Chapter 27

August 10

The Snape family sat around the table eating breakfast. Now at just over a year old, Emma was getting more food in her mouth instead of wearing it.

"So Sev, how goes this term's new batch of dunderheads?" Hermione asked.

"Gods, don't ask. I have another Longbottom on my hands by the name of Hankins," Severus replied. "Need I ask how your work is progressing?"

Hermione groaned and put her face in her hands. Emma imitated her and did the same thing.

"Silly girl," Hermione said to her.

"Sev, we have not so much as touched a cauldron. We've barely scratched the surface on that mountain of four hundred years of research material," she said rubbing her eyes just thinking about all the reading her and Tim would do that day.

"Tim joked that we at least should put some water boiling to give ourselves the impression that we are doing something," Hermione said wryly.

Severus laughed. He knew how she felt.

"At any rate, I'm very proud that you were given one of the most ambitious projects in history, and I have confidence in you. I'm sure you will find the answer," Severus assured her.

Later after lunch, Matthias rushed into the library to find Hermione and Tim behind a small mountain of books.

"Hermione, you need to get to Hogwarts right away. Use my office floo, something is happening and your presence has been requested," Matthias said. He hugged her.

"Please be careful," he said. By the look on his face, Hermione knew what was happening.

She smiled at him and winked. "I'm one of the golden trio, of course I will."

She floo-ed straight to Albus' office and was greeted with Albus, the staff, Ron and a roomful of aurors. Severus appeared from behind the crowd.

"Mione, he's on the way. We thought they were going to attack the ministry, but we just found out they are heading this way," Severus said.

"So this is it," she said calmly.

Albus stood and started:

"The younger students have already been sent away. Our sixth and seventh year students have stayed on a volunteer basis. Harry is with them now. Minerva and Severus will guard the main doors of the school. Several dozens of wizards and witches from the ministry will be hidden at strategic points, and the rest of the order members will get their orders from me individually."

"Hermione, I must go now," Severus said softly. They went to a corner of the office and held each other.

"Sev, I'm scared," she said softly.

"What's this? My little Gryffindor scared?" he gently teased.

"Yes and if you had any sense, you would be too," she said.

"You will be with Potter and Weasley so you have no need to be afraid. We all do this for future of all our children," Severus said cupping her face in his hands. "Please be careful, you are a target."

"Sev, I love you, I don't know what I would do…if…something happened to you," Hermione said.

Everyone looked to the Snapes in the corner whispering to each other. They saw Hermione nodding and the two embrace and kiss. Severus kissed her hand and left the room. Hermione was shaking and Ron came to her. He took her hand.

"Ready Mione?" he said gently.

"Yes, let's join Harry," she said.

In the corridor leading to the main entrance, Harry was giving last words of encouragement to the older students when a racket was heard outside towards the direction of the gates. Severus saw "The Golden Trio" talking together then hug each other. They took their miniaturized brooms from their pockets, enlarged them and mount them. Hermione, eyes blazing, waved the doors open with a determined wave of her arm and the three raced through the corridor out the main doors. Hermione winked at Severus on the flight out, slipping on her sunglasses. Minerva had her hand to her mouth at the sight of Hermione's shimmering blue robe, Ron's yellow one and Harry's auror robe flapping in the wind.

There were explosions and yelling from the main gates to the school. The deatheaters were trying to blast open the gates. Harry, Hermione and Ron were seen flying above the area of the gates in case a deatheater made the mistake of trying to fly in. Of course one did, going after Hermione. Severus' heart was pounding in his chest. Hermione took off flying straight up, deatheater following her. Two more flew in, Ron and Harry going after them. Then she dove for the ground doing a wronski feint. She flew from side to side dodging curses the deatheater was sending. She put her wand between her teeth and cast an "expelliarmus" with an arm and the deatheater fell from his broom. She pulled up then flipped over and cast an "arreste momentum" with her wand to the falling deatheater, binding him in magical chains feet from the ground. Severus' knees were shaking at the display. Harry and Ron were on the ground dueling the deatheaters they were chasing. Hermione flew in and threw a couple of vials of something at the feet of the deatheaters, causing them to drop to the ground. Ron and Harry bound them in chains then Hermione hopped from her broom to join them.

Minerva, Severus and some aurors were at the main doors, anxiously watching the fight unfold. A loud explosion that caused the ground to shake sounded. They had finally blasted open the gates. When the dust was clearing, the large metal gates were hanging on crooked and some was laying in big pieces on the ground. Red and green spell flashes were flying. Severus saw Ron laying on the ground under a piece of the gate, and Harry was helping Hermione to her feet, dodging a green flash. Hermione ran to Ron, shook him and shouted something to Harry. She cast a protection spell over Ron then joined Harry. She mounted her broom along with some wizards and witches and they flew above the crowd, casting spells and hexes from above while Harry and the aurors did the same from the ground.

The group was doing an admirable job of guarding the gates, but after a half hour, some were making their way to the main doors of the school. Minerva and Severus made ready as they approached. They cast shields over themselves when the spells, hexes and curses started flying. Severus, Minerva and the aurors were in two ranks, spread out defending well. He glanced every once in a while to the flying defenders, seeing Hermione's robe flashing in the sunlight.

So far, so good! Severus thought. He heard a "BOMARDA" and cry from Minerva and several aurors. They had blasted open half the doors. From the ground, Minerva was casting, "expelliarmus" at a deatheater who tried running past her. She paused for a minute, closed her eyes and transformed into her tabby cat form and took off for the deatheater, jumping onto him with a growl and wrapping herself around his face, attempting to claw his eyes out. This gave the aurors enough time to stun him and bind him. Minerva the cat went to work on the next deatheater that tried to get in. Severus was dueling a deatheater that took out the auror next to him. The deatheater pulled off his mask and Severus recognized him.

"Well well today is the day. I'll cut your traitorous throat like your filthy mudblood wife had hers cut," the deatheater bellowed.

Typical. They talk too much! Severus thought wryly.

"Let's work then," Severus snarled.

Hermione and the others flying above were getting tired, after having taken out over twenty deatheaters.

How much longer? she thought. She looked down towards the main doors of the school and saw Severus dueling a deatheater. Both of them cast the same spell at the same time, causing the spell to backfire to each other. Severus and the deatheater fell back. She looked to Harry who was also in a duel.

Sev can handle a stupid deatheater, Voldemort's coming for Harry. He needs me more! Hermione hated to admit it to herself. She knew Severus would say the same thing. She raced towards Harry only to feel her broom hot behind her. She looked back to see the back of her broom on fire!

Oh shit! Just my luck! she thought ruefully. She felt for her wand, and gasped. It wasn't in her pocket! Now to figure out how to get off without breaking my neck!

During this, Severus had been stunned and enervated by Minerva. As he was getting up, Minerva was hit by two stunners at once. Severus was enraged and was casting, "flipendo, stupefy, incarcerous" repeatedly at deatheaters so fast that they were caught off guard. Albus arrived and shouted to him,

"Go to the gates, help there, he will be here shortly! I need to help the students inside." He enervated Minerva and a medi-witch arrived to aid her. Severus ran as fast as he could to the sight of the main fight. He looked all over for Hermione, then got the fright of his life seeing her broom in fire. The end of her robe was now on fire, and he saw her gliding to the ground, battling to control her broom, already removing her robe mid-flight. About five feet from the ground, she hopped off the broom and hit the ground rolling. Now her leg was on fire, and she dropped to the ground snatching off her robe and patting wildly at her leg. Tonks ran to her and doused the flame with water from her wand. Tonks helped her up and Hermione limped towards the direction of Harry.

As Severus was approaching the group of defenders, he was hit from behind with a tripping spell, that a deatheater had cast from behind a tree. Severus fell on his wand, breaking it. He jumped up. The deatheater pointed his wand at Severus and sneered,

"As much as I would like to end your life traitor, the dark lord wants that honor for himself. But he said nothing about having a little fun with you."

Severus braced himself for what he knew was coming.

"Crucio," the deatheater snarled.

Severus went down, panting and groaning at the blinding, burning, stabbing pain. The deatheater kicked him to his back and put a foot on his chest. He cast a bone-breaking spell on Severus' left leg.

Hermione looked around quickly and nearly fainted at what she saw. Severus was laying on the ground with a deatheater's foot on his chest.

"NOOO!" she screamed and ran that way. Also wandless, she cast "expelliarmus" and "flipendos" at deatheaters as she ran towards Severus, not paying attention to the spells flying around her. Harry saw and followed as well. Dumbledore flew in on his broom and knocked the deatheater off his feet and Harry bound him. They dodged spells and curses as Hermione got to Severus. He was unconscious and Hermione was crazy from rage.

There was a lull in the action for about a minute then Harry cried out and grabbed his forehead.

"Harry!" Hemione said holding on to him.

"He's here!" Harry gasped.

Suddenly, ten deatheaters apparated in a circle around the group and three of them raised their wands and cast "stupefy."

"Harry, no!" Hermione shouted and jumped in front of Harry. She was hit with three stunning spells and went down.

"We don't want them dead, well not yet anyway. You will watch them die in front of your eyes Potter. Their screams will be the last thing you hear," Voldemort said stepping from behind three deatheaters.

"What, do you have to hide behind them?" Harry asked calmly.

"I think not," Voldemort replied. They conversed briefly in parseltongue then raised wands at each other, dodging the spells that came at each other. That caused the deatheaters to start dueling Albus and the nearby aurors. Harry felt something in his pocket and quickly removed it as he rolled on the ground and took cover behind a tree. It was a vial that was labeled, "Herm's Special Stuff" that had a clear potion in it.

Mione, what is this? Harry thought quickly, glancing at the unconscious Hermione. Albus saw Harry looking at the vial she had snuck into his pocket.

"Harry, throw it at his feet!" Albus shouted. Harry nodded and threw. The potion gave off a lavender scent and the deatheaters around Voldemort dropped to the ground asleep and Voldemort wavered, taking a step back.

Done in by a second-year level potion! was the last thought that went through Voldemort's mind.

This gave Harry just enough time to bellow "AVADA KEDAVRA!" at Voldemort. Magical energy could be felt in the air, Voldemort sneered at Harry, then the evil wizard disappeared in an explosion. Then just like that, it was over. Harry dropped his wand and fell to his knees crying.

"It's over, it's really over," he gasped through the tears.

Dumbledore knelt down beside him and said gently, "Yes Harry, it's over. Now we must tend to the wounded. They need our help now."