Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any associated content. I'm merely a fanfic author messing around with the world JKR has created.
Warnings: This fic will include depictions of trauma, abuse, use of substances, violence, and gore, characters showing suicidal tendencies, and character deaths.
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A/N: This is a Post-War AU Fanfic. Harry was sorted into Gryffindor but Hermione was sorted into Ravenclaw. There are many more things that are AU in this fic, but they'll all be explained as the story progresses.
This first chapter is mainly for the sake of introducing Hermione and giving a summary of what happened in the 7 years of Hogwarts, from Hermione's perspective.
Hermione Granger was not having a good day. It wasn't even lunchtime yet, and her day was already going horribly.
The reason for this was the letter she had received earlier that morning, dropped in her postbox by one of the official Ministry owls.
A rejection letter.
They had kindly rejected her application to the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She couldn't say that she hadn't expected it, but she was still disappointed, because she had held onto hope.
She had hoped that things weren't as bad as they were before the war. But they were. Voldemort and his Death Eaters may have been vanquished, but their ideals persisted.
Pureblood Supremacy.
This hadn't been her first time facing this type of discrimination obviously, she had experienced it ever since she had first stepped into Diagon Alley to buy materials for her first year at Hogwarts. But it hadn't impacted her quite as much then, since she was just a child after all.
But as the years passed, as she grew up, it started becoming clear. She wasn't welcome in the Magical Society. Her Slytherin peers had made that perfectly clear.
She had thought about leaving the Magical World once, but had dismissed the very concept after little to no consideration. She was a Ravenclaw, the vast knowledge and potential was simply too tempting to give up just because of some discrimination. Being able to perform magic helped in the decision too, she supposed.
So she endured, she endured all the taunting, all the subtle unfairness, all throughout her time at Hogwarts.
One particular event in the 2nd Year had almost made her quit. She had been petrified. Just because she was a Muggleborn. She had tried to chalk it up to being an unfortunate occurrence, but the messages written in blood and the existence of the Chamber of Secrets being created for the sole purpose of getting rid of her kind weren't comforting.
Before she had been petrified, she had been very sure that one Harry Potter was connected to the events that were taking place. Talking to a snake in public certainly didn't help his image. Then she had been petrified, and thankfully not killed, because she had discovered the attacker in her investigations, and had somehow managed to not look at the Basilisk's eyes.
When she had waken up, she discovered that things had changed a lot in the school. Just before her awakening, the Aurors and the Press had made themselves home in the castle. She soon found out that the reason for their presence, was that Harry Potter had disappeared.
Of course…
The petrification of multiple Muggleborn students hadn't even fazed them, but the moment that the Boy-Who-Lived disappeared…
But then everything changed. Ginny Weasley was kidnapped, and the last message in blood was left on the walls of the school.
It had created panic beyond anything she had seen. Even more than when Professor Quirrell had burst into the Great Hall during her First Year, yelling that a troll was loose in the Dungeons.
The Headmaster, along with the Professors and Aurors had been quick to seal every single child into the Great Hall, with the maximum security they could offer. But no one could have accounted for what had happened next.
Harry Potter had suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Great Hall, holding hands with a House-Elf, standing on the severed head of a Basilisk, holding the Sword of Gryffindor in his free hand. Upon his shoulder sat a Phoenix and at his side stood Ronald Weasley, who was holding his sister in his arms.
She had begrudgingly admitted to herself at that moment… the scene was majestic, even with the copious amounts of blood. The Press hadn't missed their chance either. The front page of the Daily Prophet the following day displayed the scene quite well, though with far less blood.
Potter's fame had only grown after that, if that was even possible. Now, he was not only the Boy-Who-Lived, but also the Basilisk-Slayer.
He had executed it perfectly, she later understood. He had brought negative attention to himself with the Parseltongue stunt, then had disappeared to create even more drama, and had then finally made a grand comeback, solidifying himself as the hero.
The realization had made her very uncomfortable. On one hand, she was grateful to him for slaying the Basilisk, most likely preventing Hogwarts itself from closing, but on the other hand, she knew nothing of what had actually happened.
So she decided to simply remove it from her mind. She had more important things to do than fuss over some teenage celebrity and his fame-hungry tendencies.
Returning in her 3rd Year, she had hoped for the year to go without any unwanted action. But alas, a mass murderer just had to escape the prison thought to be inescapable.
And of course, Harry bloody Potter was at the center of it again. Thankfully, other than the presence of the unpleasant Dementors at Hogwarts, and the new curfew rules, nothing much had happened. Well, something had definitely happened, but it hadn't impacted her, so she ignored it, glad to not be involved in any sort of mess.
She should have known better. She should have known that Hogwarts was many things, but uneventful was not one of them. As her 4th year began, things started to change.
And the change was not restricted to the school this time. And yet again, the reason for her involvement was her status as a Muggleborn.
She had faced the problem of discrimination head on up until then, but the problem started shifting from discrimination to prosecution.
It had been a very chaotic year, mainly due to the Triwizard Tournament that had taken place at the school. The fact that Harry Potter had somehow managed to illegitimately enter the tournament only enhanced the chaos.
She hadn't understood it at all. Why would someone willingly enter a tournament that promised constant danger to one's life? But then she had simply concluded that she just didn't know how the mind of someone like the Boy-Who-Lived worked. He had, after all, fought a Basilisk before, so why not more, she guessed.
Imagine her surprise, when the First Task was revealed to be Dragons. What were they thinking, making school students fight dragons?
Well, to be fair, they weren't supposed to fight the dragons, just evade them, but then Potter had gone and actually fought the Hungarian Horntail he was facing, zooming around on his broom, transfiguring and animating the whole arena trying to bring the dragon down. She hadn't even thought half the things he had done to be possible. Seriously, who would think of Transfiguring rocks into hundreds of Dragon Eggs and Baby Dragons just to distract the Dragon while thinking of plans to subdue it? And then there was the spectacle with ice magic. Potter had summoned natural groundwater, manipulating it to bind the Dragon, and had then had converted it into ice, effectively trapping the Dragon, even if only for a short while.
He could have just taken the Golden Egg to complete the task just then, but as expected, he had apparently not shown off enough to the crowd. So he had transfigured and animated the very earth into his very own stone dragon of a size matching the Horntail. Finally, as the stone dragon held the Horntail to the ground while simultaneously being melted by its fiery breath, Potter had flown over to the Golden Egg and completed the task.
Hermione couldn't even imagine why someone would go to such lengths just to show off.
She had to give him credit where it was due though, he was a brilliant spellcaster, even though he barely paid attention during theory classes, putting in no effort whatsoever. He never appeared in any list of the top students when it came to written exams, yet he consistently remained first in the whole year when it came to DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration Practicals.
It frustrated her to no end… How could someone be so— so… No point in trying to figure him out… she concluded.
Then, following the first task, the Yule Ball had taken place, and one of the most significant events of her life at Hogwarts had happened.
She had gone to the Ball with Victor Krum.
He had approached her in the library, and asked her straight up. She had just stared for a few seconds, unsure if she was dreaming or not, eventually snapping out of her daze to reply.
She could still hardly believe that it had actually happened. It was the first time she had ever felt like a woman. It was also when she had experienced her first kiss.
But it hadn't lasted, Victor made it quite clear that he wasn't looking for a long-term relationship, since he would have to return home sooner or later, and his position as the Seeker for his National Quidditch Team didn't allow him the luxury of long-distance relationships.
She understood, but it had still impacted her hard.
Though the events that took place following that had done the job of taking the matters of romance off her mind quite well. She now realized, that the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament was probably where everything started to go to shit, excuse her language.
Firstly, she had been called to the Headmaster's office, to be made a hostage for Victor, someone whom he was supposed to retrieve to complete the task. And after repeated assurances about the safety, she had eventually relented and consented to be put to sleep and taken to the bottom of the Great Lake.
She had woken up to absolute pandemonium. It seemed to be turning into a habit, her waking up from a long sleep only to discover that all hell had broken loose during her slumber.
And yet again, she had lost count of how many times by then, Potter was involved. When she had opened her eyes after being dragged to the shore by Victor, the sight had made her gasp.
Pillars of cyclonic water rose into the sky, as the Giant Squid had almost fully emerged from the lake, wildly swaying its tentacles, as though trying to swat a fly. And in the middle of it all, was Potter, standing upright on his flying broom, his wand held up high as he commanded the conjured hurricanes to try to suppress the Giant Squid.
And for the second time, she had to admit to herself that the image, which was still stuck in her head, was majestic.
The Giant Squid had eventually been subdued, with the combined efforts of Potter and the Headmaster. In the Headmaster's speech that followed, he had named Professor Moody to be the one responsible for manipulating the normally passive Giant Squid to attack Potter and the Audience of the Task.
But only after the Third Task would she learn that it wasn't in fact, Professor Moody, but a Death Eater named Barty Courch Jr, who had formerly been considered dead, who had been posing as their Professor from the very start of the year.
It had been quite the revelation, and of course, had involved Harry Potter. But this time it wasn't something that could be simply forgotten, or moved on from.
Cedric Diggory, a fellow student, and the Hogwarts Champion, had died. Harry Potter had appeared in the area beneath the audience seats, bloodied and beaten, holding the body of Cedric Diggory.
It was a gruesome sight, and the wails of Cedric's father and Potter were no less dreadful.
It was the first time she had seen the Boy-Who-Lived so vulnerable, so… human…
Between his grief, he had risen up and stepped forward, barely standing and limping, and had loudly declared that You-Know-Who had returned. His declaration had shaken her to her core.
In that moment, he had seemed so… defeated, yet so powerful… And then he had been carried away by Ronald Weasley and the Headmaster.
That night permanently changed the world.
But to her shock, the Ministry had completely denied all of Potter's claims. They even started a smear campaign against him and the Headmaster. But for some reason, she believed him. It was because she knew what she had seen. When he had made his grand declaration, those weren't the eyes of someone who was lying.
She was in constant turmoil after that year ended, both inner and external turmoil. She was in actual danger from then. If You-Know-Who had truly returned, it wouldn't spell well for her.
But she hadn't given up, because she was Hermione Granger.
She had returned in her Fifth Year with her head held up high, prepared to face whatever challenges that came her way. And she had done so, quite admirably, now that she thought about it. She took the verbal threats, the taunting, the minor bullying, and the loneliness head-on. The greatest challenge, however, had been very different.
Professor Umbridge.
There were innumerable things that Hermione could list that were wrong with the vile woman, but she had promised herself to not think about her again. Her presence at Hogwarts, and her post as the DADA teacher and the High Inquisitor, had led to the formation of the Defense Association, created and led by Harry Potter.
The Defense Association, or DA for short, was a very unique experience for Hermione. It was the first time she had worked together with multiple people. She had never been great in the friends department. The only people she could call her friends, were Padma Patil and Anthony Goldstein from her house, and even they weren't actual friends.
The DA had forced her to socialize more, and to her horror, even teach her peers.
Potter had never involved himself personally with the DA, mainly coordinating them, and showing up to introduce the material they were to learn. Instead, he had created the Peer System, where some students, which included her, would help the others, and would get helped in return.
She had confronted Potter himself about it, but only after spending more time than she would ever admit, stressing over her impending conversation with him.
He had been very impassive, almost apathetic while talking to her, or even just in general. He had rudely told her that he didn't have the time and capability to teach every DA member personally, but he would show her and the other comparatively advanced students how to progress.
It had pissed her off, but she hadn't done anything about it then, since the DA was undeniably extremely helpful for many students, including herself. Potter had introduced a myriad of spells and techniques, they had learned to duel, and she had even managed to cast a Patronus.
The rest of the year was a blur to her, because of the oncoming O.W.L.S. The exams occupied the majority of her mind for the majority of the time she wasn't asleep. And even when she was asleep, the exams would pop up in her dreams.
And when the exams were finally over, other things had escalated to the breaking point, in the short while that she wasn't paying them any attention.
She still remembered that day vividly, when the owls swooped down during breakfast, dropping copies of the Daily Prophet all over the Great Hall.
You-Know-Who Returns!
Minister of Magic Dead!
Boy-Who-Lived Again?
You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters had attacked the Ministry of Magic, and assassinated the Minister, but had somehow been repelled by the combined efforts of the Aurors, Albus Dumbledore, and Harry Potter.
Reading that article had ignited something within her. Everything had suddenly started to feel real. She was in actual danger now. If You-Know-Who and his people were bold enough to assassinate the Minister of Magic inside the Ministry, she definitely wasn't safe anymore.
That was when she had, for the first time, seriously considered leaving the Magical World behind. But she couldn't do that. She couldn't just run away. Some Muggleborns didn't have that choice, and the Magical World still had a lot to offer.
So she had stayed, out of a sense of duty, and her own personal stubbornness. And when Neville Longbottom, who had changed drastically after the Fifth Year, restarted the DA, she had joined. She gained more knowledge, she learned new spells and she grew powerful.
Several other things of note happened during the year too. She discovered the Hogwarts Kitchen, and to her horror, the House Elves within. That had led her to investigate further, which only succeeded in horrifying her even more.
It was Slavery!
And it wasn't just House Elves, but Werewolves, Giants, Centaurs, and so many more. She had researched and brainstormed more than ever before in her life, thinking about what to do about all the issues she had discovered.
In the end, she had concluded the source of the majority of the problems in her life.
Pureblood Supremacy
So she had decided that she would fight against it. And the first step, was to win the war.
That's right, the war. It had started gradually, and she had definitely noticed the signs.
Harry Potter was nowhere to be seen anymore. The only time one could catch a glimpse of him was during class, after which he would simply disappear. He was never present at meals, Hogsmeade visits, etc. He and Ronald Weasley had even quit the Gryffindor Quidditch Team.
Every single day the papers carried some grave news, and matters seemed to be progressively worsening. But the event that officially marked the start of the war had been the Headmaster's death. He was killed within the castle, by none other than Professor Snape.
She had left after that. So had many other Muggleborn students. They had no place in a castle run by Death Eaters.
The first thing she had done was go meet her parents, which had been a quick task when one could Apparate. Somehow, after hours of discussion, confessions, and arguments, she had convinced her parents to leave the country. It had been as difficult for her as it had been for them. For the first time in her life, she had felt truly alone. They had always been a constant in her life. No matter what happened in the magical world and Hogwarts, they were always there… her home.
But now, her very existence meant that they were in constant danger. And no matter what happened, she couldn't let anything happen to them because of her. Sending them off had messed her up, so she had buried herself in the war effort. It distracted her and took her mind off the dreadful thoughts.
She had fully invested herself in the war after that. She and many other Muggleborns and rebels worked together with the DA inside Hogwarts, and other people who were willing to help.
Hermione knew there were many things going on behind the scenes that she wasn't aware of, most likely involving one Harry Potter, but she hadn't had the time to care. They were constantly on the run. Some of the members of the group eventually started Potterwatch, named against her wishes.
They worked together with the Weasleys and some organization called the Order of the Phoenix, apparently created by Dumbledore during the First War. There were many known and familiar faces there, and even Kingsley Shacklebolt, who had temporarily assumed the position of Minister of Magic after Fudge's death was present.
Thankfully, they possessed more information about the real events that were taking place. She had found that out when she was included in their meetings. Potter was on some secret mission assigned to him by Dumbledore, which was vital to the defeat of You-Know-Who, accompanied by Ronald Weasley, and You-Know-Who was hell-bent on killing Potter himself.
Sirius Black was apparently innocent and a part of the Order, and was also Potter's godfather.
Draco and Narcissa Malfoy were on their side, and had some important information that needed to be shared immediately. So they had painstakingly established contact, somehow evading the Death Eaters.
The information had indeed turned out to be extremely important.
Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley were being held at Malfoy Manor.
The Order had scampered to put together an emergency rescue mission, and every single person who knew of it had volunteered to take part in it. They weren't allowed obviously, only a select few were going to be taking part in the mission. She, Padma, and Parvati were all on the roster, along with Sirius, Kingsley, Lupin, Fred and George Weasley, Bill Weasley, and Alastor Moody. There were a few others too, but she didn't know them.
They carried out the mission on the very same day. Narcissa Malfoy managed to sneak them into the Manor with the help of Dobby, the former Malfoy House Elf, who was now supposedly a friend of Harry Potter.
They had waited patiently for the perfect moment to strike, but it had been hard, very hard. Multiple times throughout their waiting period, Sirius, Remus, and the Weasley twins had nearly lost control listening to the screams of Harry and Ronald as they were tortured.
When the Death Eaters had finally left for a meeting to summon their Lord, the rescuers made their move.
Everything just went downhill from there. It would later be remembered as one of the worst days of the war. You-Know-Who had personally come to the Manor, bringing his Death Eaters with him, and the Order and its forces had struggled.
The day had reaped numerous lives. Padma and Parvati had both perished at the hands of Bellatrix Lestrange.
Sirius had died fighting alongside his godson, killed by You-Know-Who himself.
Ronald Weasley had died, taking Lucius Malfoy and Corban Yaxley both down with him.
Dobby the House Elf had died, helping others escape till his last breath.
And Harry Potter had dueled You-Know-Who, the battle ending without conclusion as Potter turned his attention to protecting the survivors as they escaped rather than continuing to fight the Dark Lord.
Hermione had never felt so hopeless before that moment. The mission had been devastating, and nothing had come out of it… all because of Harry Potter… She knew it wasn't right to blame him, that he wasn't responsible for Padma and Parvati's deaths, that he had suffered too… but she couldn't help it.
He was the Boy-Who-Lived, it was supposed to be his responsibility, and yet he had let something so terrible happen. But she had abandoned that train of thought quickly… That was not a healthy way of thinking…
The aftermath had been harsh to deal with. The news of the losses they had suffered had spread around quickly, lowering morale. On top of that, Harry Potter was comatose, presumably from the strain of the Cruciatus Curses inflicted on him combined with the drain of fighting the Dark Lord.
It had taken him only a few days to recover, but he had changed somehow. He didn't even act human anymore, almost like a robot. Nobody confronted him though, no, he was far too intimidating for that.
The weeks following the tragedy had been grim. Harry Potter could now occasionally be seen at the Order Headquarters, coming and going randomly. Then after a month of relative inactivity, Potter called for an Order meeting. He had arrived at the headquarters severely injured, bleeding and limping, but had shrugged off all concern, highlighting the gravity of the situation.
He stated that he needed to get into Hogwarts, and would do so with the help of Kreacher, another House Elf, while coordinating with Neville Longbottom on the inside. The purpose of the visit was to find the Diadem of Ravenclaw, and he had asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to help in the search. He had also made it clear that he wasn't going to be giving out any other information.
The whole meeting had felt extremely weird. Potter's behavior was the most perplexing. He had not moved an inch since he had called the meeting. His voice was monotone and his face without expression. It was like he had not even been in the meeting mentally, his body working on auto-pilot.
She had volunteered, knowing that her knowledge would be immensely useful, even if the lack of sharing of information on Potter's part frustrated her to no end. Apart from her, Harry had accepted only Fred and George's help, claiming that he couldn't bring most of the grown-ups inside Hogwarts, and that the twins' knowledge of Hogwarts would be invaluable.
After the meeting concluded, he had taken the 3 volunteers aside and given them each a Basilisk Fang, telling them to immediately destroy the Diadem if they ever came across it.
She had been rightfully outraged, how could one simply destroy such a priceless artifact?! In response to her outrage, Potter had simply given her one of his looks, an empty, apathetic look that made him look like a corpse.
"You volunteered for this, Granger. You're still welcome to back out… but I need you to swear, that once we're inside Hogwarts, you absolutely will destroy the Diadem if you find it."
She had been hesitant, but had accepted, seeing the seriousness in his eyes. It wasn't like she had much of a choice, Potter would be carrying out the mission with or without her.
Following their conversation, Harry had met up with the Order once more, telling them to get all their resources prepared for battle. To get all the manpower they could muster ready for a final battle at Hogwarts. He had said that he would prefer to finish everything himself in a duel with You-Know-Who, but he knew that the Death Eaters and their forces wouldn't make it so simple and that he would need all the people possible to protect Hogwarts and its students.
That had expectedly sent the Order into an uproar, but Harry had flatly said that the Diadem of Ravenclaw was the last thing that needed to be dealt with before he could finally confront You-Know-Who himself. Whatever reluctance that remained among the Order members, quickly died down with one look from Potter.
Then they had departed, Apparating near Hogsmeade and then sneaking into the Hog's Head. There they had met up with Aberforth Dumbledore, the late Headmaster's brother, who had then revealed a passage into Hogwarts.
To Hermione's immense surprise, Neville had welcomed them into Hogwarts, accompanied by the House Elf, Kreacher. He seemed to be already aware of the situation, and quickly caught up with Potter, promising to get all the students and trusted professors prepared for the inevitable chaos.
After they had finally separated from the students, Hermione had led them to the Grey Lady, whom she knew from her years at Hogwarts. And after a lot of persuasion from herself and Potter, the Grey Lady had relented and revealed the hiding place of her mother's Diadem.
The Room of Hidden Things
The search had been exhausting for all 4 who were involved. They had eventually resorted to flying around on brooms to cover more ground, which hadn't been a problem for the 3 prodigious Quidditch players who were her companions, but it had been quite a frightful experience for her.
In the end, it had paid off. They had found it. The Diadem of Ravenclaw. But it was not at all what she had expected. Instead of a glorious artifact created by one of Hogwart's Founders, it had turned out to be a vile object cursed by some sort of Dark Magic.
And it had been a very powerful curse, one that she felt was designed especially for her. She had almost put it on her head, baited by promises of boundless knowledge and convinced by powerful compulsion magic.
Potter had yanked it from her, immediately covering it in a conjured cloth charmed with multiple layers of protection, and then had urged them to leave the Room quickly. And she had offered no resistance, eager to get out of the room and put the harrowing incident behind her.
That had not gone as planned.
They had exited the Room only to find a battle going on within the school. It seemed that the Carrows and Snape had caught on to their activities, and were being confronted by Neville, Flitwick, and McGonagall.
Potter had intervened faster than she had been able to process what she was seeing. Holding out the Diadem in front of him, he had addressed Snape.
"It's done, Snape. This is the last one without him being here himself. Your job is over, now help me complete mine…"
Snape had stared at him for what seemed to be years, until he had given a subtle nod, before knocking out the unsuspecting Carrows with a single swish of his wand. Every person present had been profoundly confused, but they hadn't had the time to argue and demand an explanation. Potter hadn't given them any.
Immediately after the Carrows had been restrained, he had summoned Kreacher, "Get Draco here, right now."
And then he had addressed everybody. He stated that he was going to destroy the Diadem, which would somehow alert You-Know-Who, after which Potter would communicate with him and bait him to Hogwarts for a duel.
He had warned them, that if at any time, he started losing control of himself, they were to stun him with all they could muster, all of them, together.
She had thought it to be absurd, but as usual, had accepted for a lack of choices in the matter. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Snape, Neville, the Weasley Twins, and finally her, had surrounded Potter in a circular formation as he laid the Diadem on the ground, bringing out the Basilisk Fang.
When everyone had raised their wands to point at him, he had stabbed the Diadem, which exploded with black miasma that immediately attacked Potter.
Potter had then fallen to his knees, screaming. Screams worse than anything she had ever heard, worse than when Potter was tortured with the Cruciatus, screams that made her physically shiver.
The black miasma had flown into Potter's body as he screamed, going into his forehead, particularly his scar. Then he had grabbed his head, slowly halting his screams, taking huge breaths to regulate himself.
And then without warning, his eyes had rolled back into his head as he spoke, "VOLDEMORT! YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT HAS HAPPENED RIGHT? WHAT SITUATION WE'RE IN? IT'S JUST YOU AND ME NOW! COME TO HOGWARTS, VOLDEMORT, I'M WAITING RIGHT HERE! LET'S DO THIS ONE LAST TIME, YOU AND ME!"
The whole ordeal had freaked her out, and she was sure that she wasn't the only one. Snape was the only one who looked unfazed at what had transpired. He had merely stepped forward to pull Potter back to his feet as the boy gasped for air, holding his head while groaning in pain.
Draco Malfoy had appeared soon after, leaving again hurriedly after talking to Potter for a bit and receiving a cloak of some sort from him. Both of them had also shared a short hug, which surprised her, since they had always been mortal enemies in their time as Hogwarts students.
When Malfoy had finally left, his face housed an uncharacteristic expression, one of irritation combined with sincere determination. She had heard him muttering something about absurd jobs and killing a snake and damn Potter, but she had chosen to ignore it.
Potter had then announced that he would be getting ready to face You-Know-Who, and that they should meet up with the Order and the students to plan for the upcoming battle. Everybody had acceded, and so they had left him alone with Snape.
That was the last time she had ever spoken with him.
The hours following that interaction had been the most brutal, bloody, and torturous hours of her life. You-Know-Who had come knocking down on Hogwarts from the South entrance, only to be met with a well-prepared Harry Potter. But no one had gotten the opportunity to witness the confrontation, because all of You-Know-Who's forces had stormed the castle at the same time from the opposite end.
The final battle had officially begun.
Hermione had fought with all her might, everyone had. The battle had been chaotic. Spells flying everywhere, people running around shooting down their targets, Giants destroying everything in sight, partially-transformed werewolves rampaging, Centaurs galloping around shooting Death Eaters with their arrows, House Elves scampering around with knives, vampires sneaking around, ambushing their prey, all sorts of unbelievable sights.
Most of the fighting had taken place on the northern side of the castle, slowly shifting southwards as the Death Eater forces pushed the defenders back. The Death Eater forces definitely had the advantage in terms of sheer numbers, but the defenders had the home-field advantage.
Hogwarts had been readied for the assault, and it had punished the invaders. Statues, monstrous plants, staircases, ghosts, and even Peeves had rained terror upon the invading forces.
The fighting had continued for a long time, with both sides suffering heavy damages.
The final confrontation had taken place in the Great Hall. It was quite fitting, she had thought. The Viaduct Courtyard, which was adjacent to the Great Hall, had been completely avoided by both sides of the battle.
Nobody was stupid enough to willingly approach the area, since it was where Potter was dueling You-Know-Who. The effects and tremors of their duel had been felt throughout Hogwarts. Every few minutes or so, the ground would shake, or the walls would tremble, or the very air would shift.
But Hermione hadn't let any of it affect her concentration even once. Since any small mistake could mean death, Constant Vigilance had to be exercised.
And as the battle approached its end, Hermione had faced what was likely the greatest challenge of her life.
Bellatrix Lestrange
Hermione didn't know what had gotten into her. She had stepped in front of a fellow student automatically, intercepting a curse from Bellatrix. And then the vile woman had grinned at her, which set off something within her.
The duel had been scary… she had never felt anything quite like it. There were many types of fear, but she had never felt fear of this kind. This was the type of fear which was accompanied by thrill. Any moment could mean life or death, every second was filled with apprehension.
Her mind had been in overdrive, and so had her body and magic. Bellatrix had been relentless… Curses, Transfigurations, Animations, everything.
But Hermione had faced it all… and come out on top.
She had defeated Bellatrix bloody Lestrange.
She had avenged Padma and Parvati and all of Bellatrix's victims.
For a fleeting moment, she had felt satisfied, happy… but then she had remembered the situation she was in. And at that moment, as she stood over Bellatrix's fallen body, looking around her, it had finally hit her.
As the adrenaline wore off, she finally saw what was happening.
War.
Battle… duels… wounds… blood… corpses…
But before she had the chance to process her thoughts, the largest explosion yet had shook the Great Hall. It had come from the Viaduct Courtyard. And it had been followed by a guttural, earthshaking roar.
"VOLDEMORT… IS DEAD!"
All battles had instantly ceased. Looks of absolute terror had passed the remaining Death Eaters' faces. Everyone had rushed outside to the Viaduct Courtyard… or what was left of it.
There was a huge crater where the courtyard had once been. All the surrounding towers were nowhere to be seen. And at the very center of the crater stood Harry Potter. Bloodied but upright, he stood with his hands limp, looking down at his feet, where You-Know-Who's scarred corpse lay.
And then they had roared. They had screamed, laughed, cried, mourned, and sung…
She could barely remember the rest of the day. The excitement had managed to overpower the exhaustion for a while, but eventually, she had given in to it.
Hermione had slept for 40 hours straight. Side-effects of Magical exhaustion…
She had woken up in the Great Hall, which had been converted into a temporary Medical Ward. And having nothing to do as she was assigned mandatory bed rest, she had finally caught up to everything that had happened.
Now that the war was over, the reality of it had settled in. The casualties, the consequences, the aftermath…
It had been harsh… she was just a 17 year old… she was not prepared to fight in a war, yet she had chosen to, and now it was hitting her all at once. Thankfully, she hadn't had to deal with it alone. All her fellow students who had fought were in the same boat as her… at least those who survived.
Many, many hadn't.
Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown, Lisa Turpin, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Draco Malfoy, Snape, Charlie Weasley, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks, Eddie Carmichael... and those were only the names she recognized… and only those who had died in the Battle at Hogwarts. Countless lives had been lost even before that…
She had never been particularly close with any of her comrades, but it had still affected her. Fighting alongside them had created a sense of companionship and camaraderie, and seeing those same people dead… was a horrible experience.
If only she had done a bit more…
That was the Survivor's Guilt talking… but it was right, wasn't it? She could have done more…
But that didn't matter… what had happened, had happened. And she had decided, that the only one to blame… was Voldemort.
After finally getting her mind straight and recovering from the battle, she had left Hogwarts. Her first priority had been to get her parents back. Everything else would come after that.
Thankfully, it had gone without a hitch. She had found her parents pretty easily, and their tearful reunion was one of her happiest memories. They had agreed to come back to Britain in just a few weeks, and she had been rightfully overjoyed.
After she had fully settled her parents back into their regular lives, she had once more returned to the Magical World. It had been a very weird experience. Things were changing, but at the same time, everything felt the same.
Then there was the 'Order of Merlin: First Class' that was bestowed upon her, for her brave, exceptional, and illustrious efforts in the war, and her contribution to society by killing Bellatrix Lestrange.
It had honestly surprised her, but she was still grateful for it. Being recognized for surviving did trouble her for a while, but then she realized that there was no point in dwelling on it.
And finally, that brought her to the current day, almost 3 years after the war.
She had hoped that things would change after the war, but they hadn't. The ideals of Pureblood Supremacy still persisted, just more… subtle. She now realized that they had only given her the Order of Merlin to effectively shut her up. But she wouldn't just shut up. Of course not, she was Hermione bloody Granger.
She had become ambitious following the war. There were hundreds of things that she wanted to do, and many of them would require her to change Magical Society from the inside out.
Treatment of Magical Creatures, Slavery of House Elves, Muggle-Baiting, Discrimination against Muggleborns, Laws regarding the protection of the Statue of Secrecy, the Structure of the Ministry Administration, and the list went on and on.
And all this was on top of all that she wanted to study and explore, the endless possibilities of magic…
But right now… she was stuck. It was painful to admit, but she was truly stuck.
Without getting into the Ministry, there was little that she could do to change it. She needed a voice, and for that, she needed power. Power that a Muggleborn like her couldn't dream of possessing. Her Order of Merlin did give her a seat in the Wizengamot, but she had nowhere near enough power to influence any real decisions.
Power of that sort was reserved for the Pureblood Nobility.
sigh
This particular train of thought always made her head ache. There was no use whining about it now, she would just have to find a way, like she always did.
But for now, she had an appointment for lunch, and she didn't want to be late.
A/N: I know that this chapter was a lot of info-dumping, but it's essential since a lot of things are different from canon, and that's gonna be important for the story moving forward.
Next chapter, the story will really kick off.
Don't forget to leave a review and lemme know your thoughts. Always open to constructive criticism.