Part Four: Reconciliation
The Death Eaters gathered on either side of Kyndet, prepared to defend Hermione as long as they could. Both sides stood, staring at the other. The students and teachers of Hogwarts looked between the Death Eaters and Order members. They were confused. The Order might have killed them all if Hermione hadn't intercepted the spell. Sure, some of them were injured but none of the students were dead. Wounds could be healed. The Death Eaters had ensured their safety, ignoring their own wounds to tend to the students. The Order hadn't done any of that.
Ron stood by Harry's body, looking at his best friend. No one had seen what had happened to Harry and Voldemort. The collision of the Order's spell against Hermione's had been too distracting. He didn't know who to blame. Himself. Dumbledore. Hermione. The Order. Voldemort. They were all partly to blame. Ron looked at the members of the Order. Not even Harry's own godfather was sparing him a second glance. Did he matter that little to his own family? Ron felt anger boiling in his veins, aching to be released. He looked at Hermione, on her knees in front of someone he didn't recognize.
How do I save him? Hermione asked Kyndet, not tearing her eyes from the elf.
Do you care for him?
Yes.
Heal him.
I can't. The dark magic is too corrupting.
There are exceptions. You know this.
Hermione remembered one of the books Narcissa had lent her. The one on healing had said there were exceptions. Hermione placed her hand on Aurion's forehead, the other casting a spell to move the boulder. She could feel the strain on her magic because of what she had done earlier. It eased and Hermione knew she was using Bellatrix's.
I don't know how to do this.
Let the magic flow through you and into him. It must go full circle. From you to him, and back to you. The magic will do the work.
Exhaling shakily, Hermione let go of the magic. It poured like liquid through her and she shivered, her free hand grasping Bellatrix's tightly. She felt it drain into Aurion, watched as his color returned slowly. His breathing steadied, and the blood stopped flowing from his wounds as they stitched themselves together. Hermione felt the magic return to her, struggling to regain her hold on it. She was crushing Bellatrix's hand in her own, and the dark witch squeezed back with equal pressure. With a deep breath, Hermione slumped forward with a sigh, releasing Bellatrix's hands. Aurion was still unconscious but he looked better.
"Draco, will you take him to the Manor?" she rasped.
Draco nodded, and Hermione stood, turning her attention to the Order members still facing them. Draco was gone with a crack. Some of the students and teachers had gathered behind them. The rest were behind Kyndet and the Death Eaters. Ron still stood by Harry's body, unsure of which side to be on. Hermione caught faint traces of magic not belonging to Ron or the Dark Lord. It had to be Harry's, then. She took a step toward the boy that used to be her friend, ignoring the wands pointed at her. Ron wavered, hesitant to point his wand at the witch. Hermione stopped when a spell impacted the ground just in front of her.
"Stay away from my son," Molly hissed, glaring at Hermione.
"The son you almost killed?" Hermione didn't speak loudly, but her voice resonated through the silent courtyard.
"The son I saved from an attack by Death Eaters!"
Harry wasn't sure where he was, or what he was doing there. Everything seemed so dull. It certainly wasn't Hogwarts, and that didn't make any sense to him, considering he was just there. He remembered being hit with a spell and then an explosion of some sort, and then he was here. Wherever here was. It was familiar in the sense that a distant relative is familiar. You know who they are, but you don't really know anything about them. Harry decided that was a fitting comparison as he looked around. He was alone, and it was quiet. It was almost unsettling. Almost. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and turned. The Boy-Who-Lived blinked as the familiar figure of Dumbledore slowly approached him.
"Professor?" he asked, voice echoing in the silence.
"Not quite." The voice was Dumbledore's, but also not.
"I'm not sure I understand."
"I am everything and nothing. I exist in all places and no place at all." Not-Quite-Dumbledore shifted to various forms Harry recognized. His mum, dad, Voldemort. He blinked, stepping away from the disturbing figure. One thing had stayed the same through all the transformations. The eyes had remained pitch black, burning with fire.
"Am I...dead?" Harry stammered.
"Not exactly. You exist in the living world and the afterlife simultaneously."
"So, like Limbo?"
"If you wish."
"How do I get back?"
"Why do you fight?"
"I'm supposed to."
"You not what you fight against."
"I'm beginning to understand that."
The figure, still in the form of Voldemort, stepped to the side, revealing a white doorway. Harry considered the door, hesitating before stepping toward it. He looked around the place he was in one more time before stepping through the doorway.
An explosion of sound met his ears, muffled only slightly by large...wings. He heard spells being cast, but he couldn't see anything past the faint light seeping through. He groaned, chest sore from where Voldemort's spell hit. He tried to sit up, hindered by a hand on his chest. Its owner was familiar but he couldn't place who it was.
"Easy Harry. Hermione said you were still alive but I didn't really believe her," Andromeda spoke softly.
"Andromeda? How did you?"
Harry was cut off when Andromeda began, "Hermione had one of the Death Eaters fetch me right before the fighting broke out. Kyndet has been keeping us from being hit. How do you feel?"
"I've been better. Kyndet?"
"Hermione and Bellatrix's dragon."
Hermione had a cut just above an eyebrow from a spell that had sent rocks flying in all directions. Blood streamed down her face and she kept wiping it out of her eye so she could see. It was roughly a stalemate, the Order numbers were small and they were weak from the spell they had cast earlier. The Death Eaters were tired from the Ministry and keeping the students under control, so even though they outnumbered the Order, the two sides were evenly matched. Spells flew past her, impacting the other Death Eaters. They weren't really fighting back, mostly focused on keeping the students from getting hit. Hermione rolled out of the way of a stunner, hopping to her feet and flinging a spell in the direction it had come from. It hit Sirius, knocking him to the ground audibly. She looked at Kyndet, the large dragon's tail flicking violently back and forth whenever someone got too close. He kept his wings over the spot where Harry and Andromeda were, fiercely protecting the witch and wizard.
Looking around, Hermione easily found Bellatrix in the chaos. The dark witch was dueling Molly, seemingly uninterested in the Weasley matron. Hermione could see the disguised anger burning in her soulmate's eyes, the tension in her posture. Bellatrix was furious with the witch for attacking Hermione unprompted. The battle had started when Molly actually attacked Hermione. The warning shot was fine, but when she had actually sent a spell at Hermione, all hell broke loose. She had dodged it, of course, she didn't spend all that time dueling with Bellatrix and the other Death Eaters for nothing. Her instincts carried her through the battle and she easily deflected or evaded spells without much thought. It was partly from Bellatrix, too. The connection they shared went beyond what they understood so far.
The dark witch easily deflected a spell from Molly, laughing as she did so. Hermione smiled adoringly at Bellatrix as she cast a hurried Protego to keep a wayward stunner from hitting a group of students. It barely held, bouncing the spell back at the caster. Mad-Eye rolled, stumbling as he landed on a rock. Hermione flicked her wrist, sending a spell his way. It hit him as he struggled to stand, knocking him to the ground. Magic flowed through her veins but she was tiring. Her shared magic with Bellatrix was growing smaller with each spell they cast. The duel with Dumbledore and healing Aurion had taken its toll, and they could only hold out for so much longer. Wiping her face, Hermione felt her armor absorb another spell. Turning, she met the eyes of Remus Lupin, staring at her defiantly, albeit with some trepidation.
Kyndet roared, drawing everyone's attention. He withdrew his wings, revealing Harry and Andromeda. They were both standing, Andromeda supporting most of Harry's weight. Arms lowered, and everyone stopped to look at Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived-Again. Ron ran to him squeezing tightly and then quickly pulling away.
"Glad to have you back, mate," the redhead said.
"Glad to be back. Hermione, I'm sorry. I never realized, never thought you would be fighting for reasons I didn't know."
"Harry, you must have hit your head, dear. Get away from her, come here," Molly said, abandoning her aggressive position towards Bellatrix to approach him.
"No. The Death Eaters aren't fighting to kill all the Muggleborns. They're fighting to do away with the blood-caste. We've all been lied to," Harry announced. Some of the Order members looked shocked, others were nonplussed.
"Harry, don't be ridiculous. Dumbledore said they were trying to kill all the Muggleborns." It was a student, one from Dumbledore's Army if he wasn't mistaken.
"That was during the first war. This time we're fighting for total equality. Witches, wizards, Muggleborns, everyone," Bellatrix said.
"They haven't hurt any of us. They kept us safe from attacks during the battle," another student spoke up. Murmurs of agreement echoed through the crowd, turning on the Order members.
"Harry, are you with us?" Hermione asked, stretching out her arm to him.
"We need a better world. If you're the one working for it, you have my full support," Harry said, clasping Hermione's arm, "Ron?"
The Weasley hesitated, looking at his mum and Harry. He had spent the year believing Hermione was actually evil, and to now find out she wasn't, well, it was a bit shocking. He struggled with himself. The Death Eaters hadn't hurt any of the students, Hermione had even saved them from the Order attack. The Death Eaters did defend them, Hermione had gotten Andromeda to watch over Harry when the fighting started. It was all contradictory to what he believed to be true. Still, Harry trusted them, and he trusted Harry, despite his mum's protests.
He stepped forward, placing his hand on top of Harry and Hermione's arms, "I'm with you."
"Looks like we're together again," Harry said, smiling.
"Just so you know, I don't forgive either of you yet," Hermione whispered.
"We don't forgive you, either. But we'll work on it. We'll have to," Ron said.
"Agreed." The trio shared smiles, reforged stronger than they had been before. They all knew the truth now, and they would do everything they could to set things right.