A good half an hour had passed before Professor McGonagall had stopped shouting. Penny didn't think she had ever seen the Professor so angry, she and Ginny stared at the ground as Professor Snape looked on silently. After being assigned what seemed like an eternity of detention, she and Ginny were sent on their way, and headed to Defense Against the Dark Arts together, neither one speaking.

When Hermione found out she was predictably cross. 'Honestly Penny, can you not go five minutes without getting yourself into trouble?' She huffed, Penny barely able to see the bushy haired witch over the many books scattered on the library desk.

'Well some of us can't be so damn perfect doing nothing but study all the time, some of us are actually capable of having fun' Penny snapped fed up with Hermione's constant bad mood. Hermione glared over her books with such intensity Penny was instantly reminded of how McGonagall had looked.

'For your information whilst all you have been doing is playing stupid pranks I have been trying to help Hagrid' She retorted

'What's wrong with Hagrid?' Penny asked confused 'I made the Malfoys agree not to get him fired as part of me going there for Christmas'

'Buckbeak has been sentenced to death' Hermione replied in a voice barely above a whisper.

'The Hippogriff? So what?' Penny regretted that statement the moment it left her mouth as Hermione seemed to inflate with rage.

'Unlike some Hagrid is very empathetic towards other creatures, this will hurt him just as much as being fired, something you wouldn't understand as you are unable to think about anything except yourself!' Hermione said her voice getting slightly hysterical to the point of Madam Pinch the librarian scowling over at their table.

For a moment Penny just stared at Hermione opened mouthed, frozen as Hermione's words cut into her like shards of glass. Without a word she stood up, slung her bag over shoulder and stormed out the library. She stormed down the corridor to the nearest toilets, walked into a cubicle and slammed the door shut behind her. Hurt and anger still swirling inside of her, she proceeded to slam her fists into the side of the cubicle with all her might, ignoring the hot tears that were falling over her cheeks. After a minute or so she stopped. Pressing her face against the side of the cubicle, she sobbed bitterly.

Soon her sobs subsided and she grabbed some of the toilet roll, dabbing her face as she took a few deep breaths to steady herself. Sniffing she unlocked the cubicle and crossed to the sinks to check her face in the mirror. As she did so she heard a click of another door unlocking, causing her to glance over her shoulder. The door slowly opened to reveal girl about the same age as Penny with waist long dirty blonde hair, with a cork necklace and bizarrely no shoes. However, most of all it was her eyes that caught Penny's attention. Very light grey and slightly protruding they stared intensely into Penny's, who looked away frowning, blinking a few times to try to reduce the obviousness of her bloodshot eyes. Penny ignored the girl as she crossed to the sinks, even though Penny could sense her stare. Annoyed Penny met the girl's eyes again scowling as the girl unashamedly watched her. The way the girl was looking at her like an intrigued puppy soon began to grate on her nerves.

'Can I help you?' Penny barked impatiently, confused when the girl flashed a pretty smile.

'I think you need to help yourself first' She said dreamy soft voice. Penny blinked confused.

'What?' She replied simply.

'My Mum used to say anger and hurt is like boiling water in a cauldron, try to put a lid on it and contain it, it's going to get messy, give it time and it will evaporate away. Best to let the cauldron boil.' She finished conclusively, as if that was explanation enough. Penny just stared blankly at her for a second transfixed before shaking her head.

'I've not got a clue what you are talking about, but you and your mother enjoy your cauldrons' Penny said walking out of the bathroom.

When the evening came Penny headed down to the Transfiguration class for the first of many detentions. After knocking and going in, Penny was instructed to sit two desks away from Ginny and write 'I must not play stupid pranks and I must learn to show respect' repeatedly. Professor McGonagall sat at her desk marking papers, occasionally glaring over her paperwork at the two girls. After about half an hour Penny's mind drifted away from the automatic writing. She half glanced towards Ginny who looked just as bored as her. This was turning into a hefty price for a few minutes of fun. Sensing her gaze Ginny glanced up and the two girls' eyes met. Penny reached out with her mind and sensing the edge of Ginny's flashed up the image of McGonagall chasing the yarn. Immediately both of them were creasing up, trying desperately to suppress their giggles. McGonagall's deep scowl silenced them both and they avoided each other's gaze after that for fear of laughing again.

Another hour had past when there was an almighty bang that seemed to come from the floor above. Looking up startled, McGonagall got to her feet and quickly strode to the door.

'Stay here, do not move' She growled as she locked the door behind her. Penny immediately stopped writing and crossed to Ginny.

'What on earth was that?' She asked as Ginny giggled.

'Most likely the twins, I told them I was going to be in detention doing lines, probably thought we'd want a break.' She said smiling. Her smile faded slightly as she appeared to remember something. 'So what happened with Hermione? She seemed upset...well more upset than she always is at the moment' Ginny asked. Penny looked away as she pulled a face.

'We argued' Penny said evasively not wanting to talk about it 'By the way I met this complete weirdo in the toilets earlier' She said suddenly remembering 'Blonde hair, huge eyes, seems a touch insane?'

'Ah, Looney' Ginny sad sniggering 'Luna Lovegood. Full of crackpot wisdom and seems like she is going to hop on a cloud any minute?' Penny nodded 'Yep, definitely Luna.'

'Just...where on earth did they find her?' Penny exclaimed as Ginny chuckled.

'No idea, she is in Ravenclaw in our year. I'm surprised you haven't seen her before. Stands out a bit.' Ginny said laughing. Penny glanced at the door briefly before continuing.

'Do you think she will actually make us write lines for five whole weeks?' Penny groaned.

'I really hope not, though she was really mad' Ginny said glumly, before meeting Penny's eyes and bursting out laughing again. Jumping out of her seat she pretended to dart from each end of the classroom, meowing frantically. Penny stood watching her laughing, as Ginny rushed back and forth before losing her footing. Penny just managed to break her fall, grabbing her around the waist. Still shaking with laughter the two of them sank onto seating bench, gripping each other as they giggled. Penny glanced over her shoulder at the door again before turning to look back at Ginny who had creased over forward. Unexpected their lips brushed and both of them froze.

For a second neither of them moved as Penny felt a surge of confused feelings rush through her. Without thinking she pushed further into the kiss. Penny felt Ginny move closer to her too before the red head sharply pulled away. The two of them stared wordlessly at each other before hearing movement in the corridor outside. Quick as a flash they both shot back to their seats and resumed writing just as McGonagall strode back into the room, seeming irritated. Glancing at the two girls, her eyes narrowed as she saw both girls were very red in the face yet apparently absorbed in their lines. Without a word she continued her marking as the two girls sat writing in silence, both of them avoiding each other's gaze.