Forget

A/N: Yayyy! I'm going to attempt a story that's not dundundun! a oneshot. This will actually, with hope, contain many chapters. And guess what? Shock on top of shock, it's a straight pairing. Chyeah. I'm surprised to. You have Dee Dee to thank for that, though. She issued the lovely challenge that jumped out, bit me on the nose, and ran away~ far~ far into the distance. I'm chasing it now. So, the setting is a sort of AU. This is what the war would be like, if it carried on past Harry's 7th year. Hermione is twenty. I've taken a few other liberties as well~ hopefully I won't be murdered for them.

The world had gone to Hell. The sky, overhead, was a crimson red, dotted with silver and streaked with a ghost of grey. Shouts rent the air. Sparks flew. To his left. To his right. Every colour of the rainbow. He was filled with a child like fascination. Were he not who he was, should he not remember himself, he might have lowered his wand to walk through the showers of red- blue- green- yellow. But it was battle. He, the fallen right hand man of Lord Voldemort, would not lay down his wand. Could not afford to lay down his wand. There was no time for such foolishness...never mind those bloody, mesmerizing flickers...

With difficulty, he wrenched his gaze away from the air.

Nothing had changed. Wizards continued to duel. Green on red. Red on green. Aurors and Death Eaters. Death Eaters and Aurors. They cast their spells nonverbally, or else shouted them to the skies above, meaningless war cries that made no difference, but made all the difference in the world. He watched a man, a rookie Auror and a scrapper among his battle hardened colleagues, fall to his knees. He clutched his face, yet blood flowed freely, perhaps fatally, from beneath his fingertips, and Lucius was forced to realize, if only vaguely, that he was lucky to still be unscathed.

What was wrong with him? Lowering his guard like that. As if to make up for it, he raised his wand, flicked it, and down went the familiar face of Neville Longbottom. Lucius allowed himself a smirk. The howls that issued from the boy's mouth were terrible, but bracing. Better yet, they served to awaken him to the situation at hand.

He moved forward. "You realize, Longbottom, that they are using you?" he asked in a calm, carrying voice. "For your number. I do not believe the Aurors have recruited so desperately since...well, the last time. Were they not in this position, they would never have accepted you...would not have thought twice about it, I daresay..." he felt nothing as he spoke. The words were empty...but the look in Longbottom's eye: the pained, half believing look...that was priceless. The howls were gone, replaced by the sight of a twitching, thrashing bit of human at his feet. Oh, that was not fun. It ought to be disposed of...

Lucius raised his wand to do so.

"Leave him alone!" Hermione Granger had come barreling onto the scene, out of seemingly no where, though that was hardly surprising. Her lot seemed talented at that, Lucius reflected. She had placed herself before him, shielding Longbottom, who groaned what might have been a warning. "Leave...him be."

"That's very brave of you," he purred. "very Gryffindor, really. Tell me," He stepped forward. And that was when he noticed she did not go to retrieve her wand. Did she not have it? Had she lost it in the battle? The idea was delicious. Now was the time to test it. With the swiftness of any snake, he threw a hand out, and caught her by the throat.

"Unh..." she gasped, her eyes flashing. She had raised a hand of her own, which she now used to prise his fingers off, but it was no use. They were like iron bands, fixed firmly around her neck, biting into her skin.

Lucius watched with some fascination as her eyes flashed with anger, then glossed over with tears. He licked his lips, lost his train of thought for a fraction of a second, before regaining it again. "tell me, girl, what makes you think that I would place any more value on your life than his? That your mere presence would be enough to stop me from killing him? Because it wouldn't, you know." His fingers tightened their hold, tightening, tightening, tightening with every word. "It would not. I'm sure you've forgotten: being Potter's lap pet would do that - but you are a Mudblood, with a worth that's less than the dirt at my feet."

She swayed on her feet. With the flow of oxygen greatly restricted, she was quite near unconsciousness. If he held on a moment longer she would fall under. If he held on a minute after that, she would die.

Silver eyes met brown, because Lucius, unlike his fellows, wasn't afraid to look into the face of death. But before her's could lock into a death mask, before he could feel her life give out underneath his fingers, the ground shook. He tore his gaze away from her's, but he didn't let go.

No, he didn't let go. Not until the world exploded around them.

Screams.

Madness.

Nothing.

A/N: ...Yeah. xD That was probably really bad! I'm sorry. All I can say in my defense is that...24 hours without sleep isn't a good thing! Don't do it, boys n' girls. Anyway. Read, review, tell me you love me, tell me you hate me...whatever! It's all good.