"Please... don't do this", Lavender Brown whispered, trying desperately to make her captor change his mind. But, like all the other previous times, she didn't succeed. However, she refused to accept defeat and cleared her throat, vincing slightly at the pain that came with it. "Please, whoever you are, please, don't kill me. I'll do anything, I'll give you anything!"

This time she got a reaction from her unknown captor. He laughed. From the corner of her eye she saw the only other person in the room throw his head back and laugh, as if he was highly amused by her pleading.

"Oh, my dear Miss. Brown", she heard him say. His voice was somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place it, the blow she'd taken to the head made it difficult to think. "If you knew what I want, you wouldn't be so quick in offering it to me."

"What do you want, then?" She asked, feeling proud that her voice didn't waver. "Whatever it is you want, I'll give it to you, just... please let me go?"

She heard him sigh, as if bored with the conversation. She tensed as she heard footsteps coming closer, stopping just behind her. She didn't dare turn around and face her captor. Instead, she forced her eyes to remain open, looking straight forward. She flinched when she felt a hand gently stroking her hair, almost petting it, giving false reassurance that everything would be okay. It made the whole situation feel worse.

"If I said I wanted your life... would you give it to me willingly?"

She couldn't stop the horrified gasp before it went past her lips. He wanted her life? She closed her eyes and tried to stop the tears that were now pouring down her cheeks. She was going to die tonight? Why? What had she done to deserve something like this? "Why? Why do you want my life?" She had to know. She needed to know why she was going to die. She felt the hand that had been stroking her hair disappear. Her captor was silent for so long she thought he wasn't going to answer. Then...

"Tell me, Lavender Brown, have you ever heard of horcruxes?"

-000-

He made sure he had everything in place for the ritual, and nodded satisfied with the results. Everything had gone exactly according to plan. He hadn't been so sure about Lavender of all people, but he needed to get this done, and she happened to be at the right place at the right time, though he knew she didn't see it that way. He'd never liked her anyway, so the guilt would be easy to deal with.

After weeks of planning and studying, he knew he was ready to do this, to actually go through with it. When the idea first struck him, he'd pushed it aside, almost disgusted with himself. But after a few days, after sitting alone in the Common Room for hours and thinking, going through it all in his head for the millionth time, he'd decided it was the best course of action. The hardest part would be to find a victim. It would have to be someone who was invisible, someone people didn't take notice of. In the end, he'd ran out of time, so he picked the student closest to him, which happened to be Lavender Brown, heading for Hogsmeade to meet up with her friends at the local pub. He knew she was one of the more popular students, but he knew if he didn't do it today, he'd never do it.

Knocking her out had been easy enough, after he'd made sure there weren't any other students in sight. Dragging her to the Shrieking Shack was another matter, he hadn't taken into account how heavy an unconcious person could be, and he swore to himself to exercise more. It was a pity he couldn't use magic, at least, not until he'd gotten across the border to the Shack. He sent a silent 'thank you' to his little helper for taking care of that bit for him, it made the whole thing so much easier, elf magic was very hard and difficult to detect.

Once he was inside, he secured his victim to a chair, making sure she faced away from the center of the room. He didn't need her to see what he had planned, he wanted it to be a surprise. Now all he had to do was wait for her to wake up.

-000-

"What's a horcrux?" Lavender asked in a trembling voice. She'd never heard of it before, but it sounded like it was Dark magic. Just who was this man?

"It doesn't surprise me you don't know about it, I know Hogwart's library isn't very keen on them, since they aren't of the Light sort. They are mentioned, though, in a book locked away in the farthest corner in the Restriced Section. Basically, they are created by those who wishes to obtain immortality. See where I'm going with this?"

Immortality. He needed her life to-to live forever? "W-why me?" She asked, now unable to stop her tears.

"Don't think you're anything special, Miss. Brown, I could've used anyone for this ritual. It just happened that you were at the right place at the right time, for me, that is."

Why hadn't she gone with her friends? Why had she insisted that they'd go on without her? If she hadn't, she wouldn't be here, being sacrificed by some madman! "Please, don't." She knew it was pointless, her captor wouldn't change his mind. But she didn't want to die! Not like this, like some sacrificial lamb. She wanted to live her life! But that wasn't going to happen. "Who are you? Do I know you? Are you a student?"

"So many questions, Miss. Brown. But then again, you always talked too much. It was very annoying actually, having to listen to you, day after day. Now I'll finally get some peace and quiet."

So her captor, and murdurer, was a student at Hogwarts. For some reason, that made it all worse. Was it one of her friends? Was he in Gryffindor? She wasn't aware she had any enemies in any of the Houses. "We're not friends, then?" She asked, quietly.

"I've had to play nice towards you, mostly for appearances, of course. I'm a rather brilliant actor, not even the great, and oh, so noble Albus Dumbledore saw through my act. I've had so much fun playing my little game with him and the others all these years. I'd thought that Granger would've figured something out, but since she's nothing but a disgusting mudblood, I'm not that surprised."

He must be a Slytherin. She didn't know anyone else who thought of Hermione as a mudblood. "Don't call her that, she's a great witch!" She felt she had to deserve her fellow Gryffindor, besides, it was true, even if she did spent too much of her time reading books.

"I call it as I see it, Miss. Brown, and what I see is a lowlife that pretends to be something she's not so she'll fit in with the rest of us purebloods. I honestly don't know how I've managed to restrain myself from simply killing her after almost six years of listening to her whining. She thinks she's better than us, just because she reads. She's nothing but a Know-it-all, a mudblood, who doesn't deserve to be among us."

He must definitely be a Slytherin! Lavender thought, a little gobsmacked after listening to him ranting over Granger. How could no one have noticed? He must've hidden his hatred for her well, if he's managed it since they first came to the school.

"I'm afraid we're getting of topic, Miss. Brown. My apologies, sometimes I get a little too caught up in my thoughts. Let's get back to the main reason we're here, shall we?"

Lavender took a deep breath, trying to control her panic. "People will notice I'm gone! They'll look for me! You won't get away with this!"

Her captor laughed, hard. Where had she heard that voice before? It was so familiar.

"I've already gotten away with it, Miss. Brown. I'm quite an influential person. It's a wonder, really, what money can do. People are so greedy, don't you think?"

So he was rich and a Slytherin? It could be anyone!

"I'm pondering wether or not to let you know who I am before I kill you. The look on your face would be priceless."

She heard her captor move around again, and she could no longer control her panic. She thrashed and screamed, tried in vain to get out of her bonds. But it was no use. She was stuck. She was going to die. She screwed her eyes shut as she sensed him moving to stand in front of her. Suddenly, she didn't want to know who her murderer was. She didn't want to know if it was someone she'd thought of as a friend.

"Open your eyes, Lavender Brown, and look at me."

She shook her head. No, she didn't want to open her eyes.

"Look at me!"

No.

"LOOK AT ME!"

His screaming made her jump and she opened her eyes...

...and stared into Harry Potter's emerald, cold gaze.