A/N: The Final Chapter. Since much of this is directly from the book, I'll try to skim over those parts, giving only a broad overview so I can get to the parts I really want to write about. Cookies if you guess which parts are those before you read the chapter.

I apologize in advance for Google translator's Latin, which so kindly provided me with some spells.

Since it's the last chapter, you get an extra long one!

Disclaimer: For the last time (truly), I do not own Harry Potter nor its world. The lines which are directly from HP&DH do not belong to me either. I only own the plot.

Chapter 13: The Battle of Hogwarts

Hermione looked around for the next thing to distract herself with. Her eyes landed on her ring, which led to thoughts of Fred.

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since Hermione had last seen Fred. Two weeks since he'd given her that ring, since they'd made love, since she'd woken up to find him gone, since the locket he had given her had started glowing in the pale morning light.

She had opened it to find the same inscription, but it was traced in gold, as if it had absorbed the sunlight. "Love you, Fred."

It was awfully romantic.

As the dragon dipped near a lake, she tried to think of something else to distract her terrified mind. Sure, she had improved her flying ability and her confidence on a broom, but this was a freaking dragon. What had possessed Harry to climb on the bloody dragon in the first place, she would never know. For that matter, she would never know what the hell had possessed her to follow him. If she had had a bit more time, she would have been able to get them out of there, she was sure. And more likely than not, it would not have included riding a bloody dragon.

When Harry suggested they jump, she was happy to agree. She hit the water feet first and Merlin, it was freezing. They slowly made their way to the shore opposite the dragon, where they collapsed in a tired, and painful, heap.

Minutes later, Harry was setting up some protective enchantments around them and Hermione was using her wand, Bellatrix's wand, to summon her bottle of Essence of Dittany. They all needed it for the red, angry burns that covered their bodies.

Once they were somewhat healed, and had fresh clothes on, they assessed their situation.

Ron sighed, tiredly. "Well, on the upside we got the Horcrux. On the downside—"

"—no sword," grumbled Harry, who was still dabbing Dittany on his wounds.

"No sword," repeated Ron. "That double-crossing little scab…"

Harry pulled Hufflepuff's Cup from his pocket and set it down on the grass in front of them. It glinted in the afternoon sun, looking far more innocent than it really was.

"At least we can't wear it this time, that'd look a bit weird hanging around our necks," said Ron, trying to sound cheerful at the prospect. Hermione wasn't fooled. She knew how hard it was for him to talk about those months he had abandoned them.

Hermione spared a look across the lake to the far bank where the dragon lay. "What'll happen to it, do you think?" she asked, "Will it be alright?"

Ron snorted. "You sound like Hagrid. Or Charlie. It's a dragon, Hermione. It can look after itself. It's us we need to worry about."

She turned around to look at him, and saw a wry smile on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Well I don't know how to break this to you," said Ron condescendingly, "but I think they might have noticed we broke into Gringotts." His words were like the last straw. They at first chuckled and then started laughing so hard their whole bodies ached. Of course, that could've been the recent injuries, as well.

Their laughter was cut short when Harry screamed. His body was tense and he was almost convulsing. It lasted no more than a minute, but by the end, Hermione and Ron were terrified. They were even more so when Harry abruptly opened his eyes and said: "He knows. He knows we know about the Horcruxes."

Hermione gasped, horrified. They still hadn't found the last one! If Voldemort knew, it would be near impossible to get to it. "What did you see?"

Harry hesitated. "I saw him find out about the cup. I was… him. He's going to check the others. And the last one…" his forehead creased, thinking hard. Suddenly, his eyes were bright. "The last one, is at Hogwarts. I knew it!"

The next hour was a blur. Hermione had counseled against rushing in without a plan but they had ignored her, conceding to the use of the Invisibility Cloak to placate her. That had, of course, saved their lives on arrival at Hogsmeade, where a Caterwauling Charm had been set. Shuffling tiredly into the Hog's Head, Hermione's brain nearly shut down as she watched Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother, argue with Harry as she gingerly ate the food he had provided. She was exhausted, but the day was not over yet.

Her eyes focused on the picture above the mantelpiece. She asked Aberforth about it, but it was as sore subject as she had suspected it would be. Her natural curiosity, combined with the fatigue she was feeling, had deprived her of her usual tact. After about a further half hour, in which Aberforth had unloaded some of his grudge against his brother, Ariana was sent somewhere.

What happened next surprised even Hermione. The portrait swung forward and in climbed Neville Longbottom.

Hermione watched Harry follow Luna out of the room. Her mind was racing. Even if Harry found the last Horcrux, they didn't have the means to destroy it. Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

Ron huffed. "If only we had the sword, that backstabbing, little—"

"Shush, Ron."

"You're not defending him, are you?"

"Oh, of course not. But I still say, if wizards were to treat other species—"

Ron cut across her. "Hermione. Not the time."

"Not the time. Right." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Alright. Well, we don't have the sword, so we have to find another way to destroy the Cup and the last Horcrux when Harry finds it. And the Snake, but since it's a living thing, I guess killing it will do…"

"Well, what else can destroy Horcruxes?"

"Ronald! We've been over this thousands of times. Fiendfyre, but it's too dangerous. And the sword could, because it had Basilisk venom… That's it! Basilisk venom!" Her eyes were wide and shining.

Ron looked at her strangely. "Oh, do you happen to have some, mine kind of ran out…"

"No! But there's a dead Basilisk in the Chamber, no?"

"The Cham—Oh! The Chamber of Secrets!" His eyes were now shining as much as hers were.

"We'll have to wait for Harry though, neither of us will be able to open it…"

"That won't be a problem! Come on, follow me!" Despite his words, he didn't wait for her to follow him, but took her hand and started dragging her out of the room.

"Wha—Ron!" She wrenched her hand away from his grip. "Ron! Where are we going?"

"To the bathroom! Come on!"

"To the—Ronald!"

"Come on, I'll explain on the way!"

She huffed angrily and ran behind him. "This better be good."

He had too big a start on her, though, so she didn't get her explanation until he was already crouched in front of one of the old sinks. He was hissing and spitting much the same way Harry did when he spoke Parseltongue.

"Ron! You can't speak Parseltongue! How do you intend to open…" But she was silenced when the tap in front of him glowed and started to spin. The sink began to move, revealing a large pipe wide enough to slide into. Her eyes were wide with surprise. "What—how did you…?"

"After I got back and got Harry from that lake," he started turning to look at her. "We destroyed the Horcrux. And Harry, he spoke to it, to make it open. I just… you know, imitated him. Took a few tries, but I got it, didn't I?"

"Ron, that's just… wow!" He smiled brilliantly at her, pleased by her praise, however ineloquent it had been. She stopped him, however, when he was about to slide down. "Wait! How are we getting back up?"

"Oh, right. Last time Fawkes flew us up, didn't he? Well, emm… Accio School Brooms!" He shouted the last words, raising his wand. Not a minute later, two of the old, battered school brooms zoomed through the open bathroom window. "Come on, let's go. Mind the landing." And with that, he let himself go, broom in one hand, wand in the other. Hermione followed him, but unlike him, had the presence of mind to cast a Cushioning Charm before falling.

"Honestly, Ronald," she said, with a very Slytherin smirk when she saw him rubbing his backside. "Are you a wizard or not?"

"Real funny, aren't you? This way."

They made their way further down the tunnel climbing through the rocks where Ron had been trapped the last time he'd been there. "From here on, we're going blind," he warned.

They continued through the tunnel and were pleased to see the main door to the Chamber was open. Inside, though, they almost screamed.

The Basilisk was enormous. With wide eyes, Hermione turned to Ron. "Did you know—"

He shook his head. "This big? Uh-uh. Harry never did tell me how big the thing was. I knew it was big, but this…" he whistled, quite impressed.

"Let's just get a few fangs, destroy the cup and get out of here. This place gives me the creeps," she said with a wary look at the monkey-like image that was the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

"Yeah."

With difficulty, a few shouts and a few spells, they managed to loosen and finally remove a few of the Basilisks fangs.

Ron handed her one of the fangs. "You do it."

"What?"

"Well, Harry got the Diary and I got the locket. It's only fair… you've done as much as we have, Hermione."

She smiled nervously. "Thanks, Ron."

Taking from her enchanted bag a worn scarf to wrap around the fang so as to not touch it directly ("Is there anything you don't have in there?" "Gilderoy Lockhart's collection of lies") she took it with extreme care, since the glistening poison could be seen in the flickering light of the torches that surrounded the eerie Chamber. She was analyzing how best to go about destroying it, since it didn't appear to have any vulnerabilities like the Locket and Diary had. It was, after all, a Cup of solid metal.

Before she could do much to decide where to stab it, a cold wind started coming out of the cup.

"Hermione, hurry up…" Ron said nervously from behind the cup.

"I know! It's just… Where do I stab it? The venom has to get inside the cup for it to work!"

"I don't know, just stab it!" As Hermione raised the fang the wind picked up and with a strong gust, sent Ron sprawling further back into the Chamber. When he didn't sit back up, she began to worry.

"Ron!" She was about to go and check on him when she heard a soft hissing noise from the cup at her feet. "What the—" With a soft pop, the cup duplicated. Suddenly, both cups disappeared with a small flash and reappeared a few feet in front of her. Again, a hiss and a pop and the two cups were now four. They once again disappeared with a flash and reappeared around her.

Hiss. Pop. Flash. Four were eight.

Hiss. Pop. Flash. Eight became sixteen. Thirty two. Sixty Four. One hundred and Twenty eight. Two hundred and fifty six. Five hundred and twelve.

The Chamber was filled with golden cups, and Hermione had no idea which one was the real one. There were cups on the floor, on the Basilisk, there were even some on top of Slytherin's Statue. She picked one at random and drove the fang straight through it. With a bright flash, all cups disappeared and just when Hermione was about to release a breath, they all came back. Except, there were now more. She tried again and again she got the same result.

A low hissing came from the cups, but she found she could understand it. It spoke to her. The barely discernible words ate at her sanity.

"Knowledge," it hissed. "What good are your book-smarts now, bookworm?" She shook her head to dispel the voice, but the hissing intensified. "Nothing you can do now, you poor, poor insufferable know-it-all," it taunted.

Her breath started to quicken, a she could sense a panic attack coming. Get a grip, Hermione! You haven't had a panic attack since 3rd year! But the sight before her made it impossible. How was she supposed to destroy the real cup when there were so many and more came whenever she failed? There was no way of knowing which one was the real cup.

She sank to her knees, her vision darkening as she hyperventilated. Her hand went through one of the cups and she perked up. She realized then that one of the cups would be solid. All she had to do was find it. Crawling through the Chamber she waved her arms through the cups, trying to find the real one.

After several minutes of failed attempts, which Hermione's desperate mind made her believe was hours, she was ready to give up again. Tears were streaming down her face and her heart seemed to hurt, her despair was so deep. It was hopeless.

She turned again in the direction of the door when her arm brushed something solid. With a start she turned to look at what she thought was the real cup only to see a very dirty and bloodied pair of shoes. She lifted her gaze slowly following a pair of pants just as dirty and bloodied. Further up to a toned chest in a ripped shirt and finally to a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Fred!" She launched herself into his arms, the fang still firm in her grasp.

"Hermione!" He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight to him.

"How—how come you're here?"

"The whole Order is here. I asked around and someone said they saw you running into Myrtle's bathroom. I went down the pipe and followed the tunnel until I got here. Hermione, I was so worried!"

"I've missed you so much!" She said through her tears. She held him tighter, wanting to find comfort in his arms. The cups around her were forgotten as was her resolve to destroy the Horcrux. Her world right now consisted of only one thing, one person: Fred. She smiled up at him and ran a hand through his tousled, bloodied locks, wanting to ask what had happened, but his gaze prevented her from doing it. His pupils were dark, and his breath ragged just like that night.

She raised her eyes to his, smiling and he lowered his lips to hers. She waited for the explosion of feeling that usually accompanied their kisses, the tingles on her skin, the numbness on her hands, the rush of pleasure that shook her body. Instead, she felt… nothing. His lips moved against hers, just as she remembered, his arms were around her, caressing her back, lightly pulling her hair.

"Hermione," he murmured against her lips. "I love you, so much."

"I love you too, Fred. I'm sorry." Closing her eyes to forestall the tears that were threatening to fall, she tightened her grip on the Basilisk fang… and drove it straight through his heart.

His eyes widened as he coughed blood, sinking to his knees. "Her… mione?" He coughed again, more blood trickling out of his mouth and down his chin. "Why…?" Tears were now falling freely down her cheeks as she watched how the man she loved died by her hand. "Why…?" He repeated.

"You're not him. You're not Fred."

"Her…mione…"

"Don't waste your breath! I know you're not the real Fred. You can't be." Her resolve appeared to weaken as she watched him cough more blood.

"I… lov…"

She shook her head, kneeling in front of him. "No. No, you don't." She stabbed him again, the fang piercing deep into his skin, beside the other wound. Suddenly, the image in front of her flickered, much like an old television with bad reception. It refocused quickly, though, but Fred's eyes were no longer the bright blue she loved but a deadly, cold red. She stumbled back, putting more distance between herself and Riddle-Fred.

He laughed and the sound was cold and emotionless. It sent shivers up her spine, and not the good kind. "No, I don't, and neither does he." He laughed again when he heard her intake of breath. "You really think you, a Mudblood, is worthy of the love of a pureblood like him? You know, in your heart, what the truth is. You're inferior. Unworthy. I've seen your heart, and you know it, Hermione." He said her name in much the same way Fred had whispered her name when he made love to her. It was a breathy caress, a promise of love and better things to come, but coming from him, it was mocking and cruel.

Much as she wanted to stop it, the flow of tears returned in full force as did the lightheadedness that usually accompanied her panic attacks. She closed her eyes, not wanting to look at the sneering expression on the face of her beloved. She gave a start then, when she felt his lips brush her ear. She hadn't noticed him come so close. His voice was just like Fred's, the fingers ghosting over her cheek felt just like his. "You don't deserve me."

With a sob, she flung herself backwards. Falling away from him and rolling over. The sudden movements made the chain around her neck break and the locket he had given her what seemed like a lifetime ago fell and snapped open. She crawled towards it and held it in her hand, staring at the picture of the two of them, smiling at each other, so much love in their faces. She looked at the other side, and nearly dropped the locket in shock.

She had opened the locket every day since he had given it to her to stare at the picture and read the inscription he had engraved on it. It was always the same. Picture-Fred had his arms around Picture-Hermione and dipped in to steal a kiss every once in a while. The message had, also, always been the same. "Love you, Fred" in golden letters that looked as if they had been written in sunlight.

Not anymore. Where the words "Love you" had been, now new words adorned the locket. In the same handwriting the previous words had been, there was now a promise. Their promise.

"Always and Forever, Fred." She closed her eyes, focusing with all her will and her heart in him. And she remembered…

~oO*Oo~oO*Oo~oO*Oo~oO*Oo~oO*Oo~

…through the closed compartment door she heard as Ron declared that he hoped that whatever house he was in, she was not in it. She turned around and sniffled, nearly running into a taller boy, as red-headed and freckled as the rude one in the compartment. He had the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen.

He smiled widely at her, but it dropped a bit when he saw she was near tears. "Hey you alright?"

"Yeah, just some rude boy in there…"

He looked over at the compartment she was indicating. "Oh, that's my brother Ron. Don't mind him, he's rude to everyone. I'm Fred," he had said, extending his hand. "Fred Weasley."

"Hi, Fred. I'm Hermione." She had said, smiling back at him…

~oO*Oo~

…she saw Malfoy, sneering at her on the Quidditch Pitch. She had just made a crack at him for having to buy his way into the Slytherin team. He had responded and called her something she hadn't known the meaning of. She saw how Ron was almost spluttering and had his wand raised in anger. She saw how Fred stepped in front of her, shielding her from the gaze of the murderous Slytherins…

~oO*Oo~

…she was crying in the library. It had been weeks since Harry and Ron had spoken to her, what with her going to McGonagall about the broom and all. She swept her eyes over the huge pile of books spread over the table in front of her, but stopped when she noticed there was someone standing by her table. Dreading the possibilities, she raised her eyes to see the concerned face of Fred Weasley.

"And why's a pretty witch like you crying in a place like this?"

Not intending to, she had unloaded her sob story on him: The Firebolt, Hagrid's upcoming hearing, Ron's rat being chased by her cat, the stress she was under because of all her classes. She had avoided telling him about the time-turner, obviously.

"They'll come around, you'll see. They'll realize you did what you did because you care and come crawling back to you. Don't worry, little witch. Everything will work out in the end, you'll see." He had stood up and with a last smile and a wink, had turned to go…

~oO*Oo~

…she had followed him and his brother to the Hospital Wing, where they were having their beards removed. "I'm glad it didn't work."

"You worry too much."

She stomped her feet on the ground. "I have fair reason to, Frederick!"

George had laughed from the bed next to his. "Ooh, careful, there, Fred! She's dragging out the full name!"

"Well, we're not in, so you can stop your fretting, little one."

"I'm not little, Fred."

"So you say." With a huff, she had made to turn away and leave, but he caught her wrist before she could leave. "Thank you. For worrying." She nodded…

~oO*Oo~

…she cornered them alone after their confrontation in the common room. "They're first years, really! They don't know what they're doing!"

"We already tested the products ourselves, but we need a larger sample! Would you rather we sold something potentially dangerous?" Fred had rebuked in all seriousness. Taken aback by his sudden attitude, she considered his words.

With a sigh she had turned to them, fixing them both with her scariest stare. "Fourth years and up. Younger years don't know enough to know what the hell they're getting in. Test only on fourth years and up and you won't hear a pip from me, deal?" Their eyes had sparkled as they agreed to her condition…

~oO*Oo~

…she had heard his voice before she noticed he was there. "For that, Hermione, you can have one for free." Her eyes darted between him and the box labeled Patented Daydream Charm in her hands. She had smiled when he got so flustered about their punching telescope…

~oO*Oo~

…she collapsed into his arms, wet from the rain outside, her heart breaking after what she had just done. He had held her tight and helped her calm down. She had been walking up the stairs when she had turned and murmured her thanks. She didn't think he knew she was thanking him not only for that night, but for every time he had been there for her…

~oO*Oo~

…she was spinning, spinning, spinning, his dancing making her breathless and dizzy. She focused on him, his smile and how it seemed to brighten up his whole face. "Come on, George wants a spin with you." Then, the silver light of Kingsley's Patronus…

~oO*Oo~

…he laid flat on his broom, accelerating in front of her. "I bet you can't catch me, Hermione!"

"Of course I can't! Did you see the old thing Moody is making me ride?"

He had turned and flown straight up to her. Leaning in, he had smiled widely at her. "You wouldn't be able to catch me even if you had a broom and I had a duster!" He had flown away from her, laughing.

"Oh! I'll get you for that, Weasley!" She had dashed after him…

~oO*Oo~

…he leaned in, brushing his fingers over her lips, wiping the bit of cream she had on the corner of her mouth…

~oO*Oo~

…she was falling asleep in his arms as they waited for George. Truth was, she had never been so comfortable…

~oO*Oo~

…He put a hand on her cheek, and she closed her eyes at the contact. His other hand went around her waist, bringing her body flush against his. His lips were so close to hers she could feel his warm breath as he slowly closed the distance between them…

~oO*Oo~

…he took his hands away, revealing a silver locket. "So you'll carry my love wherever you go," he had said…

~oO*Oo~

…his lips on hers, teasing, tantalizing. "So beautiful," he had breathed. His eyes dark, his hair messy, the feel of his skin on hers…

~oO*Oo~

"…Marry me, Hermione. Be mine…"

~oO*Oo~oO*Oo~oO*Oo~oO*Oo~oO*Oo~

The magic on the locket was spent and the no-longer-golden letters were now back to being a simple engraving, though the message remained unchanged: "Always and Forever, Fred."

She turned to see Riddle-Fred sneering at her, ready to continue his hurtful barbs. With an enraged scream, she flung herself at him, the fang tight in her hand as she forced it deep into his neck.

"You're right," she said tiredly as he started disintegrating. "I don't deserve him. But I love him, and he loves me, and that's all that matters." She closed her eyes and didn't wake until several minutes later when Ron shook her.

"Hermione! Hermione, wake up!" Her eyes flew open and she looked around, fearful of what she would see. Instead of Riddle-Fred, or the thousand cups, there was a single cup a few feet away from her. It was warped and twisted and the Basilisk fang had nearly split it in half. "Hermione, you did it!"

Panicked, she threw her arms around Ron. "Oh, Ron! It was horrible. I killed him. I killed him. I killed Fred."

"Wha—what are you talking about?"

"He—Riddle, the Horcrux, it took his form, and I—I killed him."

"Shh, shh, easy now. It wasn't Fred and he's gone, Hermione. Come on. Let's get out of here." Gingerly, he took a few of the fangs and wrapped them in Hermione's scarf. He put the destroyed cup in her purse and pocketed it, noticing she was still half in shock. "Come on, with me, now." He gently led her to where the rocks had had him trapped the last time he'd been there. He took one of the brooms and accommodated Hermione on it, mounting behind her. He knew she wouldn't be able to function correctly until she saw that Fred was alive and well. He kicked off and flew back out, landing in front of Myrtle's bathroom.

He half pushed and half tugged to get her back to the Room of Requirements. When he got there, he saw that the younger years and most of Slytherin house were being led into it. "Dammit, they must be evacuating!" Just as he spotted almost angrily Harry making his way towards them, someone stumbled out of a passage right in front of them. His wand was in his hand before he could even compute who it was.

He didn't need to, though, for in less than a second the person had jerked Hermione into a ferocious hug. "Hermione!"

She stiffened in his embrace, not yet processing the fact that Fred was hugging her. "Fr—Fred?" She didn't notice how to one side Ron was swiftly explaining to Harry about where they'd been. Didn't notice the throng of students going into the Room of Requirement. Didn't notice how time seemed to have stopped and the only thing that felt real were his arms around her. Reacting, she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Fred! Oh, Merlin, I was so scared!"

He was running his hands through her hair, kissing every inch of her face he could reach. "I'm here, love, I'm here. Oh, Merlin, I thought I'd lost you!"

Once she understood his mumbling, she was thoroughly confused. "What? Why would you think that?"

"The locket I gave you. It has an ancient enchantment on it and when properly charged it can act as a beacon if you're in danger. I was at Bill and Fleur's when I felt the tug and I came as soon as I could, I swear, but when I got through to the Room of Requirements, they told me they didn't know where you were and then Voldemort sent that message about wanting Harry and I—I was so scared!"

He crashed his lips down on hers and Hermione felt the difference. Unlike Riddle's, his kisses made her giddy. It sent shivers down her spine, a tingle spread on her skin and she could just feel the love between them almost as a tangible thing.

"I love you. So much."

"I know. I love you too."

With much regret, they had separated again, Hermione following Harry and Ron into the Room of Requirement. There, they had met Malfoy, who for once, wasn't the active pawn in his little entourage. If anything, he was trying to hold back the maniacal killing machines Crabbe and Goyle had turned into. Their manic laughter as they sent Killing Curse after Killing Curse after them chilled her to the bone.

Then the room had been consumed by cursed fire and the last scream of the Ravenclaw's Diadem as the Horcrux within it died both disgusted her and pleased her. Only the snake was left.

Despite his crazy attempts to kill her, she couldn't help the twinge of sadness she felt when Ron announced Crabbe was no more. Dreadful intellectual capacity to be rivaled only by that of a pigeon, mean and despicable as he had been, he had been a classmate.

But this was war.

They ran through the castle, helping duels, erecting barriers and sending curses. Twice they had to stop and join a duel before being able to go on.

They ran down a corridor and turned right, only to see further up how Fred and Percy backed into view, both of them dueling masked Death Eaters. Jets of light erupted from all four wands as they dueled, some defensive, most attacking. They ducked, dodged, shielded. Harry, Ron and Hermione ran to their help.

"Hello, Minister," Hermione heard in the background. She twirled her wand and sent another jet of light at their attackers. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"

"You're joking, Perce!" Fred's voice broke through the battle-lust and she turned to him. What she saw, made her blood run cold.

Behind him, Augustus Rookwood, his mask in pieces barely covering his face, was raising his wand. Fred's voice continued in the background, he was unaware of the disaster about to rain on them, quite literally, for Rookwood wasn't pointing his wand towards any of them but to the wall behind them. Almost in slow motion, Hermione saw his smirking lips move. "Bombarda Maxima!"

As the beam of light that would bury them all raced to the wall, she found the speed to raise her wand straight in the air and yell a protection spell making it as wide as she could, trying to cover all of her friends. "Solidam Praesidium!"

The air around them exploded.

They were all sent flying through the air, Harry, Ron, Percy, Hermione, the two subdued Death Eaters, one Stunned, one transfigured, and Fred. From where she fell, she could see as a huge piece of the wall fell towards him, closer and closer until…

…it hit her shield and disintegrated into dust.

The force of the explosion threw them away from Rookwood who was looking murderous, and had knocked out poor Percy. With an enraged shout, Hermione threw herself at the Death Eater who had almost, almost killed the one she loved. She drew back her fist and punched him straight on the nose. He fell against the wall behind him, knocking his head against it. With a growl, he tried to grab his wand, but Hermione kicked it out of his reach. She punched him again, leaving him dazed against the wall.

"That's the last time you try to kill the man I love, Rookwood," she sneered. She shoved the tip of her wand inside his mouth and she could see his eyes widen in terror. She savored the word as it left her mouth slowly. "Bombarda!"

It wasn't pretty.

The shield she had raised previously still protected her, disintegrating anything solid that came in contact with it. With a satisfied huff she ran back to her friends to notice no one had seen what she had done, since they had all been hovering over an unconscious Percy.

"Is he alright?" she asked when she got there. Ron nodded and told her he was just knocked out.

Hermione felt Fred's arm slip around her waist. She half turned to look at him and was surprised to feel his lips on her. "Thank you, love. You saved our lives with that spell." She just kissed him back.

The next hour flew… Hermione had a vague idea of fighting back to back with Fred, encountering several Acromantula and having blasted the foul Fenrir Greyback from a struggling Lavender. She had not had the time to check, but she hoped the girl was alright. She had come to quite like Lavender in her stay at Grimmauld Place, despite the girl's over cheeriness and sometimes annoying bubbly disposition.

They had run through the castle, loosing Fred and Percy in the process, and gotten under the invisibility cloak. Under the Willow and into the Shrieking Shack where they watched their former Potions Professor be left to die. Whatever memories he gave Harry were his last message to the world.

Fred ran, he had lost Hermione somewhere but in the desperate exchange of magic, he couldn't take the time to find her. He ducked and dodged, sending spell after spell against the enemy forces. To his left, he saw Lupin, haggardly trying to keep up with Dolohov. He looked into the twisted face of the Death Eater and a memory came to his mind, unbidden.

…they were in bed, and he was admiring her beauty under the moonlight, not that he would tell her that, it was way too cheesy, even for him. His fingers gently traced the curve of her shoulder, up her neck and across her lips. She smiled, opening her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Watching you." She sat up, blushing and lifted the sheet to cover her body. He swiped it away, letting the sheet fall back on the bed so he could see her bathed in moonlight. He gently traced his fingers back the way he had previously taken, down her neck, and tracing the curve of her shoulder. Softly, he lowered his hand to trace along the long silvery scar that ran across her body, from her shoulder to her hip.

"How did you get this?"

"Department of Mysteries at the end of my fifth year. Dolohov cursed me."

He studied the scar that marred her otherwise perfect skin. "Looks serious."

She nodded, somewhat grim. "I was out for a few days. I nearly died." He continued to caress her until she sank back into sleep. Before sliding the sheet back up her body, he traced the scar once more.

"One of these days I'll kill him for what he did to you," he promised, clenching his fist in anger. "Him and Bellatrix. I'll kill them both." With a tired sigh, he hugged her close to him, reveling in her warm body…

He ran forward joining Remus in his duel. The brief respite he could afford, seemed to renew his werewolf Professor's drive. Dolohov was soon overwhelmed by the two fierce combatants.

Lupin's slashing hex caught him in the throat and he dropped to his knees, both hands holding his throat, trying to stem the blood. Lupin turned to the castle and ran, going to join his wife's duel against Bellatrix Lestrange, trusting Fred to finish him. Instead of doing that or looking for his own new duel to join, Fred walked slowly to where Dolohov was dying. He crouched in front of him, looking into his terrified eyes.

"Years ago, in the Department of Mysteries, you hurt the woman I love. Now, I get to see you die." With a wave of his wand he stuck Dolohov's hands to his side, and watched as the man bled slowly to death.

With a satisfied grunt, he turned in time to see Bellatrix being replaced in her duel by some other Death Eater. Bellatrix was running towards the forest, but she was too far, and he too tired, to reach her. His revenge for what she did to Hermione would have to wait. Lupin and Tonks, though tired, were both still alive.

Further along, he saw something that made him start. Another Death Eater had cornered someone against the wall of the castle. He started running, trying to get to the duel in time, but the green flash of light and the small crumbling body told him it was too late. With a slash of his wand, he sent a Cutting Hex at the back of the laughing Death Eater. By the time the Death Eater turned around, Fred had sent another curse his way and he dropped to the ground, bleeding to death like Dolohov before him. Knowing there was nothing he could do for the one who had been dueling him, he contented himself with stomping on his wand and flicking his own, sending him flying backwards where he fell with a loud crunch. He took the last few steps and lighted his wand to see the pale, dead face of little Colin Creevey.

He swore loudly. "Dammit, Colin! You heard McGonagall, why did you come back? A Gryffindor to the very end." He gently closed his eyes, laying him down on the bloodied grass. He waved his wand twice in front of him and two sparks, one red and one golden, erupted from his wand. Charmed to remain, they stayed merrily dancing over Colin's body, signaling whoever would be looking for bodies later where the little Gryffindor was.

He walked over to help Remus get Tonks, who had a crushed leg and couldn't walk into the castle. Voldemort's booming voice made them stumble. "You have fought valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery." Fred had to suppress a snort at that. "Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful…" Fred tuned him out. The amount of shit the… man, if one could still call him that, could spit out was surprising!

He went into the Great Hall, half dragging both Tonks and Lupin, whose exhaustion seemed to have finally caught up with him. He had no idea why would Lupin feel so exhausted, since the full moon had been two weeks before. Too much dueling, or some kind of weird werewolf trait, he supposed.

Once having delivered his charges to Madam Pomfrey, he ran to his family. He was happy to see all were accounted for, even Charlie, who he had not known had joined the battle. Percy had a bandage around his head and was sporting a huge black eye, not to mention that he had an arm in a sling.

But they were alive. As soon as he made it there, he was engulfed in a bone-breaking hug by his mother. Once she let go, though, he has to suffer the same but from his twin brother. Holding on to him, for he needed the reassurance they were all alive, he looked around to see that, unlike his first impression, there was one of their number missing.

"Where's—where's Ron?

Hermione ran behind Ron and Harry, barely keeping up. She could see her classmates and some of the Order retrieving the dead and the injured from the killing field. The expanse between Hogwarts Castle and the Forbidden Forest had never seemed so long.

Clutching a stich at her side, she stopped for a moment to take a breath, trusting Ron to hold Harry from doing something stupid, like giving himself up to Voldemort. She was about to start running again, when she heard something that made her blood run cold. To her right, a masked Death Eater was taunting someone. "Avada! Avada Ke—!" He laughed. She advanced stealthily to see Yaxley, the blond Death Eater who had overseen Lavender's trial toying with a wandless Draco Malfoy. "I bet you don't want me to finish that, eh, traitor? Didn't think about this when you went and deserted your fellow Death Eaters, eh? Avada Ked—!" The look of absolute terror in Malfoy's face decided her course of action. Gripping her wand tightly in her hand, she sent a well-aimed Stunner at the blonde Death Eater. Malfoy looked up in surprise and did a double take at seeing her. He nodded his head, she supposed in thanks, and she did the same back. He took the wand from the fallen Yaxley and ran to the castle. She followed just in time to see Harry disappear up the marble staircase.

She ran into the Hall, immediately zoning n on the sea of red heads who all appeared to be hugging one of them. She caught Fred's eyes over his family and gave in to the need to run to them. Throwing herself into his arms, she let him comfort her. An indeterminate amount of time later, she looked around the Hall, her eyes passing quickly over the fifty or so bodies that had been laid there. They almost looked asleep. More bodies were being brought in and she had to bite back a scream of anguish when she saw little Colin Creevey being set down by Oliver Wood, the former Quidditch Captain.

Averting her eyes from the dead, instead she focused on the living. Ron was hovering over by Lavender, whose face and neck were now scarred very much like Bill's. She saw him rest a hand on her arm, tenderly comforting the sobbing woman. George and Angelina were much as Fred and her, wrapped around each other, seeking comfort in their embrace. Fleur was a surprise to see, for she had thought the part-veela would have stayed with her daughter, but from what she could understand of the mutterings between her and Bill, they had left little Victoire with Andromeda, Tonks' mother, who was also minding little Teddy.

She lifted her eyes to him, trying to reassure herself he was still alive amidst the death that surrounded them. "I love you," she murmured.

"I love you, too." He lowered his lips to hers, making her forget, even if only for a second, all of her problems.

And then Voldemort's voice sounded, and her world was torn asunder.

In a daze, she followed the throng of people exiting the Great Hall, trying to see if what Voldemort had said was true. Hermione was conflicted. She knew, in her heart, that it was just like Harry to give himself up, but something told her it was not over yet. He was still alive. With those contradictory emotions, she followed the moving mass out into the courtyard, where Voldemort stood, surrounded by his army. At the front was Hagrid, Harry's dead body in his arms.

McGonagall's heart-breaking scream tore through her, her own scream of denial caught in her throat. She watched how Neville walked o Voldemort, defiance oozing out of him in waves. He watched as the Sorting Hat was stuffed over his ears and how Voldemort set it on fire.

In slow motion, she saw Neville duck, take off the Hat and take form it the glittering Sword of Gryffindor. She followed, as everyone in the courtyard, the arc it made as it slashed through the air, severing the head of the foul serpent that had been hovering near him. The blast of power that indicated the death of the last Horcrux swept through her and she was thrown into chaos.

Soon, she was in battle again and separated form Fred. She sent curses and hexes flying until she was cornered by none other than Lucius Malfoy. Her wand arm incapacitated by a curse, she was defenseless. He was sneering at her, a half-crazed look in his eyes. He raised his wand triumphantly. "Avada—"

She blurted out her only chance. "I saved your son!"

The crazy glint in his eye disappeared. "What?"

"Yaxley was going to kill him. I saved him, so he owes me a life debt."

Malfoy laughed. "Another reason to kill you, then. No Malfoy owes anything to a Mudblood!"

"If you kill me, who is to say nothing will happen to him? You know the old Magics, Malfoy." She was rambling, anything to keep him occupied until someone noticed them and could help her. "Being killed by the father of the man who owes me a life debt, something could happen to him."

"Lies!" He shouted, raising his wand again, but he didn't sound so sure. She rushed on, distracting Malfoy from his intent.

"You know the old Magics, Malfoy. It's the same kind of Magic that defeated your Master sixteen years ago, when Lily Potter stood in the way of him killing her only son." It wasn't, really, but Malfoy didn't know that. "Are you willing to risk it?"

He regarded her, his eyes narrowing, as he calculated his options. "Very well." She breathed a sigh of relief before he raised his wand again. "That doesn't mean I'm leaving you here to help your own side, Mudblood. Ite procul hinc!" The blue jet of light collided with her chest before she could react. She felt a sharp tug behind her navel and then, she knew no more.

Fred was looking for her everywhere. It was crazy. Chaos. His mother had killed Bellatrix Lestrange and as Voldemort had blasted his opponents away and turned his wand on his mother, Harry, alive and oh so angry, had stopped him from cursing her. They had talked, dueled, and Voldemort, terror of the time, had lost.

Hours passed and still he couldn't find her. He had searched everywhere and even gotten some other people to search. It was already light when everyone got together again in the Great Hall.

"Has anyone seen her? Does anyone know where she is?" He had to keep his voice from cracking, but the fear in his heart was threatening to make him pass out.

They all looked at each other. He didn't even notice who it was that said the damming words. "We can't find her. She's not here. I'm sorry, Fred."

His heart shattered.

THE END

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A/N: Don't hate me, this had to happen, since this is a prequel and the end was already decided!

It has been a wonderful journey, and I'm honored to have had you all wonderful people as my readers. To all those who reviewed, thank you so much! To those who preferred to be silent, thank you as well, for reading this story. I ask you now, to break that silence and tell me what you thought.

Since some people may be confused about Hermione's Locket, the Horcrux destruction scene, or anything else, for that matter, I'd be delighted to answer any questions you might have, be it by PM or review. My inbox is open to all of you my dear readers :D

There will be no epilogue and if you want to know what happens with Fred and Hermione (since this is by no means their last encounter) then take a look at my other story, a one-shot titled 'Always and Forever' and leave me a review to let me know what you think, yeah? In the far future I *may* write a one-shot about the years between this story and 'Always and Forever' but I'm not sure. It all depends on the plot bunny (and your reviews).

That is all, I'm signing out. So to speak.

I bid you all a very Merry Christmas.

Love,

C.

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