Everything around her happened in slow motion, she didn´t hear anything but her heartbeat. Mentally she counted it to be sure it was still there. Beat...beat...beat...beat... Her hand shot to the right and she screamed “Stupefy!”. She ran further, searching the courtyard for this one person. “Hermione, hurry!”, she heard Harry scream but she didn´t care. She couldn´t stop running, searching, trying. Suddenly she fell over something and her head hit the ground. Perplexed she looked at what she fell over and her eyes widened in shock. Luna Lovegood, the sweet little girl, was lying on the ground. Her face was pale, her skin as cold as ice, she wasn´t breathing. Hermione heard a high, disturbing tone, which made her head sting like hell. Quickly she stood up, taking a last look at Luna´s dead body before she finally started running again. Suddenly she noticed there was no one fighting anymore, the courtyard was empty, except the corpses on the ground. Teachers, students, Death Eaters, wizards of all kind. “Hermione, hurry! Now!”, she heard Harry screaming again. She searched the courtyard for him and then she noticed it. Voldemort was casting a spell to keep the ones from entering and to keep the others from leaving. Hermione saw the shield going down, her friends at the one side, herself at the other. “Miss Granger, hurry or you won´t get out!”, Mrs McGonagall yelled and suddenly the stinging tone was gone. There was just her heartbeat. Beat...beat...beat...beat... Finally she stopped running. She stood in the middle of the courtyard, frozen in her movement, still looking for what she was searching for. “Hermione!”, she heard a voice she knew just too well. When she turned around her heard jumped. At the end of the courtyard Draco was standing, looking at her. “Hermione run!”, Ron screamed and she did as he said, but in the other direction. She ran towards Draco, when she heard a muffled noise – the shield was completely down. No one could enter, no one could leave. Suddenly a jet of green light hit her shoulder and she was thrown backwards to the ground. “Stupid girl”, Voldemort said loudly. “I wanted Harry Potter to be trapped and what do I get?”, he said with an oddly calm voice. “A filthy, insignificant mudblood!”, he added even louder and the Death Eaters who appeared behind him laughed out loud. Slowly Hermione got back on her feet. Beat...beat...beat...beat... Suddenly Bellatrix Lestrange came up to her, laughing madly. “What did you think, huh? That you could take on the Dark Lord?”, she laughed even louder, even crazier. Hermione searched the crowd behind her for Draco but she couldn´t find him. “It´s that Granger girl, best friend of Harry Potter”, a Snatcher called Scabior shouted. Interested Voldemort looked from him to Hermione. “Best friend of Harry Potter? Interesting”, he spoke out his thoughts. He quickly walked towards her until he was just one step away from her. Hermione didn´t even think of moving, she wasn´t afraid of him anymore. “So will you give me the information willingly or do I have to take it from you?”, he asked smiling maliciously. “Go to hell!”, Hermione snapped full of hate. “Legilimens”, he shouted and Hermione screamed. Her head felt like it was cracked open and her eyes flickered. Although she tried to fight it, Voldemort was able to see all her thoughts, her memories, to read her mind like an opened book. He started at the very beginning: her first day at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat putting her into Gryffindor, best grades, loved by teachers, hated by students...he looked through it very quickly, obviously not interested in her past as a bookworm. Then he came to the memories of Harry, Ron and her and he slowed down a bit. He seemed more interested when he saw them talking about the Horcruxes but somehow it seemed like it still was not what he was searching for. Then he came to the part where all her horrible memories were and he slowed down completely. He saw her being bullied by students in the first year, being called a mudblood by Draco in the second and third year, yelling at Ron at the Yule Ball in the fourth year...He looked through it very interested. Hermione tried her best to keep him away from what was going to be next, unsuccessful. Voldemort cracked her mind more open and he saw her being jealous of Pansy Parkinson in the sixth year, yelling at Harry that Draco wasn´t a Death Eater, crying over the fact he was one, Dumbledore´s death, Draco´s disappearing... Almost every memory was now about Draco what seemed to be extremely interesting for Voldemort. Then he came closer to the recent events. He saw her being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange what amused him but what came next confused him. He saw her being saved by Draco, both of them escaping from the Snatchers, living in the woods for months, having no one but themselves, living together, laughing together, falling in love with each other. Then them running away from the Death Eaters, living in the little house at the lake, going to the muggle-world, Hermione showing Draco her world, coming back to Hogwarts, Draco kissing her...suddenly her head was closed again and Hermione´s eyes flew open. She was lying on the ground, breathing heavily. Tears were running over her face. Slowly she sat up, terribly shaking. Voldemort truly was the master of Legilimency but to her surprise two Death Eaters had to keep him on his feet. “Draco”, he whispered. “What did you say master?”, Bellatrix quickly asked. “Bring me Draco!”, he shouted, pushing away the helping hands. A murmur went through the rows of the Death Eaters and they made space so Hermione could finally see Draco. Shocked she saw Lucius Malfoy holding his wand close at Draco´s throat. Beat...beat...beat...beat... “Lucius!”, Voldemort shouted and just then Lucius noticed that everyone was watching them. Quickly he dropped his wand, pushing Draco towards the Dark Lord. This man called himself a father? Voldemort quickly walked towards Draco and Hermione couldn´t hold it anymore. “No, don´t!”, she screamed in fear, the tears still running over her face. Another green jet hit her and she hit the ground again. “Don´t hurt her!”, a voice broke the laughter that came from the rows of Death eaters. Perplexed everyone looked at Draco who just screamed those words. “You foolish blood-traitor!”, Bellatrix shouted at her nephew, hitting him with another green jet of light. Draco hit the ground next to Hermione who screamed in fear. With trembling hands she helped Draco up so both of them were standing on their feet again. “Falling in love with a mudblood”, Voldemort laughed “This must be punished!”, he added and he raised his wand but Hermione quickly stepped in front of him. “Don´t you dare!”, she yelled and Draco looked at her in surprise. “Don´t Hermione, he will kill you!”, he said quietly. “I don´t care. As long as you´re save I don´t care if I die”, she answered just as quiet as he did. Draco didn´t answer but to Hermione´s surprise she heard a quiet snob behind her. Quickly she turned around to look at Draco, who was crying just like herself. “Take my hand”, she whispered and he did as she said. Slowly they crossed their fingers, standing very close to each other. They blended out everyone around them, they just looked at each other lovingly. “Don´t let go, stand by me”, Draco whispered and Hermione nodded. She smiled slightly before Draco kissed her deeply. She could taste their salty tears but she didn´t care. This kiss had to last forever, it just had to. “Avadakedavra!”, it echoed through the courtyard and suddenly it became silent. Everything around them happened in slow motion, they didn´t hear anything but their heartbeats. Still feeling their lips on each other, they mentally counted their heartbeat to be sure it was still there. Beat...beat...beat...-...silence.
