Hermione Granger and the Paradigm Shift

Chapter 6 - Part 1

As Hermione waited for their first Potions class of the new term to begin she once again went over what Harry had shared from his meeting with the Headmaster the prior night. She, Harry, and Ron stayed up until midnight discussing all of the revelations regarding Voldemort's childhood, Riddle's discussion with Slughorn, and Horcruxes...most especially Horcruxes. She felt like she hadn't slept a wink as she mentally tallied every reference book she would start with in her quest for more information on Horcruxes. She planned on writing an outline during lunch so she could start researching as quickly as possible.

She was broken out of her thoughts by an elbow from Harry. He gestured toward the front of the class and she saw Professor Slughorn staring at her.

"I'm sorry," she quickly recovered. "What was the question?"

"Golpalott's Third Law. I was hoping you could share it with the rest of the class?" he asked expectantly.

She quickly blurted out the answer and breathed a sigh of relief as the Professor began his recitation on the implications of the theory. As she listened she quietly wrote 'Thank you' on a scrap of parchment and slid it toward Harry. She realized it was the first pleasant exchange she'd had with Harry in Potions class all term.

When he smiled and nodded in acknowledgment her stomach twitched again. She immediately poured all of her focus back on the Professor's speech as a distraction.

Thankfully the assignment Slughorn had set had been the most complex task she had ever been assigned in the class, requiring all of her attention. She barely gave her stomach or Harry another thought as she began compiling the myriad ingredients in order to concoct the requested antidote. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard a throat purposely clearing, drawing her attention. She looked up to see Professor Slughorn smiling at her.

"Time is up, Miss Granger," he offered with a pleasant smile. She filled a vial with her potion and anxiously awaited the verdict. There were a few more items she had wanted to add but unfortunately had run out of time.

He waved his wand over the potion and studied the results. "I see you've been quite busy," he responded pleasantly. "It certainly looks like you identified the poison correctly but I think you've gone a bit overboard with the antidote. How many ingredients have you used?"

"Fifty-two," she answered hesitantly.

"Hmmm..." he hummed in consideration, "I'm afraid you've overthought it. While I believe the antidote would work you've added several unnecessary or superfluous ingredients that would dilute or offset the effect you are going for. You've also missed a few basic antidote ingredients that could have helped with the potency."

"Very well done though, Miss Granger," he stated pleasantly, "this is by far the best effort so far," he concluded as he peered in disappointment at the rest of the class before brightening once again.

"Let us see what Mr. Potter has to offer!" he continued. Harry looked like he wanted to flee the room.

Slughorn hummed in consideration once again as he studied Harry's effort, his expression dimming a bit as the seconds ticked on. "While you've included all the basic antidote items it appears you've missed the more unique items that could have helped with this specific poison. Did you have trouble with the poison revealing spell?"

"I cast Specialis Revelio but wasn't sure what the results meant," Harry answered dejectedly, causing Hermione to feel a pang of sympathy. Last term Harry's failure would have been a moment of triumph for her. Now, the very thought of taking pleasure in Harry's humiliation turned her stomach.

"Ahh yes, it happens to the best of us," Slughorn commiserated.

"Remember this lesson, class!" he continued in a much louder voice, "no matter how skilled you are in potions preparation if you don't begin the process with the proper facts your effort is doomed to be substandard." Harry winced at the word 'substandard.'