Shaking her head in hopes to make the question go away, Hermione realized that even if she did want to look into rituals that could help her there was no way for her to learn about them. The books that described them were too dark to even be found in the restricted section of the library.
"It was a silly idea." she said with a nervous laugh. "You can't just wish for information like that." Her fake laughs were stopped when a table appeared in front of her with large book lying on it. The book was bound in a black material that resembled leather but with enough differences she knew it was something else. The book was obviously old and fragile, so when Hermione touched it she was careful not to harm it. When she opened the cover she saw that it was written in English but in a very old dialect that was difficult for her to understand. She wondered what it was when the answer suddenly came to her.
"I asked for this book, didn't I? And the Room of Requirement provided it." Hermione gasped. Inside this book, she knew, was information on rituals. Most of which would be very dark in nature. "No!" she yelled and walked towards the door trying to forget what she had found. But as she reached for the doorknob she stopped and turned to look back at the book. 'Surely it wouldn't hurt to just read the book.' she thought uncertainly. Minutes past as she stood, unmoving, and tried to decide what do. Finally, she took her hand off the door and walked back to the table. Carefully, she picked up the book and took it back to her chair and began to read.
.....
In the days that followed the most popular topic for conversation in the wizarding world was Rita Skeeter's article and the accusations it contained. Minister Fudge immediately called a press conference to deny everything, but the suspicions remained. It did not help his cause that the Daily Prophet, which had seen its sales soar after Skeeter's initial article, refused to back down from their position. Rumors circulated concerning the identity of the unnamed Auror who had agreed to testify against Minister Fudge, but all the paper would say of him was that he was currently living at a safe house under powerful wards for his own protection.
Fudge's political enemies saw his weakened position and took advantage of it by calling for the Minister to resign. Fudge, of course, refused and insisted that he was innocent. When it was clear that Minister Fudge was not going to leave his post willingly, his rivals then began demanding that he be brought before the Wizengamot and forced to answer their questions. Fudge tried to fight this request as well but it soon became clear he would eventually have to face the Wizengamot. The only tactic he had left at that point was to stall by saying that he needed time to prepare his defense. Reluctantly, his enemies agreed to give him some time and negotiations began to determine when the hearing would be held. After a few days Fudge and his aides suggested that June 24 would be the earliest they could be ready. They hoped that no one would realize that June 24 was also the day that the third task of the Triwizard Tournament was to be held, an event that would surely draw attention away from the hearing. Unfortunately for Fudge, his rivals realized what he was trying to do and decided that the best day for them would be June 25. Fudge had little choice but to bitterly accept this date.
And so the date was agreed upon. The general mood of the public was that it would be Fudge's last day in office. With that in mind several people began to campaign to be the next Minister of Magic. Current head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones gained a lot of support when she went against Minister Fudge's demands and struck down the decree that Sirius Black should immediately receive the Dementor's Kiss upon capture. Minister Fudge's furious reaction to her disobedience did not help him win any supporters. A plethora of other names were also suggested, although with a few months left none had really become a favorite to win the position if it did become available.
Harry, meanwhile, could not have been happier with how things had developed. Not only did it mean that Sirius could finally receive justice but it gave the Daily Prophet something else to spend its time on and there was a good chance that Minister Fudge, whom he did not like, would soon be replaced. He could not help but laugh when he realized that none of it would be possible if he had not tricked Rita Skeeter into doing what he wanted her to do. 'That wasn't very Gryffindor of me, was it?' he thought with a grin.
...
Days later Hermione sat alone in the Room of Requirement reading the book she had found. Due to its age and condition she did not dare move it in fears that it would be destroyed. She had the strong feeling that this book had been the result of a lifetime of work by its author and was truly one of a kind. She had never heard of it before and upon further searching could find no references to it anywhere else. Hermione wondered how long it had been sitting in the Room of Requirement apparently forgotten to all and who had been the last to read it. Perhaps it had been here since the four founders built the castle, she did not know.
....
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