(A/N): This is my first fanfic in a while, please R&R!
"HOW many times do we have to go over this, you're all too young to join the Order!"
"And how many times do we have to tell you that we're NOT to young?!"
In the kitchen of number 12, Grimmauld Place, a ferocious battle was raging pitting an irate Mrs. Weasley and grudging members of the Order of the Phoenix against a determined Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
"Mrs. Weasley," started Hermione fairly, "we are all of age now, we're all seventeen, and I'm nearly eighteen."
"Here, here!" shouted Ron.
"But you are still in school, even if you only have one year left!"
Harry, who had been unusually quiet, said quietly, "that's the thing, Mrs. Weasley. We're not going back to school for our seventh year."
Mrs. Weasley quickly rounded upon Harry, "W-w-what? What do you mean you're not going back to school-!" but was quickly cut off by Lupin.
"Molly," he said shortly, his eyes focused on Harry, a dawning recognition growing in his lined eyes, "let's here them out." Mrs. Weasley remained silent with a terribly anxious look on her face.
"The equation has changed. There is no more Dumbledore to lead the Order. He's dead, gone forever, and we are left to battle Lord Voldemort-" many in the room shuddered, "I have a task I must complete, wherever it leads me, and I don't have time to spend in school. Countless innocent people will die if we don't put a stop to him. It's going to require all of my, Ron, and Hermione's energy."
Mrs. Weasley looked flabbergasted and asked, "what is this task? Who gave it to you? Why do the three of you have to complete it-"
"I'm sorry Mrs. Weasley, we can't tell you," said a resolute Hermione.
"I made a promise to Dumbledore that I would tell no one, and I won't break it."
Hermione listened closely for any signs of movement overhead. The signal to move would be a set of three rhythmic knocks on the ceiling. Upon hearing it, she leapt out of bed, grabbed her new Cleansweep Seven, and quietly walked down the stairs into the drawing room. Moments later, Harry and Ron crept silently down the stairs.
"Are you ready, Hermione?" Harry asked her.
"Ready as I'll ever be."
"You, Ron?" asked Hermione
"S-s-s'long as I don't fall over stiff asleep, yeah," he said, yawning widely.
Harry swept over to the cabinet and grabbed the heavy, silver locket.
"Do you really think You-Know-Who is gonna know what we're up to?" asked Ron timidly.
"It could very well be. Even though Harry used the binding spell on Kreacher, he could have somehow still communicated to the Malfoy's that we're taking it tonight. And we know what happened the last time Kreacher went to the Malfoy's," Hermione answered in an uncharacteristic husky voice.
"Not to mention Voldemort knows that Regulus took his horcrux, and so who do you think he knows now has it?" Harry answered.
"But this place is Unplottable-" started Ron, but Hermione quickly cut him off.
"Yes, it's true, but do you mean to tell me that Narcissa and Bellatrix don't know where their Auntie and Uncle Black's house is? If they have correctly deduced that we are here, but you can't see the house, then there must be a fidelius charm on it. They know that the moment we walk out of here, we're unprotected."
"All right, enough chatting, let's go," said Harry handing the locket to Hermione, which she placed on her neck and put underneath her robes with her stolen time-turner. The three walked to the door and walked out under the starless night sky. "Good, we'll at least have cloud cover to hide us."
"Oh yea, and Hermione?" said Harry quickly, looking over to the bushy haired girl beside him. "We're switching brooms, and you're wearing my invisibility cloak."
"Why?" asked Hermione with a startled look. "You can ride your Firebolt, my Cleansweep's just fine-"
"You're taking it," said Harry giving her a this-is-final-look, "if anything were to happen you could get away very quick, undetected, and you have the time-turner as back up protection."
Hermione took the broom and threw on the cloak with a terrible lurch of foreboding in her stomach. Harry and Ron both quickly mounted their brooms, and set off into the cold summer-night air.
The next two hours were full of utterly uneventful flying until Ron asked loudly, "So, does this bloke know we're coming so he can open the locket-"
"Ron!" said Hermione angrily, "keep your voice down!"
"Fine," grumbled Ron, and he fell silent.
The next half hour was punctuated only with frequent collision with bats, and Harry finally said, "all right, it's only a little farther north, we're nearly there-" but he stopped short, looking towards the glittering lights far below them.
Hermione and Ron quickly followed suit, and her heart skipped a beat at what she saw. Far below, city lights were being distorted and cut out as black shapes shot past over them, heading straight for the trio.
"Defensive formation, Ron!" shouted Harry, as he and Ron quickly dropped below Hermione's level and so that the three formed a triangle shape. Hermione was at once grateful for all of Mad-Eye's seemingly mad advice he'd ever given them.
As the black shapes flew towards them, the only sign of their approach a low swoosh, terror gripped Hermione as she realized the full amount of Death Eaters coming at them. They seemed to cluster together like a swarm of bees, but once they reached Harry and Ron's level to their right, they quickly diffused and surrounded the three.
"Surrender, or die!" shouted a masked Death Eater that Hermione quickly recognized had the voice of Lucius Malfoy.
A bloodcurdling mirth-filled screech filled the air, raising the hairs on the back of Hermione's neck. "Yes, die now or surrender, so you can meet the Dark Lord! He'll be so happy to see you, Harry! You can die the way so many have, cowering with fear-"
At this, Harry shot a jet of red light at Bellatrix Lestrange. The battle had begun.
Hermione, dodging cruciatus curse after death curse, frantically looked down to see Harry and Ron, spells blaring from their wands. Ron quietly said, "go!" to Hermione, but she was torn. She was supposed to get away with the locket safely if something like this happened, but she couldn't bear to leave her best friends to face sure death. She had to do something, she just had to-
"Now!" said Harry louder, "go!"
Realizing saving the locket from the Death Eaters and destroying Voldemort's horcruxes was crucial, she shot upwards on the Firebolt towards an opening in the darkened sky between two Death Eaters. She was nearly away, she-
"Bloody hell-" started a deep-voiced Death Eater, "what have we here?"
Hermione struggled frantically, having just collided with the Death Eater she was attempting to pass. She silently cursed her utter lack of flying skills.
"AHA!" shouted the Death Eater in triumph as tore off the invisibility cloak Hermione was wearing and pulled her bodily off her broom and onto his, his wand pointed at her heart.
Harry, sporting a bloody face, and Ron, doubled over in pain, looked up towards Hermione, pained looks on their faces.
"'mione!" shouted Ron, "NO!"
"oh yes, yes, look what we have here, pretty little Mudblood! And what is this around your neck-" the Death Eater reached for the silver glinting around her neck, and Hermione fought more violently forever.
"Stop fighting you stupid Mudblood!"
But at the moment, Hermione, struggling frantically, fell over the side of the broom, and plummeted downwards. She heard Harry and Ron's yells, and attempts to catch her.
"NO!" she yelled as she hurtled towards the Earth. When she was but hundred feet from the ground she felt the time-turner come loose from inside her robes, and felt it twisting violently in the wind. She was surrounded by a blur of colors and shapes, and knew no more.
"Hello? Hellooo? Are you all right?" called a distant voice.
Hermione, slowly, her head pounding, recognized she was lying on something hard. She painfully raised her head and looked up to see a sly grin on a young, handsome face. Sirius Black's face. And with that, her head fell with a small thump! onto his chest.