Disclaimer: All J.K.R.'s, not mine.

Author's notes: Thanks for reading and reviewing!

"You even have time to go see Dumbledore, right?" added Ron. "Isn't today the one day you have a free period?"

Hermione did have a free period, right before Potions. The only class for seventh years that was offered during that timeslot was Divination, and Hermione had refused to even consider taking the subject. "Well, yes, but I'd planned to spend the time studying for NEWTS."

"But NEWTS aren't for a month!"

"Which means you've already spent two months studying for them, right?" said Harry.

Ron gaped at her.

"Plus you're Head Girl," Harry continued, "so no one would think it was weird that you were visiting Dumbledore. They'd just think you had Head Girl business."

"You've been studying for NEWTS for two months already?" asked Ron.

"Yes, Ron, I have. There's so much material to cover – I honestly don't know how you expect to learn everything in a month."

"You expect me to spend a whole month studying? When am I supposed to practice quidditch?"

"Ron, this is your future we're talking about. Don't you think that's a little more important than quidditch?"

"We're up against Slytherin for the cup this year. Do you think I want to lose to Slytherin in my last quidditch match at Hogwarts?"

"Look, Ron," said Harry, "I'm sure you have time to study and practice quidditch, ok? And Hermione, it can't take that long to look at a dream – I bet you'll have time to study, too."

"Okay, fine. I'll ask Dumbledore if I can use the pensive." She really did want to know what had happened in the dream.

"I hadn't thought about it being our last match here," said Harry. "I'll have to make sure to schedule some extra practices."

"Yeah," agreed Ron. "And maybe at the next practice, we could try this new play I've been working on…" Hermione stopped listening.

Hermione's first few classes were uneventful. Most of the professors had already stopped teaching new material and begun reviewing for NEWTS. Hermione tried to tell herself that it was helpful to go over the material again in a different way, but she found that, for the first time in her life, she was bored in class. She already knew everything that they were going over in class; she had spent the last two months reviewing it herself. She found herself counting down the minutes until her free period.

At lunch, she found that Harry and Ron were still discussing quidditch tactics, so she used the opportunity to get a head start on her homework and then headed off to History of Magic early. It was her last class before her free period. Professor Binns was reviewing as well, but she forced herself to pay close attention anyway. They had studied recent history this year, and anything she could learn about the state of the wizarding world during Voldemort's life or about his previous reign of terror could be used to bring him down. Even so, Professor Binn's monotone vice was grating on her nerves, and she practically bolted out the door when class finished.

As she made her way to Dumbledore's office, she realized she had no idea what she was going to give as the reason she needed to use his pensive. He would probably still let her use it if she told him the truth, but that would necessitate admitting that she had been in Snape's dream, which Dumbledore might relay to Snape. She would have to think of something else.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she nearly walked straight into the gargoyle outside of Dumbledore's office. "Asparagus," she said, looking at the gargoyle pointedly. It obediently leapt aside, allowing her to reach the staircase behind it.

"Hermione, what can I do for you?" the Headmaster greeted her when she reached his office. "I am afraid I still only have lemon drops. You are, of course welcome to them, but if you come back tomorrow, I should have some toffee, as well."

"Thank you sir, but actually, I was wondering if I might use your pensive."

"Of course, my dear. But if I may ask, why do you find yourself in need of a pensive?"

"I can't remember anything I dreamt from the night I was dream-walking, and I thought-"

"How right you are, Hermione. With such little research on the subject, it would be a shame to be unable to learn anything from your experience with it simply because you cannot remember it. However," he cautioned, "the process of using a pensive to look at a memory becomes more complex when one has to locate the memory first. Are you familiar with what you must do?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good, good. Even so, I think that I will remain here with you while you find your memory, in case anything goes awry. Afterwards, I will make my visit to Irma, so you can have some peace and quiet while you view your memory."

"Thank you, sir." Hermione made her way over to the pensive and murmured the correct spell, then closed her eyes and lowered her face into the silvery liquid. She had never used a pensive, and despite her knowledge of the magical properties that allowed a pensive to work, it felt horribly counterintuitive to submerge her head in a liquid for any length of time. She could no longer feel her feet on the floor of Dumbledore's office, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself sitting in an large, entirely white room that was rather blinding. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that the room was filled with shimmering spheres that were roughly the size of her fist.

She closed her eyes and focused on remembering what had happened immediately before she went to bed and immediately after she woke up two nights ago. She heard a noise, and half-opened one eye to see several of the spheres rolling towards her as if attracted by a magnetic force. When the noise stopped, she opened both her eyes. Six spheres lay at her feet. Now that they were closer, she could see images swirling around in each of them, changing the way wizard photographs did and then dissolving in an inky swirl of color, only to reform into a different image. She began to look at each of the spheres in turn; in the third one, an image of Snape caught her eye. She picked it up and, holding it tightly with both hands, closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes, all the other spheres were gone. She gently set the sphere she held down on the floor and withdrew her face from the pensive.

She turned to see Dumbledore beaming at her. "Well done, Hermione. This is precisely why I do not think you will have any trouble learning occlumency." He headed for the stairs and disappeared from her line of vision. She glanced down at the swirling liquid of the pensive, now tinged green ever so slightly, and plunged her face back into the pensive.