Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I do not own the places. I don't own anything J.K Rowling thought up, all I own is the plot.

Chapter sixteen: Princess

"I'm worried about Hermione." Ginny said when the Great Hall slowly filled up with noise again.

Ron nodded. The girl had been so quiet for the last few days, so empty. Walking around as if she was constantly sleepwalking. She was pale and tired all the time. He expected her to fall apart with exhaustion.

"She's hurt…but everyone looks at her as if she's a maniac. Do they think she killed Harry? For Merlin's sake, she fainted of shock when she saw him." Lavender whispered.

The three of them looked up as Malfoy entered the Great Hall in a fit of hysteric laughter. He walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down. They watched him talk to the other Slytherins and soon they were all booming with laughter. They looked at the Gryffindor table and laughed even more.

Ron and Ginny looked at each other.

"I don't like the look of that." Ginny said.

Ron nodded agreeing.

"Now that-" he took a deep breath. "Now that Harry's dead they might be getting strange ideas about what they can do…"

Ginny looked at the door. "And Hermione still hasn't come back. Do you think Malfoy did something to her?"

Ron shook his head. "I don't know…"

Ginny shoved her chair back and jumped to her feet.

"Right." She said. "I'm going to go look for her."

Ron watched her walk away. He shook his head and turned to Lavender.

"I've got a nasty feeling Malfoy cornered Hermione." He said.

Lavender nodded slowly. "But Ginny's there now, Ron. And she can handle herself."

"Harry could handle himself…" Ron muttered darkly.

Lavender sighed. "But Harry was unarmed. And no on will try to hurt Hermione, or Ginny for that matter, in broad daylight."

"I guess….I guess you're right." he said slowly.

He pushed his plate away, no longer feeling hungry. Lavender looked at him with a worried frown.

"You know, I think…I think you should write a letter to your mother. It's better for her to hear all of this from you. You can't let her read this in the paper on Sunday morning…and it'll do you some good too. To get it all on paper might clear it up for you too, a bit."

He pecked her cheek. "You're right. I'll go write it now."

Ginny looked around. She had no idea where Hermione had gone to. Hermione chose to hide in dark and often small spaces these days. She looked at a painting.

"Excuse me, sir?" she asked a man with black hair politely. "Have you seen a girl with brown hair pass by?"

The man shook his head.

"Oh."

Ginny said and leaned against the wall. She was never going to find Hermione like this. She looked up as she heard a gentle cough. On the other side of the wall, she recognised a wizard in a purple hat.

"You!" she said. "You're the card player!"

He nodded gently. "Indeed. I overheard your question as I was drinking tea here, I couldn't help it. But I actually saw a girl with brown hair run into the trophy room opposite my own painting as I was on my way here."

Ginny smiled. "Thank you so much!"

She got up and started to run.

"I say!" the man called after her. "She didn't seem that happy!"

But Ginny didn't listen. She already guessed Hermione wouldn't be happy when she found her.

'Probably something that jerk Malfoy did to her.' She thought angrily.

She skidded to a halt in front of the trophy room door and paused a moment to catch her breath.

"Power? You think I care about power? You robbed me of two of the most dear people in my life, not to mention of my dignity and heart. Yours may be made of stone but mine isn't."

Ginny looked up. That was Hermione's voice. But she said things Ginny didn't understand. What was she talking about?

Ginny moved closer to the door. Her heart was beating faster. It sounded as if she was listening in on a very personal conversation, but something told her to keep listening. She wanted to understand why Hermione was saying all these things. And who she was saying them to.

"I'd rather die than ever lay eyes on you again. And I will."

Ginny clasped her hand to her mouth as she gasped.

"No!"

From inside the room came a sound of struggle. Was that Neville's voice she'd heard?

"Give me back my knife! Neville, give it back!" Hermione shrieked.

"No, I won't let you kill yourself."

"Why not!" came Hermione's desperate voice again. "I want to! I never want to see Harry die before my eyes again! All I see is his face. The way he looked at me when he knew what I was. The way he looked sorry when he knew you took Paul. He forgave me, Neville. But I can never forgive myself!"

Ginny's heart was beating in her throat.

"You did what you had to."

Neville sounded so calm, almost cold. Ginny could not believe what she was hearing. She didn't understand.

"I did what you forced me to do! I never wanted any of this! I would have died to protect you or Harry, I would not have let either of you die at the hands of Voldemort. But you were one of them and you took Paul, you hid behind him like a heartless coward. You forced me to do what you wanted, you…you made me take him up there and dressed me up in your uniform while his life was draining away. You gave me that mask, that cloak, that scar on my arm, just to kill Paul anyway!"

Ginny let out a cry of anger and kicked the door open. Her wand was pointing at the two of them in a trembling hand.

"You!" she shrieked. "You killed him!"

'…Hermione didn't come to the cremation. She wasn't up to it. Dumbledore was, though, as were Ginny, Lavender, Dean and I. But I'm worried about Hermione, she seems so empty of any emotion ever since it happened. She walks around like a zombie and she fell out with Neville for no reason. She ran off during breakfast and Malfoy was laughing like a maniac, so Ginny is looking for her now. I'll see you when school is over, please don't worry too much about us. Love, Ron.'

He stared at it and nodded slowly. The beginning of the letter was much better than the end of it, but he couldn't bring himself to changing it. He folded it and sealed it.

"Pig! Get over here."

The little owl hooted happily and circled the room. Ron jumped up but missed.

"You need to deliver a letter!" he said grouchily. But Pig was avoiding his grasps the way a dog chases after a ball, enjoying it to the fullest.

"Please Pig, you love taking letters."

He followed the little creature out the dormitory, down the stairs, round the common room, up the stairs and into the dormitory again. At least into a dormitory, but not his.

To his embarrassment he found himself in the girls' dormitory. With a sort of morbid fascination he looked at the bedside tables, littered with make-up, glitter and photographs.

Clothes were everywhere and posters of pop stars covered the walls. It felt to him like he had stepped into another dimension.

Another hoot from Pig brought him back from his trance. But before making another effort at catching the owl, he looked around some more. This was his chance to look in to the lives of the girls. He could look for Hermione's diary to see what she was really thinking. If she was coping with everything, or if she was just being brave.

He slowly sat down on a bed. A photograph of Harry and Hermione was on it. This was Hermione's bed. He reached out to the bedside table slowly but then he stopped. He couldn't invade her privacy.

He stood up again and wanted to leave, but then remembered Pig.

"Pig, are you coming?"

The owl fluttered down on the open lid of Hermione's trunk. Ron sighed. He briskly walked over to the trunk, grabbed Pig and moved to turn away. But his eyes got stuck on something in the trunk.

He dropped to his knees and took a wooden mask in his hands. His eyes were opened wide with incomprehension. He threw the mask aside and rummaged around in her trunk. He found a dark, smooth cloak. He had never seen Hermione wear anything like this.

The fabric slithered through his fingers, cool as snakeskin. Suddenly his fingers came across something rough on the fabric. A silver skull embroidered on the inside of the cloak.

He stared at it.

He had seen this skull more than once. He had seen it in dark smoke spread across the sky.

He jumped to his feet. Ginny was down there, looking for Hermione. Ginny had no idea. He had to find his sister.

"You killed him! You lead him into a trap! You let him die! But you don't even care!" She shrieked.

Hermione reached for her heart.

"Ginny….you scared me…'

"I hope so!"

Her face was red with anger. Hermione didn't understand.

"I…I don't-"

"You're a Death Eater, a traitor! I heard you two talking! And you were obviously the cause of this Paul's death as well, whoever he is! I don't believe you! We were all worried about you, about how you'd cope after Harry's death. But you worked with these bastards all along!"

"No!" Hermione shrieked. "You don't understand! I loved Harry! I really did, but they had Paul, he's-"

"I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses. I've had enough."

Ginny straightened her wand arm.

"Expelliarmus!" Neville shouted.

Ginny's wand flew to the other end of the room while she was thrown against the wall. She crawled to her feet and launched herself at Hermione. She was kicking, screaming, punching everything she could reach.

Hermione tried to push her off but it was useless.

Ginny ripped Hermione's sleeve from her robe, exposing the Dark Mark on her arm.

"See." She hissed. "You're a traitor. And I'm not letting you go."

Ron ran through the corridors. He was still trying to make his head stop spinning. Hermione had hidden a mask and a cloak in her trunk. Clothing that was only given to Voldemort's closest followers.

Hermione was a Death Eater.

Harry had died and he was certain that Hermione had killed him. She couldn't remember anything about the attack? Because there was no bloody attack! She had probably stabbed him in the back herself.

He looked around. They could be anywhere.

Suddenly he heard a scream. He snapped around and followed the echoes. Around a corner, through the corridor. There! An open door.

"No!" He heard Hermione cry. "No…what have you done…Ginny…"

Ron ran on, only a little further. He stormed through the doorway and stopped dead in his tracks. His breath left his body as he gasped.

Ginny had clasped herself to Hermione's shoulders. It could have been mistaken for a friendly hug if she hadn't been coughing blood.

Neville stepped back to reveal the knife in her back.

"You killed her!" Hermione shrieked as Neville pulled the knife out.

Ginny's body fell to her knees. Hermione screamed and jumped back as Ginny fell forward. Neville turned around and tried to wipe the blood off the blade, but stopped when his eyes met Ron's.

"Ron…"

Hermione looked up. His arms were hanging limply by his side. His face was pale. Hermione felt the blood leave her face.

"Ginny…" it was more a breath than a word.

"Ron…please, listen to me…" Hermione pleaded. "I never wanted any of this to happen. I loved Harry more than you can-"

"I don't want to hear it." Ron heard himself say. "You're a Death Eater…"

His voice sounded as if he didn't believe the words himself. Neville started to laugh in the background. Hermione knew there was no chance of it ever going right again.

"Please Ron." She pleaded, her voice frail with tears. "I was forced…Neville's a Death Eater, he tricked me. I had to do what he said because they'd kill my cousin if I didn't!"

Ron's eyes had gone empty. "Neville…?"

"Yes! He's a Death Eater!"

Neville laughed again and stepped forward. He grabbed her arm and showed it to him.

"Look, Weasley. Here's your proof." His eyes gleamed with triumph.

"The Dark Mark." Ron said flatly.

Neville laughed even louder. He reached into his pockets and took out a pouch. He threw it into the flame of the candle and a purple haze slowly appeared.

"Come, princess. The Dark Lord is waiting."

Neville stepped through the haze and disappeared.

Hermione stepped away from it. "Ron…please! I never wanted to become one! They forced me! Please believe me!"

Ron dropped to his knees next to the body of his sister. He turned her on her back. Her eyes were empty. Her hair was no longer shining like it used to, or was that a trick of the light?

"Why should I believe you."

He looked up at her with a coldness in his eyes that shot through her. His voice was so full of hatred that it scared her.

"You're a Death Eater. You killed Harry. You killed Ginny. You lie and deceive, you're a DEATH EATER HERMIONE!" he bellowed.

Hermione stepped back in fear. She had never seen him like this.

He reached for the knife on the floor. It still had Ginny's blood on it. He looked at it with a dazed expression.

"Run." He said coldly. "Run to your master, 'princess' Don't ever come here again, because I'll kill you."

He stared at her.

"I swear I will kill you with this knife right here!"

He held out his palm and slid the blade across, not quite knowing why he did it.He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the blade cut through his flesh. He didn't look down as the blood dripped on the floor.

"I swear, by Ginny's blood and mine, that I will drive this knife through your body and watch you die. I will become an Auror and when I do, I will hunt you and kill you."

Hermione stepped away, tears flowing down her face. "Please…"

Ron dropped the knife and started to cry. He clasped Ginny to his chest. His hand caressed her hair as his tears fell down on her face.

Hermione cried. She had lost everything. She turned around and disappeared. There was no place for her anymore.

Ron hid his head in Ginny's shoulder and sobbed. He looked at the ceiling and let out a howl of pain.

"I'll kill you, Hermione!"

He looked at Ginny's white and empty face.

"Don't worry Ginny. I'll kill her…I'll make sure she'll pay…I'll kill her for you. I promise…"

The End

AN: well, that was it. No happy ending, Hermione is alone for ever and Ron will hunt her. I'll tell you now that I don't plan to make a sequel, but…who knows…if I ever have an idea I might give it a shot. Because I know this ending isn't really a closure now, is it? I hope you all enjoyed it and I want to thank everyone who ever reviewed!

R-Krulle: She wanted to but didn't…Neville made sure she didn't. But perhaps, if I write a sequel, we'll see what happens to her now. thank you for your reviews

Dark Angel's Blue Fire: I'm very flattered by your review. It's wonderful to know your story is liked. And I'm glad that Hermione seems human. Thank you for your reviews, you were there completely from the beginning. I hope the story met your expectations.:)

Emma barrows: You too were there right from the start. Thank you very much, your reviews were always very much appreciated :D

XXRoseDawsonXX: Thank you for your kind review. It's always nice to see someone understands why you did something in a story. (I'm not saying the others didn't understand, but you seem to have had the same experience with your own work) I'm glad you liked the story and I hope this ending didn't disappoint you too much.

Person: Too bad you didn't log in, so now I can't thank you properly. But I am glad you liked the story.

Lucerito-del-alma: Stable? Good! Good good. And Hermione…no suicide. She wanted to, but she didn't want it enough. Otherwise she would have killed herself after Ron's threats and all. She was a me-based character, at some parts, yes. I'll admit that. I believe that you can only write something convincingly if it's something you know yourself and things like that. Oh, you know what I mean. Anyway, this story was all dedicated to you for being the best friend anyone could have and I hope you liked it. (If you didn't, then I'll just have to think up another plotline that suits you better :P What would you prefer Harry/Hermione or Ron/Hermione? ) Nah, I just hope you liked the ending.

So, once again, a story has reached it's end. I'm really happy with all the good reviews it got and I hope you'll keep reading my work in the future. I still have two or three HP stories I need to type, most of them HP/HG, even though I like RW/HG better myself. Somehow I end up writing something I don't really prefer :P lol.

Well, for those of you who are interested, keep an eye out for 'For Old Time's Sake' which is a story about Hermione who ends up in the past due to a little homework accident. She's got a very deep crush on Harry, but when she meets the Marauders, there might be a bit of trouble for his soon-to-be-happily-married-together-parents. Let's just say that Lily finds it hard to like Hermione at some times.

So thank you all for reviewing Ashes to Ashes, I hope to see you at some of my other work.

Raven55