A/N: What does it take for reviews!? Here I am giving a minor cliffe and a
decision to make and I get three reviews. Sheesh! Okay, here's the deal. If
anyone is reading this (crickets chirp, Me: knock it off!) I have to
resolve the dilemma in this chapter but … you can still have a say in
whether or not you want a romance. Just submit by Friday. If I do make this
a romance, things will move quite slowly. I believe that is the way things
usually work. They won't just get stuck together for a weekend, fall in
love, and decided to get married. Also probably the most you will ever see
is kissing. That's just the way I am. (Snape: get on with the story!)
Okay! Okay! Moving on!
A Dilemma Resolved
Unfortunately the week passed quickly by and all too soon I had two very confused students standing at my desk.
"What are you doing here mu…ggle?" Jorn asked angrily. I knew what he had been about to say but caught himself.
Goldstone rolled her eyes and muttered something about maturity.
I decided to take over before this became a fight. "All right, you are both here for a reason! I was grading essays and your essays are nearly identical." They both appeared a bit surprised at this. "Okay, this leads me to believe that either one of you copied the other or that you both copied another source. If you confess now you will merely have ten points deducted from your house and a detention. If you do not the consequences will be worse. You have five minutes to confess and don't say anything but a confession" I added when both looked about to speak.
Both looked at each other and at me but neither made any move to confess. What could I do if they didn't? Sentence them both to detentions until one confessed? Make them both take Verisitem (I know I spelled that wrong)? Give them both a test on it? Take them to Dumbledore? The five minutes were quickly running out. I had to do something fast!
"Five minutes are up! No one willing to confess?" Neither said a word. Okay now what? "Goldstone, sit in that corner and Malvont sit in that corner." I pointed to opposite sides of the room. "Now, both of you take out a parchment and number from one to ten." Looks like I'm going with the test after all. If they do about equally I'll take them to Dumbledore. If they had done the research the questions shouldn't be too hard, but definitely too had to guess. At the end I had both bring their papers up. Goldstone had nine out of ten and Malvont had four out of ten.
"Goldstone, I want you to wait outside a few minutes." She nodded and left. Malvont now definitely looked scared and shocked. I knew that if I talked quietly it would scare him more than if I yelled. "What did you think you were doing?" This had gotten personal. He was trying to make a fool out of me!
He was stuttering by now. I continued, "Did you think I wouldn't be able to tell who copied who? Did you think I was too stupid to know that you copied?" Now he was really scared. I would have to give a punishment now. "Twenty points from Slytherin and detention for a week!" I don't believe I had ever taken so many points from my house at one time. Now to add the best part. "Oh, and you have to apologize to Miss Goldstone." I said this almost as if it were a bit of small talk not something revolutionary. The boy had probably never had to apologize in his life and now I of all people was making him apologize to a Gryffindor. I considered it quite appropriate. He now appeared in danger of hyperventilating. I gave him a minute to pull himself together then asked Goldstone to come back in.
She looked at us questioningly but came up to the desk. "Mr. Malvont." I prompted.
"Um… uh… I'm … sorr…er… sorry Goldstone…"
"Sophia" I corrected.
Now he definitely thought I'd lost my mind. "Sophia"
She could tell it was forced but accepted it anyway. "It's alright Jorn." And held out her hand. He stared at it for a minute. She rolled her eyes. "Honestly I don't have cooties!" This brought questioning stares from us. "Sometimes muggle children when they are really young think that children of the opposite sex have something called cooties that can be caught through touch. I don't know precisely what cooties is supposed to be but it is considered… undesirable. But most kids get over that at five or six."
Finally after a few glares from me he shook her hand briefly and immediately started wiping it on his robes. She rolled her eyes yet again but otherwise ignored it. I then told them they both could go. Goldstone stopped for a moment anyway. "Do boys ever grow up?" she asked exasperated.
"Never."
A Dilemma Resolved
Unfortunately the week passed quickly by and all too soon I had two very confused students standing at my desk.
"What are you doing here mu…ggle?" Jorn asked angrily. I knew what he had been about to say but caught himself.
Goldstone rolled her eyes and muttered something about maturity.
I decided to take over before this became a fight. "All right, you are both here for a reason! I was grading essays and your essays are nearly identical." They both appeared a bit surprised at this. "Okay, this leads me to believe that either one of you copied the other or that you both copied another source. If you confess now you will merely have ten points deducted from your house and a detention. If you do not the consequences will be worse. You have five minutes to confess and don't say anything but a confession" I added when both looked about to speak.
Both looked at each other and at me but neither made any move to confess. What could I do if they didn't? Sentence them both to detentions until one confessed? Make them both take Verisitem (I know I spelled that wrong)? Give them both a test on it? Take them to Dumbledore? The five minutes were quickly running out. I had to do something fast!
"Five minutes are up! No one willing to confess?" Neither said a word. Okay now what? "Goldstone, sit in that corner and Malvont sit in that corner." I pointed to opposite sides of the room. "Now, both of you take out a parchment and number from one to ten." Looks like I'm going with the test after all. If they do about equally I'll take them to Dumbledore. If they had done the research the questions shouldn't be too hard, but definitely too had to guess. At the end I had both bring their papers up. Goldstone had nine out of ten and Malvont had four out of ten.
"Goldstone, I want you to wait outside a few minutes." She nodded and left. Malvont now definitely looked scared and shocked. I knew that if I talked quietly it would scare him more than if I yelled. "What did you think you were doing?" This had gotten personal. He was trying to make a fool out of me!
He was stuttering by now. I continued, "Did you think I wouldn't be able to tell who copied who? Did you think I was too stupid to know that you copied?" Now he was really scared. I would have to give a punishment now. "Twenty points from Slytherin and detention for a week!" I don't believe I had ever taken so many points from my house at one time. Now to add the best part. "Oh, and you have to apologize to Miss Goldstone." I said this almost as if it were a bit of small talk not something revolutionary. The boy had probably never had to apologize in his life and now I of all people was making him apologize to a Gryffindor. I considered it quite appropriate. He now appeared in danger of hyperventilating. I gave him a minute to pull himself together then asked Goldstone to come back in.
She looked at us questioningly but came up to the desk. "Mr. Malvont." I prompted.
"Um… uh… I'm … sorr…er… sorry Goldstone…"
"Sophia" I corrected.
Now he definitely thought I'd lost my mind. "Sophia"
She could tell it was forced but accepted it anyway. "It's alright Jorn." And held out her hand. He stared at it for a minute. She rolled her eyes. "Honestly I don't have cooties!" This brought questioning stares from us. "Sometimes muggle children when they are really young think that children of the opposite sex have something called cooties that can be caught through touch. I don't know precisely what cooties is supposed to be but it is considered… undesirable. But most kids get over that at five or six."
Finally after a few glares from me he shook her hand briefly and immediately started wiping it on his robes. She rolled her eyes yet again but otherwise ignored it. I then told them they both could go. Goldstone stopped for a moment anyway. "Do boys ever grow up?" she asked exasperated.
"Never."