Insight | Hermione Jean Granger x Fem!OC

Chapter Twelve: Forbidden Forest

Filch was taking Harry, Maxine, and Hermione down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor. They sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Maxine noticed Hermione was trembling, so she gently took Hermione's hand in hers, hoping to comfort her.

Meanwhile, Harry was lost in thought, probably trying to find some sort of excuse to get out of trouble, but she knew there was no excuse that would help them at all. They might even get expelled. She wasn't worried about herself, more so about Harry and Hermione. Maxine heard footsteps and looked up, noticing Professor McGonagall leading Neville.

"Harry! Maxine!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw the others. "I was trying to find you guys to warn you, I heard Malfoy saying he was going to catch you, he said you had a drag -"

Harry shook his head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen.She was furious, she towered over the four of them. Maxine felt nervous and afraid, she unconsciously held Hermione's hand tighter.

"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."

"We wanted to watch the stars, Professor." Maxine said, her voice was calm, hiding her nervousness perfectly well.

"Miss Rosen, I suggest you refrain from such remarks." Professor McGonagall said sternly.

Maxine fell silent. It was the first time Hermione had ever failed to answer a teacher's question. She was staring down at her slippers, not moving an inch.

"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?"

Maxine caught Neville's eyes and shook her head at him hoping he would understand that it wasn't true. Neville is getting caught up in their mess and she felt guilty about it, even though he was trying to help them out.

"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. You, Miss Rosen, I expected more from you. As for you, Mr. Potter, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you than this. All four 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?" Harry and Maxine gasped, they would lose the lead, the lead Harry had won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall, breathing heavily through her long, pointed nose.

"Professor - please -" pleaded Maxine.

"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."

Two hundred points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place. In one night, they'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had had for the House Cup.

Maxine couldn't sleep. There was absolutely no way to make up those two hundred points they lost. She knew that the others were beating themselves up about it.

In the morning, the Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the House points thought there'd been a mistake. Then they found out that Harry and a couple of first years had caused Gryffindor to lose so many points. Harry went from being the most popular person to the most hated. Even Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs turned on him, because everyone had been wanting to see Slytherin lose the House cup for years now, and they all hated Harry because of what happened.