A/N: WARNING! This chapter contains character deaths, so if that is not something you wish to read, I strongly suggest you skip this chapter.

All in all, the chapter is rather gloomy, and like my beta said; It's always darkest before the dawn.

...That being said, I still hope you're continuing to read and follow (and review) this fic. You guys are really spurring me on! So, without further ado...um...I really can't say "happy reading", or "enjoy", but...you know what I mean :)

Oh! And let me know your thoughts about this story so far.

Chapter 39: Retribution

November 18th 1978 (Saturday)

"What the hell are you doing in here?" Sirius hissed with annoyance as he slipped through the doors that led to the Hospital wing of Hogwarts.

Regulus eyed his brother with a bored look on his face. "Hello, brother. What do you think I'm doing here?" Regulus drawled quietly. "Should I ask you the same thing?"

Sirius clenched his jaw and approached his brother.

Regulus was sitting in an armchair next to Hermione's bed, and the girl in question was still unconscious. It was late Saturday evening, three days after she had been brought there. He had stayed with her the past two nights, slipping into the infirmary as soon as Madam Pomfrey had turned off the lights and retreated to her office, and leaving early in the morning before the matron had woken up.

Regulus knew Sirius and his friends had been visiting Hermione as well, but this was the first time anyone had come to see her this late.

"You've got some bloody nerve," Sirius said bitingly as he came to stand at the foot of the bed, crossing his arms defensively.

Regulus arched a brow at him. "What is that supposed to mean?" He asked quietly. He had an inkling of what he was referring to, but he wanted to hear him say the words.

Sirius scoffed. "You know what I mean. She's not some bloody toy you can play with whenever you please."

So…He knew, Regulus thought. "I gather she's told you then." Regulus said plainly, staring at his brother with a blank look. In truth, he was far from calm and collected. Not when she was lying unconscious, her body filled with cuts and bruises, and her life on the line.

"Not exactly."

Regulus eyed Sirius curiously. "So, you went sniffing through her things?" He asked grimly and gave him a pointed look.

Sirius blanched. "What do you mean?"

Could he be any more obvious? Regulus thought and rolled his eyes. "You can't be that daft to think I didn't know about you. Of what you are." Regulus said with an exasperated tone. His brother wasn't exactly subtle when it came to keeping things to himself. Sirius had always been like that, and Regulus had always found out his secrets, sooner or later. It was something Regulus had always envied in his brother. The way Sirius was so open, so carefree, and nothing like their family.

Sirius stared at Regulus in shock for a couple of seconds before he gave a dry laugh. "Of course you knew…Still. I didn't do it on purpose..." He said and gave his brother a meaningful look.

"You're obviously bursting to tell me something. So…out with it," Regulus said with an arched brow.

"What? You'll read my mind if I won't?" Sirius asked harshly.

Regulus flinched. Fuck.

"That's what I thought. You read her mind, without her consent, might I add, and somehow you managed to slither so close to her heart that she now has a hard time shaking you off…" Sirius said with a low voice as he stared at Regulus with an accusing look in his eyes.

"What?" Sirius asked expectantly. "Nothing to say to me?"

Regulus bit back the words that threatened to come out. He wanted to tell him everything, but he couldn't. He couldn't even start to describe his feelings for Hermione, because Sirius wouldn't understand. He wouldn't understand how much Regulus needed Hermione, how he wanted nothing more than to be next to her, to breathe in her scent, to hold her in his arms. How he could only take what was given, and give so little in return and nothing more, and it wasn't enough. It was never enough.

And on the other hand, it was too much. It was too much because they were who they were. They were light and darkness. Even if Sirius understood him, he wouldn't accept it. Perhaps his brother already even knew how Regulus thought and was now only messing with his head. How his brother managed to annoy him into insufferable levels, was beyond him.

Regulus gritted his teeth. "You're an arse." He said half-heartedly.

"Aww. Love you too, Reggie." Sirius said tightly, but Regulus could see his lips quirking upwards.

Soon Sirius was grinning at him, and Regulus couldn't supress his smile, even though he tried. Very hard. He shook his head in amusement while Sirius chuckled.

His smirking face started to annoy Regulus. "Care to discuss your little stunt last Saturday?" Regulus asked pointedly.

Sirius's face fell. "Fuck off." He growled.

Regulus sighed. "You do realise you've made your bed? She won't stop until you're dead. She's stronger than you. And she will kill you." He said quietly. Even though Regulus hadn't been at the raid, since everyone assumed that he had been at school, he still knew his cousin. Bellatrix wouldn't let the murder of her husband go without retaliating. And the knowledge made Regulus's skin crawl with dread.

Sirius shrugged.

Regulus scoffed. "Of course. You don't care."

"Says the brother who cares too much?" Sirius asked dryly.

Regulus gave him an amused look. "Well. I never said that. I am a Slytherin."

Sirius rolled his eyes. He studied Regulus's features silently. "…You gonna tell me what happened to you?" He asked, and Regulus could see a hint of worry in his brother's eyes. He was evidently observing the faint cuts and bruises on his face, his neck and hands, incidentally matching the ones on Hermione's skin.

On Wednesday evening, when Regulus had been getting ready for bed, he had suddenly felt pain. To call that unbearable pain would have been an understatement. Several blows, as if a Hippogriff had been trampling on him, like he had been pelted with stones, like he had fallen from the Astronomy tower, his body crushing onto the ground. A pain he had never in his life experienced, and that was saying much, since he had suffered pain before. He had taken the mark, and he had drunk the potion of torture, after all.

But this pain had been so fierce, that he had eventually lost consciousness. He had woken up to his own screams, and writhed in agony on the floor of his empty dorm room for several moments before the pain had ebbed enough for him to summon Kreacher. Still, even with the help of the Elf and several potions and healing magic Kreacher was able to perform, Regulus had shuddered and moaned in pain throughout the night. Kreacher had quickly moved Regulus into the Room of Requirement, where the Elf had stayed obediently by its master's side until it was morning and the pain had almost subsided. What had been the most terrifying, was the fact that in the midst of his suffering, Regulus knew something horrible had happened to Hermione. Something far worse than anything that had happened before.

"Nothing." Regulus said blankly.

Sirius stared at him in bewilderment. "You're lying. Who hurt you?"

"No one." Regulus said with an annoyed look.

Sirius sighed wearily and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Whatever." He muttered and went to sit down in an armchair on the other side of the bed.

Her lips felt dry, her mouth like cotton. There was a buzzing in her head and an ache in her ribs. Hermione felt like rubbish. Like she had fallen down all the stairs in the Hogwarts staircases, which was a lot of stairs, actually, and like she had been carelessly patched up afterwards. Groaning, she blinked. She immediately knew she was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. It was dark, and the curtains around her bed were closed. What had happened? She struggled to think where she had been before ending up in Hogwarts, but she couldn't quite see it through her hazy mind.

Slowly, she studied her surroundings, and found a familiar form sitting in a chair next to her bed. Sirius was leaning against the edge of her bed, his head resting over his crossed arms, his shaggy black hair sprawled over his arms and his back. He looked so peaceful, his perfect features relaxed, his lips pouting as he breathed through his mouth. Hermione lifted her arm an inch or so, and when she felt no pain, she slowly brought it towards Sirius's face. She followed the sharp angles of his jaw with her fingertips, her touch so light that he probably didn't even feel it. A small sound of rustling caught her attention.

She glanced at the direction of the sound, and saw Regulus. He sat straight in his chair, on the other side of her bed, his eyes open, scrutinising her. It was obvious he had been watching her ministrations carefully. He lowered his eyes and swallowed deeply when she brought her hand back to rest on her lap. Hermione's eyes wandered over his body. There was something off with him. His face. His neck. His hands. They were covered with bruises and cuts. He was hurt. And she knew why. It was because of the bracelet. Because of her. Her eyes started to water and her lip tremble as she took in his appearance.

"Don't." He whispered pleadingly, his eyes fixated on hers, a desperate look in them.

She took a shuddering breath. Her throat constricted. The tears began seeping down her cheeks.

"Don't." He repeated silently, gritting his teeth, his face slightly twisting with pain.

Hermione swallowed. Her throat hurt. "Water," she breathed, wiping her cheeks with her hand.

Regulus quickly conjured a goblet with cold water and stood up to help her drink it.

After drinking, she leaned back into her pillows, closing her eyes. She felt Regulus take her hand in his, brushing his thumb against her knuckles.

"What happened?" She whispered, her eyes still closed. Hermione could feel Sirius stir next to her.

"Hermione?" Sirius mumbled sleepily.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Sirius." She breathed.

Relief flooded onto Sirius's face. "Hermione." He said as he stood up and enveloped her into a soft embrace. When she felt him tremble against her, Hermione looped her hands over his neck, soothing his hair.

"Thank fuck." Sirius grunted against the crook of her neck.

Hermione let out a laugh that came out as a cough.

Sirius pulled away and gave her a worried look. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything? Pain relieving potion?" He asked and sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes moving over her face.

Pain…The events in the cave started to flood into her mind. There was pain. Lots of it. There was an explosion…The locket! The locket had been destroyed. But there was something else as well.

Hermione shook her head slightly to Sirius, avoiding rapid movements. Her head still hurt but she didn't want to take the potions, not yet. She wanted her mind to be clear as she discovered what had happened in the cave.

"What happened?" She repeated quietly.

Sirius swallowed nervously. Hermione glanced at Regulus who stared down stonily.

"The, um…the place where you were found was in ruins. You were all buried under stone…" Sirius said gravely, clearly not wanting to think of it. Had he been there?

Hermione stared at him in shock. Merlin…The roof had collapsed and they had been buried under the stone, not able to get help. They could've died in there... "How did you find us? Who found us?" She asked anxiously.

"Prewett. Gideon. He was able to send a messenger Patronus to Moony. Asked to gather our group and come in Letterfearn. We found you early on Thursday morning and brought you here," Sirius explained, glancing at his brother with a wary look.

Hermione too glanced at Regulus. He stared back into her eyes, looking desolate, making her feel even more baffled than she already felt.

"Thursday…" Hermione mumbled. "What day is it?" She asked with confusion edged on her face.

Sirius frowned. "Sunday. Sunday morning…"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. She had been unconscious for three days? "Godric…" She whispered. Then Hermione remembered something. "My work. Viridian," She exclaimed suddenly, after realising she had missed two days of work without notice.

"Moony took care of it." Sirius said reassuringly, smiling slightly at the alarm in her voice. His smile dropped quickly and he became solemn.

"Oh. Are the others okay?" She asked with mild concern.

Sirius's expression became grief-stricken.

"W-What? Sirius?" She demanded in confusion, staring blankly at the raven-haired man who always had a witty answer up in his sleeve. Now he looked nauseated. Miserable. Her heart thrummed in her chest. She knew what that look meant. She knew it very well.

"No," She gasped, tears blurring her vision again. No. This wasn't supposed to happen. "Who?" She asked, her voice barely audible. She could feel the tears tickling her cheeks.

Sirius swallowed. "McGonagall."

Hermione let out a loud sob, gasping for breath. No…No, no, no…It wasn't supposed to happen. She was supposed to live…It was her fault. All her fault. "No," she whimpered, staring at Sirius helplessly, hoping he was lying to her. That it wasn't true.

"Fuck." Sirius growled helplessly as Hermione's sobs grew louder and she covered her tear-stained face with her hands.

The lights in Madam Pomfrey's office turned on. Sirius and Regulus shared an obscure look and then the curtains were yanked open.

"What is the meaning of this?" Madam Pomfrey asked with a shrill voice, staring at Sirius and Regulus with a stern expression. Then her focus turned to the teary-faced Hermione, and the look on her face softened.

"Oh, dear." Madam Pomfrey whispered.

The matron dashed forwards to check on Hermione and brushed both men away. Sirius and Regulus moved to stand at the foot of Hermione's bed, both watching with strained expressions as the girl broke down, her face twisted in anguish, while the older woman soothed her and pulled her into a warm hug. Hermione wept against the older witch for quite some time, until no more tears came, and her wails of grieve had ebbed into silent sobs.

Madam Pomfrey broke off eventually and eyed Hermione with a mournful look. "May I check your health, dear?" She asked with a trembling voice.

Hermione nodded and pressed her lips together and waited silently as the matron performed diagnostic spells over her body.

Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat after she was ready. "Regulus." She spoke with a thick voice. "Please go to your Head of House and kindly ask him to bring the Headmaster here. Then go to your own quarters for the rest of the night."

"No."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his brother. Madam Pomfrey turned to look at the younger Black in slight annoyance.

"I won't leave her." Regulus said quietly. The matron sighed, clearly overwhelmed by the situation, by the lack of sleep, and by the intruders in her ward.

"Fine." She said tightly. "Get Horace and then come back here."

Regulus stepped closer to Hermione, on the other side of the bed where the matron was situated. He lifted his hand and slowly caressed her cheek, wiping away the tears on Hermione's cheeks. "I'll be right back, love," He whispered.

Hermione gave him a small nod, the pain she was feeling reflecting from his eyes as he gazed at her. Then he nodded to the matron and left the Hospital wing.

"How are you feeling dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked with a pitiful look as she pulled a couple of vials from Hermione's bedside table drawer. "Do your injuries cause you any pain?"

Hermione licked her lips, not really sure how to answer. She felt horrible. She felt guilty. The grief was taking over her mind and body, and she didn't know how to answer to the matron. But she knew Madam Pomfrey was also inquiring about her physical injuries.

"My head hurts a bit. Nothing else besides that." She managed to say, her inside wrenching with despair. The truth was, she felt like something was sitting on her chest. Like someone twisted her heart. Like she couldn't breathe.

Madam Pomfrey seemed to understand her and eventually nodded and beckoned for her to sit up so that she could examine the back of her head. Sirius came to stand on the other side of Hermione's bed and took her hand gently in his, soothing her skin with his thumb.

"Your wounds are almost all healed. You are very lucky to be alive, Hermione." The matron said quietly, her voice cracking as a couple of tears trickled down from the corners of her eyes.

Hermione pressed her lips together and tried to swallow the lump from her throat. "And the others?" She asked with a teary voice. "Gideon and Fabian? Dumbledore?" She couldn't say her name.

Madam Pomfrey let out a shuddering breath. She cleared her throat. "Um…The H-Headmaster is perfectly well, as is Gideon. The other Mr. Prewett is currently in St Mungo's. His injuries were more severe than yours, so it was necessary to place him there." She said quickly.

Hermione's eyes started to tear up again, and she grit her teeth together in order to suppress a sob that was threatening to burst out. She couldn't believe it. She didn't want to believe it. McGonagall, her favourite teacher. The woman who had originally introduced the wizarding world to her, was gone. She was dead, and she was not coming back. Hermione would never see her again.

Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat again. "I'll be in my office. You seem to be healing quite nicely, but if you experience any pain, take the vial of pain potion I've left you on the nightstand. If the pain continues after you have taken the potion, or if you experience anything unusual, please summon me," She said with a strained voice, a sorrowful look in her eyes. Hermione knew the loss of McGonagall had affected her greatly as well.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Hermione said quietly.

Madam Pomfrey nodded. "The Headmaster will be here shortly." She said and after a final sorrowful look at Hermione, she turned and walked towards her office.

Hermione started to shake as the sadness took over again, overwhelming, overbearing, suffocating. Sirius pulled her against him, and she wept silently against the warmth of his chest as she mourned her former Head of House.

December 17th 1978 (Sunday)

The month had gone quickly. Fabian was released from St Mungo's a week after the incident, and Hermione had been able to return home soon after the weekend, and go back to her daily life. But nothing was normal. McGonagall's death had shaken her so greatly, that she wasn't really able to handle the grief. The woman had been an important person to her for her entire life in the wizarding world, and now she was gone. What made it even more terrible was that she wasn't supposed to die like this. Where Hermione had come from, McGonagall had been alive and well. In her past, McGonagall hadn't even joined the first Order of the Phoenix, and she definitely hadn't had anything to do with a Horcrux hunt. Would she have lived if things had gone like Hermione knew they had? Most likely. That was something she just couldn't deal with.

So, she had tried to distract herself by throwing herself into work. Hermione had asked Viridian to give her as many assignments as he could. Viridian himself had been quite upset by the news, and Hermione knew it was because he had been a close friend of McGonagall's.

The funeral had been small, but beautiful. Many had spoken about the former Head of Gryffindor wistfully, affectionately and kindly. Some had reminisced her earlier years, some her later. Hermione tried not to dwell on guilt. She knew McGonagall wouldn't have wanted it. But Hermione still felt somewhat responsible. If she hadn't come to this time, this universe, then McGonagall would've most likely lived longer. She wouldn't have tangled herself into any Horcrux business and suffered the fate she now had.

Hermione was entering her home after working the Sunday morning in the empty office. After closing the door behind her and letting out a deep sigh, she was startled to see so many of her friends there. "What's going on?" She asked from the hallway as she toed off her shoes and shrugged away her coat.

Remus came to linger in the hallway. Everyone else was either eating or in the middle of a conversation, simultaneously eyeing Hermione and Remus.

"Order meeting at Hog's Head in a couple of hours," Remus said grimly.

"Oh?" She asked, a hint of dread in her voice. Something must've been going on if they were meeting in such a short notice.

Remus shrugged. "We don't know. Probably a raid."

Hermione let out a frustrated sigh and walked further to the kitchen. Lily enveloped her into a warm hug. "Mione."

"Hey, Lils."

Lily broke off their embrace and kept Hermione at arm's length. "Are you eating? I swear you've lost a ton of weight!" Lily said with a scolding voice, ushering Hermione to sit at the table and pushing a plate of roast chicken and potatoes in front of her.

"Thanks," Hermione said quietly and started to eat and listen to the others.

The boys were in the sitting room, talking about the possible places the Death Eaters might be attacking, as well as different kinds of wards they would have to place over their homes, just in case. Mary and Alice were bickering about something on the other side of the table, while Lily was silent and eyed Hermione with a worried expression.

"What?" Hermione asked eventually, becoming slowly uncomfortable under the redhead's stare.

Lily sighed. "You're not taking care of yourself. You're not eating. Sleeping. You're always at work." She said tensely.

Hermione sighed inwardly. She knew Lily didn't mean to annoy her. She was worried, Hermione understood that. But she still was a bit affronted by Lily's words. "You shouldn't worry about me, Lils. I'm fine," Hermione grumbled, taking a sip of water from her goblet.

Lily narrowed her eyes. "You're not fine."

Hermione's nostrils flared. "Well, what if I'm not fine? How is any of you fine?" She snapped, her voice rising a bit as she glanced at the others. The boys stopped talking, as did Mary and Alice. Everyone sent awkward glances at her direction.

"Hermione…" Mary muttered.

"No, perhaps I'm not okay. She wasn't supposed to die. Allie's parents weren't supposed to die. Marley wasn't supposed to die!" Hermione said angrily, a couple of tears escaping from the corners of her eyes. She was supposed to prevent it. She was supposed to save people.

Hermione glanced at Alice, who stared at the table stonily, breathing deeply. Mary took her friend's hand and squeezed it, looking mournful. Hermione sighed. She hadn't meant to cause Alice more sadness and pain than she was already feeling.

"I'm sorry." Hermione whispered, staring at the girls with remorse. "I…I need a minute." She breathed and stood up, quickly escaping to her room upstairs.

The knock on her door wasn't unexpected. She knew one of her friends would come to check up on her. Or urge her to come downstairs so that they could leave to Hogsmeade.

"Hey."

It was James, surprisingly. "James…I'll be ready in a minute, okay?" She said and gave him a tight smile. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, her fingers brushing the 'Hogwarts, A History' on her lap. It was the first book she had ever bought at Diagon Alley, when she had visited the place for the first time, with McGonagall accompanying her.

James sighed and came to sit next to her. "You know you can talk to us, right?"

"Sure." She said faintly.

"We all miss them. We all know it wasn't supposed to be like this. But we can't stop trying to make things right. To make this a better place, for ourselves, for our children, and theirs." James said wisely.

Hermione gave him a muted nod.

"I know, and the others know, that you're keeping something from us. Something big. And that's okay. You can talk to us whenever you're ready. We'll be here for you, Mione. We'll always be here for you." James said and stared at her with such a kind and sincere look.

He looked so much like Harry, just then. She now understood where Harry got his compassion, and his loyalty. It was heart-breaking. It made her remember all over again how she had lost her friend for good. That she couldn't return to him and tell him how wonderful his parents were. How much they were like him.

Hermione pressed her lips tightly together and blinked away tears. She nodded to James, and he pulled her into a warm hug. As he soothed her back, Hermione closed her eyes and for a small moment, she let herself think that it was Harry who was holding her, comforting her and telling her that everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you for coming in such a short notice," Dumbledore spoke from the middle of the room. He was standing in front of the bar, facing the numerous tables where the Order members were scattered.

"It has come to my knowledge that Voldemort and his Death Eaters are planning another raid. Next Friday." Dumbledore said grimly.

There were murmurs and groans of displeasure.

"I understand what you all must be thinking after the last raid. Even if we didn't suffer any losses in the previous raid," Dumbledore said, pausing for a short moment, and Hermione knew whom was he thinking of. "Several muggles did." Some of the members spoke to each other in hushed tones, evidently about the previous raid.

The giants had destroyed a large part of Manchester, which was later explained as a gas explosion by the Muggle authorities. There had been several casualties, and many of the Order members had been injured.

"It is rumoured that Voldemort and his followers have selected certain members of the Order to be punished because of what they did during the last raid and they intend to capture them in the next raid. Meanwhile, part of Voldemort's followers will try to cause mayhem yet in another city," Dumbledore continued, and the muttering subsided.

Hermione saw many eyes move towards Sirius, who tensed slightly next to her. She also took a look at Alastor Moody, who had killed Greyback. She took Sirius's hand and laced their fingers under the table, squeezing his hand in a calming manner.

So…this was it. Voldemort himself was now participating in hunting down the two wizards who were responsible for killing his trusted followers. Hermione's grip on Sirius's hand tightened. She glanced at the man as Dumbledore continued about the muggle city in which the raid was planned to happen.

Sirius studied her from the corner of his eye, a sad look in his grey eyes. She had to do something. She couldn't handle it if she would lose him as well.

"How do we know this is valid information?" Alastor Moody suddenly barked from one of the seats.

Snape stood up from his seat and walked to the front. "Because the Dark Lord told me himself."

"And how can we be sure you're speaking the truth? Last time we were quite short-handed, and could've used the information where the primary blow was going to happen." Sirius said, his voice laced with mistrust.

Snape sneered at him. "I am speaking the truth. You didn't think your little performance would go unnoticed, Black?" He asked bitingly.

Sirius seethed.

"Gentlemen. We're here to discuss how to prevent the attacks, so if I may continue…" Dumbledore said sternly, and both Sirius and Snape eventually nodded.

"Fucking Snivellus." Sirius growled under his breath. "One of these days I'm going to beat the shit out of him."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "You should be grateful to him. With his information, we are able to protect you!" She hissed silently, as the conversation continued in front of the bar.

Sirius shrugged indifferently. "Whatever. I don't need protection."

Lily, who was situated on Hermione's other side, watched the raven-haired Marauder with a troubled look in her eyes.

December 22th 1978 (Friday)

*BOOM!*

A sound of an explosion roared through the air, and Hermione could hear several yells and screams erupting from where they were heading.

It was the night of the raid, and the Death Eaters had attacked a rock concert in a stadium in London. It was a chaos. Spells were zooming around them, people were running in panic, screaming as they went. It was difficult to focus on finding their opponents in the midst of thousands of civilians who had been attending to the concert. Some of the Death Eaters were on the pitch, in the middle of the stadium, attacking muggles and duelling with members of the Order, and some of them were situated up on the stands.

Moody barked orders before he engaged into duel with two hooded and masked opponents. "Black, Potter, and the rest of you! Take care of them!" He yelled, pointing up at the stadium stands, from where they could hear explosions and more panic-mixed screams.

James nodded. James, Sirius and their friends advanced the construction, dodging spells and curses as they moved forward.

As they reached the stairs that lead up to the stands, Hermione could see that half of the rows had been blasted off. She dodged a red light and there was a loud detonation right behind them.

Hermione blinked. Her ears buzzed. She had thrown herself under a row of chairs, as had the others. She stood up slightly, crouching as she tried to find her friends.

"Lily!" She screamed, trying to get the attention of her friend who was taking cover in a row below her. Lily looked around her and found Hermione, and scrambled quickly up towards her. Another set of spells was fired straight to where Lily had just been.

The rows started to empty from the muggles, as everyone ran towards the grounds for safety. Hermione could hear the muggle authorities arriving on the scene, shouting orders through a megaphone. They were running out of time. They had to disperse and disarm the Death Eaters before the Muggles would open fire.

"There!" Hermione yelled, pointing at ten rows upwards, where several Death Eaters were situated, firing curses towards the mass of people.

Together the girls started to ascend the stairs, the other one shielding them while the other shot spells rapidly. James, Mary and Remus advanced the group from the side, and Hermione could see that Sirius, Alice, Frank and Peter approached them from the other side.

The Death Eaters spread out and they started duelling on the stands, teetering on the chairs and avoiding the holes and rumble on their feet.

Time seemed to go slower, and right before Hermione faced her masked opponent, she briefly wondered whether Regulus was amongst them. She really hoped that he wasn't. Hermione fired spell after spell, dodged and deflected curses, her body whirling around as she duelled with the Death Eater.

"Stupefy!" Hermione finally yelled, the spell landing straight on the man's chest, and her opponent fell down the stairs, unconscious.

She had only a second to glance around before another Death Eater took the vacant place and started to throw curses at her direction.

"Sectumsempra!" Someone yelled, followed by a suffering scream.

Hermione dodged a curse from her opponent and turned around to look. She saw Mary slouched on the ground, her arm bleeding furiously. The Death Eater she had been duelling was approaching her, and slowly lifting his wand. No. No, no, no…

"NO!" Hermione screamed in panic. "Diffindo!" She yelled, sending a severing charm on the Death Eater, cutting his hand off. The man moaned in surprise and pain while Hermione dodged another curse from her opponent who was now shouting something in rage.

"Moony! Take Mary and disapparate!" James yelled from somewhere.

Hermione continued fighting with the Death Eater and heard a crack, which she hoped was a sign of Remus taking Mary to safety. "Flipendo!" Hermione yelped, hitting her adversary on his leg, and with a growl, he flew against a row of chairs, collapsing with a heavy thud, several seats collapsing over him. "You fucking bitch!" He yelled and tried to scramble on his feet.

Hermione had another chance to glance at the people around her. James was duelling with two Death Eaters, as was Sirius. Lily was facing a tall, vicious looking man, whose mask had fallen off. Lily's fiery red hair was whirling in the air as she ducked and steered clear from her adversary. Her lip was bleeding and her left arm was hanging in an awkward way, but she still fought fiercely. Alice, Frank and Peter were too facing one Death Eater each.

*BOOM!*

Another earth-shaking blast erupted from the pitch, followed by many screams and yells. And then every Death Eater disapparated from the stands.

"What the fuck?" Sirius asked, panting as he wiped sweat from his brow. They gathered closer to each other.

James frowned and eyed around them. "They've gone on the pitch. Let's go. Everyone okay?" He asked, eyeing everyone in turn. Everyone nodded, and James's eyes lingered on Lily's arm.

"Let me fix that, love."

Lily scoffed. "I can handle it, Potter," She said tightly and flicked her wand on her arm, healing it back to normal. James smirked at her.

"Shall we?" Sirius asked and everyone nodded grimly.

As they apparated on the pitch in the middle of the stadium, hell broke loose. Two giants emerged from somewhere, wreaking havoc, and the muggle authorities started shooting gunfire at them. Several duels were taking place throughout the grounds, and people were screaming all around them in fear, in pain, in agony.

"Fuck," James breathed before he marched towards a group of Death Eaters Moody was facing alone.

Lily squeezed Hermione's hand and followed her boyfriend to fight. Hermione, Sirius, Alice, Frank and Peter were left behind, but were soon occupied as several Death Eaters apparated around them, surrounding them.

And the duels started again.

Spells flew, shield charms were drawn, and people were shouting. Dodging curses was impossible, since their opponents were pushing the Order members tightly against each other. Drawing shield charms was slowing their ability to cast offensive spells.

"Frank!" Alice screamed. Hermione saw Frank collapse at their feet, but before she could assess his injuries, Alice took him by the arm and disapparated.

Now there were only three of them. The ten or so Death Eaters were all waiting for something, their wands at the ready.

"Oi, Pettigrew!" One of them yelled through the chaos that was happening around them.

Peter winced and turned to look at the man who spoke to him.

"If you're looking for your little boyfriend, you can find him somewhere on the pitch. Last time I saw him, he decided to stop breathing as I broke his neck." The man snarled.

Peter choked back a sob.

"Pete, stop listening to them. They're fucking with our heads." Sirius growled to Peter, who was standing by his side. Hermione's back was against the boys and she could feel Peter shaking like a leaf. What if they weren't lying?

"Oh, are we?" A silky, sickly sweet voice spoke, as the speaker walked towards the ring of Death Eaters. Bellatrix.

Hermione glanced over the grass field and saw several duels taking place on the pitch, but she could see there were many Death Eaters less than there had been before, when they had first arrived. Where was Dumbledore?

"You must be wondering where your precious little leader is," Bellatrix cooed and stepped into the ring, facing her cousin.

Sirius snarled at her. "Probably beating the shit out of yours," he spat.

Bellatrix cackled gleefully. "Oh, cousin…You always were the naïve one…You didn't think this was the only place we were attacking, did you?"

Dread seeped through Hermione. Where else?

"You see, we know someone's leaking information to you. It's just a matter of time when the Dark Lord finds out who it is," She jeered. "So, we decided to organise another small revel for your nuisance and, well…for our amusement."

Hermione felt suddenly cold. Where were they attacking? How many were there? She could see that most of their own troops were still there, on the pitch.

"Let's just say Hogsmeade is probably not the same after our little friends are done with the place," She gloated and glanced to look at the two giants.

Hermione swallowed.

"Your pathetic oaf of a commander and some of the Aurors are currently trying to protect the village and its innocent residents," She said with a childish voice.

"Fuck you, you crazed bitch!" Sirius growled and bared his teeth.

Bellatrix cackled and shouted commands to the Death Eaters. Soon they were firing curses again, and the fight was on. Many of those who surrounded them disapparated, and even when there was a remarkably smaller amount of opponents, Hermione knew they wouldn't last long.

Bellatrix was fighting against Sirius, and Hermione and Peter faced three others who had stayed in place.

"Oh, did I mention, dear cousin, that your beloved foster parents are there as well?" Bellatrix cooed with a malicious look in her eyes. "Probably squashed by the giants already. Too bad," She tutted.

Sirius gritted his teeth. "You're lying." He threw a slicing hex at her.

Bellatrix dodged the spell and cackled again. "See for yourself." She hissed and threw a curse so powerful that Sirius's shield went shattering down. Then she disapparated, and so did every Death Eater around them.

"Hermione…Pete." Sirius breathed, grasping their hands.

Hermione nodded. "Let's go."

They apparated into a side alley of the village, and everything was quiet. There was no way that the Giants were there, as they would've heard them right away.

"It's a trap," Hermione whispered. "Sirius, let's go back," She said urgently and tugged his arm. Peter eyed around them anxiously.

Sirius yanked his arm away. "I have to make sure they're not here, Hermione. You heard what the bitch said."

Hermione pressed her lips together. She really hoped that no one was there, and that Bellatrix had only tried to lure them away from the fight. But as they peered towards the main street, behind one of the buildings, they knew it was a trap.

At least twenty Death Eaters stood in the middle of the street, surrounding two Aurors Hermione didn't know by name, as well as Mr. Potter and Mrs. Potter. Dumbledore was nowhere in sight.

"Pete, go get help. Get Moony and Prongs," Sirius whispered urgently to his friend.

Peter gave him a shaky nod and transformed into a rat, and scurried away quickly.

Sirius and Hermione took another glance to the street.

"We have to wait for help," Hermione whispered.

"No. They'd be dead before anyone comes here." Sirius snapped.

None of the Death Eaters was firing any spells, until Sirius gave Hermione one last meaningful look and dashed towards them. Hermione quickly ran after him. Spells flew from their wands so rapidly, that they managed to bring down at least three Death Eaters before they started to fight back. Their captives joined the fight, and the village was soon surrounded with jets of green, red, purple and yellow, screams and curses and gasps.

"Where's Dumbledore?!" Sirius yelled to one of the Aurors, who duelled two Death Eaters next to Sirius, who faced one himself.

The Auror stunned one of his opponents. "Having a bit of a spar with Voldemort!" He barked, and then there was a flash of green light and a rushing sound, and he was hit by a killing curse on his back.

His face became slack, and he fell on the ground like a marionette whose strings were cut.

"NO!" Sirius yelled.

Hermione let out a strangled moan next to him.

Their backs were against each other, as Sirius and Hermione faced several masked opponents, trying to defect numerous spells from many directions and give something in return. From the corner of her eye Hermione saw that James's parents were in a similar position. Both Aurors had fallen, by the looks of it.

This was it. They were going to die, Hermione thought, fear gripping her heart.

Then someone screamed. Hermione whirled to look at the Potters. Her insides froze as she saw James's father lying on the ground, unmoving. Hermione gasped. Her throat constricted. Sirius let out a wretched moan. Bellatrix was holding Mrs. Potter in front of her, with a tight grip from her hair, and a silver knife pressed against her neck.

Everything stopped for a minute.

"Oh, cousin…You didn't think I would be satisfied by merely killing you, huh?" Bellatrix cackled maniacally.

"YOU FUCKING BITCH, I'LL KILL YOU!" Sirius bellowed, lifting his wand.

Bellatrix tutted. "I wouldn't move if I were you," she hissed, the knife pressing tighter against the smooth skin of Mrs. Potter.

Mrs. Potter stared at Sirius and Hermione. Hermione could see the fear in her eyes as she spoke. "Sirius…Take Hermione and go. Take care of James," She whispered with a strained voice.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes with boredom and cut her throat open.

Hermione screamed in terror, and Sirius moaned, his face twisted in agony, and he growled, lunging towards his cousin. The Death Eaters started to fire spells again. Hermione snatched Sirius's arm and tried to pull him back as she blocked several spells, but Sirius shoved her away, his eyes blazing and his wand firing spells so rapidly, that Hermione almost couldn't keep up.

"No, Hermione. Move away." He sobbed angrily and shot a killing curse straight into the chest of a Death Eater next to Bellatrix. The woman snorted and sent a curse of her own towards Sirius.

Sirius was knocked back by another spell from a Death Eater closest to them, thus avoiding the green jet of Bellatrix's killing curse.

"He's mine," said one of the masked figures, the one who had sent the knockback jinx, glancing at Bellatrix. The other Death Eaters around them stopped firing curses, as did Hermione and Sirius.

"Dear Regulus…" Bellatrix said with a sing-song voice. "Now is not the time to act brotherly," She said with a sneer and walked slowly towards Hermione and Sirius.

"Reggie, you son of a bitch!" Sirius yelled with a wavering voice and spat towards the Death Eater in front of him. Sirius flicked his wand and the mask on Regulus's face cracked into two pieces, falling to the ground.

"Hello, brother." Regulus said indifferently. "Good to see you too."

Sirius snarled at him, glared at him in such a way that Hermione could see the anger bubbling inside of him, bursting out. Hermione could only gape at Regulus. Had he killed someone in this raid? Someone she knew, or cared about?

The brothers started to circle one another, while Bellatrix giggled psychotically, watching excitedly as his cousins were bracing themselves for a duel. Everyone else stood still, their wands at the ready.

Hermione glanced at Regulus and Sirius, who were both staring intently at one another. When they moved so that Hermione was partly behind Sirius, Regulus's eyed flickered over his brother's shoulder and he looked into her eyes for a second. She could see it in his eyes. He was giving them a chance to run, but with what price?

Hermione gave him a slight nod and grasped Sirius's shoulder. Then she disapparated.