The sun was starting to stream through the window of the library. It was early in the morning, but Hermione had been unable to sleep. The dark circles under her eyes were a testament to the time she had been researching. Books were piled in stacks around her at the table, forming a barrier between her and the rest of the library.

She had been there since the library opened, the solitary soul haunting the stacks. She was very thankful for the peace and quiet, because it allowed her to speed through the subjects without distraction. She was also thankful for the gift that Harry had given her before she went back to Hogwarts - a pair of enchanted glasses that allowed her to read at double her normal speed. She was flying through the information, pages upon pages that would normally have taken her days in mere hours.

Yet it wasn't enough. No matter how many spells and incantations she had poured over, she was still coming up of it was information she had already learned, and none of it made sense with Malfoy's symptoms. Not to mention Madam Pomfrey had years of experience in jinxes and hexes and she had admitted openly that she had never seen something so diabolical. McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey had both given her permission to go through books from any portion of the library, which was why she had chosen such an early hour to go over books from the restricted section. Yet, even they were turning up no clear answers. It was enough to bring her to frustrated tears. She wanted to slam her books down and give up. She wanted to go lie down and get some proper sleep. But sleep was not in the cards.

Every time she closed her eyes, she could see Malfoy's face contorted in pain. She could see the shadows etched beneath his eyes, much like hers from two days of only capturing an hour or two of sleep at a time. She could see the lines around his mouth, held in an unending grimace of pain. She hadn't heard it, but she imagined the screams agony that Jo had described from her shift in the hospital wing. It kept her moving forward, despite her growing headache.

A flutter of movement caught her attention. Quiet talking buzzed at a nearby table. A few girls, three or four from what Hermione could hear, had come to the library in the early hours of the morning. It was surprising, since the early part of the year rarely had homework that would send someone to the library yet.

"I just need to find the book again. The charm was easy, but I totally forgot it." One of the girls, Hermione recognized her as a Ravenclaw fifth year, said. "Nina hasn't been sleeping well. She keeps having nightmares about her cousin."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure it's been absolutely terrible for her. Colin was such a sweet kid, and his loss was just..." The other voice drifted off sadly.

"Well it doesn't help that Death Eater scum like Malfoy was allowed to come back. She saw him on the train platform and turned absolutely white as a ghost. I thought she was going to puke. I remember she had to go to the Infirmary car during the trip, and she was gone the whole ride." The Ravenclaw said, and her voice began to drift away. They had found whatever they were looking for and were moving away, it seemed.

Hermione couldn't help but eavesdrop, and as they moved away from her she found herself getting up to follow their conversation. She caught sight of the group, peering at them from behind the corner of a bookcase. Two Ravenclaw girls and a Hufflepuff girl. Evelyn, Cara, and Sonya if she remembered correctly. Evelyn had been named a Prefect, though she was often late to meetings.

"-thought Nina would feel better once we ate, or once she rested, but she's been keeping to herself lately. It's been very unlike her. I heard from her every day of the Summer, and now she won't even look at me." Sonya was telling the other girls. Hermione wondered if that made this Nina girl a Hufflepuff.

"That's strange. I really hope this sleeping charm will help her out, honestly. I know I've had enough nightmares to last me a lifetime, I can't imagine how it must be for someone who lost a direct family member." Evelyn sympathized.

"Yeah, it's the worst." Cara chimed in. The other two girls looked at her.

"Oh Cara, we're sorry. You've been so strong about it. We didn't mean to forget..." Sonya hurried.

"It's okay. Ingrid didn't suffer, we think. And at least it wasn't during a battle. The Ministry was sure that they were asleep." Cara said, smiling sadly.

"They were from the country, right? Your mum's relatives?" Evelyn asked, and Cara nodded.

"Yeah, that was my aunt and cousin. They were really awesome...Ingrid really enjoyed stories about magic." Cara sniffed, but Hermione could no longer see her face. "We took flowers over the summer. I told her the story of how Harry Potter won, and how Muggles would be safe from now on..."

Hermione reached up and wiped tears away from her eyes. The conversation had clearly moved past the point of being helpful, but now Hermione was struck with something that reeked of coincidence. Or perhaps, it stunk of providence. Hermione grabbed her bag and her briefly abandoned Speeding Spectacles. She had to get to the Great Hall for breakfast.

The Great Hall was already bustling with activity by the time she came through the doors. She didn't like to spend much time here because it was too filled with memories of loss. Hermione could still see the bodies stretched out across the space where tables were now occupied by chattering students. The numbers were low this year, lower than even the previous year according to Ginny and Neville. Hermione wasn't surprised by this, but it was another reminder of the things that had happened in this very space. Hermione still dreamt of all the faces she saw that day, haunted by the fact that she didn't even know all their names. Colin's death was one that still caused Harry to wake in night sweats, crying silently when he thought everyone else was asleep.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts that were clouding her mission. Nina, a Hufflepuff, would most likely mean Nina Goshawk. At least, she thought that was the name of Colin and Denis' cousin. She didn't remember them being particularly close, but that didn't mean that the loss wasn't likely to shake a family member.

Hermione surveyed the Hufflepuff table. The lot of them were filled with vigor and energy, laughing and carrying on. It was as though they had taken on the task of being joyful in the face of adversity in order to help others heal. It wouldn't surprise her. Yet, it made the glum face of Nina Goshawk stand out starkly in contrast. She sat at the very end of a table, far from her year mates, staring despondently at her uneaten food.

Hermione took her regular seat at the Gryffindor table next to Ginny and Neville. She kept her eyes on Nina, but didn't know how to approach the girl yet. Her suspicion was entirely unfounded, and yet her time with Harry had given her reason enough to trust a strong gut instinct. Something was wrong. A hurt family member, specifically triggered by Malfoy's return, and away from her friends during the train ride to school? Things added up to an answer that caused more questions.

"How would she know such an advanced curse?" Hermione muttered to herself.

Ginny looked over at her, aware that her friend was clearly somewhere else.

"Hermione? Hello? Want to clue anyone in to where your mind is?" Ginny asked, startling Hermione into tipping her mug over.

"Sorry!" She waved her wand quickly to clean the mess, and Ginny giggled nervously. "I've just been busy with a project."

"A project? You look like the cat who got its tail caught in a door. Have you slept at all?" Ginny pressed, getting close to look at Hermione's tired eyes. "And you've not been coming to eat with us at all. I'm even surprised to see you today. I mean, I get it, but you've been avoiding this place. Why come now and just space out?"

"A girl's gotta eat, right?" Hermione replied feebly. Her eye was caught as Nina got up and began to walk morosely from the Great Hall. Someone called after her, but she didn't stop or even look up.

"Ginny...can you come with me?" Hermione asked, standing suddenly. She was struck by the answer immediately. "I need your help. You're the only one who will know!"

Ginny looked confused, but she stood and followed Hermione.

"What's this about Mi?" Ginny asked. Hermione shook her head and indicated that she would tell her after they were out of the hall. Once they cleared the door, Hermione looked around to see if anyone was near. Nina was making her way in the direction of the Hufflepuff dormitory.

"You're the only one who might know if someone's being controlled!" Hermione told her.

Ginny gaped at her. "You can't be serious."

"Deadly serious. I need proof, but I think something very dark is happening." Hermione confided.

Ginny's mouth was set in a small line, but she nodded.

"Then we need to move quickly. Someone's life may depend on it."

Author's Note: Thank you guys for the reviews. They are giving me life, and they are definitely the reason I worked so hard to pump out another chapter so soon. I really wanted to make sure I kept the momentum of the story moving. I will have another one up in a few days (hopefully), and I am excited for where I am planning to go with it. I am also really excited about the slow burn of both the mystery and the eventual romance. Thank you, lovelies. I'll be posting again soon!