A/N: Ugh. A plot bunny managed to worm its way into my mind, and I haven't been able to forget this. At least I'll be able to finally write this out, haha!

Anyway, there might be H/Hr in future chapters, as well as Weasley bashing (Mainly Ron, not much for Fred and George.), Dumbledore bashing and Powerful/Independent Harry (potentially Dark as well). If this isn't your cup of tea, or should I say mug of butterbeer, I suggest you find another story.

And without further ado, let the story commence!

"Speaking"

Thought

Books/Author Notes

The shadows cast by the feathery moonlight filtering through Hogwarts windows gave an eerie feel to the area. Harry Potter was out of his common room after curfew, again.

He peered into the empty classrooms as he walked past, when he heard hushed voices conversing around the corner. "We can't let the boy know what we're doing, Severus," a familiar female voice said. The other voice, presumably Professor Snape, answered, "Potter will find out either way. I agree that he cannot know about-" There was a silence, only broken by Professor Dumbledore. "Not right now. I think the boy may be listening."

Harry broke into a sprint towards Gryffindor tower. He needed to find out what they were hiding from him, and soon. Reasoning that if he slept he could think more clearly, he lay down on his four-poster. However, sleep didn't come. His mind kept replaying what had happened in the corridor.

Soon, the morning sunlight pierced through his curtains and he knew it would be fruitless to keep trying to sleep. Unsurprisingly, Ron was still dead to the world, so he pulled on his robes as quietly as he could and made his way down to the common room.

"Hello, Harry. Why are you up so early on a Saturday morning?" he heard Hermione's tired voice from a seat in front of the fireplace. "I could ask you the same thing." Harry retorted, expecting the usual reply. "Reading," she answered, "but I'm sure you're not surprised." Harry snorted. "Mind if I sit next to you?" Hermione hesitated for a millisecond, then agreed, slipping a musty old book into her robe pocket. However, it didn't go unnoticed. "Hey, what's that book you just put away?" he asked, with a tone of mild curiosity. "N-nothing special." Hermione answered vaguely, but stopped when she saw Harry's narrowed eyes and suspicious look. "Show me," he said firmly, "If it's something you need help on, maybe I can help you."

After what felt like minutes of just staring each other down, Hermione finally relented. "Fine, but you can't freak out." "Alright," he agreed, "But what's so important-" His words cut off as he saw the ancient-looking tome that his friend was holding.

"An Introduction To The Dark Arts?" he read in confusion as he prodded the intricately carved leather binding. "There, I showed you," she huffed. "Now you're probably going to lecture me on how highly addictive the magics are, and how I'm in danger."

"What? No, I actually was going to ask if I could take a look." Hermione looked embarrassed, a faint pink blush tinting her cheeks. "Well, then."

Harry flipped through the book with mild interest, until one page caught his eye. It read,

The Exploratorem spell is often used as Utility magic. Although it is classified as Dark magic, it causes a minimum amount of addiction to the user. Many wizards use this spell to spy on their enemies, and it is favored because of its difficulty to be detected. Correctly performing this spell will create a small window that shows what the target is doing. The incantation for this spell is simply "Exploratorem," and the full name of the target. The wand movement is very simple as it is just a circular motion.

After reading it over a couple times, he looked up at Hermione. "Can you keep a secret?" "What do you mean?" She asked, confused. Harry hesitated, then spoke quietly. "Last night, I used the cloak to walk around the castle," he admitted, and kept going on despite Hermione's spluttering about rules. "The point is that I heard Snape, McGonagall, Dumbledore and potentially others discussing some kind of secret." He paused. "Come to think of it, Dumbledore somehow sensed I was nearby. He only did that once before, when I was in First Year." Hermione's delicate features contorted into a look of determination. "Harry, I think it's your right to know what they were talking about. It might be about something extremely important." "Are you saying that I can use this spell?" he asked in surprise, then smiled as she nodded. "Thanks, Hermione."

The two of them leaned together, weight supporting each other. Hermione soon dozed off, and soon, Harry was left with a beautiful sleeping girl on his lap. He sat in a comfortable silence, listening to Hermione's rhythmic breathing as the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. The common room started to rustle with the sounds of birdsong and the early morning stragglers. Harry glanced into Hermione's deep brown eyes for a split second.

"Shall we go to breakfast?"

A/N: How was the first chapter? Please leave reviews in the comments so I can improve the grammar and such in the story.

The Exploratorem spell is just something I made up. I'm not even sure there's a spying spell in the canon world. I'm sorry if the Latin is wrong, I translated the word "Spy" into Google Translate and that's what came out.

Anyway, I might update soon. R&R, and arigats my amigos!