Dandelions

24

George POV

Consumed with rage I waited patiently outside the infirmary for the doors to open. Half an hour passed since Maya had followed Professor McGonagall into the room. The crowd outside had thinned out quite a bit. The Slytherin Quidditch team stood close by waiting for news on their captain. Spawns of Satan. Fred had his ear glued to the large infirmary doors while Ginny sat beside me and held my right palm between hers.

Loud footsteps were heard from the back and in walked a large group of Ravenclaws.

"Where is she?" A visibly distraught Stretton enquired.

"Locked in there with Flint and the Professors." Hermione Granger answered.

"Do you know what happened?" Roger Davies spoke. I shook my head in negative.

"Does anyone know what happened?" Cho Chang asked as she eyed the hoard of students in the hallway.

"I was there." Adrian Pucey emerged from between the crowd of Slytherins. "Bagnold was..."

"Don't you dare utter her name?" I hissed at Pucey and he immediately obliged. The last thing I wanted to hear was a cooked-up story glorifying the Slytherin captain. Ginny immediately tightened her grip around my palm.

"Why do you act like you own her, Weasley? Hear Pucey out." Pansy Parkinson scorned.

"Hey, hey, hey. Hold your reigns. Let's just wait for Maya to come out all right!" Stretton suggested.

As if on cue the large ornate doors of the infirmary opened slightly and Maya stepped out, her face contorted with rage. She stomped heavily on the stone floors as she walked out. She was muttering to herself. It sounded like abuses directed toward Professor McGonagall. Yikes.

Stretton got to her before I could and engulfed her in a tight hug as she continued to blabber into his chest. I wanted her in my arms, I wanted to make sure she was alright. I wanted to hold her and comfort her.

Stretton gently lifted her chin with his index finger to make eye contact and asked, "Are you alright?" I felt a strong urge to punch something.

"Twenty points! McGonagall deducted twenty points!" Maya bellowed.

"What! Is that all the punishment he received? I don't believe this!" Cho Chang was outraged. There was a huge uproar in the crowd, meanwhile, my entire focus was on Stretton's arm coiled around Maya's waist.

"NO! Flint is pretty fucked. She wanted to have him expelled. But she deducted 20 points from Ravenclaw! Because I refused to divulge the curses I used on him! Bloody unfair!" I let out a sigh of relief. Stretton smiled lovingly at Maya. I could punch his face!

"Twenty points for tossing someone 20 feet in the air and getting him expelled. Quite fair if you ask me." Ron murmured.

"Shut up Ron!" I snapped.

"Will Flint be expelled?" A Slytherin girl I did not recognize asked. She looked upset.

"I hope not. I argued against it, I didn't want to deprive him of education. Besides books would torture him more than him spending the rest of his days lazing around in his mansion." Maya assured the girl. My gaze shifted from Stretton's palm around her waist to her wrist. I gently nudged Granger aside, approached Maya, and lifted her arm. The skin around her wrist was a dark reddish-brown shade.

"You are bruised." Luna Lovegood sang.

"He did that to you?" I asked between gritted teeth. I could feel my blood boil, my hand began to tremble. Maya immediately pulled her arm away. "I am fine George."