Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah, Harry Potter is not mine, he never was and he never will be because God hates me and life's a bitch. Amen.

Prologue

He was almost completely consumed by the shadows but she could not mistake his appearance even if she was half blind. His white-blond hair fell like liquid silver to his shoulders and his haunting grey eyes seemed to bore into her mind. She remembered to put up her mental shields in case he decided to use Legillemens. (A/N: Is that how you spell it?)

She knew that he was very skilled in the art of dueling and swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat. She knew that if she went up against him, she would most likely end up lying lifeless on the cold ground. She knew that she had friends not very far away that loved her dearly and that she had a life and a future. She knew that there were bigger things at hand than her and this man. But she also knew that she didn't give a damn.

She flicked a strand of hair away from her eyes and kept a firmer grip on her wand. Her cinnamon eyes now seemed to turn to a platinum gold and stared straight at his frosty mercury eyes.

"Hello Lucius Malfoy. I am Hermione Granger. You killed my parents. Prepare to die." Spilled from her lips. Lucius chuckled bitterly and raised a well-groomed eyebrow.

"Really now, Miss Granger. Is that the best thing you can come up with? And here I thought you were the brightest witch of your generation."

"I'm not trying to say something bright. I'm saying the truth, Lucius. You did kill my parents. And you will die."

Another cold chuckle escaped from Lucius Malfoy.

"Are you sure it is wise to duel me again after what happened last time?" He asked with a hint of amusement in his tone.

A smirk worthy of a Malfoy spread across Hermione's features as she lowered herself into a fighting stance.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She stated calmly. All the humor vanished from Malfoy's eyes as he saw her crouch lower and raise her wand hand. He also moved into fighting stance. A long silence filled the room.

"Then by all means, let us begin."

Lucius wasted no time as he raised his wand and shouted out, "Crucio!"

"Protego!" Hermione quickly shouted before Lucius was even able to finish saying the Latin word. The spell harmlessly bounced off her shield.

"Stupefy!" She cried out as soon as her shield wore off. Lucius easily dodged the spell.

"Honestly! What is with you Gryffindors and third-year level spells? Afraid to use real spells? Serpensortia!" A deadly viper shot out from his wand, straight at Hermione's throat. But Hermione was ready. She quickly retrieved a dagger from beneath her belt and quickly slit the snake's throat. It was dead before it even hit the ground.

"Expelliarmus!" Red light issued forth from Lucius' wand and before Hermione could get a firm grip on her wand, it had flown away from her hand. It fell, useless, to the other side of the room.

"Ha! Ready to give up, Miss Granger?"

"You wish." Hermione hissed, a part of her mind thinking that those words sounded familiar. She immediately let out a loud cry and executed a back flip and then a roundhouse kick, effectively knocking Lucius' wand from his hand. Lucius staggered back, surprised. But then the look of surprise left his face and he smirked.

"Impressive, Miss Granger. I see you've learned much during your school year."

"You talk too much." Hermione stated matter-of-factly before racing towards him and executing another roundhouse kick. But this time, Lucius was ready. He grabbed her ankle before it smashed into his face and twisted her leg, attempting to trip her.

But she instead threw her body weight into the twist and effectively spun horizontally out of his grasp and kicking his face. She then landed, unharmed, on her feet.

Lucius growled and then ran to the corner of the room, where he retrieved a sword from its stand. Hermione raced to the corner and did the same. She quickly examined her sword. It gleamed brilliantly, like solid moonlight. Latin words were engraved on the edge but she was too preoccupied to read it.

The two both raced toward each other and their swords clashed. They spun around and their swords clashed again. Each one jabbed over and over again while the other blocked. The sounds of metal colliding with metal echoed across the chilly room. The clanging sounds mixed with Hermione's grunts of exertion and Lucius' heavy breathing.

Finally, a sword flew to the other side of the room and clattered against the floor. It lay there, completely of no use to one of the fighters.

Hermione's eyes widened in fear as she realized that she was now without both her wand and her sword. Her dagger was still stuck inside the dead viper. She had run out of weapons.

Lucius' eyes gleamed maniacally in the moonlight as an insane grin lit up his features

"Finally, I can end the lives of everyone in the Granger family."

And then he attacked.

(A/N: Ooohhhh, my fanfic has a first name. It's H-E-R-M-I-O-N-E-S! My fanfic has a second name! It's M-I-S-S-I-O-N! Ooohhh, I love to write it everyday and if you review I will say-aay-AAAAYY…that you all reviewed and my writing doesn't suck and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah-HOOORRAAAYYY!!)

(Oh, and the "Hello Lucius Malfoy…Prepare to die," comment was from The Princess Bride.)