McGonagall hadn't said a word the entire trek up several tall staircases, and now she had finally come to a stop in front of the ugliest gargoyle Leo had ever seen in her life or Regulus's death. The professor turned a firm look to her, lips pressed into a line so thin that they almost disappeared. She still had Leo's wand in hand, and she lifted it. "Miss Malfoy, I will return this to you, but I expect you to behave appropriately with it."
"Yes, Professor."
The moment she had her wand back in hand, she felt just a bit more Right again. She breathed a sigh of relief and tucked the wand away into a robe pocket. McGonagall was still watching her, but now there was a concerned crease in her brow. Upon seeing that Leo was giving her full attention again, the professor turned to the gargoyle.
"Sugar quill."
The gargoyle leapt aside, revealing behind it steps that immediately started to grind against the wall as they moved and spiraled upward. McGonagall stepped onto them, and Leo rushed to follow.
"The Headmaster's office," Regulus told her, fitting easily into the space directly in front of her.
Leo swallowed a sigh and started to occlude. She was exhausted. She didn't want to occlude anymore. Not after the day before, keeping her shields up constantly at the funeral—which seemed to go on forever—and then after, when Cygnus had insisted that they floo to Wellaway Cabin for tea. She'd occluded the entire time, even when she wasn't looking him in the eye. She'd tried her best to avoid looking him in the eye, which he'd noticed and repeatedly corrected her on. When she finally did look at him after several hours of him reminiscing to Narcissa about the glory days of the Black family—back when their name held weight and caused fear and was the first thing people thought of when they thought power—Cygnus had touched his cane under her chin to keep her from ducking her head again. Then he'd curled his lip as he told her that her status as a dark creature already had her on thin ice.
The steps had stopped moving, and McGonagall's knocking jolted Leo back to attention. She stared at Regulus with wide eyes before returning to occluding. She'd gotten distracted again.
"Ah, Minerva, Miss Malfoy," Dumbledore greeted as they stepped inside. He was sitting behind his desk, and as he addressed them, he removed his spectacles and folded them. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"It's hardly a pleasure, I'm afraid," McGonagall said stiffly. She motioned Leo forward and moved an armchair from the fire to in front of the desk with a wave of her wand. She didn't sit.
Leo glanced between them for a moment before sitting down. As McGonagall started tersely informing Dumbledore of the fight, Leo focused on running her fingers over the embroidered pattern on the armchair's upholstery. Regulus was muttering about how she'd drawn too much attention and let her emotions control her yet again.
"Miss Malfoy."
She looked back up at McGonagall. "Yes, Professor?"
"This is no excuse for hexing a fellow student like you have done today. Is that clear?"
Leo didn't exactly agree. She knew how the Parkinsons were, and she felt like what she'd done was a perfectly acceptable warning against saying or doing worse to Percy. "Yes, ma'am."
McGonagall nodded sharply. "I'll be speaking with your Head of House about both your and Miss Parkinson's behavior. If any further punishment is to be dealt, it will be decided by either him or the headmaster. I will have information on your detention tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am."
McGonagall glanced at Dumbledore and bade him farewell with a quiet, "Albus," before she left.
"Do you like tea, Miss Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, getting to his feet and moving to the tea set on a table by the wall.
"Yes," she said, staring at his elaborate robes of lilac and canary yellow, decorated with silver shooting stars, instead of looking him in the eye when he glanced back.
"How do you take it?"
"Honey and milk, sir. Thank you."
"Of course! Sipping at tea will be an excellent way to fill the gaps of silence in our conversation."
"Conversation?" she asked Regulus.
"Yes," Dumbledore said, pouring out the tea. "Why don't you begin by telling me what started the argument with Miss Parkinson in the first place?"
She kept eye contact with Regulus as she slowly, cautiously, said, "I think she said something along the lines of 'I won't let you strut into the dormitory and disturb the peace we've finally had these past two days. I'm surprised a thing like you was even put in Slytherin in the first place.'"
At that, Dumbledore turned and raised an eyebrow. "Something along those lines?" he asked with a wry smile. "That was awfully detailed."
"It's a direct quote," she confirmed. "I'm afraid I haven't done well in befriending my dormmates."
"It unfortunately seems so." He returned to the desk with teacups in hand. When he offered one directly to her and she hesitated, he paused. "Ah, my apologies, Miss Malfoy." He sat the cup on the desk near her and ambled back to his chair. "I can certainly see how that would start an argument." He sat and didn't say anything else.
"Thank you," she said, picking up the drink. She stared into it for a long moment before sipping at it. Finally, she looked up but focused in on a trinket on his desk instead of looking him in the eye. It was a sphere of spinning rings etched with runes. She wasn't sure what it was for. "Am I here to be assigned additional consequences, sir?"
"That's yet to be seen, I suppose," he mused. He set down his cup, and she was surprised to find he'd already finished it. "Did you cast the first spell?"
She straightened and shook her head. "No, sir. She cast the furnunculus curse, and I used a shield charm in response."
"And that's when you used the insect hex?" he asked with a glint in his eye.
She quickly refocused on the trinket. "No, sir. I was going to use Melofors, but Professor McGonagall disarmed the both of us."
"Ah, so the insect hex came after you were disarmed?" He raised one eyebrow. "But before your wand was returned?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you chose to continue the fight despite the professor's presence and your lack of a wand?" he asked, leaning forward in curiosity.
"Not initially," she said carefully.
"Then what made you decide to cast the hex?"
Leo swallowed, shifting. The silence stretched for a long moment, and Dumbledore's interest only seemed to grow. Finally, she said, "Pansy called Percy a blood traitor. And said that in there future he'd be a—" She hesitated, discomfort forming at the thought of repeating those words. Draco wouldn't have had an issue with it, of course, but she wouldn't exactly say kindness towards muggles was his strong suit. "A muggle—" She shifted, staring down at her hands in her lap. "F— A muggle-fu—" Regulus looked almost amused by her difficulty. She scowled.
"That's quite alright," Dumbledore soothed. "You don't need to say it. So am I correct in my understanding that you cast Entomorphis in defense of Mister Weasley?"
"Yes, sir."
"Fascinating."
She blinked and looked up at him. "Is it?" she asked. She then jerked her stare to the side to look at his phoenix instead of looking him in the eye.
He chuckled. "I certainly think so, yes. I must confess that I wasn't expecting you to be defensive of him. Can you tell me why?"
"Why?" she asked slowly, frowning at Fawkes. Well, Percy was her friend, wasn't he? She was right about that, wasn't she? She hadn't asked, but it wasn't presumptuous if she had evidence, was it? "Because he's mine." She fidgeted, looking back down at her hands. "Isn't he?" she asked Regulus.
"Ah," Dumbledore said quietly. He fell silent.
Somewhere in the office, something was ticking.
After a full minute, she squared her shoulders. "Am I to receive more consequences, Professor Dumbledore?" She forced herself to look him in the eye, shields (hopefully) strong.
He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "No." He waved his wand, and the teapot rose to pour him more tea. "Your skills are quite impressive, Miss Malfoy. Do be careful with them. Misuse of abilities such as yours would be . . . unfortunate. Wouldn't you agree?"
She pressed her palms hard into her knees. "Yes, sir."
"You should return to your dormitory to get some rest. It's been a long few days for you, after all."
She was on her feet immediately. "Thank you, sir." She fled the office.
As the rest of the class started attempting Flintifors, McGonagall called, "Miss Malfoy. A word."
Leo exchanged a glance with Regulus first and then with Draco as she got to her feet and moved to the desk at the front of the room. "Yes, professor?"
"Your detention will be at seven with Professor Quirrell. As I understand it, he needs help preparing the ingredients for his lesson on werewolf bites. You will be assisting him in powdering silver and grinding dittany. Without magic."
Leo bit back a noise at the thought of working with the man with two voices. "Yes, ma'am."
McGonagall studied her for a moment before nodding. "Good. And as far as our lesson, practice it with your wand first. After that, keep the material challenging by attempting it wandless. From what I've seen, that should be within your capabilities."
Leo straightened and nodded. "Yes, ma'am." McGonagall dismissed her, and she turned away. As she started back to her desk, she caught sight of Ernie. He was two desks away from her empty one, and his eyes widened when she looked at him. Maybe they could talk more about potion-making after class since they both liked it so much. She offered up a smile.
Ernie went pale and looked away.