The Perfect Snitch

by Wardown

Alternative ending to the Battle of Hogwarts. What if Hermione were not all that she seems? (Warning, contains violence, profanity, implied child abuse, and Satanism).

The Perfect Snitch

Part I

Harry ran as fast as he could to the door of the Room of Requirements, and grabbed the handle to get out. It wouldn't budge. "What's happening?" he shouted. "You're going nowhere, I've sealed the door, Harry" replied Hermione. "What are you talking about? We've got to join the fight. Ron….."

"…is dead."

"Is that your idea of a joke, Hermione?"

"No, I killed him. You'll be joining him, shortly. He begged for mercy, and burst into tears just before I finished him. Right to the last, he thought I loved him. I wonder what you'll do".

Harry stared at her, horrified.

Hermione made a gesture with her hands. Harry found himself unable to move. "Snape was right, Harry, you really are mediocre in the extreme. You can't even counter a simple binding spell" she smirked.

"But, we're friends. We're all friends, Hermione. Why did you turn against us? " To Hermione's disgust, he began to sob.

"Not you as well! Look, I never turned, Harry. I've never wavered in my loyalty to the Dark Lord. He told me to befriend you, and so I did. And now, he's told me to kill you, when everyone else has failed. And it's been bloody hard work, Harry. Despite all my best efforts, Lucius couldn't finish you off in the Department of Mysteries. Umbridge bungled everything when I handed you over to her at the Ministry. Then I had to spend weeks trailing round the dreariest parts of Southern England, sharing a tent with the pair of you, listening to Ron bitching and moaning, and your endless inane chatter. To cap it all, you nearly got me killed with your idiotic plan to break into the Lestrange Vault at Gringotts. "

"But you fought alongside us, Hermione. You fought the Death Eaters. "

"Well, duh….birdbrain! I had to give the impression I was on your side. I was quite happy to knock out one or two of the stupider ones, but I thought the rest could finish you and the Order of the Phoenix. I was wrong. I wish the Dark Lord had ordered me to finish you off a long time ago. I'd have wasted a whole lot less of my life".

"And your parents are Muggles! How can you do this?" cried Harry. Hermione simply shrugged. "The Dark Lord and I are two of a kind, Harry. He was the most gifted student of his day, as I am of mine. We were both hated by our inferiors, because of our birth and our achievements. We have both of us pushed the boundaries of magical knowledge further than they have ever gone. And we both had most unsatisfactory fathers. The Dark Lord had the very great pleasure of killing his father, but I went one better. I killed both my parents."

"So, they're not in Australia?" "Lord no!" laughed Hermione. "I fed them both to our dear Nagini.

"How many others have you killed?" demanded Harry. "Let me see. Cedric Diggory, Charity Burbage, your dear Won Won of course, and Remus Lupin. And, when I bring the Dark Lord your head, he will honour me above all others. Together, we shall rule the world of wizards."

"And Ginny?"

"She's still alive, if a tad …uncomfortable. Don't worry, though. I've left detailed feeding instructions with Carrow. He's an idiot, but I'm sure he'll remember.

"You're mad". "No, Harry. Ambitious, spiteful, vindictive, ruthless, but never mad."

"You evil bitch!" he shouted. "Manners, Harry". She pointed her wand at him, and cried "Crucio!" Harry fell to the ground, writhing in agony. Hermione laughed "I'm so sorry Harry. My parents always said I shouldn't laugh at cripples. But the Dark Lord says…..aim for the head! Crucio!". Harry screamed and wept. There was a sudden stench as his bowels and bladder emptied.

"I rescued you from Bellatrix, "gasped Harry. "I've told you, Harry, Bella and I are on the same side. She can be very convincing. Do you know, I think she'd love nothing more than to get her hands on you. She can be very creative with her captives. I'm sure you and she could have so much fun together, but I fear I'm going to have to disappoint her. The Dark Lord's instructions were quite explicit, and you know as well as I do how unwise it is to disobey him."

With a final effort, Harry broke free of the binding spell, staggered to his feet, and pointed his wand at Hermione, shouting the Killing Curse.

His wand gave a high-pitched, farting, sound, and emitted a puff of green smoke.

Nothing else happened. Hermione laughed "Ooo! That hurt so much, I think I must be dying." She pretended to clutch her heart and stagger.

Harry whimpered in despair, and collapsed to the ground. He could do nothing as Hermione began to chant the ancient rite of sacrifice:-

"Cold be hand and heart and bone,

and cold be sleep under stone:

never more to wake in homely bed,

never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead.

In the black wind the stars shall die,

and still in Hogwarts let him lie,

till the Dark Queen lifts her hand

over dead sea and withered land."

Hermione advanced towards him, crying out "the Rite is complete. I name your True Name, Harry Dursley. I name your True Name, Harry Dursley." Harry collapsed to the ground, his magic gone forever. The last he heard was her shout "Avada Kedavra".

There was a blinding green flash.

Then, nothing.

Part II

Even Hermione felt sick as she descended the great staircase at Hogwarts. Not that the dead bodies littering the steps bothered, her of course, you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs, after all. But, the destruction of works of art, many of them centuries old, left her furious. Works by Titian, Rembrandt, Michaelangelo, were ruined beyond repair. Even the El Greco was destroyed. One of his early works, but still. As for the statutes, the less said the better. Say one thing for Hermione Grainger, say she's a serial murderer, a parricide and a torturer, but say she's a connoisseur of fine art. These cretins, do they have to behave like savages? Rowena Ravenclaw has stood here for centuries, and now she's smashed to pieces by some lunatic werewolf who likes raping children and eating them.

As she approached the Great Hall, there he was, lounging against a pillar, leering at her as usual, blood and slaver dripping from his yellow fangs. "I've got me a few first years, Hermione. Fancy joining us for some fun later?" he laughed. "You address me as My Lady, Fenrir Greyback. As to joining you in your nasty games, I'd rather stick needles in my eyes" His grin faded, and he snarled. "I'm a friend of the Dark Lord, my Lady. Perhaps one day, he'll give you to me. I'd make you squeal. You think you're some kind of highborn. You're scum, like me, a mud-blood. " This creature goes too far. I wonder…. Hermione gave him a hard stare and uttered a single word "Transfiguro". In place of the werewolf, was a cockroach. She stepped forward, and ground it into the stone floor with her heel, leaving a black smear. No one will ever know what happened to him. And I did it without even pointing a wand!

She entered the Hall, to a scene of complete carnage. Bodies, and parts of bodies, littered the floor. There were precious few left alive on either side, yet still they duelled, with spells and counter-spells flying across the room. Howls of anger and agony filled the air.

"Behold the Boy Who Lived " she cried. The room fell silent, as she held up Potter's head by its hair, and displayed it to the surviving wizards. Cheers and applause rang out from the Death Eaters, cries of horror and dismay from the rest. She threw the head to the Dark Lord, who caught it, and cradled it in his arms.

"Oh, Blest is this prey, new shorn from the trunk" he declaimed. "Who slew him?"

"Mine was that deed!" answered Hermione in turn, and bowed.

"Oh my dear Lord", cried Bellatrix. "This is such a sweet day. Allow me to destroy the foul thing!"

"Most certainly not, Bella! Potter's head will be mounted on a shield, and displayed in this very Hall. We shall teach future generations of wizards and witches that there is no escape from the justice of Lord Voldemort."

"Of course my Lord" she replied, flushing "You are right of course, as always. I freely acknowledge my mistake."

"You see", shouted Voldermort in high-pitched tones, to his enemies, brandishing his grisly trophy. "The Boy Who Lived has failed you. Further resistance is pointless. There are pure-bloods among you. I want no further wizarding blood to be shed, and you have no more reason to fight for a lost cause. Be sensible, cease resistance, and join me. I promise you, there will be no reprisals."

His enemies were silent, heads hung in despair. Some of them flung down their wands, in gesture of surrender.

"My Lord" said Hermione. "I claim my reward." He turned to her "What would you have that Lord Voldemort can grant you?" "Your hand in marriage, my Lord." The Dark Lord frowned. "Hermione, you are a good and faithful servant, but Lord Voldemort does not marry his servants. I do you high honour already, by admitting you to the ranks of the Death Eaters, and by allowing you to wear the Dark Mark. But, you are muggle-born. Lord Voldemort may consent to take you as his paramour, but his wife must be of the purest lineage. I have chosen my bride - dearest Narcissa."

So, this is my reward then, to be your whore! After winning your fucking war for you!

Malfoy's mother gasped with horror. Bellatrix shot her a glance of pure poison. Lucius fell to his knees before Voldemort, clasping his hands together. "Mercy, m'lord, spare me. You can have my wife, I have no use for her, but only let me live….. " . Babbling with fear, he started kissing his feet. The Dark Lord casually kicked him in the face, leaving him writhing on the floor.

"And what say you, Draco? Can you really acknowledge this grovelling wretch for a father? Do you not want a parent of nobler stature?" Terrified, Draco muttered a few words "M'lord, it's an honour, you do us too much honour….."

The Dark Lord turned back to Lucius. "So, Lucius, you hope to save your life by giving me a woman you have no use for? " With a casual flick of his wand, he uttered a single word "Imperio." Malfoy found himself pinned down, unable to move. "Feast on his flesh, Nagini", he commanded. The snake slid towards the doomed man, hissing with anticipation.

He's turning on his own. Now that he's won, none of us are safe.

Hermione stepped forward. "My Lord, this is unseemly. Malfoy is a wretched creature, to be sure, unworthy of being a Death Eater. But, he is quite harmless. Can you not let him go?"

"Come not between the Dark Lord and his prey, Grainger, or he shall not slay thee in thy turn, but shall bear thee away to the Darkness beyond all hope, where thy soul shall be laid bare to his pitiless gaze."

Hermione laughed. "My soul? My soul has long been pledged to a Darker Lord than thou! It is not thine. It belongs to the King of Terrors!"

Thus befell the contest of Hermione and Voldermort which is renowned. For they strove with each other in songs of power, and the power of the Dark Lord was very great; but Hermione had the mastery, as is told in To The Devil a Daughter, the Lay of the Dark Queen:-

She chanted a song of wizardry,

Of piercing, opening, of treachery,

Revealing, uncovering, betraying.

Then sudden the Dark Lord there swaying

Sang in answer a song of staying,

Resisting, battling against power,

Of secrets kept, strength like a tower,

And trust unbroken, freedom, escape;

Of changing and of shifting shape,

Of snares eluded, broken traps,

The prison opening, the chain that snaps.

Backwards and forwards swayed their song.

Reeling and foundering, as ever more strong

The chanting swelled, the mages fought,

Then the gloom gathered; darkness growing

In Tom's orphanage, the red blood flowing

In London Town, as Merope lay dying

The wind wails,

The wolf howls. The ravens flee.

The ice mutters in the mouths of the Sea.

The captives mourn in Azkaban.

Thunder rumbles, the fires burn –

And Riddle fell before her feet.

Hermione laughed, and cried "I am a thousand times more evil than thou! " She bent down to the fallen man, and fastened her mouth on his. Voldemort shrieked and whined as the air shimmered and twisted around them, like the air above a bonfire. Slowly, but relentlessly, she drew forth his soul and consumed it. She stood, and turned toward the remaining witches and wizards. "His soul put up such a delicious resistance to being eaten" she declared "It warms my insides like the finest Cognac."

Death Eaters, and members of the Order looked on in astonishment. The Dark Lord had been vanquished by one far greater. Then, Bellatrix stepped forward, knelt on one knee, took her hand and kissed it, and said "Your Grace, please accept my fealty." Percy Weasley bowed low before her, murmuring "blood of my blood." Death Eaters, and their enemies, alike came forth to pay homage to the Dark Queen. And for the first time in hundreds of years, the night above Hogwarts came alive to the music of the Dementors.

Part III

There remained one loose end.

"What do I do with this bloody thing, Ma'am, pardon my French. It's starting to stink?" , grumbled Argus Filch, a couple of days later. Hermione was working in Dumbledore's study, when he came in, bearing Harry's head. Draco, now acting as her secretary, turned to her and asked "Does your Grace want to keep it as a paperweight?"

She thought a moment, and then the answer came to her. "No. We've got the inter-house Quidditch championship next week. If we clean it up, I think you'll find it will make the perfect Snitch."