The Harry Potter universe and its characters are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. By using them below, I am in no way claiming ownership.

This is what you get when you leave Malfoy in charge of the plan... Hermione thought wistfully to herself. She had spent the last three hours sat under an oak near the Quidditch pitch, an area secluded enough that the fake-Draco might approach her without suspicion. She'd spent her time as bait reading up on wandlore, but her book was now finished, the temperature had dropped and the wind was picking up. Enough was enough. His plan to lure out the fake-Draco had clearly failed.

Hermione got up to leave, shoving the volume into her beaded purse, which she then returned to her pocket. She assumed Draco had noticed her decision, as he appeared from his hiding place, the Slytherin changing rooms. As she got closer however, she noticed that his robes were dishevelled, a manic look in his eyes.

'I want to go back inside,' she began to moan, afraid he was going to suggest they wait another hour.

'I've got him,' Draco replied with a frenzied smile. Hermione was taken aback but had little time to process - Draco grabbed her wrist and began to drag her into the changing rooms. True enough, a second Malfoy was inside - the boy was unconscious, his head lolling over his chest. His wrists were bound together and a gag placed over his mouth. For what purpose, Hermione wasn't sure, although they certainly hadn't discussed how to 'deal' with the imposter. Draco released her wrist and grinned at her. 'It took a bit of work but I've got him.'

'What are we going to do with him?' She asked weakly. She knew - and could clearly see - that there couldn't realistically be two Dracos, yet she found it hard to disconnect her feelings from one of the boys. She didn't think she would be able to disconnect enough to destroy the copy. Draco picked up on her tone and frowned.

'I thought you'd be happy.' It was an echo of her words to the fake-Draco in the library. 'He's the source of our problems. Don't you want him taken care of?'

'Well, yes...' she bit her lip, 'but what do we do?'

Draco suddenly took both of her hands, clasping them between his.

'We could throw him in the lake.' He suggested.

'But...' Hermione's brow furrowed. 'I don't want to do anything cruel to him.'

'We have to kill him,' Draco insisted, his gaze intense. 'If we don't, we'll never be happy.'

The bound Draco came-to slowly, swaying slightly before he had the strength to look up at the pair. His eyes widened, staring fixedly at her, and he began to struggle against his bindings. He attempted to shout, but all words were muffled against the gag. The pain and horror in his expression was enough to make Hermione breathless. Her heart felt like it was cracking in two. The unbound Draco released her hands, his own moving up to her face, bringing her eyes back to his. He caressed her cheek.

'Hermione,' he said softly, barely audible above the other Draco's smothered screams.

His fingers moved along her cheekbone to intertwine with her hair and he leant closer, his lips brushing hers. She needed little more encouragement, leaning into the kiss. It turned from sweet to passionate within seconds, all the pent-up desire and longing released in a haze of teenage hormones. Draco pushed her slowly backwards until she stumbled against the bench which ran around the edge of the changing room. He caught her, his hands moving down to lift her up above the bench so that she was straddling his hips, her back firmly against the changing room wall. His mouth was insistent and Hermione felt herself succumbing to his hunger, forgetting about their surroundings.

The bound Draco began to fight harder against his bindings and slammed his back against the opposite bench, causing a sports chest to tip over the edge. The chest opened on impact with the floor, spilling its contents. Draco released Hermione slowly, kissing her tenderly a few more times after their embrace ended. He was clearly as affected as she, a light blush in his cheeks, his breath hot against her neck. Hermione was lowered slowly back down to the ground, her Draco brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. He moved over to pick up one of the beater's bats which had toppled onto the floor and gave it a quick swing in the air to test its weight, then offered it to her.

'You should do it.' She took the bat uncertainly.

'Do what?'

'Break him,' Draco urged.

'I don't think I can,' Hermione looked down at the ground, the bat dropping limply in her grip. The bound Draco began to shout against his gag once more, trying desperately to free his hands. Her Draco slapped him round the back of his head, attempting to silence him.

'Shut up!' He growled. He took a step back towards Hermione, standing in front of her and cupping her face to make their gazes meet. 'Hermione, you have to.' He leant forward and kissed her right cheek. 'He's not me.' He kissed her left cheek. 'He's not real.'

The impact of the slap had knocked the positioning of the gag, allowing the bound Draco to tug it down with his teeth.

'Hermione, no!' He pleaded, panting. 'He's not the real me!'

The Draco in front of her narrowed his eyes at the outburst but didn't look back, his eyes focused solely on hers.

'Don't listen to him. He's trying to trick you.'

'Hermione!' The bound Draco pleaded again.

Hermione was suddenly unsure of herself. 'How do I know?' She asked. Her Draco didn't answer, his gaze imploring. She dropped the bat to the floor and moved her hand up to caress Draco's face. He leant into the touch, his own hand moving up to cover her own. Hermione moved her thumb slowly across his left cheek, removing the make-up which concealed the fractures from their first meeting. She recoiled, stumbling back and falling onto the bench.

Mirror-Draco was pained by her reaction, his eyes welling up from the rejection.

'Hermione,' he reached out for her with one hand and she flinched.

'You're not real,' she whispered, terrified. He began to shake in anger.

'I am real!' He snapped, moving across to her and lifting her up by the collar of her robes into a standing position. 'I was there when you got on the train at Kings Cross. I was there when you came out of the Chamber of Secrets. I've always been there, Hermione!'

'Those are someone else's memories,' Hermione sobbed, trying to pull herself free.

'What difference does it make?' He let go of her robes and pointed threateningly at the bound Draco. 'He'll never love you, Hermione, but I can! He doesn't want to be with you and I do.' He moved back towards her and picked up the bat. 'I'd make you so happy.'

Bound Draco now hung his head in shame and Hermione felt a tear roll down her cheek. Mirror-Draco wiped it away, then offered her the bat.

'I'd love you forever,' he pleaded, 'if you'd only let me.'

Her hands remained limply at her sides, her eyes unable to meet his.

'Hermione,' he reached for her hands, placing the bat in her grip. 'You know what you have to do.'

She moved his gaze up to his, now resolute. He smiled at her decision and led her to the bound Draco, who looked up at her in defeat. Hermione raised the bat, both hands moving into a swinging grip. Their eyes met.

'I forgive you,' he whispered, his eyes closing in preparation of his death. He stopped trying to free himself from his bindings and began to slow his breathing.

'Goodbye, Draco,' she replied, her muscles tensed for the impact.

Author's note: this has been a bit of a rush job as I've been so tied for time lately. I might make a few edits later to some of the sentence so it flows a bit better.