Time went by agonizingly slow and uneventful, from the point of view of someone tied up to a chair in the middle of a seemingly deserted town, which, under all the facades, was probably hiding more Death Eaters and maybe even Voldemort himself.

Unable to think of any way to help Harry, she couldn't keep her feelings at bay much longer and concentrate. Realizing this, she finally stopped repressing her emotions and was swept by an enormous wave of fear and depression.

Harry was coming for the rescue but death would await him. She couldn't bare the thought of having her Harry dying because of her. It corroded her with each passing second and it wasn't long before tears started flowing again. She did no effort to control her sobs this time, which led Neville to look at her with some concern. She didn't care, though. She had to cry. If this was Harry's end, she had to cry.

Harry!

Harry!...

Harry…

I'm so sorry, Harry…

I'm so, so sorry…

Please, forgive me…

I was so dumb to walk in on this…

And now you're coming to rescue me…

But that's just what they're expecting…

Please, don't come!

PLEASE, stay with Dumbledore!

PLEASE, HARRY, DON'T COME!

PLEASE!...

Please…I need you!

I need you badly!

Please…

I love you…

Hermione couldn't stop the tears from flowing. It seemed as if they acted on their own free will. But then, she didn't want to stop crying. She felt it was right. It was her heart speaking, it was her soul healing. For too long she had renegated her heart to a secondary plan of her life. It was time to let the heart speak.

Her heart spoke for Harry.

It took her some time to realize the tears had finally stopped coming. It took her even longer to realize why. It was him. It was her memories of him.

The time they first met.

The adventures they had.

The time she spent with him.

The time she spent thinking about him.

The times she couldn't sleep, worried sick because of him.

It all dawned upon her.

Happy memories of a strong friendship, good moments when she had been the happiest in all her life.

And in all those moments, Harry was the central piece of it.

He made it possible. He made her happy.

And he was about to step into a trap.

PLEASE HARRY, FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, DON'T COME! I NEED YOU ALIVE! PLEASE, DON'T DIE! I NEED YOU! I LOVE YOU! I WANT YOU!

Hermione couldn't help but feel desperate. She had no news from the outside, she didn't know if the battle was over or if it was still raging, and mostly, she didn't know what was of Harry. She looked at a clock hung in the wall just in front of her, only to realize that she did this every ten seconds.

Only fifteen minutes had passed since she had been tied to the chair, but for her it seemed like eternity.

Fifteen minutes. That's nothing……………… Argh, I can't take it anymore!

She decided to maintain her self-control, telling herself that being desperate wouldn't help her. She had to keep her cool and react fast.

She was about to concentrate hard again, when a loud explosion startled her and Neville, who was about to fall asleep. In fact, he was so surprised by the blast that he jumped. His chair rocked back and forth a couple of times before dragging him to the floor. Neville groaned as he felt his head throbbing with pain from the recent encounter with the hard floor, but Hermione didin't diverge her attention from the noises out on the street. It seemed that the battle had come to Hogsmeade.

Shouts, screams and blasts filled the air with the kind of adrenaline that only a real battle delivers. Hermione was on the verge of choking but she still forced her ropes forward, in a futile attempt to witness the battle from a closer position. She listened very carefully and eventually recognized the voices from Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks and Professor McGonagall.

After a few minutes worth of excitment, the battle seemed to reach its end. A last scream of pain was heard and then came a long enduring silence. Only a few seconds looked like whole years, and there was no sound to be heard. The atmosphere was tense and filled with anxiety. Finally, she heard someone speak. It was Tonks.

"Right. I think we can call it a wrap."

"Don't be so sure. They might still be out there" whispered someone. Hermione recognized the voice, belonging to Mad-Eye Moody.

"I want a full search of the entire village" entoned the rispid voice from Professor McGonagall. "Find the children and meet us here."

"What if we encounter any kind of… resistance?" asked someone Hermione didn't know.

"Proceed as you will. But remember, no killing unless you have no choice. They're no good to us dead" answered McGonagall once again.

Hermione tried to yell, but the scarf around her face muffled the sound, making it barely audible even for her.

At last her agonizing torture of ropes ended when she saw Lupin enter the house.

"Heavens!" he shouted. "Hermione! Neville!" He ran to them and checked if they were alright before waving his wand in a peculiar way, untying them both at the same time.

Neville looked miserable and bruised, but had a relieved smile on his face. Hermione was a whole different case. She did feel some relief, but her heart still felt heavy and swollen.

"Hermione! Good heavens, you're alive!" shrieked Professor McGonagall, watching her come out of the house. Hermione never remembered seeing her so emotional before and was even for a bigger surprise when she felt her bone smashing hug. Tears started running freely across her face and Hermione let out one of her tears too.

Hermione looked around. A few aurors surrounded her, most of them bruised but still capable to fight. Two of them sat at a corner, apparently taken down by some nasty shots, although still breathing. Littering the floor were some stunned bodies belonging to Death Eaters.

"Hey, look what I found." The voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt made them all turn around to see him. He carried someone in his arms and Hermione instantly recognized the body.

"Malfoy!" she let out, a little too louder than she expected. This lead to inquiring looks from Professor McGonagall.

"What did you say, Miss Granger?"

Hermione froze for a moment. Would she tell her that Draco had been killed and that she had been held captive by his uncle who, apparently, worked for Voldemort, controlling a group of Hogwarts students? Would she remain silent?

After a moments worth of introspection, it all came out.

"I'm sorry, professor, it's just that… I know who he is."

McGonagall seemed taken aback by this. She looked shocked. "How?" was all she managed.

"I…" she started, but then sighed "I was taking the students out of Hogwarts. We were coming in this direction but then I noticed Neville was having trouble with Malfoy and Crabbe. I went back to help him and told the students to move along. I'd rejoin them quickly, but I had to know what was happening with Neville. It turned out I took quite a long time to come back and when I did, Neville and I left Draco and Crabbe… dead."

McGonagall seemed frozen but looked like she was gulping every word. Hermione went on.

"We had to kill Draco, otherwise he would kill us! I'm sorry, professor, I really didn't mean to! It just… happened…" Hermione looked down at the ground for a moment, feeling dirty, then she took a deep breath "Anyway, we got to Hogsmeade and started looking for the students. We found them at that house, but they were under the Imperius charm. They were hostile towards Neville and me, and that's when we met Nicholas Malfoy."

McGonagall's eyes widened in shock. "Nicholas Malfoy? That's impossible! He died some years ago!"

"I swear, professor. We saw him, didn't we, Neville?" she looked at Neville in search for support and he nodded furiously. "We saw him change. He could change into a different person. He said his name was Nicholas Malfoy but that most people knew him as Patrick Moonruck. He said he worked secretly for Dumbledore and that he was a very powerful mind controller. He even said that he attended Durmstrang and that he was getting tired of Dumbledore's low payment for his services. He turned to Lord Voldemort, and ordered the students to tie Neville and me up. Then he disappeared and you came. That's all I know…"

Hermione was feeling somewhat lighter after her confession. But there was still something missing.

"How's Harry?" she asked.

McGonagall seemed too bewildered by the latest information, so Tonks answered for her.

"He's back at Hogwarts."

What Hermione felt next she couldn't put into words, but she knew it had something to do with enormous relief.

Some aurors escorted Hermione, Neville and the other students (not under the Imperius charm any more) back to Hogwarts. On their way, Tonks explained what had happened.

"Well, you should have seen Dumbledore's face. Pure anger. He indeed is powerfull. I guess that's why no Death Eater chose to confront him unless he had no other choice. He was clearly our greatest fighter" she said in a happy but tired tone.

"What about Harry?"

"Harry fought well too. Not as well as Dumbledore, of course, but he can take care of himself really good. After the Death Eaters started fleeing back to Hogsmeade we got the news from our spy, Patrick, that you and some other students were being held captive. Dumbledore immediatley sent some of us after the Death Eaters to rescue you. That's when it happened." She added with a sad tone in her voice.

"What happened?" Hermione started to imagine the worse but ignored her thoughts, focusing only on Tonks' speech.

"They argued."

"Who argued?"

"Harry… and Dumbledore." Tonks sighed dramatically and looked up to the sky before she said anything else. "Harry knew you were being held and he immediately stormed his way through, but Dumbledore blocked his way and forbade him to go. They argued so loud and so nasty that even the remaining Death Eaters became afraid of them. Who they feared the most, I don't know. Harry was burning with rage, Dumbledore with impatience. Good Lord… I never imagined Harry could burst like that. He ended up ignoring Dumbledore and started making his way here. Dumbledore made no attempt to block his passage again, just saying 'Then we already have lost'. It scared the hell out of me, but I guess I understood what Harry felt. He's very fond of you. I'd also burst if someone blocked my way, knowing my best friend was in danger…"

Neither of them spoke for a whole minute. Finally Hermione broke the silence.

"What happened next?"

"Well… halfway through, Harry stopped short and… oh, I don't know, he started saying he had to go back. He started mumbling, something like you didn't want him to rescue you and that it was a trap for him. I don't know, it's like he suddenly went mental. He trodded back to Hogwarts, rubbing his head, and we did nothing to stop him. I didn't like it though. I'm still afraid to know what happened…"

Tonks seemed fearful, but Hermione beamed with delight. Harry had listened to her! How she did it, she didn't know, but she couldn't care less at the moment. Harry had listened to her pleads and had gone back to Hogwarts! He would be awaiting them back at the Great Hall and Hermione was eager to be back in his company again.

The rest of the walk back to Hogwarts was made in joyful silence.

Hermione reached Hogwarts feeling lighter than ever. She didn't even notice she started running as she came closer to the school building. She was about to see Harry again, safe and sound, and there was nothing that could make her joy disappear.

Nothing could come between Harry and her now.

Nothing, except the sight of Harry's numb body being taken to the Hospital Wing.