Chapter Four: One Secret Nook.

Chapter Dedication: Anna Leese.

Disclaimer:© Crimson Velvet. -- J.K. Rowling really owns Harry Potter. I just wanted to make myself seem special, and give myself my rights in owning this fan fiction, because that's what I do.

Author's Note: Wheeeee…. I'm sitting here… blah, blah…XD Hmm…Oh, and I'm pretty positive that Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived after the trio's first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson… but I wanted an excuse of writing something down in the midst of a small Writer's Block. Heh, heh. Hmm, I do want to add that I have a website, too. You can find this on my profile under my homepage. You'll find updates, competitions coming soon, my fan fiction (once more) and plenty of other options. (You can also give me some suggestions of what you'd like to see on the site.)

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"Neville, how are you feeling?"

Hermione asked this after approaching him in the entrance hall. The hourglasses were empty. They usually contained the number of points each House earned throughout the school term, but due to the difficulty of the Triwizard Tournament, and delegations of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang had been inhabiting the Hogwarts castle, this year they weren't bothering with the giving and taking of house points. Hermione originally planned on visiting the library after grabbing herself a quick bite to eat, but the pale expression on Neville's face seemed to have been distracting.

"I'm--I'm fine…" Neville responded, his hands shaking as he held onto an emerald green book with gold lettering. Ever since the Gryffindors had their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson (on a Friday, mind you), Neville had been acting odd since then. Hermione had been the first to notice and wanted to take action into ceasing Moody's control over the spider through pain…honestly, she thought the lesson did give the students a sense of reality, but she didn't approve of the Unforgivable Curses used in the classroom. Especially since they were not approved by the Ministry.

"What happened back there?" Hermione asked in a calm manner, trying not to startle him.

"I just… the spider… I'm hungry," he said all of a sudden.

With that being said, he turned off into the Great Hall, after nodding his dismissal. Hermione had recognized that book. Magical Water Plants of the Mediterranean. She once read it in her second year for some nighttime reading, and figured that Neville would definitely be interested in that. After all, he has an obvious talent in Herbology.

Harry and Ron were off in the Gryffindor common room, and Hermione figured that the two must be playing with Ron's old Wizard Chess set than working on their homework. It was impossible to get the two focused into their studies, but she figured maybe one day her constant nagging would eventually get through to their minds. However, the plus side to the situation gave Hermione every free minute to head to the library. With her new look on House Elves, she wanted to research more on them. (Who knows? She could possibly end up spending a few years with trying to help them.)

It wasn't long after she entered the library, having finished grabbing herself some toast a bit of pumpkin juice, when Madam Pince stopped her. "Would you mind helping me, miss?" she asked in a brisk tone, making her sound older than she appeared. She had a vulture-looking appearance to her that made her seem more alert and watchful. "Can you help that gentleman over in the Potions section, while I keep an eye on those two over here?"

Hermione looked in the direction that the librarian was staring at, and noticed that two Ravenclaws standing in an embrace, making it seem that any moment the two were going to start snogging. She figured it was more of an appropriate action for Madam Pince to watch over the two, while Hermione (who seemed to know exactly what she was doing) handled the task of helping a fellow student.

The Potions aisle always was the worst out of all. It constantly smelled. Hermione recalled once asking Madam Pince if she could stay over Winter Break to clean every single book, but she didn't want Hermione to spend her vacation helping the library. There was no point, seeing that students constantly forgot to notice that they have a book in the presence of a cauldron. They never bother with cleaning the mess. Then again, they had their own essay to finish. This disappointed Hermione, but she figured by signing out each Potion book (one by one, slipping in with a few other books in different parts of the aisle) she would manage to have each book smelling clean at some point.

As soon as Hermione came across the herbs portion of the Potions section, she found herself face to face with a familiar person.

"Ah, Miss Granger!"

Hermione sighed. She glanced around to see if there happened to be anyone else in the Potions section, the portion of which she was to help a gentleman. Then again, barely anyone appeared to be in the library on a Friday evening. Once again, the Gryffindor witch found herself with Cedric Diggory. "Are you the one Madam Pince sent me after?" She found herself speaking before giving much thought into it.

Cedric stared. "Who else would be here at this moment?"

"Well, I usually am." She was going to turn around, but figured Madam Pince would disapprove of Hermione's neglect in helping a student, especially since she rarely got visitors unless it was an emergency or just for meeting up with a friend. Mostly the Ravenclaws occupied the library. Thank goodness Viktor Krum had been in the library, or he would have his fan club following shortly after. "Is there a certain book you're looking for this time?"

"Well--no--"

Hermione turned to leave. Cedric's abrupt words stopped her.

"I'm looking for… a place to read. Somewhere quiet. Any suggestions?"

"Is there a reason why you want to find a new reading spot?" Hermione asked.

"Well, to get away from the distractions… of my friends and… my girlfriend…" Cedric answered, though sounding a bit reluctant. He shifted the book in his hand to the other, which caused Hermione to get a good look at it.

"A Goblin's Golden Fork?"

Cedric gave a nervous laugh. "Oh, ha! Well, yeah… er… just something I found… when I was trying to get Madam Pince's attention, but she was more… attentive on the two Ravenclaws back at the entrance. Did you see them by the way? They looked--"

"--like they were about to… snog, yes…" Hermione answered, rolling her eyes a slight bit. "But that's not important at the moment, and I doubt it would be sometime in the future. I just want to know what that book is about, before I lead you to the spot I have in mind."

Cedric shrugged. "I only just got it, so that Madam Pince wouldn't get suspicious of me just standing there…"

"Do you think I could borrow it one day?"

"It sounds boring, though… the prologue talks about how the book will discuss the autobiography of Giloxi the Goblin, planning to reign the Wizarding World while also carrying the golden fork everywhere… as if he was obsessed about it. You could--you know, contact me sometime and borrow it… I'm actually curious to see what'll happen to the Goblin."

"Just let me know when you've finished with it," Hermione stated, before remaining silent.

"Well, can you lead me there?" Cedric pressed on.

Hermione hesitated. Then again, she wasn't planning on being selfish and keeping a spot to herself. Who knows… she might not have been the first at this special place after all. Hogwarts was, after all, quite an old school.

"Follow me."

It took at most a minute or two to get to a certain section near the back of the library, and off to the side, where they came to a sudden stop. Apparently she made a good decision with showing Cedric her favorite spot. His reaction was not quite like any other reaction she thought of. She figured most would think, 'Oh, yeah… that's--er--quite a spot!' as if they faked the astonishment, but Cedric was different. He looked speechless, but in a good way. All she got out of him was, "Wow." He was taking up the image of such a wonderful place ever existing in the tattered library, as if he loved everything.

Hermione found this moment a little awkward, before adding, "This is… where I like to read." She said this through a small nervous laugh, if ever considered one, her arms crossed in a nervous form.

"When was this here?" Cedric asked as he turned to her, before trailing his eyes back onto the scene. "I never would have known…"

Hermione smiled. "Most wouldn't think that. Who would have known something this wonderful existed in the library… it's like judging a book by its own cover. I'm not a very judgmental person when it comes to something like this." She paused, before continuing. "It took me quite a few days to find this. I managed to come across this once in my first year, as a matter of fact. The second time I tried to look, I couldn't find it… I retraced my steps as much as I could, and suddenly I realized that what I was looking for was near the back of the library, and by the walls."

Hermione sighed in relief. She found this relaxing. For some reason, she felt a little more comfortable around Cedric. He didn't seem like most others, who only used her for cleverness when they needed help on a question. It seemed that he actually noticed her for herself. She had thought this once Cedric turned back around to add something else.

"I never would have come across this…"

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Reviews: (More like my only review, even though I just only posted the third chapter a second ago. Trust me, I will get to the other reviews, I promise!)

Anna Leese: Sorry, it's just… usually I'm somewhat of a perfectionist… I can't stand looking at the pages in Microsoft Word (unless it's for school) where everything isn't symmetrical. I'm weird, I know. I realized that you've managed to review (for the first time) quite quickly after posting my fan fiction, and it amazes me at how some person can just come across a fan fiction at any moment. It's funny how it happens. Strange, but some thought I just came across. Thanks for reviewing! XD Oh, but what if I were to center everything else but the story itself? Can I at least get away with that? XD I hope to see more of you and your reviews.