In his third year at Hogwarts Harry noticed Hermione breaking the laws of time. He kicked himself that it wasn't something he'd even considered could be challenged. He clearly wasn't thinking big enough. What with Time-Turners, Apparition and Portkeys, the so-called "laws" of time and space were obviously just guidelines too. He mastered Apparition and Portkey creation, before experimenting with sending himself back in time. Knowing that wizards didn't even think it didbreak any laws gave him a massive confidence boost in mastering it himself. Without the silly necklace needed as a confidence prop like Dumbo's feather in the old Disney movie.
His conversations with Luna got a lot more confusing for others to listen to once he started referring to talks he'd had with her "two Mondays ago", discussing homework for classes he hadn't had yet, and calling his dinner "tomorrow's breakfast".
People were starting to look at him funny. Well, funnier than they did already. There weren't many people who thought he was completely sane. He seemed to be graduating extremely early to "powerful and crazy, just like Dumbledore". Usually it took wizards a lot longer to earn such a reputation.
*pokemonpokemonpokemon*
Professor McGonagall was thrilled to bits with his increasingly advanced Transfiguration skills, and Hermione had long since resignedly conceded the top spot in the class to him in all practical exercises. Though McGonagall didn't like it when he tried to smuggle out the animals they were supposed to be transforming out of class for his own private Transfiguration experiments.
"Mr. Potter," she said crisply, "the goal of this class is to transform your hedgehog into a pincushion, not to try and smuggle it into your bag while transforming a quill into a decoy pincushion. That is hardly the standard of behaviour I expect of my Gryffindors." She didn't take points off him though – she never did. He was usually quite the teacher's pet in class.
"But I still ended up with a perfectly fine pincushion, and I think it's kind of cruel to the hedgehog, so-"
"-No, Mr. Potter," she said with unrelenting sternness. "It is an excellent pincushion indeed, but that is not the focus of the lesson today. Transfiguring animals into inanimate objects is a harder level of difficulty than merely transforming one inanimate object into another."
Hermione, who sat with Neville these days, glanced over at his table smugly, and earned herself 5 points and her teacher's praise for her slightly spiky pincushion.
Harry tapped his poor little hedgehog with his wand, and changed it to a perfect red and gold velvet pincushion, complete with pins in it, earning 10 points for Gryffindor, and a proud smile from Professor McGonagall. Hermione looked at him jealously.
"That didn't even look like the right wand motion," she complained.
Harry just shrugged dismissively. "I don't need to worry about that. No-one does."
She frowned. "Professor McGonagall explained to me how you've just got more innate magical power than most wizards. But you know the rest of us still need to follow procedure to get results. And you're still not going to get an O if you don't understand the theory. My essays are four times as long as yours."
Harry rolled his eyes at her. "We're here to learn magic, not essay writing. And I'm doing just fine at learning the actual magic."
"You are so rude sometimes, Harry!"
"Sorry. What I said is still true, though." Harry's casual dismissal of centuries of magical theory clashed badly with Hermione's love of the laws and principles that made magic into a pseudo-science. They still liked each other as individuals, but clashed too often to be good friends anymore.
YOU ARE READING
The Very Best by BrilliantLady
FanfictionThis fic was inspired by two challenge prompts by Crystal M. Key on fanfiction dot net; firstly that belief makes anything possible, and another where Harry has a life goal of becoming a Pokémon Master. She also kindly served as beta for the draft o...
