Hermione had an itch, and it was growing more untenable by the day. What made her particularly skilled as a researcher was her ability to make quick leaps in logic, following evidence like they were stepping stones across a pond. She remembered the first occurrence of this very distinctly—when she was in her second year, she had gone to the library to research the heir of Slytherin on a whim, and had made a quick, seemingly irrational leap in logic. The knowledge had come too late to save Harry of course, and since then she had become more and more devoted to the idea that if she only had a basic framework, she could figure almost anything out. 