The Ravenclaw Common room, in some ways, was more welcoming than the Slytherin one. When Terry Boot had invited her up for a study group after the end of History of Magic, Hermione hadn't hesitated in accepting.
Where the Slytherin common room was regal, stately, and imposing, the Ravenclaw common room was graceful and open. The walls were hung with blue and bronze silks that were interspersed with windows, and the ceiling was painted with stars to evoke the night sky, echoed in the midnight-blue carpet of the floor. Well-made wooden tables with chairs abounded, as did pillows, couches, side tables, and other places for reading and studying. There was a large marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw next to the door that Hermione couldn't help but be impressed by. There was no similar statue of Slytherin in her own common room.
Hermione sat down with Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Mandy Brocklehurst, and Anthony Goldstein at one of the tables. She garnered a few raised eyebrows and glances with her Slytherin jumper, but no one seemed to bother themselves enough to inquire. As she scooched her chair in, she was surprised to find the chair unusually comfortable.
Anthony must have seen her surprise. "Cushioning charms," he told her, grinning. He tapped his own chair. "They'll save your back and bottom from soreness after studying."
Hermione wondered why no one had ever thought to apply the same thing to the Slytherin chairs. Maybe they preferred them to be uncomfortable, to promote better posture or something.
"So we're discussing the Mending Charm," Mandy said, pulling out her book. "Flitwick wants a foot on the elements of the spell and other general information – probably just to test for retention and comprehension, before we try."
"Fair enough," Terry said, nodding. "Has anyone gotten the Mending Charm to work yet?"
Hermione looked around as the others looked from person to person, before raising her own hand. They all looked impressed.
"Really?" said Michael Corner. "This isn't an easy spell. You've gotten the hang of it already?"
"The wand movement is similar to Episkey," Hermione explained. "It just leaves a swoosh off the end. They do similar things, after all."
"Episkey?" Anthony asked.
"It's a basic healing spell," Hermione said. "But here; I can show you the Mending Charm."
With a quick Diffindo, she sliced one of the wall hangings. There was a horrible ripping noise, and an angry shout from Michael. Hermione was quick with the second spell, before someone else could notice and raise a fuss.
"Reparo," she said clearly, her wand work careful and flawless.
Her compatriots watched as the hanging sewed itself back together, the magical stitches melting into nothing as the fabric sealed.
"We didn't even learn the Severing Charm, yet," Michael objected. "That's after the repairing charm in the book, so we can fix what we've torn."
Hermione shrugged.
"I fixed it, didn't I?" she said, somewhat uncomfortable. She looked to Anthony, who was grinning. "Did you at least catch the wand movement?"
"I did," Anthony said. He traced his wand through the air. "Like this?"
"It's more a circle and spiral than a loop-de-loop," Hermione suggested, moving her own wand through the air slowly. "Think of the wholeness and one-ness of a circle – no beginning, no end. Then a spiral to direct the power."
Terry Boot stopped his note taking and stared. His eyes were surprisingly intense, and Hermione shifted, uncomfortable.
"Does it say that in the book?" he demanded.
Hermione bit her lip. "Err – no."
"Then how do you know what the wand motion is for?"
"I– umm–"
Hermione bit her lip. She didn't remember where she learned it.
"It's like Episkey, though," she tried. She traced her wand through the air for that spell. "See, the circle in the beginning to represent wholeness, the spiral to direct the power safely, the side swish to indicate a person, and the flick to let the spell go."
"None of us know Episkey," Mandy said. "Did the book you learned about Episkey from break it down like that?"
Hermione wracked her brain.
"Umm," she said intelligently. She flushed. "I- I don't remember. I guess it must have."
Anthony laughed.
"I guess that's what having a direct line to Magic itself is like," he said, smiling at her. "You just know things about magic, without really knowing where it came from at all."
Hermione flushed and threw an eraser at him, which he deftly caught and grinned.
Terry was looking at her with new respect.
"Is that what it is?" he said. "Is this something being a New Blood lets you understand?"
Hermione flushed, but she didn't say anything.
"Well, then," Terry said, sitting up. He flipped the pages in his book backwards, letting them thump to the right side. He looked up at her. "Break down the wand movements in the Levitation Charm for me, then."
"We've already learned that one," Michael Corner objected.
"If I've got a direct line to deeper understanding of magic, I'm going to use it," Terry shot back. He looked back to Hermione, his dark eyes glinting. "…please?"
Hermione bit her lip, considering. She didn't really have a direct line to magic. It wasn't like she knew the meaning behind the wand movements for the Levitation charm, did she?
She swished and flicked her own wand, before realizing – she did.
"The swish is to gather your power, and the flick is to connect it to your target," Hermione said, swishing and flicking her own wand at an inkwell, guiding it into the air. "If you focus, you can feel your magic holding the object up. The charm doesn't release until you let it go."
Terry nodded, taking notes, while Mandy elbowed Anthony.
"Did she just do that charm wordlessly?" she hissed.
Anthony grinned. "I think so."
Hermione hadn't realized. She'd done the charm so often… every night for months. It was second-nature, at this point. Fighting a self-conscious flush, she guided the inkwell back down.
"And Lumos?"
Hermione cast the charm, letting her wand glow softly. "That's just pushing your power through your wand. The spell converts it into light. The more power you push through, the brighter the light is."
"Alohomora?"
Hermione traced an 'S' shape through the air. "The incantation helps guide the purpose of the spell, whereas the movement guides the magic in the general direction you need to unlock a door – the pins and tumblers, then the lock itself. If a lock doesn't unlock the first try on Alohomora, a different or backwards wand movement can help – it depends on the design of the lock."
Michael and Mandy were staring at her openly, now. Anthony was just grinning, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head, like he was just enjoying the show.
"Incendio?"
"You're literally tracing the shape of a flame with the wand, to guide the magic into purpose. The sharp flick at the end indicates a violence, which allows the magic to create the spark that catches fire."
"Is this all in a book somewhere?" Mandy asked. "I want to know all this too."
"Umm," Hermione said, wracking her brain. "If it is, I don't know. I haven't found one or read one, at any rate."
"Then how do you know all this?" she asked.
"Hermione is New Blood," Anthony told her.
"New Blood?"
Hermione almost answered her, but Anthony beat her to it.
"You know how there are purebloods and halfbloods, right? Every pureblood line was founded ages and ages ago by a New Blood – a person Magic touched directly, giving them power. They all went on to found Great Houses."
Hermione could practically hear the capitalization in his voice, as he over-pronounced certain things.
"Hermione is a New Blood. It's special – there hasn't been one in centuries. Magic's touched her personally, so she has a direct line into Magic itself. That's why she's so good – her unconscious is directly tapped into Magic, allowing her to intuitively learn and understand all this."
Mandy looked at Hermione with a new respect.
"Sorry, Hermione," Mandy apologized. "I didn't know. I thought you were a Muggle-born."
Hermione offered her a small smile back, going for regal and gracious.
"That's okay," she said. "New Bloods are very rare. A lot of my own house still don't believe me yet."
Terry looked up from his notes, surprised. He had ink splattered across his nose.
"Really?" he said. "Even after seeing your power? Seeing all you can do and understand?"
"Slytherins don't really study together," Hermione explained. "Only very rarely. They just see what I can do in class. And… they're very prejudiced against people from Muggle backgrounds."
Michael Corner snorted.
"Trust the snakes to have their heads up their asses," he said. He glanced at Hermione. "No offense."
"None taken," Hermione said, laughing, Anthony laughing as well.
"You're welcome to take refuge in Ravenclaw," Terry Boot declared. "You're as smart as any of us, and we like learning and new knowledge."
"Thanks for the official invitation, Terry," Hermione said, grinning. "I'll definitely take you up on it."
Anthony shot her a smirk, and Hermione had to fight the urge to blush. He really was very good-looking.
"Now, the spell?" Anthony suggested. "Let's knock this essay out of the way. Then Hermione can help us practice the spell before class."
Hermione wrote the essay absently, unable to really focus. It was interesting to hear someone else describe her as being New Blood, and what they thought it entailed. She wondered who Anthony had heard about it from – she didn't remember who all she'd informed that she was New Blood, but it hadn't been that many. Part of her plan had been to let the information spread naturally; people would be more likely to believe a rumor about her than a direct claim she made herself.
She wondered, though. She didn't remember where she'd read about wand movements and their meanings. It was kind of odd.