Chapter 3 - Revenge
When Hermione woke up the next morning a smile was on her face.
It was the first day of school! A new year for Hermione to help her young students mature into fine, intelligent citizens by teaching them everything she knew about transfiguration (and a few values and morals here and there of course). She quickly got ready for the day, fueled by her excitement.
She had to contain herself from skipping merrily down to the Great Hall-the students would look at her like she was crazy. When she arrived at her destination, she put some bacon and pancakes (drenched in syrup, of course) on her plate and began eating them with vigor.
But then…then she slowly stopped. She could feel the eyes of somebody on her. Hermione looked up towards the Gryffindor table but saw nobody staring at her. But she did see the two Potter girls smiling and talking with the other first years around them.
Lupin stopped behind the two girls, smiled and introduced himself personally, then gave them their schedules. Jade and Raven glanced at their schedules, looked at each other with wide eyes, looked at Hermione, then quickly looked away when they realized Hermione was already looking at them.
Hermione knew what warranted that reaction, because she knew her own schedule by heart. Today, which was a Monday, Hermione had the Gryffindor and Slytherin first-years in double transfiguration at the end of the school day.
Hopefully the beginning of her day would be easy.
***GMAC***
Hermione, tired to the bone, quickly got the classroom ready for her first years. She didn't know how they had done it, but the seventh years, in the span of an hour, had transfigured the stone floor into a giant pink shag rug, shattered a couple windows, and vanished half of the desks. And today they had only been doing a comprehensive review of the first three years of transfiguration. They definitely had a lot of work to do to become NEWT-ready.
Sighing, Hermione plopped in her chair just as the first students entered the classroom. Over the next five minutes leading up to the bell, Hermione surreptitiously studied all of the students entering the rapidly-filling classroom, checking for Raven and Jade. They didn't make it on time.
But then again, Hogwarts was a big and complex castle-Hermione thought that she would cut them some slack as it was only their first day and they were probably dashing around frantically to find her classroom.
But ten minutes later, right in the middle of Hermione's speech about how important it was to master Transfiguration, Raven and Jade Potter walked into the classroom talking loudly and walking at a leisurely pace.
Hermione, now feeling very unsympathetic and unforgiving, crossed her arms and started tapping her foot, which was always a danger sign. "Nice of you to join us, girls. Can either of you two give me a good reason to not give you detention?"
"No, Professor Granger," replied Raven confidently. Jade, looking a little scared, gave a half-nod/half-shake, relying on her sister to lead. "We knew coming in that we probably would have gotten a detention anyway so decided to just show up a late."
Some of the class giggled and Jade whispered to her sister just loud enough for Hermione to hear, "Raven, I really don't think this is a good idea. Daddy wouldn't like this!"
Raven didn't show any sign that she heard her sister and continued staring defiantly into Hermione's eyes. So she was brave enough to stand up to a teacher and brave enough to stand up for her father-well, nobody could deny that she deserved to be in Gryffindor.
"Five points from Gryffindor for talking back and twenty for your tardiness. And what do you mean, 'we knew coming in that we probably would have gotten a detention anyway'?" asked Hermione a little unprofessionally. She knew that this kind of question should have been asked in private but could not keep her anger from rising at the injustice that Harry had made her out to be a horrible person to his children.
"Well, let's see…hmm…" said Raven sarcastically. Jade seemed to be frozen in place, staring at her sister with concern. "Maybe because you hate our dad?"
Hermione felt her mouth drop open in shock and she had to make an effort to stop her hands from curling into fists. So Harry was lying about her, was he? "I don't hate your father. Now please sit down and take out your wand. If you would like to discuss anything with me, please come to me after class and we will discuss it alone. If you make a scene in my class again I will have no choice but to give you a detention," Hermione said in a matter-of-fact way that would have made Headmistress McGonagall proud.
Hermione turned around and faced the board to give herself time to collect herself. She took a few deep breaths, but the whole class started laughing and she whipped around to see Raven sitting on the ground, pulling on Jade's hand to get her sister to join her. Jade glanced between Hermione and her sister, stuck out her chin defiantly, and plopped on the ground next to Raven, who smirked smugly.
Unfortunately for Jade and Raven, it was Hermione who held authority in her classroom and Merlin help the fools who disobeyed her. "Detention, both of you, after school." Jade's lower lip quivered a little but she stayed seated. Raven just kept smirking. "Now please sit in your seats or it will be a week's detention." Hermione smiled sweetly at Raven, whose smirk slid off her face. Jade glanced at her sister, picked up her stuff, and bolted to her seat. Hermione could see Jade wiping the tears off her face and tried not to let it affect her-the only reason she was being punished was because she was sticking by her sister. She would have to have a few words with Raven this evening.
Raven sighed loudly, picked up her stuff, and slowly started walking towards the seat next to Jade. "Excuse me, Miss Potter," Hermione said sternly. "Where do you think you're going?"
Raven looked at Hermione like she was stupid. "Er…to sit next to my sister," she said a bit slowly.
Hermione shook her head. "Front row, right in front of my desk," she said. Her desk was located in the front left corner of the room, which was on the very opposite side of the room from her sister.
Raven sighed, gave her sister a quirky smile, and walked up to the front of the classroom, where she unceremoniously dropped her bag on the floor and sat in the chair.
Now that that drama was over, Hermione walked up to the front of the classroom and transfigured a brick into a magnificent bouquet of roses, earning impressed ooh's and aah's from the class. "Now, obviously you won't be starting off with anything that difficult. That was actually OWL level, which you will be taking in your fifth year. Now, please-"
A loud scraping sound cut off what she was going to say next, and Hermione closed her eyes before opening them again and looking towards her desk, where Raven, who was sitting there innocently, had scooted hers up so the two were touching. Most of the class was snickering, and Hermione knew she needed to stop this now, before it got out of hand. "What are you doing, Miss Potter?"
"You told me to sit right in front of your desk, Professor Granger," said Raven innocently, earning a couple chuckles from the class.
"Would you please come here, Miss Potter?" Hermione asked Raven, who stood up and began walking over to her. "No, with your belongings please, you won't be returning during this period."
The class instantly shut up and the only sounds in the room were of Raven packing her stuff up. She looked unaffected as she walked back up to Hermione, who conjured a note in her hand and handed it to Raven, meeting her challenging stare. "You can read it on your way to Headmistress McGonagall's office. I've always encouraged my students to read," she informed Raven. Raven turned around and began walking towards the door. "And don't forget about your detention," Hermione called to her back.
***GMAC***
Raven Potter closed the Transfiguration room's door behind her and began walking towards Headmistress McGonagall's office on shaky legs. She looked down at the note in her hand.
Headmistress McGonagall,
I am displeased to inform you on the first day of term that Miss Potter and her younger sister repeatedly disrupted my class. Miss Jade Potter stopped after receiving a detention, but Miss Raven Potter continued. She too will serve a detention today with her sister, but I am deferring the rest of the punishment to you, as threat of detention does not seem to be enough to deter her.
My recommended punishment would be to contact her father and let him discipline his daughter, as I am quite sure that he would be upset at her behavior and would like a say in her punishment.
Thank you,
Professor Granger
Raven stopped in her tracks and leaned back against the nearest wall, her hands trembling violently. They were going to contact her father? Raven knew for a fact that her dad would be upset and worst of all…disappointed. And she knew that Professor Granger had nothing on her dad.
Harry had always stressed that he wished for them to be nice to everybody and that they should behave at school because school was very important, and here she goes and gets in so much trouble in her first day that they were going to contact him.
Her dad had never been anything but proud of his two daughters, and Raven knew that today was going to be the first day that he wasn't.
Raven's legs collapsed from under her, making her sink down the wall, and she buried her head in her hands and cried.
***GMAC***
Hermione had just dismissed the class when Raven came back in, head held high. "Sit down at your desk, Miss Potter," said Hermione in a no-nonsense tone.
Jade was sitting in the desk next to Raven's and the two girls caught each other's eye as Raven sat down.
Hermione held out two hand-held scrapers to the girls." I always save a special treat for the first detention of the year. You two get to scrape the gum off the bottom of the desks, which haven't been cleaned since the beginning of last year when the first student in detention did the same job you two are about to do."
"Yay," replied Raven unenthusiastically.
Hermione noticed that her eyes had a faint red tinge around them, like she had been crying earlier. Good, thought Hermione, maybe she'll think twice about breaking the rules again.
The only sounds in the room for the next two hours were the sounds of gum being scraped off desks and Hermione's quill scratching against the pop quizzes she was grading.
After every desk was scraped, the two girls handed in their tools and Hermione said, "Now, I wish to speak to each of you alone."
Raven stepped out first, leaving Hermione to study Jade, who was looking at her shoes.
"Miss Potter, I must ask you, why did you go along with your sister?" asked Hermione of the young girl.
"B-because I love her and I want to be more like her," replied Jade, the pace of her speaking increasing as her confidence grew. "She's so much more brave and confident than me, and…and I wish I was like that," she finished in a quiet voice.
Hermione mulled that one over, then finally said, "Why are you trying to be something you're not? That's what makes being a human great! We get to be whoever we want to be, experience life in our own way! Embrace the differences between you and your sister, they're what make you who you are!"
Jade continued looking at her shoes.
"Now, can I ask you one more question?" Hermione asked rhetorically. "Why don't you like me?"
Jade may have been more like her sister than she thought, for she whipped her head up and snarled, "Because you make my daddy sad," before picking up her stuff and storming from the room.
A crazy thought passed through Hermione's mind. Maybe Harry didn't tell them what happened. If not, then these are some pretty smart girls here.
Raven entered and came to stand in front of Hermione's desk.
"Was it worth it?" came out of Hermione's mouth before she could stop herself.
"Of course it was worth it," Raven tried to snap, but the effect was ruined by the tremble in her voice.
"It was so important to you that you had to take advantage of your sister, who got a detention on her first day at Hogwarts because she looks up to you?" asked Hermione quietly.
Raven looked away. "She wanted to do it too. I was just there to help her get the courage," Raven said with little conviction.
"You really shouldn't do that to her," Hermione said. "It's not fair to her. If I were you, I'd apologize."
"If I apologize, I'll do it because I want to, not because you told me to," said Raven defiantly.
Hermione had to contain a smile. They were just so…so much like Harry.
"Very well, you may go," said Hermione, reclining in her chair. But Raven didn't move. "Miss Potter? You're dismissed."
Raven picked up her stuff and slowly stood up before looking Hermione in the eye and asking icily, "Was it worth it?"
Hermione waited until the door was shut before putting her head in her arms and crying.
A/N: Ahh, poor Hermione. Reduced to tears by an eleven-year-old. Next chapter comes big, bad Harry.
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