The summer term started flat out, with every lesson packed from start to finish. Unfortunately, having homework on top of it all was never even a question. Hermione started to wonder what O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. years would look like if they were already being pushed this hard in fourth year. It was no wonder Cho never seemed to be available, and the library always held a handful of fifth and seventh years, no matter the day or time. Harry probably wasn't worrying much about Cho's schedule any more, though. As far as Hermione knew, they still weren't speaking.
Whatever had happened between Malfoy and Pansy on the last day of Easter break, Pansy was no longer trying to flaunt her relationship with Malfoy all over the school. Hermione suspected that Malfoy had put his foot down on that, at least. She was privately grateful; not having to see it constantly made it a little easier to bear. For her own purposes, of course. Not because she cared if Malfoy wanted to snog someone like Pansy Parkinson.
Hermione, Harry, and Ron found Crouch on the Marauder's Map again the very first day summer term began. He was back hiding out in Moody's office, or sometimes even the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom when they checked between classes. Was he using Polyjuice to masquerade as a student?
Surely not. Mr. Crouch seemed very by-the-book, and that was almost certainly prohibited, if not outright illegal. Oddly, they checked once just at the very end of the lunch period, and Crouch was out with Karkaroff on the Durmstrang ship. Perhaps he suspected Karkaroff. Either way, it was beginning to look as if they'd need to arrange to run into him at night.
Theo seemed rather subdued after returning from the holiday break. Hermione tried gently prying one afternoon in Ancient Runes, but he shut her down quickly, insisting that everything was fine. She didn't press him further, but hoped that he would talk to Malfoy, or even Zabini, about whatever was going on. The only other time she'd seen him so troubled was when the subject of his father came up.
In Potions, Ron and Pansy's bickering escalated to the point of being disruptive to the entire class, earning Ron another evening spent with Snape and a barrel full of flobberworms. Harry suggested out loud that maybe Ron and Pansy needed to be separated (and cheekily added where Ron might sit instead), losing a few House Points and almost landing himself a date with Snape, too.
By their next Potions class, Ron had a new tactic for dealing with Pansy that worked quite beautifully, in that it kept him out of trouble and only infuriated Pansy further; he began ignoring her as thoroughly as if she didn't exist. Pansy grew so enraged that Snape actually had to take House Points from Slytherin for the first time in memory, gritting his teeth the whole while. Pansy looked floored, her mouth hanging open and, for once, silent. It was only five points, but still.
Hermione exchanged a brief look of disbelief with Malfoy. When she looked over at Harry next, he was watching her with a most curious expression. She gave him a questioning look, but he shook his head and went back to chopping his ingredients.
Hermione turned back to her own potion, stirring a few times, only to notice out of the corner of her eye that Goyle was about to add tincture of death cap instead of dandelion root into his cauldron. Their cauldrons were currently bubbling away at a degree well over boiling point, and that was liable to cause disaster. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed his wrist to stop him pouring.
Goyle stilled, his hand suspended over his potion, blinking at her in bewilderment. Malfoy and Crabbe froze, too, watching in astonishment.
"You'll want the dandelion root tincture," Hermione explained, letting go of his wrist.
He didn't move, still looking at her with a blank expression.
"Right there," she tried again, pointing to the vial.
Slowly, Goyle set the vial of death cap down and picked up the one she had indicated, scratching his head. He brought the vial close up to his face, squinting at the label. He grunted once and added it to the contents of his cauldron. Hermione supposed that was all the thanks she'd get.
Crabbe scoffed and eyed her with disgust.
"Better wash your hand now, Greg," he taunted just loudly enough for her to hear. "It's filthy now, innit? Just like her."
Goyle chortled quietly and looked to Malfoy for a response, but went back to stirring his potion after seeing that Malfoy had yet to acknowledge him or Crabbe. Malfoy was still watching her with an unreadable expression. Crabbe frowned.
"Don't worry, though, Mudblood. Offer's still open," Crabbe said after a moment, now smiling unpleasantly at her. "S'long as I can have a bath when I'm done."
Malfoy did look around then, and Crabbe quailed under his stare.
"I know, I know…shut my yap. No need to get shirty," Crabbe muttered.
Hermione rolled her eyes and tuned him out, focusing on her classwork.
Malfoy eventually began appearing in the library again. One Thursday evening in the last week of May, a few weeks after the Double Potions lesson that Ron vehemently promised to remember forever due to Snape docking Pansy, Hermione found Malfoy already sitting at the small corner table in the back of the library. His reading lamp cast a low light, and he was writing steadily on a long roll of parchment.
When she pulled out a chair, he looked up to give her a brief nod, and returned to his work. Peeking from under her lashes, Hermione saw that he was completing the latest assignment for History of Magic. Thinking that a good place to start, she pulled out her own half-completed essay.
The last bit of ink was just beginning to dry on her parchment when she thought of something.
"Malfoy..." she began casually. He looked up, quirking an eyebrow expectantly. "Have you noticed anything… off… about Theo lately?
He considered her for a moment before replying. "I have."
"Is he… well, is everything alright?" she asked.
"He's…" Malfoy paused, clearly searching for an answer. "He's as well as can be expected."
Hermione looked at him questioningly. When he didn't elaborate, she added, "Is it something to do with his father?"
Malfoy sighed and began rolling his quill between his fingertips as he talked.
"To tell the truth, Granger, I don't really know. I believe so. Theo and his father came over to visit me and mine over the break, you see. Mr. Nott seemed very excited about something. Wanted Theo and I to be involved, but Father refused. They talked privately in the study instead. Never found out what it was about, but I expect Theo did. He's been off ever since. Won't say any more about it, though."
"Oh," Hermione replied, unsure what to make of that. She sat watching the precise way Malfoy's fingers curled as he twirled the quill around.
"Do you have any idea what it could be?" she asked after a moment.
"Not much of one," Malfoy answered. "But Mr. Nott is a bit of a sore subject for Theo. He never seemed very interested in Theo while he was growing up, and they've never gotten along. Especially after they lost Theo's mother when he was young."
Hermione's mouth twisted sympathetically. "That's awful. Poor Theo."
"Yeah, he's had a rough go of it," Malfoy said in agreement. "My best guess now is that his father has suddenly taken an interest in him. Probably putting pressure on him to be involved in whatever it is."
"Hm. Well, I hope he'll talk to you eventually. I'm rather… concerned about him," Hermione admitted.
"What, you two best friends now?" Malfoy said, a hint of teasing in his voice.
"No, we've just had more time to talk since you've been off with Pansy," she replied in clipped tones.
Malfoy looked down, studying the thick volume he had open next to his essay. Without looking up, he spoke.
"I've ended things, you know. With Pansy."
Hermione paused, careful to keep her expression neutral.
"That's… good, I think," she replied evenly.
"Yeah. It's good," Malfoy affirmed. He looked up then, smirking at her. "I should get an award, really. Putting up with her as long as I did."
Hermione snorted softly. "Don't hold your breath, Malfoy. And don't act like there wasn't something in it for you." She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yeah, yeah, alright," Malfoy said, waving a hand. "Just taking the piss. She didn't take it nearly as badly as I expected, though. And it helped that she's completely distracted about getting revenge on Weasley now."
"Oh, jolly," Hermione said acerbically. "She and Ron are both going to fail Potions if they keep this up."
Malfoy gave a short laugh. "Well, Weasley might. Pansy's actually a decent hand at Potions when she wants to be. And I doubt Snape will be taking more points off Slytherin any time soon. Imagine the possibilities," he said, smirking mischievously.
Hermione made a face at him, smacking his arm playfully with the back of her hand. He froze, quill and all. She met Malfoy's eyes a moment longer before colouring faintly and dropping her gaze back to her now-dried essay.
Malfoy cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "So, ever figure out what that Crouch bloke was up to?"
"Not yet," Hermione replied quickly, grateful for the change of subject. "But hopefully soon. Harry's down at the Quidditch field getting instructions for the third task tonight, but we're planning to watch the Map every night this weekend for as long as it takes. Crouch will eventually go off without Moody. Then we'll use Harry's cloak to follow him."
"Tsk, tsk, Granger," Malfoy drawled lazily. "That's quite a lot of rules you'll be breaking."
"It's important," Hermione said seriously, then she smiled impishly. "Besides, it's only a problem if we get caught."
Malfoy laughed then, looking at her strangely. A somewhat awkward silence returned when his laughter faded.
Not sure what else to say, Hermione rolled up her essay a tiny bit reluctantly. She was feeling inexplicably lighter this evening, but Harry and Ron would be waiting for her to discuss the third task.
"I had best get back to see what's going on with Harry. You'll keep an eye on Theo?"
"Of course."
Hermione smiled. "Good night, Malfoy."
"Granger," he nodded, then returned to his work. Hermione had a feeling that if she looked back, though, she might find his eyes tracking her departure.
Harry was already back when she returned to the common room. He and Ron were sitting together at a table by one of the narrow tower windows. Harry motioned her over as soon as she climbed through the portrait hole, and filled her in on everything Bagman had told him about the details for the third task.
"Harry, that's great!" Hermione said in response to the news that Harry would get a head start in the maze, as he currently led in points for the tournament. "And with all of our practice, you should be adequately prepared for a few simple obstacles."
"Yeah, well they've asked Hagrid to provide the creatures, so we'll see about that," Harry said dryly.
Ron clapped him on the shoulder. "As long as he doesn't invite Aragog or any of the Skrewts, how bad could it be."
Harry eyed Ron reproachfully.
On Saturday morning, Hermione accompanied Harry to the owlery so that he could send a letter to Sirius, asking his advice on the third task. Hermione, Harry, and Ron had been up late the night before watching the Map for any sign of Crouch leaving Moody's office to no avail. Ron told Harry not to bother him this morning, as he was planning to sleep until lunch.
The weather was growing quite warm just days away from June, and today was no exception. Hermione broke out into a light sweat as they ascended the spiralling stairs towards the aviary, and relished the refreshing breeze that awaited them at the top.
Harry found Hedwig first, stroking her feathers and explaining that he had to borrow Pigwidgeon today so as not to arouse suspicion about Sirius's hiding place. Pigwidgeon leapt down immediately upon hearing his name, zooming so excitedly that Harry had to practically snatch him out of the air to be able to tie the letter to his leg.
On the way down to breakfast, Harry asked a question that caused Hermione's stomach to lurch.
"Hermione, is there something going on with you and Malfoy?"
Hermione faltered a step before meeting Harry's emerald eyes.
"Why would you think that?" she asked too quickly.
"I dunno," Harry said slowly, "it just feels like something's… changed. You two seem to have a sort of… understanding, maybe. And Malfoy's been a lot quieter this year than I would have expected. I actually can't remember the last time he's gone out of his way to insult me, which is saying something."
Oh, Harry. He had a reliable intuition, even if it did seem to land him in more trouble than not. She had been silly to think that he wouldn't notice anything at all.
Hermione paused to think this over, choosing her words carefully.
"I suppose you're right, in a way," she finally admitted. "We've been working together more in some of our classes, and we sort of have to… get along, I guess?… to make that happen."
Harry nodded thoughtfully, and she continued.
"It hasn't been easy —" not a lie in the least "—but he's been more reasonable about it than I ever expected. Him and Theo both."
"Nott?" Harry asked curiously. She nodded. "Huh. Don't know much about him, but then, he always seemed a bit of a loner."
"He sort of is," Hermione agreed. "But he's nice enough during class. He's in my Ancient Runes lesson, too. I hadn't really talked with him before this year. It's kind of silly the prejudices we hold against people in other Houses sometimes, isn't it?"
Harry laughed. "Maybe," he allowed. "Just wouldn't have thought Malfoy could manage to be sometimes civil with a Gryffindor."
Hermione laughed, too, wondering not for the first time if she should tell Harry everything. He seemed rational enough about the situation so far. They walked in pleasant silence for a while as she debated internally, weighing the progress she'd made with Malfoy so far against getting Harry and Ron involved.
They turned down a corridor open to an adjacent courtyard, where sunlight streamed in through the arched windows to make intricate patterns on the cobblestones beneath their feet. The day certainly promised to be warm.
Before reaching the Great Hall, Hermione remembered something else she'd been meaning to ask Harry.
"Harry, did you and Cho ever get a chance to talk?"
"Er… yeah, actually," Harry said sheepishly, pushing his glasses back into place on his nose. "I don't think she really believes that article Skeeter wrote anymore, and she's not upset about Hogsmeade either, now. She's just really busy studying for O.W.L.s and all that, and we sort of agreed to just… stop worrying about it. Maybe next year we'll see where things go, but if not…" Harry shrugged.
"Oh," Hermione said, unsure exactly how to respond. "Well, I'm glad you two… sorted things out?" She offered Harry a small smile that he returned.
"Yeah. I think we'll be friends, no matter what happens," Harry said.
As if to prove his point, when they walked into the Great Hall, Harry smiled easily at Cho over at the Ravenclaw table and nodded. Cho gave him a half-smile and friendly nod of her own.
Hermione and Harry took seats at the Gryffindor table and began loading their plates with breakfast, and he asked her about Viktor in turn. Hermione responded truthfully; they seemed to be in a rather similar situation to Harry and Cho. She had never really thought of herself and Viktor as an item, in any case.
It wasn't to say that she didn't enjoy spending time with Viktor, because she truly did, but Hermione didn't foresee him being available much with his upcoming graduation and a busy Quidditch career, not to mention her own education and extracurriculars. And the probable (definite) impending return of a certain evil wizard.
Ron finally ambled into the Great Hall just as she and Harry finished their plates, his red hair still tousled from sleep and wearing maroon pyjamas. Hermione steered the conversation away from Viktor, talking lightly about her optimism that they would find Crouch alone tonight.
Once Ron had polished off his seconds and drained the last of his pumpkin juice, they left for Gryffindor Tower. Having caught up on most of their homework, Hermione, Harry, and Ron spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine outside. In truth, Hermione had finished all of her assignments and then some, but she didn't want to brag. She already had two knitted hats, with baubles and everything, set aside for Harry to take to Dobby and Winky on his next visit.
It looked like most students were enjoying a nice weekend outdoors. From her position down by the lake, Hermione thought she could almost make out a pale blonde head zooming around on a broomstick across the grounds. When he landed, it was next to two figures that looked suspiciously like Theo and Zabini.
Good. She hoped Malfoy and Zabini would be able to ease Theo's concerns about whatever had him so bothered.
That evening, Harry and Ron took turns playing Wizard's Chess with Fred and George, while Hermione relaxed in a nearby chair, her legs draped over the arm. Ginny sat on the other side of her, dangling a piece of ribbon for Crookshanks to bat with his paws.
Hermione had a book open on her lap that she had once seen Malfoy carrying around, Alchemical Reactions and the Transmutative Properties of Common Elements. She had the Marauder's Map tucked underneath, occasionally glancing at it to see if Mr. Crouch had left Moody's office. Her gaze sometimes wandered down to the dungeons, too, over towards the Slytherin common room. Quite by accident, of course.
Malfoy never moved from a spot near the fireplace.
Ginny was the first to announce that she was off to bed, soon followed by most of the common room. Harry and Ron moved on to racing each other to build card houses out of Ron's Exploding Snap pack once Fred and George left.
A yawn creaking her jaws open, Hermione checked the Map for the dozenth time and was startled to find that Crouch was no longer in Moody's office. She sat up quickly, visually sweeping her surroundings to make sure they had the common room to themselves, then quickly motioned Harry and Ron over.
A few seconds searching was all it took.
"Look, there." Ron pointed at the map. "He's in the Charms corridor."
Harry pulled his Invisibility Cloak out from where he'd stuffed it into his chair. Hermione kept the map in hand while they climbed through the portrait hole and into the corridor. Thankfully, the Fat Lady was still snoozing away peacefully.
Harry carefully draped the cloak over all three of them — they had to squish together and hunch their shoulders, Ron most of all, to be adequately covered now. It had been nearly a year since they'd all used the cloak together this way, and Ron and Harry had both grown several inches.
Making their way carefully towards the Charms corridor, Hermione kept an eye on the map. Moody was still safely in his office, and Crouch was moving steadily towards the third floor corridor in which they had met Fluffy their first year.
"We're close now," Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron.
They rounded the corner and saw a figure at the very end of the hall, obscured in shadow. The door at the end of the corridor squeaked open on its hinges, and the figure disappeared inside.
Tiptoeing as silently as they could, Hermione, Harry, and Ron followed him into the passage. Harry directed them into a nearby alcove behind a suit of armour to watch. Crouch would have to pass by this spot to exit the corridor again, whether he went back towards the Charms corridor or the Grand Staircase. The hall was so dark that Hermione accidentally trod on Ron's toes and he gave a muffled grunt.
A dull clunking was all the warning they had. Harry motioned frantically for Hermione's and Ron's attention, pointing to the figure that was emerging in front of them. Only when the figure was almost on top of them did they realise that it wasn't Mr. Crouch at all, but Professor Moody.
Hermione's eyes widened in shock. She looked back at the map in her hands. The dot just beside theirs was still labelled Barty Crouch. Harry, confusion evident on his face, was trying to look over her shoulder just as Moody spoke.
"Potter. What are you three doing out of bed?" Harry gave a start. "Or did you forget I can see through Invisibility Cloaks?" Moody tapped near his magical eye with a finger and directed a lopsided grin their way.
Hermione clutched the map tightly to her chest, wondering if she could stealthily reach her wand to wipe it clear. Harry ducked out from under the Cloak.
"Professor Moody, we… er… we were looking for you," Harry finished, glancing sideways to where Hermione and Ron were still hidden. Dread twisted her insides as she realised Harry was going to divulge their true intentions. Ron pulled the Cloak off of himself and Hermione as well, then held it bundled up under his arm.
"Looking for me, eh?" Moody repeated gruffly. "At a time like this?" He looked the three of them over suspiciously.
"Well, we…" Harry looked around at her, but Hermione could only look fearfully back at him, unable to think of a single thing to save the situation. Harry's shoulders slumped slightly. "We know it's you, Mr. Crouch."
Shock painted Moody's gnarled features, his gash of a mouth falling open.
Harry began to explain. "We know that you and Professor Moody have been working together a lot, and Hermione here figured out you probably needed ingredients for Polyjuice potion—" Moody-Crouch's eyes swept over her briefly "—and we thought we'd just see what was going on. I mean, it has to do with whoever entered my name in the tournament, right?"
Crouch seemed to recover himself, and his voice changed to that of the brisk, no-nonsense tone she remembered hearing from him at the beginning of the tournament. It was strange coming from Moody's aspect.
"You and your friends have uncovered a highly classified Ministry investigation, Mr. Potter."
Hermione twitched her hand toward her wand in the pocket of her robes, but held still again when Crouch focused on the movement.
Harry shuffled his feet. "Oh, um… I didn't realise…"
"It's quite alright, Mr. Potter," Crouch continued rigidly. "It is partly, in fact, an investigation about yourself and your entrance into the Triwizard Tournament. Does anyone else apart from yourself and your friends here know about this? Professors Dumbledore, Moody, and myself would become quite aggrieved if this investigation got out into the open. It could interfere dangerously with the current progress I've made."
Harry looked uncomfortable. "No, Mr. Crouch, it's only us."
Technically, Malfoy knew something about it, too, but Hermione wasn't about to correct him. Ron shifted awkwardly beside her.
"Very good, very good. I would very much like to know, though, how you and your friends discovered this confidential information."
Crouch stared at them each in turn, clearly waiting for an answer. It was disconcerting to have Moody's magical eye fixed on her for so long. Harry glanced only once at the parchment still clutched tightly in Hermione's grip, but it was enough.
"May I see that, if you please?" Crouch asked, staring only at Hermione now.
She hesitated. "Um, I don't think…" Hermione trailed off as Harry gently eased the Map out of her hands.
"Yeah, of course, Mr. Crouch. It's a map… of Hogwarts, you see…" Harry turned the map around to show him. Crouch reached to take it and Hermione took an involuntary step forward, but froze when Crouch fixed her with another stare.
He took the map out of Harry's hands, looking it over entirely. His magical eye whirled absurdly as he continued to study it.
"This… this is some map, Mr. Potter," Crouch said finally. "Is there anything else odd you have noticed while using this? Anything that could help the investigation?"
"No, I'm sorry Mr. Crouch," Harry answered, somewhat more confidently now that Crouch didn't appear to be angry with him. "We've only seen that you and Professor Moody meet in his office. The map isn't something we can keep on us very often."
"Yes, of course," Crouch said briskly. "I am glad you came to speak with me directly, in any case. And if I may be so forthcoming, this map would be a great aid to my investigation, perhaps even allow it to conclude in a matter of days. Would you allow me to borrow this until such time?"
"Oh, yeah, no problem," Harry replied, looking relieved that he wasn't in more trouble. On her other side, Ron relaxed, too, letting out a small sigh of relief.
Hermione bit her lip. Something just felt… wrong.
"Excellent. Thank you, Mr. Potter," Crouch said, curtly dipping his head towards Harry in acknowledgement. "Now, I would advise you all to keep this under strict confidence. I shall have to alert Professor Moody to your involvement due to the nature of the appearance I must occasionally use, but the Headmaster would be most displeased to learn of it. In gratitude for your assistance, I will refrain from divulging any connection between yourselves and the investigation to Professor Dumbledore, and I strongly recommend you do the same."
Harry and Ron nodded their understanding quickly, and Hermione followed suit after another moment's hesitation.
Crouch folded the map up carefully and tucked it into the breast pocket of Moody's cloak, giving the exterior of the pocket a small pat once the map was secure.
"I suggest you all get back under that cloak and get to bed. I have heard from Professor Dumbledore that you and your friends see yourselves as something of investigators, Mr. Potter, but in this case, I can assure you that everything is handled. You would be wise to focus your efforts instead on preparing for the final task." Crouch's gaze lingered on Hermione again, and she had to make an effort to keep her face expressionless. "A good night to you all."
And with that, Crouch stumped past them on Moody's wooden leg and didn't look back.
When Crouch was out of view, Hermione exchanged stunned looks with Harry and Ron. Eager to get back to Gryffindor Tower, Ron hastily threw the cloak over all three of them, and they moved quickly through the corridors until reaching the Fat Lady. They very unfortunately had to wake her up in order to enter the common room, and she had a few choice words about 'delinquents' sneaking around after curfew. Hopefully she would forget them before McGonagall next came by Gryffindor Tower.
After dropping into armchairs around the fireplace, Hermione let out a long exhale. She'd only just realised how tense she'd been ever since running into Crouch.
"Can you believe it?" Ron said. "Crouch is running around the castle as Moody for this investigation thing?"
"I know," Harry agreed. "I never expected that. This investigation must be bigger than I thought if he and Moody and Dumbledore are going to such lengths. Maybe it has to do with all the odd stuff that's been happening… you know, the disappearances, the Quidditch Cup, the Death Eaters… maybe they know that Voldemort's getting stronger."
"That's got to be it, mate," Ron said. "I mean, the way Percy went on about working for Crouch last summer, we know Crouch is all business. And from the sounds of it, he'll do anything to uncover Dark witches and wizards. And maybe Crouch went a bit overboard last time with the war and everything, but if Dumbledore and Moody trust him with this, I think we can, too."
Harry and Ron discussed what else Crouch might be investigating while Hermione only partially listened, watching the dying embers on the hearth and trying to figure out why a small seed of doubt niggled the back of her mind. After a time, Ron turned to her.
"Hermione, you've been awfully quiet. What do you think about all this?"
"I'm not exactly sure," she began slowly. "Didn't anything seem… odd… to you two? About Crouch?"
Harry looked thoughtful. "I reckon he was embarrassed at being caught out, and probably worried that we'd somehow compromised his investigation. Other than that… I dunno. We've only seen him a few times before. Did you notice something?"
"Not particularly," Hermione sighed. "It all just seems rather strange. And now we don't even have the Map to keep an eye on things."
"Well, like Crouch said, it seems he's got things handled," Ron put in. "Maybe it's best we just help Harry get through the final task, and things will go back to normal. If Harry makes it past the maze alright, then no harm done. Whoever it was will regret putting his name in the Goblet in the first place."
"Cheers, mate," Harry grinned at Ron. Hermione gave them each a half-hearted smile before retiring to her dormitory, mind still reeling from the events of the evening.