Although this trip seemed to have yielded no important information, it had in fact revealed enough details and clues.
At least at breakfast in the dining hall the next day, Pansy and the others did not see even a trace of disappointment on Draco's face.
Astoria, who had not gone with them the night before, quietly glanced at Draco's expression, then nudged Hermione's arm with her elbow, her face full of curiosity.
That little gesture was clearly urging Hermione to hurry up and tell her everything that had happened yesterday.
Hermione had no intention of refusing. Rather, she had been eager to share the information she had discovered...
"We already knew the Dark Lord was very good at manipulating people, but I never thought even someone like her could be deceived, and be completely helpless against him."
"True... Thinking about it now, Professor Horace having that sort of experience doesn't seem strange at all."
"From the way you two are talking, that lady really was involved with the Dark Lord?"
"If everything the Grey Lady said is true, then yes, it really does have something to do with the Dark Lord."
Hermione took a bite of her sweet pastry, her cheeks puffed out like a little hamster's, and nodded without hesitation.
After all, Voldemort had indeed coaxed the whereabouts of Ravenclaw's Diadem out of the Grey Lady.
Presumably, after that, Voldemort went to that distant forest and brought back the hidden Diadem...
At the same time, something else gave Draco serious reason to be suspicious.
Many years later, that forest in Albania became the perfect refuge for Voldemort to hide in while waiting for his resurrection.
It was also during that period that Voldemort encountered Quirrell in that Albanian forest...
...
Setting down her empty cup, Hermione looked at Draco, who was staring out the window at the snowy scenery.
With a serious expression, Hermione lowered her voice and said what she was thinking. "The problem now is that once Ravenclaw's Diadem became a Horcrux, it definitely wouldn't have stayed inside that hollow tree... Draco, in that case, we still don't know where Ravenclaw's Diadem is."
Although they had obtained plenty of useful information from the Grey Lady, and had even learned that Voldemort had indeed intended to turn Ravenclaw's Diadem into a Horcrux, the most important question, where it had gone, remained unresolved.
Unless Helena Ravenclaw was still hiding something from them...
Just as Hermione thought Draco had no answer, Draco finally turned his head at an unhurried pace.
"Barring any surprises, it should be inside the castle."
"Hm?!"
"I believe Ravenclaw's Diadem was hidden by him at Hogwarts."
"This... Draco, you seem very sure."
"Mm."
Seeing that there was no hesitation at all in Draco's expression or tone, Hermione blinked in confusion.
"Why? If it were me, I'd definitely hide it somewhere far more secret."
It was not that Hogwarts was not secretive enough, but hiding something right under Dumbledore's nose was certainly no easy task.
Besides, generation after generation of students had tried to find Ravenclaw's Diadem, and every one of them had failed. That was enough to prove the Diadem was not in Ravenclaw House, or even anywhere in Hogwarts.
So why was Draco so certain...
After a brief pause, Draco lightly tapped his fingertips against the armrest.
"What do you think the Dark Lord's motive was for applying to become the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor?"
"Motive?"
"You mean... this has something to do with that?"
"Exactly. If the real reason the Dark Lord wanted to become a professor at Hogwarts was that he wanted to take something out of Hogwarts, then could that thing be... something he hid in the castle back then?"
Hermione opened her mouth, ready to refute him, but then closed it again.
Pansy, meanwhile, looked blankly back and forth between them, while Astoria, who had been the first to bring up the topic, frowned as she considered the possibility.
Although it was impossible to know what the girls were thinking at that moment, Draco's guess was clearly not without reason...
"Think about it. Back then, the Dark Lord was still a student. He had no power and no influence. The place he chose to hide something would have had to be somewhere familiar to him, and somewhere extremely safe."
"If it were me..."
Safe and familiar.
If it were Pansy, she would certainly have other answers, and far more options.
But for Hermione, who had been born into a Muggle family, there really were not many other choices.
By comparison, Voldemort, a half-blood abandoned in a Muggle orphanage, had been in an even worse position...
"There's only one answer, isn't there?"
"The Prefect's Room... or rather, Hogwarts."
"Exactly."
Although Draco seemed to have figured something out, the problem was that this brought everything right back to where they had started...