The Cell

Chapter 18: Crushed

"The problems of victory are more agreeable than those of defeat, but they are no less difficult."

- Winston Churchill

oOoOoOo

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelleriamus!"

Hermione watched with bated breath as the wand flew from Voldemort's hand and landed in Harry's, the Dark Lord dropping to the ground dead. She had to admit, having been out of the fray for the past month had clearly put her behind on a few things, and the actual existence of the Elder Wand was one of them. She was silently grateful that Harry hadn't listened to her about ignoring the hallows in exchange for the horcruxes, because both had been paramount in his victory.

Upon entering with Narcissa, Theo and Luna, she had spotted Draco across the hall, standing near Ron of all people, but they silently made eye contact and acknowledged that now was not the time. Nobody wanted to risk distracting Harry.

After Voldemort fell there was a moment of silence that positively rang through the chamber.

Just as she drew in a breath to cheer, to clap, to run across the hall and into Draco's arms, a figure with long, platinum hair stepped into the open circle to Harry's right and raised his wand, aiming it directly at the Malfoy heir. Everything after that happened in slow motion.

A spell flew from the man's wand, a wordless bolt of sickening yellow light. Draco's eyes widened briefly before he conjured a shield, which materialized in front of him milliseconds before the spell made contact. The light ricocheted and crashed into the wall beside him in a massive explosion.

Hermione raised her own wand at the attacking wizard and screamed, "diffindo," her spell striking him in the side of the neck and sending a tremendous gush of blood cascading to the floor.

"Move!" Draco shouted, lunging toward Ron beside him to push him out of the way of the torrent of falling stone, but he was too late and both boys crumpled under a wave of grey rock.

"NO!" Hermione screamed, running across the hall, jumping over Voldemort's corpse in the process, and beginning to tear the jagged chunks of stone away with her bare hands, ignoring as they ripped open and bled.

He wasn't dead, he couldn't be dead. And Ron... She blinked rapidly, tears clouding her vision, when suddenly two arms wrapped around her from behind and pulled her away from the mound of stone.

"No, no, let me go!" she shrieked, kicking her legs and scratching at the exposed flesh of her captor, desperately trying to get back to Draco, but the arms tightened further.

"Hermione, Hermione, we have to clear the rock off of them, please stop clawing me," Theo pleaded, his mouth near her ear and his voice tight. She then processed Blaise and Harry, side by side with several other people, levitating stones up and away as quickly as they could.

"They can't be dead, he can't be dead," she choked over and over again, Theo guiding her gently to the ground as her knees gave out and she sobbed. Narcissa came up beside her and knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder, tears silently sliding down her own cheeks. She completely ignored her dead husband several meters away, blood still blooming in a pool around his corpse.

Everyone in the Great Hall watched with varying looks of shock, confusion and grief on their face as Hermione Granger, publicly, violently, broke.

"We've got them!" Harry yelled, reaching forward and grabbing Ron's hand, pulling him from the rubble while Blaise did the same with Draco. Madam Pomfrey and Hannah Abbott rushed forward, Hannah going to Ron's side and Madam Pomfrey to Draco's.