A heavy silence had befallen the Headmaster's quarters, yet Hermione's ears nearly rang from it.
Severus stood at one end of the sofa, his back to her, head bowed just slightly. She knew what he was thinking, discerning the inevitable that was about to come upon them all.
Professor McGonagall had left to alert all the Order members possible. Even with arriving help, Hermione had a feeling they were to be severely outnumbered. There was much to be done, and very little time in which to do it. The Death Eaters had not yet infiltrated the castle's strong wards put in place to keep evil out, but it was only a matter of time.
Hermione could barely take the silence any longer. She wanted him to speak, to say something. She would even rather have him yell at her than have his silence. Silence where she could almost see the million things going through his cluttered mind.
What to do? Who to send out to fight? How long would they last? How long would Harry last?
Once again, the sound of hurried steps reached their ears. Hermione turned as McGonagall came into view, breathing hard but looking better composed that before. She had obviously gotten a hold of herself.
"Severus," she said, coming to a halt near the doorway. "I've sent word to Headquarters but the Dark Lord's army has them blocked out. They can't get in at the moment, but we're working on it."
"I thought as much," he said in a low voice, not turning to face them. "The students?"
"Yes, the younger ones are in the Room of Requirement for now. It should keep them safe." She took a breath. "The older students who wish to fight are assembled in the Great Hall with Potter and Malfoy. I'm sorry to say that many Slytherins are missing...it seems they have joined the ranks of their parents outside of the castle."
Hermione did not bother to conceal the disgusted expression on her face at hearing this. The traitorous cowards.
Still, Severus remained with his back to them. "We will have to make a stand without the Order, Minerva. You realize this?"
The older witch nodded carefully. "Yes, but we cannot hold them off very long alone. At some point, we will need back up."
Severus nodded in agreement.
"The last Horcrux, Minerva. It's the snake. I'm sure of it. Tell Potter he is not to even remotely think about finishing the Dark Lord until Nagini is dead."
He didn't wait for a response before continuing in the same, subdued tone of voice. "I shall come to the Great Hall shortly. Please, see that all that wish to fight are there and prepared to do so."
With a final nod, McGonagall turned and left, following Severus' orders.
With slow steps, Hermione made her way across the room, placing a hand in the very center of Severus' back. He gazed over his shoulder at her with his eyes.
"I...don't suppose you would stay here even if I begged you to, would you," he said, taking in a very deep breath, as though he was about to go underwater.
Hermione shook her head. "No," she whispered, staring straight ahead of her, past him, to the wall, only looking up when he finally turned to her, laying his hand on her cheek with a touch like air, nodding with acceptance that she would not abandon this fight.
Closing her eyes, she leaned into his hand ever so slightly, relishing the feel of his skin against hers, trying not to think how it could very well be the last time either of them would feel such a thing from the other.
Moving his hand under her jaw, he titled her face up to look at him. With sad eyes, she regarded him, the intensity of his gaze almost too much to bear. Everything he felt was for once, plainly etched on every inch of his face.
She saw anticipation, fear, uncertainty, and most importantly, love.
Taking her by the hand, he pulled her up to him, gently taking her lips to his own, moving with compassion, spilling every ounce of his love without words. Neither moved away when they broke apart, but stayed there, lingering until Hermione felt his grasp tighten slightly on her hand.
"Let's go dance with the devil."
oOoOo
"Harry?"
He was sitting alone in a corner of the Great Hall, sitting on top of a table, starting ahead of him, eyes unfocussed. He was preparing.
Silently, Hermione moved to sit next to him. Glancing sideways at him, she saw how rigid his features were. It was as if he was finally putting all of those lessons into practice, for real this time. He knew what was about to happen, what all was at stake.
Lives. His life.
"I don't know if I'm ready for this, Hermione." His voice was hard, but very quiet. She noticed that his hands had clenched into fists when he had spoke.
Hermione knew that this situation, were it any other, would call for simply telling him 'of course you're ready. You'll do just fine, Harry.' This was obviously not the case here. It was very possible that this would not end 'fine', or even close to it. Lives would be lost; there was no getting around it.
Covering his fists with one of her hands, she took a deep breath. "We're all going to be there for you, Harry, you know that. By your side, we're in this together. Please, please don't forget that."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nodding, but she did not look up. She squeezed his hands gently and felt them relax slightly.
"Has he told you about Nagini?"
Hermione glanced across the vast hall, over the sea of students and teachers, to where Severus was standing before all of them with McGonagall addressing them about what they were going to do.
She nodded, still watching him.
Harry heaved a sigh. "Then you know what I have to do...before I can kill him," not a question, but a statement.
"Someone has to kill her," she breathed quietly, glancing up at Severus again who caught her eye and beckoned her to come over to where he was standing. Nodding, Hermione stood up and faced Harry, reaching her hand out to him. He looked at it for a long time, and then finally took it, allowing her to semi pull him from the table into a stand.
She gave him a small smile and walked with him to the rest of the crowd.
McGonagall placed a hand on Harry's shoulder when he approached, turning on his heel to face all of the people before him, staring up at him, some with determination and courage, others with fear.
"Good," said Severus, continuing where he left off. "You know what you all face out there. We will fight..." he paused, glancing down at Hermione briefly, words seeming to be at a loss, even for him.
Yes, they would fight. They would fight to the death if need be, but what do you say to a hundred or so untrained students, Severus wondered fleetingly.
Clearing his throat, Severus resumed his speech. "There is a snake, she is the Dark Lord's familiar and the last key to allowing him to be mortal and therefore..." he paused again. "Killable."
"If you have a chance at the snake, kill her. Do not hesitate. Her death allows Potter to make his move. Nothing in that blasted prophecy said anything about him not having help."
McGonagall looked somewhat shocked at what he had just commanded, and spoke up. "That is not to say, however, that you should go looking for the snake." She pursed her lips together into a tight line. "She will be at the side of her master, am I correct, Severus?"
He nodded. A few heads turned to look at one another with worried glances. Hermione was sure many of them were still feeling skeptical as to whether they could trust Severus or not. McGonagall had, unfortunately hurriedly, explained all there was to say regarding whose side he was on. She had been terse about it, making sure the point was well taken that he was, in fact, to be trusted. Their lives depended on it for certain.
Despite the fear in their eyes, everyone standing there held a look of determination and readiness. Many were gripping their wands tighter as Severus spoke, listening carefully to every single word.
Everyone's heads suddenly turned to look as there was a crashing sound from near the doors, coming from outside of the castle. Hagrid, who was standing hear the high table, lumbered over to the window and looked outside.
"They're all out there," he said quietly before slowly turning around to face everyone else. "They're waiting."
The masses were crowding, moving quickly to line up near the castle's doors, waiting for the signal. Harry gave Hermione a final squeeze of the hand before jogging to the very front of the horde of people, taking his place.
Without looking up, Hermione felt Severus move closer to her, standing with barely centimeters between them. In her mind, she forced the tears away; she would not cry, even if she knew what he was going to say, no matter how much it was going to hurt.
"Hermione..." Severus took her hands in his, carefully, delicately; he held them as if they were the most fragile things in the world, as if this was the last time he would ever hold them. "I've learned in my time that in this life, there is no true pain until you look back and realize how much has changed, who you've lost along the way and how much of it was your fault.
"Much of what I have lost during my life has ultimately been my fault, but if today things don't go," he paused, examining his choice of words, "well, I will at least know that having you, that loving you put all of that back in place for me. You have given me back a part of me that I didn't know still existed." He gazed down into her eyes, reaching out with one hand to brush a single tear from her cheek. "You found my heart, Hermione, and it is yours. It always has been and will be forever. I love you."
Hermione was speechless, standing there as he leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers, a simple farewell and a promise all in one. She could say nothing as his hand treaded lightly across her cheek and then was gone.
Turning, rooted to the spot she followed him with her gaze as he strode away and to the castle's doors, ready to meet their fate, robes billowing, just as he would want them to.
She silently vowed that she would not lose him, no matter what it took before she too readied herself to meet whatever was on the other side of those doors.
***
The doors opened almost painfully slow, the sunlight pouring in as they moved. No one moved, barely breathing in the moments they waited for the doors to completely open up to their enemy.
Wand at the ready, Hermione finally breathed out as the sight of hundreds of black-cloaked figures stood before them, unmoving with their wands out before them, ready to strike.
An eternity seemed to pass as both sides watched one another, the only noise being the heavy iron-wrought doors as they stopped moving against the sides of the castle, their final resting place—wide open.
Next to her, Harry moved forward, slowly, making his way to the front of the crowd of students and teachers, finally coming to stand by Severus. The two of them, never taking their eyes off of the Death Eaters before them, stood in silence and waited.
Far in the very back of the mass of Death Eaters, Voldemort could be clearly seen, his twisted smile pronounced, the traitor Wormtail close to his side. On the other side, slithering about his feet was Nagini, the last Horcrux.
Voldemort, never taking his eyes off of Harry, sneered and said in a deadly, calm voice: "Attack."
At the very same time, Harry and Severus both yelled, "NOW!"
And so it began.
Everything erupted around them; curses flew in all directions, the noise level rising to great heights as hundreds of people yelled out spells, defensive and offensive. A few Death Eaters on the front lines dropped to the ground as they were hit with curses, allowing the next in line to come forward, stepping over the fallen as though they were simply part of the earth beneath their feet.
Hermione threw out every curse and defensive spell she knew, one after the other. Somewhere in the back of her mind she registered that they were severely outnumbered, and would need help fast or they would never make it.
While she had begun the fight at Harry's side, Hermione realized that they were drifting apart towards separate parts of the grounds. Contemplating this distracted her the slightest bit from her surroundings and in a split second, found herself flying backwards in a spiral, hitting a tree, her back cracking sickly.
As she rolled over, pain shooting through her body, she acknowledged that she had somehow kept hold of her wand. Tears of agonizing pain tried to force their way out, but she held it in, summoning strength from somewhere deep inside of her.
Shaking slightly, she shoved herself up from the ground, starting as a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her the rest of the way. Her startled nerves calmed the slightest bit when she looked up wildly and saw it was Draco. His face was set in a stone hard expression, relentless, but his eyes held the smallest concern and she was glad of his help.
Together they stood and fought, back to back, circling, taking down one Death Eater after the other, neither of them having to speak; all that was heard was the sounds of their wands cutting sharply through the heavy air, the crack of breaking bone and bodies falling to the hard ground.
"We need help!" She heard Draco yell somewhere in between the sounds of crashing debris and bodies. "Where's the bloody Order?"
Hermione couldn't answer, she was too busy throwing jinxes out of her wand at the two Death Eaters in front of them.
"He's still blocking them out," she finally yelled back to him. "They can't get in!"
Draco then suddenly released a very bright wave of magic from his wand, resulting in the now four Death Eaters to fall to the ground. As if it'd been nothing, he turned to Hermione, his face stone hard, just as Harry's had been.
"Then we have to figure out a way to change that. We can't make any more of a stand without them," he said in a low voice, taking her arm. Hermione was panting, she was so out of breath combined with what she thought sickly of as being adrenaline. It disgusted her that she was getting a rush out of killing people.
She shook her head at Draco. "What do you propose we do then, we can't just—" But she stopped, a sudden figure catching her eye as it ran behind them, hunched over low to avoid the spells flying through the air. In an instant, she swung her arm to the side of Draco. "Stupefy!" She yelled, heart pounding as her spell found its mark.
"What the..." She heard Draco mutter but ignored it and hurried over to the unconscious figure on the ground. Draco wasn't far behind her and he made a disgusted noise as he joined her where she now stood.
"Wormtail?"
She nodded, not taking her eyes off of the pathetic excuse for a man before her. "He owes Harry his life. He can get the Order in."
Looking up at Draco, she added, "Take him to Harry. Explain and then make sure the Order gets in."
Without another word, she stood then, quickly flicking her wand to reverse Wormtail's comatose state and ran off in search of anyone in need, knowing there were others far worse off than her at the moment.
It didn't take long until she found what she was looking for; unfortunately her stomach fell at the sight of it. Bellatrix Lestrange was slinking out from behind the trees at the edge of the forest, her wand aiming at Neville's back who was dueling with another Death Eater.
Hermione knew, with a sinking feeling, that being so focused he would never hear her until it was far too late. She had to do something, and quickly or she would watch him die.
Without wasting another second, she rushed forward, coming to an abrupt halt about half way to them and sent a curse flying rampagingly from her wand straight at Bellatrix. As it found its mark, both Neville and the other Death Eater were distracted, looking back to where Bellatrix was heaving herself up from the ground.
Hermione quickly glanced to her left, seeing the preoccupied Death Eater and without a thought, took him down with her wand. For a split second, Neville looked to her, eyes wild and confused, quickly changing to understanding and thanks.
He let his guard down a moment too soon, however, for the moment his wand lowered a fraction, Bellatrix laughingly sent a curse flying at him, rendering him unconscious and twitching on the ground. Hermione glared as Bellatrix turned to her with a crooked grin, waving her wand without warning whatsoever.
Hermione was quick though, and dodged it just in time.
"Ah, the little Mudblood wants to duel, does she?" Bellatrix mocked in a singsong voice.
Hermione gripped her wand tighter still, readying herself for whatever was about to come her way. She would not give her enemy the satisfaction of a reply.
She would simply duel.
Suddenly, a great blast could be felt, pushing into all of them, as though it were a giant gust of wind. As Hermione chanced a look across the grounds, her insides leapt at the sight of a very large group of Order members who had all apparated in at once.
Finally.
With a surge of newfound strength at gaining the new advantage, Hermione threw out more spells and hexes than she ever thought being capable of, causing Bellatrix to work even harder, certainly looking as though she did not expect it.
An earsplitting screech stopped both Bellatrix and Hermione mid-curse as they looked up into the sky. Flying above them, blocking out the sun was a gigantic dragon. On top of it...was Ron Weasley.
The Order had brought reinforcements.
Hermione felt a rush of wind as the gigantic animal moved its wings, her hair blowing back forcefully. She jerked her head back to her opponent, who did so at the same time, a snarl planted firmly on her sallow face.
Bellatrix sent another curse at Hermione, which she dodged barely in time. Mustering all of the hate she held within her, Hermione yelled, "Crucio!" It found its mark, Bellatrix falling to the ground writhing and screaming in pain. Hermione didn't have time to feel sickened by the fact that she had done that; she knew she wasn't strong enough to hold it for long.
As it broke, Bellatrix started to laugh; a horrible, evil laugh as she began to stagger back to her feet, never once looking away from Hermione who stood panting before her.
"How's Weasley going to take it, Mudblood?" Bellatrix mocked, still trying to catch her breath. "Finding out you're leaving him for a Death Eater?" Her twisted smile was horrible, the color of her teeth showing that her stay in Azkaban had obviously been a long one.
A pain shot through Hermione that had nothing to do with any magical curse Bella could have thrown at her. Ron, she thought. He didn't have any idea. Perhaps he would think she was going to run straight to his arms when this whole thing was over.
How would he react when she didn't, but went to Severus instead? That was, if they all made it out of this alive.
"Hit a nerve, Granger?" Bellatrix laughed again, before casting a silent curse at Hermione, causing her to double over, falling to the ground in excruciating pain.
With all of her might, gasping for breath, Hermione managed to open her eyes through the pain of the curse and aim her wand. The hex she used wasn't much compared to what she'd been hit with, but her opponent staggered backwards, tripping over the motionless body of a Death Eater behind her.
She barely had strength left, but Hermione seized her opportunity and pushed herself up from the ground, clutching her stomach with one arm, pointing her wand downwards at Bellatrix.
When she got close enough, Hermione saw that Bellatrix had a horribly amused look on her sallow face, grinning through the pain she had to feeling. "Go ahead, Mudblood," she mocked. "Come on, kill me. Or don't you have the guts?"
Hermione gripped her wand tighter, not allowing the taunting to get to her. An eternity seemed to pass as she stood there, panting, her wand pointed directly at Bella's cold, empty heart.
Finally, making up her mind, Hermione raised her wand, glaring. With satisfaction, she noticed Bella's eyes widen just the smallest fraction of an inch, but it was enough to see.
"You deserve so much worse than death."
Again, the evil woman's eyes widened, this time visibly as Hermione slashed through the air with her wand. "Sectumsempra!" She had seen the old Potions book enough times; she knew what Harry had done to Draco accidentally in sixth year to know exactly what spell she was saying and what it would do.
Bella's piercing scream filled the air as the curse worked just as it was intended, a gaping slash across her chest. With an audible thud, she fell to the ground, writhing and gasping, her blood gushing everywhere.
Hermione could not look away; she was fascinated yet utterly disgusted by what she had done and that alone held her gaze.
Breathing hard, sickly satisfied Hermione turned away from the dying Bellatrix and back to the raging battle around her.
Her sense of triumph grew and faded simultaneously in the next split seconds as with an involuntary gasp, she looked up to see Ron in a straight nosedive on his gigantic dragon heading straight towards Voldemort. His target snarled, turning to the sky and offender, raising his wand with a glare.
Hermione's scream to Ron would have never come soon enough. She felt like a stature as Ron's body fell from the sky like a rag doll. When Draco grabbed hold of her middle to stop her from running to him, it barely felt like the body was her own.
In the very same, horrifying moment, movement up ahead caught her eye and she was forced to pull her eyes away from Ron's twisted form. All in one, fluid moment, one that looked so planned and thought out, Hermione thought it to be surreal, Severus was there. In the very same seconds that his wand killed the snake at her master's feet, Harry roared to life, attacking Voldemort with all the strength he had left in him.
Voldemort emitted a terrible scream, Harry's attack not having done much except to anger him further. Hermione's eyes flickered to Severus who, to her near surprise, had a crooked half-grin on his face—the look of almost triumph.
Without warning, Voldemort produced an incredible blast from his wand, knocking all those close to him to the ground, seemingly unconscious, including Severus.
The Dark Lord's attention, though, was completely focused on Harry now. The two were circling each other, wands out and ready, neither breaking eye contact.
"No one touch him!" Voldemort yelled, his voice ringing spectacularly across the grounds where people of both sides now stood still, waiting, watching. "He's mine!"
Continuing to circle. Voldemort's eyes were filled with malice and hatred, Harry's filled with the same, but with added determination. He would not easily give up this fight.
"You cannot defeat me, Harry Potter! My greatness surpasses yours to incredible heights—just as it surpasses Dumbledore's!" He sneered the name, showing his yellowing teeth surrounded by gray skin, stretched flat against his gums.
Harry did not answer, but continued to move, to watch, waiting for the right moment to strike with intentions of winning.
"You have no one protecting you this time, Potter. And they will all die, once you are gone. You will have saved...no one."
Hermione watched as this time, Harry drew himself to full height, responding to his opponent's taunting bravely. "You don't get it, do you, Riddle?" Voldemort snarled audibly at the name.
"How dare you address—"
But Harry just spoke above him, voice rising until he was nearly shouting. "They've all protected me by just fighting this battle. Just as I am protecting them now by finishing you off myself...Just like my mother protected me!" Harry gripped his wand even tighter. Hermione noticed that his knuckles were turning white with the ferocity of which he held on.
"This ends now, Riddle," Harry yelled with the utmost bravery, sounding more to Hermione like a man than he ever had in his entire life.
Voldemort, too, raised his wand higher. "Foolish, stupid little boy," he growled, both wizards readying themselves nearly subconsciously. "Time to say...goodbye."
Harry though, was already raising his wand as Voldemort said these words and suddenly it was very clear that he was going to be caught severely off-guard...and that Harry was going to win.
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Every single person, Death Eater, Order Member, teacher and student watched in horrific fascination as a blinding green light shot quickly and confidently from the end of Harry's wand and came in quick, sound contact with Voldemort's chest.
It was as if everything, every particle in the entire surrounding area ceased to move in that moment. Voldemort seemed to be stunned in a very elongated second and suspended while his eyes, ones that locked with Harry's briefly, lost all life and it was over.
Tom Marvolo Riddle lay lifeless on the hard grounds of Hogwarts.
It took perhaps another minute or so for the shouts of victory to erupt and for people to rush to Harry's side, grabbing him in fierce hugs and holds of congratulations and happiness; it couldn't be more perfect.
Hermione and Ginny were the first to reach him. Hermione jumped at him, flinging her arms around his neck. "You did it, Harry! You did it!" Her shouts were soon drowned out by the masses surrounding them, but she didn't let go. It was all so much—she felt so many emotions at once. Nearly engulfed in the crowd, she looked around for Severus. When he wasn't immediately in sight, she began to feel panic rise into her chest, despite the great jubilation. That good feeling was quickly deflating, as he was still not coming into view.
Just as the worst possibilities were coming to mind, she turned toward the castle and saw him. He was standing near the steps to the Entrance Hall, where he had slain Nagini only minutes ago.
Disengaging herself carefully from Harry and the crowd around them, she started to move in his direction. He didn't move from where he stood. He looked so tired, and his injuries were apparent even from her distance from him, but he was alive. They had both made it out alive.
With this thought, her happiness and the notion that everything would be alright now, she didn't even notice Bellatrix come from no where behind her. "Mudblood..." Her voice was hoarse; she was on her last legs, but it harbored a deep determination, and she would not fail. She would not lose this battle.
Hermione had no time to react, no time to reach for her wand which she had unthinkingly stowed back in her pocket, thinking it was all over, not even considering the possibility that once Voldemort was dead his followers wouldn't just simply give up.
Bellatrix fired a spell, maliciously, staggering forward with all of the strength she had left in her wasted body. Everything from that moment moved in slow motion for Hermione. She faintly, distantly, heard people shout her name; she dizzily watched them rush forward towards her and her attacker.
She fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Far off, a shrill scream sounded. Offhandedly, she realized she knew that meant someone has struck the assailant down. She was still conscious as a face appeared above her, Severus' face. Hermione tried to move her hand, to touch him but she couldn't even lift her arm. Every inch of her burned; it felt as though she were on fire. She still was unable to breathe properly.
"Se—" She tried to speak, barely able to croak out just that. Her chest heaved spastically as she forced her lungs to work; they had to work. Breathe! She commanded. Come on breathe! He had a hold of her hand; she could feel it, but barely.
"I have—to—tell—you...one more—love—you..."
After that, the shouts, the dizzying sights all drowned out and it everything went dark.