Through all time

Chapter 1 - The Battle of Hogwarts

Through all time

by LilyGreenEyes

(Translated from German into English by Nina Berner)

Chapter 1 - The Battle of Hogwarts

Loud screams echoed through the Castle. Again and again curses and counter curses flashed up and the crashing explosions shook the walls of Hogwarts. With panic in her eyes Hermione looked around herself. There was smoke everywhere and the dust of crumbling walls settled upon Hermione's sweaty skin. Looking at her, she almost seemed like one of the stone soldiers that Minerva McGonagall had brought to life.

The stone soldiers were tasked to defend the castle, protect it from the onslaught of Voldemort and his men, but it had been futile. They were outnumbered, and against the Inferi neither the members of the Order nor Dumbledore's Army stood any real chance. They had been outmatched. Voldemort had gathered so many supporters, it was impossible to fight him without any support from the Ministry. And it was the Ministry that had been under the command of the Dark Lord for quite some time.

Hermione searched frantically for her friends. Horrified she had to watch how one of Voldemort's men had tried to kill her best friend, and she herself could do nothing to stop it, the distance between them was too far. She had held Fred in her arms when he died, her eyes gazing towards Ron in horror. He ran after his brother George to fight the Death Eater that was responsible for Fred's death. It was the last time she had seen the other twin brother alive. From the corner of her eye she had realized how one of the masked men had fired a curse towards Harry, who was too caught up in everything to even realize what had happened. Hermione's scream vanished in the roar of battle. But thanks to Merlin, the one person Hermione had expected the least had been close by, and he had managed to divert the curse in the last moment. The curse rebounded and hit the masked man directly.

With tears in her eyes Hermione looked up at her best friend's savior, and just like Harry she could not believe who had just saved his life. Harry's savior grabbed his arm harshly and strode with large steps towards Hermione, who still crouched on the ground.

Looking at Fred lying on the floor for a short moment, a flicker of regret flushed over the usually expressionless face. There was no time for lengthy explanations; around them the battle was raging, it was almost impossible to hear a word. Screams, explosions, and the crushing sound of collapsing walls thundered far over the grounds of Hogwarts. He had held her gaze with his dark eyes and reached out his hand to help her up. Thus he had also grabbed her and dragged both her and Harry along with him, his hand curled tight around her arm.

"Come, there is no time to grieve now. We have to kill the snake; she is the only other remaining Horcrux!"

It was all her Potions Master had said. Hermione could not say why, but they followed him without questions. Snape led them to the Shrieking Shack. There Lord Voldemort would be waiting, and there they would find the snake. Rushing past they caught a glimpse of Remus Lupin who fought with Fenrir Greyback. To Hermione's astonishment it was their Professor who helped Lupin in his fight. But in the end it was to no avail. Later Hermione had seen him lain in the Great Hall with the other dead, next to his wife Tonks and both Weasley twins. Now Snape made his way to the Shrieking Shack with them, ordering Hermione and Harry to hide. Hermione drew Harry's cloak from her bag and they both hid under it, watching how their Professor talked to Voldemort. Clearly, Hermione noticed, Severus Snape was trying to get information. She had almost felt a sting of nausea listening to his sneaky words, but she assumed he only did so to keep his cover. He really did seem to still be on their side. She watched how his gaze wandered towards the snake time and again, just as Harry's eyes rested on the snake. The moment Harry started to approach the cage Hermione had no other choice but to follow him.