Til' Death do you Wrong

AN: Right. So, since I'm on the homestretch of finishing up Under the Guise of Innocence, I decided to start posting this fic. It is one I'm super excited about and I have been writing on quite often during my intense writers block on Innocence. I'm not quite certain how frequently I'll update while I finish up the last eight chapters of Innocence, but I do know that this fic will be receiving my full attention once Innocence is complete.

Summary: When Hermione's family is threatened because of her past, she calls upon her inner darkness and war training to save them. But who will save her from herself? This story will be set AU Eclipse and I believe that most of the Harry Potter sequence will be AU after Order of the Phoenix.

Chapter Warning: This story is rated M for reasons other than sex and swearing. It will be extremely dark for Hermione's character and a bit graphic at times. I suggest you pass on this one if seeing a hard, cold, ruthless, closed off, and sarcastic portrayal of Hermione bothers you or if a bit of blood and guts just isn't your thing because I have no intention of changing it.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately am not the owner of the Harry Potter series or the Twilight saga. I'm just playing with the characters.

(Hermione POV)

I stood, in the middle of what used to be my parents home, wondering how it all had come down to this. How had this come to pass? The war had been won nearly a year ago. The light was victorious. The dark had fallen. Nearly every known Death Eater had either disappeared from Europe after their masters demise or was rotting away in Azkaban. The Order had went from meeting at least three times a week to once every fortnight because there had not been sightings of those at large in over six months.

That's why I had taken the initiative to restore my parents memories. That's why I told them it was alright to return from Australia. It should have been safe enough for them to come home.

But it wasn't.

Apparently, we had only been lulled into a false sense of security. They wanted to surprise us with an attack. That was something we realized the moment the first alarm we have had in six months went off. It alerted all Order members that the Dark Mark had been cast into the sky. Never did I expect for it to lead to my parents house when I responded. Never did I expect to see the smoky, insubstantial, intertwined snake and skull floating above their home.

And never did I expect to find this inside.

I cringed as I took in the sight of my childhood home. Around me was nothing but carnage. A terrible struggle had occurred on this foggy April morning. The front door was hanging from a lone hinge. It would likely fall at any given moment. The furniture had been turned over. The end tables were reduced to mere slivers of wood. Shards of glass littered the floor. The windows were non-existent. The roof was halfway blown off revealing the green tinged Dark Mark hovering in the black sky above.

In the center of the aftermath sat the majority of my parents mangled bodies lying in a large, coagulating pool of their own blood. Scattered throughout the bottom floor were randomly severed body parts. A well muscled arm was lying haphazardly atop the mantle of the fire place. A few fingers, some long and spindly others thick and calloused, were strewn across the staircase. An ear was slowly sliding down the wall leaving a trail of blood and brain matter behind. A delicate and decidedly feminine foot could be seen lying on its' side in the kitchen.

Their features were barely recognizable beneath the blood and gaping flesh. It was obvious by both the bodies and the state of the house that some sick form of cat and mouse had been played here. They hadn't been given the grace of a quick, painless death. The Avada Kedavra curse had not been used on this night. They had been toyed with by those more powerful than them. They had been tortured and left to bleed out.

I don't know why that surprises me as much as it does. It's a well documented fact that Death Eater's love playing games with their victims. This means the innocents will experience the worst sorts of terror imaginable before they are killed. I had seen scenarios nearly identical to this thousands of times throughout the War. Especially when they held revels which were parties in which they descended on muggle neighborhoods for a bit of recreational killing and torture.

Psychopathic behavior in its truest form.

"Stop!" I cried.

The abrupt mono-syllabic word was the first one I had spoken since entering the premises.

I rushed forwards for a better look because as the Auror's had rotated the bodies, I glimpsed a tiny series of symbols carved into the back of my father's neck. I recognized the intricate designs immediately. They were drawn to begin the process of turning the corpse into an Inferi. They were carved by a necromancer whilst the victim was dying in order to trap part of their soul to this plane of existence, thus giving the decaying body life. A quick lift of my mother's bloodied auburn hair revealed the same symbols at the base of her skull.

Bile rose in my throat as I breathed heavily through my mouth in an attempt to keep from puking again. Merlin knows there was nothing left to come back up and dry heaving is the most uncomfortable feeling on this planet.

My eyes numbly drifted from the bodies up to the words to my left. They were streaked across the wall of the foyer in gunky, drying human blood. They stood out, begging for their threatening message to be read by any with the nerve to enter such a horrific scene. They pulsed before my eyes, forever burning themselves in my brain.

'Mommy and Daddy put up a good fight Mudblood. Will Uncle Charlie and Isabella?

With Love, B.L.'

I stared at those two initials with more hate and contempt than I had ever felt before. Small, uncontrollable sparks began shooting from my fingertips as my emotions caught up with me. My body was trembling violently with rage. I looked at those words as if I would be able to kill the owner of said initials with my glare alone.

I knew what name they stood for. Bellatrix Lestrange. The woman who killed her own cousin, Sirius Black. The woman who killed her niece, Nymphadora Tonks. The woman who tortured me for hours then handed me off to Greyback so that he could maul me.

That bitch did this too. That bitch is the reason my parents are dead. That bitch is the reason I would have to have my parents bodies burned immediately before the awakening process can begin. I instinctually knew that for some fucked up reason, this was personal. Perhaps she cared for old Rodolphus more than we thought and was seeking revenge on his killer. Or maybe she's still got her knickers in a twist about my escape from one of the many muggle born disposal camps.

Either way, she wasn't attacking the Order or random Muggles. She wasn't attacking me. She was attacking my family. She was attempting to turn them into an army of Inferi. She was probably hoping to send my own flesh and blood to kill me.

Coward.

But she was crazier than I thought if she believed she would get away with this. She wouldn't be getting the chance to kill my Uncle Charlie and my younger cousin Bella. I would protect my last remaining family members with every resource at my disposal. I didn't get the chance to save Mum and Dad since the whore attacked my defenseless family without warning. But now that I knew what she was up to, now that I knew what sort of sick game she was playing, I wouldn't be sitting idly by. I would save their lives if it was the last thing I ever did.

Large, calloused hands landed on either of my shoulders in silent support. I knew who they belonged to without looking. Harry and Ron. My blood brothers. I could feel their love, grief, and unwavering support through our blood bond. No words were needed. They were silently telling me that they would follow my lead on this.

I pulled out a charmed silver coin very similar to the ones used by Dumbledore's Army. It was only connected to the two I had sent to both of my American family members via owl post at the start of the war. I rubbed my finger counter clockwise three times while thinking of my message. It burned white hot, letting me know my message had been transferred.

I glanced down before sliding it back into the special pouch on my wand holster just to be sure it was clear. Emblazoned around the edge of the coin were my short, choppy messages.

Be careful, D.E.'s headed to Forks. On our way.

My fury blazed to new heights as I cast one more glance around my decimated childhood home. She would pay. Those who helped her would pay. Harry and Ron seemed to sense my resolve. Both withdrew their hands from my shoulder and followed me outside. I glanced up from beneath my lashes to see their usually jovial faces transformed by the cold, stoic, murderous expressions we wore frequently during the war. I held no doubt that my own countenance mirrored theirs.

It felt good to know that my brothers had my back. That they wanted revenge just as much as I. In sync, we stalked to Kingsley who, due to the personal nature of the attack, was discussing the situation with various Auror's.

"She will pay for this," I snarled out the moment I was within his hearing range.

"Hermione…"

"No! Did you read the message she left? She is going after the rest of my family Kingsley. She attempted to transform them into Inferi. I will be protecting them. I will hunt her down and I will be taking that psychotic bitch out whether the Ministry approves or not!" I exclaimed, cutting off his placating, peace filled words with my own enraged ones.

They were not ones I wanted to hear. I was beyond the point of talking out my problems in a peaceful, diplomatic manner. I was beyond sitting back and letting the bumbling fools in the Ministry handle things like I had in the past. And that is exactly what they were. Bumbling, idiotic fools. They obviously weren't capable of doing their jobs since Bellatrix LeStrange and several other Death Eater's had not been caught.

Harry and Ron were both nodding their agreement at my side.

"She's insane Kingsley. We'll be lucky if her and her Death Eater buddies don't go on a killing spree between here and there. She needs to be stopped. Besides, we have more experience dealing with her than any of the new Auror's. We are the best for the job," Harry stated, knowing that giving his opinion on the situation would by-pass a lot of hassle due to the whole 'Boy-Who-Lived-to-Defeat-Voldemort' status.

I watched as one of my old mentors and fellow Order member pinched the bridge of his nose. It was a clear sign of his stressed out state. "You three are sure this is what you want to do? You are aware of the danger in going after her?"

"Yes," we replied to both questions in unison.

"Then I insist you take a team for backup. We all know from personal experience that Bellatrix will not be easy to capture. By leaving the message, she has turned this into a game. She's made her move and now she'll wait for us to make ours. She will test to see just how close she can get then plan attacks accordingly. And she will likely be leaving false trails instead of attacking Hermione's family directly just to make it that much harder on us. I will offer you and whatever Order members you bring along the full support of the Ministry of Magic. You will be given full diplomatic immunity. Your actions will not be held against you."

I knew I had his word that he was undoubtedly on our side, but there were still those in the Ministry I didn't trust as far as I could throw them. They would love a reason to throw us in Azkaban. I knew that I needed to obtain an oath from him and another member of the Wizengamot on behalf of the Ministry. It was my responsibility as the leading Order member to secure the Ministry's support for our actions from this point forward.

I walked over to a fellow Order member whom was also a high ranking member of the Wizengamot and explained the situation in hushed whispers. I needed two members of the government and two members of the Order to make the oath. She agreed and we rejoined Kingsley.

"Now I, Hermione Jean Granger, must ask you , Kingsley Sean Shacklebolt, reigning Minister of Magic; Do we- the active members of The Order of the Phoenix- have the support of The Ministry of Magic to use any means necessary to eliminate this threat?"

"The Order of the Phoenix does so have my support and that of The Ministry of Magic to use any means they deem necessary to eliminate this threat. By command of the Ministry, members are to refrain from showing mercy to any person or creature they encounter in league with Bellatrix LeStrange as they will be shown none in return. When they enter a duel, they should do so knowing that it will likely be a duel to the death."

Harry and Amelia had both moved to flank me. Kingsley procured the silver dagger required for the Oath. He slit it across his left palm, drawing a harsh flow of crimson liquid straight from his heart line. It was passed off to me and I copied his actions as did those on either side of me. I brought my left hand to meet Kingsley's and immediately the magic of the blood oath began swirling around us as our blood mixed.

"I, Hermione Jean Granger - leading team member of The Order of the Phoenix- accept the terms and conditions stipulated by Kingsley Sean Shacklebolt, Minister of Magic. With the support of the Ministry, Order members will use any means deemed necessary to eliminate this threat to the magical world and their families; We will not show those who oppose us any mercy; We will enter a duel knowing we will be dueling to the death. I offer my blood and magical essence as a sacrifice to prove my conviction in upholding this oath."

The magic flared, golden binds winding up our arms. At this point Harry stepped forward and added his hand to ours, allowing his blood to mix. "I, Harry James Potter- highest ranking member of The Order of the Phoenix present- bear witness to this blood oath on behalf of Hermione Jean Granger. As a member of The Order of the Phoenix, I agree to the stipulations set forth by Minister Kingsley Sean Shacklebolt. I offer my blood and magical essence as a sacrifice to prove my conviction in upholding this oath."

The golden ropes moved to wind up his arm and Amelia stepped forward, placing her hand on top. "I, Lady Amelia Bones - Second most powerful member of The Wizengamot present- Bear witness to this blood oath on behalf of Kingsley Sean Shacklebolt. As an active member of The Magical Government, I agree to the stipulations set forth by Minister Kingsley Sean Shacklebolt and Hermione Jean Granger. I offer my blood and magical essence as a sacrifice to prove my conviction in upholding this oath."

Her magic surged forward to join ours and a fourth set of ropes bound her to us. The magic pulsed around us weighing our dedication to the oath. With a final golden flash, it accepted our sacrifice and pledge to bind us together. Our wounds were already healed by the magic, leaving behind a unique golden scar shaped like a phoenix.

"Who will you be bringing in on this mission?" Kingsley asked -eyes alight with curiosity as Harry, Ron, and I prepared to Apparate away.

"A talented team of those who want to see her dead or spending the rest of her life in Azkaban just as much as we do," I answered, my lips twisting into a smirk that perfectly mimicked that of my long time school rivals.

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