The Philosopher's Stone | Hermione Granger x Male Reader (Book One)

19. Detention

Y/N's POV

That day, the day we were due to send Norbert away, the three of us (since Ron was still in the Hospital Wing) went down to Hagrid's to tell him about the plan.

Hagrid didn't let us in, instead he opened a window to speak to us.

"I won't let you in," he puffed, "Norbert's at a tricky stage, nothin' I can't handle."

When we told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.

"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot, jus' playin', he's only a baby, after all."

Personally, I felt bad for Hagrid but I knew that this was the right thing to do.

That night, me, Hermione and Harry went down to Hagrid's quite late to collect the Dragon. Ron insisted on coming but we said that he was in no fit state to accompany us.

When we arrived, Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.

"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice, "an' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."

From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to me as though the teddy was having his head torn off.

"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as the three of us covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it ourselves. "Mummy will never forget you!"

How we managed to get the crate back up to the castle, was a mystery. Midnight ticked nearer as we heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another, even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.

"Nearly there!" Harry panted as we reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.

Then a sudden movement ahead of us made us almost drop the crate. Forgetting that we were already invisible, we hid in the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people, ten feet away.

Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.

"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you!"

"You don't understand, Professor. Y/N L/N's coming, he's got a Dragon!"

"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on! I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"

We reached the top of the staircase and started chuckling at Malfoy's detention.

"Malfoy's got detention!" I cheered.

"He deserves it." Hermione added.

Chuckling about Malfoy, we then waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.

Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed us the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then we shook hands with them and thanked them.

At last, Norbert was gone.

We slipped back down the spiral staircase, happy as a weight was lifted of our shoulders, now that Norbert was gone. No more Dragon, Malfoy in detention, nothing could spoil our happiness.

Then, as we stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.

"Well, well, well," he whispered, "you lot are in trouble."

Crap! We had left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.

Filch took us down to Professor McGonagall's study on the first floor, where we sat and waited without saying a word to each other. Hermione was trembling.

How could we have been so stupid as to forget the cloak?

When Professor McGonagall appeared, she was leading Neville.

"Y/N!" Neville burst out, the moment he saw us. "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-"

I shook my head violently to shut Neville up, but Professor McGonagall had seen. She looked furious.

"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?"

I caught Neville's eye and tried to tell him without words that this wasn't true, because Neville was looking quite hurt.

"I'm disgusted," said Professor McGonagall, "five students out of bed in one night! I've never heard of such a thing before! And Miss Granger, Mr L/N, I thought you two had more sense. 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?" I gasped, we would lose the lead, the lead I had won in the last Quidditch match.

"Fifty points each," said Professor McGonagall.

"Professor...please."

"You can't..."

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

A massive two hundred points lost. That put Gryffindor in last place.

In one night, we'd ruined any chance Gryffindor had for the house cup. I felt devastated. How could we ever make up for this?

I didn't sleep all night. I could hear Neville sobbing into his pillow for what seemed like hours. I couldn't think of anything to say to comfort him. I knew Neville, like myself, was dreading the dawn. What would happen when the rest of Gryffindor found out what we'd done?

At first, I saw Gryffindors passing the giant hourglasses that recorded the house points the next day, many thought there'd been a mistake. How could Gryffindor suddenly have two hundred points fewer than yesterday? And then the story started to spread: Harry Potter, the famous Harry Potter, the boy who lived, had lost them all those points, him and a few of other stupid first years.

At least my name didn't get mentioned, it was mainly Harry, well I did get some hate as well since I, Y/N L/N, hero of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team was also part of the stupid act that lost Gryffindor all those points.

The act that put Gryffindor last.