..
"Ugh!" groaned Snivelly, and James felt a little better. He returned to his seat, only to have the back of his robe yanked up by an invisible force the next moment.
"James Fleamont Potter!"
Uh, well. James stifled a sigh.
Alas. How did he see that?
He'd never really been called that by his parents, but he'd learned his lesson at Hogwarts. If you hear your middle name from a professor, you better respond with extreme caution and subtlety.
"Yes, sir. Called for me, sir?"
He decided to play it cool and be polite at first. He'd figure out whether to behave dignified as the heir to an old House or be just a little bit shamelessly affectionate as a professors' favorite based on Peverell's reaction.
"James Potter. Why did you just cast a hex on Mr. Snape?"
Okay, that's enough wiggle room.
McGonagall would have ended this with a detention already; but Peverell's still a rookie to ask why.
He blinked slowly. "Uh, professor... I think you misunderstood."
Before Peverell could question him, he nodded his head slightly at Snivelly.
"The dueling class was intense, and I kept going over in my head how I should have reacted to your spells, and then, well, I just sort of slipped up. I didn't mean to shoot a spell, but it happened, and I'm sorry, Snape."
"...So, a magical accident."
James bowed his head respectfully.
"Yes, sir. As you know, my nonverbal incantations are far from perfect. If it had been a deliberate attack and not an accidental magic, people would have heard even a whisper of a spell being cast. I am truly sorry that I lost control of my wand. However, I hope you will take into consideration the fact that I had just emerged from a vigorous dueling practice, sir."
"Professor. That's just the way Jamie is; he's constantly reciting and reviewing spells in his head even as he walks, and when he's not careful, he often slips up in the hallway and takes out an unintended victim by accidental spells. I've seen it happen dozens of times," Siri smirked and chimed in from the side.
Peverell watched James and Sirius in silence, then smiled wryly.
Yeass! Well done!
Now it was time for him to say something like, 'Be more careful in the future, Mr. Potter. And you, Mr. Snape, will do well to watch out and avoid accidental spells from your classmates.'
...But the words never came.
Professor Peverell continued to smile faintly, the green of his clear, serene eyes strangely no longer glowing.
"So, Mr. James Fleamont Potter, Heir to the House of Potter, you lost control of your wand and slipped."
"...Uh, yeah, sir."
"I see, Mr. Potter, who had just 'lost control of his wand and shoot' at the age of fifteen. It happens."
The calm statement was enough to cause giggles to break out among the students, who had nothing but obscenities in their heads like every fifteen-year-old.
"However, from what your friend said, it sounds like your 'wand control issue' wasn't a one-off."
The giggles in the classroom intensified, and James's face began to blush scarlet. James could see what would be his nickname among the boys from now on. Merlin be damned!
Peverell continued, his expression completely deaf to the sounds around him.
"To prevent such 'mistakes' in the future, and to remind you to be more careful, I am confiscating your wand until the end of dinner time this evening, Potter. Defense Against the Dark Arts is the last spellcasting class on the Gryffindor schedule today, so you will not need your wand for the rest of the day. Come to me in the Great Hall this evening after dinner to retrieve your wand."
By now, Peverell was standing directly in front of Potter. The professor held out his hand and gestured for the wand.
The room fell silent.
Confiscation of a wizard's wand?
Even though it was only for a few hours, the students, the purebloods in particular, who had never imagined such an extreme, unprecedented punishment from the professors at Hogwarts, fell silent in shock. The wand confiscated, in front of his peers? Caning would have been much better.
James's mouth dropped open. A wand? My dragon heartstring wand?
"...Professor Peverell. This is an unwarranted punishment."
James Potter opened his mouth, trying to remain calm. The professor's response was calm and devoid of emotion.
"It is not for a student to decide whether a punishment is warranted or not, Mr. Potter."
"I protest not as a student, but as the first Heir to the honorable House of Potter. The confiscation of my wand for a simple mistake is a punishment that crosses the line and brings unnecessary dishonor to my House. If you insist on enforcing it, I will make a formal appeal to the Board of Governors."
James cleared his trembling throat and looked the professor straight in the eye. Peverell, whether this man is a dual mage or not, is of no great House in Britain. It was impossible for him not to bow before the honor of the Potters.
Faced with James, Professor Peverell burst out laughing.
The boy blushed. "Professor, do you intend to insult the House of Potter, sir?"
Peverell didn't stop laughing. It was a laugh without a hint of amusement.
"Of course not. I salute you. How dare I, to disrespect the Potters, one of the most honorable names in Wizarding Britain, with seats in the Hogwarts Board of Governors as well as in the Wizengamot. I see Lord Fleamont Potter has taught his heir as wonderfully as any honorable pureblood could, about as admirably as the 'Toujours Pur' House of Black."
James's breath caught in his throat for a moment, and he unconsciously glanced back at his friend. Siri's face was ashen.
Peverell controlled his laughter and looked down at James coldly.
"As a tribute to the honor of the Potter family, I will change your punishment, Mr. Potter. From now on, I will specially escort you to Gryffindor dorm after dinner, take your wand with me for safe-keeping, and personally go to your dormitory before breakfast to return it to you for the day. That way, no one will ever say I didn't respect your honorable pureblood family name."
James felt like he was going to choke.
"...From now on?"
Peverell affirmed without a trace of a smile.
"From now on, every single day. You may inform Lord Fleamont himself : I, Henry Peverell, a dual master, express my respect to the House of Potter, and will do my sincere and humble best to visit and discipline the Heir Potter investing my time and effort every day from now on."
James felt like he was having a nightmare. The thing was, Peverell wasn't in the wrong, in the slightest.
No one would deny it was the utmost respect and courtesy for a Hogwarts professor to personally come to one's dorm every day to discipline an individual student. Even if he told his father, there was nothing Dad could do about it if James did not wish to withdraw from Hogwarts and Peverell was serious about continuing this annoying courtesy. To outright refuse such a tribute would be a grave insult and dishonor, to the point that he could not complain if the dual mage declared a blood feud on his family.
That James' 'having a wand-control issue' excuse for this extraordinary discipline will spread far beyond Hogwarts and into the entire Wizarding community was an added bonus.
'Fuck, just beat me and be done with it!' inwardly screamed James, glancing at Remus. Mooney, ever the wise one, shook his head gingerly.
There was only one way out now.
"Sir, on second thought, I think a short-term confiscation of my wand is a very reasonable punishment that you're entitled to do as a professor. And besides, I can't on my conscience commit the rudeness of having you come to my dormitory in person. Here it is."
Surrender and roll over completely.
Without a second's hesitation, James produced his wand and presented it to the professor. Once you come to the conclusion of cutting your losses, the sooner the better.
Peverell accepted the wand, his expression unchanged.
"A short-term?"
"...A period of time, sir. Please."
Deciding to go with the surrender-and-flatter tactic, James looked at the professor with the most pitiful expression he could muster, the one he gave McGonagall once or twice a year. The professor showed no sign of falling for it, but he gave a small nod after a moment.
"One week. From your last spellcasting class until the end of dinner. And I'm deducting 20 points."
"...Yes, sir."
"And if that 'loss of control' happens again, it will be two weeks of confiscation of wand, every day until breakfast."
"Understood, professor."
James inclined his head and sat back in his seat. When he looked over at Snivelly, he found him staring up at Peverell with wide coal eyes. That little prick.
Confiscation of his wand! He couldn't believe he'd gotten such an unusual, harsh punishment, unheard of for a wizard, because of Snivellus.
Yesterday getting dumped by Evans, and today getting his wand confiscated for a sniveling dweeb. Great, just great.
It was the worst start to the term ever. James ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he should ask Peter for a fortune of this year.
..
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(NOTE)
to Kyralian : I intend to keep this pace for a couple of weeks at least. After that, well, let's just see 😸
And for those who sent me PM about uploading error on Ch 10, thx for letting me know! It was fixed.
Please Read and Review! You know authors thrive on it.