When In Doubt…

Harry has just heard the mysterious disembodied voice again as he leaves breakfast before his Quidditch game against Hufflepuff.  When Harry shares this with Hermione, she has an epiphany about the source of the voice, and she races off to the library.  Because she does not take the time to explain her epiphany, Harry wonders aloud to Ron what she could have just realized.  Ron is unperturbed by her sudden flight to the library, which he explains to Harry as typical Hermione behavior--her mindset being that libraries hold the answers to all of her questions.

Throughout their years at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione do find many important pieces of information in the library.  In their first year, Hermione finds the identity of Nicolas Flamel in a library book--which reminds Harry that he read the name on Dumbledore's chocolate frog card.  In their second year, Hermione gets permission from Gilderoy Lockhart to check out Moste Potente Potions from the Restricted Section of the library and learns how to brew Polyjuice Potion.  Hermione conducts a great deal of research about House-Elves in the library, and she, Harry, and Ron spend many hours there while attempting to help Harry prepare for Triwizard tasks.  The library is also where Viktor Krum asks Hermione to be his date for the Yule Ball.  In their sixth year, Hermione also nearly discovers the identity of the Half-Blood Prince through library research.

While the library seldom holds all of the answers they seek, it does hold a number of vital answers, and it serves as a quiet respite and a gathering place outside of the common rooms.

--AK