Chapter 94: The Perks Of Friendship

The Court Yard, Hogwarts Castle Grounds, Wizarding World...

Obnoxious ringing in his ears had prompted the downed Severus Snape to get back to his feet as he noted he'd been banged up due to the flying debris from the explosion of magic following the dark lord's last spell. He could hardly see given the entire courtyard was shrouded in a thick fog of dust and particles due to the explosion. The Potions Professor's keen hearing had not picked up much movement on any part of the battlefield as he turned his now hurried attention toward looking for his mate. He searched the rubble for the flashing colors to indicate how she'd been in the wake of everything that's happened.

"HERMIONE!" he shouted seeing no visible signs of his mate.

The werewolf had been filled with a good deal of concern as he saw little more than dust and collapsed pieces of the courtyard dug up due to the giants breaking apart the shell that surrounded the grassy lands and the blast carrying them forth to spout in all directions causing everything to be a mess but the castle remained largely untouched.

"ANSWER ME MISS GRANGER!" shouted Snape growing frantic as he raced through the courtyard while his wolfish rage began to boil rather rapidly to the surface.

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Other Side Of The Courtyard...

Aside from a few minor cuts and scrapes, Hermione Jean Granger was doing much better than she initially believed she'd been following the massive magical explosion that leveled every able-bodied fighter to the ground. She had not been able to see much but it seemed as if the despot Voldemort cast the last spell that set off the explosion.

The sound was muffled as one by one combatants got to their feet and continued to do battle in the rubble-splattered courtyard. Hogwarts was still standing, protections in place and so had been the vast majority of the Order Of Phoenix.

Tension was running high as Hermione gripped her wand and her amber eyes viewed the line of enemies just over the horizon. The scent of ash and charred flesh had been all around her as the massive waves of enemies began to wan and the combat became more spread out. Despite being thrown around a bit, no one was willing to give an inch in the war to decide the fate of both the wizarding and muggle worlds.

A good deal of screams filled the air as witches and wizards alike met their end when one of the massive titans scooped them up and bit into their struggling bodies.

Hermione managed to keep an injured Ron from any other giants as she walked him toward the last place she had known the school to be. As she moved she could hear the ferocious roaring of her werewolf lover in his rather intense quest to find her.

"SEVERUS!" she shouted assisting the limping and blood-splattered Ron Weasley. "SEVERUS I'M OVER HERE!"

The seemingly thick smoke seemed to let up just enough as The Potions Master came rushing toward the sound of her voice. Without warning, he scooped the slender witch into his arms nearly crushing Ron in the process.

"Hermione," he said holding onto her as if it had been for dear life.

"I'm fine Severus, it's Ron that's in need of assistance," said Hermione.

The Potions Professor took one look at the vastly pained young Weasley and sighed. For all his talk while they were back at 12 Grimmauld Place, now he needed the witch's assistance and compassion due to his injuries.

"Stick close to me," growled Snape in warning, as he didn't know how much longer he'd be able to control the beast within given the circumstances.

The witch noted his antics were due to his fears giving way to his beast nature and he'd been on edge ever since the explosion.

"Understood," she said moving beside him.

Ron had not cared too much for being thrown across Snape's shoulder and carried across the heavy smoke-filled courtyard. The coppery scent of his blood caught Snape's attention but he did his best to ignore it.

As the three of them neared the south door of Hogwarts Castle, Deputy Headmistress McGonagall greeted them.

"SEVERUS!" she said pleased to see him alive. "Thank goodness you, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger are alive, have you seen Albus or even Mr. Potter for that matter I've lost track of him since the explosion?"

Snape handed the wounded Ron off to the rather shocked elder witch as she examined the ailing Gryffindor.

"Giant tried to make a meal of him." explained The Potions Master. "Miss Granger was kind enough to offer assistance risking her own life in the process...perhaps, Weasley will do well to remember that."

Hermione's amber eyes flickered with appreciation despite the fact that she just wanted to wrap her arms around the dour wizard and hold on to him for dear life.

"Miss Granger, get Mr. Weasley to the infirmary if you would, I must stay and defend this door from a possible breach." said the Headmistress.

As much as the young witch Hermione detested having to part with him, she knew making it to Madam Pomfrey was the best chance Ron had if he wasn't going to bleed out from his injuries, there were much too numerous for her to manage on her own.

Snape shared a brief glance with her before she parted seemingly pleased that she'd be out of the fighting.

"Potter is...the dark lord hit him with a spell before the explosion," he said. "I have not seen nor heard from the Headmaster since our initial meeting on the battlefield."

"Severus you have to find them," said Professor McGonagall seemingly unnerved.

"Not to worry Minerva, I'm going," he said before turning to leave.

The Deputy Headmistress placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Do be careful, Severus." she urged. "And bring the old sod back alive if you can."

"Will do Minerva, take care of the students," he replied before taking off toward the dust-filled courtyard.

With Hermione out of harm's way, he could finally focus on the battle at hand and his own strategy to bring down the despot that had plagued his life for a great many years, not to mention he was now in a position of power and his mind was set on avenging Lily Potter.