A/N: Thank you for your reviews, favorites and follows on the last chapter! This hasn't been beta read, because I gave lanamarymack like less than 12 hours to review this one — very sorry! You can find me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions!
Please let me know what you thought of chapter seventy-one and be on the lookout for chapter seventy-two soon!
Hermione maintained her composure, even as the towering column of flame began to lick at the ceiling of the Headmaster's office, turning it an ashy black color. The horcruxes put up much less of a fight than she was expecting, as they were devoured by all manner of beasts, serpents and dragons each snapping their jaws to get a taste of the living soul hidden away in the magical objects. The heat was nearly unbearable, sending a drip of sweat down the side of her face as she kept her wand trained on the objects before her, waiting until she was certain that they were dead.
She didn't falter, even as she heard the horcruxes begin to whisper, picking away at every doubt and worry that she had about herself — most notably that Rabastan wouldn't want her, that the Blacks would drop her because she wasn't really a pureblood, that she was an imposter of the worst sort, who'd turned her back on what she believed in at the first chance. But, Rabastan kept his hand steady on her shoulder, offering her silent support. He never wavered and remained right where he said he'd be.
The only thing that could have distracted her from the dying horcruxes was the terrible scream that Harry let out when the horcruxes made their dying gasp, making them sound like a choir of agony. Determined, she ended the spell as soon as she could, only to whirl around to see Harry on his knees, grabbing onto his head with both hands. Regulus crouched next to him, his hand on his back, trying to help him.
Harry looked up after a few tormenting moments, his green eyes locking with hers. "Hermione, He knows," he whispered, looking at her wildly. "And he is coming here to finish things off."
That was just about the worst outcome she could imagine, but Hermione knew that it was no time to balk now. At the very least, they needed to fight the Death Eaters that were currently wandering Hogwarts and protect the students.
Her friend waved his wand at the door, trying to bring down Orion's wards. "Drop the wards," he demanded. "I need to get to Gryffindor, to rouse people to fight. Dumbledore's Army will fight, won't they?"
Hermione used her wand to pull down the wards, knowing that Harry needed all the support he could get. "I'll be right behind you," she promised, but Harry was off like a flash, not waiting to see if she was going to follow.
A hand on her shoulder stopped her and Hermione turned, expecting to see Rabastan, but to her surprise, it was her Father. "If you are going to try to convince me to stay here, I'm not going to —"
He raised his hand to quiet her. "I'm afraid it's not that," he said, looking grim. "You have already put together that living things can be horcruxes, but it's time to see what's right in front of you. Your friend... his connection to the Dark Lord..."
He didn't have to come out and say it for Hermione to figure out what it was that he meant. When the Killing Curse rebounded, it must have separated a fragment of Voldemort's soul, which latched onto whatever it could to stay alive. Harry was a horcrux. Of course, it all made sense now, but Salazar, what in the world were they going to do about it. She had to find Harry and tell him... she had to warn him that he carried a piece of Voldemort's soul.
"I have to tell him," she said weakly, staring at her family, knowing that now was the time to make their stand. There was no holding back now. And as her gaze flicked from Regulus to her father to Rabastan, she knew that they had accepted it as well. "Be careful," she begged each of them, knowing that they weren't likely to be able to stick together.
"Likewise," Regulus said, tipping his head. "I'll go to the dungeons, see if any of the older Slytherins can be persuaded to fight. I'll stop at Hufflepuff on the way."
"I'll rouse the professors, if they are still abed," Orion said, nodding.
"I'm going to get Harry," Hermione said, biting her lower lip.
"I suppose that leaves Ravenclaw for me," Rabastan said, looking at her with worry in his light green eyes, warring with the decision to split up when he'd only just promised to stay at her side. He pulled her in for a lingering kiss, before pulling back, taking the time to memorize her face. "Give 'em hell, Hermione. Don't hold back for even a second — you know that they won't."
"I love you, Rabastan," she whispered.
But then, there was no more time to wait around in Dumbledore's office. She was off like a shot down the spiral stairs, before running off in the direction of Gryffindor house. Hermione was pleased that she didn't run into any Death Eaters on the way to her old house, hoping that maybe not that many had made it through, or perhaps they'd already abandoned the idea of attacking the school.
She skidded to a stop in front of the Fat Lady's portrait only to realize that she didn't actually know the password any longer. Hopping from foot to foot, she couldn't decide what she should do, but eventually she started banging on the portrait, demanding that she be let in.
Someone inside must have heard the racket, because the portrait was swinging open only a moment later, revealing a surprised looking Neville. "Merlin, Hermione!" he said, sounding surprised. "Ron said you looked different, but I didn't realize how much different."
Neville had grown significantly taller and thinned out since the last time that she'd seen him and she told him as much. "Neville, I barely recognize you myself," she said with a laugh. "Listen, is Harry here? I really need to speak to him."
Her first friend at Hogwarts stepped aside to let her in. Harry was in the middle of a large crowd of fifth, sixth and seventh years, convincing them to make a stand against Voldemort. Ron was standing beside him and when he noticed her, his eyes narrowed. But, Harry was pleased, waving her over.
"Can you ward the younger kinds in? Keep them safe?" Harry asked, clapping his hand on her shoulder. "I'd try, but, well, you saw how I did with warding."
"Yes, but, Harry, I need to speak with you—" Hermione said, wanting to stop him. "It's about your scar."
"There is no time, Hermione," Harry said, sounding as if his mind was a million miles away. "I need to get out there. I can't just hide away in Gryffindor when there are Death Eaters running around in the school."
"Please, Harry!" she begged, needing him to understand that she wouldn't be doing anything about it if it wasn't serious. "You need to know!"
"Are you just trying to hold him back here until Malfoy and the rest of your family can sneak more Death Eaters into the castle?" Ron accused, his ears going red. "Come on, Harry, let's go!" He threw his arm around Harry's shoulders, leading him towards the door.
Knowing it was now or never, Hermione just shouted the truth at her friend, willing him to see reason. "I think your scar is a horcrux," Hermione called at his retreating back.
Harry stuttered and stopped, turning to look at Hermione. The words had penetrated, even if he didn't want to think through what that meant at the moment. "I'll... I'll just have to figure it out," Harry said, after a split second of contemplation. But then, something like acceptance washed over his face. "There's no time to stop and think about it now."
And then, he was gone before she could say anything else.
"Fuck," Hermione swore under her breath, wondering if he was really going to do what she thought he was going to do. Would Harry really be as reckless as to go and sacrifice himself to take down Voldemort? And, did he know that the sacrifice would only be worth it if they could kill the snake first.
"What do you need?" Neville asked, pressing his hand to her shoulder, grounding her once again.
"You don't think I'm a traitor like Ron does?" she asked, feeling helpless, knowing that she'd aligned herself with Rodolphus Lestrange, a man responsible for so much pain in Neville's life.
"Hermione Granger? A traitor? Nah, I don't believe that for one second," he said, giving her a genuine smile. "Now, what do you need? I want to help Harry end this thing for good, so let's go and give him a fighting chance, eh?"
"Yes!" Hermione answered in agreement. "We need to kill Voldemort's snake, if it's the last thing we do."
Neville didn't look at her like she was crazy. Instead, he nodded, his wand held tightly in his hand. "Alright, let's go snake hunting," he agreed, before leading the charge out of Gryffindor tower, down the staircase to the main corridor of the school.
This time, when they found their way to the main entrance, there was no hiding the fact that Death Eaters had overrun the school. Hermione spied Sirius who'd come back with the cavalry — order members and Aurors squaring up against some of Voldemort's most dangerous followers. She couldn't see Rabastan or Regulus or her father, but she knew that they couldn't be far behind.
"I'm going to go around," Hermione shouted to Neville. "Hopefully I can catch them by surprise and try to get them out of the building."
Neville was barely nodding, too busy charging off down the rest of the stairs to engage in a two on one duel between Tonks and the Carrow twins, hoping to make it a fair fight once again.
Hermione went back up around, before slipping down another staircase, trying to keep her steps as quiet as possible. She bumped into Fred and George when she rounded the corner, setting up fireworks.
"Hermione!" they chorused together, pleased to see her.
"Might want to go another way," George said with a wink.
"We plan to give these Death Eaters quite the shock," Fred finished.
Hermione nodded, pleased to see that they were getting help from every angle. She didn't need to be told twice and went past them, down another corridor, until she came out on the other side of the Great Hall, where the fighting was thickest. Wand drawn, she took a fortifying breath, before identifying the Death Eater she was going to engage with — Antonin Dolohov.
Only, just as she was about to step out into the fray, arms reached out around her, grabbing her from behind and pulling her against a hard body. Hermione screamed, but the hand across her mouth muffled the sound.
"Who thought you'd just stumble into my arms?" Bernard Rosier cooed, sounding far too pleased with himself.
Knowing that it was him, she started to buck and struggle more than she ever had, her legs kicking out, hoping to catch him in some tender area.
"Now, now, there will be plenty of time for that later," he whispered into her ear. "I know how much you've wanted me all this time and now you'll finally get your wish."
The idea was repulsive. She knew that she had to do more, so she bit down on the fleshy part of his palm, making him let go for a moment. Once her mouth was free, she screamed and kicked, hoping to gain the attention of anyone.
Grey eyes found her across the fighting and Hermione felt a rush of relief when she realized that it was her father. Orion strode through the duels, as if he didn't even notice the spells whizzing past him, his mind completely focused on keeping her safe. He showed his teeth when he finally got near them. "Let her go, filth," he ordered, sounding more imperious than he ever had before. "And I won't have to kill you."
Bernie wrapped his arms around her tighter, tucking his head against her shoulder. "You wouldn't dare, not when your precious Hermione might end up in the path of fire," he said, using her as a human shield.
Orion had his wand trained on the other wizard, his eyes searching Hermione's face. She took a deep breath to still herself, never doubting his ability for a second. But, that didn't mean that she couldn't give him a little help, too. Slamming her elbow back, she caught Bernie right in the gut, before she crouched as low as she could.
The temporary distraction was all that it took. Orion had cast the Killing Curse in the blink of an eye, hitting his target easily. A giddy laugh bubbled up from Hermione's throat when she felt his dead weight fall away, collapsing behind her.
She stood, eager to run over and wrap her father in a tight hug of thanks, only to realize that something had gone horribly wrong. Orion had left his back unguarded, with Death Eaters behind him. His grey eyes were glazed over, his gaze on her unbroken, even as he fell forward.
Hermione screamed in horror, realizing that it was all too late. Her father was dead — and Bellatrix stood behind him with a smirk curling on her red lips, and her wand pointed at his back.