𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐑 ❧ sirius black

XXVI - Forget-Me-Not

TW: This chapter contains scenes of physical violence that readers may find triggering.

Hermione's heart beat out of her chest once she had realized what had made this terrible, horrible book so incredibly important to both Peter and Voldemort. The idea of a mere object, appearing like any other, holding such dark magic was something that she never had to deal with before. The villains that she had faced in her past, from the basilisk to the numerous death-eaters, were active. They had actively been trying to take her, Harry's, and Ron's lives numerous times.

The diadem, this horcrux, however, was a passive villain. It was Voldemort's stability, anchoring him to the world of the living. It fought the battle of waiting, hiding in plain sight, and hoping not to be found. But Hermione, well, she had found it.

What she didn't know, however, was how many of these horcruxes were in existence under Voldermort's name. That was an issue for another day.

Here, in her little nook of the library, Hermione didn't know what to feel. This discovery had unlocked a new sense of fear in Hermione's head. Something of such dangerous magnitude was completely new to her. On the other hand, a part of her also felt a partial satisfaction for coming this far, for bending her brain just far enough to discover how Voldemort stayed alive in future years. It was not a task just any wizard or witch could grasp. Her mixed mood was concealed behind her pale face: anyone that would have passed her in the library at this moment would have only seen little Harper Slughorn reading a black leather book. She hid behind her mask well.

Shutting the book, Hermione let out a sigh of relief knowing that she was one step closer to getting rid of Peter and securing the livelihood of James, Lily, Sirius, and the many others killed by his hand. With her mask on and Secrets of the Darkest Art hiding in her bookbag, Hermione scurried out of the library by the time the sun had gone down.

She knew she had to return to the Room of Requirement quickly in order to review the properties of the suspected horcrux, and tonight would be the perfect time to do it. The cold, Thursday evening only two weeks ahead of final exams would have many students occupied with their studies. Hermione just hoped that the list would include Peter.

While the rest of her roommates quickly drifted off to sleep after putting out the lights, Hermione grabbed Harry's invisibility cloak and slipped out of the dorm room unnoticed. She passed by students cramming for exams, young lovers sneaking through the corridors past curfew, and perfects on patrol while making her way to the enchanted room.

Once inside, Hermione approached the same table she did weeks ago. The bottle of Amortentia was, yet again, less full than it was during her last visit. It lay adjacent to the diadem, the object of her desires for the present moment.

Breathing heavily, Hermione hesitated to pick up the dark object. She could feel the evil qualities oozing out of it as she hovered her hand over it, in the same way that one feels the heat of a hot pan without touching it. Before coming into contact with the diadem, Hermione shuddered at a creaking noise coming from the door. It slowly began to open, and the silhouette of a young man became known to Hermione in the doorway.

Oh no, it must be Peter. Why would he be coming here, now, at this hour? Merlin, what am I going to do?

Panicking, her heart began to race as she searched for a way not to be seen by him. His back may have been turned to her, but at any moment he could turn around and be face to face with Hermione. She needed to figure out how to keep that from happening, and fast.

Soon, she was presented with a sign: at her feet, a trap door near the room's drain became visible to her. Hermione had never moved her body so quickly as when she struggled to move into this little crawl space. Though it was tiny, Hermione was grateful: surely, Hogwarts was on her side in this battle.