I was rereading - again - and two more ideas from book 3 have been rolling in my head.
The scene in the Shrieking Shack where Lupin reveals who made the Marauder's Map is one. Lupin says, more than once, that he and the other three learned more about the Hogwart's grounds than anyone.
Of course, this can be debated; who does literally know the most about Hogwarts? But I started thinking about JK's choice of words. She said "grounds", not "castle and tunnels". Is this a tip-off to some still unexplored area of Hogwarts? As animals, did Moony, Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail visit places no human could've gone? Maybe it's nothing, the wording just struck me.
The second thing about book 3 is Hermione. This seems to be Hermione's breakout or transition book. She does several things that are shocking, unexpected, maybe even out of character, like hitting Malfoy.
Hermione's under a lot of stress this year, and maybe that's her just snapping off. Or maybe it's part of her that's growing up and evolving.
The idea that came to me was that maybe she saw something or heard something that gave her the confidence to act, even though what we saw seemed impulsive and irrational. She is very good at keeping secrets, even from her best friends if she has to, and she has the Time Turner.
I'm not saying that she used the Time Turner in any way she wasn't supposed to, but she was there in every class offered to third years, and got the chance to hear gossip, rumors, plots, and plans from every House and possibly every staff member.
It's taken me a while to get to my point, but doesn't it make some sense that Hermione had done her homework, so to speak, and knew that when she smacked Malfoy there would be no teachers or witnesses to get her into trouble?
If there is something to this idea, then I think that there's more secrets that Hermione's keeping.  | 
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