Chapter Text
malum quo communius eo peius
The more common an evil is, the worse it is
Sixth-Year
Quidditch World Cup
Devon
Hermione is sitting on a table and bobbing her head to the chorus of chants from her friends. Music swirls around the tent that has been enchanted to be the size of a small house, the beauty of magic and illusion is making things much larger than they appear. She has a bottle of enchanted Rosewater in her hand, a mixture of vodka and rose tonic that tastes like pure sugar everytime she takes a sip. She laughs and intermittently sings along with Harry and Ron as they belt out another tune from the opening ceremony of the Quidditch World Cup.
Approximately one hundred thousand witches and wizards were in attendance at the Quidditch World Cup and the wall of sound they produced was incomprehensible. As she sways from the alcohol coursing through her veins and the sound of her friend's laughter she pauses. Jumps in fright at the faint sound of an explosion, she turns to look towards the tent opening and the familiar feeling of fear courses beneath the surface of her skin.
Through the slit of the tent opening that flaps in the cool evening air she only sees the crowd passing by, groups of people laughing and celebrating. Above the sky is illuminated by a watercolour display of lights and fireworks, rainbow smoke lingering in the air.
She takes another drink from the bottle and relishes the feeling of the rose and vodka on her tongue, the heady hit of sugar and alcohol burns her throat. Hermione never drinks she always ends up supervising Ginny, Ron or Harry when they've decided to party a little too hard. Tonight she decided to listen to her friends and stop being such a ‘wet broom’.
The end of Sixth Year led to the best summer holidays she had ever had. They got lost in the summer, long nights lying down and staring at the stars. A few times they snuck into London to party with Muggles but she always wound up with her head in the Burrows toilet for the following day.
Now they were eighteen and had fewer rules, which was a curse and a blessing. Molly didn’t hover over them as much she even told Percy to leave them alone. Percy reluctantly agreed to stop keeping such a close eye on them but said there were no guarantees when he returned for the Hogwarts Alumni dinner and afterparty. An afterparty everyone knew about but the teachers prohibited, under strict threat of expulsion for any attendees.
Hermione was surprised that Molly turned a blind eye when Ron and Harry stole a motorbike from Arthur’s shed for a joyride and didn't come back the following day. Hermione was in a fit, worrying about those idiots but Ginny laughed and said ‘Wizards will be wizards.’
Molly started letting Ginny go with them, unchaperoned and sometimes at night. Ginny was always safe with Ron and Harry, who were more overprotective of her than they were with Hermione. She even laughed when Molly didn’t bat an eyelid when she found her liquor cabinet open and a bottle of Peppermint Fire Schnapps missing, twice. Molly still didn't lose her temper when Harry and Ron’s hands were covered in Schnapps burns which were obviously from the drink they stole.
Voldemort hadn’t been seen since the Chamber of Secrets was opened in the Second year and even Harry felt like he could finally breathe. Hermione never fully relaxed, the anxiety of him returning was too enormous to deny and it sat heavy on her conscience. She often lay awake at night while the boys were talking, lied to them that she was worried about study but really it was about Voldemort. It was also about their constant impending and unexpected deaths which she’d imagine in countless ways, endlessly fretting over Harry’s fate.
It was a weird feeling, being a reckless teenager and Hermione enjoyed pretending she was a Mugle, if only for a little while. The anxiety she felt always lay dormant, waiting to gnaw at her.
Another explosion erupted, louder from outside the tent on the right. The earth beneath them shakes and trembles. Hermione’s head jerks around and her eyes land on Ron. He freezes mid song, slowly looking towards the entrance and dropping his bottle of Scottish Wizard’s brew.
Hermione jumps down from the table and hesitantly walks towards the tent opening, before she even gets to the entrance they are surrounded by a cacophony of mangled screams. Her skin goes cold and she looks back at Ron with a worried expression. His eyes are wide, face paling as he listens to the howls outside the tent. The fear that ignites in her chest is one she hasn’t felt in a long time and it feels like her veins have turned to pure ice.
One moment they were carefree, soaking up the revelry of the Quidditch World Cup and the next the world has broken into utter pandemonium. She knew Voldemort’s absence wouldn't be forever and that reality stung, her eyes immediately searching the cluttered tent for Harry.
An electric hum vibrates in the air and makes all the hair on her arms stand up, she is instantly covered in goosebumps. Hermiome turns to Ginny and sees strands of her red hair sticking up in the air. It looks like static electricity and she registers the metallic taste in her mouth, it’s the familiar taste of magic.
They all know what that feeling means, the static in the air and the cold flood of nausea that rolls over them in waves. The familiar high pitched ringing in her ears renders momentarily immobile. She looks at Ginny with eyes wide, a sickness broiling in her stomach as vibrations ripple through the air around them.
Hermione pulls her wand from her back pocket and feels her body stiffen with anticipation, muscles tense and ready to fight. Screaming follows a series of deafening explosions the come in quick succession. Part of her wants to stay and hide, the other knows she has no choice but to run.
Her eyes search the tent, frantically looking for Harry and finds him huddled in the corner. He sits with Fred and a spread of exploding cards on the floor around them. Harry immediately throws the rest of the cards in his hand to the ground and they crackle and snap as they hit the ground..
“Run!” He screams. His eyes wide with panic, cheeks flushed red from alcohol and glasses askew.
She can barely hear him over the chaos of people screaming around them, her heartbeat is thunderous in her ears. Hermione feels dread settle in her chest like a dead weight, terrified of what she will see when she leaves the tent. She grabs Ginny’s hand tight and starts yanking her towards the exit but Ginny is pulling back, fighting Hermione and calling Harry’s name.
“Ginny!” Hermione shouts, “He’s coming. We need to move!”
“Not without him!” She calls back continuing to struggle against Hermione’s firm grip, “We have to wait for Harry!”
Ginny’s constant fear of the Dark Lord returning for Harry has now reared its ugly head. Hermione notes her friends face now green with fear, she twists frantically trying to free herself from Hermione’s grip.
Harry’s face twists in pain and his right hand slams onto his forehead cupping the scar beneath his palm. He closes his eyes, groaning in pain and then looks up at Hermione with wide, terrified eyes.
“He’s back!” Harry’s voice shakes as he screams, “Voldemort’s back!”
Hermione is halfway across the tent, dragging Ginny with her and George pulls the tent door open. Hand shaking as he grips the edge of the material he peers out to see a crowd descending into pandemonium with thick black smoke filling the air.
A deep voice as clear as day just outside their tent screams, “Morsmorde!”
Hermione stops in her tracks, the Dark Mark has just been conjured and she wants to be sick all over herself. The sky turns green, electrified by dark magic and the swirling green skull that hovers in the sky. She stares up in horror at the smoky snake slithering out of the clouded skulls open mouth.
All hell breaks loose.
She screams and the sound is unrecognisable, Ginny shakes her shoulders and shakes Hermione. Ginny grips her shoulder tightly and shakes her again, willing the screams to stop and Hermione slams her mouth shut.
“I…” Hermione blinks back tears.
“We have to go!” Ginny shakes Hermione again. “We haven't time to panic.”
“I know but…” Biting down so hard on her bottom lip it draws blood. “I’m scared!” Hermione hisses.
Ginny nods, “As long as we stick together we’ll be fine. Those boys are absolutely psychotic when it comes to us.” She gestures to Harry barreling towards them, “They’d never let anything happen to us.”
“Ginny!” Ron screams as he tears across the tent ahead of Harry towards them. “Get out of here, take Hermione!”
“Not without you!” Ginny and Hermione shout at the same time.
Hermione knows her blissful summer with her friends, pretending to be a carefree Muggle is gone. Reality has come slamming back into the forefront of their lives and she stares out of the tent to the skull in the sky, they are all bathed in a deep emerald light.
Ginny rips her hand free of Hermione’s and runs back into the tent towards Harry, Ron tries to stop her but she shoves him aside. A female voice laughs, the tent opening snaps shut and George frantically tries to rip it back open.
“Incendio!” The voice cackles.
Flames ignite at the bottom of the tent, the exit is engulfed by the angry flickering of fire. Smoke immediately surrounds them, the air thick and suffocating. Hermione is screaming at them to find another way out as she backs away from the opening. Fred is for George to hurry as he clambours back over an overturned chair. Ron is reaching his hand out for Hermione’s, they never leave each other behind.
“I've got you!” he calls over the wall of sound.
She nods, squeezing his hand and pulling him away from the flames.
The relationship she has with Ron and Harry is possessive to the point of problematic, they have been through too much with Voldemort and each other. Some joke its a trauma bond, others say its weird how close they are. Harry is so afraid of losing thing that he would never want to risk anything ever happening. Ron’s big hand wraps around Hermione’s left and she squeezes tight.
The smoke grows thicker, Ron coughs as he leans towards her and shouts “We need to get out of here!”
Thousanss of people attended the Quidditch World Cup, now those same witches and wizards are screaming in fear as fire and explosions erupt around them. Thick tendrils of smoke coil around the tent and fill every crevice until they are almost blinded by the thick clouds. Hermione is gasping for air, her lungs burning as smoke coats her throat.
“Death Eaters!” Hermione screams. “We need to get Harry out of here!”
“We need to get out of the tent before we burn alive!” Ron replies as he pulls her towards the back.
She can barely see him in front of her the smoke is so thick. Hermione sees Fred raising his wand, the paint from his Quidditch Team smeared down his face and making him look like filthy.
“Protego Totalum” He calls and a humming gold shield explodes from his wand around them and to the roof of the tent.
“Incendio!” A gruff male voice shouts from outside their burning tent.
A fireball lands on the roof of the tent, the flames spread quickly and hungrily devours the tent. The material and wooden beams start to fall from above and Hermione raises her hand to shield her eyes from the heat of the thick flames.
George uses his wand to blast a hole through the tent but smoke billows immediately out of the hole looking for oxygen and escape. Wind howling around them and Hermione starts choking on the thick smoke.
“Aqua Erecto!” George calls and water shoots from his wand towards the hungry flames.
“Nice one, brother!” Fred screams and rushes out of the tent with his wand raised.
The world is in slow motion, she watches Ron grab Ginny by the back of her jumper and yank her towards the hole in the tent. Ginny is screaming at Ron, swatting at him to let go but he is bigger and stronger than her. He shoves her through the hole and steps out after her. Ginny continues screaming Harry and Hermione’s name but Ron holds up his hands arguing with her and pushing her away from the tent. She hits him with closed fists in the chest but he's immovable, refusing to let her past.
Hermione saw the panic in Ginny’s eyes. She knew that feeling well. It was a deep-rooted fear that was all-consuming. A fear of dying, or worse of losing the ones she loved. It was a constant terror of the Dark Arts, of the future and what awaited them. It was a cold poisonous worry that burrowed deep into the marrow of her bones and it was unrelenting, she's been living with it since second year.
Hermione casts a glance at Harry, his hair is a mess and he is fighting the fire in the tent with George but it is useless.
Ginny rushes back to the entrance past Ron and shouts angrily towards Harry and Hermione. She wildly gestures her arms, pointing towards the crowd but Hermione can't hear her over the fire.
Everything was happening so fast and she was frozen in place, coughing and choking on the black smoke in her lungs. She is unable to think or move, fear has rendered her a statue.
“Confringo!” A female with black hair and a silver mask pushes Ginny aside and screams as her wand points into the tent.
Hermione covers her ears with her hands as a red light shoots from the Death Eater’s wand, after the red light comes a deafening crack and the ground begins to shake. Hermione looks down at her feet, stones dance and jitter over her shoes. Hermione knows that Confringo is the equivalent of a bomb going off, an explosion so great that many people were simply turned to dust if hit by it.
She dropped to the ground, covering her ears and head with her arms. The explosion was so thunderous that she blinked back tears stinging her eyes, her vision blurred and shaking from the rattling of her brain against her skull. Her head begins to ring, her ears deaf from the explosion. Hermione’s instantly lost all hearing.
Thick, heavy smoke engulfs the tent and it has shifted from a grey ultra-dense smoke to black. She is enveloped in total darkness, losing sight of the hole in the tent and Harry with George.
With a shaking hand she holds out her wand, “Lumos!”
She doesn’t hear her own voice but sees the bright white light that is immediately emitted from her wand.
Lumos isn’t enough, she is blinded by smoke and the heat from flames grows strong, feeling hot against her skin and face. Sweat beads on her forehead and she feels another tremor from the ground.
A large rope and piece of wood has fallen and is hanging in the centre of the tent blocking her way she is now separated from Ron, Ginny and the Exit.
“Harry?” She screams in panic. “Harry?” Her voice hoarse and ears still ringing.
Harry does not reply.
Flames grow closer and she frantically looks around to try and find a way out, but it is useless the wood has blocked the exit completely.
“Diffindo!” She yells.
The rope that holds the wood above the ground snaps. The beam instantly falls with a crash and Hermione coughs as smoke blows towards her. Hermione moves to climb over the beam and try to salvage the exit, get to Ron and Ginny.
A hand grabs her own, she looks to her left and sees Harry. His face is covered in soot, his eyes wide with panic as he pulls her away from the flames. They scramble up onto an overturned table and he helps her jump down. He is shouting at her but she can only make out garbled sounds.
She tries to call out a spell to alleviate the smoke, feeling like she is being smothered to death and desperate for air.
“Humidify!”
Nothing happens, the smoke is too thick, she coughs and follows Harry as he pulls her past their broken beds now engulfed by red, angry flames.
Harry screams something but Hermione only hears a warbled sound, his hand never letting go of hers. The tent rips open beyond the beds, he pulls her with him and she falls out of the hole. She crashes into the back of Harry, he’s looking up at the Dark Mark in the sky.
There are no more fireworks, banners or people flying brooms in the sky. The night is now engulfed by the green gaping mouth of the Death Eater’s Mark. The snake twists and dances in the smoke, hissing at the crowd below and Hermione swallows bile as it rises into her mouth.
“He’s back!” Hermione screams.
Harry winces as he turns to look at Hermione and nods. “I know,” He shouts and she reads his lips.
Families run screaming in every direction, some carrying children and others screaming names into the chaos. Hermione's head pounds, she rubs her temples trying to get her hearing back but it doesn't work. Tents fall twisting as flames lick towards the sky and eat everything in their path. Some wizards and witches Apparate from the field and to safety. Others ran with wands raised high towards the chaos, ready to fight.
Arthur runs towards them from between two tents and his face is pale with horror. He grabs Harry on the shoulder, whirling him around to look him up and down.
“Find Ginny, take her and Hermione as far away from here as possible.” He coughs from the smoke as he talks. “Try to get to the Portkey!”
Ron rushes over and pulls Hermione into a tight hug, “Thank Gods!”
Hermione falls into his arms and squeezes her eyes tight, “I’m okay.” She is relieved to hear his voice as her hearing returns.
Ginny is looking at Harry and he nods at her, returning his focus to Arthur. “What about you?”
“I have to stay, the Ministry will fight this!”
“We want to help!” Harry shouts over the screaming.
“We’re coming with you, Dad!” George and Fred say at the same time.
“Yes, fine. I suppose you will.” Arthur looks over his shoulder and then nods to the girls, “Take them, Harry.”
“We can fight!” Hermione argues.
“Ron and Harry,” He looks at them both. “I know you’re men now, I know you can fight but this is too dangerous.”
Hermione frowns, “I’m not a little girl.”
“Go with them!” Arthur shouts. “This isn't a discussion.”
Ginny and Hermione open their mouths to argue but Arthur raises a hand to silence them.
“Enough!”
“Where do we go?” Harry asks and his eyes flick back to Ginny.
“Harry you need to go with the girls, make sure they are safe. Follow the crowd towards the hills. I will find you when it is safe.”
“But—” Ginny starts.
Arthur glowers at Ginny, “I’ve no doubt the Minister and Aurors will be here in moments. We mustn’t take any chances with the Dark Mark in the sky.”
“We’re not children, I’m not afraid!” Harry scowls and folds his arms. “I can fight!”
“I know you can Harry, I’ve seen it.” Arthur rubs his face, worn with age and fear as he shifts from foot to foot. “Voldemort is missing, I cannot bear the thought of anyone getting their hands on you, Harry.”
“I––”
“Protect the girls, you know witches have been going missing for weeks now. What if this is a kidnapping on a larger scale?”
Harry glances at Hermione and Ginny, he chews on the inside of his lip. “Fine.”
A crash erupts behind them, and screaming for help follows. “Get out of here, get the girls to the Burrow! I will call Sirius and Lupin to meet us at once!”
“Dad!” Ron argues.
Fred and George run towards the crowd, Ginny steps to follow them but Arthur shouts at her. “Get to safety, your mother will kill me if anything happens to you!”
“I can help, Hermione and I can fight!” Ginny shouts back with defiance.
“Enough!” Arthur screams.
Ginny slinks back into Harry’s arms as he pulls her away.
Hexes and angry voices call in the background, rising into the night air and Hermione’s blood is cold in her veins. She feels Ron’s hand slide into hers as he pulls her away from the chaos and towards the hills.
Arthur stops in his tracks calling over his shoulder, “Ron and Harry you can come back but for God's sake get the girls to safety!”
“No!” Ginny argues and turns to look at Harry. “Don’t go, stay with us!”
“Ron,” Harry frowns. “Take them, I need to help.”
“Harry, wait!” Ginny shouts.
Harry’s eyes look sad as he says, “Go Gin, we don’t need you here.”
Her eyes widen, “Harry, please.”
“Ginny, go! I don’t want you here!” Harry growls and his eyes never meet Ginny’s.
“I’m not a little witch anymore,” She hisses to Ron. “Please,” She begs. “Don’t make me go.”
Ron falters and looks up at Harry. “Maybe--”
“Don’t be a fucking pushover!” Harry insists.
Ron’s face darkens and he grabs Ginny’s shoulder to pull her away from Harry. Her eyes never leave Harry as she is pulled back towards the hills, she calls his name but Harry nods at her and then disappears into the crowd.
Hermione feels her stomach twist in fear, she digs her heels in the ground and tries to pull away from Ron.
“Ginny and I can look after ourselves.”
“I can’t let you go with him, you know that!” Ron snaps back as he struggles to grab Ginny’s forearm.
Hermione can see the anguish in Ginny’s eyes, knows that Ginny has so many things left unsaid as he disappears into the chaos. Hermione wishes they would both just admit how they felt and stop denying it. Unfortunately, Harry is too proud and convinced if he tells Ginny how he feels she will become a liability, a target. He cares about her too much to ever risk her getting hurt.
Ginny has told Harry time and time again, while sober and drunk that she would willingly die for him if he would just let her in. He is too stubborn to relent, he loves her too much and too fiercely to ever admit it. He couldn’t risk her getting hurt because of him, he wouldn’t be able to carry that weight it would eat him alive.
Instead of admitting how they feel Ginny and Harry dance around each other, the tension between them is palpable. Some days, when Harry was a little too drunk or high he would start to let Ginny close. As soon as there was a whisper of Voldemort, Death Eaters or the kidnapped witches he would push her far away as fast as he could.
Despite Hermione insisting he should let Ginny in, despite all the tears and pleas from Ginny, Harry would always disappear into himself and shut her out. If Hermione pushes too hard, Harry shuts her out too. So Harry shuts off and Ginny won’t let go, it is a hell of a situation to be caught in but Hermione is used to it.
Watching Harry run into the chaos and seeing the tears stream down Ginny’s face leaves a sick feeling in Hermione’s stomach, she storms towards the hills and tries to make her ears pop to stop the ringing. Ron never lets go of her hand, dragging her along like a petulant child.
“Ron!” Hermione shouts and points ahead.
Standing on the hill is a tall, broad Death Eater with a menacing silver mask. Their black cloak billows in the breeze and they raise their gloved hand straight at her. She starts to scream and points her wand back but she isn’t quick enough.
“Maxima Bombarda!” The Death Eater shouts.
Red hot sparks fly from their wand and the ground beneath them explodes, soil and rock are ripped from the ground as if it were mere grains of sand. Her hand is torn from Ron’s and she screams out as she is thrown backwards. She is propelled through the air and weightless as she flies back and her head slams into a rock.
She hears an audible snap as pain explodes in her leg and she screams, it is an gutteral sound. Her cry is mangled, pain radiates through her body and she feels like she’s about to black out.
Her head throbs and warm liquid is gushing from her leg making her feel wet. Everything is blurred and fuzzy she fights to stay awake but is pulled deep into unconsciousness from the throbbing pain in the back of her head.
The screams surround her as she fades to black.