Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Verto Vitae	By : RynStar15 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 40710 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Harry Potter nor do I make any money or intend any copyright infringement by using the characters therein.

Chapter List
- 22
- 23
- 24
Hermione sighed into the kiss, her heart fuller than it had ever felt. She couldn't wait to see the shocked looks on everyone's faces when she and Draco told them about Nagini's demise.
She still couldn't believe they'd managed to pull it off. Now, all Harry had to do was kill her master - who was mortal once more - and this seemingly endless nightmare would finally be over.
Draco groaned and ground his hips into hers harder, biting her lip and making her moan.
"Think we can make it to the bedroom without anyone noticing?" he grinned cockily, making Hermione laugh.
"Somehow, I highly doubt we'd – argh!"
Pain exploded behind Hermione's eyes and she gasped at the intensity, grabbing at her head while Draco questioned her wildly. She tried to say something, anything, but she felt that familiar tug, the one that gripped her when her master was calling for her, though she'd never felt anything like -
In a flash of searing agony, she felt it, felt him, saw his eyes looking through hers, taking in the sun-drenched fields around them, Draco's frantic face as he questioned her. She felt a moment of elation, of determination, and then he was gone.
The pain left as quickly as it started and Hermione sucked in harsh breaths as she slumped in Draco's arms, drained. He took her weight, holding her up, begging her to answer him, yanking her chin up to look at him, his face blurred through her still glazed gaze. Willing herself not to be sick, her shaking hands grabbed at Draco's shoulders, steadying herself.
Before Hermione could utter a word of warning, she felt a vice around her waist, wrenching her from Draco's desperate grasp. She felt his hands grabbing at her, heard his own cry as he lost his hold on her. Her back smacked against the ground, stealing her breath, and Hermione gasped in fear as she looked up into the infuriated gaze of her master towering above her. He used one hand to keep Draco at bay, using his other to flick his wand, causing her to whip to her feet. His face was twisted in anger as he pulled her up to his nauseating countenance.
"It seems you have some explaining to do, my dear," he growled. "And if you do not give me the answers I seek, I will kill everyone you love. I will tear you apart piece by piece until there's nothing left but your filthy blood staining the very ground I walk on. When I'm finished with you, everyone will know what happens to those who think they can deceive the Dark Lord."
Fear clamped her throat shut as she felt the breath-taking squeeze of Apparition. When she landed, she was barely able to take in the sight of a dilapidated house and disheveled yard before she hit the ground screaming, pain consuming her. She recognized the burning torture, but having felt it before didn't lessen the fire that raged through her veins.
When it lifted, Hermione was flipped onto her back where her master crouched over her, his face centimeters from her own. Terror flooded through her as his red eyes bored into her.
"You have one chance to cooperate, Mudblood, or I will rend your traitorous lover limb from limb until you do. Now, tell me, how did you come by that Mark?"
"You gave it to me," she panted, fear clenching her throat tightly, making it difficult to speak. He looked even more demented in his fury, like he was barely holding on to any semblance of control he had, and Hermione knew if she did not tread carefully that he would kill her regardless of getting his answers.
"DO NOT LIE TO ME, GIRL!"
"I swear; I can prove it to you!" she cried hurriedly, hating the quiver of fear lacing her words as he raised his arm to torture her again. She had never been more petrified and yet she knew if she kept him talking, kept him wondering, she had more time to figure a way out of this. She had never felt so vulnerable; knowing she was wandless, powerless. She'd entered that hall without protection, trusting that Draco would be there, that he would kill the snake and get them out of there alive.
He hadn't disappointed her. But now she was alone with the Dark Lord who was ready to snap - without a wand or any means to protect herself. The chances of her ever seeing Draco again slipped away with every moment, but she would not give up. Not yet. They would come for her.
Dissatisfied with her answer, her master raised his wand once again and she was screaming in pain as his curse whipped through her body, leaving her devastated and heaving in its wake.
"You will discontinue these games, Mudblood, or those Muggle parents you hold so dear will find their precious hideaway less than adequate protection from my wrath. So, unless you want to take a detour to Victoria, I suggest you start talking."
Hermione's stomach twisted. How could he know where her parents were?
"Now, I will ask you one more time. How did you come by my Mark?"
"I told you," she croaked, her throat already sore from screaming. "You gave it to me." When he advanced on her she met his gaze, terrified, her hand flinging out as if the measly appendage would save her. "If you don't believe me then look for yourself!"
His face contorted as he struggled to reign in his emotions, fighting between his need to understand and his want to kill her as painfully as possible for deceiving him. She watched him consider her proposition, his lips curling.
"Legillimens!"
Hermione brought the memory to the fore of her mind, shoving the rest hastily behind the white marble wall. She allowed him to watch the scene from the moment he told her to hold out her arm, as she took his hand and he pressed the tip of his wand against her skin. They watched her being tortured over and over until Bellatrix was assisting her to her feet. Then, with the strength Moody had given her in all their late-night lessons, she tore away from his mental grasp and fell back against the grass heaving, her head roaring in pain.
Her master was huffing in rage when she was finally able to look up at him through streaming eyes. She could see in the white-knuckled grip on his wand that he was barely able to contain himself.
"How did you come to witness this?"
"A little spell called Verto Vitae."
He sucked in a breath above her and Hermione couldn't help the little smirk that played at the corner of her mouth at his reaction. "Heard of it, have you?"
"Indeed. But I am curious, my little Mudblood, as to why you would be so eager to join me that you would take young Master Malfoy's place?"
"Would you have given the Dark Mark to me had I approached you as I am now?"
His mouth twisted as he considered her. "A fair point. You see, I have a certain distaste for your kind."
"My kind?" she asked, preparing herself for the pain she knew she was about to endure. "Or the kind that left your weak mother the second he found out what she was?"
"CRUCIO!"
Her moment of fun cost her dearly. By the time she came-to she was lying face down, coughing up blood. He kicked her onto her back and she willed herself not to be sick as his face swam across her vision, her body throbbing in agony, sharp slices of pain beating through her skull so that she dared not raise her head.
"Are you enjoying yourself, Mudblood?" he murmured, his soft voice even more terrifying in its control. He crouched near her and when she looked into his red eyes, she knew with a grim certainty that she was going to die. "Maybe if I bring young Malfoy here you'll behave?"
"You've already seen what you wanted," Hermione snapped quickly, terror flooding her at the thought of her master using Draco to torture her. "What use am I to you anymore?"
His lips curled into a sickening smile. "Pleading for death so soon, Mudblood? Tsk, I had thought you stronger than that."
Terror flooded her veins. Fear as she'd never felt had her mind screaming at her to run, but there was nowhere for her to go. She was wandless and weak from the Cruciatus; she couldn't fight him. Her life was forfeit in the hands of this soulless monster. She cringed as he dragged the back of his finger down her tear stained cheek as one would a lover, his face contemplative.
"Never fear, Miss Granger, I will end your pathetic life soon. But first, I will have my answers. Why did you take my Mark?"
"I would think that would be obvious," she spat. It didn't matter anymore if he knew what their plan had been. It was over now. The snake was dead. All that was left was for Harry to kill the man before her and the last thing she could give him was time to develop a plan. She had to keep her master talking.
"Enlighten me."
"What better spy is there than one who could witness your every move? I could blend in, stand among your chosen and find out your next attacks, your secret hiding places. I would see the faces of your followers, have them executed one-by-one. I would be closer to that snake you held so dear than we could ever hope to be. Turns out that last part was taken care of for me -"
"CRUCIO!"
Her screams reverberated through the trees surrounding them and hung on the unseasonably frigid air long after the spell was lifted. She gasped in terror, not knowing how much more her body could take. She looked up into her master's face, surprised by his sudden look of apprehension, his left hand massaging the wrist of his wand hand as if in pain.
"Why do I feel a connection to you that I've never had with any of my followers?" he whispered, his own fear lacing his words. "Why was I able to find you with a mere thought?"
Hermione closed her eyes against the impossibility of her situation. If she told him about the Arcavi and he found out that she had thwarted him not once, but twice, there was no telling how he would react. Would he kill her parents? Draco? Would he torture her with their slaughter before finally killing her?
In the end it made no difference. She would only be able to keep him from her memories for a short while, her Occlumency never as good as Draco's, and never tested under torture. If he forced his way inside her head, he would eventually get his answers and destroy her mind in the process.
"When you gave me the Mark you attempted to give me something else, but I was able to prevent you from finishing the spell."
She could see his control crack imperceptibly and she continued before he could torture her again.
"You see, you were under the impression that I was not only a pureblood, but a virgin. The only way you could make the spell work."
She saw him blanche, knew he had figured it out, which meant he was indeed attempting to create one in this world.
"You started the ritual, but you were never able to finish it, resulting in a curse-bond until you complete the spell. But you'll never be able to, because Draco stole that last crucial piece from you," Hermione said with a smile. "You'll never be able to place the Arcavi inside of me."
"CRUCIO!"
The second the spell ended he was inside her mind watching the rest of her initiation, watching him mount her, screaming in rage when he witnessed her betrayal. He pulled out of her head only to yank her up by her hair so that her face was nearly pressed against his, anger emanating from every pore.
"I am going to destroy you," he hissed, loathing sharpening his words so they stabbed through her like so many daggers, curdling her stomach. "You and everyone else who ever thought they could cross me. I am going to glory in breaking you, I want you to know that. In fact, I'm going to enjoy it so much, I believe I'll make it permanent. I'm going to watch you kill everyone you love, I'm going to watch the light drain from their eyes as they beg you for mercy, mercy you will not show them. You wanted to join my ranks? You wanted to serve the greatest wizard there ever was?"
Fear lanced through her at the maniacal hitch in his voice, the deranged gleam in his eyes. He looked as if he were losing his tenuous grip on sanity and she knew that whatever he was planning, death would be preferable.
"Then serve you will, girl," he grated out, his nails digging into her scalp and making her whimper. "You'll spend eternity by my side and I promise you, that Arcavi would have been a mercy compared to what I'm going to do to you."
.
.
.
Draco felt sick, the pain in his chest making it hard to breathe. He'd watched that sick bastard take her, and he'd done nothing to stop it.
"Try harder, Potter!" he bellowed, his fist coming down onto the scarred wooden table so hard several cups of tea upended. He could see the frustration etching the young man's features as he attempted to break into the Dark Lord's mind to see where he'd taken Hermione.
"I am!" Potter raged, roaring in pain once again, his nails digging into his hairline above his scar. "It's like he's blocked the connection or something. I can't see anything!"
"What could he want her for?" Weasley asked for the hundredth time, his face pale beneath his freckles. "I mean, it's Harry he wants, isn't it?"
"I've told you, Ron," Potter snapped, starting to pace again. "It's leverage. He knows I'll go after her, probably ill-prepared. He knows me, knows the way I think."
"Which is exactly why you aren't going to give into his games!" Ginny snapped, grabbing at her boyfriend's arm and stilling his motions.
"He's got Hermione!" Harry thundered at her. "He'll kill her! You know he will!"
"Not until he gets what he wants, Harry," Arthur said, rubbing his tired eyes before replacing his glasses. "Like you said, he's trying to lure you in. We're all just as worried as you, but we can't put her at risk any further by going in unprepared. We need to figure out a way to corner him, no matter where he is."
"There are hundreds of them, how are we supposed to prepare for that?" Harry growled.
"With everything we've got," Tonks replied, rubbing her still flat belly. "The last Horcrux was destroyed, wasn't it? This is it, then; this is the last chance we have. We must take him out, once and for all. No matter what the cost."
"She's right," Kingsley stated, rising. "I'll have the Aurors rounded up. They're at your disposal, Potter. You tell us where, we'll strike. They won't be expecting a full-frontal attack."
"Exactly, they're going to expect a rescue mission," Bill agreed, his hand squeezing he wife's shoulder.
"And we'll give them war."
Everyone looked at Draco as he said this. Nothing mattered to him but getting Hermione back, but he knew they were right. This was the time to hit and hit hard. Take the bastard out while he was preoccupied.
"One slight problem - we still don't know where he is!" Ron stated.
"I'm working on it!" Potter snapped, sweat gathering at his brows as he strained to break into the Dark Lord's mind. "It's not like I have a bleeding tracking device on him!"
"Wait," Draco said breathlessly, surprised he hadn't already thought of it. His hand went to his neck where the Seeking Stone Hermione had given him lay warm against his chest as it had since the day she'd tied it there. "I can find her."
Ron's eyes bulged as he looked at the pendant in his hand.
"Is that a Seeking Stone?"
"Hermione gave it to me for my birthday, I can track her and wherever she is, he'll be close; he's not going to leave her side until he gets his answers."
"We'll need to move fast," Kingsley boomed, already striding for the fireplace. "Round up everyone you can, I want Portkeys set in ten minutes. Tonks, with me!"
Hang on, Hermione, Draco thought, clutching the only chance at finding her tightly in his fist.
He prayed to any deity who would listen that they weren't too late.
.
.
.
Hermione's head reeled and she forced herself to swallow back bile forged from fear and pain. The ground she landed on was sharp, cold wind whipping her hair, the smell of brine filling her weak lungs. She didn't move, didn't open her eyes. She foolishly hoped that if she kept her eyes closed, the monsters would disappear like they had when she was a child.
But this monster was only just beginning her nightmare.
Her body was lifted and she smashed face-first into the rocky cliff wall, her head splitting in pain from where she hit. Crying out in agony she clung to the rock to keep herself vertical, her legs shaking beneath her, her body too heavy to hold. She turned slowly to the demon standing before her.
"Tell me, my dear," her master trilled as blood soaked the side of her face. "How did you know about Nagini?"
Shaking so hard that every muscle burned, Hermione looked up into her master's eyes. Beyond him, the sun was hiding behind angry grey clouds as if it wanted no part in the horrors of the world down below. An angry sea thrashed against the jagged crags around them and Hermione wondered what horrible fate awaited her.
Clutching the wall harder, she swallowed, licking her cracked lips.
"Dumbledore," she replied, watching the anger flash behind his eyes.
"That old fool. Of course...but he didn't know that Nagini was merely one."
"One of six?"
She didn't know what made her say it; she supposed she simply wanted to see his look of defeat before she died. He swelled up, his hand coming to her throat, tightening until she cried out, his face so close to hers she felt his hot breath against her cheek.
"What did you say?"
She smiled, taking pleasure in this last, paltry victory.
"They're all gone," she declared triumphantly, her vocal cords straining against his grip. Hermione watched the emotions play over his face, knowing they spelled her death. "Nagini was the last one. The ring, the locket, the diadem, the diary, the cup. They're all gone. We destroyed them -"
The pain was blinding, deafening, burning through her until she knew nothing but agony. Her voice eventually broke and she prayed for the sweet release of death, but it never came. He lifted the spell as she hovered at the edge of sanity, keeping her there so that she would suffer these last few minutes, face down on a cliff by the shore, far away from home and everything she loved. She wondered vaguely if he planned to pitch her into the sea where she would never be found, fare for the fish below.
Blood speckled the ground as a hacking cough overtook her, her lungs on fire, her body spent. She wanted to beg him to end it, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"Did you think I would finally put an end to your suffering? No, Miss Granger," her master crooned. "I'm not going to kill you. I have much, much bigger plans for you. Do you know where you are?"
She moved her head infinitesimally from side to side, her laceration searing against the rough ground as she struggled for air.
"No? And here I thought you'd destroyed my locket."
The locket? The one they'd found around that old hag's neck? What did that have to do with -
Hermione gasped in horrifying realization. It wasn't originally in Umbridge's care, was it? No, it had originally resided in the cave that Harry and Dumbledore had traveled to, the cave full of -
She could hear the sneer in his voice as her eyes widened in terror, the reason behind this field trip becoming sickeningly apparent.
"Yes, you are a smart girl, aren't you?" her master smirked. He knelt once more beside her, his thin lips pressed to her ear. "An eternity by my side, my dear. You'll lead them all: you'll destroy cities, turn your disgusting Muggles into an army like you. I'll feed your precious Draco to you, watch as you rip him apart."
"No," she breathed, pushing herself uselessly away from his words, dread filling her at the images he spun. "Please, no -"
"Do continue begging, my dear," he smirked. "It is the sweetest music of all."
He grabbed her arm and they flew down towards the water. She screamed in terror as he turned last minute and ducked them through a narrow opening and into a high-ceilinged cavern. He landed on a wide earthen platform and threw her against the wall.
She was hardly aware of the flash of pain to her palm when he sliced it open to use her blood to open a secret entrance. She was numb, her feet stumbling against the uneven ground as he dragged her through the cavern, tossing her like a rag doll onto a rocky beach. Hermione gasped and shoved herself away from the edge of the water, remembering what Harry had told her. Her master merely chuckled and stilled her movements with his foot. Suddenly, her hands snapped together and were yanked above her head, suspending her until her toes barely brushed the ground as he stood next to her, looking out into the black lake before them.
"Why, you seem most reluctant to meet your new family, my queen," he sneered. She looked with terror from his face to the inky black water, knowing what lurked beneath its surface. She couldn't stop the panicked sob that burst from her lips as she fought her restraints.
"No, no please," she begged. "Kill me, just kill me!"
"I do hate to waste, my dear," he said, dragging his nail through the fat tears leaking down her face, sucking one off as he looked down on her in depraved triumph. "You wanted to be my queen, did you not? Now you will be."
He leaned down to press his lips against her ear. "Queen of the Inferi."
She shook her head at the image, too horrified to speak as she saw herself attacking those she loved, killing innocent Muggles and turning them into more like her, a twisted army of the dead at the command of a mad man.
"Now come, let us get acquainted with your new comrades..."
"NO!" she screamed, thrashing at her bonds, kicking out at her master as he laughed and moved towards the water, lifting his wand while she fought hysterically until she thought her arms would rip from their sockets.
Hermione closed her eyes against the image as the water bubbled and frothed, but they snapped open as a shout sounded from behind them.
"LET HER GO!"
They both turned towards the cave entrance and Hermione cried out in elation as her master dropped his spell in exchange for directing his attention to The Boy Who Lived.
"Drop her, Tom! You have no more need for her! This is between you and me now!"
Her master sneered in obvious pleasure. "Ah, Mr. Potter! How kind of you to join us!"
"No, Harry, no!" she screamed, craning her neck to look at him as she yanked at her invisible bonds, hoping the sight of her best friend had ruined his concentration. The spell held fast, however, tightening with every movement. The water calmed again but she longed to put more space between she and it.
"Put her down and face me, Tom!" Harry yelled. Joy at the sound of his voice filled her even as dread warred. Her master would never let her live, not when she provided such easy leverage. He would turn her, force her to attack Harry and the rest of the Order, the thought making her sick as they would have to destroy her, knowing Harry would never recover if he was forced to make that choice...
"Harry, Harry," her master trilled, flicking his wand so that she was turned to face her best friend. "Come, my boy, you are smarter than that. Do you think I will simply overlook the grievances your friend brought upon me at your request?" He tsked. "No, no, no, she must pay, Harry. And you will watch her do so."
"Run Harry, get out!" she cried at her friend, but she could see his resolve, knew he would never leave her there. Dread filled her at the thought, knowing he had no clue what her master planned.
"If you kill her Tom, then I'll off myself right here and now!"
Her master's mirth rang throughout the cavern, filling the walls with the terrifying sound while Hermione attempted to find a way to escape, to get Harry out of there and as far away from the dead who dwelled below the black waters.
"What a threat, Mr. Potter!" he smirked. "I confess myself amused! Come, come, please tell me why I would not want to partake in this most inviting bargain you present!"
"Put her down and I'll explain. I guarantee you do not want her to die."
"You have much to learn, young Harry, about the art of negotiation. You see, I want nothing more than to be rid of the both of you, so what you offer does nothing but appeal to me."
"Haven't you figured it out yet, Tom?" Harry goaded as Hermione's arms went numb above her. She shook her head, trying to warn him, to stop him from his negotiations. "I'm certain you've noticed the connection between us? Surely you know what that means?"
"HARRY NO!" she screamed, instantly realizing what he was saying. It was a fear she'd locked deep inside her, one she refused to let surface because she couldn't live if it were true. Her best friend looked at her, nodding slightly, his face set, determined.
"It's alright, Hermione."
"No, Harry, listen to me, you have to get out of -"
An invisible vise came around her throat, cutting off her words and her air, leaving her gaping soundlessly.
"DROP HER, TOM!" Harry screamed frantically, taking a step forward but stopping as her master pressed the tip of his wand harder into her neck.
"Explain yourself."
Harry glanced nervously between the two, his hand clenching his wand tightly as his image blurred and Hermione sputtered for air.
"You know the prophecy as well as I. Neither can live while the other survives. Don't you get it yet?" Harry asked, his voice threatening. "I am your last Horcrux, Tom. And if you hurt her, if you so much as touch one more hair on her head, Draco here will kill me. And then he'll kill you."
Hermione's heart twisted as Draco's pale face emerged from behind a rock, his features like stone as he caught her eye, his wand pointed at Harry. She tried to call out to them, to tell them to run, that her life wasn't worth it, but no words could escape and the blackness crept across the edges of her vision as her lungs burned like fire, straining against her master's grip.
"But if you leave her, I'll go with you," Harry continued, even while she shook her head. "I will not fight. You will have me. I am your last chance for survival. You know it."
Hermione could no longer see what was happening, the blackness shrouding her sight. Suddenly, she hit the rocky ground sucking in blissful air, as her vision cleared. She screamed as her master flew across the cavern towards Harry and she watched in terror as Draco struck Harry down in a flash of green.
Her screams mingled with her master's as he turned to Draco in fury, slashing a Killing Curse at him as Hermione's heart stopped. Order members burst through the cave opening, taking up the battle, blocking him from view.
Hermione couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. She wanted to undo what she had seen. She couldn't find Draco through the throng of people spilling onto the tiny beach, spells lighting the cave as her master fought them off. Harry lay prone in the midst of the battle and she cried out in disbelief, her body throbbing in agony as she crawled across the ground toward him. Her Mark burned and she knew her master was calling the other Death Eaters to his side and she fought the wrenching pull that urged her to join him.
Her only thought was to get to her best friend, to Draco, to save them, to bring them back to life, because she couldn't live if...
The din of battle was so loud she almost didn't hear the guttural rasps thundering behind her. Too late, she whipped around and screamed as a horde of Inferi rose from the black depths, the water churning as her master raised his army to assist him.
She scrambled backward as fast as her weak appendages could pull her, but she was too slow, her battered body sluggish. Hermione cried out in horror as one grotesque hand shot out and grabbed her ankle, dragging her down the jagged slope where others leapt forward to tear at her as well. Flashes of light filled the cave amongst screams of pain and terror as she was pulled into the frigid water, kicking out against the hands that claimed her, her weary body unable to fight them off as she was dragged into the icy depths.
The water closed in over her head, the cold searing. Tight fingers clung to her arms and legs and she pulled at them, kicking out, her movements slowed in the water. A daunting sense of futility twisted in her chest as her lungs burned once more.
You can't give up, Harry needs you, Draco needs you, they need you to fight, she chanted, forcing herself to thrash against the hands that pulled her down, straining for the surface. Fear gripped her in its terrifying clutches once more as she realized that everyone was fighting, no one knew that she was drowning, being taken prisoner in her master's morbid army.
Dead fingers clawed at her as she fought feebly, sobbing in defeat, swallowing water, her throat snapping closed, her lungs screaming as she drowned. There were too many and she was too weak. She was going to die here, just like her master had said…
Heat enveloped her as light burst before her closed eyes, igniting her darkening world as the hold the dead had on her suddenly fell away in a wall of fire as they screamed.
Something was pulling at her again and she had half a mind to struggle, but the fight was gone, replaced by a calm sort of acceptance that she was about to be with Harry and Draco...
The blackness took hold, wrapping her in its silky embrace.
.
.
.
Time stood still as Draco heaved Hermione's limp body from the water and wrenched her to shore. He panted harshly as he laid her on the rocky ground, shoving her hair from her bloody face, shaking her desperately, diving over her to protect her from spells that soared above them.
"Gods, Hermione, please," he begged hoarsely, searching for any sign of life, shaking her harshly, panic taking hold. He'd watched the Inferi rising from the lake, watched them drag her down as he'd struggled through the battle to get to her, but he'd been too late. How long had she been under? Were her lungs full of water, had she been bitten? Fear as had only filled him in regard to her flooded him, muddling his mind as he struggled for a spell, something his professors had said, anything that might wake her, bring her back to him.
Draco looked up as one of the Weasley twins skid to his knees beside them, pointing his wand at Hermione, muttering a spell Draco couldn't hear. Hermione seized and the twin rolled her to her side as she coughed, lake water spewing forth, Draco crying out in relief.
"Keep her on her side," the twin shouted, throwing up a quick Shield Charm before rushing back to his sibling's aid, taking up a duel with Crabbe Sr. Draco looked down at where Hermione was slumped against his legs, still once more. Draco placed his hand on her chest, a shuddering breath of relief escaping his lips as he felt it move infinitesimally beneath his hand. She was alive. He'd be dousing the twin's joke shop in Galleons if they ever made it out of this alive.
He knew he should get back into the fray, help with the Inferi as others fought to hold them back with the wall of fire as he'd instructed, but he couldn't leave her. She was covered in blood, barely breathing, unable to defend herself. He wanted nothing more than to Apparate her to St. Mungo's, but the enchantments the Dark Lord had placed on the cave prevented him for doing so and the sea of Death Eaters spilling in behind the Aurors blocked his escape. He needed to find some place safe where he could take her and try to heal her...
Looking around desperately for a place to hide, he was shocked into immobility as he watched Potter rise from the dead.
The hall was silenced, everyone, including the Dark Lord, ceased their fight and held their breath as Potter stood shakily, his wand tight in his fist.
"No," the Dark Lord whispered, disbelievingly, echoing Draco's thoughts. "No, I watched you die."
Draco felt his wand, which was still hovering protectively over Hermione, tremble. He'd struck him down; he'd seen Potter fall. There was no way he'd missed; he'd watched the flash of green hit him right in the chest. He was dead…
"Now, Tom," Potter said, his voice strong and most assuredly alive. "It's just you and me. Expelliarmus!"
The Dark Lord barely had time to raise his wand and their spells collided in midair. Light filled the cavern as the two dueled and the rest of them looked on in stunned disbelief.
As the red began to overtake the green, Order members rallied behind Harry, shouting words of encouragement, of love, of faith, holding back the army of Death Eaters and dead who fought to get to their master's side. Harry gripped his wand with both hands, his face fully concentrated on bringing down the man on the other side of his spell and Draco couldn't help but urge him on, his grip tightening on Hermione as he begged Potter to win.
The Dark Lord's face twisted in fear as the red inched towards the edge of his wand. He looked up at Potter as the ball of light connecting the two wands hovered at the tip.
An endless moment passed as their eyes met and that ball of light splintered the Dark Lord's wand. A guttural roar sounded as the room exploded in a flash of light.
.
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A/N: …...better late than never? I know, I know, it's been like, two years? But hey, it's here! And I PROMISE the next chapter will not take two years to be posted. Unless I die or some shit, obviously, in which case it will never be posted. That being said, I have every intention of posting the next - the LAST chapter - very soon.
To those of you who waited for so long, I humbly apologize and hope you got to enjoy this story once more.
To those of you who are just now reading this, well, you never missed me and therefore don't care about any of this. So…welcome! Hope you love it!
XOXO
RynStar15
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