The Great Hall was…nowhere near as full as it had been when she'd stepped into the barrier this morning. That did make some sense, much as some of her tests were spectacles, especially that last one, they wouldn't hold the attentions of students for long, save a few of the older ones, who applauded as she appeared, and quite a bit of Ravenclaw, which didn't applaud exactly, but looked up from their note taking in the equivalent for their House.

Interestingly, the Weasel had left, but she saw not only her Dormmates, but also the Weasel's three brothers and the Boy Who Lived, who were actively all cheering for her as she nodded their way, and then stood before the gathered Professors, bowing her head to each in turn, as Headmaster Dumbledore rose to his feet, stroking his beard with a twinkle in his eye, and a smile on his lips.

His first words were of thanks to Hermione herself, for both renewing the Rite as she had, and for being a good enough person to let her example shine through for her classmates. And she had shone with the brilliance of a noonday sun in his opinion, but, given his class was not one of the ones she had tested for, he would have to let the Rite finish, as the Professors each were given their say.

Flitwick was up first, and he gave an at least somewhat lengthy speech, though interestingly, no one present left during it. In fact, some filtered back into the room, sitting at the tables pushed against the walls to listen as the short half-goblin sang her praises, before finally pulling out his wand and placing it on the floor before him, extolling a single word which rang throughout the castle like a great chime, telling one and all that, to his mind, she had passed.

Next, surprisingly, was Snape. He said nothing as he walked up to where Flitwick had stood, and whipped his wand out, his stern expression looking like he was going to say something. However, rather than doing that, he crouched down, tapped his wand on the floor, and the same chime rang out throughout the castle, showing if not telling, that she had, in his eyes, passed the test he'd set.

After that Professors Sinistra and Sprout did the same as Flitwick, a small speech, and then tapping their wands on the floor. Then the Headmaster himself pulled out his wand, announcing that, given Professor Binns had not been able to remain in the Great Hall long enough, he was giving his rating for him, as he had announced to them all that she had passed. So he tapped his wand on the floor, and the chime rang out once more, perhaps with a backing of ghostly laughter, though she might have been imagining that.

Finally Professor McGonagall stood up, her robes flowing behind her as she strode with purpose to stand before the teachers and students. Her speech was…very direct, saying that the students of Hogwarts were the greatest treasures any teacher could ask for, and while she hoped they understood the value of classes beyond what was learned within those walls, she could not deny that the student before her was beyond anything her course had to teach her this year.

The final tap, and the chime, followed by all the chimes combining together, ringing out with a tune that echoed from the foundation of the castle up to its highest tower, announcing to one and all that a student had passed the Rite. She smiled at that, knowing that this particular tune would never be heard again, until next year, as she doubted anyone else in the school could do all the core classes at once, and individual courses would only have a single tone to them.

Another round of applause, this one far larger as the hall had half filled. Even some of the Slythrens were doing it, when their fellows glared at them and mouthed the word 'mudblood lover' they got a punch on the shoulder or were otherwise told to shut up. She knew for some it was an act, of course, they merely understood they should keep up appearances, but it was still nice to have defenders in the den of snakes, if only for tonight.

With that, a grand feast came, which was only slightly better than normal, with Hermione herself given a privacy spell to allow her to eat in peace, Headmaster Dumbedore reminding anyone who had questions to come to him. Hermione herself was oddly full of energy, while at the same time being very tired, an odd dichotomy that took her from the Great Hall to her dorm with only a few people talked to.

And then it was the next day, and the school, while not returning to anything resembling normal, given it was a school that taught magic, it was at least as close to baseline as it got. Classes were being held, students were buzzing about, and Hermione was up with the mid morning sun, off to the Great Hall for breakfast, then to the library for her daily 'reading', and finally, she was left to her own devices.

She now had a single class, and homework in that was light, so she effectively had all the time in the world to explore the castle, or devote to whatever she desired. Some, of course, would rest and recover for a day or seven after they had done a whole day of such courses, as the NEWT students would attest, but Hermione Granger had plans that would not wait for her, and so immediately began to take further steps along her chosen course.

She knew, by head if not heart, all the spells the school would teach up to Fourth Year now, even if her skill with any beyond second was not what it might be later in life. She could care for any plant or creature on the grounds, and she knew the history of the Wizarding World from those long ago days of hedge witches and tower wizards, to today where they lived alongside and threaded through the muggle society.

So learning was not really something she could do. Oh, she could surround herself with dusty tomes and read them, but her reading spell would take care of that. At her current rate, she had done a quick and dirty calculation that she would be done with the main shelves in the library sometime around the middle of her fifth year, as such, reading them 'manually' would be a waste.

So, experimentation then? Perhaps modifying spells to work with less of a magical drain. Some of the ones she knew were 'gas guzzlers' as she had heard an uncle refer to a car once. She could see how a few could be improved in that regard, and some could even be made better in general, as she had ideas for some of the more basic spells, given all they did was convert a user's magic into light, or excite or dampen molecules around them to induce heat or cold respectively.

However, what she really wanted to experiment with was Potions. Reading through the various records on the subject, she now knew for a fact that Snape's first class had not been an exaggeration. Potions could do wonderful things, without draining her overmuch like spell crafting would. Still, it had expenses all its own, though she had more than half her potions kit to use in anything she saw fit.

That plan in hand, she began to wander the school, making mental notes as she went off in search of a secluded place. This wasn't the first time she'd gone exploring, mind. Her first time had been an attempt to map the castle, only to have it mock her. Twenty five steps down a corridor and turned had taken her right back to where she had started, despite that being physically impossible.

That event, in her first week, had been why she didn't explore much after. The castle's internal geometry not matching its external was enough to tell her, who had watched more than a few episodes of Doctor Who in her youth, that she might wind up running into herself from the future if she tried to press on. Still, she was more than familiar enough with some well trodden paths, and quickly found her way to one in particular.

Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. It was everything one could want in a hide away to make potions in. Fast access to flowing water, far enough away from any of the main thoroughfares of the school that any noises would be missed, and more importantly, not monitored by spells. That was why those fools looking for a place to snog got caught, doing it in unused classrooms and the like, the school would tell on you itself, if the Teacher knew to ask, and you'd be found quickly.

She idly wondered if anyone else knew that fact, as she began to go over the bathroom, inspecting it, finding it…far more ornate than the bathroom where the troll had attacked her. That one might have been large, but wouldn't have looked out of place in the muggle world. This wouldn't have looked out of place either, if the place it was was some kind of palace of an opulent ruler, with sinks arrayed in a pillar in the center of the room, and toilets along the walls in bunches.

Still, this was a room people belonged in, and the monitoring spells wouldn't warn anyone of her entry, least of all Finch and his cat. That feline, tied into the wards as the old curmudgeon's familiar was why he caught people. She knew that from simply reading Hogwarts, A History. It was also how she knew he was a squib, a non-magical born of magicals, as the position, requiring a familiar like Mrs. Norris, also required that the person had no magic of their own to interfere with the link between school and familiar.

As she thought about this, she drew forth her wand and began to cast, picking out one of the stalls, the one on the far side of the room from the door, opposite Moaning Myrtle's personal location. She was casting some spells, mostly measuring ones for now, but also some she'd found in the book of Rites, causing the castle to help her, mixing her own, well controlled but not strong, magic with that of this most magical place.

She wasn't done yet when she looked up and saw the sun was nearly at noon, and with a sigh, she tied off her spells, proceeding to the Great Hall. It wouldn't do to have someone come and find her in the middle of this, after all. So she slogged downstairs, ate with her peers, she even smiled and laughed with them, hearing them gossip, all speaking of who would be the next to take the Rite, as that was going to happen soon.

Interestingly, she had expected more than a few jealous glares at her getting out of class the way she did, or doing other such things. The older students, perhaps, might have given her a pass, or Ravenclaw, but her expectation was that those of her year, especially those of her House, would be most put out with her for escaping the doldrums that were the classes of Hogwarts.

Instead they were…not happy for her exactly. It was more they were emotionally neutral. Those who had stayed to watch had spread stories of her exploits during the challenges, and so none doubted that she had earned her prize, the ability to be free. So, to them it was just and right for her to have that, so they put it out of their minds, barely giving her another thought, and letting her enjoy herself.

Honestly, were she someone else, that alone might have been an insult, but she smiled about it, knowing it would help in the years to come to have so few eyes on her. So she ate and went back to the bathroom, taking time to work the spells she needed. When the moon first began to rise, she finished converting one of the toilet stalls into a potion distillery, the water already heating up as she mentally flipped through her list of known potions, looking for the first one to start preparing in the morning.