Chapter 19

Hermione awoke the next morning and couldn't settle the strange sensation that had settled at the bottom of her stomach. It was if something on the other side of the world had exploded, and the waves of destruction were lapping here upon Hogwarts.

She raced down stairs and found Harry sitting in front of the fireplace, his eyes fixed upon the charred log.

"Harry, what's wrong?" she asked, feeling his forehead. He was feverish; his eyes wide and panicked. "What happened?"

"My scar," he whispered. "What has he done?"

"Who is he?" she asked.

"Voldemort," he whispered. Abruptly his eyes rolled up into his head and he flopped over.

After Ron carried Harry to the infirmary, the two of them rushed to Dumbledore's office.

"Chocolate frogs!" Hermione barked at the door, which slid open reluctantly. They rushed up the stairs, and instead of finding Dumbledore pacing; they found McGonagall at Dumbledore's desk.

"Professor!" Hermione gasped, placing her hands on the desk. "There's something wrong with Harry! He complained about his scar hurting, and then he collapsed! We must see Dumbledore!"

McGonagall stood, her lips pursed, her face pale. "Professor Dumbledore has just left for London!"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked in disbelief. "There's something wrong and Dumbledore abandons us?"

"Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall said strictly. "There has been a catastrophe! Mr. Potter's well-fare is important, but not so important that the Headmaster can abandon his allies in their time of need!"

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, panicking. "You can't mean this has something to do with-?"

"Yes," McGonagall said, shuddering slightly. "You-Know-Who attacked the Order headquarters last night."

Hermione rushed into the Owlery bearing a letter addressed to Dumbledore. Hedwig hooted upon sight of her, and when Hermione attached the letter, she cast her master's friend a funny look.

"I know," Hermione said irritably. "I'm not Harry, but you have to take this to Dumbledore! It's an emergency!" Hedwig hooted again, and took off into the morning sky.

During Defense Against the Dark Arts Hermione quickly wrote a letter to Draco explaining what had happened. She quickly cast an invisibility spell over it, and then a levitating charm. It zoomed across the room, and hit Draco in the head. He swatted it down, and opened it under the desk. His eyes widened, and then he shredded the note.

After lunch he met her in one of the empty classrooms.

"So, Harry's in the infirmary, Dumbledore's gone, and…" Draco said, trailing off. "We're doomed."

"That sums it up," Hermione replied tersely. "I have no doubt with Dumbledore gone, that Voldemort will strike, and try to kill Harry. And us."

"Why us?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "We have his book, remember? He has no qualms about killing children, do you think he'll really care about two teenagers?"

"Good point," Draco replied with a decisive nod. "We've got a bit of a problem."

"So, I suggest we all stay with Harry in the infirmary, you, me, and Ron," Hermione said, starting to walk up and down the length of the room. "That way we can have shifts and wake up the others if something happens!"

"Good idea!" Draco replied with fake cheerfulness. "And what if he decides to kill us all with one spell, leaving Harry to deal with him all alone?"

"Don't be so sarcastic," she replied angrily. "Do you have any good ideas, Mr. Intelligent?"

"Thank you darling," he said with a charming smile. "No, but I'm the only one amongst who has ever really used an Unforgivable Curse."

"Harry has," Hermione said quietly. "In the Department of Mysteries last year."

Draco looked surprised. "Perfect Potter?"
Hermione shook her head. "He's not perfect, Draco. All he want is his parents back, and to be normal."

Draco suddenly felt guilty, but continued anyway. "We should create a shield for the four of us, one that should hold up under bombardment long enough for us to wake up Harry and regroup."

"You're right," Hermione said. "I'll look up a strong enough shield. You'd better find a couple curses or spells that will save our asses when Voldemort shows up. Strong ones that will not only kill him but vanquish his soul as well."

"What about Avada Kedavra?"
Hermione avoided his eyes. "Draco, he's a Necromancer."

"And?" Draco asked, raising his eyebrows in question.

She closed her eyes as if she were in pain. She opened them again and looked him deeply.
"We have to get rid of him completely, utterly destroy his soul."

"Why?"

"He's a Necromancer," she repeated. "If he gets a hold of that book, he can raise himself from the dead."

Hermione gently shook Harry awake and explained the dilemma to him. He watched her with his shattered emerald green eyes, completely calm and ready to face his mortal enemy.

"What if you, Draco, or Ron, get hurt?" Harry asked, not even thinking of himself.

"We'll be heroes," she said with a laugh. When he didn't smile, she gently took his hand. "Harry, we can't let Voldemort kill you! You're our best friend. Plus, I don't want to have to bring you back from the dead, because I don't think I can."

"And, what spell are we going to use to destroy him?" he asked. "There isn't a spell that strong anywhere!"

She whispered it in his ear, and he blanched.

"I can't do that!" he whispered, horrified.

"Look, Harry, you could conjure a Patronus Charm at the age of thirteen," she replied with a roll of her eyes. "You can do this."

After dinner they all met at the infirmary, and ran over their plan again. Harry remained skeptical, but he knew it was their only hope.

"You guys," he said finally. "You don't have to do this, I don't want you to get hurt in my name."

Draco turned to him with a grin. "It would be a honor to make sure the Boy-Who-Lived remains alive." They all laughed, and then Harry closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

"Hermione, before you cast the shield spell, can I talk to you?" Draco said, pulling her out into the hallway.

"Yes?" she said, looking up into his light blue eyes, and mentally scolding herself when her heart skipped a beat.

"Hermione," he paused as if he were nervous. Finally, he took her hand in his, warming her cold fingers.

"What are you doing?" she asked in disbelief. "What if someone sees you, you oaf? We're in the middle of the hallway."

"I don't care. Hermione Granger, do you love me?"

Hermione let her mouth drop in shock. "What are you talking about? Of course I love you!"

He looked uncomfortable. "Well, Hermione, if I die, I just want you to know how much I love you, and that I love you more than anything in the world. Will you wear this ring, so that if we die, the world will know that I love you?"

Hermione looked up at the sloped ceiling and found the answer in her heart, which skipped a beat when she looked back down into his light blue eyes.

"Of course," she replied regally. He smiled and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened the box slowly, revealing a sparkling deep red ruby ring on a silver band.

"Draco, where did you get it?" she asked breathlessly as he slid it onto her finger.

"Family heirloom," he replied gruffly. "I removed all the jinxes on it, so now it's yours, forever."

She smiled up at him. "Why do I get the feeling that this is much more important than a little keepsake to remember you by?"

He shrugged and hugged her, looking out the window into the starry night sky. He had died once before, and he wasn't all that scared to do it again.

A/N: Please please please review! I'm begging you... Please review! It would mean so much to me...