Alright, so here's the fight. Again, it's adapted from an RPG. I won't be posting the party, the gist is here.
~*Justin Finch-Fletchley*~
Justin was in the Great Hall almost before class was let out. He'd missed breakfast due to Filch. Technically, yes it was his own fault, but what teenage boy is going to admit that?
"Hot ham sandwich." He informed his plate. He leaned on his chin, awaiting its arrival. He hoped some of his housemates would be along to join him, he didn't fancy eating alone.
Today was proving to be a fairly miserable day. He craned his head to glance up at the sky. It seemed to agree with him.
~*Michael Treu*~
"What a fair amount of luck! You and I as Quidditch captains," Michael said sarcastically. He knew that the sarcasm might just go right over wonder boy's head like everything else not from the land of lollipops and sugar tree fairies.
"Speaking of good times- how was your detention? I have one tonight too," Michael said as he took a seat beside Justin. He took a bite of a roll then, speaking with his mouth full he added: "With Kartiair."
He was goading Justin a little to find out what had happened at the party last night. He wanted details and unfortunately the only two people there that could tell him what he wanted to know probably wouldn't tell him. Robin and Justin. So he'd poke the golden boy until he got something.
~*Robin Fieldstone*~
Rob walked slowly into the Great Hall. He also had missed breakfast and wanted something to eat. Things kept getting better and better. On top of yesterday, he had to deal with Mike as a captain. Maybe Justin wouldn't let him get to out of hand. He hadn't seen Hope yet, and was glad. His head hurt and he hadn't gotten any sleep, he hardly stayed awake in class.
He sat down at the table and saw Mike. "Great" he mumbled under his breath. He was too tired. He put his head on the table and in a few minutes was asleep.
~*Justin Finch Fletchley*~
Justin looked up as Michael joined him at the table. His dusty eyebrows lowered fractionally in an almost scowl at the boy. Justin didn't want to share the captain position with Michael. He had been in hopes that he would be chosen, but hadn't been aching for the position. Or so he told himself. But sharing it with Michael was about the last thing he'd expected to have to do.
"Morning." He replied somewhat stiffly. Then chastised himself. It wasn't Michael's fault after all. In fact, Michael had to have earned the position just as much as Justin.
He was about to reply about the detention when Michael added Kartiair's name into the equation. The first step in his thinking was a burst of guilt in his gut at having caused her a second detention. He closed his eyes against it briefly. Then it soothed by a flood of, was it anger?, at the thought of Kartiair having to fend for herself against him in detention. But no she wouldn't be there herself. Hope would be there, and so would Snape. Justin needed to speak with Hope and ask her to keep an eye out. She'd already said she'd keep an eye on the two boys. But now, well now it was a little bit more than that for Justin. Kartiair may not have admitted that Michael was singling her out on the teasing, but Justin sure felt he was.
"It won't be much fun." Justin replied finally, realizing he'd been silent probably a few seconds too long in his brooding. His sandwich appeared and he took a bite. He turned back to Michael once he'd swallowed. "I'm not sure who got the better deal. You've got Snape and I've got Filch."
He saw Robin join the table, mumbling, and fall instantly asleep. He must not have woken up completely after Binns' class. He poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.
~*Hope*~
Hope came into the Great Hall with a smile on her face. She was actually in a pretty good mood, aside from the pretty bad day of yesterday. "Hey, guys!" she greeted her housemates cheerfully. She glanced at Rob, who was asleep, and decided not to wake him up. She really did need to talk to him - hopefully he wasn't too angry at her. She had tried to get to the party, after all...
Her brows furrowed as she noticed the growing tension between Mike and Justin. "Congratulations on your Quidditch positions!" She said, hoping to lighten the mood - hence the reason she didn't mention the captain aspect.
"So when are we going to start practicing? Our teams entirely new this year, so we should really start planning some game strategies."
~*Michael Treu*~
"I'm sure it will be really fun," Michael said smirking at Justin just enough to understand that the emphasis on fun. "Filch probably let you guys off easier though. There were so many of you at that party last night. Someone told me that there were three Prefects there. Out to make Malfoy look good?"
He realized that he'd gone too far off course with the Prefect tangent. He'd have to switch back. So he turned to Hope. "Anyway, I'm almost looking forward to detention. It's bound to be an interesting detention. Snape might have cooked up something interesting by now."
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
The biting tones in Michael's conversation directed at Justin were not going unnoticed by the boy. He understood the sarcasm in the word fun, and Michael certainly was correct on that matter. Hell he was correct on the whole matter, which is what hurt. 'Out to make Malfoy look good.' It certainly appeared that way didn't it? He wasn't the only one at fault on the matter, but he was partially responsible.
Justin didn't respond, instead concentrating on his ham and cheese melt.
~*Michael Treu*~
Damn it. He pushed too far. Justin was going to ignore him now because if he did answer he would have to admit that he had made Malfoy look good.
Michael rolled his eyes and took a large bite out of his sandwich. Justin was turning out to be an idiot and a huge pain. He was too good to be real, Hufflepuff Prefect and Quidditch captain. Pity he wasn't the Seeker he'd be just like Cedric- just like Cedric. Was that what Justin was trying to do? He grinned to himself as he swallowed the last bit of his sandwich. Even if that wasn't what Justin was trying for, the similarities were eerie.
"What's wrong Finch-Fletchley? Cat got your tongue?"
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
Justin could feel the heat rising from under his collar. His cheeks and jaw line were warm with the blush and he tried desperately to suppress it. It wasn't the sort of blush he produced in opposition of a flirt or the mention of one. It was a truly embarrassed flushing, a hot roll of red the grew not only on his face but in a starburst from the center of his chest. The back of his eyes burned momentarily and he blinked them shut. Sighing, he opened them back up again. He turned his head in Michael's direction, not fully on him however, it was hung in an upset manner, sandy brown hair falling past his forehead and brushing his light eyebrows.
"Just haven't got anything to say." he replied quietly. "I know I shouldn't have been there. I'll just have to serve my punishment."
Truthful as ever, Michael's goading wouldn't beat that out of him. He wasn't pushing any anger onto the older boy, nor giving an attitude really. Mostly dealing with his inner demons on the subject, however Mike had forced him to do so under audience.
He wondered if his new partner even felt guilty over getting Kartiair a detention. He raised hi head a bit, brown eyes studying his opponent's features. He couldn't tell.
~*Robin Fieldstone*~
Robin had been sleeping lightly. He awoke as tension started to brew between Justin and Mike. He took a large sip of pumpkin juice as he listened to them. His head was feeling better now; he needed to eat, that was the problem. He didn't like how pushy Mike was getting, though.
"Mike, you're getting a bit hot under the collar, maybe this'll cool you down." he took a goblet of water, pulled Mike's collar, and poured it down his robe. "Now, I hope you've cooled off some." With that he went back to eating his lunch, he was really hungry.
~*Hope*~
Hope didn't answer Mike's comment about the detention, she was too busy listening to him and Justin's exchange. She was about to butt in when Rob poured water down Mike's shirt.
She gasped, and jumped up from her seat. "Now, boys!" she exclaimed sternly. "This is all getting way out of hand! Justin, Michael, and Robin - you all had better settle your differences right now. We are a house, we are supposed to stick together! Aren't we Hufflepuff's supposed to be loyal?" She knew she was preaching, but right now she didn't care. This was getting way out of hand.
"Guys," she pleaded. "Isn't it possible to get along? You are all acting really immature, and it's just going to hurt our house."
~*Michael Treu*~
Justin's lack of response was disappointing to say the least. He didn't have a chance to think of a response because Robin decided to drench him. He sat there cold, wet, and incredibly angry. Hope could barely be heard in the background as he regained his senses and reached across the table to punch Robin. He got him right in the nose, but unfortunately the table was between them and he hadn't hit him very hard.
"You're dead Fieldstone!" Michael said as he walked- no ran around the table to get a hold of the other 6th year.
~*Kartiair Parker *~
Kartiair's timing was less than perfect. She was able to see Robin toss a glass of water at Michael and for a moment he had remained still. Then he'd lunged at Robin. Michael was going to kill Robin. "Don't!"
She wasn't close enough to do anything of use. She fumbled for her wand, but the boys were standing too close together besides Hope and Justin there too.
At least the boy's hadn't went for their wands yet. Where was Filch and a Professor when you needed one? They could bust them at a party in the middle of night but they couldn't prevent a brawl in broad daylight?
~*Robin Fieldstone*~
Rob looked up for a moment at Hope but didn't give her any other recognition. He was still eating when Mike hit him square in the nose. He slid his chair back and reached for his nose. A bit of blood but it didn't seem all that bad. He looked back at Mike and did his best to keep calm, for Mike's sake. He had promised not to fight Mike, and was going to keep that promise with his friends.
"So violent Mike. I guess that water didn't cool you off. You know, you should really see a therapists about these bursts of anger, they're really unhealthy."
~*Hope*~
Hope's eyes widened as she went for her wand. "If anything else happens we put body binds on both of them," she said to Katiair.
It seemed her attempt at peacemaking hadn't worked very well. "Mike, stop it! You're going to lose us points! And Rob, please don't provoke him! Justin, come on, help me out!"
~*Michael Treu*~
"You shouldn't have started then Fieldstone. Don't act mature now. It'll take the fun out of it," Michael said as he rounded the table and hit him with a closed fist in the head. Everyone else was being ignored. He was dimly aware of the fact that Kartiair and Hope had their wands out, but only because the thought of taking his out now.
"Acting so superior. Guess what? You're not Justin." He shifted through his pockets for his wand with his left hand and with his right he held on to Robin.
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
Justin watched in stunned horror as Robin flung his goblet of water on Mike. It had begun again. And this time, it wasn't in the privacy of a classroom. They were in the great hall in front of who knew how many students.
He and Hope jumped up at the same time. Justin, however, was unable to find his voice. Hope was on some rant, but he couldn't take the concentration to listen. He was trained on Michael's reaction.
Robin was hit dead in the nose. It didn't look too hard, but he was bleeding. Michael was on his way round the table now. Kartiair's plea rung in the back of his mind. What perfect timing. He didn't want her jumping in the middle of this again. Michael was practically on Robin before Justin could find the inclination to move.
He flung himself over the table. Sliding over the wet mess, he tried to wedge himself between the two boys. Wand completely forgotten at this point. It was a physical matter. But, Michael had managed another hit before Justin could get to them. He had his back to Robin at the moment. He pushed with both his hand against Michael, unwittingly grabbing the material of his robes into fists in the process.
"No magic." Justin growled firmly. Michael's hand was searching, and he knew what for. "That's enough. Both of you."
~*Hope*~
Hope blinked a bit after Justin's display. She slowly put her wand down, and waited nervously to see how the boys would react. She realy doubted Mike and Rob would just sit back now. She just hoped they wouldn't do anything more dangerous...she hated hurting people, and really didn't want to use a body bind.
"Are you guys going to stop now?" she asked quietly.
~*Mr Argus Filch*~
Filch noticed a the brawl from his seat at the table with the Professors. Another one shows his true colors. Filch thought to himself. He excused himself from the Staff Table and stopped in front of the Hufflepuffs. He stared from Michael's soaked robes, to Robin's bloody nose. Must have been Mike who was throwing the punches.
He put a hand on each boy's shoulder and ripped them apart. "Mr. Treu, Mr. Fieldstone, my office, NOW!" He grabbed the boys and pushed them through the doors of the Great Hall to his office.
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
Justin's breath was running ragged. His blood was up. Michael was ripped out from in front of him by Filch, which shocked him into inaction. The caretaker drug the two boys off, leaving Justin standing there stunned.
He looked at Hope and Kartiair. Both of the girls stood side by side, wands out, looking about as upset as he felt. Today's lunch had been tumultuous to say the least. Gulping, he couldn't find his voice.
He turned, his shoulders drooping in an almost dejected manner, to see if Professor Sprout had witnessed anything. Then began to make his way back around the table to where he'd left his things.
~*Michael Treu*~
Michael unclenched his fist and followed Filch out of the Great Hall. The brawl had been coming for awhile and Rob had deserved it. He didn't feel the least bit bad, until he walked past Kartiair. Damn it. She shouldn't be able to make him feel like he'd done something wrong. He didn't hang his head, but the proud smile disappeared.
~*Hope*~
Hope watched as Filch dragged the boys out of the Great Hall. She sighed, her shoulders slumping before she sat down in her seat. "That's it. I'm definitely going to see Professor Sprout today."
She began eating her salad, not feeling nearly as happy as she normally was. What had happened to her lovable old house? Why was everyone fighting? Had the tragedy of last year thrown them apart instead of bringing them closer together?
~*Robin Fieldstone*~
Rob looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Oh, no, Filch, he groaned. Not again. He couldn't stand Mike. How did he ever get sorted into Hufflepuff anyway? He was just so Slytherin. He let Filch lead him away, watching Mike. He chuckled to himself when they passed Karti and Mike's smile faded. He mouthed to Mike: She's going to love you now
~*Kartiair Parker *~
Kartiair pushed past Michael without giving him a second look. She seized Justin by the shoulders and gave him a shake. "What did you think you were doing! It's alright for me to stand to the side, but you have to jump across the bloody table."
She wasn't really angry with him, he was just being Justin. But for one moment when he jumped across the table he had scared her. Michael could have used any sort of curse he wanted on him, he just hadn't thought of it. Her voice lowered and her words softened before she continued. "He could have hurt you."
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
Justin's slumped shoulders were jostled and he looked up. Dead into Kartiair's face. Her expression was pained. Upset, angry, hurt.
Everything that he was feeling inside. 'He could have hurt you.' The words echoed in his head. He wished she could hear them, because that was a big part of why he'd tried to stop the two. Yes, he was doing his job. Yes he did care what happened to Robin. But mostly, he didn't want Kartiair to end up in the middle again.
He was silent, agonizingly silent as he gazed into her eyes. A frown creased his mouth and eyes. He wanted to tear himself away. He wanted to run away. He wanted to get away from everything that was happening around him in the house. There was too much. Too much. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say?
"I had to." he replied quietly. The sound of his voice was clearly apologetic. Yet, he knew he'd had to. It was his duty. His duty came first. HA. His duty came first, that's why he'd been caught at an underground party the night before? That's why he'd taken Kartiair with him to it? Not only breaking the rules himself but encouraging others in his house to do so as well?
He shook his head, brown hair flying outward, eyes screwed shut. He wished he could yell, yell at all the thoughts to get out of his head. He wished he could drown out all the emotions somehow. He took a deep breath and pushed passed her, snatching his bag.
"I have to go." He informed the girls, and quickly made his way out of the hall.
~*Kartiair Parker *~
He had to. He had to throw himself into the middle of it all. She couldn't say anything, couldn't choke out a single things. There was no retort or answer to something like that. He didn't care. Kartiair felt him push past her and watched him scoop up his bag. She stepped back then so that she didn't so much as brush up against him as he left.
A solitary tear raced down her face when he walked away without looking back. She brushed it off with a flick of her wrist. The only one who could have possibly seen it was Hope. She should never have trusted him. That's what you get when you trust people. "Fine Justin."
She picked up the books she had dropped when she had entered the Great Hall earlier and found the boys brawling. Holding the books tightly against her she stormed off with them. Not looking back.
{AN: Thank you for taking the time Wishful Thinking. I appreciate it. Are you a Justin fan? Did you see him in the movie? He was all wrong. They should have switched the actors that played Ernie and Justin, then it would have been more right. Justin is supposed to have curly blond hair. And I realize mine doesn't either, but he's cuter this way, lol}
~*Justin Finch-Fletchley*~
Justin was in the Great Hall almost before class was let out. He'd missed breakfast due to Filch. Technically, yes it was his own fault, but what teenage boy is going to admit that?
"Hot ham sandwich." He informed his plate. He leaned on his chin, awaiting its arrival. He hoped some of his housemates would be along to join him, he didn't fancy eating alone.
Today was proving to be a fairly miserable day. He craned his head to glance up at the sky. It seemed to agree with him.
~*Michael Treu*~
"What a fair amount of luck! You and I as Quidditch captains," Michael said sarcastically. He knew that the sarcasm might just go right over wonder boy's head like everything else not from the land of lollipops and sugar tree fairies.
"Speaking of good times- how was your detention? I have one tonight too," Michael said as he took a seat beside Justin. He took a bite of a roll then, speaking with his mouth full he added: "With Kartiair."
He was goading Justin a little to find out what had happened at the party last night. He wanted details and unfortunately the only two people there that could tell him what he wanted to know probably wouldn't tell him. Robin and Justin. So he'd poke the golden boy until he got something.
~*Robin Fieldstone*~
Rob walked slowly into the Great Hall. He also had missed breakfast and wanted something to eat. Things kept getting better and better. On top of yesterday, he had to deal with Mike as a captain. Maybe Justin wouldn't let him get to out of hand. He hadn't seen Hope yet, and was glad. His head hurt and he hadn't gotten any sleep, he hardly stayed awake in class.
He sat down at the table and saw Mike. "Great" he mumbled under his breath. He was too tired. He put his head on the table and in a few minutes was asleep.
~*Justin Finch Fletchley*~
Justin looked up as Michael joined him at the table. His dusty eyebrows lowered fractionally in an almost scowl at the boy. Justin didn't want to share the captain position with Michael. He had been in hopes that he would be chosen, but hadn't been aching for the position. Or so he told himself. But sharing it with Michael was about the last thing he'd expected to have to do.
"Morning." He replied somewhat stiffly. Then chastised himself. It wasn't Michael's fault after all. In fact, Michael had to have earned the position just as much as Justin.
He was about to reply about the detention when Michael added Kartiair's name into the equation. The first step in his thinking was a burst of guilt in his gut at having caused her a second detention. He closed his eyes against it briefly. Then it soothed by a flood of, was it anger?, at the thought of Kartiair having to fend for herself against him in detention. But no she wouldn't be there herself. Hope would be there, and so would Snape. Justin needed to speak with Hope and ask her to keep an eye out. She'd already said she'd keep an eye on the two boys. But now, well now it was a little bit more than that for Justin. Kartiair may not have admitted that Michael was singling her out on the teasing, but Justin sure felt he was.
"It won't be much fun." Justin replied finally, realizing he'd been silent probably a few seconds too long in his brooding. His sandwich appeared and he took a bite. He turned back to Michael once he'd swallowed. "I'm not sure who got the better deal. You've got Snape and I've got Filch."
He saw Robin join the table, mumbling, and fall instantly asleep. He must not have woken up completely after Binns' class. He poured himself a glass of pumpkin juice.
~*Hope*~
Hope came into the Great Hall with a smile on her face. She was actually in a pretty good mood, aside from the pretty bad day of yesterday. "Hey, guys!" she greeted her housemates cheerfully. She glanced at Rob, who was asleep, and decided not to wake him up. She really did need to talk to him - hopefully he wasn't too angry at her. She had tried to get to the party, after all...
Her brows furrowed as she noticed the growing tension between Mike and Justin. "Congratulations on your Quidditch positions!" She said, hoping to lighten the mood - hence the reason she didn't mention the captain aspect.
"So when are we going to start practicing? Our teams entirely new this year, so we should really start planning some game strategies."
~*Michael Treu*~
"I'm sure it will be really fun," Michael said smirking at Justin just enough to understand that the emphasis on fun. "Filch probably let you guys off easier though. There were so many of you at that party last night. Someone told me that there were three Prefects there. Out to make Malfoy look good?"
He realized that he'd gone too far off course with the Prefect tangent. He'd have to switch back. So he turned to Hope. "Anyway, I'm almost looking forward to detention. It's bound to be an interesting detention. Snape might have cooked up something interesting by now."
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
The biting tones in Michael's conversation directed at Justin were not going unnoticed by the boy. He understood the sarcasm in the word fun, and Michael certainly was correct on that matter. Hell he was correct on the whole matter, which is what hurt. 'Out to make Malfoy look good.' It certainly appeared that way didn't it? He wasn't the only one at fault on the matter, but he was partially responsible.
Justin didn't respond, instead concentrating on his ham and cheese melt.
~*Michael Treu*~
Damn it. He pushed too far. Justin was going to ignore him now because if he did answer he would have to admit that he had made Malfoy look good.
Michael rolled his eyes and took a large bite out of his sandwich. Justin was turning out to be an idiot and a huge pain. He was too good to be real, Hufflepuff Prefect and Quidditch captain. Pity he wasn't the Seeker he'd be just like Cedric- just like Cedric. Was that what Justin was trying to do? He grinned to himself as he swallowed the last bit of his sandwich. Even if that wasn't what Justin was trying for, the similarities were eerie.
"What's wrong Finch-Fletchley? Cat got your tongue?"
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
Justin could feel the heat rising from under his collar. His cheeks and jaw line were warm with the blush and he tried desperately to suppress it. It wasn't the sort of blush he produced in opposition of a flirt or the mention of one. It was a truly embarrassed flushing, a hot roll of red the grew not only on his face but in a starburst from the center of his chest. The back of his eyes burned momentarily and he blinked them shut. Sighing, he opened them back up again. He turned his head in Michael's direction, not fully on him however, it was hung in an upset manner, sandy brown hair falling past his forehead and brushing his light eyebrows.
"Just haven't got anything to say." he replied quietly. "I know I shouldn't have been there. I'll just have to serve my punishment."
Truthful as ever, Michael's goading wouldn't beat that out of him. He wasn't pushing any anger onto the older boy, nor giving an attitude really. Mostly dealing with his inner demons on the subject, however Mike had forced him to do so under audience.
He wondered if his new partner even felt guilty over getting Kartiair a detention. He raised hi head a bit, brown eyes studying his opponent's features. He couldn't tell.
~*Robin Fieldstone*~
Robin had been sleeping lightly. He awoke as tension started to brew between Justin and Mike. He took a large sip of pumpkin juice as he listened to them. His head was feeling better now; he needed to eat, that was the problem. He didn't like how pushy Mike was getting, though.
"Mike, you're getting a bit hot under the collar, maybe this'll cool you down." he took a goblet of water, pulled Mike's collar, and poured it down his robe. "Now, I hope you've cooled off some." With that he went back to eating his lunch, he was really hungry.
~*Hope*~
Hope didn't answer Mike's comment about the detention, she was too busy listening to him and Justin's exchange. She was about to butt in when Rob poured water down Mike's shirt.
She gasped, and jumped up from her seat. "Now, boys!" she exclaimed sternly. "This is all getting way out of hand! Justin, Michael, and Robin - you all had better settle your differences right now. We are a house, we are supposed to stick together! Aren't we Hufflepuff's supposed to be loyal?" She knew she was preaching, but right now she didn't care. This was getting way out of hand.
"Guys," she pleaded. "Isn't it possible to get along? You are all acting really immature, and it's just going to hurt our house."
~*Michael Treu*~
Justin's lack of response was disappointing to say the least. He didn't have a chance to think of a response because Robin decided to drench him. He sat there cold, wet, and incredibly angry. Hope could barely be heard in the background as he regained his senses and reached across the table to punch Robin. He got him right in the nose, but unfortunately the table was between them and he hadn't hit him very hard.
"You're dead Fieldstone!" Michael said as he walked- no ran around the table to get a hold of the other 6th year.
~*Kartiair Parker *~
Kartiair's timing was less than perfect. She was able to see Robin toss a glass of water at Michael and for a moment he had remained still. Then he'd lunged at Robin. Michael was going to kill Robin. "Don't!"
She wasn't close enough to do anything of use. She fumbled for her wand, but the boys were standing too close together besides Hope and Justin there too.
At least the boy's hadn't went for their wands yet. Where was Filch and a Professor when you needed one? They could bust them at a party in the middle of night but they couldn't prevent a brawl in broad daylight?
~*Robin Fieldstone*~
Rob looked up for a moment at Hope but didn't give her any other recognition. He was still eating when Mike hit him square in the nose. He slid his chair back and reached for his nose. A bit of blood but it didn't seem all that bad. He looked back at Mike and did his best to keep calm, for Mike's sake. He had promised not to fight Mike, and was going to keep that promise with his friends.
"So violent Mike. I guess that water didn't cool you off. You know, you should really see a therapists about these bursts of anger, they're really unhealthy."
~*Hope*~
Hope's eyes widened as she went for her wand. "If anything else happens we put body binds on both of them," she said to Katiair.
It seemed her attempt at peacemaking hadn't worked very well. "Mike, stop it! You're going to lose us points! And Rob, please don't provoke him! Justin, come on, help me out!"
~*Michael Treu*~
"You shouldn't have started then Fieldstone. Don't act mature now. It'll take the fun out of it," Michael said as he rounded the table and hit him with a closed fist in the head. Everyone else was being ignored. He was dimly aware of the fact that Kartiair and Hope had their wands out, but only because the thought of taking his out now.
"Acting so superior. Guess what? You're not Justin." He shifted through his pockets for his wand with his left hand and with his right he held on to Robin.
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
Justin watched in stunned horror as Robin flung his goblet of water on Mike. It had begun again. And this time, it wasn't in the privacy of a classroom. They were in the great hall in front of who knew how many students.
He and Hope jumped up at the same time. Justin, however, was unable to find his voice. Hope was on some rant, but he couldn't take the concentration to listen. He was trained on Michael's reaction.
Robin was hit dead in the nose. It didn't look too hard, but he was bleeding. Michael was on his way round the table now. Kartiair's plea rung in the back of his mind. What perfect timing. He didn't want her jumping in the middle of this again. Michael was practically on Robin before Justin could find the inclination to move.
He flung himself over the table. Sliding over the wet mess, he tried to wedge himself between the two boys. Wand completely forgotten at this point. It was a physical matter. But, Michael had managed another hit before Justin could get to them. He had his back to Robin at the moment. He pushed with both his hand against Michael, unwittingly grabbing the material of his robes into fists in the process.
"No magic." Justin growled firmly. Michael's hand was searching, and he knew what for. "That's enough. Both of you."
~*Hope*~
Hope blinked a bit after Justin's display. She slowly put her wand down, and waited nervously to see how the boys would react. She realy doubted Mike and Rob would just sit back now. She just hoped they wouldn't do anything more dangerous...she hated hurting people, and really didn't want to use a body bind.
"Are you guys going to stop now?" she asked quietly.
~*Mr Argus Filch*~
Filch noticed a the brawl from his seat at the table with the Professors. Another one shows his true colors. Filch thought to himself. He excused himself from the Staff Table and stopped in front of the Hufflepuffs. He stared from Michael's soaked robes, to Robin's bloody nose. Must have been Mike who was throwing the punches.
He put a hand on each boy's shoulder and ripped them apart. "Mr. Treu, Mr. Fieldstone, my office, NOW!" He grabbed the boys and pushed them through the doors of the Great Hall to his office.
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
Justin's breath was running ragged. His blood was up. Michael was ripped out from in front of him by Filch, which shocked him into inaction. The caretaker drug the two boys off, leaving Justin standing there stunned.
He looked at Hope and Kartiair. Both of the girls stood side by side, wands out, looking about as upset as he felt. Today's lunch had been tumultuous to say the least. Gulping, he couldn't find his voice.
He turned, his shoulders drooping in an almost dejected manner, to see if Professor Sprout had witnessed anything. Then began to make his way back around the table to where he'd left his things.
~*Michael Treu*~
Michael unclenched his fist and followed Filch out of the Great Hall. The brawl had been coming for awhile and Rob had deserved it. He didn't feel the least bit bad, until he walked past Kartiair. Damn it. She shouldn't be able to make him feel like he'd done something wrong. He didn't hang his head, but the proud smile disappeared.
~*Hope*~
Hope watched as Filch dragged the boys out of the Great Hall. She sighed, her shoulders slumping before she sat down in her seat. "That's it. I'm definitely going to see Professor Sprout today."
She began eating her salad, not feeling nearly as happy as she normally was. What had happened to her lovable old house? Why was everyone fighting? Had the tragedy of last year thrown them apart instead of bringing them closer together?
~*Robin Fieldstone*~
Rob looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder. Oh, no, Filch, he groaned. Not again. He couldn't stand Mike. How did he ever get sorted into Hufflepuff anyway? He was just so Slytherin. He let Filch lead him away, watching Mike. He chuckled to himself when they passed Karti and Mike's smile faded. He mouthed to Mike: She's going to love you now
~*Kartiair Parker *~
Kartiair pushed past Michael without giving him a second look. She seized Justin by the shoulders and gave him a shake. "What did you think you were doing! It's alright for me to stand to the side, but you have to jump across the bloody table."
She wasn't really angry with him, he was just being Justin. But for one moment when he jumped across the table he had scared her. Michael could have used any sort of curse he wanted on him, he just hadn't thought of it. Her voice lowered and her words softened before she continued. "He could have hurt you."
~*Justin Finch Fletchley *~
Justin's slumped shoulders were jostled and he looked up. Dead into Kartiair's face. Her expression was pained. Upset, angry, hurt.
Everything that he was feeling inside. 'He could have hurt you.' The words echoed in his head. He wished she could hear them, because that was a big part of why he'd tried to stop the two. Yes, he was doing his job. Yes he did care what happened to Robin. But mostly, he didn't want Kartiair to end up in the middle again.
He was silent, agonizingly silent as he gazed into her eyes. A frown creased his mouth and eyes. He wanted to tear himself away. He wanted to run away. He wanted to get away from everything that was happening around him in the house. There was too much. Too much. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say?
"I had to." he replied quietly. The sound of his voice was clearly apologetic. Yet, he knew he'd had to. It was his duty. His duty came first. HA. His duty came first, that's why he'd been caught at an underground party the night before? That's why he'd taken Kartiair with him to it? Not only breaking the rules himself but encouraging others in his house to do so as well?
He shook his head, brown hair flying outward, eyes screwed shut. He wished he could yell, yell at all the thoughts to get out of his head. He wished he could drown out all the emotions somehow. He took a deep breath and pushed passed her, snatching his bag.
"I have to go." He informed the girls, and quickly made his way out of the hall.
~*Kartiair Parker *~
He had to. He had to throw himself into the middle of it all. She couldn't say anything, couldn't choke out a single things. There was no retort or answer to something like that. He didn't care. Kartiair felt him push past her and watched him scoop up his bag. She stepped back then so that she didn't so much as brush up against him as he left.
A solitary tear raced down her face when he walked away without looking back. She brushed it off with a flick of her wrist. The only one who could have possibly seen it was Hope. She should never have trusted him. That's what you get when you trust people. "Fine Justin."
She picked up the books she had dropped when she had entered the Great Hall earlier and found the boys brawling. Holding the books tightly against her she stormed off with them. Not looking back.
{AN: Thank you for taking the time Wishful Thinking. I appreciate it. Are you a Justin fan? Did you see him in the movie? He was all wrong. They should have switched the actors that played Ernie and Justin, then it would have been more right. Justin is supposed to have curly blond hair. And I realize mine doesn't either, but he's cuter this way, lol}