Title: Close to the Edge

Fandom: Harry Potter

Rating: R/M

Pairing: Dramione

Plot Summary: Four years ago, the end of the trio's seventh year marked the climax of the war that would be forever remembered in the wizarding world. The great Harry Potter battled Lord Voldemort and both wizards fell at each other's hand. Now, the chaos has leveled and darkness has established itself in the Ministry. With so many dead from the Light, and so much evil remaining, Hermione is fighting to survive in a world set against her. An unexpected law forces her to turn to anyone who might help, and the price of this man's help may be more than she can bear to pay.


Prologue

The wizarding world cried all of May in 1997. No matter the side, nor the reputation, every person shed a tear. Two of the most powerful wizards lay in the ground, fallen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a battle to defy any war seen before. As both men fell, the world stood still, both sides having stopped to watch their valiant leader die.

When the bodies fell and failed to get up again, the fighters lost it all. The will to live, the ability to hold back, the fear to kill. The world was free game and suddenly the only spell to escape warm lips was Avada Kadavra. Blind rage, fear, and sadness filled the hearts of the soldiers and green fire flew from wands into hearts pumping with the same raw emotions. No one scream was more defined than the rest, and no one face stood out in the mass of bodies littering the castle grounds.

Many of those closest to the Dark Lord would survive, as many of those closest to the Boy Who Lived would die. Somehow the evil always fare better in a battle based on dark magic. The Order could barely cast the killing curse, as so many of them truly were unable to kill another human. Hermione knew better. She stared at her best friend's unblinking eyes and shot a curse at the first Death Eater she saw, then watched as he fell in an unmoving heap.

So the story went for nearly a day, battling until there was no one left. Eventually, the wounded or the intelligent fled, while those too scarred to function in a normal setting kept fighting, praying to die. When the battle was over, there were too many bodies to count.

In the years to follow, the world was in a shambles. The government remained corrupt, while many offices emptied after the deaths tolled in. People no longer knew who to trust and there was no designated leader. People refused to take those closest to their Chosen One seriously because of their age, so the good side had only the few remaining Order members to fight for control. The darkness, it seemed, had many who survived to fight again.

After three years of struggling, the majority of the wizarding world settled to be run by those who mourn the Dark Lord. Laws were implemented concerning half-breeds and muggles, and now, there is talk of new laws about muggle-borns. It is a world of nightmares, and Hermione cannot escape the attention she once enjoyed. Now, she is a survivor, a threat, and a mudblood. She has the potential to destroy the world in the eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange, the current head of the Ministry of Magic, and she cannot escape the world that she has come to call home. She has nothing left to escape to.