Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Harry Potter. Original characters play minimal roles.

CHAPTER 5

"Oi, Ginny!!!!!!! DO YOU KNOW WHERE HERMIONE IS?" Ron shouted as he skidded to a halt in front of the Head Girl/Boy's dorm.

Ginny winced and huffed, "No need to holler Ron, I'm only half a foot away from you!"

The elder redhead blinked twice. "Oh...okay. Do you know where Hermione is?"

"No, I thought she was going with Harry and you to Hogsmeade." Ginny replied, her forehead furrowed with concern.

"Me too," Ron grumbled. " Only she never showed up. I said for-- "

Ron was interrupted as a loud slam of a door shutting came from inside and then a disarrayed Harry walked out, looking bewildered as he ran a hand idly through his hair. "Oh, hey Ginny! Ron, have you guys found her yet?"

The other male growled, "No, that silly girl just disappeared."

"Oh, she probably snuck out last night to go snog with Malfoy." Ginny piped blandly.

Ron and Harry gaped, looking absolutely horrified.

Ginny rolled her eyes and exclaimed hastily, "I'm just kidding!"

Harry immediately relaxed, but Ron glared at his sibling, his face looking slightly on the greenish side and his features twisted into a grimace.

"Um…Ron, are you okay? You look a bit…er, sick." Ginny giggled as she and Harry shared an amused look.

Ron grinned, clutched his chest dramatically and wheezed, "Well, any thought with Malfoy in it makes me sick!"

"Oh, but the Head Girl did go out last night." A voice sang jovially from behind the group.

Ginny and Ron jumped, looking wildly around.

Harry turned towards the portrait guarding the Head's common room and asked with surprise. "You saw her, Isabelle?"

Isabelle smiled slyly at the Head Boy and whispered, "Well, no. I didn't exactly see her but I know she did leave around 3 in the morning, under something invisible."

"Hermione did?" Ginny said, astonished.

Ron paled and let out a guttural groan. "What if you're right Ginny?" What if she really was going to snog Malfoy? What if—"

"So that's what happened to my cloak!" Harry exclaimed triumphantly.. "She took it to…"

Hepaused and looked up at the currently singing portrait. "Do you know where she went, Isabelle?"

Isabelle looked up from a music book and replied with sniff, "Of course, but that's all I know. The poor girl was muttering about the library. I mean really, the library? She ought to work on her singing. Every girl should be good at singing!"

"You're not too good yourself." Ginny muttered underneath her breath.

"She couldn't have possibly been in the library for the whole entire day?!?!" Ron frowned.

Harry sighed and stated simply, "No, but let's check anyway. Thanks for your help Isabelle."

The portrait winked and went back to her singing.

"She sings worse then the Fat Lady…" Ron murmured, shaking his head as the three walked briskly towards the direction of the library.

:-:-:-:

"WHAT?!?! This is hell. What the fuc-"

"Mr. Weasley, please refrain from cursing!!" Professor McGonagall scolded sharply above Harry's voice.

"Well, when you're best friend is missing and-"

"Mr. Potter, I would appreciate it immensely if you would stop whining," drawled Professor Snape.

"Harry is right. We can't just sit here while Hermione is in Merlin knows where!" Ginny exclaimed with hands on her hips, the famous Weasley temper arising.

"That's right! Also-"

"That's enough Harry." Dumbledore spoke calmly.

The occupants in Dumbledore's office immediately silenced.

Dumbledore glanced at them all, his expression calm and thoughtful. "Ms. Granger is alive, I'm sure. Where she is and what happened is still a mystery. As you all know, Harry's cloak was found in front of a plain-looking, locked door in the library, in front of a door that not even I knew, existed."

Professor McGonagall looked strainedas she said softly, "Isabelle testified that Ms. Granger did go to the library and never returned to the dorm."

Dumbledore nodded and commented somberly, "Most troubling is the fact that the door can't seem to be opened by any charm or spell we know of."

Harry and Ron gasped simultaneously. A shocked look crossed Ginny's face and she opened her mouth to speak.

"We have, Ms. Weasley," Dumbledore stated tiredly before she was able to talk. " We have already tried to open it by other means, but so far it has been futile."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a little bit as they all chewed over that statement.

"We will of course, always continue to search for her until we find her." Dumbledore continued. He smiled slightly towards the two other adults in the room. "Minerva, Severus, the students will need to be notified that the library will be... ah, temporarily used for teacher discussions and therefore, it will be off limits until further notice."

Both professors nodded, casting quick glances at the three Gryffindors before quietly exiting the office.

Harry slumped against his seat, pushing his spectacles unnecessarily towards his eyes. Ron and Ginny cast a miserable glance at each other. Then all three, looked up at Dumbledore expectantly, as if expecting some good news.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled gently as he patted them all comfortingly on the shoulder and whispered, "Never lose hope."

:-:-:-:

"Harry!" Ron hissed, clutching his foot in pain.

"Sorry." A muffled voice replied beside him. "You've got to walk a bit faster Ron."

Ron grumbled grudging, "Invisibility cloaks....the makers could have thought to make them a tad bigger."

"Shh...we're here."

The moon peered slightly from behind the midnight clouds as the two friends stopped in front of a regular sized and normal looking door in the library. Ron glanced bewilderedly at it, "Wait...this wasn't here before?"

Harry rolled his eyes as he took the cloak off them both. "No Ron."

"Hmmm...extremely odd, don't you think?" Ron remarked as he attempted uselessly to open the door.

No answer.

"Harry?" Ron whispered with a frown, turning towards his motionless friend.

A strange look was on the Head Boy's face as he gestured Ron to be silent while he squinted uneasily into the darkness of the library.

Minutes passed.

Harry finally spoke, his voice strangled sounding and uncertain, "I thought I saw... something...something in here with us."

Ron's breath hitched, he mouthed unintelligible words. "Are you sure?" He whispered nervously, his heart momentarily skipping a beat.

A sudden wave of coldness prevented Harry from replying. He whipped his wand out and held it tightly in front of him, his other hand firmly holding onto Ron's shoulder.

A figure flint across his peripheral vision and quickly disappear into the shadows of the bookshelves.

CRASH!

Something hits with a loud thud from behind the door.

CRASH! CRASH!

Two more objects join the same fate.

Harry felt his grip suddenly loosening, his knees threatened to give out. Shivers ran up his spine, haziness clouded his vision and numbness spread their way through his body.

"Let's get out of here!" Harry managed to shout hoarsely at a petrified looking Ron.

They both ran as fast as they could, out of the library, never stopping until they reached the safety of the Grffindor tower. Ron yelled the password to a startled Fat Lady and then both he and Harry clamored breathlessly onto a couch.

Ron shuddered, his freckles stood in sharp contrast to his pale face.He was deeply shaken, but the next words said chilled him immensely.

Harry looked ashen as well, his heart thudding furiously against his chest as he tried to collect his words. "There was a thing...a thing...and the thing...I think it smiled at me."

A/N: Yes I know, I know. I hadn't updated in a month, even though in the last chapter I said I'll be updating quickly. The reason was that a friend offered to beta my stories, but she unfortunately never got around to doing so. I probably just won't have a beta for any of my stories, but any constructive criticism is always welcome! :)

This chapter...um, not much to say except the plot is getting deeper and the rating... may change?

By the way, for some really odd reason, some words clump up when I'm updating changes in chapters. So, if you see squashed sentences like "itneedstosnow", please bear with me cuz I didn't have control over that.

Other Notes:

Dreaming One: gasp> A D/HR fan! Yay! I totally luv your stories. Thanks for reviewing!

Ptrst: TR/HG! :)

Vera-Sabe: :Blush: Wow, I can't believe you took the time to write me such a long review! I feel so unworthy of your compliments, especially since it took me so long to update. Thanks!

Adriane: I'm really glad you caught those mistakes. I embrace all contructive criticism because it definitely helps me improve. I'm glad you like the story, hope to hear from you. :)

MerePehlaPyar: Hmm...interesting idea! I promise I'll look into it.

Chocolates to: MerePehlaPyar, Zaralya, adriane, Vera-Sabe, cocoaducks, kittykatekat, Taren, Bluberry-Gurl, topps, Gywnn-Potter, Ptrst, Cheri and Dreaming One

Ah, such wonderful people you all are. I simply adore your reviews.