Why So Punitive?
Author's Note:: Apparently I have no idea what the word soon means. Still, better late than never I suppose. Here's a very small bit of something until I can get the rest written though. I apologize for being a terrible person when it comes to this.
Professor McGonagall's Office 1976
Eirian filed into McGonagall's office, at the end of the line. She wondered where the saying "staring daggers into one's head" came from, and if there was really a possibility that somehow she could conjure daggers into Black's skull by staring really hard at the back of his head. Not to be cheated out of a happy surprise, Eirian continued her glaring until she got through the door.
"Miss Saise, please close the door." McGonagall ordered shortly, and Eirian did as she was told. She took her seat in a chair that was pulled in front of McGongall's desk, regretfully placed next to Black. There was a moment of silence as McGonagall stared at them across her desk.
"You three…" she started, quietly. "Black and Potter, I'd expect. But Miss Saise, I have to say that I'm quite surprised."
Eirian looked at the floor.
"Fighting with other students in Hogwarts is completely unacceptable." McGonagall said sharply.
"They were attacking Lily and Eirian—" Potter interrupted.
"And I suppose it was impossible to find a professor?" She cut across him. McGonagall turned to Eirian. "And Miss Saise, next time a few defensive spells in order to extricate yourself would do. Miss Evans was obviously able to." Eirian had to restrain herself from retorting that Lily had been forcibly extricated by a stunning spell and had not chosen to leave herself; however, doing so would get Lily into the same undeserved punishment.
"Yes, Ma'am." She responded quietly.
"You will have a week's worth of detentions with Mr. Filch." Potter and Black's faces brightened for a second, before McGonagall continued seeing the change in expression. "Lines, as I'm well aware how much you boys enjoy working around the school, especially in the trophy case."
Eirian remembered hearing about how they had animated all of the people on the trophies to run around cause mayhem in the school, and how in a different detention they had changed the names on most of the trophies to James and Sirius, with the exception of bestowing a few horrible awards on Severus.
"This starts tonight at 8 o'clock until lights out."
The boys protested. Eirian remained silent.
"We do not tolerate using magic to harm fellow students, and that is final. You may go." It was less grant of permission than a command. James and Sirius walked out. Eirian started to get up from her chair. She didn't want to talk to them or even look at them.
"Miss Saise, a word." McGonagall stopped her. Eirian lowered herself back into her chair.
"Would you kindly tell me what led you to such an act as this? I have come to expect a disregard for the rules from Potter and Black, but from you?"
Eirian's stomach tightened and her heart sank. She wasn't sure that she'd ever felt so guilty.
"Professor, the boys were attacking a Third Year."
"Excuse me?"
"Lily, and I were walking up from Charms, and we heard shouting. When we turned the corner the Slyterins, Rosier, Mulciber—"
"I know who was involved." McGonagall said shortly.
"Yes, well, they had this boy hanging in the air. Lily wanted to get a professor, but I just wanted them to let him go. I confronted them to stop, and then they turned on me." She left out the part where she sort of invited them to fight with her. "Well, then Black and Potter jumped in when Lily got hit with a spell that missed me, and then Severus came to break it up, but he started going at it with Black and Potter, and everything got much worse."
McGonagall sat quietly, taking it all in. Eirian wished she could read McGonagall's face and know what was going on in her head.
"A Third Year?" she said finally.
"Or Fourth." Eirian said quietly.
"Fighting with other students is still not permissible." McGonagall commented. Eirian nodded.
"I know, and I'm sorry."
"However, I can understand how you could be tempted given the circumstances." A moment of relief. "I hope you understand, this does not mean that you get out of detention. However, since it is your first offense in six years, and you seemed to feel justified in it, I believe that perhaps three nights of lines will teach you the lesson."
"Thank you, Professor."
"You're free to go." Eirian got up out of the chair, much quicker this time and exited the office. A mixture of furiousness with Black and Potter for escalating the situation and the Slytherins for starting it in the first place, and relief at Professor McGonagall not thinking any less of her.