I Was Younger Then

Detention with Dolores

Warnings: Sexual content, sexual harassment, and teacher abusing student!

*****

"Penny, wait!" Harry huffed, finally reaching Penny and grabbing her by the shoulder.

Harry forced Penny around to face him, his green eyes determined and his black hair sticking to his forehead, obscuring that lightning bolt scar of his. Penny crossed her arms, but made no reply, which caused Harry to frown. "You can't just keep ignoring me."

"I assure you, I can and fully intend to," Penny responded, a crispness to her voice that Harry did not miss. She made to leave, but Harry clung to her arms, refusing to give up.

"You haven't even told me what happened, and everyone is saying. . ." Harry said, looking away awkwardly.

"When was the last time they got anything about you correct?" Penny said, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Fine. But you've been avoiding me," said Harry.

"That couldn't possibly have anything to do with you acting like a giant git, now could it? You know, I got caught on my way back and have detention with Snape for the next month, so I hope you're happy."

"Well maybe next time you'll listen," Harry shrugged, not looking apologetic at all.

"Or maybe next time I'll just beat you to a pulp and take the invisibility cloak," Penny said through gritted teeth, yanking her arm free of Harry's grasp.

"I wasn't saying I'm happy you got detention, you know that. I'm worried about you, that's all." said Harry, his brows creasing in concern.

"You have a funny way of showing it," Penny said, backing away from the hand of Harry's that reached for her cheek. He stopped just short, the opening of the dungeon doors and appearance of Snape making him suddenly wary. Snape's eyes found Harry immediately and narrowed on the hand hovering near Penny's cheek, his lip curling.

Seeing this as her chance to escape, Penny dodged through students to the Slytherin side of the line, and waited for her turn to be let into the classroom, Theodore Nott coming up behind her, his hand clasping her wrist. He leaned into, his lips tickling Penny's ear and whispered, "How about a repeat of the other night--" his other hand reaching beneath her skirt to grab a fist-full of her butt. Heat flushed into Penny's cheeks and she turned in angry indignation on Nott, who hadn't so much as greeted her before molesting her. Penny was struck dumb for a moment, but then the anger within her boiled to the surface and she reached for her wand, however, before Penny could even think of the spell she wanted to use on him, Malfoy ran into Nott, knocking him over. Then he stepped over Nott, making an obvious effort to smash his nose with the heel of his shoe before taking Penny by the arm.

"What was that for?" Nott growled, clutching his bleeding nose.

"I warned you, you toe worm, not to put your dirty hands on things that aren't yours," Draco sneered, looking down on Nott as though he were as lowly as some insect on the bottom of his shoe

Enraged by Malfoy's insult, Nott jumped to his feet, his wand drawn just as a cold voice reached them.

"What's this? Fighting are we?"

Snape swept over to them, the dark fury on his features telling Penny he had been watching the entire exchange. He looked down on Nott as though he too desired to pull his wand, but instead, his eyes bored into Nott's, who hastily put his wand away. But that was not enough to appease the Potions Master, who's features betrayed to Penny that what he had stolen from Nott's mind confirmed his suspicions.

"Malfoy started it, sir. He attacked me because I was talking to Penny."

Penny couldn't help but snort with laughter at the sheer audacity of the claim. She turned in her rage, ready to hit Nott, not caring that her Professor and head of Slytherin house was standing over her and would surely give her another month's worth of detention.