bruises - james potter

ninety

( chapter ninety )

"NEVER, IN ALL MY TIME, HAVE I SEEN such despicable behaviour from Sixth Years - and a prefect included."

McGonagall had been lecturing the group of students for what felt like hours, only getting angrier as they opened their mouths to say anything that would help them to be in less trouble.

Her arms were folded across her chest and she was standing up tall, her back as straight as it could be. She was looking down her nose at the five Gryffindors and Slytherin. Her voice was stern and this time, there wasn't even an undertone of humour.

Cassie was rather worried that if she carried on the way she was, she was going to pop a vein in her forehead. She didn't know how old McGonagall was.

Lily stared down at her floor, her red hair framing her face and blocking her professors disappointed face from view. Lily had been told off before, but it had never been as severe as this. Her hands were shaking as she gripped onto her pyjamas, trying to steady them.

Sirius was staring at McGonagall, a rather bored expression on his face as he did so. But he was nodding along with what she was saying, vigorously nodding when she told them off particularly harshly.

Alice's cheeks were flushed a bright red and her eyes were brimming with tears, but she refused to let them fall. She bit her bottom lip and kept her hands clasped in front of her as she stared at the wall just behind the professor.

Marlene looked a mix of scared and bored, her eyebrows were furrowed slightly and she looked as if she was desperately trying to suppress a yawn. Marlene was more used to being told off than Alice and Lily, but that didn't mean that she liked it, so she was paying close attention to what McGonagall was saying.

James was doing what he normally did when he was getting told off - not paying any attention to what he was being told. Instead, he was staring at McGonagall as she spoke, closely looking at her for no reason in particular.

Cassie was about one more "Never in all my days. . ." away from falling asleep. Her eyes were less than a millimetre from being fully closed and she was pretty certain that the rest of her body was asleep apart from her ears, that rung rather a lot due to McGonagall talking loudly and quickly for the past hour.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves-"

"I thought it was cool." Cassie spoke up before she could stop herself.

Her eyes widened as she quickly met James' eyes, who looked as if he was deciding whether he should be worried or laugh.

"And we weren't breaking any rules Professor."

If looks could kill, the others in the room would have had to start planning Cassie's funeral.

McGonagalls eyes were now piercing through Cassie's skull, there was a fire inside of them that Cassie would have been impressed with - if she was in any other situation.

"Miss Black, you will not speak when you're not spoken too-"

Cassie furrowed her eyebrows together, if she wasn't being spoken to by McGonagall then why was she still in her office at stupid hours in the morning?

"- and what i'm Godric's name do you mean you didn't break any rules. I can name one of the biggest rules at Hogwarts that you broke."

"By all means Professor," Cassie said, rubbing her eye with a closed fist, trying to wake herself up a little bit more.

"The rule is that 'Students must not leave their beds after 10 p.m.', from what I recall we didn't leave our beds."

She gestured between herself and the others, who were now all wide eyed and paying a lot more attention.