The green light rapidly approached Hermione. In this moment of extreme danger, everything before her seemed to slow down.
Hermione's fingers instinctively tightened around the missile launcher, but she released the trigger at the very last instant.
It was useless. She knew full well that a missile could not harm Voldemort in the slightest. He existed on an entirely different level from other wizards.
That green light would pass through her skin and bones as though through a thin veil, then bring her heart to a stop amid agonizing pain.
Despair pierced her temples like ice picks. She could even hear her teeth chattering.
The air seemed to freeze, and the green light illuminated Hermione's suddenly dilated pupils.
Just as the green light was about to brush her eyelashes, a golden radiance fiercer than sunlight tore through the darkness.
The instant the green light ripped through the smoke, a dark figure abruptly appeared before Hermione.
The moment he appeared, the wand in his hand swept out with a howl of wind. Golden flames burst from its tip like spread wings, striking the deadly green beam with perfect precision.
The two lights collided violently in midair, producing a shriek like shattering glass.
Golden flames instantly clung to the green beam. Amid sizzling burns, the green light of the Death Curse visibly faded, finally turning into scattered sparks three inches before Hermione's nose and vanishing in the draft flowing through the hall.
Although the Magic Array would have kept Hermione from truly dying even if she were struck by the Death Curse, merely putting her into a state of suspended death, Harry still did not want his girl to be hit by it.
So he had appeared!
Still shaken, Hermione retreated half a step, her fingers remaining on the missile launcher's button.