Disclaimer: Just three words: Joanne Kathleen Rowling
LOVE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY
Chapter 29: War
"Harry's gone to confront Voldemort at Hogwarts," Ron elaborated, eyes shining. "Aren't you coming?" Without waiting for her answer, he Disapparated. They could hear similar cracks and pops sounding throughout the house.
"He can't have!" Hermione yelled, furious and terrified at the same time. "What about the last Horcrux?"
"It doesn't matter. If Harry's already at Hogwarts, we have to stand behind him," Remus said. He kissed her suddenly, short yet intense, before he conjured a Patronus and sent it off to alert the rest of the Order. He placed his hands on her shoulders. "You have to stay here, Hermione. You're in no condition—"
Hermione's eyes flashed with fire. "Absolutely not! I have been helping Harry fight Voldemort since I was 11 years old! I'm not about stop now!"
"Hermione—"
"It's my fault Harry went now! If anything happens to him, I'll never forgive myself." She steadily met his gaze. "And if this is the end, if Harry and the Order fall, there's nowhere I'd rather be than there, beside you, when it happens."
Remus kissed her again, trying hard to hold on to that moment. It wasn't fair that he would be reunited with her after all these years only when almost certain death was staring them in the face. He didn't insist she stay behind because she was right: She had more of a right than him to be there during Harry's last stand with Voldemort. And he couldn't condemn her to a world completely ruled by Voldemort and his Death Eaters if the Order lost.
Hermione was the one who pulled away first. She was staring at him in shock.
"Oh, my God, I'm so stupid," she whispered. "So, so, so stupid!"
"What's wrong? What are you talking about?"
"Never call me the brightest witch of my age again, Remus!" she said. "I can't believe I didn't realize..."
She grabbed her jewelry box and emptied its contents onto her bed: Sirius' watch and Lily's necklace and earrings tumbled out among her other jewelry.
Her eyes were wide and shining as she held up the headpiece Lily had coaxed out of the Room of Requirement the night of the dance.
"It's Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, Remus," she whispered shakily. "It's the last Horcrux."
His fingers intertwined over hers and the diadem. He could have kissed her again, but there was no more time.
"You are the brightest witch of your age, Hermione," he said fervently, before he Disapparated them both to Hogwarts.
The grounds were a confusion of smoke and shadowy figures dueling to the death. They had barely materialized when Remus' quick reflexes kept them both from being hit by a stray hex.
"There!" Hermione said, pointing at the highest hill on the grounds. Even from this distance she recognized Harry, dueling with Voldemort as the Order and the Death Eaters dueled around them. Even as they watched, they could see Harry beginning to weaken under the relentless onslaught of Voldemort's curses.
"Come on—!"
"Well, if it isn't the werewolf and the Mudblood," drawled an all-too familiar voice.
Lucius Malfoy materialized through a cloud of smoke. Remus placed himself in front of Hermione. "Go find Harry," he said to her, keeping his eyes fixed on Lucius. "Destroy the Horcrux, but make sure Harry knows."
Hermione tightened her hold on him. "Remus—"
Lucius caught sight of the diadem, and his eyes lit up in realization. He lashed out with a spell aimed at Hermione, but Remus quickly deflected it.
"Go, Hermione!" Remus yelled, before he and Lucius launched into duel.
Hermione turned and ran, all her attention focused on reaching the pair dueling at the top of the hill. She heard Remus let out a cry of pain as one of Lucius' spells hit home, but she refused to let herself look back, knowing if she did so she would stop.
"Stop her!" Lucius yelled. "The Mudblood has it! STOP—!"
Hermione took it as a good sign when Lucius was abruptly caught off. She dodged stray spells and dueling wizards, running half-crouched so she could see under the smoke that seemed to be everywhere. A spell ripped through the shoulder of her robes, cutting the fabric and the skin underneath. She stumbled forward, struggling to keep on her feet as warm blood ran down her arm.
Remus staggered to his feet, leaving Lucius Malfoy's unconscious body sprawled on the ground. He surveyed the field, trying to find Hermione. Harry and Voldemort were still dueling on top of the hill, which meant she hadn't reached them yet.
He finally caught sight of her near the bottom of the hill, and his stomach tightened in fear. She had been drawn into duel with Antonin Dolohov, the Death Eater who had nearly killed her two years ago.
"Remember me, girlie?" Dolohov asked, smiling twistedly. He held out his hand. "Give it over, and I'll kill you quickly and properly this time."
She lashed out with a Severing Charm and his hand fell to the ground. She staggered back, shocked by what she had done.
Remus sprinted toward them. Hermione ducked again to avoid another stray spell, and Dolohov took advantage of her momentary distraction to raise his wand. Still running, Remus aimed for Dolohov.
Hermione gasped as a jet of light hit Dolohov, and he collapsed at her feet.
"Are you all right?" Remus demanded, arriving at her side.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she assured him, shaken.
"Thank God," he breathed, pulling her to him tightly. "Now, let's go meet the devil himself."
Their hands found each other's as they struggled to gain ground toward Harry and Voldemort. The fighting was thickest on the uphill slope, and the ground was slick with what they first thought was water but turned out to be blood.
They were nearly at the top when Remus stumbled, falling hard on one knee. It was only then he noticed a sharp pain in his side. He looked down and saw the hilt of a small dagger sticking out of him. Malfoy must have stabbed him with it.
Hermione had looked back when she felt the pull on her hand, just in time to see Remus collapse. She fell to her knees beside him.
"Remus! Oh God..."
Gritting his teeth, he pulled it out. The metal burned his hand, and he immediately dropped it. It was silver, the certain way to kill a werewolf. From the look on her face, he knew immediately it was bad. He squeezed her hand around the diadem.
"Go on, Rosemary," he said hoarsely. "Dumbledore said you'd save the wizarding world."
She smiled through her tears when he called her 'Rosemary'. She held his hand against her cheek as she smoothed his hair from his forehead.
"Go on," he repeated. "End this."
She nodded slowly, and he could see the resolve gathering in her eyes as she stood. Remus looked up at her, an inexplicable feeling welling up in him as she turned, hair whipping in the wind.
An odd sort of calm came over her as she forced herself to take a step forward, away from Remus. Then another.
Voldemort was torturing Harry again with the Cruciatus, and the Boy Who Lived was slowly dying. Ron came charging up the other side of the hill with a yell, a determined look on his face. Voldemort broke off the curse to send Ron flying with a casual flick of his wand.
"NO!" Harry yelled as Ron fell, a tangle of limbs.
"You did this, Harry!" Voldemort said, spreading his arms wide and gesturing at the destruction around them. "They're dying, all your friends, all for a lost cause. How many times will we meet like this, Harry? How many more must die for you?" Voldemort turned to face him once more. "It would be an act of mercy to kill you now and spare so many others."
He raised his wand, and Harry straightened his back, ready to meet death unflinchingly.
"Don't touch him!" Hermione raised her voice, calling attention to herself.
Voldemort slowly turned to look at her, an amused look on his face.
"Well, if it isn't the clever little Mudblood," he said softly, "not so clever after all. Do you really think you are going to stop me?"
A hush fell as she raised the diadem. Hermione aimed the point of her wand at the delicately wrought metal, the spell to destroy it on her lips. Voldemort's red, slit-like eyes widened in recognition.
"STOP HER!" Voldemort roared, lunging forward.
An impossibly strong Shield Charm deflected the spell Voldemort and the other Death Eaters sent toward her. Without looking, Hermione knew it was Remus, saving her like he had that day in the Charms classroom against the seventh-year Slytherins. Hope rose within her. He was going to be all right.
"Collique totalis!"
A bright light, white-hot, burst from the tip of her wand, and the diadem began to melt, curling in on itself. Voldemort reeled, as if experiencing a physical blow. Hermione struggled to keep her hand steady as the Horcrux resisted destruction, her wand vibrating and turning hot under her fingers. She could feel it sucking at all her magic and energy, but still she held on. Remus' Shield Charm flickered and died.
She saw Bellatrix Lestrange charging toward her, wand raised, but she made no move to defend herself, not wanting to break off the spell until the Horcrux was destroyed. A piercing scream shattered their eardrums as the last scrap of Voldemort's soul was forced out of the diadem. Hermione fell to her knees, gasping.
Hermione caught a glimpse of Harry standing over Voldemort, wand raised. Green light enveloped Voldemort's writhing form just as Bellatrix's curse wrapped her up in a vortex of magical power. She felt herself spinning ... flying...
Remus lay on the ground as the world exploded into chaos. The fight between the Order members and the Death Eaters intensified as the latter attempted to escape with their lives. He strained for some sign that Harry was all right, that Hermione—
Something landed hard on the ground nearby. With difficulty, he turned to look.
"No," he gasped.
Hermione lay there, her body twisted and broken from the fall. He dragged himself to her side, ignoring the pain it caused him. She was still alive, but only just, her breathing ragged and uneven.
"Oh, my love," he said mournfully, taking her hand. "Time has always worked against us, hasn't it?"
Hermione knew she was dying, could see it in his eyes. What hurt worse was not life slowly leaving her but knowing their time together was at an end.
"I should've stayed," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "We could have had a couple of years together instead of just a couple hours." The corners of her mouth twitched upward. "I saw it, you know, up on the Astronomy Tower the night of the dance: you and me, the Shrieking Shack, Sirius in the guest bedroom, James and Lily over for supper."
He smoothed her hair from her face, wishing there was something, anything he could to do for her. "We can still have that," he said. "How about it? Harry and Ron in the guest bedroom, the rest of the Weasleys over for supper?"
"Sounds like a plan," she agreed, her brow furrowing as a spasm of pain wracked her body.
"And we'll both teach at Hogwarts," he continued, laying his head down near hers as his vision began to darken. He grasped her hand more tightly as he struggled to remain conscious. "Defense and Charms, of course."
Hermione knew she should be hurting a great deal, but she couldn't feel a thing except for Remus' hand intertwined with her own.
"We can't die, Remus," she said suddenly. "Not here. Not after all this."
He couldn't help but smile at the determination in her voice. "All right, Hermione. We're not dying."
But even as he said it, the world was turning darker in his eyes, and the time between each breath she took was getting longer and longer.
He saw three figures approach. So this was how it all ended.
"Lily, James," he breathed, recognizing the red-haired girl and the messy-haired boy. He could only assume the third figure behind them was Sirius. "The Marauders, finally together again." He managed a grin. "Sorry it ... took so long..."
"Hermione!" James Potter kneeled beside her and took her hand. "Hermione, hang on!"
"Shh..." she said lazily. "No one's supposed to know my real name, James," she whispered, words slurring together.
"HELP HER! SOMEONE HELP HER!" Sirius bellowed, shooting red sparks into the sky.
The light allowed Hermione to see him a little more clearly. He didn't look at all like she remembered him.
"Sirius ... your hair's ... still orange," she said. "And how'd ... y'know ... my real...?"
Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked at one another in confusion and panic.
"Hermione, it's us. It's—"
But she wasn't listening to them anymore. Hermione had felt Remus' grip suddenly go lax. She stopped trying to hold on and let her eyes finally close.
