A discussion of punishment

When Millicent had pulled Hermione all the way to the great hall, Pansy immediately called out. "There you are, Granger!" Her hands were on her hips. "We told you to be here with us for every meal! Where have you been?!"

"H-homework," Hermione lied, gasping.

Pansy turned to Daphne. "Well?"

Daphne's look was curious. She was obviously trying to look into Hermione's mind. Hermione had heard Harry complain enough about occlumency to know the basics on how to block a legilimens, but her mind was racing so much that she wasn't sure if she would be successful.

After about a minute, Daphne closed her eyes and shook her head. "There's too much going on in there, Pansy."

"What do you mean? All you have to do is read her mind and-"

"Legilimency doesn't work like that!" Daphne snapped. "I can only see flashes of memories. She's obviously been doing a lot of reminiscing... I saw flashes of her, Potter, and Weasley going through the third-floor corridor back in first year... A lot of other memories, too, but I can't see what I'm trying to..."

Hermione didn't let her relief show on her face. At least they didn't know that she had been in front of the Mirror of Erised, or had sent a letter to Ginny, or had been speaking with Dumbledore.

"Well... She still broke the rules, didn't she!" Millicent snarled. "And since I found her, I get to punish her, right?"

Hermione saw that Daphne looked as worried as she did. It seemed that whatever Millicent intended to do, it might be painful.

"Yes," Pansy confirmed, "But remember, no lasting damage! We can't risk her getting injured!"

"Alright, alright!" Millicent said, waving her hand. "Well, you best be here on time for dinner tonight, Granger! Because right after we eat, we'll be going for a walk. And no wand, you hear me?"

Hermione merely nodded, not saying anything. She knew that whatever this walk would be, that it wouldn't be pleasant.

It was a subdued lunch after that. Daphne kept stealing glances at Hermione, probably hoping to catch glimpses into her mind. Hermione, for her part, was doing her best to merely focus on the food in front of her.

At last, lunch was finished, and the Slytherins left Hermione alone in the great hall.