The next morning, she discovered that someone had turned off her alarm clock and she was running late. She would have to skip her breakfast in order to be in time for her first class with Professor Snape. She opened her trunk to get her homework and she discovered it was missing. What had happened to it? Who did it and why? Actually she knew the "why"...those 200 missing points. But surely they wouldn't take it this far, would they?
Hermione rushed to Snape's classroom...she was almost late and her professor sniped at her. When she was supposed to turn in her homework, she tried to tell him that she had done it but it was missing...but he would have none of it. He snarked, "25 points from Gryffindor for not doing your homework, Miss Granger, and 50 points for lying about it."
She tried to reply but he overrode her saying, "10 points for cheek and a further 10 points for answering back. Care to have more points taken, Miss Granger?"
She was going to say something further when someone whacked her and said, "Shut up, Granger, or else". Professor continued to glare at her while completely ignoring the fact that another student had struck her. It was pretty obvious that both her Professor and her fellow Gryffindors were out to make her life miserable...all because she had cost them a loss of 200 points just for taking on Thorfinn's punishment herself. And now with a loss of a further 95 points? Her fellow Gryffindors were going to make her life a misery! Hermione had no idea just how right she was!
Leaving the classroom, she was promptly shoved over and she fell on the floor. No one would help her up and she was pretty sure that it was Ron Weasley who kicked her in the ribs while she was on the floor. She could feel that one of them was cracked. It was only 200 points, plus now another 95 points...did her fellow Gryffindors really believe that this loss of points made assaulting her acceptable behavior? It was quite obvious that they did.
The rest of the morning wasn't much better. She got three detentions for not having her homework and assignments ready...and was thoroughly frustrated! How did her professors think she was going to serve those detentions when she was serving detention with Professor Snape every day until the end of the school year.
At lunch, it wasn't any better. No one would sit near her, much less actually talk to her. She hastily made a sandwich and ate it...and then she fled the Great Hall. Snape saw her fleeing and he smiled inside. He had heard about what Gryffindor House was doing to her and with any luck, she would soon crack and then Rowle would get what was coming to him!
Snape wasn't the only one to notice Hermione fleeing the Great Hall. Thorfinn Rowle noticed it...he noticed everything about Hermione these days as he owed her greatly for saving him from a well-justified punishment. He quickly finished his plate and then followed Hermione out of the Great Hall. Snape saw that and he grimaced.
Thorfinn managed to catch up with Hermione before she had gone very far. He asked her, "Weren't you hungry, Granger?" before he noticed that she was crying. He pulled her close to him, tugged his handkerchief out of his pocket, and wiped away her tears, asking, "What's wrong?" Hermione began to sob in earnest.
"People are poking, hitting, and tripping me. And today, my homework and assignments all disappeared. The teachers didn't listen when I said I had done it but I couldn't find it and they all gave me detention. Snape even took a total of 95 points this morning, accusing me of not doing my homework, and then took more points for my alleged lying and cheek."
Thorfinn was disgusted with her fellow Gryffindors, her teachers, and with himself, to be honest. Everything that had happened to her was because she lied to protect him from Snape's punishment. The scorn and the loss of points should have been his, not her's.
He said quietly, "Hermione, you should tell Snape that you lied and that it was me who pulled the prank on him. He knows you lied and that is why he is punishing you so much...he is trying to force you to tell him the truth. Let me tell the truth and I will take my punishment like a man."
Hermione looked up at him with tear-stained cheeks. "No, Rowle. I can't do that...I won't do that. You know what your fellow Slytherins will do to you as revenge for the loss of that many points. Hopefully the worse is over...I mean how much more can they do to me?" (Silly Hermione...this was just the beginning of her misery!)
Thorfinn then walked her to her next class and he waited with her until the professor had entered the room before he left her. He would be late for his own class but he didn't give a damn. All he could think was of how Hermione willingly took his punishment. No one ever had done anything like that for him before. Leaving him the questions of WHY did she do that...and why would she refuse to tell Snape the truth so she could save her own skin?
