A/N: Wow, I'm sorry! I had been so busy with school and Finals and all that junk that I had no time to continue this story. At least, continue it and make it interesting and not trashy. I will be updating as steadily as I can now, since it's the summer and I have a steady supply of WiFi and fresh air. Enjoy!
~o0o~
"No, Ron, you do it like this."
Ron made a sound like a dying walrus. "I'm trying, 'Mione, but unfortunately I'm not as smart as you-"
"Finally admit I'm smarter?" Hermione raised her eyebrows. She picked up her fork again and continued on eating her roast beef.
Ron shoved a large piece of roasted potato into his mouth, still trying to concentrate on his Astrology homework. "I'm tewwing yew, I dunno aww thews eqwasions abouwt pwanets and evewythin'-"
"Ron, I can't understand you."
He swallowed the food in his mouth, and continued. "Harry's not the smart one, and for one, I'm definitely not. You're the smartest, and it's not getting any easier trying to memorize all the patterns of some pieces of rocks in the sky or whatnot." He grunted shortly and grabbed a chicken leg, biting into it savagely.
Hermione slightly blushed. "Book smart, Ron, that's all I am and nothing else," she stammered embarrassedly.
All she got was a skeptical "hmm" and more chewing.
"Anyways," the witch continued, raising her head to look at the tables, now slowly emptying. The sleepy laughter of students slowly decreased as more and more of them went on to their common rooms for a restful slumber. "We have to get going. For-you know..."
Ron immediately caught her drift, and hummed in discontent. "We'll have to be discreet, so the Toad or her accomplices don't catch us."
"Agreed." They slowly stood up, and tried to walk out as casually as possible. Harry had been absent at dinner, and so had most of Dumbledore's Army. Luna walked near the two in a slightly faster pace. When she had caught up, she sighed dreamily.
"Hey, Loo-Luna," Hermione greeted her fellow accomplice. She nodded, and smiled back. Ron gave a simple "hey" and a quick hand movement Hermione registered as a wave.
"Harry told me to tell you two to go to the Gryffindor Common Room first," Luna started, her voice filled with the usual misty quality, "and get something of his. I don't exactly remember what it was...a cape?" Her eyes wandered to the ceiling, then scrunched up slightly as she smiled again. "Oh well, I'm guessing you two would know what it is. See you at the R.O.R.!" She said all this in a quiet and a little quick pace, and drifted to a corner where she continued on walking.
"Since when did Harry have a cape-oh, the cloak," Ron mused. "I guess we have to get on going."
Hermione nodded as they stopped in front of the Fat Lady. "Wartizome essence."
The painting swung forward in a fast manner, which whacked Ron on his forehead and nose. He hadn't fallen down, but looked dazed.
"You alright, Ron?"
"Mmph."
They stepped into the Gryffindor chambers, fireplace blazing, casting a golden light on the overstuffed armchairs. Only a slight ripple in the air above the chair on the far right told the pair that the Invisibility Cloak was in place.
Ron took a large gait and grabbed the cloak faster than a striking cobra. Hermione suddenly felt his warm breath on her shoulder as the cloak cascaded on top of them like a thick flurry of snow. She shivered against the solid body of Ron. He shifted uncomfortably. The cloak barely covered his tall stature.
"You alright, 'Mione?" he copied her previous tone of voice teasingly; however, she felt the nervousness oozing from his voice.
"I should ask you the same question. Again." She smirked at the ginger-haired boy now rolling his eyes.
"Never mind," he grumbled, eyes shining with humour. "I shouldn't have asked."
They walked together, in unison, and swung the painting open.
The Fat Lady made a small choking sound. "Who's there?" she trembled.
The pair held their breaths.
"Oh well, must have been the wind." The Fat Lady started to trot into another painting, muttering about the drafty weather and open windows.
When she was out of sight, their breaths were released, Hermione slightly panting in obvious relief. No matter how many times they had broken the rules, it always felt slightly wrong, and more than slightly risky, even if it was for a supposedly good cause. She didn't get the same adrenaline rush the boys got from this troublemaking.
"Why so jumpy?" Ron whispered joyously. She softly punched him in the arm, holding in a laugh. Her face of shock had blossomed into a gracious smile.
"Nothing you would know," she chortled gently. "Come on, let's hurry. We don't want Mrs. Norris to round up the corner."
It was then, slinking around the castle grounds, invisible to anyone in sight except her companion, that Hermione finally pondered about, well, everything: her grades, Hogwarts, her parents, her friends. Malfoy.
Why was that topic getting stuck in her head? What he had done just last night, that was simply to save his own skin. To get rid of the evidence against her when the suspicion regarding the giant hole in the wall came to the students.
It didn't change the fact that she was grateful. Beyond grateful, in fact.
That hole! The explosion! If Ron wasn't right next to her, breathing softly, smelling like his usual scent of cinnamon and hints of spearmint, she would hit herself for her stupidity. She obviously wasn't thinking straight that night. Food poisoning, perhaps? But the house elves were very careful preparing the food, it was very unlikely-"
Ron's head turned to look curiously at a stormy and faraway Hermione, grumbling to herself and unconsciously pinching her arm.
"What in Merlin's bloody name are you doing?"
The witch flinched at the unexpected remark. Her cheeks darkened to a deep rosy color. "Oh, just thinking," she muttered. "You know, about stuff."
An eyebrow rose. "Stuff?" he prodded Hermione sarcastically. "Oh, sure, be distant, like you weren't doing that all week already-"
She hissed at Ron and slammed him to the wall, slapping her hand at his mouth violently. His pupils slightly dilated in anger, but shrank even further as he gazed upon the same thing Hermione had spotted a few seconds earlier.
Blaise Zabini. Ron's eyes foretold the same question she had: what was he doing monitoring the halls this late?
The dark-skinned boy swept around, cloak billowing like dark smoke rising from the fire set by his eyes smoldering with anger. He actually did look ticked off, at least, more than usual.
"I knew that Hufflepuff was bluffing," he snarled. "Was probably a diversion for others to sneak in."
Blaise started to pace around in a circle. Hermione was trying her hardest to inhale and exhale as softly as she could.
"At least the kid's got guts. I wouldn't have expected it from a Hufflepuff," he smirked. She felt Ron's hands clench into fists of fury. "Oh well. I guess we have to discipline him to not lie to his superiors, eh?" He chuckled darkly to himself, and quickly disappeared into the shadows.
Ron and Hermione waited thirty seconds more until they could breathe normally.
"Thanks, 'Mione." The boy smiled affectionately, like a brother to a sister. "Couldn't have done it without you."
"Mmph," she replied crossly, but continued to walk, this time with more vigor. They had lost valuable time, but, more importantly, had most possibly found about a possible snitch in the Army.
A few more twists and turns later led them to a door, the door that led to the Room of Requirements. Ron nodded, and threw off the cloak. It was too dark to see anyone from ten feet away, anyways. Hermione quickly muttered the password for the door, and it smoothly opened without a creak. They slipped inside, and shut the door, so it seemed like nothing had walked those halls since curfew.
It was against their luck, however, that a figure had been intently watching them from the shadows, and giggled quietly at her newfound discovery. Perhaps it was luck that she didn't know who the pair was, but all she knew was that they were in a boatload of trouble.
"You guys made it!" Neville cried out exuberantly. The atmosphere suddenly lifted from anxious to relieved and impatient for the next lesson. Much to their convenience, the whole room was soundproofed.
Neville ran up to the sheepish pair and hugged them tightly. "I'm glad you're okay.
"Oi, Neville, can you let go?" Ron gasped for air. The stout boy let go, clearly ashamed and red-faced.
"Sorry," he tried to say, but was drowned out in other yells of greetings and salutes from the rest of Dumbledore's Army.
Harry stood up from a chair, grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Well," he clapped his hands, eyes glimmering like a child ready to steal a cookie from his unsuspecting mother. "Are we ready?"
The crowd cheered enthusiastically, sparks flying into the air.
"Tonight," Harry continued to explain, "We'll continue on perfecting our Patronuses!"
Mainly cheers went out, but a few soft groans emitted from those who still couldn't conjure a Patronus at all.
"Let's-" Harry quickly cast his Patronus, a silvery stag, and smiled proudly. "-begin."
The whole room erupted in organized chaos, shouting and laughing at each other as people toppled over their Patronuses, remembering happy memories, flickering images of their Patroni floating in the air. Ron had a thin film of his, and Hermione's disappeared and appeared suddenly. It was a bit hard to make out, but she could tell it was an otter.
She concentrated as hard as she could, trying to remember happy memories.
Her grades. Getting amazing scores in the last four years; but that wasn't enough.
Hogwarts. Just thinking about learning magic still made her burst with excitement, but it wasn't enough to conjure a strong Patronus.
Her parents and friends. Amplified laughter ran through her mind, of holding hands with her mum and dad at the beach, at home playing hide and seek at an early age, at discovering the library for the first time, first meeting Harry and Ron in that fateful encounter trying to find Neville's toad, all their wild and crazy adventures. Hermione tried to put the darker thoughts like Voldemort aside, but didn't have to try: she was already warm all around with happiness.
Just as she was about to spew out the incantation, more recent memories flashed through her mind. That meeting with Draco at Hogsmeade. The roses and the card. His cheeks tinged with the slightest pink. Their fights and quabbles and him carrying her, injured, all the way to the Slytherin common room, to keep her safe and heal her for the next morning.
It all meant nothing, she quickly tried to think, but it was too late as the defiant cry of "Expecto Patronum!" left her lips.
The tip of her wand sprouted silvery light, bubbling thickly like froth on ocean waves, and a perfectly-formed otter Patronus swam across the air. Every movement and sound in the room dimmed into an awed silence. The otter lazily swam across the nonexistent sea until it disappeared with the flick of Hermione's wand.
Amidst the silence, someone started to clap. The clap was joined by another, and more and more joined in until a symphony of uproarious congratulations swept over the entire room. It was especially Luna, Neville, Ron and Harry that were laughing, Neville jittering in place, Harry absolutely beaming, Ron shouting "Oi, she did it!" louder than anyone, Luna smiling wider than Hermione had ever seen. She was overtaken in a sense of accomplishment and pride, but was mostly abashed. How embarrassing!
"It was only a Patronus, guys," she mumbled at the four friends. They shook their heads simultaneously.
"Casting a full-strength Patronus isn't easy, 'Mione," Harry chuckled.
Ron shoved his ebony-haired friend playfully. "Yeah, this brute just likes to show off, bein' the Chosen One and all."
"Yeah, Hermione, you were great," Neville gushed, "I haven't even come close to a fully-formed Patronus!"
Luna didn't say anything, but her look said it all: anything worth saying was already said. Her encouraging smile was unwavering.
Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She didn't even remember about what Blaise had said in the corridor earlier. Mostly, she didn't know if she even deserved this kind of treatment: it seemed dreamlike sometimes, like it was too good to be true. Maybe it was, or maybe it meant something was approaching.
She thought about this throughout the remaining 22 minutes of the meeting. Throughout the quiet walk back to the Gryffindor chambers. Throughout the silent changing of day clothes into pajamas and throughout slipping into bed, falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.