13. Sacrifice Of The Greatest

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Hermione found herself flying face down on the ground again, having been hit by a stunning spell unguardedly. The hooded wizard snickered, aiming his wand to finish his actions, but someone else was quicker, sending a straight line of bright green sparks toward his chest. The wizard fell limp to the floor, oddly contrasting against the chaos in the halls. The disgusting smell of blood filled her nostrils. Hermione rubbed her nose with a hand, staring down blankly at the crimson liquid on her fingers. Her saviour bent down to help her to her wobbly feet, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her vision was slightly blurred, the battle sounds distant in her head.

Every inch of her ached, and the place where the Stunning Spell had hit her felt like the bruise of an iron-clad punch. She gripped the Elder Wand tightly, casting a side glance at Tom, who seemed intensely focused on his shielding spell – bright jets of various colours would crash against the shield, only to rebound back at the attacker. People were falling in every direction she looked at, the light leaving their eyes or bloodcurdling screams erupting from the depths of their throats. It was an unpleasant sight.

They reached the end of the hallway and faced the flight of stairs that would lead to Dumbledore's office. It was quieter and empty. Hermione managed to remove her arms from the Slytherin's neck, supporting all her body weight against the brick wall. Her surroundings were slowly loosening their blurriness and she was finally able to think straight as the shock of the previous attack vanished fully. She was able to catch onto Tom's last words too.

"... Do not ask me to go in there and save that old ignorant fool. If that is what you desire, you do it." He hissed, turning on his shoes and walking away.

Someone slammed Hermione's back onto the wall with deliberate force, but the enormous hands that lifted her into the air were exceedingly gentle. Hermione glanced around and could feel Hagrid's arms trembling with the force of his heaving sobs; great tears splashed down upon him as he cradled her in his arms.

"Hermione," He cried out, his deep hoarse teen-voice sounding above the explosions and yells. "Yeh need ter leave this place. Go an' hide." But Hermione did not dare to move.

"Go," He repeated.

Hermione let out a loud sob, shaking her head in denial and ordering him to leave instead. His big eyes softened and he shook with both sadness and anger – anger for not being able to protect his friend when she had risked herself in the past for Aragog and for him. For a Gryffindor, Rubeus Hagrid never felt that he could be as brave as his House Mates, as courageous or as smart. But he vowed to fight valiantly that night. To protect his friends... So he did.

His extremely big hands tightened around Hermione's tiny waist, and despite her loud protests, he rose her high in the air, throwing her body cautiously against his broad shoulders and carrying her down the stairs and away from the place she wanted to go the most.

"Hagrid, stop." She bellowed angrily, hitting her fists on his back. "Where are you taking me? Hagrid I need to save Dumbledore. Go back now. Let go of me Hagrid. Put me down."

Hermione thought that Hagrid would have felt forced to obey her desperate command, because she had never spoken to him in such a harsh tone. But the tall wizard kept walking, using the shadows as a shield and keeping his free hand, threateningly aiming forward- though wobbly. There was no wand in his wand, if needed he would've used his own strength.

She could feel her body being lowered down and as her feet finally made contact to the ground, Hermione huffed and glared at Hagrid who was absentmindedly glaring around what used to be the Entrance Hall, but it wasn't recognizable anymore. A weird feeling of Nostalgia and déjà vu took over her senses and Hermione felt weak to her knees again.

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