Hello everyone-This chapter was originally twice as long but I decided to split it up into 2 chapters.

A special dedication to aringle42! Happy Birthday dear!

Chapter Eleven: Fight or Flight

"I made it safely to Weasley's hideout. By the time I looked back, Blaise was gone and I was left more confused than ever." Hermione paused, scrunching her forehead. "I suppose I should offer some sort of thanks to Weasley for keeping me safe for the rest of the night. He did not try to hurt my baby and he did not leave me alone for a moment until I was back in my room at the Order Headquarters."

-.-

Hermione tiredly cast a locking spell on her bedroom door. She knew Ron was just on the other side.

Waiting.

It unnerved her more than she was willing to admit. She did not know if he was waiting to protect her or if he was waiting for her to let her guard down.

The silence stretched on as she remained still and quiet, clutching her wand in her fist at her side. She finally heard him sigh before his heavy footsteps faded down the hall. Maybe he had wanted to talk…

She stared at the door for a moment longer before she turned the deadbolt.

She dragged her hand over her face as she stumbled away from the door. Not much good that will do me.

With a heavy sigh, she collapsed on top of her bed, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

Survive.

For the next 24 hours, that was her mission. She just needed to survive; for both herself and the baby.

Sighing, she lifted her head to look down at her stomach.

"My baby," she whispered, caressing her stomach through her shirt.

Despite everything, she smiled.

She felt the stress of the evening slowly fade into the background.

Somewhere, deep inside, hers and Draco's child was growing.

She was going to be a mother.

The thought warmed her.

She would make sure she was the best mother she ever could be. She already loved the little person inside of her more than she thought was possible. She would keep her baby safe; far, far away from anyone who would want to hurt it. She would do everything in her power to keep the child safe from the War.

But she would never be free of the War.

The world would always scarred by it. She was at the crux of the matter: she embodied the violence, the passion and the hatred of the war. She was damned either way.

No matter which side won, there would still be casualties and there would still people to blame. For all of the self-righteousness of the Light, she knew nothing would change; there would still be prejudice, now just against purebloods that did not join the Light.

And "sympathizers" like herself.

That accusation hurt the most.

Hermione groaned, pulling her hands through her curls.

Why did anyone keep on fighting if nothing was going to change except for being under "new management"?

It was all so pointless.

Pointless deaths, pointless violence and pointless suffering.

It might be better just to let one of the sides win…

The brunette witch rolled onto her side to watch the rising sun through her window, its hazy golden red glow bathing her bedroom bloody.

By this time tomorrow, she would either be gone or she would be dead.

-.-

"You sound like you had given up."

Hermione raised her weary eyes to meet Hendrix's. "I no longer had a side," she admitted softly. "The Dark wanted me dead, the Order wanted to kill my baby. I had nowhere to go. At that time, it felt easier to give in than to keep fighting." She sighed forlornly and shifted in her seat. She hated talking about how hopeless she had felt; it made her feel weak and vulnerable. She had promised herself that she would never let herself feel like that again.

Alexandra Hendrix nodded slowly, unsure of how to continue the interview. Her patient's story had severely altered her normal procedure and she found herself falling deeper and deeper into it. She was slowly losing the clinical objectiveness she needed to maintain as a Healer.

She cautiously met the Dark witch's jaded gaze and knew that any professionalism she may have started with was gone. She recognized that she had been seduced by her patient's tragic story but honestly, she didn't quite care. All she knew was that she had to know the rest of it, no matter where it might lead to.

"But you knew that the Dark Lord was coming for you?" She offered weakly.

"I had no guarantee that Draco would rescue me." Hermione corrected sharply. "I hadn't seen him in months. Yes, I trusted Blaise. He had never hurt me or done anything to mislead me. I knew he said Draco was coming. However, the way I was sent back to the Order left me confused."

"I see." Hendrix said weakly.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "I don't think you do, Healer." Alexandra flinched at the low, dangerous tone her patient had taken. "I was terrified of the very people outside of my door. My best friends had all turned on me: one murdered my parents, one broke my confidence and the other threatened to kill my unborn child. I was trapped, with no way out but for the fleeting promise of a rescue." She gnashed her lower lip, running a shaking hand through her hair. "I was out of options. I wasn't used to relying on myself to save me. But I was not about to let Potter hurt my baby. I would have killed myself first."

"So what did you do?" The blonde asked timidly, her voice small.

Hermione smirked, her honey eyes darkening with wicked satisfaction.

"I fought back."

-.-

Hermione jerked awake at a loud bang, her wand immediately in her hand and pointed at her door. Harry and Ginny stood in the threshold, the former with his arms crossed over his chest. Ginny stood behind him, peeking over his shoulder.

Hermione slowly pulled herself into a sitting position, her wand steadily trained on her former best friend, wary of the wild look in his green eyes. As she straightened, she slowly dropped her free hand behind her. "Harry. Ginny. What are you doing here?" She tried hesitantly.

Harry took a measured step into the room. Ginny did not move but kept her cold blue eyes on the brunette witch.

Harry's voice came out low and dangerous. "Have you made your decision?"

Hermione forced herself not to let her panic show on her face. "Harry, you told me I had 24 hours. That was at 8pm last night. It's seven o'clock. I have one more hour." Her hand slipped beneath her pillow, her fingers brushing against metal.

Harry scowled, "I know what I said, Hermione." He paused, looking at her in disgust. "It's just that I've never known you to put off doing the right thing."

"Maybe the right thing depends on your perspective." She replied, closing her fist around her switchblade.

Harry frowned and quickly muttered "Accio Hermione's wand." Hermione gasped as her wand flew from her hand, though she should have expected it. She forced herself not to let fear over take her and instead took a steadying breath.

Ginny scoffed and entered the room, passing Harry to stop directly beside the bed.

"You're carrying the spawn of Malfoy." She spat viciously. "That's not a perspective. That's sick."

Hermione whipped her gaze to the witch beside her. She glared at her. "What, are you jealous, Ginny? I know you had a crush on Draco at one point." She knew antagonizing her might prove to be a mistake, but she refused to let Ginny insult her child in any way.

"You lying bitch!" Ginny shrieked, glancing nervously back at Harry whose expression had darkened considerably.

"What?" He hissed.

Hermione ignored him and instead put all her focus on the redhead. "Oh, I'm lying? That's rich. I know you watched him all of the time; you wanted him, fantasized about him." She grew slightly more agitated as memories of the other girl's actions. "But you know what? It disgusted him. He would never have touched you. Draco values loyalty; how could he ever love someone like you?" Hermione felt satisfaction flush through her body as she goaded the younger witch. She felt her confidence bloom from somewhere deep insider of her, unaffected by the overwhelming fear flooding her body.

"You've always been jealous of me, haven't you? I've always been smarter than you and I've always had the men you wanted; first Harry's friendship and then Draco's love." She drawled, dragging through their names like honey, a smirk reminiscent of her lover's spread across her lips.

Ginny's face was an alarming shade of red as she literally shook in anger. "You-you take that back, you whore!" She screamed, her hands fisted at her sides.

Hermione felt her smirk transform into a Cheshire cat grin. "People in glass house shouldn't cast stones, don't you think?"

It was as if the blood drained completely from the youngest Weasley's face and her eyes widened impossibly large. Hermione saw something shift in her eyes and something snap within her.

Ginny let out a wordless shriek, lunging wildly with her arms outstretched, ignoring Harry's yelled warning. Anticipating this reaction, Hermione rolled off the edge of the bed easily, watching as Ginny landed and bounced gracelessly on it.

Hermione reached across the bed and sunk one hand into the girl's red hair, twining the strands around her fingers and yanking the other witch against her body. She turned them both around to come into direct line with Harry's wand.

"Let her go, Hermione." He commanded, his green eyes hard as flint.

The metallic pop of a blade was his answer.

Hermione pressed the switchblade to Ginny's pale neck, ceasing her struggles. She stood slowly, dragging both of them to their feet on the far side of the bed.

"No, I don't think I will." Her lips curled into a smile as she looked down into Ginny's terrified eyes. "You never expected me to do this, did you, Gin?" She sneered, rubbing the blade lightly across her skin. Ginny whimpered.

"I mean it, Hermione. Drop the knife and let her go!"

"Why should I? So you can kill my baby?" She looked up at the ceiling in mock contemplation, tapping the blade against the column of Ginny's throat. "No," She met Harry's gaze. "I don't think I will."

Harry tightened his grip on his wand, taking a threatening step closer. "What do you hope to achieve? Even if you hurt Ginny, you won't make it out of this room alive."

Hermione pulled Ginny's hair tighter, arching her back, causing the girl to whimper in pain. "I'm not going to hurt her, Potter." She bared her teeth at him in a frightening smile. "I'm going to kill her if I have to."

The room descended into silence as the former friends stood off. Hermione tightened her grip on Ginny as she pushed her forward.

"Move." She ordered coldly, keeping the other girl in front of her as a shield.

Ginny whimpered but obeyed. She took awkward, shuffling steps around the bed, glancing frantically between the witch behind her and her lover.

Hermione tucked her face closer to Ginny's and out of Harry's direct line of fire. "Keep your distance, Harry."

Harry kept his want trained on Hermione but reluctantly took corresponding steps back.

They rounded the room slowly in a perverse dance, the tension mounting as the seconds ticked on.

Hermione stopped when her back was to the open door, pulling Ginny tighter to her. She sneered at Ginny's trembling and tears. "You're pathetic."

She turned away and smirked back at Harry.

"Now give me my wand." She hissed. Harry opened his mouth to protest but snapped it shut when Hermione pressed the blade into Ginny's neck, drawing a small cry of pain and a thin trail of blood from her throat.

"It would be best that you do as I say, Harry." She said sweetly. "Levitate it towards Ginny."

Hermione could see the blinding fury raging in Harry as he growled out the spell and reluctantly sent it towards her hostage. She watched anxiously as her wand drew closer and closer. Almost…

She untangled her fingers from Ginny's hair but kept the blade pressed to her skin as she reached for the wand. She glanced tauntingly up at Harry, a smug smirk on her lips as her fingers danced breaths away from her escape.

Hermione gasped as the room seemed to shift beneath her feet in one violent thrust. She met Harry's eyes, her confusion reflected in his own.

"What—"

A sudden blast boomed throughout the building, knocking them all off of their feet, as the very walls seemed to crumble around them.