TWENTY-THREE

Thursday, 14 April 2005

Hermione tried her best to relax her stance; to eliminate any potential vibes of imposing a threat. She could see the fear in Ginny's eyes beneath the bravery as she took in the state of Hermione's appearance. Between her disheveled clothing, tangled curls, and a face streaked with more than just tears she was quite the sight. Even without looking at herself in the mirror, Hermione knew that. Despite the tremble in her body from her own fear, she tried her hardest to keep her voice level when she spoke.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, taking another half step forward. "About Ron. A-about-"

"I forgive you."

Ginny's declaration nearly brought Hermione to her knees.

"Ginny-"

"I didn't always," she interrupted, her eyes darting towards the door for a second. "I'm still not a hundred percent sure that I do," she added, holding Hermione's gaze. "But I realize I'm not leaving this place alive."

Fresh tears slid down Hermione's cheeks as she looked away to hide her shame. There was no need for her to try and pretend that that wasn't the case.

"I heard what you did for Charlie."

Hermione wiped at her cheeks and tentatively looked back at Ginny. A small part of her was relieved at the way her stance had softened slightly.

"You weren't supposed to be there. Neither of you were, but…" her voice trailed off and Hermione saw the flicker of emotions in her eyes. "Thank you."

Hermione nodded, stunned to hear that. She had never thought she would hear Ginny speak again, let alone hear those words from her. Not after everything she had done. "I didn't know," she whispered, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "When Ron-"

"I know, Hermione."

Hermione straightened her stance a bit as she searched Ginny's gaze. Her own eyes went wide with realization; Ginny knew.

"Draco told me," she said, confirming Hermione's thoughts. Her gaze softened ever so slightly and she relaxed another fraction. "He told me everything. It's how I know I'm not getting out of here alive. I got stunned and Draco refused to leave me behind. I'm not sure how many others made it out, but I know that if it's just the two of us, the Dark Lord will let him live. Not me."

"I won't let him kill you."

The determination that rolled off of Ginny almost had Hermione stumbling back. "I know," she whispered, a sad smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "You do."

Hermione couldn't stop her jaw from dropping or the way her magic fared to life, turning the air around them to static. "What?"

"You have to be the one to do it."

She shook her head rapidly as her chest tightened under the weight of realization. "I can't-"

"You have to," Ginny cut in, her voice harsh. Her gaze flickered towards the door behind Hermione again. When her gaze reconnected with Hermione's, she stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Hermione. Sorry for how angry I've been at you all this time. It was easier to hate you than it was to think of the circumstances that would have put you in the position you're in. I was so blinded by grief that I didn't even consider the fact that you might be-" She cut herself off and shook her head as if to clear it. "It could have been Buckingham Palace, but a cage is still a cage and I'm sorry I didn't come to that conclusion sooner."

Hermione was speechless at the sight of a single tear tracking its way down Ginny's cheek.

"Had I realized it sooner, I would have done something. I would have come for you; tried to get you out." She swallowed hard and Hermione saw the way her eyes began to beg for forgiveness. "Deal with the Dark Lord or not, I would have gotten you out. Even if I died trying. We should have helped you and instead we just… We just turned our backs on you."

More tears began to flow down both their faces, but it didn't stop either of them from moving forward. The moment they clashed, Hermione clung to her. Words of askance and forgiveness flowed freely from both of them as they embraced. They had never been the best of friends before, but it didn't matter in that moment. Ginny was a lifeline she hadn't known she needed until then. One she knew she wouldn't have much longer.

"We don't have much time," Ginny said as she pulled away first, her gaze darted to the door yet again. "Hermione, you have-"

"I am not killing you," Hermione insisted.

"He's already possessed me once," Ginny said, reminding her of Hermione's second year; Ginny's first. Hermione had been petrified at the time, but she had woken to find that Ginny had been the vessel for Riddle to enact all those heinous crimes. Hermione flinched with guilt from nearly having forgotten about that. "He's not doing it again."

"He won't."

"He's already insinuated that he would," Ginny said, grabbing Hermione by the shoulders. "I can't go through that again, Hermione. I won't-" She choked on a sob as her eyes went wide in fear. "There's only one way to prevent that from happening. Please."

Hermione shook her head and tried to pry herself out of Ginny's grasp, but she only held on tighter.

"You're the only other person who knows what it's like," she pressed. "To have him inside your head. To have him make you do things you would never do. To be present as he uses your body to do his biding and you just sit there watching helplessly because there's nothing you can do about it."

Hermione did tear herself away then and turned her back to Ginny.

"I never stood a chance against him. I was weak and he nearly killed me." Hermione squeezed her eyes shut at the sound of Ginny's voice breaking. "But you can. He cares for you so much that you're the only one who can fight him, Hermione."

Her own sob cut through the room as Ginny's hand settled on her shoulder from behind.

"Don't let him use me again, Hermione. Don't let him win." She stepped around until she was able to hold Hermione's gaze with her own again. "Kill me. Take me out of the equation and then take him down for both of us. For every single person he's destroyed on his quest for power." Her lips curved up into a small smile as tears continued to gloss her cheeks. "I'll get to see Harry again. I can finally tell him that I love him."

Deep down, Hermione knew it was the right thing to do. That since Riddle had only promised to spare Draco's life, he would put Ginny through the ringer. Given that she was a Pureblood blood traitor, she would be subjected to the worst. Combined with Riddle's fascination with her from using his diary way back when, Hermione was left with no choice.

She moved forward again, wrapping her arms around Ginny once more. "I'm so sorry."

"Tell Draco it wasn't his fault," Ginny breathed as she held on tight.

Hermione knew if she opened her mouth again, she would break. That it would get to the point of not being able to go through with the plan. Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut and reigned in her emotions as best she could. With a deep breath, she concentrated on her magic; on refocusing it from in the air around them to surrounding Ginny.

She thought back to the night on the Astronomy Tower long ago when she had made her Horcrux. How she had used her magic to seek out Kerus' core from deep within. She heard Ginny's breath catch as Hermione found it. The union of their magics made her skin tingle. The Grey magic coiled around Ginny's core, tugging it up until she could practically see it in her mind's eye.

With one last mutual squeeze, the core severed and Ginny went limp in her arms.

Of all the people she had killed, Ginny had gotten the least amount of pain. But for Hermione, it was the worst one yet.

Her legs gave out and she fell to the floor with Ginny still in her arms. She held her close and buried her face into the wild red tresses of her hair as she sobbed. She was certain that her soul had fractured, but seeing as how she had no place to put it, her Grey magic pieced it back together. She was sure she felt it manifest in a chill that started in her chest and spread through the rest of her body like rippling water.

She had been too lost in her own mind over her grief that she hadn't heard the door open. Hadn't noticed Riddle's presence in the room or her mind until he wrenched her to her feet. Since her arms were too weak, Ginny's body fell out of her grasp as Hermione went up. It landed in an ungraceful heap at Hermione's feet and the sight brought forth a wave of nausea.

"That is twice now you have killed a prisoner without the instruction to do so," he stated, staring down at her with contempt. "I had plans for her."

Anger slammed into her like a hippogriff. It gave her a renewed sense of strength and she pulled away from him. She caught herself mid-stumble and met his gaze; seething. "If those plans were anything like what you once did to me then I did her a favor."

"A favor you were not permitted-"

He had reached for her, intending to yank her back to his side, but her magic flared to protect her. The moment his hand shot out, it surged, pushing him back against the wall by the door. His eyes went wide for a moment in surprise before narrowing in his own anger. "What happened to being equals?" she snapped, her voice trembling. "Have I not given up everything to prove myself? Have you forgotten that my magic is more powerful than yours? That if I really wanted, I could take everything from you?"

She took a step towards him without thinking and he did the same. Their magics clashed and the ground beneath her feet rumbled.

"If you were truly my equal, you would not have cared what happened to her," he countered.

"If you cared about me, you would know that I will always protect those I love. Nothing you say or do to me will ever change that." She pushed forward with her magic again and watched him struggle against the crushing weight of it. She was vaguely aware of the crack forming in the wall behind him.

"You agreed to my terms, Hermione. Draco was the only life I agreed to spare." His magic lashed out and overpowered hers, sending her to her knees. She landed hard next to Ginny's body and hissed at the pain. "I have gone above and beyond for you. You. A Mudblood. I let you in. Let you change my beliefs. Let you change me."

She sat back to look up at him as he approached; his magic having overpowered hers. She watched him move as though he were wading through water to get to her. Watched as he snarled every word at her until he sank to her level and held her gaze; his eyes blackened with rage as he spoke.

"You betrayed our agreement having barely just made it and still, I took you back. What you went through when I found you again was a punishment. One that you deserved for breaking your promise to me. I have upheld my side of our deal at every turn. I have given you all sorts of freedoms. I let you do as you please. I gave you everything you asked for, leaving you wanting for nothing and it is never enough!"

He struck then, his fingers curling around her throat. Her vision spotted immediately, but she was trying too hard to keep his magic from crushing her that she was too exhausted to fight back. All she could do was hold his gaze as he squeezed.

"You have always come to me of your own free will. Not once have I ever taken anything from you. If you want to play the victim to the world, fine, but I know better. You know better."

He pulled her closer and her vision swam as her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen. It wasn't just his breath that fanned over her face as he spoke; it was spittle too. Another testament to his anger.

"You can pretend for all of them, but you wanted this, Hermione. You chose this. If that were no longer the case, you would have used your magic long ago to break free of me."

He dropped her suddenly. She clutched at her throat as she sprawled on the floor. Her lungs continued to burn as she gulped for air. She kept her eyes closed until she was sure she could see straight again.

"You want your freedom so bad, Hermione. Take it," he dared her.

She looked up at him then. Her arms shook as she pushed herself up enough to see. He was standing before her with his arms spread out in invitation. His magic was no longer trying to crush her and it was gone from the air as if he had pulled it back entirely. Hers was still there, waiting for her to decide what to do. The necklace pulsed at her throat, reminding her of what she had to do before she could break free. It was that moment of indecision that made Riddle's gaze brighten with triumph.

"I thought so," he said, reaching for her again.

This time, when he made contact with her, her magic took on a life of its own. She had no control over the force of which it burst out of her. It knocked him through the wall and the aftershock caused the other walls to display signs of crumbling. By the time she realized what had happened, debris from the ceiling were raining down on her. Being too weak to move, she could do nothing to stop the chunk that fell. She didn't even have the opportunity to scream before it hit her and everything went dark.