Author's note: Thanks to all three people who reviewed! Especially Evilia, my beta. I forgot a disclaimer last time, so now I'll just disclaim both parts.
Disclaimer: Nothing's mine. Not making any money. Don't sue.
Hermione slowly opened her eyes. The room was filled with a thick red smoke, and briefly, absurdly, she thought she must be in hell. Slowly, the cloud began to dissipate as a small breeze blew through, and patches of the room became visible. The tendrils of smoke revealed an arm here, a leg there, the occasional hand gripping a wandbut nothing moved. A few seconds later, when Lucius Malfoy's frozen, unblinking eyes peered back at her through the fog, she realized why. They were all dead.
Hermione quickly bent down to check on Ron. He was still unconscious, but to her infinite relief, alive. When she looked up again, Draco Malfoy was standing in front of her. She held her breath, sure that he would kill her now. Warily, she stood to face him. "Is he all right?" he asked, gesturing to Ron. Hermione simply nodded, too confused to find any words.
"Ventorum," said Draco, and a strong wind cleared all remaining smoke from the room. Hermione gasped to see the full extent of the havoc he had wrought upon the Death Eaters. Every last corpse wore a shocked expression on its face and a large hole in its chest from Draco's curse. Even the Dark Lord, still sitting in his throne, sported a smoking wound where his black heart should have been. She stared at Draco in consternation.
He shifted self-consciously under her scrutiny. "Really, Granger," he muttered in a half-hearted attempt at levity, "You used to be much more vocal than this." His eyes softened with concern, "You aren't hurt, or anything, are you?"
Hermione shook her head slowly. "No, I'm fine," she murmured, "thanks to youit's justare you sure you're Draco Malfoy?" she blurted out. Then she blushed, aghast at her rudeness.
He grinned suddenly, and Hermione's heart nearly stopped. He really had grown into a breathtakingly handsome man. The devilish gleam in his eye seemed to warm the whole room as he responded, "The famous bouncing ferret of Hogwarts, at your service."
Hermione nearly giggled, then caught herself, horrified. Harry had been dead for scarcely two weeks, and here she was, practically flirting with Draco Malfoy of all people! Shame filled her. How could she be so faithless to the man she loved?
Sensing the change in her mood, Draco said, "I'm sorry. I know this is hardly the time or the place for jokes. We should leave." Then he looked at Ron, still sprawled on the floor, "Can you move him?"
Hermione held out her hands, palms up, and shrugged. "No wand."
"Right. I think I know where they put it. Wait here." He handed his wand to her. "Take this and see if you can do anything for him. I'll be right back." And with that he left. Hermione knelt beside Ron and, using Draco's wand, tried to heal the wound on his head.
A loud scraping noise echoed through the room, and she froze. "Draco?" she called, "Is that you?" No one answered, and she turned back to Ron. Moments later she heard a sharp crackling noise and saw a flash of movement from the corner of her eye. Hermione jumped to her feet and whirled around, wand at the ready.
"Expelliarmus!" hissed a voice, and Draco's wand jumped from her hand. Voldemort stood before her, the gaping wound in his chest still smoking. He was weakened, but very much alive. "Stupidwhore!" he wheezed, "I can not be killed so easily." He advanced slowly, but Hermione stood her ground, refusing to abandon Ron.
Draco suddenly appeared in the doorway behind the Dark Lord, and Hermione's heart leapt in joy. Then it plummeted to the very soles of her shoes as she realized that he hadn't found her wand. He was unarmed.
Voldemort noticed the shift in Hermione's attention and spun around to face Draco. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. He lifted his wand, a curse already at his lips. Draco, desperate, grabbed a sword from a nearby suit of armor and swung it at the Dark Lord. The heavy blade passed through his neck as easily as if it were butter. It seemed like an eternity before his head hit the floor with a sickening thud. Voldemort's wand fired off towards the ceiling, where the curse ignited the banners hanging there. In moments, the great hall was a raging inferno.
"We have to leave now!" yelled Draco.
"Wait!" Hermione yelled back, "I have to help Ron!" She ran over to Voldemort and pried Draco's wand from his fingers. She quickly cast a levitating spell as Draco pulled her from the building. They ran away from Hogwarts with Ron floating along behind.
Flames poured from every window of the school and the stone walls began to crumble. Soon, the building was barely recognizable, a testament to the power of the Dark Lord's final curse.
So much had happened so quickly, that even Hermione's agile mind couldn't process it all. She was exhausted in both body and spirit, but convoluted thoughts and worries kept racing through her mind. Unable to cope any longer, Hermione fainted, still wondering what could possibly happen next.
A/N: Please Review. Any and all comments are welcome.