A/N: Character death.
I do not own Glee, HP, or any of the characters.
The world had stopped. For Hermione, time itself had stopped. She didn't hear the curses flying past. She didn't see people running. She didn't hear the explosions that rocked the school. She didn't hear the screams of the people around her. A ragged scream caught in her throat, choking her. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She was paralyzed.
"Hermione!"
She broke into a run, throwing caution to the wind as she leaped over rubble and fallen bodies, curses just whizzing by her head. In her mind, there was nothing but her and the blonde that now lay on the floor, her glassy eyes staring. There was that one moment, as the blonde had fallen, that their eyes connected and Quinn's lips had moved silently.
She couldn't be too late. She just couldn't. This wasn't real. This wasn't happening. She dropped to her knees next to Quinn's still body, her hands immediately resting on her chest to check for a heartbeat. There was nothing. Not even a twitch. Quinn's lifeless body didn't move, would never move again.
Hermione didn't even realize that she was screaming. She didn't feel the hot tears that rolled down her cheeks as she screamed Quinn's name over and over again. She crushed Quinn's body to her own, desperately wishing that this was some twisted dream. She brushed Quinn's hair out of her face, gazing down into the dead green eyes that stared up at her. Just moments before, those same eyes were tear-filled as she mouthed the words "I'm sorry," before she crumpled and fell, only to remain still.
"Hermione!"
She didn't hear the screams. She didn't feel the explosions. Nothing existed in this moment but she and the lifeless body of Quinn. Nothing would ever be again. She had lost Quinn, and Quinn was everything. She wished that someone would hit her as well. Kill her. Send her out of her misery. Life was not worth living if she couldn't live it with Quinn.
She cried out as strong hands wrenched her away from Quinn's body. She struggled against them, reaching out for Quinn, screaming her name. The hands, whoever they might belong to, were too strong. She couldn't break free, but she wouldn't give up. She would never give up.
"Hermione! Stop!" Harry's face materialized in front of her own as they sat in a damaged, but empty corridor. She blinked as she looked around and saw Ron crouching next to her.
"But Quinn-" Hermione answered as her face twisted in anger.
"No, Hermione! She's dead!" Ron yelled. Harry shot Ron a look and Ron held up his hands in resign.
"Quinn-" Hermione started.
"Is dead, Hermione," Harry cupped her face in his hands. "There's nothing we can do. She's gone." Hermione stared into his eyes. His green eyes were so much darker than Quinn's, Hermione observed. Those beautiful green eyes that would never sparkle at her again. Those soft pink lips that would never smile at her again, or kiss her own. And that sweet, sweet voice that would never again say her name.
Her entire body shook with sobs as Harry pulled her into a tight hug. She felt Ron's arms around them as well, and she only sobbed harder. Her best friend, her one true love was gone, taken by a flash of green light as brilliant as her own bright eyes. In just a second, her entire life had been ripped away from her. Hermione's dreams of a future with her shattered. Her sorrow quickly turned to rage as she thought of all the things she would never have.
"Guys," she pulled away from them, looking into their faces. "We have a war to fight, and I'll be damned if we're going to lose now."
"There you are," Harry gave Hermione a quick squeeze.
"Did either of you see which one did it?" she asked. Harry and Ron nodded. Hermione picked up her wand and stood straight, taking a deep breath and saying, "As she would say, let's go kick some ass."