Amelia was astounded when, while waiting for the verdict of the professor, Arthur appeared beside her and made a plea for the professor to go easier on Amelia. After everything the Ravenclaw girl had ever done to him - her passive agressiveness, the eye rolls when he spoke, up to and including immobilizing him in a classroom full of his peers - there he was, standing beside her, and defending her when he could have been gloating at the victory of Amelia having earned a detention.
Why doesn't he celebrate my misfortune? Amelia wondered, knowing that if the roles were reversed, she might not be so kind. Although she tried to read in Arthur’s expression some hint of motive for doing this, she could find none. He seemed shockingly sincere, though Amelia could not imagine from where that stemmed.
There’s got to be something in it for him, Amelia thought to herself, though she could think of nothing. But whatever the reason, his logic seemed to appeal to Professor Gibbs, who returned her house points but did not succumb on the point of her detention. When she found out she would be receiving target practice as her punishment, Amelia had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes. Amelia did not need target practice. She had made only one mistake! Yes, her hand-eye coordination had kept her from playing most sports, but she could aim a wand.
But there was no use in arguing this. She should consider herself lucky to have gained back the house points and escape with some scrap of dignity. The same might not be said for her detention, though, considering she would apparently be having an audience, judging by the brief exchange between Professor Gibbs and her sudden knight-in-shining-tin-foil Arthur Severus Poe.
Having reached the door with her classmate and professor, Amelia knew better than to argue about Arthur accompanying her to the quidditch pitch tonight. Despite his valorous intervention, Amelia was still not overly fond of the Gryffindor boy, and certain did not want him around to witness the humiliation of her experiencing her first ever detention. But Amelia did not believe in fighting battles she couldn’t win – at least when she could help it, and thus she stepped through the door which Professor Gibbs had held open, turning back to address both he and Arthur.
“Quidditch pitch, seven tonight,” Amelia repeated, still sounding quite contrite after being reprimanded and punished. She hesitated for a moment before adding the next bit, straining as it was to say it aloud, but respect demanded it.
“And thanks,” she muttered, giving a curt nod in Arthur’s direction. He probably deserved a more heartfelt thanks, but Amelia just couldn’t muster it. She was fiercely independent and didn’t like the idea of being saved by someone she could barely tolerate. With a small half-smile, Amelia gave one last nod to the professor and turned to walk down the hallway toward the stairs which would lead her to Ravenclaw tower, where she could replay the scene from today’s class over and over again, wondering what went wrong.
by Guest Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:39 pm
