Agatha waited and waited and when everybody finally arrived, she was glad it was professor Bellaire who was doing all the talking. The fifth year had a half-smirk on her face as soon as the woman mentioned about students being chained upside down by their ankles in the dungeons. Agatha knew a few who deserved that, but she kept her smug feeling for herself for now, because she was NOT getting in trouble.

As their Transfiguration teacher went on about the qualities of a Slytherin and what they should and should not do, Agatha looked from her to certain people to whom she knew professor Bellaire was refering. EXACTLY, YOU IDIOTS. NOBLE and SOPHISTICATED. There was no room for stupidity in Slytherin House, and there she was again wondering if the Sorting Hat ever made mistakes. She was sure it did.

The ballerina had a serious expression on her face and looked back at the one who, in her opinion, should be their Head of House. Not the Healer, but professor Bellaire. ...They would all have to make up those points. What. How? Why? That was nonesense and Agatha was not working any harder because someone else had been an idiot. What difference did it make to win that silly House Cup anyway? Would it change her life? No. So there was no point in that.

Agatha had many things to worry about other than making up for other people's stupidity. Hmph.

Of course all of that was kept inside her head as she sent her favourite teacher a respectful look. Agatha wasn't crazy and she needed her ankles for ballet.

No questions.

That was a pretty long rant. It only made Dante more tired. The only thing that made him stay awake was when Maggie sat on the same bean bag chair as him. Would the people that lost those points stop. Maybe. Would other people lose points for Slytherin this term.

The answer is probably yes.

So this meeting had no point other than to talk loudly to everyone here who is tired. And just their luck the dorms where locked. Sigh.

Could he go to sleep now.

eeeeppppp what had she gotten her self into, she could have just gone to one of the magic schools in the States, but nope she wanted to follow in her fathers footsteps. Looking up she saw an older girl (Dot) wiggling her fingers at her.. wait, was that supposed to be for her? moving her hand from her leg she gave the girl a little wave, her hand did not move her leg though she just wanted to make sure the older girl knew that she saw the "hello" or what Echo thought was a hello.

And....... thats when it all happened... "what fighting??" she thought, what had she missed. She didn't mind that the yelling wasn't meant for her but who could resist a good fight. Echo still felt bad though, after who ever this lady was finished her thing, all Echo could do because she wasn't involved was say a very small "sorry" and keep her head down. who ever wanted to get into trouble by all means step up and give them all a show. So far her first day at Hogwarts has been very strange.

Rorie raised an eyebrow at the threat the Queen Snake started off this meeting with. Ah, yes. Just as she suspected. No self rights. Threatening dictators. Blind followers. All signs of a dystopian society or in this case, Hogwarts in general. Her parents sent her away to a prison. This was not the same school Dec described, that liar.

Nonetheless, she listened. Ror knew the only way she'll get out of here alive is if she behaved. How boring.

However tempting being hung by your ankles sounded, she decided she'd pass this time and kept her mouth shut.

......................... Oh sweet merlin.

Grayson was trying his hardest not to listen to what Bellaire was saying but something about being guilty for snickering or smiling at the event made him deadpan. Who had spat in Bellaire's evening glass of pumpkin juice and made her act more sour than sour gobstoppers? Whyyyyyyy was she trying to ruin their fun?

AND WHY IN THE FREAKING NAME OF MERLIN DID SHE HAVE TO GO AHEAD AND SAY THAT? Talk about freaking RUDE.

The look of boredom passed and was replaced by one of complete and utter disbelief. WHAT had she just said? Not respect herself? RUBY?! She could talk as much nonsense as she wanted about the house but saying THAT was crossing some sort of line. Frowning, he shot a glance over at the girl sitting next to him to see how SHE was taking that. Good? No? He didn't think so.

"She does respect herself, Professor." Blue eyes now on Bellaire.

And could they GO now or what?

Oh...my...god. Seriously Bellaire? You had to call a meeting...about what had happened at the feast? A few mistakes were made, both on the girl, Rorrie's part and on Gregoire's part. But still. Why now? Couldn't Gregoire just get his wounds checked out by the Healer than cry himself to sleep already? That was definitely what he was going to do because of what happened. He lost his best friend that night. Not to mention he caused the fight. Probably gonna get a detention now as well. That bridge will be crossed when and if it comes to it. First he had this bridge to cross...

Getting through the night with his own house. Knowing that one of his own Prefects saw, Gregoire was sure that she'd be talking to him later on. It wasn't gonna be a good talk either. This was going to be a 'never do that again!' talk. Probably basically the same thing that he would hear in the morning from Professor Tanner except a whole lot less strict. Let's be real here, she was a Prefect, but she wouldn't be as strict as one of the professors.

Right? Right!?

Keeping to himself, Gregoire just kept his trap shut because if he opened it, he'd just cause more trauma within the Snakes. Also the fact that if he opened his mouth, blood would most likely come flooding out. Which was another reason why he wouldn't be eating tonight. I'm not sure about you, but Gregoire didn't like the taste of blood with his sandwiches.

*Noah found a seat quickly and listened to the two older snakes. He himself was appalled by the actions of the house he had just joined. But to call a meeting for it? Was that it? A little telling off? He couldn't help but find the whole situation a little funny and at the mention of questions he almost raised his hand and asked,
Yeah I got one. If a bear and a shark got into a fight, who would win?

This all seemed so ridiculous, why not ask a ridiculous question? But unlike his new house mates Noah knew when to keep his mouth shut. He may think something was funny or stupid all he wanted but he knew when to show respect. You were to respect your house, your elders, and school.

Looking around the room he saw Gregoire and raised a questioning eyebrow. He knew a fight had happened but not that the bloke he just met was in it. The guy looked pretty bad too. Noah figured he would see if he could help him after the meeting. With a twin sister he had dealt with a few black eyes and busted lips. Turning back to the older snakes he tilted his head a little at the blonde. He had seen a picture of her at his fathers work. She was some great healer or something. Great... someone like his dad would be his head of house. Lovely.*

And just like that, the queen was YELLING at them. Dot went very still, and her eyes went very round and surprised as she took in the brunt of the queen's anger at them. She was mad because someone was disrespecting themself and because there was a fight, and she looked at Ruby, but Ruby was perfect and lovely and all things wonderful and she'd kissed a boy but she'd dressed appropriately and WHY WAS THE QUEEN SO MEAN TO RUBY?

It was like Snow White from last term, where the Evil Queen was all jealous of the young and beautiful princess. So THAT was something to chew on. Was Bellaire so mean to them because she resented that they were young and carefree and she was old?

And at the end, Dot's hand shot up up up in the air, and she wiggled her fingers at the queen. PICKMEPICKME. Dot had a question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grrr..Meow

eeeeppppp what had she gotten her self into, she could have just gone to one of the magic schools in the States, but nope she wanted to follow in her fathers footsteps. Looking up she saw an older girl (Dot) wiggling her fingers at her.. wait, was that supposed to be for her? moving her hand from her leg she gave the girl a little wave, her hand did not move her leg though she just wanted to make sure the older girl knew that she saw the "hello" or what Echo thought was a hello.

And....... thats when it all happened... "what fighting??" she thought, what had she missed. She didn't mind that the yelling wasn't meant for her but who could resist a good fight. Echo still felt bad though, after who ever this lady was finished her thing, all Echo could do because she wasn't involved was say a very small "sorry" and keep her head down. who ever wanted to get into trouble by all means step up and give them all a show. So far her first day at Hogwarts has been very strange.

Poor little firstie looked so traumatized. So scared. Dot patted her on the head like an errant pygmy puff to let her know that she was in a safe space. Common room was safe. No one died here and barely anyone got eaten alive.

Cutty never wondered about Bellaire. In his labyrinth of a mind she was a solid Queen. The speech she gave, however offered him what he thought was telling information. Oh, but she had it spot on in terms of what a Slytherin was. Cutty especially liked the part about being an elite. It was just that...

There was that emphasis again on polish and poise. It reared it's head from variant sources repeatedly. It also came in handy, he knew this. He'd used it on one of the Aldrich sisters (the pretty Hufflepuff one called Halcyon, if you wished to know). To him it was just one of the venues that radiated from the center of 'Do whatever is necessary' that he lived his still short life by. It made him consider that so many upper-tier Slyths responded to that. It was a generational thing. Something imparted from mothers to sons and Fathers to daughters for it nulled the venom of other snakes quite nicely. Something that checked and balanced what would otherwise be unmitigated power from a people who no one would ever accuse of fearing it. It was a common language something they all understood. A rule of honour amongst thieves. He willingly bet that Bellaire's own father instilled the value of high post and Cutty would learn from this man even now in his absence. Though, perhaps not the lesson intended.

He could deliver polish and he could deliver poise, if that's what the ladies wanted to see. It would serve as a veneer by which he could penetrate a multitude of social and professional tiers. It would, in effect, make him a civilized monster.

Cutty didn't have a problem with this as he stood there tall and at ease with his hands behind his back. As if he did not register the severity of the situation. He wasn't panicking. He was thinking. Engineering ways to get them out of this mess and get Bellaire and Healer Murdoch back to their...Well, not chipper, but normal selves again.

Basically, he was equally guilty for... snickering. Excuse him for being a teenager, then.

Uh-huh, sure. It was kind of late, Bellaire, and we all know he wasn't going to work hard for someone else's points. He hadn't lost any points ever. Nor has he gained plenty of those either, but that's neither here nor there. Hard word was reserved for others, but your input is quite welcomed, Professor.

However, he did agree with her words on Slytherin. Same words his father often used. He simply modified them slightly for the one Hufflepuff in the house, but they were the same. Deep down he knew Bellaire was most likely right in her entire speech yet he lost track and got distracted near the end, so he couldn't possibly agree with something he only knew half of and wasn't interested in.

No questions, honest.

Thank you!

Finally someone said it. Slytherins were not Gryffindors. At least not the stupid and hot-headed ones. Have they not heard about not getting GAUGHT? Merlin. It wasn't hard to understand.

Crossing her leg over the other, Beverly resisted the urge to smirk. Bellaire was speaking the way her dad does, each word punctuating and clicking in her head. Cunning, smart, sophisticated, PRIDE. This was like a breath of fresh air after what happened at the Feast. She stole a peek at Caleb. Did he FEEL the power?

Beverly stole yet another glance but not at Caleb, this one was for Ruby. Had she missed something? Oh--she snogged someone in front of Bellaire? Real smart there, Rubes. But...well...Beverly had opinions and since this meeting wasn't about her opinions she was going to evaluate them in the confinements of her mind.

She did raise her hand, though, but not for a question. There was a bloody Slytherin, literally, and she felt...stuff...responsibility stuff. The kid wasn't even complaining about his injuries, maybe there was still hope for that one.

Caleb liked where this speech was going - DUH they were the best house, he knew that much. Didn't EVERYONE here know it? Maybe these kids just needed a swift kick in the pants reminder and things would be ok. That seemed the best thing to do. If anyone thought they were going to get away with ANYTHING under his watch now - they were seriously mistaken. SERIOUSLY.

He saw Bev look at him out the corner of his eye, and he returned with a small smirk. These new punks hopefully had gotten a nice taste of what Bellaire and Tillstrom could do, and they would start respecting their house - and themselves - better.

But, then, the speech took a different turn...

Wait, WHAT? Why was she calling out Ruby specifically? He knew that something had happened with her but he hardly would have called it a makeout. He remembered her telling him about how Bellaire had given her detention LAST year and couldn't help but feel at this point, it was personal on the professor's end for some reason. It was just adding salt to the wound for no reason! A simple 'You guys are fools, knock it off' would have sufficed. Why didn't PINK HAIR get called out? Hmmm?

Caleb felt...uncomfortable. He wanted to speak up, but he was also a prefect now. He knew he was probably stuck in a corner here. Speak up and get in trouble - maybe even lose his badge! - but not speak up and let this injustice go unpunished!

Oh, wait, Grayson was going to take the fall on this one! Nice, now Caleb didn't have to worry. He glanced at him and watched, eyes darting back and forth between Ruby, Grayson and Bellaire.

Cilla sat in stunned silence as Professor Bellaire vocalised her displeasure. In her opinion, Cilla was being made to feel as if she was a wrongdoer. Cilla was nothing of the sort. The teen thought it would be prudent to not make a single sound. She was desperate to get some sleep but there was an underlying fear that if she showed signs of fatigue that her bedtime would be spent hung upside down by her ankles.

Sophia was waiting for questions on how and when they could go about earning points but Mr. Whitlock had comments to make..comment his crispy fried little teen brain new nothing about. She didn't need him questioning her because he knew nothing and she would not entertain any such comments from him on the matter. No shut up Mr. Whitlock your comments are void.

"I asked for questions I do not need your opinions and further more Mr. Whitlock are you the village lawyer? No? Okay then Ms. Banner can answer for herself, she has a mouth I'd hope she knew how to use it for other things besides what she got in trouble for in the first place." That was the end of that.

"Do you have a question ms. Wojack?" Because she had better think twice about it if she had some idiotic comment to make like the one Mr.Whitlock just made. She had enough of this rubbish.

Ruby shot Grayson a little look and mouthed 'thank you'. It was no use though. He wasn't WRONG, she definitely did respect herself like despite Bellaire's efforts and it meant a lot that he knew that, but Bellaire? Totally wouldn't hear it, and Ruby hoped he didn't get in trouble for spea...

... well. No, Grayson didn't get in any trouble. At all. She blinked once and then briefly pressed her lips together in a thin line like she was blotting lip gloss, narrowing her eyes slightly. They'd been down this road before, with Bellaire trying to shame her in front of everyone. Ruby said nothing at first, just lifted her chin slightly. It was pretty hard not to be bothered, but Ruby wasn't the sort to back down or let people break her in front of an audience.

She smiled politely. "Oh don't worry, Professor. I'm actually very good with my mouth. Thanks so much for your concern." Just answering her concerns there. Those hopes that Bellaire had. She kept her expression polite and blandly interested. Totally on the level right?

Totally.

Seriously? Why must they make things worse and keep running their mouths? Didn't they know it would be best to just sit back, shut up and listen. No comments. No smart mouth remarks. Nothing. Just silence. Really was it that hard?

Sure Hady respected everyone in her house and the fact that they spoke up for and helped one another out, and yes everyone had a right to say what was on their mind but now? Couldn't it wait until like the morning after they all had some sleep?

Muffling a yawn with her arm the small girl sunk down into her beanbag chair more laying the bouquet of flowers down on her lap and removing the one that was in her hair. Pulling the hair tie out she ran her fingers through the length of her hair removing any tangles from the braid as she listened. Eventually going to twirling the stem of the flower between her fingers.

Yeesh. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed! Caleb bit his lip and looked at Bellaire, then back to Ruby, who did a completely RUBY thing by sassing her back. Caleb's anxiety was starting to heighten and he could feel his back starting to get tense. He had to do something. ANYTHING.

He cleared his throat slightly and looked at the healer. Did he have to raise his hand? He didn't want to get in just as much trouble with Bellaire as Ruby, Pink Haired girl and...whoever had been fighting had he missed that whole part? were right now. So instead he just addressed the healer. "Excuse me for interrupting, but Healer Murdoch, do you have anything else to add? I'm sure our house would love to hear your thoughts on this situation was well," he told her, silently pleading a bit with the look in his eyes to step in on Ruby's behalf as the other Slytherin head basically ripped her to shreds in front of her peers. Or just to stop it. Just stop ALL of it.

If Hugh had been listening, WHICH HE HAD NOT BEEN, he would have taken notice that half of this little rant was that those who snickered, laughed or were amused by tonight's antics were equally guilty. (Faulty logic, actually. Plato's Republic had a whole section on punishments befitting crimes. Look it up, yo. It also had another section on the fact that injustice is usually carried out by the rulers, which maybe meant Bellaire was right. Philosophy. UNCLEAR.) But anyway, if he had been listening he would have had the common sense maybe to not speak, make a peep or do anything out of line.

But Ruby's little retort CRACKED him up. Side splitting laughter.

Phewwwww. That was funny.

Interrupting his train of thought for solution was the exchange going on between Ruby, Bellaire and Prefect Newell, the latter of which seemed to have been panicking. A bit. But not for long...

And THAT right there was how you did it!

Cutty didn't have high hopes for Healer Murdoch's response but Caleb, at least, knew what he was doing. Interesting that. The defense the fifth year class took up for Ruby Banner. Blatantly ineffective though it would be, it was still interesting.

Maybe Caleb would always want what Whitty had.

In any case, Cutty would've added how he would've been interested in hearing Healer Murdoch's ideas for solution on how to remedy the problem, but Caleb still hadn't said thank you for that time Cutty healed him in the Greenhouses when they were shriveling into old men. Besides that fact, Cutty liked to work alone and deep down, so did Caleb. At least, in Cutty's perspective of him.

He mentally noted to research Slytherin Head of House biased decision making throughout the recent years at Hogwarts to see what he could turn up. The house that cheats together, wins together.

Agatha looked at stupid Grayson when he spoke up to defend Ruby like the boy had some mental problem. How dare he talk back at professor Bellaire? The ballerina immediately turned to see what the woman's response would be and couldn't help but smirk as she eyes her housemate again. Ha-ha. Take that, Whitlock; learn to mind your own business. Hmph.

The girl made a face when Ruby spoke up as well, because that tone she used annoyed Agatha to no end. Urgh.

Then it seemed like everybody was going to speak up?? What was wrong with all of these people? Just shut up and listen and OH NO, HE DIDN'T!!! Did their new male prefect basically tell Bellaire to be quiet so Healer Murdoch could speak??? REALLY??? That was what Agatha heard. Wow. Just wow. How rude. THose housemates of hers really did need to learn some respect! Morgana!

......................................

.................................................. ..........

DEADPAN.

No, Bellaire. Just no. It was one thing to tell people off and it was another thing to pick someone out and show outright disrespect. The Slytherin raised an eyebrow at her and her words. Fine. Throw those kinda words at him. He didn't care. Instead, he sat back and crossed his arms across his chest before glancing over at the girl they were talking about. Thank you? Was that what she'd mouthed at him? He winked back as a way of saying you're wel--

'I'm actually very good with my mouth.'

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!

OH MAN. What a LINE. A sassy line that made his mind go to ALL the wrong places, which were his favourite kinda lines to be honest. Lulz. He glanced over at Bellaire to see how she was taking it and whether she'd understood Ruby's words in the same way he had. Only, before he could say much, Caleb's words floated out towards him. And he looked over at him instead. And stared.

Had he just shut Bellaire up in a sneaky yet polite way?

There was some new found respect for the Prefect and for once, Grayson was glad that he'd said something. And for ONCE, he'd said something very important. The Slytherin found himself smiling over at Newell and giving him a nod of approval. Never in his life did he think that he'd approve of the boy but it looked like miracles could happen.

Maybe.

Dot looked at her hand in the air and considered if there was any other reason she might be raising her hand, other than asking a question, and then decided it must one of those rhetorical things. 'Course she had a question. She wasn't stretching or anything.

"Yes, Professor, I have a question. 'Cause I'm just thinking about how the points system is a little arbitrary, 'cause you take points for people fighting and snogging, but that happens sometimes and no one takes points. Or like how sometimes you get points for helping a professor and sometimes you don't. It's all at the..." She wrinkled her freckled nose to think of the word. "At the discretion of the professor. So, like, if you want us to think of a way to get back the points we lost, couldn't you just untake them away? It's all easy-like then. We don't have to lose them at all if you don't take them away."

Chicken and egg thingy. How could she take the points and then be mad they lost the points when she was the one who took the points? She was the real reason they lost 'em in the first place. "Or, oh, maybe you could give us a chance to earn points. More points. I can carry your shoes to your room for you and you can cuddle with my kneazle. Or... oh! You could just take 30 points from the OTHER houses for not wearing enough green or something." But wait... none of that was a question anymore. "Right?"

Goodness, so many things were happening. First off, Grayson had risked the chance of making a comment at the Professor. And, it seemed so far, he had not been punished for speaking out of turn. Good on him for not having to deal with any of that. Though he did receive Bellaire's mouthing. An then there went Ruby, speaking for herself, so that was all good, Finn thought, since Bellaire had techinically addressed her.

Then the prefect was speaking up as well, asking the healer what she thought. He figured that was fair, since she got a say in this as well. An it seemed that Bellaire was on a roll all herself at the moment. Some of these comments, though, made him wonder if Bellaire would stick to her word and give the punishment to any of those she felt like she was getting cheek from. Finn did nothing, but darted his eyes from the Prefect, to Grayson then to Ruby and Bellaire.

And, oh gosh. The little girl, Wojack apparently, who had her question. She was saying it all. Good for her, though, because everything she was saying did make sense if one thought about it. Her question was brilliant just as much as her explanation was and even Finn would admit that, as he tried to stifle a laugh that wished to escape his lips. NOW this just got even better with each person piping up.

Now Dante was entertained. Not as much as the feast. But now this was entertaining. Maybe it was because he was just tired now. But he smirked at Ruby's sass back to Bellaire and Grayson defending her. His mouth dropped when Dot went on with her question and explaining points and much. She was right, of course. But this did not seem like the right time to say that stuff. But this was Dot after all.

'Dark' Dante never knew what she was up to.

Still

It would be awesome, if Bellaire just gave them the points back.

Zhenya sat quietly listening to Professor Belaire. She nodded along subtly, not wanting to bring any attention to herself. She didn't… laugh at the feast, but she showed no signs of stopping the hooflah. She felt shame, and she was determined to make the proud house of Salazar Slytherin the top. She would knuckle down, attend all classes, complete all homework. She would be punctual, lady-like, and reliable.