McGonagall's nostrils flared. Her thin lips had drawn into an arched line from clenching her teeth too hard.
She glared furiously at the students standing before her with their heads bowed in silence. Her lean cheeks were paper-white, save for an unnatural flush over her cheekbones.
"How dare you... how dare you..."
McGonagall slammed both hands onto the desk with a dull thud and sprang to her feet. The young wizards jumped, shrinking back under her gaze.
"At a time like this, when magical schools from all over the world have gathered at Hogwarts..."
McGonagall's voice grew lower, but the anger within it only intensified.
In the next instant, Professor McGonagall's furious voice rose sharply:
"Attacking your classmates! Destroying the Common Room! Twenty-two seriously injured! Water flooding in from the Black Lake! Forty-five with minor injuries!"
She brought her clenched fist down hard on the desk, making the ink bottle jump. The young wizards looked more frightened than ever.
"I do not understand what could possibly have driven you to attack your own classmates in such a vicious manner.
"You even used Diffindo! Lester Selwyn! Should I thank you for being so hopeless at the Severing Charm that your victim was 'merely' covered in wounds rather than scattered across the floor in pieces?"
A senior Slytherin with a long, shoehorn-shaped face shook his head, his expression shifting. He dared not argue with McGonagall, but he was clearly unconvinced.
"And you, Draco Malfoy, captain of the Hogwarts champion team. Wonderful. Truly outstanding. I hear you were the first to draw your wand and knocked down several classmates.
"Truly outstanding!"
McGonagall's voice grew harsher still:
"I really ought to applaud you. Look how powerful our chosen champion is! Two opponents down in an instant, then he withstands everyone else's attacks and manages