Here's another chapter! Woohoo!... or maybe not. Anyway, I hope you don't find this story boring. It may be cliched, or utterly pathetic, idiotic, too messy, too shallow, too hard, too soft, too long, too short (gosh, pick your fault!), but hey I just did it for fun and decided to share it with you. Isn't that what matters? Cheers!

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The world seemed to halt to a stop and her senses refused to accept the reality of what she was seeing. It couldn't be. Harry was not dead. Harry was not being taken to the Hospital Wing. Harry was in the Gryffindor Common Room, probably drinking butterbeer with Ron while waiting for her to arrive. Harry would be there for her. She would be there for him.

"Hermione?"

She heard someone call her, but it seemed like it was coming from a distance greater than the world.

"Hermione?" she heard again.

She slowly came back to reality, realizing she had been staring into the distance of the hall that led to the Hospital Wing for quite some time, judging by the stares she was receiving from everyone around her. Regaining some of her composure, she turned back and saw Professor Dumbledore looking at her sternly.

"P-Professor…" she mumbled.

"Please, come with me" he said calmly, gesturing her to follow him.

He led her into his own office and gestured her to sit down. She did as he said, still too dumbfounded and in shock for what she had seen, too out of herself to react properly, knee-deep in denial.

She didn't realize Dumbledore had called her name twice again before he gently touched her in the arm.

"Hermione." His voice was soft and gentle but had a difficult time to cover up some concern.

She blinked twice, awakening to the real world once again. "I… I'm sorry professor… it's just that – "

Dumbledore cut her short. "First of all I want to let you in all that happened." He shifted in his seat and adjusted his glasses to his nose. "I feared the most when I heard you were being held captive by the Death Eaters." The old wizard sighed and Hermione noticed he looked older and more vulnerable than he ever had, although his aura of power and wisdom never left him. "I must say I did not see ahead of my own nose. I didn't stop to think it was a trap. With all the adrenalin of battle I admit I musjudged the situation. "

"What do you mean?" she questioned, her shock slowly giving way for concern.

"It means my decisions could have compromised everything. I was harsh to decide so quickly but I feared too much for the life of the my students to make any coherent thoughts. My instincts told me I just had to get you all back to safety before I had time to really think about it."

"Well, if you didn't do it, I'd still be tied to a chair."

"If I didn't do it… Well, let's not think about it. At least all ended well, so to speak."

"So to speak?" Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you see…" Dumbledore was having a hard time to find the right words, and Hermione started to fear what he was trying to say. "I sacrificed too many people today. It is a burden I will take to my grave with me." Dumbledore paused for a moment but then kept on. "I risked more than I should have, and though my intentions were good and the end result was Voldemort's final defeat, things could have turned out to be as opposite as they are now. We could have lost everything the moment I sent some people after you."

Hermione gulped but didn't dare to speak. Dumbledore kept on, apparently oblivious to the fact that he had already gotten up and was pacing back and forth the entire room, his back to the person he was speaking too. It was as if he was speaking to himself. "Never, in my perfect sense, would I permit myself to risk everything like I did today."

Hermione's curiosity and Dumbledore's speeach were killing her with anxiety. "Are you talking about the people who… died?" An uncomfortable lump formed in her throat.

"No." Dumbledore turned to Hermione and looked at her in the eye. She tried to avoid his gaze but found it extremely hard. Dumbledore's eyes were like powerful magnets, oblinging her to look directly into his orbits. "The people that died today… they did it because they chose to. They were aurors and they lived for this moment. I'm somewhat relieved to say that no student was killed during the confrontations – that is, excluding Harry, Draco and Crabbe, but those incidents happened under special conditions" he added, doing his best not to show any emotions.

Hermione shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the sound of Harry. The thought of him dead was finally slipping in and she found it increasingly hard not to cry. She wanted to explode but she didn't want to interrupt Dumbledore's speech. A little light in the back of her mind continuously kept telling her Harry was alive and that she had probably just misunderstood what Dumbledore had said. It was a long shot in the dark, but in desperation Hermione clung to anything that kept her hopes up.

"Draco and Crabbe are dead. Harry isn't dead, but he isn't in good shape either." Dumbledore coulnd't help letting out a tear despite his best efforts to look calm. Hermione's hopes went up again. So Harry still had a chance! She swallowed hard and focused on every word Dumbledore spoke. "He was badly injured during the fight with Voldemort. It was all my mistake, all my fault. Anyway, I feel the best way to show you what really happened is by letting yu have a closer look." He gestured to a bowl resting on his desk. Hermione hadn't noticed it yet, too clung at Dumbledore's words.

And for the second time that day, Hermione found herself living other people's memories.

She was in the middle of the battle. People fought everywhere around her. At her immediate right stood Dumbledore, looking powerful. He made little work of the Death Eater who reluctantly fought him. At her left she saw Ron and Ginny battling against Antonin Dolohov. Although he constantly deflected their spells he seemed incapable of responding, for Ron and Ginny were attacking him almost at machine gun rate. To their left, Tonks battled with another Death Eater. Hermione turned around to her right and her heart made started making loops in her ribcage at the sight of Harry. Immediately at Dumbledore's right side, Harry didn't seem in much trouble with Lucius Malfoy. After stunning him, she watched as he caught the sight of Ron and Ginny and ran to help them. Dolohov was able to fight off two attackers but three was too much. He finally fell to the ground, stunned. Her eyes went wide as she caught a glimpse of Snape, fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. She was indeed powerful and fought well, but Snape held on firm and eventually managed to strike her down. She had never thought it possible to be happy for Snape but she gladly proved herself wrong.

Suddenly her eyes caught the sight of Nicholas Malfoy appear out of thin air in front of Dumbledore. How could he apparate right in the middle of the grounds? She watched, dumbfounded, as Dumbledore looked at him, his face showing the faintest signs of fear. Nicholas disappeared after a short exchange of words with Dumbledore and Hermione watched Dumbledore calling the nearest fighters available. Aurors who had already taken care of their opponents gathered around him, including Harry, Ron and Ginny. Dumbledore looked ready to dismiss the three of them but thought twice and let them in on what happened.

"The Death Eaters will soon retreat back to Hogsmeade. I have also just been informed that several students are being held captive there. We need to make a search party and go after them" said Dumbledore.

"Is it wise to do that, Albus?" Hermione saw Professor McGonagall joining them as she spoke.

"I can think of no other course of action, Minerva." Dumbledore's urgent tone clearly stated that his decision wasn't open to discussion.

"Who are the ones being held?" asked Harry.

Dumbledore looked at him for a few moments, deciding whether or not to tell him. "Several students, Harry."

Harry didn't seem satisfied by the answer, but he drew back, frowning. He thought for a couple of seconds and suddenly something clicked in his head. He realized. "Hermione!"

Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment, probably cursing Harry's realization. "Yes, Harry. Hermione is with them. But she is safe and we will bring her back."

But Harry wasn't listening. "I 'm going after her!" he shouted and turned around, ready to leave.

Everyone seemed shocked and Hermione couldn't determine wether it had been from Dumbledore's information or from Harry's sudden outburst.

Dumbledore didn't let Harry take two steps as he placed his hand on Harry's shoulder and forced him to stop. He then turned him for them to face each other.

"I will not let you go. You must stay here. If you go you will compromise the whole operation." Dumbledore spoke with a commanding voice but had an apologetic look, like he was sorry to make that decision.

"I don't care! Hermione's out there, and Merlin knows what's happened to her! I'm bringing her back now!" Harry yelled at Dumbledore, although the old wizard was only just two feet in front of him.

"Harry James Potter, I do not give you permission to leave these grounds!" Dumbledore shouted, the first outburst Hermione had witnessed. It was scary but Harry didn't seem intimidated by it at all.

"I don't care if I have permission or not! She's there and I'm bringing her back, even if it is the last thing I do on this world!" Hemione noticed Harry's voice had a hint of despair and that his eyes were welling up with tears.

She started to sob, watching as a desperate, teary-eyed Harry and an indignant Dumbledore had a heated discussion. She couldn't decide if she was angry with Harry for his lack of thought and selfless behaviour, or if she was happy that he cared about her so much as to openly disobey a direct order from Dumbledore himself.

The angry exchange of words attracted attention from everyone. Many had gathered around them in a group, eager to witness the verbal challenge. Few remained focused on the still ongoing battle, fighting a very low number of Death Eaters who were starting to flee.


Finally Harry brought the discussion to an end. "I
will not stay around and do nothing while Hermione is out there! God knows I've nearly lost her once, I will not let it happen twice! And I will go and get her, whether you like it or not!" This said he turned around and stormed away.

Dumbledore did nothing to stop him this time and just nodded in defeat. "Then we have already lost" he said calmly but with a hint of sadness. "Minerva, gather around a few and watch for him, please. Bring all the other students back safe and sound and try to capture as many Death Eaters as possible."


Hermione watched as McGonagall quickly gathered her group and they all started going after Harry. Dumbledore turned around to a gropoup of aurors who seemed to be controlling a magical rope that binded a large group of Death Eaters together in the air, and did not seem surprised to see almost everyone staring at him in disbelief. "Take them down to the dungeons and make sure they don't attempt an escape." He turned back to the students. "Please, children, go back inside. It is safer there."

All of the students reluctantly returned indoors, taking the wounded and the unconscious to the Hospital Wing, as the aurors herded the Death Eaters to the dungeons.