A little Hermione POV. Don't worry, there are still some chapters to come, explaining it all ;)
Hermione was standing so close to the tree, the bark was digging into her skin. She moved away from it, afraid the splinters might snag the invisibility cloak and create a spot where she might be seen. It was hard to find a free space to stand in, the area surrounding the burrow was now so covered with aurors and members of the Weasley family, running about in a wild man hunt.
When Hermione had first run out of the house it had been much more quiet. She had left the children with Lavender, holding Rose's scalp to her face for a full fifteen seconds before letting go. Even though Hermione hadn't given birth to the child herself, the maternal bond there was fierce, and walking away from Rose was one of the most difficult things she had ever had to do. It was just one in an ever-growing list of difficult tasks, unfortunately.
At first, she had run to the outside of the wooded area just north of the clearing in front of the burrow. Sitting there underneath the cloak, she felt very well concealed. She had no idea the task force Ron and Harry would turn out. Now, it was difficult to find a free spot to stand in without bumping into someone. And the not bumping into was the most important part; who wouldn't notice walking into a solid mass that looked invisible?
Hermione darted out of the way of a rogue flash of blue light, not knowing what curse she'd just avoided. She would have been frustrated at not having a wand, but then of course the whole point of this had been to put herself out here as helpless bait. Take the fall for the whole group, so that the others could move on.
In the end, she didn't think it was such a bad deal. She had spent the last three years believing either Ron or Rose would one day be struck down dead, both options equally horrific. She had lost sleep, driven herself mad, aged beyond her years in trying to figure out a solution. She had always been praised as so clever, and yet in three years of deep thinking she could never come up with a way to make it all turn out well.
At first, figuring out a way to be with Ron had been an ultimate goal. What value could life have if she couldn't be with Ron? Then, as she had gradually become despondent on the idea of a happily ever after, she had settled on just keeping him alive. If she could just figure out a way to keep everyone alive and well, she could breathe easy. Of course, Harry had ruined all that the night he showed up at her cottage in Cornwall. The dye had been cast and they were all in the middle of this now, like it or not.
Hermione paused from her musings to watch a poor young auror fall from the sky, his broomstick toppling down next to him. She shuttered at the sound of his crash down to Earth.
Hermione had done much thinking on the prophecy over the past three years. Her, Rose and Ron being together…what did it mean? Was it a physical proximity? Was it emotional? What would it mean for them to be a family? Watching Ron get ready to fall into the pensieve that evening, Hermione finally understood. Ron was readying himself to learn the true identity of Rose. He would know about his child, know that she, Hermione, had birthed an infant with Ron. And from that moment on, Hermione had no doubt that Ron would be dedicated to them as if his life depended on it. He was loyal to family…to a fault. He was a Weasley after all. Hermione knew after seeing that memory, that would be it for him. She, Rose and Ron would be a family from that moment on. Ron would make it so.
So Hermione ran. She ran before he could come back and make her stay. Whatever his feelings toward Hermione, she knew Ron would stand by his child, stand by the mother of that child. So she wasn't giving him that option. Getting Lavender in line to protect the girls gave her enough ease of mind to slip out, never to be found again.
Hermione's thoughts were stalled as she heard a crash, and she turned under the cloak to see Ron fall to the ground off a broomstick. She held her breath, using every bit of effort to not call out. Ron seemed okay, jumping up again and encasing the death eater he was after in bondage. Hermione wanted to give a cheer, admiring Ron's perseverance in the face of this. But she already knew it was all for naught. Ron was fighting a battle he didn't realize was already lost.
Years ago, she didn't think she could ever love anything as much as she loved Ron Weasley. Then, she saw Rose. And her love was multiplied. It was a different kind of love for each, really, both deep and passionate, but the two types of love fell in the same pocket of Hermione's heart. Ron and Rose combined to make this force that she would protect now with every inch of her being, each of them more important than air. They were in danger now, had been really for three years, and she was finally ready to do whatever she could to keep them out of harm's way.
Hermione turned suddenly at Ron's shout. He'd yelled Rose's name, hadn't he? There, walking across the burrow front lawn, Hermione saw Rose walking feebly. Hermione wanted to scream but bit down on her tongue. She started to run but was broken off by the wards, unable to get across. She needn't have bothered anyway, as Hermione saw Ron take off in a gallop toward their daughter. He looked as anxious to get to her as if she were a prized daughter he had loved for twenty years. Ron pulled the child up from the floor within seconds, holding her away from danger and pulling her back within the safety of the Weasley wards.
In that moment, Hermione knew she had made the right choice. Ron would be good at loving Rose. He would protect her and watch over her. He would teach her to ride a broom and help her collect chocolate frog cards; instruct her to support the Canons and root for whatever house she got sorted into one day at Hogwarts. Ron would be the most magnificent father…he could love Rosie enough for the both of them. Watching Ron hold their child then, Hermione was no longer scared. The two of them, her dearest loves, would be okay. It put a peace in her hear that made it easier to greet death.
Because that was what Hermione was doing. She was waiting for the exact moment, when one of the four death eaters flying about was exactly in front of her, and she would reveal herself. Reveal herself at too late a moment for anyone to jump in front of her.
Then, she heard Ron calling for her. The sound made her jump the first time. It had been years since he had said her name like that. She remembered quickly a scene in Malfoy Manor, Ron below her and trying desperately to break free and save her. It wasn't so different a situation now. Except this time, unlike the last, she was praying he never came to the rescue.
Ron shouted her name again, this time louder. Hermione closed her eyes against it and moved toward the perimeter of the Weasley wards, just underneath where the last death eater was circling maniacally. Her back hit the magical barrier, the invisible wall holding so sturdy she could actually rest her body upon it as if it were made of brick and mortar.
She stood there, her head tilted up, watching the death eater move around and around, waiting for the perfect moment when he would be in front of her. Ron's screams kept on, his calling of her name becoming more urgent with each call. It made her hold her breath, so scared she was of calling out back to him, alerting the others to her presence. It seemed a crime not to respond to Ron when he was begging for her so earnestly.
But this had been the cause all along. She had known from the start that this wouldn't be easy, that Ron might be hurt in the process. Yet it was all in an effort to save his life, to give him a chance at living a joyful and vibrant existence. Ron was one of the most animated people she knew and the thought of him lifeless…dead…was more than one heart could bear. She would gladly die first.
It was with these thoughts that she prepared herself for the end. The death eater was circling lower and lower, and she knew it would be only a matter of seconds. Ron was still calling for her, begging her to show herself. As the death eater came closer, Hermione closed her eyes and readied herself for that last moment, only finally opening her mouth at the instant the dark figure hovered before her.
"Ron," she whispered, silently, only to herself. It was both a prayer and a pledge, reminding her why she was going through with this. If she had to die, it would be with his name on her lips, like a holy oath. At almost the exact moment, she threw the invisibility cloak off her, revealing her form to Shraxen. The death eater, who now stood directly in front of her, wasted no time in shooting his wand forward. The killing curse was out of his mouth in less than two seconds.
Hermione opened her eyes again, ready to greet whatever was coming. Then, her body was overcome with shock. Instead of the colorful surge of magic she expected to see coursing toward her, she saw Ron. He was standing there in front of her all of a sudden, so close his head towered just above her own, and her hands instinctively reached forward to him. She could make out the cool blue color of his vibrant, beautiful eyes, and then his whole body was consumed with green light. His body dropped then to the floor, struck down by the Avada Kedavra.