In The Arms of an Angel

Warning: Graphic, gross snake murder happens in this chapter, as well as the final battle. There is a gore warning around the snake part, so you can easily skip it if you want. The final battle is written in a broad, basic spectrum, so it might not be happy, but it won't be gory. In fact, it's rather glossed over and goes into the aftermath. I was going to write a gory version and put them up at the same time, but I just haven't felt like it, so no real gore for you. (how sad, lol) This is the last chapter... all that's left is the epilogue.


Chapter 12 The Final Battle

Hermione and Draco's potions came out looking exactly the same, showing them that either they were both brewed correctly, or had the same mistakes made in them, which was highly unlikely, giving credence to the former idea. She was now one hundred percent confident with her pronunciation of her Turkish spell. It had seemed that over the previous weeks, every available minute was spent in training for the majority of the Order, but specifically for the younger group, who were planning to be at the forefront of the action.

Then the fateful day came, or rather, the fateful early morning. The previous day, Hermione and Draco spent every minute possible exploring each other's bodies. At midnight, they apparated to Grimmauld Place in the guise of Amy and Jason, where they finally gave away their identities. By this time, everyone had gotten to know Draco, and very few were outraged. Even Moody accepted that he was on the side of the Light. Also by this time, it was unimportant to worry about Hermione being kidnapped, as after that night, it should no longer be an issue.

Everyone involved was dressed head to toe in black muggle clothing. Some of the older folk had pushed to wear their robes, but when Hermione pointed out that it would make it hard to tell Order members from Death Eaters, they agreed to the muggle clothing, understanding that black was the necessary color so as to hide in the shadows easier.

They were all at Grimmauld Place, meandering between the kitchen and the living room, sipping on coffee, talking animatedly, brooding, or, in the case of Ron, Harry, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and Draco, going over every scenario they could possibly think of with a fine toothcomb, wanting to be prepared for anything. Instead of telling them about the horcruxes directly, Harry told Neville and Ginny that he was going to perform a complicated charm on himself that should stop the power Voldemort had over him by causing the burn of his scar, which was technically true. When asked what Hermione and Draco would be doing, going off on their own, they were told another half-truth. They wanted to get rid of Nagini so that her venom couldn't cause an issue for anyone, since she would be able to follow any command from her master, and while Harry would be able to understand, he wouldn't necessarily be able to help.

At two thirty, everyone congregated in the kitchen. Hermione distributed enchanted knuts around to everyone, giving Harry the master so he could call for backup if it became necessary. Half of the Order was to come over if there had been no message in an hour. It was deemed that if the Order were needed, one code would show up, and if Harry needed more time, a different one would. If he dispatched of Voldemort with no problems, there was a third code, and only the aurors form the Order would come. They didn't go over any last minute plans; everything had already all been worked out and talked to death.

When the clock struck three, the group of young adults, along with their resident Death Eater, apparated to the cemetery where Voldemort was resurrected. After casting Disillusionment charms on everyone, and Silencing charms to their feet, taking every precaution possible, they started the trek to Riddle Manor.

When they entered the foreboding structure that reeked of dark magic, the two groups split up, Team Dogma going upstairs, while Team Clerks stayed downstairs. Ten minutes into the slow-going search, Hermione felt her necklace become warm, and glow a faint purple. They had decided to use this as a sign if one team had found the others' target, and so Hermione knew that she and Draco needed to go upstairs in their search for Nagini. They arrived at the top of the stairs, where Neville was waiting to show them to the room where the snake was sleeping.

Neville left them in front of the door and left to the room his team was currently searching. They crept into the room and saw the large snake curled up, asleep in front of a warm fire. As they approached Nagini, Draco sent a Deep Sleep charm at her, afraid she would wake up while they did what they came to do. They didn't know if she and Voldemort had any sort of telepathic link, and they didn’t want to chance her being able to wake and warn him through it.

__________________*gore warning*_______________________________________

Once they were directly next to her, Draco knelt down on the floor and Hermione rested her hands on his shoulders in a show of support. He unsheathed a dagger from a leather scabbard in his waist, the aged silver glinting maddeningly in the firelight. Bringing it down, he cleanly sliced a deep gash along the length of the snake. As the entrails were slowly exposed without spilling, the blood started flowing at a pace that would put the proverbial tortoise to shame. As he spelled the knife clean and put it back in its' sheath, Hermione pulled out a large flask of the potion Draco had brewed. She handed it to him, and he slowly poured the contents into the entire length of the wound. When that was done, he pocketed the flask and nodded to his girlfriend.

_______________*end of gore warning*_____________________________________

She chanted the Turkish incantation, waving her wand extravagantly. A glowing, white orb rose from the snake's remains, and moved through the air at a pace that was surprisingly comfortable to follow. It led them to the room at the furthest point of the hall.

As they entered the room, they joined the other team standing on one side, Voldemort sleeping in a plush four-poster king sized bed on the side opposite. Harry had just finished downing the potion, a grimace on his face, as the white orb found its way into Voldemort's mouth. He took a raspy breath and jolted awake, causing his intruders to jump.

Sitting up in his bed, it seemed as though his red eyes were glowing in the darkness of the room. "Well, well, Potter. To what do I owe the honour of the presence of you and your lackeys?" he asked patronizingly as he pulled his wand out from under his pillow. Everyone was already in a defensive stance, but now became much tenser. He put his wand to his arm, calling upon his Death Eaters. Meanwhile, anticipating this move, Hermione silently accio'd Harry's coin to call on the Order.

"Say the incantation," she hissed to him.

Harry started chanting, and Voldemort raised his wand to curse him. Unfortunately for the Dark Lord, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny each hit him with a stunner, causing him to fall backwards into the bed.

Before Harry had even half of the incantation finished, and no more than forty five seconds since Voldemort had spoken, Death Eaters started to appear; some in clouds of black smoke, others through the door, having been sleeping within the other rooms Team Dogma had searched. In seconds, there was a full-fledged flight going on between the two groups in the private bedchamber of the darkest wizard alive, as still more Death Eaters appeared. Harry had not wavered in the slightest in his chant, nor had he been distracted from the proper wand movements by the fighting around him, his friends doing their job at keeping him safe.

Just as Harry finished the incantation, Voldemort was Enervated by one of his minions. This time, the white orb wrenched itself from Harry's scar with a scream, which started bleeding profusely as the Boy-Who-Lived's legs gave out on him, and he landed hard on the mahogany floor. Ginny poured a strengthening potion down his throat as almost everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to watch the orb of light make its way over to where Voldemort had gotten out of bed and was now standing in an offensive stance, brandishing his wand in black flannel pajama bottoms and a dark blue cotton t-shirt. Even some Death Eaters wanted to laugh at their Lord's attire, but all knew better than to do such a thing.

It wasn't long before the fight was overflowing into the hallway, Death Eaters outnumbering three to one. Within five minutes, there were many downed on the side of the dark, but Ginny had been brought down with a well-placed Crucio followed by Sectumsempra, and the others all had minor injuries. The Order arrived just in time to help fight them off, and Neville, Ron, and Hermione went to Harry's side, protecting him, as well as each other, from every curse that was sent their way. At one point, a Crucio almost hit Hermione, but instead was absorbed by a faint pink shield that suddenly surrounded her body out of nowhere, as if sensing the danger.

Voldemort was now in duel with Harry, Snape and Rudolphus Lestrange, his most trusted Death Eaters, at his side. The Dark Lord was unpleasantly surprised at how proficient Harry had become; he had hoped to slaughter the boy, and make waste with his comrades. Harry, meanwhile, was following a strategy he had worked up as he ignored the flashes of light that lit up the room, causing a pedestrian walking his dog in the very early morning before heading out to work, to call the police to the long-abandoned building that had been the site of many suspicious murders over the years.

Harry was throwing spell after spell at his nemesis, though not one was dark. He was hoping to lull his opponent into a false sense of security when it came to Harry's fighting ethics. After what seemed like an eternity, Harry nodded his head to Snape, who silently stunned Lestrange. Harry then infused himself with all of the hatred he had ever felt. Hatred for the being in front of him, hatred for being kept in the dark about so many things that greatly affected his life, hatred for having to stay with the Dursleys for so long. With this hatred pulsing around him, wanting for nothing but for the person who had killed his parents, who had indirectly been responsible for the imprisonment and death of his godfather, dead, he called out the words to the killing curse. His hopes were not misplaced, and he surprised the Dark Lord, who had, in fact, believed the boy to be above such a thing. As he bobbed to the side, his trusted ally, Severus Snape, pushed him back into the way of the spell, which hit true.

This time when the Dark Lord died, his body slumped ungracefully to the floor, knocking his head on the ground. There were no white orbs of light, no explosions. This time when the Dark Lord died, every single witch or wizard who had taken the Mark, whether they were in Riddle House or scattered throughout the globe on assignment, fell to the ground, screaming and writhing in intangible pain.

Within Riddle House, the members of the Order took this opportunity to bind all of the flailing figures with unbreakable ropes. Kingsley then left the hallway to go back to the bedroom. He looked around, taking in his surroundings, before going over to the fireplace. Checking that the floo was in tact, he fire-called the Ministry, and ordered every auror to his location, easily going into boss-man mode.

The aurors started flooing in almost immediately, and all were gobsmacked at the scene they had entered. At Kingsley's orders, they started gathering up the now unconscious Death Eaters, taking them through the floo one at a time to holding cells in the Ministry. When it came to Voldemort, they were all still too afraid to touch the corpse, lest something should happen to them.

Hermione, Harry, and Ron shared a look and a nod before they moved forward, and much to the surprise of the aurors, jointly picked the corpse up and entered the large fireplace, standing next to a junior auror that was ordered to accompany them to the Ministry Morgue. Kingsley then told Draco to take an unconscious Severus back to Hermione's apartment, which the young man immediately did. The aurors nearby, faces smug at the prospect of bringing in Albus Dumbledore's murderers, stared at their superior in surprise, and, for the first time ever, distrust.

Once all the live Death Eaters were taken in, some of the aurors came back and all the dead bodies from both sides were taken to the morgue. Finally, the members of the Order were all brought to the Ministry to give statements and have their memories of the battle recorded. Thankfully for them, Kingsley had anticipated this, and so Harry was the only person on the side of the light to use an Unforgivable. There would be no evidence to send the Order members to jail for such mundane reasons.

Hermione, Ron, and Harry all went up to the auror headquarters, exhausted, to give their statements, though they all refused to give pensieves, as had Neville. Ginny had lost too much blood, and had died before the medi-wizards at the Ministry could do anything. Now, while waiting in uncomfortable chairs in the hallway with the rest of the Order, though there were more than a few members distinctly missing, the medi-wizards made their way down the group, healing everyone and taking intricate notes and occasional wizarding photos for evidence.

When they got to Harry, they weren't sure what they could do to help his scar. It had stopped bleeding, but the surrounding skin was an angry red that far outmatched any Weasley blush. So instead, they gave him a headache potion and healed the small amount of damage he had from the few curses that had slipped by his friends.

It was when they got to Hermione, though, that they were momentarily mystified. She didn't have a single scratch on her. Well, not from the battle anyway. The medi-witch that was examining her got a thoughtful look on her face before deciding to try an incantation that was used every single day. The result was that she, once again, glowed pink, causing everyone to look at her.

"Have you ever glowed before?" the medi-witch asked.

"Ummm ... yes. During the battle, one of the Death Eaters cast a Crucio at me and I glowed pink and absorbed the curse. It didn't hurt at all," she answered wondrously. "I hadn't really thought about it; after all, we were in the middle of a fight."

At this response, the medi-witch smiled and leaned down to Hermione to whisper her diagnosis in her ear. "You're pregnant. You should make an appointment soon at St. Mungo's." Hermione just nodded in response, smiling up to her. The medi-witch squeezed her shoulder and moved on to the next person.

There were a few adults who recognized the spell; some looked worried for the young woman, while others just let a content smile grace their features, knowing that the world would move on. Upon the heels of the tragedy of the loss of too many of their friends, came the news of a new life – a new life that would strengthen their community, which would bring them some joy and fill their hearts with love.

Voldemort was gone, and the aurors had found that when the Death Eaters had collapsed in pain, the Mark had left their bodies, leaving the skin pristine and no obvious trace on their person as a distinguishing feature. With the exception of those captured tonight, they would have to be rooted out the old-fashioned way.

Hermione didn't return home for another three hours, and when she did, she felt as though she were ready to collapse. She entered into her bedroom, and as she undressed for bed, she felt hands wrap around her middle, and Draco kissing her neck. She moaned and leaned into his touch, wrapping her own arms around his.

"How'd it go?" he asked, nuzzling her neck.

"Boring, for the most part," she answered. "Tiring, I need a good twelve hours of sleep after that," she told him with a stifled yawn.

"Then a good twelve hours of sleep you shall have, cutie," he responded as he brought her to the bed.

She looked down at herself, in a state of half dress, noticing the blood on her cargo pants. "Mmmmm, I think I may need a shower first, though," she said, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the thought of going to bed so dirty.

"Here, let me help you." She sent him a look and he spread his hands in front of him. "I mean it, just help. You look like you'll fall asleep standing up." She nodded her consent and he went into their bathroom and started the water as she slowly got up and followed him. Once she was in the room, he took his care in stripping her of her remaining garments before he quickly pulled off his own. In the shower, he allowed her to lean against him as he gently washed her entire body before massaging her coconut shampoo into her long locks.

After turning off the shower, he towel dried off the both of them, grabbed her anti-frizz serum and applied it to her hair, and then formed a bun, which he held tied with a rubber band the way he had seen her do countless times after taking a shower. He then picked her up and laid her nude form into the bed. She was already asleep before she touched the mattress and he crawled in behind her, pulling her close to him, and letting her scent lull him into unconsciousness.

Draco woke nine hours later, just in time to notice the sunset through the window. He laid there, his girlfriend in his arms, and he watched her sleep. She was so angelic, and it was all he could do not to wake her with the flurry of kisses he wanted to rain upon her face. When she finally started stirring, he held her even closer with one arm, his erection pressing into the crack of her bum, the other hand lightly running along the side of her hip, past her stomach, and to graze the side of her breast before it returned to its original position, repeating the action.

She moaned and stretched herself out, thrusting her breast into his hand and her bum harder against his now straining erection, and an equal moan found its way past his lips. She turned around within his grasp, so his erection was pressed into her belly and her breasts into his chest and nuzzled her face into his neck, breathing him in. After a few minutes, she pulled away, her lips meeting his as her hand found his aching cock and started stroking it, slow as molasses. In response, his hands found their way down her body, one between them, playing with her breast, the other crossing her hand to make its way to her pussy.

Soon, they were each bucking against one another, but Hermione pulled away again, this time to whisper to him, her voice laced with need and desire, "In me."

He rolled her onto her back and allowed her to position him at her entrance, where he slid his cock between her folds, lubricating it with her juices before pushing the head into her channel. "Deeper," she moaned into his ear, nipping at the flesh.

"Your wish is my command," he responded as he slowly bore his way into her until he could go no more. He then pulled out completely and repeated the process. The next time he tried the same maneuver, she firmly clamped her legs around him, forcing him to stay in her. So instead, he opted to up his pace, though just barely, driving her crazy with want.

"Draco, fuck me," she told him, clamping her inner walls against him to reinforce the message. He moaned into her mouth at the sensation as he overtook her mouth with his. When she still wasn't satisfied with his pace, she gathered her strength, and flipped them so she was pinning him down. She then started to move up and down his shaft, urging him to rise up into her.

When at last her orgasm ripped through her, she limply fell onto his chest, feeling the spurts of his climax within her. He ran his fingers through her hair, which had come out of its bun at some point, playing with the bit at the nape of her neck. "I love you, Hermione Granger," he told her as he kissed her temple.

"Draco, I love you too." She moved her head up off his shoulder to look him in the eyes. "And so does our baby."


* as always, thanks to heather for beta'ing, and thanks to the reviewers, paigeey007, lady ryu, and pickles 87.