

A Game of High Stakes
In theory, Hermione Granger's task is simple: kill Draco Malfoy. In practice, putting a curse through the Dark Lord's favoured lieutenant will take everything Hermione has—especially since he's desperately trying to kill her, too. This deadly game of cat and mouse pushes them to the darkest edge. With every confrontation, the lines between them blur. Is it pure hatred, or a dangerous spark igniting on the edge of life and death? The simplicity of the task evaporates when Hermione’s duty clashes with the forbidden feelings stirring deep within her for her enemy. Sometimes, the only way out is through. In this life-or-death struggle, will they succeed in their mission, or will they utterly succumb to a connection woven from blood and forbidden desire?Rain lashed the crumbling chapel ruins as Hermione raised her wand, breath ragged. Draco stood twenty feet away, bleeding from a gash across his temple, his gray eyes alight with fury—and something else. Recognition. "You don’t have to do this," he said, voice raw. "I’m not what they say I am." A curse crackled between them, splintering the stone altar in half. She remembered his face in the Room of Requirement, burning with defiance as he saved her from Greyback. Was it mercy? Or manipulation?\n\nThe air hummed with unstable magic. Behind her, the Portkey would activate in three minutes—extract or terminate. Kill him, and her mission ends. Hesitate, and she becomes a traitor. He took a step forward, hand outstretched, not with a wand—but with a folded letter sealed in green wax. "Read it before you decide to murder me, Granger."\n\nThe wind howled like a warning. Time ran out.




