She was running as fast as she could through the corridors searching for the two boys she lost. The final battle was in full swing and she got separated from Harry and Ron. As she ran, she was ambushed by a group of 4 death eaters. Somehow, she fought them off and was running again. She rounded a corner and her heart dropped. Hermione froze as she saw Percy and Fred. Percy was fighting two death eaters while Fred battled his own. It's like everything was happening in slow motion. She saw the wall start to crumble and she knew that Fred would die. Without thinking she lifted her wand. She had no idea what spell she was using, she just knew that she needed to save Fred. The crumbling wall froze before it could fall onto the twin and with a flick of her wrist, all the stone was thrown onto Rookwood. She found her feet again and ran to Fred, fear and joy simultaneously bursting from her.
"Fred! Oh, Merlin, Fred tell me you're okay!" She begged.
His eyes locked with hers and he pulled her into a tight, warm hug. "Bloody Hell, you just saved my life woman. I'm brilliant!"
Percy joined the hug. "Hermione Granger, I owe you everything. I thought he was dead. And I couldn't do anything. Bloody Hell..."
A scream interrupted them and they turned to see Hannah Abbot running down another corridor, flinging hexes, as another Death Eater followed.
"I got her, Hermione please check over Fred!" Percy yelled and then he was gone.
"I'm fine, Hermione, Really."
Hermione shook her head. "You're bleeding, let me see."
She looked over the wound on his head. He must have gotten cut when the wall exploded. "You're losing a lot of blood out of this cut. I'm gonna take you to the Great Hall."
"No, I'm fine." He argued. "I'm not giving up.'
She groaned. She couldn't let him die. What if he couldn't fight as well because of the blood loss and she couldn't save him. She couldn't lose him. "Fred please...'
"Hermione I am fine. People are worse off than me!"
"Dammint Fred I don't care about everybody else! I care about you!" She shrieked.
She felt her cheeks turning pink as his jaw dropped and he stared at her.
"Look, Fred. I heard Neville talking to Harry earlier before the fighting really started. Do you know what they were talking about? Neville was looking for Luna. He said he needed to find her because he fancied her. He said he was mad for her and needed to tell her since they would both probably be dead before morning."
Fred shook his head. "Okay, why are we talking about Neville right now..."
She held up her hand to stop him. "I might be dead by morning, we all might be dead. Fred, I'm mad for you. I've fancied you since my fifth year."
Without even thinking, he pulled her into him and kissed her with everything in his soul. The kiss was passionate and full of need. In the middle of battle and pain, he gave her his everything.
He pulled back lightly. "Hermione Granger I've been wanting to hear those words for longer than I'd like to admit. When this is over, I'm taking you out.
She laughed. "I think I'd like that."
"Maybe we should actually finish this then, instead of snogging in the middle of death."
They both jerked and turned to see Harry and Ron. Ron's face was red and he looked pissed.
'Bloody Hell' thought Hermione. 'I was hoping to talk to him first.'
She ran over and threw her arms around them. "I lost you! I couldn't find you and I didn't know if you were okay."
Harry smiled slightly. "We're good, Mione."
She turned back to Fred and took off her sweater. "Put this on the back of your head and keep pressure on it. You need to slow the bleeding. I need to go with Harry and Ron."
"Be careful." He urged. "You are going to make it. I am going to make it. We will win."He leaned down, kissing her gently. He then turned towards the two boys. "You two are going to make it. Watch each others back. Be careful.
He turned and left for the Great Hall and Hermione looked to her friends. "What happened? Where did you go?"
"We were on the way to the boathouse to find the snake." Harry started. "But we were cut off by Snape."
Ron scoffed. "He was acting mad. He told Harry that we would win and he had to trust in Dumbledore."
"Then he handed me these memories and told me to take them to the pensive before we did anything else. It was strange, Hermione. He told me he was sorry for everything and then he told me I had my mother's eyes."
Hermione laughed. "Snape? Severus Snape? Are we thinking of the same person? Severus Snape does not apologize."
"Well, he did. Now that Voldemort pulled his troops, I need to see what's so important in here." Harry said.
She nodded. "Alright let's go."
They arrived at the Headmasters office and Harry went up to find out the secrets of Severus Snape, leaving Ron and Hermione waiting in the corridor.
"I know in the heat of battle, weird things can happen," Ron mumbled. "I get why you kissed Fred."
Hermione turned towards him. "What are you talking about?"
Ron shrugged. "It's not like you really fancy him. Tensions are high right now and it can confuse your feelings. I know you don't really want him. I forgive you."
"Forgive me? I do not need your forgiveness, Ronald Weasley! I have done nothing to you and you do not own me. I can snog or fancy anyone I choose. I've fancied Fred since the fifth year. This war has nothing to do with my feelings." She snapped.
"You fancy me! We've always liked each other!"
Hermione instantly softened. "I did use to fancy you, Ron. But, I'm sorry. I don't anymore. And I was never going to tell Fred because I didn't want to cause issues between you two or between us. But the war changed things. I realized that we could both die and never know what could have happened. I needed to tell him and I want to see where this goes. I don't want to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. But we wouldn't work and I think deep down you know that. I love you dearly. But I love you as a brother. You will always be one of the most important people in my life."
He didn't answer her just glared at her as they say waiting for Harry. Soon enough, Harry came slowly walking down the stair and walked up to his friends. He looked defeated, but at peace.
"I'm going to the forrest." He stated, no question in his voice.
Hermione jumped up. "No, you can't! Harry no."
Ron looked just as upset as Hermione sounded. "If you're going we'll go with you!"
"No. You can't..." He sighed. "There's a reason that I can hear them, the Horcruxes. I think I always knew. And I think you did too."
Hermione let a small sob escape her as she drew Harry into a tight hug. "I'll go with you."
She felt him shake his head as he pulled away. "No, you need to get the snake. Get the snake and it's just him."
"Mate, you can't do this. We can figure it out, we always do!" Ron shouted.
"Ron, I wish you were right. But we can't this time. I'm sorry. You were always my best mate and I'll always be grateful for you and everything you've done for me. Hermione, I never had any siblings. Until I met you. I always wanted a sister." He smiled and hugged her again. "It makes it easier for me to do this because I know you'll be safe. I love you."
She felt her heartbreaking. "I love you too, Harry."
He turned and walked towards his death. Everything in him was fighting him, telling him to turn around and figure it out like Ron had said. But they would die. No, he thought. He quickened his pace. He had to keep them safe.
HGFW
Hermione wandered through the Great Hall looking for everyone. It was done, they had won and Harry lived. Now there were a few people she needed to see. She hadn't seen Fred since they parted before, she had no idea if he had made it through the second battle. She was frantically looking at every face until she saw two redheads across the room. He looked over as she saw him and they both broke out in smiles of relief. She started running and pushing past people. Fred. He lived too. Everything would be okay. Not worrying about making a spectacle in front of his family and everyone else she jumped up in his arms and held him.
"Bloody Hell you're a feather, Hermione! There's nothing to you." He chuckled.
She ignored him and gave him a quick, but firm kiss. "So how about that date?"
His family stood behind him, every single Weasley was alive and well. They looked at the two with joy and excitement. They were all happy for them, except Ron. He still looked at them with anger in his eyes and red ears.
"I'll plan something perfect." Fred assured her.
She dropped down and went through the Weasley family, giving hugs and telling everyone she loved them.
"Hermione, dear we're all going back to the Burrow but we need to wait for Arthur and Kingsley to finish up a few things. It should only be a few more minutes" Molly explained. "Could you please find Narcissa? She will be staying with us, along with Draco and Blaise."
Hermione nodded and immediately got panicked. She hadn't seen Narcissa, Draco, or Blaise since the beginning of the fight. She had become very close with the three of them. In her sixth year, they all pledged themselves to the Order and Draco and Blasie had become two of her absolute closest friends. Again, she found herself frantically searching the crowd until she ran into someone. She glanced up to see Blaise.
"Oh, Merlin you're okay!" She yelled. "Where's Draco and Narcissa?"
"They were right behind me." He turned and found them slowly walking up through the crowd.
Hermione ran over to them, yanking Blaise with her, and hugged both boys. Narcissa smiled fondly at the girl and pulled all three of them into a mother bear hug.
"Molly sent me to fetch you," Hermione said. "You three are staying with us at the Burrow."
"Oh, she doesn't have to do that. We don't want to trouble anyone."
The young witch shook her head. "No, Narcissa I don't think you have a choice. And it's no trouble. And there's plenty of room. I guess before things got bad Arthur remodeled the whole house. He said if they all died they wouldn't need the money and if they survived, they deserved to finally splurge on themselves. Now c'mon let's go."
As soon as they reached the group, Molly started crying all over again and gave the three Slytherins into a bone-crushing hug. Hermione smiled at the sight. Almost everyone was here. All of the Weasleys, Harry, Neville, Luna, Narcissa, Draco, Blaise, Kingsley, Lupin, and Sirius were here. Everyone was going to be okay. She took a moment to think about Tonks, Mad-Eye, and Andromeda. None of them had made it. She fought back tears as she looked over to Remus. He was slumped against the wall, looking at the ground with no life in eyes. He lost his love, the mother of his child. She couldn't help herself. She walked over to Remus and hugged him fiercely. She felt him slowly respond and hug her back.
"Why don't we get out of here and go see Teddy." She whispered.
He nodded and as they planned to sneak back to the Burrow, everyone else gathered and got ready to leave as well. Fred found her and wound his fingers through hers and the large group made their way to the closest fireplace, all flooing to the common area of the new and improved Burrow. Before taking in the new sights, she watched Lupin push his way through everyone to where Mrs. Figg was holding Teddy. He snatched the toddler and held him tightly, sinking down into the sofa. Her heart hurt for the family, but she knew they would be okay.
She took a breath and decided to explore. The common room itself was much bigger than before. It now had two couches, a loveseat, and three chairs. She followed the room into a dining room with a large table. Big enough for everyone here, plus more. The dining room lead into the kitchen, which was mostly the same except a little bigger and slightly updated. It was still the Borrow, still homey and simple just big enough to accommodate everyone.
"I'm going to show everyone their rooms now!" Molly ordered. "Everyone please follow me."
Hermione did as she was told and that's when she saw the major difference in the new house. There were more bedrooms and bathrooms now. There were four bedrooms and two bathrooms on the bottom floor that were given to Narcissa, Remus and Teddy, Sirius, and Molly and Arthur. They broke off from the group and went into their respective rooms with their belongings. The rest followed Molly up the new spiral stairs to the rest of the house. There was another common area, it looked exactly like the one downstairs except it was a little smaller. There were three bathrooms and 8 bedrooms around the common area. Ginny and Hermione were given a room followed by Ron and Harry, Fred and George, Percy, Bill and Fleur, Charlie, and Draco and Blaise. Again, everyone went to inspect their new rooms and again they were very similar to before. Hermione was pleased to see that the major change was just size. But she couldn't stay in her room right now. She made her way outside and looked around. The house was no longer a leaning tower. In fact, it looked like a normal two-story family home. The grounds still looked the same. She saw the lake and the gardens in the distance and let herself breathe.
"It's all over." She whispered.
"Yes, it is. We're going to be okay. All of us." Fred walked up behind her and rested his head on hers.
"So, Mr. Weasley. What are you going to do now? Will you re-open the joke shop?"
He laughed. "Well, of course, Miss. Granger. Is that even a question? Me and Georgie are going tomorrow to start cleaning up."
"Tomorrow? Already? Are you sure you don't want to take a few days and relax?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No we both miss it too much. Besides we need to bring some laughter back. Everyone is happy right now, but it will sink in eventually what we all went through. Especially with all the funerals coming up. We just want to try and brighten up people's lives if we can."
"That's brilliant. You two are something special."
"What about you? Any plans yet?"
She shook her head. "I have no idea. I need to figure out something about finishing school and even then I have no idea what I want to do. But one thing I will do is get back my parents. I took their memories of me and sent them to Australia before I left to hunt Horcruxes with the boys. I'm going to talk to Kinglsey tomorrow about tracking them down and restoring them."
"Do you think that I could meet them? After their memories are back and they're settled back home?" He asked.
"I'd really like that." Hermione said.
He smiled into her hair. "There is one other thing that I want to do now that it's all over. There's this witch that I've known for a long time. She admitted she fancies me and we talked about a date. So now I have to plan something to knock her socks off."
"Well good luck with that." She laughed. "I'm sure she'll be putty in your hands."
"Let's go inside now, love. You need to sleep. We all need to sleep."
She nodded and followed him back inside, going straight to her room. She laid down and fell asleep almost instantly. It was the first time in over a year that she fell asleep without fear hanging over her.
HGFW
When she woke up, she heard bustling around downstairs. She looked at her watch and jumped up. It was 2 pm, she slept for 16 hours! She threw on some clothes and joined everyone downstairs for lunch.
"Oh, Hermione I'm so glad you're up. I wanted to wake you for lunch but I knew you needed rest." Molly said. "Here have a plate."
She noticed Kingsley sitting down further at the table. Good, she thought. She would talk to him today. She didn't realize how hungry she was until she went to take another bite of food and she had none left. She went in for seconds and laughed when everyone looked at her.
"I don't think I've ever seen you go for seconds." George said.
She shrugged and Molly scolded her son. "Just let her eat, George!"
As soon as she was done, she shot a glance at Kingsley and then looked at Fred beside her. He caught her glance at Kingsley and nodded in understanding. He gave her knee a quick squeeze before she got up and asked Kingsley for a minute of his time.
"What can I do for you, Miss. Granger?"
"Well, King...I'm not sure if you can help me or not. Before I left with Harry and Ron, I obliviated my parents. I wanted to make sure they didn't know who I was to try and protect them. Then I sent them to Australia. But now with everything over..."
"You want them back?" Kingsley finished.
She nodded. "I know that restoring memories can be tricky and I think I could do it. But, I just don't want to risk messing up. This is too important."
The older man nodded. "I would love to help bring your family back. I do have quite a bit to take care of at the ministry right now though. We have to get everything back in order and make sure there are people that we can trust working there. But I have an idea if it's okay with you."
She nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"Sirius' name will finally be cleared and I have offered him a position as an auror. I'd like to assign him this task. We know we can trust him and he can focus on that, while I rebuild the Ministry."
"Thank you so much, King. I appreciate it. And if anyone can do it, it's Sirius. I trust him."
"It's the least that I can do. Between Sirius and me, we'll make sure to update you on the progress."
She couldn't help but grin as he walked away. Things would be good again. No longer did anyone have to live in fear and on edge. She has her friends and family here and her parents would be back. She would be complete for the first time in years.