Chapter Four – At Least Your Human

Hermione stumbled into number 12 Grimmauld place as Dumbledore was reading off the list of dead.

"...Alexandra Puckle, Lisa Turpin, Harold Lank, Kevin Whitby,and Geoffrey Hooper, are dead. Hermione and Neville are still missing."

Hermione resisted the urge to faint again as the black spots danced in front of her eyes again. She walked into the dinning room and took a seat. She still had no idea how long she'd been out.

"Not anymore."

All heads turned to her. She was covered in blood, sweat and mud. It had been nearly two hours since the battle. Why hadn't she cleaned up?

"Ms. Granger. Good to see your back." McGonagall said truly relieved to see Hermione alive, even if she didn't show it.

"Neville is still gone."

"Neville." Hermione took a breath. "No he's... I mean... I found him. Lucius..." she trailed off. Everyone understood.

"If Mr. Malfoy got a hold of someone again, how to do you know it was Longbottom." Snape drawled lazily as if none of this fazed him in the least. Hermione took a breath and muttered something about incorrigible professors and their deatheater ex-friends.

"Mr. Malfoy was kind enough to leave his head intact."

Hermione heard Ginny gasp. She was the only person, excluding Dumbledore, Snape and Lucius himself, who could know what that had possibly looked like. Even Snape looked perturbed by this new development. The whole room was silent as they processed the information that Neville was dead.

He had shown great skill as an auror, his anger at the insanity of his parents had driven him and in sixth year he had finally come out of his shell.

She smiled a bit. At least he had succeeded in killing Bellatrix. Hermione knew the spell he had used on her. Insculpo followed by whatever word the caster wished to be cut in to the skin. She'd taught it to him and she planned to use it on Lucius along with many other tortures of her own design.

Dumbledore cleared his throat drawing the attention of the Order from their macabre thoughts.

"I have spoken with all the informants I know and none of them are sure if Lucius is acting out of his own insanity or if this ... atrocity is the madness of Voldemort."

Fred winced as Dumbledore said Voldemort's name, reminding Hermione painfully of Ron. Who still, after all these years, hadn't been able to restrain the grimace that crossed his face whenever the name was said. She was tempted to lean over and say, as she has so many times with Ron, fear of a name promotes only fear of the thing itself, but she refrained. She still wasn't on solid ground with Fred. He claimed she reminded him to much of Ron. If fact, he'd alienated a lot of his family. So, she wasn't entirely sure how Fred would react to her joking.

"If that's all..." Hermione gestured to her grimy clothing and body.

"No. Its not. I believe..."

Dumbledore's word were cut short as Harry's voice rang out, in a paroxysm of fury.

"How the hell can you just sit there?" He screamed jumping up and walking around the table towards her. "Neville is dead, Hermione. Dead. Ron's dead, Pavarati's dead, Oliver's dead, Hannah's dead, Susan's dead and you just sit there like you have something better to do. Like this is all just a waste of your precious fucking time."

As he continued to rant and rave at her, she bit the inside of her cheek willing the tears that threatened to show back inside. She tasted the blood as Harry went on and on, coming up with new insults and repeating things he already said. No one made a move to stop him. Everyone was stunned. Everyone had been walking on egg shells around Hermione. Her drastic change in personality after Ron's death, left everyone believing she was highly unstable.

Harry was breathing heavy, tears running down his face, nearly sobbing. Hermione took yet another breath try desperately to steady her shaking hands and near tear eyes.

"Are you done?"

"No! I hate you! I want my friend back. I want Hermione back. Not this cold heart mudblood bitch!"

That did it. It sent her over the edge. Her shaking hands balled into fists so hard that the nails dug into her palms, drawing blood. Then she quickly drew back her right fist and slammed it forward into Harry's face. He fell backwards, Lupin just barely catching him. Blood spattered her hand, and she made another move to hit him again but was grabbed from behind by Tonks.

She instantly stilled as if just realizing what she'd done. Regret instantly took over every fiber of her being and Tonks, as if sensing this let her go. Harry looked at her holding a handkerchief to his bloody broken nose and smiled at her. A smile of both relief, anger, and sadness.

"At least now we know your human."

insculpo - to cut or carve in, engrave