Chapter 1

Walking down the corridor to potions, Harry smiled at one of the passing Hufflepuff quidditch players. The season was heating up and the weather was cooling down. This was Harry's favourite part of the year. The whole school year lay ahead, quidditch was starting and the potions was much more bearable now that Snape was wasn't teaching it—Harry actually liked potions now.

The thought of Snape threatened his good mood, which he had learnt that he needed to nurture because the world outside was a scary place, which he would have to deal with soon enough—but not yet. He knew Snape would show his true colours before long and Harry was ready, even if Dumbledore insistent of Snape's mental torture sessions.

Harry hesitated as he saw Ginny standing in the middle of the hall in front of him, waiting with her hands on her hips. He knew that was either a 'I'm really angry with you' look or a 'you better do something about this' look. They'd been officially going out since the beginning of the year, and he both adored and feared her.

"There is something up with Hermione," Ginny said.

"Her homework not perfect enough?" Harry asked. "She can't keep track of the million classes she's taking?"

"At lunch, she was talking about how sunlight almost makes Malfoy's hair glow."

Harry's brows drew together. Hermione usually refused to talk about Malfoy at all, claiming Harry was obsessed with him. Surely just a passing comment. "Maybe it does," Harry said. Ginny's mouth pulled tighter.

"Harry! Don't be flippant when I say there is something wrong. I could have sworn she was watching for him."

"She'd probably researching hair spells or something," Harry said with a shrug, but Ginny gave him that pointed look again, like she expected him to do something—like he could do something about how Malfoy's hair shined.

Pushing open the door that led to Slughorn's classroom, Harry walked over to their table, tensing as he walked past the Slytherins—he always did. Malfoy was sitting in his usual seat, looking surly and displeased as usual. Walking past, Harry smiled tightly; he liked it when Malfoy looked displeased—a small victory over his long standing foe.

Hermione was sitting in her chair, her hair tied back in a pony-tail. Looking up, he met her clear brown eyes. "How are you?" he asked.

"Fine." Looking through her bag, she brought out her parchment and quill, and placed them like she always did in preparation for class. "Do you think it's going to be a talking day or a doing day?"

"Doing, I hope."

"You always want the doing." Placing her bag down on the floor, she casually turned around to look behind them, biting her lip as she did. That was unusual behaviour.

"Anything up?" he asked. Hermione's eyes sharply returned to him.

"No," she said and turned away. Ron arrived, throwing his bag down on the table on the other side of her.

"Ran into Faldinger," he said, talking about the Ravenclaw goal keeper. "He's a complete shit. Thinks they've got Saturday's game in the bag." Ron's red face showed that Faldinger had really gotten to him, but then everyone got to Ron.

Slughorn started the class and Harry's hissed a quiet 'yes' when it turned out to be a doing day and they gathered ingredients and started the cooking. He caught Hermione sneaking another glance at Malfoy while cutting a mandrake root. Maybe she was doing a project on hair, he told himself.

Ginny nudged him while he was eating his dinner, starving after a long quidditch practice. "She's doing it again."

"So," Harry said, getting annoyed by the day's ongoing topic. "So what if she's watching him. I'm sure she has a reason." He turned to look at Hermione who was running a knuckle along her cheeks and lips.

"I think she's under the influence of something."

"Like what?"

"A love potion or something."

"She's not. That's not what they're like. Remember when George gave that Hufflepuff girl a love potion so she'd obsess with Fred, she was all googly eyed, there was no doubt. Hermione's not."

"Yeah, but she's not just some girl—she's a lot more sneaky."

"Hermione is not losing the plot over Malfoy," Harry said dismissively, but then saw her breath hitch and he turned to see Malfoy walking into the room. Surely she didn't have a crush on Malfoy—that would be insane, but equally, she wasn't acting like she was under a spell or a potion. "Just keep an eye on her tonight." Harry grew suspicious—maybe Malfoy was up to something, trying to charm Hermione. But she was too smart to fall for something like that. Merlin, he hated Malfoy—the utter twat. Malfoy wasn't on the quidditch team this year, but little explanation had been given why. Harry had been annoyed that he'd been robbed of the opportunity to clobber him properly during a game. But Malfoy had changed this year; he wasn't his usual annoying self, being more distant and remote, unimpressed with everything, like he was too good to be a bully. He didn't even give Harry his usual snarky looks, just ignored him like he wasn't there. It was out of character. Hermione could not be falling for his broodiness, but then girls were funny.

Sitting down on the couch after doing the rounds with Padma, Harry finally relaxed. He would sleep like a log that night, but there was still homework to do. He couldn't be stuffed. It would just have to wait. He would have to get up early and do it before class. His mind wasn't working right now and a whip couldn't get it going again.

"Harry," Ginny said sharply, making him jump. "She's gone."

"What?"

"Hermione, she's gone."

Harry tied to get his mind to process what Ginny was saying. Something is wrong. "Are you sure she's not in the library?" he asked, but realised it was closed. "Damn it," he said, dragging himself out of the seat. Hermione was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and there was a part of him that just wanted to leave it and sleep, but he knew he wouldn't sleep now. "Where's Ron?"

"Trying to do his charms homework."

"Get him, we better search for her."

Searching the castle and not finding her anywhere make Harry worried. They even recruited the elves to help, but they couldn't find her anywhere. Harry was getting proper worried now. "I think we have to wake McGonnagal."

They belayed their concerns and Hermione's distance during the day and they followed as McGonnagal marched over to Slughorn's quarters. "We need to check if one of the Slytherin students is present and accounted for," she said after knocking on Slughorn's door.

Slughorn was clearly annoyed with being disturbed, but he conceded after drawing in a heavy disapproving breath and exhaling it again. "Fine," he said and pulled a dressing down on. "Follow me."

They followed as he walked to the entrance to the Slytherin common room, and waited as Slughorn went in. He looked worried when he returned and Harry felt icy fingers creep up his spine. "Malfoy is not here.

"Where is he?" McGonnagal challenged, but Slughorn had no answer for her.

"We have to find her," Harry urged. "He could have taken her. He could be torturing her, taking her to Voldemort."

"Malfoy has not taken her to Voldemort," McGonnagal said reassuringly, like it was a ridiculous notion, but he also heard an edge of uncertainty in her voice. Turning to Slughorn, she continued quietly, "We better wake the headmaster."

When Dumbledore came down to greet the concerned parties standing in his study, he listened then ordered Harry, Ginny and Rob back to their common room, giving Harry that look that said he would not be swayed. The professors conferred amongst each other and Dumbledore gave him a pointed look, chasing him out of the study.

"Come, Harry," Ginny said, pulling on his hand, "They will look for her."

"We can't just wait."

"We have to."

"I'm checking the chamber," he said and felt Ginny tense. "I have to."

"It's been blocked."

"I'm checking it anyway."

"Fine, let's go," Ron said. "Ginny, you go back to the common room, in case she returns. I'll grab my broom."

Harry was already running to the second floor girls' bathroom where the entrance to the chamber was. The black hole opened like it had done before and Harry jumped down, illuminating his wand. Searching through the rumble, he found that the blockage was complete and there was no way inside.

"Come on, mate," Ron said after a while. "They're not in there."

"I should have listened," Harry said quietly. "Ginny knew something was wrong and I should have listened."

"Hermione should have told us. She shouldn't have kept secret whatever this was, and why would she be stupid enough to go off with Malfoy? What was she thinking?"

"She might not have been," Harry said, recalling Ginny's suspicion that Hermione was under the influence of a love potion. He was going to fucking kill Malfoy if he ever saw him again.