Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Infirmary
Participants: Those who received a 'Howler' from the Headmistress or those who have broken rules in the months of October and up to November 7th and wish to join.

Note: Everyone who has been sent a howler will have received at least 10 points lost. Those who join on their own accord will only lose 5.  Please post as though you have already arrived, unless you wish to lose more points, in which case feel free to post arriving late. I will assume everyone is present for the detention unless told otherwise, but know that not being 'present' will result in a harsher punishment. While it is not a mandatory thread for you, it is for your character.

Ana's Clothing.

---

The infirmary was in shambles, or rather, it would have been if there were still furniture left to be in shambles. Instead, it looked as though some youthful god had gotten hold of a jar of ink and fingerpainted the room liberally, smearing soot as high as the rafters and coating the floors in a dull black carpet of ash. All that was left of the furniture that Analiza had not sealed away was piles of caked ash that were as hard as rock, scattered around the room like blackened shrines to what once was a place of rest and healing. The sunsets dim light barely managed to slip through the cracks in the soot that blackened the once  beautiful view of Hogwarts Gardens. Instead of warm rays of sun lighting the room, dozens of candles floated towards the ceiling casting a dim light down into the room in a way eerily similar to a wake for the dead.

And it was, in a way, a wake. What had happened there was not simply a protest or a youthful prank gone awry, as those who supported Bloxam tried to claim, it was murder. One single misguided spell and she had managed to destroy the memories of Hogwarts final battle and those that died from their wounds in that very room. Painful memories, yes, but memories that people hadn't wanted destroyed so wontonly, especially not for such a frivolous reason. This wasn't just a mess... it was a tragedy.

It was with this anger fueling her, fed by the recent crimes committed against her and the school alike, that allowed for Analiza to stand there in righteous anger. Before her stood a group of children and teens of varying size and build, whose faces were all the same yet so distinctly loathable that she couldn't bring herself to focus on just one. Instead, she paced back and forth in front of them, eyeing each of them with barely concealed disdain etched across her furrowed brow and blazing in her golden eyes.

Her thin lips, pursed tight in disgust, finally parted in order to clarify their reason for standing there. "None of you have the right to wonder why you are here. You know why you are here. Skipping class, sneaking out, disrespecting your teachers and disregarding rules may seem small to you, but when they are coupled with assault... vandalism... rioting... the disregard for the health and safety of other students... and even threatening the statute of secrecy..." She paused in front of Sasha Schlagenweit as she did so, her eyes boring into his for a moment before she continued "... Then I think we can all agree that we have quite a predicament on our hands."

Turning away from them, she put her hands behind her back and stared at the infirmary. "Perhaps you think that I am not as tough as previous headmasters... or that I am not concerned about this schools reputation... or that I am simply too stupid or incompetent to notice when my students go missing or commit crimes under my very nose..." Suddenly, she whirled around and let out a shout that seemed like it shook the room "WELL I AM NOT. AND I WILL NOT STAND BY AND LET A BUNCH OF CHILDREN UNDERMINE ME..."

Taking a deep breath, she managed to calm down and continue in a lower, but no less threatening, tone "... So for the next 10 sundays, all of you will be under my watch. This means NO Hogsmeade, NO parties, NO snogging your boyfriend under the stairs... nothing. You will report to my office and complete whatever task I assign you without using a single bit of magic.... Starting with this..." She motioned to the destroyed room "Starting this evening and every sunday until it is done, you will meet here and clean. I expect this room to be spotless by the time you are done, and without a single spell uttered." Walking up to a small table she had placed in front of them, Analiza rested her hand on a large metal box "Wands in the box, now."


 

Eirene was not doing so well. After a howler from the Headmistress informing her of detention, a howler from her mother when she found out the news, and then a third howler from her parents when she was too upset to write back promptly, well…

If she never saw an owl again she would be very happy.

The bruise had faded from her jaw but the memory of Halloween night stayed fresh in her mind. It was easily the worst experience of her life. Fighting with Mairead, getting punched, getting into trouble, narrowly escaping werewolves and fires, and then getting into trouble again made her want to hide in the Ravenclaw common room forever!

Eirene stood in the infirmary with her hands clasped tightly in front of her, watching the woman prowl around the room and sneer at them. The woman was terrifying. Terrifying! When her parents were angry at her at least they didn’t look like they wanted to eat her for supper. Noriko was wrong – it wasn’t the muggle cannibals they should be worried about, but the Headmistress of Hogwarts.

The Headmistress listed their many crimes, then went on to tell them if they thought she was incompetent, they had another think coming. As her voice suddenly rose to a shout Eirene jumped and let out a squeak, stepping back when the woman narrowed her eyes at her.

Horror filled her heart when she learned that she’d be facing ten, ten detentions! Eirene’s face turned pale and she clutched at an older student for support. Ten! One detention was bad enough, especially so early on in her school career, but ten! Ten in her first-year alone! Merlin, this was a death sentence. How was she supposed to grow up and be a healer if she had that many detentions on her record? St. Mungo’s wouldn’t take her! She’d be doomed to work in a dinky little potions or plants shop for the rest of her life!

Eirene let out a whimper and fought back tears. It just got worse and worse. They had to clean this up with no magic? Scourgify was the only spell she was an expert at and she couldn’t even use it!

But she obediently walked over to the box, avoided looking at the Headmistress, and placed her wand inside as if she were giving up an arm. Then she stood back numbly and waited for someone to tell her what to do, where to start. Eirene had thought that shoveling dung for Bombay was the worst punishment ever, but this seemed like it would be so much worse.

Fauna was peeved, to say the least. The thought that she had to waste her Sunday night serving another detention made her blood boil. It was a passive aggressive move, in her opinion, a move meant to single out students the Headmistress didn’t like under the guise of a group punishment. As Fauna glanced around the room, she saw some who deserved detention, sure, but there were a few who didn’t.

Maddie had just been defending herself, Fauna reasoned, conveniently forgetting that she’d acted more out of retaliation and that Tulo had had everything under control. And as for Sasha, Devlin, Beatrix, and herself, well, she’d already served detentions for sneaking out on the 14th. The first-years had gotten out of hand at the dance, that was true, but from the look on one girl’s face it seemed they’d already learned their lesson.

She refused to feel guilty. She was done feeling guilty. This group detention was just a way for the Headmistress to lash out about the ruined Halloween dance and point her finger at the scapegoats. No one knew who had spiked the punch, but Snark had apparently decided that didn’t matter.
 
Though Fauna tried to stay angry, tried running through all the justifications in her mind as she gave the Headmistress her best sullen glare, fear and guilt kept sneaking up on her. She was in deep now. Snark was pissed, and whether she had a right to be or not, she was in charge and could make their lives a living hell. The vindictive gleam in the woman’s eyes told Fauna that was exactly what she had in mind.

As Snark lectured them, then yelled at them, and then asked for their wands, Fauna gave a slight shake of her head, calculating in her head that they’d still be serving detentions in January after winter break. This was not what she needed to be doing her seventh year, with NEWTs just waiting to bite her in the butt. Granted, she hadn't needed to sneak out the night of the 14th either, but that was a month ago. This had to be about the dance, Fauna thought.

She silently dropped her wand in the box, unwilling to breathe a word of complaint and give Snark the satisfaction. Fauna didn’t wait for further instruction. Her face stony, she picked up the nearest broom resting against the wall and began sweeping up the debris. The faster they got this done, the less chance there was that this particular job would take more than ten detentions, Merlin forbid.

Miserable.

There was no other word for the way Sasha felt at that moment.  Humiliated, mortified, miserable.  And, he couldn't even suffer it alone in peace.  He had to be surrounded by others.  He was being included in a disciplinary group which featured Devlin and Xavier and Fauna.  That, alone, was cause for utter, reputation-maiming humiliation.  But, that wasn't it alone.

This was, in fact, Sasha's second round of humiliation that evening.  Not an hour before, Sasha had found himself standing in front of Professor Ramsey as she accused him of masterminding the theft of their practical exam by another student.  She refused to tell him who had accused him but had, for whatever reason, found that student's word more trustworthy than his own.  He'd been accused, lectured, not listened to, given multiple detentions and then sent on his way here to listen to Madame Snark.  Who, promptly, began accusing him and issuing her own detentions.

The Headmistress began listing off the various reasons they were all gathered there.  Skipping class, sneaking out, disrespecting teachers, disregarding rules, health, safety, secrecy - all of those could be directed at him.  Merlin!  Had he really ... gone that bad?  The Headmistress paused in her pacing, standing in front of Sasha and singled him out, watching him closely.  He shrinked back, slightly, under the weight of her glower until she, finally, moved on. 

The task was laid out for them.  Sasha moved towards the box, dropping his new wand inside before gathering his cleaning supplies.  He quickly found a spot along the wall and began cleaning.

Spending ten Sundays in a row in detention wasn't exactly what Mairead considered a good time but, in grand scheme of things, it was more than worth it.  Mairead had been reveling in a smug aura of satisfaction ever since her short, stubby fingers had connected with Eirene's prim, thinks-she's-perfect face.  The proper little princess was a complete and utter menace - there was no two ways about it.  Those clean, white cheeks needed a little marring to get the Princess Rene off her high, white horse and Mairead seemed the only one willing to do so. 

The benefits hadn't ended there.  Mairead had been more than thrilled that morning when the first howler had landed in front of Princess Rene.  Mairead had gotten one, too and it had said the same thing.  But, unlike her royal nuisance, Mairead hadn't panicked, acting like the world was going to end because someone was mad at her. 

Watching the girl's reaction during breakfast to the two howlers from the girl's parents had been even more delicious.  It was like the girl had never gotten a 'you've been bad' lecture from either of her parents.  Mairead got them all the time.  Don't fight, don't sneak away, don't steal crisps from the store.  It was old news.  Mairead had gotten two letters as well from home.  One had been from Oisin Murphy, transcribing her mother's expression of disappointment.  The other had been a (barely legible) congratulatory note from Tito who agreed the detention was well worth it. 

Now ... now, watching Rene cower under the Headmistress' bellow was just ... wonderfully beautiful.  The old woman pacing the room, yelling at them was loud and it sparked a hint of 'maybe-I-shouldn't-have-done-it' remorse in the Gryffindor but that was easily overshadowed by the first year Ravenclaw's look of pure horror.

So, if the price for this clear victory was a little hard, manual labor, it was one of Mairead's better deals.  Once the Headmistress had finished with her fit, Mairead didn't hesitate to hurry forward so she could reach the wand-deposit box alongside Eirene. 

The girl was close to tears.  That much was obvious.  "Has she yelled at ye alone, yet?"  Mairead asked, trying to sound sage.  "I couldn't believe the names she called me.  It was terrifying."  After depositing her wand in the box, she turned fully towards Rene, her arms crossed across her chest.  "Ye even know how to work?  Ye'll probably get yer fingers dirty, ye know."

[Bea's good girl outfit]

Detention was no surprise to Beatrix. The giddy Ravenclaw was known for getting into tight situations, but detentions weren't always handed so lightly to her. Perhaps that was why she was a prefect-- No one usually knew about Bea's little charades. However, getting caught with Sasha and Fauna after sneaking out was simply... Well, it was bound to happen. They were going to get into trouble for that simply because it would have to be known they witnessed Greyfriar's attack.

The young girl's eyes flicked over to Sasha when Snark stopped to give him her death glare. He didn't deserve to be in there... He didn't deserve his punishment. But Beatrix would forever be glad Sasha was with her during those frightening moments. He was a real friend... A really smart one, too. If only she had listened to him...

Snark began screaming at them. What was wrong with that woman? And didn't she know screaming was a sign of weakness? Beatrix would know, after all. That was why she remained calm in most situations nowadays. She remembered screaming at Gavin Snark during her fourth year... Beatrix refrained from smiling. That was actually quite funny. And embarrassing.... But funny! This was no time to be thinking of that, though. Beatrix's cold blue eyes slid away from Snark and she stared around the room. It was strange being in the infirmary after what Darcy had done... Such a shame the two couldn't spend time with each other any more.

The howler Beatrix had received wasn't really frightening to Bea as it was a heads up. The girl dressed like a normal student for once, knowing very well Snark wouldn't take kindly to her usual uniform. Her platinum blonde hair was as vividly bright and hard to look at in the sun, just as it always had been. She felt a bit nostalgic having her locks the way they used to be... But having a bright pink head would probably enrage the serious Headmistress. Bea was lucky to slip by her in the hallways unharmed, let alone stand in front of her.

Beatrix refrained from smiling once more when Snark said they'd be cleaning the room. They could just use their wands and-- No, they'd have to give her their wands? Beatrix frowned. Lucky for her she was wearing clothes she didn't care for. Speaking of clothes she didn't care for... Did Snark know her pants made her thighs look huge? But that wasn't something Beatrix was about to blurt out.

The girl stepped forward, pulled her yew wand out, and placed it in the box, staring Snark in the eyes as she did so. Beatrix, for some reason, wanted Snark to know she wasn't afraid of her. Though Beatrix usually wouldn't harm a fly in front of the woman. Who knew what she could do? She set her bag down, also, just in case Snark wanted to search it for drugs or-- Oh LAWDY!-- Broken quills! Would she also want to frisk them before they got on their hands and knees and scrubbed the place down?

She stepped back and, after finally breaking her nonchalant stare, grabbed a sponge and bucket and found her way to a spot near Sasha. Not too close for her to get yelled at... But close enough to, god forbid, breathe the same air as him. "This is a load of bullocks," Beatrix murmured before pulling off her robe and getting down to business. Luckily for Beatrix, labor wasn't exactly an issue for her.

Xavier stood straight and kept his mouth shut as the Headmistress did her spiel. He was playing the part of remorseful do good-er. There were rumours about Xavier, true and the fact that he hung around Devlin Matthews crew didn't make things any better but no one had ever been able to prove that Xavier had ever done anything wrong. In his four years of schooling at Hogwarts he had never had a single detention. He got praise from most of his teachers and up until now had always considered himself to be on Snark's good side. He wasn't a troublemaker, at least his record said he wasn't. Most of the students knew better but the Halloween Dance and the whole debacle with Madeline Pratt had been the first time any of his misdeeds had been witnessed and so Xavier needed to play it up like he had never been in trouble before, although he wasn't as squirrely as Sasha was and he certainly wasn't close to tears like the little first year Ravenclaw was.

At least getting a howler had been an interesting experience for him. He had never received one before. even when his mother had found out about him smacking Maddie he had only gotten a strongly worded reprimand but no howler. He hadn't been sure how to react to it but much like his current facade he had been remorseful, seemingly regretting his actions. If he was going to reclaim his spotless record he'd have to save a hell of a lot of face in front of his other students.

He placed his wand in the box with the others and did his best not to look displeased with his punishment. It wasn't that he'd have to spend the next ten sundays scrubbing the charred and blackened infirmary, manual labour wasn't a bad thing. He had been spending his summers working at his uncle's bar without having to use magic so it was nothing new. What really sucked about this particular punishment was having to spend the next ten sundays in the company of those such as Sasha, Fauna, Maddie and Devlin - that was the real punishment.

As some of the others began to start their cleaning, Xavier removed his grey and green sweater vest and unbuttoned his dress shirt. He wasn't all that concerned about getting his school uniform dirty, it was simply that the clothing was restricting. If he was going to get down and dirty with some good old fashioned manual labour he'd need to be able to move freely and so now wearing just his slacks and a white undershirt Xavier took to a bucket of soapy water and a sponge and got on his hands and knees to start scrubbing the soot off the once marbled floor.

[Outfit for Detentions]

Bellatrix had been one of the few to not receive a howler. She hadn't done anything wrong except jinxing one or two students and not turning in her homework. Starting to fail her classes one month in to her fifth year was enough punishment. If she really did fail, she'd be expelled from Hogwarts and that was something she couldn't afford. Bella was very ambitious which was why she had been sorted into Slytherin, but she couldn't decide what exactly to be ambitious about. The fifteen-year-old had got her first real taste of power being on the arm of Erin Harper at the birthday masquerade Friday night. Yummy. Not the boy, the power. It had tempted her and she wanted more. Though, after having clashed with Harper at the party, she doubted she would taste that again.

The Headmistress shouted and snarled at the other students. Bellatrix glance warily around at the others, inching closer to her twin with each accusation aimed at the Ravenclaw Prefect. Rotten Headmistress! How dare she talk to Lil Bee like that! When she demanded their wands to put into a box, Bellatrix had a hard time of not glaring at the woman. She averted her gaze out of sheer will to not make her detention worse than it had to be. The thought of jinxing the Headmistress briefly crossed the Slytherin girl's mind also, but it had to be forced out to keep her impulse from making her actually do it. Her hand let go of her most loyal friend, her Hawthorne wand, and let it drop into the box.

When the others started cleaning, Bellatrix stood in one spot and looked around at the infirmary. This had once been the hospital wing. How awful. When the headmistress's back was turned, Bellatrix shot a glare at the woman. Bella had only ever sent people to the hospital wing--or, in the current case, the hut--but she had never actually been there herself. She had been rejected from the Dueling Club because she seemed to have developed dueling skills on her own and managed to dodge others' counters or get them first. But she had briefly wandered past this place once to see if one of her victims had been extremely hurt by a new hex she'd experimented with. Luckily, the boy was doing just fine and currently scrubbing soot with water and a sponge. The cold, blue eyes darted over towards Xavier Tawse momentarily before she decided to get to work.

'Ridiculous,' her mind grumbled over and over. She didn't dare mutter it in case the wretched Headmistress heard her.

Like Fauna, Bellatrix grabbed a second broom and moved over to the opposite end of the room to sweep. Her pile could meet Fauna's in the middle and make it easier to sweep it all up at once. With every sweep, she cursed their overseer in her mind for being so wretched. She hadn't done anything that bad or at least, nothing she hadn't done before. It was unlikely this would make her stop and there was no way the Headmistress was going to keep her from going to Hogsmeade this month! She'd spent her Hogsmeade weekend last month in detention with the History of Magic professor for not turning in three essays!