Sorry to all for its lateness.

But it is here at last, the new chapter. Its a bit longer than before as to make up for its slight absence. I would like to thank all that commented, and again - than you for being so understanding.

Hope you all enjoy reading and for what must seem like the hundredth time - I don't own HP or anything to do with it.

:D

"Ooh – what about this one"

A loud groan had her looking up from what she had been reading about puzzle solving problems and gazed at the slightly blank looking boy in front of her.

"What."

Lifting his head from the table, he stared at his friend, eyes tired and his mind twisted into a rag as he shook his head. "Hermione, no more – please… I just… I just – no."

"What?"

Sitting up he fixed his glasses from where they had gone askew before looking back to her. "We've been at this for over two hours now; we've looked through book after book – one row to the other. I'm tired, my head hurts and I'm pretty sure madam Pince has been stalking us for the past hour."

His statement had her looking around the empty rows, searching for any sign of the vulture like woman who took to manning her library like Cadogan did his portrait; she wrinkled her nose and shook her head turning back to him.

"Rubbish – we haven't been here that long, and if you think about it. The books we have looked at haven't at all been very helpful so really, it hasn't been that many… maybe if we just."

She stopped when he stood and shook his head further. She watched as he started piling the books over the table on top of one another before moving around his chair.

"What are you doing?" He looked at her before moving the first shelf. "Putting them back – we've searched and may I remind you that I still don't know what the task is, so how I'm I meant to search for it in all… of this." He gestured to the endless stacks of books. She nodded and to stood from her seat.

"But that's the beauty of it – we can cover all bases and think about it, the more information we look at the more knowledge you'll have should anything we have read about happen to come up."

He snorted and began placing the books back in their slots. "Hermione if I read anymore the only thing I'll need is a spell to enlarge my head, it's that full I think it's about to spill out my ears, look." He placed the last book in his first pile back and looked around at her.

"I have until the middle of November right. That's in at least two… possibly three weeks away. It's only the first day since I've been told, we have all the time until then to read and get ready."

"But…" She was cut off again as he moved over and took the books from her hands. "No buts – I've spent far longer in here than I've ever done before… I fear that I actually know my way around off by heart now it's been ages."

She watched as he put ever last book back before making a start on his belongings before long, taking her hand and dragging her to the exit.

"But…"

"No buts – the library will be here tomorrow, and the next day and the day after forever more, it's lunchtime now and I'm glad we haven't missed it so let's just go, rest and start again in the morning."

She frowned unhappily but complied as she allowed herself to be led from the room – all the while under the watchful eye of the librarian vulture that had been prowling the stalls.

True to his word the next day they came back. It was the start of the weekend, and as such the Hogsmeade visit had arrived. Everyone had been excitedly talking about making the trip to the small wizarding village; Hermione had been nonplussed about the whole thing. Yes it was nice to look at but eventually because it was a small little place it soon became overrun.

She had never really liked big crowds. The times she had to be a part of them she tolerated but if she could help it, avoided them like Ron avoided homework.

Harry as well. Though he had been looking forward to taking the day out of school, he had been thinking about it long and hard – there were always going to be more trips to the small village. There was only one chance at the tournament, someone had put him there under whatever pretences they had still yet to fathom.

He knew the odds were against him and more than likely whomever it was wanted him to fail. He wasn't about to let them have the satisfaction of getting that so was determined to do his research before the day came. His statement made Hermione proud to be his friend – both for the fact that he was willing to fight, and that he was finally at last taking his studies seriously as they commandeered the back table once more.

He wasn't looking to win the thing, just learn enough so he could get out unscathed and possibly with everything in tact by the end of it as Hermione went and got the first few books from the next stalls.

They sat in relative silence for two hours, before being joined by Antony and Terry – both who had Ancient Runes essays to complete had found them at the back. They smiled, greeting Hermione warmly as they took seats at the side of her, pulling out their work before finally looking to Harry.

As it was the whole 'the chosen one being in the tournament' had died down considerably, but it was a sore point still to some. They hadn't bought badges like the rest and wore them thinking it childish though both had their own thoughts on the subject; it wasn't a Raven's style to get into confrontation.

That was left to the Slytherin's and their natural enemy. They only got their heads down and worked hard until the end of school term like it always was, so when they met the other boy's eyes they smiled and nodded to him.

"Hello Harry."

Both saw the clear look of relief on his face on hearing the friendly greeting, but chose not to comment on it as they pulled out the charts and information sheets given to them before getting a start on their work.

"What are you working on?"

Terry looked up to see Harry peering at his work. He looked down and pursed his lips before sighing and replied. "The history of Anglo Saxons from the Norse - how the use of the runes in the dark ages right up until medieval Britain, might have changed the wizard world today."

He was going to say more but the blank look he was getting back – the slightly scrunched face that told of his confusion, not the mention his eyes and how they creased, let him know that the other boy didn't have a clue what he was on about. Instead he merely smiled again and got back to his work.

He then turned to Hermione – who had been casually sitting and idly flicking through one page after another, not having heard what he said as he spoke

"I take it you've already finished that"

She didn't look up, but the arched brows and the little smile she gave had him nodding. It was Hermione; of course she would have finished it already.

Antony had been staring at his work with a little frown on his face. tilting his head, he pondered the question that was proving to be puzzling – he didn't want to ask for help, he wasn't in the house that valued its intelligence for nothing after all, but he was sitting next to the smartest in the year, at that moment his houses motto didn't count of anything.

But he gave it a go, like he did everything else. But the dammed thing was mocking him and so in the end, and sucking his pride – he pushed his work over to her.

"Do you know what this is?"

He looked at her as she read. Waiting until she got to the end of the page before marking it, she turned and smiled at him. "What was that?"

"This… it's annoying as hell and I can't figure it out." She bent over his parchment, squinting as she read his writing. Eyes scaling the page until she got to the question and its problem, as she nodded.

"You've put the ú first and third, it's only in the word once and at the end… see," She leaned over and took his quill, Harry watched as she wrote down the odd looking word from what he could make out as Terry merely glanced over and lifted his lip a little in a smirk, before getting back to his own writing.

She pushed the word over to him and pulled the book back to her, settling back down and opened up to the page again. He looked at the amendment before nodding.

"Thanks."

She smiled lightly before flipping the next page and crossed her legs, "No worries… it's the wrong word anyway by the way."

He snapped his head back round at her remark. "What do you mean?" With another slight glance over her shoulder, she looked back down before meeting his eyes.

"You're talking about the growth of the economy and understanding of how runes worked during trade right." He narrowed his eyes but nodded.

"Well the word you might want to be looking for is Fehu," He frowned and tipped his head back down to inspect his writing. "Are you sure?"

"About as sure as Peeves causing trouble" Her tone was flippant but the slight insistent edge to it had him reaching for his wand ready to remove his soon to be mistake.

"Well what do I have?"

"Úruz," Wand hovering over the word he glances at her, "And that means"

"Sea slag,"

At that Terry had to laugh as he had by now – been listening in and on seeing his friend's mistake and the slight redness of his cheeks before quickly erasing the word – still kept chuckling but had also started checking his work, making sure none of it had any embarrassing words that didn't comply with his paragraphs.

Harry was just sat on the other side. Oblivious to everything that was going on, he had never understood Runes and the first time he had looked at her work, it had given him a slight headache trying to listen as she went over what word went with which. But here on seeing them all know what the other was talking about, it made him feel inadequate.

Not for the first time but sitting here next to two Ravens who clearly had the brains and the brightest witch of the age – a moniker she got back in second year with the chamber of secrets… he couldn't help it, it really did seem like knowledge just oozed from her body… even when she was sat quite laxly in her chair, flipping through books without a care in the world.

Finally after spending well more than he could take any longer sitting down, they decided to leave. Having done near enough a roll and a quarter, both boys were certain they could finish it off in their dormitory that night and so they packed up their things and made their ways out and into the halls as they slowly walked down to the great hall.

It was a late dinner with people having been out and so they started seeing the small groups and crowds that were returning from the outside as they followed stairs downwards.

"So Harry, do you have any idea what you think it might be yet?" Terry asked looking at him. The raven haired boy puffed out his cheeks – a look of blankness on his face as he shook his head.

"Not a clue… though we've been through pretty much every book Hermione found, and we—"

He was cut off by a loud coughing, turning they saw the girl in question give him a slightly quizzical look. "I'm sorry? Who looked in pretty much every book they found?"

She tilted her head very slightly waiting for his acknowledgment and slight faux par as he rolled his eyes and nodded. "Fine – Hermione here, looked through every book she could find about all things tri-wizardy and still nothing that might suggest what the first task would be."

Antony sucked in a breath before cocking his own head at the implications of going into the unknown. "Tough break mate," Not knowing how to respond, Harry simply gave him a tight lipped smile.

"Thanks."

They split up once they got inside the hall. Hermione bidding them goodbye as they moved to the blue and bronze table – she would see them again in class as she followed Harry who had sat down next to Neville, the other boy smiling cheerfully when he saw them. His flushed face and red cheeks told them he had been in the deep end of the cold.

"Had a nice afternoon," She asked sitting down. He nodded happily, the normally passive boy seeming to have perked up on his outing she noted as he told them of the afternoon that he had along with the rest of the other boys. In return they had explained why they had been absent from the trip as they had been focusing on the first task that now because it had finally been given a date, was creeping up on them.

"Oh – how's that going?"

His question made Harry scoff as he reached for the plate of potatoes, his face slightly pinched as Hermione smiled lightly. "It's a work in progress."

They waste the hour talking as more and more student's come into the hall. Eventually getting up to return to the common room, they pass Ron on the way by – with Seamus and Dean. The latter of the two smile at them and wave, the red head slows for a few seconds. Harry merely rolls his eyes and keeps on walking, not seeing the slight look of longing on the freckled face.

Hermione and Neville both did, Nev smiling sadly at him as he looks at them. She remained indifferent – yes Ron was still her friend but he had done this to himself, if he wasn't so envious and materialistic over the things people have – if he didn't covet what those around him had then he would have been able to join them once more.

But as it was he had exiled himself due to his own shallow reactions and thus she was firmly on Harry's side. With a simple tilt of her head, to acknowledge his smile she turned and left the hall and joined the other boy who had waited at the stairs for them once Neville had finished speaking he met with them before the trudged up the steps back to the common room.

"And I got Jellyslugs … some of those sugar quills, a few ice mice and some nutty nuggets." Harry nodded smiling as he listened to the other boy as he spoke of his purchases as they reached the portrait, the picture of the fat lady bared down on them as she waited for the password.

"Memento Mori."

As the door swung open to let them in, she had to wonder just who it was this year that set the code as they looked around to find the tower empty – with only a few of the younger years dotted around. After all, who really would want to remember death – in any form so silently pondered as she made her way to put her bag away.

Back down near the fire. Neville and Harry had made themselves at home as she joined them as they sat and talked - not about the tournament anymore. He had enough of that for one day, but on other things, enjoying what was left of the evening as the door began to open gradually with the rest of the population of Gryffindor's making their way back to the tower.

"Again."

Harry groaned but lifted his wand. It seemed they were making most of the weekend and was non-stop researching for the task. They had moved on to spells now and on asking her Mother nicely who they had come across in the hall, was allowed free use of her classroom seeing as she was once again doing a cover for Fillius who had taken ill.

With the promise of no destruction they made their way to the empty room which now resembled a small duelling space where she was putting him through each of the spells she had written down from various books.

He stood straight, back firm and his wand arm high as he spoke he words of the spell once more. "Aguamenti!"

Holding his wand tightly he struggled to control the fast moving jet of water that shot from the tip. Hermione eyed the movements as he fought to contain the massive amount of water that was blasting aimlessly at the wall.

"Concentrate Harry, use it to your advantage."

He looked at her from where she was leaning on the board. Her arms crossed and her attention on the stream of water. Nodding he turned back and focusing his magic as much as he could, willed it out to bend the water to his will – twisting his wand as the straight lined Jetstream started to twist.

Two sets of eyes watched intently as he curled the water around until at last in became a spiral, he was panting a little under the strain of such a powerful spell but never lost his grip nor gave up his focus.

"Keep it there."

Pushing herself away from the board. Hermione moved around the twirling line of liquid until she reached the window, undoing the latch she pushed it out as far as it would go, doing the same for the other before turning back to him.

"Good – now bring it over here and out the window."

Eyes widening at the request, he huffs heavily but nods. He wants this – no – needs to do this, so taking hold of the wand with both hands he pulls his magic and slowly starts to drag the huge spiralling water feature away from the middle and to the open window. She moved back to allow him space to move and to also get away from hard hitting splash backs that were soaking the walls.

She internally cringed about the state of the room – it wasn't its best – due to his sloppy first attempts, Harry had managed to use the fast streaming jet to knock various items from shelves and the teacher's desk, he had also got the walls dripping as the droplets

With the last of his energy he achieved the goal of getting the circling water to ripple out back into a line as it shot out the window. He smiled at his success and turned to her, his smile wide and his eyes lighting with joy. She chuckled at his exuberance which slowly faded when the sounds of multiple shrieks could be heard.

Turning to where the noise was coming from – below the open window. Hermione had a sneaking feeling she might have made a miscalculation as Harry pulled with wand back cutting off the spell quickly.

"What was that?"

She glanced to him, his own face a mix of alarm and concern as she shrugged. Ignorance was bliss in her eyes but was nudged forwards as very slowly, they poked their heads out and looked down.

They cringed when looking down into the court. A group of Beaxbaton students were scattered and thanks to their efforts – drenched. Two sets of green eyes took in the scene of the almost drowned French girls as they went about wringing water from their bags, coats… any clothes they had on as well as their hair.

Their chatter was fast and high pitched as they talked amongst themselves about the sudden attack on their persons. Harry flinched at a particularly loud screech and turned to his friend.

"Hermione"

"… So I may have made a slight error in which window to open." He mock smiled and nodded at her answer. "You think."

She scowled at him slightly before shrugging. "They haven't seen us… a good thing, they won't know who splashed them." He was about to reply that it was more than a simple splash but the slow, velvety like tones had him freezing. Hermione hitched her breath and glanced over as Snape, coming from nowhere it seemed, was in front of them.

"What, if I may ask, is the problem."

He recoiled a little – his annoyance clear on his face when he was near ambushed by the clamouring visitors who were complaining about what had happened. He stayed silent but his eyes held the evident boredom the conversation was bringing him, he could see they were dripping with water, and as there wasn't a raincloud in the sky, deduced that someone had done it deliberately.

Inhaling he held up his hand to stop their chatter which was forming into a migraine before taking a step forward – he looked down to the large puddles of water that had sprouted from nowhere and his eyes narrowed. The two up above where looking at him curiously, seeing what he was doing but had to throw themselves back as no sooner as he had finished his ground inspections, he began looking to the castle.

Eyes scanning the closed windows until they came to the open one – the only open one – which also happened to be in direct line in which the puddles lay. He gazed at the unlatched pane suspiciously before a slight movement had him smirking.

He knew which window it was and what level. It wouldn't take him long to find who the culprit was, the small group watched him curiously as he spoke up to the top.

"I know you're still there. If you value what spare time you have left this term. I suggest you make it easier for yourself and show yourself now."

Both Hermione and Harry froze once more, his voice trailed up to them as they slowly took steps back. Once at a safe distance, they bolted. Grabbing both their bags Harry raced to the door as Hermione – it was too late to anything about the window snatched up her wand and jacket – along with the scattered papers that had been lying around and anything else that might lead him back to them before weaving in between the desks to where he was waiting at the door.

He pulled her through as she slammed the door shut. The loud noise had garnered some attention from a few walking past but they paid them no heed as she locked the door before he tugged her hand once more as they legged it from the crime scene and back to a place where they could be seen should anyone ask

Their quest took them to the basement floor, as they rounded the last corner and slid into a side ally – away from the double doors and the dungeons just in case he made a show as they leant against the wall, lungs burning from the running as Harry gasped in between breath's.

"Think… you think he… he noticed?"

Shrugging silently she knelt a little, hands on her knees. To say they spent most of their end of year running from something or another, how four flights of stairs knackered them out she would never know as she swallowed a lungful of air before leaning back on the wall.

"Let's just… stay here for a moment, just in case." Nodding he inhaled deeply, looking round she noted they were near the HufflePuff common rooms when she heard Harry mutter under his breath.

"Whoa."

Turning she had to double take as the sight in front of her had her moving from her resting spot and over to him. "What did you do?"

Shaking his head he made a show of putting up his hands. "Nothing – I didn't even touch anything!"

"Well you must have done something." Now staring at the open door that had been hidden behind the picture as he protested his innocence further, "I swear I didn't do anything, all I did was wriggle about… my back was itchy and I thought the corner might get it for me." He mumbled tilting his head, staring into the slight darkness of the doorway.

"Fine – well, let's just…" She looked around making sure no one was around before taking his arm and pulling him through. "Before anyone sees shall we?"

Without giving him a moment to answer, she pushed him the rest of the way as the door behind them shut leaving the hall empty.

"Whoa."

He was about to mock her for her less than perfect wording, but all he could do was nod in agreement, it was pretty much the only word to some up what was in front on them. What they were standing in could have been mistaken for the great hall – it room stretched back as far as either of them could see, and when he looked up, he was awed to find a ceiling that could have rivalled that of the magical lit one in the entrance.

Looking around he could see stacks of pots and pans lined up along the walls and frowned slightly. "Where are we?"

"Isn't it obvious," He glanced at her as she nodded her head in the direction which he followed and was again surprised to find the small buggy eyed creatures watching them carefully.

"We're in the kitchens."

That was all she got out as a flash of colours and a yelp from the side as she looked down to where Harry now lay, complete with extra appendage that was glued to his stomach, spindly arms wrapped round his torso and refusing to let go.

"Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter!"

She looked on at the sight bemused as Harry struggled on the floor, gasping for air that the small elf was determined to deprive him of.

"D-Dobby?"

"It is Dobby, sir, it is! Dobby has been hoping and hoping to see Harry Potter, sir, and Harry Potter has come to see him, sir!" He finally let go of him and sat up, before noting the other person next to him and turned to look at her.

"Miss Hermione to, Miss Hermione has come to visit Dobby. Such an honour to have both of you here." His bat like ears waggled and flapped – his sure fire way of happiness as she just smiled and nodded. Harry groaned slightly as he pushed himself up from the floor and dusted himself off.

"Dobby, what're you doing here?" Harry said a little amazed at the sight of him.

"Dobby has come to work at Hogwarts, sir!" Dobby squealed excitedly, before launching into a full explanation and another named 'Winky' was also around. Before he threw himself and grabbed the dark haired boy's hand, dragging him across the kitchen. She watched them go, still amused before slowly following.

What happened next could only have made her laugh; after getting to the end of the room both were greeted to the sight of a crying elf perched upon a stool, dressed in what she could make out was a knit patch skirt with badly burnt holes in it. Through the sobs and the tears Dobby, who was still smiling turned to them and asked if either wanted a cup of tea.

Which was how she came to be leaning on the side of the countertop, tea firmly in her right hand and calmly sipping whilst Harry and the bouncing elf chatted… all the while the manic depressive elf still bawling in the corner went unaddressed.

When it was time to leave, they didn't go as unnoticed as they hoped. When Dobby had said his goodbyes it was then the others moved in – by the time they had traversed the length of the kitchen again, their pockets and the inside of Harry's robe – his secret compartment as he liked to call it, was stuffed with cakes, biscuits and even a few pies.

"Why do I feel like we've just raided Honeydukes?" Harry mumbled as they stepped out into the hall, the door to the kitchen shutting behind them as she looked down to inspect their catch of the day.

"Probably the same reason I think I'm going to be a few pounds heavier after this." She sighed and held up her robe delicately, before turning to him with a somewhat hopeless expression.

"And not just because we're smuggling half a bakery back with us."

About halfway up to the tower, Harry started breaking into his swag. Hermione turned to see him pull a cream cake from his pocket – she didn't even want to think about what mess that left, and bit into the side. Eyes narrowing a little she stared as he chewed deeply before catching her gaze.

"…Wha?"

She shook her head. "Nothing… I just didn't realize that I had started this trip with Harry and ended up with Ron." He gulped down what was in his mouth.

"What's that meant to mean?"

"I know his habits are a dangerous thing to observe – what with them being contagious and all. But did you really have to go and pick up his worst one."

He fixed her with a puzzled glance. "Huh?"

"Eat properly, good god it's like feeding time at animal farm the way you attacked that thing." Her remark had him pulling the cake a little closer to his chest – face now a little wary and miffed she had likened him to the red head, whose eating traits were legendary for all the wrongs reasons as he scrunched his nose and shook his head.

"It was just a bite… look at them, these things are tiny, any bite would seem like a huge one." She nodded silently – her facial features telling him she didn't truly believe him as she looked the other way and carried on walking, he scowled at her back but continued to eat his cake as he hurried to catch up with her.

"Where did you get those?"

Before they had even made it hallway across the room. Ron was in front of them, his eyes already trained on the savoury items about their person as they looked at him in a little awe.

"How the… what… how in the hell do you know what we've got." He shrugged. "I have my ways."

She nodded… of course he did, like any grand master of age, Ron possessed a gift not many could claim… or to have seen in action. But luckily for them they had the privilege of knowing a wizard who could out-sniff a pig when it came to truffle hunting, so actually knowing when someone had food on them was never going to be too hard, even for an inept idiot such as himself.

"So"

"Would you believe us if we said dinner." He scoffed and shook his head. "Not likely, dinner ended ages ago. I know because I'm still hungry."

"Nothing knew there then." She mumbled as he turned to her, she smiled sweetly to which he rolled his eyes and proceeded to accost Harry, rifling through his pockets until he emerged with a chocolate éclair. Brandishing it in victory he didn't wait and stuffed half into his mouth.

"Amazing…"

She cocked her head to the side. Watching as he literally devoured it in less than two bites, before her eyes widened as he finished it with a flourish, and she held her robe tighter to her body.

"Like hell you're searching me Weasley."

Wiping his hands he lifted his head on hearing his second name. Brow arched he took in the way she held her cloak, green eyes filled with suspicion making him wonder in turn about what items she might have been hiding.

"Well, what have you got."

"Nothing for you." Was the reply as she deftly moved past him and to the stairs. "But if you're still hungry, Harry's got his inside pocket… pretty sure I saw two or three cookies hiding in there."

She vanished round the bend. Leaving them staring at where she had been before the red head turned and with a second of eye contact, he pounced. The last thing Hermione heard before going into her dorm was Harry's cry of protest as he wrestled to keep both his robe and what food he had, as he shouted up to the girl's stairs.

"TRAITOR!"

She laughed lightly and moved into the room.

When she came back down ten minutes later she made her way to the fire where they had reclaimed the couch and threw herself next to Ron. Both were talking but that didn't stop her from cutting in when she took in the confusing scene in front of her.

"When did you two become friends again?"

They turned to look at her and saw her befuddled look, before glancing back to each other than gifting her with simple shrugs of shoulders.

"Don't know… yesterday I think – when you went to the Ravenclaw table to talk to Padma about something."

She eyed the pair curiously but nodded. She hadn't been gone all that long, all it was about was something for class, and they didn't even bother to tell her.

"Figured anyone who would willingly put themselves in for a thing like that would have to be mental in the head,"

"Thanks Ron." The red head looked back to Harry who was giving him a dry look as he shook his head. "Didn't mean you, remember – I believe you know… I know you're not stupid."

He clapped the other boy cheerily on the back as she stared at them. One part and the other equally exasperated. "Never be a motivational speaker, Ron."

"Ey," He looked at her at a glance as she shook her head smiling. "Never mind" He pursed his lips but nodded as they got back to their own activities the more the night wore on.

It wasn't until later that night that what he had said came back to her, when it was time for bed; naturally they all stayed well until everyone else had gone before making the trip to the dorms. It didn't take her long to change and brush her teeth before getting into bed.

It didn't occur to her until later that night, by that Crookshanks had already settled back down and was strewn out over the cover perfectly content to doze his night away, when his body was suddenly covered in darkness. Hermione sat up as it finally hit her – throwing back her cover she moved out of bed.

Hearing the tiny muffled meow had her looking back to see the small lump moving around. It made her smile as she leaned over and pulled the quilt back, a ruffled Crook's appeared seconds later, wide eyed and looking around – trying to find what dared attack him from sleep before his eyes set on her.

"Sorry Crooksie."

Already knowing that he wasn't about to attack. He settled back down but not before giving her a haughty look as he placed his head on his paws and closed his eyes, with his dismissal clear she smiled once more before picking up her cardigan and leaving the room.

Sneaking into the boy's room wasn't at all hard. She glanced around the snoring beds before spying Ron – his sheets were tangled and his body was twisted as he slept. Wondering how on earth he managed to make it through the day without bad back posture she crept over to his bed.

Casting silencing charm she perched herself on the edge and observed the snoozing boy. It was amazing what sleep could do to a person's defences. Eyeing his complete laxness, his whole demeanour… unaware to what danger might be lurking around. It was no wonder Sirius made for his bed the first time he broke in.

Breathing in she leaned over and taps his shoulder. A bunch of unintelligible words follow but he doesn't wake up, she tries again this time awarded with a shrug but still nothing to say he noticed her, finally sighing – she stands and moved to the front. She takes a few seconds to stare at his unguarded face how peaceful, it looked.

Right before reaching for his pillow and yanking it from under his head.

Eyes snapping open. His head drops and bounces a little on the mattress. She watches as he swears before lifting himself up a little, looking around before finally seeing the person next to his bed.

Blue eyes meet green in the dark and before he has a chance to shout or swear more, she leans down and covers his mouth. He muffles something but doesn't get far, before she's pushing him back and joining him on his bed. Releasing his mouth he watches as she pulls the curtains down around them before facing him.

"Bloody hell! Hermione… are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Seeing his less than pleased expression she shrugs. "The way you snored, trust me… no one was in danger of giving you anything." She waves a finger round to the other slumbering boys.

"Any of you for that matter."

"Yeah, yeah fine… what's this about anyway?"

"Before down in the common room" His nose crinkles a little as he tries to fight the sleep and think back. "What about it."

"You said anyone would have to mental to put themselves for that." He scratched his chest not knowing what she was on about.

"So,"

"So what did you mean?" Eyes narrowed in confusion. "What did I mean?" She nodded.

"What I said, anyone would be stupid to put themselves in for that." She glanced down to his quilt. He wasn't being deliberately evasive, he was far too sloppy in terms of cunning for that, no this was sleep deprivation plain and simple, but she wasn't giving up.

"Nooo – you said and I quote 'Anyone who would willingly put themselves in for a thing like that would have to be mental in the head,'

He slowly nodded still not getting her point. Seeing his expression she closed her eyes, it was clear she would just have to say it outright… from motivational speaker to unspeakable or spy, Ron's career choices were getting more limited by the day.

"We already know the tournament was going to be hard… very hard, life threatening. That we all knew - so whoever signed up was already going to be touched in the head."

He didn't need help knowing that and snorted as he nodded. "But what you said… 'For a thing like that' implies that you seem to know what the unlucky sod is going to be facing."

His mind, though still a little sleep addled, was slowly getting more alert and now the more he listened to her words, the more he was starting to get her meaning. She smiled when his eyes suddenly lit up with recognition.

"No I don't."

She stayed silent. His reply came just a bit too quick for her to actually believe. Plus this was Ron, he was never any good at keeping things to himself, as lacking as she was in Occlumen's still, she didn't need to delve into his mind to get answers from him.

"You know – Harry did miss you when you weren't speaking." He eyed her carefully, a little confused at the change in conversation.

"He did." She nodded fervently, as if his reply was merely a ridiculous notion. "Of course he did. I mean I tried to cheer him up… but I guess there are only so many things one can talk about that aren't Quidditch and really – need a guy for."

She glanced at the red head who was looking down pensively before carrying on. "I know I was a little late in knowing you had made up… but did you see how happy he was, to have all his friends once again… to know that one more person is on his side."

Ron was now frowning as he listened to her words… he did seem happy downstairs, a lot more relaxed and less on guard of those around him… surely he couldn't of been that downtrodden could he?

"He's been so focused on trying to prepare for the first task. It's all that's been on his mind really… worrying about it … stressing about it … even at one point forgetting to eat he was that nervous.

"He forgot to eat." That was preposterous. The gangly boy looked at his friend with alarm in his eyes… how could anyone forget to eat, it was like the staple of everyday life. She nodded a little morosely before sighing and shaking her head slightly.

"I've been helping him as much as I can, but there is only so much we can do… without the right information." She lifted her eyes and peered at him from under thick lashes to see his slightly discomforted face.

"Think about it Ron… imagine what he would say if he knew you had been keeping something so pivotal to his very life for as long as you have."

She stared at the red head bit his lip. Making her point more she scooted a little closer, "How hurt he would be to know that his recently returned friend had been sitting on knowledge that could very well make a difference between whether he loses or wins… come out unscathed or with terrible injuries."

He swallowed heavily. The first task was very dangerous, he knew there was a good chance of having damage done if not completed properly.

"How betrayed he would feel, knowing you had the answer the whole time… and didn't say a single word."

"All right, all right." She smiled, happily at his defeat as he sat up and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and exhaled heavily. With another shake of his head and some low muttering he lifted his brows to nothing in particular before speaking.

"Its Dragons."

Emerald eyes widen as she gapes at him and his answer. "…Dragons." He nods as she hisses lightly and looks away.

"Bugger." He snorts, amused at her response before shaking his head. "Something similar was my reaction as well."

"Does anyone else know." He shakes his head. "Charlie told me not to tell anyone." She looks back to him. "Charlie… he's the keeper in Romania isn't he."

"That's the one."

It's her turn to run a hand through her hair, as she tugs on the ends before turning to glance at the sleeping occupant in the next bed. "You have to tell him soon."

"I know"

"Like, tomorrow soon." His head creases a little at her reply before seeing the pointed look on her face. "You owe him."

Licking his lips he nods silently, he had been a first class prat the recent days, and if this is what it took to make up for it then that was what he would do, screw Charlie's instructions.

"All right." She smiled at him. For once proud that he had done the right thing, or was going to… he had no idea just how much they had been searching. Now it would be a hell of a lot easier for them to help before the task was upon him. Biding him goodnight, she slid from the curtains and over to the door as he watched her go, as soon as she had left and the door clicked shut, he fell back to his pillows and promptly closed his eyes.

The next morning and what sleep she had left to gain. Hermione got up and slowly changed as she set off down the stairs ready for the day ahead, she looked to the fireplace to see the back of Harry's head and frowned. Normally she was the first down and so made her way over to him.

On seeing the emotionless expression on his face… well she said that, there was a slight tinge of something that looked to her like… defeat as she sighed and sat next to him.

"Ron told you then."

All at once his head snapped round as he eyed her, "Wait – you knew." She nodded silently and held him off as he went to speak. "Before you get all bitchy at me, I only found out last night… early morning, whatever – but the point is that you know now, so it will be easier for us to help you before you face them."

He nodded at her, still not saying a word, before turning back to the fire. "Come on, it won't be that bad."

"Dragons, Hermione… I have to face Dragons… it's only the first task and that's what I'm up against." He fell forwards slightly, face in hands, his whole posture reeking of defeat as she shuffled closer.

"It's only as bad as you make it… you have an advantage." She peeked through his hands at her. "How so."

"Well no one else knows… this gives you a head start, use this… look – they may not have said it, but the others, they don't think you able to compete… we all know how that little blonde bitch looks at you, like your less… not worthy of taking part. No matter how you got here the point is you are, if being less than honourable mean's you get one over on them… then who cares,"

He sat back up looking at her, he knew that Krum and the French witch had looked down on him with their own accusing stares… he didn't ask to be here but like Hermione said he was, he wasn't going away no matter how much they wanted, plus they were older and knew more than he did.

She was right. If this was what it took to gain a head start over them then he was going to use it, he was tired of playing the hero all the time, being the good guy when the rest seemed to mock him… he was going to play along and he was going to go into this winning.

"What do I have to do." A small smirk spread over her lips at his response. Inwardly she didn't think he had it in hi to be deceitful, he was far too noble for that but here he was telling her he would do whatever it took to show them all.

"Leave that to me."

Letting his have the day off to just do whatever it was he did to relax. Hermione took to the library, through the free they had, the rest of lunch and at the end of the day when lessons had finished. She was there, looking through every book they hadn't searched, even going as far to break into the restricted section once more.

Casting a disillusioning Charm when the clacking of heels signalled the arrival of Pince, she waited until the much older woman searched the seemingly empty area for stragglers, finding nothing she spun on her heel and moved off. Moments later the sudden outing of candles and the banging of the door, told her that the library had been locked for the night.

For everyone else that may be as she got back to reading once the nearest candles had been re-lit, to say the librarian took great pains and measures to make sure her books and isles were perfect and safe. She didn't do much about the security of the door as a simple unlocking spell as all she ever used.

As she got back to reading she mused on why that might have been… maybe she though that because no one was ever out after curfew, extra charms weren't needed.

Wasn't she sorely misguided on that assumption.

It was halfway through the night when she finally found it, the spell that would surely help Harry win the contest.. Or at least come out on top seeing as there were meant to be no losers. As she wrote down the spell and the description, she idly wondered if he was capable of pulling off such a spell.

It was not even the seventh year range. This was something far more advanced and much more dangerous. Biting her lip, she placed the paper in her pocket and proceeded to put the books back where she found them. It was a long stretch but they had time. She would make sure he at least attempted it.

Once everything was tidied away, she blew out the candles and made her way down the aisles to the door. Making sure to lock it on her way she left the library as empty as Pince had, and made her way back to the tower.