CHAPTER 2: Punishment.

"I still can't believe it Ron, how could she... I don't even think Professor Snape could be that cruel. Here."

Hermione had held out a pair of folded pyjamas.

"Thanks. Acio pyjamas." They soared across the room and landed in a neat pile in my trunk.

"Do you want four or five pairs of socks, Ron?" Harry had just balled up a fourth pair of socks and was starting on a fifth.

"Four will be good." I acioed the socks to me and they hit me in the head.

"Ron, pay attention." Hermione snapped at me.

I was trying, but I just couldn't think properly. What McGonagall had told me was going to happen for fighting with Malfoy kept replaying in my head.

When she had arrived that morning, Malfoy had already gone, and boy was she mad. She took five points from Harry, then twenty from Malfoy and me. That wasn't all either, she told me I'd have to go for a detention in her office after supper as well. That didn't seem that bad, so after supper I went off to her office to wait for her. It didn't take long for her to get there, but when she did my heart sank; not because of the look on her face or the way she was walking, but because of the person she had with her. Following silently behind her with an unhappy smirk on his face was Malfoy.

McGonagall opened the office door and told us both to go inside and sit down. She couldn't be serious, making me serve my detention with him. That wasn't it though, turns out we weren't there to serve detention.

"I don't know what I'll do with you two. Well, there's only one thing that can be done. You two won't stop fighting until you learn to cope with one another." She stared at us for a long time without speaking. Malfoy broke the silence.

"Uhhh… Professor, when does our detention start?"

"Your detention-" McGonagall sounded livid. "Mr. Malfoy, I'm sorry to say that you won't be serving just one detention." She didn't sound sorry at all.

"I don't understand, Professor. Why are we here?" Malfoy looked bored and he raised one eyebrow almost lazily.

"You are here, Mr. Malfoy, so I can make it clear to you and Mr. Weasley what will be done about your quarrelling." She seemed to be getting annoyed with him.

"And what might that be?" Malfoy's tone of voice didn't sound concerned at all.

"When this conversation is over, you and Mr. Weasley will go back to your dormitories and pack..."

I leapt out of my chair. "You're expelling us! But you can't, that wouldn't be fair. Plenty of other students have quarrelled before and..." I didn't get to finish, McGonagall cut me off.

"Mr. Weasley, sit down!" She was on her feet as well. I sat. "Now..." she was a little more calm and she sat down too. "You didn't let me finish. I was saying that when we are finished here you and Mr. Malfoy will go and pack all your belongings and in the morning you will move down to Hagrid's old hut where you will stay for the remainder of the year." When she finished Malfoy had his hand in the air. "Yes, Mr. Malfoy."

"Excuse me, Professor, but I'm not sure I heard you correctly." He sounded like what she had said hadn't quite sunk in. I didn't blame him; what she was suggesting couldn't be right. "You said that both of us were to move there, but you can't possibly mean together." Malfoy looked very confused.

"No, Mr. Malfoy, you heard me correctly, that is exactly what I meant. You will go down there first thing in the morning and you will not be allowed to leave except for lessons. Now, it is late, I will come down and explain the rest of the conditions to you tomorrow."

Now it was my turn to protest. "Not to be rude, Professor, but you must be mad. There is now way in hell I'm going to spend the rest of the year with that git. If you think..." but she cut me off again.

"I'm sorry Mr. Weasley, but I will not discuss it further. You make mistakes and you must live with the consequences. Now go to your dormitories and pack. I'll be down in the morning to discuss the rest of the details, until then I don't want to hear another word about it."

"But Pro..." Malfoy was speaking again.

"No. Mr. Malfoy, you heard me. I said go, and I meant it. Now GO!"

I still can't believe the look of shock and horror on Harry and Hermione's face when I told them. There was an immediate blast of protest from them both telling me how unfair it was and how they were going to talk to her about it, then I told them it was no good and they shook their heads and we went on discussing it for another hour or so. After looking at it from every possible angle, we decided there wasn't much that could be done so now here we all are, Hermione and Harry had agreed to help me pack and a t-shirt had just hit me in the head.

"Ron, didn't I tell you to pay attention?" Hermione picked the t-shirt off the ground and refolded it and tossed it into my trunk for me.

"Sorry Herm." I shut the lid of the trunk and looked at my watch. 10:34. "Well, I'm all set. We best be off to bed. I suppose I'll tell you in charms what's up."

Harry clambered into bed and I got into mine and Hermione left for the girls' dorms. I checked my watch again. 10:41. "God, it's late. That took forever and I bet Malfoy finished hours ago." And with that I lay my head on my pillow and went to sleep.