Chocolate Enchantment

Chapter 44: The Search For The Cup

As she made her way down the aisle, she counted the beds. The number for the Slytherin boys was exactly right, and she wondered idly which had been Blaises’ bed, which Crabbe’s and Goyle’s. The thought made her a bit ill, so she pushed it away and focused again on what she was doing. As she neared the end of the room, Ron pushed open the door.

“Harry said you were here. Glad to see you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah, just needed a bit more sleep, I guess.” Hermione didn’t take her eyes off her work, but finished the job, then turned back toward the door to find Harry standing slightly behind Ron. “No luck then?”

“No. Dobby said he’d bring us some lunch if you’d like to stop. It’s after noon.” Harry motioned toward the stairwell with his head.

“I’m starving,” Ron said, turning toward the stairs.

“As long as we don’t have to eat it in this room. Creeps me out.” Hermione followed behind. When they entered the common room, she took a closer look around and decided it wasn’t that bad. She had never seen it before, but it wasn’t quite as horrible as the descriptions Harry and Ron had given her when they visited it during second year. The ceiling was low, and the room dark and dungeon like, though whether that was because it had always been that way or because of the limited torches that had been lit, she wasn’t sure. One thing she was sure of, she was glad she was a Gryffindor. She wondered if the thought of those she had grown up with living in that dorm room at the top of the stairs had been the main issue that bothered her, rather than the room itself.

They settled down at the same sofa and table that Harry and Ron had sat at while pretending to be Crabbe and Goyle in their second year. Dobby brought piles of sandwiches and another plate full of assorted biscuits along with a carafe of pumpkin juice. “You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble,” Hermione protested.

“The house-elves is happy to serve you, Miss. They is missing having all the students to serve and want to help you bring the evil wizard down,” Dobby said anxiously.

“Well, tell them we appreciate their hard work.”

“Dobby is doing it, Miss. Call Dobby if you needs anything else.” He bobbed his head and, with a snap of his fingers, disappeared.

Ron was already halfway through his first sandwich when Hermione turned to him. She grimaced at his piggy eating habits and returned her gaze to the platter of food. It was safer that way.

Several minutes passed as they ate, each lost in their own thoughts. The sandwiches were gone and the biscuits were making a vanishing act as well when Hermione turned to the boys. “I think we’re going about this all wrong.”

“What do you mean?” Harry asked.

“Well, if there was one room in this huge castle that would be a symbol of Tom Riddle’s power and purity, do you think it would be his dorm room? Or the trophy room? No, it wouldn’t.”

“Well, that should be obvious, since none of those places was the hiding spot for the cup,” Harry said.

“Think.” Hermione gave them both an exasperated look. They had all been so dense. “What would symbolize his power the best? What was his major accomplishment in school? His claim to fame, if you will.”

Ron’s eyes narrowed. “I thought we figured the Chamber of Secrets was already covered by the diary.”

“We might have been mistaken though, mightn’t we?”

“So you’re suggesting we poke around the Chamber then?” Harry asked.

“It wouldn’t hurt to try. I know you said it was big, but maybe we can narrow our search a bit after taking a look around. After all, there were already some powerful protections on the chamber itself. One had to be parselmouth to get into it. And then there’s the basilisk, which can turn anyone to stone with just a look. Who would try and get past that monster? Even if someone figured out that he had placed a Horcrux there, who would survive the search?”