Tiara's head was in her hands and her brow was furrowed. Sigh. This was not the way she wanted to start out the year. They hadn't even made it out of the feast without a fight! Hopefully that wasn't a sign of worse things to come..

She steeled herself for what she was sure would turn into a whine-fest. Let's just get this over with.

Anastasia was here, as requested by Tiara. She wasn't planning on saying much, however, and was sitting in the corner with her chair angled toward the door. She wanted to watch EVERYONE. With her fingers steepled together in front of her lap, and quite the neutral but watchful expression on her face, she appeared ready to watch and judge indeed.

Fighting. At the feast. They should be ashamed of theirselves!

Had the boys slept at all? Because Ophelia had not. Ignoring the sandwiches in the common room and her urge to knock them over too, the blonde sulked upstairs and lay in her bed all night, tossing and turning and attempting to make heads and tails of all that had happened. But that was like throwing a Frisbee into a tornado. The results kept jumping around and it didn't seem to make any sense. It all came about so fast, from yelling to being completely out of control in what felt like a nanosecond. And she couldn't stop it. Maybe if she was stronger, or had more sense in her head she would, but the girl was five feet tall and about as sensible as a snail on a salt line.

Rubbing at the circles forming under her eyes, Ophelia walked up to the door and knocked, feeling a deep and grey pit of dread forming in her stomach. It was like a mouse walking into an Eagle's den. She thought of all of the authority figures as actual Eagles then, pecking at her with their long beaks and giving her punishments the kid wasn't sure she fully deserved. Shaking her head, the Clarke child forced the next thought into her mind. Although this one wasn't any better. The twelve year old remembered her thoughts last night, the ones that told her she would be expelled for her part or that her parents would be pulling her out of Hogwarts. The ones that promised the sleepless kid would not be able to patch things up between her and the boys, and the ones that promised swift and harsh punishment for the crime.

Pulling her curly blonde hair into a loose ponytail, the kid thought about where she currently was in the story. The method, along with the exact story line, had changed slightly, reordering events into where she thought they actually went. The goblet happened last. The punching was somewhere in the middle, and the yelling was in the front. But the rest was kind of a blur to be honest. It was an emotional time for all of them, although the asinine thought crossed her mind that she actually made it out better than the boys. At least the tiny girl wasn't bleeding. At least she wasn't punched, or smacked or whatever had happened. Or headbutted. Poor kid that got headbutted. Ophelia never got his name, but he deserved a fruit basket. A BIG one.

Next thoughts led to her wondering what her place in all of this was.

If Gregoire hadn't walked over in the first place, he wouldn't have started it. However, Ophelia completely lost it when he started talking, and Austin just plain attacked. So... it was all of their faults, she guessed. But as the night went on and her outlook on the whole thing turned more and more weary, the pale girl was stuck halfway between her fault completely, and all of their faults.

This was the first time she was ever REALLY in trouble. Sure, there was the little stuff at home, but nothing turned out to be this big. The thought of her mom slammed into her full force, and if she had any tears left, Ophelia would have been surely thumbing it away from her flushed cheeks again. However, the pale girl seemed to be all but out. Which might help. She couldn't go in crying and screaming and carrying on. They had to be adults about this and all tell their sides of the story and hope that good things happened from this.

Stepping into the room, she noticed the Headmistress and the person who stopped them from fighting. Shame fell across her face like a cloud. All of these adults now deliberating on their fate. Okay, not THAT dramatic, but it was their semi-fate. Their fate within Hogwarts? Their fate within Hogwarts. Or, if they even HAD a fate in Hogwarts after this. Despite wishing she hadn't, the second year Eagle looked up at their faces. Calm and even faces. No emotion for or against. Why didn't this make her feel any better?

Gregoire entered the Arithmancy hallway for the first time this year...and it wasn't a good reason he was entering it either. Which meant that he was definitely off to a bad start. Entering a hallway at the start of a term for a bad reason was never a good thing, it wasn't a good thing if you were entering a Professor's hallway for a bad reason even later in the year, let alone now! It was even worse if it was the Headmistresses hallway. She'd definitely be here at this meeting, no doubt. Glumly, Gregoire walked up to the door of Professor Tanner's office.

Great, on the second day of school he had to present himself in front of a Professor, the Headmistress, and, if the Headmistress was here, the Slytherin and Ravenclaw Head of Houses would be here. Not to mention that he had to present himself in a bad way. While he looked like a bloody mess too. He had a nice sized bruise on the cheek that Austin had given to him at the Start of Term Feast. Gregoire deserved it though. With that punch, Austin also managed to somehow damage the Snake's nose, and make his eye swell shut a little.

Knocking on the door three times, Gregoire waited a few before entering. With a blank expression, he walked into her office. The fourth year, dirty blonde didn't even bother to take a seat because he didn't deserve one. Gregoire decided he'd let the Head of Houses, Headmistress, and the other two, take the seats. Ashamed of what he did, Gregoire sort of just stared blankly at the ground. Managing in a hoarse voice "You wanted...to see me."

Gulp.

Someone walked in, standing, just like her. Her breath tensed, and the kid had to force herself to not look back at her old friend and older brother. Ophelia wished there was a mirror she she could see the harm that had befallen him, but the professor apparently didn't include it among decorations. One more to arrive. One more person had to arrive and then the meeting would begin. The one that would pin her as a bad guy. Another hole ripped open her gut. She never stood in an office before for reasons of shame. This was not laudable behavior. This was not the way of the Clarke family. This was not what they did. It was not who they were.

Taking a deep breath, Ophelia wanted so badly to introduce herself, or to attempt to quickly make things right with the boys. But that would be impossible, as the staff would hear every word, and the blonde was afraid everything would come slipping out. How she was afraid that her tongue would become tied into a knot of confessions about her stupid crush and about her lying. Yeah, talking wasn't going to happen right now. Unless it was to the important figures before them in order to explain her position. Clearing her throat, the second year began.

"I'm O-Ophelia C-larke. Second year. You uh, wanted to see me also?" Why was she stuttering? That was going to help nothing! What they had to do right now, at least according to her apparent mouse brain that kind of got them into this mess, was to tell the truth and then beg. Beg for their forgiveness and then put this whole mess behind them like it never happened. Lead the rest of their year like normal Hogwarts students.

And the kid would have been fully prepared to get down on her knees and the whole nine yards if there wasn't the small problem of the large boy Ophelia was refusing to talk to right now. the curly haired girl had too much pride to grovel in front of him. Then again, the pride was what broke her relationship with Austin.

The third one. Her heart must've been a deflating balloon right then. The second year would have to face him too. Face the boy that she liked and accidentally called a brother. Okay, even though the grey eyed girl was by no means hungry, she probably should have at least shoved down one sandwich. Because her stomach was tossing and turning like the washing machine at her house back home.

Not back home. She refused to add mother worry or homesickness into this. But that didn't mean it still didn't find the cracks and slowly work its way through the body. She sighed. Could they please get this over with?

The only thing Austin wanted to do right now was sleep. Which was strange, considering he hardly ever slept. But today he was just drained. He spent the whole night tossing and turning, thinking about Ophelia. He had been so stupid yesterday, to have started that fight. Especially around Ophelia, and especially because it wasn't her fault. She wasn't in the fight, nor did she cause it. Austin had been the one to start everything. He was the one who pushed first, and he was the one who punched first. Why had he been so stupid?

He knocked on the door, thinking about what to say. He wanted to apologize to Ophelia, but now wasn't the place. No. He had to do that privately. He had nothing to day to Gregoire. He was the reason everything happened. If that snake hadn't shown up, Austin wouldn't be in front of the Arithmacy professor's door about to get in trouble. It was just all a matter of what he was going to say to the professor. Thinking was harder than one would think, mainly from his throbbing head. He had a bump in the back, and his hair was a mess. He had tried to clean out the blood, but He didn't bother trying to make it look right.

When he opened the door, the first thing he saw was the back of Ophelia's head. He knew it was hers from the blonde hair. Nobody had hair that blonde. He looked away, too afraid to see her disappointed look. He had hurt her, that was for sure. He didn't know what he could do to make it up to her, or even if there was any making up. But he hoped she could forgive him, and they could move on. His heart hurt thinking about the possibility of them not being friends. It was a pain similar to what he felt at the loss of his mother. Which was something he hadn't wanted to feel again.

"Professor, please, you can't punish Ophelia, it wasn't her fault." these were the first words out of his mouth. He didn't know where They came from. But He knew that they were the right words to say. She needed to know that he didn't blame her, that she wasn't at fault. There was no way she could get in trouble. He knew all about her parents, And how there was a possibility of them pulling her out of Hogwarts. He wasn't going to let that happen.

Quickly glancing back when he heard the door open, Gregoire had noticed Austin had walked in. Well, on the bright side, the Snake didn't do to much damage to the seemingly almost fragile third year. Which was good, considering the fact that then he'd get even in more trouble than he already was about to be in. Hearing the first few words come out of his mouth Gregoire chimed in with a rough voice "I- I agree-" Gregoire coughed. Looking down at the sleeve, Gregoire noticed...

HE WAS STILL COUGHING UP BLOOD

LIKE ASDFGHJKLZXCVBNM! HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE!

Keeping his calm and steeling his nerves, Gregoire continued "-with Austin. You can't-" Another cough. Still somehow more blood. "-punish her. She did nothing. This- this was all my fault." Gregoire confessed. Hopefully he could save Austin from any serious punishment. Granted the kid did push him and punch him, but still. Gregoire deserved that to happen. If Gregoire wasn't tackled to the ground by the Claw he would've slammed into the Prefect. Then the Prefect would most likely be harmed. Even though he (Gabe) was a sixth year, the older boy still didn't look like the physical type. Though, Gregoire himself didn't look like it, he still was pretty strong.

It took a few seconds for Ophelia to actually process whatever Austin had just said. It was like a yell out of an airplane door 20,000 Kilometers into the air. Until the moment when she finally found clarity, the girl stood dumbly in the office, wondering what in the world was happening. Certain things were easily caught, like her name and the mention of not punishing, but all of the words weren't together yet. It was like putting together a puzzle that was half done. Sorry for her slowness today world, the kid didn't sleep. And by the looks of it, neither did King-Blue-Eyes. Which made the twelve year old selfishly happier. Hopefully his Majesty ate though, right? Because they were all going to need some food after this, and the Ravenclaw didn't want to see either of them in the Great Hall with her. It was a precautionary measure.

When it was all caught, it unleashed a new light into Ophelia. A more strategic light. Call this the first of MANY apologies she would have to make when this was over, but she wasn't letting herself go that easy. Because blondes, while not being any dumber than your average citizen, where now taking stock in partial insanity. Any normal person would've waited for the okay and then said 'see ya' and sprinted from the room without a backwards glance. So why did the next words tumble out of her mouth like circus performers doing their tricks? Why was she prosecuting herself to defend these two idiots? The ones who she said she hated? Whatever, because these were true words, at least to her clouded mind that wasn't sure where to put the blame anymore.

"That's not true! I had just as much part in this as they did." She was on a roll, speaking faster than normal and also with a hint of pleading in her voice, as if she was afraid someone was going to cut her off. A breath before she continued. "Gregoire came over to chat. I freaked out because I thought I was being teased and Austin just tried to help. It all escalated out of control from there, but I remember yelling at these two, knocking a water goblet to the ground and pushing one of the students." Finally, she shut up. Because the hurricane that was her mind was not at least partially satiated now that the blame was still towards her. The blonde couldn't let her boys take all of the credit blame.

And besides, who cares if she got kicked out of Hogwarts? Ophelia would never be a ministry worker like her sister Newton, or start her own Muggle company from scratch with a couple of textbooks and a dream like her brother. Ophelia was Ophelia, and what the kid did was mostly climb trees and explore the vast unknown. Austin and Gregoire had bright futures in front of them, if they could contain their temper. And that would come with time and lots of learning.

BLOOD? Why was Greggy coughing up blood? She ran over and grabbed his arm gently. He wasn't allowed to die yet! THEY STILL HAD TO SERVE DETENTION TOGETHER!

"Are you okay?" The hatred was not completely forgetten, and it was strange that this was the first time she had acknowledged him since last night, but gross!blood trumped her petty little grudge. He kind of needed to be okay, because Gregoire was like her ACTUAL older brother and not the fake kind of brother like she pretended Austin was! And Austin, who was trying to protect her! These might be the best men in the universe, or maybe the world. It was kind of hard to tell when you were twelve and your universe consisted of a small section of England, a small section in France and the wizarding world. There could be cooler men out there, but the blonde would never know. Because she'd be focused on her obviously hurt munchkins. The ones who were both way taller, way older, and needed her right now.

"I'm going to walk you to the chair, okay? You need to sit, and go see the Healer again. Something went wrong." Don't fight with her on this PLEASE. They were just beginning to talk again, and if he fought it and got hurt, there would be only one cool boy. And while one was better than zero, it was worse than two.

And she wasn't a medical expert here, actually far from it if she was honest, but something had to be seriously wrong if it meant him coughing up blood, right? Would this warrant leaving the office? Stop the argument. Sure, more time for 'Ophie to be a moper, but better he get medical treatment than they sit and listen and he dies from blood loss. Or gets any of his nasty blood on her. Gross.

Leo knocked on the office door twice to alert its owner of his arrival, before he pushed opened the door and headed inside. A silent surveying glance around the room told him that all invited parties except Cecelia had made it to the meeting.

Gaze shifting to the women present in the room he flashed them both nods in turn. "Headmistress Truebridge, Professor Tanner!" he said quietly before he moved to stand to the side.

His eyes went around the room before stopped on the squabbling trio. Hopefully this was not a prediction of what the year had in store or Leo would have to attend many meetings involving this eagle duo.

This was not how Cecelia wanted to start the term. She had come back in such a good mood this year, and now, well that good mood was just gone. She really hoped that after this fiasco got straightened out she would be able to once again find that happy place she had been in not even twenty-four hours ago.

Stepping up to Professor Tanner's office she knocked before letting herself in. No need in waiting for the woman to answer right? After all, she had been invited to this little meeting.

Looking around the room she greeted the headmistress and the professors that were already there. No greetings for the students though, who appeared to already be arguing about something. Cece shook her head at the bunch. "Am I late?" She asked looking at Professor Tanner. Because to her it looked like they were starting the meeting without her.

Great. This meeting was for a second years, a third year, and a fourth year, all of whom were acting as though they had never attended Hogwarts before this term. The Headmistress was already starting to see this meeting as a waste of her time, just from watching how the three entered the room and started arguing with each other. Blibbering humdingers, the lot of 'em. She did not envy Leobald for having to deal with them, though the librarian received a cool nod of greeting when he came in.

"No, we haven't started yet," Anastasia responded to Cece first, flicking her wand into her hand and creating a few uncomfortable folding chairs for the students. "Have a seat, all of you, NOW." She was no longer passively watching these children, since it seemed none of them had learned to hold their tongues overnight, and was going into Boss Mode until Tanner called the meeting to order.

"You," she pointed her wand at the second year girl, realized she was using it as a pointer, and put it back in its wrist holster. "Get away from the Slytherin. Fortunately for him, his Head of House is also a Healer." And Cece would be dealing with him shortly, she was sure. "Stop talking, all three of you, until you are asked INDIVIDUALLY to speak. We are all VERY disappointed in ALL of you." Annie's icy eyes seemed to freeze the children in place before she looked back to the Arithmancy professor. Your turn, Tiara.

Excellent, Anastasia had arrived. Tiara nodded somewhat forlornly to the two chairs, silent in her gloom. Hopefully Murdoch and Leobald would arrived soon as well. But no, students were the first to enter. "Have a seat, Miss Clarke," she said, gesturing to the other one left. Next to arrive was the Slytherin, Gregoire Bastion was his name, as she had learned last night. "Indeed I did, please sit." And then finally the third, a Ravenclaw again. She raised her hand in a stopping motion. "Thank you, Mister Moore, that will be enough. You too, Mister Bastion."

The blood was concerning, but not altogether surprising. "Thank you, Miss Clarke. Healer Murdoch should be here any second." A knock on the door did not prove to be her, however, but Leobald. "Welcome," was all she said in acknowledgement of his presence. Then Cecelia arrived, and no, she wasn't late.

Tiara appreciated her boss's attitude in this case; it was her own disappointment embodied. "Thank you, Headmistress, I quite agree." She turned to Cecelia. "Your student is coughing up blood, which I can only assume is not good. If you wish to attend to him, I will start with my own charges first."

She looked directly at Austin. "I don't want any excuses or trying to vouch for others. All I want is your account of last night." What had happened and by whom?

Austin actually agreed with the Headmistress. He was disappointed in his actions. But somehow he felt that agreeing with her was probably the wrong thing to do. His actions were probably going to cause them house points, which was not something he wanted. But Slytherin was already down 30 points (he saw on his way up to the dorm last night) and any more points would make them further from the lead. Which was okay by Austin.

What had happened last night? He remembered all until his head hit the ground. But trying to make something up for that point was also something that he felt was wrong also. So he decided to tell the truth, hoping it would get Ophie out of trouble at least. "I was happy minding my own business, waiting for Ophelia," He began, nodding at the second year. He was trying his hardest to keep a calm voice. "When she got to the table, the Slytherin followed." Another nod towards the Snake. "He started making accusations and telling lies and being loud. The Prefect told him to keep it down, and when he didn't, the prefect tried using a spell on him. Which made him angry, and he charged at Gabe." That was the prefect's name, wasn't it? Anyways... "To try to stop him I took him down, and then continued to punch him." For being the little snake he was. Although he decided best to leave that part out. "And the last thing I remember was him being on top of me and my head hitting the ground."

It was the truth, and he hoped they could see that. After recounting the events of last night, he realized how stupid he sounded. Merlin's beard it was embarrassing. His mother could probably see what happened at the feast, and she was definitely disappointed. Just add her to a list of people. Speaking of people who were disappointed in him, Austin took another glance at Ophelia as he sat down in one of the suddenly appearing chairs. Her eyes had bags under them, which could only mean a lack of sleep. Why did that make him so sad? Seeing that she hadn't gotten any sleep? He wanted to hold her and give her a sleeping draught or something that would get her to sleep. That's what older brothers did right? That's what he did for his younger sister when she couldn't sleep (minus the sleeping draught, of course).

He knew Ophie would tell the truth. But would the Snake?

Tiara nodded slightly as Austin began his recitation. She had figured it had gone something along those lines. After all, it was Gregoire who was 'out of place' in the scene, so he had initiated the confrontation. At the mention of Gabe she nodded once more and said, "Continue," indicating the boy had gotten the name correct. So.. that explained why Austin had charged the Slytherin. "Please make sure you notify Healer Murdoch immediately if you notice some change in your behavior or well being from hitting your head."

Okay, next up. "Miss Clarke, your version, please."

Okay, so the meeting hadn't started yet which meant Cece wasn't late.

O___O

Was the headmistress talking to all of them like that? Cece didn't know about Professor Kitridge, but she did not feel like sitting right now. Besides she obviously needed to tend to Gregoire and his bleeding. Or maybe she would just do it after the meeting since it seems the meeting was starting now. Grabbing a few tissues she handed them to the boy. And then Professor Tanner stated the obvious. "He will be fine for now. I will take a closer look at him after this meeting." She would just keep a close eye on him in case he really started to show signs of distress.

Still standing, she listened to the story Austin told about what happened the night before. She was not at all impressed by what she was hearing. So far what she gathered was the eagles were the first to get physical in this situation. Yeah, way to be the smart ones in the bunch.

NOT.

Cece looked over at Gregoire with a look reminding him not to speak out of turn. Let those not so smart eagles hang themselves here. As for Austin's head injury, she doubted he would have any problems. He seemed to be doing fine right now. Then again, maybe he got some of his smarts knocked out of him.

Now to see if the next eagle was any smarter than the first one.

Leo remained standing to the side and listened silently but attentively to his eagle Austin when he gave his recant of what had transpired at the feast the night before. He was very disappointed that the boy had concluded that punching someone repeatedly was the only way he could make his peer stop teasing his friend.

This made Leo uneasy and troubled, his eagles were supposed to use their wits and smartness to solve situations not use their fists as lions would do. He didn't need to glance over at Cece to guess what she was thinking. His eyes turned to Ophelia as she was called on to give her version. Had she used her smartness?

Tiara had made a good choice in having the Eagle boy go first. His version seemed pretty straight and to the point, without a lot of pauses or shifty looking around (which usually indicated that the student was lying).

She looked to the girl next, her expression having again returned to one of neutrality, with just her slightly-narrowed eyes indicating displeasure with these three.

Ophelia hesitated for a second, looking up into Gregoire's face with some uncertainty before letting go and doing as she was instructed. Even though coughing up blood was a NOT OKAY situation, there was no way the twelve year old was going to push anything further and disobey now. They were already in trouble, and the kid wasn't going to make this worse. It didn't help that the Headmistress had used her wand as a pointer directly at Ophelia either. The first time the blonde had ever seen wands used in anger was during last nights fight. It was still terrifying to see one being pointed at another human being.

Icy stares. The ultimate weapon against younger siblings and apparently the ultimate weapon against squabbling students. Because the blonde was afraid to move. If the Headmistress was a lion, Ophelia Marie Clarke was a terrified zoo zebra in its cage. It was weirdly different getting a look like that from an adult in authority, rather than your elder sibling who thinks they own the world. It brought more shame upon her, and made the kid bite her lip.

Listening to Austin regale the fight again was strange. How did he REMEMBER all of that. After thinking about it all night, the youngest of the three could only pick out important details and then recite those over and over again. But he remembered the prefects name and everything! But it was her turn to talk, and there was obviously a choice here. She could hang everyone else --as Ophelia didn't engage in the punching or kicking or spell casting-- or lump herself in with the two injured boys and tell the things she knew she did wrong in the situation. Taking a deep breath, the small girl began.

"Austin and I were sitting at the feast talking and Gregoire comes up and starts doing that kind of teasing where it's lighthearted but also slightly mean because me and him know each other and I get really upset because he was saying that Austin and I should go out and that we totally have a crush on each other and Austin saw that I wasn't comfortable and he and Gregoire started SCREAMING at each other and meanwhile I'm yelling for them to stop but it's not working and then I push Austin back a bit so they're not so close because they look like they were about to punch each other and then next thing ya know they're fighting and people are casting spells all around and I sassed a prefect and broke a water goblet and said a lot of things I don't mean." Her mouth was a motor, and once she started, Ophelia couldn't stop. No breaks, no pauses and no breaths. It was the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Taking a few deep breaths, she looked at the ground to avoid looking at her two favorite people that she kind of just turned in. Of course, she mentioned the faults she had in this argument, but thinking about it again, it was really confusing why the kid was even in here. All she did was sass a prefect because she was trying something that wasn't going to look --her payback was a glance, so that was quite uneventful-- and possibly break something from Hogwarts. Much worse things could've happened to the kid, and the fact that she didn't made her feel slightly more confident about her position. Except for the fact that the blonde literally just incriminated her brother and her crush. playing with her curly hair, the girl kept her eye on the carpet.

Also, did Austin get the part about saying things you didn't mean? Because that was mostly to him, but also to Gregoire. Yeah, she still hated him, but not because he was teasing her or being annoying. She hated that he got himself into this mess in the first place. And yes, there was some hate for the both of them, but Ophelia didn't want to go out with Gregoire --ewww-- and so there was more for him than Austin. Sorry man. Thems the rules. However, her grey-blue eyes looked carefully at Austin's legs and then not dared to go up any more before carefully making their way back to the floor. Nope, she refused to look at anyone right now.

So Cecelia thought Gregoire was fine. Obviously the Healer knew more about the body than she did herself, because Tiara would have thought that to be a very bad sign. This was why they had someone dedicated solely to the health of the students.

Wow, once the girl opened her mouth she didn't come up for air until she was done. It was probably the world's longest run-on sentence. But at least things were finally coming into focus. Why is it always about crushes and love with teens? She should have known, really. Ophelia and Austin were very close.

"Last but not least, Mister Bastion, please."

Spitting some blood into the tissues that his Head of House, Healer Murdoch, gave him, Gregoire listened as the two Ravenclaws explained the story. Both of them were correct in their own seperate ways. Some were just missing details that were at least semi-important to the story. Coughing once before starting, Gregoire began to explain very blandly "It started when Ophelia had entered into the Great Hall. Over the summer she had..." Hmmm, how could he put it without just flat out saying 'she had a crush on Austin'

Pausing at least a second or two to think about it, Gregoire had thought of a way to say it "...told me a few interesting stories between the two of them. So I-" Cough, cough...seriously cough!? You couldn't have waited until he finished the story! "-went over to her. Then I tried to get them together in a relationship, but the both of them were saying that they didn't like each other in that way. They kept saying they were like a brother and sister." That's right, if Gregoire was going to tell the story, he was going to reopen a few wounds and poor some salt inside of them.

Continuing on, Gregoire told them "A few seconds after Austin and I started to yell at each other, the male Ravenclaw prefect..." What was his name again? "Gabe?" Something like that. Anyways, "Told me to please tone it down, or to just go back to my table. I decided to do the wrong thing, and to not listen to him. Austin and I started to yell at each other again, but the Prefect tried to then silence me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him pull out his wand and try to cast something on me. The first time, it didn't hit because I quickly reacted by drawing my wand in a way that I could cast 'Protego' just by pulling it out." To demonstrate, he didn't actually take out his wand, but he made the motion of him pulling out his wand, and using the upward parrying motion to cast the spell in that one movement.

"What the boy did afterwards then, he cast Silencio at me a second time, but he did so quietly so I couldn't hear him. Right as I was about to hit Austin while screaming at him, I noticed that no noise was coming out. Looking around, I saw that the Prefect was the only one with his wand out other than me at the moment." He took a moment to breathe, and use another tissue to wipe the blood that was slowly making it's way down from the corner of his mouth. "In that moment, my anger was then all focused at Gabe for then silencing me. I tried to charge him, but if it wasn't for Austin tackling me, I would've probably made my mark against the Prefect. On the ground, Austin then made contact with my cheek using his fist." Gregoire stated, pointing at the bruise on his cheek.

Cough, cough. Again, with the coughs! This was getting annoying! Grrrr. Shrugging it off, the Slytherin went on "I managed to get out from under him, and then get on top of him so that way it was now the other way around. Before I could punch him, someone from a now drawn crowd stopped me by casting the 'Immobulus' spell. Another person had hit Austin with the same spell. So in that moment, the both of us were frozen." Deep breath. Who knew talking this much could take so much oxygen out of someone? "That's when, my own house Prefect, Beverly, walked over. After her grabbing my arm, so I couldn't hit anyone else, she cast Finite. I then got up off Austin which is when Professor Tanner came over."

Now, all of them ended up here, in her office. Well, that was all of the story. Which was the truth, the sadly harmful truth. It stung Gregoire as much as it probably did Austin to tell the story. Especially when it came to the spots where he needed to take responsibility and tell the truth. The sad, cold hard, truth.

This was getting to be a lot to remember. Ophelia and Gregoire had not taken to heart her request to Austin to keep it short and simple. But it turned out more than one person had pulled a wand. That was sure to escalate a fight quickly.

"As I'm sure you are all very well aware, the best way to resolve a conflict is through calm communication, and if needed, bringing in an adult to help mediate. It should also go without saying that coming to fisticuffs is absolutely 100% unacceptable at Hogwarts, as well as outside of it." She was staring down each of them in turn, her face all seriousness, but now she focused on Ophelia.

"Miss Clarke, your attempt to hold back Mister Moore was well-intentioned, and for that I thank you." That was surely not what the girl was expecting to hear. "However, by your own account, you were rude to a Prefect, an authority figure, and managed to knock things over, making a mess for the house elves to deal with." The elves already had enough to clean after a giant feast. "You will apologize to both parties and notify me when you have done so. Also, I will be taking five points from Ravenclaw. Am I understood?" It turned out she hadn't been too involved in the physical fighting, so her punishment was light.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the gentlemen. "Mister Bastion, even if you started out with good intentions for the others' happiness, you should have plenty of social smarts to be able to see the extreme discomfort you were causing! Additionally, you showed no respect for our Prefect system, which is in place exactly for occasions such as these." Anger was bubbling forth in Tiara's brain, and she took a quick pause to keep it in check before turning to Austin. "Mister Moore, even if you started out with good intentions for others' safety," was there an echo in here? "that never gives you license to get involved in a physical altercation! The wise thing to do would have been to seek an adult authority figure, as one of your own housemates did."

She sighed deeply. "The two of you need to settle your differences in a civilized manner. So first, I am requiring you to apologize to each other." Right here, right now. And they had better mean it.

Leo remained silent as Tiara started to assign the trio's punishments. He thought that the punishment that Ophelia got was reasonable. She hadn't been involved in the actual fist fighting and thus her punishment was naturally lighter than the boys’.

He fixed his gaze on Austin and Gregroire as Tiara rounded on them. Could the boy's be civilized to each other and give sincere apologies? That was the question, Leo hoped so, but he would not be surprised if one of them protested.

Austin listened as Ophelia and Gregoire told their stories. The loud bang he remembered hearing turned out to be Ophie knocking a goblet over. But he was glad that the others decided to tell the truth. He knew it must have hurt The Blonde Queen to tell the professor she had wronged, but Austin was proud of her for doing so. He was just happy there wouldn't have to be any more complications. At least, that's what he hoped happened.

...Said a lot of things I didn't mean. These words, spoken by Ophie rang through his head, and stuck with him through the rest of the conversation. Was she talking about him? Was she talking about the fact that she called him a brother? The blue eyed boy hoped and prayed to Merlin that this was the truth. It was strange, but being called a brother hurt. He was an older brother to Lucille. Not to Ophelia. He would, if that's what it took to be her friend, but that's not what he wanted. He wanted to be more than that... But he wasn't sure why. Why he felt this way, or why he wanted to be close to her. Why he always wanted to comfort her when she was sad, and why he wanted to hide his depressing ways from her. Maybe it was her smile. She had a gorgeous smile that always seemed to brighten up his day. Or maybe it was because he had now seen what it was like when she was on the verge of tears, and it was not something he wanted to see again.

Austin's mind drifted back to the conversation at hand when Professor Tanner started dealing out punishments. He let out a small sigh of relief when Ophelia had gotten away with something so small. Some apologies and house points? That wasn't that big of a deal. But since he knew better than to think Gregoire and himself got similar punishments, he awaited further instructions from the Professor.

...the wise thing to do. These words also rang inside his head. The 'wise' thing? Why did it seem that everything revolving around Ravenclaw had to do with those words? It was like they were pinned on him. He had to be wise and smart, but what if he wasn't? No. He was in Ravenclaw for a reason, and that definitely meant it was because he was smart. Austin took a mental notice to make sure to do things wisely from now on. To represent his house.

And now was a good time to test that. Apologize? To this Snake?! It wasn't Austin's fault they were in trouble. He started it. But the third year found that it was probably best not to say that, for he could get everyone in further trouble. And although he had never visited the dungeons, he was sure not going to start today. He turned, shot an apologetic look at Ophelia, and finally looked at the Slytherin. It took everything he had not to yell at him. "Gregoire," he began. "I'm sorry for punching you in the face, and making you bleed, and yelling at you. And for ruining your feast." He tried to sound as sincere as possible. But with that last sentence, Austin glance back at Ophelia, hoping she would know that last part was for her too. He didn't mean to ruin everything. He didn't walk in and think 'hey, let's punch a Slytherin today'. No, he just wanted the feast to be over with as soon as possible, so he could go and curl in a ball in his bed. Some year this is turning out to be.

Well this was something. It looked like Tanner was handling things well, with her word choice of 'fisticuffs' and everything. Hehe. Anastasia had half a mind to slip out now, if she weren't going to miss the punishments. Those were the best part, as were forced apologies like the one she was hearing right now.

She turned her blue eyes on the Slytherin to see if he could do better. He was the one most in need of forgiveness, after all.