Okay, sorry for keeping you waiting...I've had a rough week. lol

Just a note to everyone here: On the week of Jan. 24th to the 27th, I will NOT be here, due to studying like a maniac for my Regents. Cool? Okay.

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Hermione gently nudged Ron's side as they walked through the long corridors, lead by Professors McGongall and Snape. "See what you get us into?" she hissed.

"ME? You were the one who wanted me to make him pay!" Ron defended.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but I didn't mean get us sent to Dumbledore's office, you git!"

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, his eyes to the floor.

Hermione laced her fingers through Ron's. "I love you, and you know that. But I hate when you get yourself in over your head in trouble, okay?"

Ron nodded.

"You sure you're okay?"

Ron only nodded again, telling Hermione that he was lying big time. But she waved it off, deciding to let him be.

When they arrived at the door of the office, McGongall uttered the password, which let them in, Hermione feeling Ron's hand shaking and now becoming sweaty.

"It'll be okay," she assured. "Just relax, okay?"

Ron nodded for the fourth or fifth (Hermione lost count) time since the fight.

Ron, Hermione, and Draco stood in front of Dumbledore's desk, waiting for the okay to sit down, Ron's hand now shaking horribly, which made Hermione's hand do the same. She gave a gentle squeeze and he slowly began to calm down.

"You three may sit," McGongall told them.

Ron was, unfortunately, in the middle seat, Hermione on one side of him, and Malfoy on the other. Looking like he was about to throw up, he told Hermione, "I can't do this! I can't!"

"Shh...yes you can, Ron. I'm right here. Anything you say, I can back it up," she told him, ignoring Malfoy's sneering.

"Miss Granger," Snape's voice spoke next as he stood by her chair. "There will be no backing up any story of anybody's. If anything, you stick with your story and yours alone, am I clear?"

Hermione looked dead ahead, and said, "Whatever you say."

Ron's mouth dropped open. Never in his life had he heard Hermione talk like that to a teacher. Never....well...except for the Divination teacher. But at least not to McGongall or Snape.

But, not making notice of it and further complicating matters, Ron also looked straight ahead, being submersed in his thoughts.

What if Dumbledore found out about Hermione? What if he was taking the blame for it, when for all they knew, it could be Malfoy's child? What if it really was his? Then what would happen? And what if he got a bad message from his mother and someone in the school got their hands on it?...er...more like a teacher or another adult for that matter.

All these thoughts crowded Ron's head as he watched Dumbledore take his seat at his desk. He noticed that Hermione's head went down and wondered if she was as scared as he was.

The room was dead silent for a while, and it wasn't until McGongall spoke up, that Hermione and Ron really started to feel antsy: "Weasley and Malfoy were in the hallway...fighting."

Ron dared to look up. He touched his dried- bloody nose and winced. It still hurt. A flutter of hope rose in him. If this was the only reason why they were here, then maybe Hermione and him wouldn't get into so much trouble just yet.

"I am aware, Minerva," Dumbledore finally said. "But that isn't the reason why I called them here."

Ron's heart sank rock bottom. This was trouble, he knew it. And he was almost right smack in the center of it.

The looks of confusion crossed both Snape and McGongall's faces, and Dumbledore excused them: "Please give us sometime to talk about it," he said calmly as McGongall was about to give an exception. "I will explain everything later on."

Hermione was sure her face was pink with nervousness as both Professors left the office, leaving only her, Ron, Malfoy, and Dumbledore.

"WH- what are we here for, Sir?" Hermione dared to ask, watching Ron's expression.

"This is specifically for the matter of you, Miss Granger," Dumbledore told her, making her ears pink again.

Hermione knew she was in trouble. There was no other reason why they'd be talking about her with Ron and Draco in the same room as her. No other reason at all.

"But first, before we get to that, I'd like to bring someone else in..."

Hermione closed her eyes and said again and again in her head, Please not Harry, please not Harry, pleeeeease...

"You may come in now, Mister Potter."

NO!

Hermione opened her eyes and felt the nervousness rushing over her faster than she'd expected and felt like she was about to vomit. She heard Draco sigh in anger and knew that he wasn't expecting Harry to show up...and he didn't want him to.

Harry took a seat on the other side of Hermione and looked relatively calm, which made Hermione suspect that he knew exactly what was going on.

"Now," Dumbledore spoke once Harry sat down, and sat down at his desk. "Now that everyone's here, I'd like to discuss the matter."

"What matter?" Hermione blurted out, unintentionally. She quickly covered her mouth and her face turned red of embarrassment.

Dumbledore merely smiled at her. "That's quite alright, Miss Granger. Anytime you'd like to speak out, feel freely to do so."

Hermione nodded, but still felt out of place...especially with Malfoy's stare hunting her down and Ron slightly shook his head. "Sorry," she mumbled and sank back into her chair.

Dumbledore nodded as a reply, then began, "After having a word with Madame Pomfrey and Mister Potter, I have come up with several resons why I brought you four here today."

Hermione cast a nervous glance at Ron the same time he was giving her one.

"But before I get to that, I was under the impression that there was a--let us say, mishap between Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore continued as Hermione shrank back into her state of mind of that night.

"Miss Granger, would you mind explaining what happened to me?"

Hermione was frozen in the thought of that night. She wasn't even in the room anymore.

Harry and Ron looked at her.

"Mione?" Ron tried to pry her out of her stupor. He knew that whenever she had to bring up that night, she acted this way and it took her a while to bring her back.

"What's wrong with her?" Harry asked.

"She gets like this when she has to think of that night," Ron explained. "It'll take her a while to-- "

"I had just went into the room I have with the three other Gryffindor girls," Hermione said automatically.

"Go on," Dumbledore was listening openly.

"It was probably around midnight or so. I had woken up because I heard something or someone. I grabbed my lite candle and walked out the hall, just outside my bedroom's door. I met Draco just outside the door..." her sentence trailed off, trying to keep back the tears she was trying to cover.

"Go on," Ron said. "You're almost there and done."

Hermione gulped. "He placed a Dazed Charm on me. He dazed me so that I would follow him into the Slytherin Common Room, and I did. I knew what was going on, but the Charm had taken full control over me. I couldn't do anything.."

"Understood," Dumbledore told her. "Please, continue."

"He started talking to me so sweetly. Backed me into a corner of the room and started kissing and touching me all over," Hermione said, staring straight ahead.

"A lie," Malfoy sneered.

"Ignore him, go on," Harry told Hermione.

"He said something-- "

"What?" Dumbledore asked.

"He told me that I was in the spell he'd placed on me. That I was his and I couldn't break free. It was then that the charm wore off and I saw Harry standing in the corner. I was screaming and crying for help, trying to break away from Draco, and I couldn't understand why Harry was just standing there. It wasn't until a few milli- minutes later that Harry spoke up. Draco dropped me on the floor and Harry made him promise to let me be, but Draco had to at least scar me for the rest of my life with that night. After that, he left and it was just me and Harry. He helped me up and I begged him not to tell Ron. But-- but then Ron found out only because I told him," she fnished. "That's it."

Dumbledore looked at Harry first. "Why did you take so long, Mister Potter?"

Harry swallowed. He hated speaking like this. It was like being in court. "I had the Invisibility Cloak with me, and I had went out in the middle of the night. I was going to the library to send a letter, and I didn't want anyone to see me. I saw Hermione and Malfoy in the hall, much like she'd said and watched him place the Charm on her. I was going to throw off the cloak then and do something, but I was-- I was kind of curious to see what he was going to do next..." Harry knew that what he'd said was the stiupd thing to do even as he'd said it. He'd let his best friend and best friend's girlfriend get raped by Malfoy only because he didn't know what he was going to do to her at the time.

But Dumbledore encouraged him on. "What else, Harry?"

Harry sighed. "I followed them right into the Slytherin Common Room, listening to their conversation and clutching my wand tightly the whole way. When I saw Malfoy start to--erm-- 'harrass' (Malfoy sniggered at this) Hermione, I was frozen. I was too shocked to do anything. My cloak slipped off, but I knew that Malfoy was too busy to notice, but Hermione was staring right at me..."

"So why didn't you come help me then?" Hermione spat. "Why did you wait!"

"Miss Granger, please let him finish!" Dumbledore told her in a firm voice.

Hermione nodded.

"I knew that Malfoy was talking and I know the Dazed Charm well. I knew that he had to say what he told you before I could do anything. And when he'd said it, I knew my timing was right."

"So you did exactly what Miss Granger told me in her story?"

Harry nodded. "Yes, Sir. I did."

Malfoy had nothing to say. With witnesses like that, and nobody to back him up, he knew he was in for it.

Dumbledore looked at Draco. "Mister Malfoy, judging by what Miss Granger and Mister Potter have told me, I certainly find you guilty of what you have done to her."

Draco sighed angrily, "I'm in a lot more trouble than Weasley? Haven't you heard what he's done to Granger?"

Dumbledore looked at Ron. "I have heard the issue with Miss Granger from Madame Pomfrey."

Ron's faced drained and he looked like he was about to vomit as Draco had a smug smile plastered on his face. "I-- I..." Ron coudln't find any words to say.

Hermione jumped out of her seat. "I don't know whose it is!" she said. "Don't blame Ron until we know for sure, please!" she begged, near tears.

Harry came behind her, since Ron was busy vomiting in a nearby pail. "C'mon, Hermione. It'll be okay."

Hermione got into her chair with some force from Harry and watched Ron.

"I am not blaming anyone, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, pulling out a piece of parchment from a drawer in his desk. "Not yet, anyway."

"W- what are those?" Ron asked in between quick breaths.

"Test results?" Hermione asked, slowly beginning to rise out of her chair, only to be pinned back down by Harry's strong hands.

"Let her-- get them..." Ron told Harry.

Unwillingly, but doing it for his friends, Harry let go of a teary Hermione, who stood in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Do you know?" she asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed, I do. And as soon as you find out, I'll make the punishments."

Hermione nodded. "I understand."

"Are you sure you want to know?" Harry asked, standing behind Hermione, next to Ron, trying to get him to calm down enough to the point where he'd stop vomiting.

Hermione nodded beaking the wax seal. "Yes, yes...I have to know."

Once Hermione broke the seal, she closed her eyes and took a big breath. From there, she opened the letter.

"Oh, God..." she covered her mouth.

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How's that for a cliffhanger?

Sorry too keep you in suspense, but that's what makes a GREAT story, right?

JayJay!