Sebastian opened his eyes, figuring out what to do. He was outnumbered 1 to 7, but fortunately for him, he was wearing boots today, and was actually quite strong for a fifteen-year-old. He straightened to his full height, and slammed his foot into Karofsky's knee without warning.
Sebastian heard a crack and Karofsky let out an agonized shout as he stumbled back and collapsed onto the floor. Sebastian smirked, but the expression was quickly wiped off his face as Azimio came at him, aiming his fists at Sebastian's chest. He dodged Azimio's punches, and kicked him, this time in the groin.
Then the other cronies were advancing and Sebastian had to concentrate on avoiding their punches and kicks and dealing out his own.
He was so caught up in the fight that when there was a loud explosion, he froze and slowly turned around, and upon seeing an angry Headmistress McGonagall, he gulped.
"What on earth is going on here?" McGonagall said in an angry voice. After a few seconds of stunned silence, she said, "All right, all of you- come with me." After she said that, she turned around and started walking towards her office, with Sebastian and the others trailing after her.
When they reached a griffin, McGonagall said, "Panthera leo," and the griffin started turning around, revealing a staircase that started rising out of the floor. McGonagall stepped on the staircase, followed by the others.
At the top of the staircase was a door, which McGonagall opened to reveal her office. Sebastian had been in the Headmistress's office before, but this was the first time he was here because he might get in trouble, which made him very nervous.
"Sit," said McGonagall, going to her chair behind her desk and waving her wand, making eight chairs appear in front of it. Sebastian and the others sat down, and McGonagall stared at them for a moment, looking very disapproving, then finally turned her gaze on Sebastian and said, "Mr. Smythe, would you care to explain what was going on?"
"I- I was going to dinner," started Sebastian, "and one of them pushed me when I turned a corner. They insulted me, I insulted them, and then Karofsky punched me, so I- started fighting them back."
"Mr. Karofsky, is that true?" asked McGonagall, turning to Karofsky. Karofsky, who was glaring murderously at Sebastian, turned to McGonagall and opened his mouth, before McGonagall said, "Be aware that I will know if you are lying, Mr. Karofsky."
"It is," said Karofsky eventually.
"Very well," said McGonagall. "As a punishment, all of you, except for Mr. Smythe, will have ten points each deducted from your house." As soon as she said that, some of the bullies started complaining, but McGonagall fixed them all with a steely glare, silencing them. "If you keep this up, it will be fifteen points each," she said. "Now go."
Sebastian and the others got up and started walking towards the door. "Oh, and Mr. Smythe," came McGonagall's voice from behind. "You should probably go to the nurse- that looks like a nasty bruise."
"Thank you," said Sebastian, exiting the office.
When he left the office, Sebastian debated going to the nurse or the Great Hall. On the one hand, he was hungry, but from the way his face was aching, he realized it might actually be painful to eat. With that in mind, he hurried off to the hospital wing.
As soon as Madam Pomfrey saw Sebastian's face, quickly ushered him over to a chair, then rushed off to find a potion. She returned with it quickly, and Sebastian forced down the not-so-pleasant concoction.
"You shouldn't be feeling any pain in a few minutes, although I'm afraid the bruising will just have to mend on its own time," said Madam Pomfrey. "Now, off you go."
Sebastian entered the Great Hall a few minutes later, and smirked slightly at the reactions of other people when they saw his face. He sat down at the Ravenclaw table, and was just starting to eat when Blaine walked over.
"Sebastian, what happened?" asked Blaine in a worried voice.
"Karofsky, Azimio, and a bunch of other brainless Neanderthals happened," replied Sebastian. "It's okay, I'm fine- I just took a potion, so it doesn't even hurt anymore."
"I suppose the same can't be said for them," said Blaine, looking over to where the group of Slytherins were sitting, expressions of pain and anger on their faces.
"Yeah," agreed Sebastian. "Besides, McGonagall deducted 70 points from Slytherin because of this, so I'm not complaining at all."
After that, they talked about their various classes, until Blaine had to leave to for patrol. Sebastian stayed for a few minutes after Blaine left, finishing his dessert, then got up and started to leave to go to his dorm.
He was almost at the entrance of the hall when someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around to see Kurt looking at him with an unidentifiable expression on his face. "Sebastian," said Kurt. "You- do you want help covering that up?"
Sebastian couldn't reply for a second, stunned by the fact that Kurt was actually talking to him. "Oh- um, yes, thanks," he eventually said.
"Okay, come on," replied Kurt, taking Sebastian's hand and walking out of the hall. "My stuff is in my dorm, so that's where we're going," he said as he walked down towards the dungeons.
Sebastian stumbled a little when Kurt said that. He was actually going to be in Kurt's room, and Kurt would probably be touching him, and that was just enough to slightly fry Sebastian's brain.