CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Summary: Nine years after the war, Hermione's the Head of the Auror Department that specialises in dealing with Magical Creatures and fugitive Death Eaters that are loose in the Muggle World. With the fugitive Death Eaters no longer hiding in Britain, she's tracking rogue Death Eaters in the United States, which leads her to The Winchester brothers. The Witch and The Hunters are a dynamic trio that no creature, being or beast wishes to mess with, Magical or Supernatural. Hermione/Dean pairing. Rated M for a reason.
Disclaimer: I don't own original canon characters or events, just those that I create myself. Everything belongs to J.K Rowling and the creators of Supernatural. I am not making a profit posting this fanfic.
Page count: 6
"Hoods up, boys," Hermione instructed as Harry approached her.
She quickly met him halfway and they greeted with a hug and when they pulled back from each other, he gestured to the hooded Sam and Dean and she nodded to his unasked question.
"They refused to leave, I've explained the rules, they know the consequences and I've given them as much protection as I could with rushed and incomplete runes."
"Their death wish," Harry shrugged unbothered by their presence. "I can't believe you actually found them."
"Me either, we've been waiting for this for almost a decade," she muttered.
"Let's get it over with," he agreed and he handed her the rolled-up blueprints she'd asked for. "Gift from Kingsley,"
"Thanks, let's get the layout figured out whilst the others prepare."
A table was conjured and they unrolled the blueprints, for twenty minutes they studied the blueprints and when they had come up with a plan, they stepped back and banished the table and blueprints, before getting everyone to crowd around. As this took place, the five Curse Breakers set to removing the wards and curses protecting the building.
"Okay, everyone, this is the moment we've been waiting for," Hermione started. "For almost a decade we've been hunting these murderous psychopaths and the time has finally come to put them all where they belong. After today, our world, our families, our businesses, our future, will be safe and protected and it will be because of you; your hard work, determination and bravery. You have dedicated your lives to protecting the innocent and the time has come to do that once more. I'm not going to sugar coat it, we're about to walk into what I am sure is going to be a blood bath, but, I'm confident that you're all capable of handling yourselves. Due to the large number of Death Eaters proven to be in the building, we will be at a ratio of one Auror to two Death Eaters, which I know you are more than capable of handling."
"Well all know what these Death Eaters are capable of, we've all seen the hurt they've caused and it's now that we have the opportunity to prevent it from happening again. We know this is going to be dangerous, so before we discuss strategies, if there is anyone here that wishes to leave, you may do so now and without judgment," Harry said, but no one moved or spoke up. "Alright then, let's begin."
"As soon as the wards and curses protecting the warehouse are removed, you will be separated into five teams. One team will be led by myself, and for those that don't know, I am Head Auror Hermione Granger. Another team will be led by Head Auror Harry Potter, another by Head Auror Charles, the fourth team will be headed by Deputy Auror Valentino and the final team will be headed by Deputy Auror Lance. The first four teams will be inside the warehouse and the final team is to be tasked with patrolling the perimeter so that if there are any escapees, they can be caught and detained quickly. There are four entrances into the building, two on the ground floor, one on the first floor and the final entrance is on the roof; we will each take an entrance. Once the mission begins, Anti-apparition wards will be erected meaning neither us nor the Death Eaters will be able to escape through apparition," Hermione explained.
"Some of these Death Eaters fought in the war, they have the most experience and are more ruthless. Luckily for us, most of the Death Eaters are new recruits from after the war, some are still in their teenage years. They don't have the experience we do, nor do they have the magical confidence in spell casting or shield charms. But, they'll be desperate and a desperate wizard is a dangerous wizard."
"What Harry's trying to say is be careful, always be on your guard and don't let your opponent get the best of you, don't show weakness and don't give them ammunition that they can use against you." Hermione's searched the gathered Aurors and a nod from the Senior Curse Breaker let her know his job was done. "Okay, it seems we're ready. Does everybody have their standard arsenal belts and are they secure and fully stocked?" Everyone chorused their confirmations. "Alright then, we'll split into groups and get this over with, I want this finished before sundown so we can all go home to our families. Port-keys to both the British and American Ministries and St. Helga's are on standby."
"Good luck, everyone," Harry finished.
~000~000~000~
"I thought she was joking when she said it was going to be a blood bath," Sam said to Dean as they crouched behind an old oil barrel, waiting for the barrage of ricocheting spells to change direction, so they could rejoin the fight that had already been going on for almost an hour.
"Why? She's never lied to us and you read the book about the war."
"Well yeah, but still, I just thought she was messing with us, you know, trying to make us leave by lying to us?"
"She wouldn't lie to us," Dean defended her and he cursed when a ricocheting spell hit off the side of the oil barrel and barely missed his shoulder.
"You kissed her," Sam commented.
"And?"
"And you kissed her. You finally admitted to yourself that you like her?"
Dean sent Sam a glare, but seeing that his brother wasn't going to back down, he scowled at him. "Fine, I like her, she's different," he confessed.
"Different?"
"Different!" He snapped, ending the conversation. "I haven't seen Hermione since we entered the building."
"Maybe because everyone's wearing identical white robes," Sam pointed out. "You don't have to worry about her, she can handle herself."
"I know, I was there, too," Dean said proudly, remembering the moment when they'd entered the building and Hermione had incapacitated five Death Eaters with only two spells and in less than ten seconds.
"Right, so what do you say, shall we get back in this fight so you may be reunited with your love?"
Dean punched Sam in the arm before they both dived away from the oil barrel that was hit with a spell and it exploded.
"I think they're trying to kill us," Sam called.
"Well they are called Death Eaters, Sammy," Dean rolled his eyes.
He grabbed one of the decoy detonators from his arsenal belt and activated it, it found its target and when it exploded, it knocked a large metal shelving unit over, landing on three Death Eaters that had been duelling against one Auror.
Dean grabbed the handgun from his waistband and surged forward along with Sam and remembering Hermione's words on not killing unless they had to, they focused their aims on shoulders and knees, and they were grateful that she'd silenced their weapons, making it easier for them to get away with it.
They came to the stairs and seeing that the Aurors seemed to have the upper hand, they ascended the staircase leading to the first floor. That floor had far more damage than the last and twice as many casualties, both Aurors and Death Eaters. Some were injured and fought through the pain, some were severely injured and fought from the floor and others were dead. It was obvious to them that the most experienced fighters were on this floor, and the ground level was likely the new recruits.
"Do you see her?" Dean asked Sam, his eyes scanning the robed figures.
"No, I'm sure she's fine, let's just concentrate on helping to end this war for them. We end it and she'll be safe."
"You go left and I'll take the right," Dean instructed and they separated, moving through the battle and taking down Death Eaters where they could, whilst using items from the arsenal belt and dodging ricocheting spells.
After thirty minutes they finally met back up and their eyes were drawn to the staircase that led to the roof.
"They can handle things down here," Sam confirmed, not even needing Dean to speak to know what he was thinking. "They're no longer massively outnumbered and they know what they're doing, it should be over soon enough."
They nodded to each other before climbing the stairs and kicking open the door, the sun was high in the sky but would be soon lowering and Hermione wanted the battle over by sundown; that meant they had to get a move on.
"Hey! Do you have any idea how much these robes cost!" A voice called out enraged. A voice Dean would recognise anywhere, it was Hermione. "These aren't your standard Auror robes; they have dragon hide properties and protection runal magic infused into the fabric. They cost me an entire month's wage, they cost a bloody a fortune, you insensitive arseholes!" She bellowed and Sam snorted as his eyes searched the roof, looking for anyone that may need help.
Dean's eyes cut to her and her hood had long since fallen down, revealing her identity. Her robes seemed to have caught fire and she'd recently put it out as smoke still surrounded the bottom of the robe.
He felt anger flood him when he saw she had dirt covering her robes and face, cuts littering her arms as the blood soaked through the robe sleeves and she had a hole burnt out of her robe sleeve, revealing a burn on her arm close to her shoulder. An alarming pool of blood soaked through the side of her robe and she had a large gash on her forehead, blood pouring from the wound and down the side of her face.
They'd hurt her! He couldn't control the rage as he saw two Death Eaters both throw a neon green light her way and she barely dodged it in time. He'd seen that spell several times that day and witnessed several of the men in white robes come to death instantly. He knew what it was.
He pointed his handgun at them and took aim and just as he was about to pull the trigger, he felt a ricocheting spell slam into him and he was sent flying off his feet across the roof, smashing into the brick wall near the door and he fell to the floor. He groaned in pain and tried to push himself up but it hurt when he did so. He definitely had some broken ribs.
"Dean!" Sam yelled in panic and he rushed to his side.
His yell distracted Hermione and she was hit square in the chest with a neon yellow light.
Dean watched in horror, as her wand fell from her hand and she crumbled to the floor, her body writhing on the ground as a blood-curdling scream tore from her throat; no one took notice being too busy with their own duels. The Death Eaters cackled in glee and taunted her, spitting insults.
Dean saw red, literally, as the blood from her wounds worsened and seeped onto the floor in a puddle around her.
Without a care for the pain he was in, he pushed himself up onto his feet and left a horrified Sam, he ran towards Hermione and he didn't care what she said or what she would say to him afterwards, he was killing the bastards for hurting her.
He aimed his handgun and with two pulls of the trigger, he hit one in the chest and the other in the head, they both crumbled to the floor. The first Death Eater slowly bleeding to death and the other was already dead before he'd hit the ground. He couldn't find it in himself to care.
He ran to her and dropped onto his knees beside her and he felt bile rise up his throat as her body spasmed on the ground, she was laid in a pool of her own blood and she sobbed as she waited for the pain to ebb. Dean was careful when he shifted her into his arms, supporting her as he looked down at her. He could feel her body shaking and hear her teeth grinding as tears streamed down her face.
He didn't know how long he held her against him, not caring that he was sat in the middle of the battlefield with ricocheting spells flying past him, bodies crumpling to the floor in either death or unconsciousness and rubble surrounding them.
"What can I do?" He asked desperately when he couldn't take it anymore. "How can I help you?"
"You can't," Hermione sobbed. "After effects, they'll wear off."
He kept hold of her until her sobs died down into cries, then sniffles and finally her body stopped with the shaking and spasms, after what felt like hours but was most likely only minutes.
"Thank you," she whispered and he wiped her tears away with his thumb, followed by running it over her cheekbone soothingly.
"What the fuck was that? What did they do to you?"
"The Torture Curse," she muttered.
His fury doubled. If the bastards weren't already dead, he would've killed them; he was still restraining himself from shooting the fuckers again, whether they were dead or not, just to prove a point.
"Are they dead?" Her voice was hoarse from the screaming.
"Yes," he replied, waiting for her to announce her disapproval, but she didn't, she merely nodded tiredly. "You're not mad at me?" He questioned, his surprise evident.
"No," she admitted, "I'm not mad at you. You saved my life; torture was foreplay for them." His body stiffened at her words. "The world's better off without those two in it. Yaxley and Nott, they were a part of both wars and members of the inner circle, I don't think I can even attempt to count the number of lives they've taken, nor the number of people they've tortured, raped and abused. They find their pleasure through hurting others, true sadists. You look up the definition of the word psychopath and you'll find their names." Despite the situation, he couldn't stop the chuckle that left him. "If you hadn't have intervened, I would be dead and they would be given the dementor's kiss and have their souls sucked out of their bodies, what you did for them is more than they deserved. You gave them a quick death, the dementor's wouldn't have."
She looked exhausted, his skin pale and the blood contrasting against it frightening as her body twitched in his hold every few seconds.
"You're hurt," she frowned, noticing the blood on his face. Her hand shakily lifted until she wiped at the blood on his cheek, revealing a cut he'd received from a ricocheting spell.
"I'll be fine," he assured her with a little smile. He barely managed to stop his eyes from closing as her fingers ran softly over his wound.
Her hand dropped and her eyes fluttered.
"Hermione? Hermione!"