2nd May 1998
'Come on Ron, we need to go' Hermione yelled over the noise, frantically trying to pull him with her, to no avail. He was wrapped around Harry's body, sobbing, desperate for the other boy to wake. Hermione knew in her heart that he wasn't going to, not this time, and they'd barely survived so far as it was. She'd cast a Protego over the two of them, but given they were both prime targets, she doubted that they'd be able to last much longer.
Harry had been struck by a killing curse from one of the Death Eaters they hadn't seen, the light had been too busy celebrating. It was a careless, needless death that they should have been aware of. Harry hadn't even had the Elder Wand out of his pocket, he'd been jubilant and had forgotten Mad Eye's 'constant vigilance'. Especially prudent considering he'd just managed to take out the Dark's leader. In hindsight, it was surprising someone hadn't tried to take a pot shot earlier. She'd disarmed the caster, being fastest on the mark by some seconds, and quickly cast a protective charm over herself and Ron, as the remaining Order started the battle anew.
At a glance, she knew he was dead, though went through the motions of checking the boy for a pulse. Nothing. She stashed the wand and took the invisibility cloak, much to Ron's anger, but she knew it'd do Harry little good to be buried or lost with items that could ensure the light's continued survival. They needed to leave and regroup, not allow the dark, who had greater strength in numbers, to regroup and attack. Members of the Order and the DA were falling quickly now, Cho Chang lay on top of Seamus Finnigan, both having been killed by a rogue Sectumsempra.
Quickly, she cast a featherlight charm on Harry's body, it wouldn't do for it to be captured by enemy forces. She also cast a Disillusionment charm on him, hid both she and Ron under the cloak, and made her way to the Hospital Wing, where they'd set up triage for the most gravely wounded. Keeping to the shadows, they managed to traverse the castle with relative ease, and barged into the room, much to the shock of Madame Pomfrey and Fleur, who'd been attending to the wounded and hadn't been aware of much of what had taken place outside.
Once she'd explained the situation to the horrified women, they'd stopped their ministrations and gave her their full focus. She urged Pomfrey to travel with them, but the woman elected to remain barricaded in with her patients. She instructed Fleur to create a portkey to Shell Cottage, Fleur being one of the few witches she knew talented enough to be able to do so. They were in luck however, Fleur had had the foresight to have one ready made, in case the Order had required a speedy exit, and let them know that Bill carried a similar device, and had instructions for the remaining Order to travel there with him too. Hermione, having had her own past with the intelligent French witch, had instantly realised that their best chance would be to regroup somewhere other than at the Burrow. She had felt confident that the blonde would be happy for her home to be opened up to survivors, and that the woman would also trust Hermione's leadership implicitly and would do as the brunette asked, without hesitation.
While McGonnagal might be the group's natural leader after Harry, the Transfiguration Professor had been duelling several Death Eaters when Hermione had seen the woman last, and she felt confident that the older witch would agree with her plan to get Harry's body out of sight. Hermione also felt that now more than ever, the Order would need new poster children for their resistance if they were going to win against the Dark, and felt it prudent to get Ron and herself out of the firing line while they took time to consider their options. If they all stayed in the castle, they'd be killed, and the hope of the light would be all but extinguished. They couldn't wait around for the light to make a plan either, because it was abundantly clear that she and Ron would be prime targets now that Harry was gone. Fleur sent off a quick Patronus to Bill, their signal to let the other know they were returning back, and then nodded to Hermione.
Grasping an old, bent quill that Fleur had taken from inside of her robes, the three of them, Hermione, Fleur and a dumbstruck Ron, travelled to Shell Cottage with Harry's body, and awaited the arrival of the others. The two witches occupied themselves by magically expanding the cottage's rooms to accommodate survivors. Unfortunately, as members arrived some hours later, some by side along apparition with various Weasleys after McGonagall had lifted the apparition blocking spell on the castle, it became apparent that they hadn't needed to expand the space quite so much, and that the survivors numbered maybe half what they did at the time of Harry's death.