Taking Lives, Deceiving Hearts

Disclaimer: All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

Summary: Even he wasn't sure if this was right. Was he really capable of this deception? It was so ironic to him that he had taken so many lives, but he felt guilty. He wasn't taking someone's life, he thought. He was deceiving someone's heart.

Pairing: DMHG

Setting: AU after HBP. Post-Hogwarts.

Genre: Romance/General

Chapter 2: Prologue Part 2

She woke up in his arms.

She sat up with the warm morning sun kissing her cinnamon hair. She resisted the urge to look at him—a game she played on most mornings, because she knew that it wouldn't take long before she would give in to herself. Just knowing that he loved her in that way made her feel like she had no reason to fear anything. Turning her head to finally look at him, she breathed in deeply, taking in the image of his perfectly messy hair.

Then she noticed. She noticed right there and then. She noticed that he had now somehow looked different.

And she scrutinized him, careful not to wake him up. Brushing her hand through his hair, she noticed the lines on his face. Even in his sleep he looked so tired and worried. He had never stopped worrying, whereas he made her feel like there wasn't anything in the world to worry about.

She touched his neck and knew that he was colder today. What had happened last night, love? Hermione wanted so badly to wake him up and ask him. What can I do to make you feel better?

As she got up, she didn't take her eyes off him. She smiled inwardly. As everyone said, who knew they'd end up together? She guessed some people saw it coming…the way they fought, the way they insulted each other. But it's happened. Who was she to ask why it happened? But everyday, she always asked for the same thing. That whatever she shared with him, that whatever was between them…she never wanted that to be taken away from her.

--

Minutes later, the sunlight crept to his eyelids. At first, he had forgotten where he was. He had forgotten what he was there to do. Draco was half-awake; his eyes still closed but so much aware of what he was now doing.

He now felt so different than the night before. Had those few hours of sleep made his heart calmer? He felt like he had no heart anymore. He often woke up in the mornings feeling so lost. That day was no exception.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

It was time to play his part.

"Hermione?" he called out. What did he have to gain by doing this? As a death-eater, everything. As himself, he would gain nothing. Instead, he would lose everything.

"Honey…you're awake" she came in, the sun pouring out from the window made her face glow even more. It felt like the sun was hitting Draco from all directions; glowing beautifully, burning him painfully.

"You look so tired," she said, frowning. Somehow, he felt like she shouldn't even be this close to him. Was he supposed to feel disgusted? No. He felt comforted. She sat down beside him on the bed, kissing him on the mouth. It felt so wrong to kiss back. It felt so wrong to be there.

But he kissed back, and he never felt more satisfied in his life.

For a split-second, Draco felt worried. Would she notice the difference? How he smiled, how he frowned, how he smelled, how he responded?...how he kissed?

When they pulled away, Hermione smiled at him and all the worry he had felt seemed miles away. But deep inside he knew that at the end, both of them were going to get hurt.

There was a part of him that felt stupid for caring about how she felt. He was just using her. There was never a girl that he had ever truly cared about. He had dated girls for information. He had been in relationships with girls just for the reputation. But never had he done something like this before.

There was another part of him that knew that it was wrong of him to feel attached to her. They were just going to kill her, anyway. He was going to do this as quickly as possible, and leave her for them to kill.

This was just a game to him.

But he moved closer and kissed her again.

Then he suddenly stopped, his eyes closed, turning away from her. Her hand crept up to his shoulder, which felt as weak as the rest of his body.

"Ron?" she said, "…what's wrong?"

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A/N: DUNDUNDUNNN!!! Did you see that coming? Once again, you have to let me know that you're interested! I'll only be continuing this fic if I get a total of 12 (or more…haha!) reviews. Thanks to everyone who reviewed:)