Disclaimer: I own the plot...that's about it

A/N: -squeak- I can feel the daggers already...I can see the crazed looks...-run and ducks behind chair- I'm so sorry! This chapter is late...and it's probably not that good. But I do have valid reasons for the lateness...I've got revision, the document manager wouldn't show up properly, so I couldn't get the final touches done...and I haven't finish the next chapter (?) -giggles nervously- Please don't hate me...

Aftermath

The wand holder had pulsed mutely against her skin. Signaling the end of the mission. Harry had saved them.

The heavy breathing had ceased.

The mask of the Polyjuice had slipped.

Leaving her exposed to her surroundings.

It had been silent. A silence that had resonated from every corner of her being.

She had quickly disabled Lord Voldemort's sight and Draco's voice.

Her wand had then, as if having a mind of its own, trod a familiar road. Her mouth breathed the curse out steadily. Clearly.

The jet of bright green leapt from the tip of her wand and streamed towards Draco, who stood stoic.

And she'd apparated away with Remus's limp body.

Not even bothering to look any further.

What was done should be done.

xxXxx

Ignoring the tearing pain in her arm, she dragged Remus out of the forbidden forest and into the secured premises of Hogwarts. Others appeared gradually out of the forest too, sporting wounds of their own. Moody was colored with blood, dark crimson, his own and others too, and bruises. Tonks had had a badly bandaged arm against her side.

Hagrid had appeared beside her and loaded Remus's weight off her and carried Remus towards the Hospital Wing. She'd thanked him with relief and promised to check on Remus after helping the others. She quickly tended to her own wounds. The deepest injury on her was the severing charm delivered at her in her last duel. The cut sliced from the middle of her bicep to the juncture of her shoulder; although it was not as attention demanding as the wounds of others.

A matted blond head caught her attention. Lavender Brown. She was limping and in her arms, she carried another body- Padma Patil.

Hermione approached both women.

Lavender's head snapped up at hearing her footsteps. Fear was evident in her eyes. She shook uncontrollably. Her clothes were torn and bloodied.

"Hermione…" Lavender said in a small voice, as if surprised and relieved to find her there. "Help her…please, help her."

Hermione look upon the battered face of Padma. Her body bled profusely. Her limbs on the right were crushed.

"Mobilicorpus." Hermione lifted the weight off her old classmate. "We'll have to go to St. Mungo."

xxXxx

Hermione and Lavender watched as two healers fretted over their wounds while another attended to their fallen comrade. They watched, mutely, with a horrifying fascination, as different healing spells were cast and the healers darted around like arrows.

They didn't know how long it was when the healer walked to them, expression grim, and depressing. Both of them held their breath.

"I'm sorry." The healer said quietly. "All we can do is to ease her passing. I could only douse her with pain killing charms."

Hermione bit her lower lip as she stood next to Lavender, who let out a gasp and broke into tears. She watched as the medi-witch said the incantations then walked away with bright eyes, leading her colleagues to tend to the others wounded.

"What am I supposed to do?" Lavender sobbed, burying her face into her bandaged hands. "I promised Parvati. I promised Parvati that I would look out for Padma. I swore that I'd protect her when she died."

Hermione put her arm around the woman's shoulder and tried to find the words to comfort her. There was little comfort that she could give. This was war. And casualties were daily occurrences.

"She fought for what she believed in." She said, blinking back the moisture that was gathering in her eyes. She would not cry. She had to be strong. For Lavender. For everyone.

"I know." Lavender whispered hoarsely. "But that doesn't change the fact that I've failed both of them."

Hermione didn't say anything, knowing that by trying to comfort her, it would only increase the other's guilt.

"I should be happy, shouldn't I?" Lavender heaved. "She'll be seeing Pavarti soon. They're twins…They must miss each other…but, but…I've lost Pavarti already…I-I-"

Hermione tried to maneuver her friend out of the Hospital Wing. Lavender didn't need to see the end of her best friend's life. It would be too much. She didn't think she could see Harry or Ron dying on a bed.

But Lavender shook her head and looked at Padma's crumbled form on the bed.

"I need to be here." She said bravely while allowing Hermione to help her sit down. "I...I need to prove that she existed as a person…to remember that she wasn't just another casualty of this damn war, left to die on a bed."

Hermione nodded, understanding Lavender's meaning. They'd all fought for a cause- to give the future a better world. They deserved to be remembered in their last moments and afterwards, too, for the life they'd given up. She walked quietly away. She'd remember and grieve for Padma later. This moment belonged to Lavender and Padma alone. The two women who'd been sisters and had supported each other because no men had been brave enough to take care of them.

Her remembrance could wait.

She went to the apparition point just outside St. Mungo and went back into the forbidden forest.

xxXxx

When she arrived at the Hospital Wing, Harry and the Weasleys were present. Molly was tending to the minor injuries on Bill, Charlie and Ron. Arthur was with Fred, who sat by George's bed. Harry was holding onto Ginny's hand by hers. The others must have decided to give them some alone time. The Weasley greeted her in silence, with a wave of the hand or a nod. Molly walked up to her and gave her a once over, making sure she was fine, before giving her a huge hug.

Ron's arm wrapped around her once Molly had let go.

"Are you okay? I heard you'd got captured for a bit." Hermione's voice muffled in his chest.

"Yes. Just a lil' bump on the head. Where were you?" Ron asked, once he'd released her from his embrace

"St. Mungo. Padma's dying." She said, tears that she had refused to cry in front of Lavender dropping.

Ron stiffened at the news. Another fallen.

"Oh. Lavender must be taking it really hard." Ron, eyes bright with the familiar sheen of tears, drew Hermione into his arms again.

"She is." She tried to control her tears. "But she's strong."

Although strained, Ron smiled fondly at her. "Always finding the best in people. That's what I love about you."

Ron kissed her temple and then before he could say another sentence, his mother came and dragged him off, saying that he needed to rest.

Harry noticing Hermione's arrival, waved her over.

Hermione summoned a chair and sat down beside him.

"How's Ginny?" she asked, inhaling deeply to calm herself and observing the paler woman lying on the white sheets.

"She'll be fine."

Hermione nodded, not pressing any further. She had an idea what Voldemort had done to Ginny.

"They tortured her. But you were right, she held out." Harry said with a proud and loving light in his eyes.

"I told you so." She grinned. She, too, was proud of her friend. The sister she'd never had. "She'll be walking in no time."

Harry nodded.

Then it was silence. Both absorbed in their own thoughts. Harry was probably thinking about Ginny. She wondered how Remus was doing. Madame Promfry was still with him. She was about to open her mouth to ask, when:

"I saw you." Harry said suddenly.

"Of course you saw me." She said looking at him funnily.

"No." Harry said, focusing his eyes on her. "I saw what you did. I saw you acting as me."

Hermione met his eyes steadily. "I did what I had to do." She said simply. Her thoughts flying back to that scene again. In her mind, she saw herself raising her wand again. She saw the jet of neon green speeding away...

"I know." He said quietly, looking back at Ginny's pale face again.

"Then why did you question?"

"Because you risked your life for me. For us."

"Harry," Hermione said softly, drawing his attention to her again; with complete sincerity, she said, "I would risk my life for you, for any of you, on any day."

She watched Harry's eyes shine with emotion. He drew in a breath and said roughly, "Thank you."

"No, Harry." Hermione smiled with that freedom that he'd seen when he woke up in his room in Grimmauld Place. "Thank you. For risking your life. For giving me hope and a chance to move on."

She'd done what she had to.

What had to be done should be done.

She'd kept her promise.

With that, she stood up, making her way to the bed close by and fell asleep almost immediately; leaving a puzzled but equally grateful Harry gazing after her.

A/N: Sorry! I know this chapter...it doesn't have much...but, I'm unfortunately experience mild case of W/B (this does not mean white/black...but the nightmare of writers), so tell me what you think? Did you like the Lavender and Padma bit? My friends and I feel really strongly about it.