As the week wore on, Harry began to notice that he was getting more than looks from his peers, even though he had yet to grade any new papers. Wednesday afternoon, Draco spotted Harry alone out in one of the castle’s many courtyards, and failed to say a thing to him.

Hermione was also making herself scarce whenever Harry came around, which confused and aggravated Harry to no end. Other people Harry could handle, but not one of his two best friends. Friday evening when Harry walked into the common room and Hermione promptly got up and left for the Girls’ dormitory without a word, Harry finally asked Ron what was going on.

Ron hesitated before answering him, and then looked toward the Girls’ dormitory door to make sure it was closed all the way and Hermione out of earshot. “You know how she is Harry,” he said offhandedly. “She’s used to being the smartest one in school, and now… I dunno, maybe she feels just a little,” Ron stopped and looked around again, and then lowered his voice, “threatened.”

Harry’s eyes grew wide with disbelief and a little bit of anger. “Threatened? Ron, she’s still the smartest one in school! You know just as well as me that she’s the reason you and I pass half of our classes! We wouldn’t have made it this far without her notes and prodding us constantly to do our homework!”

Ron shrugged. “I know that, and you know that, and she knows that. I think she just needs reminding.”

Harry let his head fall back and examined the ceiling for a moment before closing his eyes. “How am I supposed to remind her that she’s the smartest person here?”

Ron grimaced and Harry looked back to him. “What?” Harry asked.

“Er…” he hesitated a moment. “Maybe, ask her to tutor you in something?”

Harry sighed. She had been tutoring them since they had gotten there without their asking, and now he had to go and ask for extra extra help. Harry stood and walked toward his room saying to himself, “What do I do to get myself into these messes?”

Ron watched him go, knowing exactly how he felt.

The next morning Harry strode straight over to where Hermione sat, and before she could get up, plopped down next to her. Head in hands, he put on his best distressed sigh, and waited to see if she took the bait.

Hermione eyed him for a moment, and then finally asked, “What, what’s wrong?”

Harry looked up and tried to stifle a grin knowing that his plan was already working. “I don’t know how I get myself into these messes Hermione.” He left the bait again to see if she would bite one more time.

“What messes?” She seemed genuinely concerned now.

Harry took a deep breath and launched into a fantastic story about how he was very stressed out because everybody was putting too much pressure on him, and how he thought all of his grades were going to drop, but he couldn’t drop Quidditch or his new job. Harry also added in at the last that Professor Snape now had it in for him even more than ever because he had promised to grade Harry twice as hard as every other student, and that he expected only the most paramount of work from him, and that he didn’t know for the life of him what he was going to do about it all. The part about Snape grading him harder was true at least, Harry thought to himself.

Hermione went back to her scrambled eggs. Harry’s shoulders fell when she didn’t offer to help him out of his made up predicament. Thinking for a moment, Harry sidled right up next to Hermione and put on his most pitiful look. “Please Hermione,” Harry begged, “will you please help me study for Potions so I don’t lose my job?”

Hermione looked over at him and her face lightened a little when she saw how sad Harry looked.

“All right Harry,” she told him, “but if you want my help then we’re going to study every night of the week.”

Harry’s face fell and he almost dropped his act. Every night? The things I do for friends, he thought to himself, knowing that he didn’t really need the help that badly. “Ok Hermione,” he told her, “every night.”

“Good,” she said. “Meet me in the Library at eight. It’s quieter in there.”

Ron and Harry joined Hermione in the Library at eight that night, both boys dreading the sure to be long and sleep inducing study session with Hermione. Other homework already done for the week, they only had Potions to study for.

Hermione had a stack of books already sitting on a table near the middle of the largest part of the Library.

“What are we studying?” Ron asked, “All the way up to N.E.W.T.S?” Hermione didn’t answer him, and Ron let out a groan. Harry sighed, and took a seat across from her. “Ok,” he told her, “let’s get started.”

By ten o’clock that night, Harry crawled into bed wishing he had not promised Hermione to study every night of the week. Potion ingredients and formulas from the next two weeks lessons chased each other around in his mind as he drifted off into a fitful sleep. That night, he dreamt about Snape slipping him some poisonous potion that would only affect Harry. He remembered nothing of the dream when he awoke.

The first two Gryffindor Quidditch practices of the season filled Harry’s Saturday and Sunday, followed by more long hours of studying Potions with Ron and Hermione in the Library Saturday and Sunday night.

Before Harry and Ron climbed the stairs to the boy’s dormitory, Harry turned to Hermione and said, “I have to grade papers tomorrow night at five… it might take me a while.”

Hermione shrugged. “I’ll be in the library until ten. If you get done later than that, then I’ll be waiting in the common room.”

In their room, Ron fell into his four-poster with a soft “umpf.”

Harry shook his head. “Hermione, she’s crazy.”

Ron mumbled something to his pillow, and Harry said, “at least you didn’t make any promises to her.”

Ron groaned again. He finally lifted his head and said, “I wish I hadn’t.”

Harry shook his head. "Well, at least she's happy."