Two figures stood still and quiet in the pale light of the moon, one tall and fair, the other quite a bit shorter with dark, wild hair and serious brown eyes.

"You can't keep doing this," the young woman said, her tone even and emotionless.

"Who the hell are you to tell me what I can't do?" His voice was strident and jarring in the silence of the night, and his grey eyes glowed silver in the moonlight.

"I mean it."

"Mean what?" He laughed harshly. "What exactly am I doing?"

"Stop that! Stop laughing, stop mocking me, stop following me!" she screamed. "Don't you understand? I don't need you." Her voice lowered when she added, "You don't need me, either."

"I don't need you?" He took a step towards her, his shadow looming over hers. "You're so fucking wrong, Hermione."

She bit her lip, desperately trying to keep herself from doing something she would regret later. "Draco, please, just... just go away. You know what we have to do, and you know what happened during the last battle because of, of..." Hermione gestured wildly before continuing. "Because of this. You were there. So just go. Please, Draco. Please."

"No," he said roughly, moving until he was standing right in front of her, so close that he fancied that he could hear the rapid beating of her heart, so close that he could see the light specks of gold mixed in the brown of her eyes, so close that he could smell the faint aroma of her shampoo, a fresh and clean scent that contrasted starkly with the grime of the war that was raging around them. "I'm not going to leave you," he whispered, raising a hand to delicately cup her cheek.

"You're an idiot," she spat, quickly moving away from him. "Do you have a death wish?"

"Do you?" he countered, his eyes narrowed.

"Why can't you just, just, oh for Godric's sake, Draco, just listen to me for once! This is a war. We're not on the same side. And you know as well as I do that I cannot lose. We cannot lose. So please don't make this harder than it has to be."

"You're such a fool, Hermione." His gaze softened slightly as she bristled at his comment.

"I'm the fool?" she screeched, her eyes flashing dangerously. "You're the one who's been sneaking into the Order headquarters to see me, never mind the fact that everyone there would love to Avada you!"

"Not quite everyone," he corrected her.

"And the fact is," she continued, ignoring his interjection. "During a battle, I can't afford to be distracted by you, okay? I can't be worried that every time I cast a curse, I might be injuring you. I can't panic every time I see someone with blond hair run by. I can't care about you," she whispered, a single iridescent tear slipping down her cheek. "And more importantly, you can't care about me, either. They'll kill you if they find out about us."

"But they won't find out," he said, so confident and so sure that she fervently wished that she could just believe him. But no, he was a risk and she had never been fond of gambling, and so she steeled herself and pretended that she had no hesitations about what she had decided to do.

"They will, one day," she heard herself say as her heart began to split, slowly and painfully. "And even if that day is after this war is over, you'll still be hurt. So, Draco, I'm so so sorry but I...I have to..." Wiping the moisture from her eyes, she raised her wand and pointed it at the man she would carve out her own heart for.

"Obliviate."

I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot! Oh, and if you feel so inclined, leave me a review. :D