The Final Battle

The Final Battle

Chapter Three: Chivalric Code

"Ron," Hermione said, her voice a breathless whisper from the shock. "Ron, they're here. Voldemort and his army...they're here for the final battle."

Ron jumped up from the sofa, running to the window to stand beside Hermione. He looked to the dawn, watching in amazement as still the army grew in size. There were too many to count, too dark to see them clearly yet. Ron and Hermione stood there for a long time, staring in awestruck horror at the sight from the Tower window.

"Ron we have to find Harry," Hermione pleaded. "We have to tell Dumbledore."

He stood stock still. Hermione wondered if he'd even heard her voice. He made no moves or indications that he had.

"Ron? Harry - we have to go and tell him," Hermione pleaded again. Realization seemed to have clicked on this time, but what he said made Hermione stop in her tracks. "You go," he said.

Hermione stared at him jaw open and eyes narrowed in confusion. Then she began to plead with him again, wondering why he wouldn't accompany her. "But Ron -" she started.

"You go," he said again, more firmly this time. "I'll try to wake up everyone in Gryffindor Tower. Go find Harry. Go find Dumbledore, McGonagall, anyone!" Then he grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her across the common room to the portrait hole.

"Ron, are you -" Hermione began to say again once she was outside in the corridor. But Ron, his hands already beginning to close the portrait, interrupted her again. "Go Hermione!"

Hermione stood quite still for a moment. Then Ron's words rang through her head, and she was racing down the corridor under Ron's orders. But no sooner had she started running, she realized she didn't know where to find Harry. Her first logical guess would be Dumbledore's office, or maybe the Room of Requirement.

Hermione slowed her pace, looking frantically around, completely unsure of where to go and trying to keep herself out of a panic. Then she heard Professor McGonagall come charging down the hallway. When she spotted Hermione, she yelped and headed straight for her.

"Miss Granger, what are you -" the professor began, but Hermione spoke up quickly.

"Professor, I need to find Harry."

Professor McGonagall paused and blinked at Hermione. She looked slightly shocked and it took her a moment before she answered.

"I do not know where he is, Miss Granger. I was looking for him and the Headmaster myself. Now back to Gryffindor Tower, I haven't the slightest idea what you are doing out of bed so early but surely -"

As Professor McGonagall made to grab Hermione's arm and take her back to the Tower, Hermione backed up out of her reach. McGonagall looked slightly appalled at her behavior, but didn't have time to rebuke her as the girl spoke up again.

"Please professor, it's important! Harry was having a lesson with the Headmaster and Ron said Harry never returned to Gryffindor Tower during the night. But I need to find Harry," Hermione explained. McGonagall was again about to say something, probably to say nothing could be so important, but Hermione proved this wrong. "Voldemort is here, Professor. Ron and I just saw the army from out the common room windows."

At this McGonagall clasped a hand to her chest and an audible gasp was heard. Her eyes widened in fear and she looked at Hermione in horror. "Miss Granger," she breathed. "Are you sure?" Hermione could only nod slowly.

And then comprehension seemed to dawn on the professor, and she took her hand from her chest and placed it gently on Hermione's shoulder. "Listen to me Miss Granger, and listen carefully," she said, and her voice was firm unlike her hand that was shaking. "Go back to Gryffindor Tower. I have a good idea of where the Headmaster has taken Harry. Keep your wand out - good girl. Now go, and be on your guard." The last part she said quietly, looking around cautiously.

And with that, the Professor turned and hurried down the hallway back the way she had come, leaving a shaking Hermione in her wake. Hermione held her wand at her side, it's presence a reminder of all the curses, jinxes and hexes she knew and could use. Quickly, she ran back to the Tower, hoping that Ron had awoken a good number of the students.

Not halfway back, she began to see students, apparently panicked and still in dressing gowns, running past her. Most of them seemed to be Gryffindors, but there were occasional Ravenclaws streaming right by her, just as panicked as the rest. Hurrying back, she turned a corner and ran right into a first year student. Stumbling she tried to help the student up but the little boy had got tangled in his robes and his hair was all in his eyes.

"It's alright, I'm a student, let me help you!" Hermione reasoned, but the student backed away, screaming and trying to move his hair.

"No!" he shouted. "Back away from me!" He moved to stand but stumbled again on the back his robes. Hermione noticed they had a Ravenclaw symbol on them.

"I'm a seventh year Gryffindor student and I'm trying to help you!" Hermione shouted back. But the next moment she felt a sharp burn on her arm as the student, blinded by their hair, found their wand and aimed. Hermione shouted out in pain. When she looked back up, the student had already fled away from her.

"Hermione!" a voice called, and she quickly spun back around and found Ron. He was running towards her, seemingly in a panic and there were even more students fleeing behind him.

"Ron! What's going on? All sorts of students, and their panicked -" she began.

"Hermione, it's bad. Real bad," Ron gasped. He put his hands on his knees to catch his breath for a moment.

"What's bad?" she asked, trying to stay calm.

"They're using the Floo Network!" he said, horror evident in his voice. "I was running down from the boys' dormitories, most of 'em was following me, others were getting dressed. I didn't even have time to wake up the girls, when a Death Eater jumped out from the fire place! He's Stunned now, and some fifth year put him in a Body Bind. The girls all heard the commotion, so they know now."

Hermione stared at Ron in horror. Eyes wide, she gasped for breath, unable to fathom the extremities of the entire situation. "They've figured out how to break the wards..."

"I guess so," he answered, just as worried as she was. They stood there another moment, staring at one another with awestruck looks on their faces. More students seemed to be running around the halls now, screaming and shouting and it brought Hermione back to the present.

"Come on, we have to get out of here," Hermione urged. She grabbed his arm and started heading downstairs with him. Ron followed reluctantly at first, but then he came back to his senses and gripped her hand in his as they raced down the stone steps towards the entrance hall.

"Did you find Harry?" he asked, huffing for breath once they had stopped for a moments rest.

Hermione shook her head as they prepared to speed down the next set of stairs. "No. I ran into McGonagall, and she seemed to know where to look." Ron nodded at her answer.

They stopped again on the landing of the third floor, each trying to catch their breath. They were looking around cautiously when they heard yelling from a nearby corridor. Knowing they were near the Library, Hermione snatched the sleeve of Ron's robes and hauled him into the secret passageway nearby. They hid just in time - a student screamed, and they heard two pairs of footsteps run past their hiding spot. They waited until the running feet could no longer be heard and then they emerged.

"That's a Hufflepuff," Ron murmured. Hermione looked where Ron was looking, and she too saw that the student.

"She only looks Stunned," Hermione replied. "I think she'll be ok. Come on," and grabbing Ron's hand, she hauled him towards the next staircase. Running, they noticed that the amount of students awake and running in terror had increased, and they dodged this way and that to avoid colliding with them.

Just as they had reached a throng of Ravenclaws, they heard voices shouting angrily behind them. Pausing, they turned to look and saw three masked people in black robes - Death Eaters.

"The red head and the bushy-haired one!" one of the Death Eaters shouted, pointing at Ron and Hermione. "Get them!"

"RUN!" Ron shouted, and he pushed Hermione in front of him as they ran down a corridor. The pack of students around them fled as well, some following Ron and Hermione, others fleeing downstairs. Hermione turned to look over her shoulder and saw Ron doing the same thing, flinging curses over his shoulder at the stampeding Death Eaters.

Running towards the staircase, Ron and Hermione hurled down them to the angry shouts of their pursuers. "Make sure they don't leave the castle!" one of them shouted. A jet of red light struck the banister where Hermione's hand had just been and she let out a shriek.

"Keep going Hermione, don't look back!" Ron shouted over the other screams surrounding them. Hermione followed Ron's orders and when she reached the second floor she kept running, turning corners and brushing past students. She didn't look back. All she heard were shrieks and her own heavy, panting breath. She didn't stop until she reached the entrance hall. It was then that she realized Ron wasn't following her.

"Ron?" she asked aloud. The hall was empty though, and her voice echoed strangely off the stone. She looked around and saw the semi-grey dawn through the open front doors of the castle. She started to run towards them, but a shout nearby made her stop.

"Hermione!" She turned and saw Draco emerging from the dungeon staircases. She turned and ran towards him instead, saying, "I lost Ron and there's an army outside and Death Eaters are using the Floo Network to infiltrate Hogwarts -"

"Hermione, I know," he said once she'd reached him. "They used our common room fire to sneak a whole lot of them in. They told us about the army. You do remember that most of the Slytherin's have family in the Inner Circle, don't you?"

"Yes, of course -" Hermione began, but Draco put his hands on her upper arms and forced her to face him and listen to him.

"Hermione, please, go somewhere safe," Draco said gently. "It's too risky -"

"Draco, I can't!" she declared, trying to break free from Draco's grasp.

"No Hermione! You must listen to me!" His voice was steady and serious, but Hermione would have none of it. She squirmed, trying to push him off of her so she could run outside and find Harry.

"I have to find Harry, Draco!" she nearly screamed. "I have to help him. I need to help, please let me go -"

Draco's hold tightened on her arms and again forced her to face him. "It's too dangerous out there Hermione!"

At this Hermione stopped squirming so much and she looked Draco directly in the eyes. "Is it always going to be so dangerous out there?" she demanded. "Am I always going to have all the boys tell me it's too dangerous to help my friends, and to go for walks with other people? Simply living is dangerous if you think about it, Draco." His grip loosened a little on her arms; Hermione had stopped moving and her words had caught him off guard.

They stood like that, staring at one another for a long moment. Draco knew Hermione had a point. He also knew she knew more spells than half the school combined. It was at the moment that he thought this that her clever nature kicked in, and Hermione broke free from his loosened grasp and made a dash for the open doors.

Draco's first instinct was to yell at her to get back here. This was dumb logic of course, and his second instinct to run after her was better. Hermione didn't even need to look over her shoulder to see if he was following - she knew he was there. He wouldn't let her go out there alone. She ran half-way down the hill that lead to Hagrid's hut, and then looked out on where she had seen the army had gathered earlier.

The morning was still grey and clear. The sun had still not risen completely. Hermione noticed that the army had become scattered, fighting everywhere so that it looked like an ant hill before her. There was still no sign of Voldemort or Harry though. Hermione wondered then if McGonagall had found him or not.

Draco had stopped several feet behind Hermione, and he too was watching the army before them. There were so many, much more than he had ever imagined in his youth. He also knew that there were more of them in the castle, harming students and trying to slow professors from getting here. The wards were broken and they'd be flocking in such large numbers. Help couldn't get here quick enough, unless the Ministry realized quickly that Voldemort had broken the wards surrounding the school.

Draco didn't realize right away that Hermione had turned to look up at him. In the early morning he couldn't make out her features very well, but he could see fear and determination clearly reflecting in her eyes. In that moment Draco knew he couldn't hold her back. He'd have to protect her from afar. He couldn't tell her to stick by his side and forget her friends. She'd never abandon them, she'd never leave them to be harmed. With a simple nod, he watched her return the gesture and run off in the direction of the growing army. He kept his eyes on her until she'd disappeared into the mess, and then he too ran off to fight.

Hermione ran, watching Death Eaters bounding around, noticed how few students were outside. Professors were also few and scattered and she figured they didn't know yet or the Death Eaters who had used the Floo Network had halted them. Whatever the reason, Dumbledore and Harry still didn't seem to have joined the battle yet, and this gave her reason to stress. Hermione wondered over all the noise around her if Aurors would show up, or if they even knew. But in that next moment she stopped thinking about it when she felt a rush of red light brush right by her head.

She ducked and turned, wondering who had shot it when she saw a white Death Eater's mask facing her some few feet away. "Look at the retched mudblood, thinking she can defeat us all," the voice mocked loudly, struggling to be heard over the screams and cries all over the hill. Hermione clenched her wand tighter. The figure took long slow steps toward her, and Hermione quickly backed away. Knowing it was futile to go away in fear when she could strike him, she stopped and raised her wand. Without a second though, she shouted, "Petrificus Totalus!"

The Death Eater's arms snapped to his side, as did his legs, and with a single wobble he fell over on his back and stared blankly at the sky. Hermione walked to his side, just next to his head, and looked down at him. "I would have Stunned you," she told him, "but I figured it'd be better to allow you consciousness as you watch a muggleborn witch take down your army."

Kicking a bit of dirt in his face, Hermione ran off, her guard up and her wand held tightly in her hand. She saw Ginny nearby, performing her famous bad-bogey hex on a poor, defenseless Death Eater. Looking around, she hoped to spot Ron somewhere, worried that something had happened to him when they were being chased earlier, yet there was no sign of him.

A Death Eater fell at her feet and she saw two seventh year Hufflepuff's run the other way as another Death Eater went after them. "Stupefy!" Hermione shouted, and he stopped, falling flat on his face. The students kept running though, as did Hermione in the other direction.

Suddenly, Hermione spotted Ron ahead, and near him was Draco. Both were each dueling a Death Eater, their backs to each other. Hermione began to run towards them when she felt something trip her and she landed on her arms and knees in the dirt. Her wand flew from her fingers and landed a few feet out of her reach.

She rolled over onto her back just in time. A fiery jet of purple light, so much like the light that had hit her fifth year in the battle at the Department of Mysteries, hit the ground were she had just been lying.

"Clever little mudblood, aren't you?" asked the masked figure. She looked up to see a tall, roughly built Death Eater looming over her. "I'm sure you've heard of a trip jinx? What about pain, do you like the Cruciatus curse? Why don't we find out...Crucio!"

Hermione braced herself for the pain, but nothing could have prepared her for what she felt. She screamed; how loud she didn't know. See wondered vaguely if this was how Harry felt when his scar burned. Her body ached, as if she'd just dove into icy water and she was running out of air.

After what felt like minutes the curse was lifted, and Hermione took in gulps of air, panting with the pain the curse had brought. Her body tingled and shook. She rolled onto her stomach to look away from the horrible mask and struggled to get up.

"Down you filthy girl!" the man screamed, and he rammed a boot into her back, forcing her face first into the ground. He kept his foot on her lower back, crushing her spine, and then said, "Beg for it, mudblood! Crucio!"

The pain returned ten fold. Hermione tried to scream but only received a mouthful of dirt. Her forehead struck a rock, but she barely registered that pain. Hermione understood now how this curse drove people to insanity. The utter pain she was feeling was excruciating.

All of a sudden, the pressure on her back left, and then Hermione slowly came to realize that the curse had been stopped as well. When she tried to get up she found that her legs wouldn't support her very well, and she stumbled for a moment.

"Give yourself a minute," he replied. She looked up and saw Draco, and then she saw that he had an ugly bruise on his jaw and a bleeding cut on his forehead which looked rather deep. He put out his hand, and in it was her wand.

She took it and began to walk off, still feeling the curses effects coursing through her veins and her heartbeat felt as if it were on high speed. She couldn't stop shaking - it was if she had been electrocuted.

"Hermione, calm down and rest for a - "

"No," she said firmly, smacking back Draco's hand that reached out to pull her back. He reached for her again, succeeded in getting her shoulder, and spun her around to look at him.

Hermione's eyes fell upon the Death Eater who had attacked her. "What did you do to him?" she asked, sounding stricken and her voice shaking slightly. The Death Eater's mask was cracked and his body lay at angles Hermione knew weren't possible.

"That's the result of two spells and a serious kick in the face." Making sure Hermione was actually steady on both her legs, he took her hand and said, "Come on." She struggled to keep in stride with Draco, who kept dodging this way and that through the crowd.

A red jet of light was all of a sudden aimed at their joined hands, and Hermione let out a shriek of shock and took her hand from Draco's. Draco turned to look at Hermione, and then turned to see what she was looking at. A Death Eater was retreating quickly, and Draco pointed his wand and shouted, "Stupefy!" The figure flailed his arms, stumbled, and fell with a loud "thud!" to the ground.

Another jet of light, this one green, brushed right by Hermione's surprised face so fast she almost wasn't sure what it was until it struck someone nearby, crumbling them to the ground. Turning, she aimed and she too yelled, "Stupefy!" as the Death Eater charged at her. Two more took his place after he had fallen, and it was all Hermione could do to duck as their curses flew over her head.

Hermione stayed close to the ground as she heard two shouts of "Stupefy!" from behind her. After their bodies lay sprawled before her, Hermione felt arms lifting her up and found herself face to face with two fellow students of her year, Hufflepuffs Hannah Abbott and Justin Finch-Fletchy. The two of them look haggard and beaten, but a determined look shone in their eyes. Hermione smiled graciously at them and said, "Thanks."

"No problem Hermione," Hannah replied, and then she and Justin ran off into the battering crowd. It was then that Hermione noticed that Draco wasn't anywhere in sight, which explained why Justin and Hannah had saved her.

Running to avoid being a sitting target, Hermione found herself at the foot of the hill where the army had gathered before dawn. It was at this realization that she finally found Harry, dueling furiously with none other than Voldemort's most beloved female Death Eater, Bellatrix. Hermione was too far away to make out what curses they were shouting, but she could only guess that Dumbledore had been teaching him well, as he ducked and fired with simple ease. Hermione also noticed that Voldemort had not yet appeared.

A sharp kick in the side of her leg brought Hermione's thoughts back to the ongoing battle. As she stumbled to hold herself steady as pain shot up her calf, she heard the attacker mutter, "I'll teach you to petrify me, you rotten little wench!"

Hermione moved to make a run for it, but the man's hand snatched her arm and she stumbled, her knee hitting the ground and scrapping. Roughly, he turned her around so she was facing him, moving his hand to grasp her on her upper arm. He shook her, seeing if she could escape, and with the effects of earlier curses still boggling her mind, Hermione went dizzy and her wand slipped from her free hand.

The Death Eater poised his wand at her chest, relishing in the fact that her eyes were unfocused and rolling around in her head. "'Kill the mudblood,' those were the orders we were given." He pulled her closer, until his wand tip was pushed roughly into her chest and Hermione's senses were awakened slightly by his putrid breath on her face. "It'll be my pleasure to follow those orders, standing here and watching the savior boy's wretched whore die in my hands! Avada -"

But before he could finish, Hermione had kneed him hard in the groin. The Death Eater slumped to the ground, a small squeak of pain the only noise he made. Even without her wand, Hermione had found an advantage at being so close to him, once she had been able to focus again.

Placing her foot on his chest, she kicked him backwards into the dirt and listened as he howled in pain again. Snatching her wand from the ground, she was about to prepare to flee again when a loud crack and an audible gasp passed through the crowd. Hermione turned and looked to the hilltop and noticed that Voldemort had just Apparated onto Hogwarts ground. Hermione's jaw dropped in shock.

"You seem surprised, little filth," the kneed Death Eater choked out. He was still sprawled on the ground, both of his hands protecting weak spots from more pain. "The Dark Lord is more powerful than your pathetic savior boy will ever be. Face it, you will lose mudblood. He has broken the strongest wards ever made and now he will finish off that wretched brat -"

"Don't make me petrify you again," Hermione threatened. She turned to glare at him, noticing that he said nothing at her statement. She watched him for a moment, his eyes daring her to do something to him. She glared back, and then suddenly noticed his sight dart over her shoulder and back to her again. As quick as she could, she turned, wand aimed, and shouted, "Stupefy!" at the advancing Death Eater. When she turned back around though, she found the kneed Death Eater already on his feet, his own wand pointed at her heart as she pointed her wand at him as well.

"Try it," he growled, walking closer to her. "I'll kill you before you can do a thing." Hermione stood defiantly still, her own wand never wavering as they stared each other down. She knew this was the end; the gleam in his eyes behind the mask told her so. Her wand was only pointing at his arm, and although held steady, there was very little damage one could do to an arm.

Fear gripped her, and she knew he would do it. He'd kill her right here on the battlefield. Malicious and cold-hearted, that was what he was. In a second she'd be dead, and with that though in her mind, Hermione lifted herself straighter.

The Death Eater gave a vicious smile. "Welcoming death bravely I see. Good girl, that'll make it easier for the both of us. So long mudblood," he commended, smirking the entire time.

"STUPEFY!" came a shout from behind the Death Eater. His eyes became unfocused and he crumbed before her feet, black robes billowing out around him making it look like he was deflating. Hermione, trembling from the shock, looked up to see that her savior was a very surprised looking Neville.

"Neville!" Hermione shrieked. As she struggled to climb over the discarded body at her feet, Neville moved closer, reaching out his hands to help her over, which Hermione gladly accepted. "Neville, thank-you, oh thank-you so much!" Hermione gushed, causing Neville to blush.

"He was going to kill you, he was!" Neville reasoned. "And Harry and Ron wouldn't be too happy if I stood there like a coward and let you die. It'd be a right shame if I did that."

"That was very brave of you Neville, thank-you," Hermione said again. She could just imagine the looks on Harry and Ron's faces if they could have seen Neville save her. Even Draco would have been impressed.

Looking up at the hill, Hermione noticed that Harry was no longer fighting Bellatrix. Ron was doing so now, and for someone who hadn't been training as hard as Harry, he fought just as well as him. Harry and Voldemort had moved further up the hill, high atop it now, and they became hard to see with the rising sun behind them. Hermione felt a surge of panic.

"We have to go help them!" Neville cried, and just as they were about to go run up the hill, two Death Eaters fired spells in their direction. Hermione and Neville turned, looking for the attackers and found a third was ranking in on them as well.

"Duck!" Hermione shouted as a curse flew in their direction. Neville's reflexes made him jump to the side, and a moment later he had stunned one of the Death Eaters. The others continued to advance on them, and Hermione and Neville backed up slowly.

"Go Hermione!" Neville shouted at her. Hermione looked at Neville in shock. Then she turned to where Ron and Harry were, a longing look on her face. "They need you Hermione, go help them!"

"Neville, are you sure -?" Hermione started to say, but Neville waved her away as the Death Eaters got closer.

"They need your help! Go!" Hermione placed a gentle hand on Neville's arm in thanks and ran off, not looking back in fear of what she might see left of such a brave man. Hermione had a hard time getting up the hill though, not because it was steep, but it was littered everywhere with bodies, mostly those of the Death Eaters, stunned and unconscious.

As Hermione stumbled over a body, she looked up in time to see Bellatrix and Ron's duel reach a fever pitch. Hermione still wasn't close enough to hear clearly, and the noise below didn't help. Falling as her foot slipped on the hills incline, Hermione slid and landed flat on her stomach, her face turned up the battle atop the hill. Suddenly, she saw a green jet of light shoot from Bellatrix's wand and hit Ron square in the chest. Ron's determined face from earlier was replaced with shock and surprise, as he fell backwards and lay motionless.

"RON!" Hermione screamed. She didn't know why she'd screamed his name - surely he was going to get up. He hadn't been hit, he was fine, of course he was. When he didn't though, Hermione pushed herself up from the ground as hard as she could and ran to him, knowing he'd be perfectly alright when she got to his side.

But Bellatrix was cackling, the high-pitched voice stilling the morning air that shone pale. Harry had turned long enough to see what had made her so triumphant. Hermione slipped again, and with a cry of pure rage and emotion, she looked at Ron's still form and screamed again until her throat was burned. Clawing at the earth with her fingers, she tried again and again to get up and go to Ron. She had to, he was alright, she had to prove it...

Something solid hit Hermione on the side of the head. The sudden blow from the rock caused her vision to become unfocused and Hermione, already on her hands and knees in the dirt, swayed to the side and laid there, her head throbbing. Everything seemed to be spinning in color -

"Up you mudblood filth!" roared a voice, and in the next instant she felt hands on the back of her robes hauling her up to stand. The pain in her head caused her to nearly fall over again. A voice next to her laughed cruelly.

"Stand you retch!" and Hermione distantly noticed that it was a different voice from the first one who had spoken.

Hermione, her head still throbbing, was able to steady herself a little. Her sight better, she noticed that there was not two Death Eaters, but four surrounding her. A moment of panic swept through her, wishing that she had even Neville by her side. The four Death Eaters tightened the circle around her now that she was conscience.

"Beg for pain mudblood!" one of them shouted. Another to her right pushed her, and as she went soaring sideways, she was pushed again, and then again, so that she had very little balance. When she stumbled they pushed her upright again. Even when she lost her footing they would push her. Finally, Hermione fell at their feet, her head aching and a dizziness coming over her.

"One down, and two more to kill before the sun even rises completely over the hill!" An evil laugh followed this, and then the pain was back again. She hadn't even heard the curse spoken, but she screamed; her body was on fire and her head felt as if it would explode. This was the third time now; she had had the Cruciatus curse performed on her three times now, and it hurt. She wanted to die and never feel this pain again. The curse caused her to feel not only the pain from the curse but all the bruises she'd received during the battle.

He didn't stop the curse. Hermione wondered if he planned to actually kill her or just drive her to the brink of insanity. Either one was a horrible fate, she surmised. Hermione wasn't even sure she was screaming anymore.

Again, Hermione felt the curse ebbing away and guessed it had been lifted. She looked around slowly, her vision ridiculously blurred and hazy. She vaguely noticed a stunned Death Eater, and another that had its own boogies attacking him. Hermione was able to remember that that curse was Ginny's specialty when she suddenly heard the red-haired girl screaming next to her.

"Leave her alone or I'll get you next!" Hermione pushed herself onto her hands and knees, her body shaking and aching so much.

"You little wretch!" one of them shouted, but Ginny shouted "Stupefy!" and an unceremonious thudding noise told Hermione he was down.

"Come on Hermione, get up, please," Ginny was pleading. "I got three of them, but more are coming! I can't hold them all back on my own, please Hermione..."

Hermione saw her wand next to her hand and grabbed for it. Clinging to Ginny's leg, Hermione dragged herself slowly to her feet, her body ravaged and sore. Hermione, noticing a black robe charging at her from the corner of her eye, aimed and hit him, slamming him to the ground. Her next spell missed, and Hermione was forced to jump out of the way.

Ginny kicked an approaching Death Eater in the leg. When he bent to rub the pain, she kicked him in the face, cracking his mask into pieces that stuck into his skin. Another Death Eater was right behind him, and before Hermione could yell for Ginny to get down, a jet of blue light knocked Ginny to the ground, where she lay unconscious.

"Ginny!" Hermione shrieked, but she had no time to check on her. Instead, she ran a few away from her body, luring the Death Eaters away so they wouldn't harm Ginny further. It worked, and Hermione found herself going up the hill, closer to where Ron and Harry were. She couldn't tell if Harry was still dueling, and she had no time to turn around and check as she flung curses at the pursuing Death Eaters. There were so many all of a sudden that it began to feel hopeless.

As if a storm had arrived, a gust of wind blew past them that nearly knocked Hermione off of her feet. Dirt and sediment caused her to shield her eyes, and Hermione could no longer make out shouts and screams over the strong gust. Facing away from the top of the hill, Hermione out her back to the wind and put her arms over her head.

In the next moment, she was able to make out a cracking noise, as if someone was Apparating. Yet, the cracking went on for a long time, and underneath that sound was a painful, unearthly scream that continued on and on. Suddenly, a stronger gust blew past her, putting her hair in her face and twirling her robes around her legs. Hermione could taste the dirt in her mouth, but it was useless to spit it out.

Slowly the wind died down. Hermione unshielded her face, slowly peering over her shoulder. She froze again, looking up to the top of the hill where a solitary figure stood.

It was Harry, a black silhouette against the newly risen sun beyond the hill. He looked ethereal in the sunlight, the orange and red of the sky behind him making look like a shadow in blood. Hermione felt short of breath at the sight of seeing him alive.

Slowly, she turned so that her entire body faced him. She could still clearly feel the effects of the three Cruciatus curses, tingling through-out her body. She stared at her friend standing on the hilltop, as if he was a statue. Harry's eyes were on where Ron lay unmoving.

She wanted to call out to Harry. She wanted to see if he was okay, to tell him they'd won and he'd done it and everything was all over now. But words escaped her as she stared at him in the dawns light. The pain and the emotion inside her welled up and she wasn't so sure she'd be standing much longer. Harry was alive. And Ron...Hermione thought back to the conversation they had been having when she saw the army not a few hours earlier. 'Oh god Ron, I'm so sorry', Hermione thought.

A sudden voice came up from behind her. "Hermione?" It was Draco.

Her body torn and shutting down in pain, she slowly turned to look at him behind her. When she saw his face, it was full of concern, worry, blood...and something else. She couldn't tell through the hazy fog blocking her mind.

"Hermione?" Draco asked again, taking a step toward her. It was then that she fainted.

* * * (scene change...)

Before Hermione had opened her eyes she could hear all sorts of noises that sounded nothing like a battle. There was lots of crying now, and soothing voices and commands to take potions. But when Hermione tried to open her eyes, the light hurt too much.

"Where am I?" she managed to choke out softly, wondering if anyone was even nearby to answer her. Surprisingly, she received a quick reply.

"You're in the hospital wing," Draco's voice answered. Blinking to get used to the light, Hermione fluttered her eyes open and indeed saw Draco. White curtains were surrounding her bed, leaving her and Draco in unmistaken privacy.

"Does anyone know you're - ?"

" - in here talking to you? No." As Hermione's eyes became used to the light, she could see that Draco had been bandaged up. The cut on his forehead was fixed and no longer bleeding dangerously. He wore a grim and exhausted look on his face though.

"Where is...?" she started to ask, but wasn't sure if she meant to ask about Harry or Ron. Draco answered her anyway.

"Harry is being bandaged up now. He defeated the Dark Lord." There was a pause. Draco didn't seem willing to go further.

"And Ron?" she asked, her voice cracking. She became very afraid to hear the real answer. The truth scared her, and it scared her more once she saw the look Draco got on his face when she asked. He swallowed, unsure of how to tell her. His fingers fiddled with her bed sheets, and Hermione was only patient because she lacked the strength to throttle him.

"Hermione, he...he didn't...He's dead Hermione." Draco didn't have the strength to look at her. His fingers continued to play with her blanket. Hermione could only sit there, trying to fathom of the truth of the situation, willing herself to ultimately believe it. Ron was gone.

Before she could begin to cry, or scream, or react in anyway, Draco said something else. "I'm leaving Hermione."

Hermione wasn't sure what he meant at first. Leaving? To where? They were all about to leave Hogwarts, that was true. What exactly did he mean by 'leaving?'

"What?" It sounded funny, that one word, hoarse and accusing coming from her mouth, but she wasn't sure what he was trying to say.

"I'm leaving. Right now, actually." He continued to play with her blanket. "There're a lot of things I have to do...its better if I go."

"I don't understand..." she said slowly. Draco finally looked up at her face. Hermione looked past the dried dirt and blood on his face and gazed into his eyes. Those grey eyes were so hard to read, but Hermione knew if she looked hard enough he'd give her answers. He had let her see inside them before, allowed her to see a real part of him. But this time he held strong. She had been locked out now. There was now something inside him he wished to hide, even from her...something that he was afraid of.

"I'm going away." He said nothing else.

"Where exactly are you going?" her voice was becoming strained, and it was hard to talk.

Draco didn't avert his eyes at all, but when he spoke, his voice was soft. "I don't belong here."

She grabbed his hand, stopping him from playing with the blanket and looked at him for a long moment. "That's rubbish!"

"It is not," he replied.

"But things are different now Draco! You and I - "

"No, Hermione..."

It was then that she understood. Things were indeed different now. But none of that mattered. After all that had happened, Hermione knew the truth. And it was ugly, and it was cruel, and it hurt. Draco had witnessed a close friend of hers die. Hermione knew he was afraid not of his death, but of someone close to his heart dying.

Draco made to stand up, but Hermione still had his hand in hers and wouldn't let go. Chocking back tears that burned the back of her eyes, she looked at him, pleading with him not to leave her like this when she was in pain. Draco walked over to the side of the bed, his hand still gripped by Hermione's, and he gently placed a kiss on her forehead, just beneath the bandages.

Without another word, he left. As he pushed aside the curtain, he was nearly run into Ginny and Harry, both of who had been bandaged but not entirely cleaned up. Ginny had tear stains on her cheeks, and her eyes were puffy and red. Harry looked angry, but there was something beneath the surface, a saddened but victorious look. He'd gotten revenge for his parents, but at the cost of his best friend...

Ginny didn't even notice Draco as she rushed in. She ran right to Hermione's side and looked her over. Hermione, distracted by Ginny, didn't notice the look that passed between the Draco and Harry. Just as Draco began to walk away, Madam Pomfrey came over, complaining loudly about the amount of potions she was running low on and that she was out of bandages. She moved the curtains away from Hermione's bed and placed them around another one.

"Oh, Hermione, are you ok?" Ginny gushed. Ginny's left arm was in a sling and there was a purple potion under her right eye. She began to smooth down the bed covers and fluff up Hermione's pillow with her free hand. Hermione though, was paying no attention to Ginny's actions. She was watching Draco walk away, the tears she felt silently slipping down her checks and into her sheets.

When Draco reached the door he stopped. Slowly he turned and looked, staring one last time at where Hermione lay, surrounded by caring friends who cared and showed it. Friends who could relate to her pain.

Ginny looked up then and saw the wet trail of tears on Hermione's checks. "Hermione?" she said gently. "Are you alright?"

Hermione watched as Draco vanished out of sight. As he left, Hermione felt the overall pain in her chest heave, and still not looking at Ginny or Harry, she replied, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine."