The time, as it often did, passed faster than we expect it to…

Hermione woke one morning and rolled over, staring at Draco.

He was beautiful. Fine features, pale skin, his hair, pale white blond… but if he had his eyes open, she would have recoiled at his gray, cold stare. She wanted to be disgusted by him, but instead, she couldn't help but be attracted.

He opened his eyes, turned his head and met her gaze, not a threat of a smile on his face. She turned away from him and stood, making her way to his bathroom. Upon entering it, she glanced over to the mirror. She was starting to look weak and worn. How many days must she continue going to his bed? How many days must she seduce him, and tell him she loved him, just so he'd make love to her… make love? Right.

She stared at herself in the mirror above the sink and touched her cheek. At least she hadn't been in the dungeon since she had started sleeping with him. She didn't know how Draco was defying his father, maybe because he was the Dark Lord's favorite and all… but Hermione's duties now were satisfying her Master and cleaning his quarters… no more kitchen duties, no more house cleaning. She barely even made it out of his room. Professor Snape had come to tutor Draco, but Hermione was merely sent to the bathroom to await her Master in a warm bath.

She turned the cold water on, letting it run over her hands, before splashing it over her face. The shock of the cold woke her, and her eyes began watering. No… she couldn't cry now…

Her stomach lurched and she felt the contents of it coming to the surface. She leaned on the sink looking at the water. It was so clear, so clean… She then threw up, letting the water wash it down the drain. She cupped her hand and took some water in it, carrying it into her mouth. She rinsed her mouth out and spit it into the sink.

Two arms wrapped themselves around her waist. She forced herself to smile before raising her head up and turning into him.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked her.

"Wrong?" She breathed in, trying to let the smile reach her eyes. "You aren't inside me; you aren't a part of me… that's what's wrong." She lied.

He looked into her eyes. Her lips may have been curled into a smile, but her eyes told him differently. He pushed away from her returning to his bed. "You really need to learn how to lie, Hermione."

She sighed, placing both hands on each side of the sink, holding onto it to support herself. She looked up and into the mirror. Her eyes looked as if they'd lost their youth. She followed him back into the room, and crawled into the large bed. She nuzzled into his leg, starting to curl up like a cat.

"Off!" he ordered. She grumbled, but rolled over to the side, getting off of him.

"Take your potion." He added, motioning to the nightstand. A vial was standing on its own, by his wand. The clear potion was there every morning for her to take…

"I will… I want to please you first." She said looking at him.

"Take. Your. Potion." He said sternly.

She sighed, and took the vial in her hand. "I'll start a bath for you…" she said walking toward the bathroom again.

"Hermione!" he screamed at her.

"I'm taking it! I am…" she said getting out of his line of sight. She started the bath, dumping the contents of the vial into the water and refilling it at the tap. She walked over to the doorway, the vial in hand and looked at Draco.

"Do I really need to?" She asked him annoyed.

"Do I really need to answer that?" He said glaring at her.

"I guess you're right… I wouldn't want some Malfoy spawn growing inside me." She said before downing the now water filled vial. What the hell was she doing…?

Two weeks later.

Hermione woke up startled. Another nightmare… Her stomach, like her subconscious, wasn't giving her any rest… She held her belly with her hand and looked over to Draco… he was still sleeping. He looked so peaceful. Not a care in the world.

She looked at the wand on the nightstand… Draco's wand. Her hand moved to hover over it, scared of the pain she would feel, had she miscalculated. It was now or never. She lowered her hand, wincing, bracing herself for the jolt of shock she was about to feel… her fingers wrapped around the wood and she pulled the wand to her face.

No Pain.

It had worked… She was holding the wand, the Malfoy wand. A rush of absolute power filled her body, a sense of empowerment. She no longer felt naked. She turned the wand toward Draco… it was only two words… two little words and Ron would be avenged.

Draco's eyed opened. There was silence as his eyes met hers. She was crying. Her eyes were filled with tears that ran down her cheeks and stained her face. He rolled on his elbow, propping himself up and was going to move closer to her, but then he realized she was holding his wand. He didn't understand.

"Hermione… how are you holding my wand? You aren't a Mal-"

"Your unborn child is though!" She interrupted him, her voice shaky and cracking from the tears.

Draco looked at her stunned.

She held his wand with both hands. She knew all she had to do was mean the spell. She had to cast it now, while he was still shocked by the news. Think of Ron! Her hands began shaking a little, and that made her clutch the wand harder.

Draco's face softened, as he started chuckling to himself, and he lay back onto his pillow, his fingers running through his own hair.

"Stop laughing!" she yelled at him, "I'm going to do it, you know. I'm going to use the killing curse. You deserve it."

"Yes, and I deserve to suffer for it." He let go of his hair and sat up, "So, as long as you are using one unforgivable, why not use two…" he chided. "Torture me… go on! Do it."

"No… I'm not going to allow you to make me feel sorry for you. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to do it quickly. For Ronald. And then I'll kill myself and the unborn spawn that grows inside me…" She said, more tears spilling down chest now.

"Then do it!" He said getting to his knees. The wand was now aimed at his chest. "Do it, Hermione… do it…" but she did not move. Her bottom lip was quivering, but no words were escaping them.

"For Merlin's Sake, you stupid Mudblood!" He pressed himself into the wand leaning into her, "You come to my bed. You sleep with me. Every night! So you can fill yourself with my seed… it got you what you wanted. Now do it!" He said through clenched teeth. He breathed heavily, as he looked through her eyes, to her soul and whispered "Kill me."

She fell to her knees. She began crying harder, sobbing that she was sorry… calling for her dead boyfriend, for the man she thought was her soul mate. She couldn't do it… she couldn't kill him. She wished she could, but she couldn't. Little by little, through her sobs, her hand turned the wand to right below her chest. She would kill herself, and the baby that lived inside her.

"Expelliarmus!" The wand in her hand flipped out and fell to the ground.

"Accio Wand!" Draco's charms came from no where. He was holding another, plainer wand. His more ornate wand flew to him, and as he caught it he said, "You didn't think I didn't have a spare, did you? Foolish girl!"

She continued crying, hiccupping as she did. Draco placed one of the wands inside the drawer of the nightstand, drawing a key and after physically locking it; he pocketed the key and went over to the crying girl. He stood over her.

"Stop it!" He said to her sternly. "You are not going to 'off' yourself like some coward. You're a Gryffindor and don't you forget it!"

"I can't" She cried, "I can't… I won't! I was raised by muggles Draco. When you're not there, when you're not looking, I will do it… I can't go through with this…. Not like this." She wasn't making any sense. She just kept rambling and rocking herself.

Draco pulled her up by her hair, ignoring her screaming, pleading to let her go. He took her to the bathtub, and moved her into the empty basin. With his wand he sprayed her face with water.

Once the stream stopped, she wiped her face. "You can't watch me all the time, Draco." She said defiantly.

"Hermione-" Draco started saying.

She interrupted him "I have nothing to live for! Nothing! You hear me!" She was angry. Her screams were painful to the ear as well as to her throat.

"Hermione!" Draco kept trying to get a word in edgewise, but she wasn't having it.

"I cannot carry the offspring of the wizard, who killed the man I wanted to grow old with, let alone live with myself for not avenging his death!" Her voice had reached a high pitch squeal.

"I didn't kill Ronald Weasley!" He yelled!

Silence…

She stopped crying and looked at him, as if she hadn't heard him.

"Hermione," He said now calmly. "I didn't kill Ronald Weasley…"