Unofficial Portkey Archive

Hey, thanks for all the reviews! I absolutely love the response I'm getting from my readers, and I hope this chapter rouses a few people's attention. Please enjoy this chapter and tell me what you think, whether positive or negative. Thank you for reading this far without giving up on me! Also please read the ending Author's note, I want to have everyone's opinion on something concerning my characters! Please review!

Disclaimer: Nothing's mine, blah blah blah. I don't own the characters or lyrics, and if I did own the characters…let's just say things would be a little different!

Chapter 9: Detentions

The silence was deafening. Hermione looked into those emerald pools, not really knowing how to answer that type of question. What did he mean? Also, she was confused at why he even said anything. She wished he would look away because his eyes were too intense and inside she was squirming under his gaze. Hermione felt heat in her face before she finally looked away. When she glanced back, he was still staring at her, his face unreadable. Clearing her throat, she finally broke the stuffy silence.

"What do you mean, do I dare disturb the universe?" she asked, meeting his eyes.

Harry's eyes brightened and he replied emotionlessly, "Just what I asked. Do you dare disturb the universe?"

Hermione was starting to get a little annoyed now. She retorted not too nicely, "Well, I would have thought that was rather evident, seeing as how I knew all Hell would break loose if I came to Hogwarts and I still showed up anyway."

Harry gave a small laugh and licked his lips. There was another awkward pause between the two.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Harry was clueless at what to say. How to do say you want peace? What words would she believe and hopefully agree with him on? Even more, what could he possibly say that would make her forgive him and think about having some sort of friendship? Taking a deep breath and running a nervous hand through his raven hair, he was still at a loss for words.

Hermione finally asked, "Why do you ask?" Her voice was soft and curious, and Harry could hear the doubt and apprehensiveness in it. He gave a sigh and shrugged, still not knowing quite what he wanted to say. Hermione gave a nod, then, after a minute of silence, turned around to leave.

"Wait!" Harry called frantically, jogging to stop her.

Hermione faced him and replied, "What? It seems as if you have nothing to say and I've got some studying I want to get done." Her voice was nonchalant, and Harry hated that he couldn't find any words right now.

After nervously running his hand through his hair again, he responded tentatively, weighing each word, "It's not that I have nothing to say…I just don't know…how to say what's on my mind right now, I guess. I'm so confused and…and…aaaguuuhhh, I hate feeling like this." Harry gave a sigh, "Look, do you want to…um…go for a walk around the lake or something? So we can sort all this out and talk?" He asked, his voice was soft and tired.

Hermione took in his words before shaking her head, still not trusting him. Harry sighed. Damn she was making this difficult. "Alright then, let's just say I don't it to be like this anymore. I want us to be friends."

Hermione let out a snort, "Are you joking?!?!" Her voice was disbelieving and full of mirth.

Harry narrowed his eyes and said indignantly, "No, I am NOT joking. Sorry I'm not making this up for your amusement. I actually want to sort all this out, Gran-…Hermione." He was slightly annoyed now. How could she think he was making all this up? Here he was, trying to make peace, and she was laughing at him for it.

Hermione bit her lip before replying evenly, "I've got homework and I'm suppose to be helping out some First Years in the Library right now. I don't have time for all this nonsense. You and your friends are just going to have to find someone else you can pretend to be friends with then go and have a nice laugh about it later on. Besides, even if you aren't being false, I don't need anyone's help. I'm fine on my own. " And with that, she turned around and left, this time Harry didn't chase after her. Instead, he leaned against the wall and put his head in his hands, feeling discouraged and he wondered if he should even bother. 'What did you expect, Potter?' a voice in his head asked nastily, 'For her to just forgive you like that and you two become the best of friends?' Harry sighed, this was going to be harder than he thought. She didn't trust him, and he respected that, but he wanted her to believe what he was saying. He needed a game plan. She said she was going to the library. So she was running. To get Hermione to listen to him, he'd just have to chase her. But first, he needed to figure out what to say.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What did he take her for? She didn't need him to sit here and play with her emotions, then go and have a nice laugh with his friends about it! No way was she going to let that happen. She was already the laughing stock of the school. Hermione was not going to fuel on their teasing by playing right into Harry Potter's hand.

'It's probably some bet he made with his friends.' the voice inside her head told her. 'They were just trying to mess around with me, trying to get me back for hexing those two girls in the Common Room. He must have drawn the short straw or something.' Hermione thought, while slamming a book down on the table. And he had no right barging in on her conversation in the first place! What was he trying to do? Get her to trust him so she would listen? Hermione didn't need someone to pretend to be friends with her. Opening the book, still fuming, a sudden thought occurred to her and she let out a groan. Her book bag was in her dorm, which was in Gryffindor Tower. With a sigh, she headed to the back of the Library. Not wanting to attract any attention, she used a quick Conjuring Charm once she was alone, and her book bag appeared out of thin air. 'Thank God for magic,' Hermione thought as she went back to her table.

It was still early for her session with the First Years, so she started on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I don't wanna be like Cinderella,
Sitting in a dark, cold, dusty cellar,
Waiting for somebody to come and set me free (Come and set me free)
I don't wanna be like someone waiting
For a handsome prince to come and save me
On a horse of white
Unless somebody's on my side
Don't wanna be
No, no, no one else.
I'd rather rescue myself.
"Cinderella" THE CHEETAH GIRLS

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Harry sat against his wall with his guitar slung in one of his arms and across his chest, and a piece of parchment and pen lying beside him on his bed. His dormitory was similar to Harry's mind right now, empty. He had been sitting here for over ten minutes, and still didn't know what to say. He played a few chords on his guitar, hoping for some inspiration, but the Muses weren't his friends today. He decided to put his thoughts into a song, though he knew it would make no sense at all. Playing a few easy chords, he tried to come up with something and began to sing softly, "Hermione….I am so sorry for the pain that I caused you….this year has been very…confusing and…and…I don't know what I want to say…I know I sound like a total jackass right now but I am clueless….and fuck this is not working either!" Harry said angrily, tossing his guitar away from him and picking up the parchment and pen. 'Get a grip, Potter, just write down what you want to say, it shouldn't be that hard!'

Taking a deep breath, he tried to analyze his thoughts on paper.

Things To Say To Hermione When I Can Get Her To Actually Talk To Me

Harry spent five minutes just writing out the first sentence because he still didn't know what to say. Glancing down at the lengthy heading that was at the top of the paper printed in artistic lettering, he just sighed. 'Alright, I'm just going to write down the first thing that comes to mind.'

Harry glanced down at his list and nodded his head. That covers most of it, and whatever isn't on the list, he'd just have to add it in while actually telling her all this. Now for the oral part. He glanced around the dormitory once more, just to ensure the fact that he was indeed alone, before getting up and standing in front of the mirror that sat above his dresser.

'I think I've lost my marbles,' Harry thought as he stared at the dark-haired boy with a funny-shaped scar on his forehead. "Alright, just get his over with." He glanced back down at his list again and before looking back at his reflection, "Look, Hermione, I know this is awkward, and on my part, very confusing, but…" He ran a hand through his hair, "But what we're doing just doesn't make any sense. There is no reason why we should hate each other like this, and I want to say sorry for all the things that I've done. I…there isn't any way that I can…no that's not it…Hermione, I know I can't take back all the things I've said and done…but I want to try my best to win your trust…aauuggghhhh…Hermione, I think you're a really great person, I dunno what it is, but you're so damn…intriguing it's just weird! NO you can't say that! That's not a way to compliment a girl, Potter." He gave a sigh and looked down at the paper again, reading his earlier thoughts. "I am really ashamed of my actions, and I want to do my best to make it up to you, because I want us to be great friends…Alright, now take it from the top without any screw-ups, and I might have something here…"

"Honey, if you want that apology to show some meaning behind it, you better practice it again and again. You're making no sense, and this girl isn't going to be too impressed. I'm not." The mirror said reproachfully, earning a glare from Harry.

"Shut up! I'm new at this. And I didn't ask for your opinion! I…I just need to go over this a few more times!

And with that thought in mind, he began to rehearse a few more times.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Hermione, why were those girls mean to you today? You didn't even do anything to them."

Hermione closed her eyes. She was hoping this question wouldn't come up while they were studying. How was she suppose to answer that?

"Hermione?" The girl's voice was full of curiosity and sadness.

Hermione tried to muster up a smile. "Well, V, what you have to understand is that most people here don't like me too much. Something happened a long time ago, and people just can't forgive and forget. So instead, they take it out on me. It's not right, but there isn't really anything we can do about it."

Dennis looked up at her. "Ronnie and I told them they were mean. And that they had no right to be mean to you like that." Hermione gave the First Year a small smile.

"Well thank you two for sticking up for me like that. I really appreciate it. There is no doubt that you two have that Gryffindor bravery! Now, back to your homework." Hermione said in a mock stern voice, but then grinned at the young children genuinely. They both grinned and Dennis blushed all the way down to his toes at her compliment.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Harry glanced around the Library and spotted the study group. He walked right by the table, to make his presence known to Hermione. She gave him a glare. Harry just grinned at her and took a seat at a few tables away. He watched her help out the younger students, and when she didn't think he was looking, she would sneak irritated glances his way. Harry found it all rather amusing as he rehearsed his confession in his head.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hermione couldn't be more annoyed right now. He was outright staring her way, and Hermione found it very bothersome. She tried to help the students, while replaying the events that happened earlier that day in her head. He was really going to the extreme to annoy her. 'The stakes of this bet must be pretty high' she mused, while looking back over a passage in a book. But whatever, she would not just play into his hand like that. He could follow her all he wanted, that wasn't going to get her to talk to him. He'd get the hint sooner or later, just a matter of testing patience. Hermione looked his way again and let out a growl. Finally, she just turned her chair around so she couldn't see him and started to help Dennis with his wrist movements for a Transfiguration spell. Soon, Hermione was engrossed with the First Years that she almost forgot about the bothersome boy just a few tables away.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The First Years were gone now, and Hermione was finishing up with her last essay. He was still there. Hermione watched as he got up to put a book away. Hermione knew he wasn't paying one bit of attention to anything written in those books he had been pretending to read for the last forty-five minutes. Hermione hurried up with her things and made her way out of the Library before he could follow.

Hermione was walking down the corridor near the Transfiguration room now. She quickly took a glance around before congratulating herself on losing him. That wasn't so hard, now all she had to do-

There he was. Walking her way. Hermione let out a frustrated sigh. He rolled his eyes and gave her a grin. Hermione turned around and pummeled right into someone with an oof. Hermione immediately recognized the thin frame as her Transfiguration professor, and her mouth was a thin line. Hermione gulped at her Head of House's expression. Her voice was strict and tight, "Miss Granger, just the student I was looking for. Follow me into my office, please."

Hermione broke out in a sweat and felt a lump form uncomfortably in her throat. What was going to happen to her? A dull ache was starting to throbbed at her right temple. Where they going to throw her out of Hogwarts? She tried to swallow, but it hurt too much. She felt awkward as she made her was behind Professor McGonagall. She could feel individual beads of sweat start to journey down the side of her face. Her palms were slick with perspiration. Hermione's feet felt too big and she nearly tripped on a small crevasse in the stone floor. She felt tears start to well up, but was determined not to let them show.

What had she been thinking, attacking those girls like that? How could the fact that there would be consequences slip her mind so easily? But it had all just happened so fast, there wasn't much time to think. She just reacted. And now, she had to face the repercussions for her foolish actions. It had been so foolish of her to act like that. Now, Hermione may be on the train back home tonight.

Home. Oh how much she had missed it. It had been ages since she had seen her parents, and for a second, Hermione almost wished she did get thrown out, just so she could see her parents again. 'What?!? Don't be thinking like that!,' a voice in her head reprimanded her almost instantly. But she was tired. She was tired of everything. Today just proved how much to a breaking point she had become. Hermione never realized just how much she wasn't in control. She had thought she was fine, but evidently underneath it all, she wasn't. And Hermione had turned her wand on another student. Two students to be exact. What if it happened again?

A sharp voice interrupted her thoughts, "Miss Granger, do you have any explanation for your actions? Any at all?!?!" Her voice had turned shrill, and Hermione was too ashamed to even look into her beady eyes.

With her gaze still on the floor, she shook her head and muttered a soft, "No, Professor." There were a few minutes a silence that followed her bland reply.

"I have never heard of such disgusting displays of actions among fellow housemates! Does that mean nothing to you? You do NOT go around turning your wand on other students! I thought you were smarter than that; your grades certainly seem to say you were."

Hermione looked up at the aged woman. Never in her life had she ever felt so ashamed. Her voice cracked as she tried to apologize, "I-I dunno wh-what happened. I-I just s-seemed have s-s-snapped. But p-pl-please don't expel me! I'll control my temper, I-I-I swear! I-I'm so sorry! Please, please, let me stay…pl-please…"" Hermione felt pathetic as she tried to discourage her professor from making her pack her bags.

"Both young ladies have been sent to the Infirmary. I do hope you understand the seriousness of what you've done." Hermione nodded, still blinking back her tears.

Trying to compose herself, her voice wavered only slightly as she answered, "I'm sorry, professor, it won't happen again." but before she could restrain herself, she let slip a desperate cry once again, "Please let me stay here, I've worked so hard…please."

Professor McGonagall surveyed the girl under a severe gave. Hermione had dark circles around her eyes from lack of sleep, and she hadn't bothered to put on her daily light makeup. Her hair was slightly rumpled, with a few knots here and there. To the older woman, she looked completely worn. Yet, her eyes held a wavering brightness to them, as if whether or not the flame in her orbs would flicker out completely or not depended on her decision. With a deep sigh, Professor McGonagall said in an even voice, "I understand what you are going through, and I wouldn't doubt whether or not you were provoked, but lashing out is not the way to handle things. Next time, consult a professor. For your actions, you will receive a two weeks' worth of detention, and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor. Next time, you will need to think before you act. Tonight at five-thirty you will show up at my office, and I will then tell you where you will be serving your detention. You are dismissed."

Hermione felt a tsunami of relief wash over her. She was staying! She gave the professor a courteous nod and smile, before exiting, but underneath, she felt a pang in her heart. She was glad she was staying, but it didn't make things completely better. She still hurt, and now, she knew things were not going to blow over very easy, and she was tired of all this.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

She wants to go home
But nobody's home
It's where she lies
Broken inside
With no place to go
No place to go
To dry her eyes
Broken inside

Be strong, be strong now
Too many, too many problems
Don't know where she belongs
Where she belongs

"Nobody's Home" AVRIL LAVIGNE

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Harry held his ear to the shut door to hear better. He heard a muffled voice, which he recognized as his Transfiguration professor. Her voice was shrill. Harry couldn't quite make out what she was saying. With a quick Conjuring Charm, a flesh-colored string appeared out of nowhere. He inserted one end of the Extendable Ears in his ear, while the other cunningly slide under the door.

"…never heard of such disgusting displays of actions among fellow housemates! Does that mean nothing to you? You do NOT go around turning your wand on other students! I thought you were smarter than that; your grades certainly seem to say you were."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her words. 'What about what her housemates have been doing to her?!?!' he thought angrily. If Hermione's actions had been disgusting, then everyone else's would have to have been downright evil and revolting, including his own. Hermione soft voice broke the silence, her voice pleading and it broke Harry's heart instantly to hear her have to resort to such begging.

"I-I dunno wh-what happened. I-I just s-seemed have s-s-snapped. But p-pl-please don't expel me! I'll control my temper, I-I-I swear! I-I'm so sorry! Please, please, let me stay…pl-please…"

Harry let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding, and jerked the string out of his ear, staring at it in horror. He was about to walk straight in there and defend Hermione, when he heard the shrill voice again. He quickly put the sting back in his ear.

"Both young ladies have been sent to the Infirmary. I do hope you understand the seriousness of what you've done."

'What? Madam Pomfrey could cure them in a jiffy. She makes it sound as if they are on the edge of living and dying. I've suffered far more worse injuries than that!' Hermione's voice was stronger this time, and didn't sound as pathetic, which reassured Harry that she was big enough to handle herself. He didn't need to make a scene by barging in. But it still held a desperate tone near the end…

"I'm sorry, professor, it won't happen again…Please let me stay here, I've worked so hard…please."

Harry found himself wishing the same thing, 'Please let her stay! She can't leave now, not when I've finally come to my senses…please stay…please stay'

There was a few minutes of silence. Harry swallowed and wiped his brow, where sweat had began to form. With baited breath, he waited for his professor's voice to say she wasn't going anywhere. And finally…

"I understand what you are going through, and I wouldn't doubt whether or not you were provoked, but lashing out is not the way to handle things. Next time, consult a professor. For your actions, you will receive a two weeks' worth of detention, and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor. Next time, you will need to think before you act. Tonight at five-thirty you will show up at my office, and I will then tell you where you will be serving your detention. You are dismissed."

Harry was so relieved, that he almost missed the dismissal. With quick haste, he yanked the Extendable Ears out from under the door and took off in a full sprint down the hall, finding refuge behind a statue of armor. He watched for the door to open, and smiled when he saw Hermione step out into the corridor. He watched as she gave a quick look around, checking for something, before dashing off down the torch-lit corridor. Seconds later, Professor McGonagall exited as well. 'Whew, that was close, Potter.'

Harry was at a loss at what he should do. He didn't want to crowd Hermione, but he really wanted to talk to her. She was no doubt relieved right now, and his chances at talking to her may be better than ever. But, he also needed to collect his thoughts once more, even more shocked at how her almost leaving had effected him so. He wanted to talk to someone, but he didn't know who. This wasn't something he could talk about with Ron and Draco. Writing his parents was out of the question as well. He was halfway tempted to ask Dumbledore if he could help him, but he didn't want to bother the old man. An idea came to mind, and he dashed down the corridor to the staircase. Hopefully, he wasn't at dinner yet. A few minutes later, he came to a stop in front of a classroom door. He tried to catch his breath, before knocking and opening the door. The man sitting at the desk looked up and gave a surprised grin.

"Hey, I was wondering if you were going to see me today. That was a spectacular catch by the way.."

Harry grinned and sat down on one of the empty tables in the front row, pulling his knees up to his chest and looking at the man. "Thanks, say Sirius, fancy a nice chat before dinner? Your Godson is in dire need of advice."

The black-headed man gave a handsome grin and tossed his red marker down on his desk. "Of course, I think I'd fancy a chat with Snape if it got me out of grading these essays for now!" Harry and Sirius laughed. Trying to pull off a businesslike accent, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor said, "So, what is it? Girl trouble?" he asked, quirking his eyebrows suggestively a few times.

Harry shook his head with a slight laugh. His Godfather then faked an apprehensive look on his face, making his teeth bite his upper lip as he squinted his eyes, "So boy trouble then?" Harry rolled his eyes and tossed an extra ink pot that was sitting on the table at Sirius. Ink went all over his desk. "Gee, Harry, now that was real mature!" Sirius said, using a Cleaning Charm on him and his desk, making the ink vanish instantly. "I didn't think you swung that way, I was just checking; it's part of my duty, you know."

"Sure you were," Harry said sarcastically, "But you were closer when you said girl trouble."

That statement made his Godfather sit up straight and grin. "Oh so there is a girl! Tell me everything, mister. I want to know who, what, where, when, why, and how. Is it that girl in Ravenclaw, Chang? I know she has a crush on you and everything, but from friend to friend here, she isn't your type at all. Or is it Head Girl? She seems nice enough, and-"

Harry cut off his Godfather's ramblings, "No, not that kind of girl trouble. Nothing romantic, just…well, there's this girl, and I'm having a little trouble with her. I can't get her to talk to me." Harry said truthfully, picking at a loose thread on the hem of his pants.

"Who is she? And why do you want to talk to her?"

Harry sighed, "It doesn't matter who she is, I just want us to be friends. I've said a few things to her that I'm not proud of, and I want to apologize…But she just thinks I'm fishing around and I'm just being all superficial about all this. Also, she barely lets me get two words in edgewise before she's gone."

Sirius nodded, "What have you said to her?"

Harry just gave a shrug, "Things."

"Things? Ok then, my advice is to either get over it and figure it out on your own, or tell me a little more than this so I know what we're working with. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's been going on," his voice wasn't trying to sound mean, he just needed to know a little more about what Harry needed help with.

Harry ran a hand through his hair and hopped off the table. He began pacing in front of the desk. "It's about…Hermione Granger."

Sirius's raised an eyebrow in surprise, but before he could get a word out, Harry was going a mile a minute, "Look, I know this sounds a little dumb, but I have some sort of attachment to her. And she does not deserve to be treated like this. I really think we could be great friends, but she just won't let me get close to her. It's really frustrating. And she almost got expelled. In the Common Room she hexed a few girls and -"

"Wow, wow, wow, slow down boy. I didn't catch a thing you just said. Now, start from the top, slowly, and we'll see where we can take this," his Godfather said, raising a hand to halt Harry's rambling.

Harry nodded before leaning back on the table, curling his fingers under the edge. "Well…I guess I should start from the beginning then?

"That would be nice," his Godfather replied, and Harry noted how serious he had suddenly become.

"Well, we met before Hogwarts. She was about to take her Apparation Test while I was at the Ministry with my dad. I had to run an errand for him to the Portkey Office," Harry continued recalling the events from that day at the Ministry of Magic.

Sirius burst out laughing after a very red Harry told him about the "incident," but grew sober once Harry continued about the Sorting Ceremony and the next day's events.

"…and every since that first day, there have been little outbreaks here and there. Then…well Hermione got…roughed up a bit…and I tried to see if she was okay, but she, well…sorta flipped out on me! Told me it was none of my concern and that I could stopped pretending to care. I was a little rude after that…and I told her…" Harry paused, remembering the scene vividly in his mind as he started at the blank blackboard.

'You got your assed kicked,' Harry thought, but something told him that wasn't the right thing to say. "Er…you…um got beat up?" He asked wit a shrug. He watched as her eyes hardened and her knuckles became white because of her increasing grip on the book.

"Got beat up? Tell me, Potter where you there? Do you know exactly what happened?" Her tone changed and Harry could tell she was about to lose her temper.

"We'll, not exactly, but-"

"Then don't worry about it. You weren't there so it's none of your business. No reason to pretend to care now." She dropped her hands to her hips and fixed him with a glare.

Harry was stunned, he was here to help! But whatever, he gave another sigh, "Look, as Head Boy, I thought I'd make sure you were alright, I guess that was a mistake. I guess I'll stop pretending to care. You're right, I wasn't there and it's none of my business." Harry through his arms up in the air, but he didn't stop there, "Maybe what some people are saying is right, maybe you did deserve getting your ass kicked, running that mouth of yours!" Harry's eyes widened, and so did hers. He didn't mean to say that, it just slipped. Her nostrils flared. But Harry noticed her eyes flash with sadness and pain, and he immediately regretted his cold words.

"Look, I didn't mean-" He started, was cut off.

"No, you look, Potter. It's none of your business, and it was a mistake for you to come here. I've got things I got to do, so fuck off!" and with that, she shoved passed him and Harry whipped around in time to watch her make her way over to the group again, give them the book and say something, before exiting the library in haste.

"…Well, she was getting all offensive! So…I accidentally told her…that maybe she deserved getting her ass kicked…because of she liked to run her mouth…" Harry couldn't meet Sirius's eyes as he looked down at the floor, feeling fresh guilt accumulate at the pit of his stomach. No wonder she didn't trust him and thought he was being false.

Sirius shook his head as he looked at his Godson. "Harry, no one deserves to be treated like that, no matter how different they are."

Harry hopped off the table again and stated pacing. "I know!" he burst out angrily. "I've been a total jerk to her, and I don't know how to fix it. But I have to, no matter what. I won't give up. She needs a friend as much as I need her to be my friend!" There was a few minutes of silence, both Harry and Sirius lost in thought.

"Maybe…if there was some way I could…I dunno, go back in time before I ever met her, and told myself I was going to meet her this year…and not to be a jerk, and instead try to be her friend…" Harry thought aloud, not really thinking clearly.

"Sorry, Harry, but I don't think that's an option. Is there anything else? Has anything happened recently?"

"Yeah, remember that dance we had in Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, looking at his Godfather.

"At the Three Broomstick?" Sirius asked with a nod.

"Well, I went out for a breath of fresh air, and I saw her walking up to the Shrieking Shack all by herself. Then, out of nowhere, Dumbledore just appears out of the shadows. He…he wanted me to go talk to her, but I couldn't. Then he said something about rewriting the past, or changing the future, I dunno. I can barely make any sense of what he says."

At this, Sirius laughed, "Yes, the man does know how to confuse the Hell our of you. He has always spoke in riddles, ever since I've known him."

"Then he ask…he asked if I dared to disturb the universe." Sirius straightened a bit and Harry could tell he had his attention once again. "Then he just left. Those words have been on my mind for a long time." Harry then went on to explain the events that had happened today, all the way up to overhearing about Hermione's punishment.

There was a moment of silence. Harry felt as if an enormous pressure had been lifted off him. It had felt great to get it all out and tell someone else how he was feeling. He bit his lip as he watched his Godfather ponder everything he had said. He was growing impatient. He wanted to know what he needed to do dammit!

"So, do you have any advice? Do you know what I can do to get her to talk to me?" Harry asked, his tone slightly desperate.

Sirius heaved a sigh, "It seems as if she's been through the mill, and could really use a good friend right about now. And I have to say I'm proud of you because you are willing to try to have a friendship with her. But it won't be easy, Harry," he said soberly, looking at his Godson. "She is a Granger, Harry, and you know how they are viewed on the Wizarding World, especially after Voldemort."

"I don't care how it will be. And I know things will be complicated because of Voldemort's reputation and his actions never really imprinted a good image for the Grangers, but I don't care. She's not like him! I don't see why it's such a big deal! All I know is that I feel like a total jerk and I want to get rid of this stupid barrier between us," Harry insisted.

Sirius shook his head, "Harry, there are things you don't understand where Voldemort is concerned, and it's not my place to tell you. But you are right, she isn't Voldemort, or anything like him. So if you're sure, I think this might be an excellent path to take. You never know, this may help reconcile the feud between your two families. I think it may be time to patch things up between you guys."

Harry just shrugged, "I don't care about Voldemort or any other shit concerning him! That was years ago! I just want to us to be friends. I'm not asking for a miracle or anything, just a friendship."

Sirius grinned. "You're absolutely right. Then we've got work to do. The only idea I can think up is right up your ally. First off, I just want to say that I am not promoting student harassment, but desperate times call for desperate measures. And what's that Muggle phrase? 'If the mountain won't come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain?'" Sirius said, trying to remember the exact phrase.

Harry grinned slightly, "Exactly what are you suggesting, Sirius?"

"Well, how stocked up are you on dung bombs and the Weasley brothers' merchandise?"

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hermione walked through the dark corridors until she came to the dungeons where Professor Snape's classroom was. After straightening her skirt, she opened the heavy door and it let out a loud creak at being disturbed. Looking around the torch lit classroom, Hermione quickly found the door that led into Snape's office. After hurrying across the room, she knocked loudly on the closed door, and without warning it opened by itself.

"Miss Granger, you're early," Snape's voice was soft. He looked up at her from grading essays on his desk. "Let me finish this essay, and then I'll show you where you will be serving detention." Hermione nodded and took this as a chance to look around the office. There were jars of things Hermione didn't recognize floating in midair. Hermione also noticed how cold it felt, despite the fire of green flames that flickered in the fireplace. His desk was bare, with a few boxes filled with scrolls of parchment. There was a chair in front of the desk, but Hermione didn't want to be rude and just sit down without being asked. Besides, it didn't look too inviting anyway. Hermione gave a small jump when she heard her professor mutter something about how he couldn't believe some students could be so brainless. She watched as he put a large black P on the right-hand corner of the scroll before tapping it with his wand to make it roll up and seal. He then put the scroll in one of the boxes on his desk and stood up. "Follow me, Miss Granger."

Hermione followed him back into his classroom and then into another door she hadn't noticed before. As soon as she stepped in the room, she covered her nose because of the horrid smell. Torches suddenly sprang to life, and another fire was lit. With the light, Hermione recognized the room as a very large storeroom. Melted cauldrons and shattered vials littered the floor. It was impossible to find the source of the smell, due to the fact that many miscellaneous potions were carelessly spilled over and one even burned a hole in an old table. "Your punishment, Miss Granger, is to clean this mess up. No magic. I have a pair of dragonhide gloves you can use. I cleared out all the extremely harmful potions already for you. But you still want to be careful with the broken glass and cauldrons. You can use the sink to clean any glass that hasn't been broken, then stack them neatly in those crates. You will find everything you need on that table. I'll come and get you once your time is over for tonight. Any questions?"

Hermione shook her head, "No professor."

"Good then," he replied, and then walked out.

Hermione took another look around the disastrous room, before heading to the table to get the gloves. She surveyed the clutter again, trying to figure out the best place to start. Finally, she decided to shift around through the mess and get out all the ruined cauldrons. They were heavy, and some still had potion in them. She had to use a ladle to get the potion in large bottles, and them dump then down the drain. It took an hour and a half to just get one cauldron emptied, and it wasn't even one of the fullers ones.

Sweat was starting to drip from her forehead as she hunched over again and again to ladle the potion out of the cauldron. Her back was screaming for a rest, but Hermione didn't dare stop; she had a rhythm going now, and didn't want to mess it up.

'Bend…scoop,…back up…pour potion in bottle…then bend again…'

'Scoop…back up…pour potion in the bottle…back to bending again…'

'Scoop up more potion…stand back up…pour it in the bottle…bend again…'

Scoop…back up…pour potion in-'

"Dammit!" Hermione cursed under her breath, as the potion slide down the side of the bottle then onto her shoe, making Hermione drop the bottle quickly to grab a towel, successfully shattering it into thousands of little pieces and making the potion splash in every direction. Hermione cursed again as she tried to scrub the potion off her shoes, and now her clothes too. She wasn't sure what this potion was used for and how it would react if it came into contact with her skin. Rushing over to the sink, she dampened the towel tried to scrub her shoe again.

After about ten minutes of cleaning her shoes and clothes, she went back to the cauldron and looked at the mess she had just made. The smell of the potion was more prominent, and Hermione could seem the fumes rising from the violet substance that now covered the floor. After heaving a sigh, she looked around to find another bottle.

Another two hours later, Snape came in to tell her she was dismissed for the night. Hermione watched as he surveyed the mess, gauging how much work she had done this evening. He gave her a nod of approval. Hermione went to the sink to wash her hands, then began to make her way to the door.

"Oh, and Miss Granger…"

Hermione turned around reluctantly, feeling tired and her body aching. "Yes, Professor?"

"I graded your essay on the values of Motion Disorienting Potion, and I must say, I was very impressed. I could tell you put in a lot of research into it. You mentioned a few things I didn't even know." He gave her a small smile, which Hermione returned genuinely. "Good work."

Hermione managed to stop grinning for a minute to say, "Thank you, Professor," before leaving the dungeons, that grin still on her face.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Harry grinned while he knocked on Snape's office door, still unbelievable about his luck. This was usually the last place he wanted to be in the castle, but not now. Now, he didn't want to be anywhere else.

The door suddenly opened, and Harry heard his Professor tell him to come in.

"Potter, you're late."

Harry checked his watch, seeing that he was actually a few minutes early. "Sorry, Professor, I'll be early tomorrow." Snape just sneered at him.

"You'll see a door in my classroom leading to a storage room. That's where you'll be spending you detention. Miss Granger will tell you what you will be doing. Now go, before I decide to take points for your lateness."

Harry nodded and quickly left the office and headed for the storage room. He slowly opened it, and was met with horrid fumes, that he almost slammed the door shut. "Uuggahhh, what is that smell?!?!"

He watched as Hermione whipped around from cleaning a cauldron and looked for the source of the noise. Harry watched with slight amusement as her eyebrows disappeared under her bangs.

"What are you doing in here?!?!" She asked, standing up and her hand automatically going to her hip.

Harry grinned as he shut the door, "Looks like I landed myself in detention for a week. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Hermione glared at him, "Oh really?" Hermione asked, disbelieving.

"Yeah, Sir- I mean Professor Black caught me setting of some dung bombs in the corridors. I was just trying to scare Mrs. Norris off, but things didn't work out too well." Harry said, heaving a fake sigh.

Hermione continued to glare at him. "Oh really?"

Harry grinned again, "Is that all you can say? Look, I've landed myself in detention, what else is new?"

"You landed yourself in detention on purpose!" Hermione accused.

"No I didn't"

"Yes you did!"

"What? Are you going to argue with me about this the whole time?"

"You are just trying to annoy the Hell out of me!"

"Hey, at least you can't get away this time. I'm willing to…do whatever we're suppose to be doing in this dump, if it means I get to talk to you without having you walk away from me." Harry said carelessly, glancing over the room and trying to fight the feeling of wanting to spew his dinner all over the mess because of the smell.

"I don't have to talk to you, even if we are going to be stuck together cleaning up this mess for a week." Hermione replied stiffly, before returning back to the cauldron.

"Cleaning this up? That's what we're suppose to do?" Harry asked, stepping closer and shifting through some of the clutter with his foot.

"Yep," Hermione replied carelessly, ladling out more potion.

"Ha! I got you to talk to me!" Harry pointed out triumphantly. Hermione ignored him.

"So you want to be that way, huh?" Harry asked.

No response.

"Alright, alright. But I still got you to talk to me." Harry mutter, before bringing his knee and elbow together in a gesture of triumph, and saying, "Yes!"

From her cauldron, Hermione just rolled her eyes. This was going to be a long week…

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What I offer's unreturned
You don't have time to see me burn
You've so far failed to see
How much you're affecting me

"The Other Guy" AVRIL LAVIGNE

I know, probably the first thing everyone wants to know is how Voldemort fits in the mix, and exactly why he was thrown in like he was in this chapter. That, of course, will be explained later on in the story, this is just a bit of a hint. About the character opinion thing I mentioned, are my characters out of character? I've tried to keep them as "them" as possible, and I really hope I was successful, but a few people mentioned that I didn't do to well in that regard. So, please let me know, so I'll be able to keep it in mind for future chapters and stories as well. Also, this is the last pre-written chapter I have written, so the next update may be a long while because it takes me forever to write chapters, but I hope to have it out soon, so please don't give up on me! I want to apologize in advance! Also, one last thing, PLEASE REVIEW!!! I really want to know what everyone thinks of this chapter. And until next time, rock on, peace out, and stay righteous!

*~Archie~*