Chapter 28: The Battle
"Any ideas on where they could be?" Sid asked Hermione, his hand in hers leading them up the stairs.
Once they reached the top, the screams of the students in the dungeon faded. Hermione hoped one of them could figure out a spell to get out of there. Then again if there was a battle they might all be safer being locked up.
Hermione thought her "plan" with Sid through, as well as her real plan with Draco, Harry, and Ron. Get Sid to help them with an easy path to Nagini. Kill the snake, use Sid help get to Voldemort easily, capture Voldemort, and capture Sid.
They needed Sid to save themselves from unwanted death eater attacks. If Sid was with them the death eaters might assume it was part of the plan and leave them a clear path to Voldemort. This meant that Sid and Hermione both needed to find Harry and Ron.
"I'm guessing they're just walking around the corridors." Hermione said out of breath behind him as they climbed another stair case.
"Walking around the corridors? Why would they be doing that?" Sid annoyingly asked.
'Because I asked them to' Hermione thought.
"I have no idea. That's what they like to do." Hermione said nonchalantly.
'I think we should check the Gryffindor common room, then maybe the Quidditch pitch." Sid said thinking carefully. He looked down at his watch. "We are running out of time."
The anger in his voice rumbled through her setting off emotions she had been burying deep inside.
"Well, maybe if you told me my father was coming today I could have asked them to be somewhere we would know of!" Hermione accused him. She was sick of being everyone's pawn.
"People are watching you Hermione." Sid sighed loudly. "I can't just tell you things you're not supposed to know. You would be in danger!"
"I'm his daughter," Hermione said angrily. "Who would dare?"
"Hermione!" He yelled, the empty corridor echoed his voice making it seem louder and more frightening than it was. He stopped moving and pushed her up against the wall. Hermione felt powerless. His fingers poked in her chest as he held her there. "There is so much going on that you don't know. I have been working on this take over for years. I have people working for me that you would never guess, people that your father thinks are on his side. But he still has spies here too. And until your father is dead I have had to watch every step I've made. Getting involved with you was the worst decision. It has made it all so much more complicated. Playing both sides is hard, as I'm sure you know. It was always about me and making sure I came out on top."
Sid was breathing heavily as he released her from her position and ran his fingers through his dark hair stressfully.
"I could have done this without you. But there's something in you that I'm drawn to. It calls to me. It would have been easier if I had left you out of it…you complicate things. But I can't help it, I want you by my side. I'm sorry if I've left you out of things, but I did it because I love you. Surly you can understand that?"
Hermione was stunned. She didn't love Sid, she hated Sid. Didn't she? He looked so sincere. The green in his eyes flashed with some feeling she didn't even know he possessed. How could she even bring herself to say the words? But if she was going to keep him on her side she had to.
"I – " She began, but Sid cut her off with a look, and a raised hand for her to be silent.
"Shh, Hermione do you hear that?" He looked around everywhere, pushing her protectively behind him.
"I don't hear- "
"Shh, listen."
Hermione strained her hearing, taking her wand out of her pocket slowly. She heard faint shouting coming from the transfiguration courtyard.
"Let's go." He grabbed her hand and they sprinted towards the courtyard, the voices getting louder as they approached. There was excess smoke from spells being fired nearby as they ran. The windows blurred past, but Hermione could see red and green lights flashing in the courtyard.
They were here. All of Voldemort's death eaters breeched the gates. But where was her father? Did Sid know? Was he keeping it from her? She had to keep him around a little longer.
They reached one of the openings from the corridor into the courtyard and a world of noise greeted them. There was fighting everywhere. It seemed that Draco had alerted the order in time, as Hermione saw Lupin deflect a spell from a death eater. There were mini battles throughout the yard. She felt the ground tremble beneath her feet as she saw a giant uproot a tree and throw it at a pair that was dueling. Hermione nearly threw up on the ground when she saw a small first year student crumpled on the ground, blood on her face.
"Oh my God." She whispered, shooting a stunning spell at a death eater about to finish the child off.
"What did you do that for?" Sid yelled looking around frantically for Harry.
"She's a Ravenclaw first year!" Hermione said incredulously. "I'm not about hurting innocents or anything!"
"Duck!" Sid pulled Hermione's arm as she knelt her head down, a spell barely missing her.
"Who am I supposed to aim for?!" Hermione shouted, wondering what the hell Sid's plan was. Were they supposed to fight death eaters or order members?
"Don't aim for anyone. Look for Harry, and deflect any spells." Sid grabbed her hand and they entered the courtyard fully, Hermione pulling up a shield charm just in time to miss a crucio. Obviously a death eater move.
"Why the hell are they firing at me?" Hermione asked heart beating frantically.
"They don't all know about you!" Sid said throwing a deflecting spell at another charm headed their way.
"Snake!"
"Oh my God!"
"It's huge!"
"Run!'
Hermione whipped her head around to watch a group of younger students fly past her into the corridors for safety.
"Perfect timing." Hermione smiled adventurously over at Sid, as they watched Nagini slither into the courtyard, baring her fangs at anyone who dared get too close. The snake wove its way through crumpled bodies, managing to bite a few people in the middle of duels as it went. She was headed straight for them.
"I don't have anything to destroy a freaking horcrux!" Hermione said suddenly, feeling more unprepared than ever.
"Ron and I grabbed some basilisk fangs from the chamber last month." Sid said determined, reaching in his pocket and handing her one of two of the fangs.
"Once again it would have been nice to be let in on this!" Hermione said deflecting another spell headed her way.
"Do we have to argue now?!" Sid said frustrated.
Hermione growled, but clutched the fang in her left hand, wand in her right, weary of everything surrounding her.
"Hermione it's coming right toward you." Sid said disbelievingly, moving away from her to attack from a different side.
Hermione watched intently as the snake suddenly seemed to find her, it's eyes following her suddenly, as if it had been wanting to find her the entire time.
She lost sight of Sid, who had been forced to enter a duel with a death eater to her right.
Her heart tugged, emotion flowing out of her watching as the snake, no longer malicious looking, headed toward her. Her father must have sent the snake. Was it possible that he wanted to make sure she had some protection? What kind of daughter did that make her for her plan?
Lost in her thoughts, Hermione screamed as a cruciatus hit her in the side. She fell to the ground.
"Hermione!" A female voice reached her as her vision blurred. She lost sight of the snake.
Suddenly Pansy Parkinson was in her vision, holding her head in her lap.
"Damn! I knew this would happen." She cried furiously, putting up a shield charm to deflect another spell from the two of them. "They don't all know about you! This is madness!"
"Pansy." Hermione smiled up at her friend through the pain. "It's good to see you."
"Ha!" Pansy laughed and rolled her eyes. "Now is not the time for mushy stuff."
Hermione laughed despite herself, but it the jolt of pleasure in her chest was suddenly replace with a sickening cry as Nagini came out of nowhere and bit Pansy savagely in the neck.
She cried and fell to the ground.
"Pansy!" Hermione cried gutturally, making a sound she didn't realize she was capable of.
Nagini wrapped around Hermione protectively hissing at anyone who dared step toward her. But everyone else was too preoccupied. Hermione sat up and cradled Pansy's face, muttering every spell she could think of, but the girl was already dead. Hermione's basilisk fang lay uselessly at her side. She couldn't even bring herself to do anything but scream, and her scream echoed with all the others in the battle still raging on around her.
She heard a soul crushing squeal from the creature surrounding her. Hermione watched as Nagini writhed around her wounded. She turned and watched as if in slow motion, Sid reached the fang back once more and aimed for the snakes head. Hermione turned her face away from the gore, a tear slipping down her face as she held Pansy's lifeless body and listened to the animal screams of the snake.
She was in shock. She wasn't sure if she was glad the snake was dead or not. As always every good thing meant another bad thing in her world. The thing that had killed Pansy was dead, her father was now immortal which made her feel both good and bad, and with the snake dead so was her father's only way of showing he cared. He had sent the last part of his soul into battle to find her. To keep her safe. Of course it was a typical Voldemort way to show he cared. It wasn't the best way to go about it, but it still meant something. He was trying to show her he cared, and she hated herself for what she was going to do to him. But, if they could capture, not kill, Voldemort at least she wouldn't have her father's blood on her hands. No matter how much he hated her for it afterward.
"Hermione!" She snapped out of her trance, still holding Pansy's lifeless body. Sid was staring at her. He threw a stunning spell at a charging death eater headed their way, but still made eye contact with her. His dark green eyes flashed with sympathy, pouring it into her.
"I'm fine." Hermione said in a monotone.
"We have to deal with this later. We have to get out of the middle of this courtyard." Sid said a pained look on his face. He felt for her too, but his number one concern was her safety at the moment, and as much as she could tell he wanted to help her grieve they needed to move on.
Another stab of guilt crushed her, knowing she'd betray him. Even though he most of all deserved it. He trusted her and she was going to throw it back in his face. But how many people had he done that to before?
Hermione squeezed Pansy's now cold hand, and left her friend on the ground.
"I see Harry and Ron!" Sid told her as he ushered her over behind a tree in the corner of the courtyard away from most of the flying spells. "I will be right back. Stay here and deflect anything that comes near you. Can you do that? Can you keep it together until I get back?"
She nodded, and Sid placed his hands on her cheeks, kissing her forehead softly. When she opened her eyes he was gone, and a Death Eater was standing in his place. She raised her wand just as he raised his mask.
Draco.
Hermione nearly collapsed in relief. Tears coming freely now.
"Shhh." Draco said placing the mask back on his face, turning to stun an unknown member of the order. "Hermione…I love you. Look at me."
Hermione put on the bravest face she had and stared into his deep gray eyes.
"I'm sorry about Pansy." He said first, dodging another spell, and shooting one back from their nearly private corner of the courtyard. "I got the order here as fast as I could, Snape has told me your father is hiding out in the Shrieking Shack. Snape went to go meet him there, but I haven't heard anything back from him yet. I'm fearing the worst. You have to find him."
Hermione nodded numbly, her whole body shaking.
"Hey." Draco said quickly, rubbing her arms comfortingly. "You are the bravest, strongest, most perfect woman I know. So be all those things now, take a deep breath, be brave, keep your wand out and your eyes open. Your father is going to end this soon. He's going to ask Harry to meet him face to face. Go with him. All of you. I will be there by your father. We will make sure this ends right, with Sid and Voldemort both captured. Just keep your head right, and keep your mind on the plan. I can't lose you Hermione, so be brave."
He lifted the mask once more and gave her the most passionate kiss they had shared yet. It lasted only seconds, but it gave Hermione all the determination she needed.
She nodded her head once at him, a soft smile on her lips.
"Stupefy!" Hermione yelled at a seventh year Hufflepuff trying to curse Draco. Draco gave her a look through his mask. "What! He was going to stun you!"
He shook his head smiling, squeezed her hand once more reassuringly, and headed out into the battle again.
Just in time too, as Sid had returned with Harry and Ron at his side.
"Hermione!" Ron breathed out, desperately glad to see her. He gave her a quick hug, and Harry did the same.
"We have to find Voldemort." Harry said determined.
"I have some ideas of where he could be." Hermione said shooting a spell at another death eater coming up on them.
"Lead the way."
But before they could move from their spot a high pitched voice entered each of their minds, echoing off the rubble and chaos around them. A few students started crying out, pushing their hands to their ears. The dueling stopped all around them, the voice cutting through all the tension.
Death Eaters. Giants. Return to the forbidden forest.
The voice was clearly her fathers. The four of them watched as all the Death Eaters and the two giants stopped what they were doing, and who they were attacking exiting the courtyard, and moving out of sight toward the forbidden forest. Hermione lost sight of the one she thought was Draco. Without him near her heart seemed to ache, panic fluttering in her chest.
Students, and protectors of Hogwarts. Take a moment to bury your dead, and treat your injured.
Harry Potter. Now I speak to you. You have thirty minutes to meet me in the forbidden forest. We will end this there. Bring your friends if you must, I'd like there to be some witnesses to tell the rebellion that their leader has perished. You have a half hour.
Silence met the end of Voldemort's speech. The people left in the courtyard, students, professors, Order members, all looked around until their eyes met Harry's.
"We will go with Harry." Sid said bravely.
Hermione fought to not roll her eyes. She almost did, but remembered that Pansy had done the same thing just before she died. She felt a hole in her heart. Pansy was her first friend in her new life next to Draco. It hurt to think about so she shoved it deep inside her for another time.
"This ends tonight." Harry shouted confidently to the small crowd gathered. "Treat your wounded and bury our fallen. Not because he said so, but because we are proper human being. We will treat those who fought bravely in this malicious attack with respect!"
A few people cheered and hooted for them as the four of them walked across the rubble littered courtyard and exited with stares and whispers following them.
Once they reached the staircase that would take them across the empty bridge and onto the grounds on the other side, they stopped.
"This will be easier said than done." Harry said with a shaky laugh.
"We're here for you mate." Sid said. His acting was perfection.
Only Hermione, who knew her friend too well, could see the revulsion in Harry's eyes as he smiled back at Sid.
"Let's do this." Ron said, his wand out. He and Harry crossed the threshold moving into the darkness of the bridge.
"Ready Hermione?" Sid said, the question in his eyes asking if she was still on board with his plan to let Harry kill Voldemort, and then kill Harry.
"Born ready." Hermione smiled confidently back at him, as he followed Harry and Ron across the bridge. He set off ahead of her and Hermione hung back just a second longer.
"You can do this." Hermione whispered to herself as she followed Sid's perfect figure towards their fate.
