Wow- you guys REALLY liked the last chapter! Good to know! When I started publishing this story, I had over twenty chapters saved on my laptop, with another fifty pages of stuff that's going to be later in the book. I have the entire end written, and it's going to be at least ten chapters long. Sad to say, I'm caught up with those twenty some already written chapters, so I'm probably not going to be updating as frequently. It all depends on how much homework the teachers decide to give me in these next couple days. Keep watching- I promise I'll update as soon as I can. I want to know what happens myself!

Keep reading and keep reviewing!

Chapter 25

Hermione made her way to Transfiguration, rushing in a measure to avoid being late. She'd stayed late in Arithmancy to ask Professor Vector a couple of questions- now she was almost late to Transfiguration. Unfortunately for her, Professor Warwick had an unusually strict tardy policy- detention for anyone who came in late. No ifs ands or buts.

The bell rang to signal the beginning of the class hour. "Bloody hell" Hermione muttered. "I should have gotten that pass from Professor Vector."

"Miss Granger" Professor Warwick said as she nervously ventured into the Transfiguration classroom not even a minute late. "So nice of you to join us."

"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor. I stayed for some help in Arithmancy."

"I'm sorry to say, Miss Granger, that you are not going to be an exception to my rule. You will receive a note detailing the time and place of your detention shortly."

The whole class gasped. Hermione had only gotten detention once before, in her first year.

"Yes sir" she sighed as she sat at her desk next to Ron. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and whispered "Talk to him after class. See if he can talk to Professor Vector and see that you really were getting some extra help."

She nodded and turned her attention towards the lesson.

"Today" Professor Warwick began in a nasally voice "we are going to try turning furniture into animals. We'll start small today, turning floor lamps into flamingos. Now remember, like we were going over yesterday, the spell is Novo Sipellis. Everyone grab a lamp and get started."

"Where were you?" Harry asked Hermione as they went up to the front of the room to get lamps for themselves, Ginny, and Ron.

"I had a few questions in Arithmancy and I stayed behind to get them answered. I guess I stayed a little too late. I thought I could make it before class started."

"Talk to Vector. Have him tell Warwick why you were late."

"I am. I'm going to go up after class, before lunch."

"And even if he won't, it's detention, Hermione. Not the end of the world."

She hadn't even voiced her fear of detention. "Haha, very funny Harry. I don't care if I get detention."

"Yeah right. You are lying, Hermione Jean Granger!"

"I am not Harry James Potter!" she quickly shot back. "What's so bad about detention? Besides the fact that I haven't had one since first year?"

"Based on my limited experience, it's not so much doing the detention, it's the wait leading up to the detention that's the punishment."

"You are so full of it" Hermione said, smirking. "Limited experience- that's a good one Harry! I think the only people in this school that have a larger detention record than you are Fred and George, and the Mauraders."

"Quite possibly."

"I forgot to ask… have you heard back from your cousin yet?"

"I have, actually. He wants to come and meet you all. He sounds pretty excited. I guess my uncle almost had a heart attack when he told them though."

Hermione laughed. "Well, good for your cousin. At least he's being the bigger person in all of this. Your uncle will come around eventually, Harry."

"I seriously doubt it. But whatever. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt."

"We should probably bring these back, huh?" Hermione asked, realizing that she and Harry had been standing at the front of the room talking for the past five minutes.

"Probably" he said.

They returned to Ron and Ginny.

"Took you two long enough" Ron said grumpily.

"Oh, lighten up. Since when have you actually wanted to do the stuff we're assigned to do in class?" Harry asked. "You haven't for as long as I've known you. And I seriously doubt that you had a complete personality change in the past five minutes."

"Haha. Funny" Ron replied flatly.

"What's your problem today?" Ginny asked, elbowing him in the side. "You've been moodier than a pregnant woman all day!"

"I have not!" Ron cried indignantly as Hermione and Harry burst into laughter. He didn't want to tell anyone, but he was worried about what Hermione had told him about her nightmares. According to what she'd told him when they'd woken up this morning, she had them more often than not. He felt bad that she felt that she had to deal with them on her own. "I just want to get started on this in class so I won't have to practice tonight."

Hermione gave him a look that said "Yeah, whatever, we're going to talk later", which he ignored. But it was impossible to ignore the worried look that possessed her face.

An hour later, Hermione was, no surprise, the only person in the class able to successfully turn her lamp into a flamingo.

"Well done" Warwick said, in a monotone voice. The bell rang, and as students rushed out his squeaky voice was barely heard calling out "Practice tonight students!" Then he turned, sat down at his desk, and began correcting homework papers from another class.

"You three go on without me. I'll be down in a minute."

"You sure?" Ron asked, hoping to be forgiven for his earlier attitude.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I'll see you in a minute."

"Good luck" he replied as he rushed out of the door, doing nothing to contain the fact that he hadn't wanted to stay. Hermione couldn't help but smile as she shook her head.

Warwick looked up. "Miss Granger? Is there something you need?"

"Um… yes there is, professor" she replied nervously as she approached his desk. For the first time, she noticed that his smiling teeth were tinted yellow. "Good thing Mum and Dad can't see that" she thought. "They'd flip!"

"Well, what is it? Spit it out!"

"Is it at all possible for you to talk to Professor Vector about why I stayed after class today? I feel it's unfair for me to get detention for getting a little bit of extra help in a class. Other teachers have allowed it on occasion."

Professor Warwick looked thoughtfully up at her for a moment, smiled, and then said "No, Miss Granger, I don't think this is possible. In my limited experience as a teacher, I've found that when you say something, you must carry through with it. Could you imagine the other students, if they found out that you didn't have detention because of the reason you say? They would all be 'staying behind for extra help' and arriving late for my class. No, Miss Granger, I think it would be best for you to do your detention. And it will, after all, teach you a lesson. Don't come late to my class without a note. If you haven't noticed, I'm not like other teachers. I'm not going to place the Golden Trio on a pedestal. Is that clear?"

"I… yes professor" she said miserably. "I apologize for taking up your time. I'd better get to lunch."

Then she turned on her heels and calmly walked out the door. Inside, she was fuming.

"It's not even possible for him to talk to Vector and then warn me to have a note next time? And who said that me or Harry or Ron ever asked for special treatment?"

She stopped into the loo for a moment to splash water on her burning face. Looking in her reflection in the mirror, she had another thought. "According to McGonagall, he's been teaching since he got out of school. And he's at least thirty five, probably older. So why did he say in his 'limited experience as a teacher'? I hardly think that qualifies as limited."

She dismissed the thought, and headed to lunch.

"Well? How'd it go?" Ron asked, pushing a plate of steaming hot food he'd saved at her.

"I have to do it. He basically said that he wanted to use me to set an example for the other students so they see what happens when they are late to his class, and that he wasn't going to place any of us on a pedestal because of what we did! Since when did we ask for special treatment!"

"We haven't Mione. Calm down" Harry said calmingly. "So he won't talk to Professor Vector?"

"Nope."

"Cheer up, Mione" Ron said. "Detention's not that bad. Trust me."

"And me" Harry piped in.

"And me" –Ginny.

"I know. I'm just upset because of the reason he's giving me detention. Any other teacher would have told me to get a note next time and thought nothing more of it!"

"Nothing you can do about it know. What's done is done" Harry said. "Besides- you've never had much practice at detention. And aren't you always saying that practice makes perfect?"

I'm getting a lot of requests for more Ginny/Harry stuff. If anyone has ideas, I'll be glad to work with them. I just can't think of anything good to put in for them. Also, anyone have any ideas for what Hermione should do for her detention? I haven't thought of anything yet.