Dawn

Hermione looked out the window to the vast forests that surrounded Hogwarts. The frost was just starting to thaw on the ground and the sky had that crisp blue tinge to it in the morning light.

The night had been long, after the fighting that had raged around the castle the day before. Hermione looked upon a world that was touched by the pain of loss & despair.

She had been busy during the night tending to her friends. In the bed across the room, lay the fractured body of her lover.

They had been ambushed the previous morning and in those long hours, Hogwarts had lost a number of its finest. Within minutes of the initial attack, members of the Order had Floo-ed in from all around the world. They were joined together, not by house colours, religion or even friendship...they were joined by a common bond in the fight against impending evil.

Hermione remembered the morning as if it had happened years earlier. She was enjoying one of her few late mornings in bed with her lover. They were lying together as the sun shone its way across their bed. They were talking, smiling and enjoying the peace & quiet that came with an early Saturday morning. They were at peace.

It had not started with a crash or a bang, but with the sound of a hunting horn on the winds of the dawn. Curious, Hermione had approached the window. The sight that greeted her turned her blood cold and took the strength from her legs. Advancing across the vast space between the outer limits of the forest and the school itself, were hundreds of Death Eaters. Silently in their black cloaks they stalked their way to the main gates.

A vague memory of a rushed message to Dumbledore is returned with a memory of acknowledgment.

"The Time Has Come."

There would be no speech. No time to rally the troops as the reality sunk in. They were stuck in a school full of hundreds of scared children. The professors formed the first line of defence as the spells were cast. Hermione, Ron & Harry had run down the main stairs to lend their skills, they were soon joined by the members of DA. Most valiantly fought by their sides, but for some it over too soon. Cho was the first of their group to fall. As she rush forward to help Michael Corner she was cut down by a spell that left her lifeless and limp at their feet. No time for tears though; the spells were coming in too fast for that.

Hermione had lost Harry in the panic after that. He saw a small band of Death Eaters scramble down a passage towards Dumbledores office and so together with the Weasleys, he went to head them off. The fighting blurred as morning passed into the glow of the afternoon. So many dead, on each side. Hermione narrowly missed Draco Malfoy as he ran up the stairs. It would be a costly mistake that she would come to regret, for it was with a flick of his wrist that put her love in mortal peril.

As he ran up the stairs, the love of her life collided with him. She watched dumbly as they both reached for their fallen wands. He was quicker after all and got the first shot in. She watched, as the crimson bubble formed on the lips she had been kissing only hours earlier. She watched, as the wand slipped carelessly from the now pale fingers and fell three flights down to the ground where it was destroyed by a misplaced foot.

The fighting continued with no respect for her pain. There was no time to comfort the dying, the grieving and the scared. How many first formers lay at her feet? Little children, who fought so strongly alongside their parents. Hermione walked dazed among the ruins of her friends and family. She made her way to the Great Hall, wanting to get away from the staircase & entrance hall where the hardest fighting was taking place. Mostly, she wanted to get away from where her lover lay, eyes open, crimson droplet.

Without thought, she fought her way to the comfort of the main hall. Stumbling through the vast doors that had sheltered them this seven years, she was greeted by a sight that tore her heart and filled her soul with lead.

Voldermort had cut down Dumbledore who now lay in a crumpled mess on the floor. His face was finally free of the worry that had lined it in the past months. The crest on the wall above him was fractured & split. It hung lopsided on the wall above him, separated and broken. Before Voldermort stood Neville.

Hermione may have giggled as she slid down the wall, finally sapped of her strength and power. No one came to her; they were all mesmerised by the sight that greeted them. A hush fell across the room as Neville stood his ground. Phoenix Members & Death Eaters stood open mouthed as Neville raised his wand. Then it started, the duel that would finish it all.

For, it was written, that the one with the divine power would finish the prophecy and they would begin again. They had all assumed Harry was the one, but as he had entered Dumbledores office with the Weasleys, he had realised that this was not his fight. He realised (as it had been foretold), that the one who had been in the darkness would be the "Chosen One." With that, he realised that Neville was indeed the Chosen One. He had raced across the landing to find Neville stuck in the Dungeons trying to get back to the fighting. Harry had been forced to kill a number of Slytherine students to get to him. They all knew and they were trying to keep him away from Voldermort until he requested Nevilles company. Harry wouldn't let them play by Voldermorts rules and so he had cut them down swiftly with the same spell that had been used by Voldermort to kill Dumbledore.

In saving Neville, Harry knew he was sealing his fate. Together they rushed to the Great Hall to meet Voldermort head on. They were separated at the last moment, so alone Neville took the stairs to The Great Hall. Fear was replaced by a calm understanding that all of these years of being in the background had allowed him to learn his craft quietly in the darkness. The only time he had shown his skill was in the DA meetings that were still held by Harry. Only then, had he been able to practice the spells he had learned in theory. It was because of this, that he had mastered so many of the spells in such a short amount of time. This would be his gift to the survivors and to his parents, who had finally succumbed to Voldermorts torture that summer in St. Mungos. As he walked up the small flight of steps to the Great Hall, he could feel his father walking along side him. He even turned to greet him, but knew that he would be alone in the passage.

During that lonely walk he felt the strength of his parents and family fill his soul and he knew that this fight would be his first and last. He knew that they were going to win. Maybe not today, but eventually the Light would succeed and they would find peace in this world again.

It was with this strength that Neville now faced the most feared of all dark wizards. It was with this knowledge that Neville smiled at his opponent. The duel began slowly, carefully, and with no regard for the loss of life around them. All who bore witness to the unfolding events would forever remember the grim determination on both faces as they started their deaths dance. Gone was the scared little boy, gone too was the showy bravado of the dark wizard.

They traded spell for spell, both injuring the other as they competed for rule. In the end, they both lay dead at the feet of the Hogwarts crest. Neville had known that the only way to win was to sacrifice himself to ensure that Voldermort never reigned again. With a spell no one had heard before, in a language no one recognised, they both fell. The Crest above them glowed for a moment and was complete again. Each mascot writhed as the shield reformed, then they were still again as they had always been.

Only then, when it was over, had Hermione dared move. Most people had sunk to the floor towards the end of the dual and the fighting had stopped. The Death Eaters as one, vanished into the darkness. Hermione stifled a sob as she rose from her place on the back wall. Now that it was over, she could tend to her lover's body. She walked slowly through the ruins of the hall until she reached the vast staircase that lead to the place where her lover lay. Stepping over the bodies of many, she made her way up the stairs. On the last step, she heard a small gasp and whimper. She jumped over the bodies as lightly as a Gazelle and saw a chest rising slightly, eyelids fluttering softly and blood dripping slowly, her lover lived!

Scooping her up, she carried Ginny all the way into the room where they had been lying on the last peaceful morning. Tears streamed down her face as she lay her on the bed. Ginnys breathing was shallow and wet sounding; it wouldn't be long until it was over. Hermione raced to her fireplace and threw some powder inside, "MADAME POMFREY!" she screamed. She knew it would be heard in all fireplaces of the castle, but she didn't care. If someone could save Ginny it would be her.

By the time Madame Pomfrey arrived, her room was full with Harry, Luna, Mrs. Weasley and Professor Sprout. Ron was gone, together with his father and the twins who had been attacked on the way back from Dumbledores room. Harry was badly hurt too, but they were all there for Ginny as she lay on Hermiones bed.

They had been sent out of the room while Madame Pomfrey & another healer worked on her, by the time they were finished, many of the pupils were in the common room again. St. Mungos had sent everyone they could, and the floors of Hogwarts were transformed into treatment areas. Hermione and Luna did what they could by reassuring scared first years huddled together in small groups. They were busy trying to account for people and tending to superficial wounds.

Hermione had jumped when Harry placed his hand on her shoulder. Without a word she ran up the stairs to her room. Softly she entered the room and looked around. Molly sat slumped against the wall, tears gently plopping onto her robes. Hermiones heart constricted in her chest, but when she looked to the bed she saw the blankets rise & fall in a more normal way. Ginny was propped up on pillows so that her chest wouldn't get worse. Madame Pomfrey had done an excellent job in healing her and her breathing had started to return to normal. It was less raspy and wet, now it was as if she was sleeping peacefully. The wounds on her arms & face would go in time and sooner rather than later she would be normal again.

Safe in this knowledge, Hermione turned to the window and looked out on the dawning day. She looked out of the window at the vast forests that surrounded Hogwarts. The frost was just starting to thaw on the ground and the sky had that crisp blue tinge to it in the morning light. The coming days, weeks and months would be terrible, she knew that. She couldn't help smiling though. Ginny was safe, Voldermort was defeated and the sun would rise to greet another day. What had happened was terrible and shocking, but it was also wonderful and renewing. Neville had finally realised the potential within and had defeated the one person who could strike fear into all. Dumbledore was dead which was a loss to the Wizarding world, but it had been his time and he had gone to this death in the knowledge of that. With Voldermort gone, the world that they knew could start to rebuild.

The Death Eaters would be hunted down and punished and all would be right again. The eternal struggle against good and evil would never really be over, but for now they could live as they should have done, in peace.

Hermione turned her eyes from the view and looked across at the sleeping form of Ginny. Walking over to the bed she removed her robes that were still stained and covered in dust, sweat and blood. She gently lifted the covers on the bed and slipped beside her lover.

Ginny opened her eyes slowly and looked at Hermione. A smile lit her pale face as Hermione took her hand and with a kiss, they lay together in their room.