Professor Petrov's Tent

[Suziella]

Though Professor Wayland's Hut was still standing, it was locked for anyone that tried to enter. Professor Petrov was forced to pitch a tent. It was a magically extended tent, but very basic indeed. It had a bed, a bathroom, a small kitchen, desk and chair, and a small couch to lounge on with books scattered around. There was also a snake tank for his lovely Hera. Otherwise, it was completely bare. No student may enter the tent at any time.

You may call on him, but he may not be too keen to speak to you. Visit at your own risk.


Not too far from the barn, a uniquely shaped hut is just at the edge of the Forbidden Forrest. This is not only Professor Wayland's living quarters, but it is also his office. Outside you will notice tons of wood logs and a fire pit. To the right of the hut there is a brand new swimming pool that is only for the Professor's use unless permission is given otherwise. On the porch there are two lawn chairs. After you knock on the door you may sit and wait there until the professor is ready to see you.

When you enter the hut, you will immediately notice that the downstairs area is the Professor's office. On the walls there are many pictures of Professor Wayland with interesting creatures and different people, including his family members, friends, and mentors from school and previous occupations. There are also diagrams depicting different creatures, pointing out body parts and what they do, as well as information about what they may eat.

There isn't really room for a huge desk, but there is a roll top desk in the back right corner of the room and two comfortable chairs sit next to it. On the left side of the room is a cozy fireplace with a small black leather couch. There is a brand new picture on the mantle of himself and Professor Kennedy happily smiling in front of a picturesque view of the Mediterranean Sea. There is also a 4 foot perch for Professor Wayland's Phoenix, Ash, to sit on; though, sometimes you might find the beautiful bird flying around outside of the Hut or perched on the roof. There are many shelves of different books. Most of the books are about creatures. The rest are a mixture of fiction, Sci-fi, graphic novels, and there might be a romance novel...or two.

Behind the staircase is a full kitchen. Yes, Professor Wayland does dine at the castle, but most days he doesn't have time to get up there so he cooks for most meals. The staircase leads to a bedroom that has been magically extended. It is far bigger than it should be and holds a very large bed, a closet, a dresser, and a night stand with a reading lamp on it. The bathroom is small but of well design. Student's however, are not allowed upstairs, so please keep out!

Please, knock and wait at the door! Professor Wayland will be with you as soon as possible!


OOC: There is no waiting area thread, so please just RP your character knocking on the door and wait for Professor Wayland to answer. Also, please don't RP for Ash. You may RP that you SEE him flying around or on the roof, etc., but Ash is a Phoenix and only comes to his master unless someone shows great loyalty to Professor Wayland.

[FearlessLeader19]

SPOILER!!: Jessa and Aleksandur!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleksandur Petrov

Alek had just finished up his duties at the barn when he turned the corner and saw his abode being defiled! WHAT IN GRINDEWALD'S NAME?!?!

With the most malevolent look on his face, Alek ran towards his tent, and wielding his wand yelled, "INCARCEROUS!" Pointing his wand at the student he didn't know, chains shot out quickly toward her. He pointed his wand at the Head Girl with a sneer and sent a Stinging Jinx at her that could bruise a bear.

He marched toward the girl with the spray paint jabbing his wand at her throat. "I don't think you know who your messing with child." His voice eerily quiet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaniDiNardo

Jessa had several questions, most notably whether this girl had COMPLETELY LOST HER MIND AND WAS JUST LOOKING TO GET HERSELF PUNISHED but in the moment, no words came. Mouth agape, Jessa stared first at the words written then to the can being offered to. While her first instinct was to run--and Jessa Cambridge did not run--her feet remained firmly planted. It was a mistake she was sure she would regret. This was a disaster in the making.

What happened in the next few seconds left her entirely blind sided. The Professor showed up, his wand was out, there was chains flying....a loud, shrill scream that she didn't realize was her own....and a searing pain shooting up her arm that she couldn't explain while her brain tried make sense of it all.

A glance down at her arm revealed bright, red marks in the wake of the burns left from the stinging hex. The shock of it all likely dulled the pain in the first few seconds.

Fight or flight? Forget those, Jessa's first instinct in crisis was to freeze, as she continued to do now. The situation had escalated quickly and she didn't know what to do. The wand at the idiot girl's neck was definitely an issue...one as Head Girl she was probably meant to deal with.......but "P-P-Professor..." was about as much as she could get out as the anxiety quickly moved in and the shock quickly moved out giving full vent to the pain of that hex.

Merlin's beard, this hurt.

Whether or not Jessa was going to give her a hand, Aretha continued merrily with her task. She was almost done and to add a little flair, she drew a huge hand making an obscene gesture. “Well, I think that’s eno-’’ Her cheerful banter about her handiwork was cut suddenly short. She was taken by surprise because there was the thunderous sound of old Alek casting an incantation. There was the sound of clanking chains and before she knew it, she was bound with the things.

Aretha desperately tried to wriggle free. “Jessa!’’ Oh no! She had gotten the Head Girl in trouble and in obvious pain. She was suddenly afraid but not for herself. Not even with the wand jabbed at her throat. The Slytherin glared at Aleksandur defiantly. “Are you blind? I’m messing with you. You let Jessa go this instant! She had nothing to do with this.’’ Cue her wriggling and trying to be free of the chains.

[Aleksandur Petrov]

Alek was so ridiculously angry that he hadn't heard the Head Girl say professor at all. He didn't even look at her until the Slytherin girl in front of him demanded he let Jessa go. She was also trying to work her way out of the chains. He moved his wand from her neck and with a flick of his wrist the chains started to get tighter. "You don't tell me what to do child." He said in a deadly whisper. He turned his wand and the chains constricted more, like a snake wrapping it's muscular body around it's prey.

Alek moved his wand tip back to the girls throat. "I don't care if she was helping you or not. She wasn't stopping you and that is worse than helping." His eyes flickered over to the head girl. "I wouldn't move a muscle if I were you, Jessa." His words were a warning. He couldn't guarantee what he would do if she tried to run.

[DaniDiNardo]

There were too many things happening at once. Consider her entirely overwhelmed. In the wake of this new terror—brought on by the manner in which the professor spoke—Jessa could almost ignore the painful throbbing in her arm.....almost.

Blue eyes kept flashing between the two, her mind trying to come up with a plan but it was currently drawing blanks. As much pain as she was in, at least she wasn’t tied with a wand at her throat. It....it could’ve been worse....it could always be worse. SHE could currently be the focus of the man’s attention—

Her blood went cold when he turned his gaze to her.

Don’t move???? That was kind of the plan?????????? Even if she wanted nothing more than to bolt for dear life, her feet remained firmly fixed and in the wake of that warning, they didn’t have plans to be anywhere else. The girl felt quite ill in ways that had nothing to do with the pain shooting up her arm and it likely showed in her face that began to lose its colour.

Another step on her anxiety ladder? Him saying her not stopping the girl was worse than helping. It wouldn’t have gotten this high but the man’s wand was now drawn and she’d already been burned something fierce by that stinging hex. Everything about this told her this wasn’t just another routine “you’re in trouble, 50 million trillion points from your house and you have detention”. No. This felt different. There was a hidden menace to it and it was doing terrible things to her nerves.

So nope, not moving a muscle. Hardly even breathing as the swelling began where the hex had hit.

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Gaston had heard the scream all the way from the lake and followed the sound all the way to Petrov's tent, running as fast as his legs could carry him. He skidded to a halt, bright blue eyes widening in shock and terror at the scene in front of him... Aretha bound in chains; Petrov holding his wand to her throat; Jessa obviously hit with a stinging jinx and seemingly frozen... though he didn't know whether it was caused by anxiety or another spell from Petrov. It took all of half a second for him to realize what was happening, and the shock gave way to burning anger. This man - and he was using the term very generously, as no real man would ever subject a child to this - this regime had hurt his students for the last time! Gaston was done playing nice!

"Petrov..." he growled through clenched teeth as he stood in front of Jessa. "ENOUGH!" His eyes clouded dangerously, and a dark vein bulged in his temple. He wasn't going to even entertain the notion of trying to plead or reason with this psychopath! Judging by the situation, it wouldn't do any good. Besides, he wasn't interested in hearing Petrov justify his actions. No, talk was cheap; this time he was going to let his wand do the talking. For once in his life, sweet, kind Gaston Marchand had no compassion to offer!

He pointed his wand at Petrov, intending to disarm, but changed his mind at the last minute. If he missed, Petrov could retaliate, and spells would go flying with the two girls in the crossfire. He would deal with this piece of filth later. Instead, he aimed at Aretha's chains and cried, "Emancipare!" Hoping against hope that it worked, he shot her a look, jerking his head as if to say, Get behind me if you can!

"Protego Duo!" Gaston glared at Petrov from behind the shield he cast, eyes burning with cold angry fire, silently warning the other man not to even think about hurting his students again. "If you want them, you'll have to go through me!" he spat, gripping his wand tighter, poised to react if Petrov tried anything.

[Goblinfrog]

Gaston's legs were obviously much longer than hers, so naturally he arrived at the source of the commotion before she did - although she had gotten a head start. In the distance, she saw him raise his wand and fir some kind of spell. It looked like a defensive spell, but she couldn't be certain from this distance. What in Merlin's beard was going on???!!!

Shortly afterwards, she arrived. There was a student whom she did not recognize (which wasn't hard because there were almost 600 of them) and then there was Jessa (the person who screamed), and a Professor Petrov looking far more furious than she had ever seen him before. Gaston looked at least as furious. Both men had their wands drawn. This looked bad.

"What is happening here?! Put your wands down!" she commanded sharply, striding over to stand somewhere in the middle of the ground between Gaston and Petrov, but glaring at Petrov. She did not draw her own wand as it would have no good. A sideways glance at Jessa's traumatized expression and the tied up girl gave her a clue of what was happening. "What did you do this time, minion?" she snapped.

Obviously this was directed at Petrov.

[Cassirin]

Chloe wasn't sure why she was following the professors. She wasn't a fighter, and although she was good at Charms, it wasn't like she was a professor. What good could she possibly do? Still, Jessa was crying out and Chloe couldn't leave a friend unassisted.

She slid into the tent behind Professors Marchand and O'Hara, trusting that they were going to occupy Petrov. What was going on with all these professors being so wand frenzied lately? Chloe fell to her knees beside Jessa, her wand out. "Hey. It's okay now. I know it hurts like the dickens, but I want you to know that it's okay now. I don't know an anti-charm, but what if we put something cold on it to take out the sting?"

[FearlessLeader19]

Aretha gasped. The chains, they were tightening around her which caused her immense pain and made breathing hard. Still, that attitude of hers wasn’t given up. She continued to fight to get free while all the while glaring at Petrov’s ugly face. “Yeah?’’ Wriggle, wriggle. “Someone should. Because-’’ Cue her gasping for breath. “You’re LOUSY!’’ The combination of her effort to escape and her anger at Petrov was making her turn bright red. Her hair was becoming wild looking and ever so quickly, it was getting more difficulty to breathe, especially after she had literally just yelled at Petrov. Aretha did not even have any more energy to defend Jessa.

Hey, were those stars winking before her eyes?

Yes, they were.

The lack of oxygen to her brain was quickly making her want to pass out.

Maybe she was imagining things but the sixth year was quite sure she heard Professors Marchand’s and O’Hara’s voices.

[Julian Scrimgeour]

Scrimgeour was making his rounds of the castle and grounds, his black book at hand. He was writing down names, making notes on who needed to be watched for both students and staff he didn't hire alike. He would not stand for rebellion. This was a school, a place of learning and following rules.

The screaming drew his attention to the tent. Being a knowledgeable man, he knew screaming always meant trouble. Children were up to no good.

When he arrived at the scene of the crime, the headmaster could hardly believe what he was seeing. A student was bound tightly in chains, the Head Girl looked like she was in pain, another child was on her knees, Petrov had his wand at a students' throat, Marchand was pointing his wand at Petrov, and O'Hara was just standing there. For Merlin's sake... If a child was breaking school rules, there was a strict protocol that was to be followed. And what were professors drawing their wands at each other? Did they need a reminder of what happened the last time such a thing happened?

"All of you, enough," the old man croaked, the book forgotten for the moment. His eyes then darted over to the adults. He didn't care what the children had to say. "Explain what is going on here." All he saw before him was incompetency at handling a situation and a mess that he was going to have to clean up.

[Aleksandur Petrov]

Alek was just about to respond to the 'adults' when Headmaster Scrimgeour showed up. With a flick of his wand the chains around the girl he didn't know released. He walked quietly forward, Hera hissing at the girls from his neck, as he sent deadly glares at the other two professors.

"Headmaster, I found these two," he pointed to the girl he didn't know (Aretha), and the Head Girl, "at my tent. This one," he pointed at the unknown girl, "was defiling my tent with spray paint as you can see, and the Head Girl was standing idly by letting her do it." He paused to think about how to proceed. "Unfortunately, I let my anger get the best of me by wielding my wand against an insolent child who was extremely disrespectful as you can see by the disgusting words she left all over my abode." He said in a silky smooth voice, though the anger was subtly there.

He looked over at the other professors, "Then these two showed up as well as Miss Kettleburn, and then you arrived. Nothing further has transpired." Though he wondered if he could use one quick curse on Marchand.....


Too risky.

[DaniDiNardo]

Consider her massively overwhelmed.

Between the horrid pain running up and down her arm and the sudden arrival of both Chloe and the professors, Jessa could hardly focus on any one thing. Didn’t help that the extent of the pain on its own was enough to dull her other senses. That must have been some intent behind that hex when he sent it. Her skin felt like it could come right off at any minute—or rather like she’d love to have it removed so the pain would stop.

Jessa blinked over at the charms professor’s back, him suddenly standing before her. In the next second, she took a few steps back to distance herself from him. O’hara’s arrival didn’t help one bit. The detention, while uneventful, was still fresh in her mind. She remembered quite clearly saying the school was now filled with Scrimgeour pleasers. Those who were not, had already gotten themselves fired. What remained, did as the man said. It made it hard to trust any of them.

Her calling Petrov a minion was laughable for that very reason—or would’ve been if she wasn’t in so much pain—because she’d also said she did as the man wanted and was in his good graces. As far as Jessa was concerned, she was one of them. This was all an act. It was likely all an act.

The skepticism grew within her, causing her to take another step or two back from them all. That’s when Chloe showed up. Merlin, did she know how to remove skin?? No doubt Jessa would be able to regrow new one later but just...Circe make this burning stop! “If you won’t take it off, don’t touch it.” She managed to get out, making no attempts to clarify that she meant the skin itself. Her whole thought process was a mess right now.

And then Scrimgeour showed up. What honestly was today? Could so many things go wrong at once?

Yes, apparently they could if Petrov’s version of events was anything to go by. “I didn’t stand there watching her.” She tried through gritted teeth. “I was on my way to the stables and saw her. I stopped to make her stop then he stormed over and starting throwing hexes without questions .” Jessa paused then to look at the unconscious girl. The misguided fool. “Not that it matters. He’s your hire. He’s above the law and above reproach. You said that, remember? Reckon Professor Marchand’s about to lose his job, Professor O’Hara too for daring to get in his way when he’s got your blessing to do as he likes.”

While he was at it, could he fire her too? From school? She would very much like to go home now permenantly.

[Goblinfrog]

"Headmaster!" she gasped in surprise, standing even more straight than she had been before. How much had he seen or heard? She clasped her hands behind her back and remained silent while Petrov made excuses for his attitude. Then Jessa began to speak. Despite Alice's attempts at control, she found herself unable to disguise the fear from her expression. She was not going to be fired, no, she was NOT going to be fired. All this time she had been a loyal professor, taking orders without question. There was no way she could be fired for standing up to Petrov, no way.

"I only just got here a minute before you did, Headmaster," she said just as soon as Jessa had finished speaking. Sorry, Gaston and anyone else wanting to say something but she was speaking first. She was too nervous to allow these hotheaded fools to derail things even further. "Just a short while ago, I was patrolling the grounds under my invisibility cloak. There didn't seem to be anyone breaking rules, but I kept searching just to be safe. That's when I heard Jessa screaming." The part about spying on Professor Noble would go unmentioned. "Gaston got here before I did, and it looked like he and Petrov were about to start blasting each other with their wands. So I stepped in between them to prevent them from blowing each other's heads off like a couple of mindless trolls."

A brief glance was given to Jessa and the unknown girl before her focus shifted back to Julian. "Clearly, Professor Petrov had reason to be upset with the defiling of his tent by bratty students, but he took it too far. Imagine what the Daily Prophet headline would be if they caught wind that Hogwarts professors were physically injuring students as punishment? And there was no excuse to attack Jessa, who is one of our most obedient and complacent students. Remember it was Jessa and Derf who left when Professor Kennedy brought his vile chocolate to class. I believe she is telling the truth when she says she was trying to stop the mischief." Yes, she was defending the student that got under her skin more than any other. But she also felt somewhat responsible for Jessa, having been part of the reason for making her so complacent. She was proud of making her that way and did not want this cruel troll messing it up.

This was also the farthest she had ever gone in criticizing one of Julian's hires out loud, but surely he would realize that she wasn't criticizing him - seeing as she was one of his most loyal staff members, no?

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Gaston's eyes remained locked on Petrov, burning like bluebell flames. His heart raced and his breathing became shallow as his anger roiled inside him, consuming him more with each passing moment... like a black shroud blocking out all thought... Suddenly, a familiar sharp voice cut through the fog of his rage, and he inwardly scoffed. Oh, for Merlin's sake! Look around, Alice! he thought. Wasn't it obvious what was happening?! He shook his head, giving her an almost apologetic look, but his wand arm remained steadily aimed at Petrov. He wasn't going to harm Petrov unless he hurt the students again. Unlike some people here, he didn't enjoy hexing innocents!

Gaston vaguely registered Chloe's voice. It warmed his heart to overhear her trying to help Jessa, but he didn't dare take his eyes off Petrov long enough to look back and offer a smile or a kind word. His pride quickly turned to panic as he saw his spell hadn't freed Aretha. He had to try again! Before he had time to raise his wand, Scrimgeour appeared demanding an explanation. His eyes flashed dangerously as Petrov flicked his wand, but the fire in them lessened as Aretha's chains released. When - and only when Petrov's wand was away, he holstered his own, but he wasn't moving away from chloe and Jessa.

Before he could speak, Petrov beat him to it. The words once again fanned the flames of his anger, and Gaston couldn't keep silent any longer! "Is that what you call it, Petrov?" he demanded. "And what about Jessa? Did your anger get the better of you when you hexed her too? Let's hear you try to justify that..." Of course, he was being sarcastic. There was no justification for what he'd done!

He nodded at Jessa's explanation. That sounded like a much more accurate account than Petrov's... or at least the first half of it. That metal-armed maniac wasn't getting the satisfaction of firing him! Gaston knew he was on borrowed time here at Hogwarts. He had nothing left to lose by challenging Scrimgeour anymore. If he was going down,
he was using the time he had left to take this whole regime down with him!

Gaston was about to corroberate Jessa's story, when Alice spoke up. For half a second, he thought she would be on his side after calling Petrov a minion earlier, but that hope quickly vanished. Classic Alice... always jumping to the wrong conclusions! The mindless troll comment earned her a pointed glare. Better a mindless troll than a thoughtless flobberworm, he thought angrily, clenching his teeth against the harsh words that threatened to spew out of his mouth. Good Godric Gryffindor, she was worse than Petrov in some ways! At least he knew whose side Petrov was on!

After the others had finished, Gaston turned to Scrimgeour; this time there was no fear in his eyes as he looked at the other man. "Headmaster, I've known Miss Cambridge to be one of the most honest students at Hogwarts," he said, his tone like ice. "I see no reason to doubt her story. Professor O'Hara's version, however, is inaccurate on one major count. I never intended to - what was it you said, Alice? Blow Petrov's head off like a mindless troll. If I did, he would likely not be standing here unharmer,
and frankly, I would rather spend my time with my daughter than rotting in Azkaban for attacking him." Sorrynotsorry, Petrov.

Understood? Okay, good. Moving on... "I heard the scream and followed the sound here from the lake. I was the first to arrive, and I saw Miss Cambridge in pain, Miss Skywats chained, and him-" He pointed at Petrov. "-with his wand at her throat. He hexed these girls, plain and simple, and there can be no excuse for it! I tried to stop him from hurting them further. I had my wand at the ready, just in case he tried anything else, but the only spells I cast were a shield charm and a spell meant to free Miss Skywats that missed its target. It's as Professor Petrov said; nothing else happened."

His eyes changed as an idea came to him. "Professor O'Hara raises an interesting question. What if the Daily Prophet learned what goes on within this school? What if the BoG learned?" he mused. "I suppose we'll all find out soon enough... after I tell them both myself."

[Julian Scrimgeour]

As words were said, all Scrimgeour could focus on was all the incompetency he was seeing from the adults. Not to mention the fact that the children present were clearly out of control. It all made the old man's forehead furrow with disappointment. They all were such disappointments, all clearly missing the purpose of structure and protocol and ensuring students were getting a quality education with said structure and protocol in tact.

He first turned to the children, speaking directly to the Head Girl. The other girl, whoever she was, wasn't left forgotten. "No one asked you to speak, Cambridge. I do not want to hear another word from you," he responded, not caring at all what she had to say. He didn't even listen to the words that were coming out of her mouth. "Head down to the pitch for some laps for your unwarranted cheek, and you can take her with you for her childish attempt to defile a professor's residence. I will be there momentarily to check your progress." Hopefully he wouldn't have to keep them there all night, but he would if he had to.

Then the man turned toward the adults. Petrov was the first he was going to deal with.

"We have a very specific protocol here when it comes to giving consequences, Petrov. This isn't Durmstrang. We do not let our anger get the better of us and hex children." At least not to the point where they were bound with chains and on the verge of suffocating. "Follow the protocol in place, or you will be dismissed like the man that you took over for because he let animalistic emotions take over. We will meet in my office later to further discuss what happened here."

His cold blue eyes shifted to O'Hara and Marchand, narrowing more and more with each word that was said. He half-listened to their unnecessary commentary and was tempted to roll his eyes at their threat to report what happened. Scrimgeour knew they wanted to keep their jobs, and he could replace them quite easily if they didn't.

"The situation has been handled now that I am here," the man retorted, shrugging off what they said and not at all affected by their threat. "There is no need to contact the Prophet or the Board. If you do, you can kiss Hogwarts goodbye." Especially Marchand since he was, apparently, so eager to see his daughter again. "And I will make sure to inform both of your incompetency to handle a simple situation and failure to act professionally with your colleague because you'd rather draw wands and blame each other or spew out threats at me before I even had the chance to take care of the matter, should you decide to make such a report."

With all that said, the headmaster gave each of them a look. "We are done here. Go about your business and remember your place." The man grunted, a clear sign there was nothing more to be said and that it was time they all go their separate ways.

[DaniDiNardo]

...

.....


W H A T ???? ?????? ????????? ???

All the colour drained from Jessa's face (more running up her arm by now with these burns) at the Headmaster's words. Cheek? It hadn't been cheek. She'd been very serious about what she'd said, indicating her stance that she didn't expect much to be done about the situation--which she was right about--and was resigned to such a fact. Petrov was getting a slap on the wrist and she was....getting laps........................because apparently even though he asked to the generally gathered, he wasn't at all talking to her.

At this point...this didn't entirely surprise her.

No.

This was what Hogwarts had become. She really should've known keeping her mouth shut was the only way. With an unavoidable grimace in place, brought on by both the pain and punishment for again doing as she was told--a growing trend with this man, mind you--Jessa turned, not sparing a glance at the girl who hadn't moved even after the chains were removed. At this point, she was being punished whether she did or didn't do as instructed. If that was the case, she wasn't taking anyone anywhere with her. She didn't tell her to mess with the tent. She wasn't even a student here and therefore not her concern any further. She did spare a glance at Chloe though, an apologetic look in place before starting toward the pitch. At this rate, a numbing charm may have been her best bet til she could get back to her lab and get herself properly fixed up.

[Cassirin]

Chloe didn't bother to offer an explanation, but if she expected anything to come of what was clearly a very dark and dire situation, she was disappointed. But at this point, Chloe was always disappointed at Hogwarts. For the first time in her history at that school, she wanted to just be gone. Gone home, gone back to her grandmother's, gone anywhere but here.

Jessa was dismissed, but Chloe wasn't... but since no one had even spoken to her... she rose silently to her feet and followed the Head Girl. She paused to touch Professor Gaston's arm as she passed. Apologies, sir, because as much as she wanted him to fight harder, at this point, he was the only one fighting at all.

Chloe followed after Jessa. She ought to make sure the girl didn't keel over and die from neglect.

[Aleksandur Petrov]

Alek decided, against his natural instincts, to remain calm, serene and absolutely silent. He would not respond to the comments from his colleagues or the ridiculously disrespectful Head Girl. He was a cucumber.

He looked on as they went through their tirades not caring one ounce. The only person he would respond to was the Headmaster. "Yes, Headmaster. It will never happen again." When the headmaster invited him back to his office to discuss punishment he nodded his head and replied, "Yes, sir. I will be there as soon as I set my abode right." He gave a curt nod, and turned towards his tent.

Hopefully the rest of these miscreants got the picture and would leave. ASAP.

[MadMadamMalfoy]

Gaston stood frozen in place, trembling violently with panic and rage. His hands remained at his sides, balled into fists, and the vein bulging in his temple looked darker and more prominent than ever. It was taking every bit of strength he had not to unleash the full force of his anger. First Petrov injuring his students, then Alice insulting him and throwing him under the bus to save herself - seriously, what was that?! And did she not understand the disturbing implications of her words? One of our most obedient and complacent students? Would it somehow make Petrov hexing her more excusable if she wasn't?

Scrimgeour's presence wasn't helping matters, either. There was no telling what tactics the man would use to subjugate the residents of Hogwarts next! And for all Gaston knew, he could've ordered Petrov to hex students for punishment! He waited, dreading the headmaster's reaction, but his worry turned to surprise as Scrimegeour reprimanded Petrov. He blinked dumbly. Did Scrimgeour genuinely not condone Petrov's actions or was he just pretending to save face? Was it possible the old man wasn't quite as evil as he thought? For one wild moment, Gaston half-expected Petrov to be fired, but his shocked expression quickly turned to indignation as that didn't happen. So let me get this straight, he thought. You fired Kalen Kennedy over something so innocent as tea and hot cocoa, but Petrov only gets a slap on the hand for hexing students?! Talk about misaligned priorities! Well, there went the idea of Scrimgeour not being completely evil...

The mention of animalistic emotions made Gaston scoff, but he masked it with a cough. Of course, Merlin forbid anyone freely express their emotions! He took in Scrimgeour's barrage of harsh words, unsure how to react.He wasn't at all surprised that he'd received a sterner reprimand than Petrov, but he expected the words would sting more than they did. He thought he would feel sad or frightened by Scrimgeour's disapproval, just like all the other times, but he realized he no longer gave a damn what this man thought of him! And the disapproval was mutual! As far as Gaston was concerned, Julian Scrimgeour was a bully and a hypocrite... and apparently, he was also delusional, as half the things he accused him of were complete dragon dung!

Of course he hadn't waited for Scrimgeour to handle things himself! Someone had to act in their best interest, as it was obvious the headmaster wouldn't. And so far, the only person he'd blamed was Petrov, who confessed to hexing the girls... but it wasn't completely fair to place all the blame on him. If it hadn't been for Scrimgeour, Petrov would never have been in a position to do such a thing, and if it wasn't for the BoG's knee-jerk reaction, this regime would never have existed! He rolled his eyes. "Failure to act professionally"? Um, no. Punching Petrov's lights out would be unprofessional. Subjecting him to the same spells he used on Jessa and Aretha would've been unprofessional. Taking out the full extent of his anger on the people who caused it would be unprofessional, but if defending his students from harm was unprofessional, he'd take that as a compliment.

The thought crossed Gaston's mind to point out the flaws in Scrimgeour's accusations, but decided against it. Justifying himself wasn't going to make either of them think better of each other. Instead, he laughed a cold sardonic laugh at the utter ridiculousness of the situation. What Scrimgeour didn't understand was that he already had, for all intents and purposes, kissed Hogwarts goodbye. He was on his way out, so now the threat of firing meant nothing to him. Chloe's touch on his arm momentarily jerked him out of his thoughts. He understood the meaning, and he knew what he had to do. "My place is wherever a child needs protection or comfort," he said, his tone matter-of-fact and resigned, without a hint of bite or sarcasm. "You don't have to bother firing me or vilifying me to the Board or the Prophet; I won't be your problem much longer, Headmaster." He would let the old man draw his own conclusions from that statement.

"You're right; we're done," Gaston said, meeting the look Scrimgeour gave him with one of hate and defiance. His eyes said it all: You haven't heard the last of this. Without another word, he turned on his heel, black robes billowing behind him, and walked away.