Slow Grenade

Chapter Forty-Nine

Hermione had little time to recover from her ordeal before she, Harry, and Ron began planning their next move. Whilst she remained strong in their presence, nightmares continued to plague her and she awoke screaming most nights. Only silencing charms kept the others from hearing her torment.

The trio were to infiltrate Gringotts and search the Lestranges' vault; Harry was certain that one of the Horcruxes was hidden inside, considering Bellatrix's terror that they had been in there. It was agreed that Hermione would drink Polyjuice Potion and transform herself into the woman who tortured her on the floor of Malfoy Manor.

The idea of this terrified her. Each weeping cut on her arm seemed to throb more painfully as the day grew nearer. But, whenever her breathing grew shallow and the fear sought to overwhelm her, Hermione would remind herself that she was imperative to the plan, she couldn't refuse.

Hermione collapsed on long, green grass, coughing and shuddering. They had just leapt off the dragon after their escape from Gringotts, their mission a success.

They all had angry red burns over their faces and arms, and their clothes were singed away in places. Harry and Ron winced as Hermione dabbed essence of Dittany on to their many injuries.

Harry's eyes suddenly widened in panic as he slammed a hand against his forehead. "He knows, Voldemort knows, and he's going to check where the other Horcruxes are, and the last one is at Hogwarts."

"What?"

Ron was gaping at him; Hermione knelt up, looking worried.

"But what did you see? How did you know?"

"I saw him find out about the cup, I – I was in his head, he's angry, and scared too. He can't understand how we knew, and now he's going to check the others are safe, the ring first. He thinks the Hogwarts one is safest, because Snape's there, because it'll be so hard not to be seen getting in, I think he'll check that one last, but he could still be there within hours – "

Harry hadn't seen where in Hogwarts the Horcrux was, but he was determined to head there immediately. Hermione wished they had time to plan, it seemed incredibly stupid to charge recklessly into such a heavily warded location, but Harry was right: they could not risk Voldemort reaching the Horcrux first.

Hermione and Ron had no choice but to grip tightly onto Harry's arms as he Apparated them into Hogsmeade. She prayed they wouldn't run into Draco.

Adrenaline cascaded through her as they narrowly avoided capture and, despite her trembling limbs, made it safely to the Hog's Head where Aberforth Dumbledore summoned Neville who led them into the Room of Requirement.

To her surprise, most of Dumbledore's Army were present and those who weren't arrived shortly afterwards. Harry had decided that he would finally involve them in the task ahead, although Hermione wasn't sure his speech instilled much confidence.

"There's something we need to find," Harry said. "Something that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at Hogwarts, but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone ever come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?"

Silence followed and the students looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.

Finally, Luna spoke up, "Well, there's her lost diadem. The lost diadem of Ravenclaw?"

Disappointment floated around the room as the realisation sunk in, the lost diadem.

Regardless, Luna took Harry to the Ravenclaw common room to show him what the diadem looked like whilst Hermione and Ron ventured down to the Chamber of Secrets. Without the sword of Gryffindor, they would need any Horcrux killing object available.

The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall was dark and scattered with stars, and below it the four long house tables were lined with dishevelled students, some in travelling cloaks, others in dressing gowns. Here and there shone the pearly-white figures of the school ghosts.

Every eye, living and dead, was fixed upon Professor McGonagall, who was speaking from the raised platform at the top of the Hall. Behind her stood the remaining teachers, including Firenze and members of the Order of the Phoenix who had arrived to fight.

"... evacuation will be overseen by Mr Filch and Madam Pomfrey. Prefects, when I give the word, you will organise your house and take your charges, in an orderly fashion, to the evacuation point."

Many of the young witches and wizards looked petrified. However, as Hermione scanned the walls, Ernie Macmillan stood up at the Hufflepuff table and shouted, "and what if we want to stay and fight?"

There was a smattering of applause.

"If you are of age, you may stay," said Professor McGonagall. "The important thing is to get anyone else out of here safely."

The quiet murmur of scared students filled the Hall. The youngest were being shepherded together whilst older ones stood in small groups, deciding their fate.

"We have already placed protection around the castle," Professor McGonagall was saying, "but it it unlikely to hold for very long unless we reinforce it. I must ask you, therefore, to move quickly and calmly, and do as your prefects – "

Her final words were drowned out as a different voice echoed throughout the Hall. It was high, cold and clear: there was no telling from where it came, it seemed to issue from the walls themselves. Like the monster it had one commanded, it might have lain dormant there for centuries.

"I know that you are preparing to fight." There were screams amongst the students, some of whom clutched each other, looking around in terror for the source of the sound. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

There was silence in the Hall now, the kind of silence that presses against the eardrums, that seems too huge to be contained by walls.

"Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort's voice, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter, and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

The silence swallowed them all again. Every head turned, every eye in the place seemed to have found Harry, to hold him frozen in the glare of thousands of invisible beams.

Then a figure rose from the Slytherin table. Pansy Parkinson raised a shaking arm and screamed, "But he's there! Potter's there! Someone grab him!"

There was suddenly a massive movement. Hermione, along with the rest of the Gryffindors, had risen and stood facing the Slytherins. Then the Hufflepuffs stood and, almost at the same moment, the Ravenclaws. All of them with their backs to Harry, all of them looking towards Pansy instead.

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," said Professor McGonagall in a clipped voice. "You will leave the Hall first with Mr Filch. If the rest of your house could follow."

Slowly, the room emptied. The Slytherin table was completely deserted, but a number of older Ravenclaws remained seated while their fellows filed out. Even more Hufflepuffs stayed behind, and half of Gryffindor remained in their seats.

Kingsley stepped forwards on the raised platform to discuss strategy with those who had remained behind.

The battle had begun.