AN: Once again I am not JK Rowling.
I was battling a tall broad shouldered death eater. It took everything in me not to use unforgiveables but I wouldn't stoop to their level. I couldn't do it, not again.
"Come on you filthy mudblood! Is that all you've got?" I sent a stunner at him and he fell over backwards. My happy cry lasted only a moment when I was hit with the cruciatus curse.
I fell to the ground screaming horribly. The pain was unbearable. It stopped after a moment and I relaxed back against the ground my muscles twitching.
"Why if it isn't my favorite mudblood." Theodore Nott stood above me blurring in and out of focus. His eyes had a crazed look that reminded me of Bellatrix and he pointed his wand at me.
"Where's your Blood Traitor husband?" He asked his eyes dancing happily. "Rumor has it he's dead." I tried to move but I couldn't my muscle's were still twitching. Sirius couldn't be dead! No he couldn't! Tears filled my eyes. "Don't worry you'll join him too but not till I'm done... Crucio!"
I screamed shrilly. There was no way I could keep it in. The pain was unbearable. Fire burned through my veins and I could feel a bone break in my leg. An agonized scream escaped my lips and tears coursed down my cheeks. Death. Death would be preferably to this slow torture.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" I recognized that voice but I didn't know from where. Red hair blurred in and out of focus as my muscles twitched. I rolled over onto my side and vomited noisily in the corner.
"It's over time to go!" Black billowing robes flew past me. I would recognize that cloak anywhere. Severus ran down the steps his pale hand gripped Draco's arm tightly.
"SECTUMSEMPRA!" I screamed as a horrible slicing knifed its way down my back. Blood seeped through my robes and my vision swam again.
I'm sorry Hermione. Severus darted around the corner with Draco. As much as I wanted him to save me I knew he couldn't.
"Avada Kedavra!" A deep voice yelled. It was the big death eater I had been fighting and his wand was waving around rapidly as he yelled it. His curse hit one of the others who was trying to run away and he dropped to the ground dead.
Suddenly the death eaters were running after Severus as if they had been called. They probably had been by the dark mark. My muscles twitched and I vomited again when I smelled all the blood.
"Hermione?" Red hair was in front of me again. My vision must have still been blurred because it seemed there were two of them.
"Fred can you grab her feet?" George said as he pulled me into his arms. Sirius? Where was my husband? He couldn't be dead. No!
My muscles twitched again as they carefully brought me towards the infirmary. Sirius. Where was he? Sirius!
"Hermione don't cry." Fred said wiping my eyes.
"Sirius." My voice was almost gone. I had been screaming so hard that I had no voice.
"Hermione -" George's eyes were pained.
"SIRIUS!" I screamed desperately trying to pull away from them. No he wasn't dead. NO! I was sobbing when they finally brought me into the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey was bustling around a bed with most of the Weasley's standing around it.
"Sirius!" My voice was gone but I didn't care. "WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!" My voice echoed around the room and everyone turned to me. Apparently they couldn't ignore the screeching desperation of my voice.
"Hermione," Luna came over to me her her shoulders slumped tears on her cheeks.
"He's dead isn't he." I whispered my voice broken.
Luna's eyes flashed. "YOU IDIOTS DIDN'T TELL HERMIONE HER HUSBAND IS STILL ALIVE WHEN SHE SO OBVIOUSLY WANTS TO KNOW!"
Fred and George looked at each other fearfully. I had never seen Luna like this. It was terrifying to see her so unhinged "We didn't know if he was!"
"We couldn't give her false hope if he was dead!" Fred said his own eyes flashing.
"Where is he?" I asked looking at Luna. More tears slid down her cheeks and she swallowed thickly.
"Sarah." My stomach jolted painfully. "She came and joined the fight. We tried to tell her to go back but she wouldn't listen."
"No," I whispered shaking my head desperately. Not sweet, little Sarah. Not her. Suddenly the doors to the infirmary burst open. Sirius walked in holding Sarah's small body. She looked as if she was sleeping peacefully in Sirius' arms. He gently laid her on the bed next to mine tears dripping down his face.
"Sweetheart." Sirius whispered placing his hand against my cheek. I cried silently my heart breaking for the sweet little first year who had looked up to me. Sirius crawled into the bed and held me as I cried. "Shhh its alright."
"No its not." I whispered as I stared blankly at Sirius. Severus was gone, Dumbledore was obviously dead and so was Sarah and poor Bill had been attacked by Greyback. Fleur would be devastated when she found out.
The doors opened again and Harry came in his face pale and his eyes blank. Ginny followed a moment later speaking quietly to him tears on her cheeks. "– Harry, if we hadn't had your Felix potion, I think we'd all have been killed, but everything seemed to just miss us —"
Harry nodded his eyes blank. He looked at me and frowned. "What happened?"
"I didn't take any Felix." I whispered my voice no more than a whisper.
"How did you survive?" He asked surprised.
"I have no idea." I muttered shaking my head. Harry walked over to the other bed and looked at Bill his eyes flat. Bill had been attacked by Greyback. Remus kept standing next to the head of the bed his face pale.
"Can't you fix the scratches with a charm or something?" Harry asked the matron.
"No charm will work on these," Madam Pomfrey said. "I've tried everything I know, but there is no cure for werewolf bites."
"But he wasn't bitten at the full moon," Ron said, who was gazing down into his brother's face as though he could somehow force him to mend just by staring. "Greyback hadn't transformed, so surely Bill won't be a — a real —?"
He looked uncertainly at Lupin.
"No, I don't think that Bill will be a true werewolf," Remus said, "but that does not mean that there won't be some contamination. Those are cursed wounds. They are unlikely ever to heal fully, and — and Bill might have some wolfish characteristics from now on."
"Dumbledore might know something that'd work, though," Ron said. "Where is he? Bill fought those maniacs on Dumbledore's orders, Dumbledore owes him, he can't leave him in this state -"
"Ron — Dumbledore's dead," Ginny said. I froze and stared into Sirius' eyes. He had the same pained look. We knew it would come but it still hurt. I pressed my hands against my cheeks and cried desperately. Poor Severus.
"No!" Remus looked wildly from Ginny to Harry, as though hoping the latter might contradict her, but when Harry did not, Lupin collapsed into a chair beside Bill's bed, his hands over his face. I had never seen Remus lose control before. Tonks' pulled Remus against her side tears in her eyes.
"How did he die?" Tonks whispered. "How did it happen?"
"Snape killed him," Harry's voice was empty of emotion. "I was there, I saw it. We arrived back on the Astronomy Tower because that's where the Mark was… Dumbledore was ill, he was weak, but I think he realized it was a trap when we heard footsteps running up the stairs. He immobilized me, I couldn't do anything, I was under the Invisibility Cloak — and then Malfoy came through the door and disarmed him —"
Hannah clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned. Luna's mouth trembled.
"— more Death Eaters arrived — and then Snape — and Snape did it. The Avada Kedavra." Harry's voice broke. I stared and Sirius. His eyes were shimmering with tears just like mine.
Madam Pomfrey burst into tears. Nobody paid her any attention except Ginny, who whispered, "Shh! Listen!"
Gulping, Madam Pomfrey pressed her fingers to her mouth. Somewhere out in the darkness, a phoenix was singing in a way I had never heard before: a stricken lament of terrible beauty.
AN: Please Review! It helps more than you realize.