Burn

Burn

The 24 year old still had the same apple-shaped face. Rebecca hadn't seen her since Hogwarts, but her grinning 7th year graduate picture was still imprinted on her mind ever since Fred had sent pictures of his brothers and their friends. In that picture, Hermione Granger could well be defined as a sweet, brainy, sort of geeky, but courageous spirit that always tried to do the right thing but could always have room for fun adventure. Her brown, bushy hair that had grown rather sleek over the years hung around her shoulders, as she had cut it currently, and her wide brown eyes shimmered with sadness, although her smile was accurate and bright, waiting for the awaiting years that were to welcome her to her future.

She had been dating Ronald Weasley, since her sixth year, but they had given up on their six month relationship when they decided it was far to awkward to be dating a friend, although they were so close they lived in a small apartment building together only miles away from Bethesda. It must've been one year later after that happy spirited picture of Hermione was taken that she had killed her best friend under the control of the same evil that had killed Rebecca's parents.

It was hard to look back at the face again, without seeing the happy joy in her smile and the memories in her eyes. This time, the face that looked back at Rebecca was a sudden sullen one, something old and too hard to regonize. The same features defined her pyhsically of course, but that was all. There were no smile, no twinkles in her eyes that Rebecca could recall.

"You're going to ask questions aren't you? That's why you brought me here in the first place. Everybody wants to ask questions. But they never can handle the answers," said the brown haired former Gryffindor bitterly.

Rebecca took a deep hard breath. "I just have one question."

Hermione looked back at her, narrowing her eyes, and slowly nodding her head for her to continue.

Rebecca Walkins had never felt so guilty in her life. After she had discovered the culprit was Hermione Granger, she had stopped the crucio curse on Edward and put him under a strong memory charm and sent him home by portkey.

Now they were sitting on armchairs, chatting awkwardly in her small apartment.

She had never been so disloyal to the ministry before, and it made her weak in the knees. But she needed to do this. She didn't want to kill the death eaters before they died. She wanted to know why, why they ruined lives and couldn't go on with their own, she wanted them to regain some misery and tell her exactly why, before she killed them or sent them to Azkaban.

But this was different. A courageous Gryffindor that had killed her best friend, and gotten the dark mark, the same dark mark controlled by the most evil sorceror there lived, who killed her other best friend's parents? It was far too complicated for her to understand, and Rebecca was hesitant to punish her without knowing.

"Why?" she merely asked.

Hermione glared at her, making Rebecca rejoice slightly.

"Why? Why? Because, because it's better to try living then be a weak son of a bitch and die. I needed to talk to you...that instant that you caught me, I was sure you would capture me and send me off to Azkaban. I was about to runaway, Bec, at the last minute, but when you took me to your house, I have some faith left. I don't want to live this life anymore, and I didn't want to live it from the start. But they forced me...sometimes they have me under the curse so bad, I hardly know who I'm killing...like some kind of powerful source of evil washing over me...they know I'm smart...that's ...that's why they chose me."

There was a long silence before Rebecca broke the ice.

"Why'd you call me Bec? How'd you know..." her voice faded slightly, and she frowned.

Hermione looked down at her feet and murmured, "He has pictures of you, with your name imprinted under it sometimes."

Rebecca gasped. "The Dark Lord? Voldemort?"

Hermione laughed. "No, Malfoy."

Becky's forehead crinkled at the sudden name. "Mal- Dray- Malfoy? Draco Malfoy?"

"Yes. He told me...well all he told me when he caught me looking at them was that he was responsible for the sudden deaths of your parents and that you - you were his girlfriend back then."

"You- you work with him. Where is that mother fucker?" The words came out before Rebecca had time to conceal them, but to her surprise, the death eater across from her laughed.

"I - I can't tell..if I do, I might get in trouble. But I live with him...he and I are partners...he controls me sometimes..." Hermione shuddered.

Rebecca awkwardly patted her shoulder.

"He's still alive," Rebecca said, her words coming out in disbelief. There was a long silence, and several minutes passed by as Hermione watched her, observing.

Finally, Rebecca spoke. "Look, we both need something, Hermione. You need a new life, to start over. And I - I need revenge."

"What do you mean?" she answered slowly.

"It's true. He killed my parents...I can't live without knowing the one responsible is still living, enjoying his life while killing innocent muggleborns and forcing you to do the same. I can turn you in, and I know the Ministry won't give you a trial. But...well, this might come weird from an Auror, but you have to trust me...if you do me a big favor, I'll...I'll get you a new identity..a new life."

"What do I have to do?" Hermione asked, her voice was anxious and excited at the same time.

Rebecca gave her a reassuring smile and said, "You have to destroy Draco."

"What? I can't, Bec, he's far too powerful..."

"Of course not, silly! You need to get into his weakness and make him weary before you hand him over to me."

"Exactly what do you have in mind?" said Hermione reluctantly.

Rebecca paused. "What I'm trying to say..'Mione is that..."

Another pause. Then, she continued to speak.

"I need you to seduce Draco Malfoy."