Temptation

What's the deal with my brain?

Why am I so obviously insane?

In a perfect situation

I let love down the drain.

There's the pitch, slow and straight.

All I have to do is swing

and I'm a hero, but I'm a zero.

Hungry nights, once again

Now it's getting unbelievable.

'Cause I could not have it better,

But I just can't get no play

From the girls, all around

As they search the night for someone to hold onto.

And I just pass through...

singing...

Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhhhhhhh.

Singing...

Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhh oh. Ooohhhhhhhhhh.

Get your hands off the girl,

Can't you see that she belongs to me?

And I don't appreciate this excess company.

Though I can't satisfy all the needs she has

And so she starts to wander...

Can you blame her?

(Perfect Situation—Weezer)

"It's empty," Hermione said quietly and Ron and Harry slipped in. The girls' lavatory was empty, the only sound was a slow drip, drip of a leaky faucet.

Harry walked over to one of the sinks. "Open up," he hissed in Parseltongue. Ron and Hermione shifted uneasily, they always felt uneasy whenever Harry spoke in that language.

Hermione started when the sink dropped away revealing a pipe wide enough for a person to squeeze through. Harry looked up at her and saw that she suddenly looked very pale and frightened. She had never been down here before. The last time he had done this, he was with Ron because she was petrified and in the hospital wing.

"Are you—" he started to ask if she really wanted to do this but she cut him off.

"I'm fine!" she squeaked.

Harry still seemed uneasy about this but he lowered himself into the pipe anyway. As he slid down the slimy slide, he remembered it being just a little more spacious and toward the end, he was beginning to get a little claustrophobic. He wondered if Hermione would make it out after all.

Ron came out next, covered in slime. Followed by Hermione. Harry caught her as she shot out of the pipe. She was still very pale and she shook slightly with fright.

"Ew," she said quietly as she looked down at her clothes.

"You okay?" he asked and she nodded back. Harry lit the tip of his wand and moved forward.

"Haven't been down here in awhile," Ron said as they walked, his wand light moving around the chamber. Hermione saw him shudder violently as he saw a spider scuttle away.

She let her light to the ground and saw that there were tiny skeletons of house elves that were littering the ground. She fought down the nausea that threatened to overcome her, she was nearly sick with fear. Something dull and large caught her eye and her wand roamed over the shed skin of a very large snake. She nearly screamed.

"Harry?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"Yes?" he replied.

"There was only one basilisk, right?"

Harry stopped and looked back at her, seeing that she was eyeing the snake's skin. "Yeah, I'm sure."

He wasn't really. There was only mention of one basilisk but what if it was female? What if she laid eggs? Didn't Snape have a basilisk egg in his potions storage? Oh, crap, what if they hatched and they were walking into one giant basilisk nest?

Damn it, Hermione!

"And here we are," Ron said as they came to a large rock pile. "This is where we were nearly caved in on."

Harry could've killed Ron for saying that seeing that Hermione's eyes widened and she began to gnaw at her lower lip. A nervous habit of hers.

It was just the three of them going on this adventure alone. Isis refused to go into a chamber that previously contained a basilisk and Harry thought it best not to bring Neville down here, considering that Ginny would seriously flip her lid. Hell, she'd probably freak out anyway if she found out that the three of them came back down here.

He slowly began to climb up the rock wall, knocking a few more stones from the top to make more room for him. He apparently wasn't a scrawny twelve year old anymore. Hermione followed next, careful not to move another stone out of place for fear that she would knock one that would send this whole wall crashing down around them. Ron followed last.

They didn't have to walk too far until they came upon two stone doors with snakes on them. Hermione and Ron exchanged nervous glances. They both had never gone this far.

"Open," Harry hissed and the snakes writhed, opening the doors, the sound of stone grinding on stone filled the cavern. Hermione didn't realize how tightly she was gripping her wand until she realized the dull pain in her hand was caused from her nails digging into her palm.

Into the chamber they moved. Hermione and Ron gazed up at the enormous pillars around them, all of them with stone snakes twined around them. Hermione thought they looked menacing, as if they knew that the three of them had no business being here, their mouths curled up in silent hisses.

Harry felt the familiar unease and fear of first being down here and he kept a close eye on the shadows as they proceeded forward. The basilisk was dead. He had killed it. But the dark shadows still made him uneasy. There was a light coming from somewhere that basked the chamber in a green glow and as they stepped in front of the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin, he heard Hermione gasp and stifle a scream.

There, lying in front of them, at the foot of the statue, was the skeleton of the dead basilisk.

Hermione and Ron stared at it.

"Blimey," Ron muttered under his breath.

Harry looked down at Hermione who was staring at the skeletal remains. He put an arm around her and hugged her to him briefly before stepping forward. Ron followed but Hermione remained transfixed, she couldn't take her eyes off of how big it was. She didn't remember much about being petrified. She remembered being in the library with the girl from Ravenclaw when they heard it. A soft hiss, the sound of something sliding on the floor and Hermione knew, knew, that it was the basilisk. The Ravenclaw gave a startled cry and ran into the aisle where Hermione was.

"I saw…I saw…the body of a giant snake," she said.

Hermione had just been doing research on them and was scribbling down the word "Pipes". "Are you sure?" she asked and the Ravenclaw nodded.

Hermione then committed the unspeakable sin of ripping out a page in the book. "We have to get out of here," the Ravenclaw whispered as she moved down the aisle.

"Wait!" Hermione whispered, stopping her. She reached into her bookbag and pulled out a small mirror.

The two girls moved to the end of the aisle, Hermione in the lead as she held out her mirror to peer around the corner. It was clear. The two of them darted down the aisle, stopping at the next corner where Hermione once again raised the mirror to see if the coast was clear. She lifted her hand and…

That was all she remembered.

She reached out to touch the skull of the snake when Harry caught her hand. "Don't," he said in a soft voice. "The fangs are sharp and I'm not sure if they have poison still in them or not."

Hermione recoiled and followed Harry and Ron as they explored the chamber. "He was standing over there," Harry said, pointing to a shadowy corner. "Tom spent a lot of time down here. He had to have left something behind."

The three of them split up, staying within shouting distance of each other. Hermione was having no luck. Having tamped down her fear, the only creatures she had encountered where the occasional spiders and beetles. The walls of the chamber were made of smooth stone blocks and she pressed on random ones to see if they had any secrets to reveal.

"Anything?" Harry asked as he came up behind her. Hermione jumped and whirled around. "Sorry," Harry said, giving a small grin. "I guess I should have made some sort of noise."

"Don't worry about it," she shook her head. "This whole place is giving me the creeps." Harry nodded in agreement. "How are you doing?"

"To be honest, it's like revisiting one of your worst nightmares," he said softly as he rested his back against the wall.

"Oh, Harry," Hermione frowned and placed a comforting hand on his arm.

He looked up at her and gave her a small smile. "I'm going to check out these pillars," he said, moving away from the wall.

"So…how's Anthony?" he asked casually as he tapped his wand on the pillar. Hermione was still working on the wall.

"He's fine," she answered.

The past few weeks with Anthony were fine. He was gentlemanly, polite and treated her well. He was safe. But deep down Hermione knew he was a bandage covering some leaky dam of feelings that were welling and churning.

"I'm surprised he was okay with you coming down here."

"He, uh, doesn't know," Hermione answered shyly. Harry's movements with his wand over the pillar stopped.

Hermione could feel his stare burning into the back of her head and she turned around. "I'm still your best friend, Harry. That doesn't change."

Harry opened his mouth to reply but Ron's shout cut him off.

"Hey guys, I think I found something over here!"

Draco put back the book on the Goblin Wars of 534-780 in its proper place on the shelf. He had just finished the excruciatingly painful report on the topic for History of Magic class and was ready to take a much deserved break.

He walked out of the book aisle and saw that Anthony Wellington was now sitting alone at his table, his fellow classmates having left him to do what else. The Ravenclaw was studiously doing his Charms homework.

"Hello Anthony," Draco said, taking a seat across from him. The Ravenclaw made no mention of hello, he just kept writing away.

"You and the mudblood not attached at the hip?" Anthony still gave him no reply, although Draco saw his jaw tense at the derogatory term.

"I figured the two of you would be huddled together in here doing your homework. You know, two mudblood brains might just equal one pure blood one."

"What do you want?" Anthony asked with irritation. Draco smiled innocently.

"I was just having friendly conversation. So, how are you and the mudblood?"

"Her name is Hermione," Anthony growled.

"I know what her name is," Draco replied.

"Then use it properly."

"I was just curious," Draco shrugged.

"About what?" Anthony asked.

"Why someone like you is dating someone like her?"

Anthony put down is quill. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Draco smirked. "Trying to bask in the piece of the Harry Potter glory?"

"What!"

"Oh come on, Wellington, be honest for once. You're already a well-liked guy, did your popularity skyrocket since you bagged Potty's ex?"

"I know this may be a hard concept for you to wrap your puny Slytherin mind around but I actually and genuine do care for Hermione very much."

"I'm sure the popularity doesn't hurt either," Draco sneered.

"You know, Hermione is actually a very nice and caring person," Anthony retorted. "Unlike a lot of the girls here, whom I'm sure you're well acquainted with, who are fake and shallow she's real, and genuine and virtuous."

"Oh I'm sure Potty got real acquainted with her virtuous side," Draco muttered.

"You know what?" Anthony said as he picked up his homework and put it into his bag. "I don't have to sit here and listen to this crap."

Draco reached out and slammed a hand over his bookbag. "Good, then I'll get straight to the point. Dump Granger."

Anthony stared at him. "What?"

"Dump Granger," Draco repeated firmly.

Anthony shook his head. "Sod off, Malfoy," he said, yanking his bookbag out from under his hand.

Draco shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Have it your way then."

There was a smooth marble wall, flanked on either side by smaller pillars that mirrored the columns that filled the chamber, complete with the snakes that were wrapped around it. There was an archway above it with words inscribed on it in Latin.

"What does it say?" Ron asked and Harry shrugged.

"Don't know," he said then he hissed in parseltongue, "open."

Hermione was staring at the design above the archway, the snakes that made the border, the tree that was carved in the middle. Her eyes fell on the words in Latin.

Nothing happened when Harry hissed at it. "Great," Ron sighed.

Ron tried to open it with a simple "Alohomora" but that didn't work either and the two of them explored the door.

"You know, we could use your help here," Ron said with irritation to Hermione.

"I don't think we should open this door," Hermione said quietly.

Harry looked over at her and saw that she was still staring above the doorway at the arch. He walked over to her. "Hermione?" he asked her. "Do you know what it says?" He followed her line of sight.

"It says something like 'Only I opened your eyes to the true nature of God'."

Harry looked at her for a moment then looked back up at the design in the archway. Only then did he notice the tree and in it was a single fruit.

"Ron," he said, "I think I found the way in."

Hermione grabbed his arm. "Harry, don't," she pleaded. "I have a bad feeling about this. The last time a snake asked Man to do something, they were expelled from the Garden of Eden."

Ron wrinkled his brow. "So you think we're going to be…expelled from Hogwarts?" Hermione gave an exasperated sigh.

Harry winked at her. "If I remember correctly, it was woman who took the apple, not man," he said as he reached up.

"Harry this is no time for historical sexism! Just don't touch—"

Harry pressed the fruit in the tree and the door swung open. She groaned. "Not good. Not good." She hung her head and buried them in her hands.

"Bloody brilliant, Harry!" Ron said admirably.

Harry grinned as he placed both of his hands on Hermione's shoulders, giving them a quick squeeze. "Couldn't have done it without you, Hermione."

"I want no credit in this, Harry," she replied, her voice muffled as she still hid her face.

Reluctantly, she followed them into the room.

Ron whimpered and turned around to run away as soon as he saw the spider webs that completely covered the furniture inside but Harry stopped him and made him march in anyway.

"Place hasn't been touched in years," Harry said and with a flick of his wand, one of the chairs was cleared off of webs and dust. Ron teetered on his feet slightly when he saw a nest of spiders scuttle away when Harry cleaned off another chair.

Hermione went to work on the bookshelves in the room. She nearly jumped out of her skin when the web vanished and a snake's head, mouth open and fangs drawn, greeted her. "He needs to hire a new decorator," she said wryly, trying to calm her rapidly beating heart. Then as she looked at the books on the shelves she called out, "Harry, come here."

He and Ron joined her, both of them wide eyed as they looked at what was in front of them.

"Oh Merlin," Ron whispered.

Harry moved to the other bookshelf and cleaned it off, then the other. Ron went to work on the other side of the room. Hermione stepped forward and looked at the series of books in front of her, large dusty old tomes, whose spines were embossed in silver lettering, the covers old and faded.

Recordes of Salazar Slytherin

"Hermione. Ron." Harry quiet voice brought his friends to him from across the room. He heard Hermione inhale sharply as they stared at the object Harry had uncovered.

A Pensieve.

"What do we do?" Ron whispered.

"Nothing," Harry replied. "For now," he turned away from the tempting object. "We've been down here long enough. We'll come back another day, I'm sure our absence has been noticed by now."

Hermione turned and grabbed a couple of books from the shelf she had first uncovered. On the same track of mind, Harry shrank them down so they could stuff them in their pockets.

Retracing their steps back to the pipe, Harry reached for the rope that he had conjured up for this journey. "Hang on," he said to his friends as he wrapped his hand around it. Hermione climbed into the pipe and wrapped her arms around his waist, Ron held on tight to her ankles. The rope quickly shortened, dragging them up the pipes briskly and they landed with a clatter on the lavatory floor.

"Ugh," Ron said, flicking the slime off of him. "It's worse coming back up."

"I guess we're all a little bit gamey," Harry concurred. The three of them were coated in slime. He looked at each of them. "Tonight after curfew?" he asked.

"Room of Requirement," Hermione agreed and they headed out to dinner.

The lake was still frozen, the ground still covered in snow but the usual path that Harry took to do his morning run was still marked. Nothing yet had turned up in the reading that he and Hermione and Ron were doing. Well, it mostly was Hermione. Ron usually began snoring thirty minutes into it and his own eyes began to glaze over after two hours and he found himself rereading the same sentence over and over. It seemed as if Hermione was the only one turning pages and even she had uncovered nothing spectacular.

But his mind was constantly on the room that they had discovered in the chamber. He could tell Hermione was thinking about it as well. Every once in awhile, while they were in class, they would catch each other staring off into space, their thoughts obviously elsewhere. He could tell they were thinking about the same thing. The Pensieve. But to be honest, Harry wasn't sure if he should go ahead and take a dive in it. Knowledge was power but ignorance was bliss sometimes.

Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned to see the Slytherin quidditch team head out to the pitch for a last minute early practice before their match today against Ravenclaw. Malfoy was with them.

It gave Harry more pleasure than anyone could know, knowing that Malfoy had been kicked off the team. Not that he was any good but any little ray of sunshine and happiness that could be taken away from the Slytherin was a good thing in his book. Besides, the Slytherin team improved a bit now that they were forced to find a Seeker with some actual talent and not just a heavy pocketbook. Not that it helped them very much anyway, they would need all the help they could get against Ravenclaw, who was currently the top team at the school.

Harry jogged up the steps to the castle and up the stairs to his common room so he could get ready for the day but as he arrived on the second floor, he saw Anthony gazing out at the balcony. He turned and looked at Harry.

"Hey," he said quietly.

"Morning," Harry replied. Anthony turned to look back outside.

Harry wanted desperately to find some fault in Anthony, anything in his mind to rationalize why Hermione shouldn't be with him. So far the only thing Harry could find was that he made Hermione happy, and that made him feel like a complete shit. What was wrong with him to hate someone who was so well-liked, hell, he was even polite to Harry. He felt guilty every night for wishing that something bad would happen to him, random meteor collision that hit his bed and his bed only, that Hermione would walk in on him with another girl, or guy, he wasn't picky, or that he would just leave.

The night that he had his last big fight with Hermione, he stayed awake plotting and planning a way to win her back. He knew Ron would be on his side, he, too, wasn't too keen on the new bloke in Hermione's life. He woke up the next morning, determined, and he left the common room with a new mission in his mind.