As she dodged a Cruciatus curse, Hermione wondered how it had all come to this.
She was trapped in a battle where no one side was winning with a vicious Death Eater attacking her. Honestly, all he'd been doing was sending Unforgivable Curses at her! You'd think even a Death Eater would be able to think up something more creative.
Silently cursing, Hermione once again asked herself how this all had happened. She was going to die being brought down by these dimwits!
Yes, she admitted to herself, she had eavesdropped on Harry and Luna. Really, could they be any less subtle? And she's seen Luna run off, too! Merlin, but you'd think Harry would trust her more!
Hermione sighed as she shot a curse at a stray Death Eater she suspected to be Pansy Parkinson. But, from what she had heard, they did have a point. To be honest with herself, she had actually been beginning to suspect for some time now. I mean, she'd seen Luna's grades. The girl was brilliant! And it all did make sense. She smiled ruefully. Ignorant, eh? Yes, it did all make sense.
She sighed inwardly as she dodged a cutting hex and sent one right back at the unusually short figure in black robes. But, still it was such a shame. She was so used to knowing it all, but here they were both talking in ways she could hardly understand! It was infuriating! It was ghastly! It was against nature! It was impossible! It was...
...regretfully undeniable.
Hermione let a tear slip from her eye as she shot off two more curses, only to have her right arm shattered by a bone-breaking curse. She winced and quickly swapped her wand to her left hand before continuing to fire off hexes with less accuracy that before.
Yes, she supposed they were right. She was going to die.
Two more tears slipped out, only to be wiped away furiously before she shot off three curses in quick succession.
For some strange reason, death didn't bother her as it might and probably should. She thought about it as she reflexively dodged more Unforgivables.
It wasn't until two hours later, when she was brought down by another bone-breaker to the leg, that she understood.
She wasn't just going to die. She was meant to die. She was meant to die protecting Harry, Luna, and anyone else who was destined to die. Even though she had never before believed in destiny, she now knew what hers was.
From her spot on the ground, she continued to fire off as many curses as she could as quickly as she could, taking down as many Death Eaters as possible. She never once acknowledged the dark figure that loomed over her as she did this, pointing his wand directly at her with a smirk on his face.
"Avada Kedavra."
She smiled.