Chương 52: ITW,H - Chapter 52 - Occlumency With Hermione

(Word Count: 1, 348) Harry was just entering the common room when he heard Ron and Hermione yelling at each other. The two of them didn't notice him entering.

"Oh shove off, Hermione!" Ron shouted angrily, "I've already told you that I don't want your bloody schedule!"

"But Ron! The exams are only a few weeks away! If you don't start studying now, you won't be prepared! You do know that you can be held back if you fail, right?" Hermione crossed her arms.

"Exactly! The exams are still weeks away! I have plenty of time to do things my way," Ron said proudly, as if he just won the argument.

"So stop nagging!"

"Ugh! You're just—Ugh!" Hermione growled in frustration and stamped her foot. She looked like she was gearing up to start tearing into him, so Harry felt the need to step in.

"Alright, alright! Hold on a minute. What's going on?" He asked.

"Harry!" The two of them turned in surprise, and started speaking over each other.

"She keeps trying to force her bloody schedule on me!"

"I've made a study schedule for him, but he won't listen!" Harry ran a hand through his hair, exasperated.

"Okay, let me get this straight. Ron, you don't want the schedule and she's insisting you take it. Hermione, you've made him a study schedule, but he doesn't want it. Did I get that right?" They both nodded. He sighed.

"Okay, first of all, Hermione, you can't force him to accept your study schedule."

"What! But I was just trying—" Hermione, stunned, started to defend herself, but Harry held up a hand to stop her.

"I know, Hermione, I know. You were only trying to help," Harry said gently, then turned to Ron.

"Ron, Hermione had probably spent a lot of time putting that schedule together. It's how she shows she cares for her friends, so let's not be rude to her, okay?"

"Now wait a minute! Don't make me out to be the bad guy here! She's the one trying to force her schedule on me!" Ron said angrily. Harry sighed and turned to Hermione.

"Hermione, it's about time for our study session, isn't it? Why don't we give Ron some space?" Hermione was clutching the schedule in both hands, brows furrowed and staring angrily at the floor.

"Fine," she muttered. Harry led her back out of the common room and they made their way to the Room of Requirement in silence. He could tell that she was furious, so he gave her space to cool off. The moment they were in the Room, she exploded, crumpling the schedule into a ball and hurling it across the room.

"Ugh! That oaf! Calling me a know-it-all! How dare he? That's the last time I try to help him with anything!" She whirled onto Harry.

"And you! Why did you take his side?" Harry just pulled her into a hug and slowly rubbed circles on her back to calm her down.

"I know you just wanted to help, Hermione, but it doesn't do anyone any good if you try to insist on it. Sometimes people just aren't ready to accept it. Do you remember, towards the beginning of the school year, when I offered to help you with your Occlumency? You said you didn't want my help. How would you have felt if I insisted on helping you back then?" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. She stiffened in his arms, then slumped against him tiredly.

"I would have hated it," she grumbled into his shoulder.

"So? Do you think you owe Ron an apology?" She growled.

"No way! I'm not until he apologizes for calling me a know-it-all!"

"Fair enough," Harry nodded.

"He did seem to have taken things too far as well. Alright, how about we forget all this and focus on your Occlumency? Come on, let's go over here, we'll want to be sitting for this." They broke the hug and walked over to a sitting area with a large fireplace. Harry had asked for a replica of Grimmauld Place's lounge. They sat in chairs across from each other. Harry pulled out his wand.

"Just try not to think about this fight, I suppose, and I'll try to get to it. I'll stop the moment I do, okay?" Hermione nodded.

"Okay."" Legilimens!" In an instant, Harry was in Hermione's mind. There was nothing. She had cleared her mind, the first step in occlumency. Harry prompted her mind to bring up the fight. For a brief moment he saw Ron lounging on the common room's long couch, but Hermione changed her thoughts to something else. She was in the library reading, and Harry saw himself across from her. He forced her mind back to the fight.

There was a bit of resistance as Hermione fought against it, but Harry applied just enough force to do a little tug of war, then pushed it away. Harry was back to seeing the recent fight from Hermione's perspective, just before he had arrived." Ron, there you are! Here, I've made everyone a study schedule for the upcoming exams," Hermione said, holding out a page for him. Ron just looked at it, a bit annoyed. Harry felt a slight push against his Legilimency probe but it was too weak to affect him.

"Really, Hermione? I don't need a schedule," he said, not taking the schedule.

"But I've made one for everyone! What if you fall behind?"

"Merlin, Hermione! Not everyone has to be a bloody know it all like you! I'll be just fine studying on my own!" Ron slammed the manual closed and sat up.

"Oh, just take it already!" Hermione snapped angrily.

"I've already put it together!" Ron stood angrily and yelled, "Oh shove off, Hermione!" That was where Harry had come in to mediate, so he dropped the spell. Hermione gasped in relief from the sudden lack of strain.

"That was great, Hermione!" Harry smiled at her.

"But I couldn't do anything against you!" she said, wiping away the sweat from her forehead.

"But you did everything correctly! That's really impressive for your first time actually using Occlumency," he praised.

"You have the steps down, and you can actually do it, so that's already far better than many others would have done. Plus, you were defending against me, and I'm probably even better than Dumbledore now in the Mind Arts. Now, it's all about building up your mental muscles to put some more umph behind your defenses."

"Really? Better than Dumbledore?" She questioned, not believing it.

"Well, he can probably put more magic behind his probes, but I think I've got him beat in skills," He said. She gave him a flat look, then giggled.

"Alright, then! I guess I've got a good teacher then!" Harry puffed up his chest, "The best! If you can defend against me, then you have nothing to worry about! By the way, I saw from the fight that you made a schedule for everyone? Did you make one for me?"

"Well, um… I made one for everyone in the study group, based on what everyone struggled with the most. But I thought, what with the fight with Ron and all…" Hermione trailed off. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"That was very considerate, Hermione, thank you. I think it's a great idea to show everyone. I think you just came off a bit too strong when you showed Ron. Maybe if you try introducing it as an optional guideline for them to set their own study goals, they would appreciate it more."

"You really think so?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course! Now," He raised his wand again.

"Shall we try again? Exactly as before." ~~ ITW, H ~~ The next few days passed by with Hermione and Ron ignoring each other. On Wednesday, during the study group, Hermione gave everyone their study schedule. Luckily, because she changed the way she introduced it, everyone was a lot more accepting of it. On Thursday, during their study hall and just before their morning Herbology class, Harry received a letter from Hagrid that simply said, "It's hatching!"