Amycus Carrow rose early on the first day of December. Dressing himself quickly, he glanced out the window of his quarters. Snow was falling steadily as the first traces of dawn showed. He grabbed the green cloak he had found in the charms classroom last night, and quickly made his way out into the corridor.
His feet echoed throughout the castle as he reached the grand staircases. Amycus saw the first traces of another person on the third floor staircase. A young, sleepy looking Hufflepuff girl was making her way down to breakfast.
"Name?" He called out to her sneering.
The girl who had not previously seen him now jumped in surprised, her eyes darting back and forth in fear.
"Christina, sir. Christina Fledgewood."
He barely heard her above the sound of the stairs shifting. She was clearly terrified, but Amycus recognized the pureblood last name and with a wave of his hand he dismissed her. He would still have to look into the Fledgewood's and check that they had a daughter in school. But there was not time for that now.
Amycus smiled to himself as he finally reached the dungeon floor, he loved every moment of his new job. The Dark Lord assigned him to Hogwarts to teach, and act as purifier to the school. Any mudbloods were to be sent home, or at least to what would be left of their home when they got there.
Amycus stopped in front of the Slytherin dungeon door and muttered the password, waiting patiently for the stones to pull back and let him inside. There were only a few students in the common room already; a pudgy brunette looked up from her Prophet to give him a nod.
"Excuse me." Amycus said moving over to her. "Is Daphne Greengrass up yet? I need to speak with her."
"Yes sir. She's in the dormitory. I can get her if you'd like." The girl looked uncertain now. "She's not in trouble is she? You must know the Greengrass family is pure."
"Of course. She's a Slytherin after all. I just need to speak with her. If you'd fetch her for me." Amycus glanced around as he watched the girl disappear into the girls dormitory. It had been years since he'd been a student here. His memory guided him right to his favorite study chair across the room and he let his hand reach down and touch it for a moment.
"You wanted to see me sir?"
Amycus turned to see Daphne, a seventh year Slytherin. Very pretty. Very blonde. Not what he was expecting.
"Hello. Please sit down." Amycus waved her over to two chairs sitting across from each other in a private area of the common room.
"What can I do for you?" Daphne asked, uneasily as she sat across from him.
"I wanted to return your cloak to you. You left it in the charms classroom last night I believe?" Amycus pulled the folded cloak from his pocket.
"Oh yes. Thank you." Daphne said reaching for it, emotionless.
She seemed to have no qualms about Amycus knowing she was in the charms classroom last night which he found very curious.
"You don't mind me asking where you got it from, do you? It's lovely." Amycus leaned forward in the chair to get a better glimpse of her face.
"Oh, I um. I'm not sure. I can't quite….remember." Daphne seemed troubled by this, and lifted her hand through her hair agitated. "I'm sorry Sir. I'm not sure. But it's possible it was a gift from my parents."
"Interesting. Thank you Daphne. That is all." Amycus rose just as several more students piled into the common room, ready to head up to the great hall for breakfast.
He exited the dungeon before they caught up to him.
So Daphne was a blonde. That was interesting. Then why did the coat have remnants of a brunette on it?
Amycus pondered that the girl's memory had obviously been messed with. This led to the possibility that the Malfoy boy's memory had too. Draco was positive that Daphne was in the room with him. Someone must have imperiused him, or obliviated what Draco really saw just before he arrived.
It was either that or there was the possibility that Draco Malfoy was a traitor.
He needed to get to work. Severus would be arriving today to take the post of Headmaster, there were things that needed to be done.
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Draco slipped breakfast into their rooms early that morning. He kissed Hermione on the forehead before heading to class. Hermione envied him. She missed learning more than anything else at Hogwarts. Although N.E.W.T.S seemed like a different world now, she still regretted that she wouldn't be able to take them this year.
She sat on the floor with Harry and Ron eating bacon and eggs as they came up with new ideas about hiding places for the diadem. She and Draco filled them in the second they got in last night.
"It could be anywhere." Ron said through a mouthful of toast. "I mean worst case scenario is its hidden back in the Chamber of Secrets."
"Or the Slytherin common room. I don't fancy taking polyjuice again to get in there." Harry said shuddering.
Hermione pondered all the places the diadem could be as she sipped from her tea.
"I doubt it's in the chamber we've already looked there. You both got the basilisk fangs from there so we could destroy the goblet and nothing seemed like dark magic in there at the time."
The other two nodded in agreement as Hermione cleared their now empty plates away and made another cup of tea for herself. December was bringing in a chill they didn't expect to find in the room of requirement. Hermione could imagine the sky churning today, as if a big storm was brewing.
"If I had something to hide, I'd put it at the bottom of the lake. Let the giant squid eat it. I'd like to see someone find its way in there and drag it out." Ron joked.
"I'd hide it in the forbidden forest. Bury it in the dirt somewhere." Hermione pondered.
"It's not glamorous enough for someone like Tom Riddle. He was all about what meaning Hogwarts held. He wouldn't just let some creature eat a piece of his soul, or bury it in some dirt. He'd hide it somewhere perfect." Harry thought deeply.
"Maybe he hid it here." Hermione said quietly.
"In the room of requirement?" Ron asked incredulously. "Oh that's just great. He probably asked the room to keep it in a place where only he could find it."
"Yeah you're probably right." Harry said. "And besides how many people know about this room anyway?"
"The Grey Lady did tell us that she found Riddle on the seventh floor here after he had hidden it. Maybe it is in the room. He did know a lot about Hogwarts, it wouldn't be surprising if he had found the room." Hermione said thinking hard.
"Well it wouldn't be that hard to hide something in the room. It's hidden things for me before." Harry said.
"It has?" Ron asked.
"Sure, the half blood prince's book. When Snape saw the book in my mind I had to hide it from him, so I asked the room for a place to hide my book." Harry explained. "The room opened up for me and it was just a huge space filled with junk. I threw it in a cabinet. Come to think of it, it was the vanishing cabinet, the one Draco used to bring death eaters in here last year."
Hermione's face flushed, embarrassed of Draco's past actions.
"We need to ask him." She said quietly. "If Draco asked the room to hide something just as you did then it's very possible the diadem is in that room full of junk."
"Then we need to move out of here." Harry said seriously. "We can't be in the room and ask it to change. That can only happen from the outside."
"I'll go find him and tell him." Hermione said looking at her watch. "He's only a few corridors down from here now. Should be just getting out of transfiguration."
After a lot of arguing from the boys and protests from Hermione, they finally let her go alone with the cloak. It made the most sense. She'd be the smallest and therefore easiest person to navigate under the invisibility cloak. She also knew how to get Draco's attention best without being seen because unlike the other two boys it didn't bother her to get close to Draco.
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Fifteen minutes later Hermione was sneaking down the empty corridors. She made it safely to the classroom, and according to her watch with three minutes to spare before the class change. It would be the easiest time to find Draco, but also very dangerous with the Carrows, and other professors monitoring the corridors. Not to mention the invisible Hermione having to dip and turn to avoid students.
She waited next to a window that overlooked the lake. Maybe the diadem was in the there somewhere. What a frightening prospect. She couldn't imagine trying to stay hidden while scouring around the lake trying to find a horcrux.
The sun was trying to peak out under storm clouds, and the snow was still falling gently on the grounds. Hermione loved December at Hogwarts. The castle always seemed a safe haven from the cold, and if everything was still going to Hogwarts schedule then Hagrid should be putting up the Christmas decorations sometime today.
Hermione was bolted out of her trance by Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout whispering together as they walked down the corridor in front of her.
"…what I heard. I could be wrong." Professor Sprout spoke quietly as the two walked past Hermione.
"Does this mean Minerva will no longer be Headmistress?"
"I assume so. All must be lost at the ministry if they're letting Snape take over as headmaster." Flitwick said as the two pasted out of earshot.
That can't be! Hermione thought to herself. Snape was Headmaster? The idea was frightening. If they were going to attempt to retrieve the diadem they'd have to do it soon. Maybe even tonight. Hogwarts was becoming less safe every day.
She heard the bell ring over head and Hermione shoved herself up against the wall to let students pass as they flung out into the corridors. Draco was one of the last out of the classroom, Pansy Parkinson trailing behind him.
"Aw c'mon Drakey. It'll be fun. It's only a small party, you never leave your head dormitories anymore."
"I have no desire to go Pansy. Sorry." Draco said, not sounding sorry at all.
Hermione waited until he walked right in front of her before she made her hands into claws and scrapped her nails down the left side of his back.
Draco stopped suddenly only a few feet in front of her.
"What is it?" Pansy asked concerned.
"Nothing, left my book in the room. Go ahead. I'll meet you in potions."
"Fine." Pansy said annoyed. "Just think about the party at least. It'll be fun. They aren't the same without you anymore."
"I'll think about it," Draco said, and turned to go back to the classroom. Just before he reached the door Pansy turned out of sight and so he turned back to the spot where he felt Hermione last. She guided him invisibility to lean against the wall beside her.
"I thought you'd know that was me." She whispered softly facing him.
Draco smirked looking out ahead as the students passed in front of them. Hermione smiled, knowing he heard her.
"I just heard Snape is going to be Headmaster today. Watch out for that." She said softly.
Draco was about to speak but Hermione put her invisible hand over his mouth.
"Listen we have this theory. Don't say anything it's just too suspicious. But we have this theory that the diadem is hidden in the room of requirement." Hermione watched Draco's eyebrows lift interestingly. Zabini walked past them then.
"How's it going Draco?" He asked when he was in ear shot.
"Dismal as always. You?" Draco asked bored. Hermione could tell by his hand left fingers moving back and forth that he was agitated though.
"Ha, not bad. See you potions?"
"Yeah, I'll be there."
Zabini continued down the corridor.
"Anyway," Hermione continued. "We need to get out of the room to access a place he may have hidden it in there. It could be anywhere. He could have asked for the room to provide a bathroom then left it the sink there. No one knows. But we have this idea that maybe he hid it in the same place you hid the vanishing cabinet last year."
Draco made a 'hm'ing noise.
"Harry hid a book in the same room last year. We think it's the default room anytime someone asks the room to hide something. I need to know what you asked the room and if it's the same thing Harry asked it."
Draco faked a yawn to cover his mouth while he spoke.
"I told the room I wanted to find where the cabinet was that Montague vanished into, and that I wanted privacy. That's all."
"Good to know. Harry asked for privacy, a place where no one would find the book, and it gave you both the same room. That means if he needed the diadem to be hidden in there the room would open to the same place!"
Draco slowly smiled.
"Anyway you have to go to potions. And don't even think about going to the party tonight. We have to move out of the room tonight so stop by after dinner."
Draco nodded once, and then quickly turned to go back. Before he disappeared out of sight he turned back to look at where she was hiding on the wall once more.
Hermione watched him go out of sight. Only two students were left in the hall. She waited a few more minutes for them to leave so should could escape unnoticed. When she was sure she was alone she turned to go back to the room and collided with someone hard.
"What the-?" Amycus Carrow stood face to face with Hermione, her invisibility cloak falling off of her.
"Well. Hello there. I knew you couldn't have gotten far." Amycus grabbed Hermione's arm painfully as he silenced her scream with a flash of his wand.
"If you're here, Potter can't be far then can he? And you serve as great bait to lure him out of hiding." He smiled evilly, and Hermione watched in horror as he lifted up his left arm sleeve and summoned the Dark Lord.
A/N: Please Review