(UN-EDITED SO SORRY FOR MISTAKES)

Hermione sat at the empty table, nervously pulling at the hem of her dress. She watched with sad eyes as Harry, disguised as a Weasley cousin, danced with Ginny on the dance floor.

She should be with Quinn right now.

Hermione turned her gaze away from the couple as she saw Ron sit next to her. He pulled his chair closer to her, and she leaned into him for comfort. While their relationship never sprung into a romantic one, she took solace during the summer in their friendship. As Hermione was heartbroken over Quinn (though no one knew that) and Ron was dumped by Lavender, they found themselves spending a lot more time alone together now that Harry and Ginny were off in their own world. They sat in silence for a while, and Hermione couldn't help but think of the events that happened at the end of last year.

"Hermione, there is something you should know." Harry stated calmly.

"Harry, I already know that Dumbledore is dead. I passed by Kinglsey on the way here." Hermione replied, solemnly taking his hand.

The occupants in the room glanced at each other nervously.

Harry cleared his throat, and squeezed her hand. "It's about Quinn."

Suddenly, an icy dread took over her and she felt it was hard to breathe. "Is she okay?"

Ron scoffed, muttering something unrecognizable, before Ginny elbowed in the ribcage.

"What?" He yelled, "She's going to be mad too, just you wait."

"Ron, we have to handle this delicately." Ginny whispered at him, scolding his behavior.

"Just tell me what is going on." Hermione said, staring at Harry.

"Quinn was there, Hermione. She was with Draco."

"As a prisoner?" Hermione whispered.

Harry shook his head sadly. "As a Death Eater."

Hermione furiously shook her head, disbelieving the obvious lie. "No, that's impossible. Quinn would never do that, she's not like other Slytherins. She's good."

"Oh please, we all knew she was dark. I mean look at the facts; Slytherin, best friends with Malfoy, blonde, it just adds up!" Ron spoke up, gesturing with his hands.

"Will you shut up, Ronald!" Hermione yelled, waving her wand in anger.

Ron immediately looked at her with surprise, as did the rest of the room.

"Quinn wouldn't do that! She was my f-friend!" Hermione shouted at them, tears threatening to fall.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione." Harry spoke.

"So we're leaving tonight?" Ron whispered, nudging her body away.

She sighed, reluctantly picking up her head from his shoulder. "Yeah, I have everything in my bag."

He stared disbelieving at the small pouch that hung on a strap on her shoulder. "Really? That's pretty small."

"It has an expansion charm, Ronald."

Quinn would know that, she thought bitterly.

He smiled. "We would never be able to survive without you, Mione."

She felt warm by his words, and smiled back. "Same with you."

His ears blushed. "Nah, I'm not the brains like you, nor the bronze like Harry. I guess I'll settle for the beauty."

She laughed.

For last couple of months, Hermione had been perpetually dirty, angry, and afraid. The hunt to find the Horcruxes had not been nearly as fun as Ron described it would be. Mostly it was a bunch of camping in woods, and eating things like rabbits and plants. Also, the company was worse than she expected. She thought it wouldn't be so bad to be living with her two best friends, but cabin fever seemed to get the best of them. Harry was always brooding, and Ron was always complaining. The two of them made horrible roommates. And at times she couldn't help but thing of Quinn, the Death Eater. She would wonder what she was up to, and if she has killed anyone. Generally, she just thought of her. Their bickering, her hair, her eyes, and the way she smelled after Quidditch. It was awfully corny, and Hermione hated it, but she missed everything.

At the same time, Hermione was furious. The betrayal left Hermione an empty shell, full of knowledge but no passion. Harry and Ron could see it, but I doubt they really knew the amount of pain she was in. That is what she thought until Harry sat her down one day and confronted her.

"So, I have something I want to talk to you about." Harry said nervously, fiddling with his hands as he sat on the bed beside her.

Hermione growled. "I can't make the food better if there aren't enough ingredients to make things. If Ron wants better food, he should go home to his mother!"

Harry winced at her tone. "No, that's not it. It's about Q-Quinn.

Hermione's head snapped up. "What?"

Harry cleared his throat, before gaining whatever Gryffindor courage he has and asked her. "Were you two.. you know.. together?"

"E-excuse me?" Hermione stuttered out.

Harry looked deep into her eyes. "I'm not Ron, Hermione. I notice things."

"Oh, of course you do Harry, I wasn't saying you weren't. It's just, it's private."

Harry nodded. "I understand." He gave her hand a squeeze, before getting up from the bed and started to walk away.

"Wait!"

Harry turned and found Hermione staring at her lap, tears rushing down her cheeks silently. "It wasn't supposed to happen, it just did."

Harry quickly sat down next to her, draping an arm over her shoulder. Hermione buried her face in his chest and sobs broke out. Part of it was the fact that she did miss Quinn, but mostly it was the fact that she really did just need a cry. She thinks that Harry knew that.

Spells were flying everywhere, as she ducked underneath rubble of stone. Ron was by her side, shouting spells into the sea of fire. They were amidst the battle at Hogwarts, and they were trying to get to the Chamber of Secrets. Harry had gone to Ravenclaw tower with Luna to get the diadem, and now it was up to Hermione and Ron to find the last Horcrux in the chamber.

Sprinting toward the girls bathroom, she quickly pulled Ron in, not before he shot one last curse at a nearby Death Eater. They stood panting by the bathroom sink, desperately trying to gain their breath. Hermione nudged Ron to get his attention, drawing him to the task at hand.

"How do we open it?" She asked curiously.

"How am I supposed to know? Harry's the one with the parseltounge."

She just rolled her eyes. "You said we could get in. J-Just mimic it."

Ron stared at her strangely, before adopting a determined expression and hissing out the most ridiculous attempt at parseltounge she ever heard.

"Ronald, that sounds noth-" To her utter shock, the bathroom sink sprung open allowing entrance to the chamber.

Ron grinned at her. "You were saying?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, and jumped through tunnel, spiraling down to the floor with a large thunk. She quickly rolled sideways as she heard Ron coming down also, yet he still managed to fall on her leg.

She yelled out in pain, pushing him away. Luckily, no lasting damage, but it still hurt. Getting up, they both rushed to the entrance to the Chamber. Hermione took a moment to marvel at the grand scale of the chamber, before looking around.

"Did you find it?" She asked Ron, who was searching the place also.

"I believe I did." Hermione's head snapped up at the voice, since it wasn't Ron's. Turning around, she found Quinn Fabray leaning against Slytherin's statue with the same damn smirk she's had since first year. Except now the smirk made her heart race at the same time. Quinn pushed off the statue and slowly made her way over to Hermione.

Before she was half way over, Hermione snarled, "Don't you come any closer."

Quinn stopped, a flash of hurt crossing her face before she frowned. "I guess I have some explaining to do."

"Damn right you do!" Ron shouted, quickly taking a position next to Hermione, with his wand pointing dangerously at Quinn.

Quinn narrowed her eyes. "Ron, why don't you wait outside."

"He's not going anywhere." Hermione spoke up, glaring at Quinn.

Quinn looked at her. "Hermione, I need to talk to you in private though."

"You gave up that right when you became a Death Eater."

Quinn sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It's more complicated than that, Mione."

"Don't call her that." Ron growled.

"Look, I'm here to help you, Hermione. I swear." Quinn replied, looking right at her.

"Why should I trust you?" Hermione said.

"He had my mum, okay?" Quinn replied. "I had to join, or he'd kill her."

"Had?"

Quinn's gaze turned hard. "The bastard killed her, right in front of me."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you." Hermione answered.

"You don't have to forgive me, or believe me; you just need to do one thing."

"And what would that be?" Ron said.

Quinn stared at Hermione for a moment, before saying. "I need you to kill me."

Hermione reeled back, out of all the scenarios that she played in her head for their reunion, this was certainly not one of them. "E-excuse me?"

Quinn's face was grim. "I need you to kill me. Look I know this is confusing, but we don't have much time."

"Confusing?" Hermione dryly laughed. "No, I'm not confused at all. Not only did we spend a fantastic year together, suddenly I figure out from Harry to you're actually a Death Eater! If I wasn't confused by that, I wait all year for a single sign that you're trying to contact me. Nothing! And now, when I finally see you, you ask me to kill you? What the bloody hell is wrong with you?"

Hermione's words were jumbled together, she was breathing so heavily she couldn't decipher whether Quinn had even understood anything she just said. The blonde's face was stone hard, not displaying any emotion.

"Please," She said, "We don't have much time to lose."

Hermione steeled her hand around her wand, never wavering from Quinn's face. "Not until you tell me what the hell is going on."

Quinn faltered, allowing a brief glimpse of pain to show behind her mask, before it was up again. "It's a long story."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Ron decided at this moment to speak up. "Actually Hermione, we have to get to going, why don't we just ki-."

"You finish that sentence Ronald and I'll castrate you right here right now." Hermione screamed, wheeling around to face him.

Ron swallowed.

Hermione turned back to Quinn, positioning her wand back to Quinn's face. "Now tell me."

That's when Quinn started speaking. During sixth year, while her and Hermione's relationship was blossoming, her and Draco's relationship was starting to dive to the deep end. He was assigned to kill Dumbledore, something that he didn't tell Quinn. At the time, she didn't care what he was getting himself into because she was occupied with other things. However during the end of the year it turned sour. He confronted her about Hermione and everything, and she told him the truth. He was enraged, and they got into a huge fight. The next time they met was when Draco summoned her to the Room of Requirements. Once there, she was met with two Death Eaters, none that she knew. They handed her a letter explaining that Voldemort took her mother, and that in exchange for her life he wants her as a Death Eater. Quinn didn't know what else to do but accept. She was branded that night in front of Voldemort and all of the other members. Quinn, distraught, avoided Hermione for days until the night Draco told her the plan. It was the same night Dumbledore died. Quinn's job was look out and she admitted to cursing a couple of students on the way out.

That night started the horror that was a Death Eaters life. Quinn spent weeks living with the Malfoy family, under supervision. Voldemort would stop by everyone once in a while, with letters from her mother. At first, Quinn was confused by this special attention. Why would he come in person and not deliver the message by a servant? It wasn't until one evening that she overheard Lucius have a conversation with Narcissa. He was scared that they chose the wrong side, and that this time they wouldn't be able to leave unscarred.

"Did you know he is a muggleborn himself?" Lucius said, clearly under the influence.

"What?" Narcissa replied, bemused.

"Yes! His name is Tom Riddle. What a common name. To think all this time we were following a mudblood. What do we do, Narcissa?"

Quinn left their conversation a moment later, mind buzzing. She heard that name before, from her mother, something about a childhood friend. When Voldemort came back a week later with another letter, Quinn decided to confront him.

"Why am I getting special treatment?" She said, not looking at him.

Voldemort stopped his movements of reaching the door, and turned back to her. His face was grotesque, and she didn't meet his gaze.

His lips curled into a thin smile. "You look very much like your mother, you know, when she was young."

"So it's true. You're the Tom Riddle from my mom's childhood."

He scowled. "Don't call me by that name. But yes, that was me."

Quinn finally looked at him, deep into those red eyes, trying to search for the answer. "If you know my mother, why would you kidnap her?"

Voldemort crossed the room and sat at the leather chair beside the desk she used for homework. He gestured to the chair adjacent to his, and she followed suit and sat down. His thin white fingers played with his wand, seeming to be lost in a memory.

"I loved her once, a very long time ago. She was the kind of beauty that radiated off everything, and seemed to touch your soul. That is before she married a muggle and decided to have muggleborn children with another man." Quinn reeled back, frightened by the anger that radiated off him.

"I promised her the world. I could have given her health, money, anything she desires. What could she get from a muggle."

"Love."

He scoffed. "I loved her, wasn't that enough? No, apparently not since she ran away with some man." He suddenly smiled. "I got my revenge though."

Quinn grew cold; a voice in her head told her she already knew what he was talking about. "What do you mean?"

He laughed a low chuckle that worked up her spine and cracked at her skull. Voldemort leaned into to her, and spoke in a deep baritone. "I came to America, to that little town you grew up in, Lima was it? I came to your father's work, while he was walking home from work. What a simpleton he was, walking. I crept up behind him and stupefied. Then I dragged him to an abandoned warehouse, where I used a number of dark curses on him which I had been meaning to practice. I made him swear that he'll leave his family, that he'll pack his bags and leave town never to come back. Once I had that admission, I severed his head and fed the remains to Nagini."

Pale white, Quinn could only stare at the sadistic man in front of her. To stare evil in the eye was a concept she could not become accustomed to. A sudden anger boiled inside her and she instinctively leapt at the man. Before she could come in contact with her, she catapulted into the wall behind her. Dizzily looking up, she was met with a cold smile.

"Please don't try to touch me, Quinnie, I really don't want to hurt you." He strode to the door, before looking back, "I mean, you're practically my daughter."

From that moment, Quinn became obsessed with what he said. What did he mean? Are we blood related? No impossible, my mother rejected him! It took months of research and speculation, before she finally pieced it together. It was actually the night Hermione and the Trio was prisoners of the Malfoy's. Draco banned her from helping him, and she ended up being locked inside her room. Luckily, there were vents that she could climb through. Quinn's plan was to reunite with Hermione and get them out of there. The Malfoy's could go die for all she cared. She was crawling through a passage that led to the dungeons, hoping she could find the Trio there. Once she reached the group, she found that Hermione was in fact not there. Panicking over this fact, she could faintly here the blood curling screams coming from the other room. Quinn slapped her hand across her mouth to keep her from calling out. Listening intently, she could hear Ron and Harry's conversation.

"We have to get out of here." Ron said, stating the obvious.

"I know. The Malfoys have the sword though." Harry replied, searching the room.

"So our plan is to miraculously save Hermione, grab the sword, and while we're at maybe kill a few Horcruxes?"

"It's not ideal, but it's the only plan we got. There are only a couple of Horcruxes left; Dumbledore says that the Horcruxes are based on the stuff he cared for. We know that four of them are Hogwarts memorabilia, one is a Gaunt family heirloom, one is his diary, one is Nagini, and one is a personal item from the girl he loved from his orphanage."

Ron groaned. "I forgot about that one. What was the girls name?"

"I don't know the last, she changed her name. It was Judy something." Harry said.

"It could be anything!"

"I know, okay? Just calm down, we need to think of a way to save Hermione."

Moments later, Dobby was found which led to Hermione being saved and their escape. Quinn quickly rushed back to her room before Draco came bursting in, complaining animatedly about the recent events. Quinn only turned him out, instead latching on the piece of information Harry unwillingly gave her. The next day she spent searching the Malfoy library for any information on Horcruxes. It explained the general gist of it, which allowed her to connect the dots. His final sentence was, 'We're practically family, right?' meaning that somehow, they are connected by blood, soul, or magic. Since she knows they're not related by blood, perhaps they are by magic. It explained everything! Why since immediately upon entering the Wizarding World, the Malfoy family latched onto her and provided protection. Why, in the middle of the night she would have dreams of murder and Harry Potter. Why, whenever she is near a snake, she hears voice s.

"I'm a Horcrux, Hermione." Quinn said, ending the story she just told.

Hermione shuddered, tears forming in her eyes. She hates crying in front of Quinn, but at the moment it seemed impossible not to. "No, impossible."

Quinn stepped forward. "It is! It's true, I asked him himself. I'm a horcrux, Harry and I both."

Hermione began shaking her head furiously. "No, you are not a Horcrux!"

"Hermione!" Quinn grabbed her face. "You need to listen to me! If I live, Harry can't beat Voldemort. I need to die."

"There's another way, surely."

Quinn shook her head. "I don't have the connection with Voldemort that Harry does. There is no prophecy foretelling my victory. I have to die."

Hermione began crying profusely, while Quinn took her in her arms. "I really missed you, you know." Quinn murmured.

"I missed you too, far too much testosterone on the rode with Harry and Ron."

Quinn laughed. "I would think."

Hermione tightened her hold on Quinn. "I don't want to kill you."

Ron cleared his throat. "I know that this is highly inappropriate, considering the situation, but are you two- you know, together?"

Hermione glared. "Yes, you ignorant baboon."

Ron held up his hands in defeat. "Bloody hell, I'm sorry. Why are you so mean to me today?"

"Well this is a highly emotional situation!"

"Doesn't mean you should yell at me!"

"I can yell at you anytime I want, Ronald!"

"No you can't!"

Quinn suddenly spoke up, "Why don't you kill me, Ron?"

Both Ron and Hermione looked at her with wide eyes. "What?" Ron replied.

Quinn smiled sadly. "Why don't you kill me? To tell the truth, I don't really want Hermione to, and well you're the only other person here."

Ron stuttered, "I-I don't know."

Quinn sighed. "Well I can't kill myself, my magic wouldn't let me."

Hermione quietly whimpered. "I'll kill you."

Quinn paled. "No, absolutely not. I cannot have you live with that."

"I have to," Hermione said, fiercely, "I love you, so I have to be the one to kill you."

Quinn suddenly laughed. "I love you too." Quinn stared at Hermione for another moment, before lying down on the cold floor.

Hermione kneeled down beside her, cupping her face. She leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "I will never forget you." Hermione whispered.

Quinn smiled, "How rude."

Hermione faltered. "What?"

Quinn just smirked at her, with the same damn smirk that Hermione has grown to love so terribly. A sharp pain hit her chest thinking she'll never see it again.

"Saying such things to a girl," Quinn replied, threading their fingers together, "Makes her not want to die. It's terribly rude."

Hermione laughed, but it turned into a deep sob that racked her body. "I really don't want to do this."

"Neither do I, but then again I heard that death is the next great adventure. I hope I don't die in that one too."

Hermione raised her wand to Quinn's temple, the incantation on her lips. "What's your last words gonna be, Fabray?"

Quinn thought for a moment, "I want my last words to be 'I once met a girl, who was probably the most infuriating woman I have ever met. She made me so mad, that one time I punched a wall in the common room. Though throughout ever class, year after year, I looked for her. She was an enigma, and despite loathing her, I guess I loved her too. My mom once said there's not much difference between love and hate. I guess she was right'." Quinn smiled, and nodded her head.

Hermione muttered the words and watched as the green light flooded the room. The glow in Quinn's eyes dimmed, and yet the smile never faltered. She died with the girl she loved, and no one could die a better death.

AN: I was so tempted to write a scene where it turned out there was a way for Quinn to survive, but I thought that would be too mean. I m so sorry it took two months and a day to get this out, I am horrible person.

Hopefully my next project is better! I liked this story, but I felt it was too rushed. I don't know.