Disclaimer: I own no part of this story except for the plot and spell work. J. K. Rowling owns everything else, including dozens of hours of my life that I am dedicating to this story.

Chapter 26: Losses and Gains

Hermione sat on the cold ground near the site where the farmhouse had stood. Debris was strewn all across the ground with an arm or a leg periodically sticking up from the wreckage. Seventeen bodies had already been recovered, including Phillips and Vincent's, and they had barely made it to the first stair down to the cellar. The search team planned to first make their way down the stairs and then systematically clear the cellar out until they reached the back wall. It looked as if a bomb had exploded inside of the farmhouse, which, knowing Harry, was entirely plausible.

Hermione grimaced as her thoughts returned to Harry once again. Hermione still couldn't believe that he was gone; still refused to believe that he was gone. It had been over nine hours since the rescue operation had commenced and Hermione had yet to get any sleep. All of the other Aurors had gone home to get a bit of rest before returning to the farmhouse around noon. They had tried to get Hermione to come with them, but she had steadfastly refused to leave. They had been replaced by young Aurors in training who looked worried now that they had seen exactly what a "mission gone bad" actually looked like; Aurors that Hermione sincerely hoped would never feel what she was feeling right now.

Hermione, Hestia, and the rest of Orange team had arrived right as the farmhouse started to collapse. They would have made it sooner if it hadn't been for the Death Eaters' anti-apparition fields that had been put up within a one mile radius of the farmhouse. As a result, Orange team had only been able to apparate the first two miles and then had to run the remaining mile to the farmhouse. They had arrived ready for battle, expecting to see Death Eaters all around the perimeter of the farmhouse, but they were greeted with nothing but silence. It wasn't until Hermione heard the loud, earsplitting crack that echoed through the night that she realized something was wrong. Before anyone had a chance to act, the farmhouse had collapsed in on itself, completely filling up the cellar and forming another large pile of debris on top of that. Hermione had stood there, waiting for Harry's triumphant form to rise up from the rubble looking as if he had never been in any danger and was ready to take on the next battle.

But Harry never came; and neither had Kingsley.

Sam and Smith had come by as soon as they had insured Jessica's safety and had been treated for their minor injuries at St. Mungo's. As soon as they had arrived, Hermione had started yelling at them, demanding to know why Harry hadn't come back from St. Mungo's with the two of them. Sam and Smith had done the best they could at easing the news to her, but what they had told her confirmed both Harry's and Kingsley's deaths.

Hermione had not cried then and she still hadn't cried yet. Harry wasn't gone—wasn't dead; he was just waiting for them, ready to pop out with a smile and he would laugh at the incredulous looks on their faces. Of course Harry would make it out alright; he always made it out alright. But Harry still hadn't popped up yet, and now, after nine hours of self-delusion, Hermione finally began to accept that Harry was truly gone.

"Harry…"

Hermione sighed as she turned to where the sun was rising in the east. The sky was clear and the magnificence of the sunrise this morning only made Hermione feel worse. It was going to be a beautiful day; a beautiful, terribly lonely day. The dawn of the day that left Hermione alone and friendless in this cold world. Hermione, unable to hold it back any longer, sat down and began to cry.

Two hours, and thirteen more Death Eater bodies later, the Ministry search team had cleared out nearly half of the cellar and there was still no sign of either Harry or Kingsley. Hermione wanted to feel a glimmer of hope erupt, but such a foolish emotion could not exist in the face of many brutally honest facts. Odds were that Harry's body was just under the next board or had been flattened under the weight of the wreckage.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had arrived at the site about a half hour ago, coming to console Hermione. They had done their best to act strong under the weight of Harry's death, but it was obvious that Harry's death had cut them deeply. Harry had been a part of their family for the past eight years and his death hurt them just as much as Ron's had. Hermione had ended up consoling them more than they consoled her, and Hermione had been ready for a nap after their visit. Still, Hermione's heart wouldn't allow her to leave the farmhouse and, no matter how solid the evidence was that Harry had been long dead, her heart refused to concede defeat.

"He's dead Hermione; Harry's dead and the sooner you accept that, the sooner you can move on with life," a firm voice in the back of Hermione's head said.

"But he's not dead…he can't be. It's Harry we're talking about after all. Harry always comes out on top," Hermione consciously thought.

"Dead; D-E-A-D, dead. What part of dead do you not understand?"

"And what part of Harry do you not understand? Harry couldn't die like that…Harry wouldn't die like that…Harry wouldn't die and leave me here alone…"

"And I suppose you said the same thing about Ron when he died…or perhaps your parents?"

That last realization froze Hermione's insides as she heard those cold words that spoke nothing but the truth. Hermione had indeed said those words when her parents and Ron had died, but the words that her heart so desperately wanted to be true never overcame the harsh reality of death.

It was time for Hermione to go home.

Hermione rose from the ground and began walking towards the remains of the farmhouse. As she neared the building Hermione felt coldness wash over her as her as a sudden burst of light flared in her vision. Images began flying through her mind, each one slightly out of focus. Suddenly the images stopped and were replaced by darkness.

A light appeared at the edge of Hermione's vision. The light grew as Hermione walked forward, trying to discover its source. Hermione started to run, ignoring everything else except for the brightness ahead of her. Hermione got closer and closer; close enough to touch it. Hermione stretched out a hand, grasping for the only source of light in the darkness that surrounded her.

Hermione felt her hand grab something cold. She blinked as she found herself standing in front of a door clutching the doorknob. Hermione's eyes traversed over the building in front of her and her breath caught in her throat as she realized what it was.

A loud crack echoed through the night and Hermione let out a small whimper.

"Not again…not again…"

Hermione wasn't sure whether she had spoken the words out loud or only in her mind. All she knew was that she was being forced to relive the terrible experience she wanted so much to forget.

The farmhouse was crumbling in front of her and Hermione stood rooted to the spot. Screams echoed from inside the building that was quickly turning into rubble.

Hermione ran forward and wrenched the front door open and watched in horror as a bathtub from the second floor fell past her into the quickly filling hole that had been the cellar.

Hermione looked down and saw one figure still standing amidst a flood of debris and bodies. A single figure with messy black hair and emerald eyes.

Hermione's eyes locked with Harry's and she watched in horror as Harry's mouth formed the words Hermione knew would be coming.

"Help me Hermione…help me."

Hermione reached out a hand to grab Harry's outstretched arm but cried in pain as a falling trunk connected with it. Hermione pulled her broken arm back and held it tightly to her chest. She pulled out her wand and cast a summoning charm on Harry.

Harry's body levitated up to her, until he was looking straight into her eyes. Hermione bit back a cry as a large bed crashed into Harry's shoulder. Harry fell a few feet but quickly rose back up to where Hermione was standing. Harry's green eyes locked with her own.

"I'll be waiting for you Hermione. Please hurry."

With those calm words, Harry's body fell to the ground with a thud and was quickly covered up by falling debris.

Hermione screamed loudly and every Auror present turned around in alarm. Hermione quickly sat down on the ground, tucking her knees to her chest, and began rocking herself while crying loudly. Several Aurors looked around for instructions on what to do, unsure of what was causing the young girl so much pain, but one figure ran forward and wrapped her arms around Hermione's huddled form.

"Shhh…it's okay. It'll all be okay Hermione," Hestia said as she comforted Hermione.

"Harry's gone and it's all my fault…I sat there and watched him die…I looked into his eyes as he died…it's all my fault…"

"It's not your fault Hermione. We were thirty feet away from the building when it collapsed. You couldn't have seen Harry; you weren't there," Hestia said gently.

"But I did…I did see Harry…I was there and it was all my fault…Harry looked at me right before he died…looked at me and told me that he was wai—"

Hermione's breath caught in her throat as she understood the full impact of the words.

"No…surely not…it's not possible…why can't I just let him go?"

Hermione jumped up and rushed towards the fallen building. Hope once again tried to find a place in her heart and Hermione was surprised to find a joyous shiver run through her body. It was possible then…even her mind allowed Hermione that small comfort.

"Hermione!" Hestia cried as she followed Hermione down the steps into the cellar.

"REDUCTO!"

Hermione lowered her wand as watched the spell hit a large bookcase and smiled as the bookcase shattered. Hermione raised her wand once more and shouted the spell while pointing at a large pile of scrap metal. The metal disappeared in a shower of silver that pelted Hestia and Hermione.

Hermione felt trickles of blood erupt from where the metal hit her, but ignored it as she went on to the next pile of debris.

"EVANESCO!"

The half of the large pile of wood disappeared, but the other half remained untouched.

"Hermione! I know how much this hurts; I know how angry you must be, but this isn't going to help. It's only going to—"

Hestia was cut off as Hermione cast another Reductor curse to destroy the rest of the wood. Hestia flinched as she felt the flying splinters embed themselves in her skin. Hestia cast a few healing spells to get rid of the splinters and heal the wounds before looking to where Hermione was standing. Blood was dripping from several places and Hestia saw that Hermione's body had shielded her from the brunt of the splinters. Hestia repeated the healing spells on Hermione and watched sympathetically as the young girl continued to cast spell after spell.

"REDUCTO! REDUCTO! REDUCTO!"

Hestia was about to try and convince Hermione to stop again when the spell Hermione cast bounced off of something and flew towards her. Hestia dove out of the way and watched as the spell impacted against the far wall.

"WHAT THE…"

Hestia rose from her crouch just in time to see Hermione repeat the action using another spell. Once again, the spell was deflected and Hestia had to jump out of the way once more.

Hestia expected Hermione to apologize, but instead the young girl let out a cry of glee as she ran forward. Hestia stalked forward to where Hermione was standing.

"What the hell was that about Granger? You nearly got me—"

Hestia's voice failed her as she stood staring at the face she least expected.

"This…is getting…a bit heavy…you know…" Harry said through gritted teeth.

Harry's face was set in concentration as Harry struggle to maintain the shield that protected him from the debris above him. Hestia could see the edge of the shield surrounding Harry; a shield that Harry had to have erected those twelve long hours ago. The shield usually remained invisible, but it now glowed red as the weight of the debris above him tried to overcome the strength of the shield; a strength that was supplied only by Harry. Hestia saw Kingsley lying near Harry's feet and was surprised to see the Auror's chest rise and fall with his rhythmical breathing.

"Harry…"

Hermione's quiet voice brought Hestia back to reality as she realized Harry wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. It was a miracle that he had survived this long already and Hestia could see that he was nearing the end of his reserves. Hestia cried out for help, summoning all of the Ministry search team to her voice. Each of the witches and wizards that arrived in the cellar took a moment to stare at the miracle that was occurring before they jumped into action.

The debris above Harry was cleared in a matter of minutes as all caution was thrown out of the window. All that mattered was getting Harry out of there and doing it quickly. Soon, it was safe for Harry to let down the shield that had protected him for the past twelve hours. Harry gave an exhausted sigh as the weight of the shield disappeared and he took two hesitant steps towards Hermione before he collapsed on the ground.

"Harry!"

Hermione ran forward and pulled Harry's head into her lap. Harry was still awake, but he seemed to be barely holding on to consciousness.

"Harry I thought I'd lost you," Hermione said with a sob.

"Come on Hermione…Did you honestly think I'd let Voldemort win that easily?"

Hermione felt a small giggle escape her. "That easy huh?"

"Yeah well, if you Ministry workers hadn't taken so bloody long it would have been a hell of a lot easier."

"Oi, shut up and get some sleep Potter. You're a hell of a lot quieter that way," Hestia called from over Hermione's shoulder. Harry gave her a smile before replying lightly.

"That sounds like an excellent idea to me," Harry said before he drifted off into a much needed sleep.

Author's Note: Yes, I know you guys hate me for taking so long to get this up but I am worn ragged right now. I had five exams over the course of three days last week and managed to get about 12 hours of sleep total over those three days. Needless to say I wasn't at my all time high BUT I managed to get this finished for you. Hope you enjoyed.