Chapter 9 –
Hermione decided then and there that she hated waiting. From his position beside her, she could tell Ron felt the same way. They had been sitting in the Common Room for nearly a half an hour, waiting, waiting to hear whether their best friend would be going off to do something dangerous.
Best Friend. Hermione scoffed at how incomplete and insufficient it was to refer to Harry as such. She had long since come to terms with her own feelings for the third member of their trio, despite still being in the dark about Harry's own feelings toward the matter, For the past few weeks since his duel with Malfoy, she felt that her relationship with Harry had definitely changed.
She felt compelled to spend even more time with him than she already had previously, which basically meant that there were few hours of the day that they weren't together. Ron was with them most of the time since they mended the rift in their friendship, but Hermione still treasured the time that she spent with Harry alone. She found every excuse to hug him and be close, trying to say her feelings to him without actually saying them. Harry's response to her attention seemed positive, he too started gravitating towards her and reciprocated her affectionate touches, but none of it was enough to convince her that he felt the same; she wanted to be sure of his feelings before she committed that leap of faith.
After another few moments of staring into the fire, they heard the portrait hole opening, revealing Harry as he made straight for the stairs to the boy's dormitory without even glancing their way. Concerned by his behavior, Hermione sent Ron a look which he interpreted correctly as to go check on Harry. She stood and waited with baited breath for the boys to return. She figured that the mission with Dumbledore that Harry had been alluding to for the last few weeks was indeed happening, but something didn't feel right.
When Harry and Ron came back down the staircase Harry headed right to her and instantly shoved both his bottle of Felix Felicis and the Marauder's Map into her hands. She opened her mouth to question him, but he cut her off before she could speak.
"It's happening tonight." His serious tone startled her. Though he would never admit it, Harry had been anticipating this mission for a long time, so to hear him sounding so grim was unnerving.
"I understand that but why-"
"Not the mission. Well yes that but," he ran his hands through his hair as if he couldn't come up with the words to say. Obviously, whatever it was, was weighing on him immensely. "I mean Malfoy. Whatever he was planning, it's happening tonight.
After the duel between the two of them, Malfoy had vanished from the school grounds, leaving all the staff baffled. He simply disappeared without any indication on how he had got out. Most had assumed that he had ran to the school boundaries and disapparated.
"But how? How do you know this?"
"I just do!" he half yelled. He quickly cringed at the volume of his voice, before taking a calming breath. "Look, I know that it doesn't seem likely because he ran away, but I don't think he would've done that without finishing whatever it was that the Death Eaters told him to do. With me and Dumbledore leaving tonight, it's the perfect time for him to make his move."
With another shove, she finally took both items from him before he pulled her in close and dropped a quick kiss to her forehead.
"Whatever it is that he's got planned, we need to stop him. Get anyone you can and just make sure that you stop him alright." Hearing the conviction in his voice, any protest Hermione had left her brain, as she nodded her assent. He gave both of them another quick nod before he took off to meet up with Dumbledore, leaving Ron and Hermione in charge with what might possibly be the defense of Hogwarts.
It was official, she definitely hated waiting. Here she was, keeping guard near the One-Eyed Witch passageway, waiting for an attack that she wasn't completely sure would come. It was tedious, standing guard while both Hogwarts staff and Order members were on patrol, and having to dodge them as well due to their unsanctioned guardship. Still, the steel behind Harry's voice was enough to convince her that she would rather be right and nothing happen, than to ignore Harry's directions and be wrong.
The only other people that Ron and Hermione had managed to get in contact with were Neville, Ginny, and Luna. Despite their relatively small numbers, they split up evenly in an attempt to try and cover as much ground as possible. Ron, Ginny, and Neville were positioned outside the Room of Requirement, while herself and Luna were overlooking the secret passage to Hogsmeade.
With Luna being more content to hum to herself than to talk right now, all this down time allowed Hermione's mind to wander, and she began to worry about Harry. Intellectually, she knew that he would be alright since he was with the Headmaster, but that didn't stop her from imagining many terrible outcomes for this mission. If the Horcrux was so vital to Voldemort's strength, they wouldn't be able to retrieve it without encountering some kind of fight. On top of all that, she knew that Harry was incredibly nervous, his behavior when she last saw him was clear enough evidence, but it also seemed like he had other things weighing on his mind. She could only hope and pray that he could keep a clear mind and finish the job so he could come back to her, so she could finally tell him.
"You shouldn't worry, you know." Luna's voice made Hermione jump. She had almost forgotten that the eccentric blonde was there.
"Harry will make it out in one piece, like he always does," she paused, placing one of her hands on Hermione's shoulder, "I know it's hard to believe that, especially when it's with someone you love."
Hermione's eyes threatened to pop out of her skull. So many questions raced through her mind. How did Luna know how she felt for Harry? Didn't she have a thing for Harry? She decided to ask the second one first. Her mind flashed back to her feelings of jealousy seeing her and Harry together, but after the Quidditch match, her subsequent break-up with Ron, and Harry's duel with Malfoy, she had completely forgotten about it.
"I've always respected Harry greatly, and at one point, that respect grew into feelings for him. When he asked me to Slughorn's party, I couldn't help but be excited that he saw me the same way. We got close over Christmas and I was almost sure that he felt the same for me." Luna's face grew somber for a moment, and Hermione found the look strange on the normally flamboyant girl, and Hermione couldn't help but feel a small manner of guilt.
"But then I saw how he looked at you. A look of a man who longed for something that he could never have. At first, I thought I could help him move on from his heartbreak, but nothing seemed to work. I tried and tried, until the day he got hurt during the Quidditch match. I went to the Hospital Wing to see if he was okay, but I saw that you were already there, and when I saw the way you looked at him, I knew I never stood a chance. I left before anyone noticed that I arrived."
Luna sniffled, as she told her story, but somehow managed to maintain her composure throughout, even though it was clear that these events saddened her greatly. Hermione tried to come up with a proper response that conveyed every emotion she felt at that time, but all she could manage was, "I'm so sorry Luna."
The younger girls mouth curled up in a small but sad smile. "I'll be fine. You can't help who you fall in love with." She reached out to grab Hermione's hand reassuringly, but the brunette pulled her into a comforting hug, which Luna gladly reciprocated. After a few seconds, they both pulled back. "We never would've had what you to have. I've accepted that, and I'm determined to be happy for the two of you. Just promise me one thing," her gaze turned somewhat serious again, her gaze so intense it seemed like she was trying to peer into Hermione's soul. "Don't let him go."
Hermione nodded her head, and the two of them fell into an easy silence. For a few moments, she was simply glad that Luna was willing to open up about all of this to her. The girl who usually was so strange and far off from everybody else, had trusted her with what she assumed was a very personal and secret plight that she was going through. Despite that, she couldn't help but feel ecstatic that there was a strong chance that Harry felt the same way about her. She steeled her resolve to talk to Harry once all of this was done. Luna's last statement rang clear in her mind, and she wasn't about to ignore it.
Suddenly. Hermione heat coming from the pocket of her robes, noticing that Luna seems to be experiencing the same sensation. She quickly pulls out her DA coin and sees that the message is from Ron. Having agreed earlier to only use the coins if something had happened, she knew that there was trouble up near the Room of Requirement, and took off to find out what was going on with Luna in tow.
When the two of them made it up to the 7th floor, the heard a commotion coming from over near the Astronomy tower and saw that there appeared to be a kind if smoke coming from the direction of the Room of Requirement. Choosing to investigate that first, they ran that way, only to be met by a coughing Ron, Ginny, and Neville charging out of the smoke.
"What's happening?"
"It's Malfoy, he somehow got into the Room of Requirement. When we saw him appear he threw down what looked like Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder, so we couldn't see him."
"And that's not all", began Neville with a graveness and steel to his voice that startled everyone else. "He brought Death Eaters." Hermione gasped as the realization of what Malfoy was truly up to finally hit her.
It was a hostile take-over of Hogwarts. With Harry and Dumbledore away, Voldemort's two biggest threats were nowhere near to stop his forces from causing as much destruction as possible. Without any further hesitation, Hermione ushered the group forward, and the 5 of them headed towards the sounds of a fight coming from somewhere near the Astronomy Tower.
Hermione checked her watch as they ran towards the fighting. Realizing that it hey still had only 10 minutes before the Felix Felicis wore off, they pressed forward, hoping to stave off whatever threat the Death Eaters provided before the effect of the potion wore off.
Once they reached the corridor that led to the Astronomy Tower, they were met by the sight of multiple battles going on at the same time. Bill and Fleur were battling a group of Death Eaters closest to them, While Kingsley, McGonagall and several other Professors and Order members were engaged in other pockets of battle through the hallway. What startled Hermione the most was the presence of the two that Remus and Tonks were dueling about halfway up the corridor, Greyback and Bellatrix.
Seeing the witch who tortured his parents, Neville charged into the skirmish and started casting spells at the nearest Death Eater. Hermione and the others followed suit, casting every spell in their arsenal trying to stay alive.
Cursed of sickening green and searing red flew back and forth across the corridor as neither side seemed able to gain the upper hand of the other. Though the defenders managed to incapacitate many Death Eaters, there were still many more where those came from, and if left unguarded many were revived by their comrades and reentered the fight.
Hermione was once again thankful for Harry giving them his Liquid Luck, she began to lose count of how many times a spell had just missed either her or any of the other students. Looking to her left, she saw Ginny and Luna teaming up to take on a large Death Eater, while Ron had elected to help Bill and Fleur with their combatants. Neville on the other hand handled himself very well, managing to take down several Death Eaters as he made his way towards Bellatrix.
During the battle, Hermione ended up near the middle of the corridor as she began dueling what seemed like the 9th Death Eater she'd dueled in as many minutes. As she sent stunners and bludgeoning hexes towards her opponent, she caught tidbits of conversation from further down the hall.
"It's time. The old man's been spotted at the top of the tower. Send the Malfoy boy up so he can finish the job."
Hermione felled her opponent with a skill and determination that she didn't know she had as her mind raced trying to analyze the man's words. She turned her head and saw the unmistakable form of Draco Malfoy heading up the tower as Bellatrix erected a ward at the entrance If Dumbledore was back and was at the top of the Astronomy Tower, that could only mean one thing. 'Harry!' she cried internally as she forgot all else and turned to head up the tower.
Her carelessness nearly cost her as a spell nearly hit Hermione in the head, but she managed to dodge at the last minute. She instantly regretted taking the potion as soon as the 5 of them went to their stations, because though they still luckily missed her, she could tell that they were getting closer to hitting their mark.
Looking in the direction the spell came from, she was face to face with the menacing figure of Fenrir Greyback. Leveling her wand towards him to attack, she was no match for his superior speed as he pinned her to the wall by her wand arm and her throat. It appeared that her luck had run out.
"A fighter, eh? I might actually get to enjoy this." The frightening grin on his face terrified Hermione, Whatever the werewolf planned to do with her, she knew that it would spell the end for her.
A flash of light and the grip on her wrist and throat vanished as Greyback was apparently knocked back a few feet by some spell. As Greyback turned towards his attacker, she was pulled away by Fleur and Ron, turning to see Bill continuing to send spell after spell towards Greyback.
An enraged snarl escaped his lips as he made straight for Bill, deflecting all the incoming spells as he ran. Once near enough, Greyback leapt onto Bill and pinned him to the ground. With a fiery anger in his eyes Greyback slashed Bill in the face with his claw-like nails before raising his other arm to continue the onslaught. Before he could, he was hit by another volley of spells, this time from Fleur, Hermione, and Ron. The combined stunners were enough to send Greyback flying towards the stairs that led up to the Astronomy Tower.
With her focus back on the entrance of the tower, she saw Bellatrix revive Greyback before her and several Death Eaters ran up the stairs. Kingsley, Flitwick, and McGonagall made to follow but were thrown back when they attempted to cross the threshold. The three managed to right themselves as they tried to dispel whatever ward was keeping them from continuing upward. As they worked, she saw Professor Snape pass through the ward with no difficulty as he headed up after the Death Eaters.
She would have regarded the situation further but the fighting was still going on and she forced back into a duel with more Death Eaters. Her mind went blank as reflex took over she dueled more Death Eaters for some minutes, until a commotion from the stairwell caught everyone's attention.
She turned in time to see Snape forcibly directing Malfoy down the corridor, casting spells left and right to clear a path for them, as the other Death Eaters who were in the tower with them came bustling behind them, cackling and whooping for joy as they went. Immediately assuming the worst, Hermione ignored the retreating threat and ran towards the tower, intent on seeing if Harry was okay. Her search was for not, as Harry came sprinting down the stairs, ignoring the small pockets of fighting that were still going on and took off after Snape and Malfoy.
The last of the Death Eaters still fighting were all stunned and bound as Hermione took off after Harry, with several other people right behind her. They ran all the way down until they exited the castle and were met by the sight of Hagrid's Hut up in flames. Hermione screamed in horror at the sight but a gasp to her right stole her attention away. Her head swiveled around to see a large group congregating near the bottom of the astronomy tower.
Pushing through all the bodies blocking her path, she eventually made it to the site of the disturbance, a pained gasped escaping her throat at what she saw.
Harry was kneeling on the ground, looking more broken than she had ever seen him, next to the limp body of one Albus Dumbledore.
Sat together during Dumbledore's funeral, Harry and Hermione watched with mixed emotions as it seemed that the entirety of magical Britain had turned up to send the former Headmaster off. Harry scoffed as he saw less than sincere faces of Cornelius Fudge and Dolores Umbridge among others that he was sure were only there for the publicity and not for a genuine reason.
He felt Hermione shudder against him and his mind rifted to the events of the last few days. He remembered kneeling on the ground, watching the lifeless form of Dumbledore before Hermione managed to get him up and to the infirmary. From there he told them all about Snape's betrayal, Malfoy's plan, and heard how Bill was attacked for saving Hermione. Realizing that he almost lost her, he kept her close for the next few days, despite knowing what he had to do. She was in danger being anywhere near him.
Once the ceremony was over, the two of them, accompanied by Ron, went by the lake and discussed their plans for finding the rest of Voldemort's Horcruxes. He initially tried to convince them that it was too dangerous, but Hermione vehemently shot down the suggestion, causing Harry's heart to glow with affection and plummet at the same time. Eventually, Ron excused himself to go be with his family, leaving just Harry and Hermione alone once again.
"Harry, I have something important to tell you."
Harry's heart stopped at her words. Somehow, he knew what she was going to say. For weeks now, he had noticed the shift in his relationship, and contrary to popular opinion, he wasn't clueless. He had figured out Hermione's feelings a little over a week ago, but now was the worst time for her to try and bring it up, now that he had to push her away.
"You're my best friend Harry. You always have, and I know you always will, and for a while that was all you were and all I need," she paused and reached for his hand, her words stunning him and making him temporarily forget his resolve, "But for a while now I've felt-"
"No."
He cringed as he saw her eyes widen, her words halting immediately by his surprising rebuttal. He wanted nothing more than to confront her, but he had to be strong.
"I can't do this Hermione," his hands curled into fists, his felt like poison in his mouth. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Luna, you're better off with someone else."
"When did you say this to Luna?" she tried to mask the hurt in her voice but was unsuccessful.
"The night I got the Memory from Slughorn. I met her on my way to Hagrid's and she said that she started feelings things too. After I told her, she looked heartbroken but I had to do it."
Hermione knew what he was trying to do. He could be so noble, so self-sacrificing sometime that it honestly aggravated her. Luna's words flashed through her mind, she wasn't letting him go without a fight.
"Well, I talked with Luna too, before the battle. Do you know wat she told me?" it was impossible to discern what Harry was thinking from his facial expression. He was adamant to not give anything away. "She told me that yes she did care for you, and she felt that you could learn to care for her too. But it would be nothing, compared to how we feel." She reached forward and grabbed Harry's hand. He appeared to relax for a moment before snapping his hand away.
"We can't do this Hermione, it's too dangerous." He tried to walk away but she grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to look at her.
"Look me in the eyes Harry, and be honest with me. Do you love me?"
Harry's eyes widened. His mind raced as he processed her question. True he had assumed that he might love her for a while, but looking at her now, he knew without a shadow of a doubt what the answer was. But he couldn't do it.
"No."
AN: I think this is the longest chapter I've written yet. I debated for a while whether or not to have the final part as a part of this chapter or the next one but eventually decided that it needed to go here. I'm sorry about the cliffhanger, but it will be resolved quickly in the next chapter. Chapter 10 will include both a time jump and a little epilogue, so it is in fact the closing chapter of this story.
I also want to address one or two things quick. Firstly, with how many writers try to portray Luna as being this really insightful character, I feel many forget that she is a teenage girl, so I attempted to display that, while also keeping her somewhat odd and insightful. Also in case you didn't figure it out, Harry's conversation with Luna took place while he was using the Liquid Luck, which is why she easily got over Harry's rejection, like how the potion helped ease Ron and Hermione's break up. If you have a problem with this remember, in canon, the potion is a factor to the Ron/Lavender and Ginny/Dean break ups.
I included the bit with Bill for 2 reasons. 1 is simply for something in the epilogue and also because I wanted to put more weight behind his injury than there is in the books.
See you guys in the final chapter!