Hermione's Last Day

Hermione wiped the sweat from her brow. To herself, she muttered, "I wonder if Harry and Ron are okay! I wish I knew that they made it out alright." Forcing herself onward, she pushed the thought from her mind. She incanted with a soft sigh, "lumos," as her wand began to flutter with light; the walls of the cave shimmered under the bright, white wand-light. "Point me," she whispered, and her wand spun around, indicating north, and she decisively turned to the right.

As she turned the corner, she wondered how much she could trust the information she had received regarding the location of this horcrux. It seemed impossible to believe that Voldemort might have created a horcrux out of Fawkes. But if they were right, they were one step closer to ridding the world of Voldemort forever. She needed to find George; they had separated in order to better search the Maison de Renaissance, a deep cave said to be the ancestral homeland of all phoenixes, and surely where Fawkes had fled after Dumbledore's death.

"George!" she shrieked, staring in disbelief at George's body on the ground before her. With tears running down her face, she knelt by his side, with the soft wand-light dimming a bit as if in respect. George smiled at her, winked, and breathed his last breath. "No, George!" Hermione looked up, and saw a pile of feathers lay in a rumpled mass a few meters away; Hermione knew that Fawkes would not be reborn this last time. She felt a hand on her shoulder; shuttering, she turned, and, seeing pant-legs, looked up into a handsome face she had not seen before, but which she did recognize, if only vaguely.

The hand on her shoulder gripped tighter. "My God! What has happened here? This boy... is..."

Before he could continue, Hermione jumped, shouted, "Who are you?" and pointed her wand at him. "What did you do to him? What did you do to George?"

"My dear, I am so sorry; I am the keeper of the Maison de Renaissance. As you can see, one of our new residents," he said, pointing to the pile of feathers, "is not doing well. But what are you doing down here?"

She swallowed back a throatful of tears. She stammered, starting, "We've..." but, swallowing and starting again, she finished, "I've come to fight Voldemort." A flicker of understanding flashed in the man's eyes.

"Is he quite powerful then?" he asked, thirstfully.

She replied, "He? Voldemort?" The mysterious man nodded with a slight grin. "Everyday Voldemort loses power; we have already destroyed many of his..." Hermione stopped herself, knowing that she should not be speaking of their plan openly, and certainly not with this strange fellow.

"Horcruxes."

"How do you know?" she whispered, turning away from George's body.

"The keeper of the Maison de Renaissance knows many secrets of life, and death... and rebirth. So I assume you also know of the secret of destroying horcruxes?" Hermione shoulders slumped as her head shook from side to side.

They fall in love.

Hermione is conflicted! Talks to Ron... maybe they break up.

Hermione agrees... figures out an incantation to allow Tom Riddle to switch souls---but it will cost her her life.

Tom Riddle continues to kill the horcruxers---he realizes that it is evil.