Chapter Sixteen
One could feel the evil in the air. Dementors, goblins, giants, creatures, and the Death Eaters. It was enough to make a grown man cry – and it would probably be for his life. They had gathered in the Forbidden Forest, within sight of the castle that was their target.
Voldemort turned to them and spoke. "Potter is mine. No one is to touch him. If you find him, bring him to me." He told them, red eyes piercing them, assuring himself of his loyal followers. "Do what you want to the others, it matters not to me. " He continued, "Kill or capture, the choice is yours."
Draco and Hermione stood at the back of the group; holding hands tightly and listening to their master give orders.
"Don't go looking for him Hermione." Draco said. "He'll only hurt you and keep you away. I couldn't bear it."
Hermione sneered. "Potter's ego is far too large for his own good. I was only going to help him deflate it."
Draco snorted. "If by help you mean kill, then I don't think the Dark Lord would like that much." He whispered to her.
Hermione was silent. "You're right." She conceded. "But I will need to deal with him one way or another." She narrowed her eyes in concentration, thinking of a plan. Finally, she nodded. "It's perfect." She whispered to Draco, a gleam in her eye.
Draco stared down at her. "I'm almost scared of you Hermione." He said. "I'm so proud. I've taught you well." He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.
Hermione smacked him on the arm and shushed him. Listen, it's brilliant." She said, and told him of her plan.
Harry paced back and forth. This was it, he could feel it. Kill or be killed. He could feel the tension in the air. The teachers, Order members, and the Sixth and Seventh year students who chose to stay and fight all stood behind him in the Entrance Hall, watching.
They had met back up outside Dumbledore's office after getting everything together and ready. Harry had his cloak inside his robes pocket, close at hand if he needed it. The next few hours had been devoted to strengthening the castle's protection.
Now to wait. The students all had frightened looks on their faces, they knew they weren't ready for this.
That's when they heard it. A deep bellowing outside, followed by a trembling that was felt down in the ground.
Everyone looked around uneasily. It sounded as if they were trying to break through the protective spells that had been cast at the gates, and continued around the perimeter.
Harry had stopped pacing and stood facing the group. "It's begun." He stated quietly. "We must fight our very best; our lives depend upon it." He looked around at them. "I won't be ashamed if any of you decide to leave right now." Nobody moved. "Good. Let's go capture some Death Eaters shall we?"
With that said, he opened the doors to the castle and headed out, Ginny right behind him. Soon, everyone was following them.
When they reached the gate, they saw the horde of Death Eaters on the other side, surrounded by dark creatures.
Harry stepped forward. "Voldemort!" He called out. "Your right is with me! Why don't we keep it that way?"
Nothing happened. And then slowly, like a ripple in a pond, the Death Eaters slowly moved aside and made a path for Voldemort, who was slowly walking forward.
"Potter." Voldemort said. "As much as I would love to kill you right now and be done with this, I can't. You see, this isn't just between you and me anymore." Without looking away, he motioned behind him.
Draco and another Death Eater were dragging Hermione forward, who was kicking and screaming. She was extremely pale, cuts and bruises all over herself. Her hair was wild, with twigs and leaves stuck in it.
Harry sucked in a breath and took a step forward, unable to see his best friend this way. Dumbledore laid a hand on his arm. "Caution." He murmured to him.
Hermione was brought to Voldemort. He brought a hand out and snaked it around her shoulders, and she cringed away, tears running down her face. This earned her a slap on the face, and her head was whipped to the side.
Hermione's face crumpled and she finally looked up. She saw Harry across the gate and her face lit up. "Harry!" She gasped and started to run forward. However, Voldemort had his hand on the back of her neck and held onto her, making her choke.
She stopped and stared at Harry. "I'm so sorry." She said. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen! They made me do it, all of it! Made me lie to you, made me act different. I couldn't fight it Harry! I thought I could, but I was so weak." Tears were running in earnest down her cheeks.
Now Harry was uncertain of what was going on. Was Hermione telling the truth, or was this just another lie?
"Harry, please believe me!" Hermione cried, her sobbing making it hard to understand her. "They used me for practice Harry. They thought it would be better to have a live target. They branded me. It hurt so bad. I kept thinking of you Harry, it was the only thing keeping me sane."
Harry felt tears come to his eyes. His poor Hermione, wasting away as a prisoner. He should've looked harder for her! He should've done something! Better than just giving up and declaring it a lost cause.
Hermione hadn't stopped. "They used me Harry. Not just for practice, but for…for…" Her sobs broke through, "for themselves! Over and over, every night I had their grubby little paws on me all over, all over. It wouldn't stop. I tried, you have to believe me Harry, I tried to stop them, but they would hit me or curse me and I was powerless Harry, I couldn't do anything."
"Oh Merlin, Hermione." Harry said. It hurt him to see his friend like this.
Voldemort smiled, cold and unfeeling. "Draco." He called. "Come forward."
Draco stepped out from the crowd and came forward, leering at Hermione.
Harry glared at his former classmate. Draco just looked back, a smirk on his face. "Hey Potter!" He called. He walked over to Hermione. "Did you know your Mudblood whore liked being taken two at a time?" He reached his arm around Hermione's shoulder, reaching down to give her breast a squeeze.
"You dirty bastard! I'll kill you before this is over!" Harry shouted, straining forward against the people holding him back.
Even Ginny couldn't help but believe Hermione's story. "But we used Veritaserum. You told us you willingly became one of them."
Draco scoffed. "Do you really think Snape would've kept real Veritaserum in his stores? It was fake. We forced Hermione to lie to you under the Imperius. And more torture too, of course."
"Now Draco, we don't want all of our secrets exposed." Voldemort said. "Come followers. Let us have our war." He flicked his wand forward, and the Dementors came rushing out of the forest and onto Hogwarts grounds.
The adults and students immediately fell back and started producing patronuses. Meanwhile, the giants were at the gates, trying to get in. The spells that hit them just rebounded off, only serving to make them angrier.
Hermione was dragged near the back of the group by Draco. He turned around and planted a kiss on her mouth.
"You, Hermione, are pure genius." He said to her. "I never would've thought it possible to convince Harry of your innocence after your escape."
Hermione smirked. "I know. I'm just glad I thought of it in time. Maybe now they won't kill me on the spot."
Draco reached down to the ground beside the tree they were next to. "Here, put this on." He handed her her black robes and mask. "Oh, and we can take this off as well." He waved his wand, and the glamour Hermione wore faded, leaving her bruise free. "Much better." He smiled at her.
"Why thank you." She smiled back.
A crashing sound made both of them turn their heads and watch as the gates – the last protector between the students and Death Eaters – come crashing down. They swarmed through, the protective enchantments broken.
The battle was now happening full force. Students and teachers versus Death Eater and Dementors. The students were vastly outnumbered, each battling two or even three Death Eaters at a time.
Voldemort stood at the back, watching his army fight for him. Harry tried to fight his way to where he stood, but someone would pop up in front of him, forcing his attention on them.
Meanwhile, Hermione and Draco were fighting together against her former classmates. She was merciless against them, never holding back.
Flinging a curse followed by a hex at a student, Hermione looked quickly to her left to check on Draco. He was holding his own against two students.
A curse grazed Hermione's right arm, bringing her attention back in front of her to see Tonks staring at her, leveling her wand at her. Hermione grinned at her, raising her wand and taking off her mask with her other hand.
Tonks inhaled sharply, surprise making her lower her wand hesitantly. "Hermione what are you doing? Why aren't you with Harry? Are you still under the Imperius?" She raised her wand and said the counter curse, but Hermione just stood there and kept grinning.
"You were never under the Imperius were you Hermione?" Tonks said, nearly whispering.
"Nope." Hermione said cheerfully. She took a step towards Tonks, causing the older witch to back up. "Guess what else I did Tonks? I willingly took the Mark." She shoved her sleeve up to show her the snake and skull branded on her arm.
Tonks gasped and stumbled a bit before regaining her balance. "Oh Hermione, what have you done?"
Hermione cocked her head to the side and smirked. "That's funny. That's exactly what Lupin said right before I killed him."
Tonks paled, tears starting to run down her face.
"Yeah." Hermione continued. "It was me. I did it. I confess to it." She said viciously. "But before I ended his life, I took my time torturing him. The Dark Lord himself helped me, taught me."
Tonks was shaking her head. "Helped you, taught you? What's happened to you Hermione? How could you have left Harry's side and gone over to theirs?"
Hermione glowered at her. "When was Harry ever at my side?" She shouted. "When has he, or anyone for that matter, ever been at my side, to help me?" She shook her head. "You know, I had time to think while I was being held prisoner. How fucked up my life was and didn't truly know. Not until Draco showed me."
Tonks shot a glance over to Draco, who was facing a different student. "Draco?" She asked. "Are you…Hermione, are you and he…" She couldn't bring herself to say it.
Hermione shot a glance at him too and looked back at Tonks. "You mean am I fucking him? Sharing his bed and his body?" She smirked. "Yes, I am."
Tonks blanched and raised her wand again. "You'll die for this, I swear it." She hissed.
Hermione raised her own, and took a defensive position. "You can try." She shot back at her.
After that, it was on; coloured spells flying at each other, rebounding off to the side, hardly ever making contact with its intended victim.
Finally, Hermione threw a curse at Tonks, who couldn't shield herself, causing her to fall to the ground, not moving. Hermione walked over to her and looked down at her.
Tonks was panting, but glared at Hermione with hatred in her eyes. Hermione just raised her wand and made a slashing motion at her chest, causing blood to spurt out of the gash that now ran through it. She waited until Tonks breathed no more before donning her mask again, turning around.
Hogwarts ground were littered with bodies, mostly those of the untrained students. Little pools of blood surrounded a few of them.
Hermione walked around them and finally found Draco, just finishing with a teacher. He turned to her and ran over.
"Are you okay? You're covered in blood!" He said concernedly, checking her over.
"I'm fine, it's fine. It's not mine. Well, most of it's not." Hermione answered.
Draco just shook his head at her. "Come on, we need to take cover." He took her hand and darted to a group of trees near the edge of the forest.
"We're winning Hermione. We're winning. If – when – we do, we can finally live out in the open. No more hiding." He said wistfully.
Hermione put a hand to his cheek and gave him a quick kiss. "Well let's go and help ensure that victory then."
With that, they ran back into the battle with a new fierceness and energy. Everyone who opposed them went down, not standing a chance.
Everything was going smoothly until a loud scream was heard, making everyone pause to find the source. And then they did. Harry and Voldemort had finally found each other.
It was like a school fight. Everybody formed a circle around the two, forgetting about their own fights for the moment.
Harry and Voldemort circled each other, testing the waters; see who would give in first.
Voldemort flung a spell at Harry, who yelled "Protego!", and then shot off his own spell. It was a complete stale mate. Harry had no chance of touching Voldemort. On the other hand, Harry was no slouch either. Seven years of learning, which included two years of intense training had made him a better dueler than he was in fourth year at the graveyard.
Spells were flying back and forth so fast; it was sometimes hard to tell who they were coming from. Everybody was tensed, waiting for the end.
Finally a shout of "Avada Kedavra!" was heard, and both Harry and Voldemort fell to the ground. Stunned silence fell upon the onlookers.
And then the incredible happened. Harry sat up, breathing hard. It had been he who had yelled the Killing Curse. He had done it. He had killed Voldemort.
A loud cheer went up and the teacher and students ran to him, celebrating.
Hermione was left with the other Death Eaters standing there, dumbfounded. She felt a hand tug at her arm and started to fight. Looking up, she saw it was only Draco, and relaxed.
"We have to get out of here. Now." He said. "They won't stay celebrating for long." He shot a panicked look at them over his shoulder.
Hermione nodded. He grabbed her hand and started running towards the fallen gates so they could apparate out.
"Hermione! Hermione!" She heard yelling behind her. She half turned as she ran and saw Harry running after her.
Shit, where was her mask? She felt her face, but it wasn't there. It must've fallen off while she was battling.
She saw Harry put on a burst of speed and noticed Ginny coming after him. Draco noticed too and spun around, his wand pointed at Harry, who raised his in turn.
"Let her go Malfoy." Harry said, eyes not leaving Draco's.
"I don't think so Potter. She's mine." Draco told him.
Hermione felt a flutter when he claimed possession of her, and then grimaced at what morbid timing this all was.
Harry fired off a spell, which Draco put a shield in front of. Hermione and Ginny could only stand by and watch as the two started dueling.
Hermione knew Harry well enough to know how serious he was. He intended to kill Draco.
"I told you Malfoy. I said I'd kill you myself!" Harry raised his wand and started to say the Killing Curse for the second time that night.
Hermione threw herself in front of Draco, crying out. "No! You will not hurt him! I won't let you!"
Harry immediately stopped and stared at her. "Hermione what are you doing? Are you still under the curse?"
Hermione shook her head, and a giggle escaped her. "No. I was never under the Imperius. I did everything of my own free will."
Ginny gasped and stepped up beside Harry. "So the Veritaserum was real then!"
Hermione shrugged. "Of course it was. I was just lucky that Draco came and saved me."
Harry furrowed his brow. "Saved you? You mean took you back to that hellhole." He looked almost desperate.
"At first it was. I was used for spell practice at first, that part was true. But I was never raped, even though I only ever slept with Draco." She smiled.
Harry thought he was going to throw up. "What the hell Hermione?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "They showed me who I could be. Who I would've been all these years without you bogging me down. I was only good for homework wasn't I? I was never a true friend. Admit it Harry."
Harry shook his head at that. "You know that's not true. And what about Ron? What about him?"
She rolled her eyes. "I've moved on." She said, taking Draco's hand behind her.
Harry and Ginny seemed at a loss for words. Then Harry's eyes hardened and he looked up at them.
"Then I guess that makes you my enemy." He whispered and threw up his wand.
"Avada Kedavra!" Hermione shouted, reacting instinctively. Harry was tossed backwards and landed. Ginny screamed and rand to him, sobbing.
Hermione stood there staring, until Draco took her hand and pulled her through the gates, and they Disapparated leaving Hogwarts behind them forever
Epilogue coming soon!!! Thanks SO much you guys for sticking with me!