Hermione fully understood that Harry and her father needed to take the lead in retrieving Harry's wand, but that didn't mean she could stop the feelings of jealousy swimming through her as they reached the place where Harry's wand was located. As her father ordered Severus and Lucius to erect their own wards to stop Dumbledore from leaving the property, if he turned out to be in residence, Hermione wished he would give her a job, which he did by asking her and Draco to set up a perimeter ward so that if the Order did turn up, they wouldn't be taken by surprise.
"Don't look so tense, Hope," Voldemort chuckled, dropping an affectionate kiss to the top of her head when she informed him the perimeter was set. "Something tells me you're going to get some action today."
"I hope so," Hermione muttered as she watched Harry and her father head off towards the cottage their spell cloud was hovering over, their heads close together as they discussed something.
Slipping her hand through Draco's, she silently watched as her father and Harry stopped outside of the cottage and had a lengthy conversation. While they were talking, Severus and Lucius had erected some wards of their own, and they were ready to make sure they held up to anyone going against them.
"If he is inside, he's not getting out," Lucius muttered as a loud rumble of thunder sounded overhead.
As the thunder continued to rumble, Hermione raised her eyes looking for a storm, and that was when she realised the thunder was magical. Turning her focus back to her father and Harry, she could see they were casting spells, and she was certain they were controlling the weather. Although only time would tell how much control they would ultimately have on the elements.
As it turned out, they ended up having excellent control and Hermione forgot about her jealousy at not being involved as she watched the spectacular show her father and Harry put on. She'd never seen anything like it, and she was genuinely awe-struck to watch the way the pair engulfed Dumbledore's cottage in a storm of their own making.
"I've never seen anything like it," Draco called over the howling of the wind. "I didn't think this was even possible."
"I don't think it is possible on your own," Hermione shouted back. "It's the power of the twin wands. It's amazing."
"You're not wishing you were down there?" Draco checked.
"Maybe," Hermione replied honestly. "But I can't deny father and Harry are a perfect pair. Dumbledore must be terrified down there."
As much as she loved watching the drama, Hermione did wish she could see more once the wind got up and the cottage became engulfed in what was virtually a tornado. However, the chaos the howling wind was causing blocked their view, and they had to make do with the odd glimpse of the cottage, along with watching the lightening strike and the thunder roar.
"I think the roof is on fire," Draco yelled, pointing to where flickering flames could be seen through the debris from the ground which was flying around in the wind.
"At this rate the entire cottage will be collapsing," Hermione chuckled.
And sure enough Hermione's prediction soon came to pass as an extra loud rumble filled the air before the sound of bricks crumbling could be heard. As soon as the cottage started to collapse the wind died down, and Hermione had a perfect view as the cottage tumbled around Dumbledore's ears.
"Do you think he's dead?" she asked, spotting her father and Harry scrambling over the rubble.
"If he survived having a cottage caving in on him, he won't survive being rescued," Lucius predicated. "The Dark Lord will make sure he's dead."
Hermione was just about to say she wouldn't mind that job, when her wand began to vibrate in her hand. Beside her, Draco's did the same and together they whirled around to where they'd placed the perimeter wards. Just beyond the wards she could see figures appearing from thin air.
"We've got incoming," she shouted loud enough for her father and Harry to hear her.
"The Order?" Draco queried.
"Dumbledore must have been able to send word to them," Hermione replied. "I didn't notice anything, did you?"
"In that storm?" Draco snorted. "I couldn't see a thing, let alone some signal Dumbledore might have sent."
"Speaking of Dumbledore, is he dead?" Severus asked as Voldemort and Harry joined them.
"I don't know yet, we didn't get a chance to check," Voldemort replied with a shrug as he decided to call for reinforcements. "Hope, Draco, drop your wards and let the Order in. It's time to end this. And if anyone does manage to get to Dumbledore, make sure the bastard's dead."
The second Hermione and Draco dropped their wards the Order, or rather the pathetic rag-tag of witches and wizards who'd remained loyal to Dumbledore, surged forward. Hermione could tell that as reinforcements arrived, they would severely outnumber the Order, so unless they were to turn tail and run any survivors would be of their choosing.
"I want Sirius," Harry called.
"In that case, give me Molly," Hermione said.
"What about the twins?" Harry asked with a worried frown. "You can't kill her."
"Who said I was going to kill her?" Hermione questioned with a dark smile. "There are worse things than death, Harry."
Chuckling Harry turned his attention back to the Order, just in time to jump to the side and avoid Hagrid running right into him. However, Hagrid seemed oblivious to the group of dark practitioners as he hurtled past them, down towards the rubble that was Dumbledore's cottage.
"Severus, keep an eye on that oaf," Voldemort ordered. "If he finds Dumbledore, make sure the old fool is gone."
"I'm on it," Severus said as he turned and ran after Hagrid, his black cloak billowing behind him.
Spotting their reinforcements appearing behind the Order, Hermione quickly jumped into action and sidestepping Ron, who tried to engage her in combat by yelling her name and calling her a traitorous bitch, she set her sights on Molly. Luckily Draco had her back and he immediately knocked Ron off his feet, engaging the redhead and leaving Hermione free to target Molly.
"Hello there Molly, how nice to see you again," Hermione called, sending a spell right by Molly's nose in order to get her undivided attention.
"You little bitch," Molly snarled, casting a stinging hex at Hermione who easily dodged it.
"Is that the only insult you Weasleys know?" Hermione teased mockingly. "Your son has just called me a bitch."
"Because that's what you are," Molly hissed, still firing curses at Hermione, who was either dodging them or batting them away using magic. "An evil little bitch."
"I don't appreciate the little, but I have no problem with being evil, and I certainly have no problem with being a bitch," Hermione chuckled. "You want a bitch Molly, then you've got one."
Flashing Molly a deadly grin, Hermione shot a series of quick-fire spells at the red-headed woman. Even though Molly was years older than Hermione and had years more experience under her belt, she was no match for the younger witch. Not only was Hermione faster on her feet, and quicker in throwing her spells, but she also had the advantage of being trained by her father, Lucius and Severus. She never once thought about which spells to use and she let her instincts guide her. Some of the spells she threw Molly's way were everyday curses that anyone would use in a duel, but she also knew a few darker curses and wasn't afraid of using them.
After less than ten minutes Molly went down and Hermione advanced on her, hitting her with the Cruciatus curse as she went. Hermione had taken to all of the unforgivable curses fairly easily, but she excelled in the torture curse and she allowed herself to really feel all the hurt, anger and betrayal she'd experienced all those years ago when she'd heard Molly and Sirius plotting to kill her. With her emotions in overdrive the venom in Hermione's curse was like nothing she'd ever produced before and she revelled in the anguished screams coming from Molly. Standing over Molly, Hermione had never hated anyone more than she did that second and she had to fight herself to stop her from ending Molly's pathetic existence there and then. Instead with a great deal of effort she stopped her spell and stood over a whimpering Molly, breathing heavily.
"I suppose you're going to kill me now," Molly whispered, her voice cracking and shaking from the pain she was in.
"That would be a mercy," Hermione hissed. Reaching down she grabbed Molly by the hair and roughly yanked her into a sitting position. "I'm going to leave you alive, Molly," she spat in her ear. "I'm going to leave you with the knowledge that this is all your fault. Everything you see before you is happening because of you."
"No," Molly whimpered, her eyes flittering closed and her head drooping.
"Stay awake, Molly," Hermione snapped. Casting a spell to keep Molly's eyes open, she knelt down to better use her hair to move her head. "You see this, Molly," she whispered quietly, turning Molly's head so she could take in the sight of the Order outnumbered and outmanoeuvred. "You caused this. This is all because of you."
"No," Molly repeated. "You. You've caused this."
"No Molly, it was you," Hermione cackled. "Dumbledore is dead because of you." Jerking Molly's head to the side, she let her take in the sight of Dumbledore's lifeless body, which Hagrid had pulled out of the rubble of the cottage. "Sirius is going to die because of you." Moving her head again, she pointed Molly in the direction of where a furious Harry was repeatedly slamming Sirius into a tree. "Your son might even die today," she added, smirking when she turned Molly's head towards where Draco had Ron on the floor and was slowly and painfully breaking all his fingers.
"No," Molly cried. "Don't do this, Hermione. Please, don't do this. You're not a monster."
"That wasn't what you said three years ago," Hermione snorted. "Or can't you remember plotting to kill me? I can remember it."
"I'm sorry," Molly sobbed.
"It's too late for sorry," Hermione hissed in Molly's ear. "Sorry doesn't make this right. Sorry doesn't change what you set in motion. And believe it or not, you brought me here today, Molly. If you'd only accepted me, none of this would have happened. Harry would have still been with the Order. I would have still been with the Order. And you know what, we would have killed The Dark Lord. I would have found a way to bring him down."
"You wouldn't," Molly whispered wearily. "Not your father."
"But I didn't know that," Hermione pointed out. "I thought he was a monster, and I would have done anything to bring him down. And I would have succeeded. I would have found a way for Harry to kill him. I know that, and he knows that. But he's not dead because of you. You gave him a second chance when you plotted to kill me. You were so worried about me turning out like him, that you pushed me into it. If only you'd kept quiet, I would have been on your side. We would have won. And you know the funny thing, Molly. You could have had the last laugh. You could have laughed over the fact The Dark Lord's daughter had been the one to bring him down. Now that would have been the ultimate revenge. But because of you, none of that happened. Instead, this happened."
Gesturing to the scenes around them, Hermione was quiet as she made sure Molly drank in everything she saw and thought about everything she'd heard.
"Thank you Molly," Hermione finally whispered, pressing her lips against Molly's cheek. "Thank you for handing my father victory. We couldn't have done this without you."
When Molly began to cry, Hermione looked into her eyes and saw that she'd finally accepted the truth. She could see the guilt in Molly's eyes and she knew the older woman would spend the rest of her life blaming herself for everything that had happened. She would blame herself for the light losing the war, and she would be right. After all, none of this would be happening if she hadn't plotted to kill Hermione simply for being the daughter of Lord Voldemort.
"Goodbye Molly," Hermione said as she rose to her feet.
For a moment she saw Molly's eyes flash with fear, before hope took its place. Laughing at the fact Molly thought she was going to end her pain and kill her, Hermione knocked Molly out before casually stepping over her unconscious body and making her way towards her boyfriend. Draco had been joined by Blaise and the pair were standing over a barely conscious Ron.
"What have you done to him?" she asked.
"Not a lot," Draco answered, clearly disappointed by the lack of fight the redhead had put up. "He started brightly, but aside from catching my arm with a slashing charm, he was pretty ineffective. We've spent the last ten minutes having fun with him."
"Do you want him dead?" Blaise asked.
"We did say we wouldn't kill any Weasleys," Hermione mused. "Although that's not to say he can't die from his injuries. How strong do you think he is?"
"I would say he's pretty much had it," Draco replied. "He barely has the strength to cry out."
"I do hope you can cry just once for me, Ron," Hermione crooned, kneeling down to get a good look at her former friend. "I never thought it would come to this," she whispered. "We were friends, and I thought that meant something to you. But you were only too happy to see me cast aside. If you'd known about me, you would have gone along with your mother's plan, wouldn't you? You would have tried to kill me."
"Yes," Ron spat, using his strength to push himself into a sitting position, which wasn't easy as his fingers were clearly broken and likely very painful. "I would have killed you."
"You would never have had the balls," Hermione laughed. "Can you remember how I once told you that you had to mean an unforgivable curse for it to work properly? Well Ron, I mean this. Crucio!"
Once again letting her emotions flow, Hermione poured everything into the curse she aimed at Ron. Despite his weakened state, he did still manage to scream and wail in pain. Although it wasn't long before he'd collapsed back to the floor in agony, and a few minutes later he passed out completely.
"I think that's enough now, Hermione," Draco said gently, stopping Hermione as she continued to pour all of her pain into the curse she was shooting at Ron.
"Is he dead?" she asked, finally dropping the curse.
"He's got a pulse, but its weak," Blaise said as he checked on Ron. "I'm not sure he's going to survive."
"Let's leave it in the lap of the gods," Hermione said, throwing one last look at Ron before she turned away. If he pulled through then he was meant to survive, but if he died, then it was someone else she no longer had to worry about threatening her and her future.
"Whoa, look at Harry go," Blaise suddenly remarked with a low whistle.
Locating Harry, Hermione watched with wide eyes as her best friend magically spun Sirius around in a circle above his head. Moving closer to the action, she could hear Harry shouting at Sirius and was amused to find her friend was telling him much the same thing she'd told Molly. Harry was making sure Sirius got the message that he was the reason that he'd gone to the dark side. He was making it clear that Sirius's actions had caused all of this.
"Don't you agree, Hermione?" Harry called, unceremoniously dumping Sirius onto the ground.
"I do," Hermione said, stepping forward. "In fact, I had much the same conversation with Molly. And by the time I'd finished with her, she knew that she was to blame for all of this. Every death is on her head. Just like every death is on your head, Sirius."
"And that includes Remus," Harry spat, kicking at his godfather who could barely groan he was in such bad shape. "How does it feel Sirius, to know you killed your best friend? Not to mention letting down your other best friend. Because that's what you did. You let my parents down. Instead of looking after me and protecting me, you alienated me. You pushed me away. You pushed me into the arms of the dark. You're the reason I'm like this, Sirius."
Hermione watched as Harry yanked Sirius's head back and placed his wand against his throat. She knew the power Harry now had at his disposal meant he could blow Sirius's head off with a mere flick of his wrist. However, she doubted Harry had anything as drastic in mind. In fact she wasn't even sure if he was going to kill his godfather. For all of Harry's darkness, and his plans with her father, she wasn't sure if her best friend was a killer. She knew she was as she'd partly killed Fudge and had likely played a huge part in killing Ron. She even could have killed Molly if Harry hadn't promised the twins they would try not to hurt their family. However, Harry was different from her and she wasn't sure if he wanted to take that final step into the darkness.
"I'm ready, Hermione," Harry said, grinning at Hermione as though he could read her mind. "But just so you know, this isn't about me. I'm doing this for you. As much as Sirius let me down, he did far worse to you. And I can never forgive what he intended to do to you. So this is for you, Hermione." Turning back to Sirius, a slow smile flickered over Harry's lips as his fingers tightened around his wand. "You should never have tried to kill my best friend," he whispered to his godfather. "Avada Kedavra."
Hermione blinked as the green light from Harry's wand seemed to be brighter than she'd ever seen it before. But her vision soon cleared and a sense of peace came over her. No doubt there would still be certain matters to sort out, but she knew in her heart that the war was over. The light had been extinguished and the dark had triumphed. Three years ago she'd taken her first steps into darkness, and now she'd come to revel in the darkness that now lived in her soul.