Hermione

Hogwarts

May 2nd 1998

"We need to find the snake," Harry shouted, still rubbing at his scar. The four rushed back to the entrance of the Room of Requirement.

"Nagini is always by him, it will be by him," Draco told them, reaching the door first.

"We need to find Voldemort," Ron added.

"Harry," Hermione turned breathlessly to her friend, "you have to go into his mind. Find where here is"

She had never asked Harry to do this. Hell, her only stance on the matter was to never, ever explore the connection. It made her deeply unsettled, but they had no choice.

Harry, maintaining a wary look with Hermione, eventually broke, took a stilled breath and closed his lids with a flutter.

There was no trace of pain on her friend's face as he willfully accessed Voldemort's thoughts. It mildly relieved her guilt in asking him to do such a thing.

A beat passed, and Harry opened his eyes.

"The Shrieking Shack," Harry gasped and his eyes moved rapidly about the room, recalibrating where he was.

Hermione and Draco turned to one another.

"The sound you heard," she started.

"It was him," Draco finished.

Ron stood to the side, panting angrily, his hand clenched around his wand. "The coward isn't even fighting?"

Draco pushed open the door of the Room of Requirement and the sounds of war accosted them; their skin vibrating against the decibels.

A set of students ran by them, but one stalled, careening their attention through the doorway to the Room of Requirement.

"Look there is a ton of stuff in here we can use. Come on!"

Witches and wizards piled into the Room of Requirement, pushing past them in their haste, not even noticing that Harry was among them.

Peering along the hallway, Hermione noticed the numbers on the side defending Hogwarts had grown. Older, unfamiliar faces now accompanied students in their school robes. Somehow, more had come to fight.

Pansy crashed into the four by the door wearing a disheveled expression.

"Luna, Theo and Ginny ran off to help Neville and Professor Sprout mount a defense on the north end of the castle," Pansy filled them in. Ron's eyelids twisted painfully, accepting his sister to now be in danger.

"We need to get to the Shrieking Shack, now!" Harry bellowed over the calamity.

The ground quaked underneath them. Everyone stopped what they were doing; the sounds of chaos dimming.

Hermione moved to the closest window and found the source of what shifted.

The invisible dome, something which had always protected Hogwarts, fizzled away, disingrating like quick burning tissue paper.

"We need to go now!" Harry yelled again, the rest turning to the sound of his voice. The brief sound of calm had decended back into chaos.

"This way," Draco called out, grabbing Hermione by the hand and moving them in the direction they had come from earlier. He was guiding them back to Filchs' abandoned shack.

Pansy, Ron and Harry sprinted after the two. Their formation weaved in and out of students, teachers, parents, statues and anything else defending the school as they barreled ahead towards their checkpoint.

Fresh movement in the ground beneath them threw Hermione violently into the nearest wall. Under her, the cobblestones moved on their own accord, like they were beginning to crumble.

"Everyone move!" She bellowed, yanking Draco by the hand and wildly grasping out for anyone else near her.

No more than a few seconds passed when the ground that had been under their feet fell away, leaving a gaping hole in the ground exposing the castle grounds well below them. She gripped down on Draco's hand with a vice like grip and inspected frantically for the other. Only when she saw them all safe did she take in a ragged breath.

Draco returned her grip briefly before resuming the path to Filch's old closet.

With Hogwarts' defenses dismantled, each hallway gave way to fresh battles, but they could not stop to fight, they needed to keep moving.

Draco led them, closely followed by Hermione, each casting powerful spells ahead of them with deft precision.

They came across a deserted set of stairs and descended, taking steps two, sometimes three at a time until they were back on the ground floor. When they stepped through to a hallway just outside the Great Hall, the party halted in stunned horror.

The ground could hardly be seen; moving bodies occupied every square meter. There were close range duels and more than one set of wizards trying to subdue their opponent by physical means.

A spell sailed by Pansy's nose.

"Bloody hell!"

Pansy's voice focused them, and they charged ahead.

Despite the majority of the student body knowing Draco had switched sides, many of the newly arrived fighters did not. So when they caught sight of the signature Malfoy blonde hair, they let their spells fly. Alternatively, Death Eaters saw Pansy and Draco moving with the enemy, and also turned their wands on them. They were getting it from both sides.

With the help of Hermione, Ron and Harry, they were able to fend off the majority of attacks, with the exception of a stunner meant for Pansy, which nicked Ron in the shoulder, sending him off balance.

Further they pushed, finding what narrow channels within the fight that could lead them to the access point.

Hermione's wand work was quick and met its mark on nearly every strike. She did her damndest to not panic, to not think about how both sides were trying to kill Draco, and how even if they made it to Filch's closet, they would still need to run across the Hogwarts grounds and make it past the Whomping Willow's murderous limbs.

Cutting through sounds of battle, where almost nothing could be clearly discerned, Hermione heard Draco's voice slice through.

She whipped around to hear "Weasley," rip from his lips in a commanding boom. Her face turned to see Ron under an archway, and quickly refocused back on Draco; his attention on a Death Eater off to the side, winding his arm to cast a curse in Ron's direction.

Mere milliseconds passed since Hermione heard Ron's name carry above the sounds of fighting. Time slowed, or at least it did to Hermione. Ron stood unaware, about to be killed.

Just as the column of stones shattered above him, Hermione watched as Ron's body invisibly jerked itself out of the way. Time resumed as normal, and Hermione, releasing her tightly held breath, saw to her side Draco standing with his wand steady on Ron, having just cast the spell to save his life. The two wizards gave each other a terse nod before turning back to making their way through the fight.

With the commotion caused by the collapsed ceiling, a lane opened which Hermione spotted and she pushed ahead.

They finally made it to a less trafficked side corridor, mostly consisting of scattered students running back and forth supporting the fight.

"Here," Hermione barked out breathlessly, coming to a halted stop in front of the door.

Draco stepped ahead and quickly unlocked it and one by one, they piled into the small storage closet.

Ash and sweat covered her face which she tried wiping away hastily. The others were no better for wear, either.

She took one sorry excuse for a deep breath into her lungs, and huffed it out. They still had more to do.

"Once we're out this door, we'll come out right by the front gate. The Whomping Willow will be straight ahead, after a hard left at the bridge."

The words were out of her mouth before she recognized she was taking charge.

Harry nodded to acknowledge her, Pansy appeared stunned to find herself in such a situation, and Ron had turned white, but his expression remained resolute. Draco's stare hardened.

"I'll go out first, make sure the coast is clear…" Draco suggested, the steady gaze of his grey irises boring into Hermione. She cut him off.

"No. We all go together."

He gave her a grim smile, appraising her. She was scared out of her wits, but present enough in mind to know she could bury it and be the voice of reason.

"We can do this. We've been through worse. The Whomping Willow is not far," she told them with authority in her tone. She monitored each person, ensuring they reflected back some level of confidence before nodding herself. "Are we ready?"

"What a fucking question," Pansy laughed nervously, "but yeah."

The others nodded, and Draco gave her another tight smile.

"OK lets go."

Draco

Hogwarts

May 2nd 1998

Opening the weathered keeper's door to the outside, the first thing Draco noticed wast the shift in sound.

Even though they were tucked down a narrow path, the clamors of war carried, bouncing against the stone walls, amplifying in volume. Agonized cries, both high and low pitched, met them. The screams of a spells blasting against inanimate objects, and the hollow sounds of those objects crumbling, burrowed under their skin, down to their bones until all they could feel was the vibrations of war.

They moved swiftly through the cobblestoned corridor until the school's grounds were before them. Off in the distance, the Whomping Willow came into view.

The ground shivered with a measured tempo under their feet; like the beating of a slow drum.

Craning his head around the corner of their secluded pathway, Draco found the source of the unsteady ground: Giants.

Two giants trudged against the backdrop of fire and destruction. Both were at least four times the size of Hagrid, and each had a fully grown tree clutched in hand as weapons.

"Giants," Ron muttered, his voice sounding frail. The rest of the group moved to see for themselves.

The giants ambled dumbly over the grounds, generally walking towards whatever commotion their ears could attune to. As they went, they caused destruction, but they were equal opportunity about it; they would attack and kill whatever came across their path.

Ron stepped out of their hidden corridor, aiming to move the pack forward. Harry reached out to pull him back, but Ron shook him off.

"I'm taking the lead," Ron declared with some force, moving his glare back out to the battle in front of them. He took one stiff breath, concentrated his shoulders, and walked into the unknown.

The five did their best to stay low while keeping a quick pace. Draco noticed the fighting moving indoors, leaving the grounds eerie and somewhat deserted.

Thinking their path generally clear, it took them off guard when a Death Eater on a broom swooped over them and fired a killing curse into the center of their huddled mass, barely missing Granger.

Draco reached out for his witch, throwing an arm over her back as he watched the Death Eater pivot above, turning back for another pass.

A new voice from above pulled his attention, and he saw a second Death Eater hovering above them. The newest Death Eater opened his mouth and managed to get out "Pot.." before he veered suddenly, avoiding a stunner shot off by Ron.

The two Death Eaters regrouped ahead and dismounted to face the five.

Yaxley and Romulus stood a few meters ahead, their wands steady and outstretched in front of them. It took them a second to see Draco as one of their foes, and another second to actually process what they saw. Romulus' expression went slack and Yaxley's face twisted into a rage.

"You filthy traitor," Yaxley brought his arm back, aiming to fire a profoundly powerful spell at Draco when Hermione stepped ahead of him.

He had a fraction of a second to try and move her out of the line of fire, but she was already in motion and firing a spell of her own.

She had cast a non-verbal stunner which landed directly against Yaxkley's chest. The spell was powerful enough that the victim's eyes visibly rolled back until all that could be seen was the white's of his eyes. The Death Eater crumbled unceremoniously onto the ground shortly thereafter.

Romulus, stunned in reaction alone, did not move quickly enough to protect himself from Draco's stunning spell which hit him next, toppling him onto Yakley.

Pansy stepped out and cast a binding curse around both the Death Eaters and levitated them to a deserted corner.

"They can't return to the Dark Lord," Pansy's was solemn, "no one knows you defected, and I'm sure Narcissa was dragged along and is waiting in the outskirts. If they went back and said anything…"

Panic threatened to betray Draco, but he found resolve quickly. He could not fall apart now.

"We need to keep going," Harry brought them back to their task at hand, already moving towards the tree.

With only wandering giants in their way, they carried on.

Just outside the reach of the Whomping Willow's branches, Draco spotted a large enough rock to hold down the knot in the tree to deactivate its defenses. He made quick work of hovering the stone ahead of them, landing it, and stilling the tree.

Without slowing their pace, the branches now limp, the five ran past the previously impenetrable barriers, and only slowed once they got to the trunk, using the tree itself to halt their progress.

Hermione tore away the ivy she regrew earlier, exposing the entrance. Potter spoke.

"I need to do this alone."

Ron stepped into his friend with force. "Like hell you are. I'm going with you."

"It's not safe…" Potter tried to say, but Hermione stepped angrily into the Chosen One, jabbing a finger into his chest.

"No Harry, enough of this! When are you going to get it through your head this isn't your burden to share alone? I'm going too."

"You do not have to worry about me, Potter. I will not be volunteering to accompany you on whatever it is you all are doing," Pansy contributed airily. Draco gave a cursory glance towards his Slytherin counterpart, hoping to communicate she needed to tone down the quippy remarks in times of distress.

Harry's eyes jumped between his friends, until they landed on Draco.

"We can't do more than three. Four would risk us getting caught."

He thought it strange to think one additional body could be the difference, but thought better of arguing.

He sought out Hermione, her face already emboldened. A flicker of fire danced behind her eyes, warming her mahogany stare. He knew well enough that he couldn't, and shouldn't talk her out of going, so there was no point in trying.

Even so, he did not want her barrelling towards the Dark Lord without him there. Draco knew he had a tendency to be cocky but also felt confident that, with the exception of Granger, his wandwork prevailed over the other two's.

As much as he wanted to push his luck, he couldn't fight Weasley on going. Above all, and as much as he hated it, he had to trust the three, including Weasley, to handle themselves.

When he looked back to Granger, he could see the beginnings of fear at the edge of her awareness. He moved to her with a single step and pulled her into him.

"You have to come back," he commanded, his lips just a fraction from hers. She shook her head yes, bumping into his forehead as she did.

It didn't matter that others were watching; he pulled her lips onto his, drawing a deep breath in through his nose, trying to fuse the way she felt and smelled deeply within him.

When he broke away, he turned abruptly to Ron and Harry who had been watching with trepidation.

"Nothing happens to her, do you understand?" His directive was cutting enough that Harry edged back ever so slightly.

"We're humbled to know how much you care about us, Malfoy," Ron scoffed.

"I don't," Draco clarified, and pointed at Hermione. "I care about her."

Ron raised his hands, as if to say 'I surrender'.

Hermione turned to him, gripping his hand and soothing it with a caress of her thumb.

"I'll come back."

Draco watched her. He knew her to be more than capable of handling her own, but hell if it wasn't torture seeing her waltz into the Dark Lord's lair with two barely capable wizards.

He nodded though, biting back at his viciously raw emotions. She couldn't be distracted and worry about his mounting fears, like if something were to happen to her how he would have nothing, be nothing,

"Alright, let's go," Harry ordered, turning into the tunnel and ducking in. Ron followed, and Hermione, but not before she cast one more lingering glance back at Draco.

The disillusioned frame of Pansy leaned against the Whomping Willow, the outline of her form jostling subtly as the tree moved. The two had removed the rock, releasing the Whomping Willow to its former ways in hopes of keeping unwanted visitors from getting too close.

"It's been too long," Draco muttered, also disillusioned on the other side of the opening.

"It's fine," Pansy told him, her voice giving the impression she hoped to sound reassuring and caring, but it didn't quite sound believable.

"I should have told her to send a patronus if they were in danger," worry evident in his voice.

A beat passed where Draco could tell Pansy turned to him, even though there would be nothing for her to see. Under the anxiety of Granger traipsing through a suspect tunnel and emerging into a house occupied by the Dark Lord, Draco took to pacing.

"Merlin's tit, you really are in love with her." Pansy gaped

His body paused jerkily and faced the direction of Pansy, "Of course I fucking love her."

Pansy put up invisible hands and returned to leaning against the tree.

"You need to calm down," Pansy started again. "Acting irrationally will only get us all killed. Plus, and I hate to say it, but Granger is annoyingly smart. She'll know to send a patronus if they need us."

A faint sound came from the tunnel. Seconds later, Hermione burst through the exit, whipping her head around frantically in search of Draco who couldn't be seen.

He dropped his disillusionment and Hermione crashed into him, tugging him down aggressively by the neck. Her painful sob vibrated against his chest.

Ron came out next, his skin pale and white, followed by Harry, who seemed not in his own body; his eyes stared blankly out ahead.

Pansy dropped her illusion and went to Ron, his face slack and his line of sight darting uneasily between the ground and her. Draco noticed another sob from Granger. He pulled her in tighter, keeping his hand firmly on her head, rubbing it soothingly.

"Voldemort killed Snape." The announcement came from Weasley, but the words didn't make sense.

Draco peered over Hermione's shoulders, still clenching her against him, assessing Weasley, determining if there was any reason for him to lie.

"That's impossible. Snape is his number two." Pansy said doubtfully.

"It happened, Pansy," Ron assured her.

"Did he believe him to be a traitor?" Draco asked evenly, feeling Hermione shift in his arms, moving slightly away from him and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands. He kept one arm tightly around her.

"There was another reason," Harry cast his attention to the castle before turning back to the others. "I don't think it's the right time to say what that reason was, though."

"Voldemort slit his throat," Ron said through clenched teeth. "And then he left, again like the bloody coward he is."

"We didn't kill the Snake," Hermione sounded devastated.

Harry positioned his hand before the group and revealed a small glass vial where grey whisps hovered within it like an impending thunderstorm.

"Snape gave me memories. It seemed urgent."

"Dumbledore's office has a pensive doesn't it?" Ron asked, but was interrupted when an all powerful voice rang out across the grounds. This time, Potter didn't have a reaction; he remained stony.

"You have fought valiantly, and have lost many of your own," the Dark Lord's disembodied voice echoed over the grounds. Above, they could see Death Eaters hovering high on brooms, heading back in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

"I will give you one hour to handle your dead." Voldemort paused. "Harry Potter, I'm speaking to you now. Deliver yourself to me. Do not continue to let these people die for you. You have one hour to come to me. I will be in the Forbidden Forest. If you do not, the bloodshed will continue."