A/N: From all the frantic reviews I received, I could almost be convinced that you don't like cliffies! Thanks to everyone who responded – I've gotten more reviews for Chapter Twenty-three, than for any other chapter in the story. Thanks, as usual, to Jocelyn, who contributes her creative genius to this chapter as well.

Chapter Twenty-Four

"We must assume, therefore, that Harry Potter is dead… "

Hermione screamed, and kept on screaming…. crawling across the floor to the door, beating her fists against it, scratching and clawing… "NO! HE'S NOT DEAD! HE'S NOT! HE'S NOT DEAD!" She called for the Headmistress, for Tonks… crying out for Ron, Ginny… "WAIT! LISTEN TO ME! HE'S NOT DEAD!" She screamed until she had no voice left, no strength left, curling up on the floor and whimpering. Harry… oh god, Severus, bring Harry back….

Her own body, through sheer exhaustion, forced her to calm. The stone floor was cool against her face, and she rested on it as her hysteria eased. With calm came a feeling of clarity, and her sluggish mind began working again.

What had actually been said? That the Ministry assumed that Voldemort's move meant he was acting out of new confidence. What if it was exactly the opposite? What if Voldemort was actually making this move out of desperation?

Hermione sat up, and looked around. The room was in total darkness, and she shivered. "I hate the dark!" She hadn't realized that she'd spoken out loud, when a soft luminous glow appeared, coming off the stones of the walls. It created enough light to enable her to see around her cell. Coming to her feet, her mouth dropped open, as she understood that Hogwarts itself was responding to her. She put out a hand and tapped against the heavy door of the cell.

"I need this opened… please?"

Nothing happened. She pushed against the door with her hand, and then used her shoulder to put some force behind the move. The door didn't budge; she dropped down on the bench and considered her situation. Obviously, she wasn't getting out of the cell without assistance, and everyone was at Little Hangleton contesting the fate of the wizard world. There wasn't anybody left to come for her. Unless… .

"Can I have something to drink?"

To her disappointment, a glass of pumpkin juice appeared beside her on the bench, without an accompanying house-elf to whom she could appeal. She was on her own. With a sigh of frustration, she began to pace.

Back and forth… thinking furiously, but unable to come up with any way to get out of her predicament. Finally, dropping back onto the bench… she'd just have to wait until Severus and Harry came for her. And they will… they will!

There was no way to gauge the passing of time. She slept, for how long she didn't know. A request for food delivered a sandwich and another drink to her bench. She paced again. Staring at her feet, she walked from the wall to the door… from the door to the wall… from the wall to the… !

There was a brighter light coming under the door. The sconces in the hall outside must have lit up with the passing of someone out there. Hermione knelt, to be closer to the base of the door. She was about to call out when she heard it.

"Hermione?" Muffled by the door, but still recognizable.

"Neville? Is that you?"

"Yeah. And Susan's here, too."

"Oh, Neville. I'm so glad you're here. Will you talk to me? Do you know what's happening?"

"A big battle… everyone is saying that this is it. That Voldemort's making his final move. And… Hermione… they're saying that Harry is dead."
She felt sick. "He's not. I'm sure he can't be."

"Then where did he go? Where'd Snape take him? Tell me something, Hermione. I don't believe you betrayed him."

"Did you stay behind just to ask me that?"

"No."

"Then why are you here?"

"Hermione, I don't understand what you've done, but I don't believe that you'd do something to hurt Harry. There's a reason for it. And there's a battle taking place, and I think you need to be there. So, I've come to get you out."

Hermione rocked back on her heels and stared at the door. Hope surged, so intensely, that tears started down her cheeks and she was scarcely aware of them. "Please, Neville. Do get me out!"

"It's going to take a little time. I can't get the locks open, so I'll have to make an opening in the door itself. There's a fungus… we grow it in the cellar of one of the greenhouses. It excretes an acid that will eat through wood. If I spread it over an area of the door, it'll eat a hole right in it."

"How long will it take?"

"I'm not sure. I'm guessing about two hours."

"That long?"

"Can't be helped, I'm afraid. It's the only way I can get you out."

Hermione sat against the far wall, a little wary of Neville's fungus, especially when she started smelling something… hot, for lack of a better description. She had a feeling she didn't want to get that stuff on her. She tried not to fidget.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

Neville paused for a long moment. "You know You-Know-Who's massing all his Death Eaters, right?"

Hermione shivered. "Yes. The Headmistress told me."

"I mean… it must mean something. It's like he knows we're all out of options."

Biting her lip, Hermione nodded, then remembered Neville couldn't see her. "Uh-huh."

Susan put in more softly, "Can't you tell us anything? Anything at all? Anything else that might explain it other than… Harry being gone? I know you're probably… we know you have your reasons, I mean you must, but… we're scared. If you know anything, there's no one here but Neville and me, and we're going straight to Little Hangleton afterwards… we wouldn't tell. Not if there was danger to you."

So close. Just say it! a voice in her mind shrieked, wanting all the secrecy to be over and the burden on her soul to be lifted. We'll go straight to Little Hangleton, nobody's left to find out, Voldemort's already committed himself to a fight—no. She sighed. No.

Not yet. Not yet. You don't know. It's too dangerous. Your discomfort isn't worth their lives.

"I can't," she murmured aloud. "I… I'm sorry. Not… not now."

"So something's happening," she heard Neville say. "Something that could be at risk if you say anything now?"

"Neville..."

"Shush," Susan surprised her by saying to him. "She has her reasons, and if it's that dangerous, it's better that we don't know until it's safe."

Hermione leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. At least somebody understands. Then again, they may not be so understanding if Harry is... She shuddered convulsively and drew her knees up to her chest, resting her head on them. She was still sitting like that when she suddenly became aware of someone in the room with her. There was a gaping hole in the door, and Neville was cautiously approaching.

"Hermione?" He hesitated, then knelt in front of her. "Have you been hurt? Can you tell me that? Is anything wrong with you?"

She swallowed, then shook her head. "No. No, I wasn't hurt." Neville exchanged a hopeful glance with Susan, who had come up behind him, and Hermione added quietly, "That's the truth. I haven't told anything because I can't. It's… it would put them in danger."

Susan hissed, but Neville's eyes lit up. "I knew it," he whispered. "I knew you'd never hurt Harry."

Hermione scrambled to her feet. "And you're right; if this is a battle, I want to be there, whatever happens."

"Then let's go!" They left her cell at a run.

As they ran up flight after flight of stairs, Neville told her. "They've left no one to guard the place at all! It was easier than we thought it'd be to find you. Dunno why they've abandoned Hogwarts."

"McGonagall told me," Hermione panted. "They think Voldemort's killed Harry and that everyone's going to die." She grimly refused to dwell on that possibility.

"You think she's wrong?" Susan asked hopefully.

"I don't know!" Despite Neville's assurance that no one was left in the castle, Hermione looked around as they went down the corridors. "All they said was that Voldemort and the Death Eaters are massing, like they have nothing left to fear. But we don't know if there could be other reasons."

They hurried out the front entrance into the late afternoon sun. Hermione squinted as she scanned the grounds. Neville was right; Hogwarts was deserted. They headed down the Hogsmeade road. "We don't know much either," Susan admitted. "Reports started coming in of attacks on Muggles at Little Hangleton. A squad of Aurors went… only one made it back, it was awful! He said the Death Eaters were attacking everyone in the area. They razed the buildings to the ground and killed everyone who didn't escape. Muggles, wizards, everyone. They were vicious, out of control, like they weren't afraid of anything anymore."

As they passed outside the anti-Apparition wards, Hermione shivered. She supposed she couldn't blame the Order for fearing the worst. What COULD the reason be? Well, I'll find out soon enough. The bitter thought crept into her head that if McGonagall's fear was correct and Severus and Harry were gone, she could still do the Order the favor of killing as many of the bastards as she could before stepping in front of a hex. Not that that would make them forgive her, but at least they wouldn't have to deal with her when it was all over.

Neville paused and looked over his shoulder at the hulk of the castle silhouetted against the sun in the hills behind them. Hermione and Susan joined him silently for a moment. The three of them exchanged an understanding glance, then stepped apart to proper Apparition distance. "We'd better not pop right into the middle of the Order lines; they'll be on edge."

"Where are they meeting?" Hermione asked.

"On the common," Susan said. "We slipped back to get you. We'll take you Side-Along, a hundred meters from their perimeter."

"Right then," said Hermione, and let Susan take her arm. She let her breath out in a rush and exchanged a grim glance with the two of them, wondering what they'd find when they got there.

"I'll go first," said Neville. "In case anyone's right there." With a grimace, he popped out of existence.

Susan and Hermione waited for a few moments, then took a deep breath. "Ready?" Susan said. "One, two, three!"

The world re-formed with Hermione feeling more breathless than usual. The air was hot and acrid with smoke that billowed from several different directions. She and Susan instinctively covered their mouths, coughing. Neville appeared in front of them, his eyes tearing. "They're moving up toward the cemetery; the Death Eaters are massing on the hill below the Riddle House. I don't think we'd better try coming up behind them. Let's go around. We can meet them in the cemetery."

"And have some cover if they try to hex me," Hermione muttered, but nodded. "Lead the way."

It wasn't an easy run; Hermione could barely see from the smoke, and they had to pass several still-smoldering buildings to get to the cemetery. Even after Conjuring some cloths and soaking them with water to protect their noses and mouths, the stink of smoke and ash still made it hard to breathe.

Finally, they found the cemetery—when Neville tripped over a headstone. Hermione squinted through the smoke to see that the hill below the big old mansion was covered with a seething mass of black robes. "Lord, how many of them are there?"

"Aurors are guessing a few thousand," Susan muttered. She pointed in the opposite direction, and Hermione saw a mass of red robes moving out of the smoke. The Order forces were larger than Hermione had expected, but they were still outnumbered.

Nearly on the steps of the Riddle house was a larger figure, and Hermione could see his red eyes from where she was, even through the smoke. His teeth were bared as if in rage… That's not what I'd call confidence!

It must have showed on her face, because Neville and Susan were staring at her. "Hermione?"

"Look at him," she breathed. "He's not happy… and if McGonagall's right, he should be. He's… angry!"

Susan gasped and grabbed her arm. "Do you think that could mean Harry's all right?"

"I don't know," Hermione admitted.

"He might have another reason for being here," Neville mused, biting his lip with a hopeful expression. "For throwing everything he's got at us… it could be desperation." He dared a look at Hermione.

"If it worked," she whispered. "If they succeeded… he'd be desperate, all right. Angry at the very least."

"Then it did work!" Susan said happily. "Then they'll be all right?"

Hermione scanned the Order lines again, straining her eyes, and felt Neville and Susan join her, leaning over their shielding gravestone to look for any sign, any sign at all, of black glasses and messy black hair. If Harry and Severus had succeeded in killing Nagini, the last Horcrux, that would certainly have Voldemort up in arms. But surely they'd come straight here if that were true. They'd know Voldemort was attacking… or would they?

Where ARE you!

"Hermione?"

She sighed and bit her lip. "I don't see them."

Maybe they're not coming because… they still killed Nagini but… Harry… or Severus… one of them might have…

Her stomach lurched, and a massive shudder went up her back. Susan put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know where they are," she whispered.

"You did know what they were going to do," Neville confirmed quietly.

"Yes, but not what happens after! They should be…" she couldn't finish, and despair couldn't be held back anymore. Where are they where are they where are they!

If Harry and Severus didn't come back, even if they'd succeeded in killing Nagini, how would she convince the Order she was telling the truth? Would they even give her a chance to explain?

Then there was a buzz near her ear, and she reared back, expecting a bee or a wasp or a mosquito. But Susan and Neville exclaimed in surprise as a small object came to hover directly in front of Hermione, its wings beating so fast that they were nearly invisible, its iridescent blue body, not much larger than a bee, gleaming in the sunlight despite the sense of gloom settling over the Order and Death Eater lines.

For a moment, Hermione couldn't breathe, seeing the tiny roll of parchment clutched in the hummingbird's claws. Severus… She wasn't even aware of the chaos erupting as the Order and Death Eaters descended on each other in an eruption of curse light. "Take it!" Neville hissed at her.

She held out a hand, but then a collective yell from the combatants sent the little bird reeling back in surprise, and the poor thing lost its nerve and zipped out of her reach. She looked out, her hand still extended, to see the Order and the Death Eaters separating fast, and heard Voldemort let out an unearthly shriek of rage.

Between the two lines, almost directly opposite her hiding place, two figures had appeared, their robes hooded, but they weren't Death Eaters. The smaller of the two had something draped over his shoulder. As Hermione, her friends, and the fighters looked on, the smaller figure knocked back the hood of his cloak to reveal messy black hair, bright green eyes, and a fierce expression, and tossed his burden, the carcass of a giant snake, to the ground in front of him.

"That's six, Voldemort. What say we have a go at the seventh?"

Behind Harry, Hermione could see Severus Snape lowering his hood and raising his wand, visibly backing his young partner. No one could mistake that they were here together. A hiss of whispers and gasps went up from the Order members as they processed the new development, but when the first volley of new curses was unleashed by the Death Eaters, it met a solid wall of Shields raised by the Order around Harry.

Neville and Susan let out simultaneous screams of elation, and Hermione didn't even realize she was sobbing as Harry dropped into a dueling stance and Voldemort came charging down the hill towards him.

Hear what little green eye saith: "Nag, come up and dance with death."

Harry had always been a fierce fighter, stupidly reckless in her view, but now, frozen by the events unfolding before her eyes, she felt stronger than she'd ever been in her life.

He's going to win.

Either by mutual consensus or some order of their Master, the Death Eaters left Harry to Voldemort, and the boy and the monster disappeared in the growing chaos. That broke Hermione's paralysis, and she started running, with Neville and Susan at her heels.

There was no time to wonder about Harry and Severus when they hit the battle; she just launched a curse at the first Death Eater she saw. Neville and Susan, either afraid the Order might mistake her for the enemy or remembering her abysmal record in practice, flanked her, and the three of them stayed to the edge of the Death Eater lines. She caught a dizzying glimpse of Ron and Draco, side by side and blazing their way through the sea of black robes as if they'd been fighting together all their lives, and Headmistress McGonagall, throwing some sort of long-distance curse that knocked five Death Eaters clean off their feet, to be finished easily by nearer Aurors.

Someone saw her and shouted, but Neville yelled, "She's fine!" and apparently that was good enough for the Auror, who turned his attention to the more immediate threat of Bellatrix Lestrange.

Spells blazed all around her, some sizzling hot as they came close enough to singe her robes or her hair, and there was little to do but hex and shield as she moved in what she hoped was Harry's general direction. Before long, the fighting was thinning out, but she didn't think it was due to any great losses among the Death Eaters or any winding down of the battle; rather, it seemed to be due to the noise of some very loud spells ahead of her, and the hissing roars of a furious dark wizard.

She was right; she burst out of a thick knot of Aurors and Death Eaters who were mostly fighting hand-to-hand to find herself in a space made by the combatants for the tall, red-eyed monster and green-eyed teenager at the center of it all, blasting each other with spells on a power level beyond what any of them were willing to go up against.

Hermione wasn't the only one who had stopped in her tracks to watch, transfixed by the mortal battle taking place.

Harry had once told her about his wand locking with Voldemort's when they hexed each other, and she could see that happening as they fought. One or other of them would have to break the glowing connection before they could continue each time, and despite the intense power of the spells they were using, they weren't doing much damage to each other. At this rate, it would be a matter of one wearing the other down. Harry was younger, of course, but Voldemort… was Voldemort. She didn't want to place bets on their stamina.

Apparently, neither did Voldemort, and several people shouted warnings when the Dark Lord Conjured a knife out of thin air and went for Harry with it. Harry dodged the first swipe and got in a glancing blow with a spell, but Voldemort had the reach of him and then some, and his next attack sent Harry staggering, clutching his bleeding arm.

Hermione screamed, as did several of the other bystanders, and she was starting in to try to help when a spectacular weight slammed into her from behind. Hot, rank breath reached her nostrils, and she was wrenched onto her back as something scrabbled at her face, her arms, her clothes… she screamed harder and fought for all she was worth, kicking and clawing and biting, feeling more that it was an animal on top of her than a person… teeth flashed in front of her eyes, hot, damp breath was all over her face, and she screamed again..

"Avada Kedavra!"

The rabid creature's dead weight came down on her then, driving the air from her lungs, and all she could do was gasp and shove until she was out from under it, shaking like mad and staring into the lifeless face of Fenrir Greyback.

Panicked, she scrambled to her feet and batted at her skin and clothes, finding herself with several long, bleeding scratches and torn garments, but more or less intact, and she glanced toward her rescuer only to see Remus Lupin gaping at her. "What… !"

What Remus would have done then was anybody's guess, had someone not tried to hex him, forcing his attention back to the Death Eaters rather than the girl of uncertain loyalties, and Hermione decided now was not the time to try and explain. Besides, if she was going to be of any more use in this fight, she needed to get her mind off the question of just what Greyback had been trying to do. She resumed throwing hexes into the Death Eater lines and narrowly kept one of them from Incendio'ing Draco Malfoy, who blinked at her when she pulled him to his feet.

"Granger, what the hell're you... oh, right. Glad you could make it! Duck!" He gave her a quick Shield from another hex and yelled, "Watch yourself!" at her as he ran toward Harry and Voldemort.

Neville and Susan caught up with her, now battered and bloodied from skirmishes, and gaped at Harry and Voldemort. Neither the Dark Lord nor his 'Chosen One' seemed to have made much headway.

"How long's this going to go on?" Neville muttered, glancing around. Hermione did as well and was surprised to see that the fighting had thinned out, judging by the number of prone figures on the ground. She thought, or rather hoped, that she saw more black robes down than red.

"Dunno, their wands keep locking," Hermione said. Harry's eyes were bright, his brow furrowed with concentration, but he looked strained, and she could see that he'd been hit at least a few times. She hoped that Voldemort was growing weary as well, but that reptilian face didn't lend itself to readable expressions.

There was a roar of sound from another direction, and several Death Eaters went down at once, creating a gap in the fighting. Directly in Voldemort's line of vision were Ron and Draco, the two of them pausing to take stock of their efforts. The Dark Lord drew back from his fight with Harry, and in one unbroken motion, sent a hex streaking into the opening. Draco went down.

"No!" Hermione's scream was lost in the cries of the others around her. Susan grabbed her arm, painfully, and Neville started forward. They were intent on reaching him, when everyone in the immediate area went silent. Ron faltered in the act of going to Draco's aid, then stood frozen, staring in horror.

Lucius Malfoy was standing over his son.

Harry, too, had hesitated, breaking off his attack. Both sides seemed transfixed on the tableau in front of them.

Voldemort hissed out a command. "Do as I have commanded you, Lucius. Kill your traitorous son!"

From where she was, Hermione could not see if Draco was conscious. She hoped, desperately, that he wasn't… that he would never have to face the death he had feared, delivered at the hands of his father.

Lucius stood, his wand drawn, and made a low bow towards his master. Then, so quickly that no one realized it was happening, he came up out of the bow, swung his wand, and sent a curse at the Dark Lord, shrieking defiance.

Voldemort was already dodging it, apparently having had no great trust in his follower's loyalty. He returned two Killing Curses in rapid succession, one aimed for his erstwhile servant, the other for the servant's son. The Killing Curse aimed for Lucius missed him. The one that had been aimed for Draco didn't, because Lucius leaped directly in front of his son. The jet of green light lifted him off his feet, slamming him to the ground on top of Draco. From where she stood, Hermione could see Draco's stunned expression as he scrambled free, only to find himself half-holding his father's body, and her insides twisted with pity. Lucius's own hex had impacted on the ground, missing the Dark Lord, but causing enough of an upheaval to knock him off balance, and to the ground on one knee.

The area erupted, as Death Eaters fought to get to the aid of their master, and Order members fought to block them. A dark-robed figure ran forward, wand extended, and sent a bolt of red curse light directly into the Dark Lord.

"Merlin!" Neville exclaimed. "That's Snape!"

With his hood back, the expression of his face was visible to all. Severus Snape was hexing his master with all the hatred and contempt that he'd kept hidden for years. Voldemort managed to disarm his former servant, but then he staggered, putting one hand out to steady himself, and Snape simply lunged forward and kicked him to the ground. The Dark Lord threw out his hands to stop his fall, and the SNAP of his wand breaking was audible to all.

Hermione watched, holding her breath, feeling Neville and Susan on either side of her, knowing they were doing the same. Seconds slowed to infinity as Harry stepped forward, purpose written in his eyes, and all movement stopped. There was no wind, no breath, no sound.

His wand arced, his lips moved, framing the words, but the heavy, smoky, curse-scorched air swallowed them up. Green light burst from his wand, so brilliant in its intensity that Hermione had to shield her eyes. The impact was explosive, sending most of them to their knees. Struggling to regain her footing, Hermione heard Neville gasp.

"He… did it. He… Harry killed him."

Susan gave a cry, mingling joy and grief.

Harry was standing still, staring down at a patch of scorched ground. Severus Snape appeared out of the smoky haze beside him, one hand resting on his shoulder. Hermione thought her heart would burst at the sight.

"He did it! He did it!" Neville was swinging Susan around, and she was crying and laughing. "It's over!"

People were screaming and laughing, crying and cheering, and Hermione took off at a run, needing only to be where Harry was… where Severus was.

And then she heard words amid the shouting.

"That's Granger!"

"STOP her!"

"Harry, watch out!"

She'd always wondered what dying would be like. Time seemed to suspend itself as Harry's head snapped in her direction, and she was horribly aware of the curse lights streaking at her from all around. Throwing up her arms in a vain attempt to protect herself, she heard someone yell,

"NO!"

There was no time to wonder who had called out. Burning heat and crushing force slammed into her from all sides, sending pain ripping up and down her body, and she was powerless. It seemed to take forever to fall. Darkness was closing in on her. She was vaguely aware of someone running towards her. And then the smoky darkness swept over, and the ground rose up and struck her.

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