Harry walks over to Hermione

Harry walked over to Hermione, who hadn't yet noticed him. She was so absorbed in her writing, Harry suspected Voldemort could have burst in and started throwing killing curses around like candies, and she wouldn't even look up.

"Hey." he said softly, trying not to startle her too much. She looked up, her eyes widening slightly when she saw him.

"Hello Harry. I didn't see you there." She said, looking slightly surprised that Harry was up so early. Her bushy hair was even more wild than usual, which suggested to Harry that she hadn't gotten much sleep last night.

"You know, you don't have to get up at the crack of dawn every day Hermione," He said, sitting down opposite her, "You really should relax every so often."

Hermione stared at Harry for a second, while a strange look crossed her face. She sighed.

"You're probably right." She said, putting down her quill. Harry gaped. That never worked. He had told Hermione to relax practically every other day since their third year, when he found out she was using a Time Turner to take extra lessons. She had never listened to him.

"Are you okay?" He asked, only half joking.

"Of course I am, why?" Hermione replied.

"It's just... Hermione Granger, relaxing. I never thought I'd see the day." Harry said.

"Har har, very funny. I can relax." Hermione insisted.

"Yeah, sure you can," Harry said with a heavy dose of sarcasm, "and I bet you're a huge fan of Rita Skeeter, as well."

The strange look Harry had seen earlier crossed Hermione's face again.

"Well, I know she wrote some horrible things about you Harry, but she really seems to be right most of the time."

Wait, what?

Harry stared at Hermione. What the hell? What just happened? Hermione hated Rita Skeeter, despised her, even. The only person Hermione might hate more was Delores Umbridge, and even then, it was close. Now, Harry had never been as smart as Hermione, but even he could tell that something strange was happening.

A ridiculous thought popped up in Harry's head. That was stupid. It was impossible for one. But... the strange voice did say he would be getting a gift... No, that couldn't be what was happening, could it?

Harry was much more a man of action than a thinker, so he decided to test his theory with something relatively harmless.

"Hermione, you're blonde." Harry watched as Hermione's hair flickered slightly, before her brunette curls morphed into blonde ones. Hermione looked completely oblivious to this.

"Of course I am, Harry." She said, as if her hair hadn't just changed colour on his command. Harry's brain was running at a million miles an hour now. Everything he said... became true. Whoever that voice was, it had given him the most incredible gift. His thoughts were swimming with possibilities, some less noble than others.

If he was right, he now had an immense amount of power under his control. All he had to do was say so, and all of his problems could disappear. He could kill Voldemort with a sentence. Or, make him a good person. All it would take would be a few words, and if his 'benefactor' was telling the truth, there were no strings attached to this power.

Still, Harry was unsure. Sure, he could change Hermione's hair colour, and her opinion about one person, but those were small things, compared to killing Voldemort. Maybe there was a limit to these powers, or maybe he couldn't affect people from a distance. Before he did anything too drastic, he would have to test exactly what he was capable of.