Wow! Fifty-one reviews! I'd like to extend a huge thank-you to the following fabulous guys and gals who reviewed Chapter 13: MysteryALASKA, lacatamar, astraeos, goblin monkey, Sing-my-heart-out, aurora-sakura, waterfaerie15, Fionaflamingo, unknownspecies, CassieLupin, laura truewood, N.C. PysChick, Gene Kelly, EponineWeasley, Cassondra, Lara Potter, True Slytherin Witch, Hayls221, Ronsreallove, Aqb Dk, eckles, Loku, Tinkerbell Faerie 2, RubyPhoenixFire, FairyKisses, doublelily, aishteru, Elemental Water Mistress, Eise, rainydyz07, Kitty Weasley KW, Lumos2000, LadySimone123, the-insufferable-know-it-all, silktophat, PhoenixWings13, Tria Marie Val, Nina-del-rio, Huggles4All, dancerrdw, Endless Potential, xPussyWillowKittenx, skysongcry, NicciBubbles, AngelicOne, quidditchgirl13, suckr4romance, RandomSmirf13, and last, but certainly not least, hermione256.

I will dedicate the 15th chapter to the 700th reviewer. As usual, please read, review, and above all else, ENJOY!

Forewarning: There is actually plot in this chapter:gasps: LOL!

"Take a seat, Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall said gently as we entered her prim and proper office. I sat hesitantly on a stiff-backed red and gold chair. "And please cease your unnecessary worrying! Do you not trust me when I say that you are not in trouble? After all, you have seemed to place your trust in one particularly shady Draco Malfoy!"

I gasped. "You know about that?"

"Of course, Miss Granger. Since I am the Deputy Headmistress of this school, Professor Dumbledore keeps me well-informed concerning all the significant events that happen beneath our very noses."

I gulped. For some reason, that knowledge in the hands of Minerva McGonagall frightened me more than a smidgen for some odd reason. Probably because of all the professors, she was the one who seemed to understand me the best. And was able to see through any façade that I put up.

"Now, first of all, Miss Granger, you've been looking a bit stressed these first few days back at school. Is there anything you wish to talk about?"

I literally choked on the Fig Newton she had offered me a minute earlier. Professor McGonagall was my absolute favorite teacher and role model...but still! She was so much older and wiser than me, and slightly on the intimidating side. I honestly didn't know if I'd feel comfortable confiding things to her...especially the current stuff that was bothering me.

Professor McGonagall chuckled. Yes, she CHUCKLED, at the expression on my face.

"I do understand if the prospect of that makes you uncomfortable right now. I would just like you to know that the offer is always open ANYTIME this year- day or night- if you ever need some one to talk to. I'm going to be blunt about this, Miss Granger. Most unfortunately, this year isn't going to be easy for anyone. Especially you."

"I know," I said softly, secretly flattered that a woman of her caliber would be interested in listening to the woes of a 17-year old teenage girl. "I will certainly keep that in mind."

"You may be wondering why I am saying this."

I blinked. The last time I checked, Severus Snape, not Minerva McGonagall, was the accomplished Legilemens at Hogwarts.

"Yes, I am," I admitted.

"You see, Miss Granger, while Ron, Harry, and Ginny are wonderful friends for you, a witch of your potential sometimes needs guidance from a person older than herself. A mentor, to be specific."

Now I choked on my very own saliva. Pathetic.

"You want to be MY mentor?"

"Why not?" Minerva McGonagall smiled broadly. "You are without a doubt one of the most clever witches to ever grace the halls of Hogwarts- and, may I add, my favorite student."

Scratch choking on saliva- I was somehow now choking on my very own breath, if that was even medically possible.

Between coughs I managed to convey somehow to the Transfiguration professor that she was indeed going slightly off her rocker.

"No, Miss Granger, I will assure you than I am NOT going crazy."

I simply had to get out the room. This woman could READ MY MIND!

"Well, thank you very much, but I do have to be going now," I said hastily, rising to my feet.

"Sit down, please," Professor McGonagall sighed. "By the way, your face very clearly shows your emotions, Miss Granger. It isn't too hard to hard to make a reasonable guess at what you are thinking."

"I'm THAT transparent?" I asked incredulously.

"No. We just share many similarities. Why, Miss Granger, when I was your age I had your exact personality. I was clever, witty, fairly introverted, prim, and proper. Because of that, I can easily hypothesize your reactions to most anything. Do you understand what I am saying?"

I nodded my head. It made perfect sense- and it was a smidgen on the disturbing side. Did that mean that there was no hope for me? If Professor McGonagall was the same type of girl in her teenage years that I was now, would I grow up to be EXACTLY LIKE HER- a stern witch who never let her hair down? (Ever. It was always in a tight little knot of the top of her head. ) But, then again, if what Draco and I had overhead in the seventh corridor the previous night was any indication, she DID occasionally let her "wild side" break through. So maybe it wouldn't be so dreadful of a fate, turning into Minerva McGonagall when I became an adult. After all, she had CHUCKLED-actually chuckled- in the few minutes since I had entered her office. It was certainly a start- and a quite promising one at that.

"To continue, I'd like to explain fully the role of a mentor. Although, I'm sure you could tell me yourself."

"A mentor gives her mentee advice, access, and advocacy," I recited word from word from some old dusty book or another. "In the Wizarding World, that translates to giving advice regarding anything in the young witch's life, especially the magical aspects, helping the teenage girl hone her magical talents, and giving her opportunities that would never otherwise be available."

"Precisely. Which is exactly why I have chosen you, Miss Granger. You have an immeasurable amount of talent and potential, and will be able to very soon be of a huge asset to the Order. And also, I think we will be able to get along wonderfully and develop a strong friendship. That is of great importance in this particular type of mentoring relationship. So, do you agree to my proposition?"

By this time, I was beginning to feel slightly light-headed. The person I admired most in absolutely the WHOLE world was offering to mentor me- guide me in my journey of magical learning, teach me new things, like...The pieces all came together as I realized just exactly what we were going to concentrate on first, as my last sentence echoed loudly in my head, "giving her opportunities that would never otherwise be available."

"Professor," I said, unable to keep the excitement out of my voice, "You're going to teach me to become an Animagus!"

"I knew there was a reason I chose you," she beamed with pride as my exhilaration mounted.

"Bloody hell!" Ron swore as we were scrubbing the dungeons- by hand, I may add- that night during detention. "She's going to teach you to be an Animagus? That's brilliant! But aren't you a little young?"

"If the Marauders can do, I can do it," I shrugged, a bit insulted by his lack of confidence in me. "And Professor McGonagall contacted the Ministry and they made an age exception on my part."

"So, what animal are you going to be?" He flashed me a lopsided grin and flicked some suds off his sponge that landed directly on my nose.

"I haven't quite decided yet," I mused, sticking out my tongue playfully.

"You know, you really should talk to Cassandra," Ron said thoughtfully. "She says that in Beauxbatons they spent 3 months studying Animagi! I'm sure she'd love to help you choose."

"That's quite alright," I said frostily, any good mood vanishing at the mention of Cass Ass's name. "I reckon Professor McGonagall knows just a smidgen more about that topic than she does." If Ron noticed the heavy sarcasm in my voice, he didn't comment on it.

"Wait until everyone hears about this!" My boyfriend said ecstatically. "They'll all be SO impressed!"

"Er, Ron? One slight problem. I have to keep this a secret."

His handsome face fell visibly. There went his chance to flaunt his clever girlfriend. "But WHY?" he pouted.

"Because there's a good possibility that I will use my new ability to the benefit of the Order- that's why," I smiled triumphantly. "Isn't that exciting?"

"It's too dangerous," Ron said abruptly, throwing his sponge back into the bucket of soapy water. "I'm not letting you do anything like that. No WAY!"

I felt my temper begin to rise. I had expected Ron to be bursting of pride and support at my thrilling news, but instead- this?

"You can't stop me," I snapped. "The last time I checked, I am over 10 months older than you, and may I add, wiser?" The instant I said wiser, I knew I'd made a terrible mistake. It was time for another infamous Ron and Hermione row. An insult to Ron's intelligence was guaranteed to spark off a quarrel of enormous proportions.

His blue eyes darkened dramatically- no, unfortunately not with lust, but anger.

"Are you insinuating something?" he growled. And when I mean growled, I mean literally GROWLED.

"Er-no! Certainly not," I said quite lamely.

He glared at me suspiciously.

"You think you're cleverer than me," the object of my affections said furiously.

"I DO NOT," I said even more weakly, when in reality I did. Even Ron knew the truth- that when brains were handed out, he didn't get a ginormous amount. However, he did have an decent head on his shoulders- don't get me wrong-it was just that he never used it. Laziness and procrastination were allowed to take over, most unfortunately.

"Yes, you do," he sneered. "It's written all over your face."

I inwardly groaned. "Ron, why don't we.."

"You know, Hermione, not every intelligent witch insists on being a total know-it-all the way you do," he said snidely. "You act as though you're superior to the rest of us mere mortals. I'm surprised that you haven't started hanging out with Malfoy. You two would make a perfect match. Snobby know-it-all and snobby-know-it-all."

"Ron, stop it!" I said shrilly, by this time close to tears. "Why are you saying this?"

Ron, like most men, completely ignored me.

"It is possible to still be a normal, fun-loving, teenage girl, even if you do happen to be a genius. Take Cassandra, for example. She doesn't feel the need to harp on her mates about getting their assignments done, or remind them constantly how much better she is than them by waving her completed, 5 and a half foot essay right in front of their eyes. Or raise her hand and practically wet her knickers with excitement at knowing an answer.."

"Do NOT mention THAT b-with-an-itch-of-a-witch's name in front of me," I hissed.

"Why don't you like her?" Ron snapped, his face steadily growing redder and redder. "Is it because an attractive person of the opposite sex is actually paying attention to me? Is that it? Because besides Harry, NO guy even spares you a second glance. NO one. You're just jealous. It's as simple as that."

That did it. It a dangerously low whisper, and shaking so hard with rage that I could barely stand up on my own two legs, I said, "I don't know what the bloody hell your damn issue is, Ronald, but perhaps, since you obviously don't think so highly of me, maybe I will just go and associate with Malfoy, as you suggested."

And without a glance back, I stalked out of the Potions classroom, almost running in Snape who was gaping at the two us with an expression bordering on awed, for once the corners of his mouth not turning up in a smirk at the sight of me.

"Really, Miss Granger, I do not know where you're going," he drawled, "seeing as you have another 2 ½ hours of detention to finish."

"Frankly, I don't give a damn," I yelled. Which, of course, earned me yet another week in detention- and worst of all, at the same exact time that Cassandra had it. Whee. What fun.

"Hermione, a strong witch doesn't cry over some git of bloke," Parvati said gently, rubbing my back as I sobbed into my pillow.

"Then I'll admit it. I'm a weak witch. A pathetically weak witch, to be precise. A pathetically weak know-it-all witch, actually," I managed to gasp out between sobs. Out of the corner of my right eye I saw the two best friends exchange glances. "Well, tell me the truth. Am I a snobby know-it-all?"

"Er- Hermione, of course not!" Parvati said brightly. "You're the most clever witch of this age, but you don't act like it!"

I growled. "Are you implying that I act daft and dumb like that Ronald Weasley?"

"No, no, no! Of course not! What I mean is, you don't going around PURPOSELY flaunting your intelligence. It just sorta happens..." the beautiful witch trailed off.

"That's a comforting thought."

"What she means, Hermione, is that while you don't go around bragging about your insanely high marks, people still become very jealous. Such as your dear boyfriend." Lavender piped in.

"Ron? Jealous of me?What reason does he have to be jealous of MOI? He,who is bloody brilliant at Quidditch andWizard's chess, unflinchingly loyal, courageous, hilarious, attractive, willing to lay his life down for others, popular..." I trailed off. "I, on the other hand, am a insufferable-know-it-all who always has her nose in some boring ol' book or another, and doesn't know how to have fun. Hmm... that makes PERFECT sense."

"Oh, you just don't get it, Hermione." Parvati threw her arms up in despair. "You know how low Ron's self esteem is. He constantly feels inferior when compared to his two best mates in the world. Harry, the Boy-Who-Lived is the most famous 17-year old in the world, super-popular, rich, and the best Seeker Gryffindor has seen in AGES. You are perhaps the smartest person in this school right now- except for Professor Dumbledore. Your marks are out of this world, and you know ABSOLUTELY everything. Don't take this the wrong way, Hermione, but I don't think I could stand being one of your-or Harry's- close mates. I'd simply feel second-rate all the time."

I did take her last remark the wrong way, and it certainly stung. However, I tried not to let it show. After all, it was a compliment of sorts, in a strange way.

"You see, Ron always feels like he's living in the shadow of you and Harry," Lavender picked up where her fellow queen gossiper left off. "That's why he became SO defensive when you accidentally let it slip that you are "wiser" than him. Our favorite redhead took that very hard, because he felt as though even you-his girlfriend- agreed with the his idea of the popular belief that you are better than him. You can see why he would very quickly become irritated."

My mind was whirling, but what my two dorm mates said seemed to make perfect sense. It was certainly something I'd had an inkling of over the years, but never until now had I really examined it from every angle.

"So, I made a mistake," I sighed. "The blame's all on me."

"No, your boyfriend didn't handle the situation in the best way possible. However-no pun intended- you can't blame him for reacting the way he did."

"I am beginning to develop the most dreadful headache," I groaned. "I need something wickedly strong- and fast!"

Parvati and Lavender watched me, shock written across their faces, as I rummaged throught my trunk.

"You don't mean that..."

"I would never believe..."

"Are you finally loosening up?"

"Don't worry, we won't tell anyone...it might ruin your reputation..."

"Are you looking for a bottle of ODGEN'S FIREWHISKEY?" Camethe unison gasp.

A/N: Pathetic little cliffhanger, I know. And boring chapter in general. But things will start to get exciting soon. I promise. This was just another necessary chapter of sorts.

Coming up sometime next weekend-ish...Chapter 15!