28 Chapter:28 Dumbledore's Decision
Once he opened his eyes, he was once again stunned to see the students staring at him intently. After hurriedly finishing the scoop of ice cream he had in his mouth, he took a sip of water before standing up and commencing his address.
"As you all may have noticed, and quite a few of you may have participated in it,"
Dumbledore began,
"A multi-house brawl broke out today at the training grounds."
His words hung in the air, and the students waited in silence,
"The Gryffindors,"
he said, and the Gryffindor students lowered their heads in shame.
"The Hufflepuffs,"
he added, and the Hufflepuff table followed suit, their heads hanging low.
"And the Slytherins,"
Dumbledore concluded, with the Slytherin students similarly bowing their heads in acknowledgment of their involvement in the brawl.
Dumbledore continued, addressing the nature of the brawl and its origins.
"Many of the students from these three houses took part in a fight that was neither honorable nor in accordance with our wizarding customs,"
he emphasized. The gravity of his words weighed on the students.
"The row began, as I am informed,"
he continued,
"After one Edward Daryl, a Hufflepuff Beater, accidentally set the Bludger at the face of Ms. Gregoria Silverbuck, the Slytherin Seeker."
The mention of Edward Daryl's accidental action as the catalyst for the brawl elicited a flurry of reactions among the students. The Hufflepuffs stood up and pointed fingers at the Slytherins, who, in turn, stood up and vehemently defended themselves against the allegations.
For once, the Gryffindors were not being blamed for an incident, and they seized this opportunity to deflect attention. They pointed at the other two houses and made a false attempt at placating everyone, all the while hurling insults and inciting further tension between the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins.
The voices in the Great Hall grew increasingly tumultuous as the seventh-year prefects, followed by the sixth-years and fifth-years, then the other students engaged in disputes. Members of each house pointed fingers and hurled insults at each other, further fueling the tension in the room. The Ravenclaws watched in astonishment at the unfolding scene, their usual cheerfulness giving way to bewilderment, while the teachers appeared to be developing headaches as they struggled to maintain order amid the chaos.
As the verbal row escalated in the Great Hall, Victoire was preparing to enjoy a delightful chalice of Butterscotch Angel Delight. However, her moment of carelessness led to an unexpected turn of events. Suddenly, without warning:
*WHAM*
*SQUELCH*
A well-aimed bowl of rice pudding hit her square on the back of her head, sending an audible thud through the room. Victoire, her dessert now splattered across her and the surrounding area, found herself at the center of a messy situation. It became clear that the desserts had been unexpectedly transformed into impromptu projectiles, launched by a group of Hufflepuffs.
Amidst the shocked silence that followed the dessert incident, an audible sizzling sound, accompanied by the distinct smell of burnt sugar, wafted off of Victoire. Victoire had read and understood that Veelas were not known for their tolerance of insults, but what she hadn't anticipated was that her race considered it an insult to throw food at someone, especially when it resulted in a messy and ruined appearance, particularly their hair.
Victoire's head, now drenched in cream and sugar, turned slowly toward the perpetrator, who appeared to be bitterly regretting her actions. In a voice strained by her efforts to control her anger, she hissed out,
"Quit it!"
This seems to make the houses agree on a temporary truce and they finally turned towards the head of the house who in turn were glaring at them.
Victoire's reaction seemed to have a rather effective result, at least temporarily so, and the houses agreed on a truce for the moment. They turned towards their respective Heads of House, who were glaring at them with disapproval.
Isabella quickly used a scouring charm to clean off the dessert from Victoire, but her hair remained sticky and, after the cleaning charm, rather ruffled up.
"As I was saying,"
Dumbledore continued,
"Regardless of whose fault it was, the reality remains that a significant number of students were involved in the incident. Many of you were injured, and a substantial number are currently in the hospital wing. Despite our desire, as teachers, to issue a mere warning, we find ourselves unable to do so. To prevent such an incident from occurring again, we must impose stringent measures against those who took part."
The atmosphere in the Great Hall grew even more solemn as the students braced themselves for the Headmaster's announcement regarding the impending punishments,
Dumbledore continued,
"As such, the Hogwarts faculty members have come to a decision. It goes as follows."
The silent stares of the students remained fixed upon the Headmaster, waiting for his announcement.
"Three hundred and fifty points," he declared.
The silence was broken as the students stirred, and expressions of shock and concern swept through the Great Hall.
"Three hundred and fifty points,"
Dumbledore repeated,
"will be deducted from both the Slytherin and Hufflepuff houses."
A roar of disagreement erupted from both sides, but it quickly died down as Dumbledore raised his hand to maintain order.
"And the Quidditch team members would serve detention with Mr. Filch for a month."
This announcement drew more groans and expressions of disappointment from the Quidditch team members involved in the incident.
"Two hundred and fifty points,"
Dumbledore continued,
"will be deducted from the Gryffindor house."
The Gryffindor students listened with a sense of resignation as the Headmaster announced his deduction.
"Taking into consideration that it was out of goodwill that they attempted to break the fight before being dragged into it,"
Dumbledore continued, pausing to direct his gaze at the Gryffindor table,
"their Quidditch team would not face any consequences."
This announcement prompted another roar of protest from both Slytherin and Hufflepuff students, while the Gryffindors attempted to drown out their voices with counter-arguments.
"One hundred points,"
Dumbledore concluded,
"Will be deducted from the Ravenclaw house,"
Dumbledore announced.
The Great Hall fell into a silence akin to a deathly vacuum as the Ravenclaws stared at the Headmaster, a mix of amazement and anger evident in their expressions.
"For allowing their fellow students to walk down the path of violence,"
Dumbledore continued,
"and for not lending their hand when push came to shove."
The silence shattered as the Ravenclaws erupted into roars of protest, their voices nearly drowning out the chatter from the other houses. Dumbledore raised his hand once more, and the hall quickly fell silent.
"This decision has been made after careful consideration by all the heads of houses and myself,"
Dumbledore stated, emphasizing the collective nature of the decision. He continued,
"Although, I believe this leniency should make you more grateful towards your head of the house. They spent most of their afternoon screaming at each other and bargaining the punishment until they managed to reduce it to this amount, from the original consideration of taking five hundred points from each house and suspending Quidditch for the entire year."
The revelation of the initial, much harsher consequences managed to return the stillness to the Great Hall,
"Now that's been dealt with, it's off to bed with all of you,"
Dumbledore concluded, bringing the matter to a close.
After the Headmaster's words had reached their ears, the students began to disperse in pairs and small groups. Some engaged in discussions about the possible outcomes, while others were simply drained from the anticipation and anxiety of the Headmaster's decision.
The largest group and the last to exit the Great Hall consisted of Gryffindor students. Among them were Victoire, the Weasley twins, Angelina, Alicia, Charlie, Isabella, and Lucy. As they departed, Lucy cast one last glance toward Snape, and then they all exited the hall together, leaving the tense atmosphere behind.
"Well, that wasn't so bad,"
commented Charlie with a sigh as they entered the common room.
They, however, seemed too weary and preoccupied to engage in conversation. Instead of sitting down to talk, they dispersed to their respective dormitories, each seeking some much-needed rest and reprieve from the day's events.
Victoire returned to her dormitory and noticed her owl, Emily, perched and busy with a mouse. As Emily spotted her owner, she glided down and playfully collided with Victoire. Despite the initial struggle to hold the energetic owl still, it seemed that Emily was in the mood for play rather than resting. It took some time before Victoire finally noticed the parchment wrapped around Emily's leg, she carefully removed the parchment and saw the sharp, handwriting of Lyriel,
Dear Victoire,
Seems you lot had quite the row today. Could Hear the commotion down to Hogsmeade. Rumor has it that quite a few students were even sent to St. Mungo's, is that true?
Hope you are not one of them. Wish you well for your first class.
With Love,
Lyriel
'This...'
Victoire was left speechless as she read the perfunctory letter.
Did Lyriel not have anything to do in Hogsmeade? Was she so bored that sending a letter every day was her only way to relieve some of it?
Victoire balled up the letter and tossed it in with the previous one, then she collapsed onto her bed, feeling the exhaustion from the day's events wash over her. Despite her efforts to stay awake, Victoire ultimately succumbed to sleep, finding some much-needed rest after the tumultuous day.
