Clearly the inspiration for this chapter already exists in the Deathly Hallows, but I tried to make it as original as possible, as I do not own Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows or any of the characters therein. I wanted to tell the events of this chapter from Hermione's point of view, so while obviously the overarching blueprint is the same, hopefully it feels new and fresh.

Chapter 2

Hermione arrived at the Burrow ten days before Harry's seventeenth birthday, just like she and Ron had planned. It had given her enough time to get up to speed with the Order's plans to rescue Harry that next Saturday, while also giving her a few weeks beforehand to spend with her parents, before she'd had to…

She hadn't told anyone else exactly what she had planned to do, only that she would be sending them away for their own safety, but everyone had been understanding and had given her as much time as they could afford. To say she had been a wreck on that first day would have been an understatement of massive proportions, but Molly had simply embraced her, in the way that only Molly Weasley could, and Hermione had felt the shattered pieces of her heart become ever so slightly less jagged. No one had really pried, and by that Monday she had been able to force herself into compartmentalizing everything, tucking it all away for the present. There was too much to be done, so she had pulled herself back together again by sheer force of will; she would grieve all that she had lost later.

The plan itself had been fairly straightforward, although laden with the possibility of turning incredibly dangerous if their luck failed them. Half of their group would be Polyjuicing themselves into copies of Harry and would be assigned a protector from the other half of the group. Of course, all of the "Harry's" apart from Harry himself were over seventeen years old and could use magic to protect themselves if they needed to. They would only do so, however, if absolutely necessary, as doing so would give away the fact that the person was not, in fact, the true Harry Potter.

She knew that the plan would make Harry absolutely livid. He had a constant fear of people putting themselves at risk or dying for him, which Hermione found to be utterly ridiculous. The thought that anyone here was doing this specifically for Harry, and not for their own families and loved ones, was laughable, but trying to convince him of that was like trying to tell a blast-ended skrewt to act like a lapdog: completely pointless. Regardless, she had known that he wouldn't agree, which was why she and Alastor Moody had agreed that her role when they arrived at Privet Drive would be to pluck a few of Harry's hairs while Moody distracted him, ensuring that the plan could continue on with or without his approval.

When they arrived at Privet Drive on the evening of the twenty-seventh of July, everything went precisely as planned. Moody had explained the plan to Harry, who had protested as expected, and Hermione had yanked out some of his hair. She, Ron, Fred, George, Fleur, and Mundungus Fletcher had drunk the Polyjuice Potion, quickly filling up the Dursley's empty living room with seven identical Harry Potters.

Hermione had been against the idea of involving Mundungus from the very beginning, and she and Molly had protested his inclusion vehemently, but they had been overruled. It wasn't that she thought he would purposely betray them, she just wasn't comfortable using someone who had such a strong track record of straddling both sides in order to save his own skin. She had vowed to herself to watch him closely that night for as long as she was able.

Now she looked down at her hands – well, at Harry's hands. Her vision was blurry, and she had a sudden appreciation for just how wonderful it was to have perfect eyesight as she reached out to grab a pair of glasses that were identical to Harry's own round-framed, wire-rimmed glasses and had been charmed to make her eyesight normal again.

"At least I didn't turn into a cat this time," she thought gratefully as she changed into the matching clothes that all seven of the 'Harry's' would wear. Her eyes met Harry's and Ron's and they both smirked at her, as if reading her thoughts, making her smile for the first time in nearly a month.

Heading outside, they broke off into their pairs for the evening, waiting for the right time to leave. Ron was paired with Tonks, who had announced excitedly to Hermione just the day before that she and Remus were going to have a baby. George was partnered with Remus, Fred with his father, and Fleur was with Bill Weasley. Mundungus was with Moody ("All the better to keep an eye on him," the ex-Auror had assured her gruffly during planning; Hermione thought it was probably the smartest move they could have made aside from not including the man in the plan at all) and Harry was leaving with Hagrid on Sirius's old motorbike.

Hermione was to go with Kingsley Shacklebolt as her guard, traveling together via a Thestral. It had been unanimously decided that this would be the only mode of travel possible for Hermione, considering the fact that her abysmal skill on a broomstick would immediately give her away as not being the real Harry. Knowing just what a capable Auror and wizard Kingsley was, she had been happy to be paired with him.

Finally, with a signal from Moody, they were off. As soon as they cleared the area immediately surrounding the Dursley's now-vacant house, however, they had been completely swarmed by Death Eaters. Hermione gripped tightly to the back of Kingsley's robes to ensure she didn't fall off as the Thestral picked up speed.

When a jet of red-hot light streaked narrowly through the space between her face and Kingsley's back, Hermione felt a burning rage take hold of her. Hoping beyond hope that Draco wasn't numbered among the masked Death Eaters that surrounded them, she began firing off spell after spell. Shooting even a stunning spell would be a death sentence when this high up in the air, so she instead sent stinging jinxes and leg-locking curses at their unidentified assailants, using spells that would force them to land and abandon chase as opposed to causing the person hit to fall to their death.

At that point, she had no longer been able to see the others around them; the Death Eaters had forced them all to separate and scatter. Now it was just her and Kingsley in the air for as far as she had been able to see, not including the numerous black cloaks that surrounded them. Fear for the others was a heavy knot in her gut as the battle continued to eat away at their time by precious minutes. Soon, the effects of the Polyjuice Potion would begin to fade, causing them all to revert back to themselves and Harry's identity to be revealed.

In her state of distraction and worry for her allies, she nearly missed the Death Eater that had flown up on her left side. A flash of green lit up the sky in her peripheral vision and would have struck her had Kingsley not forced the Thestral into a dive that pushed her body against his own at the very last second, causing the spell to pass harmlessly behind her back. Then, almost faster than she could blink, he had blasted the Death Eater with a powerful stunning spell that knocked him from his broom and sent him hurtling to the ground far below.

By the time they had landed at the Burrow, Harry, Hagrid, and Remus were all there already. She had raced over and hugged Harry tightly, relieved to see him hale and whole, but before she had been able to ask about any of the others, Remus was pulling her away with a firm grip on her upper arms.

"Your third year at Hogwarts," he said, unsmiling, "when exactly did you discover that I was a werewolf?"

"What?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Someone sold us out, Hermione," Harry explained quietly. "He has to check everyone, make sure we are all who we say we are."

She looked into Remus's eyes; the young girl inside was hurt that he would ever think that she could sell out any of them, but the rational witch that she was ninety-nine percent of the time appreciated and respected that his reasoning was sound.

"It was the day that Professor Snape taught your Defense Against the Dark Arts class for you, when he assigned the essay on werewolves."

He nodded at her in approval before releasing her arms.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I had to ask. I'm glad to see you here, safe and sound."

She nodded in return, then watched as he turned to question Kingsley as well. After, Kingsley announced that he had to leave; he had been assigned to the Muggle Prime Minister's guard and had left his post to join in recovering Harry, but he did need to get back. Before he walked away, though, Hermione had put a hand on his arm to halt his departure.

"Thank you for saving my life, Kingsley," she said in a heartfelt voice.

He waved off her gratitude with one large hand.

"You saved my life more times tonight that I saved yours, Hermione. Besides, it was my pleasure to ride into battle with the Brightest Witch of our Age as my partner."

Hermione blushed at his compliment, eliciting a grin from the tall man before he waved at her and walked out past the edge of the protective enchantments that had been erected around the Burrow. She watched him turn on the spot and then he was gone.

Hermione waited outside with Harry for the rest of the group to arrive, two by two. When Ron arrived, and had passed Remus's questioning, Hermione had hugged him fiercely, happy beyond belief that both of her best friends had survived the evening unscathed. Ron had also received a hug from a grateful Remus upon learning that the red-haired wizard had been instrumental in protecting his pregnant wife from several Death Eaters' curses.

The last to return were Fleur and Bill, the latter of whom informed them solemnly that Mad-Eye Moody had fallen. His death had come at the hands of an unidentified Death Eater, but the cause had been Mundungus Fletcher. Taking one look at the enemies that had surrounded them, the coward had chosen to flee. When he had Apparated away, revealing himself to not be the true Harry Potter, the pursuing Death Eaters had opened fire on Moody.

They sat around the large table in the kitchen, staring into the flames that flickered in the large stone fireplace and each lost in their own thoughts. Hermione couldn't help but think of all that this war had already cost them: Cedric Diggory, Sirius, Professor Dumbledore, her parents, Hedwig (who had sacrificed herself for Harry earlier that night), Mad-Eye…

Adding another notch to their losses was George Weasley, who was currently lying on the sofa in his family's sitting room, one ear completely and permanently removed from a dark magic curse. Thankfully, even a missing ear hadn't managed to dampen his spirits or lessen his ability to find humor in inappropriate situations, much to everyone's relief.

She found herself wondering, as she sat in the Burrow's homey kitchen with the other eleven members of the mission that were still there, Molly, and Ginny, who had come downstairs to join them as soon as everyone had returned, just how many more losses they would face before everything was said and done. Her eyes met Harry's, red-rimmed from the loss of first Hedwig, then Moody, and she knew her best friend was thinking the same thing.

Song Inspiration: The Kill (Bury Me) – Thirty Seconds to Mars