Once More Unto The Breach // DHr

o n e

Beads of sweat drip from Hermione Granger's forehead onto the severely worn, make-shift blanket in the middle of the night. The recurring nightmare still fresh in the forefront of her brain as she struggles to calm the erratic rise and fall of her chest caused by the wild beating of her heart. It had not been an easy two years – each one having a personal battle they conquered day in and day out behind closed doors and she was no exception – but she believes she has managed to keep her façade collected enough for the sake of the survivors. The problem being is that it's all that it is – a façade. Underneath the mask is a girl as terrified, if not more, as the people she leads. She's just a student, not a soldier; a mere child, not a commissioner for war. Yet here she is, and turning back now is not an option.

Voldemort rose to a power no mere mortal could touch the second the Battle of Hogwarts ended. As soon as Harry collapsed in the middle for everyone to see, in fact, and a thick black smoke had erupted from all four directions, effectively engulfing the entire courtyard. She remembers it all in great detail like it had only happened yesterday and not two years ago.

Harry. A familiar pain stabs at her heart all over again. She doesn't know when the memory of his death will cease to haunt her, or if it ever will. The way his body crashed to the cold ground, twisted and bent and unnatural, as green jets of light ran through him like a lightning strike after lightning strike, killing every fibre of his being. Godric, and everyone else's deaths she had witnessed that night. They didn't even have time for a proper burial for all the casualties, much less Harry's. They star in her nightmares. On most occasions, all of them at once, and betraying Harry like she did was the worst of them.

She didn't know what happened to those who weren't lucky enough to get away – she never wanted to know – but she felt guilty all the same. Even though over the months, they've managed to send out search parties for those missing and they came back successful. When they didn't, as was in the case for many, the cycle of self-loathing and desperation for absolution raged on.

The zipper of her tent opens. "Again?"

Hermione pulls off the blanket from her face and sits properly, jutting out her slightly quivering chin forward for further effect. "Go back to sleep, Ron. Lots to do in the morning still, need I remind you."

Ron Weasley, naturally being Ron Weasley, ignores her, his eyes softening as he regards her defensive stance. "Bugger all that. You can talk to me."

"Really, I'm fine. You don't need to come in here every single time I have a bad dream."

"But they're not just bad dreams, are they, 'Mione?" He moves further inside the tent and zips up the entrance behind him. "This has been happening since the Battle and you haven't spoken to anyone about it. Not even to me." There was a sad lilt in his voice as he trailed off his sentence, shooting another pang that went straight through Hermione's heart as she decided to once more ignore the concern for her wellbeing from her best friend.

Turning her head, she looks straight to Ron with the same face she uses every single time they go out on missions. She's put it on so many times for so long that she's grown accustomed to using it outside the warzone. Then again, for the most part, she honestly can't even tell the difference. "Because there's simply nothing to talk about. Now please, just go and get some sleep. You look like utter shite." It's a joke, albeit an awful one, and it takes her a great deal of effort to muster even the most minuscule of smiles.

He finally leaves her alone with no reply, just a stare she couldn't place and a tick in his jaw. She now has nothing but her thoughts to keep her company. Hermione chuckles bitterly, regretting for the briefest of moments that she pushed him away. That she pushed everyone away. But she knew the war is no place for emotions – especially in a war that she also knew they were losing.

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A/N:

Dedicated to @LostInThought_13 for being such a lovely reader and leaving the best first comment on the prologue! You guys have no idea how much your support means to me :')

One of the longest chapters I will ever write for this book probably hahahahaha I hope you enjoyed it xx