AN: As usual I don't own Harry Potter or the characters and the world created by J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Thank you to all who commented, I am glad you all have enjoyed the story thus far. I apologize for the long wait for an update, I hope to bring more out soon. This Chapter has been edited by myself and my Beta Reader This chapter has been edited from its original version by myself and my beta reader Mionellsparklockineco to fix any spelling, continuity and other errors.

Harry sat quietly in the common room watching the fire dwindle. It had been a long and arduous week and he was ready for the small break. Ron had already made his way to bed, but Hermione sat on the floor beside the sofa he was sitting on. He watched as she sorted through her pile of books and homework, ensuring that everything was properly in its place.

He was always impressed with how she managed to keep up with all of her work. He didn't understand how she was taking so many classes, especially when most of them coincided with each other. He had tried to get her to explain to him how she knew what was due in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes, when they were at the same time as other classes she was always present in with him and Ron.

She looked up and smiled, as she noticed him watching her. She sighed and set down her quill, as she finished marking a few extra corrections on one of her numerous essays. She stood and stretched before settling onto the sofa beside him, then turning to look back down at her work.

"Are you ever going to tell me how you do it?" he asked, as she turned back to him.

"Do what?" she asked, confusion written all over her face.

"All of your schoolwork." he said, indicating the massive pile in front of them. "You are always in class with Ron and me, yet you also somehow seem to know everything happening in your other classes, which are at the same time as ours."

She shrugged. "I go to all of my classes." she said, clearly indicating that this was something that he should already know about her.

"I don't see how." he said and sighed.

He knew it really was possible she could be taking the classes at a later time, but even if she were taking private lessons it didn't seem realistic. She was always with them when not working on her many projects. The teachers, he also knew, were highly unlikely to have as much freetime as it would take to teach an entire class to one student in private.

She sighed, "Trust me, I am making it to all of my classes." she said with a small frown. "I just wish all of my classes were worth all of the time I spend in them."

He knew that she was referring to Divination, even he was beginning to regret taking the class. He had looked through a few of her books and was amazed by the more intriguing subjects that she was taking. He doubted that he would have the capacity to understand Ancient Runes and Arithmancy though, but he was sure that they were highly intriguing subjects.

"Just don't over extend yourself." he said with a smile. "Why don't you just drop Divination, we all know you hate it."

She gave him a look of indignation. "Drop Divination?" she asked as if the idea was beyond repulsive. "I can't, I may not like the class or that old bat, but I can't just drop the class."

He nodded, he knew she always thought that she had to finish what she started, especially if it was school related. He sighed and looked over at the clock above the fireplace and realized with a start that it was nearing one in the morning.

"We should go to bed soon." he said with a nod toward the clock.

"Yes, you also have Quidditch practice in just a few hours." she agreed, taking another long look at the pile of books on the floor.

He stood and stretched, "Hermione, if I were to drop Divination would I do well in Ancient Runes or Arithmancy?" he asked, wondering what she would think of the idea.

She looked up at him, searching his face for a moment as she thought. "I'm not sure Harry." she said softly, a gentle smile on her lips. "Both subjects are really fascinating, but Ancient Runes is all about translating Runes that have been left by other witches and wizards over the centuries." she continued with a frown as she reached down and grabbed the books for both Ancient Runes and Arithmancy.

"And is that hard?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "I am sure there are many things that can be learned from them."

She nodded. "I can't say that it is overly hard, but it can be taxing on the mind." she said with a sigh. "Some Runes we no longer have a translation for due to their age or other various reasons."

He nodded, trying to ensure that he understood. "So if a magical civilization died out and no record was left behind?" he asked with a frown.

"Exactly." she said with a bright smile. "If the witches and wizards or other magical creatures who used Runes did not leave any record behind, without a way to translate them we would be unable to read them."

He nodded; it sounded far more exciting and fascinating that Divination(though that probably wasn't too difficult). "And what about Arithmancy?"

She frowned more deeply. "Arithmancy is all about numbers and complicated equations. It is more to do with finding a way mathmatically to magically do what the witch or wizard is trying to accomplish. There are other uses of course- one can determine all kinds of things using Arithmancy."

He frowned, math had never been his best subject, but at least he tried to do well in it. "Like what?" he asked trying to understand more.

"Well, it can be used to determine how strong, magically, a person is," she said softly. "For example I could tell you how strong your magic is, or how strong a spell is based upon the magical equation for determining the strength of the spell." she continued.

"There is a set magical number for the strength of a spell?" he asked- now he was intrigued and impressed. "A person's magical strength can be determined with a number equation; I thought that you just got stronger as you grew older and learned more?"

She sighed and gave him a patient smile. "Every spell has a set of magical numbers that make up the sum of the strength of the spell. That plus the strength of the caster make up the entirety of it." she said with a nod. "A witch or wizard does grow in strength as they age and learn, however past a certain age, a witch or wizard can also start to lose some of their strength."

He blinked in surprise. "You can start to grow weaker magically with age?" he asked, wondering how old one would have to be to start losing their magic.

"There are many reasons a witch or wizard can become weak or entirely lose their magic," she said, taking on the tone she usually took when informing him and Ron of something important. "Potions, spells and age are just a few of the ways a magical being can become powerless. But most, if not all, of these can be determined through equations."

He was stunned by this revelation, as he had always thought that a witch or wizard could not lose magic. He remembered Voldemort, and realized that he should have known that this could happen naturally as well as in his case.

"I am beginning to wish I had taken Arithmancy or Ancient Runes." he said with a frown. "At least they would have been useful."

She nodded and tossed the books back onto the pile. "Much more useful indeed." she said with a sigh. "As for your dropping Divination and taking one if not both, I am sure you would do well, at least in Ancient Runes," she continued with a smile. "However, I am unsure if it is too late to transfer or not, you would have to speak with McGonagall."

He nodded and thought that maybe he would have a discussion with his Head of House soon, if things didn't get better in Divination. It wasn't just the fact that Professor Trelawney kept predicting his death, it was honestly a pointless and useless subject. Maybe if he were a seer then it would be better, but it was beyond him to even see something more than a clump of muddy brown stuff when he tried to read tea leaves.

"Well, I am off to bed Mione,'' he said, using the nickname he had given her last year.

"See you in the morning." she said, smiling brightly as she caught up her books and proceeded toward her own dormitory.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table picking at his lunch; Quidditch practice had gone exceedingly well. He was still thinking over the conversation he and Hermione had last night, trying to decide if it would be worth speaking with McGonagall with already nearly three weeks of term gone. He was still undecided when Hermione shook his arm.

"Look at this!" she squeaked, shoving the Daily Prophet into his hands. "Sirius Black has been sighted near Dufftown."

He took the paper and quickly skimmed the article, wondering why it was so important to her that he read it. He was just about to ask her when his answer was given.

"That's not far from here," she said with a frown. "It's only about twenty miles from Hogsmeade." she continued as he gave her a quizzical look.

"Speaking of Hogsmeade, did you get permission Harry?" Ron asked as he continued to shovel mashed potatoes into his mouth.

"No, the Dursley's didn't sign my form," He said, remembering that this was mainly due to Aunt Marge.

"Damn!" Ron said with a frown. "Maybe McGonagall can sign for you,''he ventured hopefully.

"Ron, I don't think she can." Hermione said with a frown. "Only a parent or guardian can sign the form."

"Maybe I will ask her." he said with a shrug. "I wanted to speak with her about something else as well." he continued as he took a sip of pumpkin juice.

"What were you going to talk to her about?" Hermione asked as she set the Prophet down.

"What we were talking about last night." he answered, as he finally set his fork down and stood. "I'm going to go and see if she is free now."

He stood and strode from the hall headed toward the first floor. He had only been in McGonagall's office a few times, but he remembered easily enough where it was. He knocked on the door and waited until she called before entering.

"Potter?" she said as he entered, closing the door behind him.

"Good afternoon Professor," he said as he came to a stop at her desk.

"How can I help you?" she asked, indicating the seat beside him.

He sat down and thought for a moment. "Professor I was wondering, if I wanted to drop a subject, would it be too late to pick up another?"

She set down her quill, and watched him over the brim of her glasses. "What subject were you thinking of taking, Potter?"

"Well, I was thinking of possibly dropping Divination and taking Ancient Runes or Arithmancy, maybe even both." he said, getting straight to the point.

She frowned and gently rubbed her temples. "I see," she said, placing her hands back on the desk. "The semester has already started, I am sure Professor Babbling and Professor Vector would be willing to take you on. However, you would have to catch up to your fellow students."

"I understand Professor." he said, as she proceeded to pull out some forms from her desk.

"I see that if you were to take on both subjects, you would only be adding one extra class to your schedule. There would be no need to make extra arrangements to accommodate the lessons." she said, as she began to fill out the forms. "I would suggest that you go and speak with them today so as to get an idea of what you will need to catch up on and what books you will need to get for the classes."

He nodded and took the forms as she handed them to him. "Thanks Professor. I am sorry if this causes any issues."

She smiled softly, surprising him with her sincerity. "It's no problem Potter, I think you will enjoy the new subjects much better than Divination. It's no secret that I and many others don't see a point to it."

He smiled and nodded before heading back toward the Great Hall in search of Hermione. She met him as he stepped off the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall.

"How did it go?" she asked, looking from him to the forms in his hand.

"I have to go speak to Professor Babbling and Professor Vector, but McGonagall gave permission for me to drop Divination and switch to both classes."

"That's wonderful." she said as she took the forms to look over them. "Did she mention the Hogsmeade form?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"I forgot," he said as he took the forms back. "I'll have to ask her later, can you take me to Professor Babbling and Professor Vector?" he asked, hoping she knew where their offices were.

"Of course." she said, as she started up the stairs. "Professor Babbling is on the fifth floor near the Muggle Studdies classroom."

She lead the way up the stairs, talking about the different things she had already learned in both classes. It was surprising how much he was going to have to catch up on. As they reached the fifth floor landing he stopped and sighed.

"How am I going to catch up?" he asked, as she stopped and turned to see what was keeping him.

"Don't worry, I'll help you." she said, as she gently took his hand and pulled him onward. "You'll do fine." she continued as they stopped outside of a door that read: Professor B. Babbling, The Study of Ancient Runes.

He knocked and waited until a voiced called, and together with Hermione he entered into a small office filled with bookshelves. Hundreds of small leatherbound volumes lined the shelves, and he could tell from the titles that all of them were about Ancient Runes and ancient magical societies.

"Ah, good afternoon Miss Granger," said the portly woman behind the desk. "How can I help you?"

"Good afternoon Professor Babbling," Hermione said with a bright smile. "It's actually my friend Harry who is here to see you."

Professor Babbling looked from Hermione to Harry and smiled softly. "Mr. Potter, how can I help you today?"

"Hello Professor, I am here because I spoke with Professor McGonagall about dropping one of my classes and taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy instead." He said as he produced the notes from McGonagall.

She took the notes and looked over them, handing him back the one for Professor Vector. She made a few notes on the form and handed it back to him with a nod.

"I see you are swapping my class instead of taking Divination." she said, hiding her smirk as she proceeded to pull down a book from the shelf behind her. "You will be needing a copy of this, but you may borrow this one until you manage to obtain your own." she continued, as she pulled another book down. "This one you will need to read by thursday as it has recently been assigned to the rest of the class."

Harry nodded as he took both books and thanked her. "I will get caught up as quickly as I can." he said, as he placed both books in his bag.

"I will help him Professor, he will be up to scratch in no time." Hermione said with a smile as she suddenly pulled a scroll out from her bag. "Oh and here is my essay on Rottengarf's third misstranslation."

Professor Babbling nodded and took the scroll. "Thank you Miss Granger, I am sure Mr. Potter will do well with you by his side."

Hermione beamed and together they exited the office, Hermione leading the way once more as they decended down the staircase to the fourth floor. She knocked on the door to Professor Vector's office and again they entered when invited.

"Yes, Mr. Potter I am sure you will do well," Professor Vector said after they had explained the reason for their visit. "You will need to purchase a copy of this when you have the time. I am sure Miss Granger will have you up to par with the rest of the class in no time."

Harry nodded as he placed the book in his bag and thanked her for her time. It was surprising how easily and quickly the subject transfers had been done. He was also surprised at how nice the two Professors seemed, not that he had expected them to be rude or mean, just more like McGonagall.

As they exited, Hermione resumed her steady stream of information about the two subjects. She was already telling him what he had missed in Arithmancy, as he would have his first lesson on Monday morning. He knew he would still have a lot of catching up to do, but it felt good to have a couple of classes that would be worth the effort.

As they entered the Common Room a few minutes later Ron came up to them and together they sat down to begin working on their homework. Ron was not as enthused as Hermione about Harry's change of subjects, but he figured it was Harry's business if he wanted harder subjects.

"I just wish you had told me beforehand, I could have asked McGonagall if I could change as well," Ron said with a frown.

"That's up to you Ron," Harry said with a shrug. "I'm sure she would let you if you asked her."

"Nah, I'm no good with numbers and I doubt I'd do well at translating anything," he said as he looked over the books Harry had received from his new Professors. "Still, I am sure they will be interesting."

Harry quickly found them to be extremely fascinating but hard work, as Hermione began to explain more about what he had missed. It was not as much as he had expected, only missing a few classes. It was however hard work, and he soon wished he had started at the beginning of the semester.