Hogwarts Library
"I was supposed to take that route that day, but I changed my mind at the last minute," Hermione whispered.
"So it's obvious," Dudley replied softly. "Whoever's behind this was targeting you from the start."
Dudley and Hermione were huddled in the library, quietly discussing the recent attack on a young wizard. This time, Dudley hadn't offered up any Mandrakes. Instead, he'd chosen to let the petrified student wait until Professor Sprout's Mandrakes were ready. His reasoning? The attacker's real target was Hermione. The petrified student was just collateral damage, and curing them now might tip off the culprit. If the student blabbed about what they'd seen, it could spook the mastermind.
To catch the person behind it once and for all, this was the best approach. As long as the student remained petrified, the culprit would feel safe—and likely strike again. After all, where there's a first attack, a second was bound to follow.
"Hermione, stick to the Gryffindor common room for now," Dudley said. "I'll handle this."
"You sure about this?" Hermione asked, her concern more for Dudley than herself. A creature with petrifying powers was no small threat.
"Absolutely," Dudley said with a confident nod.
In truth, Dudley already had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Without the mention of the Chamber of Secrets, he might've been stumped. But a Basilisk? The Chamber? That pointed straight to Slytherin's Heir.
And as far as Dudley knew, there was only one self-proclaimed Heir of Slytherin: his "senior," Tom. About fifty years his senior, to be exact.
Sure, Dudley had destroyed the diary, leaving it a pile of charred ashes. Its magic had been drained into a crystal, its soul turned into a Philosopher's Stone. Tom was as dead as dead could be. But that didn't mean he was gone. There was more to Tom than just the diary, wasn't there?
To test his theory, Dudley made his way to the eighth floor of Hogwarts, the closest spot to the Ravenclaw common room. Soon, he stood before a tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls to dance ballet.
Closing his eyes, Dudley focused, picturing a place where he could hide something.
Before long, a smooth, unadorned door materialized on the previously blank wall. Dudley touched it lightly, then pushed it open.
This was one of Hogwarts' best-kept secrets: the Room of Requirement.
It was one of the castle's most magical places, appearing only when someone truly needed it. Elusive and intangible, it could vanish without a trace. But if you knew about it beforehand and focused hard enough, you could summon its entrance.
Behind the door was a vast space, larger than the Great Hall itself, clearly expanded by an Undetectable Extension Charm. It was crammed with all sorts of objects—items stashed away by students who'd discovered the room over Hogwarts' thousand-year history. It looked like a giant storage closet.
The Room of Requirement's magic wasn't just in its secrecy. If you needed a training ground, the door wouldn't open to a cluttered storeroom but to a space tailored for practice. That was its true wonder.
Dudley couldn't help but wonder about one thing, though. If someone entered the Room of Requirement wanting "Room A" and stayed inside, what would happen if another person came along wanting "Room B"? Would the second person enter Room A or Room B? Until the door was opened, was the first person in Room A or Room B?
It was, as he dubbed it, Schrödinger's Room of Requirement.
"Focus, Dudley," he muttered, shaking off the philosophical tangent. He activated his Data Sight.
He was here for one thing: another of Tom's Horcruxes—Ravenclaw's Diadem.
A millennium of students hiding things had turned the room into a treasure trove of oddities. Torn skirts, three-legged tables, love letters stained with mysterious liquids, even half-eaten breakfast trays littered the space. Thanks to the room's vast size, it could hold it all.
The most common items, though, were dark magical artifacts. Under Dudley's Data Sight, they lit up like beacons. The collection here might just be the most comprehensive in the wizarding world. If someone cataloged it all, they could open a shop in Knockturn Alley that'd put Borgin and Burkes to shame.
Sadly, Dudley didn't find what he was looking for.
He felt a mix of disappointment and relief. If the Diadem wasn't here, someone had taken it. Which meant he was on the right track.
"Should've come sooner," he sighed, though he didn't regret his choices. If he had to do it again, he'd still pick the castle lawns for training over this cluttered mess.
First, he'd rule out Ravenclaw. It was the closest House to the Room of Requirement, making it the most likely starting point.
Just then, the door to the Room of Requirement creaked open.
"There you are," came a lazy, honeyed voice.
Dudley turned to see a cascade of striking blonde hair. Madison. She leaned against the doorframe, dressed in a pink pajama set adorned with little strawberries. The loose neckline revealed a glimpse of her pale, delicate collarbone.
Her skin was practically luminous, like polished ivory.
"You," Dudley said, not surprised in the least. Madison had been on his suspect list from the start.
"I've been waiting for you," Madison purred, closing the door behind her and gliding toward him. A faint, natural fragrance wafted from her—not the cheap, cloying scent of a love potion, but something uniquely her own.
Strictly speaking, it was pleasant.
But Dudley preferred the familiar scent of Hermione's soap. He'd been around it for years, after all.
Madison stopped in front of him, biting her lower lip lightly, tilting her head with a sultry gaze. Her demeanor was completely different from their last encounter—innocent yet dripping with allure, a blend of charm and fragility, like a lotus rising from the water. She was practically radiating pheromones, a succubus minus the wings, horns, and tail.
The air seemed to shimmer with a faint pink haze.
Madison reached out, as if to take Dudley's hand.
"Sorry," Dudley said flatly, sidestepping her. "I'm not into flat boards."
And just like that, the carefully crafted atmosphere shattered.
Note: The Room of Requirement is closer to Ravenclaw Tower. While Gryffindor Tower is also on the eighth floor, it's on the opposite side of the castle.