‘HARRY?! WHERE'S HARRY?!’ shouted Hagrid, his booming voice broke the sharp air as everyone took a huge, deep breath. 

There was quiet for one second where everyone processed in their minds that it might not be over. Harry had to be alive, how else could he have disappeared like that? Then it happened in a sudden burst of adrenaline. Chaos reigned throughout the whole of Hogwarts. Everyone got their wands and started fighting like there was no tomorrow; for all they knew, they may never see tomorrow or live to see the sun rise over their heads. Spells shot through the air like bursts of green, red and blue fireworks. Bodies collapsed onto the ground and were pummelled as people ran over them, screaming and shouting spells.

Giants crushed the death eaters under their ginormous feet, centaurs rode through them, Grawp seemed to be swinging a huge piece of wood, which could be a tree, at death eaters, and hippogriffs soared through the air. Hermione was one of the first to react but now she gazed the scene of destruction, sweeping all of the courtyard under her brown eyes. Then she jumped into action and looked around furiously, trying to find Harry. He couldn't have just disappeared! Her brown eyes fell upon Luna and Ginny battling Bellatrix. She ran over, avoiding the spells, to help them.

‘You foolish little girls!’ screamed Bellatrix, nearly dancing in the chaos, as they blocked her spells with sweat apparent on their foreheads, ‘you would die for a dead person?’

‘Harry. Isn't. Dead!’ Ginny screamed, throwing spells at her furiously, trying to regain control. It seemed like Harry's ‘death’ had hit her like a bulldozer; she looked like she could lift the whole school and tip it over, ‘how dare you!’

Bellatrix chuckled in a spine trembling way and Hermione felt her chuckle pierce into her ears. How could these people be so selfish and plain evil? Did they not have a conscious at all? Bellatrix slashed and twirled her wand, spells issuing from them easily as though she didn't even have to try. A smile stayed on her lips as she screamed 'Avada Kedavra' towards Ginny. Hermione's heart stopped in that gut wrenching moment. She knew Ginny had dived out of the way but Hermione could not get her knees to stop shaking.

‘NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!’ Molly Weasley screamed and pushed the three girls aside with her fury glazing over her eyes.

Bellatrix snarled as Mrs Weasley shot spells at her, looking almost as if she was one of them; a death eater. Hermione raised her wand to help but Mrs Weasley insisted that Bellatrix was her kill. She shouted at them to get to safety and Hermione had no choice but to move away. She couldn't 'get to safety' obviously; she had to find Harry!

‘Why, gorgeous, not got anyone to battle?’ Fenrir Greyback's rough voice sounded from right behind Hermione and she felt as though he was touching her back, she shivered.

Immediately and instinctively, Hermione raised her wand, blocking the spell from hurting her when he cast it with a casual wave of her wand. She concentrated on bringing Greyback down, not an easy task at all. He chuckled as she attempted to harm him. Suddenly, someone appeared beside Hermione in a flash and her first thought was that it was an enemy but the man started battling Fenrir Greyback too; obviously not a foe but a friend. The red hair of the man beside her flopped around as he dodged the spells and she could tell it was Ron. Anger built up inside her, he was going to get hurt! He had lost Fred already and Hermione had a feeling that he was going to get a little too big for his boots and try to take down as many death eaters as he could.

‘Ron, I've got this!’ yelled Hermione, furiously slashing her wand through the air so that the spell turned away from her visibly. Greyback was looking quite angry now as she kept blocking his spells and Ron kept on shouting any spell that came to his mind. Ron’s well built body seemed to be moving agilely from side to side. 

‘I won't leave you all alone! I love you!’ shouted Ron, through the noise of the war. Hermione wished he hadn’t said that as her heart swelled in her chest and she nearly took a harmful blow to her stomach as Greyback seized the opportunity, ‘I love you!’

Hermione grinned, forgetting everything for a fraction of a second; she let herself bask in happiness.  For the first time ever Ron said he loved her. Even amongst war, there was love and hope to be found, if one looked deeply enough. Hermione opened her mouth to tell him what he wanted to hear.

‘I love-’ the words were interrupted by a deathly chuckle.

‘Say bye-bye!’ Greyback chuckled, pointing his wand at Ron's chest he yelled, ‘AVADA KEDAVRA!’

Hermione opened her mouth to scream, to protest, but no sound came out. The sound of war, fighting, death and blood melted away so Hermione could only hear the thud as Ron's body hit the floor as he ceased to live. A weak breath emitted and his lungs deflated considerably. His skin became pale, pallid... deathly. His eyes stared straight at the ceiling, lifeless and dull, and she couldn't believe a mere ten seconds ago he had confessed his love to her. She was barely aware that someone else had joined them but was too far gone to care.

Hermione crawled towards him, tears refused to leave her eyes. He wasn't dead; he couldn't be. He was Ron Weasley, for goodness sake! Her one and only love, the only one that could annoy her as much as he loved her. She touched his chest and felt the coldness seep into her like she had taken a dive into the black lake.

‘Ron... wake up, Ron. You said you wouldn't leave me by myself!’ Hermione muttered, shaking his dead corpse. His eyes stared at her with a fixed look and she felt an urge to be sick right there and then. Hermione grabbed his shoulders and frowned angrily, ‘WAKE UP, RON!’

‘HERMIONE!’ yelled a voice, bringing her back to the sounds of war. She wanted it all to be over so that she could wake Ron up but deep down inside her she knew that the boy on the floor would never annoy or tease her ever again.

Hermione looked up to see Neville Longbottom fighting ferociously with a still standing and grinning Greyback. Hermione got to her feet, more lithely as she thought she would. Her eyes were burning with a love for a deceased Ron and revenge for his death. Neville slashed the air and he shouted at Hermione to go away so that he could finish this job off. Hermione completely ignored him. They had made her callous, heart broken; she was now cold hearted. Hermione gathered her wand from the floor and pointed it straight at Greyback.

‘No, Hermione-’ Neville tried to stop her but Greyback turned around, the malicious smile fading from his face as he saw Hermione with her wand raised and a near murderous look on her face that turned into a cold fatal look.

Then she uttered the words that knew would haunt her for lifetimes to come but... she didn't care. She did it for Ron, Fred, Tonks, Lupin, and for every other person that had lost their life due to the bloody but necessary war. They didn't deserve to die; these death eaters deserved it more than everyone!

‘AVADA KEDAVRA!’ Hermione yelled the words as loud as she could, feeling her heart swell at the words. The emotion inside her spilt out of her wand in the form of a green light, hitting Fenrir Greyback straight in the chest.

His ugly smile slipped off his face as he took his last breath, a satisfying thud sounded in Hermione's ears as he fell to the floor. She stood over him, panting like an animal that had wounded his prey but felt tired because of the process.

‘Hermione, blimey!’ Neville muttered after the silence bubble faded around them. He looked at her from the side of his eyes but Hermione didn't look at him. She would start crying but right now she had to be strong for Harry and everyone around her.

Suddenly someone shouting 'PROTEGO' and a huge, blue shield separated Lord Voldemort from everyone else. They turned around like startled ducks looking for the source of the noise. Hermione grimaced at them; hopefully everything would be over soon so she could leave this place for ever. Two voices shouted out:

‘HARRY!’ 

‘HE'S ALIVE!’                                                                                                                            

Hermione turned her head to see Harry standing there, alive and well. Her heart filled with hope but not happiness; it felt like she would never be happy ever again. All he had to do was kill Voldemort and they could all be free. Hermione watched as Harry and Voldemort circled each other. She bit her nails in fear of the unknown. Suddenly, something grabbed her hand and she was jerked backwards, too shocked to say anything.

‘Please, don't scream,’ the man whispered next to her ear, blowing a light air which made her want to giggle as it tickled her but she was too surprised to do anything.

It was Draco Malfoy, she realised when she turned around. His cheek was cut in several places, bleeding slightly, his face was black from the fire that Harry had saved him from. His blonde locks had pieces of black in them and they stood up in all directions, his clothes were ripped in some places. He dragged Hermione, by her hand, out into the empty courtyard. Everyone was inside watching the fight and Hermione suddenly ripped her hand out of Draco's.

‘I need to... Harry... Voldemort...’ Hermione muttered incomprehensibly, she didn't know why Draco was taking her away from the event that was to be talked about for hundreds of years to come.

‘Please, hear me out and I'll leave.’ Draco pleaded, taking her hand again. His expression stopped Hermione from pushing him away from her. His grey eyes held a deep-felt sorrow in them that she didn't like to see even if he was a death eater; the enemy. Hermione stayed a little wary as he talked, ‘I have to get this off my chest because... I may never see you again and it will haunt me for the rest of my life if you don’t know.

‘I... I'm sorry. I've made all the wrong choices and now it's lead to this. If only Dumbledore was alive this would not have happened,’ Draco pulled Hermione closer, took her face in his hands and looked straight into her eyes, ‘I love you. I love you so much and I wish I could protect you from anything and everything. You don't know how I managed to contain myself when you were getting tortured by Bellatrix. I swear I would've killed her in an  instant but... I can’t betray my family. I wanted to tell you this because there is a chance that I'll never see you again.’

‘Draco...’ Hermione was utterly speechless. She couldn't believe he loved her. A part of her was apprehensive to believing him but she thought it out logically. He had to be telling the truth, why would he be lying? Voldemort was about to be killed off by Harry so Draco didn't have any boss that he had to please. His eyes confirmed that he was telling the truth.

‘I know you don't love me. Hell, you probably hate my guts. Just know that I never meant for you to get hurt. If I could run away with you, you need to know that I would but I can't.’

Hermione stared up at him and he stared into her eyes. The blonde locks were not styled back like usual and Hermione felt like she had to push them out of his face so that she could stare at him forever. Instead he placed a strand of her hair behind her ear, he got out his wand and said a spell, touching her face. Instantly some of her wounds healed and she felt the effects of them since her skin got hot.

‘I'm in danger, Hermione. I can't have you near me,’ he explained, sorrowfully, ‘I have to run away with my family.’

Draco looked at her one last time, something in the grey eyes flickered. He leaned down, wanting to kiss her but thought he shouldn't. Draco pulled away from her, letting his hands free her face. She gazed up at him and knew that he didn't want to leave her. Hermione felt like she had to grab him just to stop him from leaving. She felt like she had no one at all after Ron.

 ‘Draco, you can't go!’ Hermione clung onto him, for reasons she couldn't understand.

She always thought Draco was an annoying twat, who hated her since he always called her a mudblood. Now she looked at him in a whole different light, maybe the war had messed with her brain.. He did have feelings and the ability to love, she realised that. She knew he loved her, she could see it in his grey eyes. There was no doubt at all.

‘I have to go... All the death eaters will come after me and my family,’ Draco tried to explain, ‘we’re basically traitors to them.’

‘Take me with you.’ Hermione's hands found their way to his well built chest. She grabbed the front of his shirt as Draco shook his head angrily. Her heart fell immediately; why did he have to tell her he loved her when they couldn't be together? Hadn’t she lost enough?

‘NO!’ Draco shook his head furiously, ‘I won't let them hurt you and they will hurt you if you're with me. Try to understand!’

Hermione stood on her tiptoes, letting the anger fade as she moved hair out of his eyes. He sighed at her and Hermione sighed back. They stared for second into each others eyes, wondering what each other’s thoughts were.

‘Draco, promise me I'll see you soon.’ Hermione's eyes started tearing up. She felt so much for him, feelings that had been pent up all these years. Maybe Draco had just chosen the wrong decisions, maybe he did deserve to live a new life.

‘I promise,’ Draco muttered, forgetting the fact that he said she would probably never see him again. At least it bought some hope into her eyes and he saw the effect as she looked... not happy but satisfied, ‘I have to go.’

Right after his statement, a scream filled the air in an attempt to break them up. Hermione moved away from Draco when she heard it. She turned her head towards the front door of Hogwarts, a million thoughts running through her head. Was that Harry? Had he been hurt? Had Voldemort fled? Had he killed them all...?

Draco ran a hand through her hair and turned around, running away. Hermione watched him leave and she knew he had to go. Voldemort would kill his whole family, it was not Hermione’s turn to be selfish. She watched the strapping back of Draco Malfoy and shed a lonesome tear which fell to the ground. Then Hermione turned and sprinted into Hogwarts. She was ready to end this...

----

Hermione sat on the floor silently weeping, surrounded by Ron's family and Harry. There was a cloth over Ron's face but Hermione wouldn't be able to see his face due to the immense tears pouring out of her eyes. She held onto Ron's hand tightly, and wished he would get up and laugh and tell them it was all a joke.

He didn't. He lay absolutely still with Mrs Weasley lying over his chest, sobbing tears of sadness. She had lost two of her sons and she had not deserved it. George was sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees and his chin resting on his knee. He just stared at Fred’s body, not crying, not even mourning, just plain and fixed staring. Harry stared at Ron, his whole body shook and she knew that he was feeling tremendously guilty. Hermione got up and offered a hand to him. He looked up at her and took her hand. Wordlessly, they walked out together into the courtyard. Hermione walked on and Harry followed until they passed Hagrid’s cabin. Finally Hermione sat near the lake, remembering the coldness of Ron’s body when he died. Harry sat next to her.

‘Remember the first day we came here?’ Harry whispered as the air around them stank of burned up memories, ‘it felt so surreal.’

 ‘It's not your fault. This war affected everyone,’ Hermione said, knowing what he was going through. She had known Harry for years now and she knew that he felt as though everyone  died for him.

‘Everyone died because of me.’ Harry echoed her thoughts, looking at the ground, picking on a piece of grass. Hermione watched the side of his face and then sighed as he crushed the grass between his fingers.

‘This isn't your fault.’ Hermione insisted and lay a hand on his arm. Harry looked at her and they stared into each others eyes, ‘please. I don't want you to feel guilty.’

‘Did you love him?’ Harry asked as though her answer would determine what he did next.

‘Yes but I know he must want me to move on...’ Hermione said thinking of Draco and how he confessed his love.

‘You've got something in your hair.’ Harry noticed and talked in a whisper.

He sat on his knees, leaning forward. He picked out a piece of castle rubble out of her hair but didn't move away. His hand smoothed out her cheek and touched the little wounds that Draco hadn’t been able to heal. The green eyes stayed on the brown. He took her face in his hands, Hermione was too shocked to move. Harry leaned in closer and closed his eyes as their lips met.

Harry's hands snaked across her waist and Hermione was about to push him away but his lips on hers made her kiss him back. Her hands ran through his black hair and she moved closer to him. She could feel his small smile against her lips. Pulling back slightly, he muttered something Hermione didn't catch. He kissed her slowly and deeply, pulling her ever closer.

Finally, they pulled back panting, out of breath. Hermione only smiled a little uncomfortable since she didn't like kissing Harry. She guessed this was 'comfort kissing' and Harry needed some comfort. Nothing like this would ever happen again, she hoped, friendship was enough for her.