A/N: Hi all! This is a much shorter chapter but it felt weird jumping into another book partway through a chapter so here we are. Potentially a bit of a rush job, so I might come back and tweak it later.

By the way, thanks for those that have started PMing me suggestions and ideas, I love it!

As always, thanks for the reviews :)

Just figuring out if I want to continue and do the horcrux events or jump to post-war or end it here... I've done a horcrux hunt fic before so don't want to feel repetitive. Although, it might be interesting to explore a war-time where they're close with Pansy and Fleur... I'm not sure yet so I will see how I feel when I next start playing around.

Chapter 11

Hermione, Ron and Ginny, against the judgment of the Gryffindors barricading themselves in the Common Room, left in the direction of the explosions. Walking cautiously through the hallways, they were thrown by how unnervingly quiet the nearby hallways were.

"We must be getting closer to the source now," Ginny hissed to the others. There was a scuffling noise and all three raised their wands. Arriving from around the corner was Pansy.

"Oh thank God," Hermione sighed heavily with relief.

Ginny ran forward and immediately threw her arms around Pansy's neck, kissing her fiercely.

"Pans, I'm so sorry for being so stubborn, I love you and that's all that matters," Ginny exclaimed.

"I love you too," Pansy smiled, holding Ginny close to her, "But I was wrong. I should've questioned Draco more for you guys. Now the castle is overrun by Death Eaters."

"How many?" Ron asked, paling.

"I don't know… But more keep appearing by the minute," Pansy said seriously.

"Malfoy has to be behind this," Hermione said, finally agreeing with Harry, "If he found some way to get ice-cream from Diagon Alley and baking from his mum in, he must have some way to get into Hogwarts from London."

"He's been mentioning that Room of Requirement that you guys used for the DA," Pansy replied, "I suggest we start by looking in there."

The four of them hurried off, skidding to a halt as they reached the hallway where the Room of Requirement was. There were four Death Eaters already standing around.

"Stupefy!" Ron shouted, stunning one of the Death Eaters. Before the Death Eater had even hit the floor, three more had turned around and thrown spells at Ron. Ron was thrown from his feet and hit a wall heavily before sliding to the floor with a groan, eyes flickering shut.

"Fuck," Hermione deflected a couple of spells before running to Ron's side. He was opening his eyes again with a groan, rubbing the back of his head. Pansy and Ginny began to duel with the remaining Death Eaters, trying their best to keep them at bay.

"Not off to the best start, I'll admit," Ron said sheepishly. Hermione pulled the small vial of golden liquid out of her pocket.

"I think we might need to split the last of Harry's liquid luck," Hermione said, unstoppering it. She downed half of the liquid in it before handing the rest to Ron.

Almost instantly, Hermione was filled with a sense of confidence. There was a strange kind of intuition within her, encouraging her to step to one side, just as a spell blasted past her. Grinning, Hermione raised her wand and joined the duel. Stunning two of the Death Eaters back to back, Hermione nodded at Pansy and Ginny to continue on to the Room of Requirement while she dealt with the last Death Eater.

By now, Ron was back on his feet. Together, Hermione and Ron made short work of the last Death Eater.

"I feel like the Professors probably need back up," Ron said. Hermione nodded at him, trusting that Pansy and Ginny could destroy whatever portal was letting the Death Eaters in within the Room of Requirement.

Making their way into the Entrance Hall, Ron and Hermione came across a large number Death Eaters embroiled in a bitter battle with Professors McGonagall, Hooch, Flitwick, Sprout and Hagrid.

Ducking a number of spells, Ron and Hermione were soon involved, Hermione splitting off to duel with Fenrir Greyback and another Death Eater. It was difficult dueling two adult wizards at once, even with the help of the liquid luck, and Hermione found herself being backed down a hallway. Seeing an opening, she stunned the unknown Death Eater, only to be pushed roughly against a wall by Fenrir. She could smell his sour breath as he chuckled, opening his mouth to reveal rapidly growing canines.

Just as Hermione was bracing herself for the inevitable bite, a blur of blue hair tackled Greyback, freeing Hermione.

"Tonks!" Hermione exclaimed, as Tonks wrestled Fenrir's wand off him and stunned him.

"Wotcher," Tonks grinned, dusting herself off.

"You're here!" Hermione said, grinning with pure relief.

"You're lucky Fleur keeps that coin you gave her on her at all times," Tonks replied, but before she could elaborate further, more Death Eaters streamed towards them and they had to re-enter the battle.

As Hermione battled a young Death Eater, she looked around, noticing the growing number of Order members who were entering the fray, pushing the Death Eaters out of the castle and into the grounds.

Hermione pushed the Death Eater she was dueling down the steps before finally managing to stun him. As he fell to the ground, another Death Eater was stunned right next to him. Hermione looked up to see Fleur, wand raised.

"You came," Hermione said, gaping at Fleur. Fleur stepped forward rapidly, throwing her arms around Hermione.

"How could I not?" she whispered fiercely into Hermione's ear.

Parting, they looked at the battle around them. The Death Eaters were mostly all defeated and those that hadn't been, had made a hasty exit. The strange thing, was that the Order members and Hogwarts members were all clustered around near the wall of the castle, underneath one of the towers.

Fleur took Hermione's hand, interlacing her fingers with hers and they walked over. Pansy and Ginny looked horrified, rendered speechless. Jostling through the crowd, Hermione could see they were looking at a body. A numbness fell over her as she realized who it was. Dumbledore.

Hermione walked over to the lake with Fleur as the Order members and Hogwarts staff took over rounding up the stunned Death Eaters around the castle. Looking down, Hermione realized they were still holding hands. Fleur was pale and silent, staring out across the lake in the dimness of the night.

"You kept the coin I gave you for the DA last year?" Hermione asked finally.

"I had no reason to throw it away," Fleur said, still looking out over the lake. Her face and tone were impassive.

"Tonks said you keep it on you at all times," Hermione pressed. Fleur didn't reply.

Sighing, Hermione turned to face Fleur, cupping her cheek in her hand. Without her usual heels, Fleur was the same height as Hermione. Hermione gently leaned in and kissed Fleur. It was slow and soft at first as Hermione felt all the same sensations and emotions that kissing Fleur brought. She hadn't been able to experience this for so long. She couldn't believe that she had been denying her hunger for this. The kiss became more passionate and Fleur's hands made their way to tangle into Hermione's curly brunette locks. Hermione nipped lightly at Fleur's plump bottom lip and Fleur allowed her tongue entrance to her mouth with a moan. Hermione's hands made their way down Fleur's back before resting at Fleur's waist.

Finally, they pulled apart for breath. Hermione noticed an intensity in Fleur's deep blue eyes.

"I want to stay near you tonight," Fleur said softly, "I was so scared that you would get hurt. I don't know what I would have done if something did happen to you."

"What about Bill?" Hermione asked. Fleur leaned closer to her.

"We went on two coffee dates," Fleur replied, "There is no me and Bill. At least, not yet."

"Do you think there is going to be a you and Bill?" Hermione asked, trying to hide her expression.

"Not any time soon," Fleur said, "Unfortunately my heart still belongs with a former lover,"

Hermione blushed despite herself and Fleur took the opportunity to dive in and kiss her quickly again.

As they pulled apart delicately, a wail pierced the air as another person discovered Dumbledore's fate.

"We should probably head back," Hermione said reluctantly. It was hard to voluntarily leave this moment of paradise to head back to the living nightmare.

Walking back towards the castle, Fleur was called over by McGonagall to talk. Hermione went over to thank Tonks again for saving her from the close call with Greyback.

"Yeah, unfortunately someone must have revived him, because he got away," Tonks said darkly. Remus walked past on his way to approach Shacklebolt, leaning in to kiss Tonks on the cheek.

"So things are good with you and Lupin again?" Hermione asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Erm, you could say that," Tonks said with a grin, "I'm pregnant."

"Oh my God!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing her arms around Tonks to hug her.

"Yes, but I don't think we will be announcing it just now," Tonks said, jerking her head towards all the people that were in tears over Dumbledore's death.

"Hermione," Harry said, pushing through the crowd with red eyes, "Hermione, can I talk to you in the Common Room?"

"Yeah, sure," Hermione said, surprised. Harry quietly gathered Ron too and they headed up to the Common Room in silence. Hermione wondered if Harry was in shock in the wake of Dumbledore's death. She looked at Ron, who appeared similarly worried.

They didn't get to speak immediately, the students holed up in the Common Room immediately swarming them with questions before McGonagall arrived. She informed them that there would be a funeral for Dumbledore before the students would be sent home.

After the Gryffindors processed the news and eventually headed up to bed, Harry, Hermione and Ron finally had a chance to speak.

"I'm going to carry on his work," Harry said, his voice hoarse, "With the horcruxes. Its what he would have wanted."

"How? When are you gonna fit that in?" Ron asked, surprised.

"I'm not coming back to Hogwarts," Harry said firmly, "This is more important. Now, I know you're probably gonna try and talk me out of it—"

"We'll come with you," Hermione interrupted. Ron nodded. Harry looked at them both, tears welling in his eyes.

"You don't have to… Its my burden," Harry choked out.

"We're your family, Harry," Hermione said firmly, "We are here for you no matter what."

Finally, drained, Hermione made her way up to the girls' dormitories, getting herself ready for bed in a daze. She was dead on her feet. It had been an absolute rollercoaster of a day.

Pulling back the curtains around her bed, Hermione found Fleur in her bed. She smiled widely.

"I told you I wanted to stay near you," Fleur said softly. Hermione climbed into bed and into Fleur's arms, relishing the familiar scent and feel of Fleur.

Exhausted, Hermione rested her head on Fleur's chest and drifted off to sleep almost immediately.

Waking to the late morning sun streaming on her face, Hermione opened her eyes. The curtains were pulled back from her bed and Fleur was no longer there. Yawning, Hermione wondered if it had all been a wild dream.

"Hermione?" Ginny said gently, walking into the dormitory.

"Morning," Hermione greeted, sitting up in bed.

"The funeral's gonna be today," Ginny said solemnly.

"That… that was really fast," Hermione commented. There wasn't much else to say. The death of Dumbledore left a gaping hole in the school, it was hard to process.

"We should probably get something to eat," Ginny said. Hermione nodded dumbly, processing all the events of the previous day.

"I'll be down in a minute," Hermione said finally.

Dumbledore's funeral was held in the setting sun of the day, outside. A large memorial had been erected and an alarming amount of guests had made their way to Hogwarts to pay their respects.

Hermione was in the thick of the crowd, well back from the front. She had pressed Harry to stand near the front, as she knew how close Dumbledore and Harry had been. But Harry had stubbornly insisted on standing back amongst the crowd. Hermione was standing behind Harry and Ron currently, watching Ron rest a comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. Hermione shivered as the temperature dropped, her mind turning to this terrifying new world they were living in.

Hermione felt an arm snake around her waist. Fleur had appeared almost as if out of thin air, wrapping an arm around Hermione and holding her tightly.

As the funeral came to a close, Fleur leaned in to whisper in Hermione's ear.

"I have to leave to complete some business for the Order. I do not know how long I will be away for. Will you be okay?"

Hermione nodded. Her mouth was dry. She wanted to ask Fleur to stay. But it was selfish. God, they were at Dumbledore's funeral… A man who had sacrificed his life for the cause… and Hermione was wanting to stop Fleur from carrying out Order work because of her own petty feelings.

"But you will be back?" Hermione asked.

"I will," Fleur replied. She leaned in and kissed Hermione's cheek softly before retreating back through the crowd.

Hermione watched her go until she realized Harry and Ron had turned to her.

"We have a lot of planning to do," Harry said grimly.