Harry raised an eyebrow. "So not Divination?"
"I'd rather read Hogwarts, A History backward in Mermish," she said flatly.
Harry chuckled, but the weight of the decision still gnawed at him. "I don't know. I feel like whatever I pick… it's going to matter more than I think."
Hermione's gaze softened. "Then maybe you should talk to someone who's already taken them. Older students."
The idea struck him like a Lumos in the dark.
Over the next day and a half, Harry made his rounds.
In the library, he cornered a tall Ravenclaw boy with a Prefect badge—Anthony Goldstein, fifth year, nose deep in Runic Drift Patterns of the Fifth Era. When asked about Arithmancy, Anthony brightened immediately.
"If you like puzzles, if you like how spells actually work under the hood—take Arithmancy. It's like finding the grammar of magic. Sometimes complicated, but never random."
Harry asked about Ancient Runes too.
"Babbling's brilliant," Anthony added. "She's got a theory that runes can reshape how wands focus spells. But she only shares it with the advanced students."
In the Great Hall, Harry spotted Sarah Stroud, a Hufflepuff sixth-year with a cheerful demeanor and a braid that nearly reached her waist.
"Care of Magical Creatures is fun," she said between spoonfuls of soup. "But depends how well you like being singed, slimed, or potentially eaten. That was the year with the clingy Skrewt."
"And Divination?" he asked.
She made a face. "I spent most of that class being told I had a dark future. It got boring."
Later, on the Quidditch pitch, Harry caught Jason Dorn, a Slytherin Chaser who'd always seemed gruff but fair. The older boy raised an eyebrow when asked.
"Muggle Studies was easy," Jason said, "but shallow. I grew up in a half-Muggle house. Didn't learn much I didn't already know."
"What about Runes?"
Jason hesitated. "Difficult. But if you're good at spotting connections… It's not about raw intelligence. It's about thinking sideways."
That stuck with Harry more than he expected.