Chapter 13- What Must Be Done

"H-hello, Father." Draco said, face pale, but revealing nothing.

"Draco. When did you get here?"

"About an hour ago." He lied. Hermione was quivering ever so slightly, hoping he would buy it.

"Ah. I have just returned from an, ah, meeting of sorts. May I speak to you?"

"Of course, Father."

"Leave the Mudblood."

Draco turned to Hermione. "Go to your room."

Hermione nodded, frightened at whatever Lucius was going to tell Draco, but ran from the room anyway.

"Come, Draco." Lucius beckoned with a pale finger and walked to his drawing room. He sat on a green armchair, and motioned for Draco to sit on the one opposite him.

"Yes?"

"As I am assuming you know, I have just returned from a meeting with the Dark Lord at the Zabini Manor. I was there for awhile."

Draco nodded to show he was listening. Inside, he was shaking uncontrollably with fear, because if whatever his father wanted to talk about concerned Voldemort, he was in trouble.

"The Dark Lord was expressing his displeasure in your incapability when attempting to kill Dumbledore. He was… not in the best mood concerning it. He wants you to prove yourself, Draco."

"Prove myself?"

"Prove that you are worthy of the ranks of the Death Eaters. He doesn't believe that you are… capable enough."

"Yes I am! Have I not tortured Muggles and followed his every command?"

"Do not argue with me, boy! I am merely the middleman here, I will not tell you whether I agree or not with the Dark Lord's opinions. Besides, I was trying to get to the point."

"Carry on."

"The Dark Lord wants you to perform a deed. You see, he has located Potter. I am going to explain everything to you now, alright?"

Draco was now worried. "Alright."

"The Dark Lord has nine things called horcruxes. When you create a horcrux, you insert part of your soul into in, ultimately making you immortal. Unless, of course, you destroy the horcrux."

Draco nodded, acting as if this information was all new to him.

"So, Potter and his friends destroyed seven of them. He recently destroyed the eighth. But this one had a curse on it. It alerted the Dark Lord of the location of Potter when he destroyed it."

Draco internally panicked. Was this recent? Did the Dark Lord still know where Potter was?

"The Dark Lord knew, however, that he could not track Potter's location, or appear there without the boy running off. So he merely sent him a letter."

Draco mentally sighed. So he only sent him the letter.

"Now, in this letter, the Dark Lord told Potter that he has two weeks to come here, else he will kill his friends. And he is sure that Potter will be coming."

Draco's mind was racing. No, he wasn't coming. Not anymore, anyway.

"Now, when Potter comes, you will come into the picture. The Mudblood- you have gotten close to her, no?"

"No!"

"Don't lie to me, boy. You take her everywhere. You talk to her often. I see that."

"I merely look to her for company. She is nothing to me." Draco lied. It was unrealistically difficult for him to say that.

"Good. That will be tested soon. Because, when the Potter boy comes, you are to kill her."

"Wha- what?" Draco paled, his heart raced faster than it ever did before.

"You heard me. As punishment for your failure in killing Dumbledore, you are to kill the Mudblood."

"Wha- how- when?"

"When Potter comes, Draco. Voldemort will torture and kill the others, and he has given you the special job of killing her. You seem upset about this- why?"

"I- I'm not, Father. Just initial shock."

"Fine. You are dismissed."

Draco left the room. He was shaking, he was so scared. This isn't happening, this isn't happening. He couldn't kill her, not after- after everything they had been through, after everything he now felt for her.

"Draco?" A small voice came from a room in the hallway. It was Hermione, in a nightgown, hair damp from an obvious shower.

"Her- Hermione." He said.

She noticed the way his palms were quavering, the way his gray eyes were slightly glazed over. "Are you alright?"

"Y… no." he admitted. "You said Potter's not coming, right?" If Potter didn't come, he wouldn't have to kill Hermione.

"Well… he said he wasn't going to, but I think he will anyway. I know Harry- he won't let his friends die."

Draco's heart dropped. This was it. He was going to have to kill her.

"What did he tell you, Draco?" Hermione asked. She stepped over and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

He shook even harder. "Nothing. It's… it's nothing."

"Alright then," Hermione could tell that he didn't want to talk about it. "Goodnight Draco."

"Goodnight."

Draco walked to his bedroom. He was going to have to kill her. A single tear escaped down his cheek.

That was when he finally realized it.

He was going to have to kill the girl he loved.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Hermione sat in her bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep.

Draco really had seemed upset. She desperately wanted to know what the conversation had been between Draco and Lucius. She knew it had been emotional- she had never seen Draco so frightened, other than the time she had been attacked by that Death Eater.

He had had an expression of pure fear and genuine worry. It was the kind of expression you give your young child when they almost fall down the stairs. It was the expression you give your firstborn daughter as they go into labor for the first time. It was the expression you give an endangered person when you… when you love them.

Did Draco love her? It was one of two questions that had been running through her head all night.

Did Draco love her? He might.

Then the question that always follows:

Did she love him? She thought about it. But she didn't have to for long- she had been doing a lot of thinking lately. A little too much, in her opinion.

Did she love him? She admitted it- yes.

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A/N- That chapter came out of nowhere. Literally. I had the discussion between Lucius and Draco planned, but none of the rest. It just came out as I wrote. And personally, I rather like it. Although I shouldn't be surprised- most of this story came out of nowhere. I had a clear outline written out, but I tend to never look back on those things after I write them. But this version is much better than the one I outlined- trust me!

Now REVIEW! Here's the deal- I will update next when I have 55 reviews. Come on, now, it's only 6 more. You can do it!