A/N This will be a fic where there are multiple partners. It will very likely contain both Slash and Fem/Slash Thank you! A special thank you to Freya-ishtar for giving me the encouragement and help needed for this fic to see the light of day, and a HUGE thank you to ladyleanam for the latin translation!

The only way to clamp down on my

Energy is to erase my emotions, and so I

fold them each away, one by one. My sorrow

turns to anger, then to ice-cold

fury. My soul curls in on itself in defense.

I am gone. I am truly gone.

I am not sorry

Tsuyuni

She saw them fall; Tonks, Percy, Ron, and even Sirius as he fell through the veil. Each death was like a lance to the heart. With each death that couldn't be mourned as the battle raged on, with each tear that couldn't be shed, something new took its place. An ice-cold fury. A fury so cold that the only emotion felt was the need to see her enemies lying cold and dead in front of her.

She stood, surrounded by the bodies of her comrades. Blood, death, and smoke from the onslaught of spell fire lay heavy in the air. She saw clueless, sweet Ron lying in a pool of his blood, his guts forcibly removed and on the outside of his body, from some Death Eater curse that had found its target, a look of excruciating pain still painted on his face. She saw others that were once a part of her life. So many deaths.

And, as she looked around, a new, raw power and fierceness overcame her.

They didn't know her, they thought they knew her. They called her The Brightest Witch of Her Age, yet had no understanding of what that truly meant. She knew spells few had ever even heard of. She had studied, and absorbed the magic of every single spell book she had read; with an eidetic memory, she was able to learn quicker, and more completely, than most people and she would put that memory to use.

What few knew however, was that she wasn't quite as good and pure as everyone thought and made her out to be. No. Knowledge was power.

Hermione had a lot of power.

Now. This day. She would destroy them all. All those who had took from her, and all those who had tried. They would understand the true meaning of what fear meant.

All she needed was a quiet spot where no one would see her.

CHAPTER 1

Hermione darted from of the Great Hall. Everyone was too busy tending the wounded or mourning the fallen to notice one small, bushy-haired young woman as she left. Casting a quick Disillusionment charm, she swiftly made her way to the Shrieking Shack. Freezing the branches of the Whomping willow, she hurried through the tunnel and into the Shack proper.

There, lying in a pool of his own blood, was Snape.

Hermione watched his nearly-still form with cold eyes. Even after all he'd done, she wasn't sure he didn't deserve exactly what he got. His love for one Lily Potter did not change the fact that he was a bullying prick, who took pleasure in hurting her Harry.

She knew he wasn't quite dead, but did she care enough to save him?

Perhaps ... he could be useful. Life debts certainly came in handy, and having one Severus Snape owe her a Life Debt?

Brilliant….

Now save him first or cast the spell? Ahh well both were on a time limit but if she didn't move soon Snape would die on her and she could probably use him in the future.

Hermione dug into her little beaded bag and pulled out several potion bottles, and a bozar. Moving to Snape's side, she knelt down, heedless of the blood surrounding him and she shoved the bozar into his mouth, followed by several potions—blood replenisher, pain and poison neutralizers. There was no time for gentleness, yet, even if there was, she wasn't so sure she'd extend him such courtesy. With a swish of her wand, the poison was drawn from his body, making her thankful again for Grimmauld Place library.

Once she knew he would live, she moved away; she would wake him after.

With little trepidation, she drew a small, keen silver dagger from her bag of many things. Taking a deep breath, Hermione stabbed the blade into the palm of her left hand.

She began chanting, her voice carrying throughout the Shack and possibly beyond—strong, and fueled with undeniable power.

"Sanguine sacrificioque deos invoco potestas sua mihi suffundere. Avi permittant. Sanguine sacrificioque deos obsecro potestas sua mihi suffundere. Avi sacrificioque deos flagito potestas sua mihi suffundere ut iniuriam hodie iustificem!"

By blood and sacrifice I call upon the Gods to Imbue me with your power! May the ancestors see fit. By blood and sacrifice I implore the Gods to Imbue me with your Power! May the Ancestors see fit. By Blood and sacrifice I DEMAND the Gods to Imbue me with your power so that I may right the wrongs done this day!

Wind swept through the Shack, rattling the grime encrusted windows and swirling every last mote of dust that the rundown house possessed. A blinding light flooded the room, and from her hand sprang a fountain of blood—more so than should even be possible.

It sprayed the ceiling and showered the small figure standing in the center of what once might have been a parlor, leaving her with blood coating every inch of her. A voice that seemed many voices converged into one, and to come from nowhere and everywhere at once, boomed through Hermione, rattling her from the inside out.

"Who has woken us from our slumber? We have no interest in a world that has long forgotten us, or your petty squabbles!"

Hermione froze in fear. After a moment, she rallied herself. Standing tall—well as tall as she could manage—she addressed the voice. Power, anger and defiance radiating through her voice.

"I am Hermione, a daughter of Merlin! Sprung from the Earth, born with powers others covet! I am Hermione, and I must right the wrongs that have taken place on this day, and every day since the Abomination was reborn! I am Hermione, born of Muggles, Brightest Witch of Her Age and you will honor my request by my Blood and Sacrifice!"

"Do you truly think you could handle the power, little one?" The blinding light grew brighter for a moment. Hermione felt as though it seeped and flooded into her, while the Other assessed her very core. "Ah, we see! You fight for the Light, yet do not see magic as either light or dark. You will use any means necessary to achieve your ends, and possess the courage to pursue this crusade. Good. Then you will have no issue maintaining the balance. We are eager to see what you will accomplish."

"A balance? I don't need a balance! The books said nothing about needing balance! What sort of balance, exactly?" Hermione's voice was cold and held a note of panic as she spoke to the Other.

"We see." There was feeling of amusement from the voice. "Well, you will learn in due course. You are the Brightest Witch of Her Age, after all…." There was a definite tone of mockery in those words.

With another sudden flash of light,, Hermione fell to her knees as power surged through her. Pain—not unlike the Cruciatus, she thought—ravaged her body, as though her insides had turned to liquid fire, blazing through her. Wave upon wave flooded her body, from her toes to her head.

She threw her head back and screamed until her throat reminded her that even that hurt. Just as suddenly as it started, it stopped.

She stood, though her movement was weak.,. Glancing around, Hermione saw a pair of black eyes regarding her from the floor, as well as something that had not been there, before..

"You stupid, idiotic girl! What have you done?" Snape bellowed from the floor.

There, not three feet from him, lay none other than Sirius Black.

With cautious steps, Hermione approached the two men.

A/N Please Read and Review. This is my first fic and I need love to keep it going :-)