The Room of Requirements was everything Hermione could have hoped for and then some. She was a little bit skeptical when they arrived to the specified location. She paced in front of the spot, much to Draco's confusion, and was surprised to see the door appear.

When they walked inside, all of that skepticism disappeared. In the room was four test dummies spread out. Two on one wall and two more on the opposite wall. There was a bookshelf with several books Hermione recognized as texts from the library. She was a little bummed there weren't new books but she supposed the room did have its limitations.

"Which spell are you testing?" Draco questioned.

"Confringo," Hermione replied. "Are you not practicing?"

"No," Draco said after a moment. "My father doesn't want me practicing the dark arts without him, much like Morgana for you. He has taught me a few spells though, including Confringo. Do you know what it does?"

"It's similar to Reducto but can be far more destructive," Hermione said.

"Yes," Draco said with a nod. "When practicing make sure you're as calm as possible. I'm not sure what would happen if you tried it in here when you were overly emotional, but I doubt it would be pretty."

Hermione closed her eyes and focused on her Occlumency shields. Her shields allowed her to block out every thought and emotion she didn't want to feel at the moment. She knew from Morgana that strong emotions were the most dangerous when it came to the dark arts. So, she filled herself with the calm, peaceful feeling she had when talking to Morgana over break.

She opened her eyes, pointed her wand at the dummy, and said, "Confingo."

The dummy exploded before instantly repairing itself. As far as Hermione could tell, the spell was perfect. She focused on the feelings she felt from doing the spell. She felt… alive. Her body hummed with power. The feeling of power disappeared after about a minute. She could understand why people would continue with the dark arts, just to have that feeling again. She felt like she could do anything. There was this nagging thought in the back of her mind, telling her she needed more but it was easy enough to ignore. She would ignore it. She wouldn't lose herself.

"How do you feel Hermione?" Draco asked concerned.

She lowered her wand and turned to Draco. "I feel good," she responded. "I felt…powerful. The feeling faded rather quickly but I can see why people get addicted to it."

"Hermione," Draco started.

Hermione held up her hand. "It's okay Draco. I'm not going to do anything crazy."

"Still, talk to Morgana," he encouraged. "I don't know enough to know if that's something to be concerned about but she would know."

"I'll talk to her in the library," Hermione promised. She looked around the room. Did she have to leave the room for it to turn into a study room? Or would it alter itself on its own?

She didn't have to wait for the answer. In the blink of an eye the room turned into a mini library with an assortment of bookshelves and one large table with arm chairs surrounding it. "What the…" Draco exclaimed. "What happened?"

"I was thinking about the room and whether or not we had to leave in order to turn it into a place to study," Hermione explained. "It appears once we're inside we can adjust the room however we want." She cast a Tempus. "Come on, we should get to the library."

The two left the Room of Requirements. The door disappeared once they left. Hermione was surprisingly chipper as they made their way to the library. Draco wasn't sure if he should be happy or worried by the change.

A few minutes later they arrived at the library. They found Theo and Pansy at one of the back tables. "Hey guys," Hermione greeted quietly, not wanting to face Madam Pince's wrath for being loud. She dropped her bag at the spot across from Pansy.

"You made it," Theo said happily. He and Pansy were wondering if Draco and Hermione were actually going to show up.

Draco sat down across from Theo and started taking out his things. He frowned when he saw Hermione wasn't sitting. "Are you leaving?" Draco asked. Was she going to sneak back to the Room of Requirements?

"No, I wanted to talk to Madam Pince about a book I was looking for," Hermione said. "I'll be right back."

While casting that spell she got some clarity, clarity she didn't realize she needed. She wanted to know who Morgana was and while she respected her decision not to tell her yet, a decision made of fear, she simply needed to know. She did know a few things about Morgana. She was a member of the Black family and a supporter of the Dark Lord. She only hoped Madam Pince had what she needed.

"Madam Pince," Hermione said getting the older woman's attention.

"Ms. Granger," Madam Pince said looking up from the book catalogue she was flipping through. She was always eager to get more books for the library. "What can I help you with?"

"I was wondering if you had old copies of the Daily Prophet?" Hermione asked. "Specifically, during the first war, I'm doing some research for a project I'm working on."

Madam Pince frowned. It was a strange request but there was nothing wrong with it. She flicked her wand and a stack of newspapers flew toward her. "You're in luck Ms. Granger," Madam Pince said. "I happen to keep every newspaper. You're welcome to take them with you for now. Simply bring them back when you're done."

"Thank you Ma'am," Hermione said gratefully. She glanced at her friends. They were focused on their work and not on her. She walked to an empty table on the other side of the library and started flipping through the newspapers. Most were boring with no useful information. The one on top was about the death of Lily and James Potter, Harry surviving the killing curse and him being dubbed the Boy-Who-Lived.

The one underneath caught her attention. It was dated about a week after the fall of the Dark Lord. Frank and Alice Longbottom were attacked by Death Eaters, Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr. There was a picture of them during their trial, since it was the same crime they were tried together.

The was another photo though. A photo of a woman, the wife of Rodolphus Lestrange, who was babysitting her nephew at the time of the crime. Hermione gasped at the picture. It was Morgana, only a decade younger. She read the caption.

Bellatrix Lestrange (nee Black) pictured with her sister, Narcissa Malfoy (nee Black) at her wedding to Rodolphus Lestrange.

This was it! This was exactly what Hermione had been looking for. She now knew the identity of her savior: Bellatrix Lestrange. She snorted. Of course, Bellatrix would pick a name like Morgana as a nickname. She touched the picture of Bellatrix. She was beautiful as a bride, not that she wasn't beautiful now. And she was Narcissa's sister! Which meant she was Draco's aunt.

She quickly tucked the newspaper back into the stack and gave them back to Madam Pince. She quickly thanked the librarian and rushed back to her friends.

"There you are Hermione," Theo exclaimed. "We thought you left."

"My things are here," Hermione reminded him.

"That's what we told him," Pansy laughed. "He was convinced you didn't like him anymore."

"Did you find what you needed?" Draco asked, noticing she didn't have any books with her.

"No," Hermione lied. "I decided to give up for now. I can look again another time." She pulled out her Astronomy homework and got to work.

Working on her essay was far more difficult than she expected. All she could think about was Bellatrix and what she was going to do with the information she now had. Her first instinct was to tell Bellatrix she knew, but she decided against it almost immediately. After all, Bellatrix didn't want her to know. But she'd also admitted it was mostly out of fear.

Hermione had promised her that her true identity wouldn't bother her. She thought about if she still felt that way. It didn't take long for her to decide no, she didn't care who Bellatrix was. Bellatrix was a Death Eater yes and close to the Dark Lord if the paper was correct. But Hermione had already known that.

She frowned as she remembered something from holidays. Bellatrix had told her, her friend Tom, wanted to talk to her. Tom had offered to teacher the dark arts. Tom had saved Bellatrix from the dark arts. Was it possible? Was Tom Riddle the Dark Lord?

She couldn't be sure but she decided to take a leap of faith and assume he was. It was interesting that he would care about her, a Gryffindor and a muggleborn. She remembered the end of her first year. There was a strong possibly she helped the Dark Lord get the stone. Maybe that was why he was offering to teach her?

If he was the Dark Lord, and was willing to teach her, then she felt she had to do something to show her appreciation. After all, it wasn't every day that the Dark Lord supported a muggleborn. But what could she do? She was only thirteen and a Gryffindor to boot.

She grinned. That was it. She was a Gryffindor… and friends with none other than Harry Potter. She could spy on Harry and pass the information along. Of course, that would be much harder than it sounded. She would need to distance herself from her Slytherin friends, seeing as Harry and Ron didn't like them. Her grin widened. This would be the ultimate revenge against Ron for almost getting her killed.

She pushed her essay away and dug her journal out of her bag.

Are there journals, similar to this one, with wards so only the author can read it?

Journals can be warded any way you want, why? What are you planning?

Nothing right now, but I would like to take notes on some of these books, without risking anyone seeing. Hermione felt bad for lying but reassured herself it was for a good cause. One day, when Bellatrix was ready to tell her secrets, she would tell her own.

I'll send you a journal in the morning. No one will be able to read it, not even me. Did you try the spell?

I did. It was…amazing. I've never felt anything like that. It was as if my mind was clear for the first time and I felt so powerful. After a couple minutes the feeling went away.

I don't like how that sounds. It's not the start of an addiction but it is very close. Promise me you will be careful, and you will take notes when you cast these spells as well?

Hermione sighed. It looked like she found a use for the other journal she had. I promise.

She put away the journal and worked on finishing up her Astronomy essay before they had to go to Defense. She was relieved when she finished with fifteen minutes to spare.

"There's something I want to talk to you guys about," Hermione said when they started cleaning up their things. "I want to spend more time with Harry and Ron in the future and I think it's best if we all don't spend as much time together, at least not in public."

"Did they do something to you?" Draco demanded.

"No," Hermione said quickly. "Do you remember what I told you, about why I wanted to be friends with them in the first place?" Draco nodded. "I still have five years here and I want to at least try. I'll still be at your manor over the summer but I agreed to go to Ron's for two weeks at the end of the summer."

"Okay Hermione," Pansy said. Draco and Theo stared at her. "Now tell us the real reason."

Hermione sighed. "I know the Dark Lord will return and soon," she started after first making sure no one could overhear them. "I want to be useful and the best way I can do that is by spying on Harry and the Gryffindors." The others widened their eyes in surprise. "I'm in the best position for this so I might as well take advantage."

"That is brilliant," Theo exclaimed. "But are you sure this is what you want? Would you really betray Potter and Weasley like that?"

"I like Harry well enough," Hermione said with a shrug. "But Ron and the other Weasley's mean nothing to me. In all honesty, if Ron didn't almost get me killed with that troll last year, then I probably wouldn't be doing this. But he did, and now I am. All I ask is that you guys support me."

"We have your back," Draco promised. "Besides you'll be with me most of the summer anyway, and we can always meet secretly in the room and study."

"What room?" Theo asked curious.

Draco and Hermione exchanged looked and she nodded. "The Room of Requirements," Hermione explained. "Draco's mother told us about it. It'll turn into the perfect place to study. Speaking of which, send me a list of snacks you guys would like for studying for exams. Draco's mother offered to buy us some while we studied for exams."

Draco glanced at Hermione. He knew nothing about that arrangement and was certain it was his aunt, not mother, that was buying them snacks. But Theo and Pansy knew nothing about his Aunt Bella and her connection to Hermione. He was certain that's why she was doing this.

They each scribbled down the snacks they liked on a spare bit of parchment. Hermione scanned the list once they were done. It was mostly chocolate: Honeyduke's bars, chocolate frogs and even chocolate cake. There were also things like bacon sandwiches, crisps and some other things Hermione hadn't heard of but assumed they were wizarding treats.

She tucked the parchment into her pocket. She would send the list to Bellatrix during class. It wasn't like they were actually learning anything. She really needed to ask Bellatrix for her notes.

The four friends walked together to Defense Against the Dark Arts. This would be the last time they would be seen together in public for a while and Hermione was rather sad about that. But in the end, it would be worth it. She was determined to prove herself worthy, to Bellatrix and to the Dark Lord.

As soon as they walked into the classroom they separated. Hermione didn't look at them as she made her way to Ron and Harry. "Do you mind?" Hermione questioned, gesturing to the seat next to Harry.

"Eh, sure," Harry said surprised that Hermione was sitting by them. "Not to be rude, but why did you decide now to sit with us?"

Hermione turned to Harry. "I realized earlier that I wasn't giving our friendship a fair chance. I think I've been holding a grudge against you two about what happened with the troll." Harry looked down. "I would really like a chance to start over."

Ron and Harry exchanged looks and nodded. "We'd like that too," Harry said with a grin.

"This class is a joke," Ron complained while they waited for Lockhart. Lockhart was always late to class because he liked to make an entrance. Usually it wasn't more than five minutes. Today it was over ten.

"I've been studying on my own," Hermione told him. "I can give you copies of my notes," she offered as a sort of olive branch.

They both nodded eagerly. Both either of them could say anything, Lockhart strolled in, acting like he wasn't fifteen minutes late.

While Lockhart talked, mostly about himself, Hermione spent the time doodling on a spare piece of parchment. She was still debating on asking Bellatrix about killing Lockhart. It wasn't as if anyone would miss him.

"Ms. Granger, if you could stay behind," Professor Lockhart requested.

Hermione looked up and found everyone was packing up their things. "Yes Professor," Hermione agreed, though she wasn't happy about it. She packed up her things and made her way to the front where Professor Lockhart was waiting.

Harry and Ron made their way over to her, unsure if they should wait or not. "Go on ahead," Professor Lockhart instructed. "Ms. Granger will only be a minute."

The boys left leaving Hermione alone with Professor Lockhart. Hermione thought about her promise to Draco, her promise not to be alone with Lockhart. She'd now broken that promise, though not intentionally. "Did you need something Professor?" Hermione questioned, gripping her bag tightly. She didn't like this. She needed to figure out how to get out of here. "I do have somewhere to be." It wasn't true. She had no plans for the rest of the day.

Professor Lockhart turned to face her, his wand pointed at her head. "How did you figure it out?" he demanded.

"Figured what out Professor?" Hermione asked confused. She had no idea what he was talking about and she was starting to get scared.

"The memory charms," Lockhart shouted. "I know you know about that. How else would you explain your lack of admiration for me?"

Hermione snorted. Of course, he would assume there's a reason she didn't admire him like the rest of the girls in the school. "I don't know anything about memory charms," Hermione said honestly, though she did plan to look into it. It was rather curious. Why would Lockhart expect her know anything about memory charm? She knew of the charm from reading but never attempted it. It was a tricky spell and while not illegal it was frowned upon. And why would Hermione not fawning over him cause such a panic? There was no real explanation for that except… She gasped. "Your books are fake," she realized. "You've been stealing credit."

Lockhart glared at her. All of his hard work as about to go down the drain thanks to a second year. He couldn't let that happen. "It's really unfortunate that you discovered my secret," he said with a small smile. "But it's no matter. A little spell and you won't remember a thing. I am rather good at memory charms after all," he boasted. Lockhart pointed his wand at her. "Oblivate."

Hermione froze in fear. The amulet around her neck heated up in response to her fear. Right before the spell could hit, Hermione felt a sharp tug in her navel and she disappeared from the classroom.