On the Way to the End - Dramione

Chapter 16

Draco felt his stomach churn as they walked down the hallway in Hogwarts. He had been there only a few months prior but it felt like a lifetime. On the inside, everything looked the same, other than a few damages in the walls. But it was fairly empty. Draco was beginning to think it would be a breeze. They had only seen a guard at the entrance, who didn't question them as soon as they showed him their dark marks. 

Blaise turned the corner and Draco stayed close behind, they were nearly to the library now. Draco just hoped that they would be able to find it easily. They passed someone else, someone Draco didn't recognize, which was probably for the better, but he still tightened his grip on his wand. 

They rounded one more turn and then they were at the entrance of the library. Blaise looked at his friend before heading in. He found a place to stand near the entrance and began keeping watch. Draco looked around and sighed, the damned thing could be anywhere. 

He performed a few accio spells in hopes something would come his way but there was no luck. So the Slytherin began looking. In drawers, shelves, between books. But the place was huge. Draco had been relying on accio working, this would take ages. 

After about ten more minutes of searching, he made his way back over to Blaise, "what exactly did Dolohov say?" Draco whispered, looking in another drawer. 

Blaise furrowed his eyebrows, "accio didn't work?" he looked concerned. 

Draco shook his head. 

"He said in Hogwarts. In the library. I don't understand." Blaise began looking too now. 

"Might there be another library here?" Draco offered in frustration. 

"This is all I know of..." Blaise was worried now, Draco could tell. The blonde wracked his brain, he knew that in the Slytherin Common room there were a few shelves but nothing that could be considered a library. 

He thought to classrooms, knowing McGonagall had a whole wall filled with books in her Transfiguration room. But he doubted Voldemort would place such an important item in a classroom... Or a library for that matter.

"Blaise, if you were going to hide something important, where would you put it?" Draco asked needing a second brain on the task. His friend sighed in thought. Draco suddenly wished Hermione was there, she would know. She was always so quick to come up with the answers. 

The Room of Requirement was where he hid the diadem. But that room made sense. It was more important than a classroom because there were dozens of classrooms and only one Room of Requirement. Draco knew that with Voldemort's track record it had to be somewhere important. 

"Wouldn't you put it somewhere that was also important?" Draco asked Blaise, "what's important in this castle?" His voice was low. 

"The Great Hall is the heart of the Castle." Blaise thought aloud, "but there's nothing library-like there." He paused, "I'm sorry mate, I thought I had it." 

Draco waved him off and kept thinking. Important. The Astronomy Tower was a place of importance, but there was nothing book-related their either.  Dumbledore was important to Voldemort in his own twisted, murderous way. 

Dumbledore. 

"I've got it." Draco turned to Blaise, who's face lit up. "The Head Master's office. It has a private library." Hermione would be proud. 

"That has to be it." Blaise agreed. 

So they took off out of the library and headed for the moving staircases. They didn't pass too many people and a few floors higher and they were there. Dumbledore's Office. The old Gryffin was still standing proudly in the entranceway.