It took Atlas just a few minutes to reach the spot where the diadem had been, and he carefully left a letter for Quirrell in its place. Compared to the riddle, the contents of the letter were straightforward. Atlas boldly demanded that Voldemort compile all his knowledge concerning souls, horcruxes, and dark magic within ten days, placing it in the same location where he found the letter. If Voldemort refused to comply, every detail about his horcruxes would be revealed to Dumbledore, including their appearances, locations, and defensive measures, while the Diadem itself would be destroyed. However, if he acquiesced, his secrets would be saved, and another letter with a subsequent task would be given to him before the end of the school year to reclaim the diadem. Atlas insinuated that he was not an enemy and could potentially become an ally against Dumbledore and Harry Potter once their bargain was fulfilled. He even tantalizingly hinted at possessing knowledge of a method to vanquish Dumbledore.
The latter portion of the message was an idea that Atlas found quite brilliant. It could dissuade Voldemort from attempting to sabotage their agreement and instead entice him to form an alliance until their “shared goal” of eliminating Dumbledore was achieved. It would also shroud his identity in a veil of mistery. Of course, these promises meant nothing to Atlas personally, as the upcoming destruction of the universe would render the conflict between Dumbledore and Voldemort ultimately inconsequential.
As Atlas beheld the letter in the spot where the diadem had rested, a thought crossed his mind. Perhaps he should leave Voldemort a hint, just in case the Dark Lord forgot the exact location. With that notion, Atlas affixed an enlarged piece of paper to the side of the shelf where the Diadem had resided, prominently inscribing "Tom Marvolo Riddle" in large letters. He proceeded to scatter several smaller notes on adjacent shelves, guiding Voldemort in the right direction. Aware that the success of his plan hinged on Voldemort's intellect, Atlas might have gone slightly overboard with the number of notes, but he deemed it a necessary precaution. After all, it would be a pity if his plan failed simply because Voldemort proved too obtuse to find the original spot of the Diadem without feeling the horcrux there.
Satisfied with his work, Atlas soon realized he needed to make haste and head to the Great Hall for dinner. As he entered, he was met with an unusually boisterous atmosphere. Students from all tables engaged in fervent discussions, their voices overlapping in a cacophony of noise. The updated house points had caused quite a commotion. Professor McGonagall's deduction of 100 points each from Gryffindor and Slytherin had thrown everything into chaos. Gryffindor found itself languishing in last place, while Slytherin clung to third position with a mere ten-point lead over Gryffindor. Meanwhile, Ravenclaw basked in the glory of first place, boasting a staggering 85-point advantage over Slytherin and a comfortable forty-point lead over Hufflepuff.
As Atlas surveyed the hall, he noticed large crowds gathered around two particular tables. The swarm of students surrounding the Slytherin table indicated that older students were likely engaging in less-than-pleasant conversations with Malfoy about the recent events. A similar scene unfolded around the table where his friends usually sat. Navigating past the jubilant Hufflepuff table, Atlas overheard Ron's animated voice expressing his frustration over the injustice and Professor McGonagall's perceived bias against her own house.
Pushing his way through the throngs of people, Atlas became an inadvertent target for the ire of his fellow students. As word spread that he was part of the group responsible for the substantial loss of house points, a few older students took it upon themselves to lecture him as well. Atlas was taken aback by how serious some students were about the House Cup. He realized that perhaps he should have discreetly eaten his meal at another table. Attempting to interject his thoughts amidst the rising volume proved futile, as everyone clamored to express their opinions, resulting in an ever-increasing din. He refrained from shouting that Professor McGonagall would exhibit a modicum of favoritism moving forward to rectify the perceived injustice.
Nearly an hour passed before the crowd finally dispersed, allowing them to breathe freely once again. Neville appeared visibly drained, bearing the brunt of the lectures. While a few individuals acknowledged the rightness of his actions, most remained embittered by the situation and sought an outlet for their frustration. Some older students displayed reasonableness, redirecting their animosity towards Malfoy upon hearing the true story, but they were in the minority.
Concerned about inciting another uproar, Atlas decided to withhold his revelation about McGonagall until they reconvened in the common room. When he eventually shared the news, it brought a glimmer of cheer to their spirits, albeit momentarily, until Harry realized that Snape would likely follow a similar path.
The following day's potion lesson proved Harry wrong, as Snape surprised everyone by actually rewarding Atlas with a single point for his perfectly brewed strength potion. He still showed his usual favoritism toward Slytherin, as Daphne Greengrass also received a point despite her potion being inferior to Hermione's, but all in all, the classes didn’t change much. This brought a sigh of relief to Harry, as he had feared that the potion lessons would become even more torturous for him.
After potions, Atlas once again left the group, much to Hermione's protest. He swiftly made his way to the dormitory and discreetly retrieved Harry's invisibility cloak from his trunk. Sneaking to the Owlery, he sent the riddle to Quirrell before hastily returning to the Great Hall. He had to consume a strength potion to have the time to sprint to a nearby toilet, stow away the invisibility cloak, and still manage to arrive at the Great Hall before the owl delivered the letter.
Since mail was typically delivered during breakfast, it drew attention when an owl arrived at an unusual time, carrying the letter for Quirrell. Dumbledore's curiosity was especially evident as he openly observed Quirrell, who appeared somewhat surprised before contorting his face as he read the contents. Quirrell's narrowed eyes scanned the students thoughtfully, with Atlas noting his brief glance at Dumbledore before refocusing on the students. Atlas noted that Quirrell's gaze shifted between Harry, seated beside him, the Ravenclaw table, and momentarily to the Slytherin table.
Based on Quirrell's reaction, Atlas was almost certain that Quirrell was indeed Voldemort, leaving only the question of whether he would take the bait. Following Hermione's schedule, their next stop was the library to complete their potion homework, which conflicted with Atlas's plan to monitor the Marauder's Map continuously. However, he resolved to check the map every few minutes, disguised as searching for different books. If Quirrell were to enter the room and subsequently disappear from the map, Atlas would also know he had entered, even if he missed the exact moment.
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An unforeseen hindrance emerged in the form of Atlas's sore muscles from the side effects of the strength potion. It required great effort to suppress any signs of discomfort each time he stood up to "look for another book." Thankfully, Leona provided enough reasons for him to stand up, as she was also interested in becoming an Animagus after her recent study session with Atlas. Ethan and Amy showed mild interest in the topic as well, although they planned to consider it in another year or two. Leona also asked about the turmoil surrounding the fight with Malfoy. When Atlas told them the true story, Leona became enraged and needed to be stopped by Ethan, as she wanted to search for Malfoy and beat him up. It didn’t help that Amy mischievously mentioned that if in a words-versus-words case, both sides would lose a hundred points, they could beat Malfoy for real if they found a group of Hufflepuffs that were willing to do it too, so that Slytherin would be without any points and the others could compete fairly.
Atlas was relieved when evening finally arrived, freeing him from the torture of his aching legs as he lay in bed. Quirrell had yet to enter the room, but Atlas was confident he would do so that night. He remained awake throughout the night, slipping the invisibility cloak back into Harry's trunk while everyone slept and focusing on his occlumency while studying the map. Annoyingly, Quirrell did not enter the room during the night either.
The next morning, Atlas found himself quite tired, and he had to persuade Hermione to forgo their scheduled trip to the Room of Requirement due to his sore legs. He explained to her that he had tested a strength potion and was feeling the aftereffects, which surprisingly convinced Hermione to agree. She didn't express any anger but instead turned the day into a study session, albeit an unconventional one taking place on Atlas' bed. The bed ended up covered in more books than Ron had ever laid eyes on in his entire life, with over half of them being additional study materials Hermione had brought from the library. Atlas couldn't determine if it was part of Hermione's plan, but they had to snuggle closely together to make space for all the books. Despite teasing Atlas for his impulsive decision to drink the potion without considering the consequences, Hermione seemed genuinely eager to take care of him. While he enjoyed the cozy study session with Hermione, he couldn't help but feel restless due to his inability to secretly check the map.
He couldn't recall when he finally drifted off to sleep, considering he hadn't slept the previous night, but upon awakening, he discovered the books neatly arranged beside his bed and Hermione lying next to him. He gazed at her peacefully sleeping form. Although they had already slept in the same room before, it was the first time they had shared a bed, and Atlas relished the joy of waking up next to someone he loved. For a brief moment, he basked in this blissful experience. However, his thoughts quickly turned to the task at hand—he needed to check the map. It seemed to be the middle of the night, with darkness enveloping the room, making it a challenge to locate the map without disturbing Hermione or the others.
To his disappointment, Quirrell appeared to be asleep in his bed on the map. Uncertain whether Quirrell had already entered the room while he slept, Atlas decided to postpone checking the letter until the following days. While it bothered him slightly, as there was still a possibility of someone stumbling upon the letter accidentally, like Professor Trelawney, who occasionally used the room to hide some sherry, he considered the chances to be low enough.
Since he was no longer tired, Atlas took the opportunity to further develop his occlumency skills. He endeavored to encapsulate every detail of the moment he had just experienced—waking up next to Hermione, her gentle breath, her scent, her appearance. He wanted to preserve the memory as vividly as possible. Although the primary purpose of these encapsulated memories was to distract potential invaders, that was secondary for Atlas at the moment.
After some time, Hermione slowly began to awaken for a moment. Unaware that Atlas was already awake, she snuggled closer to him and muttered something about him belonging only to her and something about "stupid Leona" before drifting back to sleep. Atlas wasn't sure whether to laugh or be touched by the fact that Hermione had seemingly felt a tinge of jealousy toward Leona, given the time he had spent with her alone, now manifesting in her dreams.
Half an hour later, Hermione was abruptly awakened by Atlas' alarm. Fortunately, the others in the dormitory remained undisturbed since Atlas had cast a Silencio charm around his bed, allowing only him and Hermione to hear the alarm. He greeted her with a smile and a good morning kiss until she realized the situation—she had actually spent the night in his bed. Although Atlas couldn't see her blushing in the darkness, he could sense her heartbeat quickening as she continued to hold onto him. Hermione began to mumble something inaudible, but Atlas could already surmise that she was feeling a bit embarrassed and attempting to come up with excuses. Knowing from the fact that she had taken the time to tidy up the books and close the curtains that she hadn't merely fallen asleep accidentally, but rather consciously chose to sleep in his bed, he understood that she had originally intended to stay only briefly before returning to her own bed. Instead of leaving her to wallow in her embarrassment, he held her even tighter and whispered that he loved waking up next to her, causing her mumbling to cease and her racing pulse to intensify even more.
After some time, Atlas could feel the tension slowly dissipate from her body as his words washed over her. In the soft glow of the moonlight peeking through the curtains, he traced his fingers along her cheek, cherishing the intimate connection they shared.
With a newfound sense of vulnerability, Hermione raised her gaze to meet Atlas' eyes, her own sparkling with a mix of affection and vulnerability. It was as if the world around them faded into insignificance, leaving only the two of them in that cocoon of warmth and tenderness.
"I love waking up next to you too," she finally whispered, her voice carrying a delicate timbre filled with emotion. "I never thought I could feel so safe and … and … and not being alone.”
Atlas smiled, looking at Hermione, who was struggling to describe what she felt. He had spent the past hour engraving that exact feeling in his mind, knowing precisely what she meant and was glad she felt the same.
In that moment, the “urgency” of their scheduled visit to the Room of Requirements faded into the background. Atlas chose to savor the connection they shared a little longer, realizing that he might have lost almost all hesitation regarding Hermione and accepted his feelings towards her fully.
Reluctantly, Hermione disentangled herself from their embrace, a hint of reluctance in her eyes as she recognized the approaching dawn and the inevitability of their friends waking up soon. While Atlas playfully teased her about not caring anymore, she left the bed, hoping the others hadn’t noticed that she had slept in Atlas' bed.
The rest of the day unfolded according to Hermione's meticulously planned schedule. They dedicated half of their time to the library, diving deep into books and scrolls that held the secrets of magic. The other half was spent practicing spells, with Atlas insisting on involving Neville, which forced them to find an empty classroom for their training session. Neville, fueled by the incident with Malfoy, had become remarkably motivated and determined, his newfound aggression pushing him to improve his skills. Atlas couldn't help but notice that Neville's anger made him vulnerable at times, but he decided to only point it out if Neville continued to show such behavior in the following sessions.
As night descended once again, Atlas found himself alone in his bed. He had set his alarm an hour earlier than usual, driven by the need to determine if Quirrell had discovered the letter. As a precaution, he retrieved Harry's invisibility cloak again, sneaking to the room while keeping a vigilant eye on the map.