Disclaimer from Mr. Ollivander : Where the hell am I? Has anyone even cared about my disappearance? Perhaps only Amy and Jennifer will shed light upon where I went, as they continue their tale, which they don't own the characters of.

A/N: After some discussion, and several reality checks from some of you, we decided that we needed to finish this story the right way and not just stop posting. Thanks, as always, to those of you that take the time out to let us know what you think. We really do appreciate all of you. Here's the next chapter. It's rather short, but we needed to get something accomplished to let you know that we were continuing.

A/N 2: Even though it's a short chapter, it was enough to get us to over 100,000 words, 106 favorites and 100 alerts. Everyone, take a moment to raise a glass to our 100 celebration. Cheers!

Chapter 21 - To The End

Harry's eyes were riveted to the severed head of Rufus Scrimgeour, on grotesque display upon the table. Words failed him. His thoughts and emotions were running rampant. His sorrow for Hermione and Blaise could only be matched by the anger he felt on their behalf. As he continued to stare at the remains of the Minister, the air around him began to crackle, as if it were filled with an electrical current.

The stares of everyone present shifted to the young man they believed their savior. Ron, who had been able to gain control of himself, stepped closer to his best friend and reached out to him. He let out a loud yelp of pain and quickly retracted his hand away from Harry's space.

The air began to swirl faster and the crackling sounds became louder. Not a soul dared to approach and try to break through to Harry. The uneasiness lasted for a few moments until Ginny made her way closer to her boyfriend.

She stood directly in front of him and began to speak, "Harry, love, you need to calm down. I don't understand what's going on, but I know it has to stop. Look at me…I'm here, Harry." Ginny extended her hand slowly towards Harry.

Something inside Harry came together at that moment. Seeing the frightened, yet loving look on Ginny's face, gave him the strength to focus. He drew in a steadying breath and the air seemed to quickly return to normal. He faced the others and tried to keep a tight reign on his still boiling emotions.

The room quickly returned to a flurry of activity. Sirius and Severus immediately rushed to the table, in order to remove Scrimgeour's head from plain sight. Percy immediately rushed from the room, saying something about alerting the Ministry and verifying claims. Nia was alternately fussing over Dudley, who still seemed quite dazed, and quietly speaking to Minerva. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were holding tight to a rigid Hermione. Blaise was now seated, holding his head in his hands as Neville spoke words of reassurance to him. Ron and Abe were standing by Draco, who seemed to be in shock. Fred and George were sending concerned glances in Harry's direction, who was holding tightly to Ginny, as if she was his only anchor to sanity.

Sir Nicholas floated by with the Grey Lady and was heard muttering, "Well, I bet he won't have any difficulty trying to join the headless hunt."

Fred and George couldn't hold back a small chuckle before noticing the deathly glare being sent at them by their mother. They collected themselves and quickly made their way to Tonks, to see what they could do to help.

Meanwhile, Harry slowly composed himself and released Ginny from his grasp. He walked over to where Abe, Ron and Draco stood. As he approached, he could hear Draco cursing his father's name to damnation.

"That bastard! Did he really believe I would go back to that life? After all they've done? He deserves to burn in hell for his actions!" Draco fumed.

As Harry joined them, he locked eyes with Ron and Draco. It was, in that second, that the boys thought of the girl that they all cared for, and what she must be feeling. Immediately they all said in unison, "Hermione," and ran to her side. She was standing in the embrace of Molly Weasley, with a look of disbelief on her face.

"I-I don't understand…how could he have gotten to them? We were so careful," Hermione stammered.

Ron tightly engulfed her in his arms as Draco stroked her hair. Harry, after hearing her words, turned to McGonagall and asked, "What does she mean?"

Percy reentered the hall and gave McGonagall a nod of his head as he strode to where she stood. "Everything has proved to be accurate."

Minerva sighed wearily as she explained, "Miss. Granger came to me after that article was published. She was concerned that the dark side might try to use her parents to get to her. I agreed. Her parents, along with the Zabini's, and several others were hidden in safe houses throughout Europe."

"If they were in safe houses, how in the bloody hell were they found?" Draco asked angrily.

"The only thing that it can mean, Mr. Malfoy, is that we have a traitor among the Order. Very few knew of the relocation plans for both the Grangers and Zabinis. And, someone had to be in the castle in order to use the Imperius Curse on Dudley. He hasn't left these walls since the attack on Hogsmeade." McGonagall stated.

The look on the older witch's face was enough to drive fear into the heart of every person present. She looked at the young witch who she considered to be her protégé and said softly, "I swear Hermione, we will find out who is responsible for this. I will not rest until we find who has betrayed us."

Hermione leveled her gaze and asked her mentor, "Are we sure that this is all true?"

"Yes, my dear girl. I'm sorry to say that it is." McGonagall responded. She shifted her gaze to Percy and started again. "Mr. Weasley contacted the Ministry and had aurors sent to the safe houses to verify the information."

Percy stepped closer to Hermione and said softly, "I wish it weren't true, Hermione. You deserve better than this…"

"Percy," Hermione began, "What did they find there? Did they- did they suffer?" she asked in a trembling voice.

Percy answered, "No, Hermione. The responsible parties didn't want to be caught in the act. The aurors said that it looked like someone entered and used the Killing Curse on everyone present. It was the same at each safe house that was hit."

Hermione let out a shaky breath that she had been holding in. "Why couldn't he have just come after me? They did nothing wrong."

Harry removed her from Ron's embrace and turned her into his chest, as the rest of their friends approached the small group. He held her close and said softly to her, "He wants to break you, Hermione. You are capable of things Voldemort has no knowledge of. He wants you to fall apart and not be the example that disproves his entire philosophy of muggleborns." When he finished speaking they looked at each other in unspoken agreement.

Harry new better than anyone how Hermione felt. They were both orphaned by the war of a madman. He felt Hermione straighten and released her.

She faced those around her and said in a quiet, but dangerous voice, "I will not allow my parents to have died for nothing. He will not make me come undone, but I swear, he will pay." Hermione again locked eyes with Harry and she finished, "We're in this together to the end."

Harry nodded in affirmation as Ron, Blaise, Ginny, Neville and Draco also spoke, "To the end."