If the situation hadn't been so serious she probably would have laughed.
Her late husband's brother lay dead on the floor, ginger hair dyed a far deeper shade of red. It made an interesting contrast, she thought, her mind still in shock. The blood and the white skin. He almost reminded her of Snow White, only she was sure Snow White didn't have freckles.
She was also sure Snow White came back from her apparent death and again she knew much as she wished it otherwise, that Fred Weasley wasn't going to get up. Just like Bill wasn't going to argue with his mother, Percy wasn't going to complain about the twins and Ron, her beloved, "I'd die for you", "the feelings mutual" husband, was never going to complain about her reading or her cooking or her extreme and probably over protectiveness of Rose or…
The situation suddenly didn't seem so funny. Particularly when the death eaters began to advance towards her. The room was too small for her to back away much and trying manoeuvre towards the door when you're outnumbered three to one, carrying your two year old daughter and unarmed except for a small knife hidden in your shoe is impossible.
She cradled Rose's head protectively, twisting her body as much as possible in an attempt to shield her, Not that it would do much good. Hermione Weasley knew that if they wanted to, they would kill her then casually step over he body to get to her daughter. Her and Ron's precious, beautiful daughter.
Her back hit the nursery wall. Ok, the back away and hope that a miracle saves her ( the Order, Dumbledore, legions of demons from the lowest level of hell, hey she wasn't particularly picky) plan hadn't worked. The part of her brain that almost made her a Ravenclaw told her there was no way out of this situation, the larger part of her brain that made her a Gryffindor accepted this. Then told her not to go down without a fight.
While she had been working this out (in the space of about ten long , agonising seconds), two of the Death Eaters had removed their masks. Hermione really wished they hadn't. She preferred not knowing who her soon to be killers were. Having them revealed to be class mates even occasionally reluctant partners (very reluctant, insulting partners but partners nevertheless) was sickening.
"Hello Malfoy" she said, inclining her head to the supercilious blonde on her right. He nodded his head in return.
"Good to see you again Ms Weasley" he said, no trace of ridicule in his voice. There had been a time when she would have given anything to converse with Malfoy without him tormenting her, now the absence of his insults scared her.
"How's your father?" she asked. That got a reaction even if it was only a slight tightening around the jaw. Hermione knew well how Lucius Malfoy was. She had been part of the raid that lost him his legs.
Malfoy's face had taken on his customary sneer with if it's possible even more malice than usual. Hermione smiled triumphantly. It had been a cheap shot, but it was probably going to be the last one she ever gave. And she was definitely not going to spend her last few moments on God's Earth feeling guilty about hurting Malfoy.
"What about yours, Nott?". That was an even cheaper shot. It was Hermione herself who had sent the curse that killed Nott Senior. Admittedly he had already been dying, a slow painful death that the murdering rapist had deserved. But it had been Hermione who had finished it.
Nott lacked Malfoy's control and it was only the quick actions of the middle Death Eater, the only one still masked that stopped the curse Nott unleashed from killing Hermione. A sharp grab of the wrist sent it slightly to the left of Hermione, obliterating the cream coloured cradle that Rose had previously used.
The flash of red startled Rose and she screamed, continuing to sob long after the red had died away. How did we get here Hermione thought, rocking Rose gently to quiet her cries. How did it start? Were we always going to end up like this, classmate against classmate, friend against friend even in some cases sibling against sibling? A laugh did escape her lips then, a mocking, mad laugh. And she whispered hoarsely under her breath.
"We were dammed from the start".
The Death Eaters had stopped advancing now, they were barely two metres away from her and were watching her with cruel yet slightly frightened eyes as Hermione Granger, the Gryffindor mudblood and smartest witch of her age stared at them with wild, mad eyes.
She laughed again, a bitter, cold laugh that would have done any Death Eater proud and caused the ones standing before her to flinch ever so slightly.
"Well look here." She said, more venom dripping from her voice than anyone ever thought possible. "We've got Malfoy, we've got Nott, which means we all know who's standing in the centre". Her words, her tone even her body language was poisonous and everyone, including Rose could feel it. And everyone, including Rose was trying to distance themselves from the young woman doing an excellent impression of a spitting cobra.
"Yes" Hermione said, pushing herself off the wall and walking slowly towards the middle, masked Death Eater. "We all know who you are." She faced down the centre Death Eater under the watchful gaze of both Nott and Malfoy. Leaning towards him, her daughter on her hip still clutching her and crying, Hermione stretched herself up and searched under the hood for where the skull mask met skin. Tearing it off and throwing it to one side, she smiled viciously and she knew she wasn't imagining the flinch then.
She stepped back, looking at the now unmasked Death Eater with hate filled, mad, mad eyes, still cradling her daughter.
"Hello Harry."
