Beauty and the Unexpected Beast

The Battle of Hogwarts

Yells and shouts and unmistakable noises of dueling filled the corridor as I watch Draco turn the corner and disappear. I look around and my heart fell deeper in my chest; Death Eaters had penetrated Hogwarts. At the end of the hall we see two red heads dueling, by the time we reach them Fred seemed to be laughing about something Percy said. Harry and Ron ran to join in the fight, as I look around for Draco.

"... I don't think I've ever heard you joke since you were -"

"Immobulus!" I shout as I watch a Death Eater shoot a spell at the wall next to the group of boys. Several bricks fell and cut them, but my spell stopped anything serious from happening.

Curses continued to fly at us from the darkness hitting the wall behind our heads. A body fell next to me as I run towards Harry and Ron as Fred and Percy ran towards Colin Creevey who was fighting one of the Carrow twins. With an unintended glance down I held in a gasp as I see the pale looking Cho Chang staring straight up at me.

"Get down!" Harry shouts from near me and I feel both he and Ron pull me down, a curse flying over my head. I shoot a spell at an on coming death eater and as he falls, the mask falls off to show Crabbe's father. I look away from his body and let out a high pitch scream.

A monstrous spider the size of a car was trying to make its way towards us. I had never seen a spider that big but apparently Ron and Harry had, because they both shoot the same spell towards the spider to stun it. Behind it more start to appear.

"It brought friends!" Harry yells. He looks through a nearby window and sent spells down towards oncoming spiders. Ron and I position ourselves behind Harry as more Death Eaters appear. Fred joins us but Percy must have joined a different duel. A few curses came close to Harry but none of us let them touch him.

"Harry..." I call over my shoulder.

"Let's move, NOW!" He yells. He shoots a spell that stuns an unknown death eater and pushes Ron and I ahead of him. Goyle had vanished but at the end of the corridor, which was now full of dust and falling masonry, glass long gone from windows, I saw many people running backwards and forwards, whether friends or foes I could not tell.

Rounding the corner behind us Fred let out a bull-like roar: "ROCKWOOD!" and sprinted off in the direction of the tall man who was pursuing a couple of students. For a moment I watch Fred join the fighting but look away to see a tapestry untouched.

"Harry, in here!" I scream. I pull Ron in with me and Harry follows.

"Hermione we have to get back out there! I want to help - I wanna kill Death Eaters-" Ron's face was contorted, smeared with and dust and smoke.

"Ron, we're the only ones who can end it!" Harry exclaims.

"Please-Ron-we need the snake, we've got to kill the snake!" Out of the corner of my eye Harry glances at me and Ron shut his mouth but I ignore it. I planned on killing the snake and killing the last horcrux. "We will fight! We'll have to, to reach the snake! But let's not lose sight now of what we're suppose to be doing! We are the only ones who can end it! We- We have to end it!" I wiped a stray tear from my face. I step away from Ron and lean against the wall behind me. "We'll end it soon Ron, and Harry will kill Voldemort. We'll end it and live like we are suppose to. We just have to get through it. All three of us together." I turn to Harry.

"You need to find out where Voldemort is, because he'll have the snake with him, won't he? Do it, Harry-look inside him!"

Harry stares at me for a moment and I was about to yell at him again when his eyes seem to glaze over and he looks as if he was staring through me. Ron looks between us but I don't take my eyes off Harry, hoping this wasn't a bad idea. Images of Voldemort and Harry at the Ministry flash through my mind and before I was about to shake Harry to get him out of the trance, his eyes focus on me again.