A/n: YAY! Today was my last day for classes! I'M FREE! Only 10 days left till I'm off for the summer; then I can post loads of chapters as well as new stories! Won't that be fun?
Yeah, I think I've discovered another reason to add to the growing list of why I'm an idiot. I think my anonymous reviewers were not allowed to review, but I think (a.k.a. hope with all my heart) I've enabled it, so we should be okay to go! This may not be my first fic, but it is the first one I've ever posted, so I'm new to the system. Sorry, I'm trying to get the hang of it!
Special thanks to my wonderful, favorite two new people on the web, Mystical-Magical-Me and shadowsfriend! Don't you two worry; I'll continue writing through thick and thin! And next week is going to be like pea soup- 4 finals! AACK! Chemistry never looked so evil.
In honor of my reviews, this chapter's extra long! And we all know that's because Neville and Hermione are about to kick butt!
Note: This chapter may not be enjoyed by Draco lovers. Sorry, kinda. Draco's not my favorite character, but I understand that it's mostly his father's fault. Although the apple never falls far from the tree, eh? Anyway, he kinda sorta had to die. I know loads of people think he's gonna turn out good, but I just don't see it. He reminds me of a braver Regulus Black, in the respect that he was sort of pulled into Death Eater servitude, but he'd get the job done (otherwise face the wrath of his father and Voldemort). But you will notice he never killed anyone in this fic, or attempted to. Does that make him a better person than Hermione and Neville? You tell me (REVIEW). Haha, did that seem like a subliminal message? ...
So on with the story! Neville and Hermione get ULTIMATE REVENGE! Mwuahaha.
CHAPTER 3: Rings and Retribution
More people were starting to rise. Minerva McGonagall was administering aid, as was Molly Weasley. Harry actually smiled at that. Healers were also Apparating on the scene and were beginning to aid those in immediate danger. A familiar face stared up at him from the ground. Neville Longbottom's eyes were glassy and far gone, but a small smile played on his blue lips. Bellatrix Lestrange lay dead four feet away. Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and closed Neville's eyes. And he continued on. Because he had to know.
Neville had been able to spot her the minute he had Apparated to Godric's Hollow. She did not even bother with her mask as it only hindered her view, so her dark skeletal-like eyes darted back and forth between Aurors and Order members as she dueled and won against each of them in turn.
This was his one chance to get revenge. His one opportunity to prove to his parents and himself that he could do something he really wanted: to avenge his parents.
He strode determinedly and confidently past other duels towards her, ignoring everyone apart from his target.
She had just finished off another opponent with the Killing Curse when she turned to look at him.
"Well, what do we have here? Don't I know you from somewhere?" she cackled in her evil, mocking voice he detested so much.
Neville gritted his teeth and clenched his wand tight. "You ought to. I'm the one who's going to murder you."
Her dark eyes glowed intensely; she smiled in apparent delight as she ignored his last statement. "The Longbottom boy! Time to complete the set and send you to the loony bin with Mummy and Daddy? Or would you rather me just kill you instead?"
Neville shot off a spell in his anger and she easily blocked it.
"Temper, temper, Longbottom; you'll have to control that anger if you want the chance to live."
But Neville couldn't handle her taunts anymore; he sent off spell after spell at her, thinking of every hex and charm Harry had ever taught him in the D.A. over two years ago.
She dodged the first few easily, but as Neville's spells intensified and his aim improved, she had to use her wand to set up shields and fire a few hexes of her own to keep up.
"Stupefy! Impedimenta! Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus!"
"Protego! Finite Incantatem! SECTUMSEMPRA!"
Her final spell hit him in his wand arm. He dropped his wand and hissed in pain as long gashes cut across his arm deeply, blood pouring profusely. He dropped to his knees in search of his wand, but stopped abruptly as she crouched beside him and shoved her wand into the side of his neck.
"Final chance, little boy. Beg for mercy and I shall make your death swift and painless."
Her wand was poking so hard he was finding it hard to breath, but he was able to let out his reply in a raspy voice: "Never."
"Someone needs to be taught a lesson," she said with a cruel smile, "on how to speak politely to their executioners. Crucio!"
He was in unbearable pain; white hot knives pierced every part of him. He tried not to scream, not in front of her, but couldn't help but let it out as wave upon wave of pain coursed through his body. She threw back her head and cackled.
'But she's not watching me,' Neville thought in his delirious state. 'Where's- wand- where'd it go-'
He was rolling on the ground, trying to relieve the pain somehow and to see if he could feel around for his wand. That's when he realized a different pain on his back- he was laying on his wand.
She finally lifted the curse, returning to grimace above him, watching him twitch as a result of the aftershocks of the curse. She leaned over to whisper in his ear.
"Final choice, boy. Mercy killing or torture to insanity?"
Neville was able, miraculously, to reach his hand to where his wand lay. He still needed a distraction, though- something to give him enough time to whip out his wand. He did the first thing he could think of.
He spat in her face.
She stood up and backed away from him in a shriek as she wiped at her face, allowing him enough time to sit up completely, aim his wand at her, and shout out the curse: "Avada Kedavra!"
She, however, realized what he was doing and likewise unleashed the Killing Curse a split second after he had.
Time seemed to slow as the two spells nearly collided in midair; only a few inches separated the two. The spells seemed to pick up speed after they passed each other and made their way towards their respective targets.
She was hit with the green light first. Her eyes slowly widened in surprise, her mouth formed a perfect o, and she fell face forward into the dirt a few feet in front of him.
Neville had barely enough time to glow with pride before he too was hit with the fatal curse. He did not act surprised though, or look even remotely afraid. As he fell onto his back, all he could do was give a smile.
He had finally killed Bellatrix Lestrange.
Draco Malfoy's normally slicked back hair framed his pale face in disarray. Crabbe and Goyle lay at his side, loyal to the end. All three were dead, and a bushy-haired somebody was slowly rising to her feet. Harry had finally found part of what he was seeking. Hermione retrieved her wand and turned around to face Harry. She was cradling her right hand. It had been shattered to pieces.
"Ah, so we meet for a final time, Mudblood," Draco Malfoy's voice rang cold and true throughout her head.
"Stupefy!"Hermione yelled, finishing off the Death Eater she had been dueling with. Then she turned to stare into the dark gray eyes that bore into hers.
"Malfoy," she spat out the name, as if it were a bad taste in her mouth.
"Let's go, Granger, Weasel's not here to protect you now," he replied.
Her face tinged light pink but continued nonetheless: "I can protect myself, Malfoy. You, on the other hand…." she pointed her wand to Crabbe and Goyle. The two hulking figures were standing on either side of Malfoy, deflecting awry spells headed their way from other battles.
"It's okay, Granger, I understand that your little friend is busy," the young Death Eater replied smugly, glancing some distance over her shoulder. "He has enough to be going on with for now."
Hermione felt a jolt in her stomach as she reluctantly glanced behind her, enough to see what Draco was looking at but still able to keep the three in her peripheral vision. They, however, were watching the scene behind her, and were unwilling to hex her while they enjoyed her discomfort.
Her breath caught in her throat; Ron was battling like mad: spell after spell flew from his wand as he ducked and dodged spells aimed at him. Peter Pettigrew stood before him, surprisingly battling just as fiercely, using his silver hand to create a unique advantage.
Then she saw it; out of the corner of her eye, Malfoy was drawing his wand and muttering something under his breath. She quickly spun on the spot and performed a silent Shield Charm. Draco's curse bounced off her shield and shot at Crabbe. He howled in pain as the hex hit near his eye, causing boils to erupt all over his face.
Hermione allowed herself a moment of self-satisfaction before returning to scowl at Draco. He, for his part, looked slightly startled. He quickly erased it, however, with a smirk.
"Nice trick, Mudblood," he replied, smooth as ever. He stepped forward a few feet. "If you want to give up now, though, I promise I'll make your death nice and quick."
Hermione laughed bitterly. "You kill me? If you don't have the guts to kill an injured old man without a wand, what makes you think you'd be able to do in someone who is obviously smarter and better at dueling than you?"
Draco scowled and sent a silent hex at her, which she quickly blocked. He sent two more spells, but she blocked the first and deflected the second, which grazed Goyle's arm.
Draco turned angrily to his two comrades. "Are your feet stuck to the ground? Get over there!"
Goyle nodded dumbly and Crabbe removed his hand from his face. Both started advancing towards Hermione, but in the moment Crabbe had let his guard down from the off-target spells of other duels, a jet of green light flew straight and true and hit him in the chest. His eyes widened in horror and he fell to the ground, dead.
Malfoy looked nauseous and Hermione felt the bottom of her stomach drop out. Goyle stood and looked down at him as if completely lost.
Malfoy cried with rage and turned fierce eyes toward Hermione. She looked at him in surprise.
"I- I didn't- it wasn't me-"
He, however, would not accept any of her stutters, no matter how true. He seemed to have put all reason behind him.
He performed a quick succession of silent spells, most of which Hermione was able to block, but a few managed to nick her, causing bruises and cuts to formulate. Finally, he shot out a Trip Jinx, which caught Hermione off-guard and sent her face-first into the street. She started to get up before Draco came over and kicked her in her stomach, sending her back to the ground, completely winded.
"You know what was the most rewarding thing I did last year, Mudblood?" he asked her, then kicked her in the stomach once again. "Possibly one of the greatest things I've ever done in my entire life? It was nearly murdering the Weasel King. That poison was mere seconds away from killing him; if it wasn't for Saint Potter, your pathetic trio would be one weasel short."
Despite the pain in her stomach, Hermione felt pure rage course through her body as she listened to his tirade. She tried to inconspicuously point her wand at him; however, he seemed to notice and brought his foot down on her hand. Hermione immediately dropped her wand, where it rolled to her side; she grimaced and clenched her teeth as she felt the bones crunch underneath his heel. He smiled spitefully and ground her right hand further into the cement, and she couldn't help but yell out in pain.
"And what's this?" he asked, removing his foot and stooping down to examine her hand. He picked it up gently, much to Hermione's surprise, and examined her ring finger, on which sat a silver ring with a small diamond in the center. "Getting married, Granger? God, I hope you're not planning on spawning any Mudbloods."
Hermione tinged pink but faced him head-on. "It's a promise ring, not that it concerns you."
"Oh, a promise ring…now who might the idiot be that placed such a meager symbol of your love on your hand? Considering that it looks to have cost about two Knuts, I'd have to say the ring's from the Weasel."
Hermione tried to conceal her anger as she attempted to maneuver her left hand without being noticed by Malfoy. She carefully struggled to move it under her stomach so as to retrieve her wand, which had rolled to the right side of her body. Until she could reach it, however, she'd have to distract him.
"When I put on this ring I promised someone I cared for deeply that I wouldn't leave him no matter what, especially not because of the likes of you."
Malfoy seemed pleased that she was taking his bait. She inched her hand ever-closer to her wand.
"Sorry, Granger, you're not my type. I prefer mine Pureblooded and a bit stupid, that way they know who the boss is. It seems we have somewhat similar tastes in this respect."
If Hermione wasn't so close to wrapping her fingers around that precious stick, she would have sat up and slapped him.
"Ron is one of the smartest people I have ever met, even if you are too blind to notice. And I feel sorry for you, Malfoy, because the only way you'll find someone dumber than you would be if you went out with Goyle."
Goyle, for his part, did not even register the fact that he had just been insulted. He was still staring at Crabbe, whose face had gone white as a sheet and whose eyes were glassed over, staring at nothing.
Draco also seemed unperturbed by her cheek; rather, he seemed to be done with their game, as he slowly sat up and stared condescendingly down at her battered body. He smoothly drew his wand and pointed it at her chest.
"I kill you first, Mudblood," he stated, as clear and concise as he used to sound when giving first-years detentions as a prefect, "and then I help Pettigrew kill your boyfriend- or husband- whatever you want to call him. But first-"
He reached back over and yanked the ring from her right hand. She unwilling shrieked with pain as he threw her broken hand back down and sat up with the ring in his clenched fist.
"You broke your promise, Granger. You swore you wouldn't leave him. So now I break your ring, and then you."
His concentration on the ring provided Hermione a perfect distraction as she finally reached her wand and rolled over so as to better face her foe.
"A good Severing Charm ought to do it. Diffin-"
"IMPEDIMENTA!"
Hermione had never felt so much hatred toward him before. The thought that Malfoy was so close to destroying something so precious was completely infuriating.
"How dare you," she said in a dangerously low voice. "What gives you the right?"
Malfoy, having jumped to the side to avoid the spell, dropped the ring in the process. His eyes narrowed maliciously.
"You dirty little bi-"
"Impedimenta!" Hermione shouted out again.
Draco set up a shield and countered with a sneer.
"Rictusempra!"
"Incarcerous!"
"Stupefy!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"SECTUMSEMPRA!"
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
"CRUCIO-"
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
A green jet of light immediately burst from Hermione's wand and made a direct course towards Malfoy. He stood shocked, caught completely unawares.
Even in death, Malfoy made sure he went gracefully. His back arched and he fell almost as if in slow motion. He didn't seem to make any noise as he hit the ground next to Crabbe, or it could have been that Hermione's hearing was no longer working properly.
Something felt dark about her now. She continued to pant heavily, her eyes still narrowed and her wand still poised where Malfoy had been standing moments ago. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, the adrenaline still pumping quickly through her body: she wasn't sure, even now, how she felt about Malfoy. Yes, she was mortified, but at the same time she couldn't forget about his death threats, especially those aimed at Ron.
She slowly returned her wand to her side, lowered her head, and continued to clench her teeth as the memories flooded her mind.
Ron. She swore to herself that she wouldn't bring up that moment before the battle, when he gave her that ring. Promising to keep them both safe, and her the same; that after the war, they'd be together. Thinking of Ron, some of the darkness she felt seemed to fade away.
Her head popped back up as her reverie was interrupted by the hulking form of Goyle, who had finally moved from his original position in front of Crabbe. He shuffled his large feet to stand at Malfoy's other side, to see if what he had just witnessed was true. After staring at Malfoy's glassy eyes and unmoving form, his suspicions were confirmed: Draco Malfoy had just been murdered by Hermione Granger.
He seemed to hesitate; he sniffed, looked back at Crabbe and then Malfoy again. Finally, he stared into Hermione's eyes. The two stared at each other for at least a minute before he seemed to formulate what had happened. He raised his wand and took careful aim.
"Avada Kedavra," he whispered, barely loud enough for Hermione to hear.
The rushing sound of death; a green light; then nothing.
Goyle fell beside Malfoy, pale as death.
He had pointed his own wand on himself.
Hermione, who had watched all of this silently, couldn't help but let out a gentle sob as a tear traced down her cheek. Her limbs were growing heavy and the adrenaline that had been pumping through her body had all but dissipated.
But suddenly, she remembered-
The ring.
"Where is it?" she asked herself, in a complete panic as she dropped to her knees to search the ground frantically. "Where'd it go? How- where-"
Then she saw it, right where Draco had dropped it. She crawled over quickly and picked it up with a groan of longing.
"Oh, Ron," she moaned, placing the delicate ring on her uninjured left ring finger. "Please keep your promise."
An off-course Stunner from another battle hit her right in the chest, but she felt no pain as her body hit the ground and her world disappeared into darkness.
A/n: Kind of anticlimactic on that last part, but another chapter, another…dollar? Oh, that really doesn't work (like anyone would pay me to update...).I've been in debate about writing a sort-of prequel to this story. It'd be about Ron giving Hermione her ring, but I haven't decided yet. I'll see how the rest of this story goes before making a decision.
Next chapter: Happy!Harry and Worried!Hermione meeting, and Angsty!Remus.Oh, I'm gonna get killed for the next chapter. Remus fans, you may want to load your guns now. Dangerous times lie ahead, readers...
So thanks for reading and please take the time to review! And thanks again to my two wonderful reviewers!
diesel writer