Chapter 5 (and the last)
The next day, Hermione came up with a bright idea, which she suggested to Harry over breakfast.
"Say, Harry, what d'you say we go on a picnic today? Since we have no classes, and we'll still have tomorrow to get all our homework done. It might be fun!"
"OK," he said. "Let's."
So it passed that, a few hours later, he found himself walking alongside Hermione, carrying a picnic basket. She was leading the way.
"Where are we going, good Miss?" he asked teasingly.
"You'll see." She smiled secretively.
Finally, they reached the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "We're not going in there, are we?" he asked nervously.
"Oh, I thought it might be fun. You know, it's... forbidden. Sort of reminds me of some other things that are forbidden, you know? And besides, we certainly won't be disturbed."
Harry grinned from ear to ear, thinking of the possibilities. Hermione continued walking until she reached a clearing in the forest, where she sat down on a large rock and motioned fro Harry to do the same.
Then, she prodded at her upper arm and looked off into the forest expectantly.
And suddenly, about fifty people stepped out of the trees, surrounding Harry and Hermione.
"Wh-what?" said Harry, jumping to his feet.
Hermione, too, got to her feet. but she was not startled. She instead said, simply, "Tom, what in seven putrid hells kept you so long?"
A tall figure stepped out from behind her, and said, "I am sorry, Hermione." It was Voldemort.
"Hermione! What?" cried Harry.
She turned to him. "Let me explain it to you, Harry, in a way perhaps even your small brain can grasp. But first let's have you secured." She snapped her fingers, and four of the Death Eaters -- for Harry now recognized that that was who they were -- rushed forward and roped Harry to the rock. "Now... where to begin?" she continued. "Well, this summer, my pal Tom here appeared in by bedroom and attempted to put the Imperius curse on me. I fought it off, easily -- that practice with the D.A. last year actually helped me in that respect, at least. When Tom found that his Imperius curse had been broken by me, he came to try and subdue me. But I duelled him, and won." She looked at Voldemort, raised her wand, muttered something, and he, after a moment, kneeled to her.
"You've conquered Voldemort? Oh, good show, Hermione!" cried Harry.
"You don't understand, Harry. I haven't conquered him, at least in the sense you mean. I have... joined him as Dark Lord. Now both of us are in control, and together we are supremely invincible."
"What?"
"Did you really think I was pure good? Oh, no, Harry, I'm far too intelligent not to take advantage of an opportunity to help myself. And doing this offers a tidy return in way of revenge."
Her words chilled Harry to the bone. "Revenge? On... on whom?"
She smiled humorlessly. "On everybody. I told you that I am smart enough to take control of a situation when it would help me out in some way, yes? Well, let me tell you about why I would want to do this. Have you ever realized that all these years I've known you, both you and Ron have done nothing but alternately sponge off me and insult me for being the sort of studious person you could sponge off of? Now Ron is dead, by my orders--"
"Your orders? Hermione-- it can't be-- how could you kill Ron? I mean, he was your friend, our friend! How could you? You-- I saw you with him just before he disappeared! I told you-- but you lied to me and said my eyes were deceiving me, and I believed you!" Harry shouted.
"Lying is not the worst I've done, believe you me. And if a person can't see that he is being fooled, then he deserves what he gets. I mean, in your case... Do you think I would ever fall in love with a scrawny, arrogant, angst-filled little bugger like you? No, of course not! And yet you believed me. And I tolerated your foolish love, biding my time. I had to, in order to eventually lure you to a place that will, in fact, be your final resting place. And--"
She broke off. Harry, tied as he was to the rock, had lashed out with one foot and kicked her weakly in the shin.
She didn't even wince. Rather, she said coolly," Very clever, Harry. I suppose you take such" she smiled cheerfully, "desperate measures because you realize that I am going to dispose of you quite soon. Very clever indeed."
"I challenge you to a duel!" he cried.
"No, Harry dear," she said gently. "I don't have that insane sense of tradition and honor that Tom-- Voldemort, to you-- seems to have. You don't deserve a fair chance, like he has given you multiple times before. You deserve to die. And you will."
She rolled up the sleeves of her robes, and Harry saw, on her upper arm, the Dark Mark tattooed there, a design in the ... darkest black Harry had ever seen.
"My God, you're serious..." Harry whispered.
"Of course I'm bloody serious!" she snapped. "What, do you think I invited the Dark Lord Voldemort and all his Death Eaters here today just to play a jolly little prank on you?"
"No, of course not. But... but always know, Hermione, that I love you, and you're my best friend who I have left in the world now." Harry's eyes began to fill up with tears in a pitiable way.
There was a long pause.
Then, Hermione said, "Oh, really." She raised her wand, pointing it directly at Harry's heart. "Avada Kedavra," she said calmly.
There was a flash of green light.
The End