"You found out anything more about the egg, Harry?" Hermione leant across the table, her hair narrowly missing her breakfast. She'd honestly forgotten about the tournament her thoughts centered around Mina and Edward. She hadn't managed to corner Malfoy again who had taken to running away from her every chance he got.

"No…" Harry shook his head. He looked tired; dark shadows circling his eyes, his hair messier than normal. Hermione felt guilty. He'd had so much to contend with, and she just hadn't really been there for him.

"Cedric…Cedric mentioned something." He leant forward, glancing around to check if anyone was listening, "He said to have a bath, and to…to take the egg with me."

Hermione's nose scrunched in confusion, she couldn't imagine Cedric Diggory lying to Harry, but the clue did seem a little daft.

"You going to do it?" Ron asked, talking round a mouth full of beans.

"Well, of course, he's going to do it, what choice does he have?" She could tell by the way Ron cut his eyes at her that she'd said that far harsher than she'd intended.

"All right keep your hair on. I just thought maybe you'd find something, you know, in all your books," He gestured to the great pile next to her.

Hermione glanced down at her full plate, stomach clenching uncomfortably. She'd been researching non-stop and none of it had been to help Harry. She could feel them judging her for the lack of input and it made her angry. She had done so much for them; completing their forgotten homework, keeping them somehow up to date with their lessons which they never failed to fall asleep in, and dare she even mention the amount of effort she put into keeping them all alive when off on one of their many adventures. Of course, she couldn't take all the credit and never would, but their lack of consideration for all she did, left a bitter taste in her mouth.

"I didn't know there was a battle here," Ginny's voice brought her out of her thoughts and Hermione watched as the ginger-haired girl placed a book back on top of the pile.

"Yes quite a few." Hermione tried to smile at her through her annoyance. Apparently, there had been many battles at Hogwarts, enough to fill an entire book in fact, but none of them had ever been called the Battle of Black Lake. The fact that there was yet another moment in history that seemed to have been conveniently forgotten about made her want to tear her hair out in frustration.

"What are they for anyway?" Ron mumbled, pointing his fork at the pile. Hermione pressed her lips together, holding back her anger. It felt as if every word he spoke to her now was laced with some sort of accusation. Ever since the Yule Ball he'd been poised, ready to climb down her throat at the slightest hint of, what he considered, betrayal. She wasn't sure what fell under Ronald's definition of betrayal, but she guessed that falling into a magical bowl with Malfoy would be misconstrued as such.

"They're for reading," she pointed out sarcastically and Ron scowled at her.

"I know that, but you know, what for?" He hunched his shoulders and leaned forward, tipping his head slightly to one side so he could read the spines. Hermione pulled them away, scowling at him.

"For studies, Ronald. I happen to have other interests, unlike some people," she looked at him pointedly as he sneered and sat back. She wondered, in moments like these, how she ever found him attractive, especially when he could be so nasty and suspicious.

"I thought you would be helping; the tournament is dangerous, and I don't see you raising a finger to help."

"Me? What about you? You're the one that has been moping around because of his missed opportunity at eternal glory." Hermione was shaking with anger.

"At least I'm not feeding information to the enemy. Bet you go wandering off to Krum whenever Harry tells you anything." Hermione's mouth opened and closed at the accusation. Harry said nothing staring down into his food uncomfortably. She knew that under any other circumstances he would have defended her, but he and Ron had only just started being civil to one another and he didn't want to risk that.

"Well, if that's what you think..." she spat, getting up and collecting her stuff.

She stormed away from them, tears burning in her eyes. She loved the pair of them always would, even though they were idiots who very often allowed her to be overlooked. She was the smart one, the goody two shoes, the one that read books and told them what to do, anything more than that, and suddenly they didn't know how to cope, looking at her as though she'd sprouted an extra head and started spreading, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named propaganda.

"Ooo look, it's Granger."

"GRANGER, wait, slow down." Hermione kept walking as she recognised the voice of Blaise Zabini. She wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone let alone Slytherins. Someone stepped in front of her stopping her in her tracks. Hermione looked up into the face of a grinning Theodore Knott.

"Aw look, the know-it-all is crying. What happened? You get banned from the library?"

"Nah, Krum probably dumped her ass," Pansy spat, stepping up next to Knott, her pretty face contorted into a scowl. Hermione had a feeling that Pansy had been part of the crowd of girls that had been following Krum around, she was sure she'd seen the brunette getting crushed squealing stampede.

"Look, I am not in the mood for this, so please just leave me alone." Hermione closed her eyes in frustration, as they all laughed maniacally, cursing herself for thinking that talking to them civilly would make any difference.

"Gryffindor Prissy Princess isn't in the mood, that's hilarious," Pansy tipped her head back, letting out a laugh that could only be described as a squawk.

"Draco...Hey DRACO," Nott was calling over her head, and Hermione turned slowly to watch the blonde Slytherin, begrudgingly, make his way toward them.

"What is it, Nott? I've got better things to do than ignore, Granger." He sounded bored, but his eyes were darting around uncomfortably, trying not to meet her gaze.

Hermione sighed, tapping her foot against the floor and admiring the detail in the ceiling. She just had to let them have their fun and then she could leave. She smiled as she felt the familiar tingle of the Sensieve's magic, the warmth wrapping around her as Malfoy was brought closer by Blaise, who had thrown his arm across the blonde's shoulder. For some reason, the magic of the Sensieve was always that much stronger around Malfoy.

"Where you been, Draco? We were beginning to worry about you."

"Nowhere," he muttered. Hermione could tell he was lying and wondered if he'd gone back to the stairwell. She went to move around them, hoping to slip under their radar while they were distracted with questioning Draco. Her eyes threatened to roll into the back of her head when Pansy blocked her escape.

"And where do you think you're going?" Hermione met her gaze.

"Seriously, haven't you guys got past all this yet?" Hermione asked in exasperation, fighting back a frustrated scowl when Pansy mimicked her, the brown-haired girl appraising Hermione right down the bridge of her nose as if she'd suddenly spied something nasty.

"How can we ever get past the fact that you're a little Mudblood, infecting our school with your filth?" Any other day, the comment would have breezed over her head, her mind too full of more important things to ever allow it space to hurt her. But now she was sad and alone, and it stung.

"Pansy," Draco snapped, making the witch in question look up, confused.

"What?"

"Come on, I can't be arsed with this." He gestured to Hermione in a bored manner, turning to walk away.

"But…" she spluttered before her shoulders slumped and she stepped past Hermione, knocking her shoulder.

"Watch it, Mudblood," she spat, before following Malfoy down the hall, Nott, and Blaise bringing up the rear.

Malfoy turned back once, his eyes meeting hers, flashing her a look of worry that only lasted a second. It was then that Hermione realised he'd actually helped her. In his very Malfoy way, he'd actually helped her. She couldn't fight the small smile that tugged at her lips, her whole body warming with gratitude as the sadness slipped away, just a bit.

Draco grit his teeth in frustration, yanking on the handle and cursing when once again the door refused to budge. He'd never given much thought to sneaking out of the castle, but he'd never imagined that it would be this difficult. Some of the older students had hinted at there being a secret code to opening the doors late at night, but he'd never taken anything they said seriously, especially when they had the tendency for concocting elaborate stories to make the younger students look like absolute idiots. He twisted the handle again and pulled, biting back a curse when it still didn't open. He leant his head against the wood, his thoughts betraying him and straying to Granger, the very thing he'd been actively trying not to think about all day.

If the puffy redness of her eyes was anything to go by, the Gryffindor had been crying and though he didn't want to care, he found that it was exactly what he was doing, wondering if Potty or Weasel had hurt her feelings. He could remember a time when the sight of the Know-it-all crying would have elicited little more than a passing comment about the pathetic-ness of Mudbloods and how they should stay with their own weak kind. Now though, even the thought of calling the bucktooth a Mudblood made him feel…uneasy.

It was the Sensieve, he knew it. Its magic had been lingering around him ever since he'd fallen into the cursed thing and for some reason around her it was worse, and at the same time a whole heck of a lot better. Whenever she was close it was as if he was wrapped in an indescribable warmth, tiny burst of electricity sparking across his skin and making him shiver. There was a strange sort of comfort in it and embarrassingly he'd taken to following her around, always keeping a safe distance so as not to get caught. It had been working fine till Nott took it upon himself to foil his plans completely and announce his presence to the entirety of the school.

"What are you doing?" He whirled around quickly, pressing his back against the solid wood of the door, heart hammering in his chest. He felt the warmth growing as she stepped out of the shadows, her bushy hair, bushier than normal, her head tipped to the side in confusion. Draco shivered as the sparks of magic erupted across his skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake, before settling down to a steady hum that seemed to buzz within and around him. Hermione shifted from one foot to the other for a second and he wondered if she could feel it too.

"None of your business, Granger." He muttered, turning back to the door, hoping by Salazar that it would open so he wouldn't have to have any sort of extended interaction with her. He was noticing that his and Edwards's emotions were entwining, overlapping one another, almost impossible to tell apart. Memories flashed through his mind that weren't his own, and when he'd seen the sadness in Hermione's eyes she'd looked almost like Mina, and his heart had ached for her with a longing that he had never felt before in his life, left alone towards the Gryffindor. He knew of course that Mina and Hermione were nothing alike, not even slightly, but there was something, like a small part of Mina hanging around her, wisps of it that clung on even after they had left the Sensieve.

"You know, it won't open that way," she said, moving forward to stand beside him, the proximity sending another wave of magic hurtling his way.

"Oh really? Stating the obvious much, Granger?"

"Really? Being an arse much Malfoy?" He rolled his eyes but really, he was thoroughly relieved that she was back to being the annoying Granger that he was used to. That he could handle.

"Turn it to the left...no the other way." Hermione stepped right next to him, tutting as he did it wrong, "well now you're going to have to reset it...oh just let me do it," she spat, pushing his hands out of the way and moving to unlock the door. "See you turn it to the left, then to the right…' Draco wasn't listening, he squinted into the darkness of the corridor certain that he could hear a faint shuffle. His eyes widened, as light cast a shadow of a cat across the wall.

"Granger," he whispered furiously.

"I'm nearly done," she spat back.

"No, Granger…" He searched furiously for somewhere to hide, briefly contemplating leaving her to get caught. The idea wasn't entirely ludicrous; she would be off his back for at least the rest of the night and Gryffindor would stand a chance of actually losing points for once. But he needed the door open. Suppressing a groan, he realised he didn't have a choice, if he wanted answers then he'd just have to soak up the hex and admit defeat.

The tapestry that hung next to the doors to the grounds had always been a talking point amongst his friends; it depicted Merlin offering magical aid to a young woman who had been cursed by a jealous witch. Every student knew the story and, every student knew that the way in which Merlin had been sewn meant that his wand stuck out in quite a compromising position. Now though, the tapestry made for the best hiding place that he could see in the dimness of the corridor and he quickly grabbed Hermione's wrist, yanking her behind it and clamping his hand over her mouth when she shrieked.

"What the…?"

"For once in your life, Granger, shut up," he whispered.

Hermione froze as the light passed in front of them, the pattern of the tapestry stitched in shadows across Malfoy's face. Filch was muttering away to Mrs Norris and Draco, not for the first time since he'd begun attending Hogwarts, wondered why the old squib took his job so seriously. Hogwarts it seemed had a way of taking care of itself, most students who ventured out after hours found themselves falling victim to one of the various strange secrets that the castle held, so the presence of an utterly magicless caretaker seemed counter intuitive.

The light fell away slowly and they both breathed a sigh of relief when his footsteps echoed into nothingness. Draco removed his hand from her mouth, grimacing and wiping it on his shirt. Hermione scowled at the action, hand on her hip as he checked that the coast was clear.

"You know, you could have just told me, instead of yanking me behind here," she whispered harshly, following him as he stepped out from behind the tapestry.

"Breaking news, just in, I did try, but the sheer volume of your own know-it-allness must have drowned out the sound."

"Oh, real mature, Malfoy – for - you're doing it wrong. Seriously, we'll be here all night if you keep on like that." She pushed him aside, and Malfoy watched her turn the handle in a complicated pattern. She was right of course, she knew what she was doing, but he would never tell her that.

"It's a special locking system, it meant that muggles who were friends of the wizarding world could still come in and out. Of course, it's a very complex combination, so random people couldn't just stumble across it." Malfoy wondered how she'd actually managed to come across it but decided against asking, knowing that the explanation would be long and boring.

"You know, you don't seem to be…" his words died in his throat as the door clicked open and night air rushed to meet them. Draco stepped past Granger, who was admiring her work with pride. The night was still, the sky clear and full of moon, its silvery light making everything seem luminous, even the lake – usually an unfathomable blackness – seemed to glow with an ethereal light.

"It's beautiful," Hermione breathed.

"Whatever, Granger." Draco brushed off her comment, crunching through the snow in determination.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"None of your business, Granger," he called over his shoulder, his steps not faltering.

Hermione followed him. "It is my business, I opened the door for you."

'No one asked you to." Hermione was jogging to keep up.

"You'd be stuck inside if it wasn't for me."

"You don't know that."

"I'm fairly certain that I do. Is this…this is to do with the Sensieve, isn't it?" Hermione grinned as she watched his shoulders tense. "What is it, what have you found?"

"Nothing…yet," he added the last part quietly, but she heard, quickening her pace. She thought back through the memories, wondering what he could have been looking for. Realisation made her pause.

"The battle of Black Lake. Is this something to do with the battle?" He didn't stop but she heard him mumble something about her being a smart ass. With a satisfied grin, she continued in her pursuit, head lowered slightly in determination.

"What is it? What have you found?" Draco gave her a pained look but pointed lazily to a cluster of rocks further along the lake. It was quite a long way and Hermione was suddenly very aware of the silence. She looked up at him; even though he was scowling, the moonlight worked wonders in softening his features, giving him an unearthly glow that made Hermione's breath catch a little. She shook her head quickly, looking down at her feet and clasping her hands in front of her, tentatively attempting conversation to keep her mind from wandering to the daftness of how strangely good he looked.

"Thank you, by the way." Malfoy suddenly stopped walking altogether, looking down at her curiously.

"What?"

"I - er...I wanted to say thank you, you know for the other day." He lowered his head to hide his embarrassment, of course, she noticed, she noticed everything else.

"I don't know what you mean." He scratched the back of his head uncomfortably and carried on walking.

"You know, with Pansy and the others, calling them off."

"You make them sound like dogs, Granger," he snorted, "and I did not, 'call them off', I just - I just couldn't be bothered okay?" Hermione smiled slightly to herself. She could see how uncomfortable the conversation made him, which only made her more certain that helping her was exactly what he'd intended to do.

"Well thanks, anyway. It really helped."

"Look can you just forget about it?" Draco asked, exasperation evident as they reached the cluster of rocks.

The rocks themselves looked more like glass, their surface inky black and shiny, with edges that looked sharp enough to cut. Small drifts of snow settled in small crevices that remained untouched by the water, making the group of rocks look more like a small mountain range.

"What type of rock is this?" She mused, picking up a smaller one and examining it in her hands.

"It's a rock," Draco scoffed climbing on the large pile and slowly making his way to the top. She chuckled to herself when Draco – not being the most graceful of people – flailed about comically, looking for purchase on the slippery surface.

"Laugh it up, Granger. Here's an idea, why don't you stop standing about and get up here and help?"

Hermione scoffed indignantly, "You didn't even want me here."

"Yeah well, you are, so just make yourself useful." Hermione sighed, rolling up the sleeves of her jumper and climbing up the rocks towards him - she could hear the water lapping between them, the sound calming in the night air.

"Hurry up." Draco's snotty voice ruined the moment and Hermione grit her teeth, increasing her pace till she was next to him stood atop the rock and looking out over the lake. The view was impressive, and both found themselves stilled for a moment by the sight.

"So, what are we looking for?" Hermione asked, watching him kneel down and begin moving rocks aside, tapping her foot in annoyance when he refused to answer her. "Well?"

"Granger, I am about this close," he held up his fingers barely a millimetre apart, "to chucking you in the lake. Will you be quiet?" Hermione bristled, planting her hands on her hips.

"I would be quiet if you told me what you were looking for." Draco stopped, leaning back, and glaring up at her.

"The boy that saved Edward at the Battle, you know about him?" Hermione nodded eagerly, hardly able to believe that Draco was divulging information, especially about the Sensieve. "Well, his stuff is hidden around here somewhere."

"What?"

"Yes, Granger, around here, somewhere." He gestured to the rocks and continued digging. Hermione immediately knelt beside him and began pouring all her energy into helping him. She saw no point in voicing anymore of her questions given the infuriating vagueness of his answers.

Just when Hermione thought that her fingers might drop off from the cold, they both paused, the tip of a wand clearly visible through the gaps in the rocks.

"Is that a…?" Draco nodded, pulling it out of its hiding place.

The wand was black as the stones it had been secreted in, a dragon intricately carved into the wood, breathing fire towards the tapered point. The power that emanated from it was unlike anything he'd felt before, it sang in his veins as if something within it were calling to something within him, connected and the same.

"Cast a spell," Hermione muttered excitedly, her eyes wide and not leaving their find. He wasn't sure that he wanted to, still, he found himself clearing his throat, holding the wand before him, and focusing on the strange and foreign feeling that seemed to glow brighter and brighter inside of his chest, burning away the heart of him till he was just light and power.

"Lumos."

The end of the wand began to glow, so bright that it was painful to look at, searing the retinas before fading suddenly. Draco blinked past the colourful spots left on his vision, feeling all at once incredibly alive and completely drained.

"That was amazing," Hermione said, reaching out and taking the wand from him. He relinquished his grip effortlessly, wanting to be rid of it. But as soon as it was cradled in her hands, he felt a clawing ache to have it back, when she held it, it was wrong. It was only right in his hands, he couldn't say how he knew it, but the wand was for him, and him alone. Shaking his head quickly, he fought past the feeling, focusing his energy on carrying on the search.

"Lumos." Hermione all but whined when nothing happened, the wand refusing to light. "Lumos…I don't understand."

"Maybe you're not doing it right," Draco teased, smirking to himself when Hermione let out a strangled cry of indignation.

"I am doing it right,"

"Give it here."

Now when he reached out everything felt far away, as if he were calling to the power across a vast distance, the light just a flicker on some horizon that was always too far. He focused harder, willing it towards him as he muttered the spell. Suddenly all at once, it rushed at him, too bright, too much, and too overwhelming. He felt as though he'd suddenly flung himself into a fire, every nerve alight and alive, sharp and snapping with an explosion of feelings that were all too much to handle. The wand exploded with light that instantly died as Draco severed the connection, shaking fingers dropping the offensive item on the rock.

"You okay?" Hermione asked, searching his face.

"Yeah, I er…Yeah I'm fine." Draco bit his tongue, knowing that telling Granger anything was about the worst idea he could possibly come up with.

"The spell didn't last very long," Hermione murmured, picking the wand up and inspecting it, "perhaps you're doing it wrong."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Draco murmured dryly.

"It is act…" Hermione paused, noticing something glinting amongst the rocks. She eased the object out of the dirt and held it in her fingers. It was a ring, an M of black crystal in the centre, and Latin words carved around the edge.

"Sanctimonia Vincet Semper," Hermione mumbled to herself, turning the ring this way and that in her hands, it was large, so large it wouldn't fit on any one of her fingers including her thumb.

"What did you say?" Malfoy asked, his eyes wide.

"Sanctimonia Vincet Semper. It's on here, do you know what it means?" Draco took the ring from her, gazing at it in wonder.

"It means, Purity will always conquer." Hermione watched as he stared at the ring for an age, his mouth opening and closing shock.

"What? What is it?" Hermione asked growing impatient.

"It's…." He held the ring up to Hermione, pointing at the M, "It's my family crest."