Chapter 119: Consequences
"What is going on here?"
I entered the House common room and found something unprecedented for Ravenclaw: the entire House ignoring a girl huddled in the corner, quietly sobbing.
"Oh, nothing..."
Hermione blew a strand of hair from her face, and I frowned slightly. Nothing? This was nothing?
"Absolutely nothing."
She nodded confidently.
"And Hermione, beaten and crying in the corner? That's a trifle?"
"Who is sitting?"
She put on a very convincing show of confusion.
"So that's how it is, is it? Decided to hold a lynching? Imagined yourselves as the authorities, did you?"
The children realized something had not gone according to plan.
"Who started this?"
"Started what?!"
Hermione decided to go all the way. Even Daphne, who had been sitting there, looked away, not getting involved and clearly not wanting to explain how everything had happened.
"Fine... Minus two hundred points from Ravenclaw for the whole House beating a girl who also studies in our House. Another minus one hundred points from Ravenclaw because you decided not to give up the instigator... no, taking collective responsibility is certainly a worthy act, but everyone should face the consequences, shouldn't they?"
A smile appeared on my lips.
"Also, all Ravenclaw students are suspended from the electives I teach."
"No!"
Hermione stared at me in panic.
"You can't!"
"I can't?"
I frowned.
"I can do more than that. You thought you could turn our House from proud ravens into a pack of pathetic jackals who attack one girl in a crowd?! I will not allow that to happen!"
I extended my aura and strengthened it with magic, pressing down on the children. The moment I took a step forward, they parted before me. I then easily approached Granger and cast several diagnostic spells on her, followed by a couple of painkillers.
"Come on... I'll walk you to Madam Pomfrey's hospital wing."
"I can do it myself..."
She tried to refuse, but the moment she tried to stand, one leg buckled and she toppled sideways. If I hadn't caught her, she could have hit her temple on a piece of furniture.
"No, you clearly can't do it yourself..."
I shook my head, picked the girl up in my arms, and carried her toward the common room exit.
"Why are they like this to me?"
She asked the question very quietly, clearly not expecting an answer.
"I'm afraid this is your fault..."
"Mine? Are you saying this is because of that complaint? You told them, didn't you?"
"No..."
I shook my head.
"...I didn't tell anyone anything. Most likely, one of the people who signed your complaint let it slip, and afterward, the information reached our House. And yes, you are the one at fault, and this isn't so much about the complaint itself. Much like your current state, it's only a consequence..."
"A consequence of what?"
"There's a common saying: when in Rome, do as the Romans do..."
Granger pressed her lips together.
"I didn't want to come to you."
"You didn't..."
I nodded in agreement.
"...but in our lives, we very rarely get to do only what we want. And once you found yourself among us, without understanding the situation, you decided you knew better how things should be. And I'm sure that in your world, you never even thought of writing a complaint against Snape, even though he..."
I winced slightly.
"...let's be honest, he is not the best teacher."
She remained silent.
But you complained about me, and the issue isn't that I teach badly. You don't even know how I teach yet. The point is that, in your opinion, I'm bad, and everything I do is bad. You didn't even think about my reputation or how the people around you would react to your actions...
"That's not true..."
"And I say it is true."
I looked at her with a slight frown.
"Who did you talk to? The dissatisfied ones?"
"Yes..."
"And how many students are completely satisfied with my teaching style? How many of them would do almost anything for me?"
I looked carefully into Granger's eyes.
"You naively projected the image of the Draco you knew onto me and decided that everything was normal, everything was right, and it couldn't be any other way. In other words, you came into OUR world with YOUR rules."
"I..."
She sobbed.
"...what am I supposed to do now?"
"Now?"
I sighed.
"Now you can only lie in the hospital wing and recover. And yes, I'm warning you, don't even think about complaining about me there or accusing me of every sin. Pomfrey won't care, but Susan, who is training under her because of me... she may take that very badly..."
"Uh-huh..."
"And while you're in the hospital wing, Flitwick and I will have a couple of educational conversations with the House. No..."
I shook my head.
"...look what it's come to. Clever little scholars organizing a beating and harassment..."
We reached Pomfrey's domain and heard Sixth's moaning through the slightly open door. It was simply impossible not to recognize him by his voice and manner of speech.
"I only told the truth! He isn't fit to be a teacher!"
"Mr. Weasley..."
McGonagall's voice was quiet but stern.
"I still do not understand what you are accusing Mr. Black of. I conducted a brief inquiry, and my lions told me that you signed the complaint against Professor Black yourself. Moreover, you saw fit to boast about it in front of a mixed group of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor students. I certainly do not approve of the actions of my charges or Professor Flitwick's charges, but I can't say I don't understand those students' desire to take their anger out on the people who caused their favorite professor so much trouble."
"I'm sure he put them up to it!"
At that moment, I nudged the door open with the toe of my shoe.
"Well, as you can see, the secret of who exactly blabbed about the complaint has been revealed."
I carried Hermione into the hospital wing.
"Mr. Black? Merlin almighty! Miss Granger! What happened to you?"
"Ravenclaw happened..."
I winced.
"This is outrageous!"
"Don't worry. They've already accepted collective responsibility, and they've received their first round of collective punishment from me. I think the Head of House will come up with something of his own, and punishment from the Deputy Headmistress or the Headmaster in the form of unpaid floor-cleaning duty will be more than enough."
McGonagall pressed her lips together but nodded.
"Sue..."
I looked at the girl.
"...I'm counting on your professionalism. Because I don't hold any anger toward this curly one."
She closed her eyes.
"If you're not angry with her, then there's no point in me being angry either..."
She took a couple of breaths and, looking at Hermione, began casting diagnostic spells on her.
"...just don't think we'll become friends. I owe Draco too much, and after something like this..."
She shook her head.
"Uh-huh..."
Granger nodded.
*All right, I've delivered the student. Now I'll go upset...*
"Draco, the House has lost three hundred points! Get to the common room immediately; we're going to figure out how this could have happened in only ten minutes!"
A Patronus burst into the hospital wing, shouted this, and then scattered.
"Three hundred points?"
"Two hundred for the act and one hundred for concealing the instigator. I told you, the clever ones go for collective responsibility."
McGonagall nodded thoughtfully.
"Well, unfortunately, my collective doesn't have that kind of unity. They gave up the instigator immediately."
I smirked and hurried to leave Pomfrey's and Bones' domain, soon finding myself back in the House common room.
"Draco, Penny, perhaps one of you can explain what happened?"
Flitwick addressed us, as all the students in the House stood with their heads lowered in silence.
"I can."
I nodded.
"Yes?"
"Yes... I took three hundred points."
"YOU?!"
Flitwick and Penny were outraged to the depths of their souls.
"Yes... Professor, you remember our last visit to the Headmaster?"
"Yes..."
Flitwick frowned.
"Well, one of the people who signed the document was Weasley number six. He boasted about it in front of some acquaintances, and it just so happened that this took place right beside a mixed group of Gryffindors and Ravenclaws, yes?"
I carefully looked around the common room, but no one dared meet my eyes.
"The chatterbox himself is already in the hospital wing, and I learned about it when I brought Granger to Pomfrey's domain. I found her over there in that corner of the common room, beaten."
Flitwick frowned.
"You raised a hand against one of your own?"
"She is not one of ours!"
Ginny rose from the armchair she had been sitting in.
"She's an outsider, and she's slandering Professor Black! You're wrong, Draco..."
"Quiet, you!"
Tracey tried to make her friend and rival sit down, but Ginny only pulled her hand away.
"No, why should we be silent? Stay silent while they make us look guilty? No, of course we're guilty, but we didn't want it to end like this."
She looked bravely first at me, then at Flitwick and Penny Clearwater.
"We only wanted to talk... to explain that she was wrong, that she should understand the situation before doing anything, but she wouldn't listen to us! She started saying that you're a dark wizard, that you throw curses around and..."
"Enough."
One word, and Ginny fell silent.
"Ginny, of course it is unpleasant for me to hear that such things were said about me, but since when did you, or anyone in this room, become the defenders of my honor and dignity?"
Silence was my answer.
"Here is how it will be. If anything like this happens again..."
"Forgive us..."
Luna stood and looked at me with a guilty expression, though I didn't understand why she felt guilty. She hadn't even been in the common room when the events leading to this moment occurred. So I simply waved my hand.
"What do I care? But how are you going to look in the mirror, knowing you ganged up on a girl?"
"We'll apologize..."
Luna looked at me with an utterly honest expression.
"Fine... I understand what happened with the points. Now for the punishment..."
"But we've already..."
Someone tried to say it, but Flitwick simply cast a spell over the common room, and no one but him could say another word.
"No Ravenclaw student will be admitted to my extracurricular lessons anymore."
Shock...
Now the punishment extended to the senior students too, who until then had thought they had gotten off lightly.
"If you want to get into them, prove that nothing like this will happen again. Prove that you understood your mistake, and then after New Year's, perhaps I will reconsider my decision. If you cannot do that..."
He shook his head.
"We will!"
"And yes..."
By this point, I had already dispelled the spell that silenced me.
"...do not believe that punishment from me and your Head of House absolves you from punishment by the Headmaster or Deputy Headmistress. It remains to be seen what they will devise for you, but you will certainly not escape unpunished."
With those words, I left the common room, and Penny Clearwater, Flitwick, Fleur, Gabrielle, and Daphne with Astoria followed me.
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