As usual, we all know who owns these characters. This is the only disclaimer for the entire story.

** ** - Anything between the two pairs of stars is a memory.

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Invisible transfers, long distance calls,
Hollow laughter in marble halls
Steps have been taken, a silent uproar
Has unleashed the dogs of war
You can't stop what has begun
Signed, sealed, they deliver oblivion
We all have a dark side, to say the least
And dealing in death is the nature of the beast

One world, it's a battleground
One world, and we will smash it down
One world ... One world

The Dogs of War ~ Pink Floyd

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The time had come. Tension had been building for the past five years since his corporeal return to the wizarding community. Today however would finally bring an end to all the pain and suffering. Today Voldemort was going to die. Hermione stood in the tower watching the gatherings and preparations of the D.A. and the Order unfold on the ground below. She knew she should be down there and would be down there soon, but for now she needed some privacy.

Prepping for battle wasn't all about strategy and setting up camps. Sometimes it was about personal reflection and meditation to call on one's inner strengths. This is what she was doing now. She knew today was the day her parents would receive justice. Voldemort hadn't just killed them. Oh no, he had Lucius Malfoy torture them and then strung up on the edge of Hogwart's grounds like a crucifixion from the Muggleworld's Christian Bible. It had been horrible and she had been the first one to see them.

**" Need to do well on my N.E.W.T.s," she thought as she took a walk across the grounds. "If I get prefect scores, I can do whatever my heart desires. I can become an auror or maybe I will take up Potions. Oh yeah, Snape would love that." She had continued to think.

As she had been thinking to herself she had realized she had lost all perception of where she had been going. A shadow on the ground had finally penetrated her troublesome mind and as she looked up, her heart leapt into her throat and all she could do was gasp. There on two, what were they crosses? Were her parents and they were still alive.**

Shaking her head she cleared it of the painful memory. It had been the bloodiest and ugliest of images for anyone to see. What came next was all a blur, but what she did remember was Professor Snape appearing out of nowhere. He had been absolutely furious. Her parents had immediately disappeared from her view and he had had to practically carry her back to school as she had been so overcome with grief. It was the last time anyone saw any emotion from her again.

Now as she watched her friends gather, the barrier that had so carefully held in those emotions was let down. Wrapped around her now was rage and anger so strong that if it could be seen it would have been blue the hottest and most lethal temperatures of fire. However, this rage and anger wasn't uncontrollable, oh no, it was cool and calculating and aimed at two people, Lucius Malfoy and Voldemort. She knew she would never have the chance to face Voldemort, that was Harry's job, but by Merlin Lucius Malfoy was going down by her hand and hers alone.

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Harry was looking down at a table with the Marauders Map on it trying to map out some last minute what-if plans when a shadow fell across the table. He looked up and saw Severus Snape looking back at him with a frown on his face. Wondering what was on his mind Harry asked,

"Can I help you?"

"How did you get that thing from my quarters Mr. Potter?" Snape sneared.

"Well if you must know I did with, Accio Marauder's Map," he replied with dripping sarcasm.

Severus sighed at the Boy-who continually-was-a-pain-in-his-ass. He didn't need to start a fight just before a war. So instead he changed the subject.

"Would you happen to know where Miss Granger is? She's the only other person I find remotely competent to help me hand out the potions." He stated.

"Well this is new ," Harry thought, "eh, who needs to get hostile with him when I have to face down Voldemort soon ." His scar was a perfect reminder of his date with destiny as it was already leading up to a dull burning sensation

"She's in the tower he replied, but I wouldn't go up there. Whatever she has kept locked inside of her all these years is coming out today. I can feel it. She'll probably be more dangerous and lethal than Malfoy himself." He replied.

The idea of Hermione unleashing her emotions bugged Severus. He nodded to Harry who was again looking at the map and left without a sound. He started back to the castle and was almost at the door when he broke into a full out run for the tower. He couldn't explain it but if Hermione used her rage in today's fight, odds were she wasn't going to be able to come out of that rage after the battle was over.

He ran up the stairs two at a time, jumped twice to avoid being caught on a moving staircase and petrified Peeves in order to avoid delay from the annoying, antic pulling ghost. At this point he was running so fast that by the time he screeched to a halt inside the tower's doorway he was gasping for air. When he finally calmed down to look at her, his worst fear was confirmed. He was too late.

Back to him, her body's stance was so rigid it looked like a statue. Slowly she turned to him and he gasped as he looked in her eyes. They were as black and as void as a black hole.

"Hello, Snape."