"Rose?" Albus asked his voice full of surprise.

The clatter of footsteps that scared Snape off (what a coward) had belonged to Albus who was just returning to the dungeons following a detention.

"Hi." I said sounding heavier than I had hoped, but how could blame me my conversation with the infamous Severus Snape was ruined by him.

"What are you doing down here?" his voice was full suspicion like I had been brewing some illegal potion down here.

"Ummmm…" I stalled placing my hand on chin. "I got lost."

"Lost?" asked Albus half dumbfounded and half amused.

"Very, very lost." I concluded.

Albus nodded clearly buying the ridiculous stupid lie. As he nodded the his jet back uncontrollable hair, even worse than mine if you can even imagine such a thing, bounced along with his head. He had grown his hair to shoulder length something that drove Grandma Molly up the wall. Over the summer Grandma Molly tried to cut it when Aunt Ginny couldn't get him to sit still to cut it herself but Albus has become a master at avoiding the attempts, he runs and hides somewhere for hours where nobody can find him.

Albus' body has grown too. His limbs where starting to get awkward and lanky just like the Uncle Harry's in the pictures mom and dad have shown me. I had grown too or so my mother said but that could be all just a pack of lies since I cannot see anything remotely different about my height or myself for that matter.

"There you are Al!" called a Slytherin boy. I recognised him as part of Malfoy gang as he came into the light of the torch on the wall. His eyes peered at me suspiciously and cruelly.

Suddenly the corridor filled with the laughter and rude chattering's of school boys. At that sound a name flashed violently into my head. 'MALFOY!" it screamed making me run as fast as I could without even a goodbye to Albus as I left the dungeons.

Later that Friday evening I would have to confront Malfoy with some kind of stupid plan and I was dreading it. I sat in armchair in the corner of the Ravenclaw corridor room silently and grumpily trying to think up of a plan.

"What wrong, Rose?" asked Jane. She was sitting at a table nearby studying notes for the upcoming Potions exam. She did not take her eyes off her notes as she waited for me to answer.

I sighed and said. "Wizarding law and Malfoy."

"That is some seriously strange thinking, Rose." Abby said. She was sitting next Jane trying to make card 'castle'-thingy out of muggle playing cards.

"More like a headache than strange." I muttered pushing back the sleeve of my robe to check the time on my watch. Ten minutes to get to detention. "I better leave."

"Bye, Rose." They both said in sync as I left the common room.

It was cold outside of Ravenclaw common room without the heat of the roaring fire in the common room to give me constant warmth I was shaking with the cold. I stretched my muscles out as I walked trying to wake them up from the hour of sitting in comfortable armchair. I made it to Professor Flitwick's office with no time at all to spare I was five minutes late.

"Finally!" exclaimed Malfoy dramatically from his seat in front of Flitwick's desk as I walked in.

'Well, hello to you too!' I restrained myself from responding.

Malfoy was sitting with bored expression on his face in the hard-back chair in front of Flitwick desk looking up at me.

"You shall be serving your detention tonight in the Library." Professor Flitwick said as soon as I shut the door in a tone that told me he did not appreciate me being late. "I suggest you hurry Mr Filch is waiting."

Professor Flitwick returned to grading his large stack of papers at his desk.

I left the room follow by an annoyed Malfoy.

"I'll help you." I said quietly almost inaudible.

Malfoy looked taken back and stopped in his tracks. "What?"

"You heard me, Malfoy."

"How?" Malfoy asked watching me carefully as if he expected I was about to lead him into a trap.

I started to list off every possible option I had thought of in the past hour in the Ravenclaw common room. Malfoy listened to each one of them with a glint of hope in his eyes that actually made him look quite approachable and perhaps to stretch friendly.

"Come on were going to miss detention." I said when I ran out of ideas. We started slowly walking towards the Library which was only five minutes from Mr Flitwick's office but as it turns out we didn't miss detention we were an half an hour late for it.

"About time!" Flitwick spat at us. The key to the Library was clutched in his filth and (ugh) greasy hand. At his knee sat Mrs Norris looking as fabulous as usual (like a decomposing rat).

"Wands." He ordered holding out his free hand to us. I handed over my wand with reluctance followed by Malfoy.

"Tonight, you miserable brats will be dusting the books and whatever else needs doing." Filch smiled cruelly. "Without magic." He added happily.

Malfoy let out a loud groan. Filch shot him a look and mutter a couple of impolite word to describe Malfoy under his breath that by the way smells like sewage.

He shoved opened the large towering doors to the Library. As soon as Malfoy and I stepped foot in the door he slammed the doors shut with a loud bang almost trapping the end of my robe in the door.

Madam Pince looked up with eyes like daggers as the loud bang interrupted the peaceful silence of the Library. Her beady black eyes darted to Malfoy and I. I wanted to moan loudly to express my feeling of utter dread that I would be force to spend my Friday night cleaning the Library not being allowed to read the books I love in here under the supervision of Madam Pince.

I looked up at Malfoy who seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me by the look of his facial expression, but we both knew moaning or making any sound was not going to help matters, only make them worst.

The old woman rose from seat at her desk to face us.

"Come." She snapped impatiently.

Malfoy and I stood before her desk awaiting our doom to be handed out to us by her.

"You are an half an hour late. The time shall be added on at the end of this detention."

But before we could react she forced rotten moth eaten rags into our hands and ordered. "Dust each book carefully."

And with that we were forced into the endless maze shelfs dusting hundreds of years old books.

During the hour that we were in the Library we got screamed at a bunch of times by Madam Pince and not to mention a couple of haunted books. And this happened…

"OWWWW!" yelped Malfoy.

I turned around to tell him to shut it when to my hilarious surprise saw a green book with gold twisty writing on the cover latched on tightly to Malfoy's pointy nose. I nearly fell over laughing.

"This isn't funny! Do something, Weasley!" snapped Malfoy as colour started to fill his cheeks.

I could see Madam Pince stomping in our direction as fast as her old age could permit her to. I knew it would be a while before she got here because we were as far back in the Library as we could get.

I did feel a little sorry for Malfoy so I did what any good person would do. I gripped the book as hard as I could and pulled with all my might. This may have actually been successful if I had any sort of strength.

As I pulled the book Malfoy stupid face was coming with it.

"Merlin, if I only had my wand!" I muttered.

"Get it off, Weasley!" Malfoy muttered back.

And with one large pull… something happened. Malfoy came tumbling forward forcing me to tumble backwards onto the hard wooden library floor (ow). During all this somehow the book released Malfoy's nose from its clutches and decided to hit its spine right into my face (double ow). Malfoy landed on top of me and he was heavy (triple ow).

Madam Pince was yelling nonsense at us (again) but it was just all a blur in the background. My eyes strung with hot tear of pain because let's face when a bloody 700 paged book hits you in the face you're going to cry (it was a hardcover). Malfoy was still dead weight on top of me. I had come to my senses enough to give him a well-aimed kick in the 'you know where'. He yelped out in pain and rolled off me.

"THAT'S IT OUT, THE BOTH OF YOU!"

"Finally!" Malfoy snapped at her, his pain from the book attack and my kick still evident in his voice.

I pulled the book away from my face and caught a glimpse of the title.

"How to Outsmart the Ministry: Magical Law." without thinking I stuffed it into my robe pocket while Madam Pince was giving Malfoy a taste of her sharp tongue.

"OUT!" screamed Madam Pince having reached her boiling point.

Then an embarrassing thing happened we here chased from the Library by Madam Pince books that she enchanted giving me a couple more bruises.

The second we stepped outside the door shut with another bang like the one when we came in.

"That was-"

"Never mind that Malfoy!" I cut across him. "Look what I got."

I produced the book from my robe pocket holding it up for him to see.

"That thing attacked me!" he scowled rubbing his nose that was bright red.

"That thing, which is a book, could just be your answer."

"To what? Spending the week in the Hospital Wing?"

"Yes, Malfoy, this is the answer to your unasked question to spend the week in the Hospital Wing." I replied sarcastically.

Malfoy rolled his silver grey and snatched the book from my hand.

"How to Outsmart the Ministry: Magical Law." He read aloud.

The glint of hope returned to his eyes making my heart melt (why?) then I snapped back to my senses.

I snatched it back to Malfoy surprise and to his annoyance. I led him over to nearby window sill and sat down. I started read the table of contents in the moonlight shining through the window. Malfoy sat next to me and watch over my shoulder which was making me rather uncomfortable.

I flipped to a section entitled "Lesser known loopholes."

The section was 153 pages long and took a while to read. Malfoy close to me may have slowed my read pace down. Nothing of any value was found until page 143 in the section. By the time I had gotten to it Malfoy's chin was almost leaning on my shoulder.

"There!" Malfoy pointed at the same moment I had read it.

I felt a smile tugging on my lips as I read it aloud.

'If a wrongdoer is pardoned once by the Ministry the wrongdoer is pardoned forever in the crime committed if not committed again. What the modern day Ministry fails to recognise is that ancient law still stand and cannot be shoved under the rug. The ancient law that I am writing of is still in place to this very day it was set by Merlin himself who stated 'What is in the past will have to remain in the past in order for the Wizarding world to move forward and flourish'. Copies of these laws are found in the Ministry itself, Department-"

I stopped as I suddenly felt Malfoy arm wrapping themselves around me pulling me into a hug. I was shocked. Malfoy giving me a hug! Merlin, what had the world had come to?!

Malfoy realised what he was doing and jumped back from me quickly. He cleared his throat awkwardly and said.

"Thanks, Weasley."

There nothing but gratitude in his voice making me blush bright red.

(WHY?)