Heath kept his eyes toward the front of the room, waiting, watching. No, not watching that, more watching what Holden’s reaction would be. For one fleeting moment, he thought the professor was going to let it slide. The man was still fairly new here after all, maybe too new to see what an instigator that was, but he was not disappointed. As he watched that exchange unfold, Heath’s respect for Professor Holden shot up tenfold. There was something satisfying about seeing Professor Holden challenge that, though he doubted the words or the essay would have any effect.

He tried to refocus his thoughts as Holden asked more questions. He silently stared at the paintings at the front, lost in thought for several moments. One of those questions was easy; the other not so much. After some careful consideration, he raised his hand and said, “There’s no doubt in my mind that Bellatrix would’ve turned on Narcissa. Based on everything we know of her, family ties took a backseat to her cause. She made no effort to help her brother-in-law escape the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, nor did she stand up for her family when Voldemort humiliated them while living at Malfoy Manor. While she did help her nephew when he was recruited, it seems clear that her motives were furthering the cause, not actual concern for his well-being. She killed her own cousin who opposed her, and if I’m not mistaken, she killed her niece in the Battle of Hogwarts as well. Given all this, I don’t think it’s a stretch that she would’ve killed Narcissa too.”

He paused to take a breath before addressing the other part of the question. “The other question is a bit harder to predict. Of the two, I think Andromeda would’ve been more likely to forgive Narcissa and Regulus had she known of their… defection.” He still couldn’t bring himself to call it a betrayal! “Given her marriage to a muggleborn, the way her daughter turned out, and the fact that Sirius considered her his only “true” family, I think we can safely say that Andromeda was a compassionate person. Though she wouldn’t have condoned their choices, I think she would have understood why they made them, and she would’ve been proud of them for defecting, possibly enough to give them a second chance.”

Heath paused again, choosing his next words carefully. “Sirius, on the other hand, lacked Andromeda’s degree of compassion -” He didn’t say that he had no compassion at all, just less than Andromeda. “- as evidenced by the way he mocked Severus Snape even into their adult years, the way he treated the family house elf, and the contempt he had for other members of his family. Given this, I doubt he would’ve believed that Narcissa and Regulus would defect, let alone offer any forgiveness or reconciliation.”

Did he really say all that?! That was probably the most he’d ever talked in a class! He blinked in a daze. Professor Holden did say to present facts to support their claim, so he did. Yeah, he was just gonna… not say anything else for a while. He stared at the desk in front of him, allowing his hair to fall forward and hide the blush rising to his face.