Two chapters in a couple days time? That's almost unheard of. I think I have hit my stride with this story once again, so I think I'll be able to update more frequently than once every few months like it used to be. Fingers crossed.

Shout out to xonceuponatimex for chatting essentially 24/7 the last several days.  She's the real MVP!

Anyway, hope you all enjoy!
********************************************

Artemis stepped into the hallway, shutting the door to the Ravenclaw common room tightly behind him. He had a few hours of prefect duty to attend to, and despite the fact that he was alone, he was strangely looking forward to it. Mainly because he had plans of his own he was dying to put into place, and his talk with Vanessa moments ago only made his desire to enact his plan so much sooner grow.

    He had known it for weeks that Draco Malfoy was hiding something. Between the "injured" arm he wouldn't let Vanessa see, to his late night excursions, and now these secret plans that prevented him from going to Slughorn's party. Artemis wasn't buying it. Whatever the Slytherin boy was up to wasn't good. Artemis was trying his hardest to not believe the rumors about Malfoy being a Death Eater, but what else could it be? Artemis didn't want for that to be the case, for Vanessa's sake, but the signs didn't look good. The only other thing he could think of was that he was still snogging Parkinson, and even that scenario didn't pan out well for Vanessa. And that didn't explain his arm.

    He shook his head as he walked through the halls, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. Not that there was anything unusual on most days. Now that classes had been in session for a while, there weren't as many students getting lost. Every once in a while he had to tell some younger students to get to bed, but nothing outlandish. Tonight was no different. Which fit perfectly with his plans.

    Artemis knew Draco had been sneaking off somewhere most nights. He had witnessed it himself more than once, and Vanessa had all but confirmed that they hung out in the Room of Requirement when they had their late night escapades. The problem with that was without knowing exactly what Malfoy required, Artemis wouldn't be able to get in to see what he was up to. The room's enchantments were very specific. He would need to know exactly why Malfoy was entering the room, otherwise he wouldn't be able to enter. That was going to be the tricky part.

    As he finished his final round, instead of heading back to the Ravenclaw common room, Artemis made a detour. He made his way to the seventh floor corridor, eventually coming to a stop in front of the blank wall. He glanced around, making sure there was no one else nearby. There was no sign of anyone, so he took a deep breath. He had no idea if Malfoy was already in the room or not, or even if this was going to work.

    I need to enter the room of hidden things, he thought. Artemis wasn't sure if that was enough, or even if it was what Malfoy was using to get into this room, but at the very least it would perhaps render one night of Malfoy's plots useless. The door materialized in front of him, and after another quick glance, he stepped inside. Artemis shut the door quietly behind him, in case he wasn't alone.

    He stared at the room, wondering where to even begin. The Room of Requirement was a maze of discarded items. Centuries of unwanted items had been hidden here, not to mention how many secrets were likely hidden within the mountains of stuff. Artemis sighed and started to walk along one of the narrow pathways between the piles.

    He didn't know what he was looking for. Hell, he didn't even know if this was a version of the room that Malfoy was using. Nevertheless, Artemis pressed on. Most of the room was coated in a thick layer of dust. He sniffled, his allergies already starting to act up. Then that gave him an idea. If there had been any activity in this room, there wouldn't be dust covering the surface. All he needed to do was see if there was anything that had been disturbed, and that would tell him at least if someone had been in this version of the room recently. It wasn't fool proof, but it was a start.

    He continued to walk through the hoard, taking note of all the weird items that had been tossed here through the years. There was everything from broken furniture, to broken bottles of congealed potions, to cloaks and other clothing. Thousands of books piled to the ceiling in precarious stacks, looking like they would topple over with the slightest bump. Bowls of jewels and gaudy jewelry sat on tables, including an intricate silver and blue diadem that looked incredibly familiar for some reason.

    But as Artemis looked around, he couldn't make out anything that had been disturbed. Maybe this venture had been for naught. Just when he was about to abandon any hope of finding anything in this mess, he noticed a sheet draped over a piece of furniture. The sheet looked fresh and out of place in the general dustiness of the room. That piqued his interest, and so he moved closer to it, wondering what was hiding underneath.

    Artemis reached out to touch it, but stopped as he heard the door to the room open and close. He was no longer alone. The odds of that happening were astronomical. Artemis wasted no time in drawing his wand, and immediately performed a disillusionment charm, twirling his wand around himself. He looked down, assuring that he had rendered himself essentially invisible. Once he knew his charm had worked, he moved away from the cabinet, and hid behind a glass cabinet on the other side of the narrow pathway.

    It didn't take long for the room's other occupant to come into view. Honestly, Artemis couldn't believe his luck when Draco Malfoy came to stand only a few feet in front of him. He had his back to Artemis, not that he could see him anyway with the charm. Artemis would finally get some answers about what Malfoy was hiding. He would finally have some facts to present to Vanessa and hopefully get her to see reason, get her to finally leave this abusive man, get her to finally-

    Artemis' thoughts were interrupted as Draco grabbed the sheet, and pulled it off, revealing a strange cabinet underneath. Artemis stared at it, wondering briefly where he had seen a similar cabinet before. There had been a similar cabinet- perhaps even the same one- that the Weasley twins had shoved Graham Montague into the previous year. And then it hit him.

    A Vanishing Cabinet? he thought. What the hell could he want to do with a Vanishing Cabinet?

    The furniture pieces were relatively commonplace during the First Wizarding War some years ago. Many families had them to use in the case of a Death Eater attack; they could just step inside and reemerge after the danger had passed. Hell, Artemis' own family had one. As to why Malfoy was interested in one, however, baffled him.

    He watched curiously as Malfoy wiped down the cabinet with a scarf he nabbed off a nearby bust before he opened the cabinet. The Slytherin boy pulled an apple from his pocket and placed it inside. He shut the cabinet, and muttered something Artemis couldn't make out before opening the cabinet again. The apple was still sitting in the place where he had left it. What exactly was he trying to accomplish?

    Malfoy huffed angrily and shut the cabinet again, this time speaking louder. "Harmonia Nectere Passus." He paused for a moment and then repeated the incantation. "Harmonia Nectere Passus."

    Artemis was truly grateful that he knew Latin in this moment. Combining the phrases effectively meant "allowing the harmony to bind." It seemed that Malfoy was attempting to repair the Vanishing Cabinet, and connect it somehow. But with what? And why? When Artemis saw him open the cabinet and the apple was still there, untouched, he knew Malfoy was having a hell of a time with this. He smirked; Malfoy deserved to struggle.

    As the Slytherin went to repeat the process again, Artemis reviewed his discoveries silently. Malfoy definitely was using the Room of Requirement. He was trying to repair and reconnect a Vanishing Cabinet. Artemis didn't know why, but surely there couldn't be any good reason for that.

    The dust in the room made him involuntarily sniffle again, and he saw Malfoy freeze in his tracks. There was no doubt about it now; Malfoy knew he wasn't alone. This spying session was effectively over. Artemis rolled his eyes; done in by his own immune system.

    Malfoy turned, staring in Artemis' general direction. He didn't see him, but he certainly knew he was there. Artemis glanced down, making sure the disillusionment charm was still working. He was still effectively invisible, so he wondered if he'd be able to sneak off without any further incident.

    "Didn't learn your lesson about spying on the train, did you, Potter?" Malfoy questioned, his voice dripping with irritation.

    If Artemis hadn't been trying so hard to remain silent, he probably would've laughed. Malfoy thought it was Harry Potter spying on him. This just got better and better. So long as Artemis maintained his cover, he would be able to pretend this never happened and put the blame on the Chosen One. Things couldn't get any more perfect.

    "Take off that damn cloak and actually face me, you coward," Draco continued.

Artemis noticed he had drawn his wand, and was aiming it towards him. He took an instinctive step back, moving further behind the glass cabinet he was using as cover. If he moved slowly enough, perhaps he could get out of here without further incident.

Or so he thought until Malfoy fired a spell that narrowly missed his head.

Alright, Malfoy. Two can play that game.

Artemis pulled his wand out, and fired a spell back at him, making sure he stayed as hidden as possible. At this point, most of his cover had been blown. The only thing going for him still was that Malfoy thought he was Potter, and using an Invisibility Cloak. If Artemis could make it to the exit without being hit with whatever spells the Slytherin was casting, he'd be able to get out of here without exposing his identity.

Next time he knew he needed to cast some extra charms on himself to assure that he wasn't heard. Damn allergies.

He took a few steps backwards, heading towards the door, keeping an eye on Malfoy at all times. The Slytherin boy drew closer to him, firing spell after spell, somehow missing the mark every time as he aimed wherever he heard the sound of movement. He never knew Malfoy to have such poor marksmanship; Artemis was sure this would be different if he had been visible. Then again, if he was visible, he would've been firing more spells at his assailant. Right now he just wanted to keep his actual location a secret as he moved back towards the door. Every few feet, Artemis purposely knocked something over, and then quickly moved away from that spot, knowing very well a spell from Malfoy was close behind.

After a few agonizing seconds, Artemis finally reached the door; Malfoy was not far behind him, and at this point knew he was at the door. As Artemis opened the door, Malfoy reached out, trying to grab him. Luckily for Artemis, it seemed as if Malfoy was trying to snatch the "cloak" off of him, and thus missed him by a few inches.

Artemis rushed into the hallway, quickly moving off to the side. Artemis knew if he took any further step in the hallway, his footsteps would likely echo and give him away. He willed himself to stay still and silent as Malfoy stepped out behind him, looking for any sign of the person who had interrupted his time with the Vanishing Cabinet.

The seconds seemed like an eternity, but eventually Malfoy stormed off down the hallway, leaving Artemis standing there alone once again. He took a deep breath, glad to have gotten out of that ordeal with his anonymity still intact. He would be more careful next time, and use every precaution he had at his disposal. He needed to know what Malfoy was truly up to.

For now, he had seen it with his own eyes that Malfoy was actually up to something. As Artemis made his way back to the Ravenclaw common room, he knew he would stop at nothing to prove that whatever his best friend's boyfriend was up to was sinister. Even if it meant he was hiding something from her too.