The month and a half leading up to the N.E.W.T.s was one of the most stressful times of Hermione's life. It was probably the most stressful time of all their lives. Even James and Sirius seemed to be approaching the upcoming exams with a certain amount of trepidation.

Of course, Hermione had been through worse in her young life, but she never could remember that in the face of an exam.

Out of necessity she had pushed all thoughts of her trip to the Ministry and her conversation with Dumbledore out of her head. She decided she was too curious for her own good. It was a very bad habit she had picked up and she was determined to shake it off.

The boys and Lily had wanted to go to Dumbledore about Snape and Peter, but didn't see much point without Hermione and she had resolved not to, though she wouldn't give them a reason that satisfied them. All she said was the timing was not right yet and she wouldn't play any part in having them expelled.

What made things worse for Hermione was her complete uncertainty about her future. After graduation she didn't know where she would go. The Potter's had mentioned that they'd like her to visit again and she was sure Dumbledore would let her stay at Hogwarts for a little while if she needed, but the idea of being dependant on others bothered her. She wanted to make it on her own.

Three days before the exam The Marauders, Lily and Hermione could be found in the library desperately studying with the rest of the seventh years and the fifth years who were gearing up for their O.W.L.'s. They had so many books stacked between them that they could barely see each other across the table.

"What time is it," moaned James parting the books in front of him and peering at Hermione and Remus who were sitting across from him.

"Not nearly time to stop," said Hermione glancing up from her book for half a second before burying her face in it again.

"It has to be," groaned Lily. "We've been studying for hours. I don't think I can take anymore of this."

"We've only got three more days until the exams," said Remus. "You'll make it and then we won't ever have to study again."

"You never stop learning," commented Hermione, not bothering to pick her head up out of her book.

The rest of them rolled their eyes and Sirius slammed his book shut. "Well I'm done."

Happily, James and Lily shut their books as well and Remus followed slowly. Only Hermione continued reading.

"Come on, Hermione," said Sirius snatching the book from her. "If you don't relax a little, you'll be too wound up to do well on the exams."

"And if we don't keep studying," she returned, snatching her book back. "Then we won't know everything we need to. Now come on, we have to study." She opened her book again and continued reading. One by one, they each opened their own books again, grumbling the whole time. Hermione had to hide her smile behind her book.

Three hours later, even Hermione couldn't keep going. James has his head down and was sleeping on a pile of books. Lily and Sirius were staring blearily ahead, not really seeing anything, and Remus and Hermione pushed their books far away from them.

Seeing Hermione finally close her book, Sirius leaned over and shook James slightly.

His head shot up. "I wasn't sleeping," he said a bit too loudly and they all laughed. James looked around. "What time is it?" He mumbled sleepily, noting the empty library.

"It's nearly two o'clock," returned Lily.

James groaned. "We have to be up in less than five hours."

"We'll sleep in three days," said Hermione gathering her books together. The rest of them did the same and they all trudged sleepily to Gryffindor Tower. With barely a word of goodnight to each other, they went to their rooms and got into bed. They were all asleep almost immediately.

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Hermione opened her eyes slowly and turned her head to look around her darkened room. The night sky was still inky black and she doubted she'd been asleep for more than a couple of hours. She turned and saw Lily still sleeping peacefully in her own bed and assumed her other roommates were asleep as well, though she couldn't tell because the curtains were drawn around their beds.

She felt warm and comfortable tucked into her bed, but something had woken her up. She tried to remember if she had been dreaming, but couldn't recall. Feeling a sudden uneasiness, she pushed back her comforter and swung her legs off the bed. She reached under her bed, searching for her slippers and found them quickly. She slipped them on and padded noiselessly from the room.

She wasn't sure what had woken her up, but now that she was up she felt a terrible sense of foreboding that she couldn't explain. She moved silently down the hallway of the girl's wing, listening, for what she wasn't sure. When she reached the balcony she looked down into the common room, but it was deserted and quiet, except for the familiar crackling of the fire.

She was about to return to bed, chiding herself for being so silly when the portrait door suddenly swung open. Hermione quickly stepped back into the shadows to hide herself and watch. She was surprised to see Peter sneaking in.

Hermione held her breath while she watched Peter silently steal up the boy's staircase and disappear. She sat staring into the empty common room wondering and worrying. Finally, she realized that staying up all night would not bring answers about Peter's evening excursion. She resolved to talk to Remus first thing in the morning before heading back to bed.

When she returned to her room, she quickly got back into bed and tried to make herself comfortable. She was almost immediately jolted back up. She sat straight up in bed, her eyes wide and her mind alert. A quick glance to Lily showed that she was no longer imagining things. Lily sat up, stock still and pale, staring at Hermione.

"What was that?" she asked in a worried whisper.

Hermione shook her head. The noise was a clear low boom that seemed to reverberate around the room. She swore she had almost felt the tremor of it.

The other girls in the room were opening their curtains and peeping out at Lily and Hermione. Immediately, Hermione jumped out of bed, grabbed her wand and Lily followed quickly.

"What's going on?" asked one of their roommates sleepily.

"We're trying to figure that out," said Lily creeping to the door. "Stay here," she commanded in her best Head Girl voice. She and Hermione moved as one into the hall. All along the hallway girls were popping their heads out of their rooms, talking in loud whispers.

"Everybody, stay in your rooms," said Lily, loud enough to be heard over the din. Hermione admired Lily's commanding tone and authorative stance. She looked every bit like the Head Girl she was.

A couple of the first and second years had worried looks on their faces. "Don't worry," said Lily in a gentler voice to them. "We'll go and see what that noise was; probably just the boy's playing pranks." The small girls smiled, feeling assured, and returned to their beds.

"Do you think that's what that was?" whispered Hermione, as they headed downstairs.

"If it is, I'll kill them," returned Lily. Hermione would have laughed if she wasn't so nervous.

James had done a far worse job of calming the boys than Lily had done with the girls. He, Sirius, and Remus were hurrying down the boy's staircase with their wands held out, followed by a throng of boys. None of them were dressed, and Sirius was shirtless. They were all barefoot.

Hermione noted immediately who wasn't there. "Where's Peter?" whispered Hermione to Remus.

"Sleeping," said Remus. "He always could sleep through a tornado," he said snidely.

Hermione's heart quickened. "I don't think he's sleeping. I saw him a few minutes before we heard that noise sneaking back into Gryffindor Tower."

Remus looked at her with wide eyes. "You don't think he had something to do with..." Remus never finished his sentence. There was a second louder boom that echoed through Gryffindor Tower and this time no one could miss the noticeable tremor.

"What the hell," exclaimed Sirius.

"Whatever it was," began James nervously. "It came from out there. I think we better go see what's up." Remus, Sirius, Lily, and Hermione nodded. They instructed the boys to stay inside Gryffindor Tower and ventured out.

They moved through the castle silently, listening intently. They began hearing shouts as they neared the first floor. "It's coming from the Great Hall," one of them observed and all five friends took off in a run, their wands held high. As they approached the Great Hall they were stopped by a sight that terrified each of them. Nearly twenty wizards dressed in black robes, all hooded, had turned the corner they were coming upon.

Hermione's blood turned to ice in her veins. "No," she whispered in terror. She was frozen staring in disbelief.

The wizards were as surprised to see the five students as the students were to see them. Sirius was the first to recover his wits. He jolted his friends back into action, pushing them back down the hall.

They could hear the wizards scrambling to follow, and Hermione wondered briefly why they hadn't thrown any curses their way. They reached the staircase quickly enough and ascended it with a speed only young and in shape teenagers could have managed. As they reached the top of the staircase, Hermione turned and sent a well aimed Reducto curse at the top of the stairs, effectively blowing it to bits.

"Good thinking," said Remus as they ran back to Gryffindor Tower.

"It won't hold them for long," returned Hermione. They reached Gryffindor Tower only to find that the second blast had managed to wake the rest of the boys and all of the girls up. The students, all in their night clothes, were gathered together in the common room, talking loudly, some crying, some just looking anxious. When they saw the seventh years, they rushed at the peppering them with questions.

"Everybody shut up," yelled Sirius and then he turned his back on them and looked to his friends. "What do we do?" The boys all turned and looked at Hermione.

"Don't look at me," said Hermione in a frenzied whisper. "None of this ever appeared in any history book I've read. Hogwarts was never attacked by Death Eaters."

"What?" asked Lily in obvious confusion.

"Never mind," said James quickly.

"How could they have gotten in?" asked Sirius. "Hogwarts is supposed to be impenetrable."

"We don't have time to worry about that," said Remus. "We have to protect the Gryffindor's. We have to find some way to get them safely out of the castle."

"And go where?" asked Lily. "I think Gryffindor Tower is the safest place right now."

"That portrait won't hold the Death Eaters forever," said Hermione. "And besides," she continued bitterly. "Peter's no doubt told them the password. Why didn't I go to Dumbledore when I had the chance?" lamented Hermione. "I should have known. This is all my fault."

"We don't know that he's helping them," said Lily, but her voice lacked conviction. They had all been thinking the same thing as Hermione.

"Hermione saw him sneaking into the common room before the first blast," Remus informed them. "But we can't worry about him now. We need a plan."

"Okay," said Hermione thinking quickly. Coming up with a course of action had always been Harry's job, she merely figured out how to carry out his brilliant plans. It had been a while since she had longed for him and Ron, but right now she would have done anything to have them at her side. "First thing," she continued, forcefully pushing thoughts of them from her mind. "We need the map and probably the invisibility cloak."

"I'll get them," said Sirius, already running to their room.

"Let's get the students together," said Hermione. James and Lily immediately began calling everyone forward. Then they turned and waited for Hermione.

She took a deep breath realizing she was going to have to take the lead. She cleared her throat. "It looks like Death Eaters have penetrated Hogwarts defenses," she said loudly and clearly. Immediately there were several loud cries of shock and several of the younger students began crying.

"Please," said Hermione, raising her hands. "We will get out of this, but we have to work together." She bit her bottom lip, thinking. "Okay," she continued. "First we have to buddy up. I want sixth years paired with first years, fifth years with second years and third and fourth years together." Hermione was both please and emboldened when the students immediately moved to follow her instructions. "Okay," she said again. "Sirius," she called with relief when she saw him returning.

"I've got the cloak," he said grimly. "But the map's gone. So is Peter."

Hermione digested the news and stared at Remus. He returned her hopeless stare. He knew how bad the news was. Whoever had that map would be able to track their movements as long as they were in the castle.

"This doesn't change anything," said Hermione. "We still have to get everyone out of the castle.

"How?" asked one of the sixth years.

"Hogsmeade," said Remus suddenly.

Hermione's eyes lit up and she looked at him excitedly. "The secret passage?"

"Exactly, we can get everyone out that way."

"We'll have to hurry," interrupted James. "Once we leave the Tower they're sure to send someone after us, if they haven't already."

"Hopefully," said Lily. "They're being kept busy downstairs and of course they'll have to find another way upstairs since Hermione blew the staircase to bits."

"We have to take the chance," said Hermione. She turned back to the crowd of Gryffindors. "We're going to get everyone out of here." There was a murmur of alarm that went through the ranks. "I know you're scared. We all are. But we can't stay here. We're sitting ducks here. Besides, we have to raise the alarm. Who knows if anyone was able to before the attack?"

"There's a secret passage into Honey Dukes," she continued. "Lily will lead you though it. Once you're in Hogsmeade you should be safe."

Lily turned to Hermione fiercely. "As Head Girl," she began to protest.

"It is your job to ensure the well being of the students," finished Hermione for her. "Someone has to go with them Lily."

"Why can't we all go?" she asked.

"Because the passageway will need to be destroyed once everyone is down. Otherwise, anyone could follow you."

"What about the rest of the students? What about the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins."

"The Slytherins be damned," said Sirius under his breath.

"There are other ways out. We'll do what we can," returned Hermione, ignoring Sirius.

Lily stayed quiet, clearly disliking the idea of getting to safety while her boyfriend and best friends stayed behind, but she knew her duty.

"What about us?" piped up James.

"I need you to get into Dumbledore's office," said Hermione. "You're the only other person besides Lily who knows the password. The portraits in that room have duplicates at St. Mungo's and Ministry Headquarters. It's another way we can raise the alarm."

"I'll go with him," offered Sirius."

"No," said Hermione. "I need you and Remus with me. Lily's right. We have to make sure the rest of the student's are safe. All right, everyone knows what to do. And James, no unnecessary risks. Stay under the invisibility cloak. As soon as you send the alarm out, find a way to join Lily in Hogsmeade. She'll need you. Sirius, Remus, and I will follow as soon as we can."

"Okay," agreed James. He took the cloak from Sirius and threw it over him. The portrait door opened and they all held their breath but no one was outside.

"James," Lily called out desperately. "Be careful."

"They'll never see me, Lil," James's voice called back from several feet away. "I'll see you in a little bit."

Hermione saw her close her eyes and take a deep a breath. When she opened them again she was calm and collected. "Everybody be careful," commanded Lily. "Wands out and stick together." She led the Gryffindors out of the common room and toward the secret passage.

Remus, Sirius, and Hermione followed them and helped all the Gryffindor's down the passage. Lily was the last to go. She looked at her friends.

"Be careful," she begged.

"You too," returned Hermione. "Send help."

"I will, as soon as I can," she said before disappearing down the tunnel.

Sirius stepped back and with a regretful sigh, aimed his wand at the statue of the one eye witch. "Reducto," he shouted and the one eyed witch crumbled before their eyes. "Now what?" he asked.

Hermione didn't answer. She had a far off look in her eyes. Now that the Gryffindors were nearly safe, doubt and guilt began to assault her. Why were the Death Eaters here, now?

They would never dare attack Hogwarts, not while Albus Dumbledore was Headmaster. Wasn't that what everyone had always said, that Hogwarts was the safest place in the wizarding world.

"Hermione," said Remus forcefully, interrupting her thoughts.

"What?"

"Someone's coming this way," he said cocking his head slightly. "I can hear them. We have to go, now." Hermione and Sirius held their wands higher and quickly followed Remus as he moved away from the portrait.

They tried to go as quietly as possibly, but it seemed the farther they went, the closer the footsteps got, until finally they could hear voices as well as footsteps. "She's heading north," said one voice. Remus, Sirius, and Hermione quickly moved around the corner. "She just went around that corner," said another voice.

Remus and Hermione's eyes met. The Death Eaters were following her. "Run," she mouthed to Remus and Sirius and they took off. Sirius took the lead. He had spent more time roaming the castle than anybody else, other than James, and he knew all the short cuts and hidden passages. Though they all realized that they'd never be able to hide, not if the Death Eaters had the map. The best they could do was to lead them away from the others.

They ended up in an empty classroom in the southern most part of the castle, heaving for breath. Hermione raised her wand and aimed it at the door. "Colloportus," she gasped out.

Within seconds they could hear the sound of Death Eaters on the other side of the door, cursing.

"I don't know... how long... that will hold them," said Hermione, breathing heavily.

"Just need a minute," Sirius assured her. He went to one of the windows, heaved it open, and leaned out. "Accio broom," he shouted. In no time at all his broom came flying toward the open window.

Remus smiled broadly. "Great thinking Padfoot." He leaned out the window and shouted, "Accio broom," and like Sirius's had a moment ago, his broom came hurtling toward the window.

Sirius eased himself onto his broom and hovered just outside the window. Remus quickly followed. Then he turned back and held his hand out for Hermione. She hesitated for only a fraction of a second, but that was all the time the Death Eaters needed to break the spell on the door and charge into the room. They aimed their wands at Sirius, Remus, and Hermione and sent stunners at them.

Sirius's quidditch training immediately kicked in and he avoided the stunners easily enough. Remus pulled up hard and felt the spell narrowly miss him from below. Hermione, who had her back to the door and the Death Eaters, was hit by at least three stunners. She flew against the wall and hit it with a sickening crack. She lay on the floor, unconscious and bleeding, but alive.

Remus and Sirius didn't think twice, they flattened themselves to their brooms and flew through the open classroom window. Seeing two blurs nearing them at great speeds caused confusion among the Death Eaters and instead of throwing curses at the approaching objects, they dove for cover.

Continuing to fly in the enclosed space of the room was next to impossible. There was no room to maneuver. Remus used the seconds they had bought by their entry to jump off his broom and run to Hermione. Blood was running down the side of her face, but to his great relief he could see that she was still breathing.

While Remus hurriedly tended to Hermione, Sirius kept the Death Eater's, there were five of them, occupied as best he could. He dove in and out of them trying to draw their fire.

Eventually, one Death Eater aimed a spell at Sirius, but instead of hitting him, it hit the back of his broom. Sirius continued flying, though his trusty broom had deserted him. He landed on the floor and swore he heard the bone in his arm break as much as he felt it.

Seeing his friend fall and knowing nothing stood between them and capture but his own wand, Remus held it out and aimed, but he wasn't fast enough. One of the Death Eaters aimed a spell at him. Remus ducked and the spell hit the wall behind him. He watched in horror as chunks of the wall broke free and began to fall. He threw himself over Hermione before the wall covered them both.