[A few moments previously]
Hermione wasn't sure what had first clued her in to something going on. What she did know is that seconds after she'd passed a particularly ugly painting on the way to the bathroom, she'd found herself turning back, ducking around a corridor corner, and running frantically, wand out, towards a couple of her classmates.
Draco stood, arms folded, face smug, and making no move the defend himself against an irate Justin Finch-Fletchley, who had his wand trained on the Malfoy Heir.
"Justin! Don't!" Hermione stopped a half dozen metres away from the hostile duo, careful not to directly point her wand at either.
Malfoy smirked. "Yes, that's right, 'Filth'-Fletchley. Listen to Slytherin's attack kitten."
Justin glared. "This scum was threatening my parents!"
"Yes, but attacking him is just what he wants." She turned to Malfoy, giving him a dirty look. "And you have no right to goad him like that!"
Malfoy shrugged. "I was just explaining his place in our world. You at least have some understanding of that."
"My place is up to my lord," she ground out. "Just as yours is to yours."
Malfoy's eye twitched.
She turned back to her fellow muggleborn. "Justin, Malfoy can't legally do anything to your parents, but that might change if you attack him."
Justin scowled, wand still pointing at the Malfoy Heir.
Malfoy harrumphed. "You know, at the start of the year, I'd hoped the Gray was going to be more understanding. Now I find they're nothing but a bunch of blood-traitors and mudbloods."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "If we agreed with you on everything, then we wouldn't be the Gray, would we? We'd be the Dark. I didn't see the Malfoys complaining when we blocked that bill on forcing families to open their libraries to ministry inspection."
Malfoy grumbled and looked away.
Justin watched the back and forth, wand still trained on Malfoy.
Eventually Malfoy turned back. "Fine! We'll see if you're still feeling so confident after the duelling tryouts tonight. I hear Nott can smash through a second year shield charm now. Should be interesting to see you dragging yourself across the common room floor when he's finished with you." And with that, he turned around, swishing his long robes behind him and marched off without looking back.
The two of them watched the Malfoy heir until he turned the corridor corner.
Justin slowly took a deep, long breath and lowered his wand.
Hermione eyed it curiously. "What were you planning to do anyway?"
Justin shook his head. "Honestly? I don't know. The only attack spell I know is the tripping hex and it's not like that would have done anything. I was just so angry."
Hermione nodded. "Understandable. What started it?"
"Oh, in history of magic I made a comment to Kevin about how backward some of the wizarding world's customs were. Malfoy heard it." He grimaced and looked down. "I think I may have offended Susan and Hannah as well."
Hermione winced in sympathy. "Possibly, yeah. This is the kind of thing I was talking about when we first met in Madam Malkin's."
Justin looked up, sharply. "That's right! You said you were going to sort out culture lessons! When's that happening?" His voice rang with accusation.
Hermione flushed and took a step backwards. "I'm working on it, Justin, really. I've just been really busy and I wanted to get all the other muggleborns in our year onboard as well - to teach everyone together.
Justin frowned. "How many are in?"
"Just you at the moment."
Justin scowled. "Well, what are we waiting for? C'mon!" He turned and walked off.
Hermione looked after the former Eton-bound muggleborn's back with a panicked expression. She quickly made to follow him. This wasn't in Harry's plans until after Christmas!
...
In the library, Hermione and Justin pulled out two chairs and sat down.
"Hey, Kevin."
Kevin Entwistle looked up from his parchment. "Hey, Justin - Hermione. We working together then?"
"Actually," started Justin, "I wanted to talk to you about something."
Kevin put down his quill. "Sure, what's up?"
"I just got out of a sort-of fight with Malfoy-"
Kevin's eyes hardened.
"-He was trying to get me in trouble with wizarding laws and things we don't know about. Hermione says she'll teach us, but she wants all us muggleborns in together. To make sure we don't give them all excuses to get us in trouble."
Kevin's look turned pensive.
"So, you in?"
Kevin looked towards Hermione. "You can also teach us to make swords like you used on that troll, yeah? That was way cool."
Hermione smiled. "Thank you. Maybe we'll have some time leftover, although you really shouldn't be waving swords around unless you know how to use them."
Justin looked sideways at her. "So, you know how to use them?"
"Ah," Hermione blushed slightly, "Well, my lord says that when facing something very large all you really need to know is 'pointy bit goes forward.'"
Kevin and Justin both snorted with laughter.
Kevin picked his quill back up. "So, when's this happening then?"
Hermione looked towards Justin. "As soon as we get all the other's to say yes, and I get something to help from my lord."
Justin raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"I don't want to say in case I can't get it. But if I can it will help a lot."
"Oh, okay then." Justin pushed his chair back. "Let's go find Sophie and Dean."
...
Just a few metres away, Harry, invisible under the Peverell cloak, passed Hermione chatting to Finch-Fletchley and Entwhistle, entered the library's restricted section, made his way to his fidelius charmed area, pulled his shrunk trunk out of his pocket, enlarged it, and climbed inside.
Daphne sat in one of the trunk's armchairs, book open in her lap, palms under her chin, fingers resting on her cheeks, looking utterly fed up. She looked up. "This is hopeless."
Harry moved to sit down in the chair opposite Daphne. "Still no luck?"
Daphne flipped the pages of the book. "Every single reference I've found to anything that might help leads nowhere. Missing books, erased text, pages torn out… The spells all sound really helpful, but they just aren't there! Listen to this one! 'Eye of Kilrogg - Summons a floating eyeball that allows the caster to see through it and direct its movement. Passes through all known solid objects… Invisible to unaltered human sight.' That-" She jabbed her finger at the page "-is just the kind of thing that might not trip the fidelius tripwire around the stone, but the page with the casting details is gone!"
Harry chewed his cheek. "Looks like they purged the sources quite thoroughly then."
"I'll say."
"Hmm…." Harry leaned back and brought the tips of his fingers together. "Then we'll just have to extend our search to sources that might have survived the purge."
Daphne paused while idly flipping more pages. "Sources like what?"
"My first thought is the paintings around the school. The ones painted before the statute of secrecy, and therefore before the purging of divination."
Daphne's eyes widened.
"I don't know if there's a seer among them, but if there is we might be able to persuade it to teach us."
Daphne slammed the book shut. "Would you like me to handle that?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, thank you, Daph - and I'll write an owl to Luna. She and Alex sound like they're getting on quite well these days. Who knows? Maybe the Black Library will furnish us with a solution."
...
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