A/N: Must write. I have no idea what I'm doing. This is just another moment of insanity. This stays strictly as a OneShot, so don't ask for a sequel.

Summary: "It's death. There's nothing worse you could do. And you have to really mean it, really want it." Granger shivered, clutching her broken leg. "Do you really want to kill me?"

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. You should know that by now!

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Two Words

She had a broken leg, her back propped up against the wall and the remains of her snapped wand in her hand. Her school robes were torn and split up her leg, giving me a clear view of the red pajama bottoms that she was wearing. Brave and unbreakable until the end, Granger scowled up at me, while blinking away the pain. She knew she was done for, cornered by the enemy in an empty corner of Hogwarts, when everyone on her side off fighting near and around the Great Hall. She must have been fighting one of the other Death Eaters, but had been forgotten as soon as the Dark Lord had made his appearance earlier. That hair was an absolute mess, and she had no means to defend herself.

It seemed like every story told in the Slytherin common rooms about the Golden Trio's unity and 'No person left behind' mantra was more myth than the truth. How was it possible that her best friends, loyal to the end, had left her here, where she could be raped or killed by the other side so easily? I hesitated, but I shouldn't have. This was the chance I had been waiting for, the opportunity to prove to my father that I could kill someone, that in the last Hogwarts attack I had truly been tired as I had said as an excuse for not killing Dumbledore.

It would be so easy. Say the two words that I hadn't before, while she couldn't block or dodge. I wanted to see the green flash, to feel the rush that they all talked about during Death Eater meetings. The first kill was the best, the one you always would remember, they had all promised. And with Granger as the victim, what could be better? I would be welcomed as a hero, instead of the suspicious teenage wimp who couldn't kill an old man. The benefits would be amazing. They didn't have to know that she had no way to fight back; I could lie and say she sent hex after hex at me. Revenge would be sweet. Bragging rights would be better.

She rolled her eyes dramatically as I raised my wand. She knew I was afraid, that I was nervous. I could see it in her posture, tense with pain, but relaxed against the wall. Gritting my teeth, I watched the tip of my wand, thinking the words. She was afraid too, because she knew that even if I didn't kill her, which I would, she was injured and alone. No hope. No options. No heroes to fly to her side since they were fighting their own opponents down-stairs. She was probably more afraid that she would live than anything else. This would be painless, at least. She was tired.

"Do you really think you could do it?" She asked, her voice amused and yet scared. I gulped and hated myself for it. "Murder some one? Use an Unforgivable?" I sneered at her, tightening my grip. She didn't seem to notice, or at least I couldn't tell.

"You're in no position to mock me, mudblood," I snarled, though my voice cracked halfway through 'position'. She smiled warily, as if I was young and naïve. "If you're the brain that everyone says you are, than you will shut it." Wincing slightly, Granger shifted to pull her unharmed leg underneath her.

"But it's not just a jinx or a curse," she continued as if I hadn't said anything. "It's death. There's nothing worse you could do. And you have to really mean it, really want it." She blinked at me through her hair, pulling her tattered robes tighter around her. "Do you really want to kill me?"

"Do not doubt that I want to, Granger," I fired. She smirked a defeated smirk. I wanted to shake her by her shoulders until she begged for me to pardon her, needing anything other than this acceptance and wariness that she was displaying. I didn't want to kill someone who wasn't shivering in fear. Much less Granger, who still thought herself better than me, even though the tip of my wand was pointed directly between her wide eyes.

"I'm sure you want it in theory. The fame within your circle, the small victory that makes serving a madman worthwhile. But when you're falling asleep in the middle of the night and you wonder if you chose the right life, do you want my face to come up? Do you want the guilty? You're not like them, Malfoy, I won't deny it. You have compassion for now; they haven't squeezed it out of you yet. You're only a teenager. Do you want to know that you prevented me from becoming an adult, living a life? They don't feel guilty, but you will. You're human." It hurt listening to her voice all of my thoughts from the past year, when I had been terrified of my mission to kill Dumbledore. Was it so easy to read me? Was she really that smart? But it was so true.

"Shut it, Granger," I repeated, my hand beginning to shake. She was right, I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill her. She laughed humorlessly.

"I never wanted to believe it, that you were normal. But here's all the proof. You're trembling, Malfoy, did you know that?" I glared at her, gnawing on my tongue self-consciously. "Deep inside you know that this is wrong, hurting those who can't defend themselves. Anyone could kill me right now, heck, Parkinson could Avada me right in this moment, I'm so weak. That won't make you a hero, that makes you a bully." I wanted to make her stop, to make her stop talking, to make her just faint or something. But not quiver in fear. The look on my face would prevent that.

"I said SHUT IT, GRANGER!" I yelled, already aggravated. She shrunk backwards, but she had said what she needed to. I couldn't do it. I just couldn't. Avada Kedavra. Avada Kedavra. Say it.

No.

Say it.

No!

Just say it!

"NO!" She blinked at me, stunned. I squeezed my eyes shut out of embarrassment. No. I wasn't strong enough, that was the truth. The honest to goodness Gryffindor truth. "You're lucky that no one worse got to you, Granger," I added quietly, before lowering my wand and reopening my eyes. She smiled slightly, though it was more of a grimace than anything else. "Let me heal your leg." She watched me wordlessly as I crouched down beside her and slid up her pant leg. She was bruised, badly. It was a wonder that she hadn't fainted, so I worked quickly.

"Thanks," she whispered as I stood up again. I shrugged it off before giving her a final nod and leaving her.

Blaise looked ready to burst with glee once we were safely back at the fortress, the mission being a failier. Potter hadn't given up and hardly any of the Order members had died. The Dark Lord had admitted defeat around three in the morning, and he was back to square one. No one knew that I had met up with Granger at all.

"What's got you so excited?" I asked quietly as I nursed a burn on the side of my arm. He laughed sinisterly, his smirk daunting. It was a rare sight to see Blaise smile at all, even more so to see him ecstatic.

"You won't believe you I killed tonight!" I gulped, but concentrated on my wound. There was no way that what I was thinking was the truth. She wasn't that stupid. He went on without prompting. "I caught Golden Granger limping around that secret entrance to Hogsmeade." My blood ran cold. "Let's just say that before she died I made sure she wasn't so golden anymore."

My jaw dropped in panic. There was no way. She would have been better off if I had killed her, at least I wouldn't have… defiled her or anything. The one good thing I had ever done for anyone had been the worst thing that I had ever done. Period. A large lump grew in my throat and I could only wave Blaise off, not trusting myself to speak.

A month later I went to the Order. They didn't trust me until I told them the truth about how I had treated Granger during the attack, and then how horrified I had been when I had learned what Blaise had done. Weasley and Potter had been so livid at his method of torture that they had wanted to go and storm off and kill him. I had held them back, know that would be stupid, and eventually we formed our own lopsided triangle. Soon after we three came across Blaise during a raid, and they let me take the honor of finishing him off.

Avada Kedavra.

The thought of Granger's demise gave me all of the anger I had ever needed.

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A/N: That came out really dark, didn't it? But it was exactly what I needed to write, since I have writer's block now. Anyway, must go prepare for the movies.

Good enough for a review?

Final Word Count: 1616