Hi! I'm French, English is only my 2nd language. I'm pretty good at it, but it might not be perfect...

This is my first time publishing a Harry Potter fanfiction (which I can't quite believe). Last time I tried to write HP fanfiction, I was about 12, and not confident enough to try and publish it.

I wrote this story because I'm still in major denial about Fred's death, so if you're like me, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter I - The Battle of Hogwarts

"Come on, Ron! There's nothing you can do for him!" Harry yelled, pulling Ron by the arm.

Harry started to run with Ron in tow when he realised that Hermione had not moved.

"Hermione! We can't stay here, c'mon!" He said.

But she was still looking at Fred's body, looking quite unsure of herself.

"Harry, I think you're wrong…we can do something…Fred wasn't hit by a spell, so I think…we might be able to bring him back with CPR, right?"

Harry tilted his head, whilst a bewildered Ron was looking between the two of them.

"Hadn't thought about that. Can you do CPR?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded.

"Well then, we've got to act fast!"

Hermione immediately knelt beside the fallen Weasley, Percy still helplessly shouting "No!".

"Percy! Percy, I might be able to do something here! Help me move the rubble." She ordered.

Percy seemed to regain a bit of his composure when he saw how determined the young witch was. He pointed his wand towards the wall that had fallen over his brother and lifted the rocks effortlessly. Behind them, Harry and Ron were watching intently, Ron's mouth hanging open in shock, Harry quite obviously trying not to get his hopes up. Once she had the space necessary to do so, Hermione began chest compressions on Fred. She heard Ron begin to question what she was doing when she put her mouth over Fred's. She was relieved to hear Harry's "she's trying to save him, Ron!". Now was not the time to deal with Ron's misplaced jealousy. After what seemed like hours, she finally felt Fred's chest rise feebly. She put two fingers under his jaw and audibly sighed with relief when she felt a pulse.

"He's alive." Harry said.

Percy's head whipped towards him. "How?"

"She brought him back. The muggle way."

"I…Thank you." Percy said. Then something Hermione had never thought possible happened. Percy Weasley was hugging her. Once she was back on her feet, it was Ron's turn to hug her.

"Thank you, 'Mione! That was incredible!"

"It really was," Harry agreed quietly "it's a good thing you're able to think outside of magic."

Hermione smiled kindly towards her friend.

"Right. We need to bring him to the Great Hall whilst he's still breathing. We still have a mission to accomplish!"

"We'll just levitate him there, we can protect him on our way there." Ron said, pointing his wand at his unconscious brother.

"Wait! Both his legs are broken, if you move him like that it could make things worse!" Hermione replied. She quickly conjured a stretcher, and splints for Fred's legs. One he was safely lying on the stretcher, she allowed Ron to levitate him.

The group carefully made its way towards the Great Hall, Harry, Hermione and Percy deflecting any spell cast at them whilst Ron kept the stretcher in motion. When they arrived in the Great Hall, they had great difficulty finding a way through the wounded and the dead. Hermione suddenly felt faint, but quickly regained her composure. She noticed Harry's grip tightening on his wand. They put Fred's stretcher down at the back of the room, near the usual emplacement of the High Table. Looking around, there were no other Weasleys in sight. Hermione sighed with relief: maybe the rest of the family had made it through.

"Right. Percy, I'm sorry but we have to go. Get Madam Pomfrey, make sure Fred is alright, we'll be back as soon as possible, okay?" Harry said, his hand on Percy's shoulder.

Percy said nothing, he simply looked at Harry, eyes wet with tears, and nodded.

Harry grabbed both Ron and Hermione by the arms and they ran out of the Great Hall.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked.

"Shrieking shack. I had a vision, he's there, the snake's with him." Harry breathed.

They ran all the way to the secret passage from the Whomping Willow to the shack, avoiding dementors on their way. In the Shrieking Shack, they found Voldemort confronting Severus Snape about the allegiance of the Elder Wand. Hermione wasn't quite sure how she felt when Voldemort sent his snake to kill Snape. She had despised the man for as long as she had known him, even more so since he had killed Dumbledore, but this execution felt wrong. Voldemort left along with his snake, and Harry went over to Snape to collect the memories that were escaping him in his last moments. Once Snape had taken his last breath, the three friends ran back to the castle. They heard the message in which Voldemort urged Harry to turn himself over to him within the next hour. Both Ron and Hermione told Harry to do no such thing, and neither of them were convinced by Harry's reassurance.

When they got to the Great Hall, the whole Weasley family was gathered around Fred.

"Oh, Hermione!" Mrs Weasley shrieked, hugging the girl fiercely.

"Molly?" Hermione was perplexed "Is Fred –?" she trailed off.

"He's still with us, thanks to you. Percy told us how you saved him with PCR."

"CPR." Hermione corrected. "I did what I could, but…he's in pretty bad shape, and I – " her words caught in her throat again.

As she approached Fred's sickbed, she noticed the two bodies lying a few feet away. Lupin and Tonks, who seemed to be holding hands. She gasped.

"Oh, Teddy…" she said. Her heart ached thinking of the little boy, who was now an orphan.

"I know." Said Mrs Weasley. "Awful. Just Awful."

Hermione was hugged and thanked by every single Weasley, before she knelt near Fred's left shoulder, and looked at George, the only one who hadn't looked up and hadn't said a word since she had arrived. She extended her hand and put it on his shoulder. He jumped slightly but did not push her away. After a few minutes of silence, he turned towards her and said in a croaky voice:

"Thank you." Then he frowned and added "Don't cry."

Hermione lifted her hand from George's shoulder and touched her own cheek. She wondered when she had begun to cry again.

"You're welcome, George. I hope I did enough."

"You did your best. That's always enough." He replied softly.

"What did Madam Pomfrey say?"

"Fixed his legs, said he was bleeding inside, but she stopped it. His head was hit as well. She said he probably wouldn't wake up for a while. If he does."

Hermione squeezed his hand. "That makes sense. His body has shut itself down, so he can heal. It's helping him." She wanted more than anything to believe her own words. She knew they were technically true, but they didn't help to know whether Fred would be coming out of his coma. She rose to her feet.

"Anyway, I'm glad the whole family is here." Said Mr. Weasley "Wait, where's Harry?"

Hermione looked around, and Harry was missing. She shivered. She knew what he was doing. Next to her, Ginny was sobbing in her hands. Hermione wrapped an arm around her friend.

"I dunno, he was with us!" Ron said.

Hermione took a deep breath. "He went to see something in Dumbledore's office." She said. It wasn't a lie, she knew Harry would want to see Snape's memories, and he knew he would find a Pensieve in the headmaster's office. Ron eyed her suspiciously but remained silent.

"As long as he doesn't give himself to the Death Eaters." Bill said darkly.

"He won't." Hermione replied. 'Not yet, at least', she thought. The Weasleys did not seem to believe her. After all, they were all aware of Harry's heroic tendencies.

When, towards the end of the allowed time, Harry was still nowhere to be seen, Hermione was sure that her friend had accepted his fate. He would sacrifice himself. With that thought, hot new tears came pouring down her face. Ginny had left the hall to help with the injured. She came back, holding hands with a young girl, who was visibly distraught. She handed her over to the students assisting Madam Pomfrey, before she walked over to her family, still watching over Fred. Ginny burst into tears.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.

"It's C – Colin." She cried.

"Creevey?" Hermione shuddered.

"He's…he's d – dead. I saw him, Oliver b – brought him here." Ginny sobbed. "It's not fair, he was s – so nice. He almost d – died b – because of me but he forgave me. He was my f – friend. He was good at Ch – Charms. He helped me with homework. Made m – me smile."

Ginny's breathing was erratic, and Hermione was growing more and more worried for her friend. The entire Weasley clan, George included, was staring at their youngest member.

"He shouldn't – shouldn't have been h – here. He wasn't in school this year, b – because his p – parents are M – Muggles, but – but he is so b – brave. Wanted to h – help. It's my f – fault. Came b – back for the DA. J – Joined because of m – me."

"Shh, Ginny, it's alright. Ginny, look at me. Can you feel my hand?" Hermione asked. She was holding Ginny's hand and Ginny squeezed back. "Great, now I need you to breathe slowly. Concentrate on your breathing, alright? Can you do that for me?" Ginny was now trying to regulate her breathing. After a few seconds, she was able to speak normally.

"It's not fair, Hermione. His parents…his brother…Dennis looked up to him so much!" Ginny shrieked.

Hermione had a sad smile. "They'll be alright, Ginny. They'll remember him, and they'll know he fought, and he was brave. They'll miss him, of course. But they'll be proud."

Ginny's breath hitched. She looked at Hermione strangely, but remained silent. "Where's Harry?" She then asked.

"We haven't seen him. I'm sorry." Hermione replied sadly.

"Please tell me he is not where I think he is!" Ginny yelled.

Hermione lowered her head, and Ginny was crying again. Soon after, they heard the sound of hundreds of people approaching the castle, and Hermione knew her worst fear had come true. Everyone rapidly left the Great Hall and stood in the courtyard. There, they heard the words they had all been dreading, coming out of Voldemort's mouth.

"Harry Potter is dead."

Hermione didn't really hear what Voldemort said after that, but she gathered that he was trying to present Harry as a coward who was running away when he got killed. Who would believe such a thing? But then she saw Hagrid, the friendly half-giant who had loved Harry so much, who had been watching over him all his life – she saw him carrying the lifeless body of her best friend, her brother. She heard a loud "NO!" coming from the crowd, and she recognised the voice of professor McGonagall, who she knew had always held a particular fondness for Harry. She then heard herself speak, followed by Ron. "No!", they both shouted. Then she heard Ginny's "Harry! HARRY!" and felt her heart shatter even more. She felt Ginny slip from her grasp, and she knew the young witch was going to fight Voldemort herself, but two strong hands stopped her. It was George, who had grabbed his little sister by the shoulders. She fought him, but eventually gave in and sobbed against his chest while he ran his hands soothingly across her back. Then Voldemort cast a silencing charm on all of them, before explaining again how Harry was weak.

"He beat you!" Ron yelled.

Hermione jumped. Ron had just broken Voldemort's charm. How could that be? Seconds later, Voldemort cast another silencing charm, and Neville walked proudly towards the Death Eaters. When Neville refused to join his side, Voldemort summoned the Sorting Hat, placed it upon Neville's head and set it ablaze. Neville was unable to move, because he had been hit with a Body-Bind Curse. Hermione screamed. There was a loud bang, and confusion from both sides. She saw Neville break free from the curse, and she knew something was happening. Something big. Voldemort's magic wasn't taking effect on them. Then she realised: Harry had walked willingly to his death, like his mother before him. The ancient magic that had protected him might have been protecting all of them now. She was about to tell Ron, when she heard a slashing sound. Neville had just beheaded Nagini, Voldemort's pet and the last Horcrux with the sword of Gryffindor, which had come out of the Sorting Hat. She then heard Hagrid's shout: "HARRY! HARRY – WHERE'S HARRY?". Everyone was then forced to retreat into the castle. Hermione saw Death Eaters all around her being defeated by members of the Order and the DA, she heard Kreacher's proud voice as he led the house-elves in the fight, and she found herself, somehow, engaged in a duel against Bellatrix Lestrange, along with Ginny and Luna.

The world seemed to slow down when Bellatrix Lestrange cast a Killing Curse, which missed Ginny's face by mere millimetres. Hermione felt rage overcoming her, and she aimed her wand towards the woman she hated so much, when she was pushed out of the way. Molly Weasley, gentle, matronly, caring Molly Weasley, was aiming her wand at Bellatrix.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" she yelled. Hermione had never seen such fury exude from anyone.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Mrs Weasley yelled towards her daughter and her friends. The three girls jumped out of the way. Everyone was now watching Mrs Weasley, except McGonagall, Slughorn and Kingsley, who were all engaged in their own duel against Voldemort. Mrs Weasley and Bellatrix were fighting to kill, and Mrs Weasley forbade anyone to come to her aid.

"Think of your children once I've killed you! What will they do? What will happen when mummy's gone, and Freddie doesn't wake up?" Bellatrix taunted.

"You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!" Molly screamed. Her next curse hit Bellatrix right over the heart. Bellatrix fell. She was dead.

Voldemort's fury was now directed solely towards Mrs Weasley. 'No!' Hermione thought. Before she could act, she heard a familiar voice shout 'Protego!', and Harry came out from under his Invisibility Cloak. 'He's alive!' she heard people scream. Next to her, Ginny collapsed, and Hermione caught her before she could hit the ground.

Harry then asked everyone to let him fight Voldemort on his own. Hermione listened intently as Harry explained to Voldemort that Snape had been working for Dumbledore for the past sixteen years, and that the headmaster had been killed at his own request. She nodded when he explained how his own sacrifice was preventing Voldemort from harming anyone else, as she had figured that out for herself. She was stunned when Harry told Voldemort that Draco Malfoy had become the master of the Elder Wand when he had disarmed Dumbledore that night in the Astronomy Tower. She held her breath when she understood what it meant: Harry had disarmed Malfoy himself a few weeks earlier. Which must mean…

"Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort shouted.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled.

She saw bright golden flames erupt from both wands, and she saw the Elder Wand fly high out of Voldemort's hand before Harry caught it. Voldemort fell, arms splayed. Hermione could not believe it, yet it was true: Voldemort was dead, betrayed by his wand. Hermione felt Ron's hand grab hers and they ran towards Harry.

"You did it, mate!" Ron all but yelled.

"We did!" Harry replied, hugging both his friends with all the strength he had left. "It's finally over, 'Mione!" he told her.

"It is…It is! Harry, we won!" she replied although she still couldn't quite believe it.

Then Neville, Luna and Ginny came rushing towards them. Harry let go of Ron and Hermione and took Ginny by the waist. She put her arms around his neck and kissed Harry in a move that reminded Hermione of the first time these two had kissed in the Gryffindor common room. Harry dipped her a little, and Ginny giggled whilst Ron exclaimed 'Oi!' with a bright smile on his face. Hermione had never felt so giddy in her life, she felt taller with the weight off her shoulders. She hugged Luna and Neville, and kissed Ron on the cheek.

Once everyone was done with the immediate celebrations, they were all sent back to the Great Hall. There, Madam Pomfrey and her assistants tended to the wounded, and examined everyone before she could send them back home. Hermione saw people break as they were informed of the death of a loved one. In a corner of the room, Parvati Patil was weeping in the arms of her sister Padma. At their feet, half hidden by a white sheet, lay Lavender Brown, her skin even paler than usual, angry red marks around her neck. Hermione shook her head and decided to take note of all the people she recognised among the living: Harry's former quidditch teammates Oliver Wood, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson; the people who had been in their year at Hogwarts: Dean and Seamus, who were holding each other tightly, Ernie McMillan, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, who waved silently at Ginny, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Anthony Goldstein. She saw Cho Chang, surrounded by girls whose faces were all familiar, but to whom she had never spoken. Every one of these faces brought her some comfort.

The Weasleys, apart from Fred, had only suffered minor scratches and were allowed to go back to the Burrow. Fred was sent to St Mungo's, and George insisted that he should go with him. Mrs Weasley tried to argue that he needed to rest first, but George wouldn't listen, would not be separated from his twin.

"Well, I guess we should all head back." Said Mr Weasley.

"Actually, there is one last thing I need to do." Harry said.

"Really?" Ginny groaned.

"Really, Gin. It won't take long, I promise." Harry said, kissing her forehead. "Then we'll join you at the Burrow."

Ginny did not seem pleased with that answer, but she said nothing, and followed the rest of her family out of the Great Hall. Harry then led his best friends towards the headmaster's office. There, he explained to Dumbledore's portrait what he had done with the Resurrection Stone, but that he intended to keep the Invisibility Cloak. Dumbledore agreed, as the Cloak was a Potter family heirloom. Ron protested when Harry decided not to keep the Elder Wand, choosing instead to repair his own. Hermione understood perfectly: The Elder Wand may have been powerful, but the holly one was familiar and safe. And that was exactly what they needed now. Hermione thought wistfully of her own wand, confiscated by Snatchers.

Once they were done, they went back to Hogsmeade and apparated at the Burrow. When they arrived, the Weasleys had all gone to bed. Hermione bid Harry and Ron goodbye, and headed for the bedroom she shared with Ginny. Seconds after her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.