Harry walked in ahead of them, Ron still holding onto her hand. As she walked into the Great Hall, she noticed many fallen friends and groups of people crying. Her eyes zeroed in on one family in particular. The Weasleys were surrounding a body, lying on a sheet. Her heart stopped.
She watched as Ron let go of her hand and ran forward. He locked onto Molly in a hug. His mother embraced him tight, thankful he was returned to her safe. Ron's eyes dropped to the dead brother and he hid his face in his mother's neck.
Hermione smiled outwardly but her heart hurt for the Weasley's. Inside she was going barmy. She had to know who was lying on the sheet. She walked forward and saw Percy, lying there, dead. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.
She saw the twins, and their presence crept into her heart and started it beating again. She was happiest to see Fred. She turned and looked only at him. She had always laughed harder when he was around. The twins were a great riot together but Fred's smile warmed her heart the most.
She was so thankful he was alive and had been spared. She wouldn't know what to do if it had been him laying on the sheet, surrounded by crying family. But here he was, with her and his relatives. She wanted to memorize every inch of him.
"Thank Merlin for this lucky git, he cast just the spell to save me." He said, draping his arm over his twin brother as their mother shed happy tears amidst the sad ones that the twins were alive and well.
Next came Arthur and before long the entire Weasley clan surrounded Fred in a group hug while Hermione stood by awkwardly with Harry. After several moments they disentangled and walked back to Percy's body.
Hermione was focused on the scene in front of her when she vaguely heard Harry leave to go view the memories from Snape's tears and she began trying to busy herself with helping and healing the wounded.
As she drifted between wounded warriors and dead bodies of her friends, her thoughts drifted back towards the relief she had felt when Fred and George had both walked through the doors alive. She had always found the twins handsome, but Fred moreso. She liked Ron, but she didn't know if it was the same way she felt about Fred. Fred had always been kind to her, and Ron had always seemed to want her when it suited his needs. She wondered if Fred would ever feel the same she did. She shook her head of her thoughts, 'surely Fred would never see her that way' and walked on.
She worked from cot to cot, saying soft words of sympathy or encouragement. She brought cups of tea to grieving family members and friends, busying herself with tasks, to keep her mind off of Ron and Fred. She kept changing glances at the Weasleys. Her heart positively ached for the family. Percy had been a self serving git, that much was for sure, but he was still family.
"Oy! You lot! There's a war going on! I still have to go finish this!" Harry called from beside Molly.
"Where have you been? We thought you went to the forest!" Ron stood and ran at his best friend.
"I'm going there now," he stated firmly.
"No, Harry, you can't give yourself up to him," Ron retorted.
"There's a reason I can hear the horcruxes. I think I've known for awhile and I think you have too." Harry responded looking up at her.
Hermione nodded sheepishly and began to sob. Harry turned and went to walk from the Hall. Hermione followed after him.
"I'll go with you," she called, overcome by the notion her best friend was sacrificing himself for the whole of the wizarding world.
He turned back to her.
"Kill the snake. Then it's just him," Harry said, exiting the hall for the darkness of the Forbidden Forest.
Hermione turned back to Ron as soon as Harry was gone. She started to speak but Ron cut her off, with a hand.
"Let's do it," Ron said, putting out a hand out for Hermione to take. She took it and shook it.
What seemed like an eternity later, Neville alerted all of the people in the Great Hall that Voldemort had come into the devastated courtyard, followed by his ilk, with Hagrid bound, carrying a body.
"Who is that? Hagrid's carrying? Neville who is it?" Ginny's voice rang out, panic evident.
"Harry Potter is dead," Voldemort cheered victoriously.
"No! No!" Ginny dissolved into sobs as her father hugged her to him.
"Silence you stupid girl. Harry Potter is dead. From this day forth you put your faith in me. Harry Potter is dead. And now is the time to declare yourself. Come forward and join us. Or die."
"Draco. Draco," Lucius goaded from across the courtyard.
"Draco," Narcissa tried. Draco walked forward.
"Ah, well done Draco, well done," Voldemort pulled the boy into an awkward hug.
Neville limped forward.
"Well I just say I'd hoped for better. And who might you be young man?" Voldemort asked.
"Neville Longbottom."
"Well Neville, I'm sure we can find somewhere for you in our ranks," Voldemort cackled victoriously.
"I'd like to say something," Neville called across the expanse.
"I'm sure we'd all like to hear what you have to say," Voldemort conceded, not particularly interested.
"Stand down Neville," Seamus attempted to sway his friend.
"People die every day. It doesn't matter. Harry's still with us. So's Percy, Remus, Tonks. They're never gone. Harry's heart did beat for us. He didn't die in vain," Neville continued impassionedly.
Harry dropped out of Hagrid's arms as Neville drew the sword of Gryffindor from the sorting hat.
"Get everyone into the castle!" Harry directed. Everyone moved and Neville was cast backward into the hall by a curse Voldemort had cast.
The battle waged on in the Great Hall and Hermione watched as Molly faced off with Bellatrix in Ginny's defense, evident on her face just how talented a witch she was.
"Not my daughter you Bitch!" she howled as she cast some more defensive spells, before casting a spell that finally ended the psychotic witch.
Suddenly Harry and Voldemort erupted back onto the ground in the courtyard. They crawled for their respective wands and cast; Voldemort a killing curse, Harry a disarming spell.
Ron and Hermione ran away from Nagini as Neville launched himself at the snake decapitating her in one shot. Ron held onto Hermione protectively as Harry and Voldemort cast again. Harry successfully disarmed Voldemort. He smiled as the elder wand flew at him. He took the elder wand in his hand with the one he had been using.
They all watched flabbergasted as Voldemort dissolved into thin air.
Afterwards, Harry, Ron and Hermione walked along the wreckage, finding calm, as they always had, in the three of them and the strength of their friendship.
"Why didn't it work for him? The elder wand," Hermione asked, ever the curious mind.
"It answered to somebody else. He thought when he killed Snape it would answer to him but it never did. It was Draco who disarmed Dumbledore in the Astronomy Tower that night. So it's allegiance was to him. Until, the other night in Malfoy Manor when I disarmed him," Harry replied dismissively.
"So that means-" Hermione began.
"It's mine," he answered.
"So what do we do with it?" Ron asked.
"We?" Hermione asked incredulously.
"Well, I mean that's the elder wand," and then they heard a snap.
Harry had broken the wand in half and was chucking the pieces into the expanse below. He turned and walked away and Hermione smiled.
She knew her best friend had never asked for the glory or the fame and he would never willingly keep the kind of power the wand provided. The three friends held hands as they walked back into the castle.
-19 Years Later-
People hustled about around them all as Fred and Hermione Weasley exited Diagon Alley to apparate to Kings Cross Station with their children.
When they reached the train station their oldest, thirteen year old Rhys led the pack with his reddish brown hair and forest green Weasley jumper. He was followed by their eleven year old Rowan in his Chudley Cannons jersey from Aunt Ginny, followed by nine year old twins Rhiannon and Rose in matching periwinkle and paisley dresses. Fred and Hermione walked behind their children, fingers interlocked, sharing smiles like smitten newlyweds.
They approached the platform and their children disappeared before them. Once their children were through, the couple followed.
As they followed behind their two Hogwarts-bound sons and home-bound daughters, their eyes fell onto Harry, Ginny and Ron.
After Hogwarts, Hermione, Ron, Harry and Ginny had been virtually inseparable. They experienced life as a quartet. They had gone to wizarding clubs and bars, enjoying their youth.
After a while, Harry and Ginny had gotten married, and the pressure seemed insurmountable for Hermione and Ron. It was then that Ron had admitted to having lingering feelings for Lavender, which he spent the next three years exploring, after they broke things off mutually.
Like Ron, Hermione had acknowledged lingering feelings for Fred and she couldn't ignore them anymore. She worked days in the Ministry and evenings in Diagon Alley, and she had grown close to Fred. As Fred and Hermione got engaged, married and had children, Ron moved onto his wife Eloise. Eventually there were three new couples in the Weasley family.
They smiled happily as they walked up to Harry and Ginny who smiled as they noticed the sextet walking their way. Rowan nearly abandoned his cart to run and hug his aunt but she held up a hand. The children arrived at their aunt and uncles before their parents.
The five adults exchanged pleasantries before Hermione noticed Ron's wife was missing.
"Where's Eloise?" she asked, looking at her friend. He shrugged.
"Working." He answered, while their son Hugo waited beside his father impatiently. His daughter Elsie was talking to James.
The whistle on the bright red engine blew and Hermione turned to hug her sons as Ginny did the same with her own, and Ron hugged his daughter goodbye.
The five cousins boarded the train and found a compartment together. They waved to their assembled parents and siblings from the window as the train sounded its last whistle.
Fred hugged his wife as they watched their oldest sons pull out of the station. The five friends watched on as the train disappeared and Hermione smiled against her husband's chest.
All was well.