"Helena Ravenclaw? Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter? You're joking!" Hermione said, shocked. This bit of information about the ghost of Ravenclaw never made it into Hogwarts, A History.

"I am not joking. I'm having a hard time understanding why that would be funny. My mother was a very intelligent witch." The Grey Lady said, looking thoroughly confused by Hermione's word choice.

"Well let's just say you are exactly the person we need to talk to." Draco's eyes shone excitedly.

Hermione lowered a bit of the invisibility cloak to show her face to The Lady. Draco exchanged a significant glace with her. If this was really Helena Ravenclaw the amount of information she could give them on the diadem could be incredibly valuable.

"You want to know about my mother's diadem?" The Grey Lady turned to Hermione, a far off look on her face.

"Yes, please. Anything you could tell us would be extremely helpful." Hermione urged.

"It's been….so long since I've discussed it with anyone. Actually the last person I talked to about it was a young student here quite some time ago."

"Okay that's great." Draco said impatiently. "But do you know where the diadem is?"

"Wait." Hermione interrupted. "Who was the last student you talked to about it?"

"Oh…" The Grey Lady turned from them, and Hermione could only assume by the way her face looked when she turned back that she was embarrassed. "He was…quite handsome."

"Do you remember his name?" Hermione's heart was beating fast now.

"I don't…he never told me. But he…well he was so charming." The Grey Lady said desperately.

"What did he do?" Draco asked darkly.

"Nothing…it's more of what I did. I told him where it was hidden."

"Did he retrieve it?" Hermione asked quietly.

"He must have. I only saw him once more after he had left the school. He looked so different then."

"He came back to Hogwarts?" Draco said. He and Hermione's eyes met in acknowledgement.

"Yes, just shortly after he graduated. I learned later that he had wanted to teach at the school, but Dumbledore refused him. I saw him up a few floors from here actually. He was wandering around on a seventh floor corridor. He saw me and smiled…but it was a colder smile than the last time I saw him."

Draco and Hermione let The Lady sit in silence for a few moments more before they asked their last question.

"Did he say anything to you?" Draco asked eagerly.

"He thanked me for my help all those years ago. He said that he had just then finally completed the task that started with me. I assumed he was talking about the diadem. I never really found out what he meant by it, but the look in his eyes still haunts me."

…..

…

….

A few minutes later Hermione and Draco watched The Grey Lady glide down a corridor and out of sight. They thanked her for her help, and although she looked unsure of whether she had helped them at all, Hermione and Draco both knew that they were several steps closer to destroying a horcrux than they were before they set off.

"Well it's no question that the diadem is a horcrux now. She was definitely talking to Tom Riddle all those years ago." Hermione pulled the invisibility cloak up over her head and started walking with Draco back the way they came.

"The question is what did he do with the information she gave?" Draco mused, deep in thought.

"Well judging from the thank you she received a few years later I'd say he eventually found it and made it into a horcrux. The question is where did he hide it?" Hermione sighed, feeling as though for every step forward they took, they were taking several steps back. "My guess is somewhere at Hogwarts. I mean The Lady did say that he had JUST finished the task that started with her. He must have hidden it here the night Dumbledore turned him down for a job."

"That's true. Hermione I-" Draco started, but Hermione kept going.

"I mean that has to be it. I can't see any other place he would hide it. Harry said that Hogwarts was always the place nearest to his heart. Well that is if he even has a heart. I mean-"

"Hermione, I wanted-"

"Either way we have to tell Harry and Ron about this. They should know-"

"Hermione." Draco grabbed her hand as she was walking ahead of him and pulled her to a stop.

Hermione finally stopped talking. She took a deep breath, refusing to face him.

"What do you want?" Her voice sounded harsher than she had intended.

"I want to talk." Draco said quietly, as she pulled the invisibly cloak back to reveal her face. He watched her turn around to face him, flinching at seeing the pain in her eyes.

"You want to talk now? What makes you so eager all the sudden? It's not like you've tried to talk to me at all since the three of us went into hiding."

"Hermione that's not fair. There's hardly been any time." Draco took hold of her hand and led her back down the corridor they came as to stay out of sight. It was dark, and the only light came from the moon as it threw shadows off the glass window frames against the floor.

He stopped her in the corner of the wall, looking both ways to make sure they were alone.

"What are you really feeling Hermione? You know what you're saying isn't fair. I've been working day and night to keep you safe. I've given up everything I used to care about just to make sure you make it out of this war alive. There's hardly been a chance to talk."

"I know…" Hermione whispered, trying not to look Draco in the eyes.

"So tell me how you're really feeling."

"Do we have to do this now?" Hermione asked, her temper rising.

"Yes Hermione! We do! Because if we don't do it now you'll just keep resenting me, and I won't know why." Draco ran his hands through his hair frustrated. He paced lightly in front of her, and she leaned more against the cool stone wall.

"I just don't know if now is the best time. We told Harry and Ron to worry if we weren't back within two hours and-"

"And it's only been an hour Hermione. So just tell me how you feel!" Draco raised his voice slightly at the last word.

"I feel…I feel like I love you!" Hermione yelled back letting her emotions flow though her. Draco stopped pacing immediately. He turned slowly toward her, an incredulous look on his face.

"You love me?" He asked softly.

"Yes, I do. I know you said it to me the night we destroyed the horcrux and I never said it back. I didn't know if I felt it then. It felt…too soon." Hermione took a deep breath. "But I've felt the past few weeks that I might be losing you. We never talk or spend time together, and I've hardly had an intimate conversation with you. I felt like I was losing you, and that made me feel more strongly for you."

"Hermione I-" Draco tried to interrupt.

"Just let me get this out okay?" Hermione waited for him to nod slightly before continuing. "I just feel like six months ago we hated each other. And then this…this Veela thing came up with you. Of course I didn't know about it until two months ago, but still. I guess I feel like just because this Veela thing is making you care for me, it doesn't mean you actually care for me."

Hermione risked looking up at him. He seemed stunned, and a bit hurt. But she had to continue. She had to let him know how she was feeling.

"I know what I feel for you is real somehow. I know you saved my life this summer. I know you'd do anything to protect me. I know that you're too handsome for your own good, and there's just something about you I can't say no to. I love you Draco. I guess that I know what I feel for you is authentic. There's no outside force at play here for me. I have no Veela sense to glue me to you forever. I just feel like you and me are….right. But you don't have that choice. I know you've said before that the Veela gene that ties you to me doesn't make you love me, it makes you protect me. I know that because of that gene you've said it's allowed you to learn to love me. I guess that I'm just…insecure about it. The idea that without that gene I'm just mudblood Granger again."

Hermione swallowed hard in the silence that followed. There. She put herself out there. Draco was still staring at her, his face disbelieving.

"That's what this is about? You doubt that I love you?" Draco took a step closer to her. She could feel his hot breath on her neck.

"It's just unfair…I wish I had something that made me love you." Hermione felt him take another move closer, and she could feel his robes brush against her jeans. "What I feel...it comes from me one hundred percent. It's not some…gene."

"Hermione I'd love you without that Veela sense. I can feel the Veela pull toward you, and it's nothing compared to the pull I feel for you that I know comes from just me. The Veela gene allowed me to look past my prejudice. It makes me want to protect you, and it allows me to feel your emotions and that's it. If I didn't love you Hermione I wouldn't say it. Veela genes don't make Veela's love their mates. That either comes naturally or it doesn't come at all. The love I feel for you comes from me. Just me. I swear it."

Hermione looked at him hopefully. He was much closer than before. His hands rested lightly on her hips, his eyes asking permission to do more.

Hermione reached her hand up to his neck and pulled him closer, her lips meeting his.

This kiss was unlike the others. Before it had been slow and passionate. Now it was fierce and longing. They hadn't had contact like this in weeks. The invisibility cloak fell to the ground. Draco quickly broke away from her to retrieve it from the ground.

"This way." Draco said breathlessly. His voice full of longing.

Hermione followed him down the corridor further, and Draco turned into the first door he found. It was the empty charms classroom.

Hermione walked inside, and Draco shut the door firmly behind her. She was about to ask what they were doing in there but was silenced by Draco's lips once more.

He placed the invisibility cloak on a chair next to them as he lifted Hermione easily up onto the nearest desk. He was pressing his lips to hers with an almost uncontrollable sense of urgency and longing. Hermione's heart raced faster as she unfastened her green cloak to give herself some air, her lips never leaving his.

"Draco what if someone-"Hermione managed to let her sense of rationality come through. She was a fugitive in Hogwarts. What if someone saw them?

Draco cut her off immediately with kisses on her neck, and she lost the ability to talk.

"Don't. Think. Stop. Thinking." Draco commanded between kisses, his voice hot. "I want you Hermione. More than I've ever wanted anything."

Draco pressed himself harder to her, and Hermione found herself filled with longing. She weaved her hands through his hair as their kisses intensified.

Draco threw his own cloak to the ground, and Hermione reached up to loosen his Slytherin tie cautiously. But he was impatient. Draco quickly moved Hermione's hand away and unbuttoned his shirt quickly, pulling on the fabric. He let the shirt hang lose around him, and Hermione let her hands explore his chest.

She had never realized how muscular he was before. His skin was hot, and Hermione could feel her pulse rising with each kiss. Draco moved his hands from her hips, exploring her thighs, his fingers brushing against the inside seam of her jeans.

Hermione let out a moan she didn't know she was holding in as she grasped at Draco's messy hair. Her body hummed with satisfaction.

"Mmm Hermione." Draco whispered roughly, pressing himself against her harder than before.

Hermione had been this far with a boy before, but it felt different with Draco. After all they were just kissing, but it was definitely the sexiest make out session she'd ever had. It made her body burn, and with her mind clouded in lust for Draco Malfoy she wanted him to go further.

Draco's fingers slipped expertly into the waist band of her jeans, and Hermione could feel them reach the lace trim of what she was wearing underneath. She let out a muffled yelp of reaction, followed by a comfortable moan. His lips pressed into hers faster now.

And then he jumped away, so quickly Hermione nearly lost her balance on the table she was perched on.

She was about to ask what was wrong, but Draco covered her mouth quickly. She caught a glimpse of his silver eyes shining intensely.

Hermione stopped breathing, listening for a sound. Then she heard it too. The door to the classroom was opening. Hermione quickly grabbed and threw the invisibility cloak over herself, crouching low under a desk trying to remain unseen. She watched as Draco quickly and expertly fastened the buttons on his shirt.

He was just pulling on his own cloak when Amycus Carrow slid into the classroom looking suspicious.

"Draco." He acknowledged the boy, and Hermione could see he was slightly disappointed to find him here.

"Sir." Draco replied, steadying his breathing.

Carrow came over to Draco swiftly, his eyes sweeping the room as if looking for something he could not see.

Hermione crouched lower under the desk, careful to stay quiet.

"Aren't you on head duties?" Carrow asked making a full 360 turn around Draco. Hermione was too afraid to look anywhere but his feet, but she could imagine him smelling the air.

"I am sir. Just checking the classrooms to make sure they're empty." Draco said expertly.

"I see." Carrow said, leaving Draco's immediate area. He wandered down the length of the classroom, his back to Draco.

His footsteps echoed endlessly in the dark classroom. Hermione's heart pounded in her chest. Her right leg already falling asleep at the position she was in.

She could see Carrow's feet turn back toward Draco. He was about to step the length back towards him, but stopped suddenly.

"What is that?" He asked his tone sharp.

"What is what?" Draco asked confused.

"That green cloak you're stepping on." Carrow's steps came closer to Draco once more.

Hermione swore in her head. She had left her green cloak on the ground at Draco's feet.

Carrow swooped down and picked it up off the floor. Hermione couldn't stand it any longer and looked up to see what he was doing with it.

His eyes were inches from Draco's own, and his hands were running through the fabric as if it would tell him what he needed to know.

"Well?" Carrow asked Draco once more, a tone of satisfaction seeping through.

"It's Daphne Greengrass' sir." Draco said quickly.

"Is it?" Carrow asked disbelieving.

"Yes. She was….well this is embarrassing." Draco scratched the back of his head in a shameful way. "She was just in here you see. We were…well we were just talking. We heard someone come in and I told her to get out of here so she wouldn't be in trouble. She went out the other door."

Draco pointed to the only other door in the room. The one Carrrow hadn't come through.

"I see. You were 'talking'." The death eater said with amusement. "Well I suppose you wouldn't mind me giving this back to her then myself?"

"Why would you need to do that Sir?" Draco asked. "I can take care of it."

"No I think I'd rather hang on to it and give it to her myself. Unless that's a problem?" Carrow asked smugly.

"Not at all Sir."

"Great. Then I'll leave you to your duties, Mr. Malfoy."

"Have a good night sir."

"You know Draco." Amycus said, just before he exited the classroom. "My head can't seem to grasp all the details of the day the Potter boy escaped. My students back up their stories of what happened very well. But somehow I notice something is off about it. Do keep your eyes and ears open with me on this one."

Hermione waited until she heard the charms door close shut before she let out the breath she had been trying to hold in.

"Are you okay?" Draco knealt down to her quickly.

"Yes…I'm fine." Hermione said breathlessly.

They stood in silence for awhile longer reveling in all that had just happened. They had been careless. They almost got caught.

"You don't think he knows what really happened do you?" Hermione asked worriedly, Carrow's last words sinking in.

"I don't know. It's possible he's realized Pansy's story is a bit off. Her new memory of the event that we implanted in her does seem a bit farfetched." Draco seemed stressed, running his hand through his hair. "That was a close one."

Draco pulled Hermione up and pressed her close to him.

Hermione welcomed the hug. It made her feel safe.

"I can't let my emotions get to me like that." Draco said angrily. "I almost got us killed."

"We don't have to do that anymore…if it makes you feel that way."

"No!" Draco said quickly. "No. That was…amazing."

His eyes glowed silver in the dark, and Hermione could see the dark passion in them that he held for her. It made her stomach do flips.

"I just need to be more careful."

"Don't we all?" Hermione sighed, frustrated with their situation.

"I love you Hermione."

"I love you too." Her body hummed with satisfaction at the way her was looking at her. "We should probably get back. Tell the boys what we've found."

Draco smiled, pulled the invisibility cloak back over her to make sure she was well hidden. He grabbed her hand softly and led her back to the room of requirement. He didn't let go of it the entire way back.

A/N: Once again thank you all for being patient. I hope you liked this sexy bit of Dramione I gave you this chapter.