Oops, just realized I forgot to post the previous chapter I translated, so you're in luck, here are two chapters!
Before you start reading, I just wanted to thank the people who followed or favorited this story, that truly matters to me.
And if you're kind enough to review, be aware that it really fuels me to keep on translating the story :)

Enjoy!

The week following my fight with Scorpius sucks. It's only now that we're on the outs that I realize the place he took in my daily life. In History of Magic, his group pretends like I don't exist. Eva groups up with a girl from my dorm and I'm forced to team up with Mike Brien, a half-blood from Ravenclaw who doesn't look overly pleased. In DADA, again, I don't find any partner to work on my spells.

The worst part of Monday comes in Potions, where duos are made for the whole year. Scorpius totally ignores me, which makes it almost impossible to coordinate. We both are good at school, but we mutually get in each other's way, which results in annoyed sighs. Those are nothing compared to the hissing of our cauldron about to burst. Luckily, Scorpius just left the protection bubble at this moment, and grabs me out just on time. I violently hit the ground, but at least avoid the corrosive splashes of our potions. The teacher quickly makes the damaged ingredients and the potion residues disappear. Meanwhile, I get back on my feet, keeping a hand on my aching skull.

"Thanks. Are you alright?" I ask Scorpius, even if we're supposed to be angry at each other. He yells at me:

"Alright? It's your fault if the cauldron exploded! For all the books you read you don't even know you should be careful putting ingredients in? There's a timing to follow!"

"What do you mean it's my fault? I'll have you know that if you hadn't ignored me during the whole class, the timing would have been way easier to follow! But no, you prefer pouting. Dumbass!"

"You dirty Flobbyworm! Who do you think you are? I-"

My former friend, whose anger turned red, can't finish his sentence, because Von Saxen cuts in. His deep voice drily coming out:

"Malfoy! Mackson! Where do you think you are exactly?"

I stop staring at Scorpius to look at him, and realize everyone stopped working and is staring. Of course, Scorpius's friends already joined him, forming a front line to face me.

"I'm sorry sir. Malfoy and I have some relational difficulties, and he wasn't able to put them aside to work on the potion."

"I couldn't care less about your childish quarles. You will learn to behave with decency and maturity! The rest of you, put your potions into flasks, quickly. If you worked well, they must be done, otherwise you're the ones to blame. You two! Tidy your stuff and go on the platform. We will fix your problem, Durmstrang's way."

Everyone quickly does what the teacher says with halfway confused, halfway annoyed whispers. As soon as it's done he clears the platform before telling Scorpius and me to place ourselves at each end of the makeshift stage. I start guessing what his plan is, but seriously..? Yes. He tells the other students to form a half circle before the platform and claps his hands. He then jumps on the stage between us, looking now more playful than angry. He casts some protective spells before speaking again:

"The first one unable to fight or getting out of the platform loses. No Unforgivables. Begin!"

He jumps out of the stage, and even if Scorpius has the reflex of putting his guard up, he's way too slow.

I cast an Expeliarmus that hits at first try. I can thank all the training with Ewald. His wand flies to land between us. I almost expect him to surrender, but he jumps on it, so I run in the same direction. Unavoidably, we meet halfway. My vague experience of martial arts, paired with my sportive training don't let him any chance. He manages to hit me in the jaw with an approximative blow before I hit his legs, making him drop to the ground. I climb on him, wildly twisting his arm behind his back. He tries to catch his wand, despite the pain, but I kick it away before pulling harder on his arm.

"Give up!"

"Screw you!"

Since I don't want to break his arm, no matter if we're in the Wizarding world, I let him go, retrieving his wand before he could attempt anything. He painfully stands up, taking in his shitty situation, and spits spitefully:

"Give me my wand back! You won, congrats."

His "congrats" rings like an insult, and I restrain myself from throwing his wand to the ground, giving it back to him instead. He snatches it out of my hands without a thank you. That's when the teacher comes back to the stage, dissipating the spells he casted.

"Well, I hope it calmed you down. If you even do it again, I'll be your next opponent and I can assure you you wouldn't like that. Corporal punishment is prohibited in Hogwarts, but I assure you that the rules still give me some latitude. Class is dismissed."

We walk back to our seats to get our bags, and Von Saxen adds:

"Twenty points from each of you, and of course you'll get a T on this potion."

I'm surprised to not see Scorpius glaring at me, since he considers that I'm the one to blame. But well, most of the other kids in the group give me enough bad looks already.

xxx

The last class of the day, Care of Magical Creatures, isn't that great either. I'm happy when I'm finally done with my classes. I run to go back to the castle and use the time when everyone starts eating to shower quickly at the dorm. It only takes me five minutes so no adult notices it. It avoids me having to go to the dorm when everyone is inside. I eat with my older friends and earn a back-handed compliment from Ewald when I tell them about the duel:

"Aren't you ashamed of using your superiority like that?"

Alphonse bursts out laughing before telling us again how much he loves this teacher and his teaching methods. This starts the conversation. Arthur quietly squeezes my shoulder, having probably felt my disappointment towards Scorpius, and I manage to not buck. To be honest, it's even a small relief. He didn't keep the contact for too long, that probably helped.

xxx

On Tuesday, I skip breakfast and exploit the fact that everyone is gathered inside the Great Hall to walk discretely towards the Forbidden Forest. Unfortunately, Hagrid is working around his hut, which forces me to a broad detour to avoid being seen. I finally reach the edge of the first trees and slip between them, happily breathing in the smell of humus. It's been a while since I've last had a stroll in the forest. There were a lot of forests around where I used to live, in France. But in London, there's none. You can only find some parks with domesticated trees, abused by dogs and passer-bys. I've missed it. It's dark under the trees even if the sun is already up. I can feel the magic of this place. It puts a light pressure on mine, similar to the magic of Hogwarts but with slight differences. Instinctively, I'm more on my guard. This land is not as well protected as the castle. Nevertheless, I enjoy being here. I move as quietly as possible, sliding between the trees, trying not to step on twigs… I sink into the coppice without running into anyone, yet I feel like I'm being observed.

I'm not staying in the forest for too long, because if I skip the meal my mates could be intrigued. Also, I still have homework to do, which is why I trail back around ten o'clock, after spending some time lying down in a clearing. I have more trouble than expected finding my way back, but eventually reach the castle shortly before eleven without getting spotted leaving the Forbidden Forest.

I'm appointed for detention with Longbottom from one thirty to two twenty five. I eat with Arthur and Ewald before quickly leaving to be on time. The teacher opens immediately when I knock at his door, and lets me in. His office is warm, slightly disorganized. There's pots spread all over the room, filled with diverse plants. I instantly like the place, contrary to the reason leading me there. He makes me sit in front of him, before he asks:

"So miss, did you write down your apology letters?"

"No professor."

"Then it's what you'll be doing now. I suppose you have ink and a feather?"

"Yes professor." I let out a sigh. "But I don't intend on apologizing to those girls, so you'd spare yourself some time making me do something else."

"You will write those letters. And it'll be ten points from your House for your insolence."

"If you say so…" I mutter, sitting where I'm told. I have nothing against Longbottom, really, but it's a pity he's just like the other teachers I've had before. I stay still before my parchment for an instant before writing:

"Dearest Faith,

I'm sorry. Deeply sorry in fact, that your life is so boring that you have nothing better to do than trying to mess with mine. I'm sorry, too, that you're so stupid that you don't realize that provoking me will only bring you pain. Lastly, I'm sorry that your friends aren't any smarter than you and follow you and your profound stupidity.

Cordially,

Vivian-Eris Mackson"

I put down my feather wearily. It doesn't even amuse me. I don't bother writing the same kind of text to the other two girls, I already forgot their names anyway. Well, one of them is called Alexandra, I think. Anyway, I notice the teacher stopped writing, and comes closer to read above my shoulder. He realizes quickly what I did, and swipes the parchment before me, ordering:

"Come back to my desk."

As soon as I obeyed, he starts speaking again:

"I have trouble understanding, Miss Mackson. Explain to me how you can be such a model student in class, then attack those girls with such violence."

"I explained to you, but you didn't want to listen, sir."

"Try explaining again. And no insolence."

"I never denied I was to blame as well. But those girls have been bullying me since day one, just because they don't like me for some reason. Thus I consider my behavior is at worst understandable and at best justified."

"What do you call bullying?"

"The classic stuff: insults, mockery, "jokes" like damaging my stuff…"

"And why didn't you talk about it to a teacher?"

"I think you perfectly know why, professor. No one wants to be a snitch, it only makes things worse. All I want is to be left in peace."

"It seems to me that you're someone smart, Miss Mackson. You must know as well as I do that as soon as you're not left alone, it's already too late. Sure, it's good to show your tormentors you can face them, but there's situations you can't handle on your own. You have the advantage of your knowledge that seems to include Muggle fistfighting, but that doesn't mean you have to use it. If you keep on going like that, you'll have no one on your side and it'll be difficult to plead legitimate defense. Do you understand me, miss?

"Yes professor." I answer, surprised by his honesty and his understanding.

"Good. Just this once, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, and dispense you from writing those letters. But your last two hours of detention remain, because no matter why you did what you did, your behavior was not okay and it's important that you're aware of it. In return, I expect you to come and talk to me next time someone is harassing you rather than trying to solve the problem by yourself. Does that sound acceptable to you?"

I stare at Longbottom, pushing away the spike of anger I'm feeling knowing Faith and her mates won't be punished. He made a compromise, and I can admit my wrongs. I should have been more subtle with this and calling a teacher would probably have been a good idea. But I know too well that I can only count on myself in the end, and I won't go crying Longbottom every time something will happen. But yes, in some cases it can be useful. Even if it's only to make my life easier, avoiding antagonizing the teachers in addition to the students. That's the reason why I nod, saying:

"Yes professor."

Once we're done talking, Longbottom throws my apology letter into the fire. He then makes me work on the plants used in the composition of a balm for bruises. Once he sets me free, I head to the Quidditch field to fly, and take part in a spontaneous match with students from other Houses. Since we have no golden snitch at hand I play as Beater and even if the training Bludger is quite old, it's still pretty fun to throw it at other players with my bat. It's therapeutic.

xxx

I'm supposed to have my last two hours of detention the day after, at noon and in the evening. I spend the morning doing my homework in the library. Arthur and Ewald join me after their Transfiguration class. Since they have the afternoon free, like I do, we plan on playing some Dominaris at our HQ then maybe go flying. Arthur doesn't play Quidditch, and it's not his favorite activity but we still manage to convince him to fly with us sometimes. Well, to be more accurate I will convince him, since Ewald doesn't really care. Alphonse joins us for the meal and before leaving for my detention I ask him if he'd like to fly with us. He happily accepts. The detention is fine, this time I just have to help Longbottom to take care of the plants inside the greenhouses. He teaches me a lot of things at the same time. I feel like our talk from yesterday has been useful.

When I leave the greenhouse, I'm surprised to see Arthur waiting for me.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to tell you that everyone is already at the Quidditch pit. Hence the Dominaris will only happen late." he answers, in a regretful tone.

I smile and retrieve my broom from my pocket (I caught the habit from Al' and the rest of the Gryffindor team). I offer Arthur a seat, and he climbs behind me, although he doesn't seem very motivated, because he trusts me. When we arrive, Al' and Ewald are playing an impromptu match with a bunch of Sixth and Seventh Years. I drop Arthur, who goes to the change rooms to get his broom and I join Al', who seems to be leading one of the teams from the goals. He tells me that there's enough Beaters and that I could play as a Chaser. I instantly join the game.

After about two minutes I manage to catch a pass and head for the goals, dodging Bludgers on the fly (see the pun I did there?). Ewald manages to join me, and we exchange some passes (we're on the same team). I attempt a goal, miss (I'm better at catching than at throwing), and the game goes on. After a while, part of the players abandon us to go studying. Since we're not enough to play anymore, I suggest that we try to do an obstacle race. Most of the people are curious, so I improvise a small obstacle course with Alphonse's help. The goal is to slalom between the stands, dodging Blugers , and cross a small part of the Forbidden Forest as fast as possible before getting back to the starting point. It's nothing fancy, but we organized it spontaneously. Arthur and two other Seven Years who aren't very motivated to risk their lives accept to serve as judges, and two Sixth Years decide they'll make sure the Bludgers keep flying, arguing it'll be funnier than taking part in the race. For my part, I line up with the others on the improvised starting line. We're only five in the race, including Ewald and Al'. The other two are a Hufflepuf, a Sixth Year Chaser and Edward Jenkins, our Seeker.

Arthur casts the starting signal with his wand, and we fly simultaneously towards the stands. The other challengers gained some attitude, but I stayed close to the ground to gain time, barely two meters high. The Hufflepuff gets a bit ahead of the group, but Ewald and Edward are following him up close, and I'm right below them. Al' is a bit late, with his Keeper job he's less used to that kind of thing, but he's less than three meters behind us. We reach open ground, and the Bludgers start raining. One of them undermines the Hufflepuff who finds himself far behind us, and another one brushes Ewald's arm. That must hurt a bit, but he keeps on going, barely slowing down. There's only three Bludgers, but the two Beaters are doing so well that each of us has to do complicated dodges to avoid catching one in the face. Ewald even has to do a fancy roll to avoid one of them, and it distracts him for a few seconds. I lose some ground, and gain some attitude to be ready to cross the forest. I find myself neck and neck with Al' and we trade an adrenaline-fueled smile before parting ways to avoid the first tree. The trees aren't very close in that part of the forest that is only an arm about ten meters broad pointing out of the actual forest. We still all have to split and find ourselves forced to slow down significantly. At least, I do. My speed is still dangerous, but I want to win, and I suppose the others will likely be more careful than me. It's my chance to catch up. I take pleasure in avoiding the branches and trunks at top speed, even if I get violently hit in the back by a vine while dodging a branch. I feel alive, adrenaline flooding my veins. I suddenly go back to open ground, and go straight up to turn around in a sort of looping. I catch Ewald in the corner of my eyes going out of the forest, as well as the Seventh Year judge flying above the wood. I rush towards the Quidditch field, trying to become one with my broom to gain more speed. Ewald crosses me, and I can feel my broom becoming harder and harder to control due to my speed. The Hufflepuff comes out of nowhere and crosses me as well. He's barely faster than me, but it's enough. I try to go faster, but it isn't enough. We reach the stands. We rush between two of them, one after the others, the Chaser slowing down a bit in order not to crash into the wood, and we find ourselves neck to neck again. He still manages to cross me again. We land almost at the same time, following Ewald, then Alphonse arrives about twenty seconds later.

"That was amazing! Who won?!"

"Ewald" I answer with a smile "Does anyone know where Edward is?"

"He's coming" answers Ewald, pointing at the sky

Indeed, the last challenger finally joins us, accompanied by the Seventh Year judge who was watching the forest. He apparently managed to tangle himself into a bunch of vines and branches, and had to call the Seventh Year for help. Everyone seems to have enjoyed the race, even if Arthur gently reproaches me to have almost given him a heart attack with the speed I entered the forest with. We decide to leave the Quidditch pit in case some teachers saw us and would like some explanations. As we get moving, Edwards shouts at us:

"I want a rematch!"

And just like that, I trade a look with Al', and the same idea comes to our mind. Ewald sees it, lets out a sigh, and ask.

"You want to do it again, right?"

"Totally! But we'll have to organize ourselves better next time. I'd say more participants, more obstacles…"

"The part inside the forest was cool" adds Alphonse

"But there was some blatant lack of action…. We could allow spellcasting!"

"Wait guys, that would be way too dangerous!" Arthur objects

"Not if we make a list of authorized spells ahead" Ewald answers, playing along "Let's say only spells that would slow down people, but not create accidents."

"What are you thinking about" asks Arthur "Spells like those who make hair grow for instance?"

"That sort of thing, yes, or some elemental spells of water or wind. Spells that create nets. It might sound dangerous, but we'll only let people take part in the race who know how to fly and are responsible."

"We could add paint bombs!" I scream enthusiastically. Ewald smiles.

"That's a good idea."

"Merlin helps us, Ewald, you're taking this as a challenge aren't you?" asks Arthur

"Looks like Gryffindors have a bad influence on me."

"Come on Arthur, it will be fun!" I say

The Hufflepuff lets out a sigh, smiles, and explains:

"I'm just afraid that someone is going to get hurt. But you're right, it could be fun."

"Will you want to participate?" I ask maliciously

"Flying is not really my thing, and you know it. But I could judge and take care of minor injuries if needed. After all, I have some knowledge in Healing."

"Great! So Arthur, judge and Healer. Ewald, I let you take care of the authorized spell list, okay? I will be thinking about the obstacles…" I say, with a mischievous smile.

"What about me?" Alphonse asks

"You, my dear, are our head of communications. I'm a First Year, an asocial one even, and Ewald is not much better off. Between you and Arthur, you're the one most likely to know people motivated to participate, not snitch and who will fulfill the requirements. And well, we can all recruit people of course, if needed we'll make people take a little flying test."

"You planned everything already! When do we do that?"

"Not too soon. Maybe in one or two weeks, if everyone is fine with that?"

Since no one objects, we call it good and head to our HQ to play some Dominaris. Alphonse leaves us to do Alphonse stuff. In the evening, I have my last hour of detention with Longbottom who goes without any problem. He tells me again to come looking for him if anything comes up.

xxx

It's the day after that things get annoying again. In Herbology, I can't find any partner, since Scorpius keeps on avoiding me, and I end up with George Davey, a half-blood from Slytherin. At least he's not too talkative, even if he sucks at Herbology. The Charms class is better, because we have to work on our own, and I instantly manage to do the spell we're studying. It's Wingardium Leviosa, and I could already cast it before going to Hogwarts.

When I leave the class, among the first students, I notice a little group of older students that must be in second or third year, leaning against a wall near the classroom. I don't really pay attention to them, but when I head to the Great Hall, planning on going to eat, they start following me and I hear them asking a girl from my dorm:

"Is she Vivian Eris?"

I turn, surprised to hear my name. The girl having answered positively, they get closer to me. They're three. Two of them wear a Gryffindor uniform, and the last one is a Ravenclaw. Around us, the students from my class are going towards the Great Hall without paying any attention to me. I discreetly put my hand inside my pocket to catch my wand before asking:

"What do you want from me?"

"My name is Carris Bolton." answers the Gryffindor who asked who I was

"Uuuh, nice to meet you, I guess?" I answer, unsure of what it means

"You beat up my sister on Saturday. Does the name of Alexandra ring a bell?"

Oh. Ah. Hm.

"You sister stole my wand. If she leaves me alone, so do I, that's how it works."

"You are not allowed to treat my sister like that, you freak! We're bringing you to the Great Hall, and you'll apologize to her on your knees in front of everyone."

"Yeah, sure. What if I don't want to?" I ask with a smile that seems to annoy the crap out of the kid

"We're not asking for your opinion. It's your last chance!" he threatens, pulling out his wand.

There's only a few pupils left around us (and I inwardly grimace when I recognize Scorpius among them) and no teacher in sight. I take my guard, choosing to let them attack first. Even if it's probably a stupid idea, I do it in the hopes that this time at least no one will accuse me of attacking people. The two mates of Carris pull out their wands as well and the other students move away from us in order to avoid catching a spell.

"What do you decide?" asks the kid

"Attack me, let's get over it." I answer, bored.

Carris tries to snatch the wand out of my hands, but I move to the side and use his momentum against him to make him trip, pushing him in the back at the same time. I'm fighting three people at the same time, I have no choice but to be violent. I turn towards the other two opponents, who haven't reacted yet, at the moment when Carris falls behind. Unexpectedly, I hear a loud crack that raises an instinctive nausea inside me, followed by a cry of pain. I don't have the time to dwell over it, because the Gryffindor casts an expelliarmus and I feel my wand escaping my hands to land on his. The Ravenclaw casts a Furnunculus on me and my skin gets covered by painful pustules. I throw myself at the Gryffindor, launching my foot at his crotch, and we both moan in pain (exploding pustules is painful). He has the reflex to catch my leg and pull, which makes me lose my balance and sends me saying hello to the ground, my head hitting the stone sharply. He tries to cast an Aquamenti on me, but he doesn't control it well, and rather than hurting me the cold water clears my mind. I roll to the side and stand. I catch both legs of the Gryffindor, managing to make him drop on the ground. We roll next to the Ravenclaw who seems unsure whether he should try to cast a spell or not, afraid of hurting his mate probably. I manage to snatch my wand from my opponent's hands, and cast a Flipendo at him, point-blank. I just learned it during my last training with Ewald. Lucky for the Gryffindor, he was above me at that moment. Because I didn't think, and when I see him flying away two meters above the ground I realize that I could have killed him, would he had been on the ground's side. I don't have much time to dwell on that thought though, because the Ravenclaw casts a Stupefy that brushes against my side, numbing my body and slowing down my every move. The guy probably doesn't master the spell, lucky for me. Since fighting at close range is working well for me, I get back closer to my opponents. Contrary to the last dude I hit, this one clearly doesn't know how to fight without a wand. That's the reason why, when I hear a shout of "Stop this right now!" I'm in his back, busy strangling him. I raise my head to find Longbottom and Von Saxen staring at the mess, led by Scorpius who is taking in the scene, mouth wide open in shock.

My Head of House pauses for a second, the time for the scene to sink in, and I innocently let go of the Ravenclaw. When Longbottom recognizes me, his expression shifts to something halfway angry, halfway resigned, before ordering:

"Everyone who didn't take part in the fight, go to the Great Hall immediately. Simon will take care of everyone who will still be there in thirty seconds!"

The Potions teacher has a carnivorous smile which has the effect of making the corridor empty within a very short time. As soon as there's only Carris, his friends and myself left (as well as Scorpius, for some reason), Von Saxen checks on Carris, who his laying against a wall, clutching his right arm against him, while Longbottom orders:

"Alright, everyone goes to the nursery. But you'd better have very good explanations, right miss Mackson?"

Knowing there would be no use in protesting I don't even try. I realize that nursery probably meant medical exams. No one should know about my cuts. But I don't see any way out, so I don't say anything while I follow the group towards the nursery, hoping I can avoid being cast a diagnosis spell on. Once we reach our destination, Longbottom makes me sit near the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor guys, under the dissuasive watch of Von Saxen, who still hasn't said anything. Scorpius is sent to Longbottom's office while the teacher brings Carris to Pomfresh. After a quick glance at us, the nurse calls "Ethan!". A young wizard that I've never seen before emerges from an adjacent room, and Pomfresh orders:

"Go check on those young students on the chairs, I think the arm of this one may be broken."

The guy nods, and gets closer to us. He's probably around twenty and wears white robes. He has long, pulled back hair, and looks a bit stressed. He introduces himself quickly while casting spells on me to dry my clothes and make my pustules vanish.

"Hi, I'm Ethan Colis, I'm learning to become a Healer and you'll find me here pretty often. Of course, I hope you won't come too often to the nursery."

He casts a diagnosis spell on me, that luckily only targets my head, to my great relief. He looks rather pleased by the result and waves his wand towards my skull, telling me I've nothing bad, and that he's just making the blood disappear. He then closes my head wound and asks if I still have painful areas, to which I answer no, even though my leg still hurts from hitting the Gryffindor while I had furuncles. I don't want him to feel the need of casting a diagnosis spell on my entire body, really. Reassured, he then turns towards my opponents, who he proceeds to heal as well, explaining what he's doing as he goes. None of them is badly hurt, even if the Gryffindor does have majestic bruises on his sides, due to my Repulso.

Longbottom comes back to us when the apprentice Healer goes to report to Pomfresh. After making sure that none of us is badly hurt, he orders the guys to go eat, making them promise to come to his office as soon as they're done. He then tells me to follow him, which I do without a word. The trip is short, and neither I nor Longbottom say anything. He looks furious. Scorpius is waiting in front of his office, and he lets him in, ordering me to stay outside. I sit on the ground to wait, noticing that I'm starving. I don't feel much, except for some weariness and a spike of anger. No matter what I do, I won't have any peace as long as I'm alive.

When Scorpius leaves, after about ten minutes, he doesn't even look at me as he walks towards the Great hall. I enter the now familiar Longbottom's office and sit when he tells me to.

"Miss Mackson… Your classmate told me those boys attacked you at the end of your Charms class. Can you tell me why?"

"One of them said he was Alexandra's brother, she's one of the girls who stole my wand on Saturday."

"And they just attacked you, without any warning?"

"No sir. They wanted me to go to the Great Hall to apologize on my knees to Alexandra. They attacked me when I refused."

"And it didn't come to your mind to go and talk to a teacher as you promised to do if you had a problem?"

"I highly doubt that they'd have let me." I answer, sarcastic

"Because they didn't intend on leading you to the Great Hall, where all the teachers were gathered for the meal?"

"I didn't think about that, sir" I admit reluctantly. "Also, I'm not sure if they'd really have brought me there."

"Why wouldn't have they? Miss Mackson, I think that you have a serious problem with trusting other people. The teachers are here to help, but how can we do that if you don't let us?"

"How can I trust in adults? It's always the same! No matter if I'm the victim or the bully, it's always me who pays the piper! Ask Faith, or Alexandra, or any of the other assholes who bullied me before!"

"What are you talking about?"

I realize I just messed up. I need to improvise, quickly.

"How do you think accidental magic is seen by the muggles? I do something unexplainable and bam! Punishment! It's easy to blame me for everything because I'm different."

"Did you have problems at school?"

"Of course sir. I'm a troublemaker after all, you know it. So let's get over with the punishment."

"Miss Mackson. I'm trying to help. If you don't trust anyone, you'll end up alone. You need to open up. I won't punish you for getting attacked by Third Years! But I have to tell you that this time again it's hard to plead self-defense. You're almost unharmed, but you sent them to the nursery and one of them has a broken arm. He will have to spend the night under Skele-Gro potion. You won't make friends this way."

"They also sent me to the nursery, in case you didn't notice."

"They were three, in Third Year, and you're in First Year. People will start confusing you with an apprentice dark wizard."

"Well, if that makes them leave me some peace…"

"You can't close up like that."

Since I don't say anything, he lets out a sigh before adding.

"You probably understand that I still have to take points from your House for fighting in the corridors. And if anything comes up again you'll come. Get. Me. Instantly. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. It'll be forty points from Gryffindor. You can go to the meal."

To my great relief, I don't come across anyone in the corridors. I sneak to the table. The Great Hall is already halfway empty, and I quickly eat something, hoping no one will notice me. Of course, Ewald and Al' do, and rush towards me. I remember Arthur has Divination.

"What happened?"

Al', of course.

"I came late to the meal." I answer, deadpan.

I suppress a smile in front of his frustrated face, giving in and start telling them about the incident. I have the feeling that Al' kinda wants to give them a piece of his mind, but he restrains himself. He probably knows it wouldn't be of much use. Ewald tells me darkly that he will double our dueling trainings, since I spend my time looking for trouble. Of course, Alphonse decides to join us and we agree on meeting on Sunday, since there will be Quidditch on Saturday, Gryffindor versus Slytherin.

The rest of the day flies by more quietly until the evening meal. When I enter the Great Hall, many people turn to watch me and hear a lot of hushed whispers. Apparently, everyone heard about the fight. Al', who is sitting with Arthur and Ewald, calls me:

"This way, baby monster!"

I join them, and cast an interrogative look at the Gryffindor.

"That's how half of the school calls you now. Not bad, right?"

Arthur gently squishes my shoulder before letting out a sigh.

"I'm happy that you made it out ok, but could you please spend a whole day without endangering yourself for once?"

"What can I say? I'm the baby monster, it's part of my charm after all!" I answer jokingly

To be honest, I'm rather happy with my nickname. Arthur playfully hits my shoulder, and we eat all together, bickering in a camaraderie reminding me painfully of highschool, ignoring the stares from the other students. Despite everything, I'm happy to have my mates. I know that nothing's over.

What did you think of this chapter? The fights, the way Longbottom is dealing with Vivian?

See you in the next chapter!