Chailynn was miserable. She kept her head on her feet as they followed Professor McGonagall through the many corridors to her office on the first floor. Her office was very cozy, in Chailynn's opinion; having a large fireplace and several bookshelves. Lila and Adrien were there already, seated in very stiff wooden sat with her arms crossed, looking absoluetely livid. Adrien, however, looked slightly dazed. McGonagall shut the door with a snap, shutting the man and his cat outside. The expression on her face would have withered plants.
"Mr. Filch found these Ms. Garrot and Mr. Pucy in the courtyard, trying to gather up their things." she began, waving her hand at the two Slytherins. Lila gave Chailynn a venomous glare. Fred opened his mouth, but one look from McGonagall and he shut it.
"Now, Ms. Garrot has informed me that you tackled her. Is that true, Ms. Longfeather?"
Chailynn's mouth was dry, she kept her eyes low as she spoke.
"It was an accident." she mumbled, wringing her hands. "I didn't see her until it was too late. I said I was sorry."
"She called Scarlet a 'disgusting half-breed'!" Fred hissed, unable to remain silent.
"And he pulled his wand on us!" George added, pointing at Adrien.
"Silence!" McGonagall slapped her hand on the desk, making everyone jump. "Be that as it may, I will not tolerate fighting from any House; especially not my own. Now, for the behavior of the four of you I will be removing ten points from each House involved. There is no tolerance for bullying and name-calling. Is that clear, Ms. Garrot?"
Lila turned her head, mumbling her assent. Chailynn was upset; she felt as though this was injustice. –I didn't do anything but fall over! I even apologized, after she called me..!- Chailynn stopped mid-thought. –Maybe I could've tried harder to stop the fighting. It was only between me and Lila, after all.-
"For raising your wand against another student, Mr. Pucey, I am giving you detention, this Saturday. Slytherins, you are dismissed." Professor McGonagall waved them out. Lila's glare did not cease until they had shut the door. She turned her stern gaze on Chailynn, and it softened.
"Now, Ms. Longfeather, I am very sorry you are having such troubles. I cannot imagine what your situation must be like. If you continue to have problems with bullies, my door is always open. As is Professor Flitwick's." she said, motioning for her to sit. Chailynn felt tears brewing, but held them back and sat.
"Now, which of you is the one who cast the spell?" she asked, turning to the boys. Fred raised his hand.
"I will award you ten points, for such an excellent display of courage." Fred and George's jaws dropped. Chailynn looked at her in surprise. McGonagall was smiling, her eyes seemed a little lighter.
"Ma'am?" Fred asked, looking at her strangely.
"Of course I cannot ignore the fact you were all skipping class, no matter the circumstance." she continued. "I'm afraid I will have to give you all detention on Saturday as well."
The boys groaned, slumping their shoulders. Chailynn was trembling; she could hardly believe it. Second day at Hogwarts, and she had already lost ten House points and gotten detention. –What is Mum going to say?- she wailed inwardly.
"Now, I dare say you all should join your peers for lunch." McGonagall said. The door to her office swung open. They shuffled out.
"Sorry Scarlet." Fred said upon seeing her face. Chailynn was silent, looking away from them.
"We didn't mean for you to get in so much trouble." George put in. She stopped walking. The boys looked at her nervously.
"You alright, Scarlet?"
"I'm sorry I got you in trouble." she said, trying to smile. "You didn't have to stand up for me."
"Are you daft?" said George, smiling a little.
"We did that because you're our friend. Best friend. We would do anything for you, Scarlet." Fred declared, knocking her on the head. "Now stop with the waterworks and let's get some food. I'm starving."
He took her hand, pulling her along towards the Great Hall. Chailynn smiled, tears vanishing. But she couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety had never gotten in trouble at school before; the idea of detention was nerve-wracking. They entered the Great Hall to a good deal of whispers as other students made space. The boys ignored them, striding straight to the Gryffindor table. Chailynn followed, trying not to look at her own table.
"Hey, there's my favorite girl!" said Charlie cheerfully, putting down his sandwhich to give Chailynn a one-armed hug. "How's the first day of class going for you lot?"
"Where's our hug, Charlie?" asked Fred, while George put on a very hurt expression. Charlie laughed, ruffling their hair. The boys sat down, pulling food towards their plates. Chailynn looked to Fred, he winked at her and shook his head.
"I really like Professor Hollingberry." she said, shrugging, "his way of teaching is very interesting."
"To say the least. You should have seen him with all of his hair." Charlie said. "Though he's always had some sort of injury. I wonder what he does?"
"I heard that he experiments with magic." said a girl, leaning from further down the table. "Creates his own spells."
"That's ridiculous. Professor Dumbledore would never allow such dangerous activities on school grounds." said Percy very matter-of-factly, seating himself across from Charlie. He eyed Chailynn disapprovingly for a moment, but did not say anything to her. Instead he began to help himself to some bangers and mash.
"I think Dumbledore enjoys chaos."Charlie retorted, smirking. Chailynn grinned. Percy was the only snippety one in the whole Weasley family; even Mrs. Weasley couldn't out-fuss him. Percy sniffed, pulling out a book. From the corner of her eye Chailynn saw Lucy approaching.
"Chailynn, there you are!" she said, beaming at her. Chailynn saw Fred and George look over suspiciously.
"Hello, Lucy." she mumbled.
"You should be over with us at Ravenclaw table. I want to ask you about your day." she said, playing with Chailynn's hair. "Besides, I think Thomas misses you."
"Chailynn was actually just telling us about how much she likes Professor Hollingberry." Charlie cut in. "Why don't you join us Lucy?"
Lucy blinked,turning a little red. Chailynn saw her face go through a quick mix of emotions. The twins snickered from behind Charlie, and Lucy straightened her ponytail, smiling.
"I'd rather not interrupt. See you at dinner, Chailynn."
They watched her sashay back to her seat. Chailynn noticed Thomas was watching, though he was trying not to show it. Another boy laughed, shaking his head.
"Charlie, leave the poor girl alone, will you? Lucy's had it bad for you since second year." he said, taking a drink. Charlie shrugged, and Chailynn glanced at him, then back at Lucy. Her blush had deepened, and a few of her friends were giggling and looking their way. She turned back, looking at her friends. Fred and George were having an animated discussion with Lee Jordan, presumably about their recent adventure. Percy was deep within his book, occasionally missing his mouth with the fork. Charlie saw her looking around, and winked at her.
"You alright there Chailynn?" he asked. She nodded.
"Just watching."
"Ah, I see. What do you see?"
"Well…"Chailynn looked around again, focusing more. She felt if she wanted to, she could count each freckle on George's face, and perhaps each color in Percy's eyes. Chailynn looked further away, back at Lucy and Thomas. She suddenly could differentiate each shade of brown and blonde in Thomas' hair, and where Lucy's blush ended and began. She looked back at Charlie, her eyes wide.
"I see everything."
"I knew it! I knew there had to be more to you than that!" he exclaimed excitedly. Hastily, Charlie pulled out parchment, ink and quill. "Tell me, what all is 'everything'?"
A little bewildered, Chailynn told him all of the things she noticed, and not just from that moment. She told him about how she could hear people speaking just under a whisper, or when someone tripped and fell in the corridor outside the Great Hall. Charlie wrote everything down, a huge grin plastered on his face. She felt herself getting a little excited just from speaking to him. When she finished, Chailynn discovered she had drawn quite a crowd.
"Blimey, Chailynn. That's incredible." said George, running a hand through his hair. Lee Jordan's eyes were as wide as saucers. Percy had even surfaced from his book, having tried very hard to not pay attention while she had started speaking. Charlie grabbed her shoulders.
"This is wonderful! It's like getting to speak to a dragon firsthand!" he cheered, shaking her. Chailynn's face fell.
"Like speaking to a…dragon." she repeated, more to herself than to anyone else. Charlie realized his mistake too late.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean—" he said. She stood up, cutting him off.
"It's alright." she said, her eyes bright with tears. "Lunch is over, isn't it? I've got to get to Herbology. See you."
Chailynn dashed from the Great Hall, schoolbag flopping against her back. She shoved the enormous doors open, running until she had reached the greenhouses. Chailynn cried outright, sobbing into her hands. –Not even they see me. They see a monster like everyone else.- she thought, sinking to the ground. She hugged her knees, putting her face in her arms.