Harry paced around the Room of Requirement.

"How long are we supposed to stay in here, mate?" complained Ron.

"It's been an hour!" said Draco.

"Plenty of time that could be used to find a Horcrux, if you ask me." Hermione shot back.

Harry stopped abruptly. "We could sneak into the library." He said.

"What? Harry, that's mental!" Ron leaned forward on his elbows for emphasis.

He shook his head. "But, if we go to the library, maybe we could find something about this Ravenclaw thing Tom's hidden his soul in. That doesn't sound mental to me."

Draco groaned impatiently. "So no one's going to tell what a Horcrux is?"

"Exactly." Ron answered, a hint of a smirk on his face.

However, Harry relented. "Tom's-"

"Who's Tom?"

Harry gritted his teeth. "The person who's name is under a taboo. Now, if you'd let me finish...Tom's split his soul into seven pieces, if that makes sense. And-"

"No, it doesn't..." Draco shook his head slowly. "It really doesn't."

Ron threw Harry a, "And he calls me an idiot..." look. Harry sighed deeply. "Tom. Kills. People." He said deliberately. "When. You. Kill People. Your. Soul. Can. Split. In. Half."

"Hey!" Draco protested. "Quit the first year jabber, would you, Potter?"

"Sorry, but that's all you can comprehend!" retorted Ron.

Harry cleared his throat. "Anyways, he's split his soul seven times. To protect those bits of his soul, he almost...er...stores them, in an object."

"That's ridiculous!" Draco cut in.

"Tell that to the people who died." Said Harry darkly. "But, those objects...those are the Horcruxes. We need to destroy them."

"There are seven..." he stated, and Harry nodded. "How many did you destroy?"

"Well...three..."

Draco's eyebrow arched in disbelief. "Three?"

"We've collected the fourth, know where the fifth is, and know what the sixth is." Ron added defensively. "So don't give us that look."

"How do you destroy them?"

"Basilisk fangs or Gryffindor's sword." Harry said briskly. "Now, if you have any more questions, I suggest you consult a library."

"Or Hermione..." Ron muttered. "She might as well be a library on legs..."

Hermione swatted him, but there was a flicker of a grin on her face.

"Where can we possibly get either of those?" Draco demanded.

"The Chamber of Secrets!" Hermione exclaimed suddenly.

"What?" Draco's eyes reflected confusion.

"We need to go to the Chamber of Secrets! That's where Harry killed the Basilisk, and that's where we can find its fangs!" She looked around at them triumphantly.

"That's...that's brilliant, Hermione!" Harry shouted in approval. "Why don't you and Malfoy go get the basilisk fangs now, and Ron and I can head to the library to research any Ravenclaw heirlooms and such."

Ron groaned at the thought of swimming in piles and piles of library books. 'Just to find some musty old Ravenclaw thing?' He mentally slapped himself. 'At least we've caught on to something...'

"But, Harry!" said Hermione. "You'll have to open the Chamber of Secrets; none of us can do it." She motioned to Ron and Draco.

"Why?"

"Because you're the only one that can speak Parseltongue."

Harry's eyes widened in realization. "Well, you and I can collect the fangs, then, and Ron and Mal-"

Hermione gave him a look.

"Or, you and Malfoy can go to the library, and Ron and I collect the fangs?"

She nodded in approval. "Malfoy and-"

"Draco!" said the man in question. "My name is-"

"No one cares." Ron sneered. "You can confess your love for her when you two are in the library."

Hermione blushed furiously. "Malfoy and I...can go with a Disillusionment Charm, and you and Ron can use the cloak."

"Now?" said Draco.

"Now." Harry pulled out the Invisibility Cloak, and Hermione charmed herself and Draco.

"Remember to meet us here, if you find anything about Ravenclaw." Harry reminded her.

And with that, they headed their separate ways.

After an hour of poring over books, Hermione laid her head on the library table and sighed. They had cast a Muffliato charm over the area, but Draco had watched amusedly as a bodiless Hermione flipped through the pages of Significant Ravenclaw Figures in Wizarding History.

She grabbed the next book in the pile—Infamous Allegories of Ancient Hogwarts. Trailing her finger down the table of contents, she groaned desperately.

"Having fun there, Granger?" Draco pestered, leaning calmly against one of the bookshelves.

She glared at him murderously. "You!" she stood up and jabbed at his chest with her finger. "You haven't been doing anything! I thought we were supposed to be researching together!"

He twiddled his thumbs casually. "Sorry, but I suppose I lack the patience for it."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I suppose you won't lack the patience for it, when...when he finds out we're hunting Horcruxes at Hogwarts, and decides to kill off your arse!"

Draco sighed. "Look. All I know about Ravenclaws are that most of them are annoying bookworms, that stay confined in this library in all their free time, and go on and on about this bloody diadem. Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure, my arse..."

Hermione huffed in annoyance...and then looked back at him with a growing expression of interest. "Diadem? What's that?"

He feigned surprise with a smirk. "Oh! The great Hermione Granger knows nothing of Ravenclaw's diadem! Merlin's beard!"

"Oh, just tell me what it is, Malfoy!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Some stupid tiara that Ravenclaw's daughter stole from her. So stupid...no wonder the Bloody Baron murdered her."

"Tiara?!" Hermione shrieked. "Malfoy, how did you not tell Harry about this? This could very well be the next Horcrux, and we've wasted time sitting in this library, doing absolutely-"

Draco silenced her with his lips, dragging her closer by the waist. She responded enthusiastically, surprising both him and herself. His lips were soft, and the cavern of his mouth was unbelievably warm. Her hands found the back of his neck, and deepened the kiss. His tongue traced her bottom lip curiously, and she let him, almost reluctantly, as his own hands pulled at her hair. Hermione pulled away, breathing heavily, and avoided Draco's eye. He smirked.

"Well that escalated quickly..." he teased.

She mumbled something about "distracting hormones", and picked up a random book from the stacks, reading it heatedly.

"Well, damn, Granger, I didn't know you could read upside down."

Author's Note- This has got to be one of my favorite chapters to write. I don't know why, but I enjoy the whole Draco/Hermione bantering aspect of their romance. Speaking of romance, did this one satisfy you? I know it wasn't much, but c'mon you can't expect Draco to realistically propose to Hermione in the library for no reason, in the middle of the story. Nor would Hermione lose her virginity in said library in the middle of a Horcrux hunt. Just a thought...Er, anyways! You may also be wondering, "OMG when is this story going to enddddd?!" If you're wondering that...you can go fu-...*coughs* No, I was only joking! This story is actually going to end pretty soon. *cue the awws and crying babies* Oh, yes, it must! But...I must give you a hint...sometimes the end isn't exactly the end.