Chapter 30

Fear hovered heavily in the air, suffocating Hermione to an extent greater than ever before. She retreated a step, daring not to peer into the eyes of the figure in front of her, but the option was out of her reach. It was almost as if she was allured to his gaze on purpose. Hermione knew those red-blooded lifeless eyes would never escape her memory; they would find themselves back in her eyes whenever an endangering event occurred.

A snake shook her out of her reverie as it slithered around Voldemort's body closely, clinging and pushing his cloak inwards. She saw its deadly fangs, ready to strike at any second, and Hermione recoiled even further. Forgetting everything else, she tugged at her own attire in search of her wand, but failed to find it. Where was her wand? Where?

"Remember," Bellatrix said icily, "the second you transform, I'll have you beaten into a thousand pieces and thrown into the nearest river." She traveled away from Hermione and stood beside Voldemort.

"Oh, I would not worry about that if I were you, Bella," Voldemort's infamous poisonous voice chilled Hermione's insides, "Her eyes are filled with fright. She will be lucky to even walk on her own will."

He was right. He had her frozen as still as a plaque, completely under his command. He didn't need to use the Imperious Curse. This was no time for her vulnerability. Ron was still back there, possibly tormented by the thought of her and the danger she'd gotten herself into. If only he would advert his stare, she would be able to move…

"Of all the people, the Keeper of the Crystal turned out to be a Mudblood." Voldemort snarled, his eyes mobilizing up and down at Hermione with disgust.

His words haunted her. She was the Keeper of the Crystal? This explained so much, the reason why mysterious black hooded Death Eaters had been trailing her for the past year, or Draco Malfoy acting sneaky around her whenever she asked him something.

"They must have a connection of some sort." Bellatrix stated.

"Potter?"

"Yes."

If they meant friendship, then yes, there was a connection, but by no means was she of more importance. Over the years, bravery was not a quality she had acquired, while Harry had been ready to fly off to the Ministry of Magic twice without caring for his own neck.

"Come. We must go at once."

And they were off. Voldemort lead them into the tunnel; Hermione was in between, and Bellatrix behind her.

Considering that Hermione had to duck to prevent herself getting her hair dirtied, the tunnel was very low. She would have laughed at the sight of Voldemort bowing in front anything, even nature, if she were a thousand miles away.

Hermione could barely breathe due to the large dust particles floating in the atmosphere. She looked down and saw worms, fleas, mosquitoes, and even a small snake slithering in and out of the wet dirt. She felt like vomiting. If she remembered correctly, this tunnel was about a hundred feet long, and she longed to get inside that room, if it opened that is. But at the moment, it appeared longer, almost never-ending.

When it did, Hermione faced an arched door of polished stone, with words of silver encrusted in the middle. The same as before, it said GRYFFINDOR on the top, and SLYTHERIN below it. Between them was the union of a lion and a snake in an emblem in the shape of a circle.

"Open it." Voldemort turned around and commanded Hermione. She was confused. What was she supposed to do? It didn't really matter, because whatever it was, she wasn't going to do it.

"What do I do?"

"Not certain. Touch the door."

"Excuse me." Hermione said awkwardly, and darted forth. After making sure she was blocking their view, she held out her trembling hand let it linger about a tad of space away from the door, not really touching it. When nothing happened for a minute or so, she retrieved her hand, faced them, and shook her head. Was it her, or was there a troubled look in Voldemort's eyes? Bellatrix, however, shoved Hermione aside and pushed the door with all her might. "If there isn't a magical way to open this, there must be another."

Hermione fleeted a half grin but then straightened her face immediately.

"Stop being such a fool." Voldemort said, pushing her to the side, and budged Hermione forward, "I know you didn't touch it. Do you take me for a fool? Touch it, or Nagini will be ready to have her meal any time soon."

Hermione gulped with intimidation, slowly lead out her hand again, and touched the door.

…

"What do we do with him?" Ron heard the Death Eater that had him in a grip speak to the one standing across from him. Ron couldn't believe they'd been caught. Where was Hermione right now? Was she alright? Ron would've died to know if she was alive or not, and if she wasn't, he would never forgive himself. Because of him, Draco had dragged her into the forest after him. This wasn't fair. Nothing about this was fair.

"How about you let me go?" Ron spat, craving to move out of this position he'd been standing in forever. He had to find Hermione. He was wasting time just standing here.

"Yeah, when humans have tails." The one next to him said, laughing, followed by the other one as well. Ron, however, didn't find any amusement in this. He had to find a way out, but how?

"I say we kill him."

"Don't we need him, though?"

"No. It's her we needed, and they have her already. Let's dispose of him." The speaker revealed himself as he unraveled his hood. It was Antonio Dolohov, a tall and massive man with dirty long dark hair and a beard that give him an uncharacteristic look. His eyes were tiny in proportion with the rest of his face, and those eyes glared at him with an animal hungry glint.

Ron didn't think they would kill him, but he was wrong. Fortunately, the other Death Eater brought up a point, "What if they need him? If we kill him, they'll kill us."

Antonio Dolohov rolled his eyes, "You idiot, if they needed him, they would have taken him already, and remember, she's the chosen one, not him. Actually, I don't know who he is."

"That is Muggle Lover Arthur Weasley's son. The red hair gives it away." Macnair said something for the first time. Ron would have expected something like that to come out of Draco's mouth, only with the addition of poor and useless.

"Ahhh…that gives me even more reason to slaughter him." Dolohov's eyes flashed with hunger.

"I don't think that's a good idea. Lucius and Bellatrix will be furious, and if we find out they need him after you kill him, we will be dead."

"You are such a coward, Goyle."

Goyle? Ron never thought he would have been so pleased to hear him talk. Yes, everyone needed to listen to him. Maybe if they were distracted enough, he could make a run for it.

"You are calling me a coward, you backstabbing no good-"

"Shut up, both of you." A third Death Eater interrupted them. "This isn't the time or the place, and Goyle is right, Antonio. We should keep him until they tell us what do with him."

"No! I want to kill him! I haven't kill anyone for months now, and a man needs his pleasures-"

"You'll put all our necks on the line by your thoughtless actions!" Goyle snapped, and right at that moment, Ron jumped out of Dolohov's grip and sprinted across without looking back. He heard shrieks and grunts of surprise, and in no time, Ron saw streams of spells coming at him endlessly. He ducked, moved to the right, moved to the left, and whatever else he had to do to dodge them, while running as fast as he could. His adrenaline was pumping to the max, giving him more stamina and speed as he ran.

"Get him!" One of them screeched, sounding close to ten feet away. Ron increased speed, but now he was beginning to get exhausted. He turned his head and saw they were about five feet away. He wouldn't make it unless he did something. So, when he saw the nearest bush, Ron dived for it, and before he knew it, he was hidden inside a forest green bush that was large enough to fit three adults. Ron closed his eyes, hoping they wouldn't find him here, and if they did, he didn't want to see their horrible faces. They knew he had steered to the right, so they followed. Ron heard swift feet brush the ground and his breath grew unsteady. This was it.

He waited. Waited until the sounds cleared, which they did. The only thing he could hear was an annoying chirping sound, and he safely stepped out of the bush.

That obstacle was thankfully over, but the next one was even tougher. He didn't know where Hermione had gone. He realized that he would have to lure the Death Eaters to where he was again, hide, and then follow them to wherever they went. What a plan.

Ready for it, Ron heaved his body inside the bush again and stuck his head out. He took a deep breath, and screamed, "HERE!" After whistling loudly a few times, the Death Eaters came in vicinity, and Ron went inside the bush fully, except making a small opening so he could see.

"I swear he was here! This is where the sound came from!" A panicked voice filled the air.

"It was a trick. Why would he yell? This must be a trap."

"Please, Dolohov. The boy has no wand, therefore no trap. I say we wait here until we see him."

"Then that will be forever. Let's return to headquarters. The Dark Lord must need us for something."

"Sounds good to me. Let's go!" And with that, they were off. Ron was relieved to see his plan work, and now he was one step closer to finding and rescuing Hermione.

When they were at least a minute away from walking distance, Ron stepped out of the bush and followed them. He could see a tiny glimpse of their wavy cloaks and the shiny points on their wands. As they went further in, Ron realized he had only been this deep in the Forest once, and that was during their fifth year when Ginny, Neville, Luna, and himself had come to find Hermione and Harry. This was where Grawp would be. Maybe he could use the giant to scare off all the Death Eaters, maybe even Voldemort. But before any of that, he desperately needed his wand. He was a sitting duck without it. As he was walking, only one question was in his mind. Was Hermione alive?

…

Harry was at a loss for words. He was, at the gate of Hogsmeade, the place where he had Apparated from Azkaban, but now he needed a plan to go inside Hogwarts without anyone knowing it was him. What about his Invisibility Cloak? Yes, if he could summon it to himself, then he could get in unnoticed. However, there was the little problem of the Ministry. Wouldn't they know when he used magic? He would be back in Azkaban and that would be no help, but if he went in without his cloak, he would be back in prison in no time. In the end, he decided to use his wand.

"Accio Invisibility Cloak!" The cloak came flying into his hands, the silvery material sliding off his hands and falling to the ground. He picked it up and covered his head with it.

It was mid-evening when Harry went back to Hogwarts. It was a clear but humid evening, and Harry could feel the heat in his palms and sweat in his armpits. This had to be the longest day ever. Only this morning he had faced a life sentence in Azkaban, never thinking there was a possibility of getting out, but in the afternoon, everything had changed. He felt like an entirely new person reborn in the world for new purposes. He still felt weak, but there was a new streak inside of him that made him want to live. He wanted to see Ron and Hermione. He wanted to hold Ginny in his arms and kiss her. Harry vaguely remembered his brawl with Ron over Ginny and what he had seen. That was all in the past now and he could barely hold that against Ron. Their friendship was worth much more than that.

As he was heading back, Sirius came into his mind. So this is what it must have been like on the run, in disguise, all alone. Harry and Sirius would have been partners in crime, and wander the edges of the Earth together. Nothing would have made him happier than that. If there was anything worse than being a convict, it was being alone.

Slowly, the Quidditch field came to view. Surprisingly, he saw people moving on the ground, and luckily, the robes were the colors of red and gold from what he could see. He speeded up, holding the cloak tightly, and he reached the field in a few minutes. The first person he saw was Ginny, clad in her uniform and a smile on her face as she walked back to the locker rooms. He was ready to jump with joy, but kept his excitement down in case anyone spotted him.

Harry sneaked up behind Ginny, and grabbed her hand. Instantly, her body jerked and she screamed. The other members located the noise and ran to her.

"It's me, Harry. We have to talk. In private." Harry whispered in a rush as the rest of the team came to her. To his disappointment, he didn't spot Ron amongst them.

Ginny looked as if she was about to fait, but she curtailed this façade for his sake.

"What's wrong? Why'd you scream?" Mason exclaimed, baffled at her screams.

"Nothing. I thought there was a spider on me, but there isn't. Sorry for scaring you all."

"You look pale." He said suspiciously.

"I'm fine. Now go."

They left, with a bit of reluctance, leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

"Come in the bathroom." She led him in the girls changing room. He admired her as they walked to the bathroom. He thought he was never going to see that face again, but it was his luck that he did. She was as beautiful as ever, with a mane of long red hair that matched her olive green eyes, giving her the appearance of an angel with fiery hair.

Harry closed the stall behind him after they entered, and he pulled the cloak off.

"Harry!" She hugged him tightly, as if she would never let go. It felt so good to be with her again, "I missed you so much. I thought I was never going to see you!" Her tears dripped on Harry's shoulder.

"Me too, but we'll talk about that later. I need to get to Dumbledore, where is he? How am I supposed to get to him?"

"Don't you know?" Ginny asked, with a surprised look on her face.

"Know what?"

"Dumbledore went with you and never came back."

"Are you serious?" There was something strange going on. Dumbledore had come with him to his trial, but had only stayed in Azkaban for an hour and then had taken off, saying that he had to return to Hogwarts. But then again, that man had not been acting like Dumbledore at all. What in the world was going on?

"Yeah." Ginny replied, returning to his arms, "Never mind that. Just stay here with me."

"Ginny."

"Hmm?"

"Where's Ron? And Hermione?"

"Ron's in the forest, and Hermione…well, she came looking for him and she seemed really worried about something too. I guess she went after him."

"They went into the forest? Why didn't you stop them?"

"I couldn't stop Ron, since Filch sent him in there for a punishment."

"What if they run into the Death Eaters? When did they go?" Ginny looked a bit more serious now, "Hermione came looking for me about…two hours ago."

"And she hasn't returned yet?"

Ginny shook her head, "Should we go look for them?"

"No. We'll get in trouble, and I don't want you in danger. Now…what I need is the Marauders Map." He summoned the map to himself and muttered, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

Hogwarts revealed itself, along with the Forbidden Forest, and Harry searched for them all over. Finally, his eyes landed on a small spot deep north in the forest, where it said Grawp in bold letters, and next to the tag were the tags of Hermione Granger, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Tom Riddle. He couldn't believe his eyes for a moment, and he had to read it several more times for it to sink in. About two inches below them was Ron and a herd of Death Eaters he'd all seen before. He looked up to see if Ginny had spotted them, and she hadn't. This was good. He had decided that he was going to go after them, and there was no way Ginny was coming with him. There was no way Ron and Hermione were going to make it out of there, and perhaps he had gotten free because he was destined to save his best friends.

Harry got to his feet, rolling the map and saying "Mischief managed". "You know what, I'm going to go to McGonagall and tell her everything." As Ginny got up too, Harry lowered her hand, "No. You stay here, and I'll be back as soon as I can. Promise?"

She stared at him awkwardly, "Alright, if it's so important to you."

"It is. I'll be back." He kissed her, a kiss more worth than anything else, and then headed out. Of course he wasn't going to McGonagall. He had to save his friends.

…

It turned out that the door had opened by her touch, and now, Hermione was standing in the middle of a small rectangular room she had once again envisioned in her dreams. Torches lighted the room, placed on all four corners, which gave a yellow glow to the faces in the room. She felt like she was standing in one of those Muggle art museums, with art exhibits displaying treasurable items in thick glass. The exact thing was in this room. In the middle lay a tall pillar, the top half covered with glass, and a crystal stood inside in the middle. It was absolutely beautiful. Like a real crystal, it was white, with pestles sticking out from all sides. It shined as bright as the sun, depositing vibrant colors of the rainbow. Hermione felt like she could stand there and stare at it all day, but it was interrupted by Voldemort's voice, "Go get it. Now."

Knowing that she was condemning everyone to death by doing so, she racked her brains hard for a solution to this unfortunate predicament. If she flashed Voldemort with the Crystal after she got her hands on it, he would die. That would never work, though. Only Harry could kill Voldemort, and vice versa. Come on, Hermione, be brave, she told herself, but she couldn't. She had no wand, no motivation, no Ron. She was doomed.

"Hurry up." Bellatrix commanded. Hermione put all her weight on her toes and touched the glass, hoping it would off shoot some type of alarm system and help would come, but as she touched it, the glass disappeared and nothing of the sort happened.

As she clasped the crystal in her hands, a voice behind her rang in her ears, "Hermione!" It was Ron!

Voldemort and Bellatrix twirled around in amazement, and Bellatrix screeched, "How did he get here!"

This was her chance. Hermione advanced on them and pick pocketed Bellatrix's robe as they both rained spells at Ron. She got hold of both wands and immediately threw Ron his as he ran to block the spells coming at him. Hermione held hers up and bellowed, aiming at Bellatrix, "Petrificus Totalus!"

It was obvious that she had aimed at the wrong person, because as Bellatrix fell frozen to the floor, Voldemort grasped her wrist and held his wand to her neck.

"Move an inch, and I'll have her decapitated in a second." Voldemort threatened Ron, and he stood glued to his feet.

A smile unveiled on Voldemort's face. It didn't suit him, because it made him look more dangerous, if that was even possible.

"Ahh…so this is your famed lover, is it not?"

Hermione didn't answer. She was helpless. She knew what was coming but couldn't do anything about it."

"Yes, now let's see your reaction when I torture your prince."

No…she struggled to get loose of his grip, even went to bite his arm, but he pulled it away, still having a firm hold on her. He was strong. He pointed his wand at Ron and yelled, "Crucio!"

Ron writhed and shrieked in pain, his shrieks deafening Hermione's ears and heart. She screamed, not being able to witness Ron in such pain. Why didn't he punish her? Why?

"LET HIM GO!" Hermione yelled at him, moving as much as she could, "I SAID, LET HIM-"

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" The green light shined brightly across the room and struck Ron's chest with full force. His eyes rolled in surprise for a few seconds, and then his body gave way, falling hopelessly to the floor with a thud. Hermione blinked once, her brain cells slowing down and delaying her reaction. No. He wasn't dead. He had only fallen to the floor and would eventually get up. That was right. He was not dead.

But Ron did not get up. He laid there, as still as a statue, with his eyes pointing to the ceiling in fright. Tears came to Hermione's eyes. She sobbed. Dreams were for kids, and hers weren't coming true anytime soon. He was dead. Voldemort finally released her, and she went flying to Ron, kneeling down next to him, clinging to his body in shock, crying her eyes out. No, no, no, no – her Ron was dead. How could she have let this happen? Why hadn't she done anything? She was ashamed of her cowardice. It had rewarded the worst consequence of all. She touched his pale but delicate face; it was as soft as ever, but the look in his eyes scared her. Those eyes were never going to move again. She put her head with shame down on his chest, "NO! OH GOD, HELP!"

"Give me the crystal. Slowly." Voldemort said in the midst of her crying and preaching.

Hermione looked up in anger. She desired revenge. She got to her feet, her wand in one hand and the crystal in the other. It didn't matter if she didn't have it before, because she had it now. She had bravery, motivation, and Ron, dead or alive.

"If you want it, come and get it." Hermione held the crystal in front of his face. A strange but determined glint showed in her eyes. They were apart some feet but it didn't scare her.

Voldemort snorted, "You think you can fight me, foolish girl? Even Harry Potter was scared to duel with me. You'll win."

"Watch me." This was her first real duel, and she was going to win. This one was for Ron.

"Conducio!" Voldemort vanished with the flick of his wand, and a second later, he appeared behind her, but she was too quick for him. She turned to face him and sent a jet of blue light at him. It hit him on the shoulder. He staggered a bit, but returned to his usual poise and shrieked, "Crucio!"

The spell made contact with her skin, making her scorch with unbearable pain all over her body. It was worse than she had even imagined. Excruciating pain belched the insides of her body. She screamed and screamed until she could scream no more. She fell to the floor, not having enough energy to stand. As she fell, she saw Bellatrix rise, breaking out of her spell.

"Let me do the honors." An aroma of revenge circled Bellatrix as she shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

Something new happened. The green light never had the chance to make contact with Hermione because it bounced right off this invisible barrier that surrounded her. The light hit the wall behind them, leaving a fresh burn with smoke emitting from it.

"Get that crystal from her." Hermione heard Voldemort tell Bellatrix, and in no time, she came close to Hermione. She kneeled down and put her hand forward, but suddenly, she was blasted off her feet and flown backwards, screaming along the way, until she crashed against the wall and collapsed flat face down. Hermione felt the world fading away gradually, as darkness evaded her. The last thing she saw was a head of messy hair revealing a lightning bolt scar, and then she knew no more.

…

Hermione's eyes opened to the world around her. Everything was unusually calm and quiet. She raised her body and feet until she was standing. She as till in the room, but felt alone in it. The torches were burning and the crystal was in her hand as if it had never left it. Suddenly, someone patted her on the back, making her jump with fright, "AHH!"

"Calm down, Hermione." A familiar voice soothed her as she turned to face the person. It was Harry. Was she having an allusion? Her instinct was relief to see him, but as she thought hard, the Trio came to her attention, and full realization panged her. Ron was dead. She kneeled down to him and took his body in her arms, and begged for his life to be back, "Ron, Ron, wake up! Wake up! Ron, come back! Ron…Ron…"

"Hermione. Come. Get up." Harry ushered her up, "We'll get him back."

"How?" Had Harry lost his mind as well? And wasn't he supposed to be in Azkaban?

"With the Crystal. Remember what it said in that book? It said it had the power of resurrection. Give me the crystal, Hermione."

She looked at him suspiciously.

"Hermione. Hand me the crystal."

Hermione gave him the Crystal. He held it and stared at it for a second, and then aimed it at Ron's boy. A light unraveled, hitting Ron's body. Hermione closed her eyes. She could not watch if the light failed.