Big Bad Evil Guy

Earlier

<Plan A was killing Rose and gaining use of her magic. That's why it lured her into the Chamber of Secrets our second year. But Rose isn't an actual witch, so Cruentius couldn't absorb her magic, only her memories. That meant Slytherin needed to enlist Rose's help, which meant it had to make her trust it.>

While Ron despised the idea of Hermione taking on Slytherin alone, he couldn't argue that she knew the most about it. She also refused to let anyone read Rose's notebook. Considering he'd ended up encased in amber last time he'd tried, he was in no hurry to do so again, but he would've liked to at least double check her work.

<It knew about Pettigrew, and put the idea of the time turner in his head. It also knew what Rose would do once she got a hold of it. So it cut her off from her family, knowing that they kept her grounded.>

<You've always helped with that too,> Sally-Anne said.

Hermione smiled at her.

Ron still found it amazing how Sally-Anne always knew what to say. He was a little jealous of that; everything he said made things worse.

<It knew parts of her life would bleed through time once she broke it, so it forced the Boggart to turn into Valignatiejir to keep her fear of him alive. Then it put the idea of causing as much destruction as possible into Pettigrew's head, allowing him to get the time turner from Professor Dumbledore's office. Once time had splintered, it was a matter of waiting for Valignatiejir to appear — Rose couldn't repair the time turner without Slytherin's help, so it had to happen eventually — then jumping in to help Rose, bringing with it a solution to her problem.>

<You can't know any of that,> Ron said. <It all makes sense, but you can't know that.>

Hermione shook her head.

<I can't, but like you said, it all makes sense. I could be wrong, but it's all we've got right now.>

Ron exchanged glances with Harry. Neither of them liked this, but she was right. They had nothing else they could use, and Hermione knew the most about Slytherin.

<I've told you what happened from there, but I think there's one more piece. Some shred of humanity is still in Slytherin. Enough that it'd grown attached to Rose. Now it wants her magic, which I've got in a form it can get, so it can bring her back. Even if it'd trapped her soul as a Spektre — which I'm guessing didn't work either, since she's still not a witch — it could've released it so it could bring her back. That also means it's got her body safely inside Hogwarts still.>

<All of this is fascinating,> Ron said. <But why are you the only one who can fight it?>

<Because I know how to kill Cruentius, and Slytherin wants to kill me. The rest of you will only get in the way.>

Ron looked to Harry and Sally-Anne. They'd all have mind blank to protect them from Slytherin, but Hermione was right; they'd been useless against Rose, and Slytherin could kill her. They'd be more valuable getting Sally-Anne's mum to safety.

<What if you're wrong?> Ron asked.

<Then you shouldn't be there anyway.>

<What about Umbridge?> Sally-Anne asked.

<Slytherin needed her to amass forces. Now, she's a loose end.>

<She doesn't deserve to die,> Ginny said.

Hermione frowned at her.

<Why not?>

<Because no one does,> Harry said. <We should at least try to save her.>

Hermione shrugged.

<Why do you have to be the one to destroy Slytherin?> Ron asked. <If you've got Slytherin distracted, then Moon can—>

<No.>

Despite it being dark, Ron caught Hermione's head jerking towards him. He held her gaze, trying to understand what she was going on about.

<I've got to be the one to kill it. Moon, you take care of the Spektres, then get out. The rest of you, clear out anyone else in Hogwarts. Most importantly, whatever happens, do not come back for me.>

Sally-Anne followed Harry and Ron, both of whom had memorized the path to the holding cells in Hogwarts. It was eerie, walking through the castle with no one around.

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting. She was still a little numb from seeing Umbridge murdered, and disturbed by how familiar it'd been. Was that what it'd been like watching Draco die?

Looking at Harry and Ron, she wondered which of them would be first to break Hermione's rule of "don't come back for me". Fear crept around inside her. They were all worried about Hermione. Why had she ordered them not to help her?

They rounded a corner to the Dungeons and found a wall in their way.

"Slytherin," Ron said. "It's stopping us. Ginny."

They all backed away, then Ginny aimed her wand at the wall. Pieces of shrapnel flew everywhere, forcing Sally-Anne to shield them from it. It took a few more tries before they found another corridor.

"None of this is familiar," Harry said, looking down the corridor. "I doubt the map is going to be of any help."

Sally-Anne tried to think, but her mind froze. She shook off the fear, knowing that Ron would have a solution.

"What do we do?" Harry asked, also turning his attention towards Ron.

Ron looked down the corridor again, then walked a few paces forward.

"Try the map anyway," he said. "It's tied to the castle, so it should be able to show us the way."

With her heart still pounding in her ears, Sally-Anne helped Harry open the map.

Sure enough, the current passageway was on the map, as were they. They saw Hermione in the Great Hall still, apparently alone. They also saw Sally-Anne's mum not too far ahead of them.

"Oh!" Ron exclaimed. "Dripty!"

Dripty appeared with them. When he saw them, his eyes went wide.

"Dripty is being so happy!"

He jumped up and down, but then screamed.

Before Sally-Anne could see what the problem was, she saw the frost forming on the walls. It couldn't have been Spektres; no, there was something else in Hogwarts.

Harry folded the map as the other three cast their patronus charms. A dog, a phoenix, and a swan emerged, joined shortly by a stag. The silvery menagerie surrounded them as Dementors began to fill the corridors.

"Dripty, get the house-elves out of Hogwarts," Ron ordered. "Now!"

Dripty nodded, his ears flopping on either side of him. He took another look at the Dementors, then vanished.

"What for?" Sally-Anne asked.

<Call it a hunch.> Ron looked back at the approaching Dementors. <Hermione put mind blank on us. They can't see us.>

<But they'll be able to see Sally-Anne's mum,> Harry said. <That's probably where they're headed.>

<Then you go with her to get her mum out,> Ron said. <Firecracker and I will make sure you've got an escape route.>

<Be careful,> Sally-Anne said.

<They can't see us,> Ron said. <They can only see the patronuses.>

She looked around at the approaching Dementors. They were staying away from the patronuses, but paid the four of them no mind. With one last look at Ron and Ginny, Sally-Anne followed Harry into the Dungeons.

Losha ran to the front gates, then forced them open. The moment the crack in the doors was wide enough, Tutela darted through. As she ran past, Losha hopped onto her back and they raced towards the Chamber of Secrets.

They arrived at Myrtle's toilet, to find Myrtle not there. Losha dismounted Tutela and touched the ground. After sensing a tunnel behind one of the sinks, she blasted it apart, then slid down the tunnel.

They ran through a network of tunnels, arriving at the main cavern in the Chamber of Secrets. Slytherin had let her pass, so she knew there was something else waiting for her, something guarding both the Spektres and Slytherin itself. She and Brain had guessed this would be Cruentius, but with it upstairs, she found another guardian waiting.

She couldn't smell or hear it, but through Tutela's eyes, she could see it.

A lone Spektre. Like Brain and Rose had said, it looked like a Dementor, but with an emerald tint to its cloak, from which hands drifted out. It raised one arm and lowered its hood. Unlike a Dementor, it had a face. It was gray and translucent, almost like smoke, but the features made clear whose soul had created this one.

"Toad?"

Hermione stood still, waiting for Slytherin to make a move. She had to move their fight to the Chamber of Secrets if she wanted a chance at destroying it. If she killed Cruentius too soon, Slytherin would easily stop her from getting to the Chamber of Secrets.

"Humans value emotion, don't they?" Slytherin asked.

Hermione thought back on how much suffering she'd gone through over the past seven years.

"Sort of."

"What value does suffering hold?"

She wasn't sure why it was asking her, if it really wanted to know, or if it was stalling her for some reason. Probably stalling; if they didn't stop it before long, the students would return, and Slytherin would have hostages. It must've known that.

"You might as well answer. Moon is going to die in the Chamber of Secrets, and I can crush the other four before they reach that woman. By the end of the day, I will have killed every student here, blamed it on you, and created enough Spektres to cover Europe."

"And then Asia, Africa, America… the whole world laying down to die."

She was hoping she'd get some confirmation from Slytherin, but of course, it said nothing.

"What for?"

"I'm telling you this because you already know. Rose couldn't have told you that I can absorb magic through blood, because she didn't know before the night she joined me. Which means you and Moon have been chasing information left by Rose." Its arm formed into a blade. "I don't care what you know, because I'll know before long."

She realized it was waiting for her to attack. It must've known she was trying to get into the Chamber of Secrets. It couldn't have known she knew about Salazar Slytherin's journal. What did it think she was doing?

Rose's body. It knows about raise dead, so it thinks I'm trying to get her body.

Hermione crouched down and thought again about what she was about to do. A knot formed in her stomach. This was another test from Rose, something she believed Hermione could do. No matter what the cost, Hermione had to stop Slytherin.

Then she imagined the door in her mind, the one that held the ooze at bay. It still stood, flimsy as ever. She opened the door and allowed it to go free.

Losha had Tutela look past Toad to the statue of Salazar Slytherin. Through it was where they would find the chamber that housed the runes binding the Spektres. At least, if they were right it would. If they were wrong, then they'd have no chance.

Toad's hands receded into his cloak. In place of his left hand, a long blade emerged.

<They must copy possessions from the host,> Losha said. <Maybe anything they had on them when they died?>

<You've got to get past him,> Tutela said.

Runes shifted around on Losha's body. Claws protruded from her fingers.

Tutela and Losha ran at Toad. He turned towards Losha, swinging his sword at her. She tumbled under it as Tutela lunged at him. Before she struck, he spun around and knocked her away.

It was exactly like the original, down to the ghost touch enchantment that Rose had put on it.

Losha used her momentum to move around him, then tackled him.

"Toad, it's me."

He knocked her aside, then turned on Tutela again. Losha oriented herself to Tutela's view, then went after Toad again, flanking him with Tutela.

While he knocked Tutela away again, Losha ran towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin. She pressed her hand against the stone wall that blocked access to the mouth.

From somewhere beyond the mouth, she could hear something. Some distant voice calling out in her head. More voices joined the first, all calling for help.

Losha wanted to listen, to understand what she was hearing, but Tutela knocked her out of it.

<Moon!>

She focused on Tutela again, and saw Toad floating towards her. She waited for him to get closer, then slammed her fist into the wall. It crumbled under her spell, allowing her to run through it and away from Toad.

Losha asked the castle where she was going. Instead of getting Slytherin's voice, she got the chorus of voices she'd heard. Hundreds of images flashed in her head at once, but one of them stood out clearly. A familiar voice accompanied it.

You're getting close, Ms. Lovegood. Watch out for the Spektre; it's not the same man you knew.

Losha followed Dumbledore's directions and ran down one of the corridors. A few seconds later, she arrived in a large cavern filled with voices. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Behind you!

She ducked down, narrowly dodging another attack from Toad. Kicking out her foot, she knocked him back a ways, then ran further into the cavern.

Toad flew after her, then hurled the sword at her. She focused on the images provided by Dumbledore, dodging aside the sword before it struck her.

Before it hit the wall, it stopped, then flew back towards Toad. He moved to keep it aimed at her, but she dropped to the ground to avoid it.

This was it; she was where she needed to be, but she couldn't free every soul while dealing with Toad at the same time. She had to free his first.

He flew at her, sword raised. She dodged out of the way, but Toad caught her in the back with the sword. The point didn't penetrate her dress, but the force knocked her to the ground.

Tutela ran into the chamber after them. She lunged at Toad, who whipped around and sent her flying back out of the cavern. Landing nimbly on her feet, she went after him again, but this time, he drove the sword through her.

<Tutela!>

He threw her off it, then turned back towards Losha. Hundreds of voices started shouting at her, distorting her view of the room. She focused on one familiar voice, then ran towards it. Before she got far enough, something caught her leg and she fell.

Losha rolled around on the floor, trying to sense Toad through the distorted mess of the trapped souls. She leapt to her feet, but it was too late.

He drove the sword through her side, tearing through her Acromantula silk dress. Without her sensing it, he'd activated the metalline oil in the sword.

Losha felt faint as the sword was ripped out of her. She fell to the ground. Blood spilled out of the wound. She couldn't hear anything anymore. All she smelled was blood. That's all there was. Blood and death.

Sally-Anne followed Harry, running to keep up with him. While she could hardly recall the map, he took twists and turns without concern.

He skidded to a halt next to an ordinary wall.

"She's behind here," he said. "Slytherin barricaded it. Stand back."

She took a few steps back as Harry brandished his wand.

"Bombarda!"

The wall exploded, revealing another corridor. Harry ran ahead, with Sally-Anne not far behind. They reached the only cell with a person inside it. Sally-Anne was a little thankful for that; she hadn't been sure who else Umbridge would've been keeping prisoner in Hogwarts.

"She must've figured Azkaban was safer," Sally-Anne said.

"Except for people she was keeping away from Hermione."

According to Hermione, the ward was another high-priority target, which meant Slytherin would've kept it secured. Not only from them, but from Umbridge. If she could've copied it, she wouldn't have needed to be inside Hogwarts, and Slytherin wanted to keep its puppet close.

Harry looked inside the cell.

"There's someone in there. Can you check that it's her?"

He moved aside, and she looked in.

Her mum looked up at her.

"Sally-Anne?" she said, her voice creaking.

Sally-Anne activated her pendant. It felt weird, creeping into her mum's head, but she was soon rewarded. A clear memory was relayed back to Sally-Anne.

She saw her dad, although far younger, smiling and holding a baby. A pair of arms reached out and took the baby from him. The sensation of joy was nearly overwhelming, but she realized that she was seeing herself through her mum's eyes. It was her. There was no mistaking it.

"It's her," she said, stepping aside for Harry to take care of the door.

Once it was unlocked, Sally-Anne ran inside into her mum's waiting arms. She held her mum with as much force as she could muster. Tears ran down her eyes.

"I thought I'd never see you again," Sally-Anne said.

"Umbridge said she'd captured you long ago."

Harry cleared his throat.

"Short version," he said. "We tried to rescue you from the Ministry, but Umbridge captured us. Hermione got us out of Azkaban, then we went on the run for six months. Umbridge is dead, Hermione is fighting Slytherin, and Luna's dealing with the Spektres. Ron and Ginny are securing our escape."

Her mum pulled away from her.

"Then we should move. The moment we're clear of Hogwarts, I'll contact Eric. Is he still alive?"

"Last we knew," Sally-Anne said. "He went underground with Dad and Hermione's parents. The Order is in Azkaban, and the old staff scattered."

Her mum nodded, then draped an arm over Sally-Anne for support.

"Let's get out of here," her mum said, "and put an end to this nightmare."

Sally-Anne smiled, then helped her mum out of the cell and back towards the corridor.

Black tentacles entwined with Cruentius and dragged it out of the Great Hall. Chunks of the corridor cracked and crumbled, falling around Hermione. On her command, black, spindly fingers erupted from the wall and shielded her.

She walked behind Cruentius, forcing it back with the ooze.

A mental map of the castle formed in her head as she plotted their course. She didn't need to go through the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. It was easy enough to make her own.

The ceiling caved in ahead of them, blocking their path.

Hermione shrugged and caved in the ground below them. They both tumbled down towards the Dungeons. She was careful to keep them away from the path her friends would likely need to take. She wasn't sure; Slytherin would've changed the layout of the Dungeons before they arrived, which meant there was no way to be certain.

Cruentius lunged at her, but she blasted a hole in the floor and dodged through it. She ripped through more of the stone below her. If she was right, they were close to the tunnel to the Chamber of Secrets. If she was wrong… things were about to get a lot harder.

The floor began to reform around her, burying her alive. Jagged spikes formed in the air and tore through it. Several of them broke through the floor, revealing a long tunnel.

"Looks like things aren't going your way, Slytherin!"

Cruentius lunged at her, but she flew down the tunnel ahead of it.

Slytherin reformed and lashed out its arms at her. She dodged aside, sending spikes up through the tunnel to slow it down.

Whatever it had guarding the Spektres, it wasn't enough to stop her and Moon. Otherwise, Hermione realized, Slytherin wouldn't have been following her.

Ooze tore through the barriers Slytherin set up ahead of them, until they finally crashed into the Chamber of Secrets itself. Hermione ran forward, using her magic to see in the dark tunnels.

Storm grates turned into snakes and attacked her. A giant mouth ripped open the air and ate the snakes. She knew once she reached the main cavern, she'd have to go on the offensive, and things would get harder. She'd have nowhere to run then.

Sure enough, she found a small army of snake statues waiting for her. They lunged at her the moment she arrived in the main cavern. A wave of frost spread out from her, and a stick hand erupted from the ground to stab one of the snakes. Another arm pinned another snake, then both hurled them into more of the statues.

The owner of the hands emerged from the frost. The snowman charged more of the snakes, allowing its icy body to rip through them.

Hermione turned and faced Slytherin, who walked calmly into the cavern. She raised her hand, and a flesh arm formed, one layer at a time, out of the ooze. She rammed it into Slytherin, who fell apart when it struck. The arm drew back, but Cruentius wrapped around it. Shards of solidified blood ripped through the arm, shredding it. Cruentius moved back, staying clear of Hermione and the ooze.

Slytherin's body formed again, then it spread its arms wide. Spikes erupted from the ground, catching Hermione's nightmare snowman and shattering it.

Hermione shielded herself inside of a ball of ooze, then flung tentacles at Slytherin. Cruentius formed again and created holes through itself, allowing the tentacles to pass through it.

It fell around the tendrils, then sent a surge of electricity through the ground. Hermione jumped up to avoid it, casting fly again to keep herself in the air.

Slytherin reformed, then looked up at Hermione.

���There's no point in fighting, Brain. You won't win."

"That's what I'd expect from someone who knows they're going to lose."

"Moon's going to die. Your friends are going to die. All of this will have been for nothing."

Hermione glared down at Slytherin.

"You killed Rose."

"No, you killed her. What happened to her was your fault."

Hermione clenched her fists.

"My fault? You forced her to turn against us!"

"Neither of us hurt you."

Hermione realized she might as well have been yelling at a brick wall. Slytherin didn't understand emotion, so it wouldn't understand what Rose had gone through.

"You did, Slytherin. And that's the problem. You can't understand how you hurt her."

Slytherin's arms melted for a moment, then it hurled a volley of projectiles at her.

Hermione sidestepped to keep away from the projectiles, dancing ever closer to her attacker.

Before she could get close enough, Slytherin melted into the ground.

Black tentacles edged up from the ground around Hermione as she walked slowly towards the statue of Salazar Slytherin. She couldn't have killed it. That was too easy.

She remembered Rose's first fight against Cruentius a split second before spikes erupted from the ground. She caught one, but another ripped through her side. Barbs protruded from it as Slytherin reformed, the spike becoming its arm.

"Rose fell for the same trick," Slytherin said.

Hermione fought to stay focused. Slytherin was so close; she was close. Just a little longer.

Losha could faintly hear the sounds of Brain clashing with Slytherin. She thought of her time with Brain, the fight against everything that Rose had put them against. Neither Rose nor Brain would've given up.

Nor would Toad.

With what little consciousness Losha had left, she churned her mind back to life. She listened to the trapped voices, working to pick out Toad's again.

Where are you?

She got an image of a rune being drawn, while up above in the Entrance Hall, Slytherin killed Toad. She saw lines drawn throughout the castle, extending far out into the world, connecting this room to every Spektre. Through their eyes, she saw them waiting, watching people die. They repeated their cry to her.

Help us!

Tutela growled at Toad somewhere far away. Her bark was losing its edge as she wore down. Losha had to do something.

She reached out her hand and dragged herself closer to the wall. The voices were calling out for help, but more voices began to call for quiet. She heard the voices of Professor Dumbledore, Professor Vector, Professor Snape, shouting at everyone to be quiet.

Toad caught Tutela with the flat of his blade, sending her sprawling. He was focused on her, blind to Losha. But Tutela was out of strength to keep fighting and dodging. She'd taken hits from him; Losha could sense them. She wanted to help, but she focused on the voices she heard. That was the only way she could help Tutela.

As she listened, more voices entered her head.

"You can do it, Moon!" Saturn.

"Don't die here!" Mars.

"You're better than this!" Jupiter.

"It's only a scratch!" Neptune.

"Don't run away like I did!" Mercury.

"Do it for Brain!" Venus.

"You never give up." Pluto.

"Hoping is what you do." Uranus.

"I believe in you, Moon." Toad.

The runes on her arms reshaped themselves and claws extended from her hands. Information flooded her mind, telling her exactly what to do. She carved around the wound, using the blood to paint a new rune on her body. With the other hand, she drew a line of blood from her wound to one of the runes on the wall. She felt a weak link between the wound and the thing that gave it to her, and focused on that.

"With the wound you gave me, I take your soul as my burden. Leave this prison, and be free with me."

Her wound grew warmer, and she felt blood flowing across her, back into the wound. Through Tutela, she saw Toad falter. Through the castle, she saw the rune fall apart, dragged by the line of blood back to her.

Her wound pulsated, but it no longer hurt. Instead, she felt something new inside her.

<Moon?>

Instead of only Tutela's eyes, she saw through Toad's. Knowledge of the Spektres, of Slytherin, flooded her mind. Memories of every soul trapped flew through her mind, forcing her to sort each one to find Toad. His own emotions entwined with hers.

Relief. Confusion. Hope.

Love.

<I'm so sorry.>

His sword vanished, and he moved to her side. She couldn't smell him, but she felt him there all the same.

<When you're part of the collective, you can't think for yourself. Slytherin… it thinks free will is a curse, a disease. It ordered us over Britain, but once the students are back, it's going to kill them and take their souls, then spread them out everywhere.>

"Killing everyone with sadness," Losha said, struggling to sit upright. "Can we stop it?"

<We'll have to set everyone free.>

Losha slowly got to her feet. Walking on shaky legs, she checked on Tutela. The homunculus got to her feet, feeling as shaky on them as Moon did on hers.

Then she moved to the middle of the chamber, took a deep breath, and sent tremors through it. Cracks formed across the walls, ripping through them. As each rune was destroyed, it glowed, then went out, setting the soul it imprisoned free.

When it was done, Losha ran back to the Chamber of Secrets. She had to warn Brain about what would happen when she destroyed Slytherin.

Ron knew Harry and Sally-Anne had found her mum when the Dementors all stopped floating about and flew at them. He and Ginny sent their patronuses charging towards the Dementors.

<How far away are you?> he asked Harry.

"Right here."

A stag and swan flew towards the Dementors, pushing them back. He glanced back at Sally-Anne and saw she was supporting her mum.

"Ronald," she said. "Ginny. Nice to see you both again."

"Likewise," Ron said. "How are you feeling?"

"ESIS gives all its members basic training against magic. That includes the Imperius Curse and Dementors. I should be able to make it out."

Knowing this didn't settle Ron's nerves. There were at least 20 Dementors between them and the exit.

"Is there a faster way out?" Sally-Anne's mum asked, thinking the same thing.

Ron turned to Harry, who shook his head.

"I can't be sure of the layout of Hogwarts," he said. "And I can't check the map now."

A few Dementors flew at them, then away, prodding their defences. The four patronuses flew around them, staying as alert as they were.

Ron's heart beat in his ears, his stomach churned but he focused on the times he'd spent with his friends. The Yule Ball, the nights on the run, knowing that his friends were there for him. His first kiss with Sally-Anne, all the times the two of them had walked through the halls talking.

A few years ago, he wouldn't have been able to keep positive thoughts in his head long enough to make it out of Hogwarts. But now, after everything they'd been through, he was determined to do it. Because of Sally-Anne, he knew he could.

Even then, he had a bad feeling he knew why Hermione didn't want them going back for her.

Hermione felt faint as Slytherin began to drain her blood. She held tightly to her plan, willing Slytherin not to get it before she could put it into action.

"I'm almost excited by the secrets I'm about to unlock," Slytherin said. "Life and death itself. Everything Rose knew."

With enough of Slytherin's blood mixed with her own, she smirked and grabbed onto Slytherin's arms.

"Here's one for you, on the house."

Equations formed together in her head, equations she'd rehearsed thousands of times. She recited incantations, drawing Slytherin closer to her with each breath.

"This is for Rose!"

Black cracks formed in Slytherin's body where Hermione touched it. They spread out, causing Slytherin to lose its shape.

Layers of its body peeled back, revealing the core it'd stolen from Voldemort. Using what she'd learned from Salazar Slytherin's notes, Hermione went one step further than he had.

With a final cry, she grabbed onto the core and spread her virus through Cruentius. The ooze writhed in pain, then dissolved, the magic that had once animated it gone.

A scream echoed through the Chamber of Secrets. The cavern shook, causing chunks of the ceiling to fall to the floor.

Hermione fell to her knees. Her hand glowed white, and she held it to the wound Slytherin had made.

"The spell only works," she panted, "if the caster has the same blood somewhere in his or her veins." She smiled. "Thank you, Slytherin. You were very helpful."

At that moment, Moon ran out of the statue, followed by Tutela and…

"Toad," Hermione said, grinning. "She got your soul back. Right where it belongs."

"We've got to leave," Moon said.

Hermione shook her head, then willed herself to her feet. Not only was her wound still hindering her, the knowledge of what she still had ahead of her weighed her down, tempting her to run away.

"I'm killing Slytherin."

"If you do—"

"The magic that sustains the castle gets a big hole in it, and the castle comes down on top of me. With the dimension lock in place, there will be no way for me to escape. I'll be crushed to death. I can probably rip through part of the castle, maybe keep myself safe for a few rounds, but there's no way I can survive it."

"You do know!" Moon exclaimed. "How long have you known?"

"Since I read Salazar Slytherin's notes. I'm not going."

As they talked, the chamber continued to shake. Tutela dodged around a piece of debris, then barked at them.

"Let us do it," Moon said, looking at Toad.

"No!" Hermione snapped. "I'm not letting you die, Moon. I already let Toad die once, not to mention killing Rose. This time, it's on me. You two keep living. Go out there and have a brilliant life."

Tears started to stream down Moon's face. Toad stared her down with his ghostly eyes.

Hermione hated seeing them like that; it'd been hard enough to keep it a secret for months.

"Brain… please don't."

"If I leave, Slytherin will live, and this will all have been pointless." Hermione backed away from more falling ceiling. "It's already trying to stop me. I've got to."

Before they could protest, she hugged Moon. She didn't want to do be the one to stop Slytherin; she hated everything about it, but there was no other way. This was her fight. There was no one else.

"I'll miss you," Moon said. "I'll never forget that time we spent together."

"Me either."

She turned to Toad.

"Take good care of her," she said. "Love her and cherish her forever, you got that?"

Toad nodded, a crooked smile on his face. It was still strange, seeing him as a Spektre, but it was certainly Toad.

"Tell my parents I love them, and that this was my choice. No one else made it for me."

"We will," Moon said, standing closer to Toad.

"Goodbye."

Hermione ran into the statue of Salazar Slytherin, fighting back her own tears. Her body shook as she made her way into the cavern with Slytherin's brain.

Runes covered the walls of the cavern, but the most important feature was in the center.

Floating in the middle of the cavern, perfectly preserved, was Rose's body. Slytherin had stored it in the safest place in Hogwarts.

"You will die! That will be it!"

The words echoed around her, but she ignored them. It mattered a lot more to Slytherin that it was about to die than she cared that she would.

"This will be the end of you, Slytherin," she said. "It didn't have to be this way. You could've worked with us instead of against us."

She couldn't tell when her friends would be free; she had to guess and hope everyone got out alright.

"If they die, you can bring them back to life!"

Hermione laughed, pleased part of her plan had worked so well.

"I can't bring anyone back, Slytherin! I lied! I tricked you, like you tricked Rose."

"I'll kill them all! No one will survive this!"

Hermione scraped her hand across the stone, cutting into it as she cast a spell. The chamber shook, nearly throwing her off her feet.

"No, you won't. You aren't going to kill another person!"

"You aren't people! You're NPCs! You're nothing!"

Hermione closed her eyes and touched the wall, hoping she could communicate with it. Sure enough, she felt everyone in the castle. She saw Sally-Anne, Ron, Harry, and Ginny, getting Sarah out of the castle. An image of the Marauder's Map formed in her head, and she scanned it as fast as she could. There was no one else in Hogwarts. She saw Moon and Tutela, the last to leave. They fled out of Hogwarts, leaving it empty. No professors, no students, not even house-elves. Only her and Slytherin.

This was it.

Hermione found herself wishing more than anything that Rose was there. There were thousands of reasons, but if nothing else, so she'd have a friend by her side. She glanced at Rose's body. Slytherin had taken that from them. It'd taken Rose from her. No more.

She flung her hands out and ripped through the runes. The room broke into shrapnel, which she used to tear more of them apart. With every strike, the castle shook more.

Hermione touched Rose's body and tried dimension door again. No use; the ward was still in place. Knowing Slytherin, it'd ensured that it was.

There was no way to get out of Hogwarts in time. Hermione knew that. She could blast her way out of the Chamber of Secrets, but she still had the map in her head. Every exit from the castle had been sealed. She'd be dead before she made it out.

Hermione closed her eyes and smiled. A strange calming sensation came over her. This was it. All alone, trapped inside Hogwarts as it was coming down around her. How else would she have died?

Someone took her hand. She gasped and opened her eyes.

"I can't save you this time, Brain," Rose said, "but you don't have to die alone."

Hermione squeezed Rose's hand, then pulled her into a hug. The calming sensation was replaced by a warm joy.

"You don't have to. This is all I want."

As Hogwarts fell apart, Hermione smiled at Rose and kissed her.

"I love you, Rose."

Rose smiled back at her.

"I love you too, Brain."

Rose's smile was the last thing Hermione saw before everything went black.