Chapter 3

Detention With Snape

Hermione returned to the Gryffindor common room. Thankful to find it empty, she headed to the girls' lavatory. At first glance in the mirror, she noticed a purple bruise around her eye. Her jaw dropped. She hadn't bothered to look a mirror since the incident in the Forbidden Forest. Sure, her eye had been relatively sensitive since then and in a small amount of pain, but she had no idea that there was an actual bruise left! Had Malfoy noticed?

She quickly pulled out a kit of makeup from under the sink; either Parvati's or Lavender's. She found a compact foundation and began applying its contents to her eye, wincing in pain at the simplest touch. She groaned; it didn't seem to be making much of a difference. She thought of using a spell to heal it, but she did not know of one and she did not want to risk a spell that would harm herself.

I suppose I just have to say I fell or something, she resorted, glaring angrily at her eye in the mirror. She loathed the bruise, and she loathed the reason for its existence. It shouldn't even be there; it should've been prevented. Suddenly, it dawned on her that her attacker was more than likely residing in the school. He could be in any one of her classes, he could be eating supper a few seats away from her in the Great Hall, he could be watching her from the dormitory window …

Hermione shuddered, then crossed her arms and rubbed her hand furiously up and down one of them, as though she were trying to warm herself up.

There was one thing that she became conscious of, though; she could not stay locked up in the dormitory forever. Sooner or later, someone would realize that there was something wrong with her other than illness, and she would have no legitimate excuse for her behavior. Sooner or later, she had to face the world. She had done fine with Malfoy, hadn't she? Surely she could handle everyone else.

So, she fixed herself up a bit before gathering her books together and leaving the common room. Double Potions with Snape was on the timetable for the afternoon, and she would face it like the tough witch that she was. Lunch was ending and the corridors began to fill with students chatting away as though they had no care or worry in the world. Hermione's entire body felt tingly; it seemed as though every boy was staring at her … every boy wanted to grab her … every boy wanted to attack her …

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then walked at a quicker pace with her head down through the corridor, down several flights of stairs, and through the dungeon passageways until she reached the Potions classroom. Already waiting there was Harry and Ron, speaking what looked like a serious conversation with one another. Hermione took a deep breath and walked towards them, preparing herself for their various questions.

Sure enough, the moment they both noticed her, they cried, "Where have you been!"

"I was in the library." She answered immediately.

"Why weren't you in lessons this morning?" Ron demanded.

"I wasn't feeling very well earlier this morning, but I began to feel better later on so I went to the library and read until class began." Hermione replied, sounding too much like she'd rehearsed it. Harry and Ron did not seem to notice, though.

"And how are you feeling now?" Harry asked.

"Much better." Hermione lied.

"What in bloody hell happened to your eye?" Ron exclaimed, obviously noticing her bruised eye.

"I … er … fell out of bed last night." She lied again. "Hit my eye on the bedside table."

"Ouch." Harry and Ron said in unison.

"Does it hurt?" Harry asked.

"Not much anymore." Hermione replied. "Don't worry about me, I'm fine."

At that moment, Snape arrived, unlocking the classroom and allowing the students to file in after him. Hermione, Harry and Ron took their usual seats towards the back of the classroom, as far away from Snape as possible.

Hermione noticed Malfoy's empty seat, but paid no further attention to it while pulling out the necessary supplies for that day's lesson.

"Miss Granger," Snape called from the front of the classroom. "Absent in all of yesterday's classes, as well as all of your morning classes. Why?"

Hermione did not bother to wonder how he could have known that. Instead, she glanced at his cold, menacing eyes; she felt as though they were drilling into the back of her mind, attempting to uncover some sort of dirt that he could use against her.

"I was ill, sir." Hermione answered. "But you don't have to worry, I'm better now."

Harry and Ron snickered beside her, and Snape glared at her with utter dislike.

"You did not inform your Head of House of your illness, therefore you did not have an authorized excuse to be absent from class. Twenty points from Gryffindor and a detention with me after class."

Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief, but before she could open her mouth to argue this inequitable act, Snape began his lesson.

"Now, the Aging Potion is not exactly the most complicated potion to brew, but its effect can be dire if the outcome is unsuccessful–"

The entire class shifted their attention from Snape to the entrance of the classroom as the door opened, revealing Malfoy sauntering into class. Snape glared at him with annoyance. "Mr Malfoy, nice to see that you decided to join us."

"Yes, I seemed to find time in my busy agenda to schedule you in." Malfoy retorted derisively.

"Do not take tardiness lightly, Mr Malfoy; I certainly do not. Five points off of Slytherin, plus another five if you cannot explicate your unexplained absences from your lessons this morning."

While the other Gryffindors whispered angrily amongst themselves about Hermione having twenty points taken and Malfoy only having five, Harry and Ron glanced at Hermione, obviously finding it odd that both she and Malfoy were absent at the same time. She shook her head quickly though, indicating that it was pure coincidence.

"Well, I actually put a bit of thought into which lame excuse I would use for today," Malfoy began. "But halfway through deciding, I got tired of thinking. So I'm just going to stick with the classic 'my owl ate my homework'."

"We are not discussing your homework habits, Mr Malfoy," Snape said through gritted teeth. "We are discussing your tardiness."

"Yes, well I couldn't think of an excuse for that." Malfoy replied.

The class rang with snickering from every student, including Gryffindors. Every student except for Hermione, that is. She could not understand his cold attitude towards Snape. Were they not on friendly terms? Did Snape not favor Malfoy in an unjustly preferable way? Did Malfoy not bask in this reverence? What was going on?

"If that is the best you can come up with, then I shall be forced to take twenty five points from Slytherin, as well as extend you an invitation to detention." Snape said icily. "Now sit down Malfoy."

Malfoy smirked insolently at Snape before taking his seat towards the front of the class with his fellow Slytherins; Blaise Zabini, Gregory Goyle, Vincent Crabbe, Pansy Parkinson, and Cordelia Bertrum. Cordelia was new to Hogwarts; she had transferred from Durmstrang for her seventh and final year. Her story was now well-known around the school; she had been chosen at the age of five by Edmund and Ursula Bertrum and Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy to be the future wife of Draco Malfoy. Their marriage had been arranged for twelve years, and the date had been officially set to take place a week after Malfoy and Cordelia graduate from school. Cordelia had been sent to Hogwarts for her final year so that she could get acquainted with her future husband before finally being wed to him. From what everyone could see, they were made for each other. Cordelia was beautiful, with long blond hair flowing down her back and shining green eyes that matched the likes of Harry's. Her figure was that of every girl's envy, and her dazzling smile could charm even the most vigilant of the crowd. And yet, Hermione could see right through her charming, alluring exterior. Hermione saw the way she pushed around first years; the way she sweet-talked every boy that crossed her path to do any little favor for her that she was completely capable of doing herself. And, most of all, the way she treated every non-Slytherin that got in her way. She never hesitated to use harsh words or physical acts, or to use her wand against the third year that fell into her or the fifth year who spoke too loudly in her presence. She was such a female replica of Draco Malfoy that it would not have surprised Hermione in the least if a DNA test had proven her to be his sibling.

Luckily for Hermione, she had not been forced to cross paths with this devil in disguise. Cordelia had thrown nasty comments at Ginny and vindictive insults at Harry and Ron, but never once had she even spared Hermione so much as a glance. Hermione found this somewhat odd seeing as she always seemed to be the center of Malfoy's verbal attacks, what with his continual mudblood insults and endless goody-two-shoes taunts. She did not give it more thought than necessary, though. So what if the new girl hadn't acknowledged her? The less contact with the enemy, the better.

For the remainder of the double lesson, the students learned how to brew a perfect Aging Potion without any of the common mistakes. This ended in a few laughs when Neville, who had confused ginger roots for crushed lionfish spine, tested his potion and reverted to an eight month old baby.

Once the bell rang, students gathered their ingredients and books together and filed out of the classroom.

"Where do you think you're going, Mr Malfoy?" Snape called out as Malfoy headed out the door with his fellow Slytherins. "I believe you have a detention to serve with me."

"No thanks, I've got things to do now." Malfoy replied. "Perhaps another time."

"Malfoy, if you do not take a seat within the next five seconds, then I will be forced to transfigure you into a vast disgusting toad that will rival even your little ferret episode three years back." Snape barked heatedly. "Now sit down."

Though Malfoy knew that professors could not use Transfiguration as a punishment, the memory of the ferret incident still haunted his mind. So, he gave Cordelia a quick kiss good-bye, then returned to his original seat and took to glaring menacingly at Snape.

Hermione had not risen from her seat since the bell rang. Harry and Ron had looked sympathetic as they said their good-byes and left the classroom, and Hermione watched them longingly, wishing she did not have to bear the agony that she was about to endure.

"Miss Granger, move to the front of the classroom." Snape ordered. He watched her like a hawk as she gathered her things together and silently made her way through the desks until she sat down at an empty one only three seats away from Malfoy.

"You both know why you are here," Snape began, with a somewhat evil grin on his pale, sullen face. "I have not given the events of this detention much thought, but I believe I have the perfect … er … chore, for the two of you to do –"

"Professor Snape?"

Hermione turned to see Colin Creevey's head sticking through the door; he paid no attention to Hermione or Malfoy.

"What is it?" Snape demanded irritably.

"It's your office, sir," Colin began. "It seems to have been broken into. Professor McGonagall sent me to inform you."

Snape immediately shot Hermione a sinister glare, as though it were she or any one of her friends who had done it. It was no surprise that he suspected her, of course; after all, she had been the one to steal ingredients for a Polyjuice Potion from his store cupboards only five years prior. He could not place blame though, for it had not been her who had done it this time.

"Wait here, the both of you." Snape spat at Hermione and Malfoy. "I will return shortly. If you leave, I shall know."

And with that, he swept out of the classroom behind Colin Creevey, leaving a very uncomfortable Hermione and Malfoy behind.

"I'm out of here." Malfoy said almost immediately, rising from his seat and heading towards the exit.

"Did you not hear him?" Hermione said in a tone that implied Malfoy's stupidity. "He'll know if you leave."

"Why does the mudblood care if I get into trouble or not?" Malfoy smirked.

"I don't!" Hermione exclaimed instantly. "I just don't want to have to take the fury that Snape will most likely let out on me once he discovers you've left."

Malfoy paused for a moment. "I'm sorry, are you under the impression that I care about what happens to you? I mean, if I weren't a coldhearted pureblood, then I could see how you would think that. But come on, who am I kidding? I couldn't give a rats tail about anything regarding a filthy little mudblood."

"And that's why you invited me to your common room earlier?" Hermione shot back.

"No," Malfoy replied calmly. "I invited you to my common room because I didn't want to be discovered in a corridor with you. Can you imagine how destroyed my reputation would be?"

Hermione stood, angered by his constant taunting and snide remarks. But as she stood, the torch from the wall behind Snape's desk seemed to cast a light upon Hermione's face, illuminating the bruise around her left eye. "Listen Malfoy, if you continue to-"

"What the hell happened to your eye?" Malfoy sudden asked, noticing the bruise for the first time. Had it been there before? Why hadn't he noticed it?

Hermione instantly stopped talking. She had completely forgotten about the bruise. "I … er … fell. Yesterday." She said lamely. She wanted to smack herself at her own stupidity. Somehow, she couldn't lie as easily to Malfoy as she could to Harry and Ron. Maybe it was because he was such an intimidating character, or maybe it was because he seemed about ten times more brilliant, but either way, her reasoning sounded far too much like it's true self; a lie.

"You fell?" Malfoy retorted skeptically. "You fell and got a huge bruise … around your eye?"

"Yes." Hermione answered defiantly.

"How did you fall?" Malfoy asked nosily.

Hermione threw him a fierce look. "I don't have to explain myself to you!" She cried.

"No, you don't." Malfoy agreed. He paused for a moment, then said, "How'd you fall?"

Hermione began to let out a groan of annoyance, but was interrupted by Argus Filch swaggering into the classroom, closely followed by Mrs Norris.

"What are you doing here?" Malfoy asked insolently.

Filch glared at him. "Don't give me that tongue, boy. Professor Snape's priorities have been diverted to a mishap regarding his office. He still wishes for the two of you little maggots to serve your detention now. So I've been sent to fetch you." He smiled wickedly. "That oaf Hagrid needs two bucketfuls of Flobberworms. He asked me to find them for him, but now that I have you worms, you can do it for me."

Hermione's stomach sank. Flobberworms. Where would they find Flobberworms? There was only one possible place in the vicinity. Just that once place. The one place that Hermione never wanted to be anywhere close to ever again.

"And where are we supposed to find them?" Malfoy asked impertinently, as though reading Hermione's mind.

Filch grinned nastily. "The Forbidden Forest."

A/N: Uh oh, the Forbidden Forest. Hermione won't like that too much. God, someone needs to hit Filch. It's ironic that he's the one bossing them around, yet they're the ones who can actually use magic and turn him into a great nasty toad. Haha. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Sorry for the lengthy updates. I'll try to update faster, I promise. I'm just swamped with work and the holidays and schoolwork and memorizing my lines for the school play, so it's difficult to update quickly. My apologies.

I really hope everyone had a
wonderful holiday, and I hope
you all have a great New Year too.
Merry Christmas.

Jessica (JJLove28)

P.S. Please review!