Name: Chamber of Destinies

Author: Sweet-calmness

Genre: Romance/Action/Angst

Disclaimer: I own the plot, nothing more

Chapter 11

Tonight…

Hermione's eyes widened in alarm and horror. Draco hurried to her side, grabbing her by the shoulders and twisting her around so that their eyes would meet.

'Hermione! This couldn't be true could it? Hogwarts is the safest place on Earth, there is no way Voldemort would ever be able to infiltrate the castle, right! Right!' He muttered, more to himself then to his stunned cousin. 'Please, Hermione! Tell me that it isn't true!'

She couldn't speak, couldn't think.

'Noooooo….' She whispered, wrenching herself away from Draco's grip and shakily exited the classroom. The Slytherine headboy made a start to go after her, but stopped when he realized that even if he did follow, there is nothing that he could do to make the situation better.

The one and only person that Hermione needs, is Harry.

After walking randomly around the corridors, the Gryffindor stopped in front of familiar doors. It wasn't any of a surprise – it had always been the place that had offered her salvation, and a place where she could reminisce about a time when no Chamber of Destines ever existed.

The library.

Unlike everything else, it was the one constant of her life. No matter where she goes, there was always this simple but special place waiting for her, so that she could grab a random book on the shelf and delve into its wonders and mysteries.

And no one would ever dare to bother her in a library. It was there that Hermione was within her elements.

She went to her favorite spot; the corner at the very back of the library. Expecting the usual emptiness and hushed-up environment, she was surprised to find one of her least liked professors there.

Professor Trelawney.

She wasn't her usual self though. Staring at the bookshelf with wide glazed eyes, she turned to Hermione and said –

'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have the power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must died at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…'

And then, just like as if nothing had happened, her eyes became clear and she noticed Hermione for the first time. A sick look crossed her face and the old professor swept past the teenager faster then she can say "deatheater."

The Gryffindor took a seat at a nearby sofa and narrowed her blue eyes. Why of all times would Trelawney tell a prophecy – Harry's prophecy – to her of all people? Seers are only ever meant to receive a prophecy once, UNLESS, there is something different about this prophecy.

She thought back a few minuets. No, it was exactly the same.

She remembered something her father – Mr. Granger once told her when she was small – she had received a riddle book for her birthday, and there was a particular riddle that she was stuck on.

'Not everything is what it seems, honey.' He had said. 'Often the words that are presented to us are merely clues and should not be taken all too literately in a riddle.'

Her mind started working again. Her hands reached for her everlasting, and she knew, she knew…

She understood why it was such a big deal for Voldemort to get ride of her. Of course he wouldn't have been sure about the prophecy, having only heard half of it, but the capture of a the last Gryffindor as well as Harry Potter's girlfriend would bring great detriment to the Light side.

When Harry was a baby, his mother's love for him saved his life; forcing Voldemort to be weakened. That was the power that the Dark Lord lacked and that Harry possessed – love.

But his mother is dead- have been dead for 16 years.

So the love must come from somewhere else.

Herself, perhaps?

Just because Harry does not love her, does not mean that it is not possible for her to his "power" The prophecy did not state what the power is – be it magic, a weapon of some sort.

To backup her theory, the power of Harry, could in fact be another person.

Perhaps, even her.

So to defeat the Dark Lord, maybe all that was needed was to complete what Lily Potter had started 16 years ago.

It was the night.

The boy-who-lived remained in his private quarters, pacing around and occasionally dumping himself on his bed to beat the stuffing out of his pillows.

In a nutshell, Harry Potter felt like shit.

He had felt terrible, even hellish after his fight with Hermione. The moment he had stepped out of the classroom, he wanted to take back the slap that had hurt her so. He just wanted to her a small proportion of how much he had hurt after her betrayal. He had thought that hurting her would make him feel released. That once the war was over, he could forgive himself for ever loving her, forget the past and move on. His mind told him that he did the right thing.

It did quite the opposite in fact.

His heart told him to put his head in his mouth and swallow it.

A thunderstorm rocketed its way through the head common rooms. He knew that Ron was out with Luna, probably with Ginny as well. The three deserved the happy break after all the holiday lessons drilled into them by the Order.

He also heard the slight creak of Draco Malfoy's room. A seethe of anger shook through his body – the light of the room started to dim and brighten and dim and brighten again until the magic fizzed out completely. His room was met with pitch black; he didn't bother to change that.

Maybe when the war was over; that is if he survived this war, he could ask Hermione why she abandoned him, what he did wrong.

Maybe she will reconvert at the last minute and fight for the Light again just like she was meant to do. Maybe they still have a chance.

Lightning flashed outside his window, bringing light to his room for a split second. That was enough for him to shake out of his stupor. His bedroom door was flung open by Ron, who grabbed Harry by the collar and proceeded to drag him out of his room.

'Ron, what's going on?' Harry croaked out, his voice broken from all the screaming he did hours before.

'Deatheaters, and V-V-Voldemort. D-Dark mark detected above the F-Forbidden Forest. H-Hurry NOW!'

The picture in front of her is what she would imagine as the end of the world. It was Voldemort and his thousands of deatheaters on one side, Hermione, Draco and the gangly half kneazle-half cat Crookshanks on the other. They were already on the front field where only a few steps would take the deatheaters into the Hogwarts castle.

So many students awaited there.

'Tom Riddle, you won't be able to past here. I'll make sure of that.' Hermione screamed out into the wind. The red eyes monster smiled a cruel smile, but didn't reply. He merely bowed and raised his wand to signify that he was ready.

One…

Two…

'THREE!'

And thus is begun.

Hermione felt a flash of pain even before she saw the light. Somewhere from behind her, she heard Draco shout for her to get down, so the girl willingly hit the ground. A minute later, the pain was gone.

She can't make that mistake again.

Brushing out her wand, Hermione aimed it at Voldemort. She knew he was toying with her; knew that he didn't want her death to be easy, quick, and painless.

He wanted her to feel every inch of the pain he could dish out.

'Hermione! Watch out!' Someone screamed. Once again she ducked, just in time to see a fireball whiz past her head. Lupin was running from a distance, as well as, is that…?

'Sirius…' She whispered, but there was no time for happy reunions. Voldemort and his deatheaters were getting closer, despite the reinforcements brought by the Order of the Phoenix. They're gaining more ground, and it won't be another few minutes before they reach the castle.

Then from afar, she saw Harry and Ron running towards her. They both have confusion written all over their faces, most likely from the surprise of seeing her fight for the light side. Had it not been such a dire situation, she would have smiled in relief. They finally found out, there was no longer any reason for them to hate her…

Now all she needs to do is kill Voldemort and things will go back to the way they were meant to be.

'Hermione! Get out of the way!' Harry screamed, running to her side and whipped out his wand as a challenge to Voldemort. She shook her head, silently rejoicing the fact that she and Harry were once again on first name bases.

It would be the first time in a long time, that she felt hope for the future.

Unfortunately it would be the last.

Ten minutes to countdown…

'Crucio!' Hermione screamed, before sliding gracefully into her lioness form and grabbing a nearby deatheater by the throat. Her claws extended, she pushed the head hard onto the floor until she felt a resounding crack.

Harry dueled with Voldemort, just like he was meant to. Hermione kept a close eye on him, knowing that if there was anything that was to go awry, she would be ready at hand to protect him.

Unknown to her, Harry was also keeping an eye on her. When he first saw her fighting with Voldemort, he just couldn't comprehend, couldn't understand. Hope flooded within him; it was almost too hard to believe that he think he might be having some sort of tantalizing dream.

It wasn't a dream.

5 minutes to countdown…

More deatheaters fell. There was a chance.

Voldemort laughed again, and his red inhumane eyes caught sight of Hermione. It was as if he was daring her to do something.

He raised his wand. Hermione turned to see the direction of his wand.

It was pointing at Harry.

4 minutes to countdown…

He wasn't looking.

There were just so many deatheaters flooding around him. But he knew he must not give up. The whole world is riding on this. He was the boy who lived, the boy who was to defeat the dark lord. He would not fail.

Turning, he fired another curse at a nearby deatheater.

2 minutes to countdown…

The dark lord raised his wand, and Hermione's breath is caught between her throat. She could see signs of green circling around the wand, sure signs of the killing curse. The only difference is that this time, Harry won't live from the killing curse. This time, Lily Potter isn't here. This time…

It is her turn.

1 minute to countdown…

Hermione screamed at him, but he didn't turn around. The green light was already forming at the tip of Voldemort's wand and quickly approaching them with an unstoppable force.

There must be someway for both of them to live. She didn't want to die like this, not when everything she ever wanted was just within her grasp.

Everything was blurring around her, until she could only see one person. Harry. She must get to Harry. That was all she ever cared about, to see Harry smiling, happy and alive.

And she made up her mind.

30 seconds to countdown…

She pushed him onto the floor and covered him with her body. A mass amount of green light hit her, searing into her back. She felt as if she was on fire, and her grip on Harry's hand tightened with fear.

At the same time, Voldemort shattered to the ground. His body twitched for some unknown reason, and his inhumane voice howled into the night, overcome with pain and horror. All the fighters, be it the order or the deatheaters froze.

Harry Potter glowed in the unearthly green light. Compared to the light of the avada kedavra, this light was strangely calming. It seeped through him and out, taking all his childhood pain away, and at the same time, destroying the evil that was Voldemort.

0 Seconds to countdown…

Voldemort was dead and people started to cheer. The last few of the deatheaters tried to escape it, but people knew that they would be caught eventually. Their leader is gone, and that was all that matters.

Harry fought the urge to keep his eyes closed. He had felt so warm, as if he was in the arms of someone he cared about very much. A smile formed on his face, when he realized that this was true. Hermione's form was indeed in his pace.

He prodded her gently. She didn't move, didn't make a sound. He did it again, this time whispering into her ear and blowing on her neck softly.

She didn't reply.

He moved back to let her go, and her arms were untangled from his. Only now did he make out dull green light that was still surrounding them, or more specifically, surrounding her.

Like fireflies, the light floated away from her form and into the sky. Harry voice hitched into his throat, as Hermione too, slowly faded away.

And like that, she was gone.

Author's notes: WARNING: This is not the end! This is not a tragedy, so it won't end like one! (LONG LIVE HHR) I think there are at least another 4 or 5 chapters left, although I haven't done a clear outline yet.

Sorry about the very very late chapter. Mou, I tend to set things aside and then forget about them for a very very long time. I thank all those that stuck around until now. I love you!

As for the next chapter, I'm not really sure when it's going to be up. Exams are coming up and I need to study. However, it will eventually find its way up on Fanfiction, so don't fear. Bribery via reviews also works well if you want me to update faster. Check my profile and Livejournal for details.