Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling
And comes the big moment of 6th year! Hope you enjoy! Not as long as usual but it was a good place to end. Hope you enjoy! Also, I recommend Finding Hermione, by AzaleaBlue. Amazing Slow Build Romione fic, and I usually don't read Romione. Anyway, R&R!
Hermione was getting ready for her Apparition Test. She had apparated around the 7th lesson and found herself perfectly fine. Patches of bright blue sky were beginning to appear over the castle turrets, but these signs of approaching summer only helped in lifting Hermione's mood: the Vanishing Cabinet was nearly done.
They were sitting together in a sunny corner of the courtyard after lunch. Hermione, Draco, and Blaise were all clutching a Ministry of Magic leaflet, 'Common Apparition Mistakes and How to Avoid Them', for they were taking their tests that very afternoon, but by and large the leaflets had not proved soothing to the nerves.
"Look at this." Daphne said hollowly, giving them a newspaper. "The Montgomery sisters, their little brother was killed by Fenrir Greyback."
Hermione felt sick. Such a young boy dead because of that monster. She felt bile rise to her throat and she swallowed it. She had no problem with grown wizards or witches dying but young children should be kept innocent in her opinion.
"That's horrible." Pansy said slowly.
"He's a monster." Theo said simply.
"His goal is to bite children young and raise them to be brutal and bloodthirsty." Hermione said with a hollow voice, remembering the book she read.
Apparition went well. Hermione, Draco, and Blaise easily passed. Hermione now had her own apparition license and couldn't wait to use it.
"You do realize what this means?" Hermione asked them after the test with a large smile.
"What?" Draco asked. Hermione gave him a fond smile.
"It means that Hogsmeade does not have wards against Apparition. We could go visit family."
The next charms lesson was a spell to turn any liquid into another. Seamus Finnigan concentrated himself on turning his water into rum. Hermione turned her vinegar into elf wine, while Blaise went to turn Butterbeer into Firewhiskey.
Katie Bell had come back from St. Mungo's that day, but she remembered nothing. Draco was silent, plagued with anxiety over her telling, but she knew nothing, to his relief.
Hermione's Felix Felicis was done. She had brewed enough for all of the SM to have an entire vial. Six months of work had not gone to waste, and even though she was nearly done with her Mind Potion, she had the Bezoar Draught to take to the Potions Conference.
Interest in the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw game was running extremely high throughout the school, for the match would decide the Championship, which was still wide open. If Gryffindor beat Ravenclaw by a margin of three hundred points (a tall order) then they would win the Championship. If they won by less than three hundred points, they would come second to Slytherin; if they lost by a hundred points they would be third behind Hufflepuff and if they lost by more than a hundred, they would be in fourth place.
The run-up to this crucial match had all the usual features: members of rival Houses attempting to intimidate opposing teams in the corridors; unpleasant chants about individual players being rehearsed loudly as they passed; the team members themselves either swaggering around enjoying all the attention or else dashing into bathrooms between classes to throw up. Hermione just enjoyed life while she could; she knew that the moment she stepped out of Hogwarts her life would turn dark.
"Hermione!" Chastity called her as she sat in the Common Room teaching some kids Duelling.
"Yes?" she asked, taking a small break to watch them freeze oranges using a dark spell.
"Draco was hurt." she said breathlessly.
That was all Hermione needed to hear. She rushed down the hall to the Hospital Wing, barely noticing as she knocked down other students; her mind was concentrated solely on Draco. She burst through the hospital wing to see Draco sitting on a bed with bandages wrapped around his bare chest, Professor Snape next to him.
"Who did this?" Hermione whispered. Her mind was plagued with the possibilities.
"Potter." Draco spit, his voice a little weak. "In Moaning Myrtle's loo."
Hermione immediately tried storming out before Professor Snape grabbed her wrist. She whirled around, but before she could say anything he snatched her wand.
"Professor!" Hermione protested.
"I don't want you killing Mr Potter and going to Azkaban, Miss Granger." he sighed.
She glared before storming off. She opened the bathroom to see the carnage. The floor was strewn with broken glass from the mirror and most of the toilets had exploded. The entire place was flooded and Hermione saw signs of blood on the floor. In the middle of it all Potter was standing there clutching his wand.
Hermione felt incredible fury.
How dare he?
HOW DARE HE?
She stalked forward and slapped him. She wasn't completely sure what she was doing but she was so angry that it was clouding her judgement.
"How dare you?" she snarled in a low voice. "What the hell did he ever do to you? You could have killed him!"
"He tried killing me first!" Potter yelped. "He tried the Cruciatus! I heard him, he said 'Cruc'!"
"If he did you weren't affected." she said dismissively. "And I can think of 6 spells off the top of my head that begin with 'Cruc'."
"He's a Death Eater." Potter replied. "He's evil!"
"For fuck's sake Potter, the world isn't in black and white!" Hermione screamed. Making a split second decision she yanked the charm off her bracelet and showed it to him. It was back in it's natural form.
He stared at her in horror. "But- you- you're a muggleborn!"
"Yes I am! And they still accept me! They've always accepted me! Treated me like a friend or a daughter! It's your so called light side that doesn't!"
"You'll never have a future with him!" Potter said after a while. Hermione turned around slowly. "You'll never actually be one of them."
Hermione felt more fury bubble up in her. Who was he to decide?
"Yet I've already been promised to him by pureblood customs."
And on that parting note she stalked off. She spent the rest of the day at Draco's bedside while he healed.
"What's his punishment?" Hermione asked Professor Snape when he entered.
"Detention." he replied.
"WHAT?" she shrieked. Professor Snape snapped up a silencing charm. "He damn nearly killed a student!"
Professor Snape gave her a small sad look before leaving. Hermione fell asleep at Draco's bedside. He was left with a thin white scar spanning his entire chest from shoulder to waist.
"I'm ugly now." he whispered when he saw it.
"Never." Hermione promised, giving him a light kiss full of love.
That evening they went back to the Room of Requirement to finish up the cabinet. Hermione had found the perfect spell to fix it completely, and they were going to do just that. Hermione looked around, in awe of the room as always.
She was standing in a room the size of a large cathedral, whose high windows were sending shafts of light down upon what looked like a city with towering walls, built of what Hermione knew must be objects hidden by generations of Hogwarts inhabitants. There were alleyways and roads bordered by tetering piles of broken and damaged furniture, stowed away, perhaps, to hide the evidence of mishandled magic, or else hidden by castle-proud house-elves. There were thousands and thousands of books, no doubt banned or graffitied or stolen. There were winged catapults and Fanged Frisbees, some still with enough life in them to hover half-heartedly over the mountains of other forbidden items; there were chipped bottles of congealed potions, hats, jewels, cloaks; there were what looked like dragon eggshells, corked bottles whose contents still shimmered evilly, several rusting swords, and a heavy, bloodstained axe.
They scurried to the Vanishing Cabinet and Hermione used her spell.
"Reficere et renovare!" she chanted, and the cabinet glowed.
"Ready?" Theo asked.
"Ready." Draco said grimly, before conjuring a small bird and stuffing it in the cabinet. It came back whole.
"Yes!" Hermione cheered, giving them both a hug.
"When do we bring them in?" Theo asked.
"First I need to distribute my Liquid Luck to everyone. Hopefully with it's help no one will be killed." Hermione said.
The next morning they found out that word of what Potter had done to Draco had spread through the castle. The news had traveled very fast: apparently Moaning Myrtle had taken it upon herself to pop up in every bathroom in the castle to tell the story; Draco had already been visited in the hospital wing by Pansy, who had lost no time in vilifying Potter far and wide, and Snape had told the staff precisely what had happened.
Potter wasn't even playing in the Quidditch match that week and Slytherin was rejoicing for that. Slytherin's Magic was progressing beautifully, and now everyone carried special kits Hermione, Adelaide, Blaise, and Quincy had made.
The Kits consisted of: Bezoar Draught, one vial of Liquid Luck, Blood Replenishing Potion, Skelegrow, Murtlap Essence, Bruise Paste, and a few other supplies along with some special battle runes Hermione made with Zach.
Gryffindor won the Quidditch Match, much to their disappointment. Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter had also gotten together much to their amusement. Slytherin still won the House Cup.
Exams were approaching. Hermione had gone on another studying spree and was using notes passed down by other 6th years through Slytherin. Chastity, Astoria, and Luna were preparing for their OWLS. Luna wanted only to go in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Divination, and COMC. Those would all breed her illusions, of which she could make a living.
The exams were soon over. Hermione thought she had done well on all of them, but was more concerned with what was to come.
"Ready?" Hermione asked Theo and Draco. They stood in the Room of Requirement, facing the Vanishing Cabinet. Hermione had put on her black corset dress. Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, Chastity, Quincy, Astoria, Adelaide, and Gemma were right now getting all of Slytherin, Luna, and Zachary to drink their Liquid Luck so no one died that evening. Hermione had already taken one of her one with Blaise and Theo.
"You sure Dumbledore left?" Draco asked in confirmation.
"Yup." Theo nodded. "He left with Potter. We'll need to watch the common rooms just in case."
"They've gathered at Borgin and Burkes?" Hermione asked.
"He sent me a letter." Theo replied.
"And Luna's distracting illusions are set up?" Hermione asked again.
"Astoria helped in some of them but yes." Draco confirmed.
"Then we're ready." Hermione said.
A silence filled the room. This was it. The moment they had worked for the entire year. Death Eaters in Hogwarts. Hermione let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. She pulled out her wand. It was agreed that she would do the spell.
" Harmonia Nectere Passus" she chanted.
The cabinet slowly creaked open, and Bellatrix Lestrange stepped out, her hair wild and curly, a maniacal look in her eye.
"Mudblood!" she exclaimed, though it was fondly. Hermione gave her a small embrace.
She resisted the urge to scowl as Fenrir Greyback stepped out. He would die, she would make sure of it. He was an ugly brute with bright blue eyes and shaggy black hair. He was a monster.
Hermione allowed herself a dark grin. Death Eaters were in Hogwarts. Dumbledore would die tonight. Hermione couldn't wait.
They scurried down the hall. Draco stopped them for a second and doused the hall in Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. With the Hand of Glory they bought he led them all down the hall.
They went up to the Headmaster's office and Theo put up some wards so they would have privacy. Before they could do more the Order of the Phoenix attacked.
"GO!" Bellatrix shrieked as she duelled a woman with pink hair. Hermione, Draco, and Theo scurried up the stairs. Draco went first, and knocked the door open.
He erupted through it and shouted: "Expelliarmus!"
Hermione Dumbledore's wand flying in an arc over the edge of the ramparts and grinned. Before they could do more she shot up a Dark Mark with her charm bracelet.
Standing against the ramparts, very white in the face, Dumbledore still showed no sign of panic or distress. He merely looked across at his disarmer and said, "Good evening, Draco. And Hermione and young Theo."
Draco stepped forwards, glancing around quickly to check that they were alone. His eyes fell upon the second broom.
"Who else is here?" Hermione asked.
"A question I might ask you. Or are you acting alone?"
"Of Course not." Draco sneered. "I've got back-up. There are Death Eaters here in your school tonight."
"Well, well," said Dumbledore, as though Draco was showing him an ambitious homework project. "Very good indeed. You found a way to let them in, did you?"
"Yeah," said Theo smirked. "Right under your nose and you never realised!"
"Ingenious," said Dumbledore. "Yet ... forgive me ... where are they now? You seem unsupported."
"They met some of your guard. They're having a fight down below. They won't be long ... I came on ahead. I-I've got a job to do."
"Before you kill me do tell me how did Death Eaters get in?"
"Vanishing Cabinets." Hermione said, stepping forward.
"Aaaah."
Dumbledore's sigh was half a groan. He closed his eyes for a moment.
"That was clever ... there is a pair, I take it?"
There was a yell from below. Hermione rolled her eyes and shot a random curse down the stairs for fun.
"The other's in Borgin and Burkes," said Draco, "and they make a kind of passage between them. Montague told me that when he was stuck in the Hogwarts one, he was trapped in limbo but sometimes he could hear what was going on at school, and sometimes what was going on in the shop, as if the Cabinet was travelling between them, but he couldn't make anyone hear him ... in the end he managed to Apparate out, even though he'd never passed his test. He nearly died doing it. Everyone thought it was a really good story, but I was the only one who realised what it meant-even Borgin didn't know. I was the one who realised there could be a way into Hogwarts through the Cabinets if I fixed the broken one. Hermione and Theo helped me."
"Very good," murmured Dumbledore. "So the Death Eaters were able to pass from Borgin and Burkes into the school to help you ... a clever plan, a very clever plan ... and, as you say, right under my nose ..."
There was a bang and shouts from below, louder than ever; it sounded as though people were fighting on the actual spiral staircase that led to where Dumbledore, Draco, Hermione, and Theo stood.
"Now let us discuss your options." Dumbledore said.
"Options?" Hermione sneered. "We all did this of free will. The world will be better without you."
"Come Hermione, you are not a killer."
Hermione sneered. "Yet Kingsley Shacklebolt found himself dead didn't he?"
Dumbledore paled. "You killed him?"
But suddenly footsteps were thundering up the stairs and a second later the Death Eaters came buffeting in.
A lumpy-looking man with an odd lopsided leer gave a wheezy giggle.
"Dumbledore cornered!" he said, and he turned to a stocky little woman who looked as though she could be his sister and who was grinning eagerly. "Dumbledore wandless, Dumbledore alone! Well done, Draco, well done!"
Hermione groaned. Why those two? She hated them!
"Good evening, Amycus," said Dumbledore calmly, as though welcoming the man to a tea party. "And you've brought Alecto too ... charming ..."
The woman gave an angry little titter.
"Think your little jokes'll help you on your death bed, then?" she jeered.
"Jokes? No, no, these are manners," replied Dumbledore.
"Do it," said Fenrir Greyback. Hermione held her wand tightly.
"Is that you, Fenrir?" asked Dumbledore.
"That's right," rasped the other. "Pleased to see me, Dumbledore?"
"No, I cannot say that I am ..."
Fenrir Greyback grinned, showing pointed teeth. Blood trickled down his chin and he licked his lips slowly, obscenely.
"But you know how much I like kids, Dumbledore."
Hermione suppressed a shudder. She would kill him; she had to.
"Am I to take it that you are attacking even without the full moon now? This is most unusual ... you have developed a taste for human flesh that cannot be satisfied once a month?"
"That's right," said Greyback. "Shocks you, that, does it, Dumbledore? Frightens you?"
"Well, I cannot pretend it does not disgust me a little," said Dumbledore. "And, yes, I am a little shocked that Draco here invited you, of all people, into the school where his friends live..."
"As if." Theo said in disgust. "The brute's here because the Dark Lord wanted him here."
"Don't talk to me that way boy!" Greyback barked. Hermione whispered an incantation and sent a small sliver of silver steel at his arm. He let out a groan of agony when it connected. Silver was deadly to werewolves.
"Watch yourself." Hermione sneered.
"Shut up Greyback" said the fourth Death Eater sharply. He had a heavy, brutal-looking face. He was Antonin Dolohov"We've got orders. One of them's got to do it."
"He's not long for this world anyway, if you ask me!" said the Amycus, to the accompaniment of his sister's wheezing giggles. "Look at him-what's happened to you, then, Dumby?"
"Oh, weaker resistance, slower reflexes, Amycus," said Dumbledore. "Old age, in short ... one day, perhaps, it will happen to you ... if you are lucky ..."
"What's that mean, then, what's that mean?" yelled the Amycus, suddenly violent. "Always the same, weren't yeh, Dumby, talking and doing nothing, nothing, I don't even know why the Dark Lord's bothering to kill yeh! Come on, Draco, do it!"
But at that moment, there were renewed sounds of scuffling from below and a voice shouted, "They've blocked the stairs-Reducto! REDUCTO!"
"Now, Malfoy, quickly!" said Greyback angrily.
Draco and Hermione stayed silent, as did Theo. They were waiting for a reason.
"I'll do it," snarled Greyback, moving towards Dumbledore with his hands outstretched, his teeth bared.
"I said no!" shouted the Dolohov; there was a flash of light and the werewolf was blasted out of the way; he hit the ramparts and staggered, looking furious.
At that moment the door clicked open and Professor Snape walked in,.
"Hello Professor." Hermione said politely. She was going to continue but somebody else had spoken Snape's name, quite softly.
"Severus ..."
For the first time, Dumbledore was pleading.
Snape said nothing. He looked at Hermione and she nodded. Hermione stepped forward.
"Avada Kedavra." she said emotionlessly, thinking of all the times she had cursed Dumbledore and hated him.
A jet of green light shot from the end of her wand and hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest. Hermione watched as Dumbledore was blasted into the air: for a split second he seemed to hang suspended beneath the shining skull, and then he fell slowly backwards, like a great rag doll, over the battlements and out of sight.
Hermione thought she would feel pain. Feel something. But she was completely apathetic. The only thing she felt was a crack in her mindscape, but she would look into that later.
"You did it." Alecto wheezed.
"Finally." Greyback grunted.
Hermione turned to face him coolly.
"Argentum Armis." she said.
Greyback was surrounded by a silver armor that compressed and squeezed his body. He let out some agony filled screams before he stopped struggling and died.
The Death Eaters stared at her. She fingered her wand with a menacing grin.
"Oops."
She felt no remorse about Greyback. He killed children and was a bloodthirsty idiot. He deserved to die.
Dolohov gave a rough grin of respect.
"Come on." he said. "You kids stay here, go back to the common room. You'll be innocent. Slytherin is locked down to anyone who is not a Slytherin student thanks to some wards and some bloody dragons are guarding it."
Hermione gave a secret smile. Luna's illusions worked. She walked off with her friends, sinking into the shadows until they reached the room.
"What happened?" Daphne asked them the moment they entered.
"Dumbledore is dead." Hermione announced. And so began the dawning of a new era.