AN: Another one of my new found cross-posting efforts. Written last year as an Exchane Bingo Gift for namelessamelie.

Similarities

by leopion

Hermione cupped her hands over her mouth to stifle a sob. Crying aloud was too great a luxury when her parents were still awake downstairs. Nevertheless, for the first time since the summer began, she could let the tears fall. The pretence she had to keep up in front of her parents had been killing her inside, but now that the deed was done, the finality of it all drove through her soul with a brutal stab.

Preparing for this had been difficult, especially with her having to pack in the middle of the night, but she'd managed. Everything had been tucked neatly into a small beaded bag, which was now lying innocently on her bed. The bag was enhanced with an Undetectable Extension Charm to accommodate all the things she needed. A rueful smile graced her features. What did it matter when she couldn't bring the most important thing with her?

A loud bang, accompanied by her mother's terrified scream, cut short Hermione's thoughts. Her heart dropped: they had come. She had postponed the parting until it was too late.

Recovering from the shock, Hermione cast a Cushioning Charm on her shoes and raced downstairs.

'Mr. Granger,' the voice of the intruder resounded in the silent house—a familiar voice that stopped Hermione in her tracks. 'Don't force me to ask you again. Where is your daughter?'

It was him, and him alone. For once, Hermione didn't know whether she should feel relieved or terrified. She knew that he had a heart. But he also had someone to protect, and that alone could make people do terrible things.

Hermione had to strain her ears to make out her father's calm reply, telling Malfoy something about having never heard of the name Granger before. Ignoring the twinge in her chest, Hermione cautiously approached the open door of the living room and peeked in. Malfoy was standing amidst the wreckage of the front door, sneer in place and wand pointing at the far corner of the room, where her parents must have been. Hermione tightened the grip on her own wand. She only had one chance.

'Stupefy!'

'Protego!'

The Stunning spell bounced back from Malfoy's shield, missing Hermione by mere inches.

'Too predictable,' he said, turning to her with a smirk.

Eyes locked and wands raised, each of them challenging the other to make the first move. Hermione did her best to hold his gaze, but as she stepped further into the room, it was almost impossible to stop her eyes from straying. Her parents were tied up by a series of luminous wires, slightly shaken but otherwise unharmed. That was enough. She had to focus on the enemy.

'Let them go, Malfoy!'

'Put your wand down, Granger. Otherwise ... '

The silence that followed made Hermione shudder. Her wand hand trembled. She took a deep breath before dropping her arm to her side.

'Who ... who are you?' Her mother broke the silence. Her words were spoken softly, yet they felt so sharp against Hermione's ears. Hot tears threatened to escape her eyes.

Malfoy looked from Hermione to her parents. 'What kind of show is this?'

'Please,' she pleaded. 'Let them go. You're only here to get me, aren't you?'

'No, Granger, you answer me first,' said Malfoy. Hermione felt that his voice didn't carry the usual amount of malice. She opened her mouth and then closed it. Would he let her get away with it?

'Or should I provide you with some more incentive?'

With a casual flick of Malfoy's wand, the wires tightened.

'No ... ' Hermione's anguished whisper came out almost simultaneously with her father's suppressed grunt and her mother's quiet sob.

She was still afraid that answering would only mean choking on her own words. But how else could she protect them? Hermione raised her wand again. Malfoy seemed ready to continue carrying out his threat, but then he gasped at the realisation that she was aiming at her own parents. They instantly crumpled to the floor, falling into a magical sleep. She could not let them hear the truth.

'I Obliviated them,' she said, gulping. 'New life ... new identities ... They're moving to Australia tomorrow. And ... they ... they never had a daughter.'

Draco stared at the girl before him. He directed his wand at her once again although he was unsure what to do. The plan he had been formulating for weeks had been completely thwarted. She was supposed to be yelling and cursing him, not standing there, weeping.

Surely, he had to be more hard-hearted than this. Then again, he had failed rather miserably with his Dumbledore mission, and the man hadn't even worn that heart-broken expression on his face.

How could she have done such a thing to her parents? Draco forced himself not to think of how he would feel if his own parents could not remember his existence. His attempt was futile, however, and he found all those horrible images threatening to come back—images of his parents' torture and murder, so real and painful, even though they were just figments of his imagination. Perhaps Granger was right in her decision. What could happen to her parents would have been worse.

Granger finally pulled herself together and wiped the tears from her cheeks, yet her eyes were still glistening with that same silent pleading.

'I will release them,' his mouth seemed to speak up of its own accord. 'But not unless you comply with everything I say,' he added, willing his voice to sound harsher than before. 'First things first: give up your wand.'

She nodded mutely and dropped her wand onto the floor, backing away from it. Satisfied, Draco murmured the incantation to Vanish the wires binding Granger's parents. She breathed out a sigh of relief, but then her eyes widened with horror.

'Can you do it?' she asked. 'Can ... can you erase tonight's events from their memories?'

Draco's blood boiled. Now she wanted him to do the dirty work for her as well?

'You've done it once, Granger,' he spat. 'You can certainly do it again. I can even let you use your wand until it's done.'

Granger gaped at Draco as though he'd gone insane. Maybe he really had. Why the hell should he care about her parents' mental health? His own parents' lives were at stake! But it was too late to take back his words. He could not let her see his weakness. He was still in control. He could handle Granger even when she had her wand.

To Draco's surprise, Granger stayed rooted to the spot. 'I can't,' she said softly, staring down at her hands. 'Once was enough.'

'Then it should be enough,' he said gruffly.

'At the very least, could we take this outside? I don't want them waking up only to see ...' She looked up at him as if searching his eyes for something—what exactly, he didn't know. No emotions, Draco, no emotions, he told himself. '... my ... corpse,' Granger finished at last, her words barely above a whisper.

Draco said nothing but instead commanded the same fiery wires to shoot out from his wand and wrap around Granger. The ferocity and abruptness of the spell knocked her to the floor, the binding preventing her from crawling back up. Draco managed a humourless laugh. After all, he had meant for her to end up like this—on the ground unable to see him if he crouched low enough. Draco had the perfect alibi to do so: to pick up her wand. Once he had finally shoved it into his pocket, he almost decided to scrap his previous plan and stand up right then. Yet, something seemed to hold him back. He pointed his wand at Granger's parents again and let the incantation echo in his mind, 'Obliviate!'

Draco didn't like the way Granger looked at him when he roughly pulled her to her feet and, with the slightest touch of their hands, Apparated them both to a random forest he'd been to years ago. He hated the way she even smiled at him when they reappeared on the damp grass near the lake.

She knew.

But it didn't matter. He was about to kill her now.

'You are not a killer, Draco.'

He flinched. The memory of a certain night flashed in his mind's eye. He could not fail. Not this time.

'I am, Granger.' He pushed her to the ground again and pointed his wand at her throat, clenching the handle so tightly that his knuckles went white. 'I am evil, just like the Dark Lord. I threatened your parents to make you do what I want.'

'And just whose parents did he threaten?' she asked, looking up with a raised eyebrow.

He didn't answer. How could she know? The Dark Lord had terrorized countless numbers of people to get his way.

Granger was flashing that knowing smile at him again. 'If anything, you and I are more alike than you and Voldemort could ever be. We're both willing to do whatever it takes to protect them.'

There was no point denying it any longer. He couldn't care less if Granger brought his secret to her grave, like Dumbledore did.

'I have to protect them. That's why I'm going to kill you,' he sneered, grabbing her shoulder and pressing the tip of his wand down harder.

'You can't,' gasped Granger, despite the pain etching on her face. 'You and he have one thing in common after all.'

Draco froze. For a fraction of a second, his grip on the wand slackened. What was she trying to do? Mess with his mind?

'You had to threaten my parents because you were afraid—'

No, he must not listen. The last time he had let his determination falter after Dumbledore's words. He couldn't let her do that to him. He wouldn't make that mistake ever again.

'—you wouldn't be able to get me on your own. He likewise threatens your parents because he knows and fears that you will not—

'I will do whatever it takes, Granger. You said so yourself.'

'But you won't be able to do it forever.' She met his glare from her spot on the ground. For a moment, Draco felt as though he wasn't the one who was looking down. 'Tell me, if you even hesitate with a filthy Mudblood you've detested for six years, how could you do it to anyone else?'

Draco gritted his teeth. 'Shut up!'

'I'm only telling the truth,' Granger went on. 'Let's face it. If you continue to serve him, your parents will still suffer.'

Lies! Such lies!

Or were they? Draco chose not to dwell on it. He focused on keeping his wand hand steady instead.

'What do you propose, Granger? Should I erase my parents' memories and send them to 'happy land'?'

What was meant to hurt her alone came back and stabbed him instead. Deep down, how he wished it had been that easy. But he and his parents were too entangled into this mess.

The pain reflected in Granger's eyes caused him to wince and avert his gaze. She didn't retort. Fuck, he needed her to be the annoying Mudblood he'd hated, not ... this. His task would have been much easier that way. Then again, he had always hated Dumbledore ...

Draco knew he had to act now before his resolve broke. For his parents, he could do anything, and this would be the start.

'Avad—'

The curse died on his tongue. Draco bit the inner side of his mouth, tasting blood. The pain was real, the taste was real, everything was functioning, yet he couldn't bring himself to say it.

He had failed. Again. He couldn't protect them. He never could.

Draco closed his eyes and drew a sharp breath. There was only one destination ahead of him: death. He might as well choose the easy way to get there.

He released Granger from her binding. It took her a while to clamber up to her feet, as though she could hardly believe that she was freed. He reached into his pocket for her wand and tossed it in her general direction. He could not look at her; his eyes strained toward the dark water instead.

'You can let the Order protect you and your family from him,' Granger offered.

He snorted. 'And why would they want to protect us?'

'The same reason you Obliviated my parents,' she replied. 'We are not as different as you think.'

'But they can't. He will always find me.' He stroked his left forearm. Once you are marked, there is no way out ... except by death.And he was pulling them down with him.

'Not when you are in a place he cannot enter.'

So typical of Granger to think she had all the answers. But he knew she was wrong. He'd better get this over with. Draco swallowed hard. 'Kill me.'

'What?'

'You promised to do whatever I said as long as I let your parents go,' he stated coldly, looking back at her at last. 'Kill me!'

'No,' she exclaimed. 'I did not sign up to be a murderer.'

'Think of it as a salvation. I want a quick end. You're not so cruel as to leave me to be tortured to death, now are you?'

'Why on Earth—Are you seriously considering going back? Are you stupid or something?'

'I've got no choice!' bellowed Draco, marching up and grabbing at her collar. 'Kill or be killed. If you can't even comprehend such a simple concept, don't ever claim to be similar to me.'

'It doesn't have to be this way.' She shook her head vehemently. 'You always have a choice to do what is right rather than what is cruel, and so do I.'

'Really?' The corner of Draco's lips lifted up momentarily, although for once, he found himself unable to keep the smirk in place. 'Perhaps you could have a third option. If you deny me a painless death, then I will just have to save my own skin by telling the Dark Lord that I couldn't find you in the house. I will have to capture your parents to show I have a plan to lure you out, of course.'

'No, you won't,' she snarled, wand shooting up almost immediately.

Draco knew that he had pushed the right button, just like the Dark Lord had known how to push his. But, in spite of this seeming similarity, he was sure that they were different. She was brave, and he was only a coward.

Realising what she had just done, Granger lowered her wand. 'You are not that cruel,' she said quietly.

'I have no qualms bringing your parents back to the Dark Lord, Granger,' he responded. 'After all, it's not likely that I would have to take care of the torturing myself. Me or your parents, those are your choices.'

Granger narrowed her eyes at him, but he wasn't going to let her see through him. He was supposed to hunt her down no matter where she was. In reality, they both had no choice.

'Think about it, Granger. I was behind that cursed necklace and the poisoned mead. I brought Death Eaters into Hogwarts. If it weren't for me, Dumbledore would probably be alive. Who would you rather save?'

'I won't let my parents suffer,' she said finally, raising her wand at him again. Her hand was shaking, but it was good enough, he supposed.

'Close your eyes,' she whispered. Draco shot her a scathing look. 'I can't do it with you staring at me like that. Would you able to if you were me? I promise that I won't run away.'

All right, maybe he could believe her. Draco closed his lids and waited. Any moment now, his misery would be gone. He knew he was being selfish. He was abandoning his parents. But what did it matter? They would soon be reunited.

As the red light filled his world, Draco reached for his wand, but everything went black much too soon. When the light returned again, the first thing he saw was her smile.

'Welcome to number 12 Grimmauld Place!'

The End

AN: Well, this is decidedly a one-shot. Please don't be mad at me for that!

And yes, reviews would be lovely. Thank you!

Leo