Chapter Eight: Professor Grimm's Punishment

"Hermione, are you alright?" Draco asked once they had gotten back to their compartment, Hermione was still crying hysterically, and all Draco could do was hold her close to him, and he felt his heart break for her.

"I…I can't believe him…I can't believe that he would try to do something like that…" She was infuriated now more than she was scared. What on earth had possessed Ron to risk jeopardizing their friendship for a silly little kiss like that?

"I can assure you that it will be taken care of Hermione, but I have to know what exactly happened, before I can hand out proper punishment, and I can not guarantee that Mr. Malfoy will get out of this Scott free either." Professor Grimm told Hermione and Draco.

"Well, punching him was well worth a week of detention if you ask me, and if I ever catch him near you like that again I'll…"

"Alright, I can't hear anymore of that unless you really want to make sure that you receive a detention." Professor Grimm interjected quickly brushing her black hair over her shoulder, and sitting next to Hermione. "So, what happened back there dear?"

"I went to go talk to Harry, and I found them…being Harry and Ginny, snogging in their seats. Then I turned around and Ronald was standing right behind me. He started rambling on about needing to tell me something important, and led me to that area, he tried to tell me that he of all people was my secret admirer and then I tried to leave, but he grabbed me and kissed me…and then he had his hand on my thigh…" She choked falling silent," He was supposed to be my friend." she finally said after a few minutes.

"After that all I remember was wishing for someone to help me, I tried to get away from him, but I couldn't, and then Draco was there…protecting me from him." She heaved trying not to start crying again.

"Well, the head mistress is not going to like this one bit," Professor Grimm sighed.

"I came in and saw him all over Hermione, and I'll admit I was a bit hot tempered at first, but when I saw that Hermione was crying I knew something was most definitely wrong, I just wanted to help her though, by doing what I thought was right, she is still my friend too after all." Draco explained smiling as he looked into Hermione's eyes.

"I'll be back shortly with the head mistress and the other teachers, we will decide on a proper course of action." Professor Grimm announced.

"Thanks Lylan- I mean Professor," Hermione commented smiling weakly.

As Lylan was leaving, Ginny and Harry burst into the compartment. "Is it true, did you attack Ron, Malfoy?" Harry demanded, his wand raised to Draco's throat.

"I did nothing wrong Potter, nothing that Weasley didn't already have coming to him," Draco growled through clenched teeth.

"Stop Harry, Ron is the one you should be mad at!" Hermione cried "Ron forced himself on me, I'm just lucky Malfoy walked by or it could have been worse…"

"How could you accuse him of such a thing Hermione, Ron loves you more than anything in this world?" Harry snapped angrily at Hermione.

"Harry James Potter, how could you treat Hermione like that? She would lie about this, no don't you try to say anything to me, I'm not speaking to you until you apologize to Hermione and then to Draco!" Ginny shouted shrilly swooping out of the room with Harry following behind closely.

Draco and Hermione sat in silence until the shocked teachers gathered around them to hear Hermione's story once again. He had his arm around her, and encouraged her to tell them all that had happened, she gazed deeply into his deep steel blue eyes and she knew that no matter what he would stick by her side. "Well Lylan, what do you think?" Professor McGonagall asked the young blue eyed teacher.

"I think that there's a possibility that I'm compromising the situation with Miss Granger being my cousin," She sighed honestly.

"Oh please Lylan, Remus and I would be in a more compromising position than you, plus it's Weasley that is the perpetrator; if it had been Malfoy then the issues would have been addressed." Professor McGonagall said confidently to her.

"Well, I'd like to expel him, but I fear those measures would be me taking advantage of the situation, I think that detention with me for a month should do it though, beginning tonight, and I want his prefect title revoked until further notice." Professor Grimm decided with a sad sigh, "And as for Mr. Malfoy, I don't think that he deserves any punishment, he's been through enough already with Miss Granger I believe to not make the same mistake twice, am I correct Mr. Malfoy?"

"Absolutely Professor Grimm, it won't happen again I swear it," Draco agreed immediately, not wishing to get on Lylan Grimm's bad side.

"Nicely done Lylan," Remus Lupin complimented, he had been reinstated as the Defense against the dark arts teacher by the new minister of magic, since he was a valued member of the order of the Phoenix.

"Yes bravo," Professor Slughorn agreed, "I don't think I could have done it better myself."

The teachers left so the two head students could change and prepared for the beginning of the school year, ushering first years to the boats for Hagrid and then once more to their dorms at the end of the feast. Also they would be patrolling the corridors for students out of bed past curfew.

Neither Draco nor Hermione was really paying attention to Head Mistress McGonagall's back to school speech, Draco was too worried about Hermione as he was watching her intently.

Hermione was much too worried about Ron trying to talk to her about what had happened on the train. She didn't want him to try to apologize or rationalize what he had tried to do. Nor did she want Harry or Ginny to try to talk about it. In fact she was quite miffed with Harry for not believing her version of the story, even with Draco Malfoy there as a witness.

After the feast as was tradition, the Head Mistress led Draco and Hermione to their dorms and common room, which they would be sharing with the sixth and seventh year prefects and the quidditch captains. They would however have their own rooms and a bathroom to share with each other. Everyone else would be sharing their room and would have to use the prefect bathrooms elsewhere in the castle.

Everyone was already moved into their dorms, and most, were already off to bead. The only one left were Blaise Zabini and Harry. "Well hello there Malfoy," Blaise greeted as he and Hermione entered. "Granger," Blaise nodded toward Hermione.

"Blaise," she said softly nodding back in his direction, refusing to make eye contact, knowing most everyone knew about what had happened on the train.

Ron came down from his room as Draco and Hermione entered. He was fully dressed in what he had been wearing on the train knowing he had detention with Professor Grimm, but not knowing he would no longer be welcome in the Head's tower. Draco immediately tensed up putting his arm around Hermione and guiding her toward her dorm that had 'Head Girl' in gold letters on it. "Good night, and sleep well Angel." He whispered in her ear. "If you need me, I'll be right through the bathroom, I'll leave my door unlocked for you." She nodded thanking him and closed the door, he heard the latch lock and he sighed with relief.

"What the bloody hell was that about Malfoy?" Ron hissed approaching Draco, his wand extended.

"Don't go there Weasley, you know full well what that was about, and I'm not willing to risk her safety around you anymore." Draco threatened as Professor Grimm entered their common room to escort Ron to her class room for detention.

"Weasley, tonight would be nice, I don't have all year long to wait around for you." Grimm snapped forcefully.

"Yes professor." He muttered trudging toward Professor Grimm.

They left the common room and made there way down to Professor Grimm's new class room. There was a single desk in from of the black board and it had a blank piece of parchment and a quill sitting on top of it. "Sit, Weasley," Professor Grimm directed pointing at the desk. "Now, can you please explain to my why you are here?"

"I don't really know why I'm here Professor." Ron lied feeling his face turn red with anger and embarrassment.

"Well, let's just make this simple then, I will hold you here every night until midnight until you can write me a fifty page essay on what you did to get yourself here and why it was wrong."

Ron sighed helplessly and stared down at the blank page of parchment, if he hadn't been such a bloody idiot about telling Hermione about his love for her, he wouldn't be in detention. Of course if Malfoy and Professor Grimm hadn't interrupted them he wouldn't be in detention either. It was now Malfoy's fault that this had happened, and this realization got Ron thinking, 'What had Malfoy been doing, and what or rather when I should say did he start caring about what happened to Hermione?' He could help himself, "Professor Grimm, what were you doing with Malfoy?" he blurted out.

"Excuse me?" She demanded glancing at him over the top of her book, "I was not anywhere near Mr. Malfoy besides passing by when I saw your predicament. And I don't really believe that it concerns you."

Ron went back to staring at the blank piece of parchment once more, 'I wonder if Malfoy put Hermione under some sort of spell when they were stuck on that island together?'

When midnight finally rolled around Professor Grimm reluctantly released him, "Weasley, I expect something useful to be written down on that parchment tomorrow or there will be no quidditch for you this year." She warned.

"Bloody hell that woman is insufferable, nearly as bad as Snape was she is!" He announced as he entered the common room where Blaise Zabini and Harry were still sitting. Draco was sitting with Blaise and they were idly chatting about something but stopped suddenly when they say Ron.

"That bad 'ey, what's she making you do,; clean gum off the bottom of the desks without magic?" Harry snorted, not bothering to look up from the quidditch magazine he was reading. He wasn't mad at Ron but he didn't really believe his side of the story either, he was hurt and angry at once.

"That would be a blessing compared to what I have to do," Ron grumbled," I have to write a fifty page essay!"

"On what," Blaise's curiosity got the best of him as Draco punched him in the arm rather hard.

"How I got detention and why it was wrong of me to do," Ron sighed plopping down on the couch that Harry was sitting on.

"How far did you get?" Harry asked, still not looking at Ron.

"I haven't even started yet, I don't even know what the big deal was in the first place?" Ron was still proclaiming his innocence.

"Oh bloody hell, I can't listen to this, this, load of bull shit anymore! You bloody know damn well what you did Weasley!" Draco yelled getting up from the couch and retiring himself into his room which he quickly locked. "Bloody bastard," He muttered as he slammed the door.