Callidora Nott has always known exactly what is expected of her.
As the daughter of one of Britain's oldest pure-blood families, her future has already been carefully planned; alliances, power, and a life shaped by tradition she never chose. At home...
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Study Partners
Mid-February arrived before Callidora had the chance to properly breathe.
Between Quidditch practices on the Quidditch Pitch, prefect patrols, endless essays, and experimenting with new prank ideas alongside Fred and George, she was starting to believe time itself was conspiring against her.
She muttered under her breath while walking between towering shelves in the Hogwarts Library, balancing three books and a stack of parchment.
"There are simply not enough hours in the day." She grumbled quietly. "It's mathematically impossible."
A soft sniffle interrupted her train of thought.
Calli stopped.
She tilted her head.
A second sniffle echoed faintly from somewhere behind a tall stack of ancient spell books.
For a moment she wondered if she had imagined it.
Then it happened again.
Calli set her books down and walked around the shelf.
To her surprise, sitting at a table buried under a small mountain of textbooks was Hermione Granger.
The third year looked exhausted.
Books for nearly every subject imaginable were spread across the table, parchment crammed with notes, quills scattered everywhere. Hermione's eyes were red and watery as she tried to keep reading while quietly crying.
Calli's voice softened immediately.
"Hermione?"
Hermione jumped and looked up quickly, swiping at her face.
"Oh- hello, Calli."
"Are you alright?"
That was apparently the wrong question.
Hermione's face crumpled.
Her composure completely shattered as the words came rushing out.
"I think Crookshanks might have eaten Ron's rat and Ron won't speak to me and I have so many classes and essays and there isn't enough time to study for everything and-"
She took a shaky breath.
"And I'm trying but I just-"
Calli pulled out the chair beside her before Hermione could spiral further.
"Hey."
Hermione sniffled.
"You're one of the brightest witches I've ever met." Calli said gently. "You'll succeed. You always do."
Hermione wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robe.
"Thank you."
She sniffed again and looked more closely at Calli.
