The four of them waited until late at night when they were sure everyone in their common room had gone to sleep. They quietly made their way toward the Slytherin common room, the invisibility spell cast by Thomas covering them as they walked.

When they reached the door, they realize that there was no way, they could ever open the door to another house, and just as they were about to return to their room, the door opened and a first-year girl walk through. Seeing their chance, the four boys quickly slipped inside, and Thomas released the spell as soon as they were sure that no one was inside the common room.

They found themselves in a spacious room filled with green and silver furnishings, and the boys immediately split up to begin their search. Adam and Thomas made their way toward Malfoy's room, which was probably the easiest one to find considering just how different the door looked, almost as if Malfoy put a better-looking door just to show off. When they reached it, they found that the door was locked, which wasn't exactly a surprise for them.

Adam pulled out his wand and whispered, "Alohomora," causing the lock to click open.

The boys slipped inside the room and quickly began searching for any evidence that could link Malfoy to the attacks. The room was tidy and organized, with a large four-poster bed, a desk, and a wardrobe. Thomas made his way to the desk while Adam searched the wardrobe. As Thomas searched the desk drawers, he found nothing but school books and parchment.

He was about to give up when he noticed a small, locked box on the desk. He gestured to Adam and whispered, "Hey, look at this."

Adam made his way over to the desk and examined the box. "It's locked," he whispered. "We need to find a way to open it."

As they were trying to figure out how to open the box, they heard footsteps outside the door. Both of them froze, fearing that they had been caught. The footsteps grew louder, and Thomas gestured for Adam to hide in the wardrobe. While Thomas turned himself invisible once more, Adam quickly closed the door just as the door to Malfoy's room opened, revealing none other than Draco Malfoy himself. Thomas's heart raced as he tried to remain invisible. He watched as Malfoy walked over to his desk and began rummaging through his belongings. Thomas could see that Malfoy was looking for something, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

After a few minutes, Malfoy seemed to give up his search and walked out of the room with a heavy sigh, closing the door behind him. Thomas let out a sigh of relief and turned to Adam, who was still hiding in the wardrobe.

"That was close," he whispered.

Adam nodded and stepped out of the wardrobe. "Did you find anything in the box?" he asked.

Thomas shook his head. "No, it's still locked. But I think we should bring it with us and try to open it later. There might be something important inside."

Adam agreed, since it was better than having nothing, and the two of them carefully lifted the box and made their way out of Malfoy's room. Then they quietly made their way back to the Slytherin common room, where James and Michael were waiting for them.

"Did you find anything?" James asked eagerly.

"We found a locked box in Malfoy's room," Thomas replied. "We couldn't open it, but we're going to try later. We need to get out of here before we're caught."

The four boys made their way back to their own common room, adrenaline pumping through their veins. They knew that they were taking a huge risk by breaking into another house, but they also knew that they had to find evidence to incriminate Malfoy. As they made their way back to their room, they heard footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor. They froze, fearing that they had been caught, but the footsteps passed without incident. Breathing a sigh of relief, they finally reached their room and collapsed onto their beds. They knew that they had taken a huge risk, but they also knew that they were one step closer to solving the mystery of the attacks.

The next day, the four friends were sitting in their usual spot at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, eating breakfast and discussing their plans for the day. They had all agreed that they needed to find a way to open the locked box they had found in Malfoy's room. They had spent most of the night trying various spells to unlock it, but nothing seemed to work.

"Maybe we should try asking Hermione," James suggested. "She's the smartest one of us all. She might know a spell that could open it."

Thomas nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea. We should go find her after breakfast."

As they finished their meal, they made their way out of the Great Hall and towards the library, where they knew Hermione would be studying. When they reached the library, they found Hermione sitting at a table surrounded by books and parchment.

"Hey, Hermione," Thomas said, approaching her. "We need your help with something."

Hermione looked up from her book and smiled. "Of course. What do you need help with?"

"We found a locked box in Malfoy's room last night," Adam explained. "And we can't figure out how to open it. Do you know any spells that could unlock it?"

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise. "You broke into Malfoy's room?" she asked incredulously.

The four boys exchanged nervous glances. "Well, yes," James admitted. "But we had to find evidence that he's the one who cursed Harry's broom."

Hermione sighed. "You know that's not the right way to go about it," she scolded. "But I'll help you anyway. Let me see the box."

Thomas handed the box to Hermione, who examined it closely. "Hmm," she murmured, running her fingers over the lock. "This is a very advanced lock. It might take a very powerful spell to unlock it."

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She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the lock. "Alohomora," she whispered, but nothing happened.

"It's not going to work," Michael said.

"Hmm, this lock must be enchanted to resist basic unlocking spells. We're going to have to find another way to get it open."

The four boys exchanged disappointed looks. "So what do we do now?" Thomas asked.

Hermione thought for a moment before a smile spread across her face. "I think I have an idea," she said. "But we're going to need some help."

She explained her plan to the boys, and they all agreed that it was worth a shot. They left the library and made their way to Hagrid's hut, where they knew they could find the help they needed. After all, he was the only one they could trust with this.

"Hagrid," Hermione said as they approached the hut. "We need your help with something."

Hagrid looked up from the large pot he was stirring on the stove and smiled when he saw the group of students. "What can I do for ya?" he asked.

"We need you to open a locked box for us," Thomas explained. "But the lock is enchanted, and we can't figure out how to unlock it."

Hagrid raised an eyebrow. "And why do ya need to open this box?" he asked suspiciously.

"We think there might be evidence inside that could help us figure out who's behind the incident that almost killed Harry," James explained.

Hagrid nodded slowly. "Alright then. Let me see the box."

Thomas handed the box to Hagrid, who examined it closely. "This is a very advanced lock, not something a student should have in their possession," he said, shaking his head. "I'm not sure I'll be able to open it."

"Please, Hagrid, we need to find a way," Hermione urged.

Hagrid thought for a moment before his face lit up. "I might know someone who can help us," he said. "A goblin friend of mine. He had quite the past with locks and such. Let me see if I can find him. When I'll return, I'll send one of my owls to find you."

With that, Hagrid left to search for his goblin friend, leaving Thomas and his friends to wait anxiously. Hagrid spent several days searching for his goblin friend, Gringul. He scoured the depths of the Forbidden Forest, where he and the goblin had first met years ago. Finally, after many long days of searching, Hagrid spotted the familiar figure of Gringul, perched on a tree branch, deep in thought.

Gringul looked up as Hagrid approached, his sharp eyes assessing the half-giant. "Hagrid, my old friend!" he exclaimed, leaping down from the tree branch. "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"

Hagrid explained the situation to Gringul, describing the mysterious box and the advanced lock that had stumped them all. Gringul listened intently, nodding every now and then.

"I see, I see," he said finally. "Yes, I may be able to help you with this. Locks have always been my specialty, you know."

With that, Gringul agreed to accompany Hagrid back to Hogwarts to take a look at the box. Hagrid sent one of his owls ahead to Thomas and his friends to let them know that they would soon have the goblin's help in unlocking the box.

As soon as he arrived, Gringul set to work on the lock. He took his time, carefully examining every detail of the lock mechanism before beginning to work his magic. Hagrid and Thomas watched in fascination as the goblin's deft fingers moved swiftly over the lock, manipulating it with ease.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, there was a soft click, and the lock sprang open. Hagrid and Thomas cheered, grateful for Gringul's help. The trio peered eagerly into the box, and were surprised to find some letters, and when Thomas took a closer look at those letters, all of them came from Draco's mother.

Curiosity won him over and Thomas peered into one. As he read the letter, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Draco. He knew how difficult it must be for him to live up to his family's expectations, but he also knew that he needed to learn to treat his fellow students with respect.

Once Thomas was sure that Draco was just saying things to make himself look smart and gain some notoriety, Hagrid and Thomas thanked Gringul profusely for his help, and the goblin nodded in satisfaction. "My pleasure, my pleasure," he said with a sly smile. "Always happy to lend a hand to my friends."

After thanking Hagrid and Gringul one last time, Thomas made his way out of the hut and back to his room. As he walked, he couldn't help but feel disappointed that he didn't find the true culprit, but at last, now, he and his friend know that Malfoy was a liar.

When he entered the room, he found James, Adam, and Michael sitting around the table, deep in conversation. They all looked up as Thomas entered, and James immediately asked, "Did you find anything?"

Thomas nodded and sat down at the table. He then proceeded to tell them about the letters from Draco's mother that were found in the locked box. "There was no evidence that he actually cursed Harry's broom," he said, shaking his head. "Our dear Malfoy was just lying to make himself look smart."

The room fell silent as they all processed this information. Adam was the first to speak. "So if it wasn't Draco who was behind the curse, then who could it be?"

James and Michael both nodded in agreement, and Thomas shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "But at least we can rule out Draco as a suspect."

They all sat in silence for a few moments, lost in thought. James was the first to break the silence. "Do you guys remember how Quirrell was acting around us during our first year?" he asked.

Thomas furrowed his brow, trying to remember. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, he seemed to take a particular interest in us," James explained. "Especially you, Thomas. Remember how he made you deal with that cursed orb in our first Defense Against the Dark Arts class?"

Thomas nodded slowly, a feeling of unease settling in his stomach. He had never forgotten the fear he felt when Quirrell had pushed him to deal with the cursed object. He had felt completely unprepared for such a dangerous task, and it had only been through a combination of luck and quick thinking that he had managed to avoid serious harm.

"Do you think he could have been behind the curse on Harry's broom?" Michael asked.

"It's possible," James said, nodding. "But how could he have done it? We know he didn't have the Stone at that point."

Thomas thought for a moment before an idea struck him. "What if he had someone else do it for him?" he suggested. "Someone who had access to the broom and could curse it without being detected?"

The other boys looked at him expectantly. "Go on," Adam urged.

"Well, think about it," Thomas said. "Who would have had access to the broom and not raised any suspicion? It would have to be someone who was on the Quidditch team or someone who had access to the broom shed."

James and Michael nodded in agreement. "That narrows it down a bit," James said. "But there were still a lot of people who could have done it."

Thomas sighed. "I know. It's just a theory. But it's something to go on, at least."

The four boys spent the rest of the evening speculating about who could have been behind the curse on Harry's broom. They threw out names like Marcus Flint and Adrian Pucey, both members of the Slytherin Quidditch team, as well as Madam Hooch, the Flying instructor. But none of the theories seemed to fit. They all had alibis, or there was no evidence to suggest they were involved.

As the night wore on, the boys began to grow tired. James yawned and stretched. "I think we should call it a night," he said. "We're not going to solve this tonight."

The others nodded in agreement, and they all headed off to bed. But Thomas couldn't shake the feeling that they were on to something. He knew they were missing a piece of the puzzle, something that would tie everything together.

Over the next few weeks, the boys continued to speculate about who could have been behind the curse on Harry's broom. They watched Quirrell closely, stalking him wherever he went. But they never found anything incriminating. Quirrell seemed like an oddball, but he didn't seem like a criminal.

As the Christmas holiday approached, the boys decided to put their investigation on hold. They were all looking forward to a few weeks of relaxation and time with their families. But even when they were just playing some chess back in their common room, Thomas he couldn't help but wonder if they would ever solve the mystery of the cursed broom.