Hello, my lovelies! After a maddening time with a postponed essay (I had writer's block and ran out of time) and a ride in an ambulance and a day in a hospital after a minor fainting experience due to stress, low blood sugar and overheating, I'm now more okay. I've been waiting so long for this moment to come! Ever since I mapped out this fic, I've been longing to write especially this part and some others in the next chapters. And for this chapter you will find I've excluded some things about Hermione since you already know what happens, but prepare for surprises from now on. I hope that's alright with you. And after my question some time ago, I can now announce that the fic will continue after the battle of Hogwarts. Enjoy and please send me your thoughts. Love/ Sycamoretree

Inspirational music: Lost by Within Temptation

Chap. 39 Battles

"I'd say we jump. Now!" Harry screamed and Ron and Hermione let go of the dragon.

Hermione closed her eyes as she plummeted towards the water and prepared for the cold impact. Not surprising at all, the Scottish lake was freezingly cold and Hermione nearly gasped as she kicked frantically to reach the surface. She found Ron and Harry there and they began to swim for the shore. The boys were becoming blue and Hermione saw them shiver as they all stumbled up from the water.

"Oh, use your magic, sillies," she sighed and waved her wand to warm them. Then she took to fumbling with her new transfigured purse and retrieved dry clothes. But when she at last had gotten rid of the heavy skirt and buttoned her jeans, Harry cried out and flung himself to the ground.

"Harry! What's wrong?" Ron said with fear in his voice. Harry only shook his head and moaned miserably. Hermione knelt by his side and watched him close his eyes but there was a frantic moving beneath his lids. She held her breath until Harry's limbs relaxed and only pants were heard from his tired body.

"Mate?" Ron tried and Harry replied through gritted teeth, "He knows about Gringotts and what we stole. He isn't happy anymore, but furious. He's going to Hogwarts." At that, Harry's green eyes were revealed to Hermione.

"There's something He wants inside the castle; something He's hidden. I think…"

"Another horcrux," Hermione breathed out and Harry nodded. Ron ruffled his hair to reduce the dripping from his wet tendrils and said, "So, I guess we're heading there then. I mean, there's no other way to get these blasted things besides actually taking them by hand. And come to think about it, we're already near Hogwarts thanks to the dragon. We could appar…"

"You can't apparate inside the castle! It's written in Hogwarts: A History," Hermione reminded him and added as she helped Harry to get up on his feet, "Another troubling matter is Snape and the Death Eaters who run Hogwarts. I don't expect we would be welcomed at Hogwarts with open arms."

"So what do you propose we do, Hermione?" Harry asked and luckily, Hermione had already come up with a solution.

"Why don't we try Hogsmeade first? It would be easier to escape from there, should we be ambushed but if everything goes well, we could sneak up to the castle without anyone knowing. We'll use your invisibility cloak, Harry." They agreed on the plan, gathered under the almost too small cloak and held onto each other's hands.

The very moment Hermione felt snow being crushed by her shoes, a loud noise startled her and she was about to turn around to locate the sound out of pure instinct when Harry insistently tugged at her hand and sent her to the side of a house.

"It's some sort of alarm. We need to hide," he hissed and all three of them huddled together under the scarce space under the cloak while the alarm cried out, "Apparation alert! Apparation alert!"

"It's Potter! Now we've got him!" someone declared cockily from a distance and Hermione heard how Harry exhaled shallowly. Her hair stood on end when she experienced an all too familiar cold seeping into her very soul. The Death Eaters here were bringing dementors.

"Hey, Potter! If you're there; come in here quickly," a bearded man called in a subdued tone from the open door to the Hog's Head. Hermione shared one look with the boys before they began to carefully move across the street and even though the old man was lit from behind, she could barely see his features but her gut told her he reminded her of someone.

Scabior glared grimly at Greyback who had retreated to the far end of the dark clearing with the rest of his pack. And just like the werewolf, Scabior was busy with covering up his bruises with all too simple spells. Since he wanted to be alert and not waste his magical powers before the impending attack, he could only afford to cast healing spells that would reduce the swelling on his face and the throbbing ache in his spine. He would have to endure the tingles in his cheek and temple as well as the colorful bruises he knew he was sporting beneath his clothes.

He sat down on a grey root and supervised the growing agitation amongst the Dark Lord's followers. No-one was able to stand still and people brandished their wands when they started to bark at each other for no reason. They were all nervous and scared by the Voldemort's prolonged and unexplained absence.

Suddenly Scabior listened to a hasted voice saying, "Diffendo" and felt the strap on his satchel give.

He turned his head in time to see the gaunt and panicked face of a young snatcher, probably not even twenty years old, who grabbed Scabior's bag from behind without a word and began to run straight towards the darker trees that surrounded them all.

Scabior had only raised himself out of astonishment when an eerily green light lit the area and hit the boy between his shoulder blades. He fell dead to the ground and the bickering Death Eaters stopped their fighting and looked at the victim. An especially vicious-looking hardcore follower in shiny leather strutted past Scabior and did not stop until he reached what had recently been a living human, and disgraced the body by placing one foot on the back.

"The Dark Lord has no use of cowards. Everyone attempting to desert will be killed. I hope my message is clear."

Silence met the man who only grinned before he added, "Thefts from snatchers entitles anyone to kill the criminal. Or isn't that one of your famous rules? I felt compelled to honour the customs," he taunted the snatchers who all knew that the rules only applied to snatchers, not outsiders, but no-one dared to speak up to him.

The man returned to his fellows. The tension had expanded and Scabior could not hear anyone talk anymore. Not as much as a whisper was heard from the serious crowd. He glanced back at the fallen boy who had been so keen on surviving and getting out of here. Perhaps he would have made it if he in his frightened state had not been ruled by his snatcher instincts and taken Scabior's satchel, thus exposed himself to that man who belonged to the higher ones in command.

'Silly boy,' Scabior thought darkly but all the same, he could not find it in his heart to blame the boy for his mistake. Every desperate soul here had an unyielding wish to live. But none amongst the common people besides the boy had the courage to be honest about it.

One man dressed in a tattered brown cloak with a hood drew nearer the body and gently removed the fingers that clutched the strap. Then he lifted the satchel and began to walk with soft steps towards Scabior.

"'Ere ya go, boss. I guess 'e ain't gonna need it anymore, the poor kid." Scabior flinched and crouched down to be able to look into the hood and determine the man's identity.

"'Ello," the man with blue lips, black circles around the eyes and a rough beard said quietly and for a moment his eyes gleamed with glee and playfulness.

"Rusty? Fuck me to Avalon and back, what has happened to you?" Scabior croaked and grasped the upper arm of his loyal snatcher and, now that it seemed he was on the verge of the apocalypse it suddenly stood clear, his best friend. Rusty smiled back but Scabior could tell the red-haired man had suffered through a lot since they parted.

"Not been up ta much, really. I've been busy savin' my sorry skin just like the rest o' the lot." Rusty tiled his head to the side and indicated a group of weather-beaten snatchers who stood nearby. Scabior did not recognize any of them.

"We all saw ya take on the vomitin' werewolf by yerself. Either ya're brave as few or fucked up in the 'ead, no offence. I just wanted ta say I'm sorry fer not intervenin' but I swear I was gonna when Greyback had ya on the ground. Only Yaxley got there first," Rusty uttered with mixed admiration and regret. Scabior relieved him of the weight of his satchel and shook his head.

"No need for apologies. I know where I've got you, Rusty." Scabior calmed him and after a moment he contemplated the state of Rusty's clothes and the harried face where starvation had left its marks.

"Do me a favour, will ya? Keep this safe for me until after the operation. And feel free to take whatever you need from it; it's the only payment I can give you in return."

Scabior promptly thrust the satchel with his healing potions, bandages and food into Rusty's chest and kept it there until the man lifted his hands to hold the valuable burden himself.

"Wow. Thanks, boss." Scabior smirked back and affectingly threw an arm over the other man's shoulders as he began to guide him back to the throng of snatchers.

Without warning a violent thunder tore the momentary peace apart and Scabior whipped around and saw that Voldemort had arrived with his closest followers, such as the Malfoy boy's ashen parents, Minister Pius Thicknesse, an oddly deflated Bellatrix and the monstrous snake. An unpleasant tremble went through Scabior upon seeing the man and the beast who had almost killed him last time they met and he staggered backwards to join the others, aware of the safeness a crowd could offer.

Voldemort's sickly white and hairless head was repulsing enough, but with the wrinkled black robes and the restless red eyes, Scabior had to confess the Dark Lord looked even more hideous. The most powerful wizard in the world seemed unhinged and beyond conscious fury which was very disrupting.

"I have changed my mind. It seems Harry Potter and his friends have chosen to infiltrate Hogwarts tonight. Therefore, I no longer have the wish to take control over traitorous Gryffindor vermin. But do not let this information sadden you, my true servants. I would never deny you an opportunity to punish those who over and over pollute our world. So we will not only enter Hogwarts this night, but destroy it and everyone inside it unless they hand Harry Potter over to me. Now, it is time for preparations."

Professor McGonagall recovered pretty fast after the initial shock of seeing Harry in the Great Hall, dueling Snape and hearing Voldemort declare his ultimatum.

"Mr Potter, what do you need us to do?" she said as the Slytherins shuffled out of the Hall. Hermione did what her long-time mentor did; turned to Harry with an inquisitive expression.

"I have to find something inside the castle. Dumbledore's orders. But I need time."

"We can give you that," McGonagall retorted without hesitation and it was obvious the competent witch trusted Harry with her life. Still, Hermione could not help the flare of fear inside as the people around her hurried to get out of the Great Hall and begin the fight for the school. Suddenly it stood clear to her that there would be a battle of Hogwarts soon and the Dark Lord's army was right outside the wards of the castle.

A single hint of a thought swept over her mind but she dared not think about it. It was idiotic to wonder if he was out there. She had to be strong for Harry and help him complete his mission. Because she was Hermione Granger and there was nothing else she could do for the ones she loved. She thought briefly of her mum and dad, so far away in Australia where the only dangers to muggles were the nature and the many poisonous animals.

'Snakes.'

She considered the word for a moment before she grabbed Ron's sleeve and gasped of excitement. "Ron! I know where we can find another weapon against the horcruxes! Why didn't I think about it earlier?"

"Hermione, you're rambling. Just tell me what you're referring to," Ron laughed in the midst of the crowd but Hermione was already trying to notify Harry. "Ron and I will go and find basilisk venom for the cup, Harry. Try to find the lost diadem in the meantime," she told him and dragged Ron with her as she exited the large room.

Through the windows in the crammed corridor she saw a sapphire line move across the sky high above the castle and some of her fright vanished. Blue was the colour of very advanced and sustainable protecting shields. This would buy them time.

As she ran in front of Ron she lit a torch on the wall on a whim to further banish the darkness that for so many months had resided in Hogwarts. She reached the stairs and was beyond happy to see that they moved quicker than usual. It seemed the castle in this hour knew the importance of speed. She stepped onto one and waited for it to connect with another floor.

"Don't you see? We're heading to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom on the second floor. That's where the entrance to the…"

"…the Chamber of Secrets is," Ron finished for her and continued with awe, "That's bloody brilliant. We can get a fang and defeat the horcrux immediately."

And before Hermione had time to worry about the required password in Parseltongue Ron hissed it out and they watched as the round door granted them access to Salazar Slytherin's secret room and the remains of the basilisk. Despite her feeble protests, Ron insisted on it being her turn to destroy a horcrux.

So she clenched her jaw and ignored the whistles and screeches from the cup and raised her hand that held a fang. "You can do it, Hermione! Do it now!" Ron shouted and she stabbed the cup with all her might. A roar and smoke blacker than Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder surrounded her until something made the water in the chamber rise and wash over her and Ron.

Hermione exhaled as if she woke up with a start and dropped the fang to the stone floor where the silent cup lay still. The silence somehow took over and she lifted her gaze. There was Ron, in drenched clothes as well but with a proud beaming on his face. "You did it, Hermione! Hermione… My Hermione."

He was too close now. And in his eyes burned a fire she recognized from another man in her life. Ron's hands encircled her waist and pulled her closer. He leaned down slightly. Hermione almost succumbed to the temptation of getting a small measure of comfort before the battle. Just to celebrate life. But then she reined herself in and realized what was about to happen. And Godric forgive her, she could not. Not when she carried Scabior's beautiful heart in her hands.

"Oh, Ron," she sighed to distract him and angled her head to the side as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him hard. Perhaps in another time she would have revaluated her decision. But right now she found she could not cruelly send Ron to duel in the large battle of the Second Wizarding War with a broken heart. She cared too much about him for that. Nevertheless, she was unable to kiss him and thus deceive herself, Scabior and Ron by doing something she knew was wrong.

She would have to play the part of a girl who had misread her friend's signals until the time came when she could tell Ron the truth. Because he deserved to hear it. Only not right now. She felt Ron's hands slowly caress her back and tilted her head when Ron buried his head in the crook of her neck, bared as it was since she had made a sloppy braid once she understood there would be lethal duels this night.

Scabior stood, like a commander of old times, before his men. He looked sideways to the cliff which was illuminated by the blue shield and the spells everybody carrying a wand sent at the unwavering sphere. There stood Voldemort, far away from the action and conversed with Severus Snape, as if nothing extraordinary was happening.

Scabior and his snatcher inside hated to wait like this but at the same time he welcomed every minute the shield managed to stand. He tossed his hair back and rolled his shoulders before he shifted on the spot for the thirty-fourth time.

He was ordered to lead the snatchers into Hogwarts as soon as the shield went down. And in spite of his loneliness in front of the army, he had sent Rusty to the rear of the crowd to ensure he would not enter the battlefield until everyone in front of him had done so. But what occupied his anguished mind as he waited was Voldemort's news. He had mentioned Potter and his friends. Did that mean…?

Scabior groaned and began to pace along the front row. No matter how hard he tried to make up possible scenarios he knew deep down that Hermione, his treasure, was inside the castle. Neither she nor her companions would want to leave her alone somewhere safe. They were all ready to participate in the fight for freedom and Harry Potter's life. The most maddening fact was that so was Scabior. It was just the small detail he was trapped on the wrong side.

Suddenly the shield cracked and began to glow in a rhythmic manner. One golden split appeared on eye-level with him and he looked at the castle through it. He saw short people, presumably students, scrambling across the courtyard and then he squinted and demanded his snatcher sight to register those small dots of humans, who were visible far away, through the ornamental openings. And then, for a second, his heart stopped beating.

A girl with golden brown hair and not dressed like the others rushed past a glassless window. Scabior reeled back as if he had seen the grim and he felt a jolt in his stomach. Surely that had not been her. But then again, his eyes had positively detected a loose, wavy curl by the girl's temple.

And even though he could not perceive a scent from that distance, Scabior understood; he had just seen a glimpse of Hermione and that was enough to send him spiraling down into a sea of emotions. He would get over the wooden bridge and reach Hermione. He had not got a clue what he would do once he met her. Should he carry her from the battle and hide her somewhere safe while enduring her rage at his trick? Could he stay by her side and openly show where his allegiances lay, and in the end kill his old friends if they approached him and Hermione?

But battlefields were no places for slow and thorough considerations. Scabior was only capable of thinking about the present and his main goal, which was the same ever since he had found out Hermione had left him; to find her, his treasure, his love and holder of his heart.

Small fragments of the damaged shield rained down over the snatchers. Scabior knew what his duty was.

With tentative steps forward he approached the deadly ward and held his breath. No-one behind him said anything but he could feel their eyes piercing the back of his head as he lifted his foot and stretched it out. No pain.

He dared to place the foot on the ground and put some weight on it and it turned out his legs was alright. He smiled victoriously as he thought how little separated him from Hermione now. He focused his gaze on a young wizard who stood right inside the covered bridge with a stunned expression.

"My love," Scabior mumbled to himself and gave the signal to the men and women behind him before he ran down the slope towards the bridge. The boy turned around and sprinted as fast as he could while occasionally shooting spells over his shoulder. As one of the most accomplished snatchers, Scabior kept his position in the front and only heard the song of his boots drumming against the wooden floor.

He was halfway across when the structure around him shifted. He frowned and glanced behind him. The sight paralyzed his mind but his feet kept moving. Explosions and fire swallowed snatchers in the back. And then Scabior figured it out. The damn kid had placed booby-traps on the bridge that was collapsing. The back was already gone but Scabior did not hear the screams of the doomed ones, only the blood rushing in his ears.

His will to survive kicked in and was so strong it startled him. This was not his fate. He could not die while running. By Salazar, he was a snatcher! But he had not expected this.

Flames licked the pillars on either side of him, but he pressed on. He could see the boy reach the solid land on the other side. He would be there soon.

Soon.

Soon was not enough.

A board under his foot bent upwards and suddenly he fell to his knees. He scratched the wood with his hands to get up. But then the stable base beneath him had disappeared. Scabior inhaled a shallow breath of surprise and fear before he could only see darkness around him as he fell helplessly through the air.

Somewhere inside his head he recalled a memory from his time at Hogwarts. Below the famous bridge was a rocky terrain with sharp cliffs.

Scabior screamed and heard others above him scream as they all plunged towards their death.

Aww, I know cliffhangers are awful but I felt it was the perfect thing to end the chapter with. So, what do you think? Reviews, please.