What Without the Dragon

Chapter 1

Author’s Note:  If you recognize it, it belongs to J.K. Rowling.  No profit will be made from this, no copyright infringement is intended. 

 Please review if you like it!!!!

I started writing this a long time ago as well so alot of things are different from the actual stories. I may go back later and update it, but as it is now, consider it an alternate realtiy/ending. Hope you like it!

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Chapter One

Hermione shook her head, trying to clear her blurred vision.  The remnants of the bright light still lingered, slowly fading, and would soon be nothing.  She was lying on her side, covered with dirt and dried blood. Her body ached worse than it ever had before.  She tried to push herself to a sitting position.  Her arm gave out on her twice before she summoned the strength to push herself completely up.  "Harry."  She called out.  Her voice barely reached her own ears.  She blinked again, everything finally coming into focus.  Her wand lay beside her, luckily still in one piece.  She stuck it in her back pocket, where she didn't have to hold it, but where it would be ready in a moment's notice.

"Harry.  Ron."  She called again, her voice stronger.  She spotted Harry lying twenty feet to her right, his back to her, his wand still in his hand stretched out above him.  She crawled over to him, wincing every time she placed her right arm back down to pull herself further along.  It may have been broke.  She didn't know, and right then she didn't care.  She reached her fallen friend, and bit her bottom lip. He wasn't moving.  "Harry."  She said softly, touching his shoulder.

"Oh thank God."  She breathed as Harry's chest rose and fell slightly as he took a breath.  She pulled her wand back out and pointing it at Harry muttered a healing charm they had learned just last month in class.  Nothing happened.  She shook her wand and said it again, and once more, nothing.  'It must have gotten broke as well.'  She thought laying it beside her.  "Harry, wake up, it's over."  She said leaning closer and rocking him gently.  

Harry's own eyes slowly opened, blinked at the sudden light, and then opened again.  "Hermione."  He acknowledged her.  He tried to sit up, but his injuries were worse than hers, and he could do no more than roll over onto his back.  "Did we? Is he?" He asked coughing harshly in between his words.

Hermione nodded, a small tear forming in the corner of her eye.  "Yeah, Harry, we did it."  She looked over to where not too long ago Lord Voldemort had stood; ready to kill them all.  "He's finally gone."  She looked back down at her friend, "You did it Harry."

Harry shook his head slightly, "We did it."  He corrected her.  "Ron, is he?"

Hermione looked around.  She saw Ron, sitting against a tree, rubbing his head where a rather larger knot had already formed.  "He's okay. I'm going to check on him, okay."  She asked, looking back down at him.  She brushed his hair back off his forehead, out of his eyes. Her own eyes widened slightly.  "Harry, you're scar, it's gone."

Harry reached up and ran his fingers across his now smooth forehead, and a look of confusion crossed his face.  "Go check on him, we'll figure out what that means later."

Hermione nodded, and with the help of a nearby tree, was able to pull herself to her feet.  She walked slowly, limping; she had apparently sprained her ankle when the great orb of magic had exploded around them.  She dropped to the dirt beside Ron.  He looked a bit better than Harry but that wasn't saying much.  "Are you alright?"  She asked, her fingers touching his cheek softly.  His shirt was ripped across the middle, and a nasty cut still bleed freely.  He shrugged.  "Have to say I've had better days."  He managed a small smile for her.  "You?"

"I'll live."  She said sighing, leaning against the tree next to him.  She winced and held her arm.  "I'm just glad that it's finally over."

"Me too." Ron said softly.  "Think they'll let us out of exams?"

Hermione chuckled.  "You know, if they did, I wouldn't complain.  As long as they let us take them later."

"As much as I hate to say it we couldn't have done it with out him."  Ron said, shutting his eyes as he tilted his head back against the trunk of the tree.

Hermione at first thought he was speaking of Harry.  Of course he wasn't, they couldn't have done anything without him.  No, he was talking about the last person that had shown up in the Forbidden Forest last night.  They were all as good as dead.  Voldemort already had incapacitated Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and almost everyother adult on their side.  Once he had the adults out of the way, he and his group of Death Eaters had come for Harry.  Not about to surrender their friend without a fight, Hermione and Ron hadn't left his side.  They fought curse after curse spell after spell, but when it came to them against Voldemort, he was simply to strong for them to defeat.

That was until one last cloaked Death Eater had emerged from the trees behind him.  He pulled out his wand.  Voldemort smiled; sure victory was his.  The Death Eater reached Harry, Hermione and Ron, his wand pointed out past them, joining theirs in aiming at Voldemort.  With his free hand, he dropped his hood, and at the same time as the trio, Draco Malfoy said, "Avada Kedavra."

"As much as I hate to admit it, you're right." She said, her eyes scanning the ground for Draco.

"As much as you hate to admit it?  It's a lot easier for you, let me tell you that."  Ron pulled his head back down, and looked as well.

"Oh!"  Hermione said, finding him.  "Draco!"  She called out.  She rose to her feet, and stumbled across the dirt clearing towards the very still, very pale Slytherin.  She heard Ron breathing heavily behind her.  They reached Draco together, and exchanged a worried look before kneeling beside him.  "Is he?"  She whispered as Ron placed his fingers against the blonde boy's neck, searching for a pulse.

"Barely."  Ron said back.  "I'll take him to the hospital wing.  Madame Pomfrey should still be there, I don't think she went with the Order."  Hermione nodded.  Ron pointed his wand at Draco and said, "Mobilicorpus."  Draco's body was supposed to rise in the air, but nothing happened.  Just like earlier with Hermione's wand.

"Yours must be broke too."  She said.

"Ms Granger, I believe you may be mistaken."  A gentle voice said behind her.  Albus Dumbledore stepped into the clearing.  "I'm afraid that there is much more to this than a few broken wands."

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To be continued...