The Horseman Cometh

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any subsequent characters…although I don't mind borrowing them every now and then 

AN: The title refers to a quote from James Patterson's The Fifth Horseman, that states that the Apocalypse had four Horsemen; but man was the fifth.

This is my second attempt at a fic, so as always, please review! I need all the encouragement/criticism I can get. My first fic was very fluffy, and this one is not intended to be so, you have been warned.

SSHG eventually. Not DH compliant; AU after HPB. Rating may change due to graphic violence, language, and adult situations.

Chapter 1: The beginning of the end

The cloaked figure huddled over the smoldering remains of what had been a small fire, surveying the ruins. This had once been a happy place, where children chased each other through the streets and mothers watched with out worry. Now the smoking ruble marked what was left of the once proud thoroughfare. Here and there, pieces of undestroyed property stubbornly called to anyone that could see them over the blue smoke still rising from the ashes. Beneath the ruble, a few bodies were starting to rot. The Putrid smell of fire and human flesh accosted the figure. The war was not over.

Hermione Granger lowered her hood as she looked at the ruble that was once Diagon Alley. As she walked amidst the destruction, anger boiled. They had all thought the war was over when Harry had defeated Lord Voldemort, instead his followers had merely banded together. Like the mythical beast that Hercules tried to slay, the leaders kept sprouting up like many ugly, monstrous heads. Hermione stopped as the toe of her boot nudged an object in the path. When she looked down, she couldn't help the tears that began coursing down her face. A doll lay singed and battered on the ground next to what used to be the ice cream parlor. It was so senseless, these public massacres. No one trusted anyone else anymore. Friend turned against friend; brother against brother. This had to stop.

Hermione located all of the bodies that had been trapped beneath the destruction and buried every single one of them. And with a complex piece of magic, not unlike the old marauders map, she was able to identify every single body to put a marker above their grave. When she straightened up, it was with a new resolve. "No more. This ends now." She turned on her heel and with a loud crack she disapparated to the one stronghold she knew still existed.

Hermione looked at the gates of her old school, and briefly wondered if the security had been breached. The gates had definitely seen better days; they looked as if a stiff wind would blow them over. But Hogwarts still stood. She sent a patronus to the school requesting admission, as the security wards would not let anyone in unless accompanied by a designated representative of the staff; which changed at irregular intervals to prevent any infiltration by the enemy. Hermione snorted as she thought about that…the enemy. They didn't even know who the enemy was anymore. The time for epic battles was over; this war was all subterfuge and mass murders. 'So much for world peace,' she thought with an internal sneer.

Hermione's eyes caught movement on the path leading from the school to where she stood at the gates, 'idiots.' They had sent Hagrid to meet her. 'They send a half-giant with no wand to meet me.' She couldn't help thinking ill of her old friend, but in times like these when the enemy could have put her under the imperious curse to gain access, she was harder on everyone, including herself.

"'Ermione!" The massive caretaker boomed when he saw the figure at the gates.

"Hagrid," she hadn't meant to sound as harsh as she did, but the years had been far from kind, to anyone, and his child-like trust that she was really herself didn't sit well.

"Er…well I'm suppos' ta ask yer a few questions to, er, make sure yer who ya say ya are… security an' all…" Hermione nodded her head once to acknowledge him as she waited for the questioning to begin. "So, er, wha' was he name of me dog tha' you met yer firs' year?"

"Well you obviously had Fang, but you also had a three-headed dog named 'Fluffy' who was helping guard the Sorcerer's Stone."

"Righ' An' what is the former and current name of the Hippogriff I… er, had in yer third year?"

Hermione repressed the urge to roll her eyes at his line of questioning, "Witherwings is formerly known as Buckbeak, and his name was changed because the ministry was going to kill him."

"A'righ', and er… What was special abou' yer schedule in third year, and what device did you use ter…do it?" Hagrid finished lamely shuffling his feet a bit in the dust.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at the last question; she'd honestly been expecting another question about one of his creatures. "I took every subject available at the school until I dropped Divination. I used a time-turner to take several classes at once."

Hagrid grinned "well then…Welcome back 'Ermione!" He opened the gate and allowed her access to the grounds, "Pr'fessor McGonagall will be 'appy ter see ya. Where ya been?"

Hermione smiled to herself and only answered, "I've been working on something."

Hermione was taken straight to the Headmistress' office to see her former Head of House. The office had changed from the décor of its previous owner. Whereas Dumbledore had had several magical knick-knacks all over the circular office, McGonagall had adopted a more Highland theme for the office. Hermione sat on a tartan patterned chair to wait for her former mentor. When the older witch entered, Hermione stood.

Minerva McGonagall looked much older than she had when Hermione had last seen her; she was thinner and looked to be bone weary. "Miss Granger…where have you been?"

Hermione's mouth twitched slightly as she tried to hide a small smile at the familiar no-nonsense attitude of the Headmistress. "I've been…studying." Hermione sat as her former professor took the seat behind the massive desk.

"You disappeared over five years ago with nothing more than a note every now and then to come back here, after several pleas did nothing to move you, with no more of an excuse than you were 'studying.' This is not the same as being late for one of your classes!" Minerva's nostrils flared as she got into her tirade, "so, what were you studying?" Hermione sat nonchalantly in her chair and inspected her wand for fingerprints as she waited out 'hurricane Minerva.' And the Headmistress couldn't help but think how much her manner resembled Severus'. "You weren't doing anything…"

"Illegal? Dark?" Hermione glanced toward the eyes of her one-time role model. "No. But I have been doing something useful. I did not run away," Hermione's eyes were hard as she answered Minerva's unspoken accusations. "I've been learning things that could help us put a stop to this war."

"What could possibly put a stop to this war?" For the first tie since entering her office, Minerva appeared to deflate, looking nearly defeated.

Hermione sat forward, "I've been thinking, and the only way to end this is to fight fire with fire." Hermione got up and explained her theory. "When you cut off the rose from a rosebush, you get more flowers. It can recover from the minimal loss of the blossom. But, when you purposely poison it or give it a disease, what happens?"

Minerva narrowed her eyes, "you mean to tell me, you wish to infiltrate the enemy and…do what?"

Hermione smiled mirthlessly, "destroy their way of life."

Minerva stood, walking to the window, "and just how do YOU plan to do that? They all know you, and glamours won't protect your identity. Not to mention, we don't even know how many cells they have." Minerva whirled to face the younger witch, "No! You could be killed!"

"People are dying! Innocent people; children! Don't you dare tell me 'no'! You thought I was dead anyway, and I have things up my sleeve that none of you have seen." To prove her point Hermione whirled around, and when she faced her mentor again, Minerva was shocked. Hermione had transformed herself in to Severus Snape; she whirled again and became another person, one that Minerva did not recognize. Then became a mirror image of Minerva herself before changing back into her own shape. "I told you I have been studying; you didn't let me explain further." Minerva sat wearily behind her desk, too shocked to do anything more than listen as Hermione explained. "I have been studying all over the world, anything that can be used in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Minerva…I no longer need a wand to do magic." Hermione explained some of her adventures abroad and that when she had been studying in China, she learned to tap her magic and others.

Minerva tapped her long fingers on the desk as Hermione finished her tale. "I want to see one thing before I agree to this, insanity." She called the school matron to the office. "Poppy, could you please run a diagnostic spell on—Hermione—and her magical resources?"

Poppy waved her wand and a bright light enveloped the room pulsating from its origin which was Hermione. "Minerva…" Madame Pomfrey sounded faint, "I've only seen this personally twice before." She waved her wand and the light disappeared leaving hem all blinking.

"Who?"

"Severus and Albus." Poppy still sounded shocked.

Hermione stood eyes intense on the Headmistress, "I will do this with or without your cooperation Minerva."

Minerva glanced at Poppy then realizing that Hermione had a better chance of survival with her help, sighed defeatedly. "You will need some help." Minerva dismissed the school matron and conspired with her former student.