Disclaimer: I asked if I could just own the rights to Viktor Krum, or even just the actor. I think the restraining order expires in 2126.
A/N: The countdown of the last 3 Chapters BEGINS!
Hermione's heart pounded hard against her chest, her breath coming out in small pants as the rain poured down hard around her. She vaguely heard the sound of a body dropping to the ground beside her. She looked to her left and saw someone approaching her fast. It only took her a moment to realize it was Viktor as he grabbed her upper arm.
"Hermione!" she heard Harry call. Her head whipped around and she ran towards the voice, Viktor right behind her. She started to trip in the mud, her feet propelling her through the puddles like skis. Viktor's hand still on her arm steadied her and halfway dragged her back to her feet as they kept running. It was then that she heard the footsteps behind them. She didn't dare turn back, she knew who was back there.
When she finally reached Harry's voice, she almost fell against him. She grabbed his cloak to keep from landing face first in the mud.
"Here," he said as he forced a locket into her hands. She looked down at it and touched the top of the locket with the tip of her wand. The locket popped open and Hermione was thrown back into Viktor's arms, knocking them both to the ground. She looked up to see a ghostly vision of a slightly more human looking Voldemort shrieking as it flowed out of the locket and up into the night. After a moment it disappeared completely, leaving only silence in its wake.
Hermione heard the footsteps that had been behind them headed the other direction. Several panicked shouts reached her ears, but she couldn't make out what they were. She felt Harry's hand grabbing her robes and pulling her up as Viktor was sitting up underneath her.
"We need to get back," Ron said to her, barely loud enough to hear over the blinding rain hitting the ground around them.
Hermione nodded and grabbed all three boys as she apparated away from the hell they were in.
"That was too close for comfort," Ron said as he nursed a large bruise underneath his left eye.
Mrs. Weasley was positively livid. She had been reassured from everyone that the kids would be perfectly safe. And here they were, drenched to the bone, barely able to get away from the Death Eaters that had been waiting for them.
"I am NOT letting these kids go back out there," she said to an already frazzled McGonagall.
"We don't have to go back out," Hermione said. "We destroyed the last one."
At this announcement, the hushed whispers around the room stopped completely and all eyes fell on her.
"The only piece of Voldemort's soul that hasn't been sent to Hell is the one in his abomination of a body," Harry informed them.
"Now ve have to find a vay to lure him out into the open," Viktor said. "Ve need to do it soon so he doesn't realize they've been destroyed and make more."
Snape stepped out of the dark corner, the room following his every move.
"I may have just the thing. The Dark Lord is planning a full frontal assault with all his followers on the Ministry of Magic itself."
Gasps were heard around the room.
"When Severus?"
"2 weeks from today."
"There's not enough time!" Molly said over the din. "We can't have the entire Ministry set up for an attack like that with only two weeks notice!"
"But it has to be done fast," Snape said. "He does not know about his horcruxes being destroyed. But if you give him time he will figure it out. And then we won't be able to stop him."
Moody stood up. "Then I think it's time we all got out there and started busting our asses. This is going to happen in two weeks whether we're ready for it or not."
Arthur stood up from the table, patting his wife's hand reassuringly. "I'll go wake Scrimgeour. See if I can get his help on Ministry defenses for this."
Thankfully, the Minister was more open minded and accepted the information of the upcoming attack with an open mind instead of blowing it off as an idle threat. Every Auror out there was secretly called in for a private debriefing by none other than Alastor Moody. The old ex-Auror spent his time traveling between the Ministry and the Order.
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Hermione ducked as Tonks sent a curse flying over her head. She swiveled on her heel and sent a 'Stupify' back at her, catching her in the chest.
Hermione ran over to the now blood red headed witch and helped her to her feet after a quick 'Ennervate'. "You're getting a lot better," she told Hermione.
"Stupify isn't gonna cut it this time Granger," she heard Moody say from behind her. "They're out for blood, and you need to be out for theirs."
Hermione nodded. "Yes sir."
Tonks gave her a reassuring smile before taking up her battle stance again.
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Every muscle in her body ached, every move sent a fresh wave of pain through her system. She grunted as she bent down to turn on the hot water in the shower. She reached over and turned on the cold water, waiting for the temperature to be tolerable before she climbed in.
Hermione let the hot water pour over her shoulders and down her back. The aching dulled slighty and the heat relaxed her muscles. She felt all the tension in her shoulders melt away and the throbbing in her upper arms slowly died away. She laid her head back into the water and let it run over her face, washing off all the sweat and dirt on her skin.
Hermione slipped on one of Viktor's shirts before she walked from the bathroom and to his room. She opened the door to find him already asleep in the bed. She tip-toed across the floor and climbed into bed beside him. As she had snuggled in, his arm snaked around her waist and pulled her body against his. She smiled before closing her eyes and almost instantly falling asleep.
That's how things went every day. They would train in curses, train in self defense, and train their bodies physically. It was a crash course but it was the best they could do. And every night Hermione would shower and slip into Viktor's room where he was already sleeping. And he would always be gone when she woke up, his side of the bed still slightly warm and the brush of his lips still leaving an imprint on her forehead.
Before they knew it, before they were ready, the day they all dreaded arrived. It was too soon. She wasn't ready, she needed more time to practice, more time to learn, more time with Viktor. She felt light headed and she thought she would panic. Then he rested his head on her shoulder after his nap and she calmed down. As long as he was by her she would be fine.
And that was the flaw in her plan. They were assigned to completely different parts of the battle.
The dinner that was set on the table was untouched, and this was the first time Molly didn't try to force anyone to eat. The only one who did was Moody. They were a sight to see. Every person was dressed in the Silver robes of an Auror, all of them becoming honorary members in this time of need.
Too soon the stillness of the room was interrupted by the chiming of the grandfather clock Mr. Weasley had gotten for his wife. It read 2am. That was their designated time to leave and take up their positions.
Hermione wanted to cry out when she felt Viktor stand up beside her. She didn't want him to go, she didn't want any of them to go. She looked over at Ron's pale face, Harry's barely composed face, the sparkle of laughter gone from the twins eyes. The only one that wouldn't be going was Ginny and she was visibly shaking. If this went badly she would be the only one in her family to live. Hermione gave her a reassuring smile as she walked out of the room, Viktor's hand pulling her.
When they reached a dark corner he pulled her to him, squeezing her as if his life depended on it. She reached up and kissed him fiercely. When they broke away tears shone in both their eyes.
"You be careful," he told her, his voice shaking.
Hermione gave him a small smile through the tears that were now falling down her cheeks. "I need you to come back to me," she told him.
Viktor reached up and wiped the tears off her cheeks and kissed her once more. "I love you," he said one more time before Harry pulled his arm and they walked out of the house, Ron and the twins in tow.
Hermione's chin trembled with the effort to not cry. She roughly wiped the tears out of her eyes, sniffled one last time before she turned and walked to the fire place.
"Ministry of Magic," she said as she stepped into the fire right after Lupin, her voice only cracking slightly.
Author Babble:
Don't tell ANYONE, but I actually cried when I wrote the last part of this chapter. And let me tell you, it's hard to type when your eyesight is blurry.