Excuses

[Vilhelmine Dahl]

Vilhelmine had known this moment was inevitable, but that didn't make it any less uncomfortable. She marched off to Professor Cliffeton's office the moment her flying lesson ended, waiting outside the door with her arms folded for him to catch up. Though her exterior looked fairly collected, inside her heart was ready to burst out of her chest. How was she going to explain herself? What would the punishment be? Her friends in Hufflepuff were going to hate her if she lost points. And what if her father found out? He would never visit again if he knew his daughter was a failure and a trouble-maker. Quickly the girl began to rack her brain for excuses: she was scared of heights; she had balance problems; her father had been killed in a tragic Quidditch accident and now she was too afraid to touch a broom. But which was most likely to get her out of trouble? And would Professor Cliffeton believe her?

 

[Justin Cliffeton]

It had taken Justin a little while to tidy up after his Flying class, and he felt a little bad that he had kept Vilhelmine waiting for such a long time. But he eventually made it to his office and found her waiting for him as he had expected. Opening the door, he gestured for her to enter and take a seat before entering behind her. When he had sat behind his desk, he gave her an impassive look. "So, Ms. Dahl, perhaps you can explain to me why you don't feel obliged to participate in my classes?" He asked. "Have you been participating in your other classes?" He asked. He hoped that she would at least be honest with him and try not to lie, but he would know either way.

 

[Vilhelmine Dahl]

Vilhelmine didn't bother looking up when Professor Cliffeton arrived. Instead she kept her head bowed, obediently taking a seat. Contrary to the impression she was giving, she didn't want to cause trouble. It was just an unfortunate side effect. She thought about his question for a moment, shrugged, and then nodded. Mostly. Granted, she'd walked out of a History lesson half way through a lecture on Merlin, but that was one lesson in a dozen. Excluding that occasion, she'd paid enough attention to know that Lumos could light up her wand, and that different types of magical plant needed to be planted in different soil, and that there were about a billion different types of transfiguration. What more did anyone want?

 

[Justin Cliffeton]

Justin frowned when she didn't answer his question verbally, and instead shrugged it off. It didn't matter, though, since Justin knew enough about first year classes to be able to get to the bottom of things himself. "Please demonstrate Lumos/Nox for me." He asked calmly. They certainly would have covered that by now, and he was more than happy to waste his own time quizzing her on first year knowledge to get to the bottom of how things needed to go.

 

[Vilhelmine Dahl]

Vilhelmine's draw dropped. Was Professor Cliffeton even allowed to do that? Being able to perform Lumos wasn't really a good indicator of whether or not she'd been participating in the lessons, anyway. She had participated in Charms, but she wasn't completely confident about performing this spell. Nervously she withdrew her wand, clutching the handle tight and focusing hard. "Lumos," she said, and fortunately the tip lit up. After that she performed the counter-spell and put her wand away again, scowling at the flying professor.

 

[Justin Cliffeton]

Justin smiled when she managed to perform the spells correctly. Maybe she was paying attention in some of her classes at least. He sighed. He didn't want to be harsh on her, but if she wasn't going to participate in his class there was no other option. "I'm sorry, but if you don't start participating in the Flying class, I'm going to have to fail you." He said, knowing that she would probably find it unfair, but he didn't care. He had to be tough sometimes. "You'll also need to join me in revision sessions so that I can watch you do the last two lessons." He said, "I've also asked your Head of House to join us so that she's aware of your participation." He said, once again with a sigh.

 

[Vilhelmine Dahl]

Vilhelmine remained unflinching as Professor Cliffeton tried to scare her into participation with the threat of failure. "Can't you just fail me?" she asked, a hint of hopefulness in her voice. Failing one class wasn't such a big deal, was it? Her father wouldn't be angry at her for that. He didn't even like flying himself. Besides, if Professor Stark was going to be there as well, there was absolutely no way Vilhelmine was getting on that broomstick.