Chaos reigned down upon Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as Voldemort and his Death Eaters invaded the school once again.
Fleur narrowed her eyes and pulled her wand across her body, muttering a defensive charm under her breath that forced a bone-breaking curse to rebound back onto its caster. She watched with narrowed eyes as a Death Eater collapsed onto the ground with a howl of pain, clutching at his broken leg.
Hissing a stunning curse at the hooded follower Fleur paid no mind to the still body as she made her way back towards the Great Hall. The remaining Order members and some students were retreating further into the castle, hoping to use the school's internal defenses to their advantage.
But the more Death Eaters that entered the school the more chance there was that they could stumble upon the injured and see them as easy targets. The more chance there was of them finding Hermione.
A strong arm pulled her away a split second before she rounded a corner; Fleur's eyes widened in horror as a killing curse narrowly flew past the tip of her nose.
Bill snarled as he turned the corner himself and sent the lone Death Eater flying with a killing curse of his own. The anger that was etched across his scarred face was a foreign sight to behold, his twisted facial features and furrowed brow gave him a deadly look that she had never seen before.
"That was too close Fleur. You need to be more careful" he stated coldly. Fleur frowned up at him before shaking her head. Now was not the time to be fighting amongst themselves.
Looking over her shoulder Fleur's eyes widened as she turned and blocked an incoming curse. The curse was deflected away only to collide and leave scars along the wall. The sound of rough laughter made her blood run cold as her pale blue eyes latched onto the huge form of Fenrir Greyback.
Blood dripped from the sides of his mouth as he and his entourage grinned at her and Bill with a sickly fascination.
"Hmmm never tasted Veela before have we boys" said Greyback as he licked the blood from his lips.
An unfamiliar growl emitted from Bill as he stepped in front of Fleur.
"Ooooh lookie here boys…big bad Weasley's gonna protect 'er from us proper wolves" laughed Greyback before he looked over Bill's shoulder to look at Fleur.
"Once we're done with 'im I'm comin' for you blondie" Fleur narrowed her eyes and stepped to the side so she and Bill stood next to each other.
"You've got us to deal with to mutt!" barked Ginny as she; Luna and Seamus appeared next to them, wands drawn and at the ready.
With a snarl from Greyback all hell broke lose. Spells were summoned, curses were thrown and defensive charms were broken through.
Ginny, Luna and Seamus dealt with Greyback's entourage while Bill and Fleur were given Greyback himself to deal with.
Bill deflected an oncoming curse as Fleur barked "Incendio!"
"Aguamenti" spat Greyback as a clear jet of water erupted from the tip of his wand to extinguish the flames.
"Bombarda!" the wall next to Fleur exploded, hurling bits of stone into the air. A considerably large piece of stone collided with the side of Fleur's head sending her collapsing to the ground with blood dripping down her face.
The ringing in her ears was insanely loud as her vision refused to focus. Blobs of light flashed in front of her and every sound apart from the ringing was muffled.
A reddish blob appeared in front of her as she felt herself being pulled up. More noises emitted from the red headed blob but for the life of her she couldn't make sense of what was being said.
"Shit come on Fleur snap out of it" pleaded Bill as Fleur stared up at him in a daze. Thankfully Lupin and Kingsley had shown up to join in the fight so he could get the bloodied blonde away from the fighting.
Sitting her against a wall Bill quickly examined the injury to the side of her head; blood oozed sluggishly down her cheek from the shallow flesh wound but already bruising was starting to form at the edge of her temple.
Picking up his wand from where he had left it on the floor he pointed its tip to the wound and whispered "Episkey"
The cut slowly sealed itself shut and some of the bruising started to turn from its ugly black and blue colour to a sickly yellow hue.
"Feeling any better?" he asked. Fleur blinked a few times up at him before placing her hand to the side of her head and groaning.
"Easy there you took quite a knock" the Veela nodded slowly as she kept her eyes closed and tried to focus her jumbled thoughts.
Bill winced as he heard a cry of agony echo from the hallway where everyone was fighting and silently hoped it wasn't Ginny or anyone else he knew.
"Go" muttered Fleur as the pain in her head started to fade. Bill hesitated before shaking his head.
"Bill zey need your 'elp more" stated Fleur. The eldest Weasley child looked at her with uncertainty as she gave him a reassuring smile. Another howl of pain came from the hallway.
Fleur placed her hand on his shoulder and slowly got to her feet. Her vision was returning to her but she still had the mother of all headaches to deal with.
"Go. I'm not going to be much use to anyone at ze moment" Bill got to his feet and stared down at Fleur with uncertainty in his eyes.
"I need to get to ze Great 'All…I'm worried zat Bellatrix will attempt to get to 'Ermione" nodding slowly in understanding Bill drew her into a gentle hug.
"Be careful Fleur" he whispered before releasing her.
The French Veela nodded before turning and walking slowly towards the Great Hall. Her head ached but she was determined to get to Hermione. Bellatrix was truly insane and Merlin knew what that demented bitch would do in a room full of injured opposition to her Lord.
The sound of familiar high-pitched laughter chilled her blood as she neared the Great Hall. Moving quickly Fleur tried to focus through the dizziness and get to her Hermione.
Stumbling through the big oak doors an icy coldness gripped at her heart as she stared at the scene before her.
Madame Pomphrey and Professor Sprout were at the very back of the Hall with Yaxley pointing his wand at them and those who were injured but conscious remained frozen in their beds with terrified expressions on their faces
In the middle of the room, standing with the sword of Gryffindor in one hand and her wand in the other, Bellatrix loomed dangerously with a deranged smile on her face over Hermione.
The brunette lay on the floor on her front with her right arm curled around her chest and the other stretched out in front of her.
"Well look what we have here. Together again. The Veela and the Mudblood…" as Bellatrix trailed off into a cackling laugh Hermione weakly raised her head to watch Fleur approach.
Before Fleur had a chance to defend herself she was propelled sideways into the air to collide with the wall.
Falling to the floor in a heap Fleur groaned in pain as the dizziness returned with a vengeance.
Getting to her unsteady feet as quickly as she could she raised her wand but before a syllable left her mouth Bellatrix screeched the cruciatous curse.
The pain was indescribable and forced a cry to escape from Fleur as she collapsed onto the floor in agony. What was a few seconds of intense pain felt like a weeks worth of torture.
The curse came to an abrupt end. Glancing up through half-lidded eyes Fleur watched as Hermione was flung off of Bellatrix only to collide with the end of one of the makeshift beds.
"You dare try to interfere Mudblood!" screeched Bellatrix as she pointed Godric's sword at Hermione's chest. Her broken ribs had been jarred and Hermione was clutching at her chest in pain but she held Bellatrix's gaze with defiance burning in her eyes.
Fleur managed to catch Hermione's eye and a small smile formed on both their faces.
Noticing this, Bellatrix pressed the tip of the sword into Hermione's chest. A frightened noise from Fleur made the deranged Death Eater smile in delight as Hermione hissed in pain.
"I wonder what would happen if I were to kill you Mudblood. Do you think you're pretty girl would be heart broken by your death? Or merely see it as an easier way to be with that Weasley boy?"
"Don't even think about it Lestrange!"
Looking up Bellatrix watched as Harry Potter stood with his wand pointed at her a few meters in front of the remaining members of the Order. Though many had been lost there were still enough members to cause a problem for her.
"It's over Bellatrix. Your master is dead. You have nothing more to gain from more bloodshed" declared Harry.
Hermione smiled as she looked at Harry, standing triumphant with Ron to his right.
"My master may be dead Potter but this Mudblood and I have a little score to settle!" screamed Bellatrix as she pulled the sword ever so slightly away from Hermione.
"And what would you gain from killing her. You put a part of your soul into her Bellatrix. Killing her would only hurt yourself" stated Harry confidently. There was no chance that Bellatrix would hurt Hermione, surely even she would not inflict the loss of part of her soul on herself.
Bellatrix slowly turned her blank gaze to Fleur. The fear that gripped the French Veela was evident in her eyes as she sat on her knees with her arms rested on top of the bed next to her.
"You're right Potter. Killing her would hurt me, but it would do more damage to the Veela here wouldn't it"
Fleur's eyes widened in horror as the blank look turned to evil triumph as the raven haired Death Eater turned on the spot and drove Godric Gryffindor's sword through Hermione's heart.
"NO!" screamed Fleur as Hermione's face contorted in pain as the blade sliced through the skin of her chest and made an exit through her back.
Twisting the blade Bellatrix smiled widely as Hermione cried out in pain. The pain of destroying her soul was dimmed greatly by the glee she felt and causing more than one person immeasurable pain.
Releasing the blade and leaving it behind Bellatrix turned to smoke before their eyes and despite the spells unleashed to try and stop her from leaving she disappeared through one of the shattered windows. Her evil laughter ringing in their ears.
As Ron and the others rushed to the window to try and stop her, Fleur rushed to Hermione's side and Harry remained transfixed on the spot.
He had been certain that Bellatrix wouldn't hurt Hermione, he had been certain that even she wouldn't do that to herself. And now to hear Fleur's cries of despair as Hermione lay dying with blood dripping from her wounds, staining her clothes in crimson red he couldn't believe he had been so stupid as to not attack Bellatrix on sight.
"No! 'Ermione stay wiz me! Please 'Ermione" tears were streaming down her face as she held Hermione's cold face in her hands.
Harry watched as Fleur picked up her wand and started summoning healing spells to try and heal the fatal wound.
And it broke his heart as he watched the spells fail. Everything she tried had no affect. How could they? The sword absorbed only that which made it stronger, Basilisk venom and God knew only what else the sword had come into contact with.
Harry slowly approached the pair and the look of tired acceptance in Hermione's eyes brought tears to his eyes. She was too young to die like this, in so much pain. She had so much to live for and it was about to be taken away from her.
"Someone help…" he found it hard to raise his voice due to the tightness in his throat. Hermione was his best friend and now he was going to lose her but that didn't mean they couldn't try to save her.
Turning his head he noticed that Yaxley had vanished as well but he didn't care about him right now.
"Somebody help us!" he yelled, his voice coming out hoarse and broken.
Hermione's head was tilted to the side as Fleur's hands cupped her cheeks. Her blood was leaking steadily from the edges of the wounds.
Her eyes were nearly closed but before she closed them she softly whispered so only Fleur could hear her.
"I'm sorry" she meant it for every bit of pain she had caused Fleur, she had never intended to inflict such misery on someone she loved so dearly but before she died she needed Fleur to know that she was sorry for all of it.
"Non…if you are truly sorry then you will stay wiz me. Please 'Ermione I can't do zis wiz out you. Please don't die mon amour. Please"
Slowly Hermione's eyes closed and the weak pulse beneath Fleur's fingertips stopped.
"No….no please God no….'Ermione wake up…'Ermione…"
But she didn't.
Yes, I am that mean but this is not the last chapter so please stay tuned cause there is still one more before this story is done. thank you all for your constant reviewing and i hope you all had a wonderful new year :)