Hello Readers! I was pleasantly surprised that so many people liked my first chapter because I'd been hesitant about uploading...
So a big thank you to lilyflower49, Charm5701, and Guest for their reviews, and to all you others who either PMed or favorited/followed this story!
Before I get too mushy and annoying I'll let you get to the chapter. Hope you enjoy! :D
Hermione wanted to groan.
She'd been in the library for at least two hours by now, and though she was well hidden behind the stacks of books carefully rifled through and gently abandoned on her table, she was no closer to finding an answer to her query.
And though she was the closest thing to a favorite Madam Pince would ever have, Hermione was quite certain their relationship wasn't strong enough to get into the Restricted Section without a pass.
Especially concerning Harry and Ron's behavior whenever they joined her in the book sanctuary.
Quite honestly, Hermione was running out of options. She wouldn't be able to get to Hogsmeade again until next month, and it was unlikely any of the Hogsmeade sellers would have books detailing dark curses, especially in such proximity to a castle of children.
If she really wanted answers she either needed Harry's cloak to get into the Restricted Section, or she'd have to write Padfoot.
But Harry was very squirrelly about his godfather sometimes, and both options included sucking up to him and Ron.
Though it was something she was quite used to for the sake of their friendship (honestly, she was the glue!), Hermione wasn't quite in the mood to go apologize and have them questioning her motives.
That was why she'd went to Professor Mcgonagall, knowing the elder witch enjoyed nurturing her studiousness.
"I'm sorry Ms Granger, but Headmaster Dumbledore has banned the access of students without an explicit pass to the Restricted Section by the concerned professor. I know you were quite looking forward to researching the potency of evolved potions, but you really must ask Professor Snape or stick to current coursework in your research." The emerald-robed professor did look sympathetic, especially when mentioning Professor Snape, but sympathy wouldn't advance her case.
That brought her back to square one. There was also the fact that she mentioned Headmaster Dumbledore had made the restrictions so. If this was the first step in his addressing the issue with Malfoy, then she supposed it did make sense that he didn't only ban Slytherins, but still...
She'd never had a problem before when trying to help Harry with the Triwizard Tournement, or trying to find out about Polyjuice potions...
It was indubitably frustrating.
/-/-|-\-\
In the end, she learned that the boys staircase did not stop girls, even in the dead of night, something she'd usually find unacceptable if it wasn't for the convenience it provided in 'borrowing' Harry's cloak.
It wasn't hard either to coerce the library doors to allow her entry, all without doing anything that could get her caught.
The tired prefect standing at the doors must get posted in front of the library often for rounds, she thinks.
She pays special attention to the books in the Restricted Section, wondering if a silent alarm goes off by merely stepping in without permission.
Disturbing the ones with agitated spines or chains attached are a sure-fire way to start their screeching.
With her wand under the cloak she can only cast Lumos, but it's enough to give just enough light to direct her in between the shelves.
After some very tense but focused searching, she finds a book that probably holds what she's looking for.
Hermione isn't dimwitted enough to stay around and check though, so she casts Geminio* on the text, before putting it back on the shelf and making a hasty retreat.
Not minutes later does Filch pass through with Mrs Norris, but Hermione is long gone.
/-/-|-\-\
It isn't until after classes, (and after watching Harry and Ron remain in close proximity without even a glance in her direction) that Hermione finds the time to curl up with her newest tome to attempt progress once more.
Although she would have preferred the library, she couldn't chance being caught with her less than appropriately obtained tome, and so she found a comfortable spot underneath a tree by the Black Lake.
If she hadn't seen it for herself, and she was certain she had, Hermione might've not believed that Draco Malfoy had been Imperiused. After all, he was behaving like a foul git (which was quite usual in Malfoy terms). But he had been quieter lately, and that supported her theories.
It didn't take long for her to find what she was looking for, and she smirked in satisfaction.
The Imperius Curse is the third and least potent of the three Unforgivable Curses classified so in 1717 with the strictest penalties attached to their use. By the 1990s it was declared that the use of these sinister spells would result in a life sentence in Azkaban unless sufficient evidence is provided that the caster themselves were under the Imperius Curse. Should such a scenario occur, the true caster is responsible for each illegal occurrence occurred. The Unforgivables were permitted to the Aurors during the First Wizarding War.
The Imperius Curse in higher detail is a tool of the Dark Arts that, when casted successfully, places the victim completely under the castor's control, though a person of exceptional strength of will is capable of resisting it (see Harry Potter, Rumors of a Boy Wizard).
Hermione's nose wrinkled at the magically added footnote, skimming on.
The fact that the curse can be defended against makes it unique amongst its brethren along with the fact that it is least potent disregarding the complete lack of free will. Unless incorrectly applied. The Imperius Curse and Cruciatus Curse also cannot force a Secret Keeper to give away secrets they keep. It places its victim in a calm, trance-like state in which all feeling of responsibility and anxiety is banished, and allows a higher magic level to allow the castee to accomplish their goal. Depending on the strength of the curse, some victims cannot remember what they've done under its control while others remember in great detail.
Though created for the coercion and brainwashing of others into slavery, there have been other specific variants created by Pureblooded families for the purposes of properly raising their children.
Hermione groaned. Though she had learned a great deal about a very illegal curse, the last paragraph merely told her that variants did exist, not what they were or how they differed from the already quite potent curse.
It looked like a trip to the Owlery was in her future, though she needed to make another stop to the kitchens first.
* I know this charm is first seen when Hermione uses it on Bellatrix's locket in book 7, but this probably won't be the only spell appearing in advance... Plus, given that Hermione is such an avid note taker and clearly dedicated to her studies (*cough, cough*) I find it reasonable she'd know such a spell... ;) (I try to reason everything I write, so considering how there seems to be no silent alarm [at least not a rapid one] in the Restricted Section, we'll assume the books haven't been charmed to be anti-duplication if they aren't chained or rigged to scream upon touch.) {BTW, Geminio is the doubling charm...}