Hogwarts
Draco had tried so hard. He had managed to steal the diadem, had given it to the rebels but without the sword of Gryffindor it was useless. The sword had been taken by his father when he finally went up against the dark lord, about to kill him, his father had knocked him out from behind, leaving him unconscious. He was now in a cell in Hogwarts, the love of his life was probably dead and he was ready to accept his death, he wouldn't even fight it.
"Hermione, you can't just go alone." Ron said to her.
"Yes I can." She placed the diadem in a satchel and threw the bag across her body.
"What about the apparition wards."
"They were all taken down remember."
"I have a plan and if i have to I will just burn the building to the ground."
"If you need any help then you send us a sign of some kind."
"Before I go I need to tell you something."
A worried look passed over Ron's features. "What is it?"
"Its about Ginny and Harry."
"Do you know where they are?"
"Yes, but you can't know now, it is vital that no one knows where they are because if this doesn't go to plan then all Voldemort needs is one of them."
"Why would he need Ginny?"
"She is pregnant, and the child is Harrys so Voldemort could use the child for the body swap instead."
"What, I'm going to kill Harry?"
"You can't tell anyone, do you understand, not even your mother."
"I know."
"If I die today and so does Draco, but Voldemort also dies there is a green house on the property of Malfoy Manor which can never break because of the spells on it, in there is a lily plant and the address that they are at is in a box buried under the plant."
"A lily." A sad look passed over his features.
"Yes."
"Good luck Hermione." He said sadly.
With that she apparated and within seconds she was back in the chamber of secrets. She had suspected that the basilisk would have been removed by the time she had got there but to her surprise it was still there. The decaying body of the snake was still there, including the teeth.
This was it, she just had to stab the diadem with one of the teeth and she suspected that people that are hypnotised by the crown would gradually come to their senses an turn on Voldemort, then it would be them against him.
She walked across the wet stone floor to the snakes head, detached from its body. She could remember the night she had done that so vividly, how everything was perfect but then went wrong. She knelt down, the smell of the decomposition turning her stomach, and took one of the teeth from the basilisk, carful not to touch the other teeth with her skin. There was a loud snap and it was in her hand.
She pulled the diadem from her satchel and placed it on the floor. She remembered what happened when she and Ron destroyed the cup horcrux and how the spirit seemed to have left it. She held the tooth steadily in her hand ready for what was to come next. She thrust the tooth into the metal of the crown. Suddenly waves of black smoke erupted from the tiara sending her shooting backwards. It took the form of a giant snake and swirled through the air till it was inches from her face.
"You will not succeed." It said the way she would imagine a snake would. "Your precious Draco will die a horrible painful death and you will be left alone."
"NO!" She shouted. "I will save him, and neither of us will be alone again."
She brought the tooth down on the tiara again and as she did all of the smoke stopped and she was left in the chamber of secrets. She expected there to be a tidal wave, like the one after her and Ron destroyed the cup but it never happened, everything was just completely silent. She walked over to the large round door and touched the metal work with her hand.
She hadn't realised it at the time but now a question was floating around her mind. How the hell had Draco opened the chamber of secrets? He didn't know parcel tongue, it must mean that he is the new heir of Slytherin. It was shocking to think about but right now she had other things that needed to be done. She ran through the tunnels until she found the entrance to the girl's lavatory, and transfigured a pice of paper she had on her into a ladder to get out. She was surprised to see the door still open at the top.
She thought that maybe the castle hadn't given up, maybe this was the last straw, the last final push. As she thought it, a wall sconce lit up as if in agreement. The castle would show her the way.
She followed the path of lit torches, her wand ready in her hand to fight anyone off. Every step was eerily familiar, every thrumming in her heart made her feel sick. She had walked these corridors as a child, with her friends, trying to get the best grades in all her classes. But now, that all seemed so childish, now the whole world was at stake and she was just a girl.
She rounded a corner and suddenly she could hear a mixture of cheering, chanting and slashing, almost as if someone was hitting something with a rope. It was all she could do to hope it wasn't someone she knew but nothing could prepare her for what she saw around the corner.
In front of her was the Great Hall, filled with Voldemorts supporters. The bowl of snow was still there unmoving but that wasn't what pierced her heart. At the far end of the hall was Draco tied between two posts coved in blood, his blood. It finally clicked with her what the slashing sounds were, they were whipping him.