Disclaimer: I own nothing, but my thoughts of AU and OC, the rest all belong to J K Rowling.

Chapter 27

The Hogwarts library was quiet but for the shuffling of pages and occasional whispering. Though Madam Pince had allowed the two unnatural pair to stay back, their previous classmates would have fainted to see Blaise Zabini a consummated Slytherin and Seamus Finnigan, a staunch Gryffindor, reading scrolls, tomes, and manuscripts, exchanging notations on parchments, and sharing a single table, sitting by the elbows, and not reducing to fistfights even after hours of being locked up in one place.

Heaving a sigh, Seamus pushed off his scrolls and buried his head at the crook of his folded elbows. Bringing his head up slightly, he peered at Zabini, who was still deep in reading the tome open in front of him. It was the same one Draco had been reading before being summoned by Headmaster Snape.

Without even looking at the former Gryffindor, the Italian drawled, "You are staring…why are you staring?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Finnigan observed, "You know, Granger would be proud. Proud that we are studying like mad. Proud that we actually have spent a better half of the day just doing…" throwing his hands about, pointing at the books still laying haphazardly.

"Was she that intense?"

"She had her essays done days before they needed to be submitted. She would finish off the bulk of the syllabus, by the first half of the year…Could you imagine that?"

"Well! Beats me! Though Draco was a ferocious reader…but then he was competing with Miss You know who," he winked at Seamus, who in return rolled his eyes.

Harry Potter walked in and dropped into one of the empty chairs. The other two occupants of the table sat up straighter, looking at the newcomer with interest.

Looking between Seamus and Zabini, he shrugged, raffled his own hair, and sighed, "She responds to Snape. She nearly blasts Bill off, she leaves behind letters with Bill for me and Malfoy, but she attacks me at the drop of a hat. She is possessed, perhaps…I really don't know, can't think…"

"Possessed you say…"

Zabini had immediately started to flip through pages of the very tome he had been studying intently.

But they had to drop it, Madam Pincehad come down looking for them.

"It's late. The library closes in the next five minutes. Return all books to their original shelves Gentleman," with that she had all but thrown them out.

Locking the door of the library, Madam Pince, in terse words,relayed the Deputy Headmistresses orders, "You are expected to go to the guest quarters and rest a bit, eat the food brought by the elves and join the headmaster post-dinner."

The Hogwarts guest quarters were much like perfect rooms, but with a lesser number of beds and a small sitting area added to it.

They sat down together realising how hungry they all were. Nearly half way through the hearty feast, Neville and Luna finally joined them.

Grabbing on to some food, Luna provided the others with additional information she had gathered.

Seamus was in awe, "Hermione had been suffering for so long…Harry, did she…?"

"No, she didn't! Hell, Seamus, we all were suffering, each one of us, couldn't make head or tail of most of the things happening to us. George was drowning himself in barrels of firewhiskey, that man had punched at every mirror he could lay his eyes on. And Ron," sneering in disgust, "Ron was fucking around, like that was the only thing he could do."

Placing his arm around, Harry, Neville tried to pacify his friend, "We all had been hurting, and we hardly knew Harry, whom to turn to."

"I know Hermione had been trying, trying to reach out, but I was not really looking out for her. I never wrote back to her as often as I should have. I plunged myself into Auror training, married Ginny, but she was my friend. More like a sister I never…" choking over his words, he had hung his head in despair.

Rubbing his eyes furiously at his sleeves, he managed not to cry in front of his former classmates.

"Now, now, the only thing I have of her is this, " bringing out the letter Bill had given him, he handed it over to Neville, "she wants me to know about or meet... I don't really know, it's a strange name," looking around at the others, "did we have anyone studying here by that name?"

The others had shrugged but Luna was staring intently at the parchment held within Neville's fingers.

Extending her hand, she asked, "Harry, may I have a look?"

Sighing in defeat, he nodded and Neville passed it on to her.

"S. Sassoon…"

"Moon, was he a Ravenclaw?" Neville whispered.

"Moon…" Seamus had the gale to poke at his fellow housemate.

Kneeing him below the table, Neville still managed to shut the Irishman's humorous comebacks.

Looking up from the parchment Luna beamed at the group and launched into a full-fledged speech that could even appease the Headmaster himself.

"I came across that name while studying how the war had affected the Muggles. Well, the Muggles did have some pretty ghastly wars of their own and there had been quite a lot of casualties. Though in the recent past, there had been two major wars. Major, yes, and that was why they called it World Wars 1 and 2. It was a clash of interests, beliefs, blood purity and whatnot. And almost every able person was encouraged to fight for the interest of their country. People were joining forces from all walks of life. And believe me, not every one of them had the nerve to live through its horrible consequences. Like us, many had returned from the fronts, 'shell shocked" and with traumas, they could not explain, apart from physical disabilities."

Taking a sip on her pumpkin juice, she had continued, "Sassoon or Siegfried Sassoon was a poet, who had served during World War I, he had written several war-based poems, and here Hermione also mentions of J. Masefield, that I am certain would be John Masefield, another poet of that time. They had served in the First War and had come back with terrible memories, and that was what made them write about them…tell people through poetry the true nature of war…Harry, if not anything, these would be references to poets and to some specific poems Hermione, would want you to read…"

Thoroughly confused, Neville, mulled over it taking a sip of his pumpkin juice, "Umm, Harry, it might sound long stretched, by look, mate, it's Hermione, and this might really be something she wants you to look on to."

Blaise was lost in thought as well. He finally joined the conversation, "Can be Potter, she was reading poems, I did see some books of that on her work desk."

"I guess so, we better hurry though, Professor Lupin and Flitwick wanted to join us at the library, we can still manage soon more of reading before the Headmaster summons us. I overheard…," stopping mid-way, Harry looked at Zabini.

"Go on Potter, I know who is coming, the goblins, right? And, my guess is, they wish to meet with Snape, before they can strike a deal with the Ministry and the school of Hogwarts," Chuckling at the gobsmacked look on the faces of the three Gryffindors, the Slytherin got up and walked up to the door. Opening it, he turned and addressed his next words to the Boy-Who-Lived-Twice.

"If there is anything more dangerous than evil lords with their twisted minds, dark magic and werewolves without conscience, it will be the goblins. I wonder, what kind of hold they had on Hermione Granger?"