11.

FELIX FELICIS

Hermione approached the next two months with a new sense of purpose. The day after she and Draco recovered from their heatstroke, all students who'd spent their holidays at home returned to Hogwarts.

A day after that, a handsome owl brought Hermione a thick envelope. Inside, she found a photo of Harry and Teddy Lupin, which quickly brought tears to her eyes. The boy was riding a toy broomstick which barely lifted one foot from the floor, but Harry was still standing close beside him, grinning from ear to ear.

"He couldn't wait for his first birthday," Ginny said beside Hermione with a smile. "He has a similar photo with his father using a toy broom Sirius had gifted him."

Along with the photo, there was a long letter from her best friend apologising for not trusting her and having become too enraged about Draco to see past his own prejudice against him. He also stated that as loyal as he felt towards Ron, and after several conversations with Ginny, he'd learned to realise how much better they were separated than together. He lamented the breach existing between them and he hoped they could speak face to face and fix it.

Draco seemed reluctant to listen at first, but thanks to Hermione's coaxing, he agreed to a meeting when Harry visited Professor McGonagall in the future.

From then on, Draco and Hermione's relationship stalled slightly, as they struggled to find a few moments of privacy in between classes and studying. Hermione sensed that their secret was well-known amongst their odd group of friends, but neither she nor Draco had made any steps to publicly air it. She thought they were on the same page, wanting to keep it special and just for themselves, but when their friends openly teased them, she saw Draco's irritated face and she hated it.

"Hey, nice to see you saved the quill before you guys set the bedsheets on fire," Theo said to Hermione one day when they, Ginny, Zabini and Draco were in the library doing homework. Hermione's writing faltered for a second before she continued pretending she hadn't heard him. Her red cheeks betrayed her.

Later that day, Hermione confessed to Ginny and Luna what had transpired in the Room of Requirement with Draco. She hadn't told them previously for fear of their rejection or disappointment, but she quickly felt relieved when they approved.

"He's obviously changed," said Ginny, shrugging nonchalantly.

"And he seems to smile more, as well," Luna commented sweetly. "It looks good on him."

One of the few positive aspects that came out of the incident on New Year's Eve was that Hermione was more determined than ever to work harder so that their plan for the next big raid was finalised before the Felix Felicis potion was ready. Eleven people, including the Slug Club, plus Luna, Roman and Wanda, got together a few times per week to go over each of the steps Hermione had designed.

Everything needed to be precisely coordinated. They would form two teams, one targeting the back of the room and another one starting at the door. Ginny had convinced Aberforth to let them use the secret tunnel from the Hog's Head pub. He didn't approve of the idea, but he agreed to it, as long as they didn't get him in trouble.

Another aspect to work on was the spell. It took some time, but in the end, they all mastered the Glacius Duo enchantment. After a bit of research and trial and error, a few of them were even able to produce a strong Glacius Tria, the most powerful form of the spell. Astonishingly, besides Ginny, Hermione and Draco, it was Wanda who was able to produce the stronger enchantment.

The one aspect that made Hermione nervous was the flying. When forced to do so, she'd managed a broom, but it didn't mean she enjoyed it. Ginny reserved the Quidditch pitch one day a week so they could all practise in pairs.

"You don't have to grab it so tightly, Granger," Draco said softly next to her.

"I can't help it," she protested meekly. "Heights and speed make me nervous, I'm going to fall."

"You won't fall, trust me," he said, mounting the broom behind her. He put his hands over her white knuckles, coaxing her fingers to relax. "Breathe calmly. You're safe, okay?"

They were farther away from the group and she hoped nobody was watching. She felt like a failure being the only one with serious flying problems. The rest were zooming around the other side of the pitch without a struggle and she was still barely able to leave the ground. Draco moved closer to her so that she could feel his chest against her back. He told her to put her feet on the footrest, close her eyes and try to match her breathing to his. After a moment, she started feeling the wind picking up and blowing past her face and they stayed silent for a while. His arms around hers moved slightly, but she was enjoying the peace she felt in that instance.

"Granger," he whispered in her ear. "Open your eyes."

She did as he said and gasped. They were several feet above the ground, hovering midway to the first row of seats.

"I'm going to let go of your hands and you're going to bring us to the middle and land," Draco ordered.

"I can't—"

"Yes, you can," he said firmly. "I trust you."

His hands brushed up her arms slowly and found purchase on her waist. His touch calmed her slightly, but she still felt nervous.

"I trust you," he repeated earnestly.

She took a deep breath and stirred the broomstick towards the centre of the Quidditch pitch, more conscious of them gliding across the air. Draco was counting on her. She needed to trust herself, as well.

"I can do it," she muttered.

"You're doing it," he encouraged. "Just a bit further…Start descending…That's right."

They touched ground slightly more roughly than she would have liked, but Hermione's shoulders sagged in relief.

Hermione knew that she still had a lot to improve, but she didn't give up. Before the group's meeting at the end of January, Hermione worked tirelessly with Ginny to help her be more at ease with flying. The motivation to achieve the goal of fixing the Room of Hidden Things was what drove Hermione to become a decent flyer. The perk of making Draco Malfoy feel proud of her wasn't too bad either.

That year, Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday. The older students were permitted to go to Hogsmeade, so the castle felt emptier than usual. Hermione noticed that even the Great Hall looked deserted during breakfast, as most of the students elected to start their romantic day in town early.

Several owls flew by, leaving presents, heart-shaped cards and letters in front of students.

Luna and Rolf had disappeared early, so Ginny and Hermione enjoyed a quick meal together before the redhead left to meet Harry for a Valentine's Day date. Walking out into the Entrance Hall, they came upon Theo, Blaise and Draco having a conversation at the bottom of the marble staircase, near the House point hourglasses. As Hermione approached them walking beside Ginny, she took in the colourful stones. She hardly ever paid attention to the points, but now she noticed that Slytherin's emeralds were significantly lower than any of the others while Gryffindor's rubies were on top.

"Hey, boys," Ginny greeted. "What are you up to today? Anything romantic?"

Her eyes shifted pointedly to Draco, but he ignored her.

"Are you meeting your man, Red?" Theo asked. "Mind if I join? He's looking mighty fit these days."

"In your dreams, Nott," Ginny said grinning.

"Oh, you know it," he responded wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"I'm leaving now." Ginny laughed before addressing Hermione. "Don't spend all day studying, please?"

"She won't," Theo said, putting his arm around Hermione's shoulders. "Don't worry, we'll take care of her."

Ginny kissed Hermione on her cheek and waved goodbye to the group before exiting the castle.

"Hey, Granger," Draco said next to Hermione as Theo released her. "Can you come to check the potion? I think it's almost ready to be stirred again."

She nodded silently and followed him towards the door at the other side of the stairs.

"You don't need our help, mate?" Theo called after them, chuckling.

"No," Draco responded curtly.

As soon as she was inside the small and dark room where Professor Slughorn had allowed Draco to brew the Felix Felicis, he pushed her against the door, kissing her with passion. Suspecting his asking for help had been a ruse to get them alone, Hermione wasn't exactly surprised. She buried her hands in his soft hair as their tongues caressed each other.

"How opposed are you to a quick shag right here?" Draco asked her breathlessly and she chuckled.

"Are you mad?" she responded. "Anybody can come in here."

"I can lock this door, put up a few wards, and it's dark enough for a disillusionment charm to work perfectly."

"What's got you so worked up?" she said chuckling, but not immediately opposed to the idea.

He grinned at her question and kissed her once before producing a folded letter from his robes.

"He signed, Hermione," he said, waving the paper. "Lucius transferred everything to me!"

"What?!" she exclaimed, taking the letter from him and skimming it. "Oh my God, this is brilliant!"

They laughed together and hugged. She felt so happy for him knowing he had something he could start a new life from. She knew this was a huge weight lifted from his shoulders and he'd come out of it with a different perspective.

"I don't know how Mother did it," he said with a shaky voice into her shoulder. "But this means I'm free of him now."

Hermione couldn't help but think about what this meant for their future and whether he was considering it too. Even though she had figured out what she wanted for herself, part of her still felt anxious about what their future held. But it was Valentine's Day and she didn't want to ruin Malfoy's good mood, so she decided not to voice her worries at that moment.

· - ·

Learning that Professor Gournie favoured Ravenclaw wasn't a big surprise to Hermione. During one of their long chats over tea, when Hermione would take notes about Gournie's life, the older woman explained how she never found much common ground with most professors at Beauxbatons. She equated the school to a Muggle ballet class, which she had attended as a child. She said everything had to be structured, fluid and perfected until not one hair was out of place. It helped her immensely while learning Alchemy with Mr Flamel, but aside from that, it really hindered her free spirit. She approached the science with preciseness and accuracy—as it was needed to procure good results in the subject—but in her day-to-day life, she was an idealist and a romantic.

"I think that's what attracted me more towards Perenelle, his wife," Gournie told Hermione. "She was ethereal and refined, a true Parisian beauty, and had a spiritual side to her. She was magnetic in that sense."

Hermione loved her feminist ideas. When she told Gournie about the book Ginny had gifted her for Christmas, which she had devoured in hours, the Professor offered to introduce her to the author. She had these types of connections with people in general, and with brilliant women in particular, whose brains Hermione craved to pick.

Gournie also encouraged her decision to become a Healer and advised her not to overlook Muggle medicine if she wanted to further her knowledge. Just a few weeks into their tea sessions, Hermione couldn't stop gushing about the woman every chance she had. Draco tolerated this because he'd grown to admire the Professor, but also because Gournie wasn't shy to offer his girl advice on how to embrace her sexual side as a woman. They definitely benefited from the inspiration it gave Hermione.

They'd only regretted it once when their sneaking around had become progressively more intense and Pansy Parkinson happened to find them in a dark corner of the castle. She didn't see anything explicit since they hadn't got to it yet, but their guilty faces said everything. She cursed and threatened them, but for some reason, Draco had enough power over her that Pansy didn't go further than that.

· - ·

By the end of February, everything seemed to be under control. Everything, except for one major detail: timing. Draco's potion was less than three weeks away from being finished and they still didn't have an exact date to fully take advantage of the Liquid Luck. The amount he had was enough to last a few hours for eleven people, but that only meant that they had to nail down the perfect window of opportunity. They needed to know almost exactly when to use it for it to help them carry out their plan perfectly. If they went in even a day off, Hermione didn't know how the Felix Felicis could help them achieve what they needed to.

This was at the top of her worries until Rolf came running around the corner as they exited Potions class on the first Friday of March.

"I have it!" he exclaimed, running to meet Blaise, Theo, Astoria, Draco and Hermione outside the classroom. "I know the timeline," he said breathlessly.

Rolf's freckled face was red from exhaustion. Hermione noticed he'd caught the attention of Daphne Greengrass and her friend, who had started ascending the stairs but had stopped to watch after Rolf had ran passed them.

"Let's go in," Draco said, most likely thinking the same thing she was, and led them back into the classroom.

Once inside, Rolf took out a roll of parchment and put it on the nearest table. He'd drawn graphics with mathematical formulas and nearly illegible words. The group stood facing him as he took a deep breath.

"So I contacted my grandfather after coming back from Christmas," Rolf said. "From what you told me happened on New Year's and from seeing the magnitude of the room with my own eyes, I realised my calculations haven't been accurate, and of course, Hermione was right."

"Eggs were deposited first near the back, so in this cycle, they're the ones igniting first," Hermione clarified.

"We already knew this, didn't we?" Astoria asked, confused.

"Yes!" Rolf exclaimed at her, nodding emphatically. "But we were missing a few factors."

He pointed to one of the graphics in the parchment. None of them knew what it meant.

"My grandfather did some digging with an expert from a clandestine Ashwinder farm in America," he began as some eyebrows rose in surprise and others furrowed disapprovingly. "Listen, he has his dubious contacts, okay? The point is, he was able to time an exact cycle from several subjects, so I tried to add in our particular factors and I've been correcting measurements every chance I've gotten to open that room these last few months. I finally put it to the test last week, and this is it...approximately."

Rolf unrolled the long parchment and used his wand to lift it until they could all read at the bottom: 3 to 4 o'clock, Friday March 26th.

The room fell silent for a few moments. Hermione and Draco exchanged looks. He seemed reserved while the others looked hopeful and excited.

"Hell yes, Rolfie," Theo said jovially and Rolf grinned, blushing slightly. "That works with the potion, right, Draco?"

Draco responded with a nod.

"How are we going to be at the Hog's Head at three in the morning?" Blaise asked Hermione.

A sense of discomfort started racing up her spine. Blaise was right, this was a new hurdle to overcome.

"Can't you just Apparate?" Astoria asked.

"You can't Apparate inside the Hogwarts grounds," said Hermione and Draco in unison before they looked at each other. Of course he knew that all too well.

"We can sneak you out during the day," Theo suggested.

"People will notice if we're missing, especially at night in the dorms," Rolf responded.

"We can try Oblivi—"

"No," Hermione said firmly. All eyes fixed on her, startled from her outburst. If she had the power to ban that spell, she would.

"We'll figure it out," Draco said, nodding at Hermione reassuringly.

However, she wasn't convinced. She even entertained the idea of just telling the Headmistress, get it over with once and for all, and ask her for help. However, Draco absolutely hated the idea. He said he'd rather let it go than keep concerning more and more people about something he'd planned on doing by himself as a catharsis. Therefore, she mentioned it once and never again, wanting to honour his wishes.

Once all members of the group were informed of the date and time, they all pitched in with ideas as to how to move the plan along. The odd hour posed a problem, but they all had more than a little faith that the potion would help in that regard.

· - ·

"Mother has been assigned a new house-elf," Draco told Hermione one week in March before the big date. They stood at the top of the Astronomy Tower again, watching the sunset. "The Ministry took them away after the War, but now that she was granted to move out, she asked for help to deep clean the Manor. They're transferring one from Hogwarts."

"That's generous of them," Hermione said with resentment. She immediately regretted how she sounded, like she was insinuating that his mother should continue house arrest somewhere else instead of a house-elf being sent to do the nasty work for her.

Draco chuckled lightly. "They said only for Easter, though. She might run the poor elf ragged in that house…And I don't think it's used to hard work anymore, that Wonka."

"Huh?"

"Old Barty Crouch's elf?"

"Oh, Winky was assigned to your mother?"

He hummed in affirmation and kissed behind her ear.

"Wait just a minute," she said, suddenly picturing Winky, Dobby and Kreacher.

Hermione turned in his arms, framed his face with her hands and smiled. He smiled back looking a bit confused and said, "Okay…"

"That's it, Draco, the last piece of the puzzle!" she said enthusiastically.

"What is?"

"We can't Apparate inside of Hogwarts, but elves can, can't they?" she said. "Their magic is different than ours."

"I guess you're right," he said. "But how are we supposed to convince an elf to bring six of us to the Hog's Head in the middle of the night?"

She looked at him for a long time, thinking, until it hit her. "Harry," she said.

"Granger, my name is—"

She tsk'd her tongue in irritation. "He can help us!"

Hermione shot off running down the spiral staircase, hoping against all odds that her friend was still in the castle, and back up to the third floor where Draco caught up with her. "Cornish Pasty," she spoke to the gargoyle and it let them in.

When they entered Professor McGonagall's office, she was wrapping up her meeting with Harry. It wasn't the first time Hermione saw him after she'd landed in the hospital. Ever since he started meeting with McGonagall twice a month and after receiving his letter, she'd made it a point to have them communicate more. Even though Harry had apologised, they always came to a point of contention in regards to Draco, but besides that, Hermione would say they'd successfully recovered their friendship.

"Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy," Professor McGonagall greeted them. "What a surprise."

"Professor," Hermione began. "May I speak with Harry for a moment before he leaves?"

"Certainly, yes," the older woman agreed and gestured at Draco to accompany her out.

"I would like to stay," Draco said with a slight air of defiance. "I also have a few words for him."

Hermione walked back closer to him. "Draco, this is not the moment," she whispered.

"No time like the present, Granger," he whispered back. "And if he's going to help us, he needs to hear what I have to say."

When Harry saw Hermione's pleading look, he said, "Professor, we promise not to destroy your office. He can stay."

"Very well," McGonagall said after a long exhale, piercing at them with her beady eyes. "I suppose you're all adults."

She put extra emphasis in the last word and swiftly walked out of the room. As soon as she was out of sight, the tension in the air could have been cut with a knife, it felt so thick. Harry moved in front of the desk and Hermione looked up. Professor Dumbledore's portrait was empty.

"He's at the Ministry," Harry answered her unasked question. "Kingsley still trusts his advice."

Hermione looked at him, not knowing where to begin. Draco's silence behind her made her nervous. She didn't want to be in the middle of another brawl, however non-physical they'd promised to be.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked.

"We need your help," she responded shakily. She felt Draco's hand land on her shoulder before he squeezed it gently.

"Who's 'we'?" Harry asked, fully knowing he was giving her a hard time.

"Draco and I," she said a bit more brazenly. "And Ginny, Luna…and many others."

"Is this about the little project he's roped you all into?" Harry said "he" as he pointed his chin with disdain behind Hermione.

"Listen, Potter," Draco began in a mutinous tone, but Harry cut him off.

"Don't you talk to me like that!"

"Stop!" Hermione bellowed. "And I won't repeat myself this time. I've suffered enough putting myself between you two, don't you think?"

Draco's hand fell from her shoulder as she turned to look at him. She saw him gritting his teeth looking down at the floor in shame.

"I'm sorry," he said with a sigh.

"Harry, please," she implored. "You know how crucial that room was for us."

"He brought them in to attack us, Hermione," Harry argued. "They wrecked it."

"And I'm the one who offered to help, but we can't do it on our own."

"Ginny told me what happened recently. You're putting your life in danger! And Ginny's! And every other person who agrees to that mad idea."

"How many times have we done that for you?"

"I never asked for it!"

"So, what? Friends support friends, Harry."

"And he's your friend now," he said, sounding almost disappointed.

She turned around again and saw Draco's expectant look. She offered her hand and he took it. "Yes, he is," she said while not mentioning the fact that he was much more.

"Well then, I'm sorry, but that's your decision," Harry said firmly. "Not mine."

"Let's go," Draco said, pulling on her hand.

"You don't deserve her," Harry said loudly.

"Tell me something I don't know, Potter."

Harry blinked at his response, seemingly confused. Hermione let go of Draco and walked closer to Harry.

"Please, just listen," she begged.

"I'm furious enough that you and Ginny got into this mess, but I'm not willing to join in for his benefit."

"I'm not asking you to join, I'm asking for a favour," she clarified and his brows furrowed. "If not for him, then do it for me, please?"

She explained their plan in detail, so thirty minutes later and with a big sigh, Harry agreed. By the end of their conversation, he and Draco exchanged a few words. They didn't exactly connect, but they both came to an understanding about being civil to each other, if only for Hermione's sake.

"I can't believe you got Potter's elf to work for you, Granger," Draco said from under her raised skirt in the dark room they disappeared to after talking to Harry. "That's very Slytherin of you. I'm very turned on right now."

· - ·

The Slytherins and Gryffindors stood around Hermione, who'd brought the Marauder's Map with her to check on Rolf and Luna's progress. She'd made them all promise they'd ignore the map ever existed.

"Of course Potter would have such a thing at his disposal," Draco grumbled after she explained how it worked. "He never did anything without help. No wonder he wasn't killed sooner…"

"That's not funny," she responded with half a mind to mention how Draco owned the Elder Wand at one point the previous year without even knowing.

"So is this how you found me that first night?" he'd asked her smirking before he was interrupted by the door to the staircase opening to reveal the last two people to complete their group.

"Is everyone ready?" Draco asked solemnly a few minutes later. He looked at Hermione and he could tell she was starting to feel anxious.

It was fifteen minutes past two o'clock in the morning and the whole group was cramped at the top of the staircase leading to Slughorn's office and the dungeons, clutching a broom each. The air was thick with anticipation and excitement, but Hermione's anxiety had been making her heart beat faster by the second.

Draco had procured each of them a small vial with just a few drops of Felix Felicis and had promised all of them that if the night went well, they'd all have earned a full vial, including Harry. When Hermione had asked for Harry's help convincing Winky to do the job, he'd offered to send Kreacher instead, whom she'd forgotten was under her friend's orders since he became of age after Sirius died. The elf was patiently waiting to transport Hermione's group to the Hog's Head, where Aberforth and Ariana were waiting to let them in through the tunnel.

Everything was ready.

They all nodded and took their potions at the same time. Hermione didn't feel anything for a second, but she closed her eyes as her anxiety subsided. It was replaced by a level of confidence she'd never experienced before. It was going to be okay. She had the best opportunity to work out her goal, and she was going to take it. Glancing at the rest of the group, she knew they were all on the same page.

Ginny, who was standing beside her, grabbed her arm. Hermione nodded at her and offered her other arm to Wanda, who also grabbed it without hesitation. Completing her group were Blaise, Rolf and Luna, who found purchase of each other, connecting them all together. The rest stepped aside and let Kreacher approach them.

"Whenever Miss says," the old grumpy elf murmured, taking Hermione's free hand.

She looked up at Draco who had a smug expression on his face. She smiled back and said, "See you on the other side."

"Good luck," Theo said giggling.

"Let's go, Kreacher."

A resounding pop sounded as Hermione's group travelled away from Hogwarts and inside the familiar room she'd visited nearly a year ago. Another pop could be heard right after, as the elf had made good on delivering Harry's orders. Ariana smiled softly from her large painting as someone cleared their throat roughly behind them. Aberforth Dumbledore looked at them expectantly.

"I assume everything's going according to plan?" he asked gruffly.

"Correct," Ginny responded with a self-assured smile.

"Rolf Scamander, Sir," the boy introduced himself. "We're very much grateful for your help."

"Scamander, huh?" Aberforth grunted.

Rolf nodded effusively and added, "This is my girlfriend Luna Lovegood."

It was the first time Hermione had heard Rolf put a name to his relationship with Luna, but she thought it was fitting and, since she didn't correct him, Hermione supposed she felt the same. After all of this was over, she'd talk to Draco about definitively defining theirs too, she decided.

Aberforth took in the small girl next to Hermione and his brows furrowed. "Aren't you a little bit young to be up this late doing shenanigans?"

"I'm perfectly capable, Sir," she responded assertively. "Wanda Canard, nice to meet you."

"Canard, you say?" His eyes seemed to widen in recognition before he looked up to Ariana's painting. "Who are your parents?"

"I don't know," she responded with furrowed eyebrows. "I was adopted by muggles as a baby."

"Hmm."

"We must go now," Hermione said, feeling the impulse of her words even though she'd parroted what she heard inside her head.

Slowly, Ariana opened up the portrait to reveal the secret passage inside and they all filed into the darkness carrying their brooms. A cacophony of "Lumos" could be heard echoing along the walls as they raised their wands and steadily started making their way through to the other side. Less than thirty minutes later, they arrived at the other painting. They patiently waited until it was time. Rolf informed them his calculations might not have been perfect and they'd have to go in a few minutes ahead of schedule. They took this to be true, thus at precisely six minutes to three, they pushed open the portrait and spilt into the room where mountains of ashes awaited them.

Hermione noticed the stillness more than ever. It didn't feel hot this time; this was exactly when they were supposed to tackle it. The second they landed from the portrait, they all knew what to do. They distributed themselves across isles in a line formation, graciously taking flight forwards. They made sure to always stay within earshot of each other for safety. Hermione and Wanda cast their Glacius Tria as the others did the same with Glacius Duo.

Methodically and steadfast, they all worked for minutes freezing anything and everything in their wake, without seeing so much as a lick of flame. Hermione had never felt more comfortable flying than at that moment when she knew she was sure to succeed. Suddenly, from the air, the Room of Hidden Things didn't seem so big as it wasn't long before she spotted a white-blond head of hair in the distance.

"Glacius Tria!" She looked down as the ray of ice made contact with a huge pile of ashes as it travelled down, fluid like water, and covered it completely. Further down on one side, her team—her friends—were successful in doing the same.

A few minutes later, she came face to face with Draco, both of them smiling triumphantly.

"Hey, gorgeous," he said.

Hermione stirred herself next to him, hovering in mid-air like Ginny had taught her, and kissed him without a care in the world about who might be watching.

He took out a bag from under his robes and threw it in the air, where it floated above their heads.

"Accio Ashwinder eggs," he cast.

As the group gathered round, they watched how hundreds upon hundreds of little pieces of ice, each with a valuable egg inside, made their way from all over the room and into the bag, which had been enchanted with an undetectable extension charm. It took a while, but finally, a little over an hour after they'd gone into the room, the bag was full of all the eggs that would have ignited during that cycle. There were no more Ashwinders in the room, only ashes and ice.

"Brilliant!" Roman shouted happily. "I knew we could do it!"

A chorus of laughter ensued before they started making their way back to the exit. They'd worry about what to do with the room in the future. The good thing was that they'd achieved their goal and the Room of Requirement in all its forms would be restored. Draco put away the bag inside his robes once again. Hermione had never seen him so happy.

The chill in the air was pleasant as Hermione cruised towards the door flanked by Draco and Ginny. When they arrived at the exit, she stalled and turned around to see the others watching her.

"I have to say," she began. "You're the best people we could have done this with. Thank you, everyone."

"You're welcome, Princess," Theo said with a chuckle.

"We better leave now," Blaise declared with a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

Hermione felt the voice in her head also suggesting they leave, but something indicated a double path. Either way, she was sure they'd be fine, so she didn't hesitate to open the door. Silently, they all stepped into the corridor. Theo's anti-intruder enchantment earlier had added an extra layer of protection on top of their usual silencing charms, but they noticed his spell work hadn't stood as strong as Blaise's had the first time they attempted to fix the room.

Hermione didn't feel the need to check the Marauder's Map this time. They made their way to Slughorn's staircase to say goodbye to the Slytherins before Hermione, Ginny, Vicky, Rolf and Luna left for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Tower respectively. All of a sudden, the door to the staircase flew open and Pansy Parkinson appeared, red-faced and wearing green pyjamas.

"I knew it!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. "Professor, here they are, I told you!"

Behind her, a grave-looking McGonagall appeared from the other side of the door.

· - ·

A/N. Uh-oh! Do you think our squad is in trouble? And what about Harry? Did he redeem himself? Hmm...Let me know!

Every. Single. Time: AurorEowyn, you rock! Girl of Chaos, you rock! Thank you, girlies :3

We're nearing the end, babes. See ya next week. Stay safe!