Chapter 8

"Imogen, there's something I really need to talk to you about. I didn't want to say anything, but I just have to. It's about - " Hermione paused, having difficulty coming to grips with what had to be said. But then she got some help.

"Ron?" asked Imogen.

"How did you know?" gasped Hermione, relieved that Imogen was willing to discuss the topic, yet annoyed that Imogen had even noticed Ron's attention.

Imogen reminded Hermione of discussions they'd had over the last two weeks, from which Hermione knew that somehow Imogen had been programmed with knowledge of things which may or may not come to pass.

"Do you know something I don't about him? Do you mean that I'm going to lose Ron?" asked Hermione. "Or rather, that I will never get him?"

"Not at all," replied Imogen. "But there will be some difficulties along the way, to be sure. But let's deal with your first concern - the reason why you're talking to me right now. Ron is a gem - there's no doubt about it. But as far as I'm concerned, he's your gem, not mine. I'll be careful to do nothing to encourage Ron, and there is not the slightest chance that any feelings will develop between Ron and me. It's that simple."

It was a sign of how much Hermione had grown to trust Imogen that this simple answer satisfied a large part of Hermione's concern. But not all of it.

"But it hurts so much! First Fleur Delacour in fourth year, and now you. Why doesn't he give me attention like that? Why doesn't he notice me?"

"You're so used to his attention that you don't even notice him noticing you," replied Imogen. "He worships you. I'm telling you this not to flatter you, not to make you feel better. It's a simple fact that he adores you. But remember that Ron is like any of the other boys around here - immature and clueless. Deep down, he wants you. But on the other hand, he's a teenage male, and the school is filled with teenage girls. His eye will wander here and there until some girl grabs him. But he is already very close to you, and so you have an advantage over everyone else. Don't be shy with him - encourage him, and he'll respond."

"But how do I do that?" asked Hermione.

"You're on your own there, Hermione - I don't have any more experience with boys than you do - in fact, less - I don't even know where I was before Hogwarts. But I don't think you need instruction from anyone. Just follow your instincts." Their conversation with cut short by the arrival of Lavender Brown coming up the stairs. Imogen picked up the Potions book she'd put down, and quickly changed the topic. Despite the premature end to the subject of Ron, Hermione felt like a tight knot inside her had suddenly unwound. She'd lost weight over the last week - maybe she would start eating properly again. She focused on the concern Imogen was expressing about her progress, or lack thereof, in Snape's class.

Imogen had not been able to accelerate her pace in Potions in the way she had in her other subjects, for Snape was taking her through the first year curriculum at a first year's rate. Each Potions class he would give her the same lesson he would have given her if she were eleven years old. And each time she followed the instructions to the letter, and routinely produced a very good result. Hermione had offered to help her with potions, offering to get ingredients and so on. But Imogen had refused.

"But why?" Hermione now asked again. Imogen repeated her explanation - Snape had very clearly ordered all students to refrain from giving any help whatsoever. She was to learn entirely on her own.

"But what do you care for Snape's stupid rules? And you don't fear him at all - look how you answered him in the first class."

"Yes, but how about since then?" This gave Hermione pause. Imogen's table in the Potions class was off in a far corner, removed from other students, and so Imogen did not often come to Hermione's attention. But there had been no more disagreements between the Professor and the new Gryffindor girl, at least not any that Hermione had seen. And Imogen routinely prepared her Potions to perfection, and not even Snape had been able to find fault. Hermione knew that Imogen's homework was always handed in on time, and while Imogen never permitted Hermione to review it in advance, Imogen did show her the work after it was marked - and the exacting Snape had routinely given Imogen very good marks indeed. Hermione acknowledged that she had not noticed any kind of dispute between Snape and Imogen, and had not heard any criticism of her work, nor adverse comment of any kind. "He gives you better marks than almost any other of the Gryffindors," observed Hermione.

"There's a reason for that," explained Imogen. "I'm not sure you see this, but by giving me good marks, yet holding me back at the same time, Snape is mocking me. He is doing his best to goad me. He is trying his best to provoke a confrontation. There's nothing he'd like better than for me to give him an excuse to hand me detentions, or get me out of his class altogether. And he could truthfully say that he'd always been fair to me - giving me excellent marks - and so it would all look like my fault."

"But if you got help from me or anyone else outside of class, Snape would never know you'd disobeyed him. You can't be that scared of him."

"There's two things that you don't know," said Imogen. They were now both sitting on Imogen's bed, and they were keeping their voices low so as not to be overheard by the other two girls in the dormitory. "The first is this. You know what a Legilimens is, right?" Hermione nodded, and Imogen continued. "Snape is a Legilimens, and a very powerful one at that. If you allow yourself to lock eyes with him, he can be inside your head in a trice."

"But that's so vile!" exclaimed Hermione. "It's a thousand times worse that reading someone's diary, to intrude upon someone's mind!"

"Yes," replied Imogen. "But Snape is a vile person. And that brings me to the second thing you don't know, nor could you, for it relates to my sense of mission that I've told you about before. Snape is a big part of the reason I am here. I have to cause certain events to take place, and to do that, I have to change certain people."

"I don't know how you'll change Snape," said Hermione in an urgent whisper. "He's a vicious snake now, and I'm sure he was no better when he was younger. How do you think you can make any progress with him at all?"

"I don't know," said Imogen, candid as always. "But arguing with him won't work. And it definitly won't work tomorrow - I'm going to try something to get his attention - I'd tell you about it, but consulting you might fall within Snape's definition of receiving 'help', so we'll just have to see how it goes."

And with that, Imogen returned to her Potions text, preparing herself for the lesson the next day.

The next day was a Thursday, and while most of the other Gryffindors had Divination followed by a break, Imogen had other things to do. The first was a visit to Professor Sprout. She had to cut short breakfast to see the Herbology professor before the irst year Herbology class that morning, rushing over to the greenhouses where the professor was getting ready. Sprout had heard very good things about the girl, and wished she'd had her in a class. She was very surprised when, after hearing a knock on the door, she saw Imogen enter. What could the girl possibly want?

"Potion ingredients," explained Imogen. "I'm doing some extra work, and I need a whole bunch of things." Imogen pulled out a list, and respectfully asked whether Professor Sprout would be able to help. Sprout knew why Imogen was coming to her - obviously the awful Snape could not be approached for Potion ingredients, even though he had cabinets full of everything anyone could possibly need. And here was a truly talented student who was actually looking for the chance to do extra work. In no time Professor Sprout had filled Imogen's empty book bag with various herbs, plants, leaves, and shoots, enjoying the young girl's enthusiasm. And then Imogen was off at a run, this time headed for Hagrid's shack.

It was only after she'd seen Hagrid two weeks earlier that she'd realized she wasn't supposed to see him at all. Fortunately she'd said nothing to her classmates, and the next day she'd been warned by McGonagill to tell them nothing, explaining to her that Imogen had encountered him because Hagrid had foolishly exited his cabin to retrieve Fang, who somehow had gotten loose. Perhaps Hagrid would have thought to tell Imogen to say nothing about him, but she had run off suddenly because she was late for class.

Imogen needed certain ingredients for a potion, and hoped to find them around Hagrid's shack. After a short search, she found what she hoped was a hypogriff feather and some dog hair. Then she was off to the owlry. Her owl, Olwyna, was away at present. Although Imogen had no one to send owl messages to, there were students who did, but who did not own owls and who could not afford to hire one in town. For such students, Imogen was glad to allow them the use of Olwyna, who would also benefit from the exercise. But it didn't matter that Olwyna was away, for Imogen only required some bird droppings, which were easily to be found in the owlry.

With everything at hand that she would need for the day, she then headed to the second floor classroom that she'd come to think of as hers. She brought all her ingredients with her, along with four bowls she'd borrowed from the common room snack cabinet. She unstacked the bowls and laid them side-by-side on one of the desks, and then pulled out her wand. The transfiguration exercise she was about to practice, if successful, would be a huge help to her today in potions.