Chapter Fifteen: The End of the World

Her sixth year was over, as was the summer that followed. She was on the train returning to Hogwarts, a heavy gloom hanging over the air. Things with Remus were moving along nicely, but the rest of her life was turning upside down. The war had finally reached its peak, and Voldemort was out in the open once more. Every day held a new danger, and this day was no different.

On their way to the train station, they had been attacked by a group of Death Eaters. The fact that the battle had broken out in muggle London made it even worse. An innocent muggle had perished, but the loss to the wizarding world had been far greater. The train was leaving the station now, but it was three students short. Justin Finch-Fletchly, Hannah Abbott, and Colin Creevey lay somewhere in the depths of St. Mungo's. Justin and Hannah were barely clinging to life when Hermione left them with the mediwitches; Colin was dead.

She found an empty compartment, throwing herself down onto a seat heavily. The sounds and sights of the battle weighed on her mind until she felt as if she were going to burst. She heard someone outside the door and glanced through the window. A few people were passing by, but Harry and Ron were still nowhere to be seen. They were discussing battle strategies in Seamus and Dean's compartment.

There was a soft knock at the door, and Ginny peered her head in. "Do you mind?" she asked softly, motioning to the bench across from Hermione.

She shook her head, waving the girl in and turning back to the window. "Rough day, isn't it?" Ginny asked. Hermione found the question a bit unnecessary, but figured the girl only needed to talk. After all, her boyfriend was one of the ones in the hospital right now.

"Have you received any word on Justin?" Hermione asked with mild interest. How many more people would she ask that question of before the end of this?

Ginny nodded, holding up a piece of parchment that Hermione hadn't noticed before. "He's going to be fine, they say. The curse that hit him was powerful, but it went through Colin first, so he only got a bit of a blow." Ginny sighed, and Hermione immediately knew what it was for. Ginny's boyfriend had survived, but at Colin's expense.

"It's funny how the world works, Gin," Hermione said simply, looking toward the hills again. The sky was gray and dreary, as it had been for the past few months. "Do you ever think this war will end?"

"It will have to eventually. You remember what the prophecy said. Harry and," Ginny paused and lowered her voice, "...Voldemort... can't survive together. One of them has to die."

Hermione nodded absently. She knew the prophecy well enough. She had spent enough restless nights worrying over what it meant to her best friend's future. "I know, and that's what I'm worried about." Hermione looked at Ginny, tears forming behind her eyes, but refusing to fall. "What if Harry can't defeat him?"

"I suppose all we can do is help him and pray."

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Helping Harry had done little; praying had helped even less. The world was falling apart around her, and Hermione Granger was scared. Every day, more and more of her friends fell to the battle that raged on just outside Hogwarts. Voldemort had never made it past their defenses surrounding the grounds, but that didn't mean that he couldn't attack from the outside.

All communication with the outside world had been cut off. Owls carrying messages to and from the school were shot down by Death Eaters. Hedwig had just managed to escape an attack, but her left wing was badly injured and she was kept in a cage in the boys' dormitory. Pigwidgeon hadn't been quite so lucky.

The Floo network in and out of the school, once open to teachers and staff, had been shut down for fear of Death Eaters sneaking in somehow. Luckily, apparition had always been forbidden, but in some cases, that caused more harm than help. The only way anyone could get through was some of the secret passageways, and even those weren't necessarily safe. One of them was closed off now after an Order member had been caught and killed coming out in Hogsmeade. Luckily, Remus had managed to make it in through one of them, but that caused Hermione to worry even more.

"Why couldn't you have just stayed away? It's safe in Germany right now, I've heard," she said one night, as they were lying in his bed together. They had given up caring what other people thought a long time ago. No one had much time for gossip anymore when they were faced with the prospect of dying every day.

"You know I couldn't do that. I couldn't take off and leave you in the middle of battle," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead. "And if I would have asked you to come away, you would have said no."

She nodded, knowing that it was true. She couldn't desert Harry, not this close to the end. "I know, but worrying about you is rather distracting. Though, I don't expect you to just sit around." She looked over at him, smiling, "We could always lie around though..." He released her and rolled to his back, smiling a little, though his face seemed sad.

"I love you. You know that, don't you?" he asked her, his face turning stony and serious in an instant.

Hermione looked at him worriedly. "Of course I know that. Why? What's wrong, Remus?"

He looked away, not meeting her eyes. "I just wanted to be sure. I would hate for something to happen to me without you realizing how much I care for you." She could sense the heartbreak in his voice, and the worry.

"Nothing's going to happen to you. I won't let it. Remember, you're stuck with me."

Remus smiled grimly, "It should be me reassuring you, you know. After all, I am twenty years your senior."

"And every bit my equal, or so I remember you saying once or twice before." She looked at him carefully, "What exactly brought all of this on?"

"Just a talk I had with someone, but please try not to worry. I'm sure that everything will be fine," he said, rolling over to lie on his side facing her. "Let's try to get some sleep."

Hermione slid closer to him, resting a hand on his chest, her face nestled against his neck. She pressed a kiss against his throat and sighed. "I suppose if you think we must."

"You need your rest," he said simply, pulling her against him, safe in his arms.

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"Hermione! Look out!" She spun around, ducking just in time to miss a red bolt that was aimed at her head. She threw a quick look to her left, nodding to Ron in thanks, before shooting her own spell in the Death Eater's direction. There was a good chance that this was to be the last battle of the war, and Hermione was terrified. Not really for herself, but more for Harry. He was about to face one of the most ruthless and horrible wizards in history, with little more than herself and Ron as back up.

She saw Ron shoot sparkling blue light into the air, and gasped. He was calling the Order. Remus would be coming.

"Promise me. Promise me that no matter what happens, you'll stay here in this room," Hermione said, rushing around to find her cloak and wand.

He sighed, handing her the missing objects. "I swear that I'll stay here, unless they call the Order. If someone calls the Order, then I'm expected to be there."

"So what? Defy them just once in your life. You don't always have to follow the rules, you know."

"I would be a disgrace if I didn't go. If the Order is called, I must go out to battle."

Hermione stopped at the door, turning back and running into his arms. She kissed him then, long and deep, before pulling away to leave. "Please be safe."

She continued on, knowing that if she stopped to search for him, she would die. Another curse flew her way; she dodged it and threw one back in return. Glancing around the "battlefield", she finally caught sight of Harry. He was standing near a tree, dueling with three Death Eaters at once. She was surprised to see that he was holding up well, but she didn't want to risk losing him.

She uttered a curse, sending it off to the first Death Eater she saw by him.

"Thanks, 'mione," she heard him call, as he continued to battle with the third. The second turned to look at her, and she noticed that the hood was pulled back, revealing the person's face. It was Bellatrix Lestrange; the Death Eater that had murdered Sirius.

"I remember you, little girl."

Hermione stared at her coldly as Bellatrix began to circle. She seemed vulture-like to Hermione, which was actually more frightening to her than the woman herself. "I'm going to take a great deal of pleasure in killing you," Hermione said, her voice low and dangerous.

Bellatrix threw her head back and laughed. "You could never kill me, little girl. You children aren't capable of such cruelty. Your hearts aren't in it; not like mine."

Hermione faltered. Though she hated to admit it to herself, Bellatrix was right. She had never killed anyone before. She wasn't even certain she could perform the incantation correctly. She stood completely motionless, her eyes following Bellatrix as she circled her.

"I knew you couldn't do it. You're just like the rest of them," Bellatrix sneered. She held her wand up, preparing to administer a curse. Hermione's insides froze. Bellatrix was known for her fondness of Unforgiveable Curses.

"Crucio."

Hermione gasped and fell to the ground in pain. She could feel her body twitching, but she had no control over her actions. So this is what it feels like, she thought solemnly. She tried her hardest not to let on how much it truly hurt, but it was hard to think when all she could feel was blinding pain. She screamed. To her, it was hard to tell the magnitude of this scream, but she had a feeling it was rather ear piercing.

She couldn't be sure how much time had passed. It could have only been a minute, but to her, it felt like hours. When the pain stopped, Hermione was sure she was going to pass out, but she forced her eyes open anyway. She would be as good as dead if she stayed lying there.

She noticed that Bellatrix seemed to be engaged in a duel with someone else. Someone who seemed remarkably familiar. Hermione reached her hand up, clearing her eyes of some of the tears that had started to form. Bellatrix moved sideways, dodging a curse that had been shot out by her attacker. It was Remus.

"Hermione, be careful!" She heard someone shot. She rolled to her right, dodging a yellow dart of light that ignited the ground where it landed. Standing, she saw Ron trapped in the middle of a circle of Death Eaters. He had been the one who shouted to her. For the second time that day, Ron had saved her, and now he was caught.

"Ron!" she screamed, trying to push her way through the dueling individuals, stepping lightly over the bodies that lay broken on the ground. "Ron, no!"

A green light washed over the field, and Ron fell to the feet of one of the Death Eaters. They began to disperse; their fun was over.

Hermione ran blindly through her tears, dropping to her knees beside his body. "Ron... oh god, Ron. Why? Why weren't you paying attention? You shouldn't have been watching me. It was my own fault that I was on the ground in the first place. It was my own fault Bellatrix was torturing me. You should have kept fighting," she sobbed, burying her face into his chest.

She felt arms encircle her and heard a hoarse voice in her ear. "You can't help him, Hermione. He's gone." Hermione twisted in Remus's arms, clinging to his robes like a child. "Come on. We can't linger here for too long."

He took her hand, dragging her through the battlefield, away from Ron's crumpled body. Eventually he paused, dropping her hand and turning to look at her. "I know you don't want me here, but I'm fighting this battle with you, Hermione. Side by side... it's how it was meant to be."

"What do you know about what's meant to be? You sound like Dumbledore," Hermione said, trying to sound light-hearted, at least a little, but failing at it miserably.

Remus smiled at her, but it was a sad smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Something of that sort, I suppose." He looked over her shoulder, though at what, Hermione wasn't sure.

His eyes snapped to hers suddenly, and he said, "Don't forget that I'll always love you."

Hermione looked at him with frightened eyes. "Remus, what do you..."

His eyes grew wide and he reached out, shoving her sideways and onto the ground. Hermione looked up just in time to see the green light wash over him as he slipped away from her forever.

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Who can say where the road goes, where the day flows?

Only time

And who can say if your love grows, as your heart chose?

Only time

Who can say why your heart sighs, as your love flies?

Only time

And who can say why your heart cries, as your love dies?

Only time

(Enya - Only Time)

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Author's Notes: Don't kill me. Please, before you flame me or send me death threats, just read the epilogue. As it was, this was the hardest chapter to write, simply because the idea of doing such a horrible thing made me cry.