I'm going to go ahead and say that I don't like this chapter. It's a filler of sorts. Something that needed to happen in order to advance the plot. Mind you this is a look at Harry Potter, in medieval times, with Draco/Hermione.

So much more to come.

Days later Hermione and Ginerva were in the library searching out research materials when Hermione found a huge book detailing the history of the castle. It was gorgeous. Whoever went through the trouble of inking and binding it truly love the castle. She ran her fingers over the firm leather and the soft parchment, soaking in as much information as possible.

"I honestly don't understand what you are looking for in the library." Ginerva said, her own hand on a smaller leather bound book.

Hermione shrugged, reading about the founders of the four Kingdoms was far from boring for her. "The more we learn about the castle the better we can defend it. The final fight is going to happen here, Ginerva."

"You sound so sure." Ginerva said scratching her quill into the book in front of her.

"Voldemort is familiar with this castle, he schooled here before they shut it down. Tactically this is his best chance to take us down."

"Sure." Ginerva replied but Hermione could tell that she lost her friends interest. The red head was too focused on the book in front of her to pay any mind to battle plans. "I'm going to go back to the dormitory. I'll see you at dinner."

"Alright." Hermione tried not to sound disappointed. She did love to have a person in the room with her as she read. Company, regardless of how quiet, could be comfort enough.

Harry appeared a few minutes later with a bag of treats in his hand. He was upset at first to see that Ginerva didn't stay with Hermione, but he also needed some private time with his friend to apologize, which wasn't going to be easy. Hermione peered over her book at him, narrowing them for a moment before looking back down.

"Hello."

"Hello, your majesty." she replied curtly, taking out a parchment to jot down some notes to herself.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Why not? You've made your opinions of me quite public as of late."

"Hermione, you've put me in an odd position."

"And what is that, Harry? Have you forgotten how often I have saved your arse?" she swore, instantly wanting to spit the sour word out of her mouth.

"When we were young I didn't have to look at you like a woman. You always safe guarded your honor on your own and Ron and I were never concerned about other men in your life. Malfoy complicates things. I feel responsible for you, for everything. I put you in this position because you are my friend and you wont tell me anything anymore. I don't know if you care about him, or if he is still forcing you to be with him. I've seen him destroy the reputations of many ladies and I can't watch him do that to you."

"So you call me a harlot in front of other Lords and Ladies."

"Do you realize how scared I was when you didn't come back when you were hunting? Ginerva took off to check by the lake, Ron and I checked all the way from the pitch to the back side of the school. Everyone was searching top to bottom for you and then to top it off, Gin tells me that she and Draco found you, you've gotten engaged, and disappeared again. What was I supposed to think? I know you are a willful and strong woman but you know not what a man can do to a woman with enough persistence."

"I know very well how to fight off the wills of men. Are you forgetting that I burned a monster to a crisp in Slytherin?"

"Would you do that to Malfoy?" Harry asked and Hermione's eyes widened. Would she kill him? Could she kill him?

"No."

"Exactly. If he tried something, you wouldn't fight back. You would rationalize like you always do."

"I appreciate your concern Harry, but I don't need you to protect me." she reached across the table, offering him touch as a forgiveness. "I'm marrying Draco. I love him, Harry. I promise I will make sure that he is on our side."

"I can't say that I like that your marrying one of my enemies, but he is more pleasant when you are around." Harry cracked a smile, but instead of touching her hand back he walked around the table and embraced her. "We're going to be alright."

"We are." She said with a smile and released him. "When are you going to properly propose to Ginerva. You should see her eyes when she looks at my ring, Harry."

"Well, you can keep a secret." Harry said pulling out a small pouch and untying it to reveal a golden ring. It was shaped like a flower with a ruby adoring the middle, as if it just bloomed. "I'm giving it to her on Yule. It was my mothers."

"It's absolutely gorgeous." Hermione turned it under the light, the blood red ruby shining under it. "It truly is perfect for her."

"I thought she would like this one. The others were a little to...gaudy."

Hermione laughed, making Harry smile. It had been a while since she expressed so much mirth. "I forgot how close Yule was. It hasn't snowed yet."

"Little over a month away." he looked out the large stained window. "We should have the first snow fall anytime now."

Harry, Ron and Hermione gathered around the fireplace with warm butter beers. Hermione regaled them about the history of the castle, telling them that their were enchanted passageways that could be useful for tactical defense. They all seemed to be comfortable with each other, like old times, when a hurt scream let out in the castle. The three looked at each other at first, confirming what they heard before running out of the common room.

Another yelled pulled them down the stairs to a long corridor. Filch was holding Ms. Norris up by her tail, looking desperate to awaken her. "Did one of you brats do this to my cat?" he growled, more pained than anything. "Fix her! Fix her you damn wizards!"

"The Chamber of Secrets has been open, Enemies of the heir beware." Draco repeated, looking at Hermione across the hall. His eyes darted around the corridor. "Did you see anyone else?"

Filch turned to him with all the twisted rage he had in him. "FIX HER!"

"What does it mean?" Harry asked Draco who shrugged.

"It means that someone is attacking muggleborns." she looked at the blaring red paint on the wall. "I have to get back to the common room."

"No one is going to hurt you, Hermione." Harry ensured her reaching for her hand.

"I'm not worried about me, Harry. The book I found had something about this in it. I plan to figure it out."

Dumbledore showed up fresh out of bed. He looked frazzled with his night cap twisted on his head. He took Ms. Norris from Filch's hands, holding the petrified cat gently in his arms. "We will figure this out, Argus. For now, everyone get back to your common rooms. I'll be instilling a curfew from now on. If what I think is free than we have a problem."

Dawn broke before Hermione finished reading over the chapter seven times. She knew she would have to figure out what kind of magic could do this, but something kept telling her it wasn't a spell, it was a creature.

Ginerva walked into the circlet with a dazed look on her face. Hermione looked up, knowing full well that she couldn't comment on the other girls state when she herself hadn't slept all night. "You heard then?"

"Heard?" Ginny said her eyes clearing just a fraction as she seemed to wake up.

"About the attack last night? There is someone hunting muggleborns in the castle."

"What?" she said startled, her face paler than before. "Is someone hurt? Is someone dead?"

"Calm down, Ginerva. No one is hurt, just Filch's mangy cat..." Hermione trailed off for a moment looking around the common room for her own cat. "Have you seen Crookshanks?"

"What made you remember the beast? Mangy or cat?" Ronald quipped coming down the stairs of the tower. "I saw him about five minutes ago clawing at Harry's sheets."

"Thank gods." Hermione said feeling some ease. "I'm going to go to the library. There should be a bestiary there."

"You shouldn't go alone." Ronald said taking her arm gently. Genuine worry in eyes. "You haven't slept. You should at least get some rest."

"I can't waste the day light, Ronald." she frowned, "I think this thing prefers to attack at night. Besides who ever is controlling it wouldn't want to get caught doing it during the day time."

Draco found her later with books piled up all around her. He couldn't help but like the fact that she could not only read but insisted on reading everything. She didn't notice him approach, chewing on the end of a quill as she scribbled notes on parchment in front of her. She was still in clothing from the night before, dark circles under her eyes told him that she stayed up all night.

"Can you take a break to get breakfast?"

"Not right now." she told him without looking up. She scribbled more on the paper, her eyes so focused on the things in front of her. Suddenly she stood up, placing all the books in a neat pile and rolling up the parchment.

He followed her, knowing that stopping her when she was determined was far from likely. She found Ronald and Harry effortlessly. Rolling out the parchment to point out a few ideas. The boys didn't seem to understand what she was explain to them however, focusing their sights on Draco the second she told them the heir would be the heir to Slytherin controlling it.

"I'm going to stop your line of thought right there, gentlemen." Draco settled down on the bench arrogantly. "I'm not the heir of Slytherin. My family took over three hundred years ago when the last heir decided to disappear."

"Any ideas then?"

"It could be anyone. The family disappeared without a trace. No one actually knows what happened. My ancestors were the closest advisors to the king so we took over." he picked up a sausage from a platter. "Besides, do you honestly think I would put my betrothed in danger?"

"It would be better if you didn't expect me to trust you."

"After all this time, Potter?" he grinned. "You Gryffindor are a proud sort."

Hours later Harry and Ron were playing wizarding chess. They kept an eye on the clock, expecting Hermione back at any moment. They didn't like that she insisted on going off on her own, but she threatened to burn them to a crisp if they kept treating her like a doll. The porthole opened and they turned to look, hoping to see Hermione.

"Let's go get her, Ronald." Harry finally said when their game was over, another crushing defeat at the hands of the red head made him need to get out. The corridors were silent, almost too silent as they rounded the corners. Of course the impending curfew was enough to get everyone to the common rooms.

"Nick?" Harry asked looking at the ghost just floating there, he didn't move or talk back. His neck hung ascew on the side, not completely seperated but something was wrong. Harry looked through him, seeing the blonde Hufflepuff on the floor that arrived days before. "Justin?" he called out, but the young man didn't move.

"Harry? Ronald?" Hermione called out after hearing their voices. She froze at the scene in front of her. "We have to get Dumbledore."

Harry and Ronald took off in the direction of the office, but Hermione stayed behind, walking over to Justin's petrified body. She checked for any wounds, finding none, but the biggest mystery was the frozen ghost in front of her. Then she saw it, perfectly in her line of sight, from where Justin had been standing was Sir Nick.

Ms. Norris had to have seen its reflection in the water. Justin saw it through Sir Nick, and Sir nick couldn't exactly die twice...Something on it could kill by sight. Like a medusa's eyes.

"Hermione?!" Draco yelled running forward and she shook out of her trance. "Oh gods. I thought you were-"

"I'm fine. I have to go." she touched his arm for a second and ran. Draco watched, becoming accustomed to his betrothed running off like a mad woman. Leaving him behind with the bodies when Potter, Dumbledore and Ronald decided to show it.

He threw up his hands, "Hermione was here a second ago."

"And you just keep showing up to the scenes of the crime." Harry said with an eyebrow threatening to hide his scar.

"I have a way of finding her."

"Yes yes, Voldemort's dog can sniff out magical signatures." Ronald said and Draco tensed up.

"One day you're going to push me too far Weasel," he walked up to him, nearly touching his nose. "And when you do, you're going to wish you could hide."

Hermione spent every waking hour in the library for weeks. Another attack occurred on a young boy named Collin, making Hermione restless. Four victims laid up in the hospital wing with no cure. Hermione found herself drawn to the second floor bathroom, hoping to drawn the ghost out of Moaning Myrtle, the only person killed by beast the first time it attacked.

"Hello?" she called out, looking around the dreary bathroom. She fiddled with the knob as she closed it, feeling nervous as the cold crept up on her. "Myrtle?"

"WHAT?!" the ghost came screaming out of one of the stalls, nearly sending Hermione to the wet floor in shock. "What do you want? Come to make fun of moaning myrtle? Bet you never get made fun of with a face like that!"

"I'm muggleborn, too." Hermione said looking up and hoping the ghost would take some kindness to her.

"OH! My my send a muggleborn in to talk to another muggleborn! Get a sympathy session somewhere else!"

"I want to know what happened to you, that night."

"Why? So you and your perfect friends can laugh about it?"

"It's happening again. I want to stop it."

"GO AWAY!" she screamed and water started to spout from everywhere.

Draco shot up in his seat. His sweaty skin sticking to the hot leather. Something was wrong. His hands tugged at the cotton shirt to cover his exposed skin as he ran, sweaty and scared to the point of irrationality. "Hermione!" he screamed feeling her magic flare again, and then nothing. He couldn't sense her, there was a void. "No!"

Hermione was making her way back from the library, a mirror in her hand so she could see if anything was behind her without looking directly at it. She knew what it was, finally figured it out and now she could tell Harry and Ronald and they could put an end to it. The bright eyes stared back at her in the mirror however, freezing her like marble where she stood.

Draco rounded the corner to find her, still as a statue standing with a mirror in one hand and her heavy skirt in the other. He approached slowly, his heart pounding in his chest. Was she dead or petrified? He touched her face, cold as stone. "No." he cupped her cheek, kissing her delicately. "Wake up."

"Malfoy!"

"It...got to her." he said holding onto the stiff body. "This ends Potter. Were going to find the thing and kill it."

I think Lord Voldemort is about to learn a good lesson about not touching a Malfoy's things.