As soon as Hermione and Draco exited the room of requirement chaos surrounded them. The younger students, who had just gotten out of class, were huddled together in corners trembling in fear.
"Oh my God. There wasn't enough warning to evacuate." Hermione whispered to Draco.
A death eater came running down the crumbling hallway taking aim at the small group of students.
"Avada Kadavra" Draco bellowed and the man fell immediately dead.
Hermione gasped. "Draco, the killing curse?"
"Hermione, I'm still a death eater, just one who isn't loyal to the cause." Draco explained. "I've done far worse than kill a man. You may all stupefy away, but at least this way they're gone for good. For once these kills are for those who deserve to die."
Hermione nodded clutching Draco's hand.
"We have to get these kids out of here. Stupefy!" Hermione cried as another death eater rounded the corner.
The two ran over to the younger students, Draco finding the oldest one in the bunch who couldn't have been more than fourteen.
"I need you to get these kids to safety. Spread the word to anyone you can who can't fight or is too young. The heads dormitory is empty. It's on the sixth floor behind the portrait of a lion and snake at the end of an unused corridor. The password is marblemento. Take as many kids as you can up there and hide. Let no one in who isn't a student. Spread the word. Go!"
The kid nodded furiously taking charge of his small group. As he rounded the corner they saw him stop another small girl and he relayed the information.
"Good." Hermione said, taking a deep breath. "That's one less thing to worry about."
"Come on." Draco said, grabbing Hermione's hand as they turned down more corridors. They took a passageway behind a stone statue to the fifth floor. When they stepped out they found the corridor empty of all but two occupants.
Fenrir Greyback was staring at them looking as if Christmas had come early. On the floor next to him was Lavender Brown, unconscious and covered in her own blood.
Fenrir looked crazed. He was in half wolf, half human form. His fingers were half clawed, and his height rose to just under seven feet. His hair was matted with blood, and his mouth spit the red substance as he spoke.
"Well, well Draco. Thank you for the dessert. Step aside please. Your father is looking for you a few flights up so you best be going and leave us two be."
Draco grasped his wand tighter and placed himself in between the werewolf and Hermione.
"How interesting." Greyback mused as he began circling the two. Draco met each of his steps. Pulling Hermione back behind him each time as Greyback and him circled each other. "You'll have to do more than use that wand boy. You know your basic unforgivable curses only leave a scratch on me."
"Hermione, go!" Draco ordered her. "I'll hold him off."
"No way!" She said furiously. "I'm not leaving you here to fight him alone!"
"Mmm delicious." Fenrir muttered as he circled. His eyes never leaving Hermione.
"Don't fucking look at her like that Greyback! Or it will be the last thing you do!"
"Ohh touchy. Well this could be fun. First I think I'll paralyze you Draco, from the neck down. Then I'll make you watch in the corner as I have my way with your little girlfriend here. Then I'll eat her, and then you."
Booms and shouts echoed above and below them. Hermione swore she heard Lupin's voice among the yells and curses below. She itched to have help from The Order, as she grasped her wand.
Without warning, Draco shoved Hermione back from him and into the wall as he leaped forward towards Greyback. The werewolf roared and came at Draco quickly.
The two met in the middle of the corridor. Draco ducked and narrowly avoided a scratch from one of Fenrir's claws, but he couldn't avoid the kick that sent him hurling back towards Hermione.
She quickly picked him back up, but he slumped back down the wall moaning in pain.
"You'll pay for that werewolf." Hermione glared. She began shouting curses as she walked toward Greyback. Each curse sent him back a few more steps in pain, but nothing that caused him to fall or hold back.
Hermione took a backhand to the face, once the werewolf reached the wall where Lavender Brown was unconscious.
"I like a girl who can fight back. Makes it so much more fun." Fenrir said menacingly, as Hermione clutched her cheek in agony.
"I've already taken a lot to day. I think you've just made me snap." Hermione accioed a bench from the hallway and sent it soaring toward them. She ducked just in time as the bench collided with Fenrir's body. He slumped down against the wall.
"Fuck. You." Lavender Brown managed to say as she pulled out her basilisk fang and reached over to stab Fenrir right between the eyes. "Bastard."
She slumped back down seeming to lose what little energy she had.
"Damn. You Hogwarts girls know how to fight." Draco said wearily out of breath as he limped toward the girls.
"We have to get her out of here." Hermione said desperately.
Draco nodded once in agreement as he hoisted the Gryffindor girl up in his arms.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked Hermione as he swiftly walked down the corridor.
"Never better." Hermione answered as they turned the corner. "Stupefy!"
Hermione took down another death eater on the stairs. A familiar looking sixth year Hufflepuff boy met them in between the third and fourth floor.
"Is she hurt?" He asked and they nodded. "I'll take her from here. I'm getting others up to the heads dorms."
They watched as he took a barely breathing Lavender from them and hurried up the stairs.
"Glad the word spread." Hermione took Draco's hand and they continued downward.
The first view of the entrance to the great hall shook Hermione to the bone. She knew she'd never get the image out of her head as long as she lived. Duels were being fought everywhere. It seemed the order finally showed up. Lupin was indeed there, fighting a large death eater with Tonks. Molly and Arthur Weasley were tackling Bellatrix, and just emerging from the great hall, Alecto Carrow was dueling Ginny Weasley. Many more scattered around them. A stunning spell from Mad Eye Moody nearly got Draco in the chest before Hermione deflected it.
"He's with us now!" She growled at him. He nodded once, and began fighting another death eater who came from the courtyard. There was no time to question or argue. Draco wasn't flying spells at any of the order so they took her word.
The death eaters however, were furious.
"We really don't have time for this." Hermione muttered to Draco. "We have to find the snake."
"My nephew, a traitor because of a mudblood?" Bellatrix sneered as she used a spell to throw Arthur Weasley away from her. She headed toward Hermione and Draco. "Crucio!"
Bellatrix hit Hermione head on before she could defend herself. She tumbled down the rest of the stairs beneath her and Draco.
"That's my mate!" Draco spat at the death eater before taking out his wand as he began dueling his Aunt. Ron quickly defeated his own death eater, and rushed to Hermione's side. Deflecting spells around her.
"Shield charm Ron." Hermione mumbled.
"Oh, right."
A shield formed around the two of them as Ron pulled her against a wall for safety. Draco and Bellatrix fought.
"TWO traitors in the family now. The shame." Bellatrix yelled as the other duels continued on. She and Draco were still casting spells back and forth.
"I did what I had to for love." Draco glared at her, trying for a killing curse which she deflected.
"Love, love, love." Bellatrix sing songed. "What's it good for? Absolutely nothing."
"You're just jealous because you never inherited the Veela trait. No one could ever love you."
Hermione coughed in pain next to Ron as she watched Draco dodge another killing curse.
"Ron…."Hermione gasped in pain pointing at the stairs. "The snake."
They watched as they saw Nagini zig zag through the rubble on the stairs, making her way down to the dungeons.
"I can't leave you here."
"Just stupefy her." Hermione nodded toward Bellatrix. "She's distracted. Hurry."
Ron stood and took aim at Bellatrix, watching the shock on her face as she fell stunned to the floor. Draco turned quickly giving a nod of thanks to Ron. He leaned down, checking on Hermione.
"I'm good, I promise." Hermione grimaced as she stood shakily. "The snake. It's in the dungeon."
"Let's do it." Draco nodded at Ron and Hermione and the threesome sneakily descended the stairs.
…
….
…..
Draco, Ron, and Hermione crept their way along the dungeon corridors, passing by Slughorn's empty classroom.
"No snake in there." Ron murmured as they moved by.
"Ron, have you heard from Harry?" Hermione whispered.
"No, haven't seen him since the Room of Requirement, he must still be going through those memories."
"I wonder what they are…" Hermione mused as they turned down another corridor.
Draco was about to guess when they heard a low hissing sound to their right. They turned quickly, but no snake was in sight.
"I think it's down that way." Hermione pointed to another corridor to the left.
"Fangs out." Draco said taking a deep breath.
Hermione pulled out her basilisk fang, and Ron did the same. Draco kept his wand lit for them to see in front.
"Here snakey, snakey, snakey." A voice coaxed from around the corner.
Draco held his arm out to stop the others.
"Who is that?"
Before they could find out the snake hissed loudly. All at once pots began to bang around and wood began to crack from an empty room up ahead.
"Go!" Ron shouted, and the three rushed forward quickly prying open the door.
What they found amazed them.
The snake had been writhing around in pain, destroying the benches and cauldrons stored in the unoccupied classroom.
Only one other person was inside.
Neville Longbottom clutched a bloodied basilisk fang in shock as he looked at the snake take its last dying twitch and lay still on the ground.
"Did I just….?" Neville asked as the other three came into the room fully.
"Wow. Yeah…you did it Neville." Hermione said stunned.
"Oh my god." Neville said shakily, his fang falling to the ground.
"Bloody amazing." Ron said clapping Neville on the back.
"Six down, one to go!" Draco said, hugging Hermione fiercely.
"Six what?" Neville asked still in shock.
"Nothing." The other three said at once.
"Speaking of one to go….I wonder where that bastard is now…." Draco mused, but he didn't have long to guess.
Suddenly a high pitched voice filled their ears. Draco immediately went on the defensive, but Hermione grabbed his hand reassuringly.
"He's giving us a message." She whispered.
"Students and guests of Hogwarts. You have fought…valiantly. I have reports that the young Mr. Potter you all fight so hard for was nowhere to be found this evening. Most likely watching in hiding as you all bleed. How courageous. I have ordered all my death eaters away from the castle. We will wait in the Forbidden Forrest for two hours. Now I speak to you Harry. You have two hours to show yourself. I will wait for you. If you do not show I will come up to the castle myself and slaughter every last man, woman, and child there is left. Do as I say Harry Potter. Come to me. You have two hours."
The voice suddenly stopped, and the four were left in eerie silence.
"We have to find Harry." Hermione commanded to the other three.
They all nodded once, and headed back up the stairs, leaving the snake to rot.