AN: I want to thank all the patient readers and reviewers. I hope to have more parts up soon. It is one of my top priorities. I also acknowledge, this part is anticlimactic.

Part 6: My Queen, Booky

The meeting with Dumbledore the next morning proved uneventful. He had been called away early in the morning for a meeting with the Minister and Board of Education. The matter of the meeting was unknown and left an uneasy feeling in the siblings.

"This could prove disadvantageous for us," Hermione commented, as they made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The supposed meeting was conveniently called at an inopportune time and she was not one to believe in coincidences. She shook her head, ridding her mind for the moment of conspiracy thoughts. There were more pressing things going on.

"Whatever comes of it, we will deal with at the proper time. For now, practice and preparation for the ultimate duel is the forefront of our problems," Harry sighed, motioning Hermione into the Great Hall before following closely. They ignored the shocked silence and following whispers at Harry's appearance, taking a seat in front of Draco.

"Morning Draco," Hermione chirped, loading up two plates of food, pushing one to Harry.

"Good morning Hermione. Harry it is a surprise to see you up and about?" Draco questioned, running a hand through his short blond locks, while sipping his tea slowly. Harry shrugged eyes unfocused.

"Not to mention, we need to find a way to remove or break the bond with the Dark Mark. There is also the training preparations and finding a suitable teacher. I know Snape would want to, but I have a feeling he would be unable to due to his role in the duel. Even more so we need to find a means to an end. A way to exploit Voldemort's weakness; so all fields will need to be checked, including muggle means." Harry continued their conversation, while making a list of all the things they would have to accomplish before the duel. Hermione sighed, shoulders sagging she whined.

"I'm the bookworm, Viper and I am daunted by what you are implying we do alone. I don't wanna research!" her pouting brought a smile to the stoic face of her brother and a muffled chuckle from Malfoy.

"Yes, of course, my Queen Bookworm. Classes, and quidditch first, then ways to defeat a megalomaniac. Never will I forget your ruling, my Queen." Harry stated humbly, standing to bow and grovel at Hermione, who beamed, smirking.

"Do remember your place, my pet. I shall have to punish you next time for such transgressions."
Turning towards Malfoy her smirk turned feral. "You however have not shown the proper respect that I deserve. Thus, my pet here shall have to punish you. I do hope you can run fast."

Draco laughed at their antics for a moment, before noticing, Harry calmly pulling out his wand and pointing it at him. He stilled, raising a questioning eyebrow at Hermione who simply smiling politely and stood from the table, gathering her bag.

"You have a 10 second head start Malfoy, dear. I suggest you take it." Draco took her advice and stood, watching the wand trained on him while collecting his bag.

"Nine….eight….seven…" Harry counted down in amusement, watching the blonde's movements speed up and then turn quickly dashing out of the hall gathering the attention of the other students.

"Four…three…two…one…zero…" Harry finished, running out the doors in pursuit of his prey. Hermione stood watching the door in fascination for a moment, commenting to the surrounding Slytherins, "some days it pays to be queen." Then marched out of the room regally, leaving more than one person thoroughly confused.

Harry in the meantime, cornered his prey in the dungeons. The sneaky little bastard turned the tables on him, by running into a room. The Dungeons were notorious for being hard to navigate, thus leaving Harry in a quandary. At the intersection, where he had lost Draco, he stared back and forth at the two dead ends. Shrugging, he decided on the process of elimination, while contemplating what spell he wanted to place upon his blonde peer.

"Come out, come out Sir Draco!" Harry called pausing a moment in his search to listen for any movement. Shrugging, he continued on his way, opening door after door with no fruitful searches. "Come out and hex me like the wizard you are!" Harry growled in annoyance. Turning on his heel, the Slytherin entered the opposite hall cautiously, observing the stilled paintings and three doors.

"Show your self Sir Draco the Cowardly! I only want to talk!" Harry chirped, muttering lowly, "and hex you."

A muffled, "I heard that Potter," echoed hauntingly across the stone walls. Turning to the entrance on his left, Harry threw the door open and entered slowly, scanning the room with his eyes; wand and hand following his gaze.

"Wrong room Potter!" Malfoy sneered from behind, shoving Harry fully into the room and closing the door. Draco snickered, warding the room before bounding off to the upper levels.

Harry fell to the ground at Malfoy's push in the now locked room. He felt the spike in power as the wards set and groaned closing his eyes tightly in disbelief. It was just his luck to miss classes the first day back because of a prank. Standing up and dusting himself off, Harry lit the room and took in his new surroundings.

The room itself was dull, stone gray walls absent of any decoration. The only furniture in the dusty room were two large bookshelves directly across from the door, a long narrow table between said book cases and the exit and a single high backed chair that had seen better days. The cloth, once a brilliant azure, now lay torn and lackluster. It was however, the glowing orb sitting upon the table which brought excitement to the room. The small orange sized orb hovered above its' holder, emitting a soft violet-indigo glow.

As Harry drew closer to the orb, he noticed the color grow in intensity and begin releasing small waves of magic along with a high pitched hum. The waves increased in length and sets, stopping Harry before he could get any closer. The last thought Harry had before being engulfed in the violet haze, 'Why can't my life be uneventful?'