That night, Chariot lay in her bed and heard the clock in her room tick nearer to midnight. The only sounds in the dormitory room were the slow breathing of her roommates, aggravating girls by the names of Parvati and Lavender.

As she lay on her side, staring out the slightly-cracked window at the moonless night, inspiration dawned in Chariot's mind and she couldn't help but grin into her arm. Risky? Definitely. Fun? Oh, yes.

Harry Potter. Hermione Granger. Ron Weasley. She would get the spellbook from the library and these three, this renowned "trio" of the wizarding world, would help her to get it. Or steal it, more like.

The irony was almost unbearable. Harry Potter would find her the very spell that would destroy him. She cackled aloud, a momentary lapse of control. She would make a plan that very night and it would be fabulous.

It was decided. Tomorrow, her plan would unfold.

In the morning at breakfast, the schedules would be passed out among the marmalade and jams and toast. There would be potions and transfiguration, among them. At the end of the meal, all the students in the Hall would don their black robes and start collecting their books from the tables.

Harry Potter. Chariot sighed and shook her head. Too bad, she mused. He was almost cute--in a helpless way. It really was too bad he was going to die so young.

Ever the snake, Chariot smiled at him. Nervously and obviously off-guard, he smiled back and then quickly looked away.

All alone, Chariot shyly tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and dropped her gaze modestly. Demurely. Ladylike. She needed to be sweet, shy. Under the radar.

If she went unnoticed by all but a few people, escape would be easy. Nobody trusts an overly-confident teenager, Chariot mused. Just look where confidence had gotten Draco Malfoy.

With a flourish, Chariot signed her name on the bottom of the note. The love note. For Draco. Contented, she reread her handiwork.

Dearest Draco,

I can't stop thinking about you. Meet me in the corridor near the library at midnight tomorrow night. I need to talk to you…alone. I have something for you.

With love,

Chariot

Perfect, with a final heart near his name, she pocketed the parchment. Chariot watched with amusement as he stood gravely and swaggered out of the Great Hall. To her surprise, his goons didn't stand with him.

Wait… One… Two… Go. With almost a smile on her lips, Chariot stood and followed. Like with all prey, timing is key. This would be no different. Draco was a mark, a pawn. If all went well, which it would, Chariot would have Draco pinned to the ground before he could protest. Metaphorically, of course.

Wandering out of the Great Hall, Chariot followed the corridor past a row of classrooms as she tailed Draco. Most of the doors were unlocked, and Chariot poked her head in at every opportunity.

She was building her own 3-D map as she went along. To gather the information and resources she would need, Chariot had to know the school first hand. It also didn't hurt to keep a safe distance behind her unknowing guide. He was walking ungainly slow so Chariot knew she had time.

Almost with disgust, Chariot thought of the recklessness Draco was using. He would be a full-fledged Death Eater at this time the next year and yet he seemed not to sense her. Not hear her, nor smell her, nothing. To Chariot and her experience, this greenness of attitude, this carelessness, was intolerable. She could do nothing but shake her head. He would learn to be prudent when the time came, or he would fall.

Empty. Empty. Empty. Broom closet. She shut another door with a satisfying click; satisfying meaning hardly audible to even her trained ears.

In spite of herself, Chariot was almost dismayed. She'd always thought of Hogwarts as a place of amazing learning. Here, the best of the best came to study magic. As she'd never received a formalized magical education, she had always built up the place in her mind to an unachievable height.

Who knew Hogwarts stood empty?

It really was a shame. These classes probably brimmed at one point in time. Chariot supposed that since the rise of Voldemort, school attendance had dropped dramatically. No place was safe anymore. Not even Hogwarts was as safe as Dumbledore liked to think. After all, Voldemort already had his fingers dipped into the school through Chariot and, Chariot guessed, through the children of Death Eaters.

Finally, Draco appeared to stop, entering a classroom and closing the door.

Unfazed, she entered. He his form bent over a table and he froze. Before she'd barged in, he'd apparently been scribbling a note. Chariot smiled through lidded eyes by way of a greeting.

He caught her glance, and looked away, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. "Well, hello to you too." He shoved the parchment into a pocket and crossed his arms over his chest. "What're you doing back here anyway?"

Chariot watched him closely as he carefully avoided her eyes. Playing dumb, she examined her nails. "Just looking around, I guess."

He raised his brow. "Really."

From where she leaned against the door frame, Chariot could see the tension in his body, the way a muscle in his forearm twitched and the way his face strained so as not to convey emotion. Perhaps he was interested after all. Or something interesting was in that note.

Intrigued, Chariot stood and moved closer. When they were no more than a few inches apart, she stared up at him.

Softly, she asked "were you writing about me?"

Draco shook his head. "My, my. Vain, aren't we?"

Chariot appeared bored but her eyes challenged him. "I guess so."

Draco rolled his eyes and smirked. "Merlin. Just admit you followed me here. You want me."

Chariot rested her hands on his chest, tracing a flower on the panel of his robe. They were almost the same height. "Exactly." She leaned in close as if to kiss him, watching his eyes close.

Chariot allowed herself a moment of surprise. Clearly Draco made himself known as a ladies' man. If she didn't know better, she would have thought Draco would be staring right back at her to gauge her reaction to his studliness.

"Goodnight," she said briskly instead, backing out of the room and patting his chest. He stared after her. With a laugh in her voice, she walked back down the corridor where the feast was ending. "Sleep tight."

As she moved to the Great Hall, Chariot almost laughed. She enjoyed this way too much. From down the corridor she could hear Draco swear audibly.

Draco needed to learn about pockets, obviously. Never put anything anywhere you can't feel if it's being stolen. She pulled the parchment he'd been scratching at from her sleeve and slipped it into her own pocket.

She smiled and ruffled her hair. The switch had gone like clockwork. Next, Harry and his pathetic friends. It would be fabulous.

Hello all. Sorry about the enormous break in between these chappies. With all my semester finals and new classes, I've been uber-busy. Find out what fab-ness will surface. Getting to work on it now. Also, I would love to see some reviews for this story in my mailbox pretty soon, so get crackin! lol... kidding. Happy Thursday, hippy