Downstairs, the Dark Lord was addressing his loyal Death Eaters. "I have summoned you here, due to events that have occurred at Hogwarts," he said, a solemn tone in his snake-like voice. "Earlier today, Serverus Snape was attacked in his office by a young man, Harry Potter." Several of the Death Eaters let out audible gasps as he said this. "The boy severely injured Snape, and attacked the Malfoys at their home, because he sought to master the most powerful wand in existence, and become the Master of Death." Yet more gasps were heard, and some of the Death Eaters started to discuss it among themselves, before Voldemort held his hand up for silence. "I have also discovered, through a rather talented young witch, who I'm ashamed to admit is Muggle-born;" louder gasps were heard across the entire room, while Draco simply looked at the Dark Lord, whose look seemed to agree with Draco's assumption; "that the Chosen One is immortal." The entire room fell silent, attempting to comprehend what their master had just revealed. "I am afraid that, aside from my death, there is no way to kill Harry Potter. Because I used his blood in my resurrection, he can live forever. Once I die by his hand, the enchantment is broken, and he becomes mortal."
"My Lord," one of the Death Eaters asked, "what does that mean for our cause?"
"Our cause was flawed." Louder gasps were heard as Voldemort started to pace around his chair. "We believed that the Wizarding World should be ruled by pure-blood lineage alone, just like in the days of my ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. Alas, it appears that of all across the country, scores of half bloods and muggle-borns are rising against us in favour of the Chosen One, and although they would not admit it, they would love to see us fall once more. Therefore, we must surrender, or adapt." Murmurs swept throughout the room, all asking the same thing: 'How do we do that?'
...
In Bellatrix's bedroom, Hermione had finally awoke, as had Snape. "Thank you for saving my life, Miss Granger," Snape said as he got up to a sitting position.
"You are welcome, Serverus," Hermione replied, still drained but regaining her strength. "How are you doing, Bella?"
"I'm more than OK, now you're awake, my love," Bella replied happily, giving the younger witch a kiss on the lips, one that Hermione was quick to reciprocate. She was so happy that Hermione was conscious once more, and she hoped that her recovery would be swift. "How do you feel, Miney?" she asked.
"I feel like I just got thrown into a blaze," she replied, "I can't see much, like there is smoke in front of my eyes, and my skin feels like it has been out of sunlight for years. I just want to know what happened with my wand."
"Your wand was obliterated, Granger," Wormtail stated as he took a drink of water provided by Claire. "When Potter attempted the Killing Curse on Snape, you protected him somehow and destroyed the wand. How remains to be seen, but I must admit, you are one of the strongest witches in the world."
Suddenly, Hermione's head wrenched itself back, a loud groan escaping her lips. Her eyes glossed over, and her body grew rigid. "Hermione!" Bella yelled as her hand became stuck in Hermione's vice grip; "what's happening?" Almost as immediately as it started, it ended; Hermione panting as she caught her breath, while Bellatrix nursed her sore hand.
"I need to speak with the Dark Lord, Bella," Hermione panted, attempting to get out of the bed. "It's about Harry."
"No. Absolutely not," Bella replied, forcing her young lover back into bed. "You're too physically weak, you need your rest."
"No," Hermione insisted, "I must see him now. He has to know."
"In that case," Snape interjected, now on his feet thanks to Wormtail; "we will help you downstairs."
As Wormtail nodded in agreement, Bella conceded. "Alright then, come here Miney," and she held out her hand for Hermione to hold on to.
...
"My Lord," Amycus shouted over the other Death Eaters, his deep voice causing them to grow silent once more; "how are we meant to prove to the world we have changed? The Order of the Phoenix would just round us up and throw us back into Azkaban, or worse." Many of the Death Eaters were nodding their heads in agreement.
"Why must we change, at all," Alecto said as she got to her feet. "Our mission was to eliminate all who were not of the purest of blood. Only those of magical descent must be able to control magic. You told us that, my Lord."
"Unfortunately, dear Alecto," Voldemort started as he stood up from his throne, "I have been quite hypocritical regarding this mission. You see, my father was a Muggle. I was born a half-blood wizard. My ancestry leads to one of the most powerful Wizarding families of the Dark ages, as well as to the great Salazar himself." He paused as the Carrow siblings sat down once more. "We were wrong last time. Over 15 years ago, we believed to be bringing about a new age of wizards, yet we were opposed, and when I was defeated, you all became scarce. Only when I was reborn did you come back to serve me. That was where I was wrong. Our ideal of a pure wizard ruled country was never going to work, as the half-blood and muggle-borns outnumber us. If we can change, we can survive."
"My Lord," Fenrir Greyback spoke this time; but he could say no more as the doors behind him opened, revealing Snape, Wormtail and Bellatrix escorting a young witch into the room. "The Mudblood Granger," he growled as he turned around and withdrew his wand. "I'll kill you here right now!" he yelled as he made to cast the Killing Curse. Almost reading his mind, Bellatrix gripped her wand with her free hand, before something else rather unusual occurred.
"Stupefy!" Draco shouted as he stood up from the bench, blasting the werewolf to the back of the room, where he hit the wall and crumpled into a ball on the floor. "If the girl is here, then there must be a valid reason," he stated as he turned to his aunt.
Suddenly, Hermione's legs buckled, and the three wizards around her were quick to react, as was Draco, who grabbed his own chair for Hermione to sit on. "Draco, what are you doing, helping that Mudblood?" Lucius hissed at his son.
"Shut it, father," Draco spat back, as he stood to Hermione's side, just as Voldemort approached them.
"You were supposed to be recovering, child." Voldemort said softly, as the rest of the unknowing Death Eaters sat confused. "Why have you come down to see me?" he asked.
"My Lord," Hermione gasped, still recovering from what she had seen, "Potter attacked the Malfoys at their home, he inflicted wounds, and when they fled, the Elder wand treated it as defeating its previous owner." She looked into his crestfallen eyes as she declared to the entire congregation: "Harry Potter has mastery over the Elder Wand. He is now the Master of Death."
Gasps all around the room as the Death Eaters struggled to comprehend this news. Voldemort himself was almost close to tears. "Then it's over," he said. "We cannot defeat him. He is immortal. He is the master of the strongest wand in existence. We are done."
"Not yet," came Hermione's reply, as everyone turned to her.
"What do you mean, Granger?" Draco asked.
"There was a legend," Hermione said as she attempted to stand once again, being supported by Bellatrix and Draco. "The Legend of the Immortal Brothers. One day, a man challenged our hero to a duel at the stroke of midnight. The man was well known for the fact he had never shown mercy to his opponents, so naturally the hero felt fear over his imminent death. He went to visit his brother, a master of Dark rituals, who explained to him the Ritual of Immortality." She paused to get her breath back as many of the Death Eaters repeated the phrase. "The Ritual of Immortality was a dangerous Dark Magic which allowed the user to become immortal. However, to do that, the user must transfer some of his blood to another, and vice versa. Remember though, this was in an era where nobody trusted another, even brothers. The ritual was performed, the two brothers sharing blood, and they confronted their opponent. As the man cast the Killing Curse, it merely deflected off of the hero, and he defeated his opponent. Later that night, as his brother slept, the hero killed him in his sleep, and transferred his blood to another object, so as to retain his immortality, having become greedy. He lived forever, but he also aged normally, and at the age of 333, decided it was time to die. He dug up the urn containing the blood, and destroyed it, and his ancient body turned to dust."
"How was he able to kill his brother, if he was also immortal?" Draco asked.
"The Ritual required trust; trust that both parties needed for it to succeed. Because the hero was afraid of death, he betrayed the trust his brother gave him; you see the only way to kill a person with shared blood is to possess the same blood as them," Hermione explained.
"How does that help me?" Voldemort asked, his interest piqued.
"If we can remove Harry Potter's blood from you and give you new blood like in this ritual, Potter would lose his immortality," Hermione said, her confidence in the plan growing by the minute.
"What could we use to replace my blood though?" Voldemort said, as he looked at Nagini. Suddenly the answer rushed to his head. It appeared that Hermione had already thought of it.
"The Horcruxes," she replied as she stood on her own. "They are the key, but beside Potter, there is only one outstanding, the Diadem."
"I know where it is hidden," Voldemort smiled, "the Room of Hidden Things in Hogwarts."
"Unfortunately, my Lord," Snape interjected, "the organisation 'Dumbledore's Army', or D.A. has been using the Room of Requirement as a base of operations. The only access is through a special Galleon that was created for members of the D.A. to use."
"In that case," Hermione said with a smile, "it looks like we're going back to school, my Lord."