The moment we step out of the passageway, we are swept apart as we are passed from classmate to classmate. There are hugs and tears and shouts of joy. Kids I've never even talked to are embracing me and telling me how proud they are of us for fighting back. I find myself even in the arms of the Slytherins', being showered in their praise. The Hufflepuffs are near tears they are so happy and start embracing anyone and everyone near them. The Ravenclaws cheer for us as they adjust their 'battle plans'. And the Gryffindors…

The Gryffindors are screaming, whooping, and shouting. They are yelling their love, their pride, their trust, everything. They are patting us on the back, hugging us, coming back for more, and demanding our story as they shower us in praise. Dean Thomas hugs me tightly before I am passed along into another set of arms. Seamus bear hugs Ron as I find myself wrapped tightly in a group hug between Lavender and Pavarti. I look up from their embrace to see Ginny throwing her arms around Harry, pure happiness and relief on her features. She looks up and meets my eyes. I smile and jerk my head to her brother. She squeezes Harry once more before running up to Ron and tackling him to the floor. I laugh alongside everyone else.

We are finally with our family again. We are finally home.

"It's good to be back!" Harry yells above the noise. Everyone seems to quiet down immediately to listen to him. "But we aren't here just to say 'hello' and let you know we are alive. We need to find something. It is part of a mission Dumbledore left us."

"What is it?" someone asks.

"We don't know."

"Well, what's it look like?" someone else calls.

"We don't know. I know it's not a lot to go on-"

"That's nothing to go on, mate," Seamus says.

"Yes, thank you, Seamus. We know that it has something to do with the Ravenclaw house. Something that would be extremely important to Rowena Ravenclaw. Can anyone think of anything at all that would be iconic for that house? Like Gryffindor has a sword, Hufflepuff as a goblet-"

"Well, there's Rowena Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem." All eyes turn to Luna. "It was said to make the wear wiser. It looks a little like a tiara. There is a statue of Rowena wearing it in our common room."

"Yeah, but no one's seen the diadem for years," another Ravenclaw says. "Not since the Founders were even alive."

"It doesn't matter," Harry says. "That is a start."

Ron pulls me aside as Harry and the others continue to think of ideas for something important to Ravenclaw. He ushers me into a private corner and waves away anyone that tries to join our conversation.

"Listen, it doesn't matter if we find the Horcux because we have no way to destroy," he says. "And the fact that Harry and Luna seem to think it's some long-lost tiara of Ravenclaw's doesn't exactly bode well for us to even find the bloody thing."

"It's better to have it than just give You-Know-Who the chance to get it back and then hide it somewhere else. We'll figure out a way to kill it later," I insist.

"What? No. No, I know how we can kill it without the sword."

I arch an eyebrow, impressed. "Really? How?"

"The day I stormed out of the tent, you and Harry figured out why Dumbledore wanted Harry to have Gryffindor's sword. Because it takes in only that what makes it stronger. And it took in Basilisk venom when Harry killed it back in our second year."

Understanding dawns on me and my mouth drops open. "Ron, that is brilliant! Come on, we have to tell Harry!"

I grab his hand and weave through the throng of students to find Harry. He is talking with Luna, asking her if she can get him into the Ravenclaw common room to show him what Ravenclaw's Lost Diadem looks like.

"Harry, we have a plan to destroy it! Well, it was Ron's plan and it's absolutely clever and brilliant!"

Harry looks between us before nodding. "Okay, lay it on me."

"The Basilisk. Its skeleton is still in the Chamber of Secrets. All we have to do is go down there, pull out a fang or two and presto! One Horcux killing machine," Ron explains.

Harry smiles. "Brilliant! Here," he pulls out the map and hands it to us. "Come find me when you've got it. Luna and I are going to make our way to the Ravenclaw common room. It'll be easier to find this bloody thing if I have a clue what it looks like."

I nod and make my way to the Room of Requirement's exit, still holding tightly to Ron's wrist. I check the map and find the corridor clear before we sneak outside. The hallways of Hogwarts seem darker now and more dangerous. Snape or one of the Carrows could be lurking anywhere. Ron and I creep hug the walls and constantly check the map as we start making our way to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Suddenly Ron lets out a low curse. He wraps one arm around my waist and firmly presses a hand against my mouth to stop me from telling him to bugger off. He pulls me into a doorway and stares out into the hallway. After a moment, I understand. Snape stalks up the corridor, his face a sneer of anger and annoyance. His black cloak billows around him in the shadows and he passes us without a backward glance. My heart seems to have climb out of my ribcage and up my throat, as if it were about to take control of my mouth and call out to him. It's the first time I've seen him in eleven months.

Ron waits a few extra moments until he's are certain Snape's gone before releasing me. We hurry along to Myrtle's bathroom and breathe a sigh of relief when we finally reach it. I lock and ward the bathroom, adding a silencing charm for good measure. I watch Ron wearily as he heads to the sinks. I have no idea where the entrance is; I was Petrified when he and Harry went down there to rescue Ginny.

Ron checks something on one of the sink's faucets before letting out a snake like hiss. I jump back in surprise as the sinks pull apart and the one in front of Ron lowers into the ground revealing a giant hole. Ron turns to me with a cheeky smile on his face.

"Harry talks in his sleep. Have you noticed?"

"What? No, of course not."

He shrugs and doesn't say another word before jumping down into the hole. I bite my lower lip and look toward the bathroom entrance. It's now or never. I take a deep breath and leap after Ron. I can't help the scream that is ripped from my throat as I slide down the tunnel before landing on a pile of bones. Ron offers me his hand and pulls me to my feet.

"Right. This way." He leads me down the tunnel, fondly pointing out the spot where Lockhart's memory charm backfired and hit him instead. "Served the bloody git right," he says. "He was going to let Ginny die down here the bastard." Ron turns to me and smirks. "And you fancied him."

"What's your point? I fancied you, too, you know."

This causes Ron to shut up until we reach a large seal. Five stone snakes stretch out across it, firmly locking it in place. Once more Ron lets out his impersonated Parseltongue. Another snake circles around the others, pushing them away from the wall and unlocking the seal. It swings open and Ron hastily climbs inside, with me at his heels.

At the far end of the Chamber is the skeleton of the Basilisk. Despite it quite obliviously being dead, I approach it cautiously. The memory of seeing it in the reflection of my mirror when I was only twelve years old still scares the shit out of me.

Ron crouches besides its mouth and grips one of its fangs tightly. He gives the tooth a few good tugs and it pulls free. As he starts walking toward me, I fish Hufflepuff's goblet out of my bag. When I offer it to him, Ron only shakes his head.

"You do it."

"Me? No, no I can't-"

"Yes, you can. Harry killed the journal, I killed the locket- you can kill the cup. Come on."

He presses the Basilisk fang gently into my hand. I let out a sigh, but nod. I can do this. Merlin knows I hate Voldemort enough to kill a part of him. I place the cup on the ground and kneel beside it. I raise the fang and bring it out on the goblet in a huge arc. A shriek fills the chamber and the water begins to raise up around us. Ron pulls me to my feet as the water forms Voldemort's face. We try to run, but the wall of water just washes over us. We are completely soaked, but before us lays a crumpled and destroyed Horcux. I turn to Ron with a smile on my face.

When his lips come down on mine, to say I was not expecting it, is putting it lightly. His arms wrap around me, holding me tightly to his chest. His mouth is warm and his arms are strong. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. This kiss makes me think I can learn to love Ron again. This kiss makes me think that I can forget about Snape and all he's done to me. When we pull away, we smile and for the first time in a long, long time, happiness fills me completely.

Ron's fingers lace together with mine as I stoop down to grab the Basilisk fang and the destroyed Horcux. I stow them into my bag and allow Ron to lead me out of the Chamber. When we find ourselves back in Myrtle's bathroom, sounds of fighting roars in from the hallway. I quickly pull out the map to find Harry.

"There he is!" Ron says, pointing to a spot on the map. The moment he does, Harry vanishes. "Where'd he go?"

"The Room of Requirement! It doesn't show up on the map!"

"You are bloody brilliant!"

I point my wand at the door and take a deep breath before unwarding it. This is it. The final battle has begun.

Ron and I emerge from the bathroom and immediately find ourselves dueling Death Eaters. I notice members of the Order among them, fighting alongside us. My classmates stand side-by-side, fighting Voldemort's followers. Pride swells up in my throat. We are Hogwarts and we will not be submissive. We are Hogwarts and we will survive.

We fight up the corridor as we begin to make our way to Harry. I cast spells left and right, defending my classmates as well as myself.

"Hermione, look out!"

I dive out of the way as a Death Eater casts a spell at the floor. A massive chasm spreads from one wall to the other, stretching at least ten feet wide from one end to the other, successfully separating me from Ron. He looks at me desperately before firing another spell at a nearby Death Eater.

"Go find Harry!" I yell across to him. "I'll use the map to make my way back to you!"

Ron gives me a longing look before nodding once. We turn our backs on each other and continue to fight. I duck down another hallway, this one not nearly as crowded as the other. I race pass the paintings and ghosts, every once in a while casting a spell to keep the Death Eaters off of me.

Suddenly someone grabs me from behind. Their arm is snug around my waist, their hand tight against my mouth. Before I have a chance to cast a nonverbal spell to free myself, a feeling of weightless overcomes me. I am black smoke flying above the heads of those battling below me. I wrestle against my captor, but their grip on me is far too tight. We pass through a door and suddenly come to a stop.

I elbow my kidnapper in the stomach and worm out of their arms. The moment I do, I drink in my surroundings. Work stations. Cauldrons. Potion ingredients. I haven't stepped foot in this room in nearly a year, but I would recognize it anywhere. Snape's private labs.

I don't want to turn around. I will not turn around.

"Look at me."

And because I've never be able to deny him anything, I turn and look into the black, bottomless eyes of Severus Snape.