Author's Note: Once again I am the world's worst updater. If it makes you feel any better it is only because I make myself finish a chapter before I post one. I am ahead by about ten chapters so far but I have hit my rough patch. So I am doing my best to keep up with things. It also doesn't help that my personal life is very challenging right now. But enough of excuses, let me just post what should've been up months ago.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Harry Potter. I am a very poor teacher.

Warning: This story is dark, it depicts real war and struggle and death. It is not for the faint of heart. It has a mature rating for a reason and if you have made it this far you probably understand why.

"There are some things, child, that you should steal. That you must steal, if you have enough love and courage in your heart. You must snatch freedom from the hands of the tyrant. You must spirit away innocent lives before they are destroyed." ~Lian Tanner

July 1st 2000

The train car was crowded and hot. Hermione's skin was sticky with sweat and the people pushed up against her were just as damp. There was a stench of body odor from the people who hadn't gotten a chance at the shower in a few days. People were talking loudly, excitedly murmuring about where they might be headed.

People's breathing was heavy from the crowded conditions. People were crammed together like sardines without so much as a window on the train to tell them what time of day it was. It seemed as if they had been on the train forever, though in reality it hadn't been very long. Hermione expected it would take days to arrive at their destination, and people were just expected to stand for the whole trip.

She hadn't cried. She thought in the face of death she might cry or break down. It had never been as real before, she was trapped and the only thing that could free her would be her end. But she still hadn't been able to cry. After the first hour on the train she had tried. She'd scrunched her nose up and changed her breathing. She needed to cry, but her body just wouldn't let her.

It would take a miracle to cry. She would have to go through hell and back before she could feel that emotion again. Maybe she would live long enough to cry again, but it would take something extraordinary. After all she couldn't break down unless it was really worth it. Breaking down would make her weak, and in the face of death she realized she didn't have time to be weak.

Her plans were done. She'd never escape and find Harry. She wouldn't be the reason the wizarding world got saved. Harry would have to do that on his own. She had wanted to go stronger, to be the person the world could count on. But she was a disaster. Everywhere she went bad things happened, people got hurt or killed, war continued, families were split apart. The connecting factor as far as she could see was herself… and Voldemort. It was mainly his fault, but the guilt of it all ate away at her as if she was the one killing people off.

Anna was silent beside her. She hadn't said anything since they had been shoved into one of the train cars. It was worse than cattle. Hermione couldn't help but think of the Holocaust. People shoved into the cars, forced to stand pushed against everyone else while they travelled to the next horror.

They had gotten two hundred on the train, fifty shoved into each car even though only twenty five could have fit comfortably. Major had said something about a new group coming into town and that was why people were being moved. Hermione could only hope that wasn't true. She didn't want to think of all the other muggleborns who would be subjected to that terrible place.

The car was loud. Everyone besides Anna and Hermione were talking about how wonderful it was to go to a bigger town. They were hoping and dreaming about what their lives were about to be. For them, this chance was as close to a normal life as they were going to get.

Hermione shifted her weight uncomfortably. She wasn't physically ready to stand for days on end without being able to move. She would notice every once in a while someone push the crowd and move but she wasn't in a condition for the pushing either. Her best bet was standing in place, even if it did hurt her leg.

The only reason she knew Anna was still alive beside her was the girl's loud breathing. Her eyes were closed and it looked like the crowd pushing against her was all that kept her standing. Her life had been tragic. She was only seventeen, there was no reason for her to go through the pains of dying for a war she couldn't help.

Hermione had known what she was getting into when she started fighting back. She was Harry Potter's best friend, she knew everything he knew. She was aware that the war had the potential of destroying her life. But Anna had just been an innocent kid who played around with friends and tried to ignore what was going on in the real world.

There was a group yelp as the train shook slightly. If they had been in a car Hermione would have thought they ran over something. But everything continued, so she could only hope there was nothing serious going on.

Most likely it was a side effect of having the train magically drive itself. Hermione had noticed there was no one driving before she and Anna had been escorted into the last car on the train. As wonderful as she had thought magic was it could be unstable… Voldemort had proved that.

"Anna." She said loud enough for the girl to hear over the noise.

She didn't know how long they had been travelling. But her fear had turned Anna into stone. She wasn't even fussing over Hermione's leg. She was a shell of the person Hermione had met a year ago. It had only taken her one year of being friends with Hermione to completely break. Before Hermione's arrival the girl had been happy even with the poor conditions of life. Without Hermione's influence she would believe, as everyone else did, that travelling was a good thing and her last hours would be happy ones at least.

Hermione just wanted to know that she was alive. She needed to know the shock hadn't killed her yet. Hermione didn't know what she would do if in her last moments she didn't have Anna with her. It pained her to realize how scared of death she was. She had no clue what the Death Eaters would do to them but she thought she could stand tall with Anna by her side. It was unfair, she should wish that Anna had moved on peacefully in her own way.

"I'm so sorry." Hermione apologized.

All of the guilt she had felt before had overtaken her. The war should have been over, they should have won. It was her fault that it hadn't worked out correctly. Anna was broken and it was all her fault.

"Kill me." The words were quiet but Hermione had still heard them over the noise.

"Anna, what?"

Anna still hadn't turned to look at Hermione but she had opened her eyes. They were glossed over from the tears that were trying to fall but Anna pushed them back. She refused to cry, she refused to let them get to her. Hermione had always been the strong, albeit foolish, one. But now Anna was making a decision, she wasn't going to let them kill her.

"It has to be you. Just snap my neck or something. Don't let them kill me. Please, don't let them kill me. I don't want to die, not by them. They already took everything they can't have my life too!"

The tears were flowing down her cheek and Hermione didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to deny the girl but she wouldn't take her life… enough people had died because of her. She had killed during the battle, she didn't want anyone else's blood on her hands.

"Anna, we could still get out. I can't kill you while we still have a chance." She tried reasoning with her.

In reality Hermione didn't see a way out. They'd be on the train for at least a day with no windows no bathrooms. Everything was just cramped and dark. It was hell on wheels.

Hermione didn't understand how the others thought they were going anywhere good. Wasn't their transportation enough proof that to the Death Eaters they were animals? Surely someone smart had to realize that they weren't heading towards paradise? Hermione thought it was possible that everyone knew but preferred to pretend, it might be a nicer few hours or days if they at least had hope. They could die thinking they were heading somewhere pleasant.

She should have left Anna alone. When she saw the happy girl in the town she should have let her stay happy. Thanked her for the tour and then never spoken to her again, that's what she should have done. Anna would never be the same if they managed to get out of this. Hermione hated knowing that she was the one who had broken the young girl. She had destroyed her as much as the Death Eaters had.

"I won't kill you. You're safe with me, Anna."

"I want to die." The girl cried out.

The tears hadn't stopped pouring down from Anna's eyes. Hermione wanted to move closer but it would involve moving too many people to get to Anna. More people were shifting in the back and it was hard enough with that much movement. Anna needed to be comforted or to see that things weren't over yet.

But Hermione wasn't sure how she could convince the girl to keep fighting when they were on the train to their death. There weren't many ways to spin that tale positively. Anna was in a dark place, less than twenty four hours ago she was happily fussing over Hermione and thanking Andrew every few minutes. Now nothing would be the same and soon they would be dead. Yeah, there wasn't a silver lining to that story.

"Anna, we'll survive. We have to." It was the best she could do at the moment.

"How?" Anna demanded, "We're trapped on this train, stuffed together so we can barely move. People are probably just going to the bathroom right where they stand and that's disgusting. I'm hungry and tired and I really have to pee. But none of it matter because I'm going to die. I'm going to die a sad little mudblood virgin, who wasn't even strong enough to fight them while she had the chance."

Anna had stopped crying. Now she was in a fit of blind rage. Hermione watched as she shook with anger yelling out loudly enough that even the noisy car had heard her over their own conversations.

Hermione thought carefully about what she was going to say. She needed the right words or Anna wouldn't feel any better. There was no good spin on being trapped in an overcrowded train car, she knew Anna hated being crowded. It had been quite a few hours, on the train people had to have gone to the bathroom. Anna was right it was disgusting, people just peeing or worse in the car. With such a crowded small space and no fresh air the whole place smelled… Only it didn't smell.

Hermione sniffed the air, fighting the urge to laugh at how ridiculous it was. There wasn't any smell of urine or feces in the car. There were too many people who had unexpectedly been shoved onto the train quickly for no one to have needed to use the restroom yet. Hermione needed to pee, and Anna had said she did as well. But if the car didn't stink she didn't understand how people were going.

There had to be something that helped, some trick. Then she thought of it, all the people moving –perhaps the back if the car held some answer for them. Hermione grabbed Anna's arm and overpowered the girl's arguments. It was hard to push through people, especially with her leg still not at one hundred percent. But enough people had already been shoved around that they parted ways as much as they could.

Hermione pulled Anna to the back corner of the train and like a miracle had fallen in her lap she stared at the ground. The train floor had rotted away, just enough to cause a small hole in the floor. Hermione could see the tracks zooming by as the train speed forward. She was looking at the hole, which had clearly been used as a restroom, as a heaven sent gift while Anna stared at her like she was nuts.

"Don't you get it?" Hermione asked.

"That you're nuts, I've known that for a long time." Anna's joke didn't reach the tone of her voice.

"Anna," Hermione whispered so the people nearby wouldn't hear her plan, "if we can break the hole then we aren't stuck on the train."

"Only dead. Jumping under a train has to be your worst idea ever."

"We're the last car, we just have to clear the wheels we can see. We break the hole bigger, tuck and roll, and pray for the best."

"Hermione, no one would survive that without some type of cushion charm."

"True, and the Ministry can sense where magic is being used… but the train is magic. Anna, the train is magic."

"So?" she asked not understand.

"The train has a lot of spells cast over it to make it drive itself. If we can do the spell while on the train and then get to safety before it wears off they would never know. They'd just think the magic they detected was the train."

Anna didn't look comfortable with the plan. If anything she looked like she'd rather just keep riding to her death than jump out of a moving train. But Hermione knew it was a solid plan. A wandless cushion charm would last for ten seconds –just enough time to roll under the train and hopefully stop rolling before it began to hurt. They might get a little banged up, but if done right they would live.

"Do you trust me?" Hermione asked holding out her hand.

Anna nodded, uttering a small 'yes' before taking Hermione's hand. Together they kicked at the old wood to make the hole in the ground bigger. People had shoved away from them, thankfully no one wanted to stand too close to where people went to the bathroom. Hermione and Anna kicked at the already rotten wood till it splintered and broke. Hermione saw how the wood flew under the train hitting the tracks and breaking into pieces.

She tried to keep Anna from watching what happened to the wood. After all the wood didn't have a cushion charm. Once the hole was big enough to basically summersault through Hermione pulled away.

"Cast the spell quickly, tuck and roll. As long as you roll in a straight line you'll be fine. Don't hesitate, the charm will only last a couple of seconds and you need to have hit the ground before then. I'll follow the second you're out. It's gonna be okay."

Hermione spoke with a certainty that Anna wouldn't be able to argue with. She was scared, it was the only option they had but it was still frightening. But she had been through so many frightening situations before. She was Hermione Granger, she and her friends had lived through everything.

"Hermione, I've just got to say-"

Hermione stopped her. She placed her hand on the girl's shoulder and smiled.

"Say it when we're free." Hermione was starting to feel hope again.

Hermione told Anna to go first, just in case something went wrong Hermione wanted to be the one stuck on the train. Anna deserved a chance at being free even if Hermione couldn't join her. Anna hadn't argued, she hadn't said anything, she just nodded and looked down at the hole with wide eyes.

Everything happened so quickly. The others on the train were too concerned with themselves to notice Anna get on the ground near what had been the bathroom hole. Hermione crouched right behind her, ready to follow the second Anna went. She said the charm and started to roll, Hermione was right after her.

She said the spell aloud, letting what little of her magic she had left flow through her. She could feel the power surge of using a spell again. She had missed the comforting feeling it had always given her. Anna was out of the hole and Hermione rolled right behind her.

The summersault wasn't the classiest plan she had made, it was rather juvenile. But it worked. She felt herself roll onto the ground just as the train finished passing above her. She couldn't even think about how lucky they were they had been at the very end of the train, otherwise things might have gone differently.

Her ten seconds were up and rolling across the tracks suddenly was far more painful. The tumbling was less graceful and quickly Hermione stopped. She was laying on the tracks, if another high rise train came by she would be able to just lie and watch the train move above her. Her head was starting to hurt as she processed the night sky. In the few seconds the spell had worn off she hit her head a few times rolling herself to a stop.

With a small groan she went to blink but found she couldn't lift her heavy eye lids once they were closed. The world had grown dark around her and soon enough her thoughts were silenced. It didn't take as long as she thought, only a minute, for her to give in to sleep.

Author's Note: Well there you have it. I hope that it was up to standard for my wonderful readers and reviewers that have been so kind as to wait for more.