Pressure

Excluded

"Come in" Filch had called when Louis knocked on his door with a shaky hand. He walked inside to see the headmaster sat behind his desk like he usually did and Louis took a seat in front of him. Filch sighed before speaking again, "Do you want to explain what happened last night then?"

Louis stayed silent for a moment, trying to gather his racing thoughts. He needed to seem as heroic as possible if he wanted to remain in school for the next week, so he deemed exaggeration as his best bet. "Harry was in danger, so I helped him"

It was a reasonable excuse, though the truth was less extreme. Nick had been in the wrong, that he was sure of. Harry had been drunk and the boy shouldn't have been groping him without consent. But he knew Harry wasn't necessarily in danger, he didn't think Nick would've taken it any father than he had.

Filch pursed his lips and his finger tapped at them as if in deep thought. "How was Harry in danger?"

"He was drunk and Nick was practically groping him on the dance floor. I didn't think it was right so I stepped in" Louis replied briefly. He couldn't bring himself to look Filch in the eyes as he explained the situation. "I mean, it's known that Nick has a crush on Harry, so it's not like his intentions were unclear"

Filch furrowed his brows and Louis saw a slight grimace wash over his features. "I'll speak to Nick about that later. But don't you think you could've handled the situation better? Violence isn't always the answer Louis"

Louis scoffed, "It was a last resort. I told Nick multiple times to back off and leave Harry alone. I could tell that Harry wasn't feeling well because of the alcohol but Nick wouldn't let him leave. He said some shitty comments about my family and I guess it just pushed me over the edge"

Filch hummed and nodded his head, "Why didn't you seek the help of a teacher then? If you couldn't handle it yourself you should've left it to us"

"I could handle it myself, I did" Louis shrugged, "And it wouldn't have been wise of me to get a teacher involved when Harry was drunk now would it? I didn't want him getting into trouble when he was already having a shitty night"

"You got the teachers involved by punching that boy in the face" Filch replied with a stern yet disappointed tone. "And that's another thing, why was Harry drunk? Alcohol is forbidden in school and you know it"

"Well it's not like I'm the one who gave him the damn drinks is it" Louis said with a roll of his eyes, "How would I even get alcohol? I'm sixteen"

"I didn't accuse you of giving him the drinks, I'm pretty sure you were drinking too. The question is who gave you them?" Filch leant forward and linked his hands, watching him expectantly.

"And why would I tell you?" Louis let out a bitter chuckle, "I'm not going to drop them in it after we asked for them"

"I already have an idea of who gave you them, and we'll find out eventually. The sooner we confiscate the substances they may still have the sooner we can prevent any other students like Harry from becoming ill. If you wanted the same you would tell me"

Louis sighed and rubbed at his forehead, "Just because Harry drank more than he should've it doesn't mean other students will, he might just have a low tolerance or something" he shrugged, and Filch raised his brows. "I'm not telling so don't bother asking again. That's not what I'm here for anyway"

"Very well" Filch replied with a bored tone as he leant back into his chair. "I'm sure you know we can't let you off this time, not with a simple detention. These punishments clearly aren't working with the amount of times you've been sent to my office, and if I'm honest I think we've been going too easy on you"