Take On Me

A Hogwarts Tale

( Welcome to Harry Potter Universe with my own original characters. If I expand the story, I'll add main characters, such as Harry Potter himself, maybe with a flirt with Draco. Who knows? As a normal warning for my stories, this does contain corporal punishment. Keep that in mind. Enjoy)

 Rowan Callaghan

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All I need is one last chance to prove I'm good enough for someone."

I'm good enough for someone.

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The earth was spinning again. For some, this was was shocking thing to be caught off balance with a punch to the face, but for Rowan Callaghan, it was easily every Wednesday. He knelt on the ground, holding his face where Jack Tanner's fist had connect with the cheek bone. It was going to be a nasty bruise, Rowan could feel it swelling already. Slowly he breathed in through his nose, and out through his mouth, willing himself to calm down. The last thing he needed was to get in another fight.

Especially this week.

"Well, are you getting up or not?" Jack taunted him, his fists braced for another blow.

Rowan stared at the ground, still controlling his breathing. Calm down, it's not worth it. It's really not worth it.

"Come on, Potato. You getting up? Or are you chicken shit?"

A small flash of anger. Rowan lifted his eyes to glare Jack, breathing heavily now. "You don't want to do this. Walk away, now."

Jack actually laughed. "You telling me what to do, Potato boy? Or what, you gonna run and tell your mammy?"

Another flash of anger. Jack felt the heat growing in his face as he started to stand up. "Your last warning, Jack."

"I'm not afraid of you! You think you can scare me? You are the weakest Slytherin I know-"

The most satisfying part of the fight was the look of shock on Jack's Tanner's face as he registered the fact of Rowan jumping to his feet with a single movement, and the next movement was a large fist in the face, mirroring the exact injury gracing Rowan's face. He was nothing but precise, and years of defending himself always paid off in the end.

Jack groaned, holding his face, in the exact spot where Rowan had been minutes earlier, but this time, the fight was definitely over.

"You were warned." Rowan said quietly, brushing the dirt off his uniform.

"You are a freak!" Jack growled as he began to pull himself up, rather slowly, Rowan noticed with a hint of pride. "You don't even belong here."

"I belong here as much as you do." Rowan leaned over and picked up his green and silver scarf that had fallen on the ground during the altercation. "Perhaps more." It was spoken with a confidence he didn't believe, but Jack Tanner couldn't tell that.

"Whatever." Jack finally was on his feet. He began walking away, grumbling to himself.

Rowan watched him head back towards the school, opting to stay a bit longer to collect himself. The fight had been an accident, if you could say that. Jack was running his mouth about things he knew nothing of, and Rowan took matters into his own hands. He finished brushing the dirt off of himself, wondering what about the state of his face. Gently, he reached up to touch the swollen cheek and flinched. Yup, it was a nasty one. There had been worse fights, but now he had more incentive to hide it.