Author's Note: This flashback is the last, chronologically, of the flashbacks in Vengeance. It's from Ch. 18 and takes place probably mere minutes before the beginning of Chapter 1.

Battle of Hogwarts

Hermione raced down the hall and ducked behind a suit of armor, and a jet of green light glanced off the breastplate. She held back a scream and shot a Stunning Spell at the Death Eater down the hall. He collapsed, and she let out a sigh of relief. But she couldn't relax for long—the battle was still going on downstairs and out on the grounds. She crept to the window at the end of the hall to take a look outside.

Hagrid's hut was ablaze, as were many trees in the Forbidden Forest. She watched as a group of centaurs stampeded out from the cover of the trees to join the battle. It was about time she fought her way out of the castle and onto the grounds.

Just as she was about to turn away from the window, she noticed the reflection of a Death Eater sneaking up on her. She whirled around rapidly and shouted two spells in rapid succession.

"Protego!"

The hex coming at her was absorbed by the Shield Charm.

"Expelliarmus!"

But in a moment, her wand had flown out of her own hand. Disarmed by her own rebounding Disarming Charm, fantastic. She scrambled behind another suit of armor, realizing that this was a dead end. Her wand lay two yards away, out of her reach.

She contemplated making a dive for it, but her opportunity passed before she had had a chance to make up her mind—the Death Eater Summoned her wand, and it zoomed into his hand.

"Come on out, Granger," she heard him snarl.

So he knew who she was. Then again, in the year that she had spent hunting Horcruxes, Draco informed her that her face, as well as Ron's, had become as well-known to the Death Eaters as Harry's.

Maybe she could just leap out the window. She didn't want to be murdered.

But even as she considered that option, she knew that she couldn't take her own life. Even if she survived the fall, it was highly unlikely that she wouldn't be killed by a Death Eater down below. She'd rather die fighting than trying to escape.

She pulled out her beaded handbag and stuck her hand inside, rummaging for anything that might help her. But what could she do without her wand?

Then her hand closed around a small packet, and her heart leapt. Was it possible? Had she really packed something from the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes? She pulled out the packet and saw the dark purple writing across the top: Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

Seemed like fate was looking after her. She ripped the pouch open, flung the powder out into the hallway, and was immediately engulfed in darkness.

"What the hell?" she heard.

Then there was a crash, and the Death Eater cursed. She assumed he had run into a wall. She slowly inched along the hall, praying that she wouldn't run into him.

She thought she saw light up ahead and moved faster. Maybe she would make it out of this mess, after all.

"Incarcerous!"

Hermione screamed and started bolting, but thick ropes wrapped around her entire body, and she fell to the ground, struggling against the ropes helplessly. A pair of hands roughly grabbed her arm and tugged her to her feet. Then she was yanked down the hall. They crashed into the wall twice before he found a door.

She was shoved roughly into a classroom, and she found she could see again—the powder only took effect in the hallway outside.

"You're going to pay for blinding me, you little Mudblood," the Death Eater growled, removing his mask.

She recognized his face from a book she'd read on criminal history. This was Augustus Rookwood, one of the original Death Eaters who had participated during the First Wizarding War.

"I didn't blind you," Hermione protested as she watched him slam the door.

"Then you're going to pay for being such a pain in the arse to find," he snarled, turning back to face her.

She watched as he unbuttoned his pants and lowered the zipper, and her breath caught in her throat. Was he really about to rape her? She started to scream, but he pointed his wand at her, and her voice left her. He shoved her stomach against a desk, pushed her down so that she was bent over it. Then he removed a section of the rope around her rear and legs but kept her arms restrained. Realizing that her legs were free, she tried to move them, only to find that she had lost control over her limbs.

Hermione had never been a religious person—she'd been too rational to think that a higher power really existed and had control over the entire universe. But now, as her pants and underwear were tugged down to her ankles, she began to pray to anyone or anything out there to help her. She could stand pain, could endure torture, but not this. She heard him stepping toward her, and she started hyperventilating.

No, no, take deep breaths. She could take it. Deep breaths. If she lived through this, she could still get him back for it. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.

He spread her legs wide apart to either side and whistled.

"For a Mudblood, you have one pretty pussy."

She shuddered in utter revulsion as she felt his rough fingers rubbing her bottom. He slapped her arse hard. She would have cried out in pain, but he'd already silenced her. His fingers roamed closer to her warmth, and she tried in vain to lift herself off the table.

He reached one hand up to slam her back down against the table, knocking the wind out of her. Her eyes itched, threatening to fill with tears. When his hand left her back, she found that she couldn't move a muscle in her upper body. His hands pried her legs even farther apart, and then she could feel his breath on her nether lips.

"I'm gonna make you beg to be fucked," he said. "I'm going to make you like it."

No. Silenced or not, she would never, no matter what he did to her.

At that moment, the door was thrown open with a force hard enough for it to swing around and slam into the wall beside it. Rookwood released her, probably to turn around and attack the intruder. There was a loud thud, followed by a sickening crunch.

The ropes around her upper body disappeared, and she regained use of her limbs.

Trembling, she pushed her torso up off the table and stood on shaking legs, reaching down to pull her underwear and pants back up. She turned around apprehensively and almost screamed when she saw another Death Eater mask. But then she saw a familiar shade of grey, and she knew she was safe.

His eyes, ablaze with fury, were focused on Rookwood's limp body—she followed his line of sight and saw that he had crushed the man's skull. His hand was clenched tightly around his wand, and he was trembling almost as severely as she was.

"Draco," she breathed.

He looked up at her, and his eyes softened considerably. He crossed the distance between them in two steps and pulled her into his arms. Leaning into his chest, wrapping her arms around him, Hermione finally allowed herself to relax. Tears leaked from her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, and she let all worries about the battle fade away.

"It's okay now," Draco murmured into her hair. "He won't be able to touch you anymore."

She clung to his shoulders, feeling as though she couldn't even support her own weight anymore. She wished that they wouldn't have to go down to the field and fight.

"Are all the Horcruxes gone yet?" Draco asked quietly.

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. There might be one more—Voldemort's snake has to die."

"Nagini?"

"Yes."

Draco gently pried her away from him. "I'll keep that in mind when I get outside. Now look—the weasel's going crazy looking for you. You have to get out there."

"I… I know I do."

"Look at me. Look at me, Hermione."

She lifted her head up to meet his eyes and saw that they were glistening with unshed tears.

"Forget about Rookwood. He won't ever come near you again," he said firmly. "Both of us have to get back out there. If anyone comes across us here, together, I'm going to have to attack you."

He put her wand in her hand.

"Draco, I—"

"I'm being serious. Go, now."

He stepped to the side and gave her a light push toward the door. She turned back to get another look at him, but she could only see his grey eyes behind the mask.

"I love you," she whispered before rushing into the darkness outside.