I don't own anything, J.K Rowling does.

WARNING: Mature themes brought up so if you are less than 18 and / or easily triggered by mature content DO NOT READ THIS STORY. You have been warned.

A/N: Hey guys. This chapter is quite long it is a very important chapter in the story so read it carefully. I still am looking for a cover art for my story. Don't hesitate to send me whatever you have that could go for my cover art.

Have a good time reading! J1974

Chapter 18

"Mr. Potter. I think you have something else to do than stand there and looking at me" Professor McGonagall said in her distinctive Scottish accent.

"Yes. I am looking for Ravenclaw's lost diadem. Do you have any idea to where it could be Professor?" Harry asked trying to go towards the new Hogwarts Headmaster.

"Well it has been lost for over a century now." Professor McGonagall said. "I don't have a clue about it. What can we do to help you?" she continued giving Harry an apological smile.

"Buy me time. As much as you can. Voldemort is coming we need to stop him from entering the castle." Harry said.

"I'll do my best. Go now" she first said to Harry. "Everyone under 17 will go back to his or her common room accompanied by a prefect and their Head of House. The others can stay to fight. Voldemort is coming. All staff with me at once." She then said to every student standing in the hall.

Harry had already left the Hall and Hermione was still with Ron. She had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into an alcove. There, she had taken an old worn out map from her jeans pocket. It was the Marauder's Map. She tapped the parchment with her wand and asked for the way to the Chamber of Secret. She had discovered this little trick once when she was wondering to herself how to go to the owlery. The map had showed her little green inked steps that she had followed and had led her to the owlery.

They began going down to the old girl's bathroom. There they went down the spiraling staircase. They were now standing in front of the door that sealed the entry to the Chamber of secret.

"Hasss An Hass Erece" Ron said to the door. "Harry talks in his sleep. Have you noticesd?" he then told her smiling as the door unlocked itself.

"No of course not." Hermione said automatically placing a hand on her stomach as the door opened.

She didn't really know why but since she had learned that she was pregnant with Severus child, she would place her hand on her stomach and felt immediately safer, reassured.

They entered the room and Ron walked up to the Basilisk's skeleton and pulled a fang out of it before returning to where Hermione was standing. She had looked through her bag for the Horcrux and had taken it out of the bag placing it onto the floor of the underground spacious cavern that was the Chamber of Secret.

"Do it Hermione. Stab it" Ron said holding the fang towards her.

Hermione shook in fear as she took the fang from Ron's hand. Ron placed both of his hands above hers and counted to three. At three, they stabbed the Goblet with all their force. Suddenly, Hermione felt very sick. She saw that the goblet had now a fang through it and as she was about to faint, she felt two powerful arms around her.

Before she could react, she felt a pair of lips crashing against her own. She tried to escape them but to no avail. The 'kiss' lasted for a few moments until she managed to pull her knee up and knock Ron in the balls.

"WHAT THE FUCK RON. WHAT WHERE YOU THINKING." Hermione shouted as she slapped him hard on the cheek. "You are really pathetic Ronald Weasley. You know that?" she said as she stormed out of the Chamber and back upstairs to the old girl's bathroom leaving Ron behind.

She looked on the map and saw that Harry had climbed up to the Ravenclaw's Common Room. She went towards him and saw him move again back downstairs. Not wanting to tire herself too much, she waited for him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Harry, right here on your left" she shouted while waving her hands above her head. "Ron is a real asshole Harry. We just had destroyed the Horcrux when I felt a little overwhelmed by everything and lost a little my balance. He caught be before I fell to the ground and kissed me. I knocked him in the groin before slapping him and leaving him." She related the events as precisely but nonetheless as shortly as possible and then felt the gentle pat of Harry's hands on her back.

"It'll be over soon Hermione. I just met the Gray Lady. Ravenclaw's ghost. She told me that when she was still alive, she had stolen the diadem from her mother and hid it from her inside a hollow tree in a forest in Albania. She was killed shortly after. A few decades ago, she met Voldemort and he asked her where it was. She told him. When he came to Hogwarts to ask Dumbledore a position as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher he hid it inside the castle. I think he hid it where I hid my Potions Book last year Hermione." Harry said to her excitedly.

They rushed towards where they knew the Room of Requirement was and crossed Ron. He followed.

"We haven't got time for your shit right now Ron. We know, you're sorry you always are. But right now, we don't need petty excuses, we need help. We're going to the Room of Requirement" Harry said before Ron had the time to say anything to Hermione.

They reached the Room of Requirement and began searching for the diadem. Hermione not wanting to get herself injured decided to try using her spelling techniques but to no avail. The Room and the things contained in it would not be summoned. She looked down onto a pile and saw a large blue box. It bared the Ravenclaw crest. She opened it and found a magnificent diadem in it. It was made with blue topazes and diamonds.

The gem that made the head of the eagle was much darker than the other.

"Boys, I've got it. I've got the dia…" Hermione began

"Shut your mouth Mudblood or you won't get to live a second longer." She heard a voice say. She hadn't heard that voice since very long. But as soon as the dreaded word had spilled out of his lips, she had shivered and felt something inside her fluttering.

"Now, hand it over and you'll might get out of there alive." The boy said. His wand was now pointed at her stomach.

That's when Ron and Harry came rushing wands first towards her. They stopped dead in their tracks when they saw what was happening.

"Leave her Malfoy." Harry said

"No. First the diadem, then we can talk about the Mudblood." Malfoy said. His two 'friends' Crabbe and Goyle had joined him and were now pointing their wands at Harry and Ron.

Ron, Harry and Hermione were quicker than them. While Harry disarmed Draco, Ron threw two stunners into Crabbe and Goyle's chests. Harry tried to take the diadem, but a killing curse hit it first and the diadem went flying into the air, resting on a pile of old chairs and other miscellaneous furniture.

"You bastard." Ron said running after the young Death Eaters.

Harry began climbing up the pile of chairs hoping to catch the diadem quickly enough so that they could all get out of here quickly. He grabbed it and threw it towards Hermione. She caught it and placed it quickly in her beaded bag.

"Get out of here. Goyle set the whole place on fire" Ron said as he grabbed Hermione by the arm and pulled her towards the exit as quickly as possible.

Harry saw a giant snake shaped brazier slithering through the piles of accumulated things that had been piled over the years. He began running towards the exit and found himself being trapped at a crossroad. Hermione and Ron bumped into him as they were walking backwards and Harry had just the time to put a flame freezing charm up to stop the Friendfyre snake from burning them alive. Ron grabbed three broomsticks and the three of them left the confines of the protecting bubble which popped the second they left it.

They flew across the room trying to find the exit. That's when they saw Malfoy and Crabbe standing on a pile that was threatening to fall.

"We can't leave them here." Hermione shouted at the boys.

They turned around and tried a first time to catch both of the boys and help them onto their broomsticks. As they were at Malfoy's and Crabbe's level, they grabbed them by their arms and heaved them on their brooms. The flew to the exit and as soon as they had landed, Malfoy and Crabbe ran away. Hermione placed the diadem on the floor and Harry stabbed it with one of the Basilisk's fang before throwing it into the brazier.

They caught their breaths and that's when Harry felt an excruciating pain. He fell to the ground and immediately, Hermione was at his side.

"What is it Harry? Tell us." Hermione said looking into his eyes to try and get a reaction from him.

"It's the snake. I know where it is, it's with Voldemort in the Shrieking Shack." Harry began. Once again, he felt a excruciating burning sensation. "Severus" he whispered

"WHAT IS HAPPENING HARRY. TELL ME" Hermione said shaking her friend by the shoulders as her eyes widened in terror.

"We have to go to the Boat House. NOW" he said looking at Hermione his eyes bared a frightened look that Hermione didn't like at all.

The trio downed the stairs as quickly as possible. They reached the heart of the battle and had to use their wands a great number of times. Either to incapacitate Death Eaters or to defend the students, staff and Order's members from their enemies. They arrived in the main school yard and had to go through it while avoiding the curses thrown around or directly at them. Many of those curses were in fact Killing ones. Hermione was nearly hit by one, had it not been thanks to Harry who put his arm around Hermione to stop her from walking in the path of the curse.

They went through the school main yard and onto the grounds. Hermione pointed towards a little cabin next to the lake.

"There guys, come on." She said while running towards it.

When they reached the shed they heard voices coming from inside of it. They hid behind an abandoned boat laying on his side next to the cabin.

"You have performed extraordinary magic with this wand my Lord. In the last few hours alone…" Snape began his voice calm as it always was when he was speaking with the Dark Lord.

"No, I am extraordinary! But the wand resists me!" Voldemort said in a hiss

"There is no wand more powerful. Ollivander himself said it. Tonight, when the boy comes to you, it will not fail you, I am sure. It answers to you and you only." Severus said once again.

"Does it?" Voldemort asked

"My Lord?" Snape said his voice now showing he was slightly afraid of what was coming next.

"The wand. Does it truly answer to me?" Voldemort asked again "You're a clever man Severus. Surely you must know."

"Where Severus? Where does your loyalty lie?" Voldemort asked changing the subject as though he was speaking about the weather.

"With you, of course, my Lord." Snape said his voice showing more and more how anguish he was getting.

"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not it's true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its's last owner. You killed Dumbledore, Severus. While you live, the Elder Wand cannot be truly mine." Voldemort said

"My Lord…" Snape began

"You have been a good and faithful servant, Severus" Voldemort said before pointing his wand towards Snape's throat "But only I can live forever…" he swept arm away and turned his wand towards Nagini. "Nagini, kill!" he said in his cold usual cold voice.

They heard a large thump as Snape's body was slammed against the bay window. Hermione's screams of terror only covered by Snape's own. When the Voldemort had Apparated away with the snake, Hermione rushed into the shack. The sight before her eyes making her heart scream in pain.

"Potter…" a strangled voice murmured.

"I'm here sir" Harry replied one hand on his old Potion Master's neck trying to prevent the bleeding from worsening.

Then something Harry would have never thought possible happened. Severus Snape was crying there on the floor of the Boat House.

"Take them. Take them." He said pointing at the tears streaking his cheeks.

Those tears were filled of the happiest memory of his life. Some of them were with Lily who had been his childhood love and whom he had always loved. But most of them where memories of her with Hermione. While they had been in the cabin making love the entire night. His happiest memory was in fact one so recent that it was still in his memories perfectly intact.

He saw the memories has they slipped onto his cheeks. The last one being the one where Hermione had announced her pregnancy and the fact that this child was indeed his. Although he had reacted harshly to her. Internally, he had been bouncing with joy. But with the war and the role he played in it. He had figured out too quickly that he couldn't be a father. Not now, not tomorrow, not ever. He couldn't be someone for a child to look up. He couldn't let his child bare the weight of his father's action and most importantly, he didn't want Hermione's future being jeopardized by a child. She was still so young and had much more to live for.

"Give me something! Quickly! A flask! Anything." Harry said addressing to his friends. Hermione pulled a jar from the inside of her bag and handed it to Harry who collected the tears.

Two hours later

A little woman Apparated inside the bound of the wards. Severus had fell asleep and Hermione removed his hand from her stomach as she saw the woman approach

"I got your Patronus Hermione. What happened?" the Mediwitch asked while assessing the former Potion Master.

"Voldemort's snake. Bit Severus several times. I managed to stabilize him but his vitals are still alarmingly bad." Hermione said while taking a few steps back to allow the Mediwitch to attend to her lover's injuries.

It took the Mediwitch a good thirty minutes for her to make Severus' vitals go up again. She knew that she couldn't transport him to the school infirmary as he would be in more danger than ever.

"Hermione. I can't bring Professor Snape to the school's Infirmary Ward. Do you know anywhere we could bring him to heal him properly?" The Mediwitch asked looking at Hermione tenderly as she had immediately understood that Hermione had more than a normal Student-Teacher relation with the man.

"Yes, we can bring him to our cabin. We have to Apparate though. Is he strong enough to do so by side-along Apparition?" Hermione asked her voice filled with worry as she went back to Severus and took hold of his hand stroking it lightly with her thumb.

His hand felt cold and clammy. She was so afraid to lose him. Of course, she knew how lucky she was to be with him. Of course, she knew that she could lost him to this war. But it had always seemed so far away. And yet, there she was standing by him, their fingers intertwined as she discussed with the Mediwitch if the love of her love was going to die.

"Hermione, we have to get him somewhere safe. You also need to get somewhere safe and be there for Severus and your baby. That's what matters most at the moment. For you to be by his side in someplace where nothing will disturb his recovery." The Mediwitch told Hermione

"How, how do you know about my… my pregnancy?" Hermione asked

"Have you forgotten that I am a trained Mediwitch. I could tell you were pregnant the second I came in the Shack. I felt a burst of Magic that is characteristic to pregnancy. As you are the only other female in this room, I immediately knew that you were in fact pregnant." The Mediwitch explained to Hermione.

"Herms… my love" a faint voice said

"I am here darling. We are here, rest. I am going to get us out of here to the cabin with the help of Madam Pomffrey. Just hang on for us darling. Rest if you need but fight. I… we need you." Hermione said before kissing Severus's parched lips.

His head fell back onto the window behind him and he immediately went to sleep.

"I'll get him out of here madam Pomffrey. Thank you for your time. Could you tell Ron and Harry where I am. I know they must be quite busy but I don't want them to worry for my safety." Hermione pleaded the witch next to her.

"Don't worry Hermione. I'll make sure they know you're safe" The Mediwitch said before Apparating away before Hermione had had the time to thank her for everything the witch was doing for her and Severus.

"My love" she murmured to the wizard next to her. "Wake up"

When he woke up, she asked him to put his arms around her neck before Apparating away from the battlefield that had become Hogwarts and into the cabin in the clearing.