The Problem With Pansy
After Dumbledore's warning, Anna didn't dare try to sneak out the following Thursday.
She stared out the window of the tower mournfully, watching for a while to see if Aurora would appear. But she did not, so with a sigh, Anna returned to bed, and began to read the book Dumbledore had given her by wand light. 'Nature's Unique Magical Species ~ A Complete Guide; from Werewolves to Unicorns' turned out to be a fascinating book, and Anna was up reading it for as long as she would have been in the forest with the real creatures. She learned much about the history of unicorns, and when Perseus should be turning silver, growing his horn, and all that. She skipped over the other species, but even so, she didn't get to sleep until two o'clock in the morning.
She was able to stay awake in potions again, though she spent most of the time daydreaming about unicorns, writing down the amount of billywig stings for a soaring solution incorrectly. Luckily, Padma checked over her notes after class, and corrected her. The Ravenclaw girls were all quite eager to look out for one another in each one's worst subject, and Potions was definitely Anna's.
On Saturday Anna received a thank you from Linnea, which made her smile. "Dear Anna," it said, "Thank you so much for the Christmas gift… I can't believe you still remember me. I hope you're doing well at school, and learning lots. Sending letters by owl – it must be marvelous! I didn't know whether or not to let it in when it tapped on my window, but then I saw the parcel, and I'm so glad I did. Merry Christmas, and God Bless… Linnea Grey" She wondered how Linnea was really doing though – she made no mention of the Snydley-Pinkenweilers.
She was musing over her friends letter under the desk in potions, when Pansy waltzed by, on the way to drop the roots she had been cutting in the dustbin. "Haven't fallen asleep again, have you Moon? Decided you don't want to help Hagrid after all? What a pity, you'd make a better groundskeeper than a witch," she hissed as she passed the Ravenclaw's table.
At this, Lisa spoke up, her cheeks tinged with red. "Just because Draco hasn't bothered to look your way all year is no reason to try to make other peoples lives as miserable as your own, Pansy."
She had obviously hit a sore spot. For a moment, Pansy blanched, but then her piggy little eyes narrowed, and a wicked smirk came over her pug-face.
"What were you saying to me, little orphan girl? I heard all about your dead mummy, you know, half-blood," she hissed.
At this, Anna turned to Lisa, who was suddenly as white as a sheet. Lisa had never mentioned her mother, and Anna had never bothered to ask. It was a rather uncomfortable subject to bring up, and Anna knew what it was like, not wanting to think about one's absent parents. But was Pansy right? From the shocked look on Lisa's face, Anna didn't doubt that she was. But where had she heard? Her parents? Her friends? Draco Malfoy?
Lisa gathered her things in her bag, and ran from the classroom in tears.
"Oh, dear," said Professor Sprout, following her out the door. "Are you alright, Miss Turpin?" she called out to Lisa's fleeting back.
Anna stood, but Professor Sprout beckoned her to sit back down with her hand. "I'm sorry Miss Moon, but it will have to wait until after class." She said this in a sympathetic manner, but still, Anna spent the rest of Herbology in a huff.
Padma glared in Pansy's direction, unusually pale herself. "We need to do something, before the year is out. I move that the next meeting is dedicated to the plot against Pansy."
Ophelia's eyes darted around the room frantically at the mention of the word 'meeting', but no one had been listening. Pansy was now chatting away to her friend Morag, laughing at Lisa's reaction. "I second the motion."
Mandy and Anna murmured their assent as well.
After Herbology, Anna tore up the lawn to the castle, Padma, Ophelia and Mandy right on her heels. They checked the dorm, the common room, the owlery, the Great Hall, and most of the bathrooms before they found her, in a gloomy, deserted bathroom on the second floor. She was leaning over a toilet in a stall that was missing it's door, sobbing with her head in her arms. Anna was the first to approach her.
"Lisa?" she whispered uncertainly.
"Go away, Anna," came the sobbed response. "I just want to be left alone."
Anna stood there for a moment, uncertain of what to do. But then, she walked into the stall, and knelt behind Lisa, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay Lisa."
"N – o – It's – s n – not," she sobbed, face still buried.
Anna stood up, crossing her arms, and decided to try a different tack. "Lisa," she said, her voice now firm, "I'm quite disappointed in you."
At this, Lisa looked up.
"I can't believe you let Pansy get the better of you, no matter what she said. We're Ravenclaws, we're better than her stinking Slytherin pug-nosed face any day."
The other three listened with bated breath.
Lisa managed a slight smile. "Say it again?" she pleaded.
"What, the part about her ugly, pug-nosed, slimy face that not even another Slytherin can like?"
"Yes, that's it."
"How she looks and smells like a pig?" Mandy added hopefully.
"More like the Snydley-Pinkenweiler's pugs when they need to be let out to use the bathroom," commented Anna.
"And how she's failing Herbology, because she's too busy trying to impress Draco by being a prick?" said Padma, getting into it as well.
"How she would love to kiss his 'ittle-bittle slimy facey-poo?" gushed Mandy through puckered lips, before letting out a loud smack.
Lisa giggled, the streams of tears now shining as they dried on her face.
"How if they got married and had children, they would have to register them with the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the Ministry?" chimed in Ophelia, grinning as well.
"And then they'd call in the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures?" said Padma, eyes closed, imagining the scene with glee.
"Is there a department for the disposal of ugly creatures?" Mandy wondered, "because if so, we'd better file a report soon. Pansy's getting worse and worse each day."
By this point, all the girls were grinning.
"Come on, Lisa, let's go get lunch. I'm starved." Mandy led her out, and the others followed them down to the Great Hall. Walking a step behind, Padma muttered under her breath, "And if I see Pansy, I'm going to give her a bruiser she won't forget soon, teachers or not…"
Ophelia tsked at this. "We'll be much better off if we plan this carefully, and humiliate her instead of harming her. Punishment is much less likely that way, and I think the wound will smart for longer as well." Anna shook her head in silent agreement.
It was a rather solemn meeting that month. Lisa opened by telling them all what Pansy had so briefly mentioned – the story of her mother's death. Anna was glad that the candles had been dimmed, as it was harder to see each others faces in the low light.
"Dad is a Muggle," Lisa began, a bit shakily, "I've told you that much. But Mum was a witch. She was in Ravenclaw when she was at school – Dad was really happy I was put in her house. Anyway, about a year after we – I mean, after I was born – a really bad wizard was rising in power." She looked up at the silent group. "This is the story Dad told me. Obviously, I've learned more about it since I've been at Hogwarts, but for ten years I didn't know." Looking down at her hands again, she continued. "So You-Know-Who was rising, and killing lots of wizards. Harry Potter's parents are the most famous of course, being the last. Dad came home from work one day – he works at a paper, that's how met Mum – and he said that there was this horrible green skull over the house. He said he didn't really understand what it meant at the time, Mum had told him about You-Know-Who and all, but not about the Dark Mark – that's the skull thing," she explained to Anna. "But he came into the house, and there were wizards from the ministry sitting there. They told him that Mum – that Mum had disappeared. But her bedroom was a horrible mess – books on the floor, perfume bottles broken and scattered, the mirror cracked. They figure she was dead, that her body had been taken, or transfigured, or something." Lisa stopped, and swallowed deeply before continuing. "They asked Dad if he wanted a memory charm, to forget about it, to be offered some Muggle explanation, like a car crash or something to remember. But he refused. Then he remembered, and ran upstairs. I was in my room, fast asleep. But the others were gone. There had been three of us…" here Lisa's voice trailed off into silence. Nobody spoke. When Anna looked up, she saw Ophelia's face buried in her arms. Mandy was shaking, and staring down at her feet. Only Padma was staring straight at Lisa's half-shadowed face, horror-struck. Anna looked back down, feeling a tear slid along the edge of her nose. Had her parents disappeared the same way?
To put their plan into action, the girls first needed a sample of Draco's handwriting. They decided that Ophelia would be best for the job, as she would be able to get the closest to Draco, being a pure-blood from a well-known family. In fact, the idea she had come up with was to trap him by using his hatred of those not like him – to ask him for his signature on a petition to slowly weed out Muggle-born students from Hogwarts. So on Tuesday, the other four waited outside the door as everyone left the greenhouse. They heard a sudden ripping sound as they exited – Ophelia must have cast the spell to rip open the bottom of Draco's bag and delay him. They heard him curse lowly, heard him tell his friends Crabbe and Goyle to wait up. Then they heard Ophelia's sweet voice.
"Excuse me, Draco?"
There was a pause. The girls held their breath, waiting. Then –
"What do you want." – in a very annoyed tone.
"I need signatures for my petition. It's for getting rid of all the riff-raff they let in the school these days. And I know that it's a cause you go for."
Silence. Then – "Go on…"
There was a rustle of papers. "See, it's a plan for slowly weeding out those whose parents are both Muggles."
"What about those Mudbloods you hang out with?"
Padma gritted her teeth. "Why that little…"
Ophelia continued on coolly. "Oh, no… all of my friends are at least half-wizard to start out with. No one is perfect, you know. No, what I'm really against is those who have no prior experience – well, you know – in our world."
Anna stifled a giggle, seeing Ophelia toss her hair in her mind's eye.
"Like that Muggle Granger?"
"Er – exactly!" Anna supposed he must be talking about a Gryffindor by the name of Hermione Granger. Anna knew her by sight, she was supposed to get top marks in all her classes, but as the Ravenclaws shared no subjects with the Gryffindors, she didn't know her personally.
Draco's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Sure, I'll sign – do you have a quill – oh, thanks…"
"Feel free to add any comments," added Ophelia, over the sound of the scratching pen. "Oh, splendid… all done? Well, thank you for your time, I will be presenting this to Professor Dumbledore as soon as I get fifty signatures or more…"
"Here," interrupted Draco, "I'll sign for them too." Anna presumed he was talking about his sidekicks. Mandy jerked her head for them to creep around the side of the green house, out of sight of the door.
A few minutes later, Ophelia came around the corner, smiling.
"Did you get it?" Mandy asked breathlessly.
Ophelia's eyes sparkled as she retrieved the piece of parchment from her bag.
"Brilliant!" said Padma, examining it. "The stupid git even added comments." She squinted her eyes, deciphering his messy hand. "Expel Granger. She has no business being here. Then continue on to Weasley and Potter, the muggle lovers. He added them at the bottom so that they can't be attributed to him, the coward. And look, he signed for Crabbe and Goyle as well. I bet they can't even sign their own names…"
They continued up to the castle, laughing over the stupid things Malfoy had said even after Ophelia had neatly folded the parchment and put it safely back in her bag.
* * * *
Much note writing took place in the Ravenclaw tower that night. There was the one to Pansy, forged in Draco's hand, from a 'secret admirer', telling her to meet him in the owlery at Midnight, where he would express his 'true feelings for her'. There was much sniggering over this on all parts, as there was over the second note, pasted together with letters from the Daily Prophet. This note was addressed to Argus Filch, the diabolical care-taker, who rejoiced in finding students out of bed after hours. And finally, there was the one to Draco. The Ravenclaw's were uncertain over whether or not he would fall for it. It didn't matter really, but his appearance in the tower right before Filch arrived would be the proverbial icing on the cake.
It was decided, much to Anna's dismay, that the Thursday night before the Ravenclaw-Slytherin quidditch match would be the opportune time to pull such a prank. It was the third week since Anna had been caught by Hagrid, and she was quite glad to have her mind pulled away from the Forbidden Forest. She concentrated on the plot at hand, and found time to work on her Potions essay, much to the relief of the other Ravenclaws.
Before anyone had expected, the week before the match came swinging around. The girls slunk in to the Herbology greenhouse early Tuesday morning. While Mandy and Lisa engaged Professor Sprout in a conversation about the Flutterby Bushes they had pruned last class, Padma slipped the note in Pansy's usual desk. The others slowly filed in, and class began. Anna didn't dare to look in Pansy's direction. Instead, she murmured to Mandy, who was facing the Slytherins, "Has she found it yet?"
Mandy shook her head grimly, and continued tying up the twigs of the bush.
It seemed that Pansy would have gone the entire class without noticing the letter had it not been for some quick thinking on Ophelia's part. With five minutes left to go, the Ravenclaw girls were becoming desperate. Padma's eyes kept flickering over to Pansy, who was laughing nastily along with Morag and Millicent. Ophelia had been fingering her wand for quite some time, and as Professor Sprout called the class over to examine an incorrectly pruned plant, she had her chance. Ophelia flicked her wand, and murmured a few quick words, and the twine Pansy had been using slid neatly into Pansy's desk, right on top of the letter.
Lisa gave her an elated smile, and Padma mouthed "brilliant!" over the heads of the other students who were gathering round the far table. Anna crossed her fingers in her pockets.
When they returned to the table, the girls didn't dare look at Pansy. They busied themselves with the twine, trussing up the plant a bit more than necessary. Anna barely turned her head, and watched out of the far corner of her eye. Pansy was looking around, confused. Then, she spotted the twine. She grabbed for it, not watching – and the note fell to the floor. Padma raised her eyes to the heavens with a pleading glance.
Pansy stopped. She had noticed the note. Bending over, she picked it up, brushing the dirt off it, and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. The Ravenclaw girls busied themselves with the bush. Pansy unfolded the note under the desk – and her pig-like face lit up in delight. Just then, Professor Sprout announced the homework. Anna scribbled it down joyously. Phase one was complete.
For Draco's note, Lisa and Anna went up to the owlery, found the plainest brown school owl they could find, and attached the letter to his leg, with firm instructions to deliver it at breakfast on Wednesday. Thursday morning, Padma and Mandy crept up to Filch's office and carefully slid the note under the door, praying he would look down at his lovely clean floors as he entered.
All was set in place. Now all the girls could do was watch and wait. Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed to drag on forever, Anna tucked her unicorn book inside her textbook, and read that all period. Unicorns were not dark creatures, perhaps, but Anna justified this by skimming over the section on werewolves and vampires. Professor Snape looked a good deal like the vampire shown in the book, Anna mused. She pointed this out to Lisa and Mandy, sliding them a note tucked in it's pages while Professor Quirrell was writing on the board. Mandy laughed silently, and passed the book on to Padma and Ophelia, while Lisa sketched a drawing of Snape hanging upside-down, like an ugly bat.
It was not until dinner that they heard the rumor – Filch had caught a Slytherin first year in the owlery at Midnight, and given them detention for a full week, and 100 points from Slytherin. Apparently Draco had not been stupid enough to fall for the prank, but Pansy had. Anna watched her throughout dinner. She was sitting over at the Slytherin table, far more subdued than normal, not speaking to the rest of the Slytherins, or perhaps, not being spoken to. As they passed by, Padma couldn't help but call out, "Heard about your hot date the other night, Pansy. Looks like you found yourself another one – with Filch!" Several people, including Pansy's friend, Morag MacDougal, tittered at this. The Ravenclaw's walked from the hall, shaking with laughter.
"Did you see her face? She turned positively green!"
"Well, I suppose so. A pity her lover boy never showed…"
They climbed the stairs quite satisfied with themselves.
The next item of attention was the Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin, due to be played tomorrow afternoon. To go on for a chance at the Quidditch cup, Slytherin had to win this match. But if Ravenclaw beat either Slytherin or Gryffindor, they had a shot at winning the cup.
Roger had been looking increasingly worried each time Anna saw him over the past week. She grinned at him as they passed in the common room on Friday afternoon, but he stared right past her, in a daze. His hair was mussed, as if he hadn't brushed it in days, and dark circles were forming under his eyes. Anna had been chatting with Lisa and Cho Chang as he passed. Cho just shook her head.
"He needs to get some sleep for the match, I keep telling him, but he's too worried. Bridget Dunstan, you know, our newest chaser, had a bad sprain last practice. Madame Pomfrey healed it just fine, of course, but it put a lot of strain on the team. Oh, dear… we've just got to win you know," she said with an unhappy sigh.
Anna nodded grimly.
The next morning, all of the school assembled on the Quidditch pitch. The mood seemed much less celebratory than the Slytherin-Gryffindor match though – the Slytherin team had to win this one, as did the Ravenclaws, for beating Gryffindor seemed a far slimmer chance. The usual jabs and sneers were present, but the happy laughter – at least from the members of the two houses involved – was not.
The first-year girls carried the banner that Lisa and Padma had made that morning down to the field, and unfurled it in the stands. Padma's hair was braided with ribbons of bright blue, and she had done the same with Anna and Ophelia's. Lisa's hair was not quite long enough for a braid, so she wore her ribbon as a headband, tied in a lop-sided bow. Mandy, who's hair was boyishly short, wore her ribbon around her waist. They stood in the bleachers, waiting…
And then the teams were off. Lee Jordan, a Gryffindor was commentating, less biased than he had been for his own houses match. Still, the Gryffindor enmity with the Slytherins was obvious.
"And they're off… Ravenclaw gains possession of the Quaffle as Ravenclaw Captain Phelps takes off up the field… there's the pass to Dunstan – intercepted by Flint… looks as if he's playing on her recent injury there… Slytherin pass to Pucey – Oh, nice job Capper! Ravenclaw beater sends a bludger his way there… Quaffle picked up by Davies… pass off to Dunstan – no, it was a fake, not bad at all Davies! Dodges Bletchley – RAVENCLAW SCORES, 10 to 0!"
"Go Roger!" Anna yelled through cupped hands. Padma whooped loudly, and the others cheered and applauded along.
"Slytherin takes the Quaffle… pass to Warrington, intercepted by Phelps… OH, WATCH THAT BLUDGER! Phelps gets a bloody nose from a Bole Bludger. Flint picks up the Quaffle… look out there, McKinnion! – And he scores, game 10 even."
The Slytherin end of the field erupted into cheers. Anna watched the players, zooming high above, and chewed her lip. Laurie McKinnion, the Ravenclaw seeker, pulled a tight loop mid-air in frustration. Roger yelled something at her that Anna could not hear above the roar of the crowd. "C'mon, Roger," Anna whispered, "come on!"
Play began again, with Phelps passing off to Dunstan, Dunstan looping Derrick, a Slytherin beater, Dunstan passing off to Phelps, who had come around in back of the beaters… Now Phelps turned sharply, heading toward the goals… he passed off to Roger, flying below the Beaters, who passed back up…
"PHELPS SCORES! 20 to 10, in favor of Ravenclaw."
Slytherin started once more with possession, found their way into the Ravenclaw goal area. All three Chasers ploughed in toward Laurie McKinnion, Sabrina Rabnott aimed a bludger their way, but it only deterred Warrington… Pucey and Flint were now even with the goal…
A shrill whistle sounded from Madam Hooch. "That's right!" cried Mandy, "no stooging the Keeper!" Ravenclaw was given two penalties, both of which Phelps put neatly through the goals. The score was now 40-10 Ravenclaw…
Just then, Ophelia cried out… "Oh! Look!" Everyone raised their eyes to the seekers.
"Oh, it looks like Higgs has spotted the snitch… Boothby right on his tail… Higgs gaining fast now – BLUDGER FROM RABNOTT – Great work Sabrina!" The Ravenclaw beater grinned with relief. But in that moment, the snitch had disappeared. Duncan Boothby, the Ravenclaw seeker, continued to circle the pitch, looking for signs from above, but it had vanished.
The match began to get dirtier. Once again Flint tried to knock Dunstan off her broom, resulting in a Ravenclaw penalty. Bridget took it, and made the shot. 50-10 Ravenclaw. Adrian Pucey started a shoving match with Roger in mid-air, which resulted in a penalty for both sides. Roger made his… Pucey was up, Laurie prepared herself to dive…
But just then, two streaks, one blue, one green, zoomed between the goal and the Slytherin Chaser. Both teams turned to watch. The green was closer… but the blue was catching up… now he was even…
Silas Capper swung the bludger with all his might. The direction was good, it caught the tail of Terence Higgs broom, sending him spinning off into space, barely clutching his broom…
Duncan Boothby pulled out of the dive, a grin on his face, the snitch clasped tightly in his hands. "RAVENCLAW WINS, 200 POINTS TO TEN!" The stadium erupted in cheers, even the Hufflepuffs and the Gryffindors were happy to see Slytherin defeated. To the Ravenclaw girls, leaping about and hugging one another, it was the crowning glory on an already wonderful weekend.
Looking back, Anna should have known it was all too good to last.
The Ravenclaw girls were going up to the tower to send letters home. Ophelia had gone into a particularly long description for her younger sister, and Mandy and Padma each had written their parents thoughtful little notes on how they were doing and how school was going. None mentioned, of course, the brilliant trick they had managed to pull on Pansy.
They were fairly high up before they began to hear voices ahead of them. It was not unusual for several people to be in the owlery at once, and the girls thought nothing of it. They laughed their way up the winding staircase. Then Mandy, who was leading the group stopped suddenly in the doorway of the owlery, causing Lisa to bump into her. Three students were standing by the window – Pansy Parkinson and her friends Millicent Bulstrode and Morag MacDougal. Pansy turned with a sneer on her face.
"Well, if it isn't the Ravenclaw girls," she sneered, "up to celebrate their many victories."
"Bugger off Pansy," said Padma, glaring. "We're just here to deliver our letters. You leave us alone – we leave you alone. Understood?"
"Oh, I understand perfectly – Mudblood lover…"
Mandy clenched her fists. "What did you say, Parkinson?"
"You heard me, Brocklehurst."
Padma stepped forward. "I am giving you to the count of ten," she said, her voice soft and dangerous, "to leave this room."
Pansy hesitated, then waved her friends on. With sullen glances, they filed past the Ravenclaws, who were now standing in the center of the room. But as Pansy passed Anna, she suddenly turned, and sprung, hands going toward her neck.
Anna tried to pull her wand, but Pansy's movement had been too unexpected. Perhaps she had meant to grab Anna's necklace, but her hands clenched onto something much closer. Anna gasped as she felt the clasp of her mother's locket snap. Pansy stepped back, red faced and panting, but with a look of triumph on her face.
Anna got to her feet slowly and shakily, not wanting to make any sudden movement. The owlery was deathly still, aside from the rustle of feathers from above. "Pansy," said Anna in a low shaky voice, "please give it back."
Malice flashed in Pansy's little eyes, and she pretended to consider. "Um, let me think. How about … no!"
"Give it back now, Parkinson," growled Padma, stepping forward.
Pansy quickly stepped away from Padma, toward the window and extended her arm, the locket dangling from it. Her yellow curls bobbed as she laughed coldly. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Patil. Don't want your precious friend's lucky charm tossed out the window, do you?"
A sound somewhere between a sob and a gasp escaped Anna's lips. "No," she whispered. "Pansy, please…"
"Say you're sorry," Pansy said, clearing enjoying Anna's agony.
Anna looked up into Pansy's beady eyes imploringly. "I'm sorry," she said, clearly as possible.
Pansy stepped toward her, and for a glorious second, Anna actually thought the Slytherin was going to return her locket. But then, in one swift movement, she raised her arm and chucked it out the window. Anna raced over, as did the other Ravenclaws, just in time to see the necklace hit the surface of the murky lake far below, and vanish beneath the water. Anna fell to her knees, trembling all over. There was a sudden scuffle behind her – Padma had thrown herself at Pansy, and was wrestling the Slytherin to the ground. Pansy managed to get a good chunk of Padma's long hair and give it a yank, but Padma's fist connected with Pansy's left eye-socket, and she let go, squealing.
Lisa, meanwhile, had her hands full with Millicent Bulstrode, who had her in a headlock. While Mandy wrestled the larger girl off, Ophelia pulled her wand on Morag, in a silent challenge. Morag didn't move – she knew what sort of marks the Fawcett girls received in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Anna knew she should help her friends, but she was frozen on the spot.
Just then, Professor McGonagall burst in. Perhaps she had just come up to deliver an owl as well, Anna thought later, but perhaps she had known. Professor McGonagall seemed to have a nose for sniffing out trouble. "Girls!" she exclaimed. "What is the meaning of this?"
Padma got to her feet, her dark eyes burning with rage. "Professor – Pansy stole Anna's necklace, and threw it into the lake."
McGonagall's eyes flew to Pansy. "Is this true?" Pansy didn't answer, so Professor McGonagall repeated the question in a much sharper tone. "Is this true, Miss Parkinson?" Pansy muttered something indistinct. McGonagall's nostrils flared. "Twenty points from Slytherin for you, Miss Parkinson, and ten each from Bulstrode and MacDougal. And there will be no arguments," she raised her voice as Pansy opened her mouth. "You should have considered the consequences before you started this fight. Now go. I will have a word with Professor Snape about this incident, have no doubts about that!" The three Slytherins turned with bowed heads, and slouched off down the tower stairs. McGonagall turned to the five girls, her face very white and pinched."
"Now – what has gone on here?"
"If you please, Ma'am," said Ophelia, stepping forward. "Pansy has been attempting to engage us in a conflict all year. She has been calling Anna and Lisa all sorts of names. Perhaps we were in the wrong a bit too, but she just stole Anna's locket, and threw it into the lake, and it belonged…" Ophelia broke off, not certain if she should tell. McGonagall blinked, looking round the circle.
"Go on…" But none of the girls wanted to say anything, They avoided Professor McGonagall's eye. "Miss Moon, would you like to tell me?"
"It was my mother's," said Anna, strangely calm. Her found she could not cry; she felt as if a boulder had slammed into her and knocked her down, leaving her quite dazed. McGonagall's hand flew to her mouth, but she quickly lowered it, almost embarrassed by the sudden motion.
"Oh, my dear… I am sorry." She gazed at Anna for a moment, with a funny look on her face. Was it pity? Then she turned to the others. "However, you were fighting, which is against school rules. But because you were provoked, I will only take twenty points from Ravenclaw… for all four of you. Are you quite all right, Miss Moon?" Lisa stepped over and helped Anna to her feet. Anna stared at McGonagall, strangely numb.
"Yes," she responded.
"Then you are free to go. I will be informing Professor Flitwick of what has happened, but I will suggest no further punishment," she added. Padma scowled. Lisa held Anna's arm, leading her to the door. The Ravenclaw girls processed to the door, and walked silently to the suit of armor on the third floor. "Papilio Lacrimosus ," said Ophelia, quietly. Anna walked through the common room without a word, gazing directly ahead, and headed up the staircase to her room. Once there, she closed her curtains, and curled up into a small ball beside Greymalkin. The kitten snuggled up against her, purring gently. Only then did the tears come.
