Chapter Thirty-Three
Previously- 'She who holds the power of two worlds, will perish in fire and death. A friend who is foe wishes to harm her. While a foe who is friend wishes to help. But only the golden light can save her, before the dark one can reach her.' Sybill Trelawney's second prophecy concerning Hermione.
The moment Hermione's hand touched the smooth metal of the circlet Charlie had given her, she felt the whole world begin to spin around, before falling to the ground with a loud 'oomph.'
Momentarily stunned she simply lay there flat on her stomach while looking around, stopping when she saw the two smiling faces of Charlie and Phil. Getting up to her feet, Hermione dusted herself off before sending an irritated glare towards her two friends.
"What the hell just happened? And please don't tell me that you put a bloody portkey in the circlet Charlie?" She said holding up the offending object for them to see.
Charlie chuckled as he walked towards Hermione wearing a proud, smug smile on his face. While Phil followed closely behind looking a little more guilty and sheepish. He knew that Charlie's plan wouldn't be a good idea and that they would be lucky to leave this situation unscathed, as Hermione was looking pretty annoyed at them at the moment.
"Not quite a portkey Hermione. The circlet is a direct link between you and Nafeesa. Since you are the rider of the alpha, if you get into trouble or need help, the circlet will sense that and bring you right to her."
Hermione looked stunned before quickly saying,
"Wait, what?"
Charlie sighed and shook his head in frustration, he could actually see the questions dancing in her eyes and should have known nothing would be simple when it came to Hermione. She always had to ask a million and one questions and had to know every little detail before fully accepting a situation. Normally he would have found that endearing, but right now it was exasperating. He didn't have the time or patience for that just now as they had things to do, places to be and battles to win.
Ushering Hermione into a small empty room he said,
"Get in there and get your dragonrider outfit on. You have two minutes, so go. Quickly." He shut the door behind her, not giving her a chance to say a single word, then headed into the lounge area, which was currently being occupied by order members.
The younger ones in particular were looking nervous and pale, while the older members were trying to look confident and brave. To be honest Charlie couldn't blame them for feeling that way. Although each of them had been part of the Wizarding War in some way or another, nothing could possibly prepare them for what they were about to face.
They all knew that Hermione was here and that they wouldn't get the chance to see or speak to her. But they didn't know why she was here. All Charlie had said to them was, she needed to collect something of great importance before going back into the battle. The only one who knew the real reason was Dumbledore.
"Hermione's getting changed." Charlie whispered, upon entering the room. "She will be out soon." He said looking directly towards Dumbledore, who was giving him a knowing look in return.
"Good." Dumbledore replied. "Do you all remember what the plan is?" He asked glancing around at all the order members, who simply mumbled an answering yes in reply, or nodded their heads in understanding. "Very well then let's go."
With that everyone rose to their feet as one, and once Dumbledore had given his order, they all quickly apparated away simultaneously with resounding cracks, leaving only Charlie and Phil behind.
The moment everyone had gone, the two wizards flicked their wands over their clothes and changed into their own dragonriders outfits just in time, for Hermione suddenly came stomping in towards them wearing her outfit and a murderous glare upon her beautiful pale face.
"All right I've changed. Now will one of you please tell me what the hell I'm doing here? I was in the middle of a battle in case you didn't already know." She huffed, her voice sounding exasperated and impatient.
Charlie chuckled again at seeing Hermione looking so wound up. He always took a perverse pleasure in seeing her like that and wouldn't have minded teasing her some more, but sadly they were running out of time.
"Isn't it obvious Hermione? The circlet wouldn't have brought you here to us if you weren't in need of help."
Understanding finally hit Hermione as she listened to Charlie's words and it was only then that she noticed the outfits they were both wearing.
Taking a step back, her eyes wide with surprise and her hands firmly placed on her hips she asked,
"What do you think you are doing? You are not coming with me and neither is Nafeesa." At the mention of her dragon's name, an answering yowl came from outside.
Dropping her hands from her hips, she gave the two wizards a pointed look, then headed out to where Nafeesa and two other dragons were standing waiting patiently. The moment yellow eyes spotted her across the short distance, Nafeesa came running towards Hermione, her long forked tongue instantly licking its way up her body.
Giggling, as always, Hermione buried her head against Nafeesa's scaly skin and nuzzled into her, enjoying the feeling of being with her friend and familiar once more.
"I've missed you too girl." Hermione whispered lovingly, while stroking Nafeesa's neck soothingly.
Hermione couldn't lie she had been missing Nafeesa terribly, ever since she had departed from the Dragon Sanctuary. She wanted to see her friend and familiar again but not under these circumstances. She had thought about riding her into battle, but that thought hadn't lasted long. It was bad enough that she had to ask her friends and family- the Cullen's, Felix, Demetri, Marcus and even Caius to join her int battle, that she didn't want anyone else to join her unnecessarily either. Especially not Nafeesa. As far as Hermione saw it, now that she knew who the enemy was, she felt that this war was her battle, that she had caused it in some way.
Watching the two friends reuniting with one another, Charlie gave them both some privacy, but time was not on their side. He slowly walked up to them and gently placed a hand on Hermione's shoulder causing her to tense up instantly at the contact.
No words needed to be exchanged in that moment, and as she looked up into Charlie's serious face, everything just seemed to become clear to her. Hermione now knew why she was standing here in front of Nafeesa, instead of still fighting in a losing battle. She now knew what she had to do in order to win, despite how much the victory would cost her in the end. But not only that, she now knew who the Volturi army needed her to be. They had all given her so much and now she had to step up and become the leader they so needed, if they wanted to win this war once and for all.
With a renewed determination, and a confidence she didn't quite feel yet, Hermione turned to her two friends with a serious yet calm expression on her face. They could see the change in her demeanor and understood what this meant for them.
"Gentlemen mount your dragons. It's time to go to war."
At her words Charlie couldn't hide his excitement as he pumped his fist into the air and said,
"Yes, now that's what I'm talking about."
All three riders mounted their dragons in a synchronized flawless movement, and since Nafeesa was the alpha she led the way as all three took to the air at once. Before they reached the wards, the three riders disillusioned themselves, as Nafeesa and Hermione's combined power flowed over them, allowing the three of them to pass through the wards without a problem.
Once free of the wards, the dragons soared quickly and effortlessly through the air knowing where they were to go. As the alpha Nafeesa led the way while nestled protectively between the two other dragons who flanked her. They glided through the air heading straight towards the Hoia-Baciu forest where the battle had now stilled, while unknowingly waiting for their arrival.
With her expert hearing, Nafeesa could hear Dumbledore's voice whispering through the wind, and in reply to his words she let out a loud yowl in order to reassure him that they were coming and would reach them soon.
As they grew closer to the battle, Hermione couldn't hide her shock when she looked down and saw what was going on below her, thankful that she was disillusioned to hide the overwhelming burst of emotions flooding through her. She needed to stay calm and in control, but seeing her friends and fellow order members standing there amongst the Volturi vampires, holding up a shield charm to protect them and stop an enemy attack, momentarily threw her. She hadn't expected to see them but knowing Dumbledore and seeing everything that Charlie and Phil had done this far, she couldn't really say that she was surprised.
Centering herself, in order to calm her wayward feelings and to focus on what she had to do, Hermione drew in all of the confidence she had and wrapped it around herself, giving her an air of authority. Once she felt ready, only then did she begin the descent onto the ground below, at the back of where the Volturi army stood.
She did not have to communicate to Charlie or Phil to do the same, as the other two dragons simply followed their leader. Once they had reached the ground, Hermione cancelled the disillusionment spell on all three of them, as Nafeesa let out a menacing yowl, drawing the attention of every single vampire and wizard there was.
The Volturi army all turned at once to look at the new arrivals, wearing matching looks of fear, shock and amazement when they saw Hermione riding a fearsome dragon. They parted in the middle, as Hermione jumped off Nafeesa and began to walk towards the battlefield, ignoring the looks she received from all the people she cared about. Her focus was solely on the enemy, as she tried to spot Eldred who was hiding amongst his army like the coward that he was.
Nafeesa followed behind Hermione, making small yowling noises of warning, as Charlie and Phil rode their dragons behind.
Once Hermione had reached the front of the Volturi army she stopped in between a twinkling Dumbledore and a stunned looking Aro, but still her gaze never wavered from the enemy. Although she couldn't see Eldred, Vladimir or Stefan she could feel their gazes on her and that was enough.
"My name is Hermione Jean Granger. I am a witch of Hogwarts, a vampire of the Volturi and dragonrider to the alpha. I am the Volturi witch of Hogwarts." Her voice sounded loud and clear, breaking the silence that had fallen over the battlefield. At her words she could feel the excitement spark around her, as her presence and new look filled the others with confidence. "You wanted a war Eldred and now you shall have one."
At her words, laughing sounded from amongst the enemy army. And although she could pinpoint where the sound was coming from, she could still not see the source of it himself.
"How very theatrical of you Hermione, bringing a dragon along for the ride. Who knew you had it in you?" He chuckled, as he tried to disguise his nervousness with sarcasm. "But your scare tactics won't work on us. My army is much more powerful and there are too many of us for you to fight. Besides you have no powers to use against us. Do you really think that you can win hmm?"
Nafeesa moved to stand next to Hermione, a show of solidarity, as she growled and hissed at the enemy, bringing fear to them.
"If I was you Eldred, I would take your army and run now before it is too late." Hermione warned, already knowing what his reply to that would be.
"You think that your words can scare me?" Eldred yelled out in anger. "I came here for one thing, to destroy you and the Volturi once and for all. I will not leave until I have killed every last one of you. Including your pet dogs and wizard friends." He laughed again then said, "Imagine my delight knowing that not only will I, Eldred Worple, destroy you and the Volturi. But I will also get to defeat the great and powerful Albus Dumbledore as well."
Hermione heard the warning hiss come from Nafeesa at the insult, and so placed a reassuring hand on her side. She would get her chance soon, of that Hermione had no doubt.
"I think Eldred, that you should be very scared." She replied in a steady voice. "For you and your army will be destroyed long before you get the chance to hurt those I love."
She took a step forward before her arm was suddenly grabbed from behind. Turning her head to face the owner of the hand wrapped around her arm, she tensed once more as she gazed into familiar dark eyes. Eyes that she had once believed were black but were actually a very dark brown.
"I think perhaps you would feel better, if you grasped your wand." The familiar silky drawl said, sending shivers of longing and confusion down her spine.
Shaking the inappropriate thoughts from her mind, she watched as his long pale hand went into his black robes, pulling out a precious piece of wood and holding it out for her to inspect. She could feel her wand calling to her, causing her magic to pulsate through her body.
With a shaking hand she reached forward and curled slender fingers around the familiar Blackthorn wand, and the moment her skin made contact with it, a brilliant white light engulfed her, as master and wand were once more reunited. Turning a thankful smile to Severus she whispered,
"Thank you." Before taking several step backwards.
With one fluid movement she cast the biggest and strongest shield charm she could muster, encasing everyone she cared about under a powerful protective dome.
"From now on, the battle for you is over. This fight is mine and mine alone, and I intend to finish it."
Without another word Hermione jumped up onto Nafeesa's back, as together they flew up into the sky, with Charlie and Phil's dragons following closely behind. Just like with the wards back at the Dragon Sanctuary, they were immune to her powerful protective spell as well.
The enemy vampires began to panic and moved further backwards, while watching the three dragons fly up into the sky before nose diving down towards them.
The dragons were vicious in their attack as they used their sharp claws and teeth to rip the vampire's stone like bodies into shreds. Then they used the full force of their fire to destroy what was left.
"Attack them, don't just stand there. Fight." Eldred's panicked voice screamed out, as some of his army tried to run and escape in fear.
"Charlie, Phil create a ring of fire blocking them in. I don't want any of them getting away." Hermione was all too aware of what she was asking, and tried not to think about the vision that she had. But she also knew that this was the only way. There was no other choice in the matter.
"Hermione I can't do that. You know what will happen if we do. Please don't ask that of me." Charlie pleaded, knowing what would happen to Hermione if they did that, and not wanting to take the chance.
Hermione heard the pleading in his voice and wanted to know how he knew about her vision, but now was not the time to ask questions. So she simply nodded her head in agreement.
Charlie let out a breath of relief but before he could say anything Hermione cut him off.
"Fine I won't ask that of you." She said. "But Nafeesa can ask your dragons and they have to follow the orders of their alpha."
As soon as Hermione finished speaking, Nafeesa let out a piercing yowl aimed at the two dragons beside her. At once they turned in opposite directions and spat out a large circle wall of fire, blocking the Volturi army out of sight and trapping the enemy army within the wall of flames.
Before the circle of fire had closed, she caught sight of a pained looking Dumbledore, and mouthed only one word to him. 'Sorry.'
Turning her attention back to the vampires at hand, she searched the crowd for Eldred and ordered Charlie and Phil to continue the attack. While she sought to kill her main target. Only then would she be able to use her power to destroy them all.
Locating him at last, Nafeesa flew towards him, killing those vampires who got in her way, before landing on the ground. She let out a fierce cry and slowly stalked towards her target. Spitting fire at those who stood in her path.
Eldred watched feeling hopeless, as the vicious dog made its way towards him, killing those unfortunate to attack. He could sense the wall of fire near his back and knew that there was no escape for him. He was losing this battle now that she had once again outsmarted him. As he locked gazes with Hermione, he felt nothing but unadulterated hatred for the girl who took everything away from him. With that final thought, Eldred decided that if he was going to die, he was going to make damn sure that his death would not be an easy victory for her.
"You think that you have won. Well you haven't yet." The numbers of his army were still strong, all he needed was for them to overpower the dragon from all angles and overthrow it. "Everyone attack the beast, concentrate on the alpha. Kill it." And just like that all of his pathetic minions turned towards Hermione and her dog, before attacking them.
They were quick and strong attacking Nafeesa from all angles, swarming all around her. But she was just as fast, as she spat fire at them and used her teeth, claws and spiked tail to kill. While she was dealing with them, Hermione jumped down and fought those who blocked her way to Eldred. She wasn't too worried about Nafeesa as she was big and fearsome and could look after herself. Charlie and Phil also arrived helping Nafeesa to rid herself of attackers.
Finally making it through the bodies to Eldred, she stopped in front of him and glared at his smirking face.
"Why? Why do all of this, just for revenge on me and the Volturi. Why kill and turn all of those innocent people?"
Eldred simply smiled and looked at all of the carnage around him, not feeling an ounce of guilt or regret.
"Because I could. And because I wanted too. Why should these people get happily ever after's while mines was taken away from me?"
Hermione shook her head at Eldred and frowned.
"You think Sanguini would have wanted this." She asked, seeing Eldred instantly tense as she gestured to the devastation around them.
"Shut up." He hissed out, as Hermione took a small step towards him.
"Do you honestly think Sanguini ever wanted you?" She teased again, as she moved ever closer to him.
Eldred's hands balled into fists at her words. How dare she speak of Sanguini, she knew nothing of him or of what he wanted.
"I said shut up." He yelled, but instead Hermione continued goading him, enjoying the effect she was having on him.
"Sanguini would have been ashamed of the person you've become. It's probably a good thing that he's dead, so he doesn't need to witness this."
Hermione's words were the last straw for Eldred making something snap inside of him, as he screamed and charged towards her. No longer caring about anything else other than destroying her.
"Shut up." He screamed as he took a swipe at Hermione, but missing. She ducked and managed to land a punch on his stomach, causing him to stumble and almost fall.
He managed to find his footing and charged once again at her, but she was too fast and much more experienced than he was. His fighting skills were slow and sloppy, as he didn't think he would need to practice. He assumed the victory over the Volturi would be an easy one and that he wouldn't have a physical part in it. How wrong he had been. Again he had underestimated her.
Hermione used her shoulder to ram into Eldred, this time successfully knocking him to the ground. She straddled him and gazed down at the man she once considered a mentor and possible friend.
"You've lost Eldred. I hope it was all worth it." She whispered.
He gazed up at her and smiled, a smile that was neither warm nor friendly.
"It was."
Before Hermione could finish him off, a shadow fell across them both, and when Eldred looked up it was into angry yellow eyes and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Fear and panic settled in him and before he could open his mouth to let out the scream that wanted to be unleashed, Nafeesa let out a low menacing growl before jerking forward and clamping her mouth down onto his neck. With his whole head engulfed in her mouth she bit down, snapping it off. With several loud crunching noises, she dropped the shards of Eldred's head onto the ground, away from Hermione, and set them on fire until they were nothing but smoke and ash.
Hermione grinned at Nafeesa and rose to her feet, just as the enemy vampires used their distraction to their own advantage. They swarmed around Nafeesa and Hermione, separating them while they fought their own battles.
Charlie and Phil were too far away to help them, while they fought and took out the rest of the vampires. Hermione tried to keep an eye on Nafeesa but was too busy herself. Now that Eldred was gone she could now use her magic to propel balls of light at her enemies, causing them to explode on impact. But now that she had the use of her wand again, she could enhance and duplicate the balls of light launching three at a time, killing more vampires.
Hermione was so focused on what she was doing, that she didn't pay any attention to Nafeesa, until she heard a loud howling noise coming from behind. It wasn't the sound of anger or warning that she normally let out, it was the sound of pain.
Finishing killing the two vampires in front of her, Hermione turned on her heel and saw Nafeesa struggling to fight off about fifty newborn vampires. They had jumped up onto her back, a place that she couldn't reach to fight them off.
Nafeesa let out another sharp cry of pain as a menacing vampire brutally tore at her flesh, causing her to fall to the ground.
"No." Hermione cried out running towards Nafeesa, firing ball after ball towards those who were attacking her friend. Her anger became uncontrollable as she fought, making her way through them all as quickly as she could.
Hearing Nafeesa's cries of pain Charlie and Phil's dragons also came soaring through the sky, fighting to protect their fallen leader.
Reaching Nafeesa, Hermione looked down and fell to her knees, cupping her friends face, as she let out painful panting breaths
"Don't you dare die on me? Do you hear me? You will get out of here and you will recover. You have too. I can't lose you, not now or ever." Hermione whispered nuzzling her cheek against the familiar scaly skin.
In reply, Nafeesa's tongue slowly came out and licked Hermione's face lovingly, but this time Hermione did not giggle like she normally did.
"Please don't die on me, I love you. You're my best friend and I need you." Hermione whispered, as a single tear ran down her cheek.
"Hermione." Charlie said, causing her head to snap up.
Standing to her feet, Hermione wiped the tear away and felt her anger well up inside of her. There was only about one hundred newborn vampires left, but after what they had done to Nafeesa, one hundred was still too many in her eyes.
"Charlie, Phil take Nafeesa out of here. Save her, do whatever you can but save her. Ask the order members to cast a protective shield against the fire to hold it in place. Tell them under no circumstances have they to lower the shield. I will end this fight now."
"Hermione no, one of us could stay and help." Charlie pleaded, knowing that the end was near.
"No, you both need to save Nafeesa. And please, tell Athenodora to take Morvin away. I don't want her to have to see anything. Now go." She yelled, leaving no room for arguments.
Charlie knew there was nothing he could say or do to stop her, she was more determined and terrifying than he had ever seen her and there was no changing her mind. Especially when she wanted Morvin away from her.
"Alright, but please be safe." He replied.
Hermione didn't say anything, she didn't have too, for they both knew what was about to happen. Destiny had already been written and time had finally run out for her. She watched as Charlie and Phil's dragons moved into the air, while the riders performed a levitating spell on Nafeesa, moving her to safety. Once they had gone she turned an angry glare onto the vampires who looked on at her with smirks, thinking that they had her beaten now. How could one vampire witch possibly destroy an army of one hundred newborn vampires on her own?
"If you want me, then you have to come and get me." She said calmly, before running into the middle of the circle of fire. The enemy vampires didn't have to chase her far, as they surrounded her to the center.
"Come now Hermione don't be like that." Vladimir said, as he and Stefan stepped forward. "We never really wanted you dead that was all Eldred's idea. We just wanted the Volturi and the Cullen's dead." He said with a nasty smirk.
"Come, join us instead." Stefan added. "Imagine how powerful we could be together. A new triage, a new power to overthrow the Volturi."
Hermione held her wand out to them and smiled,
"The only way for me to sink low enough to join you, will be over my dead body."
Vladimir laughed and turned a grinning face towards Stefan.
"Did you hear that, over her head dead body she says?"
Stefan looked at Hermione, his face void of all emotions as he said,
"I'm sure that can be arranged."
Hermione shut her eyes and focused on all of her emotions, replaying memories in her mind to spark the great well of emotion that she needed. Her magic crackled and sparked around her, and using the power of enhancement she multiplied her feelings tenfold, creating a ring of bluish white light that orbited around her.
Opening her eyes she watched as the ring of light swirled around her, not believing that she had done it.
"What is this? What is she doing?" Vladimir asked, both mesmerized and terrified by what he was seeing.
"This gentlemen, is what the end looks like for you." Using her wand, she focused all of her magic and pushed it through the wood in her hand using it as a conductor, then with all the strength and power she possessed she pushed her magic out of her body.
The circle of light that was orbiting her, grew and expanded before quickly blasting towards the vampires all around her, engulfing them in light. As if a nuclear bomb had just gone off, there was a loud explosion before a huge burst of light filled the black night sky.
The bodies of the vampires around her burst into flames before turning into ash and floating into the night sky.
Hermione shielded her eyes at the burst of light, but as she opened them she saw nothing but flames and dark swirling ash, bodies from those who had died before the explosion still lay discarded on the ground unaffected by her powerful magic.
Looking around, she noticed that this was the exact same scene from her vision, and feeling drained and empty she sank to her knees, having no strength to keep herself up. The power of the magic she had just used, weakened her immensely and she could feel her body failing.
Falling onto the ground, her body lay amongst those who were dead and those who were ash, the flames crept closer to her, but she couldn't move to escape.
She looked up into the night sky at the beautiful twinkling stars, and as the flames colored the darkened sky with its orange glow, she smiled as she finally realized she had done it, the war was over, the battle had been won and her friends and loved ones were safe.
The only thing she wished now, was for the chance to say goodbye to Morvin, to tell her that she loved her and that she would always be her daughter. But the chance for Hermione to say goodbye was over.
Squeezing her eyes shut, a single tear escaped as she braced herself for what was to come. Death would soon claim her and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
The moment Aro had seen Hermione show up with the dragon, he knew what was to come. He was no fool; he had seen the vision she had.
He felt dread and fear, the likes of which he had never felt before, when he saw the two dragons spit a circle of fire out, keeping the Volturi army out and the Romanian army inside. It was the exact same scene from her vision, although from a different viewpoint.
"Shouldn't we try and help." Demetri asked, also aware of what was to come.
"No, Hermione must do this on her own." Dumbledore replied, chancing a glance at Severus who looked even paler than normal. He knew instantly what the other wizard was thinking.
"So what, all we do now is wait." Remus asked, running his hand through his hair in sheer frustration. He hadn't come all this way for nothing, he hadn't come to witness his best friend and godmother to his son, die without doing anything to help.
"Hermione knows what she is doing." Dumbledore said, not sure of who he was trying to convince more, them or himself.
"Let's hope you're right for all of our sakes." Severus replied, his cold hard stare never leaving the fire in front of him.
While they all spoke Aro simply watched on, the mating bond between him and Hermione had grown and now he could feel everything that she was feeling. Anger, pain, fear, frustration, determination. It flowed through him just as it did her.
He could feel every time she triumphed over an enemy, but as time passed on, and still they knew nothing, he could feel her rage build to a crescendo.
"Something has happened; she is beyond angry." He whispered.
"What? What's happened how can you possibly know?" Severus asked, disbelieving the man he hated more than even James Potter.
"Is it the mating bond?" Marcus asked turning to look at his brother with interest.
"Yes. She is livid and wait…." He held up his finger to quieten everyone and concentrated on the feelings he was receiving from Hermione. "She's in pain but not the physical kind, emotional pain, someone is hurt. She's upset." Turning to Alice, Aro asked, "Do you see anything?"
Alice sighed and shook her head in the negative.
"No, I haven't been able to see her future in a while. Not since the vision."
"What vision?" Severus asked, in a quiet angry voice. He hated the fact that other people seemed to know more about Hermione than what he did.
"Hermione and I both shared a vision in which she…." Alice couldn't finish the sentence as she turned away, burying her face into Jasper's comforting arm.
"She who holds the power of two worlds, will perish in fire and death." Albus whispered. "Trelawney's prophecy is true." His voice was soft and gentle as he turned sad eyes towards Severus.
"No." He said sternly, as realization hit him. He didn't want to believe it, there had to be something he could do anything. Before he could think about it, someone said,
"Look someone's coming."
Everyone's attention turned towards the wall of fire as Charlie and Phil came flying towards them, levitating an injured looking Nafeesa. Lowering her safely onto the ground, their dragons landed as well, and while Charlie went towards his fellow order members, Phil went to look at Nafeesa's injuries, followed closely by the other two dragons.
"Charlie what's happened?" Dumbledore asked, the moment Charlie was close enough to them.
Before he replied, Charlie turned and whispered something into Demetri's ear, who then turned to Athenodora, who was holding on tightly to Morvin's hand.
"You must leave now." Demetri said.
Picking up Morvin, she pulled out the portkey and together they vanished out of sight, only then did Charlie answer Dumbledore's question.
"She killed Eldred but there were too many vampires, they were too strong and overpowered us. She told us to go, Albus I tried to stop her but she wouldn't listen."
Dumbledore lay a comforting hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed it.
"It's alright my boy I know how Hermione can be. Did she say anything to you?" He asked.
"Yes, she wants you all to cast the strongest shield charm against the flames and hold it. She said under no circumstances have you to lower it."
Dumbledore looked around at his fellow order members and without question each of them complied, casting a strong shield charm that held the flames in place.
"What else?"
Charlie never had the chance to reply, as from the circle of fire came a large flash of blueish white light. It hit the protection charm, but the wizards were able to hold it despite the power that had been behind the light.
Then the loudest explosion sounded, as that same light blasted through the air. The sheer force of it, knocking everyone off their feet.
From their positions on the ground, all they could do was watch as the bluish white light faded away leaving only the light of the dancing flames, as they grew bigger and angrier. From their position they could see a large black cloud of smoke rise into the air, except as it fell to the ground it showered them in ash and dust.
"It's done, it's over the battle has been won."
An unknown vampire shouted as cheers rang through the air. Only those in the Volturi, the Cullen's and the order members knew the true price victory had cost.
"Hermione." Severus whispered in pain, as his heart clenched at the thought of never seeing her face again.
Across the other side of him, Aro hissed and turned to look at Marcus and Dumbledore.
"Aro what's wrong?" Marcus asked with great concern.
"It's Hermione." Aro whispered, clutching himself as he felt the mating bond pull at him. "She's still alive, but I can feel her fading. She's giving up." He whispered.
"There must be something we can do to help." Remus asked.
Silence filled the air before one voice whispered,
"There is one thing we can do to save her."
And with that all eyes turned to look at Marcus, as they waited for him to say more.
