Draco lounged on one of the couches in the Room of Requirement, his Potions textbook open on the armrest next to him. Snape had already dropped two pop quizzes on them in the last week and a half, and Draco suspected that the Potions master was far from done – it was O.W.L. year, after all. Moonstone had featured heavily in their lectures as of late, and so Draco was reviewing the ingredient's many properties – and even if moonstone didn't feature in their next quiz, it was still a good subject to go over. An irritated sniff pulled him away from his notes, and he raised his eyebrows in question as he looked down.

"Something wrong, Lotte?" he asked quietly, not wanting to disturb the rest of the room's occupants. Blaise was deeply immersed in the extremely difficult problem set Professor Vector had given their Arithmancy class, Tracey was writing an essay on the giant wars for History of Magic, and Harry and Ginny were busy planning the next meeting of Dumbledore's Army.

Hermione's head was currently resting on the throw pillow situated in Draco's lap, her thick curls sprawled out over the pillow's velvety surface. Her upturned knees acted as a desk of sorts for her copy of Hogwarts, A History, and her nose scrunched up as she frowned at the book.

"Yes," she huffed. "For once in my life, Hogwarts, A History is failing me." She gestured towards the low coffee table, where a short stack of parchment rested next to Draco's propped-up feet. Upon closer inspection, the papers proved to be all of their notes on the Sorting Hat's prophecy and the Legend of the Founders' Rings. Hermione had drawn a grid on the topmost sheet, with one large block for each of the four founders – Gryffindor's block said 'Godric's Hollow' in big letters, and Slytherin's name had a short list underneath, but Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's were blank.

"I'm doing research on the lives of the founders – where they lived, that sort of thing," Hermione explained, anticipating Draco's question before he could even ask it. "I know we need to figure out who's supposed to wear the rings eventually, but knowing that won't do us any good if we don't have the rings to begin with. I thought maybe looking into the founders' backgrounds might help."

"I would think so," Draco agreed. "So what's the problem?" Hermione huffed again.

"The problem is Rowena Ravenclaw," she said, sounding annoyed. "It's well documented that Godric Gryffindor has connections to Godric's Hollow – the village is named for him, you know – and while Slytherin's exact whereabouts weren't exactly common knowledge, I still found traces of some of his possessions cropping up through the centuries." Draco glanced at the grid again and saw that Slytherin's list was actually a series of names and dates.

"Obviously, it'll be much more difficult to look into those names for clues about his ring, but it's better than nothing," Hermione continued. "We don't have to worry about Hufflepuff – which is kind of a shame; her life is the most well-documented of them all. Ravenclaw, however…"

"Yes, you've already established that Ravenclaw is the problem," Draco said, shooting her an amused glance. She narrowed her eyes at him and punched his arm the best she could from her upside-down vantage point.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted…" she paused for dramatic effect, and Draco had to bite his lip to keep from bursting into laughter. He knew Hermione was trying to make a point, but he just couldn't take her seriously when she scrunched up her nose like that – the result was far more cute than it was terrifying.

"Ravenclaw poses a problem because her direct line ended when she died. Her only child, a daughter, was murdered without having married or had children, and Rowena herself died not long after that, supposedly from guilt."

"Guilt?" Draco repeated.

"Rowena and her daughter had been at odds for quite a while, and Rowena wanted to see her one last time before she died – she was very ill and knew she didn't have long. So she sent a man who'd long been in love with her daughter to find her, knowing that the man wouldn't stop until he'd carried out her request. I suppose nobody really knows what happened after that, but the next thing Rowena knew, she'd received word that both her daughter and the young man were dead. Though she was dying already, it seems that that last heartbreak was what sent her over the edge."

"That's…really sad," Draco said after a moment, his face pensive.

"It is," Hermione said solemnly. "One of the most brilliant witches in the history of…well, ever, and even she wasn't immune to horrible things like that."

"I don't suppose you know why she and her daughter were fighting?"

"No," Hermione said, jostling the pillow a little as she shook her head. "I haven't found anything about that, nor have I found anything else about Ravenclaw's family – I have no idea how we're going to trace her ring."

"Have you considered the fact that the rings have moved around through time?" Draco asked. "Remember, Dumbledore said he'd found accounts of as many as three of the rings being in the same place at the same time – the chances of one of those rings being Ravenclaw's is pretty high."

"I know," Hermione sighed, sounding agitated, "which is why this is so hard. I mean, I think it's safe to say that the rings that were found were kept in a safe place, but finding that safe place is another story entirely."

"Hush, love. You don't have to solve all the world's problems in one day." Draco reached over and covered Hermione's hand with his, soothing the tension in her knuckles with his thumb. Hermione sighed again and relaxed into the soothing motion.

"I know. It's just frustrating, that's all."

"Why don't you find something else to read for a bit? Take your mind off things," Draco suggested. "Maybe work on the ending of your Charms essay?"

"Finished it last night," Hermione replied, looking up at him.

"Course you did," Draco said, chuckling a little. "Why am I not surprised…"

"What d'you think they're talking about over there?"

"Hmm?"

"Herms and Draco." Harry glanced up in time to see Ginny's nod in the direction of the sofa, where his brother and best friend were deep in conversation. Hermione looked frustrated, but something Draco said must've done the trick because she laughed a little and relaxed further back into the pillow she was leaning on as she flipped to a different part of her book. Draco's attention returned to his own book, his fingers idly playing with Hermione's curls as the pair read.

"Not sure," he said quietly. "I think Maya said something about researching the legend – maybe that's it?" He couldn't be sure from his current spot, but the soft brown binding of the book resting against Hermione's legs looked very familiar, and he thought it might be Hogwarts, A History. He turned back to the parchments in front of him – he and Ginny had been discussing Dumbledore's Army for the last half an hour, and they'd come up with a number of good ideas for spells to teach the group. The Disarming spells that they'd practiced in their first meeting had shown that most of the members needed some serious practice of basic wand work, and the two friends had managed to compile a list of simple but useful spells that would help them do just that. They'd only had one other meeting since then, but it had gone well, and Harry was optimistic that the group would only continue to grow as term progressed.

The biggest downside, of course, was finding a decent meeting time that worked for everyone. Zacharias Smith, the pointy-faced boy who'd sneered at Harry during the first meeting, played Quidditch for Hufflepuff, which meant that they had to contend with all four teams' practices plus the prefects' patrol schedule – as their numbers consisted of at least one prefect from each house as well, finding a time that worked for everyone was nothing short of a nightmare. When their second meeting had taken a full two weeks to schedule, Harry knew that wasn't going to work – weekly meetings were essential if they hoped to make any sort of progress. In the end, he'd decided that he would choose a different day each week, working around the Gryffindor practices and prefect schedule – as the co-leaders of the DA, Harry figured that at least he and Hermione ought to be at every meeting. Those who were free at the chosen time would come, and they would run quick review sessions at the beginning of subsequent meetings so that nobody would miss anything. It wasn't a perfect system, but it was the best they could do given the circumstances.

"Do you think we'll ever be like them?" Once again, Ginny's voice broke through his musings, and he turned to look at her. She was watching Draco and Hermione with a wistful expression on her face, her hand propping up her chin.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "At least you don't have to hide your relationship." Dean, absolutely petrified at the thought of what Ron might do if he caught him with Ginny the way Hermione had, had told his dorm mates about his relationship during their game night the weekend after the first DA meeting. Ron had spluttered and coughed and loudly questioned why the hell anyone in their right mind would want to date his baby sister, which made Dean blush horribly and the others laugh, and the other boys had offered both their congratulations and a number of embarrassing jibes, which had only added to the laughter. Now that their relationship was out in the open, Ginny and Dean frequently walked the corridors hand in hand, occasionally exchanging chaste kisses when they separated for classes. What was more important, though, was their house affiliation – even though they were in different years, they were both Gryffindors, and thus nobody questioned them. Inter-house relationships, on the other hand, tended to garner a lot more attention – Neville and Susan were just as discreet, yet curious looks had followed them wherever they went for weeks before people got used to it, and students still occasionally did a double take when they saw the couple in the corridors. Draco and Hermione, however, were a completely different story. With the general hostility between Gryffindor and Slytherin still going strong – not to mention the unwanted attention it would attract from a prying Umbridge, who was bound to spin the unusual partnership into something it wasn't – there was absolutely zero chance of them holding hands in the corridors or stealing kisses between classes. Not that they would've done so anyway, but that was beside the point.

"Earth to Harry…" Fingers snapped in front of his face and Harry blinked, belatedly realizing that he'd gone off on a mind tangent and completely missed whatever it was that Ginny had said. His cheeks warmed and Ginny chuckled.

"Off in your own world, were you?" she joked. "I was just saying that I don't pity them at all – if anything, I envy them."

"Huh?" Harry asked, knowing he'd really lost the train of the conversation entirely.

"They're so…natural with each other," Ginny said softly. "They might not be able to show it out in public, but who cares? They're not the type of people who want to do that sort of thing anyway, and even if they were, they don't need to. It doesn't take a grand gesture to see how in love they are."

Harry looked back at the couple on the couch and thought about what Ginny had just said, and as he did, he realized she was right. Their subtle touches, the way that they looked at each other, their natural attunement to one another…it all spoke volumes, far more than a passionate kiss in a crowded room. Seven really was a magical number, Harry thought – those two had found each other at age seven and had never looked back. They hadn't needed to.

"I suppose you're right," he finally said, just as quietly. "And to answer your earlier question, I think we could, sure. We just have to find the right people first, make that…connection." He wasn't sure if he'd explained his thoughts properly, but Ginny seemed to understand.

"Yeah…not everyone's so lucky right off, I guess," she said. She fiddled with her quill, not really seeing it as she ran her fingers along the feather's edge.

"Do you feel anything like that…" Harry began, then abruptly cut himself off. Ginny might be one of his best friends, but it was an exceptionally personal question, and he felt rather rude for even thinking it.

"No, I don't think so," she replied, correctly interpreting his silence and choosing to answer anyway. Harry was inwardly relieved that she hadn't been offended – but then again, it was hard to be easily offended when you'd grown up with Fred and George.

"Oh, I definitely like Dean," Ginny continued, now tracing lazy circles on a corner of their parchment. "I just…don't think he's it, you know? Merlin, is that insensitive of me, talking like that about my boyfriend?"

"No, no," Harry said quickly. "Not at all, I don't think – after all, you just said not everyone can find their perfect match the first go-around. I know a few people who've gone through multiple relationships already – isn't that how most people do it?"

"True," Ginny acknowledged. "Alright, that makes me feel a bit better – thanks, Harry."

"No problem. Now that we're done gossiping like prepubescent girls, what do you think about these two jinxes for our next meeting?" Ginny had to clap her hand over her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter and punched his shoulder, Harry grinning cheekily all the while.

Across the room, Draco had stopped reading and was smirking slightly at the sight of the two Gryffindors. He couldn't hear what they were saying – it seemed everyone was keeping quiet tonight – but he didn't need to. He'd been watching them ever since they'd all moved into Grimmauld Place over the summer, and he was convinced that his brother had a thing for the youngest Weasley. The signs weren't outwardly obvious, no, but Draco had been speaking the language of subtlety with his own girl for over eight years now, and as a result, the hints hadn't gone unnoticed. A glance that was just a touch too attentive, a hug that was just a beat too long to be merely friendly…oh yes, it was all there, all right. He'd never get Harry to admit it, of course – Harry was too much of an honorable Gryffindor to even say something like that aloud when the girl in question was dating one of his friends – but the attraction was there nevertheless.

"Pity she's with Dean, isn't it?"

Draco looked down at Hermione, who was wearing a smirk very similar to his own.

"Why's it a pity?" he asked, doing his best to sound nonchalant. "Dean's a good bloke, is he not?"

"Oh, absolutely," Hermione said sincerely. "Dean's a lovely person, and he treats her very well. I just think those two would be good together, that's all."

"Hmmm."

"Well, it's like she said – not everyone can be like us."

"How do you know what she said?" Draco asked, cocking his head to one side in question. "Did I miss an entire conversation or something?" Instead of answering, Hermione reached up and pulled a flesh-colored string from her ear.

"Extendable Ears – prototype of Fred and George's," she explained. "I don't know why I agreed to test them, but I must say that they do work rather well."

"Hermione Jean, you sneaky little minx," Draco said, shaking his head at her amusedly. "How positively Slytherin of you."

"Oh, hush," Hermione said, though she looked pleased. "Fred and George will be glad to hear that they work."

"So what else did they say about us?" Draco asked quietly. "What did they mean by 'not everyone can be like us'?"

"They were talking about people being right for one another," Hermione replied, smiling slightly. Draco hummed lightly in response and gently stroked her cheek.

"What are Blaise and Tracey talking about, then?" he murmured. Hermione laughed.

"You don't want to know," she said. "I'm surprised Blaise said half of what he did with anyone around at all, even if he thought they couldn't hear." Draco shrugged.

"He doesn't care – remember what he said on the train last year? 'I'm Italian – romance is what we do!'" Hermione couldn't help her hearty laughter at that.

"What're you two lovebirds up to now?" Ginny called, looking amused.

"Nothing," they said simultaneously, causing everyone, including themselves, to crack up.

"Have you guys heard of the Inquisitorial Squad?" Tracey asked once the laughter had died down.

"Nope," Harry said, mimicking his brother's posture and propping his feet up on his table. "What's that?"

"Umbridge's latest attempt at taking over," Tracey said darkly. "She's only just started it, but it has the potential to cause all sorts of trouble."

"What exactly is it, Tracey?" Hermione pressed.

"It's a group of students," Tracey said, "students loyal to Umbridge who, from what I understand, are going to be in charge of patrolling the school and keeping an eye on things."

"And reporting back to her, thus giving her even more of a hold over us than she already has," concluded Draco.

"Exactly."

"That's going to make things significantly more difficult," Hermione said with a frown. "I mean, the DA currently has just over thirty members, with the potential to grow if we find others who are interested – how on earth are we going to get everyone to meetings without getting caught if Umbridge now has a group of students doing her dirty work?"

"Actually, I don't think it'll cause any problems at all," Tracey said, causing everyone else to look at her in surprise.

"Why not?" Hermione asked.

"Because I plan to join the Inquisitorial Squad."

A/N: This chapter brought to you by the blizzard known as Juno - so much snow! Snow day today, snow day tomorrow...fun stuff. I'll take writing time over work any day.

This chapter was supposed to end somewhere else, but the characters didn't want to stop talking/introspecting/etc. Funny how that works sometimes...lots of surprises (I hope) coming up in the next few chapters, so stay tuned! Thank you, as always, for the follows/faves/reviews, & for reading. Your thoughts are always welcome!

JKR owns all things Potter, I just play. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)