Title: Resonance Chapter 23 and a Half
Author: Greengecko/Salamandar/Marie Williams
Website: darkirony.com
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the settings or characters used in this story.

Resonance Chapter 23 and a Half - Getting Detention

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This story was written at the request of xrayjuliet who very generously contributed to the Support Stacie auction for the prerogative of determining the plot. It is an additional chapter to the story Resonance (wattpad # 161955). It is written to stand alone, however, if you have not read Resonance or have not read it lately.
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After Dumbledore's death, the castle continued to feel emptier than it should have given how many students and staff dwelt within its walls. The late autumn sunlight leeched through the dusty windows with decreasing vigor. The wind inspired even colder drafts to chase around the dreary corners of the castle's rooms. And Filch's squint had taken on an even more malevolent glimmer.

Late in the evening, Harry sat with his friends in the library, his many thick textbooks stacked around him. It should not have felt drafty there, especially with how adamant Madam Pince always was about keeping the door closed, but Harry felt chilled nevertheless. He vigorously rubbed his arms and wished he had worn his cloak. His movements attracted Ron's attention. Ron started to say something, but choked it off and ducked back to his notes.

Harry swallowed a sigh and resisted rolling his eyes because Hermione was watching him over a book entitled Advanced Art of the Arithmancer. Harry repeated to himself that he did not care how appalled Ron was at Harry's new family situation. Being from such a huge family, Ron could not possibly understand and Harry felt no need to work for his friend's approval, quite the opposite.

Harry sighed without trying to and went back to looking up what methods of transfiguration were easier on objects composed of cells. He did not remember reading anything about that in the latest assigned chapter and hoped it did not come up on an examination or quiz because none of it made sense to him. So little of Transfiguration made sense this year that asking Hermione for help only made Harry's head hurt. He wished he had Astronomy calculations to do instead, a true measure of his frustration.

The other students trickled out and with the additional lamps snuffed the library grew almost too dim to read in.

Ron, without preamble, stood up and said, "I'm going to bed. You nutters can stay and rewrite every last essay you've ever written, but I'm tired."

"Ron . . ." Hermione began, then glanced at the time while Ron made his escape. The door to the library closed and Harry watched Ron's distorted shape move along the glass windows.

"I hadn t realized how late it is," Hermione said, stacking her things together. Her face showed the kind of stress it usually only did around exam time. "He'll come around, Harry," she said.

Harry shrugged. He turned back to his essay and said, "I still have to work out a few more things on my Transfiguration assignment."

She shyly offered, "Want me to help?"

"You mean the way you help Ron, usually? No. That won't help me, really. I care about my NEWT scores. Ron doesn't."

"Right." Hermione packed up her things to depart. "Don't be too much longer. It's almost curfew."

"I don't care," Harry said, and he meant it.

With her bag weighing her down crooked, she moved the chairs back under the table. "Well, they probably won't do anything to you anyway if they catch you out."

The door clicked closed behind her more quietly than it had behind Ron. Minutes later, it clicked open again. At first, Harry did not see anything, and assumed it was the wind, but then he heard scuffling.

Harry leaned forward to see better and noticed two small figures in hooded cloaks creeping in the door: the Creevey brothers; it had to be. Harry put down his quill and watched them slink their way over to the gate leading to the Restricted Section. Harry crossed his arms. One of them reached up to open the latch, and they slipped inside. Colin pulled a little folding step ladder out from under his cloak and leaned it against the gate. When he turned to oh so carefully close the latch, he finally saw Harry sitting there, facing him, and he sucked in a yelp.

Dennis merely shushed his brother as he moved farther inside, holding his lamp up high to light the plaques on the ends of the shelves.

Harry and Colin stared at each other until Harry shook his head and went back to his assignment. He could hear Colin's sigh of relief as he and his brother moved out of view. The rustling of large lambskin pages issued forth forming a backdrop to the brothers' whispering.