A/N: Hey, I wrote this like in the span of two days, so its not one of my best pieces. Its a little different from what I've written before. Hadn't written in a while since I was in internet-less vacation so yeah. As always, criticism is much appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings: character death, self-mutilation


Playing with her emotions. That's what he was doing. He had a job to do and he had to finish it. The words slipped of his Dark Lord's tongue easily: "Kill the mudblood." It couldn't be that hard. A flick of the wand. The recitation of simple words and its over. He had killed before. It was never this hard.

"I love you," she whispered softly after a kiss they shared.
"I love you, too," he whispered. Not sure if he was keeping up an act or pouring out his heart.

The moments he spent alone with her were the ones he enjoyed the most.

It was easy at first. The simple lies. Complimenting her, flattering her, kissing her, taking her places. She ate up his words like no one ever loved her. He suspected this was true. She never did date anyone before him. He had congratulated himself for how easily he had wooed and won her. He had suspected it to be hard but fate had been merciful. He remembered that moment like it happened just yesterday.

It was a cold night. Sleeping in the dungeons didn't help. He couldn't sleep so he strolled the castle. It was dark and he didn't bother with lumos. He knew this castle better than Potter with his precious map. He couldn't believe Potter that only he and his friends knew about that map. Stupid.

He also knew that lumos would wake the portraits and get him in trouble faster than he could blink. So he walked along, with out a care in the world. He paused. He could hear something faint. He walked faster to the sound. He realized it was sobbing. Someone was sobbing.

He whispered, "Lumos." A small light grew from the tip of his wand. He shined it towards the sobs. It was a girl with her head between her knees, quietly crying. Even though he couldn't see her face, he recognized that bushy hair. It was Granger.

She looked up as she noticed the light on her. She saw Draco. Instinctly, her hand went for her wand. Unfortunately, she left it in her dorm. Stupid.

"Granger?"
"What do you want?" She asked harshly.
"Whats that in your hand?" He asked curiously. He couldn't make out what it was, but it had a handle.

She pulled out the object. It was a small knife. There was blood on it. Fresh red blood.

"What are you doing?" He asked, sick. Although he had killed many people, he could never stand blood. Strange for a killer.

"As if you care," she said as the tip grazed over her arm. Drawing more of her blood.
"Stop," he said sharply. He walked over to her and sat down next to him. Her hand stopped and she cried. He gently pulled the knife out of her hand. and placed an arm around her. Surprisingly, she leaned into him and cried.

"Shh," he said comfortingly.

He had stayed with her like that for a long time. He listened to her patiently as she spilled every sorrow in her life to him. The words he remembered most were: "No one loves me."

"I love you," he whispered softly. "Too bad I'm not someone you could ever like."

That was the start of it. She grew very close to him. He was the world to her. Someone who loved her.

"Draco," he said to himself, staring at the mirror. "Don't think about that. Its going to happen tonight. You'll deliver her to the Dark Lord and kill her infront of him. Just like the plan said. Don't let emotions cloud you , she's just a mudblood."

That night he walked swiftly to the meeting spot he had arranged with her. He spoke her name softly and she turned to him. Her eyes lit up at the sight of him.

"Draco," she whispered softly. Afraid to break the quiet night.
"Come, love," he said, trying not to stutter. "I have a portkey ready."
"Where are we going?" She asked clutching to his arm. She trusted him so much. Even though she shouldn't.
"You'll see," he said, his voice almost breaking now from the disgust he had with what he was doing.

The portkey took them to a graveyard.

"Draco, what are we doing here?" Hermione asked confused.
"He hasn't told you yet, my little mudblood?" A voice said cruelly. She knew that voice anywhere.
"V-voldemort," she whispered. "Draco, what are you doing?" She turned around to see him but he wasn't there.

"Draco," Voldemort said coldly, give me your arm.

He dutifully showed his arm to this Lord. Voldemort pressed one finger on the dark mark burned on his follower's flesh. Draco surpressed a scream from the pain as one by one, the Death Eaters assembled, creating a circle around Hermione. Draco joined the circle.

"What are you doing?" She screamed, unable to believe that Draco betrayed her.
"Silence!" Voldemort commanded. "My Death Eaters, Draco, our youngest member, has delivered to me Potter's little mudblood friend; Hermione Granger. Make her suffer." Hermione paled at the words. "But!" He said sharply, letting it ring in the air. "Don't kill her."

"Draco.." She whimpered, finally starting to realize that he had betrayed her.

That final word from her lips made Draco want to kill her immediately; just to save her from what would happen next. His aunt Bella always loved to play with her food.

"Imperio," she whispered. Draco couldn't divert his eyes from the scene. Hermione tried to fight it, she really did, but it was futile. Slowly, unwillingly, Hermione drew her wand and pointed it to herself and said the words that Bellatrix planted into her head.
"Crucio!"

It was cruel of her. Hermione torturing herself. The other Death Eaters laughed and hooted at her screams. Draco looked away. He couldn't face what he had done. He tried telling himself that she was only a mudblood and that he didn't love her. He tried to recall why he ever got close with the girl he was supposed to kill. Couldn't he just abduct her and finish the job quickly? No, she was too smart and too good with a wand for that.

"Enough," Voldemort said, slightly amused with his favorite follower's torture method. "Next."

And so it continued. Each Death Eater did his or her share of humiliating Hermione and bringing her pain. She refused to cry and let her tears fall. She'd scream, the pain seemed more bearable that way, but she'd never cry. But Draco wasn't feeling the same way. Tears came to his eyes and were on the edge of falling. Luckily no one noticed.

That sadistic event felt like a lifetime to Draco yet his turn came all too soon. He knew what he had to do. He walked up to her, leaving the circle. She was on the ground by now. Her head turned away from him. When she heard his footsteps stop she looked up. Upon seeing his face, tears streamed down from her eyes. All the pent-up tears flowed freely.

"I l-loved you, Draco," she whispered, knowing her end was coming. Her face was pale. Her hair a mess. She had bruises and wounds that poured out her blood. "Do it," she said, barely audible. All she wanted was for the pain to end. She would've killed herself anyway, that lonely night when he stopped her from mutilating her body. He had just made it all the more painful.

His fear of his Dark Lord was stronger than his love for Hermione.

"Avada Kedavra."

And her love for him didn't die that day.

Fin~


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