Hermione was sat in the Great Hall, twirling noodles on her fork, as she worried about what the first weekend would entail for the fifth floor corridor of Hogwarts Castle. After Malfoy threatened Hermione, she was feeling particularly bitter about him, and whatever pity she had felt seemed to have vanished overnight. She stabbed her meatball on her plate and placed it in her mouth, her ears went hot with rage again. "You okay Hermione?" Harry asked her. Hermione stared at Harry with a scowl, but she quickly let that go after thoughts of Malfoy drifted away. "Oh, uh, yeah," Hermione said. "Isn’t it weird how Draco isn’t coming to quidditch anymore, you’d think he’s given up," Ron interjected, staring across the table at him."Too busy doing you-know-who’s bidding isn’t he?" Hermione said, the scowl back on her face. "I really hate him." "Blimey, Hermione," Ron said. "You look like you’re ready to murder him. You know, you’ve not really been present lately," Ron continued. "What’s got you so preoccupied?"It’s him," Hermione said, still staring at Malfoy with malice. "He’s hiding something about you-know-who."Well, obviously, but we’ve had this conversation before, what are we to do about it?" Harry said. "Stop him," Hermione said. "Look, I wasn’t going to tell you guys, but I might as well."Tell us what?" Ron asked. "That time when we saw Draco in Borgin & Burkes, he was examining a vanishing cabinet," Hermione said."A what?" Harry and Ron said together."A vanishing cabinet. It was used by death eaters in the first wizarding war, and it was used to hide inside, and it would have a connection with another vanishing cabinet, like a gateway," Hermione said."Why didn’t you tell us this before?" Harry asked."Because you didn’t seem interested," Hermione explained. "What do you think he’s planning?" Ron asked. "I think there’s one in the castle, and he’s using it to communicate with someone at Borgin & Burkes," Hermione said. She was not ready to tell Harry and Ron about the Room of Requirement just yet, not if she felt she could still get through to Malfoy. "How do you know it’s not the same cabinet?" Ron asked."How would Malfoy get that big great cabinet into Hogwarts?" Hermione asked. "Who knows?" Ron said. "He’s a death eater now right? Which means he's been exposed to all kinds of dark magic, where he could find a way to get things in."Oh Ron, if he could do that, then there would be no need for a vanishing cabinet would there?" Hermione said. "Where in the castle do you suppose it is then?" Harry asked. Hermione shrugged innocently. "Well you were right about one thing, Hermione." Harry said."What?"I am not interested in whatever Malfoy’s doing in the castle, I don’t have the energy to be invested in his dealings anymore. I’ll leave that up to you." "I agree," Ron said. "Me too," Hermione said, though she wasn’t sure how honest she was being to them or to herself for that matter. "So what should we do today?" Ron asked. "I wouldn't mind practicing quidditch with you Harry."I was just about to suggest the same thing," Harry said. "Perhaps you could join us, Hermione, cheer us on?" Hermione agreed and packed up her things from the table. She was going to study, but thought supporting Ron through his Quidditch could help him calm his nerves for the coming matches. Harry, Ron and Hermione were out on the Quidditch pitch, Hermione could see other members of the team already training on the pitch. They were all arranged on different sides of the pitch; Gryffindor didn’t have a match until next week, so there was no training session this week, but Ron wanting to work on his keeping skills, soared high near the vacant goal post to begin practice. Hermione turned to Harry. "I’ll go and find a decent seat," Hermione said. "Wait," Harry said. "Why don’t you grab a broom and join us, it’s not an official training session. You might have fun." Harry suggested. "It’s tempting, but I haven't flown a broom in a while so I think I’ll just observe for now. I’m not as good as you or Ron, I’ll stick to books," Hermione said, smiling. "Observe or read a book?" Harry said, pointing at Hermione’s leatherbound book she’d brought along with her. "Didn’t you say you were going to drill Ron about the coming game before you practice?" Hermione asked."Oh yes, but it won’t last long, just promise you won’t keep your nose in that book once we get to practice," Harry pleaded. "I promise," Hermione said, sincerely. "Very well," Harry said and he kicked off the ground and joined Ron near the post. Hermione made her way to the stands, she found a seat closest to where Harry and Ron were practicing. She pulled out her book and started to read up on Monday’s potion’s lesson. Love potions. Hermione was looking forward to learning about the different levels to love potions, none were close to the real thing, but there would always be a crazed amount of obsession and infatuations involved. As she was reading, Hermione noticed the writing on the bottom of the page. It seemed to be inked in, handwritten, as if not part of the book. It simply read:Where are you?Hermione guessed this was another message from Draco Malfoy. She was seething again, and decided not to reply back. Just then, more green lettering appeared beneath the existing message. Quidditch pitch, I see you.Hermione looked up, and suddenly, she saw Malfoy walking along the row behind where she sat. She didn’t have time to leave the pitch as he was already one seat behind her. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione hissed, not turning around. "Since you decided to become an interfering little mudblood and know quite a lot of what I’m doing, I thought I might include you in the vanishing cabinet business," Malfoy said. "I won’t lie, it is getting quite difficult, and seeing as you are a little know all, I thought you could help me."Forget I interfered in the first place. I want no part in it. Maybe at one point, I was interested, now I couldn’t care less," Hermione said."Ahh, now you thinking you have any choice in the matter is a very foolish thought," Malfoy replied. "I am not asking." "What are you going to do?" Hermione asked. "I’ll start cursing a bunch of Gryffindors," Malfoy said."Please just leave me alone," Hermione said. "What I need you to do," Malfoy said, ignoring her plea, "is to join me in the room of requirement this afternoon at 4, to test out the old cabinet, I know the spell to transfer things from one to the other, but haven’t quite figured out the right way to say it, you’re going to help me with that." Malfoy leaned in and Hermione could feel his breath near her ear. Ron and Harry were too engaged on the pitch to notice what was happening in the stands. Hermione cringed at the slight touch of his lips on her ear. "If you don’t come, Granger. I’ll not only curse everyone in Gryffindor, but I’ll use the imperius curse on you anyway," Malfoy threatened. Rattled, Hermione simply nodded her head to acknowledge that she would comply, she could hear him smile behind her."A wise choice," Malfoy said, and with that, he got up and left the stands. At four o’clock, Hermione made her way towards the fifth floor corridor, she told Harry and Ron that she was going to the library and naturally, they wanted no part of studying on the first day of the weekend. She pushed the door open and there Malfoy stood in all his brooding glory. His usually neat platinum hair that was slicked back, was in tatters, quite messy, a lot like Harry’s but parted in the middle. It fell into his eyes which looked deranged. His shirt was untucked and his tie was loosened, he was sweating. A hint of smile appeared on his face and Hermione felt her cheeks and ears going warm at the sight of him. Did he frighten her? Hermione admitted that he did, as his threats did not seem hollow. The room of requirement was always a bit stifling. She inched closer to him, but stared him down. "Let me hear how you say the incantation first," Hermione said. "Do you already know the spell?" Malfoy asked, shocked. "Of course I do," Hermione said. "My strongest subject is not defence against the dark arts, so I’ve been studying it more than all the others. Going into the restricted section and withdrawing books with terrible, dark spells and curses."What do you think of them?" Malfoy asked. "They’re horrible," Hermione said."You don’t find some of them enticing?" Malfoy asked, smiling again. Hermione stared at him, wondering how he could think of the dark arts as enticing. Some of the things she read about them were fascinating perhaps, but not something she’d want to try out herself. "There’s always a terrible price," Hermione retorted. "So you’ve thought about performing them?" Malfoy said, edging closer to Hermione. "No," Hermione said, firmly. "Lacus," Malfoy whispered. Hermione's heart drummed like a parade. Malfoy had just uttered a terrible spell, a transportation spell. This went beyond the bounds of what wizard magic allowed. There were a great many transportation spells that were completely harmless, but this one was dangerous. It allowed the wizard to be transported in between worlds of the spirit and the living. If one tampered with that, they’d be tampering with the dead, bringing communication with people who were dead. It was a different kind of magic to speaking with ghosts, they chose to come back, but being able to transport to a world where those did not choose, to be where they reside, would cause a major imbalance, sort of like Hermione’s time turner. Seeing oneself was dangerous, the dead seeing the living was even more so. "Why that spell?" Hermione said, barely able to speak. "Why not a simple transportation spell?"I need to use the darkest of magic to penetrate these castle walls. As written in a history book, the enchantments blocking contact with everything from the outside world have made these walls impenetrable," Malfoy said. "But that’s what the vanishing cabinet is for," Hermione said. "To penetrate the castle walls and get messages to the outside."Messages yes, but I need something bigger, something more powerful, the enchantments are too strong for even this cabinet to work, according to this book," Malfoy threw the book at Hermione’s feet. Hermione knelt down to pick it up and she read the title: Hogwarts, A History. "You read this?" Hermione asked, shocked. No one else ever bothered to read this book, and she knew no one in Gryffindor house that had read. To think the only other person who had was Malfoy brought a sick feeling to her stomach. "You must be desperate for a way out," Hermione said. "No one in the history of Hogwarts, ever read this book apart from me and Professor Binns, getting anyone to read this is much more impossible than what you’re planning."I found it quite fascinating actually, it gave me much of an idea of what I could and could not do to get to the outside world," Malfoy said. "Now, tell me how to pronounce the spell." Malfoy raised his wand at her. Hermione, shaking, set the book down on a nearby chair. "You said the spell with the "u’ sounding like an "a’ sound, you need to say it like an "oo’ to get the pronunciation right," Hermione explained. "Lacoos," Malfoy uttered. Hermione cringed at it, but nodded her head. "Hand me that bird cage, Granger." Hermione did as she was told and handed it to Malfoy. A cute, white bird was chirping around in the cage, Malfoy opened the cage and grabbed a hold of it in his fist, but not squeezing it. He turned towards the cabinet and Hermione drew closer to it too. He opened the cabinet and placed the little bird inside, he then closed the cabinet. The sound of the bird flapping inside resonated deep in Hermione but then Malfoy uttered the explicit curse."Lacoos."There was silence. Malfoy’s grey asked pierced Hermione’s brown ones, her heart was drumming faster. Hermione reached towards the handle of the cabinet, but Malfoy’s hand stopped her.