A\N: Sorry for the long wait, we were both away at camps last week! Draco and Hermione are a little OOC, but it's a dramione story, so it's pretty hard to keep them in character. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 7

Draco heard running footsteps as he walked down the hall on his way to see Professor Quirrel. He had a couple questions he wanted to ask, as finals were coming up and his parents expected the best from him. He ducked around the corner and saw Hermione running down the hall. Now was his chance. Hermione must have been too distracted to notice Draco running behind her. She didn't even notice that he was there until he spoke.

"Hey!" Draco paused, "where are you running off to?"

Hermione was startled; why would Draco talk to her? He hated her, didn't he?

"I'm just going off to talk to Harry and Ron," she replied in an airy tone.

"In such a hurry?" Draco curiously asked, "it must be important. Why don't you talk to me about this super important thing? I could be your friend..." Draco added this last part under his breath so Hermione wouldn't hear.

Hermione hid her surprised face. "Why would you want to talk to me? I'm a muggle-born, a disgrace to you pureblood wizards," she said in a mocking tone.

"Why do you think I would think that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Not everyone is as smart as you, Hermione."

Hermione was completely baffled. Draco had just complimented her, and had used her first name. She would have loved to stay and investigate, but she was in rush and she needed to go.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'll be off to tell Harry and Ron about..." she cut herself off and turned to leave.

"About what?" Draco asked, "come on Granger! I can't stop you without getting myself into trouble and I would have done that already if I wanted to!"

Hermione was silent, she decided Draco wasn't going to let her go until he knew what was going on. Could he actually be nice and trying to help, or was this just another trap? She looked back over at him and stared into his grey eyes. He seemed to be sincere. She made her decision and she knew that Ron and Harry would be furious with her if they ever found out. Something about him really made her want to befriend him.

"Well, I'm really taking a leap of faith here. I'm actually trusting you on this. If you ever tell anyone, I won't hesitate to jinx you to Timbuktu. Are we clear?"

Draco didn't know where Timbuktu was, but he figured it was pretty far away. He nodded, his gray eyes glimmering.

"Well, Harry, Ron, and I are trying to find out as much as we can about the Philosopher's Stone. We know that three headed dog is guarding it, but we think someone is trying to steal it. We need to find it before they do!" Hermione explained.

"Do you need help?" Draco hesitantly asked.

"Only if you have information. Harry and Ron would kill me if they knew I talked to you, they would probably bring me back to life and kill me again if they knew I had asked you for help! If you do decide to help, speak up! I have to go or they'll get worried and come looking for me." She turned and started walking.

Draco realized she was leave and jogged over to catch up to her. "Wait! I'll help. I know that the Philosopher's Stone can make you immortal. The Dark Lord must be after it, but he's gone, isn't he? Could you imagine if he came back? My father would have told me if he had. Anyways, if you just play that dog some music, it'll go to sleep right away! I read something about them in a book from my library at the Manor."

"Thanks, Mal- um, Draco. I'll see you around. Remember, don't you even dare tell anyone about this!" with that, she briskly walked towards the Gryffindor common room.

As Hermione left, Draco smiled to himself. He had finally talked to one of the smartest, and probably the friendliest girl in his year. The buck teeth and the bushy hair could use some improvement, but that didn't matter to him at that moment.

Hermione thought about what Draco had said about the dog. She didn't know whether to trust him or not. It was their only lead, she may as well try it. She uttered the password and stepped through the portrait hole. Harry and Ron were sitting in the squishy armchairs by the fire.

"Harry, grab your Cloak and that flute Hagrid got you for Christmas! We've got to go, I'll explain on the way there," Hermione ordered. They started for the portrait hole.

"Stop!' Neville yelled, "you guys can't just keep sneaking around and losing us points! If you get caught, we'll never win the House Cup!"

"Sorry Neville, Petrificus totalus! Hermione waved her wand and Neville fell to the ground, arms and legs bound to his sides. They hurried out under the Cloak, into the corridor.

"Mal- Dr- I read in this book at the library that if you play music for that dog, it will fall asleep! So all we have to do is play it some music. I can charm the flute to play itself so we don't have to worry about it waking up. Ready?" she looked expectantly at the two boys. They both nodded, and Hermione cast the spell and pushed the large door open.

Surprisingly, the dog was already asleep. A charmed harp sat in the corner of the room. Hermione charmed the flute anyways, and it began to play.

"Snape must have been here already. We have to watch out for him. Come on, help me lift this paw!" Hermione wheezed under the weight of the huge paw that was resting on the trap door. It creaked loudly as they pried the trap door open. They peered down into the darkness.

"Well, here goes nothing!" Harry said as he jumped down. Ron and Hermione followed. They all landed on a large plant that seemed to be growing all around the entire room, covering the floor.

"What is this?!" Ron asked, panicking as a vine wound itself around his leg. He began to thrash around, trying to get it off, but it only seemed to grip him tighter. Hermione's mind raced.

"It's Devil's Snare! Harry, Ron! Just relax and it'll let you go!" Harry and Hermione relaxed, and the plant let them go. This, however, seemed to make Ron panic even more. He struggled as much as he could. Hermione anxiously muttered to herself.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare, it's deadly fun but will sulk in the sun.. that's it! We need a fire! But... there's no wood!"

"HERMIONE! Are you a wizard or what?! Use your wand!" Ron and Harry yelled.

"Oh, right! Lumos Solem!"

A jet of blindingly bright light shot out from her wand and hit the plant above them. It shriveled up and Ron fell through the dried vines.

"Thanks Hermione, I would have died!" Ron breathlessly said.

They continued down the dark chamber. Hermione had tried to use her wand to conjure some light, but it kept going out. BANG! All three students froze.

"Sorry guys, I just hit the door. I couldn't see anything!" Ron sheepishly said.

Annoyed, Hermione entered the next room. She gasped.

"Harry! Look at those things flying around! What are they?" Hermione asked in awe.

"They're keys! One of them must open the next door! Look, there's a broom, I could catch it right away!" Harry excitedly pointed at an old broom in the corner.

"You've got this Harry!" Ron encouragingly said.

"Well, do you guys know which key fits?" Hermione smugly asked.

"Umm... erm.. we don't know," Ron answered dejectedly.

"Well, obviously someone has been here before us, and they must have passed through, so they must have caught the right key! All we have to do is find the key that has been caught already!" Hermione explained.

"Look at that one! It's got a broken wing!" Harry pointed out.

He hopped on the broom, and all the keys started flying around faster than they had before. Harry wildly looked around, spotting the key and pretending he was in a Quidditch match, and that the key was the Snitch. He dived, and caught the key in his hand. All of a sudden, the other keys started attacking them! Hermione grabbed the key and unlocked the door, shoving the two boys through before slamming it behind her.

They all breathed a sigh of relief, only to turn around and find a giant chessboard.

Draco tossed and turned in his bed. He couldn't stop worrying about Hermione. He wished he could have done more! To reassure himself, he decided that is he were to become her friend, he would have to be nicer to Weasley and Potter. His mind snapped back to reality as he thought of all the trouble those two boys caused for Hermione. He really hoped she was alright.

The trio had tried to walk across the board, but the pieces didn't let them pass.

"We have to play, and we have to win!" Ron said, sounding excited and nervous, "you don't think this is like REAL wizard's chess, do you?"

"Let's find out! Ron, what places should we take?"

"Umm, Hermione, you take the rook, Harry, you take the bishop, and I... I'll be a knight," Ron stuttered.

Ron commanded for a pawn to move, testing to see what would happen. The white pawn drew his swords and plunged them into the stone pawn, shattering it into a million tiny pieces. Hermione screamed.

"Well, I guess it is like real wizards chess, let's give this a try," Ron said, mustering up his confidence.

The game went on, and every time a chess piece was shattered, Hermione cringed. She was glad that Ron had the sense to not put any of them into danger. The number of broken pieces grew and grew, when she finally heard Harry yell, "Ron! No! You can't!"

"What? Ron can't what, Harry?" Hermione yelled in a panicked tone.

"He's going to sacrifice himself!"

"If I make this move, we win!" Ron reasoned.

Before either of the other two could do anything, Ron stepped forward.

"Check."

The white queen swung her sword at Ron, knocking him unconscious. Hermione screamed. The remaining two of the trio nearly made a move to check on Ron, but they remembered the game was still going. Harry moved to the position Ron had told him to and said, "checkmate." His voice rang out loud and clear, and after a moment of silence, the king's sword fell from his hands and fell to the ground.

Hermione ran over to Ron. He was still alive, and was starting to regain consciousness.

"You two go on, I'll be fine here. See you in a bit," Ron weakly said.

Hermione and Harry entered the next room, where a giant mountain troll lay, thankfully, already unconscious. They silently walked around it and entered the next chamber.

In the dim light, they could see a table with many bottles on it and a piece of parchment. Hermione walked up to it and grabbed the parchment, reading it aloud.

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,

One among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move onwards neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.

"Brilliant, really," Hermione said, smiling, "this is a logic puzzle! Lots of famous wizards have no logic, they would be stuck here forever!"

"I'm sure you have heaps of logic, Hermione!" Harry excitedly said.

"Of course, just give me a moment!"

She muttered under her breath, rearranging the bottles.

A few moments later, she handed one bottle to Harry. "This will get you where you need to go. Someone has already taken most of it, so there's only enough for you. I'll take this one and go back to find Ron."

"Hermione, you're a better wizard than me! I need you to come with me," Harry said.

"Harry, you're a great wizard. Me? I'm all books and cleverness. You? You're brave, Harry. I know you can do this! I'll see you soon?"

"See you soon."

And with that, they downed their potions, both of them shuddering as the potion went down their throats. Harry walked forwards, and Hermione was transported back to the room with the troll. She hurried back to the giant chessboard. Ron had sat up, looking dazed.

"Is Harry alright?"

"Yeah, I got him through to the next chamber. Here, let me see those cuts."

Hermione healed some of the minor cuts, when she heard someone enter the room. She sprung up, wand at the ready, but relaxed when she saw Dumbledore and many other teachers by his side. She ran over and explained what had happened and where Harry was. Dumbledore nodded and continued into the next chamber. The other teachers took Ron and Hermione back up into the castle, and put them in the hospital wing.

"Here, drink this," Madame Pomfrey shoved a potion into her hand. She downed it, and fell asleep right away.

Draco awoke to the sound of Theo slamming their door open.

"Guys! Potter and his two friends battled the Dark Lord last night! They got beat up so bad, they're still in the hospital wing!"

Draco sprung up from bed and got changed, then ran down to the Great Hall. Sure enough, he couldn't spot the trio at the breakfast table. He cast a disillusionment charm on himself (he had learned that from his father) and snuck into the Hospital Wing.

He spotted Hermione, who looked perfectly fine. She seemed to be sleeping. He breathed a sigh of relief, and ducked out of the Wing, back to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Hermione opened her eyes. Where was she? The memories of the previous night flooded back to her. She sat up, and saw Harry and Ron in the hospital beds next to her. Madame Pomfrey noticed she was awake and hurried over to make sure everything healed okay. She gave Hermione a nod, dismissing her from the Wing. Hermione hopped out of bed and headed up for breakfast.

After she stuffed herself with the array of gourmet breakfast foods, she headed to the library to try and find Draco. It felt weird to be thinking his first name. She entered the library, seeing him alone by a bookshelf.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat loudly. He spotted her, and followed her into the deserted corridor. She told him all about what had happened the night before.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright. And... I guess it's good that Potter and Weasley are too," Draco hesitantly said.

"Well, I'm going to check on them now. I'll see you around."

"Yeah, see you."

Hermione entered the Hospital Wing.

"Hermione! You're alright!" Ron exclaimed. He already finished his breakfast, and was hungrily eying Harry's.

"Come on, let's go to the Great Hall, I'm sure they have more food! It's almost time for lunch, anyways," Hermione said. They headed out with one last glance at Harry, still fast asleep.

After Ron fully satisfied his appetite, Harry walked into the Great Hall. He grinned at them.

"Harry! How are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?"

"Fine, I guess. Pretty full."

"Hermione?"

"Never better."

And with that, Harry sat down and joined them, chatting lightheartedly.

That night at dinner, Dumbledore stood to make an announcement.

"Due to recent events, exams have been cancelled!"

Everyone cheered, except Hermione. She had been excited for finals, and she had been studying very hard for the last month. Draco noticed, and smiled to himself. She really was a piece of work. He, however, was glad they had been cancelled, for he had not been studying as hard as he should have. He cheered with his friends, and returned to their dinner.

Hermione didn't want to leave Hogwarts. Sure, she would see her parents and her best friend, and she would go camping, but the school had become her second home. She would miss Harry terribly, maybe she would even miss Ron. And then there was Draco. She would miss him a little as well.

Everyone boarded the train. Harry was talking to Hagrid, and Ron already found them a compartment. She dragged her stuff onto the train and sat down with Ron, Harry joining them soon after. She got up and left the compartment, wanting to find Draco to say goodbye. She found him in a compartment with many other Slytherins. She gave him a look, and continued walking down the aisle. Draco followed behind her.

"Thanks again, for all your help," Hermione said, "maybe we can be friends?"

"It's a bit of a stretch, seeing as you're friends with Potter, but I think we can work something out."

The shook hands. "To new beginnings!" Hermione said

"To new beginnings."

So. This is the last chapter for book one. We will most likely get into the second book sometime in the next two weeks. Stay tuned!