Disclaimer: Sadly, Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling not me.
A/N: I assume they mark editions of books here like they do in the United States.
Harry awoke first and noticed the bright light coming in the window. It had been dimmer earlier when he and Hermione had first come in the classroom. Glancing at the old watch on his wrist, he saw that a few hours had elapsed. He then turned to focus on how they were positioned on the couch. During their nap, Harry had shifted so that Hermione was lying on his chest with her legs curled up behind her.
She looked so peaceful that Harry couldn't bring himself to wake her up. Besides, the warmth was nice, and he really didn't want to move anyway. Rather than falling back asleep, Harry rubbed Hermione's back and thought back on the morning and the past few days. His mind was focused in particular on the sleeping girl in his arms.
They had been through so much together, even though they had only known each other for just over two years. Ron had been there too, but Hermione more so. She was always loyal, even if they were fighting. Harry knew he could always count on her, despite what may be going on. He started thinking about all her other traits. She was caring, generous, smart, a good friend, sweet but sassy, and… beautiful.
Backtracking for a moment, Harry dwelled on that last thought. He had never really thought about how Hermione looked. Before, he had considered her to be cute. Maybe not as pretty as Lavender or Parvati, but she was always cute. Now, he was starting to realize that she was growing up. With her body right on top of his, Harry could feel the curves starting to form.
The beginnings of her stirring awake stopped that line of thought. Her eyes opened, and she smiled at the sight of Harry. "That was nice. How long have I been asleep?"
"Just a couple hours. Lunch will be starting soon," Harry responded with a smile playing around his lips.
Hermione yawned. "I'm hungry, but I don't really want to get up." His heart rate accelerated as Hermione hugged him closer. Suddenly, a table full of food appeared before them. Harry started, causing Hermione to gape at him.
"The table!" he exclaimed, pointing at the small table situated in front of them.
"Where did that come from?" she asked. Even with the dregs of sleep still on her, Hermione's analytical side was working.
"I don't know. It kinda just appeared." Harry was confused. He'd seen a lot of things at Hogwarts but never anything like this.
"I don't remember there being a room here. There's a tapestry just up the hall, and this is supposed to be a blank wall." Hermione got up and lightly touched the wall next to the door to see if it was real. "I never read about this room in Hogwarts, A History," Hermione commented. Her expression was contemplative.
As if answering her wish, a heavy, leather-bound copy of Hogwarts, A History showed up on the table with the food. "I think I'm starting to figure this room out," she said as she reached for the book. "This isn't an edition I've seen before. I don't remember an edition printed in 1978," Hermione commented after studying one of the first few pages. She started flipping through this book like she knew it well, which, Harry realized, she probably did. "Here's a section that isn't in the newer editions. Something called the Room of Requirement."
"What is that? I've never heard of it before."
"Neither had I. It says here that this room only appears when you're in great need of something, and it will give you whatever you require. However, this book also says it is merely a legend," Hermione paraphrased while peering at the tiny print.
"That sounds like this room, sort of. Minus the legend part, of course," Harry mused out loud. He started examining the room more closely. "What else does it say?"
Hermione glanced up at him. "That's it. The section is really small, and it doesn't say much else. All I know is that this section is not in any subsequent editions. I also don't think it's in any of the older ones either."
"What does that mean then? Why would this room supply us with a copy of a book that doesn't exist? It doesn't make sense." Both teens kept turning those questions over in their minds.
Hermione closed the book after a long pause. "Maybe we should give this to Professor Dumbledore. He might know a little more about it."
She started to stand up, but Harry held her back. "Probably, but you need to eat first," he answered to the questioning look in her eyes.
Her protests began but were cut off by a loud rumbling coming from her stomach. Harry just stared at her, and she glared back a little. "Fine," she said, finally caving in. "Let's be fast though. Something tells me we shouldn't wait too long with this."
They ate in record time and hurried over to Dumbledore's office. Getting past the statue guarding it was a little bit more of a problem. "Lemon drop?" Harry said, trying the previous year's password. "Drooble's, Sugar Quills, Blood Pops?" He tried a few more but to no avail. The stupid gargoyle refused to let them past. Hermione couldn't successfully guess the password either.
"You should try Fizzing Whizbees," rang out a clear and distinct voice from behind. This time, the gargoyle jumped aside to admit the Headmaster. "Hello, Harry and Hermione. I suppose you need to speak with me?"
"Yes, Professor, we do. Could we please discuss it in your office?" Hermione asked politely. Being that calm rook a lot of effort. Harry knew how much she wanted to talk about this discovery and what it could mean. She was practically bouncing from excitement.
"That would require you to come up the staircase, which I rather think my gargoyle would be disposed towards," responded Professor Dumbledore. He ascended the staircase, and Harry and Hermione wasted no time in following. Once they were all comfortably seated around the Headmaster's desk, he inquired as to the nature of their visit.
Hermione handed him the copy of Hogwarts, A History in her hands. "This, sir. We found it in a room that isn't supposed to exist."
He examined the outside of the book carefully. "Would you be referring to the Room of Requirement?"
Harry and Hermione looked at each other with similar expressions of astonishment. Having found his voice first, Harry choked out, "Y-you know about it?"
The elderly professor smiled over at them. "Why yes, Harry. There isn't much about this castle I don't know. What does the book have to do with it?"
"Professor, look at the publication date. There wasn't an edition printed that year," Hermione explained quickly. Harry suppressed a smirk as he glanced at his baffled friend.
Dumbledore looked at the publication page. "Yes, my dear. There was."
"What? I've never seen this date in any of the newer editions." Harry could sense Hermione's growing agitation. "All the other dates are always mentioned. Why not this one?" Harry laid a gentle hand on Hermione's arm, and this seemed to calm her a bit.
"It isn't mentioned, because this edition wasn't mass produced. A few copies were published, and then Ms. Bagshot decided not to release it to the public."
Harry was now a little more interested in the discussion. "Why would she do that?" he inquired.
"She claimed that it needed some editing. It was really rather sudden. Before then, Matilda had been excited about a few new sections. She gave me one of these advance copies," he explained after setting the book aside.
"One of those sections must have been on the Room of Requirement. It's only included in this edition. But why would she decide to leave it out?" Hermione mused aloud.
"Hermione's right. That doesn't make any sense. A small section on a legendary room wouldn't harm anything," Harry concurred.
"I've often wondered the same thing. I even asked Matilda about it once. Would you care to see the memory?"
Harry became even more confused at that statement. "Hold on. How can you show us your memory?"
Dumbledore walked over to a door and beckoned Harry and Hermione over. He opened the cabinet to reveal a stone basin filled with a silvery liquid. "This is called a pensieve. People use these to revisit memories or to clear their heads as I so often need to do."
Hermione, ever curious, asked, "How exactly does it work? I've read about them, but the books never go into great detail."
"It's simple. You have to focus on the memory you want, and," he put his wand to his temple and began to pull a string of the same silvery substance out, "then you just remove the memory and add it to the pensieve." Dumbledore lowered the strand into the mass and a picture began to form on the surface.
"What do we have to do to watch it?" Harry noticed the picture was moving and a little sound was coming from it.
"Just touch the surface of the liquid. You'll be transported into the memory itself. All we can do is watch though. The people in the memory will not be able to see or hear us."
"Okay then." Harry drew a deep breath as he unconsciously reached for Hermione's hand. With the hands that weren't clasped together, Harry and Hermione hesitantly touched the gleaming substance. Instantly, they felt themselves fall headlong into the basin. They found that they were standing with Dumbledore in a living room watching a woman and a younger version of their headmaster converse. The pair was drinking tea, and the far windows showed a bright, midafternoon sky.
"Matilda, thank you for that new copy of Hogwarts, A History. When will it be released to the public? I know a few of my students are impatient for those new sections you have talked about," Dumbledore asked calmly. Harry noticed that this twenty-year younger Dumbledore didn't look that much different from the Dumbledore standing beside him. Ms. Bagshot didn't appear to be much younger. Her long, curly hair was almost entirely gray, and there were wrinkles around her eyes and mouth.
A dark expression came over her face at the mention of the book, but it passed quickly. "Yes, I thought you would like it. However, I'm not publishing it. There are a few more revisions I need to make," Ms. Bagshot replied. Her voice quivered a little, but memory Dumbledore didn't seem to notice.
"I'm sorry to hear that. What kinds of revisions are you planning on making?" He sipped his tea, while hers sat shaking in her hand.
"That new research on the founders has to be incorporated. There are also a few older sections I'm thinking about removing. I would also like to do more studying into some of the legends surrounding Hogwarts," she said while attempting to steady her shaking. There was still a hint of anxiety in her voice.
"If you ever need help, you know that the castle is always open to you," Dumbledore offered before finishing the last of his tea. Thank you for the tea, Matilda. It's always a pleasure."
The real Dumbledore finally spoke, "That's all there is to that memory. Let us get back now." He took a sleeve of Harry's robes, and they all were pulled up and out of the pensieve. Dumbledore closed the cabinet, and the three of them sat back down around the large and ornate desk. "So, did either of you notice anything unusual about that?"
Truthfully, Harry thought the whole experience was strange, but that wasn't what he commented about. "Ms. Bagshot seemed a bit out of sorts. It was almost as though she was frightened of something."
Hermione agreed. "She was acting nervously, and she couldn't stop trembling."
"That's precisely what I've always thought. Unfortunately, I never could find out what caused her behavior. My only conclusion was that it had something to do with this book, and most likely that section."
"It seems like such a benign section though. What would cause her to remove it?" Hermione wondered. She was frowning, and Harry could see her working through the possibilities in her mind.
"Could it have something to do with Voldemort?" Harry asked after a moment of thought.
The headmaster's eyes twinkled over the rims of his half-moon spectacles. "That is the only logical reason. During this time, Voldemort was really coming to power. He was recruiting Death Eaters, and everyone lived in fear."
Harry had never heard that term before. "What is a Death Eater?"
Hermione answered before Dumbledore could, "Death Eaters were Voldemort's followers. Lot of people joined Voldemort about the time of the memory. Did Voldemort ever come after Ms. Bagshot?"
"Not that we know of. She never reported anything, and she's still alive. I don't even know of her being under any spells."
"Could you talk to her about it now? It's been almost twenty years," Harry suggested.
Dumbledore shifted to sitting back in his chair. "I've tried, but she won't admit to anything. Her fear is still very real."
"Then the real question now is, why would Voldemort try to hide the existence of the Room of Requirement?" Hermione added since they didn't have a way to glean the truth from Ms. Bagshot.
"That is something we must endeavor to discover. I am assuming you will want a certain Mr. Weasley to be included?"
Until that moment, both Harry and Hermione had forgotten all about their ginger-haired best friend. The two teens colored slightly and replied, "Of course," very solemnly.
"With that settled, I expect you both need to be off to fill in Ronald and do some homework." Harry and Hermione nodded and showed themselves out the door leaving the leather-bound book on the professor's desk.
They were still walking hand-in-hand as they strolled back to Gryffindor Tower, lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Harry said one of the questions floating around in his head aloud, "Do you think this has anything to do with me defeating Voldemort?"
Hermione was silent for another moment. "I'm not sure, but it probably does. Voldemort most likely took a lot of painstaking steps to hide his weaknesses. I just don't what that means together with the room."
"I don't know either. I'm trying to figure it out, but it feels like we're missing a piece of this puzzle." Hermione agreed with a nod of her head. "Anyway, I figured out a good way to put that room to use," Harry began after a minute or so of quiet.
"How, Harry?" She looked at him with a perplexed look on her face.
"You can sleep in there, Hermione! You can get extra sleep by having the room provide you with a bed, or you can study in there without anyone interrupting."
Hermione now had a smile occupying her face. "Wow, I never thought of that! Thank you, Harry! You're brilliant!" she exclaimed, and then she threw her arms around him in a big hug.
"What's with you guys and all the hugs?" Ron asked as he walked up to them. He had just been about to go into the portrait hole when he saw Harry and Hermione coming up the hall holding hands. Luckily for them, he didn't ask about that.
Hastily, and with red faces, Harry and Hermione pulled apart and faced Ron. "Oh, that was nothing. Harry just had a really good idea about something," Hermione explained in a surprisingly even tone considering how fast her heart was beating. She felt giddy though she wasn't sure why.
"What about?" Ron just looked at his blushing best friends wondering what was wrong with them.
"We have to show you something and then we'll explain everything," Harry said excitedly, all but forgetting what had just occurred. They dragged Ron off to the tapestry and into their secret room.
Ron stood agape looking at the disappearing door and into the spacious lounge in front of him. "What is this place?" His voice was teeming with awe.
"This is called the Room of Requirement. Just think of a need, and it will provide it. Of course, you do have to walk in front of the wall three times for it to appear," Hermione explained in what Harry thought of as her teacher voice.
"How did you guys find it?" Ron asked as he plopped down in a squashy armchair close to the fire.
Harry and Hermione took the couch across from him. "We were on our way back from the library and found it."
Ron cut in, "I wondered where you guys were. I came down, and no one had seen either of you." He had a few ideas about what they had been doing, but none of them were very correct.
"Yes, but that isn't the most important part. We found a book in here," Hermione began.
"Hermione, I know you love books, but I don't see," Ron interrupted her only to be interrupted himself.
"Wait, Ron. This book has to do with Voldemort," Harry cut in.
Ron blanched at the sound of his name. His voice was shaky when he spoke, "D-don't say that name."
Hermione lost all that was left of her patience. "Ron! Why are you so afraid of a name? That's quite ridiculous when you consider it." Her tone was sharp, and she noticed that Ron's ears were now red. "I'm sorry, Ron, but it is only a name. If he called himself Lord Flubberworm, would you still be afraid?"
Harry started to laugh, and soon the whole trio was laughing hysterically. "I guess not. I'll try to get over it, but this book thing doesn't sound good. Remember what happened last time we came across one of his books?" Ron reminded them of the events earlier that year.
"It's not the same this time. Professor Dumbledore has the book now. We were just coming back from his office when we met you," Hermione explained trying to pacify him.
"What kind of book is it?"
"Don't laugh, Ron. It's a copy of Hogwarts, A History," she began before she was cut off by a snort from Ron.
"You would get excited over that book."
"Ron, this book was different. It wasn't supposed to exist, because Voldemort stopped it from being published," Harry cut him off in defense of Hermione.
All amusement melted from Ron's face in an instant. "Why? Why is that book so important?" Ron now looked confused and sullen at the same time.
"We're not sure, but we think it's because of this room. Voldemort wanted to hide something, because he didn't want people to know that this room even existed," Hermione explained quickly.
"Now we have to figure out why. Dumbledore thinks that it might be the key to defeating Voldemort," Harry added. He was really proud of Ron, because he only flinched slightly at the mention of the dark lord's name.
"Maybe he didn't want anyone to know about it, because he hid something in it," Ron suggested.
"Of course! Students have probably hidden loads of stuff in here. They just ran past thinking, 'I need to hide something', and this room provided a storage space. We should try it." Hermione headed to the door with Harry and Ron in tow.
Harry got to the door first. "Wait, Hermione. We have to make sure no one's out there when we go out. I'd hate for Malfoy or Snape to find out about this place."
Hermione had halted when Harry began to speak, and now she was slightly red. "You're right. I didn't think about that."
Magically, a periscope-like thing appeared next to Ron. He checked the corridor while Harry gave Hermione an apologetic look that she accepted. "It's all clear," Ron said, and Harry let Hermione out in the hall before him. Soon, the three teens were staring at a blank wall. "So all we need to do now is walk in front of here three times?"
"Yes. Just think about finding a place to hide something," Hermione coached resolutely. Her face was a mask of deep concentration.
Ron and Harry followed her to the end of the hall, and they stalked to the other end of the hall. All of their thoughts were on hiding something. They were so focused that they didn't notice a figure down the hall accompanied by a familiar cat. "Hey! What are you three doin'?" shouted Filch from beside the tapestry.
Harry recovered the quickest. "N-nothing. We were on our way back to our tower," he stammered out.
Filch wasn't convinced. "Aren't you goin' to dinner?" He looked like he felt like punishing them, but he always kind of looked that way.
"We are, but I forgot my bookbag in my dormitory," Hermione lied. She wasn't that much more believable than Harry.
"Why are they," he gestured to Harry and Ron, " with ya then?"
Ron jumped in at this point, "We were walking to dinner together, and when she said she forgot something, we just decided to go with her." Ron's falsehood was convincing, but Filch reamed them for a few minutes more. Finally, he let them go to their tower.
Defeated, Harry, Hermione, and Ron walked slowly to the portrait of the Fat Lady. They all thought about sneaking back, but Filch would undoubtedly have Mrs. Norris watching that corridor. "You should probably get your bag. Filch may be watching," Harry suggested once they were at the portrait hole.
"Yeah. I'll be right back," and she disappeared into Gryffindor Tower.
Ron looked at Harry as the portrait swung closed. "Harry, what's going on between you and Hermione?"
Harry felt his face burn. "What? Why do you ask?"
"Well, you guys were gone for a long time this morning, and you both have been acting oddly lately."
"No, there isn't. This morning we found the room and talked to Dumbledore," Harry recounted, leaving out the part about their nap.
The expression on Ron's face was unreadable. "Oh, okay then. I was just wondering…" he trailed off. They lapsed into an awkward silence that was only made worse by the arrival of Hermione with her bag. The best friends walked in silence; their minds all set on different things. Harry was thinking about his best friend of the fairer sex and about Ron's suspicions. Hermione was trying to figure out what Voldemort was hiding in the Room of Requirement. Ron was adding dates in his head and thinking of other people in the school.
Dinner was more of the same. Harry kept dwelling on Hermione and how she had been acting toward himself. Ever since he had fallen off his broomstick, Hermione had been hanging around him even more than usual. They had always hugged each other, but never this much. And what about the holding hands thing? Harry remembered reaching for her hand, and she took it with great relief.
Then he focused on the episode in the Room of Requirement that morning. Hermione had shown him her vulnerable side. Rarely did Hermione let anyone see her cry, least of all Harry and Ron. They ended up sleeping together on the same couch. Even then, Harry could vividly remember the feeling of Hermione's warm body on his chest. He was still stunned to find that he now found her to be beautiful. Harry looked up at Hermione who was still lost in thought and was struck by how pretty she was.
He chanced a glance at Ron as well. He seemed equally preoccupied with his thoughts. Harry only hoped that Ron wasn't also thinking of their last conversation. That had been really strange, and Harry was surprised that Ron had noticed everything as well. Ron wasn't known for his observation skills, so if it was obvious to him, then who else saw it?
Harry nearly missed the end of dinner, but Hermione brought him back from his reverie. "Harry, let's go," she said with her hand on his arm. He took her hand, and as he got up, he noticed the teachers down the hall. Struck with an idea, he searched the table over the heads of the passing students. "Harry, who are you looking for?" Hermione asked just as Harry spotted Professor Lupin in the sea of black cloaks.
"I'll meet you guys back in the Common Room." Harry didn't look back, and a bewildered Ron and Hermione disappeared in the crowd. Professor Lupin was waiting for Harry at the front of the hall. Once most people had left to go to their Common Rooms, Harry was able to find his way to the professor.
"I suppose you want to talk about what happened at the Quidditch match?"
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this plot twist not in the original. I've decided to start my Voldemort stuff earlier, because it was put off for several chapters before. Much thanks for your patience. Happy readings!
