A/N for those who asked… Quarantine is when people who may have been exposed to some kind of disease or substance are put in isolation to stop them from spreading the disease. Hope that clears things up.

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Hermione couldn't help but feel like Draco was studying her. He stared, but didn't speak. When she could goad him into conversation he seemed angry and bitter… not Draco at all. Hermione, in turn, asked for piles and piles of books, insisting that she needed them for her NEWT extended essay and application for a merit scholarship. The books included almost every book that the library had cross-referenced for the Dark enchantment's effects on personality.

Finally Hermione ruled it down to the Imperius Curse. Unfortunately, that meant that the person pulling the strings had to be one of Voldemort's servants and that thought chilled her blood. It would seem that they had found out about her and Draco, and now he was being punished for it. But, the part of her mind that wasn't overwhelmed with guilt protested, why would a Death Eater leave her unharmed? She was a "Mudblood" to them and they would have no qualms about killing her, let alone controlling, attacking or hurting her.

The next day, Hermione's rational mind had another protest. Draco hadn't just changed his personality, she realized, he seemed to have lost great swathes of his memory. If Draco was truly under the Imperius Curse, he would still remember everything that had passed between them and no doubt his puppeteer would use that information to their advantage.

Finally Hermione decided that knowing the worst was better than being nagged by her own mind. There must be some way of identifying the curse and Hermione had a fairly good idea of where to find the spell to do it. Getting her hands on "Dark Methods and their Weaknesses" would be more tricky as she doubted the League would fancy passing a book of dubious nature onto a girl who happened to be in close quarters with a boy they thought was a Death Eater.

Hermione felt like screaming. She threw open the curtains in her hospital room and pressed her face against the cool metal bars… more a jail than a quarantine… As she opened her eyes she saw a small white shape silhouetted against the dark sky. Gripping her wand tightly she called out, "Hedwig!" Sure enough, Harry's snowy white owl banked and flew to the arm she had extended through the bars. After stroking the bird softly and being rewarded by soft coos, Hermione very politely asked the bird to wait.

Dashing over to her desk, looking behind her to make sure Hedwig was still there, Hermione hastily penned a note and tied it to Hedwig's leg. The circling bird landed on her arm and held out her leg expectantly. Hermione grinned and petted the bird again, showering her with well-deserved endearments. Hedwig pecked Hermione's fingers affectionately, ruffled her feathers, and flew off into the sky.

The next morning Harry was surprised by the sharp corner of Hermione's folded note hitting him squarely on the head, causing him to choke on his pumpkin juice. Hedwig perched on his goblet as soon as he set it down and watched as he leaned back and picked the note off the floor, where it had fallen. He glanced at the envelope, recognized the handwriting, and stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth. Holding a hand to Hedwig, who chose a piece of bacon from Harry's abandoned plate, the boy walked quickly out of the Great Hall. Leaning on the wall outside, feeding half his toast to the owl as she finished her bacon, he read the hasty scrawl.

I need your help. There's something wrong with D.M. -- think I may know what it is. Go to the restricted section of the library and find "Dark Methods and their Weaknesses by A. K. Pitchdook." Mme Pierce won't give it to you so don't ask. Summoning doesn't work in the Library… I doubt you've read "Hogwarts: A History" yet. Stand under the Whomping Willow at midnight tonight with the book. Wear your cloak.
love,
H

Sure enough, at midnight, the Willow began to thrash. Hermione almost squealed in delight as she saw the huge bulk move even from her window. When the tree froze she dared to shoot the golden cord from the tip of her wand. With his Seeker's reflexes, Harry caught it before his mind had even registered its presence. Curiously, he touched the rune at the end and Hermione's voice sounded in his ear.

"Oh, Harry, thank you so much. Tie the book to the cord and I'll pull it back up here. I'm sorry to make you steal from the library again but I just need to confirm that... that Draco is bewitched. It may be You-Know-Who and so wear your cloak whenever you are outside the castle, and do be careful. I'll be out of here soon and Ron is looking much better. He was truly green... oh damn this rune isn't quite powerful enough, oh thank you Ha-" Hermione's voice cut off and the rune crumpled into ash. Harry tied the book on quickly and securely, quite worried that the same thing might happen to the rope and he would be left explaining why he was digging a book he wasn't aloud out of a very thorny and no doubt poisonous bush under the windows of the Hospital Wing. Hermione hauled the rope the minute she felt it released and within a few minutes she had it in her hands, thorn free.

Waving absently at the window on the off-chance that Harry was still there and could see her, she flopped down on her bed, flipping the book open to the Contents Page… Unforgivable Curses, page 516…

Hermione closed the book with a snap and snuck into the next room where Draco and Ron were sleeping peacefully. She smiled, finally able to confirm her suspicions. Standing over Draco's bed, she touched her wand to his white-blonde fringe as lightly as possible and whispered the charm Pitchdook had written: "Vido Incantem Illumaten" three times before adding, almost hesitantly, "Imperius Illumaten." When she looked up, silverly letters hung above the Slytherin's bed.

"Not present."

Hermione gaped, her mouth fallen open slightly. That was impossible. Of course it was the Imperius Curse, she protested silently, nothing else would make Draco act like that! She repeated the test three times but the silvery letters only shone clearer, more defiantly, "Not present."

Finally Hermione huffed her way back to her own room and began to skim the entire 5,000 page text. There were no other Dark Curses that matched Draco's symptoms. Hermione, frustrated, threw the book across the room, only remembering to silence the noise seconds before a large crash that would have brought both boys and possibly Madam Pomfrey into her room in a hurry. Still disgruntled, Hermione wondered if Voldemort could have invented a new curse. Unlikely, but perhaps what seemed new to her and Pitchdook was simply a very old Dark Magic. Three nights later, after reading every word of the book, Hermione found herself standing over Draco's sleeping form again. "Vido Incantem Illumaten" she whispered three times and then "Allem Illumaten."

"None" read the silvery words. Hermione stared at them until they swished into smoke and disappeared.

Draco wasn't enchanted. Somehow, Hermione found herself in her room, sitting on her bed, completely confused. Before this year she would have accepted it but now… She knew Draco. She loved him. And this wasn't Draco. So there must be a loophole even though logic might tell her that it was impossible. She simply refused to believe.

But whatever loophole Hermione hoped to find was not forthcoming. Her research was only interrupted by the end of her quarantine. Having received an official apology from the Dark Arts League, Hermione was welcomed back to class and, despite her fears, she was not behind in the least. In Charms and Herbology she was still a chapter ahead because Professor Flitwick had been distracted by a particularly reticent charm that had made his face glow alternating colors of the rainbow and Professor Sprout had abandoned the syllabus and had even First Years growing Dangling Doobers for an outbreak of Hag Heartitis in the Midlands.

The only problem Hermione faced was that she was completely absentminded. She found herself saying things without even thinking… at least, without thinking about what her mouth was saying. Even while she was tutoring Mhoire, a third year student, she couldn't stop herself from flipping through another psychology anthology.

"Professor Snape mentioned the Polyjuice Potion again today and I remembered that that's one you wouldn't talk about last year." Mhoire attempted to start up a conversation... again.

"The Polyjuice?" Hermione echoed absently. "Oh yes, horrible taste... gloopy you know, and it was really hard to make. Not something you want to try for another two years."

"Wait! You made the Polyjuice Potion?"

"Y- Oh my God! You weren't supposed to know that! I don't know how that slipped out but you mustn't mention it to anyone!"

"Of course. Did it work?"

"Yes. I don't think anyone ever found out, except Professor Dumbledore and Harry told him. It's impossible to tell the difference, except of course their personality. When Harry- Nevermind." Hermione jumped up. "I'm really sorry but I have to leave you. Just… just keep at it."

"Harry! Harry!" Hermione ran down the hallway after him. He turned and looked at his best friend like she had temporarily gone insane. Running through the hallways without shoes, with her hair pulled messily back, held in place with a pencil, perhaps he had a reason. "I need you to come with me right now." Ron looked at Harry and Hermione pointedly. "You too, Ron, actually."

The redhead looked surprised and somehow gratified. They indulged her, jogging behind her dead sprint, to a small alcove out of the way. "I was right." The boys looked at their friend, clueless. "I was right! Something has happened to Draco. And I know what it is. Mhoire actually helped me figure it out. Do you remember when Barty Crouch impersonated Professor Moody? Using the Polyjuice Potion? Under orders from You-Know-Who?"

"You're not saying…" Ron stuttered.

"I am saying it." Hermione cut him off impatiently, turning to fix her glare on Harry. "That isn't Draco! It's someone else! It may even be him! You-Know-Who!"

Ron gulped but knew better than to say anything. Harry nodded, very somber, his mouth in the determined line it had learned since the Prophecy. "We should go to Dumbledore."

"I know, but I just need confirmation. Not even Dumbledore will Stun Draco on the evidence that my boyfriend is acting weird because he doesn't like me anymore."

Ron began to catch on and he seemed to like the plan. "So you're saying…"

"She's saying we need to Stun Draco," Ron beamed as Harry continued, "wait an hour… maybe less, and then find out who it is." Even Harry smiled.

"Exactly." Hermione nodded briskly, but then she hesitated, knowing they weren't going to like the next part. "The only problem is… I need Draco back. The real Draco. I'd do anything to get him back."

Silence.

"So how do we get your boyfriend back?" Ron didn't look up from the floor, but his voice was steady. Hermione's face lit up in delight and she ran to him, throwing her arms around his neck, her feet a good six inches off the ground. Ron held her happily.

"There's no way, Hermione." Harry squeezed her hand as she pulled herself away from Ron. "We'll just have to figure out if it's Voldemort. If it is… then he's Stunned, we go grab Dumbledore, and he and I will deal with it. If it isn't, then we get Dumbledore anyway and try to link the person to Voldemort. If that happens… maybe they can tell us where he is. If it's just Draco then we go back to the drawing board."

"It isn't him. I know it." Hermione clenched her fists emphatically.

Harry frowned at her. After a minute of thinking as Ron and Hermione discussed the details he interrupted them. "I don't think you should be there when we Stun Draco." Ron and Hermione both turned to look at him. "You, Hermione."

"What?" Hermione asked, her voice low and dangerous.

Ron stepped in towards her, his arm wrapping around her waist. "Sorry, Harry, but why shouldn't she be there. She's the smartest of us." He grinned down at the brunette.

"Because, if something happened, Hermione is emotionally involved." Harry didn't dare look up.

"Emotionally involved!" Hermione screamed. The hum of the castle seemed to stop as students paused to try to identify the screech. Hermione blushed and lowered her voice, but she lost none of her intensity. "What the hell are you talking about? I love him and I am going to save him!"

"You shouldn't be there." Harry insisted. "Maybe if you weren't so crazy about him you'd see sense and realize its not safe."

"To hell with safe!" Hermione checked her voice again, but stepped in closer to Harry, hissing almost in his ear, "Was going to find the Sorcerer's Stone safe? Was stealing Buckbeak safe? Is being you friend safe what with You-Know-Who out there?"

Harry grabbed her wrists. "I won't let you risk your life for him."

"I'd give my life for him. No questions asked." Hermione's voice was now calm.

Harry's was not. "Why?" He shook her gently. "Why him, Hermione? Why a Malfoy?"

Hermione opened her mouth but before she could reply Harry had released her, turned away, and begun to stalk off, furiously, with Ron following apologetically behind.

"Harry?" She called after him. "Harry!"

He didn't turn around.

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Sorry about the wait. Hectic week. Hopefully I'll be a little more consistent now.