Sinead was more than pleased to see her Head of House was at least hearing her out, and seemed to be taking her seriously; clearly, she’d made the right choice in coming to him. The Headmistress would probably have to get involved at some point, sure, but it would definitely help her case to have somebody on her side already. She nodded along to Justin’s first sentences, frowning in fierce concentration as her gaze skipped down to the files in his hand before back up to his face. It all sounded promising- yet she could feel a “but” coming along, some forbidding note in his tone which suggested he wasn’t going to approve her request despite all the excellent reasons he had just agreed with. Well! He’d see if she went down without a fight.

And sure enough, next minute he confirmed her suspicions. It was all well and good to tell herself she had to stay calm to have the best chance of Mr. McLeod agreeing with her, but that wasn’t so easy when after pretending to be all attentive and helpful he was now basically just telling her no.
“You can’t tell I won’t be able to cope before I even try! I could catch up on one year of lessons easy. I bet I could already pass Second Year transfiguration exams! Some of the spells I’ve learned don’t even come up in lessons till third year. And they’re not even that hard.” An average- achieving second year?! She was confident she would never be average at anything. Except maybe Care of Magical Creatures, but that was just the lesson where people too stupid to do actual played with animals. And she knew all the theory, which was the important part anyway.

Seeing he was trying to help her- insofar as he was willing, she took a deep breath and dug her fists into her lap, reminding herself not to get angry. Or “stroppy”, as her mother would call it.
“Maybe they will, eventually. But it might not be until we get to OWLs. Everyone is always saying nothing matters till fourth year, but it matters to me.” And their actions certainly seemed to back up their words. The idea of extra activities wasn’t necessarily a bad one… well, she couldn’t see herself becoming a prime athlete, but if she could do extra lessons outside of class that would be good. Even if it wouldn’t stop her being bored in normal lessons. Then again- if she already knew the material, why should she have to go to class? She mulled over the tempting prospect of skipping for a minute, before dismissing it regretfully. She certainly wanted to be Prefect in due course, and probably Head Girl as well; that would never happen if she got a reputation for cutting class.
“I mean, I guess I could try that,” she said slightly grudgingly. “I do like flying, but not really Quidditch, I don’t have very good aim. I’d be more interested in things related to lessons.” A note of hope entered her voice as she contemplated his question; maybe if she could prove herself out of classes, she’d be able to move up a year eventually. “Transfiguration is my favourite. And Arithmancy. Maybe I could take extra courses in those. Or- Professor, could I go to Second Year classes just in some subjects? I don’t mind staying behind in Care of Magical Creatures or Herbology. Then I can take the exams for both years at the end of the year and if I pass them both, I could move up?” Timetabling issues did not cross her mind as a substantial barrier to ambition. And she was sadly incapable of taking “no” for an answer, the practical impossibility of her requests not really registering through her single-minded determination.