It was 3 days before Christmas holiday in Hermione's fourth year when she stumbled upon something strange. On her way back from the library shortly before curfew, light pouring out of the slightly ajar door to the DADA classroom caught her attention. Stopping short, she peered in, about to knock, until she saw a tall, thin man with unruly blond hair stooped over a caudron, filling a very familiar flask with its contents before adding something else that she couldn't see. Shock and horror doused her features as realization hit her. Everyone had thought that the flask was due to Moody's paranoia, but now she saw that that was almost certainly not its true purpose. She stayed until he screwed the cap back on and retreated through a door at the back of the classroom.

Everything inside of her wanted to just press her back against the stone wall behind her and take a nice deep breath, or five, to calm herself before she continued to her room, but she knew that she could not afford that luxury, because if she was not in bed soon, Filch would have her head. Hastening to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione took a couple deep but shaky breaths in an attempt to soothe herself. Her mind was racing a mile a minute, questions and outlandish ideas circling her brain. After slipping through the portrait hole, she rushed to the stairs, completely ignoring her two best friends who were engaged in a game of chess.

'Whoa, Hermione, what's the matter?' Harry's voice stopped her in her tracks. '

'Oh, I just lost track of time in the library and missed curfew.' She looked down at her feet in an attempt to appear sheepish. 'As I was approaching the tower, I swear I heard Filch at the end of the hallway, and it just scared the daylights out of me.' Harry and Ron both chuckled at her antics.

'Well, maybe you should take the map with you next time you go to the library, considering how easy it is for you to get lost in those books of yours,' suggested Ron. It was then that an idea struck her.

'Actually, that is a fantastic idea. May I please borrow it?' The two boys looked at her with twin expressions of surprise, having expected her to decline any offers that had anything to do with breaking rules. 'It's just that I really want to do some in-depth potions research that will require use of the Restricted Section, and you know how Snape is, there's no way he'll sign off on it.'

'Since you asked so nicely and are going against Snape, how could I refuse?' Hermione smiled brightly at her best friend.

'Thank you so much Harry, I promise I'll make it up to you.' He simply waved her off.

'After saving my life about half a dozen times, I'd be a right prat to expect anything in return. I'll give it to you at breakfast tomorrow morning.'

She nodded her thanks, muttered something about being tired, and retreated to her room. Her behavior greatly confused her and honestly she had no idea what on earth she was thinking. The only logical thing to do would be to go to Dumbledore and tell him what she saw. However, in first year, when they had suspected Snape and mentioned it to the Headmaster, they were proven wrong when it turned out to be Quirrel. The next year, Draco was the target of their accusations, and once again, they were sorely mistaken, and the same happened with Sirius. This could very well turn out to be another case of misplaced suspicion, so of course it was a logical to investigate it on her own and see if it didn't immediately resolve itself. As for lying to Ron and Harry, that was simply because they're quite excitable and it would save all three of them undue stress if she could just do this on her own. Satisfied with her rationale, Hermione soon after fell asleep with ease.

The next morning, Hermione woke early and meandered down to the Great Hall well before most everyone else. As such, she took her sweet time languidly sipping a steaming cup of lady grey as she waited for her friends to arrive.

'Hey Mione!'

Ron's greeting jolted her out of her thoughts. She turned around to offer the two boys a friendly smile and wave. As soon as the boys sat down, she was launched into a very excited discussion about Christmas. The trio would be spending the holiday at the Burrow, as per Molly's insistence. Luckily for her, the topic of her 'research' never truly surfaced, even when Harry handed her the map with a conspiratorial wink.

On her way to class, Hermione ducked into the nearest bathroom, locking herself in a stall. Tapping the folded parchment with her wand, she recited the incantation, and watched as lines blossomed across the page. With shaking hands, she opened it and immediately sought out the DADA room. Currently, the fourth year Slytherins and Gryffindors would be gathering there, as she should be. Hermione gasped as her eyes fell upon a familiar name: Bartemius Crouch.

That was shocking since the man she saw was most certainly not the powerful ministry employee who was likely to be the next minister. Perhaps it's his son, she reasoned, and immediately relaxed a bit. Yes, that must be what this is, Dumbledore brought in the son of the head of magical law enforcement to teach defence against the dark arts. While impersonating Moody. That last bit stumped her, because firstly, why on earth would there ever be such an outlandish arrangement, and secondly, if it is really Crouch's son, why had she never heard of him, what with his father being such a prominent figure in the ministry? Shaking her head in confusion, she closed up the map and raced to her class, not wanting to be late.

Defence left Hermione feeling frustrated. She had paid close attention to her teacher (more so than usual) but hadn't noticed anything that would indicate he was anyone other than Alastor Moody. The only thing remotely suspicious was the way he constantly drank from his flask, which now she was fairly sure contained polyjuice. Her disappointment continued throughout the rest of the day and pressed her to escape to the library in an effort to seek answers. Luckily for her, the Hogwarts library kept extensive records of all kinds, and had many shelves filled with old and new articles from newspapers and magazines. Starting with the current year and working backwards, she spent hours pulling every single article that contained the name Crouch and then sifting through them. Shortly before curfew, she hit the jackpot. She pulled one of the last articles from the stack that was dated from November 1981 stating that Barty Crouch Jr. had been charged with the torture of Alice and Frank Longbottom and found guilty, being sentenced to Azkaban by his own father. She gasped.

Shakily, she stood and promptly ran out of the library, ignoring the indignant protests of Madam Pince. Rounding a corner, she slouched against the wall behind her and sunk to the floor, shaking. All she could think about was the fact that the man who tortured Neville's parents was here at Hogwarts. After a while, she managed to collect herself and started toward her dorm. However, the slightly ajar door to the DADA classroom caught her eye, just as it had the previous evening. Now saddled with her recently acquired knowledge, Hermione braced herself against the wall and peered in. Once again, she saw the man, whom she now recognized as Barty Crouch Jr., hunched over the cauldron just like before. Except this time, instead of simply adding the hair and leaving, he looked straight up at her and smiled a chilling grin.

'Well hello there, sweetheart.'