A/N: I know, it's been a long time. I've left a note at the end of the chapter for anyone interested, but I'll keep this short. 10 points to your House if you understand the reference this chapter is named after :-)

Figuring out how to get past the Cerberus proved to be a far easier task than searching for Nicolas Flamel's name had been. No more than a day after the Gryffindor trio's night time excursion with Fred and George, Hermione had come running into the Great Hall during breakfast with a book on magical creatures clutched tightly in her hands.

"Its weakness is music of all things, can you imagine?" she said excitedly, taking a seat beside Tracey before flipping to a dog-eared page towards the back of the book. "Here – it says: 'It is unknown if, like the Runespoor, each head –' hey!" Hermione's expression morphed from joy to outrage as the book was roughly levitated out of her hands.

"Good morning, Hermione," Theo said innocently, even as he grabbed the book out of the air, placed it on his seat and sat on it. "How was your evening?"

The brunette looked murderous. "Give that back! Do you have any idea how long I was in the library last night trying to find it? And honestly, can someone please fire Madam Pince, absolutely no clue how the Dewey Decimal System works and all she does is shush people for existing –"

"Stop," Blaise sighed, rubbing his temple. To everyone's surprise, she did as she was told. "It's Sunday. You're working yourself into the ground, 'Mione. You've figured out more about this whole Philosopher's Stone business than any of us combined and you're still finding time to best us in just about every subject we take –"

"But –"

"No," he said firmly. "We're worried about you – you haven't been eating or sleeping properly. So, unless the Dark Lord comes dancing into this hall in the next half hour, you're going to sit here and you're going to have a proper meal and then – only then – you can get as excited as you like about terrifying three-headed monsters and we'll listen to everything you have to say."

For a moment, it appeared as though the brunette were going to protest. A few seconds later however, she snapped her mouth shut and grudgingly took a small serving of bacon and eggs.

"That's better," Blaise said.

True to their word, once breakfast was over, the group of first-years found an empty classroom in the Charms corridor and gave Hermione their full attention as she explained what needed to be done to get past the Cerberus.

"Hagrid carved me a flute for Christmas!" Harry said suddenly. "I could play it while you all sneak past."

"Harry, do you even know how to play the flute?" Tracey asked.

The raven-haired boy shrugged. "The book didn't say anything about playing music well. Only that you play."

"So, assuming we don't die horribly because boy wonder over here can't hold a tune, what then?" Blaise asked. "Dumbledore talked about defences – anything could be guarding the stone."

"I've been wondering about that too," Hermione said. "And, well … I was thinking … perhaps we could teach ourselves? Offensive and defensive spells, I mean. Heavens knows Professor Flitwick won't help us if he knew what we were up to, and no offense but Professor Quirrell is a bit of an idiot. I bet you Fred and George would be willing to help us if we asked …"

"You want us to do extra work?" Ron groaned. "Most of us are still behind on our homework from before the holidays, Hermione."

The brunette bristled. "But this is so much more important than that! Finding the stone, getting rid of it, making sure Voldemort never comes back – doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Well, of course, but …"

"Hermione's right," Theo said, ever the voice of reason. "Blaise, too. We have no idea what comes after that Cerberus, and if we go any further unprepared then we might as well feed ourselves to the giant squid."

Pansy sniffed. "Fine – say we do teach ourselves to duel. Where would we go? We can't just do it out in the open, we'd get into trouble for being unsupervised. And we can hardly tell the professors what we're really up to."

"An abandoned classroom?" Greg suggested.

Daphne shook her head. "Anyone could hear us. I know there's a spell to silence ourselves, but it's far too advanced and would only get in the way …"

"Maybe Fred and George know a good place?" Hermione said, turning to Ron. "You said it yourself, they know all sorts of hidden passageways and secrets about the castle. We could ask them when we talk to them about teaching us."

"Maybe," Ron said. "Though we're asking no such thing. It was your idea, after all."

Hermione had grumbled about Ron's petty feud with his brothers all through the morning and well into the afternoon, though indeed took it upon herself to intercept the twins on their way down to the Great Hall for dinner that evening. Convincing them to tutor the group of first-years had proven to be surprisingly easy, particularly after she had explained the clandestine nature of it all.

"Don't you worry about a thing," Fred said, slinging an arm around the brunette's shoulder in a way that was anything but reassuring. "Georgie and I will find a place where no one will catch us getting up to no good."

Hermione furrowed her brows. "But how will you know where it's safe to meet?"

The twins glanced at each other conspiratorially.

"Trust us," Fred said.

"We'll know," George added.

How the twins could possibly be so sure of themselves, Hermione didn't know, yet she couldn't help but feel giddy with excitement when, two weeks later, George slipped her a note during breakfast with a time and place for their very first tutoring session. While Theo and Blaise took turns trying to keep her enthusiasm at bay, it seemed not everyone in the group was as eager to learn.

"But it's Saturday," Ron moaned as they stood huddled in a fourth-floor corridor shortly after lunch. "Fred and George don't even study when they're supposed to, I swear they're doing this just to – ow!"

Pansy smacked him on the back of the head. "Shut up, Weasley. Someone could hear you."

"Well it's not like we're doing anything wrong – yet," he huffed, pausing for a moment as a fifth-year student passed by. "Where are those two, anyway? Hermione, are you sure you read the note right?"

"Yes," she said. "One o'clock in front of the hanging mirror on the fourth floor."

"Maybe there's another mirror?" Theo suggested.

His thought was interrupted however by a soft psst coming from behind them. The group turned abruptly to find the mirror was now slightly ajar, with George stood halfway between it and the wall.

"George?" Ron gawked. "How are you –"

"Get in here, quick," the older redhead urged. "Snape will be around any minute."

The thought of the Potions Master catching them up to no good seemed to be the only explanation necessary and the group quickly did as they were told. As the mirror closed behind them the first-years were surprised to find they could see through it out into the corridor, and indeed just as George had said, Snape rounded the corner a few seconds later. The Potions Master paused and seemed to narrow his eyes for a moment, before apparently deciding nothing was amiss and continuing on his way.

"Merlin that was close," George sighed, though his expression had morphed into a cheeky grin. "Lumos – and now, if you'll follow me my little rule breakers."

The first-years glanced about the dark space, the light from George's wand allowing them to make out the stone walls which lined what appeared to be another corridor.

"Where are we?" Draco asked.

"A secret passage, my dear Malfoy," George said. "To where though, it doesn't matter, because all we need for Fred and George's School for Misfits and Miscreants is just up ahead."

For a few minutes the group of first-years followed the redhead, softly whispering to one another as the path twisted and turned and gradually became more and more narrow. Just as they were forced to walk single file however, the path suddenly opened up and they found themselves in a large, rectangular shaped stone room lit by medieval-style torches on the walls. To the right were a few questionable-looking benches, while on the opposite side of the room the passageway narrowed and descended into darkness once more.

"We discovered this secret passage when we were young, innocent first-years like yourselves," Fred said in a dream-like voice. He was standing by one of the torches flicking through a second-year DADA book, though glanced up as the group filed into the room. "It's not much, but we're pretty sure not even Dumbledore knows about this place. As long as you don't let anyone catch you coming in or out you can practice here as much as you want."

"Fred, George … it's brilliant," Harry beamed.

The first-years made their way over towards the benches, though it wasn't until she got closer that Pansy noticed the tuffs of fur sticking out of them. She screwed up her nose. "What were these exactly?"

"Kettleburn won't miss them," George grinned. "Though if you'd prefer, we can offer you the cold dirt floor."

Pansy huffed, though sat down beside Greg anyway.

"Right," Fred cleared his throat. "Welcome, welcome. A little birdie told us you firsties needed help getting up to no good, and how could we possibly turn such an offer down? Now, first thing is – yes Hermione?"

"I think we should give ourselves a name," she said excitedly. "We're doing all this sneaking about so we can learn enough to steal something super secret from under Dumbledore's nose. I think it'll help create a feeling of team spirit."

"Can we be the Anti-Filch Group?" Ron asked.

"Or the Dumbledore's Barmy Association?" Draco offered to the sound of several snickers.

"I think," Daphne giggled, "that Hermione meant a name that represents why we're doing this." She tapped her nails against the bench for a moment. "What about the … Phantom Thieves?"

Theo raised an eyebrow. "The what?"

"Think about it," Daphne pressed on. "Dumbledore doesn't know we're coming, like phantoms, and we're out to steal something. For the greater good, of course."

"We're like the Robin Hood of the Wizarding World!" Hermione laughed. "I love it. All in favour?"

"Only if it means we finally get to start this meeting," Blaise said. Hermione frowned playfully and he poked his tongue out in response.

"Then it's settled," she declared. "Let the first Phantom Thieves meeting commence!"

Fred grinned. "Right, then. Now as your glorious leaders we can teach you what we know, but Georgie and I are still only a few years ahead of you lot. We don't know what's guarding the stone so we'll have to figure out ways to be creative with what we do know. How far are you along in Defence and Charms?"

"Flitwick's got us doing the Softening Charm and Quirrell's started teaching the Verdimillious Duo spell," Theo said.

"But he's terrible," Daphne added. "We've basically had to teach ourselves this entire year. All he does is stutter and smell like garlic."

George snorted. "Honestly, I can't imagine a worse Defence professor. But anyway, we'll start by going over first-year DADA spells you can use to duel. We'll do the same for Charms, then move onto second and maybe even third-year spells if you think you can handle it." He couldn't stop the amused smirk that appeared on his face as Hermione eagerly nodded from the front row, as if to say that she could most definitely handle it, thank you very much.

"We'll start with the most basic Verdimillious charm," Fred said, pulling his wand out from his pants pocket. "There isn't much room so we'll have to push these benches back – yes that's it. Now, partner up, find some space and try not to kill each other. The hand movement is a forward slash followed by the incantation. One – two – three – Verdimillious!"

All at once, green sparks flew across the small room as the first years repeated the spell. Missed spells bounced off the stone walls, while someone's spell hit one of the twins' textbooks which was sent flying towards Vincent who barely ducked out of the way.

As the twins maneuvered their way between the pairs, they realised it was a good thing they'd decided to start with one of the more basic spells. Though they could hardly blame them, with a few exceptions most of the first-years were displaying shoddy wand work and poor pronunciation of the spell itself. A few students were barely able to produce the spell's signature green light, while others barely tickled their partner instead of throwing them backwards. It wasn't until Millie accidentally set Daphne's robes on fire however that the twins finally decided to step in.

"Woah, woah – Merlin, time out," George shouted over the chaos. Draco, whose hair now resembled an angry zouwu, looked grateful. "That wasn't bad –"

"– actually, it was terrible," Fred chimed in.

"– but you've hardly been taught a thing all year so we'll give you points for trying," George said. "Focus on your pronunciation – it's 'Ver-duh-mill-ee-us' – make sure the 'duh' is nice and sharp. Go on, let's try that again."

The twins once again wove their way in between the pairs as best as they could with spells flying all over the small space, stopping every now and then to make suggestions. Slowly, the overall performance began to improve, though there were still a few students having trouble. Fred was currently in one corner of the room with Theo and Greg, the latter of whom was still struggling to force more than a few puffs of green light out of his wand.

"Remember, the wand movement is like this," Fred said, demonstrating the forward slash motion with his wand. "Go on, try it."

The Slytherin boy did as he was told, though looked dejected as once again not much happened.

"That's alright, keep at it," Fred said cheerily. "No one's ever a natural at every branch of magic, I mean I'm still pretty rubbish at potions. You just have to keep trying and hope that Snape doesn't hex you for nearly blowing up his classroom again."

At that moment, the redhead was distracted by the sound of an anguished cry coming from the other side of the room. It seemed to gain the attention of a few of the other students in the room too, because Ron let his guard down and went flying as Hermione's spell hit him square in the chest. Fred hurriedly made his way towards the source of the noise only to find Pansy close to tears.

"What's happened, are you alright?"

"Look at this!" she said furiously, holding up what appeared to be a mangled piece of metal. "My mother got this bracelet for me, do you have any idea how much it cost –"

"Oh come off it Pans, I said I was sorry," Blaise huffed.

"'Sorry' doesn't fix this!" she shrieked, though her voice suddenly sounded very high pitched and she looked at Fred in alarm. Blaise tried to stifle a laugh, though realised that he too sounded as though his voice were several octaves higher.

"I've been wanting to try that one out," Fred grinned, casting the counter spell. He held his wand up in warning when it appeared Pansy was going to start yelling again and extended his hand. "Here, let me fix it."

The Slytherin girl looked murderous, though handed the remains of her bracelet over anyway.

"There, good as new," Fred said after a quick Reparo. He extended the jewellery back towards Pansy who took it grudgingly.

"Thanks, uh … Fred?"

The redhead winked. "Good eye. I am the most handsome one, after all."

"Hey, Freddie," George called from the other side of the room. "Have you checked the time?"

Fred looked down at his watch, and was surprised to see it had already been a few hours. Given that most of the first-years appeared as though they were starting to get tired of shouting 'Verdimillious', he decided they should have a few hour's rest before dinner and called out above the commotion.

"For a bunch of firsties, that was pretty good," he said as the last flashes of green light ceased. "But you lot look pretty tired so we'll leave it there – same time next week?"

"Sounds good," Theo said.

The twins led the first-years out through the tunnel the way they had come and, after a small wait, safely back out into the fourth-floor corridor. Hermione watched her friends begin to disperse for a few moments before turning to the twins.

"Thank you both, that was really great."

"Aw shucks," George gushed dramatically. "We'll keep at it. A few of your friends need a bit more practice but I reckon with all of us we have a good shot at getting past whatever's guarding that thing."

"I think so too," Hermione said. "Whatever obstacles there are we'll get past them – we have to."

With their secret meetings to look forward to each week the new year seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, it was the middle of March. The snow which had covered the school all winter had finally melted away and tiny flowers had begun to grow all over the grounds leading towards the Great Lake.

It was on one particularly mild Tuesday afternoon that Draco found himself cooped up in the library. The Slytherin boy sat slouched in a plush, grey chair and looked very much like he'd rather be literally anywhere else.

"I'm bored."

"Be quiet, Draco."

"But I'm bore –"

"Shh!"

The blond glared daggers at Madam Pince but otherwise did as he was told. He slouched further into the chair and crossed his arms petulantly.

"I told you," Pansy whispered, ignoring his silent tantrum.

Draco sighed dramatically. "But we've been in here for ages. How long does it take her to finish proofreading your essay, anyway?"

"Let's just say it's less proofreading and more like writing it for me," Pansy smirked. She rolled her eyes as Draco cocked his head disapprovingly. "Oh please, don't act like she's never given you homework answers before. Besides, she's doing it in exchange for a bunch of my Witch Weekly's. If you're so bored you can just leave, you know."

"No," Draco said. "I need to ask her something."

Pansy raised a sly eyebrow. "Finally going to tell her about your little crush, are you?"

"Shut up, no!" the blond hissed. He quickly glanced at the brunette in question who appeared to be too absorbed in the parchment in front of her to hear the remark. "It's not like that. It's just important and it's been so hard to catch her lately with her spending every spare moment practicing her spell work."

The Slytherin girl let out a huff of laughter. "I don't know how she finds the time with all the extra work the professors have been giving us lately."

"Yeah, I have a bad feeling they're going to give us a heap to do over the Easter holidays," Draco sighed.

"We'll see," Pansy shrugged.

At that moment Hermione's head popped up and she brushed her thick hair out of her face. She looked very pleased with herself. "All done!"

"Shh!"

The brunette rolled her eyes and handed the piece of parchment to Pansy.

"You're a lifesaver," she said happily. "I don't know how I'd pass History of Magic without you. I'll bring the magazines to dinner, yeah?"

"Sounds good," Hermione grinned. It was as she was gathering her things that she finally seemed to notice Draco. "Oh, when did you get here?"

"Like an hour ago," he sighed. "Come on, I need to talk to you about something." He poked his tongue out at Madam Pince's back as they passed by the front desk and she had to stifle a giggle. "Also, Witch Weekly, really?" he asked once they were outside. "I never thought I'd see you stoop that low."

"They're great for studying everyday wizarding culture," she said defensively.

"Salazar, I should've known," Draco laughed. "Anyway, forget that. I wanted to ask you what you've thought about our tutoring sessions lately."

"Well …" Hermione looked left and right, then at the ground guiltily. "I'm grateful to Fred and George for everything they've taught us, really. But … I must admit I'm getting a bit bored. I can already do most of the second-year spells they've been going over recently and I've been going to the last few meetups mostly to help out everyone else."

"I thought so," Draco said. "To be honest I've been feeling the same way." He glanced about the hallway to make sure they were alone, then spoke even softer. "Even we're not ready to try and steal the Stone and I don't know how long it'll take for the others to catch up. Harry and Daphne are pretty good, but even so. I was thinking maybe we could try some third-year spells on our own?"

The brunette shook her head. "I already asked Fred and George about that last week. They told me third-year spells were a bit more technical and to stick to what we've been practicing."

Draco looked incredulous. "When has that ever stopped you?"

"It didn't, of course," she laughed. "They were right though, unfortunately. I tried a few offensive spells but didn't have much luck – most of them warned against trying them without proper tutelage anyway, I didn't want to risk it."

"And we don't have anyone else to teach us," the blond sighed. "I'm getting a bit nervous, to be honest. It's been a few months since we found out about the Philosopher's Stone and we have no idea when the Dark Lord plans to steal it."

"I know, me too," Hermione said glumly. She tapped her nails against her History of Magic textbook for a few moments, then suddenly, her eyes lit up. "What about your mum's books?"

Draco scoffed. "She has a whole library full of books. You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that, 'Mione."

"The Dark magic ones," she hissed. "You're going back to the Manor in a few weeks for the holidays, right? You could grab a few while you're there."

"Are you mad?" Draco whispered, horrified. "If mother ever found out I'd taken them she'd off me and make it look like an accident. We can't just go wondering around the school with illegal books."

"But there's nothing wrong with the spells in those books," Hermione insisted. "You said it yourself, no magic is black and white. Knowledge is power."

"Be careful who you say that to," Draco murmured. "You're right, but that's not the way the Ministry sees it." He glanced about the empty hallway once more then dragged her towards a small alcove out of the way. "Look …" His voice was barely a whisper. "I might be able to sneak a few out of the Manor with Dobby's help. Elf magic is powerful, he could probably make copies without mother even realising. But – we cannot get caught, do you understand? We'd get expelled."

Hermione's eyes went wide, though she nodded anyway. "It's worth the risk. To protect Harry, to protect all of you."

Draco's gaze softened. "Is that why you've been so fixated on all of this?"

"Of course," she said. "The past six months have been the happiest of my life. I'd do anything for you guys."

"I know," he said, smiling gently. "But you must have a pretty thick skull under all that hair if you think I'm going to let you do all that alone." He laughed as he only just missed her swatting hand. "Really, though – for the next few weeks you're not allowed to stress about this, okay? Go study for exams ridiculously early or do whatever other weird things make you happy – stop trying to hit me, I mean it!"

"Oh, fine," Hermione pouted, though it was quickly replaced by a rueful smile. "Thank you, Draco."

"Anytime, you daft witch."

Indeed, Draco had been right about the professors increasing their workload over the holidays, much to the first-years' dismay. With the exception of Draco, Milly and Vincent, the rest of the group had remained at Hogwarts over the break and had therefore been subjected to Hermione's increasing panic over the end of year exams.

"Hermione, exams are ages away," Daphne moaned one afternoon, burying her head in her arms on the large library table they were sharing.

"Ten weeks," the brunette snapped, completely ignoring her.

"Oh, stop it," Blaise grumbled. He threw down his quill and looked longingly out the library window – it was the first really nice day they'd had in months and instead they were cooped up inside writing fourteen inches on the care of dangerous magical plants. "Who even cares about Devil's Snare, anyway?"

"Sorry," Hermione mumbled. "I can't help it."

It was true. Since her conversation with Draco before the holidays she'd been true to her word and done her best not to think about anything to do with the Philosopher's Stone. Unfortunately, this meant her mind was focused on other things, like trying to force all her friends to create colour-coded study timetables like she had.

It was apparent her worrying was only causing her friends to stress even more than they already were, so she was relieved when term finally resumed and Draco returned to school. They'd agreed to meet in the usual hideout after dinner and so, after possibly the quickest meal of her life, Hermione bolted for the fourth-floor corridor and slipped through the mirror entrance when she was sure no one was around to see.

"Where were you at dinner?" she asked as soon as she spotted Draco sitting on one of the benches. He had his wand pointed towards an open book in front of him to provide extra light.

"I said I wasn't feeling well," he shrugged. "I figured it'd be a little bit obvious we were up to something if we both disappeared at the same time – here." He reached into his robes and pulled out another book. "I only chose two to make copies of, just to be safe. They're mostly offensive spells since I figured we'll need them."

Hermione eagerly took the book from him and began to flip through the pages, the tip of her wand providing light. "This is fantastic," she grinned. "Look at this one – it looks like a more powerful version of the freezing charm and – oh! Here's that body bind curse I saw back at Christmas."

"How about we start with that one, then?" Draco said, if anything to stop her from accidentally tearing a page out in excitement. When she nodded eagerly, he pulled his wand out from his robes.

"Alright – lesson one," he said sticking his nose up in a way that made the brunette giggle. "I don't know too much, but mother has taught me some things. She's always said the most important thing to know about the Dark Arts is that intent is everything."

"Isn't that true of any spell?" Hermione asked.

"Yes and no," Draco said. "With Light magic things like spell pronunciation and wand movement are really important. Pronunciation is important for Dark spells too, but you have to really mean it. Dark spells are fueled by anger and fear – that's why they can be easier to cast but harder to get really good at. It's hard to practice when you don't actually want to hurt someone, but easy to do when you genuinely feel scared or angry."

Hermione nodded her head slowly. "That makes sense – though you're right, this is going to be harder than I thought. I'm not a very angry person."

"No, you're just a busybody," Draco grinned. "Try thinking of a bad memory, something or someone that makes you angry whenever you think about it. Then pretend you're aiming the spell at them." He paused for a few moments. "Have you got something in mind?"

"I think so," Hermione frowned.

"That's okay," Draco said. "The incantation is Carcerum Totalis – go on, give it a try."

The brunette waited for her friend to stand to the side before assuming her dueling position. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to bring forth the memory she'd chosen, then took a deep breath.

"Carcerum Totalis!"

Hermione stood, shocked as only a few black puffs of smoke appeared from the tip of her wand. She looked at it as though it were a foreign object in her hand. "What …? But I …"

"It's alright," Draco said quickly. "Dark magic isn't easy. Go on, try again."

Hermione took a deep breath and did as she was told. Once, twice, ten times. Each time she felt increasingly dejected as the most she was able to conjure was a few puffs of black smoke. The only consolation was that Draco seemed to be having some trouble too, though he at least seemed be able to produce a single, small binding rope.

"It's okay," he said some time later, exhausted. They were both sitting on the ground leaning against one of the makeshift benches. "We'll keep practicing. Magic wouldn't be any fun if it were easy."

"I suppose not," Hermione said.

Draco shuffled his legs slightly. "What memory were you thinking about?"

"It seems a bit silly now," Hermione admitted, "but I was thinking about my classmates who used to bully me back at my Muggle school. To be honest though, I was never really angry at them – I didn't care what they did all that much. I was happy with my books."

Draco nodded as he mulled over her answer. "You weren't feeling angry enough."

"I told you, that's not the sort of person I am," she huffed.

"Well if you want to learn Dark magic then we'll have to figure out a way to change that," Draco said. "Come on, we should head back." He pulled himself to his feet and extended a hand towards his friend who took it gratefully. "Dark magic uses up a lot more of your magical core than Light spells do. You should get some rest."

Hermione nodded and together, the two made their way back through the tunnel in comfortable silence. Once they reached the castle Entranceway they parted ways, though it wasn't until Hermione was back in Gryffindor tower that she was able to shake the feeling that someone had been watching them.

For the next week, Hermione struggled during her secret lessons with Draco. While the blond had slowly been improving and had even moved on to trying a few other spells, Hermione had been unable to think of a sufficient bad memory and was quickly growing frustrated. She had begun spending her evenings holed up in the hidden fourth-floor passage, pouring through the book Draco had given her to the point where her obsessive behaviour was making him worried.

"Maybe we should take a break for a few weeks?" he suggested during one of their evening lessons. "You're working yourself too hard, 'Mione."

"Nonsense," she snapped, ignoring him in favour of reading the passage on the body bind curse once more.

Hermione's increasingly short temper was quickly becoming tiresome, so by Friday morning Draco was looking forward to pairing up with Harry in Potions class. The two boys had proven to be quite good at the subject, having earned several points for their respective Houses over the course of the year.

While Harry left to get the ingredients they needed for their Wiggenweld potion, Draco couldn't help but let his gaze wander towards to the other side of the room where poor Neville was being chastised by Hermione for adding too much salamander blood to their cauldron.

"You know she snapped at me for sitting in 'her' chair in the common room last night?" Harry huffed as he returned, placing their ingredients on their workbench. "I don't know what's got into her lately."

"She's probably worried about exams or something," Draco said, frowning. It was only for a moment though as his expression suddenly brightened. "Come on, let's have fun with this."

"You're right," Harry grinned.

For the next two periods, the boys worked hard as they stirred their cauldron in between adding lionfish spines, flobberworm mucus and honey water. Like always, Snape made his way through the classroom as the students worked, giving advice where necessary.

"Good work, Mr Malfoy, Mr Potter," he nodded as he observed their cauldron towards the end of the lesson. "You've managed the exact shade of turquoise needed. One point each."

Harry and Draco grinned as the Potions Master swept away, his black robes billowing behind him. As Harry began the process of bottling up their finished potion, Draco couldn't help the sigh of content that escaped him. It was nice to feel like a normal first-year every now and then, without having to worry about hidden stones and secretly practicing the Dark Arts.

"Respectable work today – most of you," Snape said over the rustling of students packing away their belongings. He sent a pointed glance towards the back corner of the room where a disheveled-looking Hermione was staring dejectedly into the cauldron she shared with Neville. "For homework I would like ten inches on the importance of salamander blood in Wiggenweld potion. Miss Granger – a word, please."

Hermione looked startled for a moment, though sighed in understanding and did as she was told. She collected her books and made her way towards the front of the room where Snape was waiting.

"I'm sorry for being harsh on Neville today sir, I know it wasn't our best work and it's my fault –"

"I will be frank, Miss Granger," he said curtly, cutting her off. He waited for the rest of the students to make their way out of the classroom before continuing. "Given your obsession with books, I would be correct to assume you're well aware of this school's policy on books covering … restricted material, would I not?"

"Y-Yes sir," she stammered, eyes wide. She wasn't sure why, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Snape was somehow reading her mind. She had never been a good liar and her hands were quickly becoming clammy.

"Then tell me," Snape continued, his black eyes narrowing, "why you would bring an illegal book into my classroom."

Hermione didn't have time to deny the accusation before the offending book went flying out of her arms. "Please, sir, it's not what it –"

"Do not take me for a fool, child," Snape said abruptly. Any further protest by the brunette was silenced as he flipped through the book's pages. "Though I hardly think I need to tell you how foolish it is carrying around something such as this. Were you trying to get caught?"

"No, of course not professor, I just …" Hermione looked ashamed. "Since I got this book I've been practicing and practising and I just can't do any of the spells. It's driving me mad. That's why I had it with me, I've been trying to study every spare moment I get. I lost track of time this morning and didn't have time to put it away before class …"

"I see," Snape drawled. He seemed to consider her a moment before extending the book back towards her. "I suggest you take better care to keep it hidden, then. I find it hard to believe any other teacher would be so … lenient."

Hermione couldn't help her stunned expression, though took the offered book regardless. "Pardon me professor but … you're not going to turn me in?"

"Of course not," he said at once, as if the suggestion were ridiculous. "Classifying the spells in this book as Dark is laughable. I do not agree with the Ministry's position on the Dark Arts Miss Granger, and I suggest you take care to keep any similar thoughts you might have to yourself. I must say however, I am curious as to why you're struggling with the contents. I've heard enough of Filius' drivel to know you usually excel at spell work."

Hermione felt embarrassed once more as she thought back to her failings over the previous week. "I've been told that Dark spells need strong emotions behind them to work, especially anger or fear. I've been trying to use bad memories to feel those emotions when I practice but … to be perfectly honest I don't really have any."

"Interesting," Snape mused. "Tell me Miss Granger, who would you say are the most important people to you?"

"My parents," Hermione said at once. "And my friends, definitely my friends."

Snape nodded. "And how would you feel if someone ever tried to hurt any of them?"

"I'd be furious, of course," she said. "Though I've tried thinking about that, sir. It helped a little bit but not much, and if the thought of someone hurting the people I love won't work then I honestly don't know what will."

"I see," Snape said. He began to collect his things from the lecturer's lectern. "The Dark Arts can be quite troublesome to learn for some people, particularly those who rarely feel negative emotions as you say. I'm well aware of your thirst for knowledge, though I'm afraid that in your case you may have to pursue a different avenue of magic for now." He glanced at the large clock on the wall near the classroom door. "I will leave you to the rest of your break. Good day, Miss Granger."

Snape's words had bothered Hermione all throughout her classes that day and well into the afternoon. The thought that there was a branch of magic she may not be able to perform, particularly one as fascinating as the Dark Arts was upsetting. Ever since she'd found out she was a witch she'd prided herself on learning all that she could, though it seemed now she was at a roadblock due to her own inability. More than that, she worried about how she was going to protect her friends.

"… are you even listening to me?"

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at Blaise apologetically. "Sorry, I just …"

The Slytherin boy sighed. He'd noticed his friend's change in personality over the previous few days and had suggested going for an afternoon walk by the Great Lake to take her mind off whatever was bothering her. It seemed his tale about the time Vincent nearly threw up at one of Narcissa's dinner parties wasn't enough to keep her distracted, however. "Merlin, the others are right. What's with you lately?"

"I can't really talk about it," she admitted.

Blaise's gaze softened. "Come on 'Mione, you know you can tell me anything. I'm worried about you."

"I'm sorry Blaise, I know," she sighed. "I guess … I'm just so worried about going after the Philosopher's Stone. I'm worried one of you may get hurt, or worse, and I won't be smart enough to protect you. I almost wish we could just avoid stealing it altogether, but if we don't then You-Know-Who will come back and Harry will be in danger –"

"Hey, hey," Blaise said. He placed his hands on her shoulders and stopped her in her tracks. "Come on, there's no need for tears. Here –" he reached into his robes and pulled out a handkerchief which she took gratefully. "There you go. Hermione you know how much you mean to all of us, right?"

The brunette sniffled.

"You mean so much," he said firmly. "If it weren't for you I'd still be a complete git, and I know how much you've helped Greg and Vince with their classes this year. And who else would Daphne talk to about wizarding history?"

"… what about Pansy?" she mumbled.

The Slytherin boy shrugged. "She's still a bitch."

"Blaise!" Hermione yelled, though she couldn't help but giggle.

"Hey, you can't fix all of us," he laughed. "Though I know even she's changed a bit. Look … my point is, I know that you didn't have many friends back in the Muggle world but you're a witch now. We're your friends. You don't have to drive yourself mad trying to prove yourself, I promise none of us are going anywhere."

Hermione wrapped her friend in a tight hug. "Thank you, Blaise."

"Anytime," he said, returning the gesture. "We're not friends with you because you're smart, we're your friends because of how kind you are. We're all practicing so hard so that we can go steal that Stone together – you have to trust that we'll be there to protect you too."

"I've been an idiot," Hermione mumbled. She removed herself from the embrace and rubbed her nose with her robe sleeve. "I need to apologise to Harry, and Draco too."

Blaise let out a huff of laughter. "I'll say. Good luck trying to find Malfoy though, he's been disappearing a lot lately."

"That's okay," she said as they began to make their way back towards the castle. "I think I might know where he is."

Indeed, that evening, Hermione found the blond practicing on his own in the hideout. She watched him in silence for a few minutes as he cast curse after curse, unable to stop her lips morphing into a fond smile as he focused intently on a point across the other side of the room. It was only when he stopped to catch his breath that she decided to make her presence known.

"You're getting quite good, you know."

Draco jumped, though recognition quickly dawned on his face. "Oh, Hermione … sorry I didn't tell you I was coming up here, I just …"

"No, it's okay," she said softly. She made her way further into the room and clasped her hands together tightly. "I … came here to apologise for how I've been acting lately. You told me you'd help me protect everyone but I tried to do it all myself anyway. When I couldn't do the things you could, I panicked … honestly I think I just didn't want to admit that my best wasn't enough."

Draco sighed, put his wand away in his robes and pulled her into a hug. "For the smartest witch in our year you can be a complete idiot sometimes, you know."

Hermione let out a small huff of laughter. "Yes, I've been told."

"Good," he said. He let her go and took his wand out once more. "Come on, let's keep practicing the body bind curse."

"No, I think I'll leave that to you today," she said proudly. "I've realised I'm okay with not being able to do all this just yet. Besides …" She made her way towards the other side of the room and assumed a dueling position. "You could use a live target, you know."

A smirk tugged at the edge of Draco's lips and he braced himself in anticipation. "Do your worst, Granger."

By early May, the group's Phantom Thieves meetings had become far more productive, much to Hermione's delight. Most of her friends were beginning to master the second-year spells they'd been working on, and Fred and George had even begun teaching her some third-year spells on the side.

"You know, I really think we can go after the Philosopher's Stone soon," she whispered excitedly as she and the rest of her friends walked back towards the castle after their flying lesson that afternoon. "Greg, you looked so happy when you cast Expelliarmus the other night."

"I know!" he grinned, uncharacteristically giddy.

Several paces behind them however, Ron was frowning at the brunette's back.

"Hey." He nudged Harry who was walking alongside him. "Don't you think it's weird that those two keep disappearing together?"

The raven-haired boy blinked. "Who?"

"Draco and Hermione," Ron murmured, nodding his head in their direction. "I swear they've been leaving dinner around the same time, and Hermione's always coming back right before curfew. I mean bloody hell, I've even seen her come in late a few times and you know how careful she usually is about that."

Harry shrugged. "I hadn't really noticed to be honest. Why do you care so much, anyway?"

"I don't know," Ron frowned. "I mean, I know You-Know-Who's running around somewhere and this whole thing is actually super dangerous but … I kind of like all this sneaking around we're doing. I guess I just don't like that they might be keeping secrets when we're all supposed to be doing this together."

"We don't know that they're keeping any secrets, though," Harry said. "Fred and George have been teaching Hermione that shield spell, remember? Maybe they're just doing some extra practice."

"Maybe," Ron mumbled.

"Come on, forget about them," Harry said as they reached the castle and crossed the Grand Entranceway. "We should go start the homework Flitwick gave us."

Ron groaned. "Please don't remind me – Alohomora seems like old news now that we've been doing second-year stuff. Is this what it feels like to be Hermione?"

Despite his protests, the two boys did indeed make their way back to Gryffindor tower where they worked on their homework in companionable silence for the remainder of the afternoon. At about 5 o' clock they were joined by Neville, Dean and Seamus, and the five boys played several rounds of Exploding Snap before making their way down to the Great Hall for dinner. Like usual, Harry and Ron made their way to the Slytherin table upon arriving, where the redhead's mouth watered at the sight of their meal.

"Roast ham," he said dreamily as he sat down beside Theo.

For the next half hour, the first-years talked amongst themselves as they discussed homework, news from home, and in more hushed tones, their plans for their Phantom Thieves meeting that week. Ron was happy to listen as he ate, even as Draco excused himself early – that is, until Hermione also excused herself at about a quarter to seven.

"I'm not feeling too well," she said apologetically as she rose from her seat. After a chorus of good nights from the rest of her friends, she began to make her way out of the Great Hall.

"See? There they go again," Ron hissed at Harry, nodding towards Hermione's retreating figure. "Draco left like ten minutes ago saying some bogus stuff about finishing homework. I'm telling you, they're up to something."

Harry huffed, apparently more interested in his pumpkin soup. "I already told you, they're probably just practicing."

"But why make up excuses to leave?" Ron pressed. "I mean, doesn't that seem weird? If they were studying why not just say so?"

Harry frowned. "I guess …"

"Look," Ron said. "Next time they leave, let's take your Cloak and follow them. If it's nothing I swear on the Chudley Cannons I'll never bring it up again."

"Fine," Harry said, slurping loudly.

To Ron's delight, their opportunity came sooner than he expected when, the next night, they spotted Hermione leaving Gryffindor Tower shortly after the trio had returned from dinner. He immediately sprang into action, racing up the stairs to the first-year boys' dorm and returning with Harry's Cloak hidden under his robes.

"Let's go," he said.

It didn't take long to catch up to Hermione, who they spotted descending the moving staircase down to the sixth floor. The two ducked out of view for a moment and donned the Invisibility Cloak before pursuing her once more – with just the two of them under the Cloak it was far easier to move about, and they kept up a good pace while maintaining enough distance behind the brunette.

Down one floor, then another, Hermione finally stopped her descent once she reached the fourth-floor and instead made her way into the main part of the corridor. By this point, the two boys had figured out where she was heading and watched as, once they reached the mirror leading to the hideout, she paced back and forth to make sure no one was about before slipping inside.

"See?" Harry whispered once the mirror was closed. "They're probably just practicing some extra spells."

"We'll see," Ron said.

The two boys waited a few minutes before entering the tunnel themselves, being careful not to give themselves away by the light of their wands. Once they heard low murmuring, they put their wands away and used the faint light coming from the main room to guide them.

"… basic spells first," they heard Hermione say once they neared the end of the tunnel. "My shield's still weak, I doubt it could handle what you've been practicing lately."

"Alright then," Draco said. As they emerged from the tunnel single file, they watched as the two friends assumed their dueling positions at opposite ends of the room and they shuffled to the side out of the way. "Petrificus Totalis!"

"Protego!"

The spell bounced off the shield as intended, Hermione grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Come on Draco, you can do better than that," she goaded.

He smirked back, this time rattling off three spells in quick succession. Each time they bounced off the shield, Hermione's confidence grew.

"Second year spells, now."

Draco obliged. "Expelliarmus! Fumos Duo! Mimblewimble!"

Hermione's shield, though she was pushed back slightly, maintained its strength. She grit her teeth as Draco continued his onslaught, the shield starting to crack slightly under the pressure. Finally, after a few minutes, the shield broke and Hermione collapsed on one of the benches exhausted.

"You've gotten better at that," Draco said, a hint of pride in his voice.

In the corner of the room under the Cloak, Harry turned to Ron and rolled his eyes.

See? He mouthed.

Ron shook his head. Wait.

"Alright, your turn," Hermione said.

Draco nodded and turned to face where Hermione had stood a few minutes prior. He steadied his feet and took a deep breath. "Carcerum Totalis!"

Instead of the single binding rope he'd managed to produce during their first practice session, he was now able to send out several which spread far and wide in front of him. With nothing to grab a hold of they went searching – one wrapped itself around one of the bench legs while another latched onto Hermione's wrist and she yelped in surprise.

"Merlin, sorry," Draco said quickly, ceasing the curse. "Are you alright?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine," she said. "Keep going."

In the corner of the room under the Cloak, Harry and Ron were staring at each other wide-eyed.

What the bloody hell was that? Ron mouthed.

Harry shook his head in response, looking just as much a mix of perplexed and shocked as his friend was.

The two boys were suddenly distracted however as Draco cast another spell – this time a stream of white and black light burst from his wand, causing the ground to shake slightly. On the bench, Hermione looked indifferent as she perused through a book in her lap.

"Have you seen this one?" she asked, turning the book for Draco to see. "It's a curse that freezes the victim from the inside."

"Yeah I did," Draco said, resting for a moment. "Though you can't really practice that one without a live target, and I'm hardly going to try it out on you … though, I do know of a place in Nocturn Alley, father took me there once. We could owl order some rats to try curses out on, they wouldn't ask any questions."

Hermione frowned. "I don't know … they may be rats but I still don't like the thought of practicing on a living creature. They have feelings too, you know." She sighed dramatically. "Why are the Dark Arts so hard?"

"The Dark Arts?"

At the sound of a third voice, Draco and Hermione stilled, immediately turning to find Ron in the corner having seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"So that's what you two have been hiding," he continued, ignoring their shock. He was visibly fuming. "How could you? This whole time we've been trying to stop You-Know-Who and you two have been sneaking off learning how to do the same things he does."

"Did you … did you follow me here?" Hermione said indignantly, finally managing to find her voice.

"So what if I did?" Ron said, narrowing his eyes. He turned and spoke to what appeared to be thin air. "I told you they were hiding something."

At that moment, the Invisibility Cloak was pulled away to reveal a very hurt-looking Harry. Whatever retort Hermione had had in mind was silenced as she noticed his expression.

"Oh, Harry …"

"I don't understand," he said quietly. "We're trying to stop Voldemort, why would you practice the same kind of magic he did?"

"We thought our meetings weren't moving along fast enough," Hermione said quickly. "We don't know when You-Know-Who is going to try and steal the Philosopher's Stone and we were worried we might be too late, so we thought …"

"That what, you'd practice Dark magic?" Ron said incredulously. "You could have tried third-year stuff but instead you're down here trying to become Dark wizards or something!"

"Ronald!" Hermione yelled. "I tried third-year spells, they were too difficult! Dark magic is different, we knew it was possible to learn more powerful spells on our own that way. We're trying to protect you!"

Ron let out a bark of laughter, though it was tainted with sarcasm. "Right."

"She's telling the truth," Draco said.

"You'd say that, wouldn't you?" Ron said, turning to the blond. "I bet all this was your idea, wasn't it?"

"It was mine," Hermione snapped.

"Ron, stop …" Harry said. He was holding his friend back by the shoulder, as though doing so was the only thing stopping the redhead from lunging at their two friends. "Let's go back to the common room."

Ron looked as though he were about to protest, though noticed the tired expression on Harry's face and relaxed slightly. "Fine."

Without looking back at either Draco or Hermione, he cast a quick Lumos and headed back into the tunnel towards the mirror. Harry made to do the same, but was suddenly stopped by the sound of Hermione's voice.

"We really were just trying to protect you," she said earnestly. "I swear it."

"I know," Harry said, more to the ground than to her. "But I don't think you should've done this. It makes us no better than Voldemort. He killed my parents, remember?"

Hermione looked as though she wanted to protest, but then Harry was gone and suddenly she was quite teary. Draco quickly moved to wrap her in a hug, not even caring that she was scrunching up bits of his robe in her fists.

"They just don't understand," he murmured.

Following their argument in the hideout, both Harry and Ron refused to speak to Hermione or Draco. The two boys had gone back to eating their meals at the Gryffindor table, and Draco had been forced to explain their absence to the rest of their friends. The group were initially surprised to learn what they had been up to, though that was quickly replaced with hushed, excited questions as they wanted to know what sort of curses they'd managed to learn.

Despite everything, Hermione and the rest of the Slytherins had assumed they'd see their two friends during their secret meeting that week. It seemed not even that was enough to coerce Harry and Ron to interact with them however, because no sooner had Fred and George started the meeting that they announced both boys had said they were feeling unwell and wouldn't be joining them. Hermione had secretly been relieved – she wasn't quite sure she was ready to face them so soon, and was even less certain about what she'd actually say to them.

By Tuesday however, she realised she missed her two friends quite a bit. Classes were particularly lonely as Harry and Ron seemed to have decided to ignore her despite her efforts to talk to them. Even Neville had seemed to notice something was wrong, and had tried to ask her about it during their Charms class that morning.

"It's all so childish," she said irritably as she, Draco, Theo and Blaise walked about the grounds that afternoon. "Ron keeps acting like I'm not even there. He kept talking to Seamus in Transfiguration today as if I wasn't sitting at the desk in between them."

"He's being a complete git," Blaise said, kicking up a loose bit of dirt. "Harry I can understand at least, there's the whole thing with his parents."

Hermione averted her eyes, guilt sweeping over her. "That doesn't explain why Ron's so angry, though."

"My father has a lot of influence in the Ministry, politically," Draco said as they passed by the greenhouses. He glanced around to make sure no one was listening before continuing. "And you know what my family thinks about the Dark Arts. Ron's father works for the Ministry in some department to do with Muggles – those raids I talked about back at Christmas? He's the one in charge of them."

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "You're joking."

Draco shook his head. "Ron's probably been taught that only really horrible wizards use the Dark Arts or something. I mean, you heard what he said, he thought the whole thing was my idea. He probably thought his father was right after all and that I was trying to turn you into a Dark witch or something."

"But that's ridiculous," Hermione scoffed. "You're his friend, he should know you would never do that."

Draco shrugged.

"Hey – look over there," Theo said suddenly. His three friends followed his gaze towards the Forbidden Forest in the distance, where just outside it sat what appeared to be a large, burnt out pile of rubble. Though there was no fire, light smoke continued to rise into the air and the four first-years craned their necks in an attempt to get a better look.

"Wait a minute …" Draco trailed off. Beside him, recognition suddenly dawned on Hermione's face.

"Oh no, that's Hagrid's hut!" she cried.

Without another word, she shot off in the direction of the half-giant's hut, her frustration with Harry and Ron apparently forgotten. Draco followed just as quickly, along with Theo and Blaise who were curious to see what was going on.

As the four first-years neared the burnt-out hut, they realised that both Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore himself were standing adjacent and appeared to be deep in discussion. Upon seeing the headmaster, the four friends slowed right down – they had never directly interacted with the man whose inaction, for all intents and purposes, was responsible for everything that had happened to them regarding the Philosopher's Stone. Even so, something about his presence seemed to radiate power and wisdom, and for a moment the quartet felt a sense of respect for their Headmaster.

At that moment, he glanced sideways and noticed the four friends approaching hesitantly. His expression immediately morphed into a warm smile and he peered over the top of his half-moon spectacles.

"Ah, Miss Granger – Mr Malfoy, Mr Zabini, Mr Nott," he said kindly. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you all. I must say, your little group has piqued my interest this year. It's not often we see students from Gryffindor and Slytherin getting along so well. But alas – would I be correct to assume you're here about Hagrid?"

"Y-Yes sir," Hermione said. "What happened? Is he alright?"

"Hagrid is just fine," Dumbledore said reassuringly. "He is currently with Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing, though I'm sure he would appreciate your company. Your friends Mr Potter and Mr Weasley were here a short while ago, you'll likely find them with him."

"Thank you, sir," Draco said. He knew a dismissal when he heard one, however gentle it may have sounded, and soon he and his friends were on their way to the Hospital Wing.

"But you heard what Dumbledore said," Hermione frowned as they hurried back past the greenhouses. "Harry and Ron will be there."

"So what?" Blaise scoffed. "I don't get the half giant's appeal but you two are allowed to see him just as much as they are. They can deal with it."

Blaise's words had given Hermione a small confidence boost as they made their way up to the first floor, though that disappeared as soon as she spotted Ron's bright red hair at the far side of the Hospital Wing, which was lined with two rows of white beds on either side of the room. A middle-aged witch who they assumed to be Madam Pomfrey was currently fussing over Hagrid – he looked like he had been crying and his face was rather sooty, though Blaise was more concerned about the bed he was sitting on which looked as though it may snap in two at any second under the half giant's weight.

As they approached, Hagrid blew his nose very loudly into a large handkerchief, though he seemed to sober up somewhat when he spotted the four first-years.

"You lot 'ave come teh visit me too," he sniffled.

Ron glared at Hermione and Draco as they approached, but Blaise shot him a warning look and he went back to ignoring them instead.

"Of course we did, Hagrid," Hermione said. "Are you alright? What happened to your hut?"

"I was just tellin' the boys," Hagrid said as Madam Pomfrey rushed back towards her office. "I was havin' a nap – mind, I should 'ave been hunting for a creature in the Forest for Dumbledore. There's been summat in there killin' unicorns and 'e asked me teh find it. But I've been so busy lookin' after … anyway, I woke coughin', my hut was on fire 'n I grabbed Fang –"

Suddenly, Hagrid was sobbing loudly and the group of first-years jumped back slightly. "e's 'bin hurt – hic – real bad. Dumbledore sent 'im off teh some special healer but –" Hagrid blew his nose loudly into his handkerchief again, which was now covered in soot. "It's all me fault. All I've got left now is Fluffy …"

"Fluffy?" Harry asked.

"My Cerberus," Hagrid sniffled. "Cutest little – hic – thing he is. When I played music for 'im he'd fall righ' asleep."

At once, all six friends glanced at each other in shock.

"Hagrid …" Hermione said tentatively. "Do you mean that the Cerberus guarding the third-floor corridor is yours?"

The half giant straightened up immediately and the bed sagged dangerously. "'ow do yeh know about that? I told yeh not to meddle in things that don' concern yeh!"

Before they could reply, Madam Pomfrey rushed back over to Hagrid's bed with a cloth and some warm water.

"That's quite enough," she said. "Hagrid needs rest – he can take visitors later. Go on, out!"

With nothing more they could do, the group of first-years quickly made their way out of the Hospital Wing. Harry and Ron immediately picked up their pace once outside, though Hermione tried to call out after them. When they continued to ignore her however, she huffed in frustration.

"Oh, will you stop!" she yelled."It's about the Stone."

She hissed the last word to avoid prying ears, though her anger seemed to get their attention. Ron looked reluctant, though he and Harry indeed walked back towards the rest of the group.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Hagrid said the dog guarding the room on the third-floor is his, right?" Hermione said, the cogs in her brain racing. "We know there's multiple defenses, so wouldn't it make sense that the other professors are helping to guard it too?"

"I guess …" Ron admitted. "But we still don't know what they are."

"No, we don't," Hermione said. "But that's not my point. You heard Hagrid in there – he said the fire was his fault, but how could it have been? It's far too warm to have a fire going. I'm wondering … what if the fire was deliberately lit? He said it himself, he wasn't even supposed to be there – he could have died. He knows he's helping to guard the Stone, he probably thinks it was deliberate too and blames himself for Fang getting hurt …"

"You think it's going to happen again, don't you?" Blaise asked.

"I do," Hermione said firmly. "As long as the Stone is in Hogwarts, the professors are in danger. I bet you anything that this means You-Know-Who is going to go after it soon, and we can't let that happen. We have to go after it – tonight."

Ron's eyes went wide. "Tonight? But we're not ready!"

"You don't give yourself enough credit," Hermione said. "We've been doing extra practice for months now – everyone has gotten really good at second year spells and we'll have Fred and George with us too, plus what Draco and I have been practicing … we've been doing all this to stop You-Know-Who. We can't let anyone else get hurt."

Her friends were silent for a few moments, thinking through what she'd said. It was true, they'd likely been as ready as they ever would be for some time now. But the thought of actually going through with stealing the Stone was a daunting one – what if they got caught, or worse?

"You're right," Theo finally said. "If we don't do this then we might as well not have bothered with the Phantom Thieves at all."

"Let's meet outside the hideout later, then," Draco added. "We'll need your Cloak, Harry. We can tell the others what's happened here over dinner."

"I'll go find Fred and George," Ron said. He looked as though he were about to say something else, though thought better of it. "I'll see you later."

Harry watched as Ron wondered off, before shoving his hands in his robe pockets. He was staring at the floor. "I … still feel a bit weird about the whole Dark Arts thing, but I know you were just trying to help. I'm sorry for ignoring you." He looked up at Draco and Hermione. "It wasn't very nice."

A small smile appeared on Draco's face and he gave Harry a one-armed hug. "It's alright – I'm sorry we didn't tell you. We weren't sure what you'd think."

"I think Ron's still a bit angry," Harry admitted. "Though I'm glad we're talking again. I missed having you all around."

"I would've hexed you if you'd tried to partner up with anyone else during Potions this week," Draco laughed, releasing his friend. "Come on, we should all probably get some rest before dinner – we've got a big night ahead of us."

As Draco and Ron filled the rest of the group in on what had happened at dinner later that night, Hermione admitted only to herself that she was worried some of her friends may be too afraid to go steal the Philosopher's Stone after all. Any second thoughts the group may have had however were gone the moment dessert disappeared and Dumbledore got to his feet. He motioned for silence.

"As some of you are already aware, Hagrid, our gamekeeper, was involved in an unfortunate accident today," he said sadly. Hermione glanced at the half giant's empty seat at the High Table and frowned. "I encourage you to extend your well wishes if you see him about the grounds. However," He peered over the top of his half-moon spectacles and the group of first-years could've sworn the Headmaster was looking directly at them. "I must ask that you refrain from wandering too close to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Ministry officials will be coming and going from Hogwarts grounds over the next two days and will not wish to be troubled as they conduct their business."

"Right, accident," Blaise scoffed. "As if Dumbledore would get the Ministry involved just for that."

"Well he's hardly going to admit You-Know-Who is wondering about the school," Daphne said as the students around them began to rise from their seats.

"That doesn't matter anymore," Hermione said as she rose from her own seat. Her friends followed suit and they quickly made their way out into the Grand Entranceway where they bumped into Fred and George.

"Just the firsties we wanted to see," Fred said, falling into step behind his twin who was carving a path between the sea of students ahead of them. "Ron filled us in."

"Are you going to come with us?" Hermione asked.

"Don't be daft, of course we are," Fred said. He turned his head back towards the rest of the group and found who he was looking for. "Have you got your thing, Harry?"

"It's still upstairs in my trunk," he said. "I'll go get it, and Hagrid's flute too – I'll meet you at the usual spot."

As Harry took off ahead of them, the rest of the group made their way towards the mirror on the fourth floor in relative silence. With less students around it was easier to be overheard, and the last thing they needed was some nosey Ravenclaw eavesdropping on their very illegal plans for the evening. Before long, Harry had returned and the group made their way into the secret passageway.

"We thought it would be better if we were already all together instead of running about trying to collect different groups of people under the Cloak after curfew," George said.

"I was thinking about that," Harry said. "How are we all supposed to fit under it at once? It barely fit the five of us when we snuck out with you and Fred, remember?"

"Oh no!" Hermione cried softly. "I'd completely forgotten."

"We were thinking about that," Fred said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Someone needs to take the Cloak and draw Filch and Peeves towards the other side of the castle."

"Me and Vince can do that," Greg grinned. "I've always wanted to terrorise that old coot."

"What, and leave the rest of us to get caught?" Pansy said, horrified.

"We can't do much else," George said. "Even if we could magic the Cloak bigger – which we can't – can you imagine the lot of us trying to conga line down the moving staircase under that thing? We'd be discovered before we even reached the third floor."

Pansy seemed to resign herself to the twins' idea, and for quite some time after, the group sat in nervous silence which was only broken by the occasional whisper of someone practicing their spell work. After a while Ron got up and disappeared, only to return a little while later with his copy of Exploding Snap. The tense energy in the room immediately dissipated as they all gathered in a circle on the ground to play, and for the next hour the group of friends were almost able to forget about what they were about to do as they laughed and shouted about who had matched which cards.

At about a quarter to nine however, Draco looked at his watch and glanced at Hermione, who sighed and put down her cards. She got to her feet and waited as the rest of her friends slowly joined her in silence.

"This is it," she said quietly. "Let's go."

Alternate chapter title: Or the one where Norbert sets Hagrid's hut on fire because he didn't have three first-years around to tell him that illegally owning a dragon is a very bad idea.

…

Woah, this chapter was a long one. I hope you enjoyed! This one was quite a challenge to write as I had a big time period to cover (mid January – mid May) and it was a struggle at times trying to make sure I was matching up new events in my story to the canon timeline. I'm super excited for the next chapter though – we've reached the best part of the story!

For anyone interested in the reason for my hiatus, last year ended up being a pretty terrible year for me mentally due to a series of changes in my life, and while there were many, many times I wanted to sit down and write I just couldn't bring myself to do so. Thankfully I'm in a much better place now and I want to say thank you so much to everyone who took the time to read/follow/favourite/review this story in the meantime. Each notification was a little reminder that there were people out there who wanted to see how this story ends and I knew that one day I would return to writing it even if it took a while.

Also, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and left their opinion on future ships! Unfortunately, I don't have time to respond to each person here but please know I read every message from you guys. While I have a general idea about how I want years 2-7 to play out, I'm more than happy to hear suggestions so please feel free to leave one!

Anyway, that's enough rambling from me. Cheers if you got this far and hopefully I'll be back with another update much sooner than this one! :-)