Another late update! I know I'm sorry :( But on a brighter note I have written ahead a bit this time so I'm hoping the next one after this will be a quick update. I know I sound like a broken record but I've been busy lately and this keeps getting pushed to the side.

Also thanks for the reviews it's always nice to read one and see people are enjoying it and I like criticism that is not mean, but constructive as some people have given me. I try to use it to better my story. Hopefully it has a little.

Please Read and review, but as a warning it's been a long, long time since I've written action I know it could be brushed up. And if you could point out any mistakes I'd appreciate it as always

"The Department of Mysteries?" Parvati asked frowning. "What's in there?"

Ron snorted. "It's a mystery."

Parvati scowled, but Harry answered. "It's the strangest department here. . . they study the mysteries of life so to speak like time, space. . ."

"Death," Ron put in after Harry hesitated.

"And frankly, some place I never wanted to step foot in again. Let's get her quick and get out of here," he said sounding edgy. He grabbed Hermione's wand and started leaving.

"What's up with him?" Parvati asked as the two of them started walking to catch up with his quick stride.

Ron chuckled. "Hermione really never told you anything did she?"

Parvati felt her face grow hot with anger. Even when they were on the same side he had to act like such an arsehole. "She told me you were bad in bed," she said not caring how juvenile she sounded. "But so did Lavender, it seems to be a common complaint among women you've dated."

Ron scowled as they finally caught up to Harry and got back on the lift. A second later they were at the department and Harry felt a horrible sick feeling in his stomach. He was back where Sirius died.

Parvati noticed the pale look on his face and turned to look at Ron to see if had noticed or cared. She was surprised to see he looked a bit sick himself and that made Parvati even more nervous. What the hell was in this department?

They walked to the end of the corridor and found the door that Harry had long since dreamed about. "Well, let's go in."

They walked into a circular room with a bunch of different doors. Parvati let out a yelp of surprise as soon as they started swirling around them. It was easily the strangest room Parvati had ever been in- between the spinning doors, the eery lighting casting blue shadows, and the omniscient feeling like the walls were watching them Parvati could not help but hope that they found Hermione quickly and left.

Harry took out his wand and marked the door in front of them with a huge red X. "Let's just get in and out of here quickly," Harry said. "We find Hermione and high-tail it. And, remember just don't touch anything at all. Don't even brush up on it. Ready?" he asked with his hand on the door.

Ron and Parvati nodded, and he pushed on the door.

And, he pushed on the door.

"Let me try," Ron said raising his wand.

Harry shook his head. "No, there was a door last time that wouldn't open either. Look I tried to use Sirius' knife to open it- there's still that knick on it."

Ron lowered his wand, but raised it at another. "Let's go to this one," he said gesturing to the door on his right as he put a red mark on it. He pushed open the door and it opened almost eerily slow.

Parvati gawked as she walked in behind Ron and Harry. The door behind them swung to a close, and they were in a large square room with stone tiers leading down to a pit in the center. In the center was a dais which had an omniscient stone archway that hung a battered black curtain that swung lightly as if there were a breeze going through it although the air in the room was still. Without thinking, Parvati started making her way down to it as if in a trance. Harry unconsciously followed, but his fascination with the archway was more about nostalgic sorrow than anything else. Only Ron stayed firmly in his place by the door.

"Really we should get going!" Ron called loudly and impatiently as Parvati and Harry had already made it down to the dais. "Hermione's not in here. We should keep looking Harry."

Harry shook his head and scratched the back of his head, trying to keep the morbid thoughts out of his head. "C'mon Parvati we should-"

"Wait!" she said suddenly. "Do you hear that?" she asked turning around to look at Harry. "There are voices. . . coming from there," she said looking back at the archway. She took a step forward to the whispering voices. She could not distinguish the words that were being spoken, but the voices were definitely human. Unthinkingly she reached out a hand to touch the cold stone. There was definitely no one behind the archway maybe the key to seeing them had something to do with the curtain. Just as her hand was inches from it, Harry reached out and pulled her arm out of the way. She stumbled on her feet a bit from his sudden contact. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said. "We should probably get away from it."

"Can you hear it?" she asked him, taking in but not dwelling on his warning.

Harry nodded.

"What are they saying, who are they?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know."

Parvati narrowed her eyes, her curiosity aflame. "Something happened in this room you're not telling me."

Harry sighed. "I lost someone very important to me in this room. He was cursed and fell through the archway and his body never fell through the other side."

Parvati stepped back from the stone even further with a start as if it were hot. Suddenly it was all making sense- the voices and whispering she was hearing was from the dead.

"Not everyone can hear them," Harry continued looking at Parvati strangely. "Ron was never able to and neither was Hermione."

Parvati stared at Harry sadly thinking of what being in this room must mean to him. "I'm sorry for you loss Harry."

"It was my fault he died. I was tricked into coming here," he said honestly. "Hermione had actually warned me that it might be a trick, but. . ." he shrugged. "Sometimes we do stupid things because we're worried about the people we love-"

"Oi!" Ron's voice came by the door. "Can we get a move on?"

Parvati and Harry looked at each other and started walking towards the door to Ron. Parvati was actually surprised Harry had divulged so much to her. She had expected a half-ass excuse from an explanation as it was as much as Hermione or Ron ever gave her. She was even more surpised as he continued. "You know Hermione was always the smart one," he said with a small smile. "I think she knew after first year she would have to be the level-headed, clever one if she didn't want to attend mine or Ron's funeral- that she had to think maturely for us." He kept lowering his voice as they got closer and closer to Ron as if he didn't want his best mate to overhear them. "You have to understand she never got a chance to make those stupid mistakes- she never got a chance to be an angsty teenager and ruin something perfect she had with someone for no reason at all, so she's making up for lost time." He gave her a small smile as he looked at Parvati's intrigued face. "And, don't let Ron get you down," he said in a hushed voice. "He's my best mate, but I want Hermione to be happy."

Parvati gave him a shrewd look. "You've been talking to your wife haven't you?"

"She's a smart woman," he said with an almost blissful smile. "She may have coached me on what to say."

"Well as wonderful as I'm sure your conversation is," Ron said noting their almost happy expressions with a scowl on his face as the two of them finally made their way back to him. "Hermione could be getting her soul get sucked out of her mouth by now."

Parvati gave him an almost fearful look. "Don't say that."

"What were you two talking about anyway," he said looking suspiciously at Harry.

Harry waved it off. "It's not important now," he said his voice changing to a businesslike one as his smile vanished to a concerned frown. "We've got to keep looking for her."

They walked back into the circular room and the doors danced around them again. Harry picked a door this time and with a flick of his wand marked the door they were going to go through. "Third time's the charm," he said with a grimace as he pushed the door open.

Harry recognized it immediately as the hall of prophecy. The only difference was it was far less cluttered than when he had been in it last which was mostly his fault. Probably half the prophecies had been destroyed at his last visit to the department, making it at least easier to check the contents of the room for a bushy-haired witch.

"Hermione!" Ron called through the cathedral sized room. They split up and checked each aisle making sure she had not passed out and had been left behind. Once they were sure it was empty they gathered back at the door.

"Something feels weird Harry," Ron said frowning. "We haven't seen anything."

Harry sighed. "We'll try a couple more doors and if not we'll rethink our plan."

He pushed open the door back to the circular room and the three of them walked in and immediately felt the effect. As the door slammed shut behind them and the doors swirled around them the room went cold as ten cloaked figures turned towards them. Parvati's insides went icy with fear. Suddenly she felt despair- that the dementors had already gotten Hermione and she had never gotten the chance to say she was sorry and it was all her fault because she was inadequate and couldn't be enough for her-

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Harry roared from in front of her. A silvery stag appeared and danced around the room pushing the dementors back away from them. Parvati landed back in reality and the gravity of the situation at hand, grateful that Harry's patronus was immensely powerful.

"C'mon!" Ron said motioning to a door to the right of them without a red mark on it. "Let's go!"

He pushed open the door, with Parvati and Harry at his heels, but when he saw what was inside he stopped and put his hands on either side of the doorway to stop them from entering. "Not the brain room," he said trying to push Parvati and Harry back.

"Ron!" Harry roared.

"What's your problem?" Parvati yelled seeing over his shoulder a room that was wonderfully dementor free. Ron stepped hardly on Parvati's foot again with the back of his heel in the confusion and Parvati began to curse wildly. That was the last straw for her. With how many times his foot seemed to have smashed hers she knew they would be swollen tomorrow and that gave her enough anger to shove him roughly in the room uncaringly. The three of them fell in the room as the door swung to a close behind them, Ron's knee hitting the floor at seemingly painful angle as Parvati and Harry landed on top of him.

"Gerroff me" Ron mumbled pushing Parvati away as he tried to get to his feet. He ended up tripping over his himself and stumbled forward hitting a green tank, with something that looked the size of large ostrich eggs swimming in it, square with his head. The green solution sloshed in it's tank at the impact and Ron srambled on his hands and knees away from it. Parvati stood up to get a better look at the tank and realized why Ron had called it the brain room moment's before. It was dimly lit like the dais room was, long and rectangular in size, with tanks with what looked like human brains in it. While she was contemplating how sick that was Harry looked to Ron and told him, "I think it's time we sent a message to the aurors. We know Hermione is missing and we know the dementors are scattered around this department. And, I have a feeling there's more than the one's we just saw."

Ron nodded looking palely at the brains in the tank. "Alright mate, if you say so." He took out his wand and said the patronus charm and a spunky looking terrier appeared.

As Ron was busy constructing the message, Harry turned to Parvati. "We have to check the other rooms which means we have to go back to the dementors. Just be prepared. Think of the happiest thing you can, okay?"

Parvati nodded and as Ron's terrier disappeared to give the message to the aurors in a streak of light, Harry turned to Ron and told him the same thing. "There could be more than before, we'll see." They all turned by the door waiting for Harry to kick it open. "Ready? Well do it on three- one, two, three!"

He kicked it open and they all bustled through wands raised and-

"They're gone," Parvati said in complete astonishment as the doors shifted around them again.

"I don't like this," Harry said uneasily as they lowered their wands. "Dementors may be foul, but they're not dumb. If they've been navigating this place they would know we have to come back to get out this way- or they would have pursued us. They can sense us even though the doors change."

"If dementors are smart," Parvati reasoned slowly, "and can sense us they would go after what's easiest. We all have our wands-"

"Hermione doesn't," Harry said realizing. "They were probably chasing her when we walked in on them! She went in a room and and the doors switched around. They were trying to sense her when we came in and disrupted them. But, we have protection when Hermione doesn't so Hermione's a much more easy target! And, she would recognize the markings on the door as her old idea- she probably knows we're here and picked a door with a marking on it hoping to run into us."

"Well, we better pick fast," Ron said noting the doors. "It's almost faded already."

"Well we got a one in third chance- actually a fifty/fifty chance- she can't get into the locked room," Parvati said.

"Alright," Harry said looking at the doors. There were two marked doors to the left of them side-by-side and one behind them. "Let's start with-"

But, Parvati with her wand drawn already started towards the two to her left and picking the one closest motioned for Ron and Harry to follow her as she pushed it open and the trio entered the dais room for the second time- the only difference being it was crowded by twenty dementors surrounding a collapsed body near the archway. The three stood in shock by the sheer number of dementors that were actually in the department and because one dementor in particular was holding Hermione roughly, putting his hooded head down to her mouth as if getting ready to. . .

"NOOOOO!" Ron yelled and he started running towards the dais ignoring the throngs of dementors. Parvati stood frozen in shock and coldness by the twenty or so dementors in the room. They all seemed to turn to Ron as he ran obliviously by them.

"Ron!" Harry roared. "Damn it- expecto patronum!" A slivery stag erupted from his wand paving a way for Ron's mad dash and effectively catching the dementor's attention. They started swarming and obscuring the view of the dais leaving Parvati to wonder what was happening to Hermione.

Although she was still fearful for her ex-lover's fate, Parvati could feel warmth and hope pass her as the stag glided by and knew this was the best chance she had to produce her own patronus. She could not lose her head like Ron even though her body was screaming to get as physically close to Hermione as she could right now as if that would somehow save her. She had to stay calm to help Harry's patronus.

She concentrated on Hermione- on the very first night they had spent together- on the memory of being almost deliriously happy that the gryffindor bookworm had taken such an interest in her and yelled, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

She knew it would work before she said it. There was too much on the line- this wasn't some practice D.A. spell and this wasn't something she could make up for later. This was a moment to make everything better. Everything counted on this- Hermione counted on this.

A silvery tiger erupted and covered their backs as Harry and Parvati tore after Ron down to where Hermione was. "We have to get them to make the dementors leave through the door," Harry yelled looking impressed at Parvati's patronus.

"How do we do that?" Parvati yelled back, but the patronus' seemed to be listening because the two of them began working together to round them up. Parvati stopped to admire their work and even Harry stood gawking. He would have never guessed Parvati could produce a patronus that could rival his own.

"Hermione!" Ron yelled. Parvati turned around and saw that Ron had made it to the dais. He knelt down and ever carefully lifted her head up with a frantic look on his face.

Parvati forgot about the dementors and ran to the dais. She stopped a few steps away in shock. Hermione looked terrible- her skin was unusually pale, her hair was matted tangled, and her body looked skinnier than she had ever seen her.

"Is she-," Harry asked right behind Parvati.

"She's still breathing," Ron answered quickly. His whole body was shaking as he held her, making it look as if she were twitching.

"I meant is she- is she still whole?" Harry said quietly. He was inquiring about the dementor's kiss and Parvati knew it. They had seen it- it was about to happen before they burst into the room. Parvati fell to her knees in fear, and something like a dry sob started escaping her. Maybe she was too late. . .

"HARRY!" Someone yelled bursting into the room. A group of aurors bustled in the room. The patronus of the stag and tiger were gone along with all the dementors. Parvati did not know when all of that happened- time seemed to be moving at a strange pace for her. Meanwhile, Harry ran back to the entrance to see the aurors while Ron was trying to nudge Hermione awake. He looked like he was about to burst into sobs when Parvati got the idea. She removed the remaining distance between her and Hermione and pointed her wand at her, "Aguamenti!"

A jet of water erupted from the tip of her wand and splashed a generous amount on Hermione's face. The effect was almost instantaneous- Hermione started roughly choking and Parvati almost let out a sigh of relief.

"Hermione," Ron said holding her. "Oh Merlin."

"Ron," she choked and smiled up at him. "I knew you'd find me." She had tears clinging to the corners of her eyes perhaps from coughing, probably from relief. Her last seconds of consciousness were probably terrifying. "You look well."

Parvati felt like she was punched in the stomach. The look she was giving him. . . it was the look she should be getting- there was too much care and attention to it. As if Ron was single-handedly her Hero while Parvati was a third-rate sidekick.

Ron smiled back at her. "Harry's here too-" he started to tell her, but was interrupted by someone else catching the corner of Hermione's eye.

"Parvati?"

Parvati looked back at Hermione's face- a face of wonder and confusion. Mostly though, Parvati felt like it was saying, what the hell are you doing here?

Parvati looked back at her somberly finding it hard to look back in her eyes when two emergency healers bounded up towards them and pushed her out of the way. Parvati moved away looking dejected as they had to force Ron to let her go. However, as they were pulling Ron away, Hermione's eyes never left Parvati and neither her expression as if she could not believe Parvati was there. However, her eyes finally slumped to a close as the healers gave her something to make her go into an instant sleep and Ron was finally pulled away with the help of some aurors now trying to help him calm down.

This fucking figures, she thought looking away from the scene. It figures that I would be the one to know she was in danger, be the one that found her last minute, and be the one that saved her while Ron got all the credit. Ron, she fumed angrily, how could she look at him like that- like she counted on him so much. . .

It was not fair. This much Parvati knew for certain. It was not fair that she fell in love with someone that turned to someone else for help. It was not fair that the someone else did absolutely nothing in aiding her. Parvati knew her and Harry would have been fine on their own. All Ron had done was step on her foot and make snide or rude comments. . .

Parvati pulled herself to her feet and wrapped her arms around herself. Although the dementors were probably long gone she felt chilled and slightly depressed as if they had left part of themselves in the air as the patronuses chased them away. She shivered and stared at the stone archway still hearing the whispers around it as if calling her. Or maybe her own morbid thoughts were prompting her to imagine it.

"You saved her, you know," Harry said putting a hand on her shoulder.

Parvati jumped a little, she hadn't known Harry was behind her thinking he was still talking to many of the aurors.

She sniffed a little. "It would have been my fault if I hadn't."

Harry shook his head and moved by her side. "No, it wouldn't have been your fault." He paused for a minute before continuing. "You know that was one of the best patronuses I've ever seen."

Parvati knew it was a genuine compliment by the awe in his voice, but it did nothing to make her feel better. "It had to be."

Parvati watched as the healers put Hermione on a stretcher magically lifted by itself. Her mouth was slightly open while her body was limp, and it oddly reminded her of when she saw Lavender getting pulled out after the war when she was still unaware of how much damage Greyback had done to her. She had not known whether her best friend was going to make it, and although Parvati knew that Hermione would be physically okay it was something else that made Parvati wonder if Hermione was actually going to be fine.