Amethyst Rosewood and The Joys of Independence by Melissa Nichols (bill gates books recommendations .TXT) 📖

the right moment and then turned her head to the left as far as she dared and, since the blow held a lot of momentum, she went onto her tiptoes and let her knees crumble as if she had actually been slapped. When she straightened up and checked her belt, she found her ploy had worked - once again, he had not secured one of her tags.

 

Amy was preparing her next blow when the whistle sounded, bringing a halt to everyone.

"The purple team has successfully retrieved their flag!" The Ravenclaw HeadGirl's voice boomed across the field. "Please bring your tags to your team's flag area for the tag counting. Get some water and take a breather, we'll begin a new round in five minutes."

Amy sighed in relief, then faced the other student and shook his hand, both smiling, before they parted ways.

 

Amy quickly dropped her tags by the growing pile and headed to one of the shady spots to look for her friends, all of whom found her and gathered together to swap stories.
Apparently, Amy had been unusually lucky with protecting her tags, and only average at securing the opposing team's. Rose and Albus had been tagged out and Amy, Mary and Scorpius had remained 'in' for the entirety of the round. Additionally, Mary had been able to secure a staggering eight tags from the opposing team, while Scorpius had only collected three.

 

The second round began less than ten minutes later and Amy, as part of the defending team, quickly found out how tricky it was to protect the yellow flag. Being a first year, for this round she had been placed in the outer ring. Naturally, she was one of the first ones challenged. She put up a brave fight, successfully claiming three of her opponent's tags, but she eventually lost and was tagged out less than a minute after gameplay began. She made her way to the sidelines and contented herself to watch.

 

Now on offense for the third round, Amy's leaders had devised a new strategy - yes, the spear attack had been effective, and it had gotten the job done, but it was not a good idea to use it multiple times as then the opposing team could devise a plan to defend more effectively against it. So, the new strategy was for everyone to flood the field in as many directions as possible and try to get the flag back. Amy was sure it wouldn't work but she would certainly try. If she got close to the flag, she'd try to get it back to the purple team's side.

 

She never made it that far.

 

Amy had been able to get her first opponent tagged out, leaving her to weave her way through a crowd of pairs, when she saw a familiar brunette. She changed course and saw, when she got closer, that Emmaline had likewise defeated her opponent, thus leaving her open. Amy narrowed her eyes as her heartbeat picked up so violently that she could hear the beating of drums in her ears. If she had looked, she would have seen her hands shaking in her rage. Red tinged the outer ring of her vision, and she made a beeline for the bully, who saw her almost immediately. Emmaline smirked and faced Amy head-on as she slid into a defensive stance. But Amy had already forgotten the rules. She had already forgotten the true goal of the game. To her, this was her chance to show Emmaline she would not lay down and take her abuse; she'd stand and fight and defend herself.

 

Amy full-body-tackled Emmaline, knocking her to the ground.

 

They hit the grass and Amy lost track of their movements. Someone lost their breath, someone pulled hair, someone scratched at the other's face, someone punched the other's face awkwardly, someone tried to bite the other as they rolled around, each struggling for dominance. Yowls and growls erupted from their mouths, drawing the attention of those nearby. Of course, they were separated. Large hands grabbed Amy by her forearms and yanked her off Emmaline while someone else corralled Emmaline away from Amy, though that didn't stop them from trying to reach each other.

 

They were led off the field and up to the castle, then up three flights to the Hospital Wing. Amy didn't care to find out who accompanied them. No words were spoken, but the hands gripping her didn't let up. She wasn't able to break free and reach Emmaline again. Amy began to calm down and regain control. Shame flooded her gut, and she lowered her eyes to the floor. Reasoning had returned and she had realized her errors - fighting was never allowed unless in self-defense, and she had instigated it. She had flouted the rules of the game and attacked someone. The reasons she had for doing it didn't matter; she had broken several rules on her second day of school. Amy was certain she'd be getting expelled and Emmaline - as the one who was attacked - would not, despite her many years of methodical torture.

 

At the Hospital Wing, Amy and Emmaline were guided to beds in opposite corners from each other. Emmaline was led to a bed very near the door, while Amy was taken to a bed in the front row and against the wall. Madam Longbottom - Amy guessed she was Professor Longbottom's wife - was not happy. She lectured the two girls on fighting and the serious damage they could have done to each other and the trouble they'd be in. Amy did not let herself look at Emmaline, she knew it'd only rile her up again and that was the last thing she needed right now. But the Hospital visit was short - Amy only needed to take a potion and her scratches and bruises healed while she waited for Professor Mansley, the Head of Hufflepuff, to decide her fate. Emmaline also waited for Professor Newman, the Head of Slytherin.

 

Professor Newman was the first to arrive, since Mansley's office was in the dungeons. She led Emmaline away, talking quietly so Amy couldn't make out the words, leaving her alone in the silent room. She fiddled with her clothes, twirling the fabric around her finger so it twisted and then pulling it away from her body only to let it fall and repeating the process.

 

Finally, Professor Mansley arrived and made a beeline for Madam Longbottom to hear the report. After speaking to her for a moment, she turned to Amy and sighed.

"Come along, dear, and you can explain yourself while you serve your detention."

She didn't raise her voice and there was no hint of any negative feelings. Amy only picked up on disappointment.

 

Amy took her place at Professor Mansley's side and launched into her story of Emmaline's repeated abuse through seven years, the work she had put in to rebuild her confidence in the previous year, and how devastated and conflicted she was to find Emmaline here at Hogwarts at a time when Amy had been so looking forward to reinventing herself with a new start in life. She admitted in retrospect attacking Emmaline had not been a good idea and she did wish she hadn't done it; she had simply lost control and promised it wouldn't happen again.

 

"I certainly hope it doesn't." Professor Mansley spoke in a firm voice when Amy had finished, opening the door to her Potions classroom. "You broke several rules today, hurt a classmate, set yourself a bad reputation to your peers and you have to serve detention on your second day. You're lucky I don't bring this to Headmistress McGonagall." Professor Mansley motioned Amy to follow her up the stairs to her office.

 

"I understand."

 

"But this matter isn't important enough to bring to her, nor is it so cut and dry that a detention will be rid of the problem entirely." Her tone changed to one of quiet empathy. "You will serve one detention as punishment for the attack, but the cause of the attack is an issue I cannot fix. Only you can do that." Professor Mansley motioned for Amy to take a seat, and she did.

 

"The issue is Emmaline is a bully."

 

"I know it seems that way - and I noticed her behavior last year, she certainly struck me as...challenging. But it seems to me like your issue is you."

 

"Pardon?"

 

"Think about it. You didn't get in trouble last year, when Emmaline was gone, did you?"

 

"No. I had no reason to."

 

"And before?"

 

"I never got in trouble for anything except bad grades...but neither did I want to defend myself."

 

"Exactly. You decided you were going to fight for your dignity and confidence, to show Emmaline you won't be pushed around. That's a good thing, but the way you went about it was all wrong."

 

"So, what should I do? Standing up isn't working, but I also don't want to revert back to the scared little girl I was. I'll never get past that!"

 

"Only you have the power to make that decision and to act upon it. Will you go back to letting Emmaline bully you?"

 

Amy thought silently for a few minutes, thinking hard. She longed for a future where she could defend herself against any foe, and the thought of becoming a cowering scaredy-cat was enough to make her sick to her stomach. "No."

 

"I thought not. Then I would suggest taking a closer look at the rulebook."

 

"The rulebook? I don't understand."

 

"I can't say any further. Whatever happens, it is up to you. Now, for your detention," Professor Mansley's tone shifted back to a teacher's, closing the subject and leaving Amy with more questions than resolutions. She waved her wand and a bucket full of cleaning supplies flew into Amy's hands. "You'll be scrubbing every bit of the classroom. Here's the full list to help you keep track, and I want these completed in the order they're listed in." She showed Amy a scroll which she placed in the bucket. "I was going to do this myself because we have class tomorrow, but since you're here and I find writing lines are useless..."

 

"Yes, ma'am."

 

"Good. I'll collect you for lunch, but your detention won't be complete until that list is done. Make sure you pay close attention to detail with every task, every nook and cranny, and don't slack off. Use the large metal brush on the surface of the stones and the smaller ones between them. When you get to the shelves, carefully move each item, clean the shelf, and then place everything back. I want that classroom sparkling by dinner. If you need hot water, I can show you a spell. I'm here if you have questions. I'll also be writing to Mr. and Mrs. Potter about this, as is policy. "

 

"Yes, ma'am." Amy gulped and fresh shame twisted her gut. She had truly hoped to not disappoint Mr. Harry and Mrs. Ginny throughout her education, but it was a special sort of shame to have disappointed them on her second day at Hogwarts. She couldn't even wait until the start of class to cause trouble! What kind of gratitude had she shown them for their kindness?

 

"Go on, then."

 

Amy turned and left the office, determined to work.

 

 

 

She had to admit, it didn't take as long to complete Professor Mansley's list as Amy had thought. Oh, it did take several hours because it was a large classroom and there were several things to do, but she had expected to finish near dinner. Instead, she left the classroom at a quarter to four. Amy sighed and stretched, allowing her aching back and arms to release a bit of the tension, but feeling loads better. She had atoned for the attack as far as the school was concerned, and she even had received a tiny nudge in the direction she wanted to take.

 

She needed to find her friends and look through the rulebook. But, first, she needed a hot bath to help relax her aching back and arms.

 

An hour later, Amy sat down at her desk with the rulebook open to the table