The End's Intent

Chapter 26

Finding Harry and McGonagall was not as difficult as Hermione had first feared. She'd thought to check Gryffindor Tower first before Draco suggested the Great Hall. Seeing them both standing at the far end of the hall with several students gathered had been both surprising and expected if she were honest.

The crowd of students surrounding them was thick, but with Draco at her back, the students parted easily and let them through quickly. As soon as Hermione had sidled in beside Harry, the crowd clustered in once more and she ignored the way Draco scowled at them all.

"Have you got a plan yet?" she asked, looking from Professor McGonagall to Harry and back.

"Sort of," Harry replied. He looked warily at her and Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "We've only fifteen minutes before the Death Eaters start attacking but if the last Horcruxes aren't destroyed, it's useless trying to fight."

"We think we've destroyed the diadem," Hermione told him, briefly explaining that Pucey had set Fiendfyre in the one location Hermione was certain it would be. "Fiendfyre has been known to destroy magical items in the past, so I think we can assume it's been taken care of. The only Horcrux left is the snake."

"That we know of," Ron offered.

"Yes, thank you, Ronald," Hermione said, not too pleased with the thought that there could be more Horcruxes they didn't know about. "We really could use that."

"Mr. Potter has offered to go to He Who Must Not Be Named," McGonagall said, startling Hermione so much she jumped when she turned to look at her. Beside the professor, Harry was pointedly avoiding her gaze.

"Harry!" she gasped. She reached for his hand and Harry sheepishly looked up at her. "He'll kill you for sure," she told him.

"If I can get close to him, I can kill Nagini," he replied, squeezing her hand gently. "He's likely to be careless if I just walk up. You can kill him once the snake is dead."

Hermione shook her head and held onto his hand tighter. Her eyes watered a bit at the thought of Harry walking to his death but she tried not to think about it.

"We'll find another way to kill Nagini," she told him, already trying to think of other possibilities. "Perhaps when he attacks, he'll come down and then we can hunt down the snake while the others—"

"No, Hermione," Harry said softly, interrupting her train of thought. "He won't let Nagini anywhere near the battle. He knows we've been hunting the Horcruxes; this is our only chance."

Around them, the Great Hall was silent. Ron was staring blankly at Harry while Hermione tried very hard not to start crying. If she did, she was sure she wouldn't stop and if they really were about to fight Voldemort's army, she knew she couldn't let her emotions distract her. Anything could be a distraction and in battle, distractions meant death.

"You promise you'll come back alive?" she whispered. Harry nodded once before letting go of her hand and glancing at Ron.

"I'll see you after," he said. Ron nodded but pulled Harry in for a hug before he could try and slip away. Hermione threw herself at him next, locking her arms around his shoulders and pretending that she wasn't possibly saying goodbye to her best friend.

"Do be careful, Harry," she murmured. Harry hugged her back just as tightly before slipping away from her and walking with McGonagall out of the Great Hall.

Everyone in the room watched them go. Even when the doors shut behind them, no one moved for several seconds.

"We should get ready for an attack," Draco told her. His hand wrapped around her wrist and slowly, she turned away from the doors of the Great Hall to look at him. "No matter what happens when Potter goes, the Dark Lord's army will attack the school and we need to be prepared."