Chapter 37-Confrontation

Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

Hermione awoke with a start. For a minute she wondered what had happened to wake her up and then she sensed something ELSE in her room. Draco lay asleep beside her, arms protectively around her waist and head tucked between her head and neck. She smiled at him and felt Little Dragon's presence on her balcony. But there was one OTHER being in the room. It smelt of pure evil and Hermione couldn't picture it in her mind, like she could with most other, regular, people. She placed extra shields around to block her mind-speech, ~Little Dragon, there-~ She started. ~I know, hush now. I am calling the other heirs. Wake Draco,~ The husky voice sent waves of urgency to Hermione and she quickly complied.

Hermione shook Draco's shoulder gently. She sensed the THING getting closer by the minute and was shocked that Draco had not woken up yet. She shook harder, and spoke into his mind, trying to wake him. Her attempts were futile, and now IT was by her bed. She realized then that no one would come to her rescue.

Hermione waved her hand and the lights turned on. She was momentarily blinded by the light and used this to her advantage to call her wand to her while still unable to see. The THING was blinded as well, or at least, startled, it had stopped moving when the light was turned on. Hermione looked at the figure of a man by her bedside. She grasped her wand tighter and set a grim face when she realized who it was.

Draco's POV

His dream ended abruptly when he felt something bad in his room. He tried to wake up, and heard a voice that sounded more like a hiss than anything else. He felt Hermione wake up. She was silent and unmoving for a while, and then she shook his shoulder. He tried to wake up, but to no avail. She shook harder and he heard her voice in his mind. He couldn't answer. He was trapped by the evil and unable to save himself, or his love.

Hermione's POV

"Voldemort," She hissed at the man with the snake like features that was standing by her bed.

"Ah, my dear Headmistress. I was wondering where you had gone to, you weren't in the old fool's bedchambers, so I searched for yours. The stupid git always loved unicorns, and there was only one portrait of a unicorn in the school. It was much too easy for me to find you. Too bad you had to be the Peacekeeper as well. Two words and I get not just Hogwarts, but the whole Earth too," His voice was silky and smooth, but it was harsh also and dripped with cruelty.

Hermione was thinking fast. She had to wake up Draco, the whole castle actually, and use their help to get rid of Lord Voldemort. As he talked she reached inside herself and found the right spell. The spell was one that would immobilize him long enough to wake every student and teacher in Hogwarts. He paused to take in a breath and she yelled the spell at him, catching him off guard. She ran out of her room and through the halls of the school. At the exact center of the school Hermione stopped. She cried out a note and all of the students and teachers woke up. She switched notes and sang once again, telling everyone to go into the Entrance Hall. It took a while to wake up Harry, Ron and Draco as they were under some type of spell.

Hermione felt Little Dragon come to her side and give her some information. ~All of his Deatheaters are out in the front of the school. He has gone down to join them, you should wait for the other heirs, and then we can go down for the final confrontation.~

Draco's POV

Hermione had left the bed, and still he was trapped in sleep. Then he felt someone knocking on his cage from the outside. It was Hermione, and somehow she managed to deactivate it. He woke up at last and went to meet Hermione.

On the way to the middle of the school he met up with Harry and Ron. They both looked as grim as he supposed that he did. All three knew that this would be the final confrontation and if they lost then the whole Earth would be in chaos.

On the other hand, if they won, they could live out their lives in peace, without any Lord Voldemort to worry about anymore. That would be the best thing that could happen, but it was unsure of how much chance they had of that, Voldemort was powerful and he had many, many Deatheaters at his back. Even with the whole of Hogwarts behind Hermione they were greatly outnumbered by the Dark Lord's Deatheaters.

They nodded to each other silently in recognition, but with a small good- bye in each of their nods, and solemnly walked the rest of the way to the shaking Hermione.

Hermione's POV

This was the last war, she knew it, win or lose, this was the final battle against evil. She saw Harry, Draco and Ron meet up and they nodded to each other, their nods filled with farewells and...something else. Hermione shook her head to clear it and realized that she was shaking. She slid her hand into Draco's and he pulled her close for a minute. He loosened his grasp on her and she looked into his eyes, nodding the same nod that Harry and Ron had given him. She turned back to Ron and Harry, nodding to them too and the four friends walked down many staircases.

At the bottom of the Grand staircase there was a cluster of people young and old. Not all of them were students and teachers too. Sirius was there, as well as Lupin, Mad Eye Moody, many aurors, Narcissa Malfoy, the Weasley family, and Hermione's mother. All looked up at the five that came last.

"Lord Voldemort has come at last to our school. He and all of his army are outside, waiting for us," Hermione gulped, but was finished. Many people were staring at her, but no one spoke for a while.

"What do we do Headmistress?" Professor Flitwick asked timidly. The hall broke out in whispers.

"We do our best to stop them. We are outnumbered greatly, but I believe that if we keep faith we can make it. Any one who wants to help fight, come with me," Hermione said, although she really wasn't sure if they could win at all. She walked through the Entrance Hall, the crowd parting ahead of her, and opened the double doors. Voldemort stood at the head of his army, Hermione at hers and they faced each other.