Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just this plot!

Still So Close to You
by darkwing731

((-Chapter Thirty-))
The End of it All

"Then come with me this time!" Hermione pleaded, holding her hand towards him. "Come with me and save them, and save Tonks, and make up for your past mistakes! Please, Remus!"

To both of them, this moment was a bridge that had been avoided for the last twenty years, had been the elephant in the room, had been the single means of heartbreak and the excuse for too many tears. This moment was more significant and life changing than either one of them knew, but it was in that instant that Remus Lupin took Hermione's hand, and nothing else mattered.

Without a moment to waste, they sprinted down the stairs and towards the fireplace. They raced into flames that could not equate to the paramount of heat that was their eyes, their fluttering hearts, or their laced hands, together at last . . . and together for the last time.

The moment their feet touched solid ground, it became apparent that the peace and quiet that had been intimated from the Dependable Ears was drastically incorrect; all of the furniture was upturned, most of it ripped apart and broken, and there were deep gashes all over from spells and curses that adorned the floors and walls. Parts of the wall had been blown to smithereens, and there simply wasn't a door anymore. A chandelier was dangling threateningly by just a few simple rungs, and the lights were flickering from the disturbance that was coming from above them.

Several crashes echoed from overhead, along with a great boom that shook the floor beneath their feet. A scream, followed by the heavy stampede of feet from the room, was just barely a warning sign as smoke began to sink through the cracks of the ceiling and into the drawing room.

Hermione and Remus fled just in time to escape the collapse of the expensive ceiling, which fell in massive, flaming pieces that not only radiated a blistering heat, but rushed at the open door as if desperate to escape the room itself. The hammering of their feet into the hallway was accompanied by many other sounds: screams of resistance, pain, anger, fear, and perhaps terrible tragedy; the ebb and flow of roared curses, along with the shriek to avoid them; the sickening crunch of a broken bone, the crash of a body to the floor, or the whimper or gasp of someone, terrified.

The hall, normally still and empty to accentuate its prestigious and exquisite characteristics, was filled with the frantic, chaotic, and unceasing movement of countless people, along with smoke and the quick flash of spells, curses, and hexes. When there was a lull in the terrible, unending screech of battle, it was heightened by the sharp, deafening smack of a spell hitting its target, quickly accompanied by a new cacophony of terrible noises.

Frozen in shock by this horrifying scene, Hermione and Remus merely stared at the war before their eyes. In the chaos of the battle, there were splashes of red hair, and fierce snarls that could only be that of a Weasley. Down the hall, Ginny, covered in blood and clearly limping, was desperately trying to escape a Death Eater with jinx after hex, but her newfound cripple was preventing her escape.

Hermione's heart stopped as Ginny finally fell, unable to block the new jinx that her attacker had just sent. Without thinking, without breathing, without seeing, Hermione abandoned Remus and was beside her friend, the snarl of a curse on her lips that overtook the Death Eater in a second.

"Hermione!" Ginny cried, surprised, grabbing at her arms as the Muggleborn hoisted her up.

"You have to get out!" Hermione shouted, ducking as a hex soared over her head and smashed the wall behind her. "We all have to get out of here!"

Throwing an arm around Hermione's shoulder, Ginny was half dragged through the battle as their comrades fought around them. George was laughing humorlessly at a Death Eater as he avoided a dark purple streak of light, and Mr. Weasley was currently restraining another Death Eater that had fallen to the floor. Throughout the hall, there were many Order members still fighting just as fiercely as Ginny had, but were also losing steam.

Narrowly avoiding injury, Hermione and Ginny went as fast as they could to the drawing room, and were horrified to find it completely engulfed in flames. They could barely hear each other over the roar of the fight, and barely made the backtracking to the front foyer, as a new regiment of Death Eaters began to flood from the grand staircase.

Bursting into the cold night air, Hermione and Ginny's sigh of relief was instantly erased as the fountain up ahead of them suddenly exploded, and a brigade of fighters blocked the pathway to the main gates. The inky darkness of the night was illuminated in irregular streaks of light, and Hermione and Ginny stood helplessly as they searched their blank minds for ideas.

"It's that filthy Mudblood!" somebody shrieked, and the cloaked figures that had been so concentrated on their opponents turned their attention to her.

"Hermione, run!" Ginny screamed.

"Not without you!" she shouted, grabbing Ginny's arm and dragging her with an uncanny speed back to the house. However, even with the adrenaline that seemed to replace every molecule in her body urged her forward, she could not avoid the aftermath of the explosion right in front of her. A blinding curse destroyed the front door, sending Hermione and Ginny reeling backwards down the front steps and onto the feet of the Death Eaters. Their towering, grim figures loomed above them, and Ginny and Hermione, screaming, tried to scramble away as their leader raised a wand.

"Avada—"

"STUPEFY!"

Then, without warning, there were hands lifting Hermione and Ginny from the ground, heavenly hands that pushed them away from the terror and protected them against these new Death Eaters. Immediately taking this opportunity to flee, the two girls dashed inside and returned to the chaos. George and Mr. Weasley had now paired up; Tonks was sprinting down the hallway past them, a Death Eater fast on her tail, while Ron suddenly leapt from a room and jumped behind a bench just to have it explode moments afterwards. There was a deep rumbling, a noise that reverberated in the hall over all the noise, and in Hermione's chest, and then the scene in front of them melted away into a dream, a nightmare, a fantasy: a great tidal wave had burst from the drawing room, crashing against the opposite wall and swallowing up anything nearby. Death Eaters and Order members alike screamed in terror, running for their lives, and the great wave raced down the hall, taking everything with it.

"RUN!" Hermione shrieked, and the girls hastily turned and jumped back outside, throwing themselves over the balcony railing and into the bushes, crawling as far as they could to the right away from the door.

The great rumbling became a deafening roar and the Manor groaned as the pressure of the water surging through the front door demanded a bigger passageway; the house cracked, and the frame of the door suddenly snapped, and there was a colossal burst of water as the front façade finally gave way. All of the fighters outside on the path shouted in surprise as the rough wave overcame them, gobbling them up in its depths. The frigid waters met its match as it finally died down, spreading out over the great land and sinking in the ground, puddles and rivulets left behind.

"Are you sure that was just Aguamenti?" asked a familiar voice, and Hermione and Ginny sat up in surprise.

In the newly destroyed doorway of the Malfoy Manor stood Neville and Luna, looking slightly concerned but moreover interested in what was going on. The girl with large, dreamy eyes was examining her wand absentmindedly.

"Daddy always said more is better than not enough," Luna replied in a singsong voice.

"Luna?" Ginny cried, standing up.

"That was your charm?" Hermione spluttered, indicating the now soaked ground that surrounded them.

"Well there was a fire!" Luna replied, nodding earnestly.

"What?" Ginny and Hermione asked together.

"In the room where we Flooed in!" Neville supplied. "Nearly got burned, too."

"Somebody had to put it out," Luna said with a curt nod, and then turned her round eyes to the scene around her. "Do you think they're alright?"

"It doesn't matter!" Hermione cried. "We've all got to get out of here!"

"But we've just arrived!" answered a new voice. Fred and Dean Thomas were now standing in the doorway, looking indignant. "Don't send us home already!"

"People are getting hurt!" Hermione yelled. "And how—Dean how did you get here?"

"Harry got us all together," Dean answered, pulling a fat coin out of his pocket. "Most of the DA is here already, thanks to Luna's charm."

"Harry's here?" Ginny asked at once.

"Not yet," Fred answered. "He said he was going to make sure that everyone arrived here before he came."

"Oh, this is terrible," Hermione moaned. "We could all be killed here! We all need to leave!"

"I hate to say this, but coming here was your idea . . ." Ginny pointed out cautiously.

"I was under the impression that Tonks was putting Ears in the Manor so we could collect information!" Hermione cried, looking torn between defending herself and admitting her mistake. "I didn't organize this rescue mission!"

"Regardless, we can't just stand here and argue!" Fred said quickly as Ginny opened her mouth to retort. "I saw Ron, he's really hurt, but alive. And dad isn't young anymore. If we don't need to fight we should get out of here."

"Then why is everyone here?" Hermione shouted angrily.

"Ask Harry, not me," Fred answered.

"Ask me what?" Ginny squealed and ran to Harry, who held her tightly in his arms. "We needed more people, Hermione. I mean, look at all these Death Eaters. This wasn't a five person mission."

"Then let's get everyone rounded up now while everyone is still paralyzed from Luna's water charm!" Hermione said exasperatedly. "Everyone! Now! Find an Order member and get them to the drawing room to Floo them out, and stun any Death Eaters that are waking up!"

For a moment, everyone looked uncertainly at each other, as if merely rescuing the Order members was not the original plan but an impulsive one. But when Hermione jumped up and approached everyone who was unconscious by the fountain, Dean, Luna, Neville, Harry, Fred, and Ginny began to move quickly as well. Everyone except for Harry and Ginny went inside, and Hermione turned a blind eye to their affections, knowing that Harry was enormously relieved to find Ginny unhurt.

Yet, despite Hermione's good intentions and promising idea, the moment she stunned the first waking Death Eater, they all began to wake at once, rising groggily around her tense body. "Harry," Hermione called over to him, beginning to tremble. When he didn't respond, and when there were now several upright Death Eaters, Hermione screamed, "HARRY!"

The scream startled not only Harry and Ginny, but all of the Death Eaters around her, as well as some of the waking Order members. Scrambling to get to her feet and away from the danger, she shot spell after spell before someone finally fought back. The blue curse narrowly missed her head, but did hit a shrubbery, which burst into flames. Harry and Ginny joined her and were shouting spells, now engaged in their own duels as the Death Eaters were fully awake.

"THAT'S POTTER!" a female Death Eater screamed, jumping forward to curse him.

"Progoto!" Hermione snarled, and then said, "Run!"

Not needing to be reminded, the three of them turned and fled back into the hall, where the same situation met their eyes. Dumbledore's Army was panicking because now everyone had come to, and realizing that the fight was still to be fought. However, Hermione urged Harry and Ginny on past the fighters.

"We need to get out of here!" Hermione cried. "There are too many Death Eaters, we can't handle this!"

"But surely all the Floo powder has been destroyed!" Ginny reminded Hermione in a shout, which was necessary with all the commotion around them.

"If we get off of the property, we can apparate out!" Harry suggested, ducking to avoid a spell.

"We can't just abandon everyone!" Hermione said, looking scandalized. "Look out!"

The three of them dove to the floor as a set of vicious curses soared overhead, clambering to get away from the Death Eaters who had cast them. Crawling quickly through a large hole in the wall, which was still smoldering slightly, they happened to climb onto Ron, who was lying unconscious on the floor. With a surprised cry, Hermione dove to his still body, pressing a few fingers to his neck. The fear that had snatched her senses away began to fade as relief took over her body, for Ron was just unconscious.

"We have to get him out of here, Harry," Hermione said, looking forlorn and terrified. "What would've happened if we hadn't found him?"

"You're right," Harry agreed, quickly glancing out into the cavernous hallway which was still flooded with battle. "How we'll get him out of here is the question."

"Look!" Ginny said, pointing behind them. "We can break through that front window, levitate him out, and then get off the Manor grounds and apparate!"

"It's worth a shot," Harry said, but even so, sent Hermione a grim look.

As Harry checked once again that no Death Eaters were about to prance into the room, Hermione hurriedly vanished the glass of the window, which arched gracefully over a torn and charred window seat. She and Ginny leapt out, falling into the bushes, but urged Harry along in whispers as Ron's body floated into their hands.

"Got him?" Harry asked as he watched Ron's body sag to the ground under the supervision of Hermione. She nodded breathlessly, checking Ron's pulse again, and with a sigh of relief began to hoist himself out of the window.

Just as his foot was establishing stable contact with the ground, the wall that they had crawled through suddenly erupted in flames, and with a loud crash, was decimated, giving the room a violent shake. Harry yelped as he fell head first into the bushes, and as he rolled over on the ground, a triumphant voice screamed, "THERE THEY ARE!"

"GO!" Harry bellowed, and suddenly Harry, Hermione and Ginny were supporting Ron's body while simultaneously sprinting across the grounds; pursuing them was another regiment of Death Eaters, vaulting themselves out of the window with victorious roars.

"The gates, the gates!" Ginny shouted as they galloped past the demolished fountain, destroyed walkway, and towards the gated entrance.

But without warning, a sharp crack rippled through the air, and now directly in their path was a Death Eater. Shouting incoherently, the group swerved to the left, only to be blocked by another Death Eater, which prompted them to jump jerkily in the other direction. This time, when they were met with the same obstacle, the group which had been so well comprised suddenly fell apart; Hermione stayed at Ron's head, but Harry leapt backwards, falling onto Ron and also accidentally shoving Ginny to the side, which jerked Ron's unmoving body to one side. By the time they had managed to create any sort of order, they were completely surrounded.

The three of them only had a moment to be utterly terrified before there was a vociferous roar from the Malfoy Manor, and all those that had been fighting the dark army were now charging at full speed towards the ring of Death Eaters. Harry, Hermione, and Ginny could only stare as the dark night was suddenly illuminated with spells and bright lights, flashing and whirring, disrupting any sort of silent fear. At this new distraction, the Death Eaters turned to fight their returning enemy, and Hermione seized Ron underneath the armpits and began to drag him as quickly as she could across the grounds.

"Not so fast, Mudblood!" sneered a voice, and Ron's body was snatched from her.

"No!" Hermione cried, diving to recover him. Yet, as her body fell on top of Ron's, there was a swift kick to her side, sending her reeling to the ground in pain, and invasive hands that stole the wand straight from her hands.

"Deal with it!" cackled the voice again.

"How does it feel," asked a cold, quiet voice that was hauntingly familiar, "to be back on the ground where you belong?"

"I'm not as much as an animal as you are!" Hermione snarled, making a grab for Ron's body again. "I might be Muggleborn but I will always be ten times the wizard you'll ever be!"

"Hermione!" shouted a panicked voice, and as she turned her head sharply to search for her caller, the Death Eater spat out, "Crucio!"

"NO!" roared the Order member, flinging himself into a fully fledged attack on the Death Eater as Hermione's agonizing screams finally faded.

Panting, and cradling her head which was now throbbing in pain, she turned over to clutch Ron's body, and to catch of glimpse of Remus Lupin, who was fiercely battling the Death Eater. Struck with horror, Hermione watched transfixed as Remus dueled, the weary lines of his face heightened as the flashing wand light soared by his body.

For a moment, Remus caught her eye and saw that all she was doing was staring at him in horror. "Run, Hermione!" he commanded, ducking to avoid a purple jet of light.

"I can't!" she cried, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

But her resistance caused Remus to look at her for a split second, as if to reprimand her, and that split second cost him the duel. With a surprised cry, Remus was struck squarely in the chest and sent him sprawling onto the ground behind him.

"You filthy half-breed!" snarled the Death Eater as Remus began to struggle off the ground. "Cruc—" but was interrupted as Hermione launched herself straight into the knees of the Death Eater. They toppled onto the ground, and as Hermione scrambled to get away from him, the hood obscuring his face fell back.

It was Lucius Malfoy.

A horrified, disgusted feeling rose up immediately within Hermione, and she crawled away as fast as her body would allow her to, watching with frozen eyes as he stood from the ground and glared at her with a radiating fury.

"Must you ruin everything for me, Mudblood?" he asked softly, grey eyes narrowed to dangerous slits.

"Run, Hermione," Remus croaked as he began to hoist himself from the ground; he was bleeding from his mouth, and from his temple, and his right arm seemed to be hanging from a funny angle.

Lucius cast him an annoyed look before turning back to Hermione with purpose. "I should've taken care of you years ago. Avada Kedavra!"

It seemed that, without warning, a great hush fell over the earth, and everyone around them became muted and slow, their movements sluggish and uneven. Those around Hermione who were still battling, still fighting, still living, could not move as accurately as the jet of light racing towards her, which had erupted from a terrible wand with a brilliant explosion of light. All around her, the earth stood still as her destiny sped towards her, wiping all but one terrified thought from her mind: Remus.

And then, an unexpected silhouette was sharp against the great blast of light, hurdling faster and more precisely than this deathly curse, creating a shield in which to protect her mortal body. Surely this was an angel, a heavenly messenger sent to prolong her life?

But a moment later, the raging battle exploded around her, and the movement which had been so sluggish, those sounds which had been so muted, burst back into a loud, terrible life as they fought on. The heels of Lucius Malfoy that had previously stood before her chuckled humorlessly before turning to walk away, leaving her completely and utterly alone.

For dead on the ground in front of her was Remus Lupin.

Hermione felt very numb, as if all of her senses had been suddenly surged with energy, and then, just as unexpectedly, were fried until they were useless. She felt as if she had been dropped into an ice bath, forced to stay under to suck in the icy water so that she would be entirely immobile for the rest of her life. There was a distinct noise in her ears: it was loud and piercing, an agonized cry, a tragic, mournful sound, and hands shaking her body very violently.

Something enormous within her reared up its ugly head, demanding to be freed from her body, pressing on anything to be released. Her cheeks were wet now, shining in the night as the world continued to turn around her while the battle went on. The wet, tangible misery that poured down her face in unacknowledged rivulets slowly soothed the best within her that was dying to be freed, and when it seemed she could cry no more, she felt as if she was nothing, had nothing, could be nothing, and could do nothing.

Remus Lupin was dead. There was nothing for her left to be.

"Hermione!"

Said girl did not register as Harry Potter came rushing over to her, grabbing her and shaking her to wake her from her terrible reverie. She knelt before Remus Lupin's unmoving body, still as stone, rigid and surely now as lifeless as the werewolf.

"Hermione, get up, we have to—"

He was interrupted by a horrible cackling that was growing louder. Looking sharply up, Harry spotted the Death Eater that was approaching them.

"Finally got what he deserved, didn't he, Mudblood?" sneered a voice with a derisive shriek of laughter; Hermione did not move from her stony vigil, or even blink at the Death Eater's words. "Pity I didn't get to do it myself."

"Get out of here," Harry growled, standing up with his wand brandished threateningly.

The Death Eater screeched with laughter again. "Please, Potty, what are you going to do to me?" The Death Eater turned their wand to Hermione, who had not moved from her shocked position.

"I'll kill you!" Harry roared, stepping in front of Hermione protectively.

"Kill me?" asked the Death Eater in a sickeningly sweet tone. "I don't think you want to do that."

"And why not? You're a filthy excuse for a human—"

"Let me tell you a story about a filthy excuse for a human!" the Death Eater said sharply, before laughing coldly again. "Once upon a time, this Mudblood that you're protecting went back in time and became best mates with your foolish parents."

"What?" Harry ejaculated, scoffing.

"No," Hermione croaked suddenly, looking up at the Death Eater. Slowly, as if to taunt Hermione, the Death Eater reached up and drew back the hood of their cloak, revealing the contour and angles to the face of Pansy Parkinson; Harry gasped, but Hermione, already pale, blanched.

"Oh yes, Granger," Pansy said with a grim smile, now beginning to walk around Harry and Hermione as if circling her prey. "Yes Potter, for seven months your beloved Mudblood was stuck with your parents and all of their idiotic friends."

"This—this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Harry said at last, gaping as he looked between Pansy and Hermione. The uneasy feeling in his stomach heightened as he realized how terrified Hermione suddenly looked, and the triumphant expression on Pansy's face. "Hermione, she's lying, isn't she? I mean, come on—"

"She could've saved your parents, Potter!" Pansy interjected; "Best friends with Evans, and Pettigrew, and everyone else. All she had to say was watch out and you would've had a normal life."

"Shut up, Parkinson," Harry snapped, jabbing his wand aggressively in the air.

"What, did I hit a nerve?" Pansy mocked. "Don't you wish you could've led a normal life? One where your parents were here fighting instead of you?"

"Shut up," Harry growled again.

"Don't you ever wonder what it would've been like, Potter? Why don't you ask your little Mudblood friend! After all, she was with that filthy werewolf and having a go with your parents, she would know best."

"SHUT UP!" Harry bellowed at last, and without warning slashed at the air; Pansy ducked, as she had been expecting this any moment, and shot back a stream of grey light. Harry tucked and rolled just in time, but as he leapt off the ground to face her, he found that Pansy's wand was right in his face.

Pansy had dropped the gruesome smile and laugh and now looked positively dangerous. "Yes, Potter, believe this unbelievable story, because it's very, very true. Seventh months without even a word of warning . . . and seventh months spent betraying your parents and their friends, and you and your idiotic friends, and even the Order of the Phoenix."

"You're a liar," Harry snarled in a low voice.

"Am I?" Pansy asked quietly, and silently withdrew a picture from within her robes.

At first Harry would not take his eyes from Pansy's, knowing that the wand in his face would attack without warning, but the moment his peripheral vision saw the contents of the picture, it was all he could do from snatching it away from Pansy's hand.

Because there, in the torn and old photo, was Hermione Granger kissing Lucius Malfoy.

"What is this?" Harry cried, eyes widened in disgust. Disregarding the wand in his face, he turned to look back at Hermione. "What—What is this?" But all Hermione did was look up at Harry with large, fearful eyes.

Turning back to Pansy, he could say nothing, for he was dumbstruck at the appearance of this photograph. Pansy grinned devilishly; "Not only did she fraternize with the enemy, Potter, but she gave us all the information we needed to destroy you and all of your simpleton friends. Your little Mudblood is a traitor."

"Liar," Harry accused again, though the venom that had laced his voice was now absent, and he seemed very shaken.

"She could've saved them all, Potter," Pansy spat. "And the little whore betrayed Weasel too! Didn't you know she was sleeping with this excuse for a human being?" she asked, jerking her head to the body of Remus Lupin, which Hermione was now clutching tightly.

"This is all a lie," Harry whispered, taking a step back from Pansy. "None of this is true. This isn't—"

"Yes it is!" Pansy snarled, jabbing her wand back in Harry's face. "It's all true! And it's all because of me! I revealed her for what she truly is! The Dark Lord trusted me to do this and no one else, and now you see how stupid you are for trusting her!"

"Get away from me," Harry hissed, jerking his own wand into Harry's face.

"I am the only one the Dark Lord could trust to bring her down, to bring you down!"

"Get away!" Harry snarled, slashing the air suddenly; Pansy, taking off guard, fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

But on the ground she leered up at him and cackled, pulling back her sleeve to reveal the deadly tattoo on her forearm. "I will be worshipped for aiding in your death."

The moment Pansy's fingers touched the Dark Mark, Harry's head exploded in pain; his knees collapsed beneath him, and his body fell hard onto a cold, lumpy mass that happened to be Ron, still unconscious. Somewhere in front of him, Pansy was shrieking in laughter, Hermione was sobbing quietly, and inside his head he heard the faint voice, cold and high and furious . . .

And then there was screaming, both terrified and furious, but Harry could not even begin to open his eyes, let alone see the chaos around him, for his head was surely splitting in two . . . There were people grabbing at him, buffeting him, yelling at him. . . or perhaps this was all insider his head . . . Then, as if everything else had been a dream and this was the one real thing he knew he could count on, there was a vice grip on his arm, and the compression of his body into a single molecule before he was finally set free into unconsciousness.

-x-x-x-

"Harry, mate, you alive?"

With a groan, Harry opened his eyes with great difficulty and blinked groggily up at the ceiling. Directly in his line of vision was Ron Weasley, who was now grinning into his face, looking enormously relieved.

"What happened?" Harry asked, sitting up and looking around. To his left, Hermione's still body was on the couch, and Harry realized with a start that they were back in Grimmauld Place.

"Dumbledore showed up same time as You-Know-Who," Ron said, throwing a glance at Hermione's body as well. "She's just asleep now," Ron added as Harry stared at her. "Apparently Dumbledore had been chasing Voldemort around the country or something with Kingsley, trying to stake out all of his safe houses and find patterns or something."

"How did he know to go to the Malfoy Manor?" Harry asked.

"Well, he knew Tonks was there apparently, and knew that no one would dare call You-Know-Who unless they really had you . . ."

"That's true," Harry agreed quietly. "Is everyone alright? Is everyone back?"

At these questions, Ron became very still and his face paled underneath his freckles. "Dean Thomas was killed. And so was Lupin. Tonks is a mess," Ron added in a whisper. "As I expect her to be, but still . . ."

"What about Hermione?" Harry asked quietly.

"She's fine . . ." Ron said after a moment's hesitation. "When she came to, she wouldn't talk to me at all . . . Dumbledore said they found her right next to Lupin, so she must've seen him die. I imagine she's still in shock."

"Yeah . . ." Harry said absently, his mind instantly reliving the scene that had scarred his mind. "Where is everyone?"

"They took the bodies to Saint Mungo's," Ron said quietly, still looking over at Hermione with a concerned look. "To determine the exact cause of death and to clean up their bodies . . ."

After this, the two boys could say nothing more, and awkwardly avoided each other's gazes to keep from revealing their inner emotions. Ron sat down next to Hermione and pulled her halfway onto his lap, stroking her hair absentmindedly while he savored what memories he could of Lupin and Dean, but Harry could not do this. Unable to sit still with Ron, Harry trudged up to his room, trying desperately to block Pansy's words from his head but failing miserably.

The moment Hermione was awake, Harry demanded to talk to her alone. Receiving very suspicious looks from Ron, Harry shut and locked the door behind him as Hermione silently filed into Harry's room, sitting down on the bed with a stony look on her face.

Harry stared at her for a moment, before blurting, "Is it true?"

The only indication Hermione gave that she had heard him was that she closed her eyes slowly, and her body seemed to sag with a heavy weight. However, she remained taciturn.

"Well?" Harry asked again, more forcefully this time. "Was Parkinson lying or not?"

"No," Hermione said, very quietly.

An odd feeling crept up Harry's throat, as if he were about to vomit. "Are you telling me," Harry began slowly, "that you did go back in time and meet my parents?"

"Yes," she answered colorlessly, staring at the floor.

"For seven months," Harry stated, now glaring at her as she nodded.

"And you didn't say anything to them? When you knew they were going to die?"

"The Laws of Magic state that—"

"I COULD'VE HAD A FAMILY!" Harry roared suddenly. "I COULD'VE HAD A NORMAL LIFE IF YOU HAD JUST OPENED YOUR MOUTH—"

"Dumbledore said I couldn't reveal myself—"

"YOU COULDN'T EVEN SAY, WATCH OUT FOR PETER? HE'S GOING TO ENABLE YOUR DEATHS?"

"No," Hermione uttered, closing her eyes once again.

"And you were sleeping with Lupin the whole time?" Harry snared, his chest heaving from his previous rage.

"We fell in love," Hermione replied in a hollow voice.

"And you never told Ron?" Harry said in an outraged voice.

"No," Hermione said again.

Hermione could feel the daggers that Harry was glaring at her, but the heat that punctured her mind from his infuriated rage did not penetrate the surface of her skin, or her heart, or even her conscience. In fact, there was no where that he could touch that would've made a difference to Hermione, because there was nothing left inside of her to destroy. Everything had been taken away from her, and everything was gone.

There was a sharp snap as the door suddenly slammed, and the spiraling silence that enveloped Hermione was an almost welcome loneliness. Taking in a slow, deep breath, Hermione stood and made her way back to her own room, knowing that without the comfort of Remus Lupin's living presence, there was simply nothing left for her to life for.

-
-x-x-x-
-

Author's Note: sorry that took so long to get out! I got stuck in some places! Anyway, one more chapter, and then the epilogue. I really promise this time =) PS- I realize Harry's confrontation was rather skimmed over, as was the learning of Hermione's time traveling mishaps, but I promise those will be addressed as well!

Once again, thank you Faithful Wheezy and all those who continue to enjoy my story as much as I do!

Please review!