For a moment, neither of them moved. Hermione watched as Snape stood on the other side of the training hall, motionless but focused, his wand in his right hand. While Voldemort's instructions were clear, she suspected that Snape would still wait for her to make the first move. In his eyes, she was just a child that would lose to him if he put any effort into this duel.
Her magical aura wrapped around her skin like a warm blanket. Never before had she been able to actually feel her own magic like this. It was comforting, like a hug from a part of herself that was both powerful and confident.
She would not lose today.
Slowly, she raised her wand and pointed it at Snape. She would try to measure her attacks. Last time, she was still figuring out how to channel magic without using spells or wand movements. In retrospect, she put too much energy into each attack. She could hold out longer if she used less magic.
Carefully, she reached inside and grabbed a strand of her magic. Just enough so it would have an impact. Then she let it go, throwing it at Snape. As she expected, he simply raised a temporary shield to block it, again not moving an inch. Just like Voldemort, his control over magic was infuriating.
She grabbed another strand of magic, but before she could channel it outside, she felt the air change. An almost invisible attack barrelled towards her. Cursing, she ducked out of the way. Of course, he would know how to make his magic less obvious than she did.
It didn't matter. She could still see it and it was always her plan to dodge his early attacks. Hermione took a deep breath. Then she pushed out her magic, unleashing a flurry of many attacks, all flowing towards Snape, aiming at different parts of his body.
Even from a distance, she could see his eyes widen slightly. To her immense satisfaction, he also stepped out of the way of some of her attacks, only blocking the first few. Without pausing, she kept a steady stream of magic flowing through her, never letting go of the strand that allowed her direct access to her magic.
On the other side of the room, Snape recovered from his earlier shock. Her eyes were trained on him, so she noticed instantly when the grip on his wand changed. In the same tempo that her attacks came out, he attacked her in return.
With each attack, she jumped aside, sliding over the slippery floor of the training room. With each counter attack, Snape ducked and dodged in return. Where she sent out a constant flow of short magical thrusts that aimed for slightly different spots, he answered with a burst of magic in between dodging.
Slowly, she felt sweat form in her neck. Her thighs started to hurt from the constant jumping and crouching. Her breathing sounded loud in her ears, but she had no time to stop. She had to keep moving. She could not risk getting hit. Not before Snape was at his limit as well.
Hermione almost dared not to blink. Her eyes were focused on him, observing every tiny movement of his body, of his face, of his wand hand. Only the slight sheen of sweat on his face betrayed that he was feeling the pressure of the duel as well. Outside of that, he still seemed almost graceful in his composed movements.
Anger rose in her. She hated this man, more than anyone else. Even more than Voldemort. He was so gifted with magic, so perfectly able to control everything, and yet he swore fealty to a Dark Lord. Dumbledore showed him kindness. She had trusted him. And he threw it all away. He could have been one of the greatest wizards of all time, but instead, he was reduced to a mere henchman for a power-hungry monster. Forsaking the people that invited him into their homes and lives. Abusing his position as professor and headmaster to torture young students.
She gritted her teeth. She would never forgive him. He had so much to teach her, and she would squeeze every drop of knowledge from him. But she would never forget what he had done. She would find a way to make him pay for everything.
Starting here today.
Swallowing her hot rage, Hermione focused back on the duel. There. It was almost imperceptible, but his right leg trembled ever so slightly as he shifted his weight onto it to dodge her assault. Snape was tired.
She couldn't help the triumphant grin that formed on her lips. With each new attack he threw at her, she continued to jump and crouch, never breaking the strange dance that they had started. And with each dodge and shuffle, she edged closer to him. Grinning broadly, she realised that he didn't seem to notice what she was doing. He stayed where he was, simply moving out of the way of her attacks, but never actually putting more distance between them.
The closer she got, the harder it was to dodge his attacks. She had less time to react, needed to focus more on his magic. But it didn't matter. Slowly, inch by inch, she pressed on. He still didn't notice. His movements became more erratic as well, all grace evaporated as he just barely threw himself to the side with her next attack.
Instantly, he was back on his feet, aiming high with his next attack. Taking the opportunity, Hermione resolutely dove forward, catching herself on her hands and rolling to lessen the impact of the fall. As she jumped up again, she threw more attacks in Snape's direction.
This time, he had no time to react. She was barely a pace apart from him now, staring right up into his blank face. With wide eyes, he pulled up a shield to block her attacks. Without stopping, she took another step in his direction, effectively closing the last bit of distance between them.
From up close, she could see his jaw working. His dark eyes were blown wide from the adrenaline coursing through his body. Even his chest was heaving, telling her that he was just as exhausted as she was. But then he frowned, a sudden flame in his gaze that spoke of dangers to come.
He lowered his shield for just a blink of an eye and threw a heavy attack against her. Without breaking eye contact, she planted her feet and continued her own attacks.
His magic shattered right as it touched her skin. She didn't even feel the impact. The magic just burst into thousand tiny fragments, and then disappeared with a crackling sound.
Snape's mouth fell open, but she didn't give him any time to be shocked. Stepping even closer, she continuously pulled on her strand of magic, weaving it into a hundred tiny missiles, all aimed for his chest and legs.
Finally, his wand hand moved as he conjured up shields all over his body, barely catching her attack. Every now and then, he managed to counter attack, but she never reacted to that anymore.
The hardened aura held, blocking all magic that he threw her way. Just the tiniest bit of magic right at the start combined with her focused meditation was enough to keep a full body shield alive, effectively turning her magical aura into an armour that she didn't need to keep up with conscious magic.
There.
He wasn't quick enough. Mere inches apart, he had no chance to notice the attack aimed at his feet. With a gasp, he took the full force, losing his footing and stumbling towards her. She had meant to push him back. Instead, he fell directly towards her, pulling her with him.
A very unladylike shriek came from her lips as she fell backwards. In the last second, she threw out her arms and broke the fall, before Snape's full body landed heavily on her, burying her under him.
Exhaustion seeped into her bones. Lying down was a very bad idea. She would lose consciousness before she could win.
With the last of her strength, she pushed her magic against him, slinging him away from her. He landed on his back next to her with a thud. Desperately, she pulled on the thinning strand of her magic and shot another attack at him. It hit him again, square in the chest. The pained groan from his lips was like a pepper-up potion to her.
She pushed herself up and trained her wand on him. His body was trembling but his eyes still glared at her. He still had fight left in him. Without thinking, she threw herself over him, trapping him between her legs and arms. He had nowhere to go as she sent another attack against him, hitting his shoulder this time.
"Fuck," she heard him curse almost imperceptibly. Then he raised his voice. "Stop. Miss Granger, you win. I have nothing left. Stop, now!"
The same rage she felt earlier flooded her system. He had no right to tell her anything. Glaring at him, she let go of her aura defence. Focusing, breathing heavily, she channelled all her remaining energy into one last devastating attack. He should hurt from this. Better yet, he should die from this.
She raised her wand hand, needing the movement to push out the magic in her weakened state. Snape's eyes widened. Before she knew what was happening, he swiped her other arm out from under her. With a yelp, she lost balance and fell towards his chest.
Just as they collided, Snape wrapped his arms around her and rolled over, now trapping her under him. One hand gripped her wand hand, pressing it into the floor above her head. "Enough, Miss Granger!"
Hate blinded her vision. She would not lose to him. The magic still crackled in her grip, seeking release. Without caring whether she would hit herself with it, she released it. Pushed it upward and out, screaming as she did so.
The burst flung Snape away from her again, farther this time. With him, the last bit of her magic left her. Black spots dotted her vision, but she was not yet done. He had to know that he lost. He had to look into her eyes and understand that he was nothing.
Her arms and legs shook violently as she crawled towards him. His wand lay discarded on the floor next to him, his eyes were closed. With a thud, she planted her hands left and right from his face. He didn't react. Gritting her teeth, she raised one hand. He still didn't react. She could feel tears well up. This insufferable monster of a wizard.
With the last of her strength, she slapped him across the face.
His eyes fluttered open. For a long moment, she stared into those dark eyes, feeling all her hate focus on just his face. Snape blinked. No longer able to keep his carefully emotionless façade up, she could see everything in those eyes. Exhaustion. Resignation.
Good. Determined, she pressed the tip of her wand against his throat. "I won. Remember this moment, Snape. Remember that it was only the mercy of the lord you love so much that saved you from death this day." She lowered her voice to an icy whisper. "One day, he won't be here to save you."
He only blinked in response. Then his features slackened and his eyes closed again. He lost consciousness.
With a grown, Hermione stood up. She could feel her body sway. The whole room was turning around her. The empty feeling of her depleted magic made her body throb with a dull pain. Everything ached.
Worst of all, the satisfaction that she hoped to feel did not come. She had thoroughly beaten Snape, but it didn't feel good. All she could feel was hate and frustration. She took a step forward, but instantly, her vision blurred.
"My sweet." She stumbled into the open arms of Voldemort. "I knew you would win again today, but you surpassed my wildest expectations."
She swallowed as she again felt tears in her eyes. She would not cry, not again. She couldn't. She shouldn't. Not in front of Voldemort. Not over Snape.
"You did so well, my Hermione," Voldemort purred into her ear as he embraced her tightly.
The strong hold of his arms was comforting. Desperately, she pressed her eyes shut, willing her tears away. But it was no use. Exhaustion and anger and that stupid feeling of betrayal all still coursed through her veins, holding her in a dark grip. Her lips trembled. A sob forced its way out and with that, everything broke.
Burying her face in his chest, she clung to Voldemort as tears freely rolled over her cheeks. He held her close, one hand stroking her back.
"It's okay, sweet witch," he murmured. "Good girl. You're so good for me. So powerful for me. I have you. Don't hold back. I have you."
He swooped her into his arms then, carrying her out of the room as though she weighed nothing. All the way back to her room, he continued to whisper to her, telling her she was a good girl and how proud he was of her.
And with each word from his lips, she felt herself relax. Slowly, the tears stopped. With it, her body stopped shaking. Instead, deep, all-encompassing exhaustion seeped into her bones. Before they reached her room, she fell asleep in Voldemort's arms.