Chapter 9
Hermione was scanning the Ravenclaw common room.
Unlike the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff common rooms, the Ravenclaw common room didn't have its colors anywhere, other than the Ravenclaw flag above the entrance. The room was a large, near-perfect circle, with walls made of bookshelves. The floor was a soft, periwinkle carpet with white patches, and the ceiling was sunshine yellow. In the center of the room was a spiral staircase, which was also made of bookshelves, leading to the dorm rooms, and scattered around the room were white couches and chairs.
She'd never been in the Slytherin common room, so she wasn't sure what it looked like.
Most other days, Hermione would have been looking for one book she hadn't read from the shelves. This time, however, she was looking for Ravenclaw's secret rooms. Most of the others were with Harrison and Harley, learning Occlumency from Snape, but as Luna already knew Occlumency, Hermione was too busy, and Neville didn't want to learn, they were in their respective common rooms looking for the secret rooms.
Hermione was unaware that the rest of her friends had made a bet about who would find Ravenclaw's secret room first, and only Ron and Draco had bet on her.
She paused, noticing something.
The way that this library worked was that the books were sorted by genre and then by the author's last name. If someone tried to return a book to the wrong shelf, it would float to the correct spot. Most of the books were several different colors and sizes, but there was one author that had written a book in each genre whose books were the same size and the same color, a soft blue color with bronze lining.
Cassidy Medea Melia Keen
"Luna," Hermione called, and the girl wandered over. The common room was empty; most Ravenclaws were in the library or on the grounds.
"Hmm," she said dreamily. "Cassidy means clever, did you know?"
"Medea is a Greek sorceress," Hermione remembered. "Doesn't her name mean cunning, ponder, and ruler?"
"Melia means diligence and loyalty," Luna continued. "The name Keen is derived from an Anglo-Saxon nickname meaning 'brave.'"
"So, she's part of the clue to Ravenclaw's secret rooms," Hermione said excitedly. "Should we read her books?"
"You can't take them off the shelves," Luna replied. "I've tried. I can pull the top part of the books forward, and I hear a clicking noise, but then the books return to the shelves."
"A puzzle!" Hermione exclaimed, not noticing the little, triumphant smile on Luna's face. "Let's see..."
Ten minutes later, Ms. Keen's ten books had been pulled down partway. Luna had pulled the last book down, and as the book returned upright, the entire shelf section pulled backward and slid to the left, revealing-
"A secret library!" Hermione squealed in delight, pulling Luna into a hug and bouncing up and down like an excited toddler.
Luna giggled and hugged her back. "There's a book in here that Harrison will be interested in, as well as most of the others."
Hermione blinked at her, calming down. "Which one?"
Neville was having less luck than the girls. The Hufflepuff common room, while cozy and comfortable, was pretty empty, with the floor covered in beanbags and a few couches and chairs. There was also the door to the kitchens, but nobody used it because they knew the main entrance to the kitchens.
Sighing, Neville left the room, feeling hungry.
And paused just outside the entrance.
The way to enter the Hufflepuff common room was to tap the five barrels outside in a certain sequence. It changed at the beginning of every month. The barrels were the size one would see on a ship, tied together with thick rope. They were plain enough that nobody paid attention to them.
Neville was paying attention now.
Each barrel had a tiny carving of a bee and a black ant, just below the rope tied around the bottom of the barrels.
"Mr. Longbottom?"
Neville straightened up and found Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott standing behind him, looking curious and puzzled. Suddenly, Neville had an idea.
"Hi, Miss Bones, Miss Abbott," he said. "I found something weird." He pointed out the carvings. Both girls bent over to look.
"I've never seen those before," Bones said with interest. "Have they always been there?"
"Why are they there?" Abbott added.
"I think they're a clue to Helga Hufflepuff's secret rooms," Neville whispered. They looked surprised. "I'm not good with puzzles, though, unless it has to do with Herbology.... Can you help, Miss Bones?"
"Yes," said Bones automatically; clearly she thought that she owed Harrison and his friends, for their help last year.
"Maybe don't tell anyone yet," Neville said. "There could be dangerous things in there. Harrison thinks there might be long-extinct plants!"
"We have to tell a teacher, though," Abbott said worriedly.
"Professor Snape and Professor Belanger-Reid already know," Neville promised. They both relaxed. "And Harrison thinks it might be a good idea to tell Professor Sprout, once we find Hufflepuff's secret rooms."
"I'll help, and I won't tell anyone," Bones promised. "Hannah will keep it a secret, too," she added. Abbott nodded eagerly.
"I promised to meet my friends before dinner," Neville remembered. "Will you tell me or Harrison if you find anything?"
Bones nodded, smiling. Neville hurried off, excited to tell Harrison what had happened.