Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Hogwarts universe, I earn nothing. I am just playing - with a loving heart and neverending joy.

I have to leave my little island for some days and will be back on tuesday (Hopefully. Mainland scares me).
I don't know if I am able to post something until then. But it will continue! :-)

Chapter 35

While she was running down the hallway Hermione realized that she didn't know if this was still a safe entrance to the castle or if the demon fire had killed not only Crabbe but also her secret way out. She carefully turned around the last corner and noticed the smell of cold smoke. The room was still there, but only a ruin, filled with cold ashes. Merlin knows what magical artifacts were lost here forever.
Hermione shook her head.
'The living' she reminded herself. 'Right now it's about the living.'

She stepped into the castle and immediately heard that the unmistakable sounds of various battles around her. The scream of a familiar voice not far from her alarmed her and she hurried to get there.
It was Lavender, hiding in a corner among the rubble of what had once been her Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. How fitting, thought Hermione, when she recognized the gray mass in front of Lavender, which emitted scornful laughter.

Greyback.

And he was visibly enjoying the situation.
Waves of hatred rushed through Hermione and she did not suppress that feeling. It could only be helpful here at the moment, as long as she kept the reins in hand.
"Greyback!"

Hermione herself didn't know where she got the authority in her voice from. It was as if all of Snape's lessons suddenly came together and another, more experienced Hermione took over. She felt magic streaming in the wand in her hand.
The huge shaggy figure turned in surprise and Hermione looked into the face of Fenrir Greyback.

"I think we still have a score to settle," she said.

The werewolf grinned in amusement

"Look, look. Get in the queue." He glanced at Hermione with a lustful look and moved towards her.

"With whom do I have this brief pleasure?"

"Right, we missed each other so closely the last time," Hermione said, not taking her eyes off him. He wasn't within his dangerous range yet, but she knew he could move and jump very fast.
"I am Hermione Granger."

All false friendliness was gone from the werewolf's face in the blink of an eye and he was just an ugly lump of teeth and growling, which finally brought Lavender to her senses behind him, so that she carefully started moving backwards away from him.
"Granger."
A statement. A promise of particular agony. Wrath sparkled out of the tiny eyes of the less and less human-like being that had once been Fenrir.
"As a matter of fact. We do have a score to settle. And you're gonna pay, you fucking mudblood. When I'm done with you, there will be just enough life left in you to beg me for pardon for getting into my way."

Hermione began to circle around him slowly at a safe distance so that Lavender got out of her line of fire. She clicked her tongue mockingly.
"Such a brave doggy when his master is not around. The only one who has been begging for pardon so far has been you, Greyback, or am I wrong? "

That had been quite an acceptable impersonation of Snape, Hermione noticed in astonishment. And Lavender also stared at her schoolmate in disbelief, who now let the wand slide out of the cloak, clearly visible to Fenrir. She smiled broadly in his face when she saw him recognizing it. Processing the information was apparently quite difficult inside that ugly skull.

"How did you get that wand, you mud-blooded toad," Greyback hissed so uncontrollably that Lavender pressed himself against the wall of the room in fear.

"The toad went and took it, you filthy poodle," Hermione said slowly and in an icy tone.

A lust for murder poured from every pore of Fenrir as he fumed with fury and struggled to maintain a remnant of caution. Just one more little nudge, Hermione thought. The good old doubts about male potency, for example, mixed with a spoonfull of homophobia.

"So, what will you do now? Or did little doggy forget his balls in his masters' asshole? Awww... too bad."

She knew what was coming and everything suddenly went calm inside her. As if in slow motion, she saw the madness surging in Fenrir's eyes as he lunged at her with a roaring growl, disregarding his own protection. She didn't hesitate for a moment.

"Avada Kedavra!"
Her hatred of this creature shone in bright green from Severus' wand and she looked with contempt at Fenrir's last gaze before the misshapen body fell at her feet, lifeless.
Hermione stared at him.

The green of the unforgivable curse still burned in her eyes. She had no illusions - this incident would not simply be shrugged off by her mind and become a memory like any other.
She had killed, deliberately and with hatred, not in defense or in the heat of a combat. Even if she didn't feel much now - it wouldn't stay that way.
From now on, Fenrir would be a part of her for the rest of her life.

She looked at the wand and heard Severus' voice full of bitterness.
'Do you know what it makes of people, this Greater Good?'
Slowly she got an idea what he had been talking about.

"Hermione..." Lavender's trembling voice brought her back into the here and now. Hermione's eyes cleared and she looked at the girl who was staring at her with wide open eyes.
"Did he hurt you, bit you, anything?" Hermione asked.

"No, thank Merlin, no ... Hermione ... without you, he would have ... he would have ..." she began to sob.

"Pull yourself together, Lavender, damn it. Do you have any idea who is where at the moment? Harry? Or Ron? "

"No, we've all been separated," Lavender said and pointed at Hermione's hand.

"Hermione, this… this is Snape's wand. Why do you have Snape's wand? And where does all the blood come from? Are you hurt?"

"No. It's Snape's blood." Hermione said, and Lavender visibly shuddered. "I only borrowed his wand. Long story."

"Did you ... Snape ... I mean ..." Lavender looked at the dead body of Fenrir Greyback.

"Are you mental? Snape would have shredded me to pieces if I'd tried a show like this on him. Besides, he's on our side."

"On our... "

"I know, hard to believe. As I said - long story."

Hermione really didn't feel like explaining the whole thing to Lavender whose brain wouldn't really process a complicated plot like that even under optimal conditions.
And at the moment she even did not seem to function well on a significant lower level. Lavender stared at her, stared at the wand in Hermione's hand and back at her again. Hermione snorted impatiently and was confused to see the classmate backing away from her in fear.

"Lavender, Merlin, what's going on? Come on, let's find the others. It is really too dangerous here on our own."

Lavender swallowed and managed to look away from Snape's wand at last.

"The last time I saw Ron was in the Great Hall." She struggled to keep her composure, at least she was trying to be helpful. "I ... I had to get out of there. So many dead people ... I couldn't. Fred and Tonks and Professor Lupin ... "

Hermione's heart painfully missed a beat. Fred. Happy Fred with that contagious laughter. Gone. That could not be true.
Don't, Hermione. Don't be distracted, she thought.

"Finite incantatem!" The spell by Lavender hit her off guard, but it also had no noteworthy effect.

"What the... Are you crazy, Lavender? Put your wand down, you stupid idiot." Hermione lost her patience. She quickly grabbed the wand and ripped it out of Lavender's hand.

"What's wrong with you? What do you think who I am?"

But Lavender just stared at her, so Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance and gave her wand back.

"I don't have time for such nonsense. Please hold on to yourself until I'm out of the room or come with me, I don't care, I'll go now." She ran past Lavender towards the hall and decided not to think about her strange behavior right now.

She really had to concentrate on more important things.