A/N: OK! Glad to see I'm finally doing it right! There is a mystery at hand, and is what you think what it is? I hate when things get too predictable so here is a little curve ball see if you guys still think you are right.

I had to wait to post it a few hours later because (I'm at work guys…) I'll try to write one more tonight for tomorrow… or maybe Tuesday. I'm not sure.

Thanks for the Reviews!

S.K.

The Staff

Hours later, Hermione walked out of the hospital wing. She was extremely irate and hungry again. She walked to supper at The Great Hall. She walked past Ron and gave him a reassuring smile.

He smiled back and as his gaze followed her, he felt a slap on the back of his head. "Ow, what was that for?"

"You were with her all weekend, It is my turn now Ronald." Luna said with a pout, but Ron could tell she was only joking. He smiled at her and kissed her in apology as Hermione walked on to the head table.

She looked at all of them at the table; every single teacher there stirred up a hatred within her. The placid faces of Hagrid, Slughorn, Trelawney, McGonagall, and most of all Potter enraged her. Though McGonagall came a close second, Harry seemed to be the one she wanted most to destroy. Hermione warred with herself as she walked to the head table. She smiled an empty smile at the headmistress as she fought to understand why she simply hated her favourite people.

She sat next to Harry in her usual seat. Hermione ate again as hungrily as she had earlier that day, Harry stared. "I can't believe you can eat that."

"It's been at least three hours since I've eaten Harry," Hermione answered.

"Yeh, but you ate a lions share of food," Harry said eating his food.

"Keep that up you, and consider yourself celibate." She continued dropping her fork fighting another wave of nausea. On this note, the other teachers were looking. Hermione didn't care; she was an adult, and behaving as such.

"That has never been my problem," Harry whispered looking around at his colleagues, "you always start it. Could you lower your voice please? Others are listening."

"I don't care," Hermione said pushing her plate away and watching it disappear. "I have a healthy sexual appetite, and I don't care that they know, I am an adult."

"Hermione..." Harry said looking around embarrassed.

"Miss Granger, May I please talk with you." Minerva McGonagall said sternly standing between the duelling couple. "You too Mr. Potter."

"Yes Ma'am" Harry said following them to the headmistress' office.

"What are you two thinking?" The headmistress said once they were all in her office. Harry looked up at the portrait of Dumbledore hanging above the desk. "You can't so openly speak of your... relationship so openly here in The Great Hall."

"I am not apologising for that, but for the fact that you heard any of it." Hermione said sitting in a chair her arms folded, her eyes never leaving those of the headmistress.

"I've not brought you here to discuss these things, but to get an update on matters of The Order," Minerva said returning the challenge in the girl's eyes. There was something odd about her that she couldn't place. "May I ask what you discovered this weekend?"

Harry looked up to Dumbledore again; he was staring at Hermione in much the same way as McGonagall was. He looked at Harry moments later and nodded at him in concession. Just then Harry knew what to answer. "Ma'am, part of our search here, is to hunt for horcruxes."

"Horcruxes?" The headmistress said as her eyes widened in surprise. The portraits of the headmasters and mistresses were now more alert.

Hermione's eyes matched the older woman's as if she had not heard this before.

"Yes, well we believe that Voldemort has split his soul into several horcruxes. We found one earlier this summer that had been a challenge to break." Harry continued.

"Had been?" McGonagall asked

"Well yes," Harry started, "It was a kelidoball."

"A kelidoball?" The older woman gasped wondering how it was even deposited in the impenetrable toy.

"We finally broke it this weekend after much deliberation. Remus and Sirius were there, and we asked the collaboration of Fred and George Weasley."

"Well... what's Next?" The older woman asked noting the angered glint in Hermione's eyes. The portrait of Dumbledore did the same.

"We think that Voldemort might have placed some importance, on some things of the school, because he felt connected to it some how. We have found three horcruxes so far and one placebo."

"How many do you think there are?" asked the headmistress.

"Seven," Harry answered, "So there are four more we needed to find."

"What sort of things have you found besides the kelidoball?" She asked again kind of concerned that Hermione seemed to be flushed with an internal anger that she fought hard to control.

"The ring of Slytherin, The diary from when he was at Hogwarts." Harry looked at his girlfriend a bit, who seemed to have won the battle within herself, "The placebo we found was the Slytherin locket. Someone seems to have found that already."

"Well in that line of thinking, maybe the Staff of Ravenclaw could be a plausible addition to your list." Minerva added

"That has been missing for ages." Hermione finally spoke, "you'd be luckier escaping from Azkaban."

"It's been done before." Harry said turning to Hermione. Her voice had taken on a quality that he had never heard before.

"I said it would be hard, not impossible. We should probably start right away." She said standing, her voice returning to normal.

"We've got time." Harry said, "For tonight, I need rest."

"Agreed," said the older woman, "You can count on me for any help, but for now I bid you goodnight."

As the two walked out of the office, Hermione reached out to take Harry's hand, "I'm sorry, I don't know what has come over me."

"Seriously Hermione," Harry stated wrapping an arm around her, "What were you thinking?"

"That's the thing," Hermione said leaning against him as she let him lead them to his chambers. "I wasn't thinking, I have been doing the most irrational things today"

"Listen," Harry said after they entered his chambers, " Lets not think about it anymore."

Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry and kissed him deeply. She pushed him down on to the bed and straddled him. She felt like she needed to connect with the one thing that was real and solid at this moment. She thought she was loosing herself and desperately needed Harry to anchor her.

For the next few weeks, Harry and Hermione worked double duty with their classes and their own schoolwork. They all but forgot the search for the staff of Ravenclaw, which neither knew where to start looking.

One evening, as Harry and Hermione sat in the library pouring over books trying to find anything on Ravenclaw, Amanda Doan walked by carrying one of those Celebrity Witch magazines, with the latest spread of 'The Weird Sisters' on the cover. This caught Hermione's eye, as the girl stopped in front of Harry. "Hello Professor." Amanda said ignoring Hermione completely

"Hello Amanda" Harry said hardly spearing her a glance, until she flipped her long raven locks over one shoulder exposing her neck and her new magically enhanced cleavage because her shirt had three buttons open.

Amanda was pleased with herself when she noticed that her tactic had worked, "Does all this mean that we are going to be doing extra in class?" She asked indicating the mess of books and parchment in front of him.

"N- not unless you're in seventh year." Harry stuttered swallowing, "This is my own work."

Just then Hermione snatched the Celebrity Witch magazine from Amanda's arms. "Hey!" Amanda said finally noticing the other professor.

"Oh hush Amanda." Hermione said looking for the established date on the magazine. She had a feeling that this was the answer she had been looking for. It was a gossip rag, which claimed to have the inside track on all Celebrity life. On that particular issue, they claimed to know something about Hufflepuff's long lost child. She handed the magazine back to the owner and headed for the magazine racks at the other end of the library.

"Sorry," Harry apologised to the girl.

"It's all right," Amanda said trying to get back to her flirt mode, knowing that if she criticised Hermione at that moment, would had broken the trance she had Professor Hotter in. "She must have found something useful in the magazine."

"Why yes," Harry said his gaze going from her deep blue eyes to her full lips to the nape of her neck to her cleaving bust, and just resting there. "I suppose so." Amanda gloated inwardly at the attention her newly acquired assets were getting her. She talked to him, but he hadn't heard a word, and she was fine with it.

"Harry," Hermione said tossing a wad of parchment at his head. "I think you should look at this." She was a bit put out by this flirtation. Truly deep down she was, but it didn't seem to register. Hermione had been filled by a determination, and she just wanted to find the staff.

Harry disengaged himself from Amanda's breast and turned his attention to the person he had truly been thinking of when he had been staring at Amanda. "What is it?"

"Ravenclaw Vanishing Castle, right here in Scotland." Hermione said pointing at a picture of a castle that kept disappearing, and reappearing.

"Do you think it's in there?" Harry asked.

"Yes." Hermione said. "They say you can get lost in it, and if it vanishes with you in it, you're doomed to stay for eternity."

"We must find it Hermione." Harry said

"Let's go get Ron," She answered and they headed towards the lake where they know he would be on his date with Luna.

In the days that followed, Harry, Hermione and Ron, went out at night. This was when the castle was visible. They searched the highlands of Scotland every night on the back of brooms and using omnioculars. One night around the witching hour, they found it. The castle was nestled between two large hills near the Lochnest Lake.

The trio descended inside its gates. "We must hurry, or we'll be lost forever." Hermione said as they walked the empty halls. Harry walked to a door on the side and pried it open. It appeared to be a study. It had high shelves full of books.

Ron spotted a book that stuck out of the shelf, it had a peculiar title, "World Famous Labyrinths." Ron read out loud as he picked it up, the wall that was behind the shelf shifted to reveal a tunnel.

"Let's check it out." Harry said heading into the tunnel first since he had the lantern.

"Wait! Let's use the ever-stretch rope... we need to get back before dawn." Hermione said tying the rope to the leg of the desk then heading into the tunnel with the other two.

They walked on for what seemed like hours in a maze like manner. "I'm glad you brought that ever-stretch rope with you Hermione," Ron said stepping over a prone skeleton.

"It is as if you knew what we would need," Harry said

"Nonsense... It is only common sense." Hermione said as they stepped into a circular room with an Altar in the centre. The staff of Ravenclaw lay there smashed in three. "It seems someone has already got to it."

"We came here for nothing?" Ron said.

Harry looked at his watch and panicked, "It will be dawn in thirty minutes! It took us two hours to get here."

"What?" Ron asked.

"Don't talk," Hermione said already inside the tunnel, "run."

Harry grabbed the head of the staff and took off after his friends. They ran without stopping for breath. They tripped over some skeletons on their way. Cobwebs hit them on their faces. Harry dropped the lantern on the way and they ran blindly, but they made it through.

Hermione didn't bother to take her rope back; as soon as they got to the study she dropped the rope and ran out to the entrance of the castle. They picked up their brooms and took flight just as the first rays of the sun appeared. The three dropped to the grass by the banks of the lake utterly exhausted. "We've got class in an hour," Harry said breathing heavily. His head nestled next to Hermione as they lay head to head.

"Fuck class." Hermione said both Ron and Harry looked at her as if she had grown a second head. "What? I couldn't think of anything more... eloquent at this moment."

"I'm going to need a note from a teacher." Ron said.

"Sure Ron," Harry said, "we've got you covered." Harry looked at his hand. He still held the head of the staff that had been smashed. "Now we'll never know if it was a horcruxe."

"We will if we find four more," Ron said sitting up.

Hermione glared at the shattered artefact, "Lets go, I want to shower and change before I have to work on no sleep at all." She hopped on her broom and took off.

The other two stared after her, "What a witch!" Ron said.

"I wonder what's got her knickers in a twist." Harry said and they both took off after her.