A/N: Remember, moving quickly. I just skipped all of sixth year. Anyway, its not a terribly long chapter, but I do hope you all enjoy it. Please review! Much Love- Bookworm.
Hermione and Fred had continued to write each other, much more frequently than they had over the last summer. With the pressure of a relationship gone, they seemed much more at ease. Though Hermione still called him her boyfriend, she was careful to not say anything like that to him. She didn't want him under any obligation to her, even though she was pleased whenever George told her that Fred still referred to her as his girlfriend as well. Hermione had finally told Ginny everything right before the Christmas holidays, knowing that her friend would be curious if she avoided Fred. They may be on good terms, but she had no doubt that it would be painful to see him.
As it turned out, the Christmas holidays weren't nearly as awkward as Hermione thought it would be. She had sat in between Ginny and Ron, finding Fred in his old room later Christmas evening to give him her gift. He had smiled happily as he opened the medium sized box, revealing many muggle magic tricks she thought that he would enjoy. He had then handed her a thick book-shaped package. She set it down on the bed to open it, and was thrilled when she saw it. He had gifted her a huge volume of spells, it quite reminded her of a dictionary. She flipped it open, and saw that it had multiple sections in it. Healing spells, transfiguration, defensive spells, offensive spells, even household charms. She had thrown her arms around him in an embrace and he had hugged her back gently.
That had been months ago, it was nearly the end of sixth year and Hermione was growing more and more nervous. More people were going missing or being found dead every day, and ever since Harry had told her about Horcruxes things in the world around them seemed to be getting worse. His appointments with Dumbledore left him tired, and even though they didn't share all the same classes , Hermione found herself helping him with his homework so that he didn't fail.
'I got it!" Harry yelled as he entered the common room. Hermione jumped up from her seat, as did Ron. They had been waiting for him to come back. He had been out trying to get a memory out of Slughorn, he had finally put his liquid luck to good use and gotten what he needed.
"Now what?" Hermione asked eagerly.
"He wants me to come with him." He said, sounding anxious but excited.
"To get one?" She asked, looking nervously at Ron.
"I think. Look, I have to get my cloak." He said, walking past them quickly. Hermione watched him disappear into the boy's dormitory, fidgeting with her hands. Before she knew it, he was rushing back into the room, tossing something to Ron and handing what she knew was the Marauders Map, to Hermione. Ron looked down at his hands, then back at Harry, confused.
"Mate, I have socks." He said.
"Its Felix. Look, I have a feeling something bad is going to happen tonight. You two share it, give some to Ginny too. Patrol the halls, use the map." He said, stuffing his invisibility cloak into his pocket.
"Harry, the Order is here…" Hermione said carefully.
"I know… Just… please?" He said, and after a moment she nodded.
"Be safe." She said as he walked toward the portrait hole.
"You too." He said, giving them a glance before leaving the common room.
Hermione and Ron stared at each other for a long moment, both of them nervous. Ron cleared his throat, shaking them out of their silence.
"I'll go get Ginny." Hermione said in a whisper as he slowly unfolded the socks to reveal the small vial of golden liquid. She ran up the stair to the fifth year girls' dormitory. She slowly opened the door, and saw Ginny was the only one awake.
"Psst." Hermione let out, and Ginny's head snapped up from her book to face the door. When she realized it was Hermione, she jumped up from her bed and exited the dormitory, softly closing the door behind her.
"Hermione. Is everything okay?" She asked.
"Harry wants us to patrol." Hermione answered, and Ginny nodded in agreement without another word.
It had been quiet, until they saw Malfoy wandering the halls before disappearing somewhere on the seventh floor. Ron had looked up at her, his brows furrowed.
"Where-" He started, and she gasped.
"Room of Requirement." She said, and they started off together toward the Room of Hidden Things. They had picked up Luna somewhere along the way, and she was grateful for that when things literally went dark. They had to hold hands and feel there way along a wall until they were able to see again, and Hermione couldn't help the panic that was rising in her throat. Before they knew it, spells were flying. And every single one seemed to miss by them. Hermione thanked Harry silently that he had given them the rest of his potion, though she knew it wouldn't last much longer. After what seemed like forever, they heard a shout. Hermione felt relief flood through her as she saw Professor Snape running through what had been an invisible barrier. But then she saw Malfoy. Her brow furrowed and her wand fell a little as she attempted to understand what was happening.
"SNAPE!" She heard Harry's voice bellow from the stairwell. He came running out after all the death eaters that had just exited.
"Harry!" She called out as spells went flying around them, she stepped forward but was stopped as a red stream of light flew right in front of her. "Harry, stop!" She screamed, throwing a spell angrily at a death eater. She wanted to chase after him, to help him, but there were so many people in the way. She felt stuck, and then she suddenly wasn't. It was as though something had summoned all of the death eaters, and they were now gone. Hermione rushed over to Ginny and Luna, who were standing side by side.
"Are you okay?" She asked, and they looked at each other before nodding. "Okay good." She said, suddenly breathless. She nodded and stuffed her wand into her pocket as teachers descended onto them.
"Miss Granger. What in the world are you all doing here?" Flitwick asked, looking around at the students that stood around him.
"Erm… Nothing sir. Ron and I were on patrol, and heard shouting…" She trailed off, and Ron nodded vigorously.
"And you two?" Flitwick asked, eyeing Ginny and Luna.
"Couldn't sleep." They said at the same time, and Hermione bit back a smile. "You should all-" He stopped speaking as a they heard shouts ring through the castle. Without a word, they all began to run down the stairs, following students that were streaming down the staircases. Outside, Hermione gasped as she saw the glowing embers that used to be Hagrids hut. She wasn't the only one that noticed, as she looked around and saw people cover their mouths with their hands. She looked around, trying to find Harry in the crowd. When she did, her knees grew weak under her.
The half moon illuminated a person that was laying on the ground under the astronomy tower, and Harry was kneeling down next to the body. She slowly walked to where he was, she didn't realize how many people had gathered around as she stared at the man that lay on the ground. The seemingly eternal man that now appeared to be dead. His eyes were open, she could see the moonlight glinting off of them. She glanced around, and saw that Ron and Ginny were standing beside her. She saw McGonagall raise her wand, illuminating the tip. With a shaky hand, Hermione pulled out her own and raised it high above her head. She swiped tears off her face as students and staff alike followed suit. Her shoulders began to shake, her arm threatening to fall.
It was horrible, Hermione wondered why they couldn't have had a normal life. She wondered why she had to be involved at all. The castle was quiet. Exams had been canceled, classes had been cancelled. Dozens of parents had arrived the next day to pull their children out of school. Dumbledore, the most well-known wizard and the only wizard that Voldemort had been afraid of, was dead. Word spread faster than fiendfyre about the news. Fred had sent a short letter to her the next day, and she had finally let her grief overtake her as she looked down at the letter in her hands.
"Hermione?" Ginny asked softly, sitting down on the bed next to her.
"Everythings going to change now…" Hermione said thickly, her shoulders shaking as she cried.
"I know love…" Ginny muttered, gently putting an arm around her shoulders. "It's going to be okay." She said, and Hermione nodded, resolving herself.
"His funeral's tomorrow…" She said softly, and Ginny let out a sigh.
"I know…. Everyone's coming." She said, glancing at Hermione. She raised her eyebrows at the redhead, who let a sly smile play on her face.
"You mean…" Hermione trailed off, letting the question hang in the air between them.
"Fred will be there, I'm sure he'll give you a shoulder to cry on." Ginny said, winking and making Hermione blush.
"I told you, we aren't together." Hermione said softly, looking at the letter in her hands.
"Yeah, you said that. But… This." She said, tapping the paper lightly. "You might not be together, you're too busy trying to save the world, but you still love him." Ginny said softly, giving Hermione a smile before standing from the bed and walking away.