(A/N: Again, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed! You've all got no idea how happy it makes me! This chapter took me a long time to write so I really hope you all like this one! Also, I don't have any of the next chapter written so expect a longer gap between updates. I'll start some of it tonight if I have time. Again, thanks! Hugs, Haystack)
Legofiance: Very glad you liked the window thing! Lol Hope it's all kind of flowing along, battle scenes are so hard to work out with the updating and stuff! Thanks for reviewing!
Ron'n'Hermione: I'm terribly sorry if you got confused with the window thing. So as you know, the doorway that Hermione entered in, collapsed, leaving Ron with no other way to get to her except for the window. And because Ron is who he is, wanting so desperately to protect Hermione, he chose to dive through the window, risking himself, in order to try to save her. Also, Ron doesn't really think things through before he does them, so he didn't exactly fully understand what jumping through a window would do to him, until he did it. Typical Weasley. lol If that doesn't make sense I'm sorry! I tried to make this update quicker for ya. Thanks for reviewing!
Bhekie: On the edge of your seat you say? Well I'm very glad to hear it. Also, I'm very happy to hear that the time thing didn't bother you as much the second time! Thanks for reviewing!
ShimmeringEvil: Hope the update was fast enough! Thanks for reviewing!
cumbacksirius: I agree…poor poor Ron! I'm glad you like the brave Hermione bit! Thanks for reviewing!
AmyChris: Well I'm certainly glad my update fell at a right time for you! And hopefully this update was better! Thanks so much for reviewing!!
dancerrdw: Glad you liked last chapter! Hope you like this one as well! Thanks so much for reviewing!
Cariel: Aw…I'm glad you love Ron so much! I do too! He's just perfect isn't he? Glad you think his characterization is right on. Thanks for reviewing!!
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE FINAL FLASH OF LIGHT
"EVERBODY OUT NOW!!!" A terrified Madam Pomfrey shrieked as a stone fell from the ceiling. The children all began screaming as more parts of the castle began to collapse around them.
Professor McGonagall grabbed the hands of some first year students, and hurried them outside, where unknown to them all, they were walking into the open palms of Voldemort's followers.
But Ron wasn't following them. He didn't help the kids along, instead, Ron bolted through the now open door.
With his wand out, he sprinted across the threshold, but soon stopped with horror as he took in the scene.
Death Eaters were inside Hogwarts.
They laughed with each other as they destroyed portraits and furniture, and doubled over with glee when they stumbled across someone hiding behind a statue. Dying screams echoed in the large castle creating a kind of song, beautiful even in its own way.
As a group of Death Eaters headed towards him, he quickly ducked behind a knight, holding his breath in as they passed.
Once they were gone, Ron moved quietly, not wanting to attract any kind of attention to himself. He hurried up the stairs towards the Gryffindor common room. As he reached the landing, the Fat Lady began screaming.
"YOU! YOU! SAVE MY PORTRAIT!!! TAKE IT DUMBLEDORE! HE CAN REPAIR IT!"
"I'm sorry I can't" Ron whispered,
"YES! YES! YOU MUST!" The lady cried before breaking into loud sobs
"Please, be quiet!" Ron hissed
"DON'T YOU OF ALL PEOPLE TELL ME TO BE QUIET!! IT'S YOUR FAULT IT'S RUINED!!!" She wailed
"What do you mean it's my fault?" Ron asked
"THAT GIRL! SHE'S THE ONE WHO TOOK A KNIFE TO ME!"
"You mean Hermione?" Ron asked, heart beating fast
"THE ONE YOU ALWAYS WERE WITH! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"
"Where did she go?" Ron said impatiently
"I DON'T KNOW! IT'S NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY TO KEEP TRACK OF HER! I WAS TOO BUSY FLEEING TO ANOTHER PORTRAIT!" She cried hysterically "HOW WOULD I KNOW WHERE SHE TOOK ALL THOSE CHILDREN?!"
"Children?"
The woman sniffed. "Yes, she tore me apart with that knife to get all those poor children out!"
Ron took a step forward. "You need to tell me which direction she went," He growled in a low voice
The Fat Lady cowered. "That way!" She pointed
Ron immediately started running, ignoring all of the Fat Lady's screams to take her portrait with her, though they were soon silenced.
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Ron looked around, hopelessly; there was no chance of finding her. At least not now.
The Great Hall had caved in.
What had once been the center of activity for years and years…it was gone. The bewitched ceiling that had been magicked into looking like the sky was gone, and real stars replaced them.
He'd heard over and over again that Hogwarts would collapse, and now, it was finally happening. Each room he went into was gone moments later.
People kept bumping into him. Even the Death Eaters were fleeing!! As Ron raced past the people, he found the whole situation too strange to be true. A Death Eater, a Giant, and a fourteen-year-old girl were running side-by-side, and yet…they weren't fighting, they weren't even looking at each other. Everyone was united under the same cause: To get out of Hogwarts as quickly as possible. And even though it was a rather extreme cause, it still perplexed Ron.
"HERMIONE!!" He cried over the screams of the night. "HERMIONE!!"
Ron cried out as he was pushed up against a wall, pain shooting up his arm. He grabbed it, biting his cheek to keep himself from crying. He stumbled along, still fighting the violent crowd.
Yet as he was going along, he suddenly heard a scream and heard a loud thump.
Heart beating fast, he pushed his way through the people to where a beautiful brown haired girl lay on the ground.
"HERMIONE!" He screamed, rushing to her side and picking her up in his arms. She immediately opened her eyes.
"Ron?"
"Hermione!" He croaked, his voice cracking. Unable to say anything more he held her tighter to him, kissing her head.
"Oh Ron…" She said as she relaxed in his arms and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her.
As he started to cry, Ron looked up at her, wanting to look her in the eye and make sure she was okay. "Oh Ron don't cry! I'm here!" Hermione said soothingly, running her hand through his hair, kissing his tears away. Ron could only cry more. "I'm so sorry" She whispered, "I didn't mean to make you worry. I-I just had to save them, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself afterwards." She said, trying to catch his eye to make him understand. Ron simply, brushed away his tears ashamed.
"I-I was s-so worried" He said
"I know" Hermione whispered, kissing his forehead. "I know. But it's okay. I'm here right now. I'm not going anywhere."
Ron nodded and Hermione kissed him lightly on the lips. "I love you" she said honestly, looking at him with her large brown eyes.
"I love you too," Ron whispered.
"Ron? Hermione?" A sudden voice cried out.
"Who's there?" Ron demanded
A frightened Dean Thomas emerged from the shadows. "Dean??!" Hermione cried
"You two need to hurry!" He said quickly
"We know" Ron said, offering a hand to Hermione and helping her up.
"No…." Dean said, closing his eyes and shuddering "You don't understand. It's Harry."
"What about Harry?" Ron said quickly
"He's…He's in trouble."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, going pale
"Voldemort…" Dean muttered,
"Thomas! We need more details then that!" Ron said annoyed
"Ron!" Hermione scolded
"They're by the edge of Hogwarts. Kind of near the forest. He needs you two, I can tell"
"Thanks Dean!" Ron said as he grabbed Hermione's hand and started running off
"Take care of yourself Dean!" Hermione shouted over her shoulder as Ron tugged her along "And thanks!"
"Your welcome…Good luck!" He shouted to the retreating couple. Then more quietly he added to himself. "You're going to need it"
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Hermione gasped for air. She'd never run so fast in her life and her body was having difficulty dealing with it. She was awed at how effortlessly Ron seemed to be running, as though this were his everyday pace.
No words were spoken between the two, one glance and they both understood.
Hermione's stomach had twisted when Dean mentioned Harry. Harry was in trouble…that could only mean one thing, and it was something Hermione was desperately trying to put out of her mind. Harry was so confident he was going to win, what kind of trouble could he have gotten into that he hadn't seen coming?
Guilt was forming from her stomach, making its way up to her throat where she tried desperately to swallow it. She had been kissing Ron tonight while her best friend battled Voldemort. Though Hermione hated to do this, she had to admit that Ron had been right from the start. The splitting up idea had been stupid. Just look at where it had led them! They should have stuck to the arrangements they'd always used; hadn't history proved that it worked? They shouldn't have tried something new on the night where they needed each other the most. She was thankful she'd come back to Ron, but their next step should have been to return to Harry; not for her to run into a burning castle looking for children.
Screams of death brought her out of her thoughts though, Hermione gaping with horror, as a Wizard fell to ground moaning and screaming, his comrades soon accompanying him. Ron tugged on her hand, and she continued to run, her heart aching, and her eyes as they narrowed and darkened, longing to have the satisfaction of gazing at the corpses of those Death Eaters responsible.
A woman, covered in her own blood and screaming the most haunting scream Hermione had ever heard stumbled across the grass. Hermione opened her mouth, her eyes pricking with tears when she finally realized that the woman's hand had been cut off.
Two students were huddled on the lawn together. One obviously under the influence of Imperius was holding his wand to the girl who was crying.
"Devon! Don't! Please!" The girl sobbed. The Two Death Eaters holding her down snickered.
"He can't hear you!" One said happily
"Go on Devon! Kill her! I command you to kill her!" The other said
"D-Devon please! Listen to me! I'm your girlfriend! Please!!" She cried out in terror as he stood up defiantly, extending his arm out as far as it would go; his eyes narrowed to black slits. "I love you! Please Devon! Don't--"
"Avada Kedavra" He muttered calmly
Hermione bit her trembling lip and turned away, running as fast as she could so as not to hear the girl's dying scream. Unfortunately, distance didn't make a difference and the sixteen-year-old's cry echoed across the lake to where they were, something that Hermione was sure she would never in her life forget.
But they kept running. Running past the destruction, running past the death…never once stopping to help, never once taking a second glance; Hermione knew they needed to focus on saving Harry, but she couldn't help the feeling that gnawed on her insides, the sickening shame in herself that made her want to bow her head in shame and never speak to anyone again.
They were towards the edge of Hogwart's property by the Forbidden Forest, just the area Dean had described. Ron didn't stop, but Hermione saw him dart his head around. Where was Harry? Where was Voldemort? All Hermione saw were more battling pairs, and more Death Eaters.
But before they could do anything, an earth shattering sound pierced the night sky, a sound so horrific that it overpowered the screams of death and the cries of torture and agony. It was a sound that could never again be reproduced. It was a sound so terrible that Hermione and Ron, completely focused on their task, stopped dead in their tracks, both of their heads lifted to the sight.
It should have happened bit by bit. It should have been a gradual thing. But no…if Hogwarts was going down, it wouldn't go down without a dramatic end. The castle, the magnificent achievement created all of those thousands of years ago, was falling to ground.
The towers fell first, eventually in a matter of seconds creating a domino effect that was so powerful it sent the people nearest to it flying in the air, a cloud of dust covering the grounds.
Hermione's heart felt as though it had been ripped out of her chest. Her school, her shelter and security, her home was gone. Merely hours ago it had stood, shining like a Fairy palace against the dark black sky, a symbol of strength, the symbol of good. Now, it was simply stones, it was nothing, it was gone.
Yet before Hermione or Ron had time to think, the cloud of dust was upon them.
It hit with immense force, knocking Hermione off her feet and sending her into the air, landing ungracefully upon the ground. She gasped for air and choked when she found none. She tired to open her eyes but the dust stung at them like sharp knives. She tried to call for Ron but she could barely breathe.
Getting on all fours, she started crawling, desperately trying to find some wisp of fresh air. She wheezed and coughed uncontrollably, stretching one arm out to help her navigate while the other propelled her forwards. She had no idea where she was going; she was all turned around, her sense of direction completely gone. Yet it was the only thing she could do.
Reaching out, her hand came in contact with another one. It grasped hers tightly, rubbing her hand with its thumb, and Hermione immediately knew who it was.
She moved closer to Ron and he put his arm protectively around her waist, pushing her towards the ground. There! There was air. Not enough, not nearly enough…but enough for her to breathe. She sat there, pressed as closely to the ground as humanly possible, concentrating full heartedly on breathing in and breathing out, her gasps for air barely slowing down.
Ron lay down next to her, his breaths as heavy as hers, stroking her hair encouragingly. She whimpered, the closest she could get to crying, and he pulled her to him, his body heat surrounding her, making Hermione feel safe.
Hermione relished in the feeling of his body on top of hers, and hugged him tighter. Now that the world seemed to be falling apart, he seemed all the more precious to her. Her home and most everything she owned was gone, her school in ruins, her friends and Professors in mortal danger, her best friend up against the most evil wizard in history, and yet…. Ron was here. She wasn't alone.
But with the thought of Harry came the reason they were here in the first place. She tried to nudge Ron…to somehow communicate the fact that they needed to find him. Taking a deep breath, she began crawling again, pulling at Ron to follow her.
She tried to navigate where they were going, but she simply couldn't. She needed to see! As her breath ran out, Hermione suddenly panicked. She needed more air! What should she do? She held her hands to her eyes and peeked through them trying desperately to ignore the pain that was scratching at her eyes and making them water. There was a figure…a boy. He was fighting, she could tell by the flashes of light around him. He jumped in the air, his black hair flipping in the wind. Harry!!
Still holding Ron's hand, Hermione did the first thing that came to mind. Jumping off of the ground, she stood up and began running.
All thoughts escaped Hermione's mind as she began to run. Greeted with air, she ran faster, Ron right at her side, understanding what she was doing now that his vision returned.
Harry and Voldemort stood face to face. They were talking in non-conversational manner now, but their wands were at their sides. Hermione wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying but she could see Harry's face.
His hair was everywhere; looking windblown the way Harry liked it. His beautiful emerald eyes were focused, his jaw set, and he was biting the insides of his cheeks again; a habit he had when he got extremely into something. He fingered his wand, rolling it in-between his fingers.
And then suddenly, Harry was on his back; it happened so fast Hermione barely had time to comprehend it. She froze where she was and watched as Voldemort laughed, walking slowly over to him. He leaned over Harry and muttered something. Harry turned red from anger and he shouted something. Voldemort shot a beam of purple light at Harry, making his body twitch and his mouth scream.
Ron was off…pulling Hermione along with him. His face was bright red and his wand was out. Hermione mimicked him, pulling the slender piece of wood out from her back pocket, her mind only on hurting Voldemort the way he was hurting Harry.
"Well Well Mr. Potter. Any last words?"
Harry sat up, sweat dripping from his forehead and said nothing.
"Nothing?" Voldemort asked humorously "Well I certainly have much to say."
Harry gingerly got up, his glasses askew, his footing unstable. Voldemort grabbed Harry by his shirt, lifting him up from the ground.
"You have been my obsession for the past seventeen years, I wonder what I'll do once I finally get rid of you? You've annoyed me beyond comprehension. Do you know…I still wonder how an innocent baby could kill me? I suppose that is something we'll let the world wonder won't we?" He growled
Harry kicked, trying to get his feet back upon the ground. Voldemort only laughed. "It's so sad really how easy it will be to kill you. You would have thought that after all these years it would take something miraculous to kill the famous Harry Potter. But I've enjoyed the challenge boy, I really have." With that, Voldemort threw Harry onto the ground, shattering his glasses.
"AHHHHHH!!" Harry cried as the glass pierced his right eye and blood started seeping through it.
Hermione and Ron sprinted. Hermione's stomach dropped. Why could Harry never remember the spell to fix his glasses?! Why had she always repaired them?! She should have let him learn himself!
Voldemort clapped his hands happily and laughed like a child receiving a present as Harry crawled around, squinting through the one good eye looking for his wand that he'd dropped. Blood continued pouring from his other eye and Harry kept on moaning and crying.
"Oooh Potter this is just too easy!!" Voldemort shrieked "Crucio!!!"
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Harry cried as the fires of Crucio seared through his body, burning up his insides. It was agonizingly slow, starting at his feet and making its way up.
"HARRY!" Hermione cried, tears racing down her cheeks as she ran. Neither Voldemort nor Harry heard her. But suddenly three Death Eaters seemed to appear in front of her and Ron.
"HERMIONE RUN!" Ron screamed as he pushed her away and tried to yell the killing curse.
She swerved to the left, but the Death Eater followed her. She ran as hard as she could when suddenly she heard Ron's strangled cry.
"RON!!"
Two Death Eaters had grabbed Ron and were dragging him away. "LET ME GO! HERMIONE RUN! GO HELP HARRY!!" He cried
Hermione's heart ached. She stood there, battling internally for a moment, when suddenly the Death Eater who had been chasing her, lifted her off her feet, and carried her towards Ron and the others. "NOO!" she screamed "HARRY!!!!"
"QUIET MUDBLOOD!" Her capturer snapped
"NO! NO!" She clawed at the man's back, she kicked him and punched him, but nothing worked. Tears rushed from her eyes. She needed to get to Harry…he was in trouble! He needed her! He was hurt! He was in pain!
They were headed into the forest….she was loosing sight of Harry! No she couldn't loose sight of him! She needed to fix his glasses and wipe up his blood. She needed to help him up and throw a curse or two at Voldemort. She needed to tell him again what he meant to her; they needed to be by his side when fate finally arrived! She couldn't be here…she couldn't! Everything was going so wrong! It wasn't supposed to happen this way!
"Get in there!" A voice shouted. Her capturer set Hermione on the ground.
Looking through blurry eyes, she saw she was standing in front of a makeshift prison, made out of bricks. It looked secure and prepared. How had no one not noticed something like this being built in the forest?!! As Hermione was led into the building, she noticed that there were only six cells, three on one side, three on the other.
No one was in here except for an elderly wizard who was huddled in the darkest corner of his cell. One Death Eater opened the cell furthest away from him, while the second shoved Ron inside it, the third pushing her inside soon after. She fell onto the dirt ground and Ron helped her up as the metal door swung shut and the sounds of the retreating Death Eaters soon faded away.
They were the corner cell with two brick walls instead of one, and though there were many holes in walls, none were big enough to crawl through. There was a window with bars on it, and they had a good view of the battleground. There was a faint light, one that was bright enough to see but weak enough to cast shadows every which way and about.
Silently, Ron sat down on a stone and put his head in his hands, not meeting Hermione's eyes. Unsure exactly what to do, she sat down beside him, looking at her hands, trying to rid her face of all of her tears.
"I'm sorry," She whispered finally. Ron looked up at her confused.
"For what?"
"If I hadn't yelled then the Death Eaters wouldn't have come. We wouldn't be here" She said softly
Ron sighed. "They would have come before we could have gotten to Harry. This isn't your fault 'Mione" He said staring at her eyes
Hermione bit her lip "Yes it is! You know it! Stop pretending!"
Ron lifted her chin, "Look at me. It's not your fault. We wouldn't have been able to get to Harry no matter what we did. Voldemort had Death Eaters around on purpose. That's just the facts"
Tears pricked at Hermione's eyes again. "One of us should have made it through. Did you see? His eye had been sliced! He was helpless on the ground! He needed our help! One of us should have been able to get around them! I should have run faster!"
"Shh…you did all you could. And at least we're here together right? At least we're not separated."
Hermione nodded and kissed him lightly on the lips. "At least we're together."
But with the now common sound of a familiar scream, the two looked at each other with fearful eyes. Rushing to the window, standing on stones beneath, Hermione wrapped her hands around two of the bars, looking at the scene before her.
Harry was levitated into the air, his hands to his neck and his legs kicking wildly about. He looked as though he were choking, his face was a reddish purple. His eyes darted around, terrified and completely at the mercy of the monster who had always ruled his life.
"THERE YOU HAVE IT!" Voldemort's voice boomed "HERE FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE IS THE-BOY-WHO-LIVED, THE HERO, THE SYMBOL OF STRENGTH FOR DUMBLEDORE AND HIS LITTLE ARMY! TAKE A GOOD LOOK EVERYONE! REMEMBER HIM AND THIS LAST MOMENT WHEN LORD VOLDEMORT HAD HIM CORNERED AND BEGGING FOR HIS LIFE! THIS BOY MAY BE A HERO TO SOME BUT HE IS HUMAN! HE IS SIMPLY A HUMAN WHO HAS NEVER STOOD A CHANCE AGAINST ALL THE POWERS OF LORD VOLDEMORT!! SO NOW MY FAITHFUL FOLLOWERS, HERE IS THE GRAND FINALE TO A WONDERFUL SHOW TONIGHT! SAY GOOD-BYE TO HARRY POTTER!!!!!!!!!!"
"No…" Hermione breathed, grasping Ron's hand so tight, his knuckles turned white.
The world went silent as Voldemort's wand tossed Harry into the air. His body rose gracefully, reaching its peak, and falling back towards the ground, where Voldemort shouted something inaudible to Hermione, and Harry, her best friend, disappeared into thin air as a brilliant gold flash of light blinded her.
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