Curious and Curiouser

11: Blood And Other Distractions

I know I'm a little late with the update but here's a long chapter to make up for it!

Please comment and let me know what you think!

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Hermione was perplexed and confused by Malfoy's behavior towards her yesterday but she didn't have much time to think about it just now, Cassie had sent her an owl earlier that morning and now Hermione was rushing into the office at seven in the morning.

She had just cleared the lifts when she saw the blonde woman waiting for her. Cassie shoved a cup of coffee into Hermione's hands and started talking very excitedly and very fast. Hermione was barely able to keep up but followed her protege through the labyrinth that was the Department of Mysteries.

"Wait," Hermione interrupted as she was finally able to decipher something that Cassie had said, "you think you've found a place for us to test the Helerean charm?"

"Yes," Cassie breathed excitedly as she opened the door to Hermione's office.

"Well, what is it?" Hermione prompted, as she looked at her grinning companion.

Moments later Hermione and Cassie were racing to the Auror Office, both of them giddy at the prospect of progress. They got up there and found the entire office to be deserted with the exception of Blaise who seemed to be playing tic-tac-toe against himself at the reception desk, when Hermione remembered that she was at work nearly two hours early, and Harry and Ron were definitely not in yet.

The pair of them had startled Blaise who was now putting out the desk he had accidentally lit on fire. Cassie giggled under her breath while Hermione spoke to Blaise. By the time Harry and Ron showed up, Hermione, Cassie, and Blaise were seated in a conference room ready to go. Hermione had barely gotten a chance to greet her friends before Cassie launched into her theory. Hermione however, was slightly relieved, this was the first time she had seen Harry and Ron since she had started working with Malfoy and she knew that if they had asked her anything about how that was going she was going to tell them what had happened that first night. She pushed Malfoy from her mind once again as Cassie wrapped up her explanation.

"So, you're saying," Ron started slowly, that the room of requirement at Hogwarts would let us test the more dangerous things without getting hurt?"

"Yes," Cassie said excitedly, "I was in Ravenclaw at Hogwarts and I know that the room still exists, I know that a few people still use it, even after you lot- you know-sorta- lit it on fire."

"That wasn't us," Harry said indignantly, "That was Crabbe."

"Right, well," Cassie waved him off, not caring very much for the explanation, "I know that it still works and it survived the fiendfyre right? Which means that it could probably protect us from things too."

"Wait so how exactly do you know about the room? I thought it was secret?" Harry asked.

"I was in the DA with you lot!" Cassie said, slightly affronted, "I mean I was only a second year, and you had me doing stunning spells and levitation charms the whole time, but I was still there!"

"Oh yeah," Harry said hurriedly, as he tried to remember her, "yeah, of course, sorry, I forgot."

Ron frowned and then said, "But when we were in there, with Crabbe and them, the room didn't protect us from the fire-it just sort of let it happen."

"We never asked it to," Harry said, understanding dawning on his face. "That's brilliant, if you think it'll work...?" He trailed off with a questioning look at Hermione.