Harry and Minerva reached the bronze eagle and he frowned in confusion for a moment. Minerva merely sighed when the eagle spouted off a riddle much too fast for Harry to comprehend in the mere two seconds his ex-professor did.

"Fifteen." The older woman said quickly and the entrance opened quickly for them.

"Your mother, something of hers… I need to find it, to protect this school." The ghost surveyed her critically for a moment before her shoulders slumped and silver tears began to streak her face.

Her shimmering body was now floating so that their eyes were at the exact same level, her once blue now silvers orbs stared into Hermione's chocolate as if searching for some form of forgiveness.

"You are not the first to come asking for the diadem." She whispered and Hermione's eyebrows rose. "I was a jealous mortal, I wished for mother's intellect, her power… I stole it and look where I ended up? Albania was the last time… but then the boy came and he asked about it… he was so charming and handsome, something about him just… I had a compulsion to tell him everything, the diadem, the enchantments the history… it just… he found it, I know he did because I felt the power of Rowena Ravenclaw return to this school, the power of the diadem… oh I was blinded… so ignorant…" she trailed off wistfully and Hermione bit her lip in thought.

"Do you know where it is?" Hermione took a step back when the ghost regarded her severely, anger flashing in her eyes.

"Why?"

"To right the wrong you committed."

"To right the wrongs… to-"

"Atonement." Hermione whispered and the Grey Lady let out a low musical note.

"I am not sure. The young man was… arrogant… he knew things about this school, about magic that… no one else supposedly knew. He believed himself superior to all others. On the information I gave him all those years ago… he would have gone to Albania, where I died, where the diadem was last… was last…" she trailed off staring off into space and Hermione nodded slowly her mind slowly threading information together into one harmonious train of thought.

The entrance slammed open and Minerva and Harry burst through, causing the ghost to shriek in horror, before disappearing through one of the blue covered walls. Harry ran forward and placed both hands to her shoulders looking her up in down, searching her for injuries.

Hermione had a faraway expression on her face and for some reason it irked him. "Hermione? Hermione are you alright? Hermione?"

"If someone believed they were all knowing, knew all about Hogwarts that there was to know.. That no one else knew about, where would they hide something?" Hermione asked musingly, her eyes meeting with the serious face of McGonagall.

"If he believed himself all knowing… if he was that arrogant to think he knew all of the secrets of this castle…"

Minerva trailed off for a moment before Hermione and she both gasped.

"The room of requirement!" they exclaimed and Harry felt as if he were interrupting some kind of elite brainstorming session.

He watched in confusion when both women tore from the tower only to, moments later grasp his upper arms and pull him through the entrance and to the seventh floor corridor, coming to a skidding halt near the statue of Barnabas the Barmy. Hermione immediately started to pace and Harry without delay recognized the area they were in. A blackened door appeared. Harry placed an arm out to stop Hermione from touching the door, his hand twitching when he felt the magic course through him.

"Harry?" Hermione whispered and he shook his head stilling both women as he approached the door.

He raised his hand and allowed it to hover above the surface for a moment then he turned to Hermione frowning. "What did you ask for?"

"The hiding place of Ravenclaw's diadem." Hermione whispered and Harry growled as another bolt of magic cut through him.

"Hermione, step back." McGonagall ordered sternly and Hermione frowned shaking her head.

"No, he should step back; the aura is affecting him, not me." Hermione muttered and reached down her front to extract her beaded bag. Plunging a hand inside she withdrew the sword with a flourish and pointed it at Harry motioning for him to move aside. He hissed when the blade came within and inch of him and Hermione quickly recoiled in horror. The fragment… it senses danger.

She turned to the door and reached out, opening it quickly and stepping inside the dimly lit room. She took in the cavernous walls and the single stone basin cautiously, her steps slow, methodical. She walked towards the stone bowl and her eyes widened when she saw the single ghostly white memory swirling around its depths. "It's a Pensieve." She said to no one in particular and bent over curiously to gaze into the seemingly bottomless basin in amazement.

Harry looked over her shoulder and frowned heavily. "I don't like this Hermione. Not at all."

"Oh. Come on Harry, we have to enter it! Don't you see?" she beseeched but he shook his head.

"It's a trap; you don't know what he could have done to it."

"Yes, but if we do not do this, we will never win this war." She pleaded and watched as his brow furrowed.

Since when had she turned into me? He pondered as he watched her dive head first into the Pensieve without a second glance.

It was as if she were suspended in cool water for a moment, before she felt herself being thrown violently to the ground. She looked up from the dank stone floor where she lay. The room seemed familiar, the water dripping from the walls and the scent of mould and grime reached her nose and she grimaced. She pushed herself gingerly to her feet and squinted in a vain attempt to force her eyes to adjust. It was then, as if he were illuminated by the heavens, that he appeared.

"What gift have I given myself?" the young, handsome man pondered, one long pale finger tapping his angular chin in thought. He gracefully seemed to slither toward her, his black robes forming an almost perfect circle around his feet. His dark hair which would have been immaculate appeared windswept, several strands falling into his almost black eyes. He seemed to leer at her, tracing his eyes up and down her body as if deciding how best to attack.

"Speak." He hissed, his cool breath washing over her face, in soft bursts. Hermione cringed, turning her face away, only to have it grabbed and violently put back in place.

"I am no gift." She said defiantly, taking a step backward from this young Voldemort.

He laughed, a much deeper laugh than his usual high pitched, but it possessed the same maniacal quality which made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Then you must be here to die… and what a waste… such a-" his eyes flashed in hunger "- delectable sight you are." She drew her wand and pointed it directly at him, cursing herself that the sword lay a few feet behind him. "That won't work my sweet." He murmured his face mere centimeters from her own, his fully formed nose twitching as he drew in her scent.

"Incendio." She whispered and watched the fire deflect off his dark cloak onto the wall. His laughter filled the air and she stumbled backwards in reaction to his advancing footsteps.

The chamber smelt of death, grime and- rain? It wasn't rain precisely, it was more of a fresh smell, it was oddly comforting, the smell of spring and life down in a dank place such as the one she found herself in felt good, like home.

It moved from the corner of her eye at first, a dark figure, silently edging closer to them. She froze when she glimpsed the dark hair and round framed spectacles.

Riddle had closed the distance between them, his cold hand reaching out to cup her cheek in an out of character show of affection. She cringed, closing her eyes and turning away.

"Don't." he spat and she turned to him, seeing the red flashing in his eyes once more. "Don't fight me." He ordered and she swallowed, quickly nodding her head in submission silently praying that she had seen Harry and that it wasn't a figment of her imagination. "Good." The feel of his icy lips on hers was like all of the blood had drained from her veins, her stomach began to churn in repulsion, she had to stop herself from gagging when he forced her mouth open and violently plundered her mouth with his tongue. Hermione opened her eyes to see dark red staring back at her with such intensity she quivered in fear as he ran his fingers through her soft curls.

He landed gracefully on his feet, looking around the cavernous room intently for a moment before he spotted shining silver glistening on the stone floor and then a few inches from it Tom Riddle. Fire ricocheted onto the walls and that's when she came into view, her face fearful, her wand pointed toward her attacker as he slowly advanced.

Harry ran to a nearby pillar and hid behind it, just chancing to glance toward Hermione and her captor. He froze in shock.

No. He thought and he sprinted toward the goblin wrought silver that lay on the floor, near Riddles feet. The raw power shot through him, his hands shaking around the metal he clutched. In an almost perfect arc he swung the weapon, slicing straight through his enemies head which burst into black flames, the high pitch wails stinging their ears.

Hermione was thrown off her feet by the force of the explosion which soon followed, an explosion that dissipated quicker than the time it had taken to occur.

Power seemed to ripple through Harry's veins and he reveled in it, as he reached out for Hermione's hand which she tentatively offered. The moment contact was made they were thrown up, through the ceiling and came to rest at the feet of Hermione's mentor.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Minerva asked quickly, bringing the younger woman to her feet swiftly. Hermione placed her fingers to her lips and immediately started rubbing furiously at them, as if trying to wipe away the cold touch of his lips on her own. "Hermione?"

"What? Oh, I'm perfectly fine Minnie." She said brusquely and frowned when she noticed their eyes staring at a point just above her eyes. "What?"

"Diadem…" Harry trailed off, his eyes flashing for a moment in anger.

"Why did he give it to you?" Minerva asked sternly and Hermione reached up and took the beautiful tiara from her hair. She stared at it and bit her lower lip.

"Well he kissed me and I guess while he was running his fingers through my hair… he well… put it there…" she said awkwardly.

"I didn't mean to put you on the spot Hermione, just keep an eye on any other… gifts… you may receive and let me know… not Albus.." Minerva whispered and left the room.

"Let's go 'Mione" Harry said unsmiling, his eyes warily gazing at the precious piece in her hand.

"Harry, it's not a horcrux."

"Maybe not that… but it's something else.. I just don't know what it is yet." And with that said he strode down the hall back in the direction of the hospital wing, Hermione following in his wake.

She strode as quickly as her slim, frail legs would take her into Saint Mungo's, the crowds parting as if she had some kind of disease, but she knew in reality that it was because they were staring at the last of the famous duo. Reception didn't even give her trouble when she walked straight to the elevator and pushed the button feebly.

Exiting the shiny metal box Hermione walked toward the dark red door with the number 7 emblazoned on the front. Hermione raised her fist and knocked gently, the sound barely audible in the cavernous hall.

And then, an almost blinding white light flashed before her and out of the light she was confronted with the freckled face of a man she had been avoiding since Harry's funeral.

He looked stunned at first, then immediately concern clouded his full face. In comparison to his voluptuous wife, she must look freakish in her skeletal form, her hollowed cheeks casting dark shadows upon what should be her young face, sickness and grief robbing her of youth.

"Hermione, you came." The red haired man she now, barely knew exclaimed. Hermione looked up into his pale blue eyes suspiciously and merely nodded before side stepping him and moving into the room. She felt the eyes of every single remaining member of the red head clan look up and stare at her, all surprisingly with mixture of relief and small happiness at seeing her sickly form.

The balding head of Arthur Weasley lay in bed, his face gray and sickly, his breathing uneven, his eyes drooping.

When he saw Hermione his eyes flung open, as if she were the most shocking thing he had ever seen. Hermione walked forward and sat beside him, opposite Molly who clutched her husband's hand, tears rolling down her wrinkled cheeks. Hermione's weight barely made the bed move and Molly noticed, her eyes looking upon her in pity, empathy.

"Oh, Arthur, you sweet man." She whispered her voice cracking with emotion. Hermione brushed his fringe from his forehead gently and he smiled slightly.

"Her-Hermione… I ha-have papers… on Derek." It was as if her heart stopped beating when that name escaped his mouth, no one but four others knew of his existence, how could Arthur know? "My office… I-I found a ph-photo when I was l-looking into…"

"hush." Hermione whispered tenderly tears rolling innocently down her cheeks.

"Third draw, Molly has key..." he reached up with a shaking hand and cupped one of her cheeks with it. Hermione closed her eyes and leant into his cold touch, it was like she was losing her own father.

"I will find him Arthur, and thankyou so much for everything you have done for me all these years… I love you my friend." Hermione leaned forward and kissed his forehead, a few of her tears falling onto his forehead like raindrops.

"Love…" he sighed and turned to his wife. Hermione backed away and her eyes met the only blonde in the room. Lavender Brown bit her lower lip and ran her fingers nervously through her blonde curls nodding toward the door nervously. Hermione merely nodded in return and followed the other woman out, leaving the grieving family on its own.

They stood in silence for a few moments before Hermione grew impatient. "What is it Lavender?"

Lavender sighed and met Hermione's hollow gaze once more. "I guess… its just im sorry… for what Ron and I did to you.. And Harry all those years ago…" she trailed off seeing the stricken look on Hermione's face at her use of his name.

"Is that all you wanted?" Hermione asked and when Lavender nodded Hermione headed toward the elevator.

"Hermione?"

"Yes?"

"Who is Derek?"

AN

I am so sorry for the late update… mid year exams=crazy busy time for me

Hope its ok, hope there isn't too many mistakes and I hope I update sooner than usual