Hey everyone! Once again, you're all amazing for reviewing, following, favoriting, etc. because it means so unbelievably much to me :)

Anyway, so I have gotten a wonderful beta, ! She's amazing, and has already been a great help (plus, I'll probably update a lot more often now… :))

Hope y'all enjoy this chapter :)

Their game plan wasn't working.

Oh, it had started off nicely - all Draco had to do was act like his sullen self. Except then, they realized there was a itsy bitsy (in other words, massive) flaw in their plan: that "sullen Draco" was the very person Lily had fallen for in the first place.

So once again, as they'd done for the past three days, Hermione and Draco sat in the blue chairs of the Room of Requirement, using the parchment and ink the Room had decided to provide them with. And, of course, arguing as usual.

This time, they were having a dispute over whether they should tell Sirius or one of the other Marauders about this sudden interest Lily took in Draco. They'd already agreed they would not tell James, nor would they tell Peter. But the conflict was between whether they should tell Remus or Sirius to aid them in making James… well, more likable to Lily.

Draco wasn't the one supporting Remus.

"Come on, Granger" - that was another thing; they'd taken to calling each other by first name in public, which had sparked quite a positive reaction, but acted just as before when alone with each other - "Black is closer to Potter than Lupin is."

He'd said this at least six times already, but Hermione thought not to say anything (she'd pointed it out the other five times). "I beg to differ! Remus is just as close to James - it's just that James and Sirius enjoy playing pranks more than Remus does."

Draco scoffed. "Yeah, which makes them closer."

"It doesn't!" Hermione spat, throwing her hands up in frustration. She cleared her throat and took two deep breaths, resuming in a calmer manner. "And at any rate, if Sirius was closer to James, you'd be supporting my side anyway - if he was closer, James could be able to tell if he was hiding anything, and everything would be revealed faster than if we told Remus."

There was a slight pause, where Hermione smugly smiled at him. "Fine," Draco finally said, glowering, "fine, we'll go through it your way. On one condition."

Hermione looked at him warily. "What?"

Draco said matter-of-factly, "I get to tell the wolf."

Hermione raised her eyebrow at him. She'd expected something more… elaborate. "Simple condition, but I'm not complaining. Sure, go ahead, you can tell him - as long as you don't mess it up." She paused and narrowed her eyebrows. "You're not planning something suspicious, are you?"

He leaned towards her face and replied with a smirk, "If I were, I wouldn't tell you, would I?"

Hermione took one look into his grey eyes, which were boring into her soul, and immediately hopped up in her chair and bounced onto the floor. "That's nice to know," she said, her internal feelings jumbling up inside her, "and now that we've figured that out, I'm going to go now. Lily wanted me to help her with Astrology."

"Mhm."

Hermione nodded, and walked towards the door, her heart still beating faster than normal. Oh, it had happened again. She paused, shaking the image of his eyes out of her head, then said without looking back, "Hey Malfoy. If Lily likes this toned down version of you, maybe you should try acting more like yourself."

"This is myself" was the blunt reply.

"I mean the 'I'm-Draco-Malfoy-proud-to-be-Slytherin-and-from-a-pureblood-line' that I got so acquainted to for the past six years," Hermione said in a condescending tone.

"Oh, him. Yeah, you're forgetting that I'm not in Slytherin anymore."

Hermione turned and shot back, "And whose fault was that?"

"Yours, actually, for making Dumbledore put us in your beloved house," Draco drawled, still sitting lazily in his chair.

"Gah!" Hermione glared venomously at the head of blond hair. Because, of course, he was right. "You're hopeless!"

She spun around walked straight out the door, seething as she walked down the corridor. It wasn't curfew yet, but the halls were still dark.

"He was the one who got us here in the first place," Hermione muttered to herself angrily.

She slipped her hands into her pockets, which were already turning cold. As she walked down, Hermione became acutely aware of footsteps behind her - and perhaps it was because of last year, in the Department of Mysteries, which she still sometimes visited in her dreams, the footsteps of Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny beside her… perhaps it was the echo of her friends' steps, that told her that Draco (who else would it be?) was trying very hard to conceal the sounds of his feet hitting the ground.

So Hermione, being the kind soul she was, decided to play along, even though each step from Malfoy made her cringe (because it was so startlingly obvious!).

They were more than halfway to the Gryffindor Tower before Hermione finally snapped.

She stopped in her tracks, forcing herself to take two deep breaths. "Malfoy," she said slowly, gritting her teeth without turning, "I should think that after two months of being here, you should know how to get to the Tower by yourself."

No reply. But Hermione could just faintly hear the sound of breathing a few feet behind her.

This fact somehow aggravated her far more than anything else had so far, and Hermione let out a huff of annoyance, turning as she spoke. "Just because we didn't get in Slytherin like you wanted to, doesn't mean that-"

She stopped mid-sentence, because the person in front of her was not Draco Malfoy. Rather, it was Lucius Malfoy.

"Oh." Hermione stated. She didn't know why it was so obvious that it wasn't Draco (even though the two were clones of each other) - it just was.

The older Malfoy looked at her evenly.

"Er," Hermione said, glancing behind at her nearest escape route, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I warned you a few days ago, Granger," said Lucius, his tall form casting a shadow over Hermione, "that I'd figure you out."

Hermione nodded, casually taking a step backwards.

"I haven't figured it out yet," he said, and for a brief moment, a confused look came upon his face. But then it disappeared, leaving his usual stony mask of an expression.

Hermione looked at Lucius. A thought crossed her mind, and she couldn't help but contemplate it: Lucius and Draco were exactly like in almost all aspects, yet the former did not spark any of the same reactions from Hermione as did the latter.

For example, their eyes were both grey, and yet there seemed to be something in Draco's that made her… well, made her jump up from her chair and scamper out the door.

Lucius's eyes did none of that, which was why Hermione immediately decided that he was the safer one to be around.

"Well, I don't believe you'll figure it out," she said with an air of confidence, "because there's nothing to figure out."

Not her best comeback, but convincing enough, she hoped.

It obviously wasn't, because Lucius's eyes narrowed and he said, "Before you saw me, you thought I was the other brat. And you said something about him wanting both of you to be in Slytherin?" He paused, and seemed to be concentrating deeply. "Something about that isn't right."

Hermione was desperate to get away. "Well, it makes sense to me, so I'll just go now - but you're welcome to try to fish out some secret from that," she said in what she hoped was a fairly conversational tone. "Bye," she commented shortly.

She immediately turned her back to the older Malfoy, and started walking at a fast pace.

"Hey, you," came Lucius's toneless voice.

This irked Hermione a great deal. It really did.

"Where is my… relative?" He said the last tone with a slightly mocking tone.

Hermione, who hadn't stopped walking, said over her shoulder, "I don't know, why don't you find him?"

"Tut, tut, you don't even know where your partner is. Well, alright then. I suppose you are the useless one, after all."

Hermione's eyebrows shot up (not that Lucius could see), and her mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Yes, I suppose I am," she replied sweetly, her words spun like cotton candy, "but as I'm sure you well know, Malfoys don't tend to be very useful either, so I highly doubt you'll fare much better with Draco."

Oh, there was his name. Funny, it didn't feel particularly odd this time. Perhaps it was only when he was physically in front of her.

Hermione could tell that Lucius was no longer following her (thank Merlin). But she didn't stop speed-walking until she was at the Fat Lady, breathing heavily as she let out, "Quidditch Cup!"

She clambered into the common, still lit with warmth from the fireplace.

"Hermione!"

Hermione turned to see James waving her over to the group on the red couches: himself, Peter, Sirius, and Draco. Her mouth fell open when she saw Draco, his blond hair glinting as he lazily looked up at her.

His smirk only conveyed too well what he was thinking: You're so slow, Granger.

This made her very infuriated, seeing as it was his dad that had slowed her down. She bit her lip in frustration and glared at him, before making her way to the fireplace, standing next to where Sirius lay.

"Why so angry, Hermione, dearest?" Sirius asked, as he scooted over and patted a place next to him.

She didn't sit down, and simply said, "I ran into Lucius Malfoy."

This wiped the smirk straight off Draco's face, and he turned stony.

James sat up, his eyes fiery. "What did the bastard say to you?"

Hermione shook her head and waved him off. "Oh, nothing. I took care of it."

"You sure, Hermione?" Sirius asked, furrowing his eyebrows together. "If he did anything, we can come up with plenty ways to get revenge."

Hermione gave him a disapproving look, though she couldn't resist a smile at their kindness. "Really, it's fine," she said, casting a glance at Draco, who was moodily watching Peter fiddle with his wand.

At that moment, Lily descended the stairs from the girls' dormitories. When she saw Hermione, her eyes lit up.

"Hermione!" she said, her red hair pulled up in a tight bun.

"Hey, Lily," Hermione said, smiling as the redhead walked over to where she was.

"Evans!" James exclaimed, standing up and brushing off his robes. "How very nice to see you again!"

"I can't say the same," Lily retorted.

"Ahh, that's no way to treat your friends," Sirius chided.

"And clearly, you two aren't my friends, so back off, Black," Lily said calmly, and turned to Peter. "Hi, Peter, have you done your Charms homework yet?"

Peter shook his head. "I'm… waiting for Remus to finish," he said, a little ashamedly.

Both Lily and Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You don't mean to copy Remus, do you, Peter?" Hermione said warningly.

Peter's head hung. "It's because I don't understand it," he said quietly.

Lily walked over to him and patted his shoulder. "It's because you need someone to teach you. You'll never learn from copying."

Sirius started to say something along the lines of "We'll teach you!", before he was silenced by Hermione's glare.

"I suppose," Peter said slowly. "It was easier when Draco helped me that one time."

He said this rather quietly, so Hermione could barely hear, but unfortunately, Lily was a lot closer and heard every word.

"Draco helped you with Charms?" Lily asked in an offhanded, casual tone. But her cheeks were already turning rosy and her eyes lingered on Draco as he grasped for an answer.

"Er…," he began, and temporarily forgot he was annoyed with Hermione, because his eyes shot to her face and almost pleaded for help.

But Hermione was too busy watching James watch the exchange, a tight, dawning expression on his face. Next to her, Sirius murmured an "Uh-oh" as his eyes repeatedly darted from Lily to Draco to James. "Uh-oh", indeed.

Draco must have decided not to lie, because he managed to stumble out, "I helped him once, when I had the spare time, and there was nothing to do. It wasn't because I wanted to."

Hermione could tell he was trying to sound cold and passive, and it was a pretty convincing show - except Lily didn't buy it at all.

"How wonderful," Lily said, her expression slightly starry-eyed. "That's great! See, Peter, you can just ask Draco for help! He'll be nice enough to give it to you."

And Hermione didn't really blame Draco when he opened his mouth and closed it like a fish, because, well, what can you really say to a compliment like that?

She shot another quick look at James, who was turning red in the face, and she decided to step in.

"Yeah, Peter, I'm sure Draco will help you now," she said, which instantly got her an indignant glare from the blond, "and in the mean time, Lily, didn't you say you wanted to study a bit of Astrology before curfew?"

Lily seemed to snap back into reality, and nodded vigorously. "Oh, yes, I forgot about that!" She went over to Hermione, and positively beamed as she said, "Bye, Peter, and see you, Draco!"

She hummed a little tune as she looped her arm in Hermione's and pulled her towards the girls' dormitory.

"Er."

Sirius was never at a loss for words - that wasn't in his personality, because he always had something to say. But when one of your best mates is frustrated because another of your mates have managed to attract the girl of his dreams - well, there's not much to say, because Sirius rather felt like anything he said would spark an avalanche.

After the girls had left, Sirius had tried to silently calm James down, with no luck, of course. And he had decided to make a joke about him tutoring Peter, which got him a series of curses from James and a solid glare from Draco.

Speaking of which, the newest Marauder didn't seem to notice the fuming Potter next to him. In fact, he looked to be more internally turmoiled. He was frowning at the spot where Evans had sat next to Peter, and occasionally muttered something like, "No use now, Granger".

Draco was talking to himself. James was glaring at the floor. Peter was nervously looking from his Charms homework to Draco. Sirius was speechless. So naturally, when Remus popped into the room, he looked as if he wished he hadn't.

"Er," he repeated, his sandy hair a mess. "Is everything...alright?"

A long silence told him all he needed to know. Remus awkwardly took a seat on the edge of the couch, where Sirius's head was, and simply watched them.

Finally, someone spoke.

"How do you do it?" James's voice was bitter with jealousy.

Draco visibly tensed and said hesitantly, "I'm not trying to make her… you know."

When it became clear James was not going to answer, Remus cleared his throat. "Can someone tell me what's going on?"

James looked as if to speak, but pulled back moodily, so Sirius took his place. "Er, long-ish story short, there's a tiny chance that Evans may have a tiny, little crush on Draco here." He cringed at the last few words.

"Ahh."

Sirius was just about to address something else, when James suddenly stood up, and turned towards the boys' dorms.

"I'm going to bed," he said tonelessly. "See you in the morning." He stalked off, leaving Draco, Peter Remus, and Sirius staring at his back.

When he was out of earshot, Peter said with an air of wonder, "Looks like James is mad at you, Draco."

"No way," Sirius and Draco said simultaneously, with the same sarcastic tone. For a moment, they looked at each other in surprise, and Sirius cracked a grin.

"You're a good choice for an honorary Marauder," he commented lightly, which caused Draco to stare at him in shock. "And I'm sure James'll come to his senses. Marauders can't stay mad at each other for a long time."

"Yeah," Remus said, "and James will see that it's not really your fault, you know?"

"But, mate." Sirius leaned in and spoke to Draco in an undertone. "Is there a chance you might like Evans back?"

Draco looked at him in exasperation. "Black. Even if Potter didn't hopelessly pride over her like he does, I would still never fancy her." He paused. "No offense to her. Not that that means I find her likable. Just that I don't fancy her. She's alright. Better than Gran-Hermione, at any rate." He muttered the last part, so that only Sirius heard.

Sirius snorted and leaned back. "Hermione's not too bad."

"Yeah, she's nice!" Peter piped up.

Draco gave them both incredulous looks. "Nice? You think she's nice? She's only the most insufferable little bookworm in the entire world!"

A sly grin crept up on Sirius's face. "Ooh, sounds like Drakie has a crush."

Draco threw a cushion at his face with surprising speed and accuracy, as if he spent his free time throwing around pillows. But then again, they were about four feet apart.

The blond looked absolutely murderous as he growled, "Call me that one more time, and I'll wipe that smirk right off your face."

"Aah, but you haven't denied it yet, which means you do fancy her!" Sirius had to roll off the sofa to avoid the curse Draco sent at him (how did the guy manage to take his wand out and utter a spell so quickly?). Remus yelped as the charm made a nice little scorch mark two inches from where he was sitting at.

Draco glowered at Sirius as the boy scooped himself off the floor and back onto the couch. "If it weren't for the fact that I'd rather not get expelled, I'd kill you right now."

"Yes," Sirius said, "and I'm sure Hermione wouldn't like it if you got expelled."

To his surprise, the Malfoy didn't shoot a Killing Curse at him or anything. He didn't even throw another cushion. He just said, with a slight edge to his voice, "She'd be alright with that, probably."

Sirius shared a surprised look with Remus. Of course, both of them had noticed how Draco and Hermione were addressing each other by their first names (not that it seemed to make them any more polite to each other). But Hermione and Draco had both made it clear multiple times that they were strict enemies. At the very least, there was no doubt that the two fought more often than Lily yelled at James, which was saying a lot.

Yet Sirius and Remus both agreed they weren't imagining it - there was definitely a bitter tone in the blond's voice.

But just as Sirius was going to probe further into Draco's feelings, Draco said, with a tone that clearly showed it was painful for him to be asking them this, "How do you suppose… I could make Lily stop fancying me?"

"Be James," Sirius said with a snort. "Play pranks on people. Even better, play pranks on Snivellus."

Remus raised an eyebrow. "A little harsh, but yeah, those are basically the things Lily doesn't like."

Draco broke his stony mask of a face by wrinkling his nose. "Granger wouldn't approve," he muttered. Then he blinked a few times, as if surprised to hear himself say that. His face contorted, and he glared at the space where Hermione had been standing before.

After a little while, Remus stood up. "I think I'll go to bed now, it's past curfew."

"Yeah, I'll go too," Peter said, and the two started their way to the boys' dorms.

Sirius got up as well. "Coming, Draco?"

Draco shook his head. "I'll be up a little later."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself." Sirius bounded after Remus and Peter.

Just as he was about to follow the two into their room, Sirius patted his pockets and realized his wand was still wasn't there. It had probably fallen out when he rolled off the couch.

"I'll be right back," he told Peter, and rushed back down to the common room.

Draco was still on the couch. Sirius stepped from the last step and was about to alert him to his presence, when he heard the blond muttering to himself.

"Idiotic bookworm. Selfish know-it-all," Draco raved to what he thought was an empty Common Room.

Sirius had to stifle his snigger. The newest Marauder looked rather wild, what with the fire illuminating his face. Sirius decided he'd play a little prank on Draco.

As Sirius crept quietly behind Draco, it was very obvious that he was talking about Hermione. He didn't sound angry, just… frustrated. Yes, 'frustrated' was the word.

Just as he was about to scare Draco with a toy ferret (for some reason, Draco didn't seem to like ferrets) he had Transfigured from a Chocolate Frog wrapper he'd found in his pocket, the blond said something that made Sirius nearly blow his cover and reveal his presence.

"...she had to choose Gryffindor out of all of them! Just because she's from Gryffindor! Didn't occur to her that I might want to be in Slytherin and see Father, huh."

Sirius froze. Unfortunately, he also let out an embarrassing sort of squeak of surprise.

Draco quickly hopped up and spun around, his wand pointed straight between Sirius's eyes.

Sirius stuffed the ferret into his pocket (he reckoned it would probably anger Draco more) and put both hands up in the air. "Take a chill pill, mate. It's just me," he said with a grin. Oh, how he loved that phrase. He remembered the time Remus had read a Muggle book with the words "chill pill" in it. A boring book, but hey, Muggles were pretty inventive with their words.

But Draco didn't seem like he wanted a chill pill. He looked like he wanted a chili pepper to throw into Sirius's face (lively chap, Draco was).

"Oh, it's you," Draco grumbled, sitting back down on his chair.

"Yeah, I left my wand." Sirius loped over to where his wand lay on the ground and picked it up, twirling it between his fingers. "But hey. I heard you say something about Slytherin?"

He tried to sound casual, because he was pretty sure he'd just heard Draco tell himself that he wanted to be in Slytherin, and, well, Sirius wasn't very fond of Slytherin.

It turned out it was a good idea to be conversational, because Draco's face turned a little white at the mention of the slimy house. "None of your business, Padfoot," he snapped, then recoiled. "I mean, Black."

Sirius honestly didn't mind that he'd called him by his nickname - he was a Marauder, after all. But his mind was still preoccupied.

"I wasn't aware," Sirius began, "that you could choose which house you're in."

"Dumbledore thought it would be better if Hermione and I stuck together in the same house."

"Ah." Sirius paused, calculated his thoughts. "And you wanted to be in Slytherin?"

"Better Slytherin than Hufflepuff."

"I see." Sirius blinked a few times. He supposed the description for Slytherin could be flattering to a transfer student who had no idea what the true nature of Slytherins were. But there was still something that Draco said… that didn't quite fit.

"What was the school you two went to, again?"

He watched as Draco's scornful face took on a slightly anxious feel.

"It was a small school in… Belgium," Draco said. "You wouldn't know it." He got up abruptly. "I suppose I'll go up to bed now. It's been some time, so hopefully Potter's asleep. Coming?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm coming." Sirius followed Draco up the stairs, still deep in his thoughts.

He'd known it for awhile - all of them knew there was something wrong with the way Hermione and Draco had shown up and known their way around all the corridors. The two never mentioned the name of the school they went to. There was the strange likeliness of Draco and Lucius Malfoy. The way the two had so easily adjusted to life at Hogwarts.

But over the weeks and months, Sirius had to admit that he'd forgotten about how strange it was; it didn't seem to matter, when it was obvious that the two were kind people that could easily be considered the Marauders' friends, and a part of their life in general.

But Draco's talk with, well, himself, reminded Sirius of how… strange it was (Hermione and Draco's story). It was, in some ways, a mystery, and Sirius Black was fond of mysteries (especially mysterious girls).

There was something off about Hermione and Draco that they weren't telling them, and Sirius intended to find out what it was.

Present

Harry was in the Department of Mysteries. He was alone - his friends had gone off without him.

All of a sudden, he heard a noise. He whipped around to see Draco Malfoy standing, his wand aimed. But it wasn't at Harry - Malfoy was aiming it at Hermione, who was bound and gagged, motioning, with her eyes, Harry to go away.

"No!" he yelled, and surged forward to her. Somehow Ron had appeared next to him, and was sprinting towards Hermione as well. But right before they reached her, they crashed into a glass wall. Hermione was a finger's width away, but they couldn't reach her.

"Harry…" Hermione said faintly. "Harry…"

Harry and Ron pounded on the glass, and though they could not touch her, Hermione's screams echoed in their ears as Malfoy fired the curse and the two slowly slipped away…

A violent shake from Ron woke him up. Harry could make out his roommates standing over him in concern.

"Another nightmare?" Ron asked sympathetically, handing Harry his glasses. He was holding his wand, which was lit up, providing light.

Harry nodded as he put them on. He gratefully took the towel from Dean and wiped his forehead.

"Was it…" Neville gulped. "Was it You-Know-Who?"

He shook his head. His throat felt dry, and he was light-headed, but he knew it had been an ordinary nightmare.

"You were screaming something," Seamus pitched in, though it was in an offhanded tone, and he wasn't looking at Harry. But Harry thought it was nice enough that he'd gotten up along with the rest to check on him.

"Yeah, we couldn't make out what you were saying," Ron said, scratching his head.

"'Hermione'," Harry blurted out. "I think I was yelling 'Hermione'."

Ron's face took on a dark demeanor, and Neville nodded his head gravely.

"Have you guys found out where she is?" Neville asked hesitantly.

Harry and Ron locked eyes. They'd told Ginny the truth the other day, when Hermione had started to disappear from the picture. Ginny had been absolutely livid with anger and rage when she discovered how long they had known (which was basically from the very start). But it had also crushed her like a boulder. Ginny was now starting to succumb to the same fear that already trapped Harry and Ron.

"No," Harry said, turning back to Neville. "No, we haven't."

At that moment, Dean cleared his throat. "Sorry, but who are we talking about, again?"

"Hermione," Ron, Harry, and Neville said at the same time.

Dean just looked at them with an odd expression. "Who?"

"Er… Hermione? Bushy brown hair? Top in our year?" Ron waved his hand in front of Dean's face. "Don't tell me you've forgotten how many times she's yelled at us for not studying for a test." He grinned jokingly.

Unfortunately, Dean didn't seem to be joking. In fact, he seemed genuinely concerned as he furrowed his eyebrows, and said, "She does go to Hogwarts, right? She and her name sort of sound familiar, but I can't quite place her. You're sure she's in our year?"

Harry's breath caught in his throat. Dean sounded serious, but….No. It couldn't be possible.

He was about to desperately describe Hermione again, when Seamus spoke up and said, scowling, "You guys trying to trick us, or something? There's never been a 'Hermione' in our year. Maybe another year, because it seems familiar, but not ours."

Harry looked at Ron and Neville, who were both staring at Dean and Seamus as if they'd just said, "Malfoy's the Boy-Who-Lived."

"Stop pulling our legs," Ron said with a nervous laugh, but there was fear in his voice.

Dean just kept looking blankly at them.

"You really don't remember?" Harry's voice almost cracked at the last word.

Dean shook his head hesitantly, as if he was still in doubt, while Seamus shot a glare.

Harry took two deep breaths to calm the panic building up inside him, and said, "I think we need to see Dumbledore."

An hour later, things were not better. In fact, they were worse.

Harry, Ron, and Neville stood outside of Dumbledore's office, with only the gargoyles and themselves to occupy their time. Dean and Seamus were still inside, talking to Dumbledore.

When they'd reached his office, somehow, the headmaster was still wide awake at two in the morning. He had heard them out, and sent the three that remembered Hermione outside. But right before he left, Harry swore on his life that Dumbledore's eyes shone in fear - which really didn't make him feel better.

So for the past half-hour or so, they had sat next to the gargoyles, wondering what this memory lapse meant.

Finally, the staircase opened and Dean and Seamus walked out, looking confused and beaten down.

"Dumbledore wants to see you guys," Dean said, pointing to Harry and Ron. "He said that we can leave, though."

Harry nodded. "Alright, see you, mates."

He and Ron walked up the staircase to Dumbledore's office. The door was open, so they walked straight inside.

"Sit," the headmaster said as they got closer to his desk. He was holding an old piece of parchment in his hands.

"It seems," he began, "that my old self has sent me another letter. However, it's quite short, and only tells us that Miss Granger and Mr. Malfoy believe that they've found the task to complete, in order for them to return."

"Sir?" Harry said. "They 'believe' it's the right task?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Yes, Harry, and that is the problem, for here, I clearly state that what they think is the correct task… is not."

A lump grew in Harry's throat.

"Great," Ron said, slumping back in his seat. "Just wonderful."

"Which leads us to the ordeal with Mr. Thomas and Mr. Finnigan. Mr. Thomas slightly remembers Miss Granger, while Mr. Finnigan seems to have forgotten her almost completely. If this is the case with two that were in the same house as Miss Granger, I imagine others have begun to be affected as well.

"We would do well to attempt to see how Mr. Malfoy's acquaintances are doing as well-"

He was cut off by Ron, who protested and said, "But Professor, Malfoy-"

Dumbledore put a hand up. "No 'but's, Mr. Weasley. Mr. Malfoy is in the same predicament as Miss Granger. I understand you two both have a much more… friendly and personal connection to Miss Granger, but we must fairly take Mr. Malfoy into account.

"As I was saying, tomorrow, I shall send for a few of Mr. Malfoy's classmates that knew him at various levels, and see how their memories are faring." Dumbledore paused, and his twinkling blue eyes seemed to dim and age. "I do believe that the fact that Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger have not yet found their task is deeply connected to the memory loss of Mr. Thomas and Mr. Finnigan."

A horrible thought occurred to Harry - so terrible that he almost didn't ask it. "Professor… if Hermione and Malfoy don't figure the task out… will we be affected, too?"

There was a silence as Harry and Ron tried to block out the treacherous possibilities of the future.

Dumbledore's eyes were sad now. He said quietly, "Yes, Harry. As of now, our memories hang on a line. You and Mr. Weasley will most likely remember Miss Granger longer than most." He looked extremely grave as he looked from Harry to Ron's horrified faces.

"However, I fear there is a time limit as to how long we may sustain these memories. If they do not succeed in finding and completing their task soon… then yes, for the time being, we will all temporarily forget Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger."

Yay for long chapter!

Any chance of reviews…? :)