Hi, guys. I am so sorry. It took me time to update this chapter, and this is so mean of me, I just let you with a little emotional cliffie ^^. I had so many work in school. And actually, I still have: but I used some of my spare time to write this, so forgive me if this is not the kind of chapter you'd been waiting for. I hope you'll like it though. I don't own Harry Potter (but I assume you had already got that point ^^)

I was walking along the corridor, calmly, silently. I tried my hardest to attenuate the big smile on my face since Cedric and I had opened our heart to each other. Yeah, all my friends had remarked my change of state, it wasn't hard to notice actually, I had switched from an unhappy and desperate ghost to a smiling and friendly girl in only a couple of hours. But, I couldn't help myself, of course, I wasn't the kind of girl who giggle just because her boyfriend gave her a wink or because he simply ran his fingers through his hair...Oh no, Merlin save me from this...I disliked these girls too much to become one of them. I hadn"t planned on giggling at Cedric's face everytime he would have had the misfortune to give a glance at my direction. Yes, I am happy but not the kind of laughable and hormonal happiness that girls feel when they have a crush, it was something more profound and serious to me. One smile was enough to express my feelings, and I think that Cedric will be satisfied of it. He wasn't the kind of boy who likes to see his girlfriend drooling in front of one of his messy lock of hair...

Cedric and I were officially " in love " for a couple of days. Besides, it was a little scary to say " in love " because it could have sounded a little precocious to any sensible person. Cedric and I hadn't been in the crush, then flirting, kissing, and finally declaration's phases. In theory people could say that Cedric and I had gone too far too fast, but I completely disagree. I deeply think that our loveship is as strong as another one, or even stronger. When others were still wooing, Cedric and I were falling for each other's soul. Knowing Cedric's state, there was no physical contact, no lust, only feelings. Our relationship isn't interfered by some confusing and deceptive longings. Of course I want to feel his touch, of course I want to feel his lips caressing mine. I desire him, but this feeling had never been dominant in my mind, and I had no doubt Cedric was feeling the same.

However, we had spent those two days talking about anything except our feelings for each other. We had talked about the potion, the ingredients, Scott's help about the meaning of the Starcatcher Spell, Aaron, Malfoy, Harry, even the twins, but not about our feelings.

I assume that Scott was right, Cedric was a shy boy. Of course, he had been tender and sweet to me (just like usual) but nothing more, and I am not the one who would blame him for this. In a way, I felt relieved, I didn't want to spend my whole days displaying my feelings...

I reached the library and came in. I greeted Madam Pince and sat on the isolated table. I discreetly opened my big secret book and read it, waiting for Cedric to meet me up.

Ten minutes later, I saw him fly accross the wall and come to me, he looked a bit irritated.

" Merlin, the first thing I'm going to do when I'll be back is beat Malfoy up " he exclaimed.

I smirked.

" What did he do? " I asked.

Cedric tensed up, but then shrugged. " It's not important what he did, what does really matter is what he is desperately asking for: a thrashing ".

I bit my lower lip.

" Okay, did he say something about the frame, or you? "

Cedric shook his head. " I don't give a damn of what he could say about me ".

" What is it, then? ". I gave an inquisitive look at Cedric who shrugged again. " Too many shruggings " I thought.

At that moment, the twins burst into the library (yeah, the Weasley twins...in the library). They walked to me.

" Hermione, you missed something big " George erupted

" In the corridor " Fred added.

" next to the great Hall ".

I nodded. " What happened? "

The twins glanced at each other.

" Malfoy opened his venomous mouth " Fred said

" against you " George huffed.

I turned to Cedric who gave me an apologetic and guilty look. Everything seemed clear concerning his evasive behaviour.

" So what? " I said, talking to the three of the boys " We all know Malfoy, he's not going to change and become angelic ".

The twins laughed. " Just hush up Hermione, we're coming to the interesting part " they said.

I frowned, now curious.

" Logan punched him when he heard he called you Mudblood "

I widened my eyes in surprise. " What! " I almost shouted. " That is so silly ". Scott was a wonderful boy, but Merlin he could be so impulsive sometimes.

" That is so cool " the twins corrected me.

" Malfoy stayed still on the floor acting like the new corridor carpet " Fred giggled.

In other circumstances, I would have probably laughed hard, but I was worried enough for Scott to keep this urge.

" McCoy pulled them apart " Fred said.

" Just like there was the need to " George laughed, talking about Malfoy's inactivity into the fight.

The twins patted my shoulder just like to comfort me, and then walked off saying that this library "sucks"and that they couldn't stay in here any longer.

I turned towards Cedric.

" Why did Scott do that? " I asked.

" Scott is a faithful and protective friend, I assume he just couldn't kept quiet in front of Malfoy. Don't be mad at him " he said.

" I'm not " I answered " But what about Aaron? "

Cedric shrugged and smiled.

" It's not the first fight Scott has got into. And Aaron is an Hufflepuff, he'll be quite accomodating, don't worry "

" You watched the fight? " I asked.

" I didn't miss a thing " He answered smirking, and proud of his friend's behaviour. " But I wish I could have been able to do it myself, I can't allow anybody to badmouth you ".

I smiled while I watched his tender look on me. I then shook my head and took a serious face and voice.

" Concerning your potion we'll need two important ingredients I didn't find in Hogsmeade "

Cedric was polite enough to not dwell upon our talking and nodded. He leaned and read the lines on the page.

" Female Unicorn horn's powder and Life Essence... " he murmured.

I nodded. " I think I could ask Hagrid for the Unicorn horn, and for Life Essence...well, let's say I may have a solution, but I need to put the finishing touches " I cleared my throat embarrassingly and felt Cedric's inquisitive look on me. I rubbed my temple, concerned for something else. " We need some blood " I added.

" Blood? " he repeated.

" Yeah, only a few drops to make the Life Essence work " I explained " Do you have a sample of yours? " I asked tentatively.

" Yeah, you'll find it in my drawer just next to some locks of my hair, and a tooth " he responded wryly.

I scowled, feeling incredibly silly for asking something like this. " Sorry, but I'm a little worried, we need some blood and you know it's not something you can ask to anybody, it's important. You will keep those drops of blood in your body for the rest of your life " I explained.

Cedric smiled and nodded " Let's focus on those two ingredients first. We'll deal with this setback later ".

I sighed. How was he able to trivialize this big point as a simple and ridiculous 'setback'? I felt like I was more worried about this Spell than he was. He looked just confident like if it was obvious that everything will go easily. He was more serene than I could never been, and this statement was as frightening as it was pleasant to me.

Cedric gave me his most tender smile and sat on the bench next to me. He put his hand on the book and stared at me. " I thought I had learned you to become a little more emancipated concerning all nerve cells stuff. We need to work on that " he murmured in a smooth way.

I observed him and finally let go, smiling at him.

Just after the lunch, I left Harry and Ron and quickly walked to Hagrid's hut. I knocked at his door and waited, feeling a little nervous but confident. Hagrid greeted me and made me come in. He proposed me a chair, ten times bigger than me and got back to his work. He was brushing Fang with what was actually a scrub brush. After five minutes, he glanced at me with an horrified look.

" I'm sorry. I loose all my good manners. Do you want some tea? " he asked.

If I know something sure concerning Hagrid it's that this is just wrong to refuse Hagrid's tea.

" Certainly " I grinned.

Hagrid smiled, obviously smug, and prepared the water. When the kettle whistled, he poured the hot water on a cup with tea and handed it to me. We drank, talking about school, Harry, Ron and my disturbance with Aaron McCoy ( even if I would have liked to skip this subject ).

After twenty minutes, I finally decided to come up to the important subject.

" Hagrid " I trailed off. My friend was brushing Fang again. " I would like to ask you a favour ". He nodded and brushed harder the dog. " Could you give me some Female Unicorn horn's powder? " I asked.

Hagrid instantly stopped and looked up at me. I winced when I saw his baffled face.

" I don't know why you're asking this Hermione, but the Female Unicorn's horn is really powerful, it also can be dangerous between bad hands. "

I ran my fingers through my hair, that sounded a little more difficult than I had thought.

" It's for a personnal work " I explained " And I know that the Unicorn horn has a lot of magical properties. But you also know that I'll never do something reckless or dangerous "

Hagrid looked me up and down.

" Does it concern Harry? " he sighed in exasperation. " Oh Merlin, why does this boy have the knack to put himself into trouble? ".

" It has nothing to do with Harry. I swear " I exclaimed. Hagrid gave me an accusative look. " And I don't Harry or Ron to hear about this talking. Hagrid, you can trust me. I'll use this powder carefully. I need your help, I can't explain you why right now, but I promise that you'll understand everything soon " I whispered like I was afraid to be heard. To be sure, I made him puppy-dog eyes.

Hagrid considered me, grabbed his scrub brush and use it on Fang. " I think I could find you what you need " he whispered " But, I'll need to go into the Forbidden Forest ".

I smiled and nodded. " Take your time, Hagrid. I don't need it today but..." I trailed off.

" When do you need it? " he asked brushing the dog so roughly that I thought Fang's skin would have flied into the air if it was possible.

" In a week? " I embarrassingly said, nervously twisting my fingers. I needed time to prepare the potion and to be on time.

Hagrid shook his head, musing. " You'll get it in four days " he said, half-confused, half-guilty acting like that he was giving me the key of Azkaban.

I jumped from my seat and hugged him.

Now, I needed the Life Essence, and the work tended to be more complicated.

The next night, I was in the commor room, nervously going round in circles. What this a good idea? I didn't know, and to be honest I didn't care. I just knew that I needed to do it. I had planned everything, all I needed now was Cedric. I had asked him to meet me at 10 pm on the dot. I watched the clock: it was in two minutes. Everybody was asleep, and I had myself got into the bed before waking up after I was sure no one will see me. Actually, the only person who knew about my expedition was Harry, and just because I had no choice to tell him about it: I had asked him his cloak. Curious, I had had to explain him that I had planned to go out during the night. He had asked me why, but I chose to kept quiet concerning this. I had just told him it was important and that he needed to trust me (actually, the same words I had used in Hagrid's hut). Harry had nodded and he have given me the cloak, asking me to be careful.

Really, it was useless to tell him where I was planning to go. I wasn't even sure that Cedric will agree, too.

He appeared in the room and smiled.

" You're just in time " I said, relieved. " Okay, let's go " I added, grabbing the cloak and my wand.

" Where are we going? " he asked.

" I'll tell you later, but I need your non-complete ghost capacities "

Cedric frowned but nodded while he followed me.

We were both walking along the empty and dark corridors. I felt a little nervous and Cedric's laugh wasn't helping me to get better.

" So you had planned to get into Snape's office and to rob him, right? " he said.

I rolled my eyes. " I'm not robbing him, okay. It's just a loan " I glanced at Cedric who was giving me a suspect look that made me feel uncomfortable. " And stop looking at me that way. We need this Life Essence, I'll get it somehow or other ". I watched Cedric who had now an inquisitive and surprised look. " You think I'm frightening and what I'm doing is wrong, don't you? " I asked.

Cedric frowned and smiled. " I...think you look particularly sexy, and what you're doing is exciting. You're a surprising one, Hermione "

I looked down, and felt myself flushing a little. " I had an excellent teacher " I responded, smirking.

Cedric stared at me and grinned. I could have kept like that during long minutes but this wasn't neither the time nor the place.

" Okay, now do your job and watch over " I said.

Cedric nodded and flied along the next corridors. He came back a few seconds later.

" You can go on " he said.

I walked along the corridor observing Cedric levitating in the air. He kept quiet but looked particularly worried, like if he was thinking about something. He finally opened the mouth.

" We know that Snape is a shark. His office must be sealed with a dozen of spells " he said.

" Only one, actually. But very powerful, only him or Dumbledore can break it. " I said " So if I can't break the Spell..."

" ...you can get in the office while it is inactive " he completed, now understanding my idea.

I nodded and took a deep breathe. " Snape is still in his office, preparing some potions. So I had the idea of using the plan of yours. " I esplained thinking of the story he had told me during Cjristmas Eve. Cedric raised an eyebrow. " We distract him, but this time, you keep the door and I get into the office ".

Cedric gave me a musing look. But I had imagined the whole possibilities, it was going to work, it needed to work. It was the only way to get what we want for the potion.

" Are you sure of you? " Cedric asked " I don't want you to get into trouble ".

I watched his worried face and smiled. I tried my best to reassure him, and even if he looked more nervous than I was, we made our way towards Snape's office.

I silently walked up to his closed door. Okay, it was time. No coming-back. I tightly grabbed my wand and casted the Spell. We heard the foreseen noise, and Snape burst out of his office the wand on the hand, like if he was ready to Avada Kadavra every student who had the bad idea to go out in the castle in the night.

Cedric followed Snape and motionned to me to go into the office. I rushed inside and franctically ran my eyes over all the racks. The excitation and the fear that were overwhelming were so strong. I, Hermione Granger, had intruted into Snape's personnal office, in the middle of the night, with an invisibility cloak to loan...damn it...to rob one of his ingredients. Of course, I had disobeyed a lot to help Harry the years before, but usually it was Harry who makes all these unauthorized expeditions around the castle in the middle of the night. I was the brainy one in the trio, but now I had become the adventurous and active one for this duet.

I didn't find what I was looking for on the big racks. The panic got me: Snape was the Potions teacher, he must have this Life Essence, it was like finding out that Dumbledore's beard was fake! Just impossible.

I dropped the cloak on the floor and looked all around me to get a better view of the office. Time was beating, and Snape would certainly not spend the whole night in an empty corridor, letting the door of his office big open.

I turned and caught a glance of a black wood cupboard, just behind the big desk. I ran to it and used the Alohomora Spell. There were little glass bottles with many types of liquids. My eyes caught a bright blue liquid in a smaller bottle. I had read anough aout the Life Essence in the books to know the lighter the blue liquid was, the richer the Essence was. I exulted when I saw this was of a lighter blue than the morning sky. My hand reached my jeans pocket to get an empty little glass bottle and a pipette. With the latter, I carefully took a sample of the liquid and squished it into my own bottle. I took care to not spill some drops of the precious liquid.

Cedric irrupted into the room.

" Hermione, he's back. Come on " he called.

I was concentrated as I watched with attention the drops pouring down the glass. " I need some more " I murmured.

With my pipette I took another sample. Cedric watched me, worried like I had never seen him before. He glanced towards the door with an impatient look.

" Please Hermione. We got enough. You need to go, now " he urged me.

I nodded even if my focus was clearly more on the pipette than his words. Cedric sighed. I needed this Essence, it was the most important ingredient of the potion. I needed the right dosage to be sure the potion will be perfect. I couldn't failed preparing it, it was the potion that could bring Cedric back to life, to me. I could even be caught by Snape himself thht I wouldn't give it a damn, it wouldn't be worth the Essence, it would not be worth Cedric. I finally let out the last drop of liquid. I closed the cupboard, and digged the glass bottle into my pocket. I ran back to the cloak and covered myself with it before rushing out of the office.

I almost knocked into Snape's big and dark body. He looked particularly upset, even if I wasn't sure of the reason: because he had thought some students were going out in the castle, or because he hadn't had the opportunity to catch one.

I heard him noisily slammed the door after he walked in and I ran along the corridor.

When I was sure I was far enough from Snape and in a place where I couldn't be seen, I took off the invisibility cloak and looked at my relieved Cedric. I handed the bottle and stretched it out towards him.

" We did it! " I exclaimed in a lowered voice, excited.

Cedric grinned and leaned to me. He covered my hand that was holding the bottle and kissed my knuckles. " You did it " he corrected me " I'm proud of you ".

I smiled and flushed at his tender endearment (even if I couldn't bloody feel it). But, also, I felt happy, happy because I had did it, but especially, because of his words. I wanted nobody else more than him to be proud of me.

Author's note: I wanted to thank you for your reviews. I finally reached the one hundred reviews. Thank you all, guys. I really wish taht you liked this chapter. We're close to the special night. Excited? I am.

I wanted to thank the anonymous reviewers, I wish I could answer you. So I do it, now:

- Hrist Valkyrie: thank you so much. I love to read your reviews, they made my day!

- Jessy: je ne sais pas si tu es de France (on va supposer que oui), eh bien tu es la (ou le) seule française qui ait commenté ma fiction. Merci!

- Lovitlots: thank you for your wonderful and exciting review. I liked it so much. I really appreciate your enthousiasm for my fiction. Hope you liked this chapter, too.

- Pandaplease: thank you so much! Wish you liked it.

- Shell: No, that's not the end! I can't just let the story like that. Hope you'll like the next chapters. And I'm so glad you liked my Starcatcher Spell...thank you so much

Thank you all guys, and please keep on reviewing, they make me want to write more...