(Word Count: 1,060)
Not seeing Hermione in the common room, Harry quickly swung by the great hall to grab a quick egg on toast and chomped it down quickly as he made his way down to the library.
Madam Pince was there at her desk, giving him the stink eye as he walked in. He gave her a nod and moved on.
Hermione was at their preferred table, a stack of books in front of her, far more than usual.
She wouldn't actually be reading all of the books cover to cover of course. Her main reading would be the book she was reading now, and the other books were there to reference when needed. It was her way of verifying the author's words on a topic she didn't understand.
Where an 11 year old Hermione learned to study like this, Harry didn't know.
A quick glance over her books told him of the topic she was studying today. The Mind Arts. It seemed like his demonstration yesterday left quite the mark.
"Good morning, Hermione," Harry said. "I see you've gotten your day's reading gathered already."
"Ah!" Hermione jumped. She scowled at him. "Harry! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
Harry grinned at her. "I didn't. You were just so focused, you didn't notice me."
He picked up the top book on the stack. Navigating the Labyrinthine Mind, by Mindal Psyrens. Wow, what an appropriate name for a mind mage. Still, this was a good book on the subject.
Reading the Mind and How to Stop it. An introductory level book discussing the bread and butter of Mind Arts: Occlumency and Legilimency.
101 Spells For The Mind. Had a bunch of nifty spells that affected emotions, like the cheering charm.
Magical Meditation. This one was mostly spiritual mumbo jumbo.
Occluding, Ordering, Oppressing the Mind. Oh, this one was pretty good.
The book that Hermione was actually reading was a copy of the same book that Arcturus gave to me when he began teaching me occlumency. "I'm impressed, Hermione, all of these are great books on the Mind Arts. Except this one," Harry picked up the Magical Meditation. "This one is the wizard's equivalent of the muggle's crystal healing. Not really useful."
"Erm… Thanks."
"You know, if you wanted to learn the Mind Arts, I would be more than happy to lend you some of the books I have. Also, I would also look into the muggle's "mind palace" technique on training the mind. It's how I started learning."
"What? I've heard of that before! Is it actually useful?" She asked.
"Of course! The wisdom and knowledge of the non-magical world is still incredibly useful. What occlumency is, is just being mentally disciplined, though admittedly reinforced with magic. Practicing the mind palace technique helps organize your mind. This book," Harry picked up Occluding, Ordering, Oppressing the Mind, "and the one you're reading now, both go into the idea of the mind palace, though they use different terms, but I've found that reading through the muggle version first makes it easier to understand."
"I see. Do you… can I borrow that book from you?" Hermione asked.
"Of course." He opened the tiny trunk around his neck and accio'ed the appropriate book. Book was still normal sized, since the space inside the trunk didn't shrink along with it, so when it reached the opening, the trunk and book stretched comically to make it work. Magic was funny like that.
He handed the book to Hermione. He could trust her to take care of it. However, when it came to lending Terry Boot his books, he would create copies.
"Thank you."
"No problem. You know, once you think you've gotten the theory down, you'll need to practice it. Both Legilimency and Occlumency. Otherwise, you won't really be able to master it. Just tell me when you think you've got it, and I can help," Harry offered.
Hermione blanched. "Wait, you want to use legilimency on me?" She squeaked.
"Of course. How else are you going to master Occlumency? You can even practice your Legilimency on me."
"No no no! You can't do that!" Hermione was now panicked and red faced.
"Hey hey hey," Harry soothed. Of course, Harry wasn't an idiot. Even without his Empathic Sensing, which also extended somewhat to wizards and witches, it was obvious that she had a budding crush on him. A girl with no friends, always bullied and isolated, discovers a new magical world and makes a friend who goes out of his way to help her learn all about it? Not to mention he was handsome, rich, and heir to two magical families?
He was kind, charming, and smart. Man, he really was perfect, wasn't he? Thinking about it now, it's a wonder she wasn't hopelessly in love with him already.
Moment of narcissism over, it would be rude to call her out.
"It's okay. If you think about a memory you don't mind sharing, I can keep the legilimantic probe focused on that. Once you've read a bit more on the subject, you'll understand what I mean."
"Still…" Hermione bit her lip in worry.
"Just give it some thought, okay? Anyway, why don't you get these books checked out with Madam Pince, I've got something to show you."
"What? Right now? But…" She was looking forward to spending the day reading.
"You'll love it, I promise," Harry picked up the pile of books, leaving the meditation one out, and made his way over to the front desk. "Come on!"
Hermione checked the books out, and Harry led her up to the seventh floor. On the way, Harry told her. "Listen, what I'm about to show you needs to stay between us, okay? I might bring in Ron and Neville on this later, but for now keep this a secret."
Well, he might tell Neville later on, but Ron didn't know how to keep a secret yet. As seen by him outing Harry as a seer on the first day. Not to mention he had to give him the chance to not be a fair-weather friend.
He led her to the mural of Barnabas the Barmy.
"What's all this about, Harry? I doubt you wanted to show me the trolls," Hermione sighed.
"Just a moment."
Harry paced back and forth three times, and the door appeared.
"After you!" Harry gestured.