Hermione Granger and the Deathly Hallows

Spinning

Turning

Watching

Burning

All my life has found its meaning

Walking

Crawling

Climbing

Falling

Oh my life has found its meaning

You and I

I wouldn't change a thing

No, you and I

I wouldn't change a thing

When the world keeps spinning round

My world's upside down

And I wouldn't change a thing

I got nothing else to lose

I lost it all when I found you

You and I

I wouldn't change a thing

You and I

I wouldn't change a thing

**

"Whoa," Ron exclaimed as he stepped out of Myrtle's bathroom and was promptly almost knocked over by the force of a loud explosion. He hurriedly caught his balance, but a few of the basilisk fangs jumped out his arms clattered to the floor. "You all right?" he asked as he knelt down to collect the dropped items.

"Yes," Hermione answered from the doorway; she had thrown herself against the thick doorframe to steady herself. Another explosion reverberated through the halls, causing the couple to instinctively duck in order to shield their precious cargo. They were going to need as many basilisk-venom imbued items as they could get. Hermione looked all around to make sure the coast was clear before getting to her feet, heart pounding. "This is it, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Ron confirmed grimly, jaw clenched in anticipation for the inevitable battle that was to come. Tonight really was the night that this war was going to end. "Come on; we've got to find Harry."

Hermione wasn't quite sure how that was going to be possible due to the chaos reigning around them, but mercifully, they had only just started to race towards the Room of Requirement when a tall, dark, heroic figure turned around the corner and exploded with a furious, "Where the hell have you been?"

She came to an unsteady stop as Harry charged towards them, fumbling to keep all of the basilisk fangs safely in her arms, starting to feel more than a little guilty for dawdling for those few precious seconds in the Chamber of Secrets. Harry had to be going mad with worry.

Ron however looked unconcerned as he too stopped and waited for Harry to approach them. "Chamber of Secrets," he answered matter-of-factly, as if they had popped down there before heading off to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Chamber--what?" said Harry confusedly, coming to an unsteady halt before them

"It was Ron, all Ron's idea," said Hermione breathlessly, cutting in to explain. "Wasn't it absolutely brilliant?" Ron's ears flushed a quick shade of pink, and Hermione imagined that she too was rather red herself, but she kept on going, determined to give Ron the praise that he had rightly earned. "There we were, after you left, and I said to Ron, even if we find the other one, how are we going to get rid of it? We still hadn't got rid of the cup! And then he thought of it! The basilisk!"

"What the--"

"Something to get rid of Horcruxes," said Ron simply.

Harry's eyes dropped to the objects clutched in Ron and Hermione's arms and something visibly clicked inside of his head. He stared at his best mate in awe. "But how did you get in there?" he asked. "You need to speak Parseltongue!"

"He did!" whispered Hermione. "Show him, Ron!"

Ron complied and let out a horrible strangled hissing noise. Harry unconsciously flinched as it grated on his eardrums. "It's what you did to open the locket," Ron told Harry apologetically. "I had to have a few goes to get it right, but," he shrugged modestly, "we got there in the end."

"He was amazing!" said Hermione, beaming with pride. "Amazing!" Ron glanced sideways at her, ears still pink, uncertain where all this praise was coming from. Hermione wasn't usually so complimentary. And to be honest, Hermione wasn't so certain where all of this was coming from herself. Perhaps it was knowing that tonight could be the end that was causing her to be quite unable to keep anything inside of her very long; it was as though every loving thought for Ron she had ever had was bubbling out of her, desperate to be seen by everyone and everything. Or perhaps one of the powers of the Chamber of Secrets was causing nothing to remain a secret anymore. Ever since they had emerged from that foul place, Hermione suddenly had wanted Ron to know everything she had ever felt for him--well, he already knew, on some level, he had to--but now Hermione desperately wanted to make it crystal clear to him just how important he was to her, how amazing she thought he was, and how totally and completely in love with him she was. It was about time that he did.

Harry's confused voice jarred both of them back to reality. "So..." Harry obviously was struggling to keep up. "So..."

"So we're another Horcrux down," said Ron, and from under his jacket he pulled the mangled remains of Hufflepuff's cup. "Hermione stabbed it. Thought she should. She hasn't had the pleasure yet."

Hermione could scarcely call the experience of stabbing the cup a pleasure, but she nodded as Harry glanced at her for confirmation. A gigantic grin burst across his face. "Genius!"

"It was nothing," said Ron, though he looked delighted with himself. He returned the cup to his jacket pocket. "So what's new with you?"

Another explosion cut off Harry's response. All three of them looked up as dust fell from the ceiling and they heard a distant scream. Hermione's insides crawled. That particular explosion had been much closer than the other two.

Harry must have realized that too, for as he spoke, his voice became very quick, clipped, and determined: this was his saving-people voice. "I know what the diadem looks like, and I know where it is. He hid 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."

Hermione personally wanted to ask some more questions about how Harry had figured all of this out, but he was already leading them back to the Room of Requirement, desperate to find the diadem as quickly as possible. The room was empty except for Ginny, Tonks, and Neville's grandmother, who must have just arrived. As the three women clustered around Harry to determine what was going on, Ron seized his chance to lean over to Hermione. "Reckon I could get you to stay here with Ginny?"

Hermione's hands hadn't even made it to her hips before Ron answered his own question. "Yeah. That's what I thought." He gave her a quick, rueful smile. "Had to try, didn't I?"

Her arms dropped back to her side. "Yes. I suppose you did," she answered in a very different voice. Ron wouldn't be Ron if he didn't try to protect her with every ounce of his being. As he had in the Chamber, he gave her one last, long look before returning his attention to Harry, who was telling Tonks about Remus. Hermione had to take several long breaths to calm herself; her skin was itching with Ron's potent after-effects. Why could he do this to her--and it always seemed at the worst possible times that she was especially afflicted by his presence. He smiled at her all the time and it always sent delightful shivers through her, but sometimes, like right now, her blood boiled in such a way that it was all she could do keep from jumping on him here and now.

It took a few breaths before Hermione could bring her attention back to the room in time to hear Harry tell Ginny that she needed to leave the room for a bit. Ginny practically skipped out of the room as Harry shouted after her, "And then you can come back in! You've got to come back in!"

Hermione didn't have the heart to tell Harry that if she had to guess, the girl had absolutely no intention of returning. Ginny, like the rest of her family, was a true Weasley. She was going to fight until her last breath gave out.

"Hang on a moment!" said Ron sharply from the corner. He had been standing to the side, arms still full of fangs and the broomstick he had Summoned, obviously trying to sort through something that was troubling him. "We've forgotten someone!"

"Who?" asked Hermione instantly as she looked around the room as if that someone was sitting in the chair, awaiting their help.

"The house-elves," Ron answered, actually looking honestly concerned, "they'll all be down in the kitchen, won't they?"

She froze and looked only at him, blood bubbling hotter and faster than ever.

"You mean we ought to get them fighting?" asked Harry.

Hermione closed her eyes for a moment, telling herself that this was not the time to lecture Harry about S.P.E.W., that she would have to wait until this fateful night ended, but to her shock and amazement, Ron did it for her. "No," said Ron seriously, "I mean we should tell them to get out. We don't want any more Dobbies, do we? We can't order them to die for us--"

That was it. She couldn't take it anymore. She just couldn't. She had to do this. She just had to.

All of the basilisk fangs spilled out of her arms, but she didn't care. Harry was watching them with an agape jaw, but she didn't care. They really should be running as fast as they could to find the diadem, but she really didn't care. She had to do this. They couldn't go into this battle without him knowing just how perfect he was, that he had grown up to be just the man she had always wanted but never thought she would find because he was just too good to be true. And he was. Ron really was. He drove her mad and most days she wouldn't mind throwing a heavy book at his head, but at the end of the day, when petty trivialities were set aside, Ron was the best thing that had ever happened to her. Ron had made her a better human being. Ron had become the reason she got up every morning. Ron--Ron--

The world turned completely upside down and inside out. She didn't even know what she was doing anymore. There was only Ron, Ron's hands, Ron's lips, Ron's skin, Ron's soul, Ron's heart pounding wildly away in an erratic rhythm that somehow matched hers perfectly--somehow, despite all of the odds and rows, they were one--this was it--this was perfection.

"OI! There's a war going on here!"

Ron and Hermione broke apart, their arms still around each other as they were very rudely returned to the problem at hand. Ron set her back onto the ground and Hermione stumbled as her feet made impact with the floor. She stared at her shoes as though she didn't know what they were for. Had Ron picked her up? She couldn't remember.

"I know, mate," said Ron in a very distracted and pleased voice, full of new confidence and life, "so it's now or never, isn't it?"

That had to be the smartest thing Ron had ever said. Not even Harry could argue with that logic. Frustrated beyond belief, he continued on. "Never mind that, what about the Horcrux? D'you think you could just--" he waved his wand vaguely, unable to articulate what he had just witnessed, "--just hold it in until we've got the diadem?"

"Yeah--right--sorry--" said Ron. They both glanced at each other and made a sudden realization before they hastily jumped to collect the fangs: it was going to be really difficult to hold it in now that it had finally all been let out. When they finished gathering the items, Ron suggested that they stow them in the beaded bag she was carrying in her sock. Hermione agreed and they tipped the fangs inside, stealing the chance to share one more secret smile. Her cheeks flushed even hotter than ever. She had kissed Ron. She kissed Ron. She could scarcely believe it. It had finally, finally happened. And now they had to go on as if it had never even happened.

However, the current state of the battle wasn't certainly enough to extinguish the brightest flames of passion. If they didn't buckle down and finish their job, there wasn't going to be a world to be happily in love in. As quickly as they could, they headed back to the Room of Requirement and ran past the blank wall three times, thinking about the room where everything is hidden, until the door materialized before them. They raced inside and slammed the door behind them, effectively cutting off the deafening din of the battle so there was only silence and towering walls built of objects hidden by thousands of long-gone students.

Ron started forward in awe, never having seen this particular facet of the Room of Requirement. "And he never realized anyone could get in?" he asked, his voice echoing in the silence.

"He thought he was the only one," said Harry. "Too bad for him I've had to hide stuff in my time...this way," he added. "I think it's down here..."

He assuredly led them pass a stuffed troll and cabinet, but his confidence soon wavered as he looked up and down the aisles of junk which all admittedly looked exactly the same. The diadem could be anywhere. Hermione quickly tried a Summoning Charm, but as she suspected, in this room, items that wanted to be lost would remain lost. Not even magic could bring them to their eager fingertips.

"Let's split up," Harry suggested next. "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..."

The three of them sped down adjacent aisles. Hermione ran as fast as she dared, her eyes whipping back and forth for a cupboard similar to the one Harry had described--finding the cupboard would be much easier than picking out a diadem all of this rubbish. It had to be around here somewhere. A few times, Hermione's heart leapt as she spotted a large wooden object, but it would always be a broken desk or a stack of moldy chairs. In fact, she had yet to see anything that even resembled something as large as a cupboard.

She slowed down to a stop to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. The cavernous room seemed to be completely disorganized, but perhaps there was a method to this madness. Perhaps larger items were located in a different section of the room.

No, she told herself after reflecting over it for another second, no, it couldn't. Just because she wished that there was some sort of organization to this chaotic space didn't mean that there actually was. She would have to just keep on searching. She was still a bit winded, so Hermione started off as a brisk walk, her labored breathing and her own footsteps the only audible sounds. She soon stopped again to see if she could hear anything else. The silence of this place was really starting to put her at unease. At least if you could hear the sounds of a battle, you had some idea of what was going on. As of right now, she had absolutely no idea what was happening to her two best friends. For all she knew, Voldemort could be in here, quietly killing them both. Anxiety heightened, Hermione seriously considered calling out for her friends before sternly telling herself to be a Gryffindor and keep on going. There was no time to waste.

"Harry? Are you talking to someone?"

Hermione whirled around as she caught the edge to Ron's voice. Whatever he had just heard, he really didn't like it. She took off towards the place where she had heard Ron's voice, but she didn't make it in time. A fifty-foot pile of furniture suddenly wobbled threateningly and furniture, trunks, books, and hundreds of other lethal items crashed to the floor from the aisle where Hermione had last heard Ron's voice.

She screamed and broke out into a full-out run; Harry was shouting Ron's name and a few seconds later, she heard him counter-act the spell that had caused the landslide while she rounded the corner to find a mountain of junk burying the aisle where Ron had been. Her wand flew up, but a broken chair shifted the side as Ron crawled out as quietly as he could from underneath the rubble, bruised, battered, but very much alive. He must have managed to put up some sort of protective shield just in time. Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth and doubled over with relief. Ron had almost died far too many times in one night.

Ron held a finger to his lips so they could both listen. "What's the matter?" a very soft voice jeered. "It's Potter the Dark Lord wants, who cares about a die-dum?"

Hermione's eyebrows lifted with surprise. "Crabbe?" she mouthed to Ron. She could never get over how quiet Crabbe's voice was.

He nodded. "And Malfoy and Goyle," he added.

To confirm his statement, Malfoy was speaking. "Potter came in here to get it, so that must mean--"

Hermione spun her finger over her head to indicate that she would go around and surprise them from behind. Ron crept into a standing position. "I'll distract," he told her. Hermione nodded and after both of them told each other to be careful with one, fast glance, Hermione took off at a crouch, silently hurrying on the balls of her feet so no one would hear her footsteps. She had a long way to go to get all the way around, but she didn't dare go any faster. Malfoy had to know that if Ron and Harry were here, she was here too and would be listening for her arrival.

"Must mean?" Crabbe hissed. "Who cares what you think? I don't take your orders no more, Draco. You an' your dad are finished."

"Harry? What's going on?" Ron yelled loudly although he could of course tell exactly what was happening.

"Harry?" mocked Crabbe in a horrible imitation of Ron. "What's going--no, Potter! Crucio!"

Harry, Hermione moaned under her breath as she dropped all pretense and took off at a dead run, wincing at the sound of a crash. Of course Harry would also have used Ron's shout as a distraction and went for his wand or whatever brilliant yet dangerous plan he had just concocted. Her lungs burned, but Hermione just pushed herself harder. She was almost there.

"STOP!" Malfoy shouted. "The Dark Lord wants him alive--"

"So I'm not killing him, am I? But if I can, I will, the Dark Lord wants him dead anyway, what's the diff--?"

Hermione was all too happy to cut off the rest of Crabbe's question with her Stunning spell; Crabbe was rapidly becoming the most annoying person she had ever met. She only had one second to take aim, but her spell would have slapped Crabbe right in the head if Malfoy hadn't yanked him out of the way in time. Hermione swore under her breath; she had just blown the one element of surprise they had left.

"It's that Mudblood! Avada Kedavra!"

Hermione flung herself out of the way just in time; the lethal green sparks sailed into another pile of rubble. Her wand jumped out of her hand and Hermione had to take a few precious seconds to retrieve it as Malfoy screamed for Crabbe not to kill Harry. Hermione scrambled back towards the fray, her heart pounding; she knew Ron wouldn't hide any longer now that he knew that Killing Curses were being fired and Harry certainly wasn't going to get to safety any time soon--they needed to take those three Slytherins out once and for all.

The sound of another Killing Curse fueled Hermione's fury to insurmountable heights and without even thinking, she Stunned Goyle square in the back and charged towards the fray. Malfoy was cowering behind a wardrobe and even though Hermione would normally never think of cursing an unarmed wizard, her wand swung towards him.

Harry's frantic voice however stopped her. "It's somewhere here!" He pointed desperately at a pile of junk, his need to finding the Horcrux overriding concerns for his own safety. "Look for it while I go and help R--"

Her scream cut off the rest of his sentence. She had been looking wildly around for Crabbe, who seemed to have disappeared along with Ron. That's when she had spotted the two boys pelting down the aisle towards them, flames of abnormal size devouring up the sides of the junk balwakrs, which were crumbling to soot at their touch. Harry tried to stop it with a spell, but Hermione knew better. She knew what this was: it had to be Fiendfyre. And not even she knew a spell that could stop those flames from killing them all. They could only run and pray.

So they all ran as fast as their legs could carry them, but it was no use. The fire was mutating, forming a gigantic pack of fiery beasts: serpents, chimaeras, and dragons all chased them, swallowing up the millions of items in the room in greedy gulps, and with each swallow, they grew even larger and moved even faster until it became painfully apparent that there was no possible way that they could outrun them. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had long since vanished so the trio came to a panicked halt. "What can we do?" Hermione screamed, counting on them to get them through this. She wasn't the best at thinking of brilliant plans in times of extreme duress "What can we do?"

Luckily, Harry's best ideas were formed when his life was in severe peril. His eyes quickly caught on their salvation. "Here!" He seized a pair of heavy-looking broomsticks from the nearest pile of junk and threw one to Ron, who pulled Hermione onto it behind him. He leapt on the other broom and together, the two men kicked off the ground and soared up into the air, missing by feet the horned beak of a flaming raptor that snapped its jaws at them.

"You all right?" Ron called over his shoulder to Hermione as he sensed how close that had been. She nodded and tightened her grip around his waist. Normally, she would have loved to fly with Ron like this, but with the unbearable heat and smoke choking her lungs, not even Ron's presence could placate her. But God love him, he certainly was going to try. "Hang on--and keep your head down," he advised before leaning over the broomstick to increase their speed. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut; Ron had never flown this fast with her. She buried her face into his jacket to protect her lungs from the charred smoke. She could feel Ron's ribs shaking with hacking coughs; if they didn't get out soon, they were going asphyxiate.

Ron was shouting to Harry to get out in such a way that Hermione lifted her head in confusion. It was then that she heard the thin scream and then she understood; Harry was going to save Malfoy. "It's--too--dangerous--!" Ron yelled, but even though she couldn't see anything, she knew that Harry had gone back. "Damn it!" Ron shouted before choking again on a mouthful of smoke. He twisted around to appeal to Hermione. "Do your Point Me spell. Now!"

"Why?" Hermione shouted back.

"So I can get you out of here!" Ron returned. His eyes remained on where he had last seen Harry. "Hurry!"

But Hermione realized what he was trying to do and shook her head stoutly, leaning forward so she could place her hands over his, as he had once flown with her, and steered him towards Harry. "Go! Help him!" If Ron thought he could find the door, get her off the broom, and get back to help Harry all before the fire consumed the entire room, he really was as thick as his brothers claimed he was.

Ron must have realized that too, for he let out another exclamation that was much more vulgar than his previous one, but shook off her fingers so he could take over flying. It was extremely difficult to see with all of the acrid smoke, but after a quick spell to their faces, their eyesight was a little more protected, which allowed for them to spot Harry struggling to pull Malfoy and Goyle up from a pile of charred desks. Malfoy's hand slipped out of Harry's grasp as soon as they touched and that's when Ron recklessly dove, screaming, "IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!" Together, he and Hermione dragged Goyle onto their broom and rose, rolling and pitching into the air once more as Malfoy clambered up behind Harry.

Ron hesitated just for a second to make sure that Harry got off safely before speeding back in the direction where he thought the door was. Hermione now had her arms around Goyle's thick back, struggling to keep him upright on the broom. Gregory Goyle, however, was a very big boy, so every time he slipped out of her grasp, the broom buckled dangerously, threatening to tip all of them into the fire below. Ron couldn't help swearing again after the fourth time that happened. "Hold him!"

"I'm trying!" Hermione yelled back at him, about to say more, but that was when she saw a flash of the wall through the heavy smoke. "Ron! There!"

Ron didn't think. He just dove in the direction Hermione indicated, having to weave in and out of the pair of fiery dragons that were snapping at their ankles. "Door!" he shouted over his shoulder at her. Hermione hastily raised her hand that was still clutching her wand so she could open the door with a fast flash. The quick motion however caused Goyle to once again keel to the side, his large knee knocking the broom off-kilter, dipping them right into the jaws of an awaiting chimera.

Both Ron and Hermione screamed in terror as the heat from the flames nearly knocked them unconscious, but both reacted with a level of teamwork that only the best of friends could attain. Hermione dove forward and blocked Goyle's fall with her body, grunting as his heavy weight nearly forced her off the broom. But Ron's hand had already grabbed her shoulder to help support her as he miraculously steered the broom so all three of them safely crashed into the wall of the hallway and collapsed onto the floor, gulping down the beautifully clean air into their parched lungs.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked between coughs as she pushed herself onto her knees so she could inspect Ron's condition. His hair was singed, and face blackened with soot, but he seemed unharmed. He nodded, still coughing too hard to speak just yet. Hermione placed a comforting hand on his back as she gave Goyle a quick glance to see if he was breathing. When she saw that he was, she relaxed just a tiny bit. "Well, we're not flying together for a while," she joked, in dire need of something that wouldn't remind her of their near death.

"I'm not opposed to that," Ron finally answered weakly. "I'm never getting on a broom again." Hermione nodded her assent. However, he immediately contradicted that statement as his eyes traveled back to the open door of the Room of Requirement. The only thing billowing out of it was gallons and gallons of thick smoke. "Where's Harry?"

Hermione rolled over to her side to find the broom. "I thought he was right behind us..." she said, panicked. Harry was such a brilliant flier, she had just assumed that once he had Malfoy that he would be fine. If they had managed to escape, Harry should be able to too. But he had been behind them, and the fire had been growing stronger by each passing second so even if you were just two seconds behind--

Ron snatched the broom away from her. "You stay," he ordered harshly, but before she could argue with him, Harry and Malfoy burst through a balloon of smoke and crashed into the corridor wall. Ron immediately dropped back to the floor next to Hermione, weak with relief. After closing the door with another flick of her wand, Hermione leaned against the wall behind them and swallowed hard with a hand over her heart. That was much too close.

Harry sat up almost immediately, sorely out of breath and covered in soot, but also unharmed. He raised his eyebrows at them and Ron and Hermione nodded to answer his unasked question. Harry let out a long, shaky sigh with relief while Malfoy retched one last time and appealed to them with a rarely-seen vulnerability. "C-Crabbe," choked Malfoy. "C-Crabbe..."

"He's dead," said Ron harshly.

Hermione repressed the urge to whack him in the arm. Even though this was Malfoy, they could be a bit more sensitive. Malfoy had just lost his best friend. They took a few more moments to recover their breath as several more bangs and shouts echoed throughout the castle as a grim reminder of what had been happening while they had burnt down the Room of Requirement. Hermione wiped off her face, hoping she had gotten the last of the soot. Even though all she wanted to do was sleep for a week, this was far from over.

Harry clearly felt the same way. After an army of ghosts galloped past them, intent on joining the fray, Harry climbed to his feet and looked about him. "Where's Ginny?" he said sharply. "She was here. She was supposed to be going back into the Room of Requirement."

"Blimey, d'you reckon it'll still work after that fire?" asked Ron, but he too got to his feet, rubbing his sore chest and looking left and right. "Shall we split up and look--?"

"No," said Hermione, getting to her feet too. She knew it was no use; Ginny was a part of the Battle of Hogwarts rather they liked it or not. Besides, they needed to keep going with their mission and not get distracted with other tasks. Like snogging your best friend, a snide voice reminded her. She quickly ignored it. "Let's stick together. I say we go--" Hermione cut off her suggestion to head to the Great Hall as Voldemort and Nagini would be in the thick of the battle when she spotted a blackened yet sparkling item caught around Harry's wrist. "Harry, what's that on your arm?"

"What? Oh yeah--" Harry pulled what must be Ravenclaw's diadem from his wrist and held it up for all to see. He was inspecting some sort of inscription on it when suddenly a bloodlike substance, dark and tarry, spurted out of it. The diadem then began to shudder and shatter, releasing a faint scream of pain that signified its defeat.

Hermione's hand jumped to cover her mouth, her eyes on the broken pieces, as she remembered what she had read about Fiendfyre and Horcruxes in the book she had taken from Dumbledore's office. "It must have been Fiendfyre!" She hastened to explain as Harry confusedly asked her what she meant. "Fiendfyre--cursed fire--it's one of the substances that destroy Horcruxes, but I would never, ever dared to use it, it's so dangerous--how did Crabbe know how to--?"

"Must've learned from the Carrows," said Harry grimly as he gingerly wiped his hands clear of the remains of the Horcrux.

"Shame he wasn't concentrating when they mentioned how to stop it, really," said Ron. "If he hadn't tried to kill us all, I'd be quite sorry he was dead."

Malfoy, who was still huddled on the floor, gave Ron a dirty look, but no one else caught it. They were all too excited about the diadem's demise. "But don't you realize?" whispered Hermione, heartbeat accelerating once again. "This means, if we can just get the snake--"

A familiar yell and the unmistakable sound of dueling cut her off. They all quickly turned around in time to see Fred and Percy back into view both dueling Death Eaters. Malfoy frantically seized Goyle's robes and began dragging him in the opposite direction while Harry, Ron, and Hermione raced forward to help, all shooting spells at an alarming rate. Ron in particular was quite skillful as he determinedly whipped his wand towards the Death Eater pursuing Percy, not caring that this was the first time he had seen his estranged brother in over a year. The wizard hastily backed off as Harry and Hermione's spells joined Ron's, his hood slipping off to reveal the Imperiused Minister of Magic.

Percy's face changed as he saw who he had been fighting; in fact--Hermione couldn't be certain from this distance--he might have laughed. "Hello, Minister!" bellowed Percy, sending a neat jinx straight at Thicknesse, who dropped his wand and clawed at the front of his robes, apparently in awful discomfort. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"

"You're joking, Perce!" shouted Fred as he waved his wand at the Death Eater he was fighting. Ron and Harry quickly followed suit and the Death Eater collapsed under the weight of the three separate Stunning Spells. The trio finally reached their friends as Thicknesse fell to his knees as he slowly grew to resemble a sea urchin. Ron chuckled knowingly under his breath; obviously, he was quite familiar with the curse Percy he had used. Fred lowered his wand so he could look at Percy with glee. "You actually are joking, Perce...I don't think I've heard you joke since you were--"

After that, Hermione was quite uncertain what exactly happened in those next few minutes. She remembered flying through the air, her feet actually leaving the earth while having the irrational thought of 'well, so much for never flying again.' Then suddenly, she was back on the ground, covered in rubble, arm stinging viciously, head swimming and spinning as she tried and failed to sort out who she was and why this was happening to her. She must have lost herself to the darkness once again, because the next thing she knew was a cry that went right down to her tips of her toes. It was a cry that instantly jolted her into action, because even though she was half-conscious and utterly dazed, she knew it was a Weasley who had made that cry. A Weasley needed her help.

Fueled by the urgency of the situation, Hermione managed to sift aside the mounds of rubble burying her and get to her feet. A massive hole in the wall indicated that the Death Eaters must have blown up the side of the castle wall right where they had been standing. No wonder they were all so disoriented. A hand grabbed hers to help guide her over the stone and wood towards a group of three red-haired men. Hermione's head was swarming again, but this time with sheer panic. This was not Ron's hand guiding her. If Ron hadn't come to find her and help her, it had to be because he couldn't--it hadn't been his cry that had shaken her out of her stupor--something was wrong--something was really, really wrong--

Percy was shouting and as his voice shook and quavered, Hermione knew it had been him who had let out the god-awful cry that had rattled her very soul. "No--no--no! No! Fred! No!"

Hermione and Harry both came to an unsteady halt as their vision finally recovered from the explosion so they could see what was happening: Percy, shaking his brother, Ron kneeling beside them, and Fred's eyes staring without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face. Irrationally, Hermione stared at him for a few seconds longer, waiting for him to get up or laugh or breathe or do something to indicate that all of this wasn't real. She had been knocked out for a few minutes; perhaps she was dreaming or she was hallucinating due to a concussion. That had to be it. It had to. Fred couldn't be dead. Fred Weasley couldn't die. That would just be too cruel. It would just be wrong to have a world without someone like Fred there. Who would make them laugh? Who would sell them Patented Daydream Charms? Who would stand by George's side through thick and thin? Only Fred could fill those roles, as well as a thousand other ones. They needed him. He was irreplaceable so he couldn't just be gone in one second. That couldn't happen. It would hurt too much.

It wasn't until she looked over at Ron and saw the tears streaking down his grime-covered cheeks that she finally realized that this was really happening. Ron had just lost one of his brothers. Tears started to burn out of her eyes as well. She had lost a big brother herself.

A rain of curses suddenly flew through the giant hole in the wall, hitting the wall behind their heads. Hermione was so stunned by what had just happened that she couldn't even begin to react. But luckily for her, Harry still had a hold of her hand and Ron as always was right behind her. "Get down!" Harry shouted as he yanked her to the floor while Ron dove over Fred to cover her head with his arms. Percy lay across Fred's body, shielding it from further harm. When it became apparent the onslaught wasn't stopping any time soon, Harry risked lifting his head to yell, "Percy, come on, we've got to move!"

Percy shook his head stubbornly, not caring that lethal shower of sparks came inches away from his ear. Ron double-checked that Harry still had a hold of Hermione's hand before he crawled back to his brothers. "Percy!" He seized his elder brother's shoulders and pulled, but Percy wouldn't budge. The tears were falling at an even faster rate as Ron became more and more panicked; he may lose two brothers within five minutes of each other. "Percy, you can't do anything from him! We're going to--"

Hermione screamed. A monstrous spider the size of a small car was trying to climb through the huge hole in the wall. Ron, forgetting all about his childhood fear, leapt up from Percy to join Harry. The best friends shouted together; their spells collided and the monster was blown backwards. "It brought friends!" Harry called to the others as he glanced over the edge of the castle to spy the numerous giant spiders that were climbing up the walls, probably because of the Death Eaters' biddings. Harry fired Stunning spell after spell at them; Ron and Hermione quickly joined in, but even though the spiders were tumbling off the castle, that did nothing to defer the Death Eaters on the grounds below; curses continued to batter away at them, nicking their hair and clothing.

Harry finally couldn't take it anymore. "Let's move, NOW!" he ordered. He gave Hermione a rough push into Ron so the couple could hastily find each other's hand while he stooped over to seize Fred's body under the armpits. Ron tried to go to help, but stopped when Percy jumped up to assist. Leading the charge, Hermione repeatedly enacted Protection Shield after Protection Shield so they could just run at full speed and not worry about ducking or crouching. Once they were safely clear of the massive hole, Hermione slowed down to see what Harry wanted to do next. He stopped a niche to gently lay down the body, carefully arranging it so it would be well-hidden and protected until they could properly retrieve it. Ron choked down a strangled sob as Hermione squeezed his hand in commiseration. She really hoped someone would be able to get Fred soon.

A spell flashed by them, momentarily blinding her as they both jumped down to the floor, cursing their stupidity. They really couldn't keep still for very long. Ducking in and out of the swarms of people battling to the death, Hermione's sharp eye found a tapestry that hid a staircase that led to the ground floor corridor. "There!" Hermione gasped as she steered them behind the tapestry so they could take cover and catch their breaths. "We'll wait here for Harry," Hermione suggested between pants. She glanced over at Ron and promptly let out one sob when she saw Ron's heartbroken face. She had never seen him in so much pain. "Ron?"

Ron ignored her blatant concern. Instead, his hands jumped to her shoulders to keep her in place, as if he could push her through the floor to safety just by the sheer force of his will "You wait here for Harry, got it?"

"And where do you think you're going?" Hermione demanded.

Ron's eyes shone with a hatred she had never quite seen before. "I'm going to find who killed my brother."

"NO!" Hermione shouted, grabbing him just in time and with a strength that could only be possessed in the most desperate of circumstances, whipping him around so he was pinned against the wall. "You're not going anywhere!"

"Hermione--let me go--" Ron warned wildly. "I swear--I'll curse you if I have to--let me go--"

"NO!" Hermione shrieked once again, glancing over her shoulder for some indication that Harry was coming. She was going to need him to help her to stop Ron from getting himself killed. Ron twisted, trying to elude her grip and nearly succeeded. Hermione dug her nails into him, hating that she was causing him pain, but feeling that it was horribly necessary. "Ron, please, don't, just listen--"

Ron was fading rapidly, his face crumbling and entire body slumping right before her eyes, practically on the verge of collapsing. He seemed to have lost his mind. "I've got to--I can't not--he needs me to--"

"No, no, he doesn't, he needs you to help Harry," Hermione began very softly, crying along with him again, but it was that moment that they heard Percy let out a bull-like roar: "Rookwood!"

Ron jerked with fresh fire and tried to bolt after his brother. "NO!" A glance back into the hallway revealed that Harry had indeed just arrived and was probably looking all over the place for them. "Harry, in here!" Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs, praying that he could hear her. Ron attempted to use her distraction to his advantage, but Hermione was ready for this and kept him pinioned to the wall as Harry mercifully appeared behind the tapestry. "Listen to me--LISTEN, RON!"

"I wanna help--I wanna kill Death Eaters--" Ron begged. His face was contorted, smeared with dust and smoke, and he was shaking with rage and grief.

"Ron, we're the only ones who can end it! Please--Ron--we need the snake, we've got to kill the snake!" said Hermione with frantic logic. He couldn't possibly argue with that. Ron's struggling didn't abate in the slightest, even at that reminder of what they absolutely had to do before this war could end. His almost delirious eyes fought not to contact with her, knowing that once they connected, he would give in to her. But Hermione was relentless and didn't speak again into his perfect blue ones find hers. All of the anguish she saw in there almost broke her in half, but she kept on speaking. "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 d-doing! We're the only ones who can end it!"

She wiped her face on her torn and singed sleeve and she took great heaving breaths to calm herself. Tears weren't going to help her now. Still keeping a tight hold on Ron, she turned to Harry. "You need to find out where Voldemort is, because he'll have the snake with him, won't he? Do it, Harry--look inside of him!"

Harry looked amazed that she had actually asked him to do the one thing she had always argued against, but he didn't hesitate. He closed his eyes and immediately, his head dropped forward as if he had just dropped off into a deep sleep. This time, when Ron jerked to escape Hermione's grip, she let him, unconcerned. She knew Ron wouldn't go anywhere if he thought Harry was in trouble. Ron easily steadied his best friend before Harry fell to the floor and supported his weight. As they waited for Harry to return, Ron's eyes flickered over to Hermione for a mere second. "Thanks," he murmured almost inaudibly.

"Of course," Hermione returned with immense relief. Ron seemed to have regained his senses, at least for the time being.

He seemed to want to avoid eye contact again after what had just happened, but Ron couldn't help glancing over at her as he realized that her left sleeve was an unnatural shade of blackish-red. "You're bleeding."

"What? Oh." Hermione looked down at her arm; she had completely forgotten how much it had hurt when she had first regained consciousness after the explosion. She gingerly moved aside her shirt so she could take a look. Both she and Ron flinched at the sight of the deep gash; it looked like a corner of a slab of wood had stabbed her. "It'll be all right," Hermione predicted as she took a closer look at the injury.

"Get out the dittany," Ron ordered with a nod to her sock.

Hermione shook her head. "It's almost stopped bleeding," she said, "and we don't really have time to let it heal properly; I might as well wait until then before I do anything--"

True to her word, Harry abruptly popped back into awareness with a gasp. "He's in the Shrieking Shack," he reported hastily as he stepped away from Ron, sorting through everything he had just witnessed. "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?" said Hermione, outraged. "He's not--he's not even fighting?"

"He doesn't think he needs to fight," said Harry. "He thinks I'm going to go to him."

"But why?"

Because he's Harry, Ron reminded her with an impatient roll of his eyes, silently chiding her for even asking such a question. To confirm his answer, Harry replied matter-of-factly. "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--"

"Right," said Ron, squaring his shoulders. "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 and get it--"

Harry cut across Ron. "You two stay here, I'll go under the Cloak and I'll be back as soon as I--"

"No," said Hermione, "it makes much more sense if I take the Cloak and--"

"Don't even think about it," Ron snarled at her.

Hermione stifled a scream of annoyance. They really had to be the three most stubborn Gryffindors to ever attend this school. "Ron, I'm just as capable--"

Before she could list to him her many assets, the tapestry was ripped open and two masked Death Eaters let out a triumphant, "POTTER!" and started to raise their wands. But Hermione was already turning the stairs behind them into a chute that allowed them to almost fly down the slide, avoiding the Stunning spells fired at them, and safely shoot out the connecting tapestry into another corridor. Another quick spell turned the tapestry to stone so the two wizards hit the newly constructed wall with a very satisfying crunch.

With the battle raging all around them, there was no time to finish their argument. It was perfectly clear to all of them what the solution was. Harry flung the Invisibility Cloak over all three of them and the famous trio took off towards the Shrieking Shack, united and determined to destroy the final Horcrux, defeat Voldemort, and end this very long and very horrible war once and for all.