"I suppose you could take it up with the headmistress."

"Can you tell the headmistress that in your opinion she is unqualified to learn dueling? At least on foot, could she make it up with broom dueling - she invented it -"

Sigh. "If the Headmistress asks of course she can have my professional opinion."

Karen sits by Miranda and holds her hand.

"She's unconscious, Miss Dwimmer."

"I know."

"Is there anything you can do so she's okay faster -"

"I've done it," says Madam Hirudinea. "She just needs rest now."

"We should probably wait until she's awake to petition the headmistress."

"You don't think it'd be more emphatic if we were there on behalf of our comatose friend?"

"Maybe but Miranda's better than me at that kind of thing are you good at it -"

"Not like really good. We could ask Timothy."

" - yeah I guess we should probably do that."

"We could catch him at dinner."

Nod.

Karen sits by Miranda till then.

Yeah. 

At dinner they find Timothy.

Timothy thinks the best angle is that their parents are going to be displeased to hear their friends are suffering serious injuries in class, especially after what happened to Karen last term, people might think Hogwarts isn't trying to keep its students safe.

Okay, they can try that - should they bring Timothy along or not -?

"I'd be happy to try if you want, up to you."

"It just matters if it works and I think you'd guess better about that."

"I'll come with." And they go to Twimble.

The gargoyles outside the office allow them passage after a fifteen-minute delay.

Twimble is behind her desk. "What is it, Mr. Way?" she asks Timothy.

"One of my third years, Swan, has some sort of incapacity to stay on her feet and is unconscious overnight in the hospital wing for the latest duelling-sustained injury. She has requested and been refused leave to do broomstick duelling instead, at which she's perfectly capable. I am not looking forward to this coming to the attention of her family, who certainly heard about the incident with her best friend Dwimmer last spring -"

"By 'family' I assume you mean her mother, the rest being absentee at best?" remarks Twimble.

"In Igboland, as I understand it, where they can withdraw her for school if they think Hogwarts isn't educating her responsibly."

"That seems unlikely," says Twimble.

"H-her mum is a teacher," Karen says. "Of little kids, but still. She might just withdraw her to home-educate her."

"That would be Madam Swan's prerogative. Students replacing bits of core curriculum with their own inventions is out of the question; I have enough misgivings about allowing elective substitutions. Miss Dwimmer." She looks pointedly at Karen. "Which may be no safer, if I recall your initial foray into wandlore."

"Then she should be excused on medical advice before she gets herself killed."