More thanks than ever go to my wonderful beta, s and h forever.
I continue to be immensely grateful to those reading this, especially those of you who have found the time to review. I would have been honored if only one other person found enjoyment in this story, so I have been touched by so many of your positive responses.
"After I saw the light, I packed my things. The light gave me life and helped me see more clearly. And the children went to sleep. And the car was towed away. And the leaves were rustling as the night turned to day. I saw a light getting smaller in the distance, and I said goodbye." (I Saw a Light, by Bat for Lashes)
Hermione ran through the halls of the dungeons, pausing once she reached the Entrance Hall. She took in the now eerie silence of the castle, wondering where the screams she heard had come from and how Death Eaters had managed to get into the school in the first place. Her heart raced as she considered what was happening, but her thoughts were interrupted as Ginny and Luna appeared at the top of the staircase.
"Hermione, thank God, we found you," Ginny yelled while Luna caught her breath. "Neville and Ron are fighting the Death Eaters; we're going to help them. Come on!"
The three girls made their way through the castle, finding Ron and Neville near the stairway to the Astronomy Tower, spells firing at rapid speed from their wands. The five friends joined the battle against Voldemort's agents, Stupefying as many as they could. Hermione's eyes darted around the room as she watched and waited for Severus to arrive, hoping that he wasn't hurt. Suddenly, a bright light erupted in the night sky, bringing the hectic confrontation to a screeching halt. The remaining Death Eaters began to laugh darkly as Hermione raced to the window. She gasped upon seeing the bright, gleaming, green Dark Mark that was positioned directly above the Astronomy Tower, glowing menacingly through the darkness.
"No!" she couldn't help but exclaim, knowing for certain that something horrific was fated to happen that night.
"What is it, Hermione?" Ron questioned, running to her side.
"Someone's conjured the Dark Mark. Just keep fighting them," she whispered to her friends as the Death Eaters continued to rejoice. "Now!"
The onslaught of spells, hexes, and curses resumed, allowing Hermione to ascend the stairs to the Astronomy Tower amid the confusion and frantic chaos of the battle raging on around her. She knew that if something ordered by Voldemort was to happen, Severus would be a part of it, and she hoped to find him there. She collected herself for a moment, once she reached the top of the winding staircase, and quickly placed a Disillusionment Charm on herself before venturing out into the cold, night air. Once outside, she quickly stepped to the left side of the door, pressing up against the wall and suppressing her breaths, in order to ensure that she wouldn't be detected. Convincing herself that she was adequately hidden, she immediately scanned the tower for faces she knew. There was no sign of Harry or Severus, but she had a clear view of Dumbledore, who was slumped weakly against the wall across from her, apparently being threatened by Malfoy. She focused her attention on the intense conversation they were having, hoping to discover what exactly was happening. Whatever it was, it couldn't bode well.
"Well, Draco, I must admit that I have been expecting this for some time now. Although, I am curious as to how you pulled it off. I did not anticipate it happening so quickly, seeing as your other attempts were so feeble." Dumbledore leant his head against the wall as he looked up at Malfoy.
"Well, it wasn't all that hard," Malfoy sneered arrogantly. "And I was able to do it all right under your nose. I fixed that broken, old Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement. I had it linked to the one in Borgin and Burkes. And then –"
"Ah yes, well that explains the Death Eaters running free throughout the castle. I was interested in seeing how you would accomplish that feat." Dumbledore, even in his weakened state, was intent on cutting Malfoy off abruptly and maintaining the upper hand in their dialogue.
Hermione, despite her feelings of apprehension and fear, smiled softly at the beloved Headmaster of Hogwarts. Sure, she had joked about his age with Ron and Harry, but she suspected that he had much more fight in him than any of them had given him credit.
"If you were smart enough to figure out that I was up to something, why didn't you stop me? I suppose your reflexes aren't as good as they used to be, you stupid, old man."
Hermione suppressed the urge to reveal herself and strangle Malfoy to death with her own, bare hands, after quickly realizing that it would be quite unfortunate to have four Death Eaters and a child-loving werewolf set on her. She continued to listen in the face of her growing rage.
"Oh, but I did try to stop you, Draco. I have had Professor Snape on my side, watching you since the beginning of the year. He -"
"Well, he clearly hasn't been following your orders; he's still loyal to Voldemort, even now. He swore an Unbreakable Vow to my mother that he'd protect me while I served the Dark Lo-"
"Yes, I'm sure that's what Professor Snape would tell you, but –"
Their conversation was a rapid fire exchange of interruptions, giving Hermione more than enough information to take in. But the conflict was far from over.
"Are you blind, old man? Can't you see that he's a double agent? He's had you eating out of the palm of his hand since the Dark Lord's return."
"Oh, how little you know," Dumbledore sighed contentedly. "On this point, we must agree to differ. I have and always will trust Professor Snape. He –"
"SHUT UP!" Malfoy ordered. "I don't have time for this. I have to finish this now. I have to kill you!"
Hermione bit her hand to stifle the gasp that almost escaped her lips when the crux of the confrontation was finally voiced aloud. What seemed to be millions of consequences of Dumbledore's death flashed through her mind; none of them were pleasant.
"No, Draco." Dumbledore's wizened voiced brought Hermione's thoughts back to the present moment. "You don't have to do anything of the sort. Come to our side; you and I both know that you are not a murderer. Fight against Voldemort; choose the better option."
"I don't have any options!" he yelled, becoming agitated and nervous. "If I don't do this, Voldemort – He'll kill me and my family! I have to do this!"
He pointed his wand at Dumbledore, his hand shaking slightly. Hermione, even in her distress, saw this as a good sign. Draco was clearly nervous and, in Hermione's opinion, could easily be talked down. He wouldn't kill Dumbledore; Hermione was convinced that he didn't have the guts to do it, ferret that he was.
"We can offer you protection," Dumbledore replied calmly. "Just put down the wand, Draco, and come with me."
"You have to do it now, Draco," Bellatrix Lestrange cackled, from out of nowhere. "It must be done. You will be a part of the making of legends."
Draco kept his wand at the ready, glancing back at forth between Dumbledore and the group of Death Eaters standing behind him. Hermione could tell his confidence was waning, but Draco hardly had time to make his decision before the door Hermione was standing near was violently thrown open. She looked to the side to see Severus clutching his own wand tensely, his features hard and emotionless as he strode towards Malfoy. He glanced at him quickly before being addressed by one of the Death Eaters from the group huddled in the corner.
"We have a problem, Severus. It looks like Malfoy's brat isn't going to go through with it."
Severus was about to mutter something in response but was interrupted by a sound coming from the opposite side of the tower.
"Severus…" It was Dumbledore, and for a brief moment, Hermione stood open-mouthed in surprise at the vulnerability he was displaying. Never in her six years at Hogwarts had she heard Dumbledore sound weak or wavering, yet now, he seemed to be pleading with Severus. She now switched her focus to Snape, who looked almost disgusted at the Headmaster cowering before him. She couldn't understand why he wasn't helping him.
"Severus… Please…"
Before Hermione knew what was happening, Snape pointed his wand at Dumbledore. She would have never expected to hear the low, baritone voice she knew so well pronouncing the fateful words, "Avada Kedavra" to invoke the Killing Curse, but they were, indeed, the words he spoke. The blazing, green light burned through the sky as it struck Dumbledore squarely in the chest and sent him flying backwards. Hermione seemed to watch him fall in slow motion, unable to believe what was taking place right in front of her. His body slowly sailed over the edge of the tower, still bathed in the pulsing, green light of the curse, falling until he was completely out of view. Suddenly, she was struck by the impact of what had just occurred. Severus Snape, the man she trusted most, the man she loved, had killed Albus Dumbledore. He had lied to her all this time. He had used her. She felt her heart breaking within her chest as she lost herself in grief, letting her Disillusionment Charm drop, unintentionally.
"Noooooo!" she screamed through her broken sobs, causing Snape to look back at her as he was made aware of her presence. His eyes went wide as he saw her doubled over on the tower, as if in pain. His gaze was met by her own, each sharing emotions that neither of them could place into words. Hers was accusing and desperate, conveying the confused anger she felt after his betrayal. His was the indifferent stare to which she had become accustomed, and she continued to be astounded at his ability to hide his emotions. Suddenly, his eyes darted to the left as a Death Eater raised his want to curse Hermione.
"No, leave her. There's no time now. The Aurors will already be on their way. Just go!" He grabbed Draco's arm and dragged him to the tower's staircase, looking at Hermione once more before pushing Malfoy through the door and following after him.
She fell to the ground and continued to cry until she saw Harry appear out of thin air across from her. Suddenly, it all made sense to her. He had been there the whole time, just as she had been. "Harry! Did you… Dumbledore… he… Snape." She began trembling in her attempt to describe what had happened to him.
"Hermione, it's alright. I was here; you don't have to explain anything. I was under the Invisibility Cloak, and Dumbledore Immobilized me so that I couldn't do anything. Come with me; if we hurry, we can catch up to Snape and Malfoy. I'm going to kill them both. I'll make sure they regret what they've done."
Hermione was taken aback by the darkness in Harry's voice, yet her impulsive urge to cause Severus pain convinced her to follow him. They took off together, running from the Astronomy Tower, trailing Snape and Malfoy through the halls. It wasn't until they reached Hagrid's hut, now blazing in flame, that their adversaries were within striking distance. Harry cast spell after spell at Severus, who deflected them all with simple flicks of his wrist. Hermione looked on in silence, still too shocked to comprehend what he had done to her, to Dumbledore, and to Hogwarts. Still, his smugness triggered something feral within Hermione as she rushed forward with her wand raised.
"CRUCIO!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, startling Harry, who hadn't expected her to use such a dangerous spell, let alone one that was illegal. They both looked on, waiting for Snape to collapse in pain, but the torture never came.
"No Unforgiveable Curses from you, Miss Granger!" He taunted her mercilessly, seeing how Hermione's eyes went wide as she realized what had gone wrong.
"How dare you use my own potion against us, you cold hearted, manipulative bastard. How could you have done this? I trusted you! You should have let that Death Eater kill me… or done it yourself. You fucking coward!"
"DON'T CALL ME COWARD!" Severus roared back at her. He raised his wand as though he was going to hex her but sent his spell flying at Harry instead, knocking him backwards in a blinding flash of white light. Hermione ran to his side as he lay on the ground, not paying attention to Severus, who took her distraction as an opportunity to escape. She saw neither his look of regret nor heard his whispered, "I'm sorry, Hermione", only his black robes swirling in the darkness as he disappeared. She wanted to cry but knew there would be time for her tears later. Instead, she gathered Harry into her arms and helped him back to the castle.
The second they stepped into the Entrance Hall, they were bombarded by faculty members, all rushing to their aid. Ron, Ginny, Neville, and Luna watched on silently from the top of the stairs as Madam Pomfrey attended to Harry.
"Miss Granger, what happened? Where's Albus?" Professor McGonagall inquired hurriedly after making sure the students were alright.
Hermione's speech was as broken as before, stringing together phrases to tell the story. "Death Eaters… the Astronomy Tower… Draco had to kill him. Snape did it instead… he's gone. We let them get away… so, so sorry." A steady stream of tears began to trail down her cheeks as she rested her head against the wall she was sitting near.
"Who, Hermione?" McGonagall pressed. "Who's gone?"
"Dumbledore," Hermione responded solemnly. "Snape killed him. Snape killed Dumbledore." Hermione broke the news to the Hogwarts staff just as her world turned black. Minerva caught Hermione's limp body, handing her over to the care of Madam Pomfrey, before allowing her own grief to overcome her.
Suddenly, a piercing cry broke through the night as Fawkes began to sing. The phoenix's lament marked the beginning of the end for Hogwarts. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was dead.