Hermione Granger and the Paradigm Shift

Chapter 1 - Part 2

Dinner with Harry had done a wonderful job in calming her down and putting things in perspective. She was now in a much more relaxed state of mind to talk to McLaggen and set her plan in motion. She'd applied a bit more Sleekeazy's than normal, put on a bit of makeup, and was ready to go.

As she descended the stairs, Hermione quickly scanned the common room and was disappointed to not see Cormac anywhere. The slag was attached to the moron at the lips on a nearby couch and she spotted Harry across the room at a nearby table. She watched as Harry quickly stowed away his Potions book upon spotting her. She knew he only asked her for help as a distraction from the moron...he hadn't needed help with Potions all term due to his cheating..but she honestly appreciated the effort. He'd even taken the seat facing Ron so she could have her back to the disgusting hijinks taking place.

As she took a seat Harry shot her a weak smile and slid a long piece of parchment across the table. "I've got most of it done but if you could check the- Did you do something to your hair?"

She unconsciously smoothed her hair and did her best to appear casual. "Thought I'd try changing up my routine a bit. If it's too much-"

"No!" he quickly interrupted, "it's nice." He leaned forward and spoke in a whisper. "It's just...it looked fine before and I don't think you should change it just for him."

"I didn't change it for Ron," she lied. She hadn't changed it for him, she'd changed it for Cormac to annoy him. That was entirely different.

"Well, that's all right then," Harry replied. She could tell he didn't believe her but was grateful he didn't dwell on it.

She quickly started reading through Harry's essay on potential ingredients to be used in healing potions and felt her fury grow. It was virtually perfect. He had covered all of the relevant points, added in a few ancillary facts to provide further detail, and had done so in roughly half the amount of parchment it had taken her. It would be brilliant if it hadn't been fraudulent.

Hermione looked up to see Harry had busied himself by changing his fingernails to Gryffindor scarlet and gold. Despite herself she was impressed as she watched him cast left handed to give his right hand a matching set.

"I wouldn't change a thing, Harry. But I suppose that's to be expected seeing as the Prince supplied all the answers."

Harry's eyes shot from his handiwork to look at her. He seemed to be trying to push down the anger her words had caused. She felt a bit bad for provoking him after how nice he'd been but it wouldn't be right to let him get away with cheating.

"I didn't use the Prince's book," he stated with forced calm.

"Please," she scoffed, "you must think I'm-"

Her monologue was interrupted as Harry pulled out a much newer looking version of their Potions book and dropped it on the table. "I used Ron's book as a reference. I did it for you...I wanted you to have some things to correct and add so you could get your mind off of Ron and Lavender. I guess I've learned enough about potions already this year thanks to the Prince."

She folded her arms in disbelief. "If that were the case how on earth would you know to suggest Occamy shells could be added to speed up the healing effects? I know for a fact that isn't covered in the standard text. It's rarely mentioned because-"

"The cost of the silver component in the shells makes it impractical to be used for healing potions," Harry interrupted. The Prince made a note about the silver in their shells helping with disinfecting wounds and the cost-"

"So you admit it then," she interrupted triumphantly. "You did need help."

Harry pulled the parchment from her hands and began gathering his things. "I read that two months ago for a different potion and applied what I learned to this assignment. What I learned, Hermione.

"Just forget it," Harry muttered and stood up to leave.

"Wait!" she blurted, pulling on his arm. "Just wait...please," she finished in a quieter tone.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath. Harry didn't deserve any of her nonsense at the moment. He was being very considerate and, most infuriatingly, he had a point. "I'm sorry," she grit out.

Harry slowly sat back down and began pulling out his things again. "S'all right," he said kindly, "I reckon you've had a pretty bad week. If you'd like I could check over your essay. You know...give you some tips on how to improve it."

She let out a small laugh and relaxed once again. "Don't push your luck, Potter," she warned. Why couldn't it be this easy with Ron?

As if on cue Cormac Mclaggen strolled through the portrait hole. This was the perfect opportunity to ask him to the party and Ron would have a front row seat.

"Hermione, could you give me a hand?"

She looked to see Harry once again holding his wand in his left hand and pointing it at his fingernails. "I think I got lucky getting it to work and now I can't get them turned back."

She glanced back at Cormac and realized he was staring at her. He apparently had noticed the little bit extra she had done to her appearance and clearly approved. He shot her a smile and she fought the urge to vomit.

"Hermione?" Harry called once again and held up his hand.

"Oh, right...sorry," she replied as she pulled out her wand and quickly fixed his nails.

"Brilliant. Thanks, Hermione," Harry replied with a grin before continuing to practice.

Hermione smiled to herself as she watched his nails now alternating between green and silver. Apparently he had moved onto the Slytherin colors. "Not bad, Harry," she complimented.

"It really brings out my eyes don't you think?" he joked as he held up his hand and displayed his work.

She laughed and realized there was a much better, much saner option than having to spend an evening with Cormac. "Harry, have you found a date for Professor Slughorn's party yet?"

"No," he grunted out as he continued practicing. He'd moved onto the Ravenclaw colors now.

"Would you like to go with me? As friends?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes!" he blurted, clearly relieved that he could stop worrying about the task. "You're a lifesaver, Hermione."

Hermione realized she was just as relieved and smiled. "Have you been able to manage violet? That one gave me a bit of trouble."

Harry scrunched his face in concentration and cast the spell, causing a large shock of purple hair to sprout on the back of his hand.

"Well, it's violet. I suppose that's something," he joked as he reversed the effect.

She grabbed his wrist and moved his wand closer. "You need to be a bit more precise with your wand motion. That's what worked for me." As she guided his hand through the proper motion she immediately thought back to her overbearing instructions on how to pronounce Wingardium Leviosa...which made her think of Ron...which annoyed her.

But this was Harry. He listened to her advice intently and tried again, producing a deep violet hue on his thumbnail.

"A-Ha!" he exclaimed in triumph.

Despite the many things they had in common Hermione was immensely grateful that Harry was, quite often, nothing like Ron.