[History] Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand (all years)

This has turned into a bit of a mess, hasn't it?

Soléy has always liked History of Magic. It didn't really matter who was teaching it, she didn't think she liked the subject because of how it was taught, it was really just the subject matter itself. Of course, she was picky about what interested her. She liked the beautiful, romantic aspects of history, people and events that would fit into poetry and plays. There was beauty in tragedy too, romanticised and immortalised, and she supposed there was a sort of tragic appeal to self sacrificing characters, but for class today... She glanced at the still-burning stake and frowned; she had enough common sense to not conflate fact and fiction.

Rowen Reinhardt clearly did not have enough common sense, however, and Soléy was almost glad Barbara didn't have history this period with her. She didn't associate with her friend's Ravenclaw circle much, and she was beginning to wonder if Barbie should as well. Rowen didn't seem like much of a prize, and the other one seemed awfully teary. That seemed to be a common trait shared by quite a few Ravenclaws, and Soléy rolled her eyes somewhat disdainfully at the seventh year who was sniffling over what happened hundreds of years ago, over things that probably didn't even hurt the witches in question.

While she had no personal stake in this, having had a rather protected childhood has a halfblood and being neither here nor there in this narrative, she could empathise with Jae and Killian's passion. But because everyone else who's spoken up so far did in fact have a stake in this — with the exception of her cousin Pixie, bless her heart — she felt like they might be losing perspective on the issue. She didn't really care about being mediator, nor did she really care about Rowen Reinhardt's feelings, but she still had to live with these people for two more years, and she didn't fancy getting caught in the crossfire of whatever shenanigans they might get up to.

"I think we shouldn't forget that while it is true that muggles... persecuted wizards due to fear, very little wizards were actually harmed by the witch trials, having used spells to prevent that while muggles were the ones who were actually being killed. The 'Muggle-Born Registration Commission' is just history repeating itself, the manifestation of wizards' persisting self-victimisation." She took a deep breath there. She's never had that much to say in class ever, not even in Charms, her favourite subject. She looked at Killian, then at Jae, giving them each a soft smile before turning back to the professor, "And that is exactly why we're here to study history of magic, understanding the cause to minimise the effect."

I'm Muggleborn," Jae announced, and Rowen gave him an unimpressed look. This was not new information to the little brat, and as he continued, she listened quietly. Rowen waited until Jae had finished and managed one last statement before the Gryffindor did what Gryffindors do, rushing to rescue someone who didn't need it. It wasn't the first time Rowen and Jae had debated during a lesson, and it wouldn't be the last. "Yes, I am better at magic than you." This was the point she was navigating toward from the start. Muggleborns were at a disadvantage, and their lack of basic knowledge in the first year slowed her progress down.

Bringing up the Muggle Registry had merely been a way to get Jae's attention, but now, Killian had stolen all of Rowen's. Silently her dark eyes slid toward him and narrowed; how Billie found this irritating Gryffindor in any way interesting, Rowen did not know. In truth, she had found the registry to be unhelpful and distracting. Rolling her eyes as Killian egged her on, Rowen allowed him to continue, waiting for her turn. Mudblood, mudblood, mudblood she thought, silently wishing she could burn the word into his mind psychically. She knew better than to say it out loud, though. Rowen was careful, but it wasn't hard to know which side she was on. "In case the word banal was too difficult for you, I did not agree with the registry. Merely that it would have been better if it was never an option at all."

Rowen should have been a better person; Merlin knew she was intelligent enough to be but raised a certain way, and with a lack of empathy, she had latched on to terrible beliefs far too quickly. "The registry was a useless distraction. It's not as if you could hide your lineage." Rowen had always hated that the wizarding world waited until muggle-born students were basically eleven to tell them about magic. It was a ridiculous practice; waiting until a few months before they are shipped off to a foreign school to learn was dangerous and impractical. "Magical children spend our entire lives learning about magic so that when we begin at Hogwarts, we are prepared. And you get to wake up one morning and join us? With no knowledge base, no understanding of our world, and then we are expected to slow down for you."

She turned toward him, ignoring everyone else in the lesson now, and licked her lips before continuing. "Forced to wait for you to catch up, we learn children's magic in the first year, how is that fair?" Killian had brought up the tutors she no doubt had growing up, and Rowen dug her heels in as she returned to that subject. "Yes, I have had private tutors my entire life because I live in the magical world. Why should I feel guilty for my advantage when it is you who should be ashamed of your ignorance?" Sighing, Rowen paused before adding one last argument. "Would it not be better, safer, and more productive to have separate schools for students with no prior magical comprehension?" In her mind, history had proved time and time again that mixing the Magical World and the Muggle one was a bad idea. It never ended well, like volatile potion ingredients; eventually, something always burned.

Yes, I am better at magic than you. His brows flew up at Reinhardt's confident bullshit line and he scoffed loudly. It wasn't male pride or ego that made him immediately discount her words, but a deep-rooted confidence that he could best anyone when it came to studying or learning. If he didn't hate the house classification system so much, he might wonder why he hadn't been sorted in Ravenclaw. Then again, if he had to deal with her sheltered and uneducated mess of a mindset more than he did right now, he would punch himself in the face, repeatedly.

Buckley's piping up made him glance at the Gryffindor and he felt a wave of solidarity. Not that he wanted to lean into it. Not that he would mention or reference it at all after this class. They had been tenuous friends once, in that first year of hell where neither of them hadn't known anything and had dived into learning everything they could just to catchup. It needled him even more than Reinhardt was right in one respect, but as usual was drawing all the wrong conclusions. He didn't miss Soley's supportive smile that she cast in his direction, but her words didn't soothe him at all. He was seething with quiet rage.

His irritation and anger made his chest squeeze painfully, clenching his teeth as she spoke about the troubles and issues that he had had as a muggleborn, as if she knew what it felt like. Twisting the experience entirely to suit her narrative. "So, what are you saying? You think it's our fault that the system puts us at a disadvantage? You think we haven't worked as hard, no, twice as hard as you since we weren't so 'privileged' to grow up knowing what the hell is going on?" He was getting heated, tripping over his words, his mind spinning with rebuttals and arguments and facts he wanted to throw at her, but mourning the fact that he didn't feel adequately prepared to present All of the Systematic Injustices that muggleborns had to deal with.

He rolled his eyes and threw up a hand. "Oh wow, she's in favor of segregation. What a surprise," he said, sarcasm dripping from his tone as he shook his head at her in disgust. And the worst part was, Jae was 99% sure that she actually believed all of the things she was saying. If he wasn't pissed off beyond belief, he might actually feel sorry for her.

Pixie had another scrap of parchment on her desk and was drawing a flower. Not the ordinary many-petalled doodle that one might have expected but one with a face full of fangs and leaves that turned into grasping vines. She was only listening to the rest of the students with half an ear, but gradually she realised what was being said was making her very angry indeed, which probably accounted for the random doodle.

No, she wasn't angry at what was being said. Jae and Soley and Killian and the rest were all saying sensible things. So were most of the Ravenclaws, even though Pixie had a tendency to tune them out. No, she was angry with Reinhardt, and with literally every sentence it was getitng worse and now she was just about ready to go over there and slap the nasty idiot into the middle of next year. Pixie's fists were clenched, she was breathing hard, and she didn't dare reach for her wand because she knew it would respond to her temper and do something the moment she touched it.

The sensible thing would be to just keep quiet, and not just because the reason for her anger wasn't anyone else's business. But...she couldn't. Before she could even think properly about what she wanted to say Pixie had leapt to her feet, her chair sliding loudly on the floor as she stood.

"That's total rubbish and everyone except you knows it" she snapped, glaring at Rowen "You really want us to believe you got every single first year spell right the first time you tried? And who says stuff like that's for children? How many times has your Mum used alohomora to open your front door? Every day? Yeah, I know it's attuned to specific people and coupled with wards when it's used for a house, but it's the same basic spell that we learn in first year! And what makes you think growing up magical gives us such a great advantage anyway? My Dad's pureblood, my Mum's halfblood and you know the first person who figured out why I couldn't read properly at the age of FOURTEEN? A MUGGLEBORN HEALER!" she was yelling now, absolutely furious and not expressing herself well at all as she leapt from one disconnected thought to the next "You think we're so superior but it was a muggleborn figured out why I need these -" she gestured to her blue-lensed glasses "-and you can't even see that we need each other and we learn from each other... Or are you so prejudiced you can't even accept when you might be wrong about something?"

Pixie stopped, breathing heavily. She was vaguely aware that she'd overstepped a boundary and was probably going to be in detention for the rest of the month, but right now she just didn't care.

Soléy.

Jae.

Hell, even Pixie.

Killian couldn't help but grin, as voice after voice was raised and added to this onslaught against Rowen Reindhardt and her small-mindedness. He was dimly aware that a brigade like this was the worst way to convince anyone of anything, but it was satisfying none the less.

Killian gave Trickett an appreciative smile ('self-victimization' was bloody good, he'd have to remember that one), trying to communicate his gratefulness with just a single look. Clarke-Trickett's outburst was a little more violent, in volume if not in tone, and he made a note to check in with her after class. He hadn't known she was dyslexic, he realized with a jolt -- maybe he should ask if the notice boards were giving her trouble, share some old notes. So, wizards could still have learning disabilities. Something to ask his parents about, this summer, then.

But more important right now was backing up Jae and shutting Reindhardt down. "I reckon it's the old dark magic money what got you the tutoring, not the other thing," he remarked relatively mildly, trying to catch Jae's eyes. He snorted, an appreciative but spiteful laugh. Segregation. Of course. "Really a stunning turn of events. I didn't see that coming at all, did you, Kim?"

Would it not be better, safer, and more productive to have separate schools for students with no prior magical comprehension? said Rowen, condescension dripping from her lips, and Killian had enough. He stood up, leaning back against his desk to face her, wand twirling in his right hand. "I reckon school would be easier for you with no competition from us mudbloods, wouldn't it?" The slur burned on his tongue. "Why don't you prove it? Magic makes might,, right? Duel me. Prove you lot are better than us." Any lightness in his voice was gone -- just hard challenge and anger.

"Children's magic?" Soléy frowned at that. She didn't like placing herself in the middle of conflict but angered at Rowen Reinhardt's condescending monologue and bolstered by Killain's encouraging smile, she simply could not help the words coming out of her mouth next, "You mean spells like alohamora and wingardium leviosa? I don't know where you got your tutors from, Rowen, but letting you perform underage magic with a wand outside of school? Should the Improper Use of Magic Office pay you a visit?"

The subsequent or has daddy bought that too was unsaid, but implied. Her father worked in the Improper Use of Magic Office, and if the Reinhardt's really had a hand in the ministry then she didn't want to push things so far that the Ravenclaw saw it as a personal vendetta to run her father out of the ministry. As she was from a mostly middle class family, Soléy hated displays of privilege, whether it was rooted in petty jealousy or general unjust of how the way things were, where the rich seemed to get away with almost anything. If school wasn't time for them to be taken down a peg and realise that no one's inherently better than anyone, then what was?

Still, she couldn't stop a little gasp at Pixie's outburst, clapping a hand over her mouth. She wasn't always on the best terms with all of her cousins, but she knew Pixie enough to know that she's always been happy-go-lucky; very little truly phased the smaller girl and she felt bad for her. Maybe she should write her mum about it? Goodness knows she's probably going to write to her dad anyway about the ministry issue, reminding him to just be more on his toes around the office.

Her heart already felt like it would beat out of her chest before Killian stood up as well, wand in hand. Living with enough Gryffindors in her gigantic family meant that Soléy knew what they were capable of– foolhardiness and a tendency to be governed by their anger. Even though she highly preferred it if the two could settle their differences in class, under the supervision of a professor (rather than out out class, where Soléy didn't even want to think about what might happen), even though she knew that she wasn't a prefect and all of this was none of her business, she felt like it's gotten to the point where someone should say something. When wands were drawn, how you felt about one another might become a little more irreversible.

"Professor Ellington," she raised her hand, remaining in her seat but with urgency apparent in her voice, "I think we should get on with the lesson now. Surely we've gone on a long enough tangent? I hope you're not going to set us twelve inches of parchment on diplomatic relations after this." Soléy meant her last statement as a joke, but since she was just not a funny person, it just came out sounding kind of whiny and pathetic.

yes she is a wet blanket

Louise was still pretty new at her job as a professor at Hogwarts but she remembered quite well how History of Magic had been taught in the past. While she had always been interested in history, it had been a challenge to stay focused during professor Binns’ classes. He had lectured in a mostly monotonous voice and she had scribbled down notes to prevent herself from letting her thoughts drift off topic.

She wanted her class to be different. She wanted the students to engage in conversation. While the lesson had started quite normally and students had stated facts and tentatively offered their opinions it had turned into a heated argument by now. The professor had thought about intervening a couple of times already but she found it actually quite interesting to listen to her students’ points of view.

It was good to see that the students had left the historic facts behind and that history had inspired them to think and talk about the situation in their time. History was meant to offer knowledge not only about past events but also a good foundation to make the right decisions in the present time. However, seeing just how heated the exchange got, Louise braced herself to step in.

She had already wanted to say something when Killian pulled out his wand but as Soléy already spoke up then she waited for what the girl had to say. She was actually almost grateful that the Hufflepuff addressed her as it was easier to step in when the attention (at least of some students) had already shifted to her.

“Thank you, Miss Trickett,” Louise said, smirking a little before looking more sternly at another student. “Mr. Buckley, please, put away your wand. You don’t need it in this class.” She wasn’t experienced enough at her new job to really be sure how to best deal with the situation at hand. She almost wished she could run to Sam to ask him for help. However, that clearly wasn’t possible now.

“Before we go on with the lesson let me say that I appreciate that you engage in this discussion. It is important to address opinions and… also prejudices. In a multifaceted society it is crucial to listen to all the different voices to find a common ground. Everybody is entitled to have their own point of view and we must respect that even if we do not agree. I’m sure you can all learn something from this argument today.” She paused and looked from Killian to Rowen.

“Miss Reinhardt and Mr. Buckley I’ll see you both in my office today after dinner. You two as well as Mr. Kim, Miss Clarke-Trickett and Miss Trickett will each write an essay about the Witch Hunts of the 14th century.” She glanced at Soléy with another little smile. “Twelve inches sound like a good length,” she added.

“Since we do not have much time left in today’s lesson I’d like to move on a bit more quickly now. We’ve spoken about the Witch Hunts and how life was difficult for witches and wizards in the Medieval Ages. Who can tell me what was established in the 17th century as a consequence?”

Jae was nodding and then nodding again at every point that Pixie made, glaring at Reinhardt, wondering what backwards logic she was going to use in rebuttal, but then he glanced sharply at the Gryffindor and frowned. She couldn't read properly? Huh, he hadn't even known. A small part of him was too curious not to wonder what exactly it was? Dyslexia maybe. Jae knew how tough that was since his younger brother had troubles with the same thing. He wondered if it would be weird to give Pixie some of the same tips that had helped his brother. Maybe he would, after all this bullshit with Reinhardt was finished. She made valid points and he couldn't help but glare at the Ravenclaw, wondering how she could possibly not understand what they were saying, how wrong she was.

As he caught Buckley's eyes, he gave a small nod and then rolled his eyes for effect, silently agreeing with the sarcastic remark the Gryffindor had made. There was some shared outrage and injustice flowing between them, putting them on the same side and it felt.. new. This whole speaking out together from some united Muggleborn front was definitely not something Jae had ever leaned in to before. Sure, they had been sort of friends in that first year, but with Reinhardt on the offensive, he didn't mind the ally. "Total shocker," he agreed easily, a hint of a derisive smirk on this face as he glanced at Buckley and then glared at Reinhardt.

Of course she would think that. Of course she would think that she's better just because her parents happened to be wizards. And it didn't matter that she actually was smart and usually top of the class because it didn't mean anything in comparison to the utter ridiculousness he was spouting now. He threw a nod toward Soley as she pointed out her mistakes in admitting to doing underage magic and it made him wonder if her parents had the Ministry in their pocket. The idea was loathsome, but at this point, he knew he shouldn't be suprised. Even if Soley was trying to diffuse the situation, as Killian stood up and faced her, Jae was overcome with a similar emotion and he found himself pushing back his chair with a loud scrape and standing too. What the hell am I doing was the main thought that crossed his mind, was he actually going to duel Reinhardt right here. He flicked his gaze to the professor as his chest felt tight, but it felt too risky to keep his eyes off the Ravenclaw for too long.

Jae gripped his wand tightly, his mind rolling through all of the curses and hexes he metaphorically knew but had never done in practice on a living human. Which one would he even pick? Would this get him expelled? The professor would probably step in before they actually did anything, right? He threw another glance in her direction and he wasn't sure if it was relief that flooded through him when she did step in. He slowly sat back in his chair as she gave some platitude about all opinions being valid as he crossed his arms in front of him, his dark brows low over his eyes. He was mostly content to seethe quietly about how Reinhardt was clearly being let off the hook and wondered if the professor had some weird prejudice of her own house, Ravenclaws sticking together or some crap like that, but then his eyes went wide at her doling out of punishments. The 12 inch essay? Whatever, he could do that in his sleep. But detention for Buckley? "Why are you giving him detention when he was just pointing out the truth?" he called out, quiet but insolent, muttering under his breath at the ridiculousness of it. He leaned back in his chair, refusing to participate or volunteer what he knew about the 17th century and witch hunts just for spite.

Rowen was firm in her beliefs, and not one of these ridiculous aggressors could prove her wrong. They spouted off nonsense, but not one of them provided any decent proof of why they should not be in separate schools. At the very least, it would have let them avoid uncomfortable situations like the one they found themselves in presently. Rowen folded her hands on her desk, sitting up straight but remaining calm. They could be passionate, but she would be rock solid. Jae was first continuing his complaint about being less fortunate, and Rowen gave him the opposite of a sympathetic look, sarcasm dripping from her words as she spoke. "My heart breaks for you and your muggle parents, truly." A blatant lie, but that didn't require further explanation. Rowen was sure Jae had to move mountains to catch up to her, and that wasn't his fault, but it wasn't hers either. So why should they both have to suffer because his parents had a magical child unknowingly? That didn't seem like a fair deal for any of them.

Soléy was next, and Rowen was quick to turn her head to face the blond Trickett. Trickett number four hundred and thirty-two, but who was counting. "Oh, please," She said, narrowing her eyes on Soléy with a sinister look on her face. "You don't need a wand to learn about magic. Not everything is spells and enchantments; I'd expect you to know that." There were plenty of things she had been tutored on before coming to Hogwarts that were not illegal for underage wizards. Basic Arithmancy, history, and the properties of potion ingredients, to name a few. Rowen found Soléy's words narrow-minded. Though, it would have been a lie to say her parents hadn't made sure she could learn wand magic early too. It paid to know important people, and again, Rowen wasn't going to apologize for her advantages. Just because the evil little witch had a head start didn't mean she had not worked just as hard as anyone.

The Ravenclaw was startled by Pixie's outburst, jumping a little in her seat as the younger witch's words rang out across the room. Rowen, irritated by the sheer fact that the underclassman was talking to her in the first place, turned toward Pixie and shook her head. "Your mistaken, Pixie," She said, venom in her voice; what kind of name was Pixie anyway, she thought. "I am gifted in magic, but I still have to work hard." Magic was more than natural-born abilities; Rowen knew that as well as anyone, but she imagined the big difference was that she didn't complain when something was difficult, like everyone else in the world seemed to; she just worked that much harder. Rowen had never found a mountain she couldn't climb, and she wasn't going to let them bring her down to their level.

Pixie went off a typically Gryffindor-Esque tantrum, and Rowen sat up again, her chin held high. She had no idea the other witch was Dyslexic, but not because she was oblivious to Pixie's plight, but instead to Pixie entirely. The younger Trickett did not even register to Rowen, at least not until she'd started shouting at her. It was a good bet Rowen would remember her and her disabilities now. "A Gryffindor, lecturing me about acceptance?" She asked, incredulous, her head tilting to the side. "What a joke." Rowen had started strong; she held her ground, but with each attack, she found herself more and more likely to strike back. She didn't want to educate them on what the world should have been like anymore; she wanted to make them suffer the way they were making her. She needed to hurt them.

And the stupid grin on Killian's face made it even worse. Like he believed himself some hero, the Arthur of some awful round table of mudblood miscreants, and Rowen was sick of it. "Call it segregation if you must, but you haven't presented me with a single reason why it is not a good idea." Jae and Killian exchanged mockeries, and Rowen felt her cheeks getting warmer. Pulling her hands down from the top of her desk, they curled into tiny fists hidden underneath. Her fingernails dug into her palms, deeper as Killian and then Jae rose from their desks. As if they could intimidate her. Rowen Reinhardt would not be scared off by a nerd pretending to be a lion (even if he was a foot taller than a fifth-year had any right to be) and a teenage wizard with ear piercings.

Killian pulled his wand, and Rowen's right hand darted to where her wand was in her sleeve. "Duel you?" She repeated, but there was no laughter in her tone, not even sarcasm. If this were what he wanted, Rowen wouldn't back down, but she didn't have any plans on losing either. Along with every other subject she'd had private tutoring in, her cousin Wolfgang had seen to it that she would always be able to protect herself. Killian was a fool to challenge her, but Rowen knew better than to start slinging spells right in the middle of History of Magic class. She nodded, though, one single, silent nod, daring him to make the first move and give her justification to protect herself.

The atmosphere in the room shifted as if even the stones in the walls knew to be still just then. All Rowen heard was the ticking of the clock, in time with the blood pumping in her ears, until Soléy spoke again. Rowen was thankful that Soléy had the good sense to remind them all the professor was still there, but she was less than pleased about the Hufflepuff hinting toward an assignment. She'd remember to pay the Trickett back for that one day. Still, though, the timing was perfect. Rowen was still sitting, her wand hidden under the desk, so she was sure it looked as though Killian was the antagonist in this situation. He had stood up, he had caused an uprising, and he had challenged an unarmed witch to a duel. It was the perfect combination for punishment.

Rowen turned to listen to the professor, paying close attention to every word and turning to Killian as he was told to put his wand away, the triumphantly sinister smile clear on her face. As with all things, Rowen assumed she won. Even if a hundred of them stood up and screamed in her face, even if they gave her sensible counterarguments that shifted her views, Rowen would still think she had the upper hand. It was a sickness. The professor began to thank them for the opinions, and Rowen gave her a sickly sweet smile, but it faded quickly as the professor doled out detentions. She understood why Killian received one and even why she had been looped in, but why not Jae, Pixie, and Soléy, too? Rowen wanted them all punished.

When Professor Ellington asked a question to restart the original lesson plan, Jae had to interject. "Isn't it obvious?" Rowen spit back at him, "He threatened another student, which is clearly against the rules. Just like your earrings." She thought to throw Soléy and Pixie under the broom too, but she didn't have any usable dirt on either Trickett. Gathering dirt was now on the tippy top of her to-do list, after writing this essay, of course.

OOC DISCLAIMER: Samm does not share any of Rowen's awful opinions and I apologize for her behavior. <333

Killian snorted, just managing to choke back a laugh at Soléy's comment. He should hang out with that Trickett more often, he thought -- Ingvar was great, but Soléy had apparently inherited all the family wit. Between her and Kim, with whom we was sharing banter, of all things, Killian rather thought things were going well. And Reinhardt's face was getting red, hot, embarassed. Good. She was just embarrassing herself, really, with that half-baked defence of her "separate but equal argument." "As long as it benefits you, you're for it. Makes sense. Wouldn't be talking like that if we were actually invading the magical world, making you second class citizens. Course, I reckon that kind of empathy is beyond you."

He felt strangely calm, wand in his hand spinning like a pencil. It was profoundly stupid, probably, but everyone else seemed so far away while his ears filled with the sound of rushing blood and his eyes narrowed on Reinhardt. Her hand went to her sleeve, no doubt where her wand was holstered. He smiled, slow, calm, met her nod with his own. His wand stopped, held in a loose, nonthreatening position pointing down.

He hadn't noticed Jae stand up until the scrape of his chair brought Killian back to earth. Dimly, he could hear Soléy grassing on him. What a wet blanket, he thought, amending his previous perception of her quickly. More clearly, he could hear Professor Ellington. He turned around slowly, belatedly becoming aware of the site of it -- a Black man (not a boy, a man, he was never going to be afforded the opportunity to be a kid in either world in moments like that) threatening, with a weapon, a smaller, defenceless white girl. Ah, shit. The smile dropped from his face. He was grateful Rowen couldn't see his face now, nor the red Prefect's badge burning a hole of shame into his chest.

He tucked his wand away but didn't sit quite yet, watching Professor Ellington's face while she delivered her 'both sides' apologist nonsense. His lips twitched. At least with a ghost, he wouldn't be getting both side'd by his teacher. She paused and looked at him. Killian resisted the urge to snort. He had learned something -- that white people were the same, lukewarm and cowards, on either side of Nine and Three-Quarters.

Detention. He should have expected it. Killian nodded, finally sitting down, with a glance to Pixie and a softer "Come see me before dinner, would you? I'd like to ask you something." With that promise of talking to a student about his duty to them as Prefect sorted, he could angst about his situation. It wasn't fair, and more importantly it wasn't just, but Killian wasn't going to protest it. He had more important fish to fry, which was -- why the hell had he challenged Rowen to a duel in front of EVERYONE?

Jae was sticking up for him, which was admirable. Killian didn't have the energy to do so for himself -- it was taking all his energy to affect a disinterested, confident posture in his chair by crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair to hide his racing thoughts. Rowen was leaning into the threatened little white girl thing -- typical. Professor Ellington asked a question that Killian knew the answer to, but he had opened his mouth enough for one day. His quill laid across his notes, ignored, counting down the minutes until class ended.

out, unless im inspired

"That was not my point, Rowen. Did your tutors not teach you how to listen? I'm wondering if you learned very much from them at all now. But yes, very impressive of you to be able to do children's magic like alohamora just by reading and thinking about it. I suppose I should just throw away my wand." If she was the one missing the point this time she didn't care. It was almost thrilling, this back and forth with Reinhardt; most of the heroines in her favourite books always had a well-honed wit, and living in a house full of stupid boys meant that she didn't get to practice hers very much.

Her new-found determination soon withered when Professor Ellington took her "suggestion" for an essay. She didn't have to look around to know that her peers were likely to be quite indignant about this punishment. She had the decency to blush, at least, even though she felt as indignant as the rest of them. Soléy didn't think the professor was being fair, not one bit. What had she done? Engaged in eloquent, well-thought-out debate without stooping to everyone else's level with personal insults and complete lack of public decorum? Spoken up to remind everyone that they were still in a classroom, and prevented two students from drawing their wands at each other? Thank goodness Professor Ellington wasn't a Hufflepuff; she wouldn't be a very good one.

That, subsequently, also lowered her opinions of Ravenclaws even more. So much for being the intelligent house. Then again, she wasn't sure she why she was so surprised; her brother Alvar was a Ravenclaw, and he tended to make as many ill-advised decisions as Rafnar and the rest of them.

She stopped paying attention then, and merely rolled her eyes when Rowen Reinhardt tried to get Jae in more trouble. Was there a rule about boys not being able to wear earrings? She didn't remember. Then again, she didn't have most of them memorised just to use them against unsuspecting students. If professors didn't even care, why did she have to stick her big nose into everyone's business? If Professor Ellington did though, then she supposed there was no harm in pre-emptively trying to earn some more house points; she's already been humiliated in asking for extra homework, she didn't want more house points docked on top of that too!

Her hand went up sullenly, just like how she assumed everyone must have felt at this time, "In the seventeenth century not only did the Ministry of Magic ban all magical beings other than wizards and witches from carrying a wand, the  International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy was also passed in 1692 for the purpose of safeguarding the wizarding community from muggles." Soléy prattled dutifully, with only a hint of insolence in her tone. However, there was no rule that stated she had to sound happy when giving answers after she's been wronged, she was fairly sure of that.

He honestly didn't know how this class had gone on like this for so long. He didn't recall signing up for a class where a racist could spew nonsense from her soap box. And yet, on and on she went.

Why hadn't the professor put a silencing charm on Reinhardt already. Hadn't she spewed enough vitriolic nonsense already? And now this? He touched his left earring with one hand, forgetting that he was even wearing his small silver hoops for a moment, before he turned in his seat to glare at her. "So you can wear earrings and I can't? Are you sexist as well as racist? Guess I shouldn't be surprised," he threw at her and then glared at the professor for good measure too.

Go ahead, he almost wanted to dare her. Reprimand me for wearing earrings.

Hands still clenching and unclenching into tight fists, Pixie remained standing, staring straight ahead, breathing heavily through her nose. She didn't dare look at anyone else, and she didn't dare move because she felt that if she did, she might accidentally grab her wand and do something even the impulsive Gryffindor would regret. She was almost pleased when Professor Ellington took charge, though her head jerked in Killian's direction in surprise. She hadn't noticed he'd drawn his wand. Somehow that made her feel a little better.

The punishment, however, did not. You've just heard me confess I struggle to read and write and you're setting me an ESSAY? She thought incredulously, though really, what else could the professor do? Send her to scrub out bedpans in the hospital wing perhaps, or to clear up spilt dragon dung fertiliser from the greenhouses? A new professor probably wouldn't think of anything creative like that. Anyway, Pixie was confident that her very large handwriting meant she would get away with no writing more than a few hundred words. And at least thinking about the punishment meant she wasn't thinking about that Ravenclaw b---h and how she wanted to rip her head off.

Their teacher's words had resonated with her, though. Pixie had certainly learned something today, namely that just because the war was over didn't mean that people with disgusting views like that still existed. She had also learned that with some people, words weren't enough. Waiting quietly in the corridor late and night and hexing them was the only thing they were likely to understand.

She jumped slightly in surprise when Killian whispered to her. Well, that was to be expected, especially given that he'd likely got detention and she hadn't. She nodded in response and looked down quickly, feeling strangely ashamed. She assumed he wanted to talk to her about the lesson from a prefect's point of view, to tell her she should have behaved better or whatever... Pixie had got used to talks from prefects in her first couple of wild years at Hogwarts, another one wouldn't be a problem. No way was she contributing anything else to the lesson, though. Soley had got the answer right, Her cousin who definitely hadn't deserved to be given the essay when she'd just been a typical Hufflepuff and tried to offer a reasonable suggestion.

Sitting back down, Pixie glared at her hands, willing the class to be over quickly and pretending she couldn't hear the fresh argument that was threatening to erupt over - of all things - earrings.

“Mr. Kim,” Louise addressed the Hufflepuff boy whom she had belatedly noticed to have his wand out, too. “You’ll join the others in detention.” Her voice was firm and her expression probably stern and appropriate for the situation.

Yet, Louise was aware that this class had gotten a little out of hand. She had encouraged her students to discuss the topic and share their opinions. However, she should probably have stepped in earlier to prevent this really hostile atmosphere. There was the risk that some of the students would still hold a grudge against each other after class and maybe get into a fight when no staff member was around. Clearly she still had a lot to learn as a professor.

Part of her wanted to tell Sam all about what had happened. Another part felt a little ashamed that she hadn’t realised earlier that it was her duty to step in. Well, she wouldn’t make the same mistake again, she assumed.

“Miss Reinhardt,” she addressed the girl, her voice icy now. “Please. There’s no point in insulting your classmates.” As a Ravenclaw graduate, Louise wanted to like students from her house. Rowen, however, made it very difficult for her to like her.

“Thank you, Miss Trickett,” Louise said, a grateful little smile spreading across her face. “That is correct. We’ll talk about this more in our next lesson.” She hoped that the discussion wouldn’t get out of control again then but it seemed pretty likely that it would. It was a shame that they were covering this topic now instead of something that did affect them all less.

“Miss Rowen, Mr Buckley, Mr Kim, don’t forget to come to my office for your detention after dinner tonight.” She’d have to talk to Sam to figure out a good detention for this trio but she felt that no matter what she made them do, they’d still get into another heated argument before long.

“I’ll see you all next lesson.” With a flick of her wand the stake in the middle of the room vanished, making quite clear that the lesson was over and everybody was free to leave.

[out]

Freddie had listened to the heated argument with an amused smile on his face. Okay, he was neither a pureblood nor a muggleborn. He wasn’t political. He usually minded his own business. If he had to choose, though, he’d clearly be on Killian’s side. They were roommates, after all, and, honestly, Reinhardt was just way off with her views.

As it was, though, Freddie leaned back on his chair and listened to all the bickering. This was likely the most exciting History of Magic class he had ever attended but that had little to do with the topic or professor Ellington. Still, he had to give her credit for not being a ghost and not just lecturing them about some wars in the far past.

When professor Ellington announced detentions and essays for those who had engaged in this heated argument he was relieved that he hadn’t participated. He valued his free time and didn’t want to waste it in Reinhardt’s company in detention.

[out]