Amour

ANAGNORISIS

Voldemort stepped forward with Hogwarts before his eyes and the burning forest in the background. The music was still emanating from the castle, under the bubble of protective enchantments that was pulsating with strength. He closed his eyes, shaking his head, pitying the naivety of those on the other side. "These imbeciles and their singing..."he said under his breath. Snape who had arrived beside him, was listening enchanted to the song, but his reverie was broken by this. He glowered at him while Bellatrix cackled. Voldemort looked back at all his followers, extending hemispherically behind him, and gave a smirk. He looked towards Hogwarts again and baring his razor-sharp teeth, ordered,"Begin." All the death-eaters, the witches and wizards started shooting curses at the dome of magical protection while the inferi went haring down the field in a tumultuous brouhaha. Pandemonium had broken loose; the battle of Hogwarts had just begun................................
Soon after, Voldemort shrieked and doubled back in pain as Harry and Ginny struck the cup of Hufflepuff with the basilisk fang deep down under the castle grounds. Pulling himself together, he gritted his teeth in rage and burst out an eruption of magic that hit the protective layer of magic surrounding hogwarts, making a gaping hole in it like that of in the ozone layer of the atmosphere. Snape watched horrified while the others clapped and cheered. But Voldemort stumbled back and crouched down, as if all his strength had been siphoned out of him and the Elder wand that he had borrowed off Dumbledore's corpse, developed hair-line cracks. He breathed laboriously and glared at the direction of Hogwarts, knowing very well who was causing him displeasure. "Draco..",he called. Both Lucius and Narcissa looked at each other, their faces going white as they dreaded what the dark lord would ask their son. They had hoped if they stayed out of his sight, then they would be out of his mind, but they couldn't ignore him then and Draco Malfoy stepped out of their shadow and went on trembling knees to the Dark lord, trying to look intrepid and buckled down. Voldemort stood straight, using Draco's shoulders for support and looked him up and down," I trusted you with one job and now again I'm laying my trust on you for another. Bring me Hermione Granger and you and your family would be rewarded beyond comprehension." Draco looked at his parents but they had to look away, not daring to say anything over the dark lord. But then he looked back at Voldemort who was now looking him straight in the eye,"Or just kill her. Kill her and all those worthless sons of bitches! I have run out of fucks to give! I would blast all those lesser mortals off of the face of the earth and be king of the ashes if that's what it took!" Draco gulped a number of times hearing this declamation, but finally he nodded. He charged forward and disapparated. Snape rushed to Voldemort saying,"My lord, you had trusted the boy before and he disappointed you. How can you trust him with this now? Why didn't you give me a chance? I could've done better, I've proved myself before-" "You are far more important to me, Severus. I have something very special planned for you."he drawled, looking towards the castle again, where the sound of the misic had turned to a vociferation,"And besides, in a game of chess, the pawns go first." He grinned in a devilish manner and Snape followed his gaze to the castle too, wishing he could see what was happening on the other side. He failed to make something of Voldemort’s previous comment as he was too engrossed listening to the clamourous turmoil and the bemoaning lament floating through the air as lives were being claimed by death...............
Draco had been gone nearly an hour and Snape was pacing the forest floor when suddenly Voldemort gave another loud wail and went down on his knees clutching his chest. Snape, who was the closest, rushed to him in mock concern but Voldemort struck him hard across the face, making him topple off his feet and onto the leafy bed of the woodland. Voldemort threw sparks in the air and called for the giants and the acromantulas to join the fight as well. Even while wiping off the blood from his face, where his lip had cut open, Snape could not help but smile. Hermione has succeeded yet again! Now all that remains is the snake and then-then what? His smile soon disappeared as he reminisced what Dumbledore had told him. I believe,the last one is...Hermione herself. He tried to make himself believe that that part was only a figment of his imagination, that there was someway around it. He didn't know what to feel about the fact that Voldemort was still ignorant of this information; he wasn't sure whether he would be so keen on killing Hermione after knowing that she carried a piece of his soul too. He pulled himself up on his feet and saw that Voldemort had seated himself on a rock and was stroking the head of his pet. He took out his wand and waved it around it so that a magical encasement appeared around it. Snape eyed the snake and remembered Dumbledore's words again. There would come a time when Voldemort would be afraid about the safety of his snake and then he would know that the end was near. Snape saw Voldemort glower at him and he tore his eyes away.
It was way past midnight and Draco hadn't returned; his parents were distressed and Bellatrix and the other death-eaters who were waiting out the war- apparently too important to work themselves up to join the fight- they were growing too impatient and fretful. Voldemort stood up and touched his wand to his throat, making his voice heard to everyone participating in the conflict, but talking to one in particular. "I talk directly to you now, Mudblood."his voice dripped with maliciousness."I would agree to a temporary suspension of the feud if you agree to this armistice. No more innocent blood shall be spilt, no more torturous death at the hands of my servants. Let's end this the right way- between you and me. Face me yourself, alone in the Forbidden forest. I give you one hour to ponder over my offer. Tick tock tick tock. Come and play!" Snape chewed on his lip contemplating. Hermione won't be stupid enough to do that. Even if she belives she might have a chance in a one-on-one duel with the dark lord, having survived it twice already, but she can't possibly be so foolhardy as to think she can take on the whole army by herself! But she's a Griffindor. She would choose the valorous way to die any day over the loss of the lives of others. And Voldemort was offering her too sweet a temptation. Holy mother of God, don't let her fall victim to her own hubris!..............................
Getting a break from the battle, Hermione came to the great hall, only to bear witness to the casualties. Some had died of the curses of the death eaters, some had succumbed to the wounds left behind by the werewolves and inferi, some had fallen prey to the venom of the acromantulas or the mauling giants and others were bleeding out through the injuries they had received. But everyone- alive or dead- bore the same countenance of despair in lieu of the war that had taken a hard toll on them. She was moved to tears as she watched the Weasley family crying over the dead body of Fred, and Lupin mechanically stroking the hair of his dead wife and rocking her lightly in his arms, as if lulling her to sleep. She felt that every eye that landed on her was immediately condemning her for this catastrophe. She ran away from all those prying eyes that were shooting daggers at her and came straight to Dumbledore's office. There she let herself drop on a chair and wept. After she removed her hands from her face, she spied the top drawer of the desk had been kept loose. She pulled it open to take out the book she had sent Snape, where she had hidden the potion. She remembered that Snape had told her that he had hidden something there and that she would know everything once she looked inside. She opened the first page, quickly wrote down the password, that he had kept unchanged and fished out a vial from inside the compartment. She held it against the light and realised it was a bottle full of memories. "Those belong to me."Dumbledore's painting suddenly spoke up, startling her."And Snape. But it is concerning you. We needed to keep it from you till the last minute." She was confused and looked at the small phial. "Take it to the pensive; you'll have all your questions answered."Dumbledore told her. She followed his instructions and brought out the pensieve and pouring the misty liquid inside, she swirled it around with her wand. "No matter what happens next, know that we love you and we are all here for you, Hermione." Dumbledore said warmly but Hermione did not fail to detect  the apprehension and melancholy in his tone. Nonetheless, she forced a smile and took a deep breath before diving into the depths of the swirly white mist:
She fell down into almost right where she was-Dumbledore's office. Only now,Dumbledore was sitting at his table and Snape was in front of it, pacing desperately.
"You've done well,Severus."
"I wish I could've done more."Snape said furiously. Dumbledore's eyes glinted,"Actually...you can." Snape stopped in his tracks and turned to him."How?" Dumbledore hesitated and Snape brought his face close to him, so that they were inches apart- a trick he almost always used to intimidate his students- and he muttered through gritted teeth,"You wear your honour like a suit of armor, Albus. You think it keeps you safe, but all it does is weigh you down and make it hard for you to move. Look at you now. You know why you summoned me here. You know what you want to ask me to do. You know it has to be done … but it’s not honorable, so the words stick in your throat." Then Dumbledore finally told him his plan. "It should be you,who must kill me." Hermione knew about all this already so she skipped a bit. Dumbledore was pleading,"Think about it.If not anyone else,think of Hermione-"
"Don't!Just because I love her,you cannot use my weakness to make me do anything." Snape growled.
"Promise me,Severus.Promise me.." Hermione looked down at her feet; she knew she was the only reason Snape had agreed to do all this. 'Weakness' he said. But I never wanted to be that for him... "Hermione cannot know about this-not till it's the right time,not until it is absolutely necessary,otherwise how could she have the strength to do what must be done?"Dumbledore was saying. Snape slightly widened his eyes,"But what must she do?" Hermione was listening more intrigued then.
"She must destroy seven horcruxes Voldemort created for himself,which is the only means to completely destroy him.And...I believe,the last one is...Hermione herself." Hermione's heart stopped. She could practically hear the wheels of her mind in motion. So this was why he looked so desolate. That farewell was a goodbye forever...
"But...that cannot be..." Snape was mumbling away, as dejected as she was feeling right now. "The night Voldemort tried to kill her and her mother sacrificed herself,the killing curse rebounded,and a piece of his soul was blasted apart from the whole and latched itself on to the only living soul it could find in front of it.A part of Voldemort lives inside her;that's why she is a parseltongue and there is an unexplained connection between their minds.As long as that fragmented soul is alive inside Hermione,Voldemort cannot die." Dumbledore was explaining away but Hermione could hardly listen. She didn't know how a person who just realised she was about to die should behave.  
"You raised her like a pig for slaughter!You kept her alive so she could be given up like some sacrificial animal!All those hopes...all her aspirations...And mine?Us?" Hermione almost clutched at the memory Snape's shoulder to stop him. It didn't matter anymore. It's allright. Honestly, I knew this was going to happen. Finally, I have the truth. Atleast now, I got closure.