Chapter Thirty Eight
A/N: Thank you to Nevaeh -Rose Malfoy and rolly21 for reviewing the last chapter.
The Great Hall was a cacophony of screams, curses and pain-filled wails, the like of which Hermione had never heard before. Hogwarts had always been a place of safety for her, the heavy stone walls offering a protection she had never found elsewhere. Now, that final protection had been taken away, Death Eaters swarming the corridors. Her place of safety had become the most dangerous place in the world.
To their credit, the students had not shied away from the fight, using every spell they had in their limited arsenals to stop the Dark Lord's army in their tracks, even ones as simple and childish as disarming spells and Bat-Bogey Hexes. It was a poor match for the Dark Arts practiced by the black-cloaked men and women- Hermione tried not to think of the number that had fallen to their curses- but they were determined. They would not allow the school to fall.
When Harry had rolled across the ground, his friends had flocked to him like moths to a flame, their passion reignited with a thousand times the strength. There was something about Harry Potter that made even the smallest mouse feel like a lion, made a school pupil feel like a warrior. The Boy Who Lived, accomplishing an impossible feat not once, but now twice. But that was not what the girl saw in him; to Hermione, he simply looked like Harry.
The brunette was so focused on watching Harry, locked in battle with one of the black-cloaked hoard that had swarmed the Great Hall, that a curse sailed a hair's breadth from her face, scorching a black mark into the wall behind her. Swallowing a gasp, Hermione looked up, to see Bellatrix stood across from her, her lips twisting into a hate-filled cackle.
"You know, you really ought to pay attention on a battlefield, dear." the woman advised, though she had a malicious edge to her voice. "That dreamy head of yours, it could be the end of you."
No sooner had the last word been spoken than Bellatrix fired another curse, this one landing closer to its target. Hermione dove behind a nearby bench, raising her arms to shield herself from the splinters that erupted out of it, wincing in pain as a couple tore through her jumper, slicing at her skin like tiny knives. Even running for cover could not save her from the Dark Lord's right hand.
"Oh, don't run away!" Bellatrix exclaimed joyfully, firing curse after curse towards the young woman. "You're going to die soon enough anyway, you may as well make your last moments enjoyable; or at least for me!"
Hermione wanted to shout in response, to yell barbed comments at Bellatrix just as she was doing to her, but it was as if her tongue had frozen in her mouth. The fear was overwhelming her, the memory of that horrific night at Malfoy Manor; no amount of courage, even from a Gryffindor, could outweigh that.
With a venomous chuckle, Bellatrix lowered her wand, the smoke from the repetitive blasts gathering around her, giving her the appearance of the Fairy Maleficent at Princess Aurora's christening. Hermione had read that story a thousand times during childhood, so often that she knew the swirling script by heart. Those had been the days when the most dangerous thing in her world were illustrations that crept into her nightmares, long before her nightmares stood before her.
"It might interest you to know that you weren't my first choice to kill." Bellatrix stated, her voice as nonchalant as if she were talking about a sudden change in weather. "I wanted Harry Potter. But then again, so did everyone else, I suppose. The Dark Lord wouldn't hear of it, wanted the boy all to himself, to finish what he started, so I had to settle for second best. Not to worry, though. Once you're dead, Potter won't be far behind. Probably pine away from loss of love. I suppose, in a way, that means I will get to kill him, after all."
Hermione knew the woman's game, knew her taunting was designed to lure her from her hideaway, but her blood was boiling so high in her veins that she could not endure it any longer. It was one thing to threaten her own life, but to make a mockery of Harry's death was something else entirely. Her legs shuddering beneath her, the brunette stood up, finally coming face to face with Bellatrix.
"What? No fight?" Bellatrix sighed, her lower lip protruding like a child's. "How boring. Oh, well. You've made things so much easier for me."
"He'll beat you." Hermione stated, her voice low, yet carrying clearly through even the raging sounds of battle. "It doesn't matter if I die, Bellatrix, or you, people believe in Harry. They'll follow him to the ends of the earth if that's what it takes to bring Voldemort to the ground. Because they know, no matter what happens, he'll win. He always does."
Bellatrix's mouth dropped open in a laugh, her shrieks echoing off the walls themselves, but the sound barely lasted a moment before the curse sailed through the air, green light striking the Death Eater's back. A moment later, she fell to the ground, her victorious expression concealed by the flagstone floor she had landed against, and Hermione's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't think you were coming." she cried. Her heart was pounding so furiously
Harry chuckled, his own eyes glazing over. "After that amazing speech, how could I not? I've got a reputation to live up to by the looks of it."
Hermione wanted to laugh, to revel in the relief of being alive, but instead, sobs began to wrack her body, her legs finally giving way beneath her. Within a second, Harry had wrapped his arms around her shoulders, rocking her from side to side the way one might do with a child. "I thought you weren't coming. I was all on my own, I thought I was going to-"
"I know." Harry cut her off. He could not bring himself to hear the completed thought, in case he should collapse into tears himself. They had lost so many people that night, his heart heavy with guilt, but he could not imagine losing Hermione; that blow would be the end of him.
Another blast sailed through the air close by, and Harry instinctively threw his shoulders forward, shielding Hermione's body with his own. Blinking her tears back, Hermione looked up at the Great Hall, the dozens of wands locked in battle. "We need to get out of here."
Harry nodded, jumping to his feet and pulling Hermione up after him. But he had barely taken a few steps before that plan was snatched from their fingertips. Green eyes met red across the crowded room, and Hermione reached to her wand on her belt, determined not to be the frightened victim this time. She was a Gryffindor, the daughter of one of the most powerful witches in the country. She had suffered at the hands of this evil man just as they all had done, and she wanted him dead as much as anyone.
They had always known it would come to this, Harry against Voldemort. But that did not mean he had to fight alone.
A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, with a bit of Harmione to tide you over! Please review!