~*~ Thirteen ~*~

Hermione stumbled as the jet of green shot from the Elder wand, a deadly missile in the dour night. The monster with the eyes of a serpent and the heart of cold onyx never stood a chance. The blast slammed into him with the power of Muggle dynamite, rocketing his misshapen form through the deadly night. The green fractured around him, consuming flesh until there was only howling bone, a blood curdling scream that reverberated though the forest in eerie wails. Then the bone was consumed, turning to milky ash in the turbid air. The frantic screech continued as the ash became a whirlwind, invisible forces sending the gruesome power in a frantic dance to the heavens. There was a final shriek that imprinted on her soul, vile and utterly inescapable, and then total silence.

Through the cloud of dissipating ash, Tom Riddle stared back at her, dark eyes boring through every defense. A terrifying smile adorned his full lips as he raised a finger to them, as if telling a child to be silent. Hermione raised the Elder wand again, but he was gone as quickly as he'd appeared. So quickly she couldn't be sure he'd been real.

The clearing erupted into motion before her. Narcissa Malfoy flung herself upon her fallen son, tears trailing down her angled cheeks. Other Death Eaters ran into the forest, masks cast aside as they realized their master was gone. Still others closed in on the Malfoys, cackles and hisses emanating from beneath hoods. Narcissa spun to face her attackers, vicious determination shining in her silver eyes.

The assault began with no warning, only the hiss of some curse best never seen or heard. Narcissa stood her ground, wand flying with a dexterity Hermione envied. Some of the Death Eaters dropped to the ground, but it didn't matter how skilled Draco's mother was, she was outnumbered, outgunned.

Hermione strode forward, not giving herself time to think or doubt. She draped the cloak over Harry, still utterly immobile in the worst possible way. Draco had come to rest several feet closer to the center of the clearing in his cruel spasms, but she ignored him, fighting every instinct as she stepped over his still trembling body. His mother had already checked; he would live. She repeated the mantra as she came to stand back to back with Narcissa Malfoy, the other woman sending her a quick nod between labored breaths and parries.

She put the Elder wand to work doing what it craved most, winning. Silver mask after silver mask fell in its wake. Her spells shed no blood, nor broke any bone. Indeed the heady rage that had fueled her killing curse was depleted now, a mere simmer within weary bones. Hermione wanted to never see that sickly green again, to never fight another battle that stole her very soul. For she knew in that missile of hate, rage and utter impotence a part of her had been torn away, never to return. So she stunned them, petrified them, laid them to non-eternal rest until only Bellatrix Lestrange stood before them.

"I always knew you were the weak one, Cissy. Just like Andromeda." Bellatrix's maniacal eyes promised ruin as she stared down her sister. "You never had the strength to protect yourself and you certainly don't have the strength to kill your own flesh and blood."

Narcissa merely grunted, meeting her dark sister's attack with ardor. The three women dueled, neither side gaining, as Bellatrix slowly edged away. Hermione tracked her trajectory, ever aware of the danger lurking behind those bloodthirsty eyes. Curses continued to charge the damp air, but still Hermione couldn't determine her purpose, too much of her energy taken up by the assault on her shield and the few spells she managed to sling into the dark night. The Elder wand could have ended it, and quickly, but Hermione pulled back from its dark desires, unwilling to unravel yet another part of her tattered soul. It was already too late when she realized Bellatrix's intention.

They had begun the fight with Narcissa standing between Bellatrix and her son; now he lay between them. Harrowing satisfaction gleamed in crazed eyes as the dark sister spoke, "Avada Kedavra."

A broken wail tore from Narcissa's throat as she moved, too quickly for Hermione to realize her intention. The green light smashed into her petite chest, throwing her atop her son.

All breath abandoned Hermione as Bellatrix turned her lethal stare to the last woman standing. The Elder wand pulsed in her hand, begging her to unleash it. And she wanted to; she wanted to let whatever anger still lingered join with that sinister wand to end the vile creature standing before her once and for all. And yet her lips were frozen, her body rebelling against the darkness sliding within. But Bellatrix's lips were moving and Hermione could not let the madwoman murder again, not Draco, not her.

She forced the words through her lips, letting the Elder wand tear what it needed from her soul. "Avada—"

"Kedavra."

A thinner jet of green joined with the powerful blast. Hermione didn't wait to see if the streams of lethal green met their target, only heard the telltale sign of a body falling against wet grass. She was on her knees beside Draco in an instant, her hands roaming over blood-crusted skin as she drowned in luminous eyes. His mother's wand dangled from his pale fingers, falling silently to the ground as he collapsed against her.

His throat worked silently for a long moment before hoarse words scraped through. "Harry…"

Hermione's eyes widened as she stared at him, willing the words to come forth. "Yes? Harry what?"

He tried again. "Harry… he's not… dead."

Draco tumbled to the sodden ground as she ripped away from him. Hermione had the cloak off Harry in an instant, her fingers trailing along his pale neck until she felt the murmur of a pulse. It was weak, barely strong enough to feel, but unmistakable. Hermione looked back at Draco, wincing as he slowly pushed himself up again. "Did you know?"

Wary silver eyes fractured further. He shook his head, grimacing at even the slight movement. "Snape… thought he might survive."

Draco looked as she felt, utterly used by the world, lost beyond measure. A large part of her wanted to crawl across the barren ground that separated them and pull him close until the tremors ceased to wrack his abused body. But she couldn't forget he had turned his wand on Harry, not knowing if Boy Who Lived would live up to his name. He'd been willing to murder Harry to save them all. It had been horrifyingly necessary in the end, but made it impossible to bridge the distance between them, even with his mother lifeless beside him.

She ached for him, loved him so much it tore her apart, but with the wound of the killing curse still fresh on her soul she needed time. Time to put all the broken pieces together, to discover which ones she would never find again. Time to understand the person she'd become.