Harry had suggested giving her a Calming Draught too once he'd eaten a sandwich to pacify her and they'd applied the burn balm where they could. By the time they noticed movement in Ariana's portrait again, Hermione seemed to be back to normal, though she still wouldn't unplaster herself from Harry's side.

"She's coming back," Ron announced, sitting up a little straighter in his chair with Harry and Hermione following suit.

"Who's she got with her?" Hermione squinted - it looked like someone was walking behind her towards them. Harry stood immediately, ready to defend her if needed. The portrait swung open, and the other two stood as well.

Harry's face broke into a smile. "Neville!" he sighed. It was a refreshing sight. "You look-"

"Like hell, I reckon," Neville grinned, hopping down from the portrait and hugging them all quickly. "Seamus is worse. Hey, Ab." he looked over at Aberforth, who had come back through the door to see them off. "We'll have a few more coming through once we get the message out."

Aberforth didn't respond, just watching them as they left and the portrait closed behind them. The thin tunnel looked like it had been dug out recently, which Neville confirmed by letting them know they just created it once all the other ones had been sealed off after the Carrows took over. He filled them in as they walked about everything that had gone on at Hogwarts, with Snape, the Death Eaters, classes, and the fact that the DA was back together. They were hiding out in the Room of Requirement.

The Hogwarts they were about to enter wasn't anything like the one they left, and Neville made sure to give them fair warning. "We're ready to fight, though. We've been practicing. Whatever you need, we'll be there, Harry. It really is great to see you three. I mean, I know you've been safe from the Order. We found a way to pass messages over the radio. Once we get there, we'll tell them to come through. Luna told us what happened at Malfoy Manor. You're all right, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded, taking Harry's hand. "Yes. Thank you. Has she told you anything else?"

Neville stopped, turning back towards her. "About what?"

"Oh, nothing. Just curious." She let go of Harry and shook her head quickly.

As soon as Harry stepped through the portrait at Hogwarts, the cheers and applause were almost deafening. He hadn't seen that many people in a long time, and it was kind of nerve wracking for some reason. But these people were counting on him. They were going to fight for him. They were on his side. They weren't alone anymore.

"Make some room!" Neville ordered as he climbed down the ladder from the scaffolding they'd put up to the height of the portrait. "Don't crowd him. Send out the signal, Nigel."

Harry had never been so grateful for him. They did as Neville asked, and Harry made his rounds, hugging everyone in turn as "Lightning has struck! I repeat - lightning has struck!" was uttered into some sort of microphone. Once Harry had greeted everyone, including some students he'd never even seen before, the door to the room opened and in ran Ginny.

"Harry…" she breathed out, hesitating for only a second before running to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugged her back briefly, and before he knew what was even going on, Ginny was kissing him. Last year Harry would have been over the moon, but now, there was nothing. It felt strange, wrong. Ginny pulled back once she realized, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

When Harry turned back to look at Hermione, Ron was holding her back as she'd whipped her wand out, pointing it at Ginny. He quickly released his arms from around Ginny, who looked between him and Hermione in realization. "I… I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

Hermione put away her wand once she came back to her senses and realized what she'd been about to do. "Sorry, Ginny," she muttered.

"I just thought I might never get the chance again," Ginny whispered, stepping back to put some distance between them. The rest of the DA were staring, silent and trying to put the pieces together. "Anyway… um… Snape knows you've been at Hogsmeade. At least, he assumed it was you. He's expecting you."

"What do you need, Harry?"

"Um…" It took a few seconds for Harry to gather his thoughts. "Right. We… we're looking for an object. It's… something that can help us defeat You Know Who if we can destroy it."

"Great! What is it?" Seamus asked.

"We don't know."

"Where is it?" Dean chimed in.

"We don't know that either," Harry admitted. "I know that's not much to go on, but… it'll be small. Something easily hidden. And it's got something to do with Ravenclaw."

"There's Rowena Ravenclaw's lost diadem."

Everyone looked at Luna as she spoke of the diadem like there was no other object it could possibly be. "Sorry, what's a diadem?" Harry asked softly.

"Sort of like a tiara," Cho explained. "But Luna, it's been lost for centuries. There's not a person alive who's seen it."

"But if it's all we've got… we have to start somewhere, but we need to deal with Snape first. We're not going to be able to do anything while he's still here."

"You want us to lure him out of the castle?"

"I don't know. Ginny, who's handling security? What are we up against?"

"Most of the Death Eaters that usually patrol went off to search Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. I think it's just Snape and the Carrows right now."

"Brilliant. We'll wait for the Order to get here, then. Between all of us, it'll be easy to take out the three of them. I don't want anyone leaving this room unless we have a plan or until the Order arrives, understand?"

Once everyone had agreed and relaxed a little bit, Ginny approached Harry again. "Do you want to talk about…"

"I don't think it's… really the time right now, Ginny."

"I just want to say I'm sorry. I would have never-"

"I know. It's fine, Ginny. Really. We can talk more later."

Ginny nodded, turning to Hermione. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I mean, I figured I'd know if…"

"You didn't," Hermione sighed. "It's okay."

"I just want everything aired out. If something happens to any of us, I don't want anything to be… I don't want to regret saying or not saying."

Ron looked between the three of them. "I'll leave you to it, then. See if I can help anywhere. Neville, got anything I can do?"

Neville quickly looked up from his shoes. "Uh… yeah, sure. I, uh… we can find something…" He walked off, with Ron following behind.

This was so uncomfortable for all of them. Harry and Hermione had thought they were past this. But these were new people, new circumstances. New conversations.

Ginny took a deep breath. "You two are together?"

"Yes," Harry answered.

She nodded softly. "Good. That's… that's good. I figured it was just a matter of time anyway." Her hands were in her lap, thumbs twiddling softly. "I thought I might never get to see you again, Harry."

He put a comforting hand on Ginny's for a second. "I thought I'd never see you again, either. And I'm… I'm sorry for hurting your feelings."

"No, it's… it's not a surprise. I knew you liked her and I shouldn't have kissed you. I just don't know what I was thinking, honestly. I wasn't. Hermione, I don't want things to be weird between us. I mean, I know-"

"Ginny, stop," Hermione interrupted. "I get it. I understand your reasoning, and I'm sorry for behaving so rashly. I was…" She shook her head. "This isn't going to change things between us, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good. I really do value our friendship, Hermione."

"So do I."

"Hey, guys… something's coming over the intercom," Nigel announced, pressing a button to project Snape's voice into the room. Harry tensed.

"All students and staff, report to the Great Hall immediately for instruction. That is all."

"Instruction?" Harry asked, his eyebrows furrowing. "What does that mean?"

"I don't know," Ginny shook his head. "We all have to go. He knows how many students should be there."

"Will he notice one more?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "No, Harry, you can't."

"It's the quickest way to get to him, Hermione," Harry sighed. "What other choice do we have?"

She took a deep breath, her eyes darting around the room for options before finally settling back on Harry. "We don't."

"We better get going," Ginny reminded them, standing up as the rest of the DA started heading out. "How do we hide you?"

As was expected in the Room of Requirement, with Ginny's request, a mannequin on wheels appeared with a Gryffindor robe hanging off it. Harry grinned. "Perfect. I'll fit right in with you. Hermione, Ron, you two stay here and wait for the Order to come through, then meet us in the Great Hall."

Hermione nodded quickly and hugged Harry as he stood and slid the robe over his shoulders. "Be careful, okay?"

"I will." He pulled Hermione in for a kiss, and Ginny turned to look. She had to. She had to see with her own eyes. And the magic between them, the spark between them, the chemistry they had with each other was tangible. It would have been impossible for her to have those same things with him anyway. He was better off with Hermione, whether she liked it or not.

Once everyone was gone, Hermione and Ron were left alone to wait. Hermione began pacing. "Okay, okay, okay… what do we need to do? Once the Order gets here, Snape's out, and then we have to find the horcruxes and destroy them."

"Harry can find the horcruxes better than we can. At least he'd have an idea of where they are. We'd be better off finding a way to get rid of them."

"You're suggesting we split up?! I'm not doing that. No way."

"We're split up right now, Hermione!"

"This is different!"

"How?"

Hermione opened her mouth to reply, then sighed, sitting down on one of the couches. "I don't know. I just really don't like the idea of Harry finding a horcrux on his own."

"Why not?"

"Do you remember what I said about the Dark magic and… worrying about his connection with You Know Who?" Ron nodded, and Hermione was lucky the Calming Draught was still working, otherwise she didn't know if she could pluck up the courage to talk about this. "I'm worried it's more than a connection."

"What do you mean?"

"Harry's a horcrux, Ron."

"Are you mad?!"

"No! You Know Who must have created another one when he tried to kill Harry in Godric's Hollow. That's why they can't hurt each other, that's why he can see into Harry's head, and that's why Harry can hear the horcruxes…" She was tearing up again. "That's why I've been trying to increase our bond. I was hoping that if… if I could get more of me into his soul, then…"

"The part of You Know Who would be forced out."

"Yes. But… I don't know if it worked. I won't know if it worked until…"

"Until what?"

"Until You Know Who is dead."

"But if Harry's a horcrux, it means…"

"That part of his soul has to be destroyed."

Ron was silent for a long time. "Does that mean he has to die?"

Despite the potion, Hermione felt prickling in her eyes, and her heart started beating faster. She pressed her palms into her eyeballs to shut her brain off a little bit. "He's not going to die. He said it himself."

"When you said he couldn't promise that-"

"This is exactly what I meant, yes."

"And he has no idea."

"No."

"Shit."

"We have to tell the Order."

"We can't tell the Order, Hermione," Ron said. "They… they're not going to let Harry die for a theory. They're going to protect him and go after You Know Who."

"But they won't be able to kill You Know Who if Harry's still a horcrux! Don't you get it?"

"I do!" He stood up, crossing the room to Hermione and pulling her arms away from herself. "Hermione, I get it. I love Harry, too. I want to protect him just as much as you do, and we'll do this together. We'll do whatever we can. But you also have to know…" she looked up at him with red teary eyes, her hands shaking even in Ron's grasp, "we can only do so much." She shook her head, but she needed to hear it. "If we have to lose Harry to win this war…"

"You may think about it like that, Ron, but I'm not giving up on him."

"What if you don't have a choice?"

"I always have a choice."

Kingsley was the first through the portrait hole, followed by the rest of the Order as they piled into the Room of Requirement.

"Where is everyone?"

"Snape called a meeting in the Great Hall. Harry's there, but I'm not sure what he's got planned," Ron answered. "Well, I know he doesn't have anything planned, but I don't know what he's going to do."

"Oh, we've been so worried," Molly whispered as she pulled Hermione in for a hug.

Hermione wiped her eyes as best as she could. "I've been worried about you all as well, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you all for coming."

"As if we wouldn't," she smiled. "Just tell us what to do."

Hermione pulled away from Mrs. Weasley, thankful that she didn't seem to be upset at her for not being with Ron. At least not outwardly, though she knew it was stupid at a time like this.

"We need to get Snape out of the castle so we can look for Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. That's the first step. We're not going to be able to do anything otherwise. We just need to go help Harry."

"Lead the way, then, Hermione."

Hermione nodded, all worries of Harry's safety aside. For once, she had to focus on what was happening right now, not what was going to happen in a minute or an hour or a day. Strange for her as it was, if she only focused on Harry, more people would be in danger. They had help, she reminded herself. It wasn't just her anymore. Ron was right - everyone in this room was there for the same reason. They'd protect Harry no matter the cost. No matter how much they told Harry otherwise, everyone in this room was ready to die for him.

Including herself.

There was no doubt in her mind anymore.

Kingsley ended up in front of the formation as the doors to the Great Hall opened and they piled in. Harry's voice was already coming through.

"It seems, despite your best efforts, you still have a security problem, Headmaster . I'm afraid it's quite extensive."

It was clear that Snape knew he was backed into a corner, that he was overpowered. But he wasn't planning on backing down. He had two Death Eaters on his side, at least, but there was no way he'd stand a chance. When he pulled his wand on Harry, even though the Order was ready, it was McGonagall who stepped between Harry and Snape.

Their duel wasn't long, and ended with what looked like an intentional deflection of one of McGonagall's spells to knock out the Carrows before he Disapparated through the window. Harry could hear the cheering from students, but it sounded far off, like it was coming from outside the castle. He blinked a couple times - his vision was tunnelling.

Someone screamed.

Another girl screamed.

Voldemort was getting into their heads. His scar felt like it was going to burst from his head. Voldemort demanded him. He was bargaining for him.

"Bring me Harry Potter."

Harry looked around at all the students around them. Anyone could give him up. Behind him, Hermione gripped his wand a little tighter, her senses on edge.

"Well don't just stand there! Someone grab him!" came a voice from the Slytherins, and before Harry could even process, Hermione had moved in front of him and grabbed his hand. Like a shield. Love was radiating from her every pore, and the power of it almost knocked Harry over. One by one, the other members of the Order crowded around Harry as well until there was a full circle protecting him from anyone who tried to listen to Voldemort's demand.

The Slytherins were sent to the dungeons and all students under seventeen were to report to a safe zone dependent on year. Any of age who wanted to fight could, and the Order was quick to begin delegating roles.

"I assume you have a good reason for coming back, Potter," McGonagall stated, and he only let go of Hermione's hand to approach her amid the chaos. "What do you need?"

"Time. As much as you can get me."

McGonagall nodded and started rounding up the staff and some of the straggling Order members to follow her while Harry headed out of the Great Hall.

"Harry, where are you going?" Hermione asked, reaching out a hand to hold him back. They'd just gotten back together - she didn't want to spend any more time apart from him than she needed to.

"Ravenclaw common room," he answered, but didn't seem as rushed. "I've got to start somewhere."

"Right. Of course. I… I suppose Ron and I can go, then. Ron thinks he knows where we can find a basilisk fang. The… the venom might be enough."

"Brilliant. Here, then. Take this." He handed over the Marauder's Map. "This is so you'll know where I am. Come get me when you're done, okay?"

Hermione handed the map to Ron, then pulled Harry in for another kiss, slower as she savored the precious seconds they had. "Okay," she whispered once she pulled away. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Come on, Hermione," Ron pleaded, grabbing her hand as she watched Harry leave. "We've got to go."

"You're sure you know how to get in?"

"No," Ron admitted, "but it's the best chance we've got at finding something that can destroy these things."

Being back in Myrtle's bathroom again was a little nostalgic. Everything seemed smaller, quieter, compared to the chaos she knew was about to happen in the rest of the castle.

"What are you two doing here?" They jumped at the voice and turned to see none other than Moaning Myrtle resting on top of one of the stalls. "What's going on? There's so much noise!"

"Myrtle," Hermione breathed out. "Long time no see. There's… something bad is about to happen. The man who killed you is back. He's coming to kill Harry."

Myrtle's eyes widened. "Harry? Is he okay! Are you going down into that chamber again?"

"We're trying to," Ron explained.

"We're trying to protect him."

"What can I do?"

"Ron, open the chamber." Hermione but her lip, thinking. "Myrtle, round up the ghosts. You can send messages through the castle. See if you can get the portraits in on it, too. The more eyes we have, the better. See where they need reinforcements, supplies, that kind of thing."

Myrtle grinned and nodded. "Of course. Do you need me to check in?"

"No, it's okay. Thank you, Myrtle."

Myrtle dove back into her toilet and Hermione let out a sigh.

"That was brilliant. Didn't even think about getting the ghosts in on it."

"I don't know if it'll work, but I wanted to get her off our case. And if it's anything to do with Harry, she'll do it no questions."

"Sounds like you," Ron smirked.

"Yes, well, no offense to her, but I've got more going for me than a ghost."

Ron smiled a little, but didn't respond. Instead, he stood in the spot in front of the sinks, trying not to think too hard about what they might see down there. He did his best to remember how Harry had gotten the locket open in the forest - something similar should open this, right?

To his surprise, the sink began to move as the chamber entrance revealed itself, and Hermione stepped back in surprise. She'd been in the hospital wing last time they'd gone through all this, but Ron seemed to be shaking. She reached to take his hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "It'll be different this time, Ron. The basilisk's dead. Ginny's not down here."

Ron nodded quickly. "I know, I know. It's just… we'll have to jump," he sighed. "It's kind of like a slide. Together?" He squeezed her hand back.

Hermione peered over the edge into the darkness. "Together."

They jumped, and sure enough, Hermione found them on a large stone slide that curved a couple times before depositing them into a room littered with rat bones. Ron helped Hermione up and kicked a couple of skeletons out of the way to give them a flat surface to stand on. "You all right?"

"Yeah. Fine. Thanks," she said, looking around. "I can't believe this is all under Hogwarts and no one knew about it. Not even Dumbledore. It's not like it's small ."

"Wait until you see the basilisk," Ron reminded her, looking around. "I think it's this way."

Ron seemed scared to speak as they made their way down the huge pipes, jumping at a couple of rats that ran around their feet. There was another door that Ron had never seen, a circular stone door with snakes coming out of the hinge. He tried the Parseltongue phrase again, and the snakes began retreating as the door unlocked and swung towards them. Hermione didn't say a word either until the main chamber opened up in front of her eyes.

"Oh my God."

"Shit," Ron echoed. "I've never seen this part before."

Hermione felt herself on the verge of tears again as she imagined the tiny twelve-year-old version of Harry seeing all this, fighting a basilisk, alone. Completely alone. They walked slowly down here, where it was quiet. They couldn't hear the chaos they knew was going on upstairs, and for a brief moment, they seemed to forget about it. Ron approached the skeleton of the basilisk. For them it was big. Five years ago, it would have been massive. Harry must have been terrified.

Hermione looked into herself, reaching for him. Right now, he was calm. She had no idea what he was doing, but he wasn't scared. He was focused.

"You do it," Ron said, holding a fang out to her. All she could imagine was it going into Harry's arm, shooting venom through his veins.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can, Hermione. Do it for Harry."

"It'll hurt him."

"It'll save him."

Hermione let out a breath and slowly took the fang from Ron's grip. They knelt down, Ron holding the cup in place. A second of meditation. She could do this.

The end of the fang struck the metal and she felt a wave of nausea roll over her - she could only imagine what it was doing to Harry. Almost as if it was being pulled, the cup flew across the ground as a wall of water as high as the chamber rose up and rushed towards them. Hermione quickly shoved the fang back into her bag before Ron pulled her up and took her hand, tugging her along as fast as they could run, but the water was faster. Ron drew Hermione to his chest to shield her from the weight of the water as much as he could, but it didn't stop both of them from being soaked from head to toe.

When it was all over and everything became quiet again, Hermione opened her eyes and pulled away from Ron to look up at him.

"Told you you could do it," he smirked, pushing her hair out of her face.

"Yeah," she panted. "Easy as pie. That's it? It's done?"

"It's done," Ron confirmed. "A little anticlimactic once it's over, but…"

"We need to find Harry…"

"Agreed. Let's get out of here."

As they were about to leave, Hermione backtracked to pluck another fang from the basilisk and deposit it into her bag with the other one, just in case something happened to the first. It was a little more difficult climbing their way back up out of the chamber, but they managed, and Ron immediately pulled out the Marauder's Map.

"He's not in the Ravenclaw common room," he frowned, kneeling to fully open the map on the floor. It was hard to make anyone out, with footprints moving frantically in every direction. Flashes of lightning were coming through the windows, but Hermione didn't dare look outside. She concentrated on distinguishing the footprints, looking for any going the other direction as others, or Harry's name.

"There!" she finally spotted, pointing it out as his footprints disappeared. "Wait, where'd he go?"

"That's the seventh floor… is he going to the Room of Requirement? It doesn't show up on the map, does it? You said that last year."

"I… I did. That's right," Hermione grinned. Maybe he had been paying attention after all.

"Let's go, then."