Silence fell in the office, and Alexandra paled. She had known she was against a lot of students, but fourteen wounded? No wonder the Ravenclaws and the rest of the students had been terrified this morning! Flitwick continued, this time his posture betraying the fact she was not going to like what he had to say.
"In normal circumstances, the students who attacked you would have been expelled immediately from Hogwarts, Miss Potter. I examined your wand myself, and I know you used only a smoke spell and a very weak first-year curse to defend yourself. The other Ravenclaws retaliated by using curses which could have led to several deaths in the conditions they were used. Alex Sykes tried to murder you in my presence when I lifted your smoke spells, and should have been turned to the DMLE for this murder attempt in cold blood. In fact, this was exactly what I demanded at the meeting of the Professors which was convened in urgency: the expulsion of those involved in the attack against you. Unfortunately, I was overruled."
Alexandra opened her mouth furious. They had tried to kill her, and they wouldn't even be expelled? Then her thoughts blinked at Flitwick's choice of words. Overruled. According to Hogwarts: A History, the only person having the power to overrule a Head of House was the Headmaster himself.
"Why?" she asked in a grim voice.
Flitwick grunted, a sound which reminded her of the Gringotts goblins she had met so far. Perhaps he really had goblin ancestors after all? "As I spoke to him last evening, the Headmaster was convinced expelling them because of you would lead to a long political fight between him and the Board of Governors, one which would certainly see the punishments overruled by the Board and the guilty students making their return before the end of the week."
Seeing Alexandra's expression of disbelief, Flitwick emitted a smile without any warmth.
"My reaction exactly when I learnt this, Miss Potter. But it was the Headmaster's decision, and I wasn't able to do anything to change his mind."
"Does the Headmaster want me dead?" Alexandra asked. "Because the students who were maimed in the fight are going to come back for revenge. And I may have been lucky once, but I really doubt they will fail a second time. Or a third for that matter."
"I know," Flitwick sighed. "All your attackers lost all their privileges until I see fit to give them back and got several weeks to months of detention depending their involvement in the assault. I have also removed the badges of two of my prefects. But as you said yourself, they will come back, Miss Potter. Have you thought about transferring to another school?"
"I thought about it," said Alexandra. "But at any British school, I will face the same problems, and all the other establishments in the British Isles are inferior to Hogwarts." From what she read in Hogwarts: A History, barely two others merited the name 'school' in her opinion. "And I have not a lot of money to spend for my studies, unless Hogwarts is willing to reimburse my tuition." Which seeing Flitwick's face and negative nod, they would never do, which shut down that idea quickly. In turn, it made foreign schools unsuitable, as the continental schools were not cheap. She had not tens of thousands of galleons to enter another academy of magic. Her trust vault, the entire sum she had to her disposition until her 12th birthday, was on the order of approximately 10 800 galleons. Emptying her only gold resource when she had more than five years of education to pass did not sound very wise. Assuming her magical guardian, a certain Albus Dumbledore, didn't use his authority to force her to stay at Hogwarts.
"In that case Miss Potter, that leaves only one other option." Her little professor showed a smile which was best qualified as predatory. "I've warded your room this morning for you and you alone to enter. None of your housemate was willing to share a room with you anyway." Flitwick rolled his shoulders. "That will allow you to sleep without being attacked by dozens of bloodthirsty housemates. But if you are willing to survive at Hogwarts, you will have to learn to fight them outnumbered."
His smile got even larger.
"Tell me, Miss Potter," said Flitwick. "Would you like to have private lessons in the noble art of Duelling?"
Alexandra was among the last students to arrive to the Great Hall for dinner. At first, she had been rather unconvinced by Flitwick's 'solution' for her problems, but she had finally accepted attending the duelling lessons. She had a feeling she was going to regret it soon, since her Head of House looked like someone who had just found a nice punching ball for Christmas.
But seeing the glares and the looks of hate her own House sent her as she walked her way to a place to eat, she realized her options were drastically limited. She could not fight two dozen students, older, more powerful and experienced than her every night.
"What were you doing this afternoon, Potter?" snarled a large Ravenclaw boy who she recognized as having participated in the fight of last night. "Packing your bags? No one wants a Dark Lady in training like you here!"
"Funny you said that." She replied courteously at the older boy. "I was just clearing my schedule for my first private lesson with Professor Flitwick."
Her interlocutor took on an interesting colour between green and red at that sentence. Well, it seemed the reputation of her Head of House in Duelling was firmly established in Hogwarts. Perhaps, Alexandra thought as she saw her fellow Ravenclaws trying to put the maximum distance between them and her, this year was not going to be so terrible after all.