Hey everybody :) Santa's arrived with another chapter... (You're late Santa! Getting sloppy in the old age?) Anyway, I wanted to thank all who has read this little story of mine. I'm really glad you seem to enjoy it :D

DISCLAIMER: No, I still do not own Harry Potter.. I just like playing around with JKR's characters.

Chapter 2

Ronald Bilius Weasley and his best friend, Harry James Potter, were currently being ranted at, by an extremely shocked, extremely angry and extremely soaked through Hermione Jean Granger, because of their little stunt with the dragon. All had been well in Gringotts, until they had been discovered by the goblins, because they accidently set a chain-reaction going in the Lestranges' vault, because they touched an artefact, which duplicated a million time, setting off other artefacts, and burnt through their clothes, leaving nasty boils on their skin. It hurt like you wouldn't believe as well. Hermione, not used to the crazy adventures Harry Potter and Ron Weasley got up to, had never experienced anything like it in her entire life. She knew she was in for the ride of her life, when she agreed to get into the Harry-and-Ron's-adventure-wagon, but she had no idea that they would be crazy enough to break out of Gringotts after being discovered, on a dragon no less. It was the first time in history that somebody had broken into Gringotts, successfully removed what they wanted and gotten out again. Harry and Ron just grinned at her, when she ranted and when she calmed down, she began to laugh because it was just too crazy to not laugh at. And just like that, Harry, Ron and Hermione were best friends.

When they had put up the tent, set up the protective wards, and gotten healed up, Ron and Harry entertained Hermione with stories from their time at Hogwarts. She was surprised when they told her, that in third year, Ron had signed up for all the classes. Harry hadn't taken Muggle-Studies because he found it unnecessary. When they got off the train that year, they had both been ushered into McGonagall's office; Harry because Lupin had told Madam Pomfrey that he had passed out due to a Dementor, and Ron, because he had to have a Time-Turner to keep up with the schedule. Nobody knew that Harry and Ron were really OBS on their education, because they liked to goof off, and pretend to be lazy. Ron was embarrassed to say that in the beginning, it was because he wanted to outshine his older brothers, because they all were something special. He told Hermione with glowing cheeks that he had outgrown that after first year, when he and Harry had saved the Philosopher's Stone.

Hermione was surprised to discover that Sirius Black had been innocent of all the chargers pressed against him, and enraged to find out that he had never been given a trial. She was saddened when Harry told her that Sirius had died two years previously, saving him from Death Eaters when they had lured Harry and his friends to the Ministry.
In turn for their stories, Hermione told them all about her years, which hadn't been remotely as interesting as theirs, but still worth mentioning.
Hermione learned about their families and even if she had known about the Weasley Twins and their shop, she had no idea that Harry had been the one to first sponsor it, or that he was co-owner of it. She hadn't known the fact that it had been them who had introduced Harry and Ron to the flying car (which she was shocked to discover really had been flown into the Whomping Willow).

Hermione was brought out of her musing by Harry, when he fell down to the floor, pressing his hands against his scar, and moaning out in pain. Hermione was startled, and fell to her knees beside him, trying to help. Ron put his hand on her shoulder and shook his head, telling her there was nothing she could do about it. She demanded to know what was happening, her worry shining out of her eyes. Ron sighed.
"In fourth year, when Harry and Cedric Diggory were transported to the graveyard, Riddle used Harry's blood to resurrect himself. Ever since then, Harry has been having these vision-like dreams and moments when he spaces out and enters Riddle's mind. After the Ministry Fiasco, where Sirius died, You-Know-Who has been using this difficult branch of magic – Occlumency – against Harry, because he realized the connection was dangerous. Harry tried to learn it in fifth year but was unable to completely get it, so when Riddle found out about their connection, he used it against him. That's what led to the Ministry Fiasco. Anyway, now, whenever Riddle feels a powerful emotion, usually when he's extremely angry or gleeful, Harry gets these visions again, almost like he's drawn to Riddle's mind. Harry can't block him out long enough to focus his mind and put up his shields. It's very painful for him. He'll be fine in a moment, there's nothing we can do. And Harry's determined to use the connection, because it gives him knowledge, and knowledge is power in this case." Hermione nodded, tears streaming down her face as she watched her best friend suffer. She and Ron moved him to the couch, and Hermione fixed a quick plate of some fruit and a glass of water. When Harry came out from the 'vision' he looked pale and sweaty. He was shivering and when Hermione handed him the glass of water, he quickly gulped it down.
"Thanks, 'Mione" He whispered before sinking back into the throw-pillows on the couch.
"He knows" was the only thing that managed to escape his lips before he fell asleep.

Hermione had been admiring the Pensieve that Harry had gotten from Dumbledore before his death, when Ron had showed her all the memories of Riddle, which their late Headmaster had shown Harry. Harry was still asleep as Hermione went through them, but when she was finished reviewing them, the three friends sat down and discussed the Horcruxes. They knew they had to act fast, because Harry had figured out where the last Horcrux was; Hogwarts. They knew they couldn't get to Nagini – Voldemort's pet snake – until the end, and Harry cursed himself that he had been unable to kill the damn thing when he went to Godric's Hollow. Now that Voldemort knew about their hunt for Horcruxes he would no doubt triple the protection around his snake.
"We have got to get to Hogwarts, now." Nodding, they packed up and apparated to Hogsmeade under the Invisibility Cloak.
When they got there, they triggered some sort of alarm, but were relieved when they were ushered into the Hog's Head, where they learned of Albus Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, and they saw Dobby again! Well, Hermione met Dobby for the first time, and was immediately enamoured with the little elf. He was so cute! Dobby then disappeared, but came back through some sort of passageway behind a portrait that wasn't quite like any wizarding portrait Hermione had ever seen. The motive – a beautiful girl – had moved backwards in it, not sideways like every other portrait does. When she appeared again, it was with Dobby, and Neville Longbottom.
"Neville!" Ron and Harry exclaimed, quickly helping the bloke out from the passageway behind the portrait. They hugged those weird guy-hugs, thumping each other's backs, happy to be reunited.
"Nev, this is Hermione Granger, she was Head Girl last year, a Ravenclaw." Ron introduced, but instead of taking her offered hand, Neville swept her into a hug, saying it was nice to meet her. She laughed for the first time in what seemed like ages, but was really only a few hours.
Neville told Aberforth he should be expecting people through at any minute, but not to fret, he should just let them through the portrait.

"I'm so happy you made it! People were beginning to lose hope, even if I said that you would be here, and that we would soon start fighting." Harry was happy to hear the familiar voice of Neville. He had missed the bloke, and was really glad that he was okay, and holding the Fort. He was proud that Neville and Ginny – and before she was taken, Luna – had taken up the DA in his absence; he was sure it was a good morale booster for the Gryffindors and anybody else who fought against Voldemort.
"Neville, I'm so glad that everybody seems to be okay. Now tell me what's been going on?" Neville started telling them all about the new classes and professors, how they handled everything and how it was so hard on the new first years. Hermione was glad that Neville had taken it upon himself to protect them.

They arrived in a room Hermione had never been in before. It was large and different house banners were draped across the walls. Hermione looked around curiously, as Neville announced their presence, and applause broke out. Hermione could see Harry blush, and she grinned slightly at him. She vaguely heard Ron introduce her to those who just knew her face, but she was touched when he heard her say she was their new best friend.
"Okay everybody. Squad up," she heard Harry say, and everybody in the room began to rotate around until they were standing in small groups, except a few, who hadn't been in the DA.
"We have reason to believe that one evil Dark Lord, will be attacking the castle soon," as he was speaking, the passageway they had come through opened again, and people streamed out. Dean, Luna, Bill and Fleur were among the few she recognized. There was Lupin, too, and the Weasley Twins. Hermione didn't seem to register the fact that she eyed them with interest, and noted that they were quite the lookers. A whole bunch of other red-heads was there too, and some who were obviously member of that Order Ron and Harry had told her about. The twins went and stood in what seemed to be their squad, along with a boy with dreadlocks; Lee Jordan, the Gryffindor that always commented the Quidditch-matches.
"As I was saying, Voldemort and his Death Eaters are possibly on his way. I, along with Ron and Hermione, have a mission to complete. Everybody, I need to know what item could have belonged to Rowena Ravenclaw. I mean, like Gryffindor had his Sword, and Hufflepuff had her Cup." Harry finished. Hermione could see he wasn't done giving out orders, but right now, she hit her forehead with her hand.
"Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem!" She and Luna said at the same time. Hermione could have continued hitting herself; she was supposed to be a Ravenclaw dammit!
"But it's been lost for about a century!" Cho Chang from Hermione's year said. She and Hermione had never gotten along very well, but they could tolerate one another. Hermione knew that she had been dating Harry at some point, but she had gotten jealous of Ginny Weasley when she had been helping Harry out with something during that time, so she broke it off with him.
"Doesn't matter, what does it look like?" Ron was eager, and wouldn't let the fact that it had been lost for around a hundred years stop him.
"Well, I could show it to you, there's a bust of Rowena Ravenclaw in our common room." Hermione said. Harry nodded.
"Right, but I'll take Luna with me, she knows where it is too," Hermione was slightly startled, but when she saw how he glanced at Ginny, who was glaring at her, Hermione nodded. This must be the girl Harry had spoken about.
"Alright, folks, this is how it's going to go; when the teachers have been notified, Healers go help Pomfrey, Shields, help set up protection. Everybody else, prepare to fight!" There was loud applause, and Harry slipped out of the room with Luna, after a quick kiss with Ginny.
Ron grabbed hold of her arm, and exclaimed loudly; "The Chamber!" Hermione had to think for a little bit before her eyes lit with remembrance and they set off to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Hermione had never seen anything so gross in her entire life. When Ron had managed to hiss something out that made the sink drop down, she was not hesitant to hop down after Ron. But when they got into the real chamber, she really wanted to gag. The stench was horrible, after the five years of decomposition of a basilisk. Ron pulled some fangs from the horrid creature, and Hermione could hardly believe that a twelve year old Harry Potter had been able to kill that thing. Ron offered the killing of a Horcrux to her, and she gladly accepted, finding some grim pleasure in killing a part of Voldemort's soul.

They hurried out of there, and quickly realized that the battle was in full swing already. They hurriedly stood back to back and made their way through the duelling wizards and witches blocking and casting spells at Death Eaters they passed. When a Killing Curse came flying their way, Hermione pulled Ron with her out of its way, and she was shocked when it instead hit a Death Eater, who fell to the ground. She was oddly transfixed at the sight, as his body twisted slightly, before it hit the stone-floor.
Her gaze was fixed on the dead man, whose mask had fallen off, to reveal a man she would never have believed to be a Death Eater in the first place. He looked pleasant, and it scared her, more than she cared to admit.

When they were out of sight, Ron and Hermione quickly hurried to the Room of Requirement, as Ron had told her it was named, where they had an unspoken promise of meeting up again. They met Harry on the way, and he told them about the room he had hit his potions book in the year before, and how he had seen a diadem in there at the same time.
Harry paced back and forth three times, and Hermione was about to ask what he was doing when a door appeared before them, and they hurried in. Splitting up, they travelled up and down, until Harry yelled he had found it.
Hermione's heart was pounding so bad she thought it might beat out of her chest, when she heart movement, and a spell no one at their age should know. She screamed and ran, narrowly missing a red beam, a red beam she knew all too well as a Cruciatus.
"Potter, come out and face me! You have something that belongs to me, and I want it back!" She heard Draco Malfoy yell out.
"Screw your wand, Malfoy, let's kill them!" Hermione's eyes widened; she was alone in the row, and she could see the three Slytherins coming nearer. The one who had spoken was one of Malfoy's bodyguards, Crabbe she thought it might be. He pointed her wand at her, and yelled out the spell she would never have guessed he was able of casting until that very moment.
"Avada Kedavra!" She screamed again, and jumped out of the way, grabbing the nearest item, and holding it in front of her as a shield. She knew the only thing that could stop that curse was a physical object. No shield was able to. She could hear Ron roaring for her somewhere, and suddenly spells were being cast back and forth, as Hermione tried to get onto her shaky legs.
Harry and Ron where casting spells at an alarming speed, but Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were casting back with favour; they used all the dark spells they knew, spells neither Harry nor Ron wished to cast. Hermione got up and helped them, when suddenly the boy who had cast the Killing Curse threw out Fiendfyre, and they had to run for their lives. Fiendfyre! Who teaches a kid about Fiendfyre! Hermione had never been so scared in her entire life, not even when she was flying on that dragon out of Gringotts. Tears were silently making their way down her face as she tried to apparate out of the all-consuming fire's way, but it wasn't possible. She screamed, and clambered up the enormous piles of things dozens of generations of students had thrown in there. She was praying to all the Gods, Ancient Wizards and Witches she knew of, that she and her friends would get out of there, that they would be okay.

She wasn't even aware of herself shooting spell after spell at the fire, hoping to put it out. She couldn't remember ever having read about a counterspell for Fiendfyre, but that didn't stop her from trying. She was in hysteria, scrambling along the top of the pile she was on, trying to get away, when she felt strong hands pulling her up onto a broom. Her eyes finally focused when she felt her hands grip the handle, and she soared into the air, coughing at the smoke, trying to find her way out. She had never been good on a broom, but when your life is in danger, you can do things you never imagined. She heard Ron yell at Harry: "IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!"
Hermione would never quite be sure how they did it, but suddenly, they were out of the deadly fire, with Malfoy and Goyle in tow. Malfoy kept mumbling something about Crabbe, but Hermione snapped; "It was his own fault, just be grateful we saved you before your friend's actions killed you, killed us all!" She didn't feel it was quite enough. Before she knew what she was doing, her hand had pulled back, and she had punched him on the nose, on the good, old-fashioned, Muggle-way. And it felt good.
"'Mione, have I ever told you, how absolutely brilliant you are?" Ron grinned as they ran away. She grinned back, and asked where the Horcrux was.
"The fire destroyed it. I heard I screech when the doors closed. I wonder if we'll ever be able to use the room again." Harry said. Hermione was about to answer, when they ran into Fred, George, and one of the other red-heads, and judging from the way they were shaking hands, Hermione determined him to be Percy, and they had just reunited.

Then she screamed. Everything seemed to be in slow-motion. A spell hit the wall, and it started cracking. She could see that it was about to crumble down, and it would be taking the three Weasley-brothers with it. She couldn't let it happen, she knew how much they all meant to Ron, and if they died – if they died he would be devastated. Especially if it was the Twins, even if they had always made fun of him, Ron was closest with the Twins, Hermione knew this.
The wall was crumbling closer, rubble starting to fall down.

Outside Hermione's haze, about 3 seconds had passed. They were all looking at her funny, when she started screaming, but then they realized what was happening, and they had no time to react.
Hermione did the only thing that came to her mind. She stopped screaming, and yelled out the first and best spell that came to mind, pointing her wand at the three brothers.

Hehe, I believe I am pure evil. Pure. Evil. CLIFFY! Don't you just love them?

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Love,

MissH-95