Ok, So I Lied

[Odette Madison]

Odette's hands were shaking. Blood was rushing in her ears. She knew she was sweating. This was the most horrible moment of her life.

But she knew she had to do this. If she didn't, she wouldn't be allowed to stay at school. She would be sent home in disgrace, her mother would hate her. She would never be a witch, never be powerful. She would be a failure.

And if there was one thing Odette knew what to do, it was act. She took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes for a moment. She willed herself to look calm and collected. Self assured, powerful. She had considered making a spectacle of herself and how guilty she felt and how sorry she was, but she had dismissed it. As important as her innocent act was, it wasn't worth looking weak in front of everyone. No. She would be quick, not too sincere, not too dismissive. Just a plain apology, let everyone draw their own conclusions. As if they wouldn't anyway.

She took one more deep breath before she got up and walked to the front of the Great Hall, in front of the teacher's table. The teachers surely knew what she was doing, she couldn't imagine Styx hadn't informed them, but the students had to be wondering what on earth she was doing. She wasn't noticed immediately, but slowly people started to quiet down and whisper as they saw her stand there, on the same spot she had been sorted at the start of this year.

When the hall was quiet enough, she glanced over her shoulder at the teachers. She knew it was a sign of weakness, but she had to be completely sure that she had to do this. Maybe they had changed their minds, maybe someone would take pity on her and tell her to go sit down again. But no, nothing like that. Everyone must have thought she deserved this.

So with a small sigh, she turned back to the large crowd. There were so many people here. She wanted to run, but she didn't. She focused her gaze right above the heads of the people in the back, like she had been taught on stage, and started to speak.

"A few weeks ago I spread some flyers through the school about Harley Tsuji." She said, her voice clear and unwavering, to her great relief. "The accusations on these flyers were not true." She paused, glancing just once at the Gryffindor table. "So... I'm sorry for spreading misinformation," she finished. She stayed where she was a few more moments, looking at a few people in the crowd to show she wasn't daunted by this, even though she was. Then she turned and marched straight out of the Great Hall.

She waited until the doors had closed behind her until she started to run, her panic catching up to her. She needed to be anywhere but here. She wanted to disappear.

 

[Margo Ellis]

Margo was among the first to notice Odette take to the front of the hall, which was mostly because she knew the Slytherin had been asked to make an apology speech to the entire school. The punishment seemed a little steep, but Margo was too busy being relieved it wasn't her up there to care enough to protest. Besides, she got the feeling Professor Styx wouldn't appreciate his judgement being undermined by an eleven year old girl. Odette had made him angry enough with the flyers as it was.

Twisting on the bench to get a better look, Margo waited for the murmurs of confusion and interest to hush. Odette looked so calm and collected up there that Margo wondered if she truly felt guilty for her actions at all. After a moment's hesitation she began, keeping her delivery short and to the point. An indifferent apology later she stepped down and swept out of the hall, leaving Margo in a cool breeze. The Ravenclaw looked at the food remaining on her plate, deliberated intensely for three seconds, and then swung her legs out of the table to follow her friend.

 

[Harley Tsuji]

Showing her face at mealtime was still the most difficult part of Harley's days. Since the flyers she had been sticking to her friends like glue, never wanting to be alone or outnumbered, but meals were an unavoidable time where she was trapped in a room jam packed with people who for all she knew believed Odette's horrible lies about her. Keeping her head down as much as possible, Harley ate quietly and quickly, hoping to get out of the room and away fast.

With her head down, Harley didn't even realise anything was happening until the room began to quiet, Harley's whole body tensing. Was this it? Had someone come to attack her, or... something? It was only a matter of seconds, but the uncertainty and fear before Harley got up the will to raise her head felt like it lasted years. She looked around, expecting to see a bigger, older student towering over ready to punch her, but instead everyone was staring, looking up at the front of the room, up at... Odette. Standing by the teachers table?

Harley couldn't help but be apprehensive as she listened, but as Odette finished speaking the apprehension turned to fury. What was that? Sure, she had said the notes were lies. That was... probably a good thing, though Harley had known Odette long enough not to trust that she wouldn't twist this around somehow to hurt Harley anyway. But if it was supposed to be an apology... Odette hadn't apologised at all? All of the fear and stress and paranoia she had put Harley through, and she still wouldn't apologise directly to Harley, for anything? All she had said was sorry for lying, as if her actions were somehow justified otherwise, as if the days of fear she put Harley through didn't even matter. Harley assumed this was probably Odette's punishment, but Odette had managed to weasel out of it without acknowledging that her actions had consequences and hurt people. Once again. "That snake..." Harley spat, scowling at her plate furiously.

 

[Alex Sheffield]

Alex was gnawing at a piece of candy at the Gryffindor table, not paying attention to the rest of the great hall. He told some jokes and laughed with the rest of the Gryffindors, and he was among the last few to quiet down. When he realised something is going on, he turned to see Odette, just as she looked over her shoulder to observe the teachers.

"Oh boy, miss princess is at it again. This oughta be good, eh lads?" he spoke but nobody listened. And then Odette made the apology. Alex was surprised, but skeptic. He hasn't seen too much of Odette but he doubted she would do it on her own. This is a well deserved punishment.

He felt like Harley got her justice, and he wantefd to feel happy for her, but he felt too sorry for Odette.
He kept a neutral face, torn by both sides. As she was leaving, he muttered:
"Good on ya' lass."

 

[Aurora Night]

Rory had been busy spending her meal just as she had every other - alternating between shoving as much food in her mouth as possible and trying to keep it clear long enough to contribute to whatever topic of conversation she and her friends were discussing at the moment. It had been many weeks of either accidental starvation or choking, but she had finally hit upon a successful ratio and was currently chatting away quite happily. A couple of times she had tried to draw Harley into the conversation, but the other girl was still a bit flighty at meal times, surrounded by the rest of the school as they were. Rory couldn't really imagine how her friend was dealing with the aftermath of being the subject of those stupid flyers, purely due to the nature of the situation just being so much more personal for Harley. All Rory could do was stand beside her and throw threatening looks at people. It didn't really feel like enough.

Hastily swallowing a bite of chicken in order to add her opinion to the conversation before it changed again, Rory suddenly noticed a hush falling over the Great Hall. It was always kind of spooky hearing the buzz of chatter dying down around her, and she looked up to try and discern the cause of the growing quiet. Was one of the professors about to make some kind of announcement? Focusing her attention towards the front of the hall, Rory was momentarily confused to see a student, not a professor, standing before the rest of the school. It wasn't long before she realised that the student was Odette and, narrowing her eyes, she was about to nudge Harley's foot under the table before she saw that her friend was already turning to look on her own, almost as if the other girl had some sort of sense for the sound of trouble approaching.

Frowning, Rory swung back to look at Odette. What sort of scheme did she think she would be getting away with here? She didn't quite think that Odette would say anything against Harley out in the open like this, but Rory had no problem marching up there and pulling Odette's hair to make her take it back if she did. She had seen first hand evidence as to how much the other girl would hate that. The thought had barely crossed Rory's mind, however, before Odette started to speak. Part of Rory was pleased that she had been made to apologise, but the other part of her just rolled her eyes, not buying Odette's fake sincerity for a moment. Watching as she paused in her speech, Rory raised her eyebrows, waiting for Odette to hurry up and apologise to Harley specifically. It wouldn't be nearly enough to make up for what she'd done, of course, but it would be a start.

When Odette turned to leave, however, Rory's eyebrows came crashing down to form a scowl. That was it? It couldn't be - and yet Odette made it all the way out of the Great Hall without anyone stopping her. Rory banged her hand down on the table in frustration, startling the people sitting next to her. Looking across at Harley again, she tried to catch her friend's eye in order to communicate the magnitude of her disgust at Odette's pathetic not-even-an apology, but Harley was staring at the table, seemingly unseeing as she processed whatever thoughts were going through her head. Rory didn't need any guesses as to what. This time she followed through with the impulse to nudge Harley's foot under the table, the softness of the action at odds with the scowl still upon her face. "That's it. If she's not even going to apologise properly then she deserves whatever she's about to get." They hadn't actually come up with a plan to pay back Odette for what she'd done, but Rory was feeling the need to think of something beginning to rise.

 

[Rose Holland]

Rose was happily eating and talking when suddenly everyone went really quiet, including the girls at her own table. She frowned and followed their gazes to the front of the room. The girl standing there was vaguely familiar, but she wasn't really surprised to hear it was the infamous Odette, who had been so mean to Harley. She pretty much looked exactly like Rose had pictured her, though she had added little devil's horns in her head.

The girl started to speak and Rose was surprised to hear an apology leave her mouth. That was unexpected. But then it dawned on her that that was probably a punishment, not something she did on her own. The apology itself wasn't terribly long or heartfelt but Rose still felt like it was a good thing. "They now all know it was a lie." She said to Harley with a small smile. "I know that barely counts as an apology, but no one will think its true anymore or anything else she'll say. That's something, right?"