Author's note: I think throughout the whole Unholy Trinity books, this chapter was the hardest to write because I knew something was going to happen here that would change everything. I wrote the first part of this chapter in maybe less than an hour but then the last bit took absolutely ages because I wanted to make sure I got it right. I knew I had to do what I did but it hurt to do it and it felt really final. I know there's no other way to bring part of this story to some form of a conclusion but still, it hurt.

There are still some lose ends left to be tied so I will answer the big question this chapter raises (or even more than one) in the next chapter. I have struggled with bringing Nemesis to a close and am currently trying to work out a plot for the third instalment. There is a lot to be sorted out but since I have very few characters left, it will be hard to come up with a plot to add to it. I really need to learn to not kill all my characters! Any suggestions are welcome!

Enjoy this chapter and I promise that by chapter 20, you will get the desired answers you need for Nemesis to come to a close. The third instalment will be called Reckoning so that's something to look forward to in the future!

You guys have been awesome throughout all of this and my writing wouldn't be what it is without all of you being there with me. Thank you all for your wonderful support, your ideas, your honesty and your critique. A writer is nothing without an audience so I would be nothing without you! ~Cissy

Chapter 19

Dragon Heart

Andromeda stared into the hazel eyes she knew so well and tried to recognise the young woman behind the mask. Hermione's fingers were closing tightly around her throat, forcing the air out of her body. Andromeda's eyes widened as she felt herself becoming lightheaded and she desperately tried to push Hermione away from her but the younger witch's fingers did not slip.

"You can't do this," she managed to whisper. The pain in her head was only intensifying and her heart hammered against her chest with such force that she believed it was going to break out of her body. "You would never be able to watch the life fade within my eyes."

Hermione's eyes were dark and she leant in so close that Andromeda could feel her warm breath against her now ice cold skin. She knew she only had seconds left before she would slip into the darkness and fought to hear the words fall from Hermione's lips. "Only death brings victory."

The sudden explosion of sounds made both witches look up and Hermione's iron grip on Andromeda's throat loosened enough for her to push the younger woman away from her. Andromeda slumped down to the floor and coughed and spluttered as her lungs eagerly filled themselves with oxygen. Her ears were ringing and the blood was rushing back to her brain. She managed to look up in time to watch the doors to the Great Hall burst open and the thundering sound of footsteps filled the room followed by bright flashes of light.

"Mum!" Tonks cried when she discovered her mother on her knees in the back of the room and without any thought for her own safety she charged across the length of the Great Hall and fell down beside her. "What happened?!"

"Hermione," Andromeda coughed and pointed at the brunette witch standing in the middle of the room. She battled Rosmerta with ease and the blonde haired barmaid didn't stand a chance against her. Hermione's array of spells and the velocity with which she sent them had only increased since the last time Andromeda saw her in Hogsmeade and she glanced at Tonks.

"We've got to get out of here," Tonks whispered as she draped her mother's arm around her shoulders.

"No," Andromeda objected. "It is going to end here, Nymphadora. Everyone is here. This is the time and this is the place." She reached inside her sleeve and retrieved the Elder Wand. It felt comfortable in her hand and she glanced up at her daughter. Noticing the surprise flickering in her eyes she nodded. "I got what we came here for. Too many have died in this war, child. I am not leaving here until it's over."

Suddenly Rosmerta howled in pain and Andromeda and Tonks looked up only watch her body collapse to the ground. Her wand slipped from her fingers and rolled towards them, coming to a stop at Tonks' feet. Blood poured from the cuts across her chest and it pooled across the stone floor of the Great Hall. Her eyes were still wide open. Hermione slowly turned around, wand in hand, and her eyes found Andromeda and Tonks.

"You know this only has one outcome," she said softly and looked at Tonks. "This isn't about you. Get out while you still can."

"Don't tell me you're here to save my life," Tonks spat and stepped in front of Andromeda like a human shield. She raised her wand and her hair changed into a fiery shade of red whilst her green eyes darkened until they were almost black. "You tried that stunt on me a long time ago. I am not going to fall for it this time."

"Oh just shut up," Hermione snarled and slashed her wand through the air. Tonks' wand flew from her hand and the sound of it landing in the corner of the room echoed off the walls. "I gave you a chance. In fact, I've given you more than one chance. Why do you think you're still alive? If it hadn't been for me, your body would be rotting in some unmarked grave somewhere by now!"

"You protected her," Andromeda said and stepped away from behind her daughter. Tonks went to reach to pull her back but Andromeda kindly pushed her arm away. "You protected her throughout all of this because you know that she is my child, you know what she means to me." Her dark brown eyes sought and found Hermione's. "You lied to Bellatrix and Narcissa for months, telling them you didn't know where we were. But you knew, didn't you? You knew all along."

"Shut up!" Hermione shouted and the anger in her voice was harsh and sharp. "You know nothing!"

"I know something you don't know," Andromeda said softly. "I know that all of this…" She gestured around the room. "…This didn't happen because of you. It happened because of that." She pointed at the wand in Hermione's hand. "That thing is evil, Hermione. Yes, it found the darkness inside of you but ever since that darkness was exposed, it's been poisoning you. It's been feeding of your anger and your pain and it's been sending it right back inside of you."

"I did this!" Hermione countered. The aggression had vanished from her voice and all that remained was a hollow echo. Her eyes were filled with rage but at the same time Andromeda could see the emptiness behind them. Her soul had been ripped into pieces, torn apart. The core inside the wand had taken any shred of goodness inside of her and it had poisoned it. "We did this. We built this world and I am not going to let you take it away from me."

"What did you build it for, Hermione?" Andromeda asked. "What did you hope to find at the end of the day? The Weasley kids… they're all dead. Harry's dead. Minerva's dead. You killed your friends, Hermione. You killed all of those who were loyal to you but what have you got to show for what you did other than a world that continues to burn?"

"I found the absolute power," Hermione hissed. "I found what it means to be strong, what it means to survive. I found the one thing that could undo what he did me." Her eyes widened. "I found what it means to be whole."

"Did you?" Andromeda asked and took another step towards Hermione. "Or is that just another lie you told yourself?" She pointed at Rosmerta's bleeding body on the floor. "Is that how it feels to be whole, Hermione? Is all of this what it feels like to finally feel like you belong somewhere, like you've found the one part of you that is true?"

An unexpected cackle filtered into the room and Andromeda's eyes snapped up in surprise. Bellatrix had appeared in the doorway. She was drenched in blood but her wounds had healed. She wasn't alone. Narcissa flanked her, her blonde hair messed up but her blue eyes full of fire. Hermione turned around and smiled when she discovered the two other witches. She reached inside her sleeve and retrieved Narcissa's wand. She threw it at the blonde witch and she caught it. The second her fingers brushed along the wood, the room started to shake. The magic began building up and the walls shook and trembled. A fine cloud of smoke and dust circled up into the air and Andromeda felt her daughter appear at her side.

"Do it," she hissed and grabbed her mother's arm. "We only get one chance."

"Wait," Andromeda hissed. "Listen."

More footsteps. They were coming closer. The three witches by the door heard it too and they turned around. Narcissa's outcry of pain and anger surprised them all when a blue jet of light hit her on the arm. Flames erupted from her robes but Bellatrix quickly put them out. In the confusion that arose next, several people ran into the Great Hall. Andromeda recognised Katie Bell but she needed a few more seconds to realise who the other people were.

Tears welled up in her eyes when she recognised Molly and Arthur Weasley. She hadn't seen them for months. Molly looked old beyond her years, with deep lines across her face and dark rings around her eyes. The loss of her children had aged her and she looked haunted. Her eyes were fixed on Hermione and Arthur stood beside her. He had lost weight and his skin was as a white as the snow outside. Strands of grey riddled his fiery red hair but he held his wand with confidence.

"NO!" Hermione cried out when Katie's wand aimed at Narcissa again. She ran towards the dark haired girl but Katie spun around fast and cast a strong Shield Charm in between herself and Hermione.

Molly turned on Bellatrix and the raven haired witch danced from one foot onto the other as she engaged the Weasley matriarch. Molly's spells were fast and furious but Bellatrix was skilled in a way that Andromeda had never seen before. The strength of her spells left Molly fighting for survival and the intensity of the three wands in the same room only added to the mounting tension. Bright flashes of light shot around the Great Hall and behind her a wall began to crumble. A large gaping hole appeared and pure white snowflakes fell into the room.

Andromeda ran towards Molly and when she reached her she was just in time to deflect one of Bellatrix's well aimed Killing Curses. The Elder Wand responded almost as if it had a mind of its own and all Andromeda had to do was raise her arm. The Shield Charm was so fierce that it momentarily blinded her and she pushed Molly out of the way before taking her place. She lowered her wand just enough so that she could see Bellatrix and their gazes locked.

"You lived," she said and her eyes trailed over her sister's ragged appearance. Her dress was soaked in blood and burgundy smudges marred her face. Charcoal eyes glistened with defiance. "I believed I had left you for dead."

"You know you can never kill me," Bellatrix chuckled. "No matter what you say, Andromeda, even you love me too much to watch me die. I saw it in your eyes. It was there, no matter how hard you tried to deny it." She licked her lips and grinned. "It is in our blood, sister dearest. None of us can watch the other die. We cannot live without each other."

"Watch me!" Andromeda bit back and her wand shot up. She fired her curses so quickly that Bellatrix was forced back up towards the wall. She managed to avoid getting hurt but the last spell whizzed past her head and left a giant hole in the wall. The bitter cold winter wind filtered into the room, robbing them of their breath.

"You know I found what I came here for," Andromeda whispered. She rolled the wand through her fingers and watched Bellatrix's eyes widen in fear. "You know that I have found the one thing that can destroy you and I swear to God that I will bring you down." Her eyes hardened and she swallowed the unexpected tears away. "If I have to kill you, I will, Bellatrix. You are not my sister anymore. You're a monster. The sister that I knew and loved died a long time ago."

Bellatrix cocked her head. "We all did."

"Then we will all die again."

The explosion that followed sent the walls crumbling and Andromeda jumped aside as pieces of debris started raining down upon her head. Smoke prickled her nose and from the corner of her eye she watched the flames erupt from Narcissa's wand. Hermione, who stood five steps to the blonde witch's right, turned around and her wand lined up with Narcissa's. The flames grew and began circling up into the air. Andromeda threw herself down onto the ground but rolled over in time to see Bellatrix approach Hermione and Narcissa. The three wands joined in their magical union and the flames began to transform into a giant dragon.

Andromeda looked around her. Molly Weasley lay a few feet away from her. Arthur lay partially on top of his wife, protecting her from the falling pieces of rubble. The dust and the smoke in the room grew thicker and the heat intensified. She felt the flames scorch her skin and the smoke burnt her eyes. Tears were streaming down her face as she sat up, still clutching the Elder Wand. She slowly stood up but was unable to see through the black smoke.

Someone screamed. It was a horrible, ice cold scream.

"Nymphadora!" The smoke crept into her lung as she called out her daughter's name. "NYMPHADORA!"

"You know this is futile," whispered a voice behind her and she turned around to find Hermione standing there, still holding her wand. Flames erupted from its tip, feeding the fire dragon circling over their heads. "You lost, my love."

"As long as I draw breath and I look into your eyes, I have yet to lose," Andromeda whispered and unexpectedly she cupped Hermione's cheek. The touch was so familiar, so comforting, that for a split second in time she forgot where she was. She looked into those hazel eyes and recognised the young woman she had seen that night in her cottage. She remembered Hermione the way she had once been before the darkness consumed her.

The darkness had taken away the girl she had once been and the woman she had been destined to become. The wand had poisoned her, robbed her of her soul and her light. The core within had destroyed everything that Hermione had ever been and continued to destroy her. She knew that if she took that away from her and broke the cycle of darkness within her heart that the whole world would come crumbling down on her.

"Goodbye, Hermione," Andromeda whispered and brushed her lips against Hermione's. She caressed her thumb across Hermione's face as if she was brushing away a lonely tear and their gazes locked for what she knew deep down would be the final time. "We'll see each other on the other side."

She stepped away from Hermione and allowed the smoke to swallow her up. She used the Elder Wand as a guide and it led her through the darkness until she recognised the shape of a human form at her feet. Her daughter's hair had changed back to its familiar bright pink and Andromeda fell to her knees beside her. She didn't get a chance to check for a pulse. The spell hit her in the back and knocked her over, forcing the wand from her hand.

Through the smoke she recognised Bellatrix walking towards her. She appeared from the shadows like a ghost and a twisted smirk lingered on her lips as she closed the final metres between her and her sister. She lowered her wand and the flames slowly died out. The sound of the dragon circling in the air above their heads faded but the smoke continued to linger.

"It's over," she whispered as she fell down to her knees beside Andromeda. "All over."

"Every war knows an end," Andromeda uttered. "The end is now."

She watched how Bellatrix pulled the dagger from the inside of her dress and let the sharp tip graze across her arm. The warm flow of blood betrayed that she had cut the skin. There was no pain. She didn't feel fear. She knew it would have to end like this. So she stared up at the woman who shared her blood, who had once held a large fragment of her heart. She had loved Bellatrix in a way one should never love a sister and in these final moments she wanted to remember her like that. She didn't try to fight her off when Bellatrix raised her hands above her head, the dagger firmly clutched between them. She didn't blink when the blade cut through the air. She didn't even cry when she felt it pierce her flesh.

"NO!"

The raw outcry of pain cut through the darkness and Andromeda's eyes snapped up.

Hermione stood behind Bellatrix, her wand aimed at the dark haired witch's back, knowing that any spell would immediately hit her heart and kill her. Pain and horror flashed behind hazel eyes and as Bellatrix slowly looked up to meet Hermione's gaze, Andromeda saw the confliction in her sister's eyes.

"It's over," Bellatrix whispered slowly as she stood up. Her hands were covered in blood. Andromeda's blood. The silver dagger stood up in her sister's chest as blood slowly began to pool across the floor. She took a step towards Hermione but the younger witch didn't lower her wand. For a moment Bellatrix seemed to hesitate, as if to second guess her actions. "All over."

"No," Hermione breathed and a stray tear chased down her cheek. "It's not over. It will never be over."

"Hermione…"

"Shut up!" Hermione cried and the wand trembled in her hand. "You did this to me!" Blazing hazel eyes stared at Bellatrix. "YOU DID THIS TO ME!"

"That fucking Weasel kid did this to you!" Bellatrix countered. "The night he raped you he released the darkness inside of you!"

"You released that darkness inside of me and you fed it! You knew what it would do to me and you lured me into your trap!" Hermione cried and the angry tears continued to lash against her flesh. "Fucking hell, Bellatrix, I fell in love with you because I believed you released me from my chains only to find that you wrapped them around me even tighter!"

Bellatrix's eyes darkened. "We were destined to be together. Out of all the hearts in this world, it was yours that found mine. It was you who turned out to be the missing part of me." The craziness in her eyes softened and it was as if a mask suddenly fell away, revealing the real emotions underneath. "I never thought I could love someone the way that I love you. Nothing else in this world ever made me become what I am now. It was you, only you, who changed me."

"Liar!" Narcissa shouted unexpectedly and she emerged from the darkness with her wand pointed at Hermione. "I gave you everything and you spat me out like I was poison in your mouth!"

"Cissy…"

"Night after night you came to me crying because she didn't want you anymore," Narcissa whispered and her blue eyes flashed towards Andromeda's bleeding body on the floor. "You kissed me and promised me that you would never do to me what she had done to you. You knew we were destined to be together but I knew something was missing. We both did. You betrayed me, Bellatrix. You promised you wouldn't abandon me but yet you love her more than you could ever love me. You will never love me the way you love either one of them. Not unless they die." She turned towards Hermione and a smile twitched around her lips.

"Look what we have come to," Hermione said slowly. "We stand united and yet we fall apart. What are we really but each other's enemies hidden behind a mask of love? We have lied to each other, deceived each other." Her wand was still aimed at Bellatrix. "We have been bound together yet we are forever alone."

"Death is our only enemy now," Bellatrix whispered. "Nothing more stands between us."

"My heart is yours but my soul is never yours to claim. I am forever doomed to wander this world, looking for the missing part of me, feeling its emptiness in every step I take," Hermione countered. Her hazel eyes fixed on Andromeda. She lay motionless, with blood still spreading around her body. Her hand was stretched out, as if she had attempted to touch her one last time. For the first time she felt something. Something the darkness had not managed to take away. She felt loss. Everything was gone. "What are we really but puppets, dancing on each other's strings? We are nothing."

"You lying deceitful whore!" Narcissa screamed and her wand shot up at Hermione. Fire raged behind her blue eyes and their gazes found each other. It was a silent standoff in which words could not begin to describe what had happened between them. The world as they had known it ended here. There was nothing left that could bring them together, unite them in a way beyond magic. The love they had once harboured for each other now brought them to their knees and destroyed from the inside. They were broken.

Hermione took a single step before Bellatrix closed the distance between them in a desperate attempt to grab hold of her. Slender fingers brushed along the inside of her hand, just like they had done that night at the wedding. Her arms were outstretched and her eyes wide open when she fell forward, a raw outcry of pain escaping her throat. The silver dagger had lodged itself underneath her left shoulder blade and blood began to spill onto the stone floor. Her wand slipped from her fingers as her body fell.

"Bella!" Hermione cried and attempted to run over to the dark woman's side but couldn't.

Hermione didn't have a chance to turn around. Narcissa's wand came down with such force that she lost her balance and crumbled to her knees. Somewhere in the distance she heard a voice and someone grabbed her around her waist, pulling her down to the floor. Her face was pressed down against the cold stone as around them the walls began to crumble. The roaring sound of falling debris and rubble surrounded them and her lungs filled with dust and smoke. The pain was sharp as the stones rained down on her and she attempted to shield her head with her arms.

It felt like an eternity until the ground stopped shaking and she carefully lifted up her head. The castle walls had fallen and all that remained was a smouldering ruin. Plumes of smoke circled up into the air and the pure white snowflakes softly landed on her face, tangling themselves in her hair. Her eyes were burning and the dust slowly cleared. She'd lost her wand and pushed herself up. Warm blood trickled down her face. Hazel eyes darted around. She couldn't see anything or anyone. Large pieces of stone and debris surrounded her.

The sound of stone against stone made her head whip around and against the midwinter sun she recognised the lone figure standing in the middle of the ruin. Narcissa's hair was laced with snow flakes and blood seeped from her nose. Her wand was drawn and her eyes were cold and distant. Her arm slowly came up until the wand was pointing at Hermione's chest. She was defenceless. Slowly she closed her eyes, waiting for death to come.

"AVADA KEDAVRA."

It never came.

Hermione's eyes snapped open and she found Andromeda standing next to her, her arm stretched out and the Elder Wand clutched safely between her fingers. Blood still trickled from the wound in her chest but the dagger was gone. Tired brown eyes now found Hermione and she slumped down against the debris, her arms and legs shaking. Beads of sweat glistened on her forehead and the snowflakes melted on her skin.

"It's over," she whispered as her eyes rolled back into her head. "It's over."

Hermione pushed herself up and crawled across the rubble towards the spot where Narcissa's body had fallen. She lay on her back, her golden locks hiding her face. Hermione carefully brushed the strands out of her eyes and revealed the face of the woman she had grown to love. In her chest something ached and cried. The pain was unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was as if someone had reached deep inside of her and ripped out a small part of her heart, leaving it to bleed and wither at her feet.

Narcissa's wand lay next to her and Hermione carefully picked it up. As she held it in her hand she noticed the crack running along the length of the wood and softly followed it with her index finger. As she did so the wood separated and began to crumble in her hand.

The dragon heart had broken.