A/N: I was gonig to wait another week to post this, but with the heartening response from everyone, I decided to treate all of you.

A quick word about the subject of rape, which a few of you mentioned. No, Harry's not ging to rape anyone. Nor is anyone going to be raped, current tense. There will be attempted rape, and mention of successful attacks happening in the past (mainly in this chapter). I hope that eases all your concerns.

Susan was already sat at 'their' table in the Library, tucked away in a corner no one else visited, when Hermione arrived. As she sat down, Susan could tell that Hermione was hacked off by something. And knowing her as Susan did, there were only a few things that could get her this annoyed.

"Ron being a pain again?" She asked, picked the more obvious one.

Hermione looked up sharply, then sighed and slumped in her seat a little. "Yes. He's suddenly acting very possessive and demanding. It's like he's lost some of his intelligence after... what happened."

Susan couldn't help but smile. "What intelligence?"

Hermione chuckled along with her. She really didn't feel like defending Ron right now.

Looking beyond her, Susan could see a tall blond walking their way, a thick dark book held close to the chest. She smiled as Daphne approached, but it quickly fell away when she saw the expression on her friends face. "Daph', what's the matter?"

Hermione too looked round, and felt a small gasp escape her mouth. Daphne looked close to tears. Wordlessly she guided her round to sit between herself and Susan. They both leaned close, offering support.

After a few second Daphne spoke. "I... had a hunch, that Draco would not have returned the book. So... I went into his Dorm and retrieved it." She allowed the book to tip forwards a bit. The motion revealed that her tie was crocked, the neckline of her jumper torn.

"What happened?" Hermione asked carefully.

Daphne sniffed. "He came back as I was about to exit. Asked what I was doing. When I told him I needed to look at this book, he agreed to lend it to me... for a price." She hung her head a little more. "And then he groped me."

Susan gasped, while Hermione paled. Then her eyes narrowed. "He's not going to get away with this!"

Daphne looked up, tears in her eyes. "No Hermione, he will. You see... I never told you two this, but he's been trying to get into my pants ever since the beginning of Third Year.

"The rules are different down there. Unlike the other houses, the boys can enter the girl's rooms down there. And..." She shivered. "They do. Frequently.

"Ever since the beginning, I've heard things. That house is run by power, with those who come from the oldest, noblest and most politically powerful families having the power in the Common Room. And those who are the children of suspected or proven Death Eaters have absolute rule. It's a small section of the House, mainly Malfoy and his group, but the power they hold is total. The others, those not in that group... they're not bad people. But they are terrified. The last one to protest..." She shook her head, clearly unwilling to even say what happened.

"Down there, those students think it's perfectly acceptable to order the others around, to do whatever they want." Daphne seemed to fold in on herself, reluctant to continue.

Susan rubbed her friends back as she held her, trying to comfort her. Hermione also had an arm round her, but her thirst for knowledge drove her to ask. She had to know.

"Like what? What things are they made to do?" Daphne's breath hitched, then she answered in a voice so low it was almost a whisper.

"Sex. They have to do sexual favours."

Susan froze, her face white as a sheet. Hermione gasped in horror.

"I never had to do it, but I've heard of the younger girls being forced to give older boys blowjobs." Daphne continued, seemingly unaware of their shock. "Hand-jobs or posing nude are also common.

"Once you reach Third Year though, anything goes. Most hold off of full sex until you enter your Third Year, though again I've heard that one of the boys couldn't wait and fucked a first year."

Hermione was horrified. She reached down and pulled Daphne's chin up. "Ha..have you..." she asked haltingly.

Daphne shook her head. "No. I... I used a few charms my mother taught me and my sister to... keep them away." Fresh tears broke out as her head sunk down again. "But I could hear them. Draco, Goyle and Crabbe would come into my dorm, hard and eager. I'd have my curtains closed and with the charms cast on them, keeping them away. But Pansy and Millicent... those two hussies were eager for them. I could hear everything as those three screwed them both for hours." She shivered. "Sometimes... I even peered out, and I could watch them doing each of them.

"Draco never sullied himself with them. It seems between them they have decided who belongs to who. But he will get them to suck him off while they are banged by his henchmen.

"Outside the dorm, I've had to think quickly to avoid getting raped by Draco or any of the others. This year has been the worst. Usually I hurry through, ignoring anyone who calls my name." She sobbed. "But I've been forced a few times to pleasure one or two with my mouth."

Hermione was indigent. "How can Professor Snape allow this to happen?"

Daphne looked at her sharply, pain filling her eyes. "Snape was one of the ones I've had to blow!" She half cried. Tears streamed from her eyes. Susan pulled her close, guiding her head to rest on her own breast. Hermione scooted over, embracing them both. Both she and Susan had tears in their eyes now.

"I had just been cornered by Flint, forced to my knees, when the door opened. Draco was sat in one of the couches, his hand holding a first years head in his lap, his dick shoved down her throat. I look over to see Snape walk in, looking as twisted as ever. I thought, hoped, that he'd put a stop to all this, save me and the little girl.

"Instead he starts to tell Draco to come with him, but when he sees what Draco's doing, he amends it to 'later'. Then he tells him to let the girl pull back a bit to breath every now and again. He didn't want to have to explain why there was a dead student with cum down her throat in the middle of the common room. Then he sees me, and he sneers like he does, and says 'Ah, Miss Greengrass. About time you shared your virtues.' Then he comes over, and motions Flint to step aside. He..." Daphne swallowed, and sucked in a deep breath. "...then he exposes his own cock, and forces that into my mouth."

The three sat together, the book they had come to study forgotten. Susan slowly rocked her body back and forth, holding Daphne to her as she cried her eyes out. Hermione held onto them both, her tears falling unheeded onto Daphne's back and Susan's arm. She couldn't imagine the pain and suffering her friend had been forced to endure.

"I'm sorry Daph', I'm so sorry..." Susan whispered after a couple of minutes. Daphne murmured something, but neither of them could make it out.

"Pardon?" Hermione asked.

"I won't go back." Daphne spoke a little more clearly. "After I managed to get away from Draco, I returned to the Common Room. I found the rest of them, waiting for me. Crabb and Goyle moved to restrain me, but I had my wand out before they could reach me. I reached the door, but Draco called out before I could leave." She paused for a moment.

"He said 'When you come crawling back, you are going to pay your due.' The other boys were grinning at that. I knew, right then, that as soon as I stepped back in there, I'd never make it to my bunk." She shuddered. "I don't care what happens to me now. I'm not ever going back in there. I'll die first."

"It won't come to that." Hermione told her with absolute certainty in her voice. Turning her head, she spied the book sat on the desk before them. Sighing deeply in frustration, she eased back on her hug on the other two. "But right now, let's focus on helping Harry, otherwise none of us will be safe."

The other two looked at her bleary eyed, and then nodded. Pulling apart, they both watched as Hermione pulled the book closer to her and opened the cover.

Three hours, and several hundred notations, scribbles and crossings out later, Hermione threw down her quill in disgust. "This is so frustrating! It's as if the creators of this spell designed it to be incurable!"

They had gone through the book twice, and the section concerning the curse used on Harry at least a half dozen. Daphne had, in order to get her mind off her experiences in the Slytherin Common Room, tried to arithmetically break the spell down and analysis it. To be fair to her she had managed to do so for the bulk of the spell, but there were several 'blocks' where she lacked the knowledge to proceed.

Susan, at the same time, had focused on the wand movements and the actual incantation. The words themselves could contain power, but she had had less success than Daphne.

Hermione had put her brain to full use, and had looked at the history of the spell, searching for any case where it had been used, and how it had finally been broken. Sadly, it had been as Daphne had said. In every case, the cursed wizard had become consumed by the curse, and had been killed in the end to end his suffering... and that of everyone around him.

When witches were the victims, not all of them had died. But all of them had done extensive damage to their bodies as they degenerated into uninhibited lust filled animals, their only existence being to fuck anything around them. Food, sleep, hygiene… everything was cast aside and forgotten in their lust. Most had died from malnutrition, or had inadvertently killed themselves in the process, tearing their own insides apart. The few that hadn't had been kept alive by those wizards around them, to keep their 'perfect fuck toy'. Hermione's blood had boiled at that part!

Daphne sighed in exhaustion. "You have to remember Hermione, it's more than likely the writers of this book had no morals. They would have enjoyed watching the chaos such a spell would cause, and not want it to be cured easily."

Susan thumbed through the earlier portion of the book, where the less offensive spells were. "You have to admit that some of these other spells are quite... tempting, for people our age." She said with a slight flush to her cheeks.

Hermione blushed too, thinking about some of the possibilities those spells suggested. All kinds of body modification spells, from tame 'enlargement' types all the way to the kinky, bizarre ones. She'd practically choked on her tongue when she'd found the one that caused the targeted person to grow a temporary, extra penis. She had been unable to stop reading about the uses of that spell!

She considered herself fortunate that Draco had not used some of these spells on her already. She knew she'd have died of embarrassment if he'd cast the 'Uncontrolled Breast Enlargement' spell on her! Much as she often thought her 'assets' were undersized and small, she didn't want to be busting out of her clothes in seconds!

Before they could make any other comment, Madam Pince came over. "Time you three returned to your dormitories."

Daphne's face went white as a sheet at those words. Susan, seeing her, wrapped an arm around her shoulders as Hermione gathered up all their notes and bits of parchment. Holding the book close to her, she joined the other two as they walked out of the Library.

Daphne waited until they were several steps away from the Library door before speaking.

"I'm not going back Hermione. I won't go back." Her voice was an even mixture of desperation and determination.

"You won't have to." Hermione told her, thinking hard. Nodding to herself, she looked back at them. "Come on."

She led them back to Gryffindor Tower, using the shortest, safest routes that she had learned over the last five years. Pausing out of sight of the portrait, she turned to face the other two.

"I need to get something from within. Wait here." With that she stepped around the corner and up to the portrait.

"Out late again Miss Granger?" The Fat Lady looked down at her, one eyebrow raised.

Hermione just rolled her eyes and gave the password. Once inside, she started to move towards the stair leading to her dormitory, but paused when she saw the outline of someone sat in the couch before the fire. Even from the outline, she knew who it was.

"Harry?" She asked, placing the bundle she held onto a table.

Harry stiffened. "Hermione..." he trailed

"Why aren't you up in your bunk?" She asked, walking closer.

"I was..." He began. She could hear him breathing deeply. "Semus was going on and on about how various girls in our year stack up. He was comparing Lavender and Susan Bones, and..." He hung his head. "I just had to get away from that."

"Harry, I know it's hard..." She said as she stepped around the end of the couch. Harry seemed to cringe at her words. 'Why's he... OH!' She flushed bright red. 'Note to self: do not refer to anything as "hard" until he's cured!' She kneeled down besides him. "...But you have to keep fighting. I'll find a way to help you. Don't give up."

Harry at last looked at her, and she took a sharp breath. His eyes were filled with lust, desire and fear, emotions that she had rarely seen there. "Hermione..." He almost crooned as his hand drifted out to her shoulder, before running up her neck and into her hair. Hermione had to suppress a shiver from running through her, but there was no denying her own suddenly spiking desire. She couldn't stop herself tipping her head into his hand a little.

She could hear his slow, heavy breathing, and it excited her. A tiny gasp escaped her lips when she realised that her own underwear was wet. Hermione had accepted that she loved Harry over a year ago, and had been since sometime around Christmas Third Year. Every time she pictured the future, he was there. There was nothing she wouldn't do for him. And she was honest with herself enough that if he were to take her, here and now, she wouldn't fight him.

In fact, she realised, she'd edge him on, encourage him!

Harry suddenly screwed his eyes shut, pulled his hand away. Hermione was startled as he stood and walked over to stand by the fire, leaning against the wall.

On shaky legs Hermione rose up and moved to stand besides him. "Harry..." She started gently, her instinct overcoming her sense. She laid a hand on his shoulder.

In a blur of motion Harry acted, and the next second Hermione found herself pressed with her back to the smoothed stone wall, Harry stood bare a few inches in front of her, his hands pressed on the wall either side of her head, hemming her in. He was breathing heavily, and so was she.

For a long minute they stood like that, both staring into each others eyes. Then Harry bowed his head, closing his eyes as he did. His forehead stopped barely an inch from her collarbone, and she would have sworn that she could feel the heat from him burning through her clothing.

"I'm sorry Hermione... I... I think you'd best stay away from me." Harry drew back and with a heavy air began to walk towards the boy's staircase.

He had almost reached it when Hermione got her voice back. "Harry, wait!"

He stopped, but didn't turn around.

"I need to borrow your cloak Harry, for a little while." She rushed out breathlessly.

Harry was silent for a moment, then slumped. "Okay. I'll just... go get it."

After he had disappeared up the steps, Hermione exhaled deeply, trying to calm herself down. The intensity of her feelings scared her a little, but the fear had been drowned out by her excitement! She was going to have to watch herself, as well as him!

Hearing footsteps she shook herself, trying to get her mind back on the task at hand. Harry emerged from the stairs, his Cloak bundled up in his hands. He laid it down on the back of a chair, not looking at her.

"Thank you Harry." She said kindly. Harry's mouth quirked as if he were going to smile, but he said nothing. Only turned around and returned to his bunk.

Moving quickly, Hermione scoped up the cloak before she pushed out the Common Room door and headed down the corridor, the Fat Lady's comments ignored. She found Susan and Daphne where she had left them. "About time!" Susan snapped. "We nearly got caught by Flich." She shivered, a sight that many of the male students in the castle would have wanted to see. "What took so long?"

"Sorry. Harry was in the Common Room." She tried to keep her voice level, but some emotion escaped her control.

The other two picked up on her tones, and shared a quick look. Then Daphne spoke. "How is he?"

Hermione's shoulders slumped. "Hanging on, for now. But I don't know how much longer even he can contain it. It's barely been a day!"

Daphne sighed. "The more powerful the wizard, the greater the rate of increased lust. I'm impressed he's kept it together this long myself." She looked down at the cloak that Hermione held. "What is that?"

Hermione looked at the folded cloak in her arms. "You're means of reaching a bunk unmolested."

Susan emitted a soft gasp. "An invisibility cloak!"

Hermione nodded. "Harry's. Its how we've been able to do some of our adventures."

"Why?" Daphne asked.

"There are two spare bunks in my dormitory. You can use one of them tonight. We can ask one of the house elves to bring you your clothes."

Susan shared a look with Daphne again, longer this time. "What?" Hermione asked, wondering what they were thinking.

Susan breathed deeply. "Hermione... It's about the House Elves. They... they're shunning you."

Hermione was stunned. "What?"

Susan looked at her, sympathy and regret in her eyes. "It's because of your SPEW campaign. They find it... well, horrifying."

"What?" Hermione was stunned. "How? Why?"

"Their afraid that if the headmaster follows your lead, he'll dismiss them all. And once that happens..." Susan trailed off. "House Elves need work, need to be owned, like we need air."

Hermione was flabbergasted. "But... what about Dobby? He was overjoyed when Harry tricked Lucius into freeing him."

Daphne sighed. "He was bound to the Malfoy's. I expect not even the most dedicated House Elf could stand being their slave. And no offence to him Hermione, but I don't think he's complete sane."

Hermione's shoulders slumped. "I've made a right mess, haven't I?"

Susan smiled sadly. "You had the best intentions Hermione. But you have to remember, the Wizarding world is still far behind the muggle world in many things. You saw an injustice, and set out to correct it. But the Wizarding world is so slow to change, it's like a glacier. What you were trying to alter is something that's been the same for over a thousand years now, and is against House Elf nature."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but a noise in the corridors made all three of them jump. After looking around, she faced the other two.

"We'd best be going. Susan, will you be okay making it to your Common Room?" She asked as she handed the cloak to Daphne.

Susan nodded quickly, not quite trusting her voice. She squeezed Daphne's shoulder once, then turned and moved away.

Hermione turned to look at Daphne as she draped the cloak about herself. As she was pulling the front closed, Hermione asked. "Remember, stay close."

Daphne nodded then reached over head and pulled the hood over, completely covering herself.

Hermione turned, squared her shoulders, and for the second time marched up to the portrait.

"Oh, back again so soon." The Fat Lady commented, looking her over. "Can't have been up to much, too neat..."

"Oh honestly." Hermione groaned.

Collecting her stack of notes from the table where she had dumped them earlier, Hermione led the way up the stairs to the Fifth Year girl's dormitory. Pushing the door open, she looked at the two occupied beds. Both Pavarti and Lavender were asleep.

"Come on." She whispered, before stepping aside. Waiting for a count of ten, she held the door open before closing it softly. Turning, she watched as Daphne exposed her face before looking around. Her gaze settled on the window, prompting a sigh.

"Where did you have in mind?"

Like all Hogwarts dormitories, there were five beds arrayed in a circle, with the door to the corridor outside taking the place of the sixth. Parvarti and Lavender had taken the pair on the left end, while Hermione had the one that was opposite them. With only three Gryffindor girls, that left two beds, the one to the right of the door and the one opposite it, free.

Stopping next to the end bed, Hermione quickly freed the drapes and started to make the sheets. Daphne quickly helped, after freeing herself from the cloak.

"How are you planning on hiding the fact that the bed is occupied?" Daphne whispered worriedly.

Hermione just shrugged. "I'll cast a charm on the drapes so that the bed becomes a mirror of the other one."

Daphne paused. "You can do that?"

Hermione looked at her strangely. "Yes."

Daphne let it go. She knew that she shouldn't really be surprised that Hermione could cast NEWT level spells any more.

Slipping into the bed, she began to pull the drapes closed. As Hermione began to tug on the last one though, Daphne held out a hand.

"Thank you for this. I owe you."

Hermione smiled shyly at her. "It's what's right." She said before closing the drape.

Drawing her wand as she stepped back, Hermione quickly and quietly cast the spell. The drapes shimmered for a moment, and then the central bed seemed to reappear in its place. She frowned, then adjusted the spell a little. The shadows shifted, until she lifted her wand, happy with the adjustment. Sighing, she prepared for bed.

As she laid down, her eyes came to rest on the dark book resting on her dresser. She'd made sure to place the notes to hide the cover from the others: she didn't what either of those two flirts getting their hands on the contents. Who knew what they might do?

But still, the issue of Harry weighed heavily on her mind. There had to be a way to help him!

There just had to!