The next morning found Harry and Hermione walking down to breakfast. Ron had run back to the dorms, yelling obscenities about the cat Crookshanks.

"I hope Ron doesn't do anything to him!" groaned Hermione anxiously.

"Hmmm." Was all Harry said, trying to stay neutral.

"Are you siding with Ron or me?" Hermione asked him suspiciously.

"Well, actually I'm trying my hardest to -WHOAH!" Harry had tripped and fallen heavily. He looked up to see what had tripped him and to his surpries, it was Pansy Parkinson, the Slytherin girl. She was in no fit state to apologise; her face was torn and bloody and she had a black eye. She was sobbing softly into her robes and had seemingly unnoticed that she was tripping Gryffindors up. Harry gave her a poke and she looked up, startled.

"Pot - Harry, help..." She whispered. Hermione knelt closer and comforted her.

"Hush, Pansy, what's wrong?"

"I was serving detention with Hagrid," she moaned, last night - on the grounds, and he went off to get something and - and - it was horrible!" She dissolved into another fit of uncontrollable sobbing. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other before coaxing Pansy to get a hold of herself. She finally gained enough control to continue.

"A cloaked man ran out of the forest. I didn't see him until it was too late, and he dragged me off into the forest. I - I screamed but he punched me in the eye and told me he'd kill me if I made a noise so I fell silent. He attacked me with a little penknife until I was paralysed with fear and pain and then - and then -" she lowered her small voice to a whisper. " - and then he raped me" Again she started crying for the memory of it. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, mortified.

"Shit!" Harry whispered.

"Look, here's Professor Lupin." Said Hermione out loud, ignoring the thoughts rushing through her head.

"What's wrong, Pansy?" asked taciturn Professor Lupin. Pansy was still weeping so Hermione answered for her.

"She was beaten up and raped last night in the forest." She explained. Lupin frowned and conjured up a stretcher.

"I'll take care of this. You go down to breakfast. I'll speak to the headmaster." He said, in the short, hesitant tones he used when he was desperately trying to think up an answer. He walked off with Pansy floating behind him on the stretcher. At that moment, Ron ran up to them.

"Bloody cat, after Scabbers again. What's up with Parkinson?"

"She was raped on the grounds last night." Replied Harry. Hermione sighed.

"This year is promising to be a complicated one indeed. It's only our third year. We shouldn't be put through this but we have been, and I am going to try and help!"

The others silently agreed and they made their way down to breakfast, heads bowed for Pansy.