Chapter Two:
"He wouldn't let me-"
"She was-"
"And then he-"
"Silence!" Headmistress McGonnagal yelled. "I want to know what happened without anymore of this...ignorance! One at a time. Ms. Gremond, you will go first," the Headmistress nodded towards the flustered Ravenclaw.
"Why does she get to go first?" Damon whined.
"Mr. Jokovich, if you can't keep your mouth shut and wait until I tell you to speak, I will send you directly to Filch's office and have him decide your punishment for me!" she announced sternly.
Damon closed his mouth and stared at the floor, obviously defeated. Vi glanced over at the Slytherin before beginning.
"I was heading back to the castle from Herbology when that git-"
"Ms. Gremond, you will refer to him as Mr. Jokovich and nothing more, is that understood?" McGonnagal lectured.
Vi nodded and continued. "When Mr. Jokovich," she bit off his name venomously, "ran up to me and started bugging me."
"Please clarify what you mean by 'bugging,' Ms. Gremond."
"He...he started teasing me, saying I wasn't smart enough to be in Ravenclaw, and he knew Hufflepuffs that deserved my House more than I do," Vi said. It sounded stupid when she told the story. It really was childish, wasn't it?
"Continue," the Headmistress demanded simply.
Vi fidgeted. "Then, I told him he definitely belonged in Slytherin, because he is a slimy, worthless little-"
"I am not!" Damon argued.
"I will not tolerate this once more. I will send you both to Filch if you can't be civil in my office. Ms. Gremond, please recall the events without insulting your classmate."
Vi shot Damon a threatening look before turning back to the Headmistress. "Anyways, we insulted each other back and forth. I told him to bug- err...to leave me alone. He wouldn't though, and he blocked my way when I tried to move past him. We started insulting each other again, and one thing he said really got under my skin. I hit him in the nose, and I can only recall being dragged to your office by Professor Hamming after that," she finished.
McGonnagal turned to the boy, whose nose was clearly broken and swollen twice its normal size despite the spells she and Professor Hamming had performed on it.
"Now, Mr. Jokovich, you may speak," she granted.
Damon returned the dirty look to Vi as he told his side. "I was walking back from the Quidditch Pitch after practice, when she came up and started calling me names."
"That's a lie!" Vi shouted, her blood boiling at the audacity of the Slytherin.
The Headmistress shot her a warning look before turning back to Damon. "Go on," she said, folding her hands and sitting them on top of the well-polished desk.
"She insulted my friends and then my family. When I tried to leave, she threatened to use the body-binding hex on me, levitate me to the lake, and let me drown," he lied with a straight face.
McGonnagal sat up and raised her eyebrows. "What did you do, Mr. Jokovich?"
Damon fought to withhold his smirk. He had her going. "I told her I would report her to you, Headmistress, if she didn't stop harassing me. Instead of leaving, she punched me in the noise and went for her wand. To stop her, I hit her in the stomach. It was only in self-defense, Headmistress. I would never hurt a girl unless it was to protect myself." Damon's face had the look of complete innocence, and Vi swore she really was going to drown him.
After thinking over the situation, the Headmistress spoke carefully. "Are you sure that's what happened, Mr. Jokovich? Because that is a very serious claim."
Damon's eyes didn't leave McGonnagal's, nor did his face waver. "I swear, Headmistress. That's what happened."
Vi snorted and leaned on her elbow, somehow finding amusement in the actions of her enemy.
Headmistress McGonnagal turned to the other student. "What is so funny to you, Ms. Gremond?"
Vi sat up and looked the Headmistress dead in the eye. "Because his little charade makes him look a complete and utter fool," she said with a hint of laughter in her voice.
Damon went to reach for his wand, but he was suddenly incapable of moving his body. "Mr. Jokovich, I will not tolerate this is my school. I do not know which of you is telling the truth, but I will most definitely find out! When I do, there will be dire consequences for the one who lied. As for now, you will both find yourself on cleaning duty in the Dungeons. Professor Hamming has offered to supervise. Don't think you can sneak off just because you're in the Dungeons, Mr. Jokovich, and don't expect to get off easy with you Head of House, Ms. Gremond. You're both banned from Hogsmeade trips until further notice, and Mr. Jokovich will not be playing in the match against Hufflepuff next Saturday."
"What? You can't-"
"Yes, I can, Mr. Jokovich. If anything else occurs, you will be banned from playing for the rest of the year. If I see either of you in this office again except I call for you, I will see to it that you're expelled from Hogwarts permanently." Her tone was as serious as serious could get. Vi shuddered and Damon grimaced. This was going to be quite interesting.
