| Details for Flying Feathers |
| Summary: | What starts as a nature lesson ends in a lesson in teenage hormones. |
| Date: | 1938-10-01 |
| Location: | Owl Tower, Hogwarts |
| Related: | None |
| Characters |
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Owl Tower Hogwarts
It is a fall night. The weather is cool and fair.
The Owl Tower's floor is covered in owl droppings, straw, and small animal skeletons. Six huge windows are embedded both in the bottom of the north and south wall sections of this rounded room. The windows are open to the elements and allow the owls to fly in and out as they please. The tower is quite tall and has many recessed arches for each owl to have their own home. The walls below each of the recesses are also covered with splotches of owl droppings and actually give an interesting contrast to the old stone work behind. During the winter, the room is quite cold and there is a danger of ice on the floor. Arching off the south side at the top of the tower, is a sky bridge that leads to the palisades of the castle.
Evening in the owl tower, and it's quiet, only the scratching of talons on perches and the occasional ruffle of wings disturbing the peace. The place appears, at least at first glance, to be empty of students, although a discarded Gryffindor robe lies over by one window.
Snow white comes into the Owl tower. Her steps are elegant and light. Even if there are no smile in her features, her bright skin glints in the evening as girl would be one of the stars above.
Ghostly girl hums a sweet melody under her nose, looking around the empty room a bit curiously, when finally she catches the sight of Gryffindor robe, lieing… near the window…
"Merlin's…!" girl just gasps and runs straight there, grabbing the robe in her hands and peeking through the window. Looking up, down, right, left a bit nervously.
Evening is the perfect time to send clandestine post - at least to Fiona's way of thinking. The tiny first year bounds her way up across the palisades and into the owl tower. She has her satchel slung across her chest like a bandolier might wield his weapons. Once inside she starts to look around for her pet owl. "Cuchulain!" Yes she named her owl after a legendary Gaelic warrior, one claimed by both the Scots and Irish as their own. Seeing Janette she looks at her oddly, having missed the whole picking up of the robes bit.
Up. Up was the right direction to look, as there, perched silently on the rafters, is Douglas, eyes fixed on a spot in front of him there. When bodies begin to fill up the tower, he glares at Janette, lifting a finger to his lips and nodding forward to a join in the rafters there.
When Janette sees Douglas, she sighs. Sighs in relieve, tossing his robe back on the ground a bit irritated. She leans against the wall and inhales deeply a few times, until trembling leaves her.
Girl stabs her ghostly eyes at that young little Raven. A few more inhales and exhales leave her throats, when Janette tosses angry gaze at the Gryffindor's robe.
But after some more seconds Slytherin girl softens and looks through the window again, moving her lips without a sound in a whisper.
The look Fiona gives back the pale Slytherin is very much a Hey! What's with the stabby eyes lady?! kind of look. But then Janette is a prefect so she has to be nice. Attention wandering, Fiona spies Douglas and her face breaks out into a huge grin. She starts to look for a way to get up there. Small hands and feet are not going to hold her back from climbing, no siree.
Douglas flicks a grin at Janette, nodding slightly. "Just starting," he murmurs in response to her, then turns his attention to the climbing first year with a look of panicked irritation. He waves his hands to get her attention, then points very firmly downward, rolling his eyes. "Keep her quiet!" he hisses to the albino girl.
Albino girl looks way more panicked than Douglas. First year girl, climbs so boldly… What the… What to do?! Janette rolls her eyes at the little girl, whispering: "Where you think you are going? Go down…" Janette tries to grab the girl, but is too late.
So, she takes of her cloak, tossing it on the ground besides Gryffindor's robe and follows that little first year girl. Though, Janette's eyes are more fixed on Douglas, just slightly peeking at the ground and stuff. Forgetting about the girl quickly, being afraid to fall, but still going near the destination.
Fiona is slippery, just ask her brothers. She is also an fairly good climber. She almost misses the hiss from Douglas in the din of owl chatter. When his words penetrate she looks over at him and just shakes her head in that way girls have of shaking their head at boys who just don't get that girls can be good at things too. As a highly experienced climber she is carefully missing the larger piles of bird droppings and now is also trying to climb quietly. Why she doesn't know, but she is trying.
Douglas rubs his face with his hands, before shuffling up a little on the rafters towards the join he's been so carefully watching. He glares at Fiona briefly, then points carefully towards the nest cradled at the intersection of rafters and puts his finger to his lips. "Hatching," he explains sotto voce, before glancing to Janette and her attempts to climb. He swears under his breath before hissing, "Help her up! Quick now, so we don't disturb them!"
Janette gasps silently "I don't need help from the first year…" and she inhales deeply, closing her eyes for a moment and appearing near the right spot quite quickly and smoothly. Oh, she so would like to stick her tongue at that girl, who disturbs the perfect moment and stuff… but it's not what ladies do, so Janette just inhales once more, fixing her gaze on the owl's eggs.
When Janette says she doesn't want her help Fiona doesn't bother to offer it, apart from one comment. "You should be careful where you put your foot. You just stuck it in some old droppings." The comment is offered in a hushed whisper. Being slight of size and sleight of hand and in this case feet. Fiona finds herself a perch more easily than a larger pupil might. She looks over where Douglas had pointed and grins. That she is now ten times dirtier than she was when she arrived hasn't bothered the first year in the least.
Almost on cue, the first of the eggs, which had already shown some signs of cracking, jumps a little to the side, and there is a flash of beak and gooey feather. For his part, Douglas just watches, a bright smile creeping across his face as he adjusts his perch to get more comfortable.
The Slytherin girl just rolls her eyes at the first year girl.
Janette grins more widely, when the process starts. However, for some strange reasons, she can't concentrate her gaze on the eggs for too long. Sometimes her grey look slips to Douglas, and seeing how he enjoys all this, makes the pale girl smile even more widely, blushing a bit.
A small owl comes and lands on Fiona's head. She rolls her eyes up wards to see what owl it is and spotting the Tricolor band around its leg she grins. While doing her utmost best to be quiet Fiona pulls an oatcake from her pocket and breaks it into small pieces which she offers up to the owl on her head. The hatching draws her attention once she has figured out that it is in fact her owl on her head. The blushing mating dance of the older students gets blatantly ignored.
Douglas nods to the egg as the pink squirmy thing inside starts to break its way out more clearly, giving off a high pitched chirp. It's not a cute looking thing, mostly featherless, cloudy eyed, and with its head almost the size of its scrawny body, and yes Douglas is clearly enraptured by the whole thing. He points excitedly, bringing the attention of the other two to it. "Baby barn owl!" he whispers excitedly. "If we're lucky, all three will live."
Janette chuckles at the first year girl's accident with her owl. However, the attention is taken by the eggs quite quickly. Janette just grins, seeing that little bird and concentrates more on the boy's excitement. She stares at him a bit thoughtfully, likely thinking, how this boy can be mean one moment and another so… good?
Cucuchlain is content to sit on Fiona's dark head and be fed bits of oatcake as she watches the hatchlings try and break free. Thankfully he does not poo on her, that would mean she'd need a bath. "Which owl laid them," she whispers over to Douglas from her perch on a…perch.
At first glance, the owl tower appears empty of students, just the flapping of wings and the occasional swoop of an owl in through one of the windows to their perch. On closer inspection, however, and if one should choose to look upwards, three students, a Slytherin, a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor, are all lying carefully on a rafter each, intently watching something at the intersection of them all.
"She'll come by to feed them in a bit and you'll see," Douglas murmurs quietly. "They go out and eat mice and things, then vom them up into the baby birds' mouths."
Even when he thought that he was completely unwatched and alone, Alphard still carried himself with his head high and aristocrat's mien that said the world should bow before his feet and be grateful for the privilege. He was mumbling under his breath as he entered the Owl Tower, a stream of complaints that mostly revolved around how his monthly allowance: "Better not be late again, or I swear, someone.. someone.. SOMEONE is going to be sorry. So sorry." A boy about -serious- business, he didn't realize he wasn't alone immediately. The discarded robe just got a disgusted sneer, and a -kick- to send it out of his way. "Idiots with no respects for their things." Because -he- was such a great example of respect in general.
Albino girl's smile fades as quickly as the mist in the morning, when she hears that quite well known grumbling. She rolls her eyes and sighs, slightly moves farther, as she would be hoping to remain unseen.
Though, the conversation about Mommy Owl brings a brief smile to girl's features, but for some reason, she quickly becomes marble and all cold, a bit tense or very straightened.
Unable to stop herself from being needlessly clever the first year corrects Douglas in a way, whispering to him, "Owls don't regurgitate. They offer torn up bits of food." She probably researched owls or something before getting her own. Nerd much? Yes, thanks. Fiona glances down hearing the footsteps and some general boy mumbling. She doesn't know Alphard so his arrival is more one of general than specific annoyance. "Shhh," she whispers to him. Fiona wants to see the mother owl.
Douglas grins easily at that. "Somebody's been paying attention in class," he mocks cheerfully. "Well, yeah, it's not vom so much as chomped up bits. Principle stands, though." He glances down at Alphard, grin turning to a much more mischievous one. He adjusts his position as best he can to make sure he's not seen, then casually flicks a pellet from the rafter down towards the Slytherin boy.
Usually,it wouldn't be funny. At all. But after some conversations… For some reason, the way, how Douglas reacts to the Slytherin boy, forces an amusing flash in her grey eyes,but all her stance remains in "Snowsnake" style.
The Slytherin boy tipped his head back at that 'shh' coming from above, his dark eyes narrowing as he searched for the source. When he spied Fiona up there his expression immediately turned into a scowl, and his thoughts were write large across his pale face: Was some puny little first year actually trying to shush -him-?! Alphard Pollux Black?! His mouth opened and a crass reply was all but begging to be unleashed and cut her down. That was when the pellet bounced off the top of his head. OUTRAGE. He glared up at the direction it had come from, while his hand worried into his thick mop of raven black hair to make sure nothing untoward had -stuck- there. "You -bastard-," he hissed! "I'll get you back for that!" Even if he probably had earned it from their last encounter. Yet even as he plotted revenge, part of him couldn't help but be curious and ask: "What're you al -doing- up there?!"
Fiona doesn't see Douglas flick the pellet because she is looking down at Alphard and shushing him at that exact moment, which is why she sees it land. Her little nose wrinkles and it could well look like she is looking disdainfully at Alphard or it could just be the idea of poop in the hair is really disgusting. Maybe both. "There are owlets hatching," she whispers to him in that hushed stage whisper people use to carry over distances.
"An owlet," Douglas corrects, stretching out and settling again into a more comfortable pose. "Aha!" he adds in triumph, as an adult owl swoops silently to the nest, teetering on the edge as a tiny mouse is dropped in, before the whole nest is hidden from view by its wings. "The rest probably won't hatch for a few days yet. If they do."
"Oooh… And if you will see, that they can't hatch, are there some means for you to help them see the world?" whispers Janette,resting her eyes on the Mom Owl. She gives no any attention to the another Slytherin boy.
"Boring." So boring in fact that Alphard had to make an effort to get up there himself so he could get a better view of the action. Every now and again he kept sending Douglas some pretty dark looks, though. The sort of looks that said nothing was going to be forgotten.
Cucuchlain the wonder owl has eaten his oatcake and begins to use his beak to nudge Fiona for another. She absently reaches up to swat a shoo'ing hand at the owl which is standing on her head. "I have a book on owls," she whispers to Janette, "which I can lend you." Alphard's arrival at the lofty heights of their perching gets an approving look from the little pure-blood Irish witch.
"If it's so boring, why don't you go find something else to do," Douglas suggests irritably, flicking another pellet Alphard's way. He shakes his head at Janette. "If it doesn't hatch, it's probably had it. I mean, the only other thing you could do with it is omelette, and that just doesn't feel right."
"Oooh…" drawls the girl and leans at the wall "So sad…"
She watches these birds for a while, when she remembers the offer of the first year girl. Janette sniffs at her "No…"
When ghostly look finds the Slytherin boy and Snow white lady whispers "Because if not this, he would sit in the common room all alone now, speaking with his cup of hot drink in perfect standards, enjoying his own awesomeness… That would be pretty boring…" and girl rests her gaze at Douglas, blushing a bit.
Alphard swatted the pellet away, Beater style, which unfortunately made it shatter against the back of his hand. Cue disgusting dirty smear, while tiny pieces drizzled down onto the floor below. "Ugh!" Quickly he wiped it off on the wall as best he could. "You don't tell me what to do, Macmillian. I can look if I like. You aught to show some respect, anyhow. I was nice enough to save your ass the other day!" Which was how he remembered it, anyhow. No ounce of irony or duplicity in his eyes. The boy actually seemed to believe his own version. "And whatever, Abbot. I see I've found the Prince you spent all night singing about. Suits -your- standards just fine, I'm sure." Eyeroll.
Janette's words make Fiona giggle. Her eyes widen and she covers her mouth with her hand to keep from being too noisy. But the entire situation has become too funny. She begins to make her way down again, followed by her owl who is determined to get more food from her. "Swearing at a prefect can get your house docked points," she informs Alphard in a sing-song tone once her feet are on the floor again.
"You can look," Douglas allows, sliding backwards until he can prop a toe on the window ledge, then swinging round to hang beneath the rafter and finally drop to the floor once more, clearly a practiced manoeuvre. "But if you touch any of those owlets, I will find where you sleep and crap in your pillowcase."
"You are just…" Janette turns to strawberry "You are just a… It was a song about snow! SNOW! But… Whatever… You are just…"
Janette is even lack of air from anger. Forgetting how she is afraid of this place, young girl just climbs down as haughty as possible and starts moving near the exit, quite slowly, but clasping her hands on abdomen firmly squeezing herself.
Yes, she walks near the exit, while her cloak is left to lie on the ground near Gryffindor's. She never forgets anything, but this time she is too much angry and…maybe ashamed.
Alphard gave Douglas a smile. The sort of cool borderline sociopathic smile that suggested the Gryffindor had just given him a way to get even. Without a word he let himself back down to the floor as well, and if he just happened to walk right over the discarded robes.. grinding them into the filth of the floor, then that was purely by accident. Surely. "Whatever. I'm just here to check for letters anyway." But his smile only grew at Janette's furious blushing, obviously checking that off as a definitive victory on the scorecard.
Several older brothers Fiona isn't exactly shocked to hear the banter of the older students but she does shake her head a little. Pulling a letter from her satchel she offers it up to her owl. "Go, take this to the shop and you'll get a nice treat." The owl looks at the letter and then decides to do his mistress' bidding, flying off out one of the windows. "Surely the only reason that people write to such an exaltd creature as yourself is to praise your very existence?" Fiona smiles a sweet honeyed smile as she looks up at Alphard and speaks to him.
"I know I do," Douglas confides in Fiona with a solemn nod. "I lie awake at night, composing poetry to him as a paragon of all that is good and right with the world. It breaks my heart to think that he only sees me as… as… some older Gryffindor boy…" He wipes an imaginary tear, swooning back against the wall with a look of utter despair.
Janette just walks as she walked and leaves the room, not even glancing once at Alphard or… Douglas.
"You think you're being clever?" Alphard asked Fiona with a dismissive look in her direction. "You're sure keeping good company, then. With Macmillian here to serve as your mentor, you might even make a single O.W.L." Giving both of them a sniff of contempt, he made his way over to his own owl. One might think he was going to treat it with the same arch dislike he treated most of his fellow students, but instead he produced something form inside of his pocket and dangled it infront of the owl. Whatever it was, it wsa snapped up immediately. "There's a good girl! Whose a good girl? You're a good girl! Yes you are! Let me see your leg, now! Aw."
For all that she is content to disdain one as far as Fiona can tell both boys are as bad as the other. "If I'm going to have anyone as a mentor I'll chose my cousin Conall," she just loves to name drop the Head Boy, oh yes. Peering over at Alphard she grins a little seeing him with the owl and then looks away. As she does the first year spots the forgotten robe of the older girl. With care she picks it up and folds it then places it on the cleanest surface she can find.
Douglas scoops up his own robe, grinning easily. "Aw, exams are for people without connections. If you've got the right blood, you can get a good job wherever you want. Leave the high marks for the mudbloods who need to work for a living." He gestures towards Fiona and the cloak she's folded. "I'll take that, if you want."
Albino girl peeks inside the owl tower again. She takes a nervous scratch of her head. "I… Just forgot my cloak…" she whispers blushing again. It looks like all the anger was taken away by her shyness and shame.
When she looks around and sees a feet on her usually perfect green robe, which now is in the first year girl's hands… It is easy to see how that pure snow white girl becomes a dragon. Though, little one. Very little petite dragon. She grabs her cloak from the hands, and firmly paces near the Slytherin guy. It could be unexpected, that this, usually very proper little lady will sneak up on a taller man, but she does that and pushes him from all her strength "I am tired of your arrogance. Look what have you done! You acted like three years child. You are soo… worth of bruises!" and she pushes him once more even more stronger. "My clothes always /must/ be natty and without… How I will look now, you jerk!"
"Conall, huh?" He tasted the name, then perhaps came to the conclusion it was a good enough name drop that even Alphard wasn't going to dismiss it out of hand. With a grunt he went over the contents of his owl's letter. Whatever it said, it seemed to satisfy him enough that he didn't throw an immediate tantrum. Instead it went into his inner pocket. "You're an idiot, Macmillian. Having good blood isn't an excuse to slack off. You have a responsibility to live up to the potential your ancestors worked so hard to give you." He sniffed again.
One thing the Black new how to do was scrap. He was a bully and a beater for a reason. So when Janette came at him, he stumbled forward on the first push.. but on the second? He was going to twist and then use her own momentum to -slam- her down into the dirt. And perhaps kick her. Just because.
"Conall, huh?" He tasted the name, then perhaps came to the conclusion it was a good enough name drop that even Alphard wasn't going to dismiss it out of hand. With a grunt he went over the contents of his owl's letter. Whatever it said, it seemed to satisfy him enough that he didn't throw an immediate tantrum. Instad it went into his inner pocket. "You're an idiot, Macmillian. Having good blood isn't an excuse to slack off. You have a responsibility to live up to the potential your ancestors worked so hard to give you." He sniffed again.
One thing the Black new how to do was scrap. He was a bully and a beater for a reason. So when Janette came at him, he stumbled forward on the first push.. but on the second? He was going to twist and then use her own momentum to -slam- her down into the dirt. And perhaps kick her. Just because.
A little shoving is one thing, but when Janette hits the stone floor, Douglas is there in a moment, launching himself into Alphard's back, shoulder first. "Hey!" he protests, swinging a fist for the boy's kidneys. "You don't beat on girls!"
When a strong hand of the taller man pushes Janette to the ground, girl falls on her rear quite loudly and hits her head to the wall. Though, not too much. There is no blood. She just closes her eyes and frowns, mumbling "Asshole!"
It is when she feels a kick to her own legs. Girl just even more loudly repeats. "Asshole!"
When Douglas is near the boy, Janette remains sitting near the wall, keeping her hand immersed into her frosted curls. No. She does not cry. She never cries. Not in front of the Black guy. "You will drown in your own arrogance one day!"
And Janette continues just sitting and rubbing her head, eyes closed and frowned.
Just when Fiona was going to open her mouth and agree with Alphard's comment about expectations, behaviour and familial responsibility Janette returns and the shoving begins. The older girl's robe is forgotten as Fiona tries to throw herself into the fracas. "Bloody eejits the lot of ye!," exclaims the first year as she tries to pull the boys back away from one another.
"Oomph!" Alphard announced when Douglas came barreling into him from behind, catching him mostly unaware as he had been focusing on Janette beneath him. That first kick hadn't really been too nasty, and he hadn't drawn back for a second one either. Mostly just instinct. Like his instinct to twist into his second attacker. It still meant he got a solid blow knocked into him. Bruise worthy. He was going down, too, but making sure that Douglas was going down into the dirty floor with him! His elbow lashed out, meaning to catch Douglas in the nose. A proper dustup! Fiona was completely ignored. Though that might not protect her against any accidental limbs flying about!
Douglas's head clocks back with a thud as the elbow connects with his face, a spray of bright red blood spattering from his nose to give everyone a good taste of Gryffindor colours, scrabbling for purchase as he wrestles with Alphard on the ground now. One leg comes up to hook around the other boy, rolling this way and that with a grunt.
Just after a few more seconds, Janette finally gets her strength back, and seeing. When she opens her eyes, still a bit frowning, because she will have bump on her head, she catches the blood of Douglas. Girl jumps on her feet: "Douglas!!!"
Janette slides closer "Alphard! I will take all the possible points from Slytherin if you won't stop! Stop it!"
Too busy ducking and diving swinging fists and feet Fiona finds herself unable to pull the two boys apart from one another. She looks over at Janette and mutters under her breath about prefects. Tearing out of there, the small student runs, not wanting to be hit.
"GET OFF ME!" Alphard roared once he got his breath back after the initial impact had knocked his lungs empty. That was going to bruise, too. He scrambled wildly, trying to shove his elbow into Douglas' midsection and push him away, even as that hooked leg kept trapping Alphard on the bottom. "Then pull him off me already!" The latter came to Janette. Alphard was used to easy victories, and the longer he struggled beneath Douglas the less he liked the sensation. Even if he was giving as good as he got. Which was the problem. He was -only- giving as good as he got.
Douglas takes another elbow, this one to his gut, which has him winded for a good few seconds, coughing and spluttering. His grip fails him on the Slytherin's legs, but he lashes out with an open palm towards the boy's chin, shoving him away hard to give himself a few moments respite.
Janette runs near the fighting boys, not giving too much attention if she will be hurt again. She just mutters: "Douglas, please… You are bleeding. Douglas… He is not worth it!" and she tries to grab the Gryffindor boy.
"Mph!" CLACK. Was the sound of Douglas' palm hitting him square on the chin, sending his mouth clattering shut and a couple of his molas chomping down on the back of his tongue. OW. The metallic taste of warm coppery blood filled his mouth. Immediately it was clear that Alphard had the same idea that Douglas did, because as the Gryffindor took his respite, the Slytherin scrambled on his heels and elbows backwards to get away and put up some distance and breathing room between the two of them. Not before kicking out, though; one last parting gift. "You cowardly bastards! Jumping me from behind! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Douglas sits up, wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve and catching his breath. "You don't hit women!" he spits back, furious. "You just don't! What kind of man are you?"
When Fiona returns she is not alone. "It is unhygienic," she tells the tall man walking with her at a fast clip. "They are rolling around in owl droppings. Droppings! I don't mind a bit of dirt, mud is fine but that could give them infections. What if they get some in their eyes." Pringle merely nods and then pushes the small girl aside as he steps into the owlery. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" The caretaker shouts at the trio of older students. From behind him Fiona looks a bit smug.
Janette falls on her knees near Douglas, taking a handkerchief from her pocket. She starts cleaning his blood. "He is not a man at all,indeed,but Douglas…He was not worth for this… You need to see doctor now.."
This is the moment when Pringle comes inside.
Janette jumps on her feet quickly, bowing her head a bit "Janette Abbott, prefect from Slytherin." She points at the Black guy. "He came here insulting us, trampled our clothes and when I said him "Enough", he slammed me at the ground and kicked me. I have no idea what else he would have done if not this brave man. He stood up for me, mister…" explains Janette and falls down on her knees near Douglas.
"Well I didn't mean to," Alphard growled sullenly, defending himself against Douglas' accusations. "I didn't think about it until she was lying there. Anyway, it was all your fau-" at which point he clomped his mouth shut. Because there was Pringle! If a look could kill, the one he sent Fiona would have done the trick. Then again he was sending all of them death-glares, except Pringle. All the while he was wincing, too, because the longer he lay there the more adrenaline faded, and the more his bruises started to actually -hurt-.
"You little lying.." Alphard gasped, wide eyed incredulous that she would dare! "You both attacked me! I was just here to check my mail! I was defending myself!"
Douglas pulls himself, aching, to his feet, blinking once and sniffing up some of the blood still dripping from his nose. "We all tripped over," he decides, nodding to Pringle to best convince him. "It's all fine now, though. Nothing happened."
Fiona eyes Janette and then looks at the two boys. She wriggles around from behind Pringle and looks at the trio. "All a bit of fuss over nothing," she mutters, arms crossing over her chest. Pringle eyes the three of them taking stock of the situation and then looks back at Janette "Seems to me," he says, his voice still raised in annoyance, "that a prefect should know better." He points at the two boys, "You infirmary now!" His eyes narrow. "House points should be taken from the lot of you. Now clear out!"
Janette tosses a victorious glance at Alphard. When she glances at the first year girl, first time looking at her with a warmth in her eyes: "At least one of us knew the right thing to do."
Then Janette comes closer near Douglas "I will go with you," and she adds a silent whisper.
Alphard looked like he was about to argue with Pringle, but after a moment to look at the other three students, apparently decided that this was as good a deal as he was going to break. Even if he wore his martyr face. He pushed himself up to his feet slowly, again wincing. In fact just about every movement he made right now was suffused with expressions of agony. More perhaps than any injury actually deserved. Douglas got.. half an upnod. An acknowledgement of the fact that the Gryffindor at least hadn't ratted him out. As he limped out, he gave Janette another death-glare.
Douglas pinches the bridge of his nose, shoulders hunched as he shuffles out towards the exit, giving Fiona a dirty look for her trouble. He does, at least, have the good grace not to point out the blood on Janette's uniform, simply wiping at it instead to try to remove it. Which smears it, but still, the thought was there.
With an annoyed huff Fiona runs out, chasing after Alphard.