A/N: Dumbledore is so OOC it's scary. I think I should change it to McGonagall.

Chapter 5: Crime and Punishment

"Unacceptable!!"

Dumbledore hit his desk with his fist as he screamed.

Morgana had never seen Dumbledore mad enough to yell. Not once. And she had been in trouble that would have made Fred and George Weasley, famous throughout the school for their mischief, look like saints.

The headmaster lowered his voice to a low and menacing half-whisper. Somehow it was even worse than yelling.

"Hogwarts has never seen such a disgrace," he said, his voice dripping with disgust. "And from fourth years! I had thought you were mature enough to forgive and forget your differences. Over a silly Quidditch game!"

Come to think of it, it was just a Quidditch game.

But Quidditch was life.

"I had thought that you deserved a second chance."

So that's why he left the library.

"But you proved me wrong long before I had a chance to forgive you. You went into an unauthorized duel in the middle of the library and proceed to destroy half of it, not to mention at least three quarters of the Restricted Section. Those books are irreplaceable!

"You weren't finished, though. The second my back was turned you start punching each other, for goodness sakes!

"I had thought that the two of you, of all people, would be more careful. What if your blasts of power had actually hit their targets? What if you'd hit an innocent bystander? What if you'd blown up the entire library?!

"You shouldn't have taken that chance. Both of you, of all people, should know to be careful with your power."

Morgana and Stormy felt a little guilty, but that was almost entirely overpowered by their desire to kill each other.

"I should just turn you over to Argus," continued Dumbledore. "He'd probably hang you by your ankles from the ceiling for a couple of days."

Both of the perpetrators gasped. Filch would hang them from the ceiling, and they knew it.

"But I have something much better in mind."

Stormy and Morgana held their breath.

"Two weeks detention."

Half of the breath whooshed out.

"One week isolation dorm."

There was stunned silence.

* ~ *

The isolation dorm was a school legend, whispered about with delicious shivers. No one really believed it would happen to them.

Dumbledore grimly repeated the terms of the punishment, even though he knew they knew them already.

"The teachers have agreed to teach you separately from the rest of their classes. You will have no contact whatsoever with anyone from any House, especially your own. Meals will be taken before the rest of the school eats. After your classes you will be locked inside the isolation dorm until the next morning.

"You will not be able to play or practice Quidditch in any way, shape, or form. We will keep you brooms for you during the week.

"A teacher will escort you at all times and in all places. Any Hogsmeade trips during your sentence will be off-limits.

"Finally, I will personally see to it that your owls do not carry any messages."

The last blow. They were completely cut off from the rest of Hogwarts. Just like that.

For exactly two seconds, the room was totally silent.

Then Stormy and Morgana burst out, together, in a tornado of objections.

"I cannot share a room with her for an hour! Forget a week..... "

"There is absolutely no way I can do this, just NO WAY!"

Dumbledore held one hand up and they stopped. There was no need for magic.

"No," he told them in response to their unspoken question. "There is not a way out of this."

He glanced at Stormy's lip, which was still bleeding, and Morgana's eye, which had turned an interesting shade of purple.

"You had better go to the clinic and get Madam Pomfrey to fix you up. After which I suggest you go pack. When you are ready you will be escorted to the isolation dorm."

He paused, then spoke again. "By the way, your parents don't have to know about this. If you can serve out your term without any more trouble, I won't notify your parents about your little incident."

"But... but... that's blackmail!" stuttered Stormy.

"Compared to what you did, it's a minor offense. Do you realize the way the press will be swarming all over here? There is now a gaping hole in the library. How do you think I'm supposed to explain that without it reflecting on my prestige as a headmaster?"

"Sorry, Professor," the girls mumbled at more or less the same time.

"I guess we'll be going to pack," added Morgana meekly.