Sometimes we must get hurt in order to grow, we must fail in order to know, sometimes our vision is clear only after our eyes are washed away with tears.
Yes for once the quote has something to do with the story… you'll understand after you read this half of the chapter… yes you read that right this is only the first half of the chapter… cause frankly it's a very long chapter and I don't want to write the rest of it just now… its way to early in the morning (2:00am) anyway…
I love Sirius… just thought I would put that out there… maybe some of you will understand… others I will have to spell it out later … then again only in my convoluted mind would the words "I love Sirius" be a clue to anything.
So…. Here you go this is the first part. Many of you will have your wishes come true when you read this… those of you… well you know who you are and why I say this… to everyone else enjoy… and review
(Yes I realize I'm being very odd, and out there and probably not making much sense but because it is 2:00 am in the morning, 7 days before I go to college and start the rest of my life, not to mention the fact that it is still 98 degrees in my room (I loved that band) you'll have to excuse my weirdness)
Moony's old home first… was the message that Hermione sent out right after Harry's. They needed to make a quick plan of attack before going in there.
She grabbed her bag and accioed the remaining potions into it. She grabbed her cloak and walked out the door. She appeared right out side of Hogwarts getting a feel for the battle before disappearing and re-appearing in the Shrieking Shack.
She was the first one there but with in seconds the twins appeared, followed by the rest of the Weaslys, Remus, Tonks, Draco and the rest of the Order. Draco tried to move closer to her but she flicked her wand and his feet were glued to the floor.
"Ok… from the look that I got, the teachers are putting up one hell of a fight. We have to assume that Harry is doing everything to plan, moving the younger students into a safe place in the room of requirement, and organizing the ones that can stay and fight."
Everyone nodded and looked around at their forces… wondering what they were going to do, according to the plan, if the fight came down to Hogwarts they were supposed to be in the castle, but they couldn't figure out anyway of getting inside while the Death Eaters were attacking the entrance.
Remus looked around; "I'm going to open the watch so that Harry can figure out what we are planing."
Hermione smiled, "Sounds good… now how are we going to do this."
"Flank them," came the response to everyone's silent question. Who stated this… none other than Draco?
"They expect us to not know about the battle, so they are never going to expect an attack from behind them. I say we transfigure our robes into ones the Death Eaters wear, transfigure other things into masks, and come from behind making them think that we are reinforcements, when we get into the ranks just start throwing curses right and left…They will never know what hit them."
"How will we know who the Death Eaters are and who we are, we could end up hurting each other?" asked Tonks, followed by nods of agreement from the others.
"Remove our hoods, keep the mask on so that they don't know who we are, but we'll remove our hoods, so we'll know… by the time they figure out what's going on we should have taken a good number of them out and can fight a littler fairer… What do you think?" The question was asked to everyone but Draco's eyes never left Hermione's, waiting for approval. She might very well figure out another plan just to spite him but instead she accepted…
"Sounds like a decent enough plan." Hermione acquiesced.
Remus looked around, "Look… I don't in anyway condone unforgivable curses… but we have to stop them. If you can stun them and tie them up great… but if you have to use more… forceful magic, then it has to be done. This war cannot be lost, for the sake of our lives as well as the lives of our children, and those unable to fight…Stop them… using any means necessary, your actions today will shape the future, and there will be no repercussions… as long as we win."
Hermione gave Remus a very small smile, as worry and determination spread across everyone's face. "Everyone take a few seconds to… well you know… we should get out there soon…"
Tonks reached out and gripped Remus hand, "I would suggest that if there is something you need to say to someone now would be the time… you don't know when your going to get another chance…"
Remus gripped her closer to him and leaned down planting small kisses over her mouth.
Hermione was moving towards Draco with a determined step when Ron caught her arm, "look… I'm sorry, for everything…"
Hermione looked and him giving a slight nod. "Friends for Life?"
"Always." Ron answered giving her a small hug, "Be careful…"
Hermione gave him a smile, "You to…" She stepped away then and resumed her path towards Draco, letting his feet out of the spell she looked him dead in the eye… "You me, tunnel, now."
Draco didn't argue. He had to tell her how he felt before he went out on the battlefield, with his luck, he would be killed if he didn't.
When they reached the tunnel he started talking, "Mione look…" but was cut off instantly.
"Shut up, don't talk, just listen. I… before we go out there I need to say something… I love you, I fell in love with you the second you walked into my flat, and again when you told me what your father had done, again when we dueled, and over and over again every second that we spent together. I can't walk out there with out you knowing that, even if you don't feel the same way towards me… it doesn't matter. I just wanted you to know that."
With that she kissed him, long and hard, again putting every single emotion she had into a single kiss. She knew that neither one of them were going to come out of this whole… which is why she had to make sure she told him before she ended up regretting it for the rest of her life.
When she broke the kiss and stepped back, Draco was giving them both a few seconds before he answered her declaration of love with his own, but when he opened his eyes she was already out the door. He heard a whispered, "Goodbye Draco" and she was gone.
Draco ran like his life depended on it, but when he reached the room everyone already had their cloaks and masks on. Someone raised their wand at him encasing him in the same costume.
"Appear at the edge of the grounds, then walk in… go in small groups." He heard Mr. Weasly say. All Draco wanted to do was find Hermione, but it was impossible with the masks and soon everyone was gone from the room but him. Not to be left behind he begun spinning and disappeared.
Curses were flying everywhere. She had to make sure she didn't send any at those who weren't wearing their hoods. She was alternating between powerful jets of water, and her coveted bird attack, trying to make as many Death Eaters flee from her as possible.
They had taken out half the force already, each fallen Death Eater bound and gagged and transported into a ring of fire, their wands taken and broken in half.
Hermione sent a blasting charm at a group of 5 Death Eaters knocking them to the ground; she quickly disarmed them and sent them to the ring, snapping their wands in half. It was then that she heard it, Bellatrix Lestrange's voice, "They are among us, everyone remove your mask and cloak…"
Hermione knew their protection was up, they would have to dual fairly… damn it. She transfigured her cloak back into the jacket she had been wearing and the mask was transformed into a hair tie, pulling her hair back and out of her face.
She came face to face with none other than Peter Petigrew. She looked around, everyone was watching waiting now for the first curse to be sent, now that they knew their opponents. This was dueling at its best. Everyone spread out, most of the time two Death Eaters on one Order member, not that they couldn't handle it. Hermione saw out of the corner of her eye Draco, and to her horror, Bella and his father with their wands pointed directly at him.
She wanted to scream, run to him. Save him from his family, but she couldn't, because she knew just what a sniveling rat bastard Peter was, pun intended, and she knew that the second she turned her back on him, he would attack.
"Hello Peter, found time in your busy schedule to stop betraying the only people that fucking cared about you, to come down and do the Dark Lords bidding?" Hermione asked, goading him on. No one had attacked yet, bowed… yes, assumed the position… yes, attacked… not quite yet. Each side waiting, watching the other, wondering who would attack first.
"Donnn… Donnn'ttt… Don't sppppeeek, of… what you know… not…hing… about…" Peter countered, stuttering the entire sentence.
"Your pathetic Peter… James took you in… and you betrayed him…" she shook her head, giving a quite convincing argument, knowing that it was getting to Peter, who was already weak. If she could shoot down his confidence, she wouldn't have much of a problem at all sending him to the ring of fire.
"I… hadddd… toooo. He… he would…. Hav…have killlll…killed me…"
"To bad he didn't Peter… cause now I'm going to have to do his dirty work." With that she thought one word, Incendio, and with a swish of her wand Peters clothes caught on fire, causing him immediately to drop his wand and run around screaming. This caused everyone else to attack, charms and hexes being sent off in every direction, most of them avoided or blocked in time, some of them finding their target.
Hermione picked up his wand, but instead of breaking it placed it in her bag. It was all the proof needed to exonerate Sirius, and she knew just how much that would mean to Harry, even if Sirius were gone. She noticed Peter jumping into the lake and as soon as she saw him surface she waved her wand and sent him into the ring.
A wayward spell flew past her ear and she turned to see where it came from. But what she saw stopped her heart, Draco was fighting a loosing battle, his father and his aunt throwing every evil, vile, and dark hex known to the wizarding world at him and all he could do was block it, never having time to send anything back.
Every thought of mercy and pity left her mind as she pointed her wand at Bella. This woman had caused more pain than she was worth, pushing Sirius from this world, hassling Harry, supporting Voldemort, and now attacking her own flesh and blood next to the man that had killed her sister… this woman did not deserve to live.
Hermione shouted out, "Levicorpus," sending Bellatrix into the air, Hermione moved her wand higher, causing the woman to rise farther from the ground, then with out any feeling Hermione sent her hurtling towards the castle. She watched as the woman collided with the stone wall and fall to a crumpled heap on the ground, completely still.
What happened next was in slow motion. She could see the events unfolding before her eyes but was much like a deer caught in the headlights as she heard and saw Lucius send a bolt of red light directly at her. She knew that in half a second she would be on the ground cursing the world she was born into as the Cruciatus Curse racked her body.
She flinched and her eyes closed getting ready for the pain but it never came, she opened her eyes to see Draco dive in front of the light and fall into a lump on the ground screaming in pain.
This was not the effect that the spell caster had wanted but subjecting Draco to Crucio was fine as well… he deserved it just as much as that stupid little mudblood. That was the last thought that went through his mind as he felt the impact of one very strong Blasting curse, which sent him flying through the air and against a tree, where he was quickly dis-wanded, and secured to the object he had landed against.
Hermione dropped to her knees looking around and noticing that no one was paying any attention to the brown haired girl with the crumpled boy. "Draco…" she asked gently shaking him. She knew that the Crucio had stopped the second Lucius had taken his concentration off Draco, but she also knew that Crucio was the spell that the Death Eater did best. Just knowing how much pain had to be coursing through Draco's body made her want to kill the bastard right then and there… but he would have to wait. She had to make sure Draco was ok.
His hand snaked out and gripped hers, "Mione," he breathed. He could feel her next to him and was content enough. As long as she was safe…
"Why Draco… why did you step in front of it…" Hermione asked… she didn't understand it, she highly doubted anyone would step in-between Lucius Malfoy and his intended victim when he had torture on the mind… so why had his son done it… knowing full well just how powerful the curse would be.
The grip on Hermione's hand tightened as Draco opened his eyes, the pain was receding, and he needed to get back up and continue what they started. "Because… Because I love you Hermione."
I'm not done. So don't think I am… I know exactly what the next chapter will contain and I will be writing it shortly but because it is 2:00 am, and I figured you were all dying to know what happened in this chapter I figure I will split up the battle into a least two chapters, possibly even three if I come up with new ideas.
Review people, nothing makes me feel worse than when I check on my reviews and there aren't any new ones… If you like it review even just saying… "Hey good job… keep going" would be nice.