Nerdy troubles
During the week, Hermione being the hyperactive girl that she is, wanted to help out our peers from Gryffindor in order to not lose any more points. She was shocked that no one was studying or wanted to study. Everyone was still in the first week having fun and were completely clueless towards homework, or maybe they just ignored it.
In an attempt to do something out of good will she inadvertently created an adverse reaction. Everyone would talk bad about her, call her a "nerd" and a "know it all" due to her actions.
It was the weekend and Hermione and I were doing our Potions homework that the insufferable Professor Snape set for us to do. I decided to talk to Hermione about her actions since it would not benefit anyone if things kept going the way they were.
"Listen, Hermione..."
"Yes?" she responded lifting her head out of her book, set aside her task, and looked at me intently.
"Why do you need to help, correct and advise everyone you come across?" I asked.
"Because they are usually doing something wrong. And the action of doing something wrong may cost us points. If I have the answer, I must tell them so that they learn for next time." She said seriously.
"If that is the case then you must have noticed that nobody asks for your help? Have you noticed that they also do not like it?" I pointed out.
She looked at me with a deepening frown.
"What does that mean exactly? That they don't want my help?" she asked in confusion.
"That is exactly the point, they do not wish for your help. No one does. Don't take it as an offence but no one seems to like you now that you have begun to do this, you know?" I said calmly.
"I didn't notice, I was busy trying to clean up their messes, I wanted to help so that they can improve" she said trying to justify herself.
"I understand that, but if no one asks for your help and you continue to do so it will only get worse."
"But… the house points…" she persisted in a softer voice.
"Why do house points, House cups, competitions matter? Didn't you know that they do not even appear on our personal file when we go to apply for a job? It is just a stupid rivalry that is designed by the houses at some point due to their desire to be the best on a yearly basis. Furthermore, have you realised that the teachers have begun to ignore you when you attempt to answer a question?" I asked her.
Hermione nodded with a grim expression, clearly unhappy.
"It is because they know that Miss Granger knows all the answers. You need to understand that they have a class to teach, and they must assess the knowledge of all the other kids as well. That does not mean that you should just stop raising your hand though. Just do it in a calm and less excited way. Pass me your parchment for a second." I said extending my hand.
She thought about my words seriously before thoughtlessly handing her parchment with the homework on it to me. I read through the excessively long essay and realised that she had not once, included a thought or remark of her own.
She wrote such a long essay with quotes and captions from different books we had been reading on the different subjects over the past week. I soon realised a problem. She did not have the ability to assimilate her knowledge and come to her own conclusions.
"Hermione, what I see here is a bunch of quotes and information that include zero thoughts of your own." I judged
"But the books I read clearly depict the knowledge better than I can so-" I cut her off.
"But the teachers don't want to see this. If they wanted to know every little fact, they would have gone a read the relevant books. Here, look at mine." I said passing her my essay while I continued to explain.
"The teachers assess you on your understanding, not you're quoting and memory skills. Sure, they are useful in the final exams. But they need to know that you understand the knowledge that they are imparting. And what better way is there than demonstrating it through your own conclusions."
Hermione looked at my parchment seriously while taking in my words.
From that day on, whenever we spent time in the library doing homework, Hermione would practice formulating her own thoughts and putting them on parchment. It was much harder than she expected. It would take a while but it was a skill that would be useful to her in the long run.
Apart from that, we spent our free time reading books on spells and potions. It was a slow and tedious process since it took a lot of time and effort. I learned the theoretical information for the three types of protego spells but lacked the ability and location in order to perform them. I thought about using the Imperio curse on Harry to open the chamber of secrets since that was a room that no one had eyes on.
But for one, I didn't know if Dumbledore would find out about it, and second, I didn't actually know the spell. Well, Drak did, and I could learn it anytime but for now, I would restrain myself until next year when the whole basilisk thing goes down. There was also the ROR but I had little use for it now. If I had to choose though, the chamber of secrets would be a better place to perform something I don't want others to see. It was all up in the air. if the situation required it we would use the appropriate room.
Besides that, I was looking for a potion that would allow me to increase my physical strength at a rapid pace since I would need it to unlock the next stage of Drak's power. So far, I came up empty, but I had no rush since there was plenty of time.