Chapter 20

Ron looked down at his shoes, and then slowly back up at Hermione. He really was wrestling with conflicting emotions in his mind. On one hand, he knew that what he had done was wrong and his sister and Hermione both deserved an apology. On the other hand, he couldn't easily dismiss his feelings for the woman he had come to love over the past few years. He sighed, and leaned against a sink.

Hermione, on the other hand, was anything but conflicted. She didn't know if Ginny was with someone, but she also knew that she didn't love Ron. That, in and of itself, was enough to make up her mind on how to deal with the red-headed young man. While she would continue to watch Ginny to see if she gravitated towards anyone, she knew that she needed to do this unimpeded, and Ron would be a barrier to her affections, if she ever got to express them to Ginny. Clearing her throat, she spoke first.

"L-look Ron. I've really been wanting to talk to you." She fidgeted with her hands, and finally sighed, snapping her eyes up to meet Ron's. "I'm really sorry, but I….I didn't really feel anything when you…w-when you kissed me the other night." She dropped her hands by her sides, feeling more vulnerable than ever.

Ron, while expecting something to come from Hermione, was not expecting her level of discomfort at admitting something he knew would probably happen. He looked at her, wondering if he should tell her about Ginny. He thought better of it, thinking that was something she should find out in her own time. Instead he smiled sadly, and bowed his head slightly.

"As much as it pains me to say this, we're done Hermione. We did date, but we broke up at the beginning of the year." He didn't dare say anymore than that. Hermione's eyes grew wide and then she sighed with relief.

"I had that thought running through my head. I just wasn't sure if we were completely done or if we had….gotten back together."

"We're done, Hermione. I moved on. I'm trying to start a relationship with Lavender Brown." Ron awaited any reaction from Hermione. He grew nervous as realization dawned on her and her eyes grew wide. He winced, expecting an outburst, but none came.

"I…I remember." Hermione looked at him, a slightly pained, but relieved look on her face. "That memory came back to me the other night. H-have you spoken to her since we came back?"

Ron shook his head. "I was with you in the hospital wing, and then we were busy trying to find the diadem. I should probably talk to her thought." He paled a little. "Y-you won't t-tell her about…..a-about our…..will you?"

Hermione frowned as she thought about Ron's request. She knew that if she was in Lavender's situation, she would want to know if there had been any infidelity. But she also knew that Ron, deep down, did like Lavender. He'd made a mistake. She shook her head.

"I won't tell her, as long as you promise me one thing." Ron looked up at her, eyes wide.

"Anything, Mione."

"You treat her with respect. Now that I've had the chance to confront you, I am remembering more and more of our relationship. Parts of it are nice, and parts of it are….less than desirable. Please make sure that you learn from your mistakes."

Ron bowed his head again. He knew that this really was the end of potentially having anything romantic with Hermione and he knew that it had to happen. He sighed, and wiped his eyes, before looking back up at her.

"I promise. Lavender will have my full attentions."

Hermione nodded and smiled slightly at him. She felt better, knowing that she wouldn't have to keep the farce of trying to have feelings for Ron, and that she was regaining more of her memory. She now knew that there was a reason for her to be having feelings about women. The fact that Ron had said they had been done for a while gave her hope. Maybe she had been planning on making a move before she lost her memory. Or maybe….she already had. Whatever had happened before, Hermione knew that she had every intention of attempting to either regain, or start something with Ginny Weasley. Without another word she motioned for him to follow her, and walked out the door towards the Room of Requirement, with Ron close behind.

Ginny was sitting in front of the fire, staring at the flames. She knew that she should be out questioning Myrtle, along with the others, but she couldn't bear seeing Ron around Hermione. She couldn't tell what was going through his head, and that fact alone was maddening to her. She was so lost in thought, that she didn't even hear Luna come down from the girl's dormitory and approach her from behind.

"Are the Nargles messing with you again?" Luna's normally soft and melodic voice seemed loud in the silence of the common room. Loud enough that it startled Ginny from her contemplative state.

"Luna? I thought you were tired." Ginny patted the seat beside her, scooting over to give the fair-haired girl some room. Luna sat down beside Ginny. She looked at her with wide blue eyes, and smiled lightly.

"Things will get better." She said simply. Ginny laughed harshly and turned to Luna.

"I don't think saying that will make things get better instantly, but thanks Luna."

Luna grabbed Ginny's hand and rubbed it gently. Ginny glanced down at their hands.

"Hermione is like a Kneazle. Once she finds someone to love she stays with them forever. Even if she's having trouble, she'll always come back." Luna released her hand, and yawned slightly. "I'm afraid The Red-Hatted Sleep Sifter's powder has quite the grasp on me. I must return to bed soon." The Ravenclaw lightly skipped away from Ginny and up the stairs. Ginny was left staring at the door. Soon enough she drifted into a light sleep, the dying fire casting soft hues of orange and red on her face as she slept.

Daphne and Harry were sitting outside of the Room of Requirement, when Ron and Hermione showed up. Hermione had a worried expression on her face as she approached them. Harry looked at the two as they approached, studying the way they interacted. Ron looked as though an unpleasant realization had set in, and Hermione looked….better. She was smiling slightly, and moved with an ease he hadn't seen since her injury. He smiled, and realized that the talk must have gone well…at least for Hermione, that is.

"Hey guys. We've been trying to get into the room, but we've hit a bit of a snag."

Ron looked at Harry quizzically. "What type of a snag, mate?" Daphne sighed exasperatedly and kicked the wall lightly.

"We can't get into the room."

Hermione blanched upon hearing this.

"What do you mean, 'can't get into the room'?"

"Exactly that, 'Mione. The room won't let us in. We apparently aren't focusing on what we want hard enough."

Hermione put her hands on her hips and paced the length of the wall for a moment. Finally she stopped, focusing on the wall. She turned back towards Ron.

"Ron, what do you think of when you lose something?"

"Mione?" Ron looked at her confused. "I don't understand what you mean."

"I mean exactly that. What goes through your mind when you want to find something you've lost?"

Ron walked up to the wall, looking at it, studying it intently for a moment. He placed his hand on the wall, and turned to face her.

"I focus on the feeling I experience when I have the item I want. I focus on the joy of finding it, and how my mind will be at ease once I find it. I guess, I just focus on the good things." The bricks started to shift into an archway, and Ron stepped back. Harry stood and clapped Ron on the back.

"Well done, mate. Now let's go find that diadem."

The four entered the room and were met with an astounding site. All around the room were piles and piles of junk. It was as if the Room had suddenly acquired the possessions of everyone in Hogwarts and shoved them all into itself. Daphne groaned, and turned to face the others.

"How are we supposed to find anything in here?"

"I went to visit Myrtle again. She told me what the diadem looked like. She also said it should be in a chest with the Ravenclaw crest on it." Hermione said, as she started walking around the room. "Why don't we each take a section of the room?"

The group murmured in agreement, and they all spread out to look for Ravenclaw's chest. The group spent hours searching through the rubbish that had accumulated over the years at Hogwarts. Harry, at one point, was almost crushed beneath a stack of cauldrons, but Hermione saved him with a quick Protego spell from across the room. Ron sighed and looked at the stack of Chocolate Frog cards and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans boxes in front of him. Quickly deducing that it was just trash, he moved on to the next pile.

Harry was winding his way through a bunch of suits of armor, when a small golden glint caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. He made his way over to the gleam, and noticed a small crown-like object buried underneath a pile of books. He walked over to it, and as he approach he saw it was like an intricate tiara, with small opals in it, and a raven in the center, elegantly crafted out of twisted gold. He grinned and reached for it.

"Hey guys! I think I found it!" But just as he reached for it, it disappeared. "Damn! Hey guys! Keep an eye out! It seems like there's a curse on it! It disappears as soon as you try to reach it!"

Daphne immediately notice it pop up on top of a bookshelf she was walking around. She had to stop herself from immediately acted on instinct and reaching for it. Thinking that maybe it reacted to human touch, she looked around for something grab onto it with. She found an old towel rod, and grabbed it, but by the time she turned around again, it was gone.

"Damn. if you even think about grabbing it, it seems to disappear." She watched it pop up near Hermione. "Hermione! It's right beside your foot! Don't move!"

Hermione stood stock still, and barely glanced down. She saw a slight glimmer beneath her, and worked to keep her mind clear. Instead she tried to think about anything else. She started reciting Hogwarts: A History in her head. Looking around, she noticed a coat hanger and grabbed it, quickly unwrapping it and fashioning it into a hook. She slowly snaked it towards the small, golden crown and gave a cry of triumph when she managed to hook it onto the hanger.

"Guys! I've got it!" The others rushed around to get to her. Harry smiled when he saw the diadem hanging on the end of a coat hanger.

"Leave it to the bookworm to go fishing for a diadem." Ron muttered good-naturedly, under his breath. Hermione shot him a glare, but then smiled. Harry looked at it, and then his mind started working again.

"We need to get out of here. I don't trust the room not to shift on us again soon, now that we have what we came for." The others nodded and they headed towards the door.

Ron, Harry, Hermione and Daphne quietly entered the common room, noticing the soft glow of the fire and a sleeping figure on the couch. Hermione walked over to the figure, and sat down on the edge of the couch, watching the last remnants of the fire illuminate Ginny. Her hair was spread out like flames, and she was hugging herself tightly, as though protecting herself from an extremely bad nightmare. She whimpered and rolled over, and the sound tugged at Hermione's heart. Daphne noticed Hermione sit down and motioned for Harry and Ron to go up to the boy's dormitories. Ron started say something, but Harry shot him a glare, and the two of them headed up the stairs. Daphne took a quick look around the room and noticed Luna was nowhere to be seen. She quietly approached Hermione and knelt down beside her.

"What's going through your mind?"

Hermione sighed and looked at Daphne. Her eyes were full of emotion and she looked exhausted. Hermione's mind was working a million miles a minute. She closed her eyes, covering them with her hand, before taking a shaky breath.

"I-I don't know…..When I first got out of the hospital, Ron was the one I gravitated to…..He seemed the most receptive to me and even though I didn't feel anything towards him, I thought the feelings would come back in time. However it seems like from day one, I've simply been putting my feelings where I assumed they were supposed to lie….instead of where they might already lay….." She reached a hand out towards Ginny and gently brushed some hair behind her ear.

Not wanting to hope to much, Daphne reached a hand out and gently grasped Hermione's shoulder. "Hermione?" she questioned, gently. Hermione turned to meet her eyes, and smiled slightly.

"The memories are coming back quicker now. I'm remembering bigger and bigger chunks. I remember that I had feelings for Ginny before the raid, and I remember admitting them to her…..I'm just not sure how she…how she reacted." Ginny moaned and rolled over and Hermione quickly stood up, moving away from the red-head, fearing she had woken her up.

"I-I s-s-should get to b-bed." Hermione ran as quickly as she could to the Head-Girl's room, and quietly shut the door.

Just as the door closed, Ginny opened her eyes, yawning and stretching before her eyes landed on Daphne, kneeling by the edge of the couch.

"Hey, Daphne. How did the Room of Requirement go?" She was quiet, not knowing who else was there, or if anyone was asleep. Daphne gave her a small smile and opened a bag she had beside her. Inside was Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, the light from the last embers of the fire dancing off of the golden surface. "So you guys got it then?" Daphne nodded.

"After a little fishing from your lovely girlfriend." Ginny looked at Daphne with a quizzically look.

"Fishing? What do you mean fishing?"

Daphne laughed and stood up, holding out her hand.

"Come on, I'll tell you as we get ready for bed. I could use some sleep." And the two girls walked up the other staircase to the girl's dorms.

Harry woke up first the next morning, and instantly felt a chill run through the room. Grabbing his outer robes, he yanked them on, before getting out of bed and looking around the dormitory. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He walked downstairs and looked around the common room. It seemed as though everyone had gone to bed. He heard a door open and looked up to see Daphne exiting girl's dormitory. She met his eyes and he saw the worry in them. He rushed down the stairs and met her in the middle of the common room.

"What is it? Did something happen to one of the girls? Is Hermione ok?" Daphne held up a hand to slow his rapid questions.

"The girls are fine, but everything seems…different. It's freezing in here for one thing. Do you think something happened to the castle? Something that messed up the spells?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. I don't feel an extreme amount of despair, so I don't think it's Voldemort or his Dementors…..I don't know what's going on."

All of a sudden a huge explosion sounded outside of the common room. They heard yelling and screaming and the sounds of people running. Daphne jerked her head around to stare at the common room portrait hole. Harry raced towards Daphne, grabbing her and pulling her down behind the couch. After a few minutes things got quiet, and Harry peeked around the couch.

"You need to go up to the girl's dorm and wake Luna, Ginny and Hermione…now!" he hissed, as he rose and pulled out his wand. "I'll get Ron and Neville." Daphne nodded and raced up the stairs. Harry turned and was about to do the same, when Ron poked his head out of the door.

"Harry? What's going on, mate? It's freezing in here, and I thought I heard-" Another explosion sounded, this one large enough to rock the common room. "Bloody hell!"

"Ron, wake Neville and anyone else you can find. We need to get out of here NOW!" Harry rushed up to the girl's room. Daphne had left the door open, and he raced through it.

"Guys, we need to get out of here now. The castle is under attack! I don't know if it's Voldemort or not, but-"

"Oi, Potter! I know you're in there. Come out and no one gets hurt."

Harry felt a shiver go down his spine as he heard Malfoy's voice from the Common room. How had the bastard managed to get into Gryffindor? Then he remembered what Daphne had mentioned. If the spells that kept the castle heated were down, then something had compromised the magical integrity of the castle. The portraits would remain still, frozen until the magic returned. He held a finger to his lips, letting the girl's know to be quiet.

"Hermione!" he whispered. "As soon as I leave, lock the door. Do whatever you have to to barricade it and keep Malfoy and anyone else out. Whatever happens, don't open the door. No matter what."

Hermione looked at Harry, pleading with her eyes, telling him to stay, that they could work through this together, but it was no use. Harry shook his head and turned towards the door. Ginny made a movement to rush towards him and stop him, but Luna was faster. Luna grabbed Ginny, one hand over her mouth, and another around her waist, to keep Ginny from following Harry. Ginny struggled, until Hermione silenced her with a spell. Daphne glared at Harry. He shook his head in an apology, and slowly opened the door.

Outside on the steps, he saw Ron opening the door of the boys' dorm. Neville was behind him. Harry slowly peeked around the wall of the staircase and just managed to see Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle in Death Eater's robes, standing in the middle of the common room. He glanced back up and his eyes met Ron's. He flicked them towards the common room. Ron drew his wand, but Harry shook his head. He didn't want Ron or Neville getting hurt. He held out his hand and motioned for them to stay where they were. Harry tucked his wand up his sleeve, snapping it to his wand holster inside of his arm. He slowly descended the staircase, to face Malfoy.

Back in the girl's dormitory, Ginny was livid. She was struggling against Luna with all she had, pleading silently with Hermione to release the spell on her. Hermione looked at Ginny.

"Only if you promise to be quiet." she hissed. Ginny nodded and Hermione waved her wand. Daphne walked to the door and put her ear to the thick oak barrier, trying to hear anything from the conversation going on below them. She was able to discern two voices.

"What do you want, Malfoy? And what are Crabbe and Goyle doing with you? I thought you had all left when Snape ran with his tail between his legs, back to his master."

Draco laughed, a high, cold sound.

"Always the Golden boy. Trying to talk your way out of a fight, trying to belittle the enemy so that he loses his confidence in the midst of a battle. Well, not this time. This time I'm on a mission from our Lord, himself."

Daphne drew away from the door, and motioned for Luna, Ginny and Hermione to follow her. She pulled out her wand and locked the door silently, then made her way to a statue of a witch riding a lion. She pulled on the witch's arm and a passage way opened up. She turned to face the others.

"I understand if you want to leave. This passage way has a split that leads in two different directions. One leads out into the Forbidden forest, and the other leads back into the Common room. We should pop out by the suit of armor, directly behind the goons." Daphne looked pointedly at Luna, urging her to escape to the forest with her eyes. Luna simply stared back, bright blue eyes blazing and shook her head.

"No, Daph. I'm staying here with you. It's where I belong." She crossed her arms. Daphne sighed, and realized she had lost. Luna, when she wanted to be, was extremely independent and headstrong. It was one of the characteristics that drew Daphne to Luna. She did her own thing, not caring what others thought. Daphne turned to the other two.

"What about you guys?"

Ginny drew her wand, and shrugged off her heavy outer winter robes. "If you and Luna are staying, I'm staying with you guys. There's no way I'd miss out on a chance to kick Malfoy's arse." She smiled. Hermione came up behind her. The determination and ferocity in the red-head's voice made her grin. She gently placed her hand on Ginny's shoulder, causing the younger girl to jump.

"I'm staying with you guys too. You seem to forget that I was the one off galavanting with Harry and Ron when we got into all of our other adventures in previous years. The Slytherin goons, no offense, aren't much to handle." She squeezed Ginny's shoulder, causing the younger girl to let just the slightest smile show. Ginny turned around to face Hermione, and smiled at her.

"Alright then, it's through this passage way and then take the fork that leads to the right. It'll swing us back around and straight into the common room." Daphne began to enter the hole. The others followed and since Hermione was last, she pulled the lever that moved the statue back into place.

Harry was standing at the bottom of the staircase, his wand strapped to the inside of his arm. Draco had his wand pointed at Harry, thinking he was unarmed. Goyle and Crabbe had their wands trained on him as well.

"What do you want, Malfoy? I take it that you aren't here just to chat."

"Shut it, Potter! You know what I want. I went to that room the other night, and even after almost getting crushed I still couldn't find what I wanted. You and your…..friends, must have gotten there first." Draco took a step closer, and Harry unlatched his wand.

"I don't know what you're talking about Draco. I think that your lord sent you out on a roundabout chase. I think that you were getting on his nerves so much that he sent you out somewhere to make it look like you were important. In reality, he just did it to get rid of you, hoping you'd be killed during the process."

Draco took another step forward, brandishing his wand. His voice was venemous.

"What gives you the right to talk to me like that?" Draco was shaking with barely suppressed rage. Harry heard footsteps behind him, and closed his eyes, wondering at who hadn't listened to him and was coming to be a hero. He heard Malfoy sneer.

"Well well, if it isn't the weasel. Come to hang on Potty's coat tails again? Hoping he'll defeat me in some grand battle and that some of the star-power will rub off on you?"

"Shut it, Malfoy. Unlike you, I have a sense of duty and honor. I'm here to help Harry." Ron looked over and caught Harry's eye. "I'm here until the end."

Draco smirked. "Oh how touching. You're too late. As we speak, my fellow Slytherins are attacking the castle from the inside. Hogwarts will fall."

Another explosion rocked the room, and Harry pulled out his wand.

"I don't think that's going to happen, Malfoy. Why don't you leave, before someone gets hurt?" He was about to put up a shield charm, when he noticed the portrait behind Malfoy move. His heart dropped as he saw, Luna, Hermione, Ginny and Daphne quietly file out behind the three Slytherins. Hermione met his eyes nodded.

"Are you daft, Potter? I'm not going anywhere. Not until I get what I came for."

"Well, you're not going to get it, Malfoy. It's already been taken, and it's safe." Harry knew that Malfoy wasn't going to leave without getting the diadem. He needed to keep them distracted so the others could escape.

Malfoy seemed to grow more enraged and he stepped even closer to Harry.

"Tell me where it is, filthy Mud-blood. Or you'll be meeting your parents sooner than you wanted to."

Harry stood his ground, shaking his wand free from his robe sleeve.

"No."

All of a sudden Malfoy lunged at Harry. Harry raised his wand, a spell on his lips but he never got to release it. Hermione was quicker and had suspended Malfoy mid-air, with a non-verbal spell. Crabbe and Goyle, a bit slow on the uptake, turned around, only to be met with Ginny and Ron's wands. Quickly the siblings bound the two thugs with ropes, and then they tied them together, along with Malfoy, when Hermione brought him down from mid-air. Harry looked at his friends, as the situation died down, and the anger and worry was apparent in his eyes.

"What were you guys thinking! It was Malfoy! He's as good as Voldemort's right hand man, now that his father has failed. He could have brought all of the Death Eaters here and captured us all!"

Hermione glared daggers at Harry, but continued tying up the Death-Eaters.

"Harry we're in this together. What don't you understand about that?" Daphne growled at him, as she yanked viciously on the knot to finish tying up Goyle. "Besides, Malfoy was the only one that might have been a bit of a nuisance. These two are really just for muscle. They're bloody horrible with spellwork."

The group finished making sure that the goons was secure, and Harry rounded on Malfoy.

"What did you do? What's happened to the castle?" He was shaking with suppressed rage and adrenaline.

Malfoy smirked, and held his head up. "It's too late, Potter. The castle is being weakened from the inside. As we speak groups of my Death Eaters are attacking various points in the castle, weakening the protective spells, and taking hostage those who know how to repair them. Voldemort will come and wipe you and all of your pathetic followers out. We've won! And when the Dark Lord obtains all of the Horcruxes, his reign will be glorious!" Malfoy started laughing and Hermione walked up and slapped him viciously.

"Shut it, Malfoy!" She turned to face Harry. "What do we do? We can't leave them here can we? What if they manage to escape?"

Ron turned to face the group after double checking that the ropes were secure. "We need to get out of the castle. We need to get out and stop the attack, otherwise everyone is at risk."

Harry nodded grimly. "Ron is right. This has to end today." The rest of the group looked at Harry. They all knew that the final battle would come down to defending each other, they just hadn't expected it so soon, nor for it to happen on the grounds of Hogwarts.

Luna spoke, her voice crystal clear. "Let's get going. We've got some slimy gits to defeat."