and he crumpled to the ground and did not move.
"I have more!" Shrieked Professor Trelawney from over the banisters. "More for any who want them! Here!"
The heavy wooden front doors burst open, and more spiders forced their way into the entrance hall.
"How do we get out?" Ron yelled over the screaming.
Hagrid came running down the stairs with his pink umbrella.
"Hagrid, no!" Harry yelled as he ran out of the cloak.
"Harry, no!" Hermione yelled as she went to run after him, and Ron grabbed her arm.
"Hagrid, come back!" Harry yelled as Hermione gasped as Hagrid vanished into a pile of spiders. "HAGRID!"
"Harry!" Hermione screamed, trying to pull away from Ron.
Harry ran down the front steps into the dark grounds out of their sight.
Hermione turned to Ron and hit him. "We have to go after him!"
"No, we need to get the Snake," Ron told her, "Harry will find us."
Running out of the school into the darkness, the ground shook under their feet. Glass rained down on their heads as a giant smashed the windows above them, and they spotted Harry.
"Oh my-" Hermione screamed and raised her wand toward the giant.
"Don't!" Ron yelled, grabbing Hermione's hand, "Stun him and he'll crush half the castle-"
"HAGGER?!"
Grawp appeared, and Hermione could suddenly see the difference in his height compared to a typical giant.
"Run!" Harry yelled as he grabbed her hand, and they ran down the stairs. Ron with the cloak behind them.
Hermione barely kept up with him as they ran so fast, they were nearly to the forest when the air around them grew cold. Hermione's breath caught in her chest, and darkness was about to take her over. Together, she and Ron closed in on Harry, who was flailing. "Come on, Harry! Patronuses, Harry, come on!"
She raised her wand, but Harry weakly raised his, "HARRY, COME ON!" she screamed.
Her otter twisted in midair and faded alongside Ron's terrier. Then a silver hare, a boar, and a fox ran past them, making the dementors fall back.
Luna, Ernie, and Seamus appeared beside them. "That's right," Luna said, "That's right, Harry. Come on, think of something happy…"
"Something happy?" Harry asked weakly.
"We're all still here," Luna whispered, "We're still fighting. Come on now!"
Hermione felt her energy draining away, then she saw it. A spark, then a light… then the world felt warm again as Harry's stag burst from his wand and ran at the dementors.
She was shaking without realizing it as Ron spoke up, looking at Luna, "Can't thank you enough. You just saved-"
Hermione looked back as a giant came out of the darkness, roaring.
"Run!" Harry yelled.
Everyone ran, Hermione followed Harry, and Ron was next to her.
"Let's get out of range!" Ron yelled as the giant swung at them, as red and green lights illuminated the night in various places around the grounds.
"The Whomping Willow!" Harry said, "Go!"
Harry raced ahead of her and Ron and reached the tree first. When Hermione reached it, she had to grab her knees to catch her breath. She had not run that fast in a while. It was like something was pressing on her lungs, and she could not take a full breath.
"How…how're we going to get in? I can… I can see the place… if we just had… Crookshanks again…" Ron trailed off, trying to catch his breath.
Hermione looked at him, "Crookshanks?" she asked, rubbing her chest, "Are you a wizard or what?"
"Oh right… Yeah," Ron said, looking around for a twig, "Wingardium Leviosa!"
The twig hit the knot at the roots of the tree, and the tree became still.
"Perfect!" Hermione gasped out.
Harry grabbed her arm as she inched forward, "Wait."
"Harry, we're coming, just get in there!" Ron said, pushing him forward.
Together they wriggled into the passage under the tree's roots. It seemed so much smaller than their third year. Harry led the way with her, and Ron ducked under the low-ceilinged tunnel. When the tunnel sloped upward, Hermione grabbed onto Harry's ankle.
"The Cloak, put the cloak on!" Hermione whispered, grabbing it out of her bag and forcing it into his hand.
Harry disappeared from her sight. "Nox," he whispered. Plunging them into darkness. On hands and knees, they crawled the remaining way to the shack.
Pausing at the door, they heard voices.
"My Lord, their resistance is crumbling-" Snape said, only to be interrupted by Voldemort.
"And it is doing so without your help," Voldemort said, "Skilled wizard though you are, Severus, I do not think you will make much difference now. WE are almost there…almost."
"Let me find the boy. Let me bring you Potter. I know I can find him, my Lord. Please," Snape stated.
Hermione leaned against the tunnel wall, not able to see anything inside the room. She drew closer and felt Harry under the cloak. Giving him space, she rested, looking at Ron.
"I have a problem, Severus," Voldemort said.
"My Lord?" Snape asked.
"Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?" Voldemort asked.
"My… my Lord?" Snape said, "I do not understand. You have performed extraordinary magic with that wand."
"No," Voldemort said, "I have performed my usual magic. I am extraordinarily, but this wand… no. It has not revealed the wonders it has promised. I feel no difference between this wand and the one I procured from Olivander's all those years ago. No difference."
Hermione bit her lip, listening to their words.
"I have thought long and hard, Severus. Do you know why I have called you back from the battle?" Voldemort asked.
"No, my Lord, but I beg you will let me return. Let me find Potter," Snape said.
"You sound like Lucius. Neither of you understands Potter as I do. He does not need finding. Potter will come to me. I know his weakness, you see, his one great flaw," Voldemort said. Hermione's eyes met Ron's. "He will hate watching others struck down around him, knowing that it is for him that it happens. He will want to stop it at any cost. He will come."
Hermione swallowed back the bile that tried to emerge from her throat, realizing what Voldemort was trying to get at.
"But my Lord, he might be killed accidentally by one other than yourself-"
"My instructions to my Death Eaters have been perfectly clear. Capture Potter. Kill his friends, the more, the better, but do not kill him," Voldemort stated, "But it is of you that I wished to speak, Severus. Not Harry Potter. You have been very valuable to me. Very valuable."
"My Lord knows I seek only to serve him. But let me go and find the boy, my Lord. Let me bring him to you. I know I can-"
Hermione could hear the slight quiver in his voice.
"I have told you, no!" Voldemort stated with a pause, "My concern at the moment, Severus, is what will happen when I finally meet the boy!"
"My Lord, there can be no question, surely…"
"But there is a question, Severus. There is." Voldemort stopped, "Why did both the wands I have used fail when directed at Harry Potter?"
"I… I cannot answer that, my Lord."
"Can't you?" Voldemort asked. "My wand of yew did everything that I asked it, Severus, except to kill Harry Potter. Twice it failed. Ollivander told me under torture of the twin cores, told me to take another's wand. I did so, but Lucius's wand shattered upon meeting Potter's."
Hermione looked at Ron, who was turning pale.
"I have no explanation, my Lord."
"I sought a third wand, Severus. The Elder Wand, the Wand of Destiny, the Death Stick. I took it from its previous master. I took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore." Voldemort stated, and a chill went down Hermione's spine.
"My Lord, let me go to the boy," Snape begged.
"All this long night, when I am on the brink of victory, I have sat here," Voldemort said quietly barely over a whisper, "Wondering, wondering, why the Elder Wand refuses to be what it ought to be, refuses to perform as legend says it must perform for its rightful owner… and I think I have the answer."
Hermione squeezed her eyes shut.
"Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen.
Hermione pushed her fist into her hand to cover her sob.
"My Lord…"
"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine." Voldemort stated so coldly.
"My Lord!" Snape said sharply.
"It cannot be any other way," Voldemort said, "I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand and I master Potter at last."
Ron grabbed her hands as they heard a hiss. Then there was a terrible scream, and Hermione covered her ears as she heard the gurgling of what she could only guess, followed by a thump.
"I regret it," Voldemort said coldly.
More gurling could be heard as footsteps walked away from them. Opening her eyes, she saw Harry's wand coming out of the cloak. "Harry!" She breathed out.
She saw Harry's feet only as he climbed through the hole and pulled himself up into the room. Pushing herself up, she peered in to see Harry take off the Invisibility Cloak and rush over to Snape. Pulling herself up into the room, she grabbed his cloak only to see Snape, who was flat on the floor, covered in blood. Harry moved closer to him, and the rasping and gurgling noise returned, "Take… it… take… it." Snape rasped.
More than blood was coming from his body. A silvery blue substance was gushing from his mouth, ears, and eyes. Memories.
Reaching into her beaded bag, she pulled out a flask and put it in Harry's hands. He syphoned off the blue substance, putting it into the flask.
Snape grabbed onto Harry's jacket, "Look… at… me," he whispered.
Then the hand that was holding his jacket hit the floor as his eyes were unseeing.
Hermione shakily took the flask from Harry and corked it, putting it into her pocket, when a chill went over her body and a voice filled her head.
Cold and high, speaking to them as if he were in the room. Voldemort's voice bounced off the walls, the floor, and within her head. "You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I did not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured."
Hermione shivered as she looked at Harry.
"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then the battle recommences. This time, I shall entered the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."
Hermione's heart seized within her chest as Harry's face showed what he was feeling. He was planning on doing it. Giving up to save everyone else.
"Don't listen to him," Ron said.
Hermione nodded, "Harry, honey, it'll be all right. We'll find another way. Let's get back to the castle, if he's gone to the forest we'll need to think of a new plan."
Hermione glanced at Snape's mutilated body and realized that she felt numb. Harry was staring at it in shock as Ron started back to the tunnel, and Hermione put her hand out for Harry to take. He turned, looking at her, staring past her as if she weren't there. "Harry, Harry honey, let's go."
He swallowed hard, then took her hand. Staring at the blood on his own, making its way onto hers.
"Scourgify," Hermione whispered, waving her wand over both his hands and her own, "Let's go." *Rowling, J.K.. Harry Potter: The Complete Collection (1-7)
Preview of Chapter 13- Centuries
Harry's eyes wouldn't meet hers. "But Hermione, before his death, Snape told him something. The reason I can see Voldemort's thoughts. I have-"
"Don't say it!" Hermione hissed as tears came to her eyes.
Harry gave her a sad smile, "You knew… suspected at least."
Hermione cried, "I didn't want it to be true."
Harry reached out and touched her cheek, and Hermione closed her eyes. He laid a kiss on her forehead. "Thank you."
"Let me go with you," Hermione sobbed, holding onto his wrist.
"No, I couldn't go through with it if you were there," Harry admitted, "Go to Ron. Please."
Hermione opened her eyes and, through the tears, saw his chin quiver.
"Go to Ron, when… when I go, the Snake will still need to be killed, then he can be killed," Harry told her.
Hermione stood and threw her arms around his neck, "I love you, Harry."
Harry rested his head against hers, "I love you. I always have. Now go, before I can't."