Hermione Granger and the Paradigm Shift

Chapter 2 - Part 2

To her surprise she actually made it down to the common room before Harry. She had worried the extra time she spent getting ready would have forced Harry to wait but thankfully she was mistaken.

Unfortunately however, McLaggen was there. Her stomach turned again as he blatantly leered at her. "Looking good, Granger. Save me a dance, yeah?" he said confidently as he exited through the portrait hole. She suddenly felt the urge to take a shower.

"Wow," she heard from behind her and turned to see Harry standing at the bottom of his dormitory steps. "You look great, Hermione."

She felt her face warm at his compliment and noticed how nice he looked as well. Even better than normal. "You too, Harry. Did you do something to your hair?"

It still looked a bit of a mess...it wouldn't be Harry if it didn't...but it looked like a slightly more organized and planned-out mess.

"Yeah," he said as he bowed his head. "Seamus showed me a spell to help keep some of it in place. My mirror was speechless."

"It looks very nice," she complimented.

"What can I say, you inspired me," he replied with a chuckle.

Hermione realized that the volume of female voices in the room had grown much quieter as well. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who approved of Harry's efforts. Harry, unsurprisingly, had no clue.

Seamus bounded up to Harry sporting a huge grin. "I told ya, Harry," he said as he playfully punched his arm and sat down at a nearby couch.

"What did he tell you?" Hermione asked, somewhat afraid of what nonsense had come out of Seamus' mouth.

"He said the girls' fann-" Harry began before stopping abruptly and looking around in embarrassment. "He said the girls would like it. Ready?"

"He's not wrong," she said amusedly as she wrapped an arm through his and pulled him toward the exit. It was only after they had made their way out of the room that she realized she hadn't thought to look for Ron in the common room. Another victory.

As they entered Professor Slughorn's office Hermione marveled at the spectacle in front of her. It was, quite simply, the most attractive group of people she had ever seen together. To a person the adults in the room exuded an easy confidence that they simply belonged there. Most of the students, however, seemed utterly terrified and unsure of what they should be doing. Slughorn's prior get-together had been nice but it was nothing like this.

Harry simply looked unimpressed and unenthusiastic. She was not surprised.

It was clear that Professor Slughorn had cast several expansion charms in the room as it's normal configuration could not have held so many people in addition to the band and dance floor.

As frivolous and shallow as it was she felt an odd sort of validation that she...the pushy, stuck up mudblood... was there...with these people. Parkinson and her crude sense of entitlement based on nothing more than her parents' money and who she opened her legs for would have stuck out like a tacky sore thumb. She didn't though. She belonged...and so did Harry...whether he wanted to or not.

She was broken out of her musings as a beaming Slughorn bounded to their side. "M'boy, I'm so glad you could make it. And you too of course, Miss Granger!"

"Thank you, sir," she replied, "I appreciate you thinking of us."

He gave her a dismissive hand wave. "Of course you would be invited. How could I not invite my two best students?"

As much as she wanted to be flattered it spoiled it a bit that he was falsely praising Harry as well. She mentally reminded herself to not ruin the evening with her stubbornness.

"What's that smell, professor?" Harry interjected in a tone that suggested he was not impressed with Slughorn's comment and wanted a change of topic.

She didn't think it possible but the professor's grin grew even larger. "Just something I came up with a few years back. Do you like it?"

"I...do," Harry replied uncertainly. Hermione thought it was quite pleasant as well.

"What would you say the scent reminded you of?" Slughorn continued. Based on the expression on his face he already knew what Harry's answer would be.

"It smells like...well, actually I don't know what it smells like...but I know I like it," Harry slowly answered.

Harry had verbalized her thoughts exactly. It was so pleasant and unusual...yet so familiar. As she focused on the scent she felt slightly more comfortable and relaxed. Magic was clearly at play

"That's because you haven't," Slughorn enthused. "It's a variant of the Amortentia potion I created several years ago."

"Don't worry, don't worry," Slughorn reassured as Harry's expression hardened. "The ingredients that would key the potion to a specific person are obviously not included and it is infinitely less powerful than Amortentia. No one will be losing their minds or changing their personalities...simply relaxing a bit and feeling at ease. It is a party after all!"

"Is it airborne sir?" Hermione asked, fascinated by the execution of such a potion. Normally she would be annoyed at someone using a potion so casually to affect people's emotions but she found herself not being bothered in this instance. Whether it was because she was at a party where people were meant to relax and enjoy themselves or the potion was doing its job she wasn't sure.

"Five points to Gryffindor!" Slughorn praised. "There are small cauldrons placed throughout the room. The potion becomes airborne due to the heat being applied. The tricky part comes into play with the amount of heat present. As more is released into the air there is less potion in the cauldron. What is left becomes hotter due to the lower volume, releasing at a greater rate. Any theories how I manage this inconsistency?"

Before she could posit a theory Harry spoke. "You don't have a fire under the cauldron...it's some sort of heating spell applied to the surface."

Slughorn's eyes bulged in excitement. Clearly Harry was on the right track. "And..." he prompted Harry to continue.

"The spell is designed for the heat to decrease over time...because when there is less potion the heat would need to be lower in order to maintain the same amount being released into the air."

"Ten points to Gryffindor!" Slughorn nearly shouted. "Wait until I tell Severus how quickly you worked it out! I've been telling him what a natural you are at Potions but he was not hearing it."

Hermione, for her part, was shocked.

The solution was perfectly logical and she was positive she would have come to the same solution with a little more time. But this was Harry...and he had sorted it out so quickly...most likely thanks to the Prince. Suddenly Slughorn's potion was no match for her stubbornness and she felt a bit of annoyance growing.

But through the haze of anger Hermione thought of Harry's comment from the prior night. Despite the source of the information it was clear that Harry had learned the solution. She mentally cringed as she realized her dismissive attitude toward Harry was remarkably similar to Professor Snape.

"That was well thought out, Harry," she complimented honestly. She would not treat Harry like Professor Snape.

"Thanks," he replied quietly, bowing his head in slight embarrassment. She realized her simple comment appeared to mean more to him than Slughorn's gushing praise

"M'boy, there are a few people here that you must meet," Slughorn stated, quickly wrapping an arm around Harry's shoulder and directing him across the room. It all happened very quickly and smoothly...as if Harry had been hit by a bus in the most pleasant way possible.

Hermione began to follow and a voice spoke from behind.