A/N - Hey everyone! I've done things a little differently this chapter. So far everything has been from either Hermione or Lucius' point of view. This chapter has a variety of different POV's given there was so much going on. There is a bit of overlap right at the beginning from the end of last chapter. This will probably be the case for the next couple of chapters for, well, reasons. Enjoy and thanks for reading and reviewing!

Chapter 41

Fulfilling the Prophecy

Draco watched as his father began to convulse. Granger was attempting to hold him down and finally Severus poured a potion down his throat. The convulsions settled to small twitches.

"Draco be ready," Severus said and Draco forced his attention back to the task at hand. He stood ready with the box and his wand but Granger was still sitting there, cradling his father's head. Draco had no idea what the piece of soul would do if his father were able to expel it but it couldn't be smart for her to be sitting so close to him when it happened. Then, his father's body lurched upwards.

"Granger get out of the way!" Draco shouted. Shacklebolt grabbed her arm but she refused to move. There was a scream like Draco had never heard and then he saw it. A bit of black floating out of his father's chest.

"Fuck!" Draco shouted, knowing what was going to happen before it did. He furiously began to cast the containment curse as Severus dropped his Disillusionment and grabbed Granger's other arm. He and Shacklebolt yanked her backwards but it was too late. The bit of black, the remaining piece of the Dark Lord's soul, pushed into Granger's chest and she collapsed.

Draco rushed to where Severus and Shacklebolt had laid Granger on the ground.

"I tried to cast the spell," Draco said. "She was too close and it was too fast."

"I should have moved her myself," Shacklebolt said shaking his head and swearing under his breath. "She barely weighs anything. I could have easily moved her."

"What are we going to do?" Draco asked.

"Check your father," Severus said waving his wand over Granger and frowning. Draco turned back to his father. He was breathing normally and appeared to just be unconscious but Draco didn't know any diagnostics.

"We can take her to Poppy," Shacklebolt said but Severus shook his head.

"It would not be wise to give the Dark Lord more targets. Especially those that are injured and likely unable to protect themselves."

"We've got to move them somewhere," Shacklebolt said. "We're too exposed here." Draco looked around and realized the fighting was a lot closer to them than it had been. He couldn't tell who was winning, there were spells flying everywhere.

"Back to the trees," Severus said, indicating where Shacklebolt, Weasley and Granger had been hiding at the beginning. "Draco, keep us shielded." Draco nodded, casting a shield and Shacklebolt levitated Granger and Severus took Draco's father. They were settled behind the trees in mere moments, those fighting too involved to even notice.

"Even though we are relatively hidden here, keep up the shield," Severus instructed. He quickly ran a diagnostic over Draco's father and then handed him a vial. "For the pain when he wakes." Draco nodded and tucked the vial in his pocket.

"How's Granger?"

"I do not know," Severus said. "She is alive but we have no idea what is going on in her head." Draco cursed himself again for not being faster. "It is not your fault, Draco. She was too close." Draco nodded but it didn't make him feel any less guilty. Severus returned to Granger's side and Draco cast his shield, keeping watch over all of them.

Ron's wand slashed through the air as he cast another cutting curse at another Death Eater. He had lost count of how many he had taken down. Ron had a cut on his shoulder and he was relatively certain that his left wrist was sprained at the very least. It was a good thing he was right handed. He had also twisted his right ankle, but he didn't let any of that stop him. They had to finish this.

After a bit of help from one of their flyers in the air, the Death Eater hit the ground with a thud. Ron stunned and bound him, not caring if he were dead or not. One less to deal with. Ron looked around and saw his mother dueling fiercely. Ron hurried towards her, intending to help but before he could reach her, the Death Eater pitched forward to the ground. When Ron reached them, he realized it was Alecto Carrow. Ron's mother spat in Carrow's face and then kicked her in the side for good measure.

"This is for my son," she snarled before sending a slicing hex at the woman's face. "And his wife!" She cast another slicing hex, this one perilously close to Carrow's neck.

"Mum," Ron said, grabbing his mother's wand arm before she could do anything else. His mother looked up at him, her eyes wild with rage.

"Let go of me!" his mother hissed.

"We need her, Mum. She has to tell us where Bill and Fleur are," Ron said. Killing in the midst of battle was one thing, but Ron knew that this was something different. Carrow was helpless on the ground and while he would like to kill the bitch himself, they did need her.

"Duck!" someone yelled and Ron pulled both of them to the ground, casting a shield as he did so.

"All right?" Ron asked and his mother nodded. There were tears in her eyes and Ron thought again that maybe this was too much for her. "Maybe you should go help Poppy."

"No," his mother said. "I'm fine."

"Mum," Ron began but she shook her head.

"This is for all of them, Ron. Everyone they took from us. I have to do this for them." Ron stared at her for a few moments. The tears were gone, replace by determination. He nodded and they got to their feet, diving back into the fight.

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief as Ron stunned and bound the Death Eater. She had helped him out a bit from the air, although Ron would likely have had it well in hand. Ginny then turned to see her mother battling Alecto Carrow. The sight of that bitch that had caused so much pain to so many of her classmates, not to mention whatever she and her sadistic brother had been putting Bill and Fleur through, set the blood in her veins boiling. Ginny sped towards her, intending to mete out a little of her own justice when the Death Eater crashed to the ground.

She saw her mother spit in Carrow's face and then kick her side. Ginny heard what her mother said and pointed her wand intending to add to the pain. And then her mother cast a slicing hex at Carrow's cheek and another near her neck. Ginny was waiting for the blood to flow when Ron put a hand on their mother's arm, stopping her.

The initial fury she felt at Ron not allowing her mother to finish the woman off quieted when she heard his reasoning. Ginny hadn't seen Amycus anywhere, although given that she had been relegated to a certain section of the estate, that didn't really mean anything. But if he were dead, they would need Alecto to find Bill and Fleur. That didn't mean that she had to live after that though.

From the corner of her eye, Ginny saw another Death Eater advancing towards Ron and her mother. He raised his wand to fire at them. Ginny cast a curse but her aim was off. It distracted him long enough, however, that she could warn Ron.

"Duck!" she yelled just as the Death Eater fired off the Killing Curse. Ron and their mother hit the ground seconds before it reached them. Ginny threw a blasting curse at the Death Eater. He flew through the air and hit the ground, not moving. Nodding in satisfaction, she saw Ron pull their mother to her feet and the two rejoined the battle.

Ginny continued her perusal of the ground below, knowing that Ron would keep their mother safe. Everywhere she looked the Resistance appeared to be defeating yet another opponent. Looking at the bodies littering the ground, most of them appeared to be Death Eaters. Not all of them though.

Ginny sped towards the ground when she realized that Parvati lay a few feet away. She was bleeding from a cut on her forehead and her leg was twisted at an odd angle. Landing next to the other woman, Ginny quickly immobilized and then Disillusioned her. She cast a feather-weight charm and managed to get Parvati across her broom, casting a sticking charm to keep her there until she could get her to Madame Pomfrey. Kicking off the ground, Ginny sped towards the forest as fast as she could.

He was in her head. She should have listened to Draco and moved. Shit.

Well, she would just have to do what Lucius did. Hermione knew she had plenty of memories she could use, probably more than Lucius, actually. She started when she was a little girl, remembering snuggling up with her dad on the couch while he read to her. The memory only lasted seconds before it was shoved aside for one where her dad was scolding her for playing with some of his tools in the garage after she'd been told not to. Hermione was crying and she remembered that she'd been put to bed without a story that evening, the worst punishment for a five year-old Hermione.

Wondering how it had morphed so quickly, Hermione pulled a memory of making Christmas biscuits with her mother when she was six. Her mum had let her use the electric mixer, helping hold it of course, but Hermione had felt very grown up. As quickly as it started, however, the memory changed to a bit later that same afternoon when Hermione had burned her hand on a hot pan.

Every memory that she tried to show him, it seemed that Voldemort brushed it aside for another. Always something painful or upsetting. Hermione realized that he was just following the threads of the initial memories to others that wouldn't bother him to see. In fact, he probably enjoyed seeing her punished or in pain.

She attempted to erect some Occlumency shields but she hadn't practiced nearly enough and Voldemort had easily pushed his way through them. Retreating further into her mind, Hermione knew she had to come up with a different strategy. She let Voldemort rifle his way through whatever memories he liked while she quietly walled herself off in a small corner of her mind.

It was obvious that she was going to have to hit him with more than one memory at a time. She was going to have to try and gather as many loving memories as she could and then push them at him all at once. Maybe that would be enough to force him out. She just hoped that this time, no one made the same mistake she had.

Kingsley looked down at Hermione helplessly. He couldn't believe this had happened. They had planned everything so carefully; she should have been nowhere near Lucius when he was fighting Yaxley and Voldemort.

Although, he should not have been surprised after his suspicions had been confirmed earlier. He was not going to lie and say he hadn't been completely shocked. More so that Lucius seemed to be just as invested in the relationship as Hermione was. Who would have ever thought that Lucius Malfoy would not only be involved with a Muggle-born witch, but be in love with her as well? And if there was one thing he knew about Hermione, it was that she would do anything to protect those that she loved. He should have expected that she would go to Lucius' aid when he was fighting Voldemort's soul.

Kingsley did wonder how all of this had come about and just when Lucius had had a complete reversal of everything he had spouted for years. And why would Hermione give him a chance in the first place? He wondered if it had something to do with the prophecy.

Brushing those thoughts aside as unimportant at the moment, Kingsley turned back to Hermione. They had cast an Incarcerous on her as soon as they'd moved her. Which was a good thing because as soon as her eyes had opened, they knew they were dealing with Voldemort and not Hermione.

"Can you tell if she's still there?" Kingsley asked Severus quietly as Hermione attempted to get out of the ropes. Kingsley strengthened the spell. They last thing they needed was for her to escape.

"No," Severus said. They had both run all of the diagnostics they knew, but there was no way to determine if Hermione's soul was still intact or even in her body any longer. Kingsley thought it likely, Voldemort had possessed Harry after the Department of Mysteries and this seemed similar.

"How can we help her?" Kingsley asked. Hermione began to laugh, sounding nothing like herself.

"We cannot," Severus said and Kingsley thought he could hear a tinge of sadness in the other man's voice. "It is up to her."

Kingsley looked back down at her. She grinned up at him and bared her teeth. Merlin, please let her have the strength to do this.

Lucius groaned and brought a hand to his forehead. His head was pounding and his body felt like he had gone a few rounds with a rampaging Hippogriff. A vial was pressed against his lips as a hand slid under his neck to prop his head up. He swallowed gratefully and the pain began to recede. He was just so tired. He felt as if he could sleep for a month. But he forced his eyes open and when he did, he was staring at Draco.

"Did it work?" he asked. Draco said nothing and Lucius' brow furrowed at the look in his son's eyes. "Draco?"

It was then that Lucius became aware of a flurry of activity around him. The battle was still going on, although it looked as if the Resistance was winning. Lucius propped himself up on his elbows and saw that he was now behind the trees where Shacklebolt, Weasley and Hermione had hidden.

Lucius turned his head to the right and saw Severus and Shacklebolt bent over someone lying on the ground. Lucius attempted to rise but Draco put a hand to his chest. At the same time, a spell hit the trunk of one of the trees and both men ducked. Draco peered around the trunk and then cast a cutting curse. There was a scream and a thud. Draco turned back to Lucius.

"Carrow," he said. "Lost his wand arm." Draco did not look sorry and Lucius was not bothered in the least.

"What happened to Yaxley?" Lucius asked, managing to sit up although his vision swam for a few moments. "And the Dark Lord?"

"Yaxley is stunned and bound with the others," Draco said.

"And the Dark Lord?" Lucius asked. "I no longer feel him." Lucius rubbed at his forehead. Truthfully, Lucius was surprised he was not only still conscious but coherent as well. For a time, he thought sure he would go mad with the pain. Yaxley had battered at Lucius' Occlumency defenses when Lucius began bombarding him with the memories. Lucius had known the moment that the Dark Lord's soul had split from Yaxley's. The battering had lessened, the bit of the Dark Lord's soul not having as much strength without Yaxley. However, it had fought mightily to get out of Lucius' head and Lucius had mercifully blacked out at that point.

"The bit of the Dark Lord's soul finally fought its way free," Draco said.

"You contained it?" Lucius asked.

"I," Draco began, then looked away. "I was ready. I had the box but-"

"Draco," Lucius said, starting to panic. He looked over to Severus again. "Draco who is that with Severus and Shacklebolt?"

"Father, I," Draco said, but trailed off again. And then Severus shifted and Lucius saw a mass of curly hair. He immediately lurched to his feet. He swayed for a moment as he attempted to regain his equilibrium.

"Father!" Draco called after him but Lucius ignored him, staggering to where Hermione lay on the ground. He dropped to his knees beside her, panting heavily even after such a short walk. He ignored that and focused on the woman on the ground.

Both Severus and Shacklebolt had their wands trained on her. She was grinning maniacally, her eyes flashing with malice. Lucius saw that she was bound, only her head able to move.

"Hermione," he said and she turned to look at him.

"Lucius," she replied, her voice hissing out the final 's'. Lucius glanced sharply at the other two men. Both looked grim.

"What," Lucius began, unable to voice his fear.

"She was too close to you when the Dark Lord's soul escaped," Severus said.

"No," Lucius whispered realizing now what had happened.

"Draco cast the containment spell and we tried to pull her away but it was too late," Shacklebolt said. Lucius looked down at Hermione again and she began to laugh. It sounded nothing like her.

"You thought you could outsmart me," Hermione said, still grinning that evil grin. "And now look what has happened. I have your Mudblood, Lucius."

"Get out of her!" Lucius roared.

"While I do not think much of the vessel," Hermione said conversationally looking down at her own body, "I am afraid I have to decline." She laughed again.

"What can we do?" he asked looking back to Severus and Shacklebolt. The two glanced at one another and then back to Lucius.

"We cannot let him live," Severus said.

"I know that," Lucius snapped. "So how do we get him out of her?" Shacklebolt looked away but Severus continued to hold Lucius' gaze.

"No!" Lucius said immediately. "No!"

"It worked with Potter," Severus said.

"That does not mean it would work the same way again," Lucius retorted. "No, I will not allow it." He turned to Shacklebolt. "Surely, you cannot mean to do this?"

"Of course, I don't want to do this!" Shacklebolt snapped and Lucius could see the anger and sadness in his eyes. "But Hermione would be the first to tell you that he cannot be allowed to live. And inside of her? She would kill herself before she allowed that to happen." Hermione began to laugh again.

"Oh yes, she is quite upset that I have taken up residence," she said. Lucius grabbed on to this piece of information. If the Dark Lord knew that Hermione was upset then she was still in there somewhere and Lucius might be able to reach her. If he could, if she could start forcing the same kind of memories forward, then she could expel him just as Lucius had.

"Hermione," he said, turning back to her. "Hermione, listen to me."

"Hermione," she mocked. "Hermione is no longer home, Lucius. I am in charge here now." Lucius ignored him and covered Hermione's hand with one of his own. Given she was bound, she could not throw his hand off, although the Dark Lord looked disgusted at Lucius' touch. Shacklebolt was watching but Lucius couldn't find it in himself to care.

Lucius began to slowly run his fingers over the back of Hermione's hand. With his other, he brushed the curls out of her face. She grimaced.

"Listen to me, love," he said the first time he had used any term of endearment with her. "You can fight him. You can do what I did. I know you can." She tried to turn her head away, but Severus, knowing what Lucius was attempting to do, immobilized her head as well. She was forced to lie there and accept Lucius' gentle touches, his loving looks.

"Show him, Hermione," Lucius continued. She snarled. "You can do this, my darling."

"She can do nothing!" the Dark Lord roared. Lucius saw Hermione's eyes tinge red. "She is too weak, hiding away in a corner of her mind. The moment she realized I was with her, she fled, hid."

"Hermione would never hide," Kingsley said forcefully. "She would fight you with every breath in her body." Hermione's lips pulled back in a sneer.

"Sorry to disappoint," she said with a grin.

"If she is hiding it is only because she is gathering her strength to force you out," Lucius said. Hermione began to laugh again, the sound cutting through Lucius like a knife.

"The only way to be rid of me is to kill me," she said.

"Hermione," Lucius said ignoring that last remark. "You are so much more powerful than he is. And you know why." He gripped her hand and stared into her eyes. "You can do this."

"When are you going to realize, Lucius, that no one is more powerful than I," she said grinning manically.

"I fooled you for years," Severus sneered, speaking directly to the Dark Lord for the first time. "You could not even manage to kill me properly." Hermione bared her teeth in anger.

"Nor could you manage to catch the Resistance despite your many attempts," Kingsley joined in. "A boy barely out of school has been one step ahead of you this entire time, warning us and then deceiving you."

"I have been plotting my revenge since the moment you cursed my wife," Lucius added. "You have taken one woman from me. I will not allow you to take another." With that, ignoring the fact that Severus and Shacklebolt were sitting right next to him, Lucius bent forward and rested his forehead against hers.

"I love you," he said. "More than I thought possible. You must fight, Hermione. You must return to me. Please." And then he kissed her. He ignored the fact that the Dark Lord was in her mind fighting to remain there, ignored the fact that she did not respond to him. He poured all of his love for her into the kiss. When he finally pulled back from her, he looked into her eyes. And for a moment, he could see her there, looking back at him. Then she was gone again and a snarling Dark Lord had taken her place.

"You will never succeed," she said. "You will have to kill me."

"Never," Lucius said. "She will beat you." She began to laugh again, eyes tinging red.

"You are a fool, Lucius," she said. But Lucius merely squeezed her hand again and leaned down to her ear once more.

"I love you," he whispered. "Come back to me."

Ron wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. The cut that grazed his temple was still bleeding. He had lost track of his mother when she took some of the wounded back to Poppy. He hadn't seen Parvati since the beginning and he was worried about her.

Turning to his left, Ron looked around but there didn't appear to be anyone else standing. No Death Eaters anyway. He could see Mr. Patil checking a body on the ground and Charlie was across the lawn levitating a bound Death Eater towards a growing line of them. Ron counted at least ten but was sure there were more scattered around.

Ginny appeared in front of him and Ron hurried forward to hug her. She clung to him for a moment, sucking in a breath.

"You're all right?" he asked, pulling back from her to look her over.

"Burn on my left leg," she said. "It's not that bad though."

"You should go see Poppy," Ron said.

"I'll be fine. Where's Mum?"

"She took a few of the injured back," Ron said.

"Bad?"

"Don't think so," he replied.

"And Charlie?"

"He's over there." Ron pointed to where Charlie was still working.

"Is it really over?" Ginny asked.

"I think so," Ron said. "Doesn't appear to be anyone else left fighting."

"Who did we lose?" Ron sighed.

"Slughorn," he said. They both stood in silence for a moment. Neither had particularly cared for the professor when they had been at Hogwarts, but he had helped Charlie's group immeasurably when they had been in hiding. And he had trained and been just as ready for battle as everyone else. "I don't know if there was anyone else. Have you seen Parvati?" It was Ginny's turn to sigh.

"I took her back to Poppy just after Mum cursed Alecto."

"Is she all right?" Ron asked fearfully.

"She broke her leg and had a cut on her head," Ginny replied. "Mrs. Patil was tending to her when I left. I'm sure she'll be fine." Ron looked back towards the trees wanting to rush back to the make-shift infirmary. But he had to make sure things were taken care of here first.

"What happened with Yaxley?" Ginny asked.

"Don't know," Ron said. "I was just about to head over there." They both turned to where Yaxley and Malfoy had been but they were gone. Ron caught movement from the corner of his eye and frowned. It looked like both Malfoys, Kingsley and Snape were back behind the trees where Kingsley, Charlie and Hermione had hidden at the beginning. Where was Hermione? Ron hadn't seen her for the entirety of the battle.

"Did you see Hermione at all when you were flying?" he asked Ginny. She shook her head.

"I was only on that one part of the grounds though," she said. "She could have been where either Katie or Oliver were."

"Where are Katie and Oliver?" Ron realized he hadn't seen either of them since before Charlie's signal either.

"Katie was hurt," Ginny said. "Oliver took her back to Poppy."

"I suppose we should go check on Mum," Ron said. But they heard someone shouting. It sounded like Hermione, but not at the same time. The siblings looked at one another in confusion.

"Let's go see what's going on," Ron said and they began to walk towards the small stand of trees.

Lucius sat up to look at her. She was still grinning at him with that horrible smile on her face. Lucius felt the hope starting to seep of out him. He grasped her hand again.

"Please, Hermione." A few seconds later, her eyes rolled back into her head. And then, despite the ropes, Hermione's body bowed up from the grass. Lucius reached out for her but Severus grasped his arm.

"No!" he shouted. "This is what happened to you just before he escaped. We cannot give him a chance to get into anyone else." They stood and took a few steps away. And then she began to convulse.

"Hermione!" Lucius shouted and attempted to go back to her side. It took both Severus and Shacklebolt to hold him back.

"Draco!" Severus called. Draco turned from where he had been keeping them shielded. "The box!"

Draco turned and pulled the box from his pocket, looking at Hermione as she writhed and flailed on the grass.

"Keep everyone back," Severus said to Theo as he approached, wiping blood from his forehead. He turned back to a few of the Resistance members who had begun to gather. Lucius vaguely wondered if the fight were over before his attention was drawn back to Hermione. Some of them were calling out, asking questions.

"Charlie, keep them back!" Shacklebolt yelled.

"Let me go, Charlie!" the other Weasley brother shouted. "What's wrong with her?"

Hermione's body bent so far backward, Lucius thought she might snap in half. He did, in fact, hear some kind of pop. And then there was a scream, sounding like nothing Lucius had ever heard before. It was almost inhuman. He struggled against Severus and Shacklebolt but the Auror's arm was like an iron band around Lucius' chest.

After what seemed like an eternity, Hermione slammed back into the ground and a wisp of black shot out of her chest and halfway up the tree. Draco immediately cast the containment spell and the thing, it was the thing that was screaming, was sucked into the copper box. The runes on the sides glowed gold and then there was silence.

Lucius shoved at Shacklebolt's arm and ran back to Hermione. He dropped to the ground beside her. Brushing the curls from her face, he looked down at her but she was so still. He dipped his cheek to her nose and felt the faintest of breaths on his cheek.

"Severus!" Lucius called and Severus hurried to Hermione's other side. Lucius went to pick her up but Severus stopped him.

"We do not know what is wrong with her," he said. He cast a diagnostic and grimaced. Shacklebolt did as well. Lucius had no idea what the diagnostic said, but as an Auror, Shacklebolt was likely more familiar with them.

"She's broken her back and cracked four ribs," Severus said. He was studying the diagnostic hovering in the air and frowning.

"What is it?" Lucius asked.

"I am not sure," Severus said. "But there is something else." He stared hard at the runes shimmering in front of him.

"It's her magic." Lucius looked up to see Poppy Pomfrey standing in front of them. Someone from the Resistance must have fetched her.

"What about her magic?" Lucius asked.

"She's magically exhausted. Whatever she did, she used nearly all her magic to do it."

"But she will be all right," Lucius said.

"She'll need to rest for a few days. We'll have to keep her immobilized for at least twenty-four hours for the vertebral facture to heal anyway, so it's better if we just keep her sedated. Her magic should recover," the mediwitch.

"Should recover?" Lucius questioned.

"She must rest," Poppy replied. "No magic at all for at least five days, limited use for at least another week after that." Lucius felt his gut twist. Keeping Hermione resting for nearly two weeks was not going to be easy, especially with everything that was likely going to be going on now that the Dark Lord was gone.

"I'm going to heal her broken bones and immobilize her," Poppy continued. "And then she needs to be moved."

"You can put her in the manor," Theo said, stepping forward. His forehead was still bleeding and the mediwitch waved her wand at him, healing the cut. He nodded in thanks. Poppy then conjured a stretcher, levitating Hermione on to it. Lucius managed to get himself to his feet, although he still felt extremely weak. Theo led the way inside, Poppy following with the stretcher. Before Lucius could follow, he had an enraged Weasley in his face.

"What the fuck happened, Malfoy?" Ron demanded. "I thought you were the one that was supposed to do this."

"Get out of my way," Lucius hissed.

"I want to know how that fucking thing ended up in my best friend!" Ron shouted. Lucius drew his wand and pointed it at Weasley's face.

"I will give you one more chance to move and then I will make you," he said through gritted teeth.

"Father," Draco said, grabbing Lucius' wand arm.

"Ron, leave it," Charlie said, pulling his brother away. Lucius glared at Ron for another moment before spinning on his heel and following Poppy inside.

Ron stared after Malfoy. He didn't understand what was going on. Why was he so worried about Hermione? And why had he been touching her? Ron had seen him holding Hermione's hand.

"What the fuck is going on, Charlie?" Ron snapped at his brother.

"I don't know," Charlie said. "I got there just before you did."

"Ron," Kingsley said. Ron turned to see Kingsley walking tiredly towards him.

"Kingsley what's happening?" Kingsley sighed and rubbed as his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

"Lucius was successful in trapping Yaxley in his mind and getting their souls to split. When Lucius finally got Voldemort's soul out of his head, Hermione was too close. Draco tried to contain it, but it fled into Hermione instead."

"He possessed her?" Ron asked incredulously.

"Yes," Kingsley replied. "But she managed to expel him and Draco got him trapped."

"So, it's out of her now, right?" Ron asked.

"Yes, but," Kingsley began but Ron interrupted.

"Why the hell was Malfoy touching her?"

"He's worried about her," Kingsley said. Ron's eyes narrowed.

"Why?" he said again.

"This is a discussion for later, Ron," Kingsley said. "It doesn't matter right now."

"No, Kingsley, I want to know what the hell is going on!"

"Hermione nearly drained her magic!" Kingsley shouted. "That's what's going on!" Ron stared at him in shock.

"What?" he whispered. Kingsley sighed.

"I don't know why," he replied. "Lucius seemed fine after he forced Voldemort out. Although he hasn't been checked over. Maybe because Voldemort was actually able to gain control over Hermione. We don't know."

"She's going to be all right though," Ron said. Kingsley sighed.

"Poppy thinks so. But she'll need to rest." Ron turned and ran toward the house.

"Ron!" Charlie shouted behind him, but Ron ignored him. He wanted answers.

Lucius sat next to the bed where they had settled Hermione. He took her hand and brought it to his lips. Severus had gone down to Theo's potions lab to begin brewing the sleeping draughts they would need to keep Hermione sedated. Poppy was healing some minor cuts that Hermione had. Her entire torso and the lower half of her body was now immobilized, only her arms, head, and neck able to move.

"I should check you over," Poppy said when she had finished with Hermione.

"I am fine," he replied.

"You also had him in your head, yes?" Poppy said. Lucius nodded. "Then let me run a scan." Lucius did not feel any different except for the exhaustion. Although, he had no idea if one would even know their magic had been compromised until they tried to cast a spell.

Sitting up in the chair, he let go of Hermione's hand for a moment while Poppy ran her wand over him.

"You're definitely fatigued," she said. "But your magic does not seem to have been adversely affected. Or if it was, it was minor. Something that easily repairs itself."

"Why was she so affected?" he asked.

"I don't know," Poppy replied. She frowned for a moment. "Tell me what happened when his soul left her."

"It did not just leave," Lucius said brow furrowed in thought. "It was almost as if it were ejected from her body. It flew out rather forcefully and quickly as well."

"And from you?" she asked. "Was it the same?"

"I am unsure," Lucius said. "I would need to speak to Draco. Or Severus or Shacklebolt."

"I will ask Draco," she said. "Severus and Kingsley are busy just now." Lucius nodded, attention turning back to the woman on the bed. She left the room to speak to Draco.

"What are you doing?" a voice demanded and Lucius sighed. He looked up at Weasley who was standing in the doorway looking incensed.

"I am sitting with her," he said. "Obviously."

"Get away from her," Ron snapped.

"I will not," Lucius replied.

"Ron," another voice said and Lucius was glad to see Ron's older brother step up behind him. "Come on, Ron. Mum's looking for you."

"No, Charlie, I want to know why he," Ron jabbed a finger in Lucius' direction, "is sitting there holding Hermione's hand."

"If you do not cease making a scene, I will have you barred you from the house," Lucius snapped.

"I'd like to see you try, Malfoy," Ron retorted.

"Ron!" Charlie said, grabbing his brother's arm and spinning him around. "Hermione is unconscious! Stop being a fucking prat."

"What's going on?" Draco asked as he walked up the corridor.

"What the fuck is your father doing with Hermione?" Ron demanded.

"None of your business, Weasley," Draco retorted.

"It damn well is my business! Hermione is my best friend!"

"Then stop acting like such a fucking wanker! I'm sure you're not helping by standing here shouting like an idiot!"

"All of you, stop it this instant!" Poppy shouted as she returned. "This woman is seriously ill. You will stop acting like children immediately or I will have all of you thrown out!"

"Let's go, Ron," Charlie insisted, grabbing Ron's arm and yanking him away from the doorway.

"What the hell, Charlie? You're taking their side?"

"I'm taking Hermione's side," Charlie snapped. "You heard Poppy." The mediwitch stood glaring at the three men in the corridor. Ron scowled at Draco and Lucius but finally allowed himself to be pulled away by his brother. When they were gone, she rounded on Lucius.

"I do not know exactly what is going on here, although I have some idea. If this is going to be a problem, you will not be allowed in here either."

"With all due respect, Madame, you will have to stun me to get me to leave," Lucius said.

"That can be arranged," she replied, hands on her hips. The two stared at one another for a few moments before Lucius finally sighed and nodded. Poppy checked Hermione over once more.

"I have other patients I need to check on," she said. "Can I trust that this little display will not happen again?"

"I have no intention of doing anything to cause harm to Hermione's recovery. You will have to ask Weasley if he feels the same," Lucius said.

"Very well," she said. "I will return later. Send a House elf if anything changes."

"Thank you." He watched the mediwitch walk from the room.

"Father," Draco said, entering once Poppy had gone.

"Are you well, Draco?" Lucius asked.

"I'm fine," Draco replied. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," Lucius answered. He looked up at his son. "What did you tell Poppy?"

"About when the Dark Lord's soul left you?" Lucius nodded.

"It's hard to say," Draco replied. "There was so little time between when it left your body and went into Granger's. It seemed slower though."

"What do you mean?"

"It seemed to sort of float out, I guess. Definitely not as fast as it shot out of Granger. I almost lost it in the trees when it came out of her."

"You did well, Draco," Lucius said but his son shook his head.

"I should have gotten it before it got into her," Draco replied.

"That was not your fault," Lucius said. "She was too close. She should not have been there at all."

"Granger always tries to save those people that she…loves." Lucius froze. Draco sighed. "I know you feel the same, Father. You don't need to deny it."

"I did not intend to," Lucius said quietly. He then looked up at Draco. His son looked a bit pained.

"Draco," but Draco shook his head.

"Mother hasn't even been gone a year."

"I loved your mother, Draco," Lucius said. "Please do not ever doubt that." He sighed and looked down at Hermione. "When I realized what the prophecy required of us, I had no intention of it being anything other than that. I did not expect this to happen, tried to stop it more than once as a matter of fact." He looked up at his son.

"I expect it is similar to how things evolved with Miss Weasley." Draco blushed and Lucius smiled.

"You could say that," Draco replied. He looked at Lucius. "Weasley isn't going to like this at all. He barely tolerates me and he flat out hates you."

"With good reason," Lucius said.

"Even so," Draco said.

"I do not care about Weasley at the moment," Lucius said looking down at Hermione.

"She's going to be all right, Father," Draco said.

"She nearly drained her magic," Lucius said unexpected lump in his throat.

"You know Granger," Draco said. "She's too stubborn not to recover." Lucius smiled faintly.

"What's happening outside?"

"They're taking all the prisoners down to Theo's cellars," Draco said. "Shacklebolt is going to contact an Auror that he trusts. The whole Ministry is going to have to be cleaned out before we can move them there."

"Casualties?" Lucius asked.

"Amycus bled to death after I severed his arm," Draco said, voice hard. "Selwyn is dead too. MacNair is alive but barely. Warrington lost his wand hand but he'll live. More injuries but nothing life-threatening."

"And on the other side?"

"Slughorn," Draco said with a sigh. "And a witch that I didn't know. She graduated Hogwarts a few years before I started. Angelica was her name. She was Muggle-born and on the run when she came across Charlie's group.

There were injuries, of course. Most of them were easily treated, a few more serious but everyone should be all right." Lucius nodded. Overall, given that they were outnumbered, it was a good outcome. The element of surprise had definitely worked in their favor.

"I should go and see how I can help," Draco said after a few minutes of silence.

"All right," Lucius replied.

When Draco had gone, Lucius brought Hermione's hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. He had no intention of leaving her until she was awake.

"Lucius," a voice said and Lucius opened his eyes to see Severus standing above him.

"Is she all right?" Lucius said immediately, sitting up in his chair and looking at Hermione.

"She is fine," Severus said. "Still sedated, still healing." Lucius let out a breath of relief. He had not meant to fall asleep.

"You need sleep," Severus said with a frown.

"I am fine," Lucius said.

"You are not," Severus replied. Lucius ignored him.

"What time is it?"

"Half two in the morning," Severus said.

"Then I have just slept for more than two hours," Lucius said. "I am fine." Severus looked as if he were going to argue but Lucius did not give him the chance. "Any other news?"

"MacNair is still holding on," Severus said in disgust. "Shacklebolt has gotten in touch with Proudfoot. He has gone to meet him to discuss the next steps."

"Any idea what they will be?"

Severus conjured another chair and sat down with a sigh. He tiredly scrubbed a hand down his face.

"I think you are the one that needs sleep," Lucius said. Severus ignored him.

"The Ministry will need to be cleaned out," Severus said. "As far as we are aware, Thicknesse is still under Yaxley's Imperius. And, of course, Umbridge is still there, not to mention all the other sympathizers.

Likely, Shacklebolt and Proudfoot will gather any Aurors and other members of the DMLE who are not loyal to the Dark Lord and begin the arrests. Once all the supporters are out of the DMLE, they can move everyone in the cellar to the Ministry holding cells.

They will need Veritaserum. Either you or Draco will have to return to Malfoy Manor so I can retrieve what I have brewed over the last few months."

"Draco can take you," Lucius said. He was not going to leave Hermione's side. Severus stood with a sigh.

"You should sleep, Lucius. Hermione will be sedated for at least another twenty hours."

"I will sleep later," Lucius said. "I am not going to leave her here alone." Severus stood silently for a moment until Lucius looked up at him.

"There are plenty of others who would sit with her while you rested." Lucius understood the unspoken warning. Hermione's friends would soon be descending and Lucius would have to deal with their questions if he were here.

"I am not leaving her," he said. Severus stared at him for a moment longer and then tipped his head in acknowledgement before leaving the room. Lucius took Hermione's hand once more. Let them come. He had no intention of hiding anything anymore.