Disclaimer: As usual, I have created most of the students who are attending Hogwarts in my fic, but the professors, school, and world are all JKR's and not mine in the least.
“Never, in all my years here,” McGonagall stammered, her voice shaking with rage, “have I ever seen such a display. I “ I am appalled!”
I sat in silence. Really, I had nothing to say. My Aunt and Uncle wouldn’t be happy at this… More than that, though, I was really ticked off. I hadn’t started the fight; I had tried to stop it! Fine, I tried to throw a plate of something “ maybe it was tripe, I still don’t know “ at Andran. They could detention me for that, I would plainly admit to that, but I would go down kicking and screaming if they thought they could blame me for starting the stinking thing.
But, at least I wasn’t the only person in trouble. Andran had been brought in, along with five others who were caught throwing food, including his monkey-friend, Zinny.
Several of the teachers were in the Headmistress’ office with us. Professor Granger was the only one I knew by name, but there was also tall wizard with red hair and freckles, a slightly shorter witch with blond hair, a tall skinny wizard with messy dark hair and glasses, and a wizard with blond hair tied back and an expression on his face like he was ready to kill us all. I decided I didn’t like that one.
“Miss Owlsten,” McGonagall continued, “What do you have to say for yourself?”
I took a few breaths before answering. It was a kind of filter system I used to help stop me from saying something I might regret later. “I didn’t start the fight, Professor.”
A snort came from the other side of the office, where Andran was sitting, but I chose to ignore it. I wasn’t going to let him get me all fired up again.
“I admit, Professor,” I continued, “That the first food thrown across the room was my fault, because I tripped and hit the dish, but I wasn’t the one who gave the call.”
“What a load of rubbish!” Andran shouted at me.
“Mr. Audierus, please calm your self,” the red-headed teacher cautioned.
He got to his feet and pointed at me, “No, I won’t, because she’s lying!”
“Mr. Audierus!” McGonagall shouted. He stopped and plopped back into his chair without a word. “You will control your self. Do not give me a reason to punish you further. Now, Miss Owlsten, please explain what you mean.”
I sighed. “Someone yelled out ‘food fight’, and that wasn’t me.”
The wizard with the blond hair cleared his throat, “But everyone here, along with most everyone in Great Hall, witnessed you participating in throwing food,” he sneered.
I so didn’t like him. “Did you happen to see me try to stop it as well? I did, you know, as soon as the food started flying. I swear, that was the first thing I threw. I freely admit that, because it’s the truth, but I SO didn’t yell food fight! Please believe me, here!”
The blond teacher smirked and took a step in my direction, “Why beg, if you’re innocent?”
I scowled at him, “Because I can tell you don’t believe me, that’s why.”
The blonde teacher met my gaze straight on, and for a moment there was silence. He quickly turned to the McGonagall.
“Headmistress,” he said smugly, “I can put an end to this right away. As the Potion’s Master here, I have various truth serums-”
What! If I hadn’t been so shocked, I would have screamed with indignation.
Thankfully, the Headmistress held up her hand, “I don’t think that is necessary, Draco. This was a food fight, not a robbery. And take that smile off your face, Miss Owlsten, for this is still a serious issue.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“Uh, pardon me, Headmistress?” said the teacher with the dark messy hair and glasses. McGonagall raised her eyebrows in acknowledgement, and he continued. “Perhaps I can offer a suggestion, here?”
She nodded, looking somewhat tired. Who could blame her? There wasn’t a way “ at least that I knew of “ that they could tell who had started it. Even if they used truth serum, they’d have to give it to the whole stinkin’ school, since whoever shouted wasn’t necessarily in the room with us.
The messy haired teacher smiled, “I suggest giving out two months’ worth of detentions to everyone involved-” everyone in the room made some noise over that one, “-or one month to the guilty person if they are willing to come forward and confess.”
McGonagall sighed, “Professor Potter, I am not seeing what good it will do. While the students in this room participated in the mayhem, it does not mean they started it.”
Whoa, did she say Potter? Holy cow… ah, but I pushed that out of my head, because I could think about that later. At the moment it was more important that I think of something that would keep me from getting expelled, so that I could think about it later.
“Headmistress,” I said, an idea coming to me.
She looked surprised, “Yes?”
“I have a suggestion…”
*** *** ***
She was such a liar, and I knew it. Why couldn’t they see it? I was so furious about how she was just… manipulating the situation! I looked next to me, at Zinny, and I could tell that she wasn’t too happy either. I was almost ready to agree with Malfoy “ even though I know as well as the next Gryffindor that he’s a total git “ on the suggestion of truth serums. They’d know she was a liar for sure.
I watched, basically helplessly, as Potter fell into her web of deceit.
“Alright, let’s hear it,” he said to her with a smile. Of all people, shouldn’t he see through her? He defeated the Dark Lord, for heaven’s sake.
She smiled up at him, briefly, and then turned back to McGonagall. “I just thought,” she started, “since there isn’t a way that we could really truly find out who did it without Professor… uh, Potions Master “ sorry, I forgot your name “ brewing, like, twenty cauldrons of serum, and then making the students take it, and then getting the information without most of the student body saying or doing something embarrassing… I thought we could use the… the Sorting Hat.”
Several students began snickering, especially Zinny. I elbowed her in the ribs to get her to shut up. Most of the teachers looked stunned at this suggestion, especially McGonagall. Well, Potter didn’t. He looked impressed.
“Miss Owlsten,” McGonagall started, “How much do you know about the Sorting Hat?”
She shrugged, “Not much, I admit that, but I think I know enough. I know it can get into your head, and I’m not saying that we have to use it, just threaten to use it, if you know what I mean.”
Professor Weasley cocked an eyebrow at her, “You mean, tell all the students here that we are going to use the sorting Hat on them, to see if they’re telling the truth?”
“That’s brilliant!” Zinny shouted, jumping to her feet.
What was she doing? “Zin-”
“No, really!” she said, “Think about it, okay? The staff comes out and asks for whoever did it to come forward. Now, we can pretty much assume that they wont, but then we can say that they have one chance to do it, or we’ll have each and every student put on the Hat, and it’ll know if they’re telling the truth or not. If that’s not much incentive to come forward, I don’t know what is.”
“Yeah,” said a Hufflepuff girl to my left, “Would that work? Is that possible?”
Marti smiled, “It doesn’t have to be possible, as long as the student body thinks it is.”
Everyone looked at McGonagall. She pressed her lips together in a thin line. “Very true, Miss Owlsten, but I believe none the less that it is possible. Yet, you all realize that you will lose points for participating in the food fight and receive two weeks detentions?”
A second year Slytherin rolled his eyes, “Two weeks is better than two months, so you won’t see me complain.” All the students nodded in agreement.
“What about you, Mr. Audierus? Is this fine with you?”
Was I fine? No, I was not fine! This American prat waltzes into Hogwarts and just starts… starts… problems, and everyone agrees with it? Fine, I admit it was a good idea, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with what she did. I know she was responsible for it, and she wasn’t going to get away with it if I could help it.
“I’m fine with it on one condition,” I said, ignoring the strange looks that everyone, even Zinny, was giving me. “I think that all of us here should be cleared first. I say we should put on the Sorting Hat and make sure that we’re telling the truth.”
Ha, let her work her way out of that one!
*** *** ***
That pig-headed, moronic, imbecile! What, was he totally out to get me? And he was staring right at me as he said that, too. If there weren’t teachers around, I would so…
I put on my doe-eyes, “That’s even better! Then we can be proof to the other students that you’re serious. And I’m sure they know that the Sorting Hat is never wrong…”
There was some more arguing, mostly among the teachers, and then we finally came about to the decision that my idea was a good one. McGonagall docked fifty points from each house, and then added ten to Ravenclaw for my idea. Man, Andran looked like he was going to explode.
I was the first to volunteer to put the Sorting Hat back on. Everyone agreed to that, as it was my idea.
“Well, Miss Owlsten, did you forget which house I put you in?” it said in my ear with a slight chuckle.
No, there was actually a big hullabaloo in the Great Hall after the Sorting, and they think that I started it. In a way, I kinda did by tripping and sending some food flying, but someone yelled food fight, and I didn’t do that. I need you to tell them I didn’t. You don’t lie, and you can get into my head and know the truth. Especially that Andran, he’s out to get me on this. Can you tell them I didn’t?
There was another laugh, “Absolutely! You may be accident prone, but you are telling me the truth, when you say that you DID NOT START THE FOOD FIGHT!”
A gasp went out around the room. Yes, I know they all thought I did it.
You rock, Sorting Hat, I whispered before I slipped it off my head and handed it gently to the next person to put it on. I glanced over to where Andran and Zinny were sitting. Zinny looked amused, and Andran looked… horrified, I think. It was a little hard to tell.
When the other six, Andran included, finished with our Guilt-Sorting, and all were proclaimed innocent of the deed itself, we filed back down into the Great Hall, where the rest of the school was waiting. The rest of the teachers had put the remaining students to work cleaning up the mess, and they didn’t look happy. Well, we hadn’t started the fight, so I don’t know why they had to look at us like we’d eaten a house elf or something. We followed the professors to the front, where we stood, as is we were waiting for punishment. Then, McGonagall cleared her throat.
“There is an announcement,” she started, plainly, “First of all, on behalf of myself and all the teachers and faculty here, I must say how disappointed we are. As I mentioned to the students you see standing before you, there has never been an incident like this before during the Welcome Feast. I am shocked that anyone would be so disrespectful.”
Grumbles went out across the Hall. I just stared at them, making eye contact with as many students as I could. I mean, we were all still covered with food. I had gravy in my hair. Gravy! I wanted to see if I could tell who the culprit was before they stepped forward. And they WOULD step forward…
McGonagall pressed forward. “I have deducted fifty points from each house, to be taken away as soon as you have earned fifty-” more groans and grumbles, and every eye in the joint blazing at me. “But there is more. While these students actively participated, not one of them was the direct cause. Miss Owlsten here tripped, and therefore is not responsible for the fight. Someone gave a shout, and we intend to find out whom.
“I ask that whoever it was that shouted out ‘food-fight’ come forward now. If you know who shouted it, say so.” There was absolute silence in the Hall. Several people made nervous glances around the hall but no one said anything. McGonagall nodded, “Very well. Perhaps you would change your mind if you knew that should you not step forward, everyone in the hall will receive two month worth of detentions, to be served during the school year.”
Many students, especially first years, shouted in outrage. I noticed, though, that there was a certain group at the Ravenclaw table that was keeping their mouths shut…
It couldn’t be…
“Alright then,” McGonagall went on, “I am afraid that it has come down to the point I did not want to reach. We determined the innocence of these seven students, the same way we will find out who is responsible. Professor Potter, please retrieve the Sorting Hat from my office.”
Potter nodded and headed towards the doors of the great hall…
*** *** ***
Alright, so even I have to admit that it was funny to see everyone’s faces when McGonagall gave her speech. Honestly, I couldn’t help but wonder who it was…
“Bet?” Zinny whispered in my ear as we stood there.
“Sure. Ten knuts, on Slytherin.”
“What year?” That meant that she thought it was a Slytherin also, so the bet would have to go for an age, rather than on just the house. We always made ten-knut-bets… just with our pocket change, really. Sometimes, it was all we could do to pass the time during detentions… just make stupid bets. Wait, Zinny still owed me money…
“First year,” I said. “Don’t know how things around here work.”
“Seventh,” she replied. “They’ve got nothing to lose.”
We nodded to each other, in agreement. I turned back to the students watching us… this whole thing felt weird, to be truthful. We’d never had a food fight before. Not until Marti Owlsten came around. So, fine, perhaps she wasn’t the shouter, but she did start it. I mean, it was insane to think that she could hit me that dead on from her table across the hall, just by accident. No one was that clumsy. I am most definitely going to find a way to get her for this.
Everyone was looking furious. Yeah, day one was off with a bang, for sure. McGonagall sent Professor Potter to get the Sorting Hat. He made his way as though he was really going to go and get it. I kept my eyes on the Slytherin table. He was about to reach the doors, perhaps he was less than a yard away, when the last person I’d ever thought to have been even remotely into trouble stood up and spoke.
“Wait!”
Everyone, teachers and students alike, turned and stared at Deanne Liles.
*** *** ***
“No freakin’ way!” I shouted when I saw Deanne stand up. She was right next to me when the shout was given, and I know that she didn’t do it. Not in a million years, no way…
Yeah, and then everyone looked at me again when my voice echoed through the Hall like a banshee. Why do I do stupid things? Why?
Deanne gave me a little lopsided smile.
Whoa, wait a minute. What was she playing at?
“Miss Liles,” Professor McGonagall asked, “Did you do this?”
Everyone, myself included, held their breath. Please say no, Deanne. Please say no!
She cleared her throat and glanced around at everyone who was watching her, her cheeks going a little red. “No, Ma’am. But…” she paused, looked at me, and smiled, “I know who did.”
Oh, there is justice in the world. You know how sometimes people are so stuffed and self-absorbed, they get boastful and hang themselves? Not really, but I mean they try to save their own skins and end up, like totally confessing? I have never seen that happen before, though I kind of always wanted to. And then, my dearest Deanne, the greatest girl in the whole world, stood up and acted like she was going to say who did it, and then the greatest thing happened.
“DON’T YOU DARE, YOU WRETCHED LITTLE TRAITOR!”
Man, I don’t think I have ever laughed so hard in my life! It was classic, beyond classic! Madam perfect, Miss I-know-I’m-better-than-you-all-especially-anyone-new-with-prettier-eyes-than-mine, clamped her hands over her mouth and went bright red, making her look like a cherry with bouncy cool-whip on top.
“It looks like,” I gasped between bouts of hysterical laughter, “Prefect Bailey Brocklehurst ain’t so perfect, after all!”
A/N: Sorry this chapter was a little dull, but the next should be better! and it should also be up soon! Hope you all like it, and if you do or don't, please Review!