Chapter 28: Manifestation of Chaos

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

A big hug of thanks goes out to VIVAvivacious for the beta of this chapter.

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Upon arriving at Grimmauld Place, Hermione and Snape found the house in a state of utter pandemonium.

There were people everywhere, some Hermione didn't recognise from the Order meetings she had attended over the years. She didn't imagine the whole of the Order would fit in the kitchen, so obviously Dumbledore had other safe-houses somewhere else. The more she thought about it, the more the entire thing made sense to her. The Order was not just a handful of vigilante witches and wizards – it was an entire army.

'Oh, Severus! You're finally here!' a voice down the hall called from the front door.

Hermione looked down to see Remus Lupin standing at the edge of a group, beckoning them forward. She looked up to Snape, who nodded and grasped her hand, leading her with him towards the huddle. As they got closer, she could hear Dumbledore speaking in hushed tones. It was obvious to her only certain Order members were privy to the information being passed along.

'Now, I do not want anyone to act rashly,' Dumbledore said seriously over the din around them. 'Stick to your assigned pair, and take no prisoners.'

'Headmaster, what of Draco?' Snape asked, pushing his way past an instantly indignant Molly Weasley so he could be heard, pulling Hermione with him.

'He is to be spared,' the headmaster replied evenly. 'His contribution was enough that he has earned himself a position amongst the living after this battle is won.'

Hermione felt her stomach turn. Dumbledore's plan was a ruthless one, and she agreed – not one true Death Eater should be spared. However, she was disgusted by how casual he was about Draco's contribution. It was almost as though he had not willingly gone back to the Death Eaters to assist the Order and spy for Snape. She reigned in her temper quickly. She needed to save every bit of her rage for the battle, where she would execute her own battle plan. She didn't intend to leave many standing.

Snape looked down at her curiously, his brow furrowed slightly. She noted he did not release her hand. Obviously she was going to be with him. There was no way she would trust any of the others with her life. They broke away from the huddle and made their way back out into the entry hall just in time for Hermione to spot Luna pushing her way into the house through the very crowded front area.

'Luna!' she called out, waving at her to get her attention.

The younger witch spotted her and pushed her way through the crowded hallway, throwing herself at Hermione in a hug that left her breathless. It wasn't until they parted that Hermione realised Luna was crying.

'Oh, what's wrong?' she asked, hugging her again and stroking her long blonde hair fondly.

'I've been so worried about you,' she murmured against her shoulder. 'Dumbledore has been so strict where contacting you is concerned. I'm so sorry! I would have Flooed and written, but he sent me to France to liaise with the Order members there.'

Hermione swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth at the mention of the headmaster. 'Luna, I don't blame you for a second,' she told her friend. 'I am well aware of what Dumbledore is up to as far as I am concerned.'

Luna looked over her shoulder at the doorway and gestured for Hermione to look over in that direction also. She saw Draco standing just outside, his Death Eater mask clasped in his hand with a look of urgency on his face. Nodding, Hermione grasped Snape's hand once more, and the three of them pushed their way through the throng of people until they managed to get through the door.

'I'm going with Draco,' Luna said quietly, drawing the hood of her cloak over her head. 'He'll need someone to back him up, and I'm not sure anyone else within the Order can be trusted to do it.'

Hermione nodded. It was a legitimate fear. 'You take good care of Luna, too, you understand, Draco,' she warned. 'If anything happens to her, I will hold you responsible, even if you are my friend.'

Draco didn't nod, but the fierce look in his steely-grey eyes told her everything she wanted to know: he would protect her with his life. 'When it becomes apparent I am not on the side of the Dark Lord, I will become a target. I need to know I can count on Severus and you.'

Snape stepped forward and rested his hand on Hermione's shoulder, halting her response and clearing his throat. 'Hermione and I will both have your back if things turn ugly,' he said firmly, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.

Hermione nodded in agreement. Draco took Luna's hand then, and the pair took off in the direction of the park across the road to Apparate. Hermione felt Snape's hand come down on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. She turned her head minutely to look at his pale hand, the fingers long and tapered with calluses and potion ingredient stains on the ends. It was not a perfect hand, but it was still one she adored as much as she did the man it was attached to. She tilted her head just a little more so she could brush her cheek briefly against it.

'We have to move now, Hermione,' he told her seriously.

She nodded. 'I know. Let's go, then.'

Taking the hand Snape offered her, they made their way across to the park also, hiding behind one of the tallest hedges to avoid being seen by Muggles. Hermione closed her eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, and a moment later, she opened them to find herself behind a pillar in the entry hall of the Ministry of Magic. Draco and Luna were nowhere in sight, and the area seemed to be deserted. Apparently the Dark Lord and his minions had yet to arrive.

'Stay right here while I scope out the parameters,' Snape told her, pressing her up against the pillar firmly. 'I won't have something happen to you if they show up while I am looking around.'

She shrugged him off and frowned. 'I can take care of myself, Severus,' she snapped, her nerves making her magic seem frazzled as her anger rose to the surface more quickly than usual. One look at his pained expression, however, softened her slightly, and she nodded reluctantly at him. 'I will stay.'

She remained still, focussing on the sound of her breathing and the sounds of Snape's footsteps. She didn't know how long it had been, but soon she heard the sound of the Floo network come to life right across the hall. She gasped softly, shifting a little so she could peek around the pillar she hid behind. The hall glowed green, and she saw first Bellatrix and then Lucius walk through. She felt a moment of fear before the darkness within her reared its ugly head, sending her magic soaring through her veins and into her fingertips, crackling around her.

She moved to step out of the shadows when she felt an arm come around her waist and the warmth of a large hand cover her mouth when she made to speak.

'Shhh, it's only me,' Snape whispered softly. 'It appears they have only just arrived. They will move to the Minister of Magic's office with the Dark Lord from here.'

'What about the rest of the Order?' Hermione asked softly when he finally removed his hand.

'I received a message from Dumbledore. They are already waiting on the fifth floor where the Minister's offices are located,' he murmured softly. 'We are to tail them, and Draco is already aware of the plan.'

Hermione frowned slightly. It all seemed far too easy. Where was the chaos? Where was the blood and fighting? There was no sudden attack. It was as though everything that had been planned, despite Voldemort going on the march sooner than they had expected, was going as expected. It was strange, and it made her feel nervous. She looked up at Snape's face and could see he felt the same way.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she re-focussed on the task at hand.

'All right, that appears to be the last of them,' Snape said, indicating the group of what was certainly over three-hundred black-robed figures, most of them with the silver Death Eater masks disguising them.

Hermione felt alarm run through her for a moment. There were so many of them. Her momentary panicked expression quickly morphed to a smirk. Many of them would not be proficient duellists. She and Snape, along with the majority of the Order, were all master- or at least intermediate-level duellists. So they were outnumbered three to one? Skill was always preferable to number.

She peered around the pillar even further and saw Lucius Malfoy at the head of the group, his long blonde hair pulled back with a silk scarf. Hermione almost snorted aloud at that. Trust Malfoy to only wear silk in his hair. She drew her wand and held it tightly, the handle warm against her palm. She could feel the shift of her magic as it made to redirect itself into her wand, but she held on tight, refusing to let her spells go until she was ready to use them. She caught Snape staring at her, pride in his eyes, as he observed her reining in her powers in the way he had taught her over the months they had been together in his cottage.

'We may not make it out of this,' she said simply, the words sounding empty.

'I am very aware of that,' Snape said, pulling her against him and wrapping his arms around her tightly.

Both of them were aware this moment of distraction could cost them, but it was worth the risk. If either or both of them were to perish, they would never get a chance to do over that moment. His forehead came to rest against hers, and she sighed shakily, wrapping her arms around his neck. They simply stood and absorbed each other while the noise of the Death Eaters gathered in the hall grew along with their eagerness. Hermione lifted her face up to meet his lips in a slow, gentle kiss – their last kiss before the battle to come.

'I wish I could keep you from this,' he whispered against her lips. 'I don't know what I would do if you were to perish and I was left to continue this life without you.'

Hermione smiled at him, tears shining in her eyes. If only he knew how incredibly touched she was to hear those words come from his mouth. 'That is the loveliest thing you have ever said, Severus Snape,' she told him seriously. 'And I am so privileged to be the one to hear those words.'

'You have come to mean a lot to me these past few months,' he said, his voice growing a little hoarse with emotion. 'These past few years working alongside you, in fact, have been a great joy to me.'

Hermione swallowed a hiccough, a lone tear slipping from her eyes and sliding down her pale cheek. 'I love you,' she said softly, stroking one of his cheeks with a small hand, rasping against his stubble.

'And I love you,' he confessed, leaning in to kiss her once more before pulling away. 'It is time for us to move, however.'

Hermione nodded in agreement, even as her heart swelled with emotion. The darkness, driven away for the time being, allowed her to have one small moment of joy. He loved her. It was more than she could have ever hoped for from him. If they both survived, she would not let him out of her sight again.

She felt his large hand close around hers before they were immediately pulled forward along the outer edges of the hall. Hermione became aware her feet were no longer touching the ground before she realised Snape was using some sort of magic in order to make both of them fly. When they reached the end of the hall, she could see that Lucius, Bellatrix, and Peter Pettigrew, along with the other members of the inner circle, were piling into the first lift, and others were cramming themselves into the other two while some opted for the staircase.

'We need to try and take out as many of the stragglers as we can,' Snape murmured into her ear.

Gripping her wand even more tightly, she released his hand and moved out of the shadows just as the doors began to close on the lift that held Malfoy and the other inner circle members.

She smirked when she saw the look of horror and confusion in his steely-grey eyes.

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A/N – The battle itself is on the way.