Magical Studies at Hogwarts...

Harry was very experienced in stalking, and he and Hermione carefully slipped into an empty corridor, then, wearing invisibility cloaks, made their way to the House of Requirement.

Of course, Marauder's Map needs to be turned on.

On Sunday mornings, most people stay in their dormitories or common rooms, with only a few choosing to wander around the castle. This makes Goyle's name, appearing alone on the eighth floor, particularly conspicuous.

Although, in Harry and Hermione's eyes, the place where Goyle's name is now located is that of a blonde little girl wearing a Slytherin robe.

"Wait a moment."

Harry was about to confront Goyle when Hermione stopped him. Turning around, he saw that Hermione had somehow drawn her wand.

"Don't worry, he can't hear you..." Hermione knew exactly what Harry wanted to ask, gave a brief explanation, and then said, "Let's wait a bit longer, maybe Malfoy will come out of there soon?"

"……All right."

Harry nodded in agreement; years of habit made him happy to follow Hermione's advice.

The two waited at the door for almost an hour, watching Gore, who had transformed into a little girl, wander around in the corridor, but the door to the House of Requirement did not open.

Harry was getting impatient, but Hermione pulled him back again.

So, another half hour passed, and just as Harry's face turned red with anxiety, a gorgeous pattern suddenly appeared on the wall next to him, and a door appeared.

The door opened silently, and an unremarkable-looking person peeked out. Upon seeing Gore, who was disguised as a little girl, the person immediately waved to him. After receiving a nod from Gore, the person did not come out immediately but turned and nodded to the person behind him. Then, together with a girl with freckles on her face, the person walked towards Gore.

"I knew it!"

Harry's heart screamed again, his body trembling with excitement, his gaze lingering between the two people who had just come out of the Room of Requirement and the Marauder's Map in his hand.

The names on the map are clearly visible: Malfoy and Crabbe.

At that moment, Hermione nudged Harry's arm and pointed towards the door. Harry looked up and saw a messy, dilapidated structure that looked like a mountain made up of various tables and chairs, seemingly on the verge of collapse.

"Where is that?" he asked.

"It should be a 'storage room,' I've been inside it," Hermione said, watching the three Malfoys leave.

"We should go in and take a look. There must be some secret inside, otherwise Malfoy would never have entered a room like this!" Harry's face turned bright red, and he was very excited.

"If you insist, but it's full of all sorts of junk, we'll probably come up empty-handed." Hermione shrugged, clearly not expecting Harry to gain anything.

"I can't wait!"

As soon as Malfoy and his companions disappeared down the corridor, Harry immediately ripped off his Invisibility Cloak. While silently chanting, "I want a room to store junk," he paced back and forth three times in the spot where the door had vanished. As soon as the door reappeared, he immediately slipped inside.

"My God, this is such a mess!"

As soon as Harry entered, he was stunned by the chaos before him. The fleeting glimpse he had seen from outside seemed to represent only a fraction of the whole picture. Only after entering did he realize how high the mountain made of broken tables and chairs was, and how many mountains of that height stretched as far as the eye could see.

"I told you, we're likely to come up empty-handed," Hermione's voice rang out from behind them. She shrugged, not believing Harry would gain anything.

Harry, undeterred, began to walk along the narrow, somewhat stumbling path, letting out gasps of surprise as he went.

"Damn it!"

"God!"

"Merlin!"

"Why!"

They passed through mountains and saw countless strange things: skeletons, specimens, books, and even broken wands and brooms—everything was dilapidated, more like a junkyard than a storage room.

"what!"

After rounding a large jar filled with a strange, green liquid, Harry suddenly cried out in pain and clutched his forehead tightly with his hand.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked hurriedly.

"The scar...it hurts again..."

Harry rubbed his forehead and replied, then looked around, but couldn't make heads or tails of it. He knew perfectly well that his scar hurt because there was something related to Voldemort nearby. Ever since he learned Occlumency, that was the only explanation.

"Look around, it's nearby!"

Harry was absolutely certain, but his headless search only made the already chaotic place even more chaotic.

"Why? Why? It should be right here..."

Harry sat awkwardly in a chair with one half of its back missing, looking somewhat dejected.

"Harry, stop..." Hermione gently placed her hand on Harry's shoulder and said softly, "Perhaps you can tell Dumbledore about this, he might have a way."

"But Dumbledore doesn't want me to investigate Malfoy. He even got angry about it last time. He'd much rather I get Slughorn's memories!"

"That's true, but this time is different, Harry..."

"What?"

"Your scar hurts, Harry, and Dumbledore knows very well what that means."

"But……"

"No buts!" Hermione's tone suddenly turned serious, and her eyes sharpened. "Dumbledore needs to know this! Because..."

"Why?"

"Because there's a good chance Voldemort's Horcruxes are here."

"Horregularities!"

Harry was startled by Hermione's guess, but then realized it was quite possible.

"But...Dumbledore isn't at school right now..."

"He will come back eventually, and until then, you can focus your energy on the tasks Dumbledore has given you."

"You mean..." Harry guessed, "that thing that hurts my scar is Malfoy's goal?"

"I can only say that it's possible," Hermione said, helping Harry up from his chair. "Now, we have to leave."

"Don't forget, we've been on the eighth floor for almost two hours now. The corridors won't be empty forever. Besides, Ron and the others who participated in the Hogsmeade special training will be back soon."

"All right……"

It took them some effort to find their way out. After leaving the Room of Requirement, they headed towards the Great Hall. This was where they had arranged to meet Ron for lunch.

"Harry, Hermione! Hahaha, I did it!"

They didn't have to wait long in the auditorium before Ron and Lavender walked in arm in arm. Ron was very excited, and Lavender's eyes were full of doting affection.

"You did it?" Harry asked.

"Of course... well, there might be a slight flaw," Ron said. "It should be outside Lady Patif's Tea House. I was a bit past it, and ended up next to the Literati Residence... but I moved!"

"At least!"

"Great! I knew you'd be okay!"

"Of course... By the way, what about you guys? What did you do all morning?"

"We..." Harry glanced at Ron, his gaze subtly sweeping over Lavender beside him, and replied, "We didn't do anything. You know, with so much homework and papers, how could I have time for anything else?"

"So you've finished everything?" Ron's eyes lit up when he heard this.

"No, not at all." Harry shook his head. "It's too difficult. I only got started. I'm planning to finish the rest this afternoon..."

"Oh, I see..."

Upon hearing this, the light in Ron's eyes disappeared.