Curtain Call

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Disclaimer: You know the drill. I (sadly) own neither characters. They belong to the imaginative J.K Rowling. Plot's mine, however.

A/N: Please pardon all errors. R&R!

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The stage was set.

"I hate you, Malfoy."

The words seemed foreign as they slipped through her lips. She had rehearsed this scene tons of times, yet it still felt as though she was saying them for the first time.

He smirked.

That smirk. The one which took her breath away. The one which made her betray her friends. The one which she fell so hopelessly for. The one which was on her mind all the time. The one that was hurting her now.

"Wow! This is news." Sarcasm dripped dangerously from his voice. He crossed his arms, looking very annoyed. "Is that all you have to say? I've got better things to do then waste my time talking to a filthy little mudblood."

She felt a burning sensation behind her eyes. Yet, she couldn't cry. She couldn't let him see through this well-rehearsed script. She was the female lead, and crying wasn't part of her role.

"You said you loved me."

He shrugged, "I did. So? It was the dumbest thing I ever did. So quit rubbing it into my face." His tone was casual, as though whatever she said didn't affect him at all.

But she knew better.

She could see emotions behind the couldn't-care-less mask he had tried so hard to keep up. She knew she wasn't the only one lying here.

"You love me, Malfoy. You know it."

His famous smirk faltered for a second, then returned to his face. She was so tempted to slap it away, just like back in third-year.

Ah… the memories. She couldn't bring herself to think about them anymore. They were a sin to recall.

He gave a chuckle, so cold it sent a shiver down her spine. "My my, Granger. You think too highly of yourself. How could I, a pureblood, associate myself with somebody inferior and filthy, namely, you?"

She clenched her fists. Why was it so easy for him to pour poison out of his lips, but she was struggling with it?

Four years of forbidden love must finally come to end. And she will be the one to end it all. Not that she wanted, but because she had to.

Before any of them could have second thoughts, she had to end this. She reached out and delivered a tight slap across his beautiful face.

Seeing the red handprint on his cheek, she couldn't help but feel relieved. Her mission was accomplished. All she had to do was to follow the rest of the script for the ending.

"Granger… You could ask politely if you wanted to touch my royal skin." He smirked arrogantly. "Then again, pardon me for forgetting that you are a low-down creature, and won't know and manners."

She hit him again. That was for making the end seem so easy for him. It was for him acting along the pre-written script with her. It was for not stopping her for ending their relationship. It was for him being cowardly and not wanting to turn back.

"I'll see you at the battlefield then. Goodbye."

He sighed and tuned, getting ready to leave this conversation, to walk off the stage. "Keep your bushy head down, Granger. You don't want them to find you." He repeated what he had said four years ago, the words which started it all.

She turned away and let a lone tear stray down her cheek. It was over. She could leave the stage as well. Her acting was done.

He heard her sniff, and felt his heart shatter. He didn't want to, but he had made her cry. He couldn't turn back now; it was too late, and too dangerous.

If they didn't end this forbidden relationship, they will put each other in extreme danger. Imagine having to kill the person you love most in a battle you don't want to be in.

Just the thought of it hurt too much.

He gingerly touched his cheek, feeling then soreness of it. Strangely, it didn't hurt at all. He was willing to let her slap him countless times, if it could make her feel better. He could let a Hippogriff attack him until he was dead, or be turned into a ferret just to see her concern for him. He would gladly let her insult him, if it could bring a smile to her face.

Yet… he chose to confess his feelings to her, marking the start of a doomed relationship. The stage was set, the script written for the ending from the first time their hearts connect. And they could do nothing but follow it blindly, all the way to the end.

The pre-written script was finally finished. They had written it when they fell deeply in love with each other. They had followed it faithfully, afraid that all will end too soon. But it had to end, before one hurt the other too deeply.

Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy might be so different. But they shared one common thought.

"Please don't let me meet you at the battlefield."

Neither had the courage to kill the other if they met.

Cowards?

No…

Lovers.

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Author's Note: This is my shortest fic to date. Took me 30 minutes (and it shows). This is very short and abstract, hope you guys understand whatever I'm blabbering about.

This conversation takes place after HBP, before the Final Battle, in the snow, in Hogsmede, in a lonely hallway, at the top of the Astronomy Tower… anywhere that screams D/Hr. (Grins)

Review please!