Sorry for the wait! Moved back to Uni and life has been crazy. Hope you like this chapter! :)


Hermione still couldn't make sense of what Malfoy had said when she woke up the following morning. He'd made it clear that he didn't want to help them, but for some reason he was destroying horcruxes. The whole thing was a paradox! But Hermione had decided to just accept his help and start looking for the next horcrux. Malfoy did not have her trust though. Hell no, she would keep her eyes on him night and day.

However, Malfoy was nowhere to be seen until midday when he suddenly appeared behind and made her jump.

"Merlin's beard Malfoy!" she shouted as she caught her breath. "Where the hell did you come from?"

He shrugged and sat down.

"I've figured out that there's a horcrux in Hogwarts, but I have no idea of what it could be. Any ideas?"

"How did you figure that out?" she answered.

"It wasn't difficult, as soon as the Dark Lord found out that his minions had lost track of a fugitive in the area he went berserk and sent some more Death Eaters to guard the castle. I suppose it was you they were chasing?"

"Maybe." Hermione said as she stared at Draco with a suspicious frown. "Why were you here when I arrived if you didn't know there was a horcrux here yet?"

"None of your business."

And that was left at that. Hermione started counting the horcruxes that she knew of.

"Well he used the diary first, the one that controlled Ginny during second year."

"That much was obvious" Malfoy spat, and Hermione continued whilst glaring at him.

"Then there was the ring."

"What ring?"

"Marvolo Gaunt's ring. Dumbledore destroyed it during the summer of our fourth year. We've also found Salazar Slytherin's locket, Harry should have it." Her voice died as she thought of her two friends and a horrible ball of fear grew in her stomach.

"So what's alike in all of these objects?" asked Malfoy, unaware of her worries. "The Dark Lord can be weirdly womanly, there must be a similarity. Like he wanted it all to be incorporated into a pattern."

"Womanly?"

"Yeah, you should see how he pets his snake, it's gross."

"But a pattern?"

"He likes things to be… finished. You know, all loose ends disappear and all must fall into line."

"Oh," she cringed before going back to her counting of the horcruxes. "Well the ring was a family heirloom so it had importance to him, and the diary was very personal as well."

"So we're looking for a personal object?" Malfoy furrowed his brow in thought. "That could be anything!"

"Not necessarily," she answered as she finally sat down besides him. "They're also both powerful. The diary was a piece of his history, and therefor it could contain a piece of his soul intact for a very long time. Same for the ring; it was an incredibly old artifact with natural powers."

"So we're looking for something powerful with a lot of history?"

"Most likely," she answered. "Preferably something he thought would be important enough to hold his soul. Something old and powerful, if only by meaning."

"But what could possibly be important to him in Hogwarts?"

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Malfoy jumped up with a cry of victory.

"What?!" Hermione all but nearly screamed at him in surprise. "Can't you talk like a normal person?!"

"Salazar's locket!" he said as he ignored her. "It was powerful, had a long history and the Dark Lord would want a pattern right? What about if he'd used one of every house's creators objects as horcruxes?"

"Of course…" Hermione whispered under her breath. Then she stood up abruptly and said: "I need to go to the library!"

What followed was something Hermione did absolutely not expect. Malfoy exploded with laughter and Hermione stared at him as he doubled up with hilarity.

"Of course Granger," he said difficultly as he tried to control himself. "When there's a problem, head to the library!"

He laughed harder before Hermione walked up to him and, hands on her hips, stated:

"You won't be laughing for much longer; you're coming with me."

Malfoy seemed to sober up and glared at her, although the tear of laughter still rolling down his cheek made his anger a lot less convincing.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because," she answered in a McGonagall's sound-alike voice, "although I hate to admit it, we work better together and we both need to destroy those horcruxes. And going to the library will help."

Malfoy lip twitched as he held back a second fit of laughter, and Hermione added to herself: "And because I don't want to let you out of my sight."


Gulping in disgust, Hermione made her way towards the library with Malfoy hidden besides her under the Cloak. They waited for ten whole minutes for Peeves to stop rampaging half way through the third floor before running as Death Eaters rushed towards the ruckus.

They got to the big oak doors of the old archives room unseen and stepped into the dusty, silent halls of knowledge. They sat at a table hidden behind stacks of books for several hours, skimming through heavy books containing records upon records of old artifacts. Hermione kept glancing up at Malfoy, and what she saw amazed her. Gone was the smirk and disgust on his face. He was calm and concentrated as he went through books and books all more boring than the last. His concentration didn't falter, and the only tension on his face was an intense frown.

Hermione looked back down at her book and slammed it shut angrily.

"Urgh, we're getting nowhere!"

With a sigh, Malfoy copied her.

"What would you have us do Granger?" he drawled.

"Well there must be some other way…" she said as she got up.

"Hermione Granger gives up on books," he said with an amused smile. "The world is ending today… What?"

He was looking up at Hermione as she stared at him in disbelief.

"You said my name."

"So?" he answered defensively.

"Nothing..."

"Yeah whatever. There's been something on my mind for a while though."

"What?" she asked, trying to forget the smile on his face that had replaced his usual smirk.

It was so weird to see him display anything other than hatred on that sour façade. For so many years she'd actually believed that the disgust he showed was his natural look and that he couldn't actually feel any other emotions. Apparently she was wrong; he'd only hated Harry, Ron and her so much to show them only that face. Brilliant. She was hunting down some of the most dangerous objects known to Wizardkind with someone who only knew how to openly despise her.

"Well," continued Malfoy, unaware of her inner turmoil, "What or who could have been present that long ago that could give us first-hand information?"

"Who? Well… no one, except if you're thinking of an animated object but there would be no such thin… Oh."

Malfoy smirked at her in recognition and Hermione shook her head in amazement.

"Two brains are definitely better that one."

"I agree. So where are we headed off to?" he said as he stood up too.

With a snicker, Hermione threw the Cloak over her shoulders.

"Let's go find ourselves a Sorting Hat."


Harry and Ron had apparated back at 12 Grimmald Place safely as they escaped the Ministry of Magic. For 3 days they stayed still; waiting, pacing up and down the corridors, reading the newspapers that Kreature brought back over and over again. After three days of utter torture, they'd left the safe haven and apparated in a cave Hermione had brought them to weeks earlier. They'd searched wide and far before admitting she wasn't there, then they'd changed location and started all over again. They'd searched every place they could think of before finally collapsing under a small stone bridge built in the middle of a field.

That's when Ron had taken out the book Hermione had left behind. Tales of Beadle the Bard. And that's when Harry had noticed the small triangular symbol scribbled on one of the yellow pages.

With a strange sensation of being back in their second year as they followed the clues left behind by their best friend, Harry and Ron set off towards Xenophilius Lovegood's house.


Luna Lovegood was sat on the floor of a dirty cellar, tied up to a tall metal post. A rat scurried by and she smiled through the bloodstains on her face. She'd always been laughed at for being strange and uncaring. But she didn't mind. In fact, right now she was quite thankful for being strange. For it was time.

As she leant her head back against the post she was tied to, she let herself sink deep into happy memories. Now you have to understand one thing about Luna Lovegood: Luna had just been beaten to an inch of death and the pain was surely yet to continue. Another in her place would have surely cracked and despaired by now. But not Luna. Oh no. Luna simply tilted her head backwards and thought very hard of her friends and father.

A wisp of blue escaped her breath. It floated in mid-air until another joined it, and then one more. It took thirty minutes for the wisps of blue smoke to form a shape, and as the half-hour ended, Luna opened her eyes. Oh how she loved being special! It was so much fun, and yet she still had a place in the world, a place made by friends as they'd accepted her and trained with her. She was never alone. And that was why they could win the war.

They would not be defeated so easily. Not as long as even one of them lived on with those memories.

A blue rabbit emerged from the smoke and she whispered these few words in its ear:

"Expected Patronum."

Oh yes, she'd been laughed at for being strange, but her differences made her stronger, and her memories even more. As her rabbit bounced off through a wall she closed her eyes and remembered how she'd come up with the spell. She fell asleep, all her surroundings lost again in the deep, confusing mist of her brilliant mind.

Somewhere in a forest, a small blue rabbit disappeared into a bush.


SOOO WHATDYATHINK? :) PLEASE REVIEW!

You guys have made me SO happy with your reviews, PLEASE CONTINUE! *sends giant telepathic hug*

Neverlookingback: Hopefully this'll satisfy you ;) Funny how this chapter has all the characters you asked about^^ (no sarcasm intended)

An extra special thank you to Kwa76 and annaea3077; your reviews made me incredibly happy and kept me going!

Also thanks to Koryandrs (changed your pseudo?) for following me since the beginning.

You. Guys. Are. Awesome!

There, my random thanks' had to be done because I'm genuinely so happy you guys reviewed!

See you all soon! :)

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