Entanglement

The Stars of Detention

Things couldn't be worse.

Filch took them to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where they sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling. Excuses, alibis and wild cover-up stories chased each other around Elena's brain, each more feeble than the last. She couldn't see how they were going to get out of trouble this time. They were cornered. How could they have been so stupid to forget the Cloak? There was no reason on earth that Professor McGonagall would accept for their being out of bed and creeping around the school in the dead of night, let alone being up the tallest astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except for classes. Add Norbert and the Invisibility Cloak and they might as well be packing their bags already.
Had Elena thought that things couldn't have been worse? She was wrong. When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"Elena!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the other two. "I was trying to find you to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag–"
Elena shook her head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked more likely to breathe fire than Norbert as she towered over the three of them.
"I would never have believed it of any of you. Mr Filch says you were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. Explain yourselves."
It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring at her slippers, as still as a statue.

"I think I've got a good idea of what's been going on," said Professor McGonagall. "It doesn't take a genius to work it out. You fed Draco Malfoy some cock-and-bull story about a dragon, trying to get him out of bed and into trouble. I've already caught him. I suppose you think it's funny that Longbottom here heard the story and believed it, too?"
Elena caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville looked stunned and hurt. Poor Neville– Elena knew what it cost him to try and find them in the dark, to warn them.
"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall. "Five students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! You, Miss Granger, I thought you had more sense. As for you, Miss Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All three of you will receive detentions– yes, you too, Mr Longbottom, nothing gives you the right to walk around school at night, especially these days, it's very dangerous– and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."
"Fifty?" Elena gasped– they would lose the lead, the lead her and Fred had won in the last Quidditch match. "Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long pointed nose. "Professor– please-"
"You can't–"

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Potter. Now get back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor students."

A hundred and fifty points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had for the House Cup. Elena felt as though the bottom dropped out of her stomach. How could they make up for this?
Elena didn't sleep all night. She could hear Hermione sobbing into her pillow for what seemed like hours. Elena couldn't think of anything to say to comfort her, other than mumbling, "I'm so sorry." She knew Hermione, like herself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what they'd done?

At first, Gryffindors passing the giant hour-glasses that recorded the house points the next day thought there'd been a mistake. How could they suddenly have a hundred and fifty points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Elena Potter, the famous Harry Potter's twin, their hero of two Quidditch matches, had lost them all those points, her and a couple of other stupid first-years.

From being one of the most popular and admired people at the school, Elena was suddenly the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on her, because everyone had been longing to see Slytherin lose the House Cup. Everywhere Elena went, people pointed and didn't trouble to lower their voices as they insulted her. Slytherins, on the other hand, clapped as he walked past them, whistling and cheering, "Thanks Potter, we owe you one!"
Even Adrian Pucey gave a slightly mocking smile.