It had not escaped Callum's notice that Figaro had punched him in class. It also had not escaped his notice that the stupid Hufflepuff brat had punched him in the arm. Just because, for some asinine reason, Tawse had taken him under his wing did not give Sellaphix the right to treat all Slytherins as equals. This Slytherin was most definitely anything but Figaro's equal. But he couldn't get him in the classroom, he liked the new defense teacher, so he waited outside the door for the dumb Hufflepunchingbag to come out of the classroom.

When he did, Callum struck, snatching Figaro by his collar and dragging him backward down the hallway a few yards. "So you think you can get away with that, do you?" he growled in the boy's ear. "We'll see who's the leaky asshole now." Finally, Callum stopped, releasing the boy, turning him around to face him. He glared down at him, pressing a finger hard into his chest. "Who d'you think you are, Sellaphix? Just because Tawse puts up with your crap doesn't mean I'm going to. You're a Hufflepuff, and you're a disgrace to this school. Filthy half-blood, who gave you the right to touch me? I'm going to have to scrub for a week to get your stink off."

He pushed him backward then, drawing his wand from his pocket and pointing it at the boy. "How'd you like to be that dummy in there?" Callum jerked his head in the direction of the Defense classroom. "I wasn't trying to show off then. Imagine what it's going to be like if I actually put effort into it. Tell you what, Sellaphix, I'll count to three. You'll apologize for not treating me like the superior I obviously am, or you can spend the rest of the semester in the hospital hut."

Callum raised his wand, aiming it directly at Figaro's face. "Count with me, Sellaphix. You do know how to count, don't you? Start's like this... Three!" It was cheating, sure. But he had spoken for longer than three seconds, and what was the fun in being fair? The first thing to come to Callum's mind- that wouldn't get him expelled right away- was the enlarging charm they had just learned in class. "Auctus prolato!" It was aimed directly for the halfbloods nose.

Figaro left class with the rest of the students who had no intention of hanging around for more setting of dummies on fire.  He frankly didn't care to have a go even though he hadn't taken his turn in class.  But as he was leaving class, he was hijacked by the collar and shoved against a wall.

He gritted his teeth and tried to turned around.  It had taken him a moment to figure out which of the big, angry idiots had decided to mess with him, but the voice was Callum Knight's.  The other fifth year was tall and swarthy enough to be nearly thirty, while Figaro was a very average specimen of a fifteen-year-old.  He shrugged off Callum, but he'd already been let go.  Fig spun around and balled up his fists.  His wand was still in his bag at his side and he'd need a moment to dig it out.  A moment he probably didn't have.

"Aw, shut up, Callum," he hissed back angrily when the bigger kid started throwing around blood status trash and stupid house rivalry stereotypes.

"No one believes that shit anymore. If I'd have known you were going to be such a big baby about getting hit in the shoulder I'd have let you be.  But maybe you'd like another?"

Figaro was trying to sound brave.  It was the best way to go down. The comment about Xavier stung, but Callum didn't know anything about their friendship.  Xavier's true colors had shown that night in Knockturn.  And they were the same as Callum's. But Callum was the kind of kid whose Hogwarts education was preparing him well for Azkaban.  Not that it helped Figaro now, who was serving as practice for Professor Storms illuminating lesson.  Figaro glared at Callum trying not to look as nervous as he really was. 


Aw, shit. Callum's wand was out and leveled at him.  Figaro's face washed with real panic now.  Was Callum insane enough to actually set him on fire.  Figaro immediately went for his own wand, but it was too late.

The spell from class hit him right between the eyes his whole face went numb like he'd been punched in the nose.  He fell against the wall behind him, both of his hands on his face. 

"For fuck's sake!" he yelled as his nose started growing in his hands.  It hurt like a mother.  He slid down the wall, swearing loudly as he tried to handle the problem.  Merlin, why hadn't he paid attention in class ever?  He quickly found his wand in his bag, having to take one hand away from his face.  His nose had swollen out to beakish proportions and was only getting bigger. 

He pointed his own wand at his face, closed his eyes and cast Finite Incantatum.  His nose stopped growing and very slowly began to return to normal. 

He glared up at Callum, hand still over his face, and elbowed his way up off the floor. 

The doorway, which had previously been filled with departing students, was filled with a faller figure, who blotted out a good proportion of the light from the classroom behind. Having heard the reaction of the students leaving and encountering the scene outside, he had followed to see what the commotion was.

Stepping out into the corridor, he looked from the triumphant Callum to Figaro's enlarged nose, that appeared to be shrinking ever so slowly.

"Inside. Both of you." He ordered in a quiet but assertive tone, expression dark.

"The rest of you, hurry along." The Professor added, to the students still hanging back to stare and wait for the show. Some of them obliged, others would pretend and skip back, he was almost sure.

Following the two fifth year boys back into his classroom, the desks now realigned into their original positions, he waited for them both to turn and face him.

"Explain."

Callum was shocked that Figaro didn't seem intent on immediately firing back a hex, curse, or throwing a punch at him. Instead, the Hufflepuff was too distracted fixing his own face with his wand. He laughed, fully intending to take advantage of the boy's distraction to punch him square in the face or hex him again when he heard someone someone ordering him inside. He wheeled around, still glaring, and saw...

The professor. Damnit! He smoothed out his uniform, put on his most charming smile, and followed him back into the classroom. Apparently Callum had not dragged him far enough away- a mistake that would not be made again. He dutifully followed Professor Storm, making sure he looked somewhat abashed (though he really couldn't care less- stupid old man, sticking his nose where it didn't belong) and was ready for a verbal attack when he was asked to explain.

There was no way he was letting Figaro speak first. "I am certain that what you saw must have looked very bad, Professor Storm, especially for myself. Generally, I'm not such a vicious personality..." Lies. But the professor was new, he wouldn't know about his regular sessions of flushing Amherst's head down the toilet or beating Sasha up or anyone else he liked to torture on a regular basis. Callum never got into trouble for any of that, anyway, so a lot of professors didn't quite realize it. "But while we were in class, practicing, when I got slightly distracted- which I fully admit is my fault, and should not have happened, Sellaphix thought it wise to not only punch me in the arm, but to insult me."

"Considering the hexes and curses I've seen thrown in these halls, that really was one of the more harmless ones to use." Validating his actions? Horrible idea. "It wasn't particularly painful or evil on my part. And, as I said sir, he did physically and verbally assault me in class. What is a young man supposed to do in such a situation? Put up with such disrespect and not stand up for himself? I have seen what happens to people who do not stand up for themselves, Professor Storm. They get bullied and pushed around. I do not intend to spend my years in these halls afraid of my own shadow. It is important to have self pride, and allowing someone to not only insult but assault me without reaction insults my sense of self pride."

Callum thought it was one of his better speeches, but highly doubted it was going to work on Professor Storm. The man seemed to be a bit harsh, and had probably seen every trick in the book. But Callum actually did mean every word of it. If Fergie and Sasha would stand up for themselves, he wouldn't torture them as much. It was just the way of the life.

Figaro followed Callum back into the classroom past his classmates.  He had covered his nose with both hands, but his angry (and embarrassed) eyes glared out over his thumbs.  Transfiguration creeped Figaro out and for some reason bothered him more than getting hit.  It was the eerie feeling of the body changing without permission.  And the kinds of Transfiguration magic meant for books and rings and shoes always hurt like crazy when performed on the human face.  Fig had the unhappy luck of having quite a bit of data to support that theory.

But now, he was going to get his comuppance, even if it was at the hands of Professor Storm instead of how he'd prefer.  But at the same time, this Professor Storm was from Durmstrang, wasn't he? Didn't those people tend to prefer crazy hoodlums like Callum Knight? Favor students who showed an aptitude for being criminals? Figaro didn't have any idea what to expect as he stood before the tall old wizard.  All he had to go on was his stern tone and the gruesome slide show.

Figaro had tried to speak first, attempting to interrupt Callum.  Their words overlapped a moment, but Callum just barged right forward and Figaro had to wait his turn.

But every word Callum said was bogus!

As soon as Callum stopped to take a breath, Figaro started shouting.

"Are you kidding me! Callum's a sadist!" Figaro exclaimed and used both hands to give Callum an angry shove.  The nerve of this kid to stand there and wax poetic like he was some sort of white knight vigilante.

"You see what he did to me? It's messed up when Professors let off people like Callum for being freaking insane when regular blokes like Sasha get suspended for a whole bloody semester! This is stupid!"

At 'stupid' he gabbed a pointer finger at Professor Storm, already assuming he was going to be lenient with Callum. 

"Callum was being a complete arsehole in class and then got on my case for no shitting reason! Snap his wand and do all of us a huge favor.  Dude needs locked up!" he shouted, concluding with that bit of advice.

"Kindly keep your tone in check Mr Sellaphix!" Professor Storm retorted at Figaro's final outburst. The young man's nose was still oversized, but reducing swiftly.
"I am more than capable of deciding a solution without your overindulgent suggestions."

His sharp eyes switched from Figaro to Callum.
"I had hoped that after your over confident display of curses this lesson, you would have shown restraint and consideration Mr Knight. I have little respect for oafs who use what knowledge they do retain to use for little consequence." He folded his arms.

"Nor, do I have the time to intervene your petty hormonal squabbles!" He snapped, voice finally raising. He exhaled and raised his eyes in consideration of their fates.
"If you must settle your differences, join the duelling club and do it there. Do not do it outside my classroom." He turned and walked away a few paces before turning back part way.

"Five points from both your houses for wasting my time, and casting magic in the corridors. A warning to the two of you - there will not be a next time." He pointed from one to the other.
"Go." He said with finality, his conscience wondering if he had provided too much of a high spirited lesson for teenagers at Hogwarts.
"And Knight, next time don't seek revenge in the corridors, or you'll force me to double the loss of points for that too." He added more quietly to the Slytherin.

With any luck, he would find a brain in Knight's head, and get him to focus it on something other than brawling with classmates. The trouble with Sellaphix seemed to be a brain but a quicker mouth, which was probably half the invitation to disfigure him in Knight's view.

He would have to ask his colleagues about the Sasha comment though...

"It most certainly will not happen in the corridors again, Professor Storm." Callum understood Professor Storm loud and clear. He specifically stated not to seek revenge in the corridors, which basically meant if he wanted to attack Figaro, to do it outside. Outside was better, the mess wouldn't matter as much and no one would have to mop the blood when he was done with the stupid Hufflepuff kid who was way too big for his britches and whose mouth seemed incapable of shutting.

He waited on the Hufflepuff to exit the room, first, though. There was no way he was dumb enough to let Figaro get behind him. And, surprisingly, he was genuinely content to save their fight for later. Callum didn't want to lose anymore points for fighting, especially from a professor he had decided that he actually liked. A lot of the other ones that Snark had been hiring had been of questionable skill and qualifications, but this one obviously knew his stuff. And Callum was determined to prove to the professor he certainly wasn't an oaf.

"You're going to get it for getting me into trouble," Callum grumbled to Figaro, falling into step beside him. "Just you wait. As soon as he can't see us anymore, I'm going to deck you so hard it knocks what little big of magic you've got out of ya'. And then I'm going to turn you into a bug and keep you in a jar and feed you to something when I go to creatures class." Even though he didn't want to fight, he couldn't back down. He needed to be sure that Fig knew who was in charge. Callum was counting on Figaro not wanting to fight anymore, either, and backing down.

Figaro clammed up with a frown when Professor Storm berated them both.  Five points wasn't bad - but five points from both of them was a slap in the face when Figaro knew that Callum had been the only aggressor.

At 'Go', Figaro went.  He stormed past Callum into the hall.  The other students had all run off to their next class, and Figaro had a mind to do exactly that.  And with class in session, the halls between here and the dungeons would be empty. 

It wasn't ten paces before Callum's voice hissed from behind him, carrying threats.  He believed the part about the punching - Callum was a pro at that.  But they both knew that Callum couldn't pull off that kind of Transfiguration, so he was less worried about that.  But the image he coudln't shake from his mind was how gleefully Callum had set that dummy on fire. 

"You got yourself in trouble," he grumbled back, but didn't say anything else.  Seemed he'd finally decided that keeping quiet might do him some good.

The long corridor was soon to break off to the right an open up into the staircases.  As soon as they were out of sight of Professor Storm's office, Figaro knew Callum's revenge would come.  And so, just before they hit the intersection, he turned and tried to elbow Callum as hard as he could, hoping to buy himself some time to bolt down the stairs and beat him to Potions.

Figaro's elbow landed square in Callum's gut, and he doubled over- more from shock than pain, watching the Hufflepuff run toward the potions dungeon... Unfortunately for Figaro, Callum was equally familiar with the dungeons because his house common room was located there as well. He quickly regained his composure, scowled, and then took off after him as fast as he could...

Figaro was faster, though. He paused and pulled his wand, needing to catch his breath. It was one thing to fly around for quidditch and beat people up- chasing them wasn't quite as easy. He would have to start running so that he could catch his prety more easily. "Sellaphix!" he yelled. "Get your arse back here or you'll regret it!" He didn't really expect that kind of a threat to be effective... You would have to be insane to come back and take your beating from the hands of a Knight, especially the eldest. (A lesson that it seemed Amherst hadn't yet learned. He just... went limp, like he thought it would help. Dead weight was no weight for him.)

If he let the Hufflepuff get too far ahead, then he would get into the potions classroom before he would be able to give him a good beating. He definitely deserved a good beating this time. The dumb kid had made him lose five house points. That was a lot! And it wasn't fair! The stupid git had started it all.

Callum chased after him again, definitely not catching up at this point, aiming his wand as he ran. Whether or not it was going to work, he had no idea. Worst that would happen he would hex some random kid in the hallway- not that it would bother him if he did. As long as he got to hex somebody. And, if it worked, then Figaro would be finding running a pretty difficult task- because his knees would be backward.

Figaro had bolted without looking back.  But when he did, he was elated to see that Callum, as big as he was, was plodding along after like a giant dinosaur.  He allowed himself a triumphant grin - everyone would hear about this.  Callum was a winded slowpoke.

But Figaro's eyes went wide again when he saw Callum stop and pull his wand. He didn't need any more of that!  Figaro dove into the floor to avoid the hex he knew would come his way as fast as a bludger.  He landed hard on his hands and elbows as the spell hit the suit of armor next to him.

He heard some portraits protesting. "You lot! Quit that!" "Oh, come now! Not in the hallways, boys!" "Mind the frame!"  The suit of armor itself clattered into a heap nearly on top of Figaro who scrambled out from under.

"Missed, ya trudging git!" he yelled back angrily and booted the armor helmet down the way at Callum.

"Maybe if you weren't such a lump you wouldn't sound like such an arse when you spoke.  But what the hell do I know - you might sound like arse either way!"

Callum wasn't so big and tough from this distance was he? Figaro stood at the other end of the long arcade smug as hell.  He knew he could out run Callum if he wanted to, but part of him wanted to milk this moment of triumph.

Callum cursed loudly when the suit of armor clattered to the floor next to Figaro... It would have been better if it landed on top of him. Even better yet if his spell had actually hit his intended target. But it seemed that Figaro did something rather stupid then- he stopped. He was ahead, could have easily gotten away, but instead, stood at the end of the hallway smirking acting like he was king of the world. Callum would be damned before he let Figaro win and consider himself king. Piece of stupid Hufflepuff trash.

"Laugh it up," he yelled down the hallway at Figaro. "You won't be so damned smug when I'm done with you!" Because when Callum was done with Figaro (assuming he did not get away) then he would be a bloody mess with his nose on sideways and hexed every way he could think of. And Callum would be one hundred percent certain to use those spells from defense again- he would make the boys ears and nose grow huge and then shrink the part of him that mattered most. (The part that mattered most to most men, anyway.) And he would laugh and then vengeance would be his!

He tucked his wand safely away, deciding to go with a best known tactic. Callum bolted forward as fast as he could- lowering himself slightly. He reached Fig faster than he thought he would. And like the true barbarian he was, he let out a very barbaric yell as he hunkered even further down, intending to spear the stupid Hufflepuff around the waist and send him flying backward into the wall, the floor, or whoever else might be standing behind him. (Callum didn't even check to say- this was now a fight to the death.) Of course, with his head lowered, Callum also might be unaware if the boy stepped out of the way- but in a fit of true rage he did not even consider that possibility.