61 Study Goal

The bell chimed, signaling the end of Charms class. The first-year Hufflepuffs began gathering their things, chattering excitedly about the amazing magic Professor Flitwick had just shown them.

"Hey, you lot!" Harry called out to Justin, Neville, Lily and Sally-Anne. "Library to get some studying done?"

Justin made a face. "No thanks, Harry. I'm tired after Charms. Fancied having a go at some games in the common room instead."

Neville nodded vigorously. "Yeah, my brain needs a break from studying."

Lily and Sally-Anne both giggled. "We'll pass too," Lily said. "I heard the third-years have a game of Truth or Dare going!"

Harry shrugged good-naturedly while Hermione tried not to look too disappointed. "Suit yourselves. More peace and quiet for us, eh Hermione?"

She managed a small smile, pushing her bushy hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I suppose so."

While their friends headed off towards the Hufflepuff common room, Hermione's mind drifted back to the empty space in their schedule where Professor Quirrell would've been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. It had only been four days since the horrible things that happened at the start-of-term feast. Professor Quirrell had collapsed out of nowhere, and...and died right in front of them. Hermione shuddered remembering it. Part of her was glad their Defense classes were canceled for now – she didn't think she could handle seeing Quirrell's empty classroom yet.

She shoved her copy of "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1" into her bulging bookbag, Hermione glanced over at Harry. He was calmly putting away his quill and ink, not a hair out of place on his head. Even after seeing the incredible magic he could do, she still felt a thrill being around the famous Boy Who Lived...

Last night, the whispers had filled the Hufflepuff girls' dormitory. Hannah, Susan, Megan – they'd all been gushing about how wicked it was to have classes with the legendary Harry Potter. Hermione had nodded along, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach every time someone said his name.

Of course, she'd known loads about Harry Potter way before coming to Hogwarts. The papers and magazines were always going on about what a child genius he was – his big scientific breakthroughs, the amazing things he'd done that no one else had. But actually being around him, seeing his brilliance up close...nothing could've prepared her for that.

They made their way out of the classroom into the busy corridor. Hermione kept sneaking peeks at Harry, her brain buzzing with questions. On the Hogwarts Express, that very first time they met, she'd watched him summon Neville's toad by just lifting his hand – wandless magic! She'd been totally gobsmacked.

And now, after their first History of Magic lesson, she knew exactly how rare and incredible that skill was. Wandless magic was something only the strongest, most talented wizards could do. The fact that Harry made it look easy as breathing, and so young...well, it blew her mind.

"Harry, what else can you do without a wand?" Hermione asked, leaning towards him eagerly. He grinned, holding out his hands. Sparks crackled between his fingers. Then poof! Three glowing balls of lightning appeared, whizzing around his hands in a mesmerizing dance. Hermione gasped, her eyes popping wide as she watched them spin and whirl hypnotically.

One of the pulsing lightning balls drifted really close to her. Hermione couldn't help herself – she reached out to touch it. Quick as a flash, Harry grabbed her wrist.

"Easy there," he said with a laugh. "Wouldn't want you to get zapped now, would we?"

Hermione felt her face go beet red as it hit her how dumb that had been. "Sorry!" she squeaked, looking down at her robes in embarrassment. "I don't know what I was thinking. Electricity's dangerous."

Harry chuckled. "No worries," he said, patting her arm. "Magic's exciting stuff, I get it. You're right though – always pays to be careful with new things, yeah?"

Hermione nodded, her heart still hammering from her close call. She watched as Harry waved his hand through the air. The lightning balls vanished in little puffs of smoke, like they'd never been there at all.

"So, what else..." Harry mused, tilting his head. "Well, I can move stuff around, like this..."

He flicked his fingers at a tapestry on the wall. Hermione watched, fascinated, as it started rippling and waving like it was blowing in a strong wind.

"I can conjure the elements too," Harry went on. He held up his hand, a big grin spreading over his face. Hermione let out a little "Oh!" of surprise as a teeny flame popped to life on the tip of his index finger. "Fire," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. The flame bobbed and twisted, making crazy shadows dance on the stone walls.

"Water." The flame went out with a hiss. In its place, a perfect little ball of crystal clear water hovered over Harry's palm. It caught the torchlight and sparkled like a tiny moon.

"Earth." The water droplet fell and splashed on the floor. A swirling tornado of dirt and pebbles sprang up where it had been, lazily spinning in midair.

"Air." The dirt tornado collapsed into a pile. A baby whirlwind took its place, ruffling their hair and robes with playful little gusts.

"And 'course, lightning." The whirlwind poofed out of existence. A familiar ball of snapping, popping electricity appeared, glowing an eerie blue-white and lighting up Harry's face.

Hermione stared in amazement. She'd known Harry was powerful, but witnessing his abilities firsthand was still almost unbelievable. 

The elemental spheres winked out one by one. Harry grinned at her slack-jawed expression. "Got a few other tricks up my sleeve too," he said, as casual as if he was talking about a card trick instead of mind-blowing magic. "Like this."

He snapped his fingers. Instantly, total silence crashed down around them. Hermione blinked, feeling weirdly off-balance. She could see the flickering torches, feel the slight breeze from the airflow...but she couldn't hear the flames crackling or the wind whistling anymore. It was beyond bizarre.

She turned to Harry, her eyes huge, mouthing a silent "How?" He grinned and tapped his ear.

"Sound magic," he explained. His voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. "I can put up these silence bubbles, make whispers louder, all kinds of things."

A million questions exploded in Hermione's brain. But she just beamed at him, practically vibrating with excitement. She couldn't believe someone as incredible as Harry was her friend. 

The normal sounds of the castle came rushing back in as they got closer to the library. "That was brilliant!" Hermione gushed, bouncing on her toes. "I've never seen anything like it! How do you do it? What kind of sounds can you change? How far does it reach? Have you always been able to -"

She cut herself off, heat flooding her cheeks as she realized she was babbling like an overexcited chipmunk. Ducking her head, she stared down at her sensible black shoes, suddenly fascinated by her shoelaces.

Harry just laughed, warm and friendly. "Breathe, Hermione," he said, nudging her with his elbow. "One question at a time, yeah?"

"Sorry," she mumbled, tucking a chunk of bushy hair behind her ear. "I just get really carried away sometimes."

"Don't be sorry," Harry said, his voice soft and sincere. "I think it's brilliant, how curious you are. Never lose that, alright? It's a gift."

Hermione opened her mouth to argue that being overly curious could also be a detriment at times, but Harry's sincere tone gave her pause. "I'll try not to," she said instead, a small smile playing on her lips.

When they walked into the library, that lovely smell of old books and leather wrapped around them like a big hug. Harry gently steered Hermione over to a quiet little nook, far away from Madam Pince's hawklike stare.

"Rather not have her breathing down our necks," he said, giving Hermione a sneaky grin. "I heard she's not a big fan of... creative studying."

Hermione nodded, her forehead wrinkling a bit in confusion. But she didn't argue. If Harry wanted some privacy, she was more than happy to go along with it.

They plopped down in a pair of squishy armchairs tucked behind a towering bookshelf full of dusty old books that looked older than Dumbledore.

"So," Hermione said brightly, turning to Harry with a big smile. "Do you want to start with Charms? I've already read the whole textbook twice, but I wanted to practice the wand movements again before we do the essay..."

But Harry wasn't listening. He was staring at the huge bookshelves in front of them, his green eyes glinting with a strange intensity.

"Actually," he said slowly, almost like he was talking to himself, "I've got a different project in mind."

Hermione frowned, confused. "What do you mean?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. "We haven't got any other homework yet, have we?"

Harry shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. "Nah, nothing like that," he said. "More of a personal goal, you know?"

He turned to look right at her, his face suddenly very serious. "Hermione," he said. "I'm going to read every single book in this library."

Hermione blinked. Once. Twice. Then a slightly hysterical giggle burst out of her mouth before she could stop it. "What? But there's tens of thousands of books in here! It'd take forever to read them all, even if you never slept!"

But Harry was already shaking his head, that little smile still playing around his mouth. "Not for me," he said simply. "I've got a way, even if it takes many months."

Hermione's eyes went huge. "A way?" she asked, and her words tumbled out faster and faster. "You mean like a speed-reading spell or something?" She grabbed his arm, practically bouncing in her seat. "Oh, Harry, you have to teach me! Think of how much we could learn!"

Harry laughed, with his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Slow down, motor-mouth," he teased. "It's not a spell. Here, just let me show you."

He reached out and snagged a random book off the nearest shelf – a huge, fat thing bound in cracked brown leather. "A History of Magical Horticulture" was stamped on the spine in shining gold letters.

Hermione watched, baffled, as Harry flipped through the pages at blinding speed. His eyes darted back and forth, scanning each page for just a second. The pages blurred with speed, flapping like a hummingbird's wings.

In less than a minute, he snapped the book shut and tossed it on the table. "All done," he said.

Hermione gaped at him. "But... but that's impossible!" she spluttered. "There's no way you read that whole book that fast! It's not... it's not normal!"

Harry leaned in with a sly grin. "Can you keep a secret, Hermione?" he whispered. "I'm not like the others."

A shiver zipped down Hermione's spine. "What do you mean? Is it another magical gift like Parseltongue?" she asked, wide-eyed.

Harry tapped the side of his head, smirking. "No, nothing magical… Just photographic memory," he said smugly. "Means I can remember anything I see perfectly, just by looking at it once. It all gets filed away up here," he tapped his temple again, "permanently."

Hermione's mouth fell open with an almost audible pop. "That's... that's incredible," she breathed, envy and amazement battling it out in her chest. "I can't even imagine what it must be like, being able to remember everything you've ever seen or read. The things you could learn, the connections you could make..."

She trailed off with a wistful sigh. "Wish I had a memory like that," she mumbled, picking at a loose thread on her sleeve. "Would make revising a whole lot easier."

Harry reached over and gave her hand a friendly squeeze. "Hey, don't be like that," he said gently. "You're smart, Hermione. Photographic memory or not. Who knows, maybe you and me'll figure out a spell for perfect recall someday. Stranger things have happened in this magical world, yeah?"

Hermione peeked up at him through her lashes, a hopeful little smile tugging at her lips. "You really think so?" she asked, hating how small and uncertain her voice sounded.

Harry grinned, giving her hand another comforting squeeze. "I know so," he said, firm and sure. "But until then, what do you say we get cracking on this little project of mine? I could use a study buddy to keep me company."

Hermione beamed, hardly believing her luck that the famous Harry Potter wanted her as a study partner. She made a mental note to prepare thoroughly - she didn't want to disappoint her new friend by seeming clueless.

"I'd love to," she said, trying to keep the giddy tremble out of her voice. "But how're you going to read all these books? Even with your memory, it'd take ages to go through them one at a time."

Harry's green eyes sparkled with mischief. His grin widened into a sneaky smirk. "Got a few tricks up my sleeve," he said, lowering his voice like he was sharing a juicy secret.

He held up his hand, and Hermione watched, slack-jawed, as a dozen books zoomed off the shelves. They hovered in midair, pages rustling softly. With a flick of his wrist, Harry sent them soaring over to their table. They stacked themselves in a tidy pile, spines facing out.

"Dead useful for multitasking," he said, casual as you please, like levitating a whole shelf's worth of books was as easy as breathing.

Hermione just nodded dumbly, her eyes bugging out of her head, as Harry settled back in his chair with his face scrunched up in concentration. The books fell open like a row of dominoes. The pages started turning in perfect unison, flipping back and forth like a flock of birds banking in formation.

Harry's eyes darted from book to book, scanning the pages so fast they blurred. Hermione could practically see the information pouring into his brain, like water gushing into a bottomless well.

She leaned forward, completely gobsmacked. She'd idolized the famous boy genius for years, but seeing his incredible talents up close and personal... it amazed her. Being front row centre while he did such amazing magic without so much as a wand... it didn't feel real.

"Flies, Hermione," Harry said, not looking up from his books. "You'll catch them, sitting there with your mouth hanging open like that."

Hermione snapped her mouth shut so fast her teeth clicked. "Sorry!" she squeaked, feeling her face go red-hot. "It's just... you're brilliant, Harry. Really."

He glanced up at her, his eyes dancing. "Takes one to know one," he said, grinning. "Now, what do you say we put that big brain of yours to work? I think I saw your Charms textbook in your bag. Why don't you get a head start on that essay?"