Three days later, Rita Skeeter's disappearance finally attracted attention.
At first, her assistant assumed she was chasing another sensational story somewhere in Britain.
That wasn't unusual.
Rita often vanished for days at a time while hunting exclusive material.
But after several days without any contact, even he began to worry.
The matter was reported to the editor of the Daily Prophet.
Soon afterward, the Ministry of Magic was notified.
An Auror investigation into Rita Skeeter's disappearance officially began.
...
At that moment, the person responsible for her disappearance was sitting peacefully in the Hogwarts library.
The second floor was unusually quiet.
Rows of towering bookshelves stretched into the distance, and the faint scent of old parchment filled the air.
Liam sat alone at a table near a window.
A thick volume on magical properties lay open before him.
For the past few days, he had been trying to solve the final obstacle preventing him from breaking through the outer curse protecting the grimoire.
The anti-curse itself was no longer the problem.
The real issue was the corrosive magical property attached to the curse.
No matter how many books he read, he still couldn't find a complete solution.
Just as Liam was turning a page, footsteps approached.
Then a familiar voice sounded above him.
"You actually read books here?"
Liam looked up.
Hermione Granger stood there holding several books against her chest.
Her expression was one of genuine surprise.
Liam blinked.
"Why wouldn't I read books here?"
Hermione hesitated.
"Well..."
She looked around the nearly empty library.
"You're famous now."
The words carried a hint of envy.
"Everyone wants to spend time with you."
"Shouldn't you be out with them?"
Liam immediately understood.
To be honest, Hermione's frustration wasn't difficult to see.
She worked hard.
Answered questions correctly.
Read ahead in textbooks.
Yet whenever people talked about exceptional first-years, Liam's name came up first.
Compared to him, her efforts attracted very little attention.
Liam closed the book.
"Playing can wait."
His answer was simple.
"Survival can't."
Hermione frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"Voldemort will come back."
Liam spoke as though discussing the weather.
"Before that happens, I need enough power to kill him permanently."
Hermione stared.
"What?"
Her voice rose slightly.
"But Dumbledore captured him."
"He'll be executed, won't he?"
"Eleven years ago, most people thought he died when he attacked Harry Potter."
Liam shrugged.
"Yet here we are."
Hermione fell silent.
After thinking about it carefully, she realized his logic wasn't unreasonable.
If Voldemort had survived once, there was no guarantee he wouldn't survive again.
Still...
"Isn't that exhausting?"
She sat down across from him.
"To live like that?"
Liam raised an eyebrow.
"Like what?"
"Always expecting danger."
Hermione lowered her voice.
"Always believing someone terrible is watching from the shadows."
She looked genuinely concerned.
"Wouldn't that break a person eventually?"
Liam thought about it.
Then shook his head.
"No."
His answer came immediately.
"That vigilance is the reason I'm still alive."
The words carried far more weight than Hermione expected.
For a brief moment, she remembered that Liam's childhood had been very different from hers.
He hadn't grown up in a safe home.
He hadn't spent his early years worrying about homework and school grades.
His life had been something else entirely.
The realization made her feel slightly guilty.
Trying to change the subject, Hermione glanced at the book in front of him.
"What are you researching?"
She brightened slightly.
"Maybe I can help."
Liam looked interested.
"Oh?"
Hermione sat up straighter.
"I've spent years reading about magical history and theory."
A hint of pride appeared in her voice.
"If you're looking for something specific, I might know where to find it faster than a library search."
Liam considered the offer.
Then nodded.
"I'm researching magical corrosion."
Hermione blinked.
"That sounds unpleasant."
"It is."
Liam explained.
"There's a curse that corrupts magical energy itself."
"If someone is struck by it, their magic can become permanently unusable."
Hermione's eyes widened.
"That sounds horrible."
"It is."
Liam repeated.
"I need to know how that kind of magical property works."
Hermione immediately began thinking.
For several moments she remained silent.
Then her eyes lit up.
"Wait."
She snapped her fingers.
"I've seen something similar before."
Liam immediately focused.
"Where?"
"In a book called Akramath's Peculiar Mysteries."
Hermione searched her memory.
"It described a type of transformed magical property."
"Corrosive magic doesn't destroy energy directly."
"It assimilates it."
Liam's eyes narrowed.
"Assimilates?"
Hermione nodded.
"Like poison spreading through water."
"Once contact occurs, the corrupted magic converts nearby magic into more of itself."
Her excitement increased as she explained.
"It rapidly expands through magical systems."
"That makes sense."
Liam leaned back thoughtfully.
It was a surprisingly elegant mechanism.
No wonder ordinary defensive spells failed.
The corruption wasn't attacking magic.
It was transforming it.
Hermione's enthusiasm faded slightly.
"Unfortunately..."
"I don't remember the book explaining how to counter it."
She looked apologetic.
"That's all I know."
"That's already extremely helpful."
Liam smiled.
Hermione froze slightly.
Not because of the compliment.
Because he genuinely meant it.
There was no condescension.
No dismissal.
Just simple gratitude.
"Really?"
"Of course."
Liam nodded.
"Understanding the mechanism is half the solution."
The answer made Hermione unexpectedly happy.
Most people didn't care about theoretical magic.
Many students thought she was showing off whenever she talked about advanced topics.
Liam was different.
He listened.
More importantly, he respected the knowledge.
For the next several hours, the conversation continued.
Hermione explained everything she knew about magical properties.
Elemental alignments.
Magical resonance.
Transformation principles.
Theoretical interactions.
Liam listened carefully and occasionally asked questions.
The discussion flowed naturally.
Before either of them realized it, the afternoon disappeared.
Outside the windows, the sky darkened.
Then the great clock tower struck eight times.
The sound echoed throughout the castle.
A stern voice interrupted their conversation.
"You two."
Liam and Hermione looked up simultaneously.
Madam Pince stood nearby holding a lantern.
Her expression suggested she was only slightly less dangerous than a dragon.
"The library is closing."
Neither student had noticed the time.
"Sorry, Madam Pince."
Hermione immediately stood.
Liam closed his book.
"Thank you."
The librarian's expression softened slightly.
Liam was still Hogwarts' newest hero, after all.
"Come back tomorrow."
"We will."
After gathering their books, the two students left together.
The corridors were much quieter than usual.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then Hermione broke the silence.
"If you need help researching something else..."
She hesitated slightly.
"You can ask me."
Liam looked at her.
"It'll probably be faster than searching through fifty books."
Hermione laughed.
"Exactly."
The offer was sincere.
After spending the afternoon talking with Liam, her earlier jealousy had mostly disappeared.
He wasn't obsessed with popularity.
Or praise.
Or showing off.
If anything, he cared more about magical theory than she did.
That alone made him far more relatable than she had expected.
"Thanks."
Liam nodded.
Then he added something unexpected.
"Actually, I have a suggestion."
Hermione looked curious.
"What is it?"
"You spend a lot of time learning spells."
"Well, yes."
"Try studying why they work."
Hermione blinked.
"The principles behind magic?"
"Exactly."
Liam nodded.
"Most wizards focus entirely on using magic."
"Very few study its foundations."
His eyes became thoughtful.
"You might discover something interesting."
Hermione's expression brightened.
The idea immediately appealed to her.
Research.
Theory.
Discovery.
All her favorite things.
"I'll try it."
She grinned.
"Actually, that sounds fascinating."
The smile made Liam chuckle.
"Good."
At the next intersection, Hermione stopped.
"The Great Hall is this way."
She pointed down another corridor.
"I should probably eat dinner before I forget again."
"Probably."
Hermione laughed.
"See you tomorrow, Liam."
"See you."
She hurried off toward the Great Hall.
Liam watched her disappear around a corner.
Then turned and headed in a different direction.
Back toward the abandoned classroom.
Back toward the grimoire.
And, hopefully, one step closer to uncovering the secret that even Voldemort had managed to hide from the world.
....
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