Chapter Two - Sink or Swim

"We are losing this war." Hermione's voice was dull in the small room that only four people were sitting in. All on the floor, their faces grim like hers and she could tell they were all thinking the same as she had just said.

"No…." a small voice of one the other people said, it was sad and held quite, yet they knew that it was true.

Hermione looked up at the other three people in the room, Remus, Harry and Ginny. There they were, the only four remaining members of the Order, unless you counted Moody, who was currently in the clutches of Death Eaters, so they could only wish the best that he was alive, yet take down numbers of the people they knew were alive for sure, him not being one of them.

She ran a hand across her cheek bone, along the small magical mark that now lay on her skin there. "We leave this room, we die. We need to either come up with a brilliant plan right now, or," She looked at everyone, all of them knowing what she was going to say, but none of them, including herself, wanting to hear it. "Use that spell as a way to end it, for us."

Ginny stood up, the weight of the words getting to her. Those words being spoken aloud was much different then everyone just thinking them, it made it more final, more real.

"We can't, we still have to fight." She ran a hand over her now short hair, pacing two steps before having to turn and pace the other way because of how small the room was.

"Ginny, the only wand we have is mine, and we don't know what spell it was hit with before…." The battle that had lead them to be here, stuck in this tiny room with no where to go except death or killing themselves.

Hermione was fighting Barty Crouch Jr, well the just Barty Crouch now that his father was deceased and had been for a long time now. She was standing in front of Remus, Harry and Ginny, protecting them with their only wand, hers.

"Hello Hermione." He said with the same spiteful voice that he had said long long ago to his father in the Ministry. The voice, the day Hermione only knew of because she had seen the memory of Dumbledore's when trying to find out whatever she could about Barty.

Barty had that crazed smirk on his face, a smirk Hermione was used to now, him being Voldemort's right hand man made him the person she fought the most with in battle. He licked his lips and stalked over to her, both of their wands raised; hers aimed at his chest and his at her wand.

"Us again." He called over to her, even though it was just him, three more Death Eaters and the four of them.

"Yeah, lucky me." Hermione responded before casting a spell which he silently countered, causing it to bounce mid air and go back to her. But she reacted quickly and sent it flying into a wall at their side.

"Why do you still do this Hermione? Why not give up," he took another step towards her; Hermione could only raise her wand to his face. "Give in to me." He flicked his tongue, he was getting closer to her, like he did in most battles, and she hated it. He was insane and she couldn't stand being around him, never knowing when he would strike or pounce on her. He lowered his face

right next to hers and she felt him whisper a spell before she knew what he was doing.

She could feel everyone behind her, working to get them out, but she didn't care, all she was focused on right now was his eyes boring into hers. She knew it was the spell but she couldn't help but have it consume her, she tried to fight it, but the more she did, the more she felt him laugh at her and take more control.

He took her wand out of her hands, bringing to right next to his mouth, his great smirk only widening when he slowly licked it from its handle to its tip, which disgusted her, he moved back from her and whispered another spell into it. She saw a little glimmer of gold leave his mouth and seep into her wand, and she couldn't help but let out a strangled cry. This caused him to look back up at her, but never moving his head from her wand.

"Shh," he said raising a hand to her mouth, tapping it gently and leaving his finger lightly pressed against her lips. "It's all yours." She felt him slip the wand back into her pocket, and she darted her eyes down too look at it, she tried to move her hand to grip it tight, but couldn't. She looked back up Barty and he flicked his tongue again, only this time he moved in to her face, she felt him lick along the mark on her cheek and she felt the need to cry, vomit and kill him all at once.

He let the spell which held her go and he moved back very slowly from her, "What a waste." He whispered, it would be guessed as to himself, but Hermione knew better, it was his way of sort of saying goodbye to her. Something that had become an almost tradition with them over time, every time they fought, all five times.

She knew better then to reach out and even touch her wand, not knowing what spell he had cast, but knowing it definitely had one on it. She knew he wouldn't kill her, not right now, they would have killed them already if that's what they wanted. She turned around to the others and saw them chanting, Harry and Ginny holding their hands out for her to take, and join in with their circle and chanting. She took hold of them roughly and felt like she was using a port key, but knowing better. It was the same pulling sensation in her stomach, but when she glanced back she saw Barty licking his lips one last time, whist watching her, before disappearing to the small room which they were currently in.

"I'm sorry Ginny, I know I promised you, but that was such a long time ago." Hermione said, knowing that she was regretting her words as much as everyone was. She wiped her mark as if it burnt suddenly. Looking up at Ginny, who was walking around the cramped room, she continued. "It's the only way."

Harry spoke up now, "Ginny, we're the last ones. There are hundreds of them, nearly thousands. There are four of us." He stood up and grabbed one of Ginny's hands and pulled her to him, where he wrapped his arms around her and they just stood there, silently, holding each other.

Hermione turned to Remus and closed her eyes slowly before opening them and finding hers looking straight into his. "Are you okay with this?" She asked him lightly.

Remus nodded, running his hand though his vastly grey hair. "Yeah, I have been for awhile," Hermione knew that he was ready to take it after Tonks had, seeing no reason to live anymore. Hermione was there when he nearly tried to take it for the first and only time, she had to jump on him, making him fall to the ground where he hit and punched her into letting him up but she only did when she made him promise. "But are you?"

Hermione frowned further as she looked down at the coin in her hands. "No." she said, and looked up to Harry and Ginny holding each other. She craved having someone all the time during the war, having no one to hold her, comfort her like Ginny did. She turned back to Remus and she could tell that he knew what she was feeling. Slowly he took his coin out and twisted it open, she saw the dark purple liquid in its tiny holder.

Ginny and Harry had turned now, and watched fearfully at Remus and the coin in his hands.

There was an eerie silence as Remus embraced her in to a hug, she closed her eyes as they said this last goodbye. Her eyes still closed as he pulled back and she knew he had taken the potion when she heard a light thud. A tear fell from her eyes as she opened them slowly and looked up to Harry and Ginny.

She heard him mutter something, which she could make out as "We're together, that's all that matters." She sighed and knew that she was the perfect person to take the potion next, leaving Ginny and Harry a bit of time to themselves. It seemed right to her that it ended this way, no matter how much she didn't want it to.

Delicately she took out the stone cold coin, which now pulsed with iciness that only came when someone had died but not left a message. It was obvious that it was Remus. She twisted it open and was surprised that it came undone so easily. She looked down at the light purple liquid and noticed how cloudy it was compared to Remus', who's was a lot darker and less misty. It was weird, so summarized, unnerving definitely, to stare at your own cause of death and know that in a minute you will be dead yourself. Taking on last look at Harry and Ginny who were now sitting in the corner, hugging each other, and one last look at Remus' still body, it took her back at how much it looked like he was sleeping rather than dead.

She was hesitant to take the potion even after everything that had happened. She contemplated whether or not she should just surrender, surrender to him, Barty Crouch Junior.

She just heard the bodies of harry and Ginny collapsed onto the floor. She looked at them as she felt the icyness of the coin in her fingers. They looked almost peace full in their death, another stray tear fell from her eye as she watched them. She realised how close she had come to death at that moment, she angrily threw the coin onto the floor, and it landed with a soft thud.

She realised that she did not what to die at the hand of a suicide coin and that even if she wanted to change her mind the chance had gone. She slid to the floor and cried silently. She got up from the floor and angrily wiped the tears from her eyes, if she were to surrender to barty, the other death eaters and most of all voldemort she had to be strong.

She quickly apparated to number 12 grimwald place and was surprised to find no death eaters there. She went out into the hallway ignoring Mrs. blacks screams of mudblood and opened the door saying goodbye to the house forever. She walked out and into the courtyars in the middle of all the houses and said loudly "I surrender to you barty, i surrender to the death eaters, I surrender to the dark lord" she had tears streaming down her face.

She heard numerous pops around her signalling that death eater had apparated around her. She carefully plucked her wand from her pocked and threw it to the side to show that she was unarmed. She looked up and was met by the similar black eyes she had seen so many times before. The man in question, Barty Crouch Junior, moved towards agonisingly slow, his tounge flicking out like always. When he finally reached her he slid his hand to her chin and made her look at him. "I'm so glad that you finally surrendered yourself to me and to my lord" he hissed out menacingly just before he claimed her mouth in a possessive kiss.

The kiss was almost animalistic but something in her mind screamed out to her that it felt amazing. She had never been kissed like this by anybody and she liked it. His tongue was probing and she finally decided to let herself go into the kiss and moaned. She could feel him smirk against her lips and she reached around and slid her hands into his spiky, silky hair just as he slid both his arms around her waist and pulled her against his body roughly. She was barely aware of her back hitting the wall of one of the many houses as he pressed every inch of his powerful body against hers as their lips moved in sync and their tongues battles for dominance. They heard many throat clearings and broke apart.

Hermione blushed bright red but barty had an almost animalistic smirk on his face. " Your mine and only mine, no one may touch you except me, you are and always will be mine" he hissed.

She looked into his coal black eyes and agreed with sincerity in her eyes...

"I'm Yours" and he apparated them both to the house of riddle.