A/N – Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine, but rather J.K. Rowling's. I have only taken her ideas and moulded them. Otherwise is wouldn't be fanfiction now, would it?
A-tisket a-tasket
A green and yellow basket
I wrote a letter to my love
And on the way I dropped it,
I dropped it,
I dropped it,
And on the way I dropped it.
A little boy he picked it up and put it in his pocket
~ Nineteenth Century American nursery rhyme
'HARRY!'
Whether it was she, Ron or Ginny who had screamed first, she would never know, but she knew the white hot flash of unspeakable pain that radiated from the very depths of her soul. She knew it was her unintelligible scream that mingled with Ron's scream of her name, of his desperate scramble out of restraining arms and towards her. 'NO! NO! NO! HERMIONE!'
In the depths of her mind, she noted that no-one should have ever had to hear him call her name like that. No one. Closer, she heard McGonagall shriek again, her tears leaking past her tear ducts – not at her own pain, but at the despair in her mentor's voice – she heard Bellatrix's cackle. The mad sound tickled her ear, noted distantly as she screamed through the pain. Grabbing desperately, her voice choked out against her will, 'Please. God. Please, stop.'
Bellatrix cackled again, though she too dropped her curse when Voldemort's voice rang through the air. 'SILENCE! It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!'
Hermione shook her head, mouthing no soundlessly, over and over again. Her eyes lifted and locked on Ron's, equally tortured and pained and he nodded. They would not, not stand for this degradation of Harry, even after death. 'You see?' Voldemort continued, 'Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!'
Hermione had never, never been so proud of Ron as in that moment, when he yelled back in Voldemort's face, breaking the charm that had held her, and everyone else, back. 'He beat you!' She reached out, fingers grasping his weakly and she caught Neville's gaze. Realising exactly what was about to happen, she squeezed Ron's hand and their eyes locked yet again, nothing further than that gaze passing between them as their eyes sought out Luna and Ginny.
Seeing the gaze, Ginny moved like lightening, Luna not far behind, and Hermione sat up through the residual pain. Nodding at Ginny and Luna, eyes back on Neville, Ginny in particular understood exactly what was about to happen. 'He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle ground, killed while trying to save himself –'
Ron launched himself towards Voldemort, still too rash for his own good, and Hermione and Ginny screamed eternally different screams. It was a role reversal from their earlier screams, the loss of a lover and the loss of a brother rent through the air as Neville launched himself forward with equal fervour. Their attention diverted for a moment as Luna quietly went to Ron's aide, they watched in terrified anticipation as Voldemort tossed Neville's wand away. 'And who is this? Who had volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?'
From Hermione's side, sending a shuddering chill through the girl so intense that Ginny and Luna each grasped her tightly, Bellatrix laughed, delighted. 'It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?'
Neville stood in the no-man's land that, the four of them aside, separated them from the Death Eaters. It was house rivalry on steroids, Hermione's muggle side mused for a twisted, morbid moment before her attention snapped back to Neville. 'Ah, yes, I remember. But you are a pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?'
He would have praised such an action from one of his own, and the realisation made Hermione's blood boil, far beyond the mudblood comments that infuriated her so often. This was the real evil of Voldemort, not the blood purity, but this rampant, unforgiving, unyielding discrimination that could – that would – destroy the world she loved so desperately. 'So what if I am?'
Ginny and Luna's hand tightened around Hermione's just as hers tightened around theirs, pride and terror and anxiety and oh Merlin surging through their veins. 'You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom.
Were those the kind of promises that had swayed Peter Pettigrew, Hermione wondered weakly, or had Voldemort been more charismatic before the complete and total destruction of his meagre humanity? 'I'll join you when hell freezes over. Dumbledore's Army!'
His eyes had caught theirs, just for the briefest of moments, but they had understood. Between the muggle reference that made Hermione smile so widely it hurt and the rallying cry, and the unified cheer broke the charm even more thoroughly than Ron's impassioned cry had done before. 'Very well. If that is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan. On your head, be it.'
The terror in Hermione's chest swelled and grew until she wanted nothing more than to charge at Neville and take him away from that vile creature. Not Neville too. Not sweet, sweet Neville who always brought her flowers on her birthday and always remembered to ask her how she was after a rough day and had blossomed into such a magnificent young man and would stoop to kiss her cheek long after he'd rocketed past her in height and not Neville too. Feeling her heart bleed in her chest, the blood pounding in her eyes wasn't enough to drown out Voldemort's words. 'There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts School. There will be no more Houses. The emblem, shield and colours of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom? Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me.'
The three girls had crouched together just as Ron had readied himself. They heard the scuffling sounds of movement from the other behind them, but their eyes were fixed on the Death Eaters who had turned towards them. Bellatrix's eyes darted delightedly between her four favourite victims, and she laughed as her master spoke. And then Neville was on fire and the dam that had been building burst and Hermione shrieked and threw herself, quite literally, at Bellatrix fucking Lestrange. Ron charged for Neville, almost there as Hermione numbly noted the sword of Gryffindor emerging from the hat. She felt Ginny's hands grab her as Luna charged forward, screaming obscenities at Bellatrix Lestrange as Neville sliced of Nagini's head. Hermione felt a surge of pride explode from the confines of her chest and raised her fist, wand tight in her other hand, roaring her pride even as Voldemort screamed soundlessly. Neville and Ron's gazes lifted to meet hers and they smiled that grim smile of battle, nodding in reply and, in very different gestures, their free hands twisted over their hearts. For her. Emboldened, she turned back to where Luna and Ginny were now duelling Bellatrix Lestrange.
Out of the corner of her eye she watched Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy streak past them, screaming for Draco blindly and her eyes watered. What kind of war was this that even the winning side couldn't find peace? Vowing, if they made out of this alive, to be better to Draco Malfoy, Hermione's fury rose as a Killing Curse shot past Luna. Screaming, she threw herself harder at the woman, Ginny's words rising above Bellatrix's cackling laughter, 'I will not lose another friend tonight!'
Attention successfully diverted from Luna, Hermione almost missed Ron strike the final blow to bring down Fenrir Greyback, Neville sweaty and flushed as the two men grasped hands and turned deeper into the din. A Killing Curse shot past Ginny and Hermione shrieked, throwing shoving Ginny away and preferring, eternally preferring, to die rather than watch the woman Harry loved so dearly do so. 'NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!'
A helpless sob of laughter escaped all three girls as they saw Molly Weasley rocket toward them. Bellatrix spun away from them and Hermione saw Ron's face, ashen and terrified as he stared at his mother, felt Ginny's hollow and ragged breaths and was struck by the utter pain on Arthur Weasley's face at the realisation of just what his wife was willing to do. Screaming as she launched herself physically at Bellatrix Lestrange for the second time that night, Hermione's wand was out and her free hand clawed and struck at the woman. She never noticed Ginny, Luna and Molly Weasley freeze and stare in terror; she never noticed Ron's strangled scream as he watched her place his mother's life before her own; she never noticed Neville's hoarse sob; she never noticed the cold, furious pallor that suffused McGonagall's face; she never noticed the horror on Narcissa Malfoy's features as the woman realised what a monster her own sister had become. She did, however, notice the pain that shot through her and Bellatrix's furious screech. Somewhere in the back of her mind she heard Mrs. Weasley scream, shriek, sob, 'NO! Get back! Hermione! Get back! She's mine! Hermione!'
'Will ickle Weasley be sad, losing both his best friends in one night, Her-my-oh-knee? Was it worth it, knowing you lost to me, again?'
Bellatrix was playing with her, she realised numbly, and she thought nothing of the consequences of taunting the certifiable when she retaliated. 'Better than following your half-blood kook of a master! And I survived you before, I'll do it again, Bellatrix!'
A half-garbled shriek of fury mingled with the curse that Bellatrix shot towards her and even as it hit her and the world went fuzzy, she heard her name screamed and blanched at the realisation that one of those voices was supposed to be dead. 'HARRY? HARRY! RON! BELLATRIX, I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! HARRY! RON!'
Maybe her death was the catalyst they needed to give Harry the ability to kill. Maybe they'd win now. Even as she screamed their names blindly, reaching for something even as she fell to the ground, arms pinned to her sides, she decided it was worth it. Eyes closed on tears and pain and noise and oh God, Harry, oh Ron, she felt the scream actually rip from her throat as she collided with the ground. Hands fisting into the ground of the Great Hall, the ground that had always been so safe and secure, she continued to scream, Harry and Ron's names and unintelligible dribbled mingling the sounds of her anguish. And then her eyes opened. And the screaming began all over again.
A/N – Reviews? Pretty Please? Hope you liked it!
