We're moving into November, and a time skip will be approaching in the next few chapters. What do you want to see happen for the holidays?

At the end of this chapter, Hermione has a magical item. Any guesses on what that item may be?

November 1, 1992

Hermione slammed a large stack of books down on the library table. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing!" she exclaimed furiously. "You'd think that the greatest magical library in all of Britain would have at least one book about the Chamber of Secrets."

Blaise looked at her pityingly. "Hogwarts, A History?" he suggested.

"The same basic facts," Hermione declared. She shot a look to everyone at her table - Blaise, Daphne, Tracey, Theo, and Draco. "Did anyone find anything?"

"I wrote to Father," Draco offered. "But he just told me to stay out of it."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, you're doing a great job at that." Draco had the grace to look embarrassed.

After Mister Filch's cat ending up petrified on Halloween night, and a cryptic message being written on the stone walls in blood, Hermione had dragged her friends to the library as soon as they were let out of Slytherin house the next day. She had proceeded to cross-reference various words and tear through the entire library, bringing books back to the table for her friends to skim through. No one, however, had found anything relating to the Chamber of Secrets or a monster that could petrify anyone yet. "Okay, let's recap what we know. Tracey, go first."

"Salazar Slytherin, when building Hogwarts, put in a secret chamber," the girl said immediately. "He kept it a secret from the other founders and put in a secret animal to help guard the school when he left. It was supposed to be a last resort."

"Good, next."

"50 years ago," Daphne began, "the Chamber was opened here, at school. Muggleborn students were petrified, and finally, a student died, and another was expelled for opening the chamber. The attacks then stopped."

"And that student was Hagrid," Blaise added. "I checked the yearbooks for anyone who didn't appear the next year," he explained when Hermione looked at him questioningly. "It was either him or some girl named Myrtle Warren, and since we know Hagrid's alive he has to have been the one expelled. And Warren was a muggleborn."

"Okay, we'll look more into Myrtle Warren," Hermione nodded, smiling gratefully at the Italian. "Draco? Did your father say anything helpful?"

"Not a thing," Draco said glumly. "Just told me to stay out of it and not get mixed up in the Heir business."

Hermione gave him a sharp look. "It's November 1st."

"Yes, it is, Hermione," Blaise said patiently.

"No," Hermione said, shaking her head. She pierced the blonde Slytherin with a sharp look, causing him to scoot back in his seat a little. "The attacks happened last night. Dumbledore hasn't told anyone and there wasn't anything in the paper. How would your dad know?"

The Slytherins all looked at each other, their eyes wide. "Dobby!" Theo realized, jumping up with a start. He snapped his fingers, gesturing to Draco. "The plans, he was saying-the plans he talked about!"

Draco's face went pale. "So my father has something to do with this?" he whispered.

"When was your father at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked. She vaguely remembered reading about Lucius Malfoy in the yearbooks last year, but she couldn't remember the year.

"Not fifty years ago," Draco shook his head. "But..my grandfather was. Abraxas Malfoy. Along with Theo's grandfather."

"Thaddeus Nott," Theo confirmed. "They were...friends...in school."

Hermione nodded and changed topics. "What about the monster? Any leads on that?"

"Snake?" Tracey suggested. "Slytherin's monster...snake...Slytherin crest...animal.."

"It makes sense," Hermione shrugged. "But I don't know any snakes that can petrify. Only kill."

"I've never heard of anything like it either," Theo added. And the Nott Library is almost as good as Hogwarts'."

Hermione frowned. "So are there any other animals that can petrify?"

"None that I know of," Theo responded.

"What about something not native to Britain?" Tracey suggested.

"Maybe, but how would it get to Britain?" Hermione countered. She glanced around at her friends. Tracey was half slumped in her chair, fingers drumming against the table. Daphne and Theo were locked in a staring contest, both looking determinedly at the other. Blaise was lounging next to Draco, giving her a charming grin when she turned to him. Draco just looked confused, alternating between looking at her and shooting glances down at the letter in front of him.

"The Patil twins," Blaise said suddenly. "Ravenclaw Patil will be fine with snakes, there are a lot in India."

"We can try," Hermione shrugged.

"I can ask her," Daphne offered. "I've been meaning to visit the Tower anyways."

Hermione nodded firmly. "Okay, Daphne, you ask Padma. I have to talk to Parvati soon, but chances are Padma will know more about Indian snakes that Parvati."

"What do you and the Gryffindork have to discuss?" Draco sneered slightly.

"Not that it's any of your buisness, but we've been discussing the holidays," Hermione said primly. "Plus, when she's not near Brown, Parvati's not bad."

"Way too girly for me," Draco said, making a gagging motion.

Hermione scowled at him. "Well it's a good thing you're not friends with her then." She stood up, followed by Daphne and Tracey. The three girls left the library, Tracey immediately beginning a rant on how sexist the Wizarding World is. Hermione nodded along at the appropriate places, but her mind wandered to the other reason she had to talk to Parvati.

Parvati had promised to tell her when Dean Thomas had finished the crest. It had been a little over a month when Parvati finally approached her, arranging a date and time to meet the dark-skinned Gryffindor. She was very excited to see the completed crest.

Hopefully it would look exactly as she had described, right down to each individual sparkle she had planned out on a piece of parchment. Hermione slipped her hand inside her bag as she walked down the hall, feeling a leathery cover beneath her fingers. Once she had her crest, she could set the rest of her plans in motion. It was only a matter of time.